“And this is me kissing the Blarney Stone”, says Carrie, my seventeen-year-old daughter. She turns the pages of her new photo album, recounting her recent ten-day1 abroad, and my mind wanders back…way back to when she was only five.

    “Someday I'm going to Ireland”, she said, holding her Childcraft book in her lap. Her blue eyes 2 as she looked at the beautiful pictures. “Well, maybe you can!” I said. However, it was3 for our family to pay for the luxury of traveling. I was working as a secretary. My husband Charlie had to close his 4 last year due to his poor health…

    Ten years later, Carrie came home from school one day, hardly able to contain her5“Mama, you'll never 6where the class is going. To Ireland!” she smiled 7“You're kidding!” I said. “Ireland! Where you've always wanted to go!”

    “The trip is 8 for year after next, and the $2,100 can be paid in installments (分期付款).” Then she added, “But that's too much… isn't it?” Her voice was9 yet doubting. “Well,” I said slowly, “Daddy and I can't help much10 you have two years to earn the money.” “You think so?” Carrie's face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Well,” I11 “maybe you could use your father's bakery and sell baked goods.” Sell baked goods? We12 at each other. Carrie was an excellent 13! This would work!

    So the plan was14 Carrie began working, making a variety of baked goods. She used dried apples, cooked, seasoned and spiced to perfection. Soon, however, fried apple-pies became the customer favorite. All ingredients were 15—real shortening (起酥油), real butter—and the crust (皮) was handmade and hand-rolled. Finally the pies were fried to a beautiful, golden brown! The finished product was an extremely pleasant treat, winning16from even the little old ladies in these hills who have been making dried-apple pies for decades17 began rolling in, and the Ireland fund grew, and well 18 the given time the trip abroad was paid in full…

    Now I'm looking at her album as she proudly points out the19 she visited: castles of Ireland, historic bridges and churches, cobblestone (鹅卵石) streets of Dublin… so much like those in her Childcraft book. My daughter will forever remember this dream come true, a dream that began in the heart of a five-year-old girl and was completely made 20 by the delicious apple pie!

    I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people 1 I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a 2person:

    I think my 3started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my 4, and be left alone. I thought I was smarter everyone else, so I hardly ever5to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really,6. It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So tried a(n) 7. I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I 8to help. That was really a big 9for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of 10are still my best friends today.

    A bigger cause of my new 11, however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer s disease became my 12. Every time I came into her room, she was so13because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never 14her, so I took her place. She let me 15. That making others feel good make me feel good, too. When she died, I was16, but I was very grateful to her.

    I think I am a much 17, person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not 18these experiences. They have 19e to care about other people more than about myself. 20who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.

    I remember my first woodworking project－a small table. It was absolutely beautiful and I was so 1 of it that I looked upon it as if I had created a(an) 2. I could 3 wait to give it to Mother Winters, the administrator of our orphanage (孤儿院), as a gift. We called our female caretakers “mother”. It was the title that we used when 4 them.

    As the table legs were not 5 from the coating, we were instructed to wait a few days before taking them to the dormitories. But I was just so 6 that I couldn't wait. When I saw my chance, out the door I went like a 7, carrying my table and smiling from ear to ear.

    I was 8 it in my dormitory when Mother Winters entered. She walked over to the table and run her hand 9 the top.

    "It is very pretty," she told me. 10 when she touched the table leg, she noticed that it was still wet.

    "Were you 11 to bring this home?" she asked.

    "No, ma' am," I whispered with my head 12.

    She made me throw the table out. After she left, I got it back. There was 13 stuck all over the legs. I brushed and cried and brushed and cried, but it would not 14. I hid the table in my closet.

    A year later, I asked Mother Henderson, my houseparent (宿管员), to throw it away.

    Thirty years later at a reunion, I 15 that Mother Henderson was living nearby, so I drove up to see her. As I was about to leave, she asked me to come down to her 16 to help her get something important. I 17 her into a dark corner. She picked something up. 18 she turned around, I could see that she was holding a little table.

    Today, I look at that table with bittersweet memories but full of 19to Mother Henderson, who kept it for a young orphan who tried very hard to 20.

    My father was a self-taught mandolin（曼陀林琴）player. He could not read, but if he heard a tune several times, he could play it. Occasionally, he 1 play for the local radio station.

    Dad loved playing the mandolin for his family. He knew we enjoyed his playing. If he could give 2 to others, he would, especially for his family. He was always 3 his time and efforts to making sure his family had enough in their life.

    Later, I matured into a man and had my own children. Whenever coming home, I would ask Dad to play the mandolin, for nobody played the mandolin like him. He could 4 your soul with tunes coming out of that old mandolin. He seemed to 5 when playing, taking pride in his ability to play so well.

    Unfortunately, in 1977. Dad was 6 in an accident, leaving his third finger of his left hand wounded seriously. 7 he didn't lose enough of the finger where it would stop him picking up anything, it did affect his 8 to play the mandolin. After the accident, he was 9 to play and felt unable to play as well as before. Every time we asked him to play, he would make excuses. 10, we could persuade him and he would say "Okay. But I can't hold down on the strings and play as well as before." For the family it made no 11. When he played the old mandolin, it would carry us back to a cheerful, happier time.

    In August 1993, Dad was 12 with serious disease. He chose not to receive any chemotherapy(化疗)treatments 13 he could live out his rest life in dignity(尊严). A week before his death, we asked Dad if he would play the mandolin for his family. First he made the usual 14 again but later said "Okay.", 15 it was likely to be the last chance for us to hear him playing. He tuned up the old mandolin and played. 16, I found everyone in the family 17. We saw before us a quiet humble man with an inner 18 that lives with him in his life.

    Dad would never play the mandolin for us again, but we still 19 the most valuable gift we gained from him, 20 he had done all his life, giving.

    As we all know, helping others is a great service, and it's easy to see how to help some people, but what about those people whose needs are not so obvious? This story may have happened a while back—It was a lesson which has1with me and helped me ever since.

    It was Thanksgiving and I was volunteering with my parents at a2for the needy. We stood behind the counter3out hot food to whoever came in. Most of our diners looked like they had been having4times: their clothes were old and dirty.5short, they looked needy!

    Then, a man came in, who looked anything6needy. He was well dressed; he wore a/an7suit. I wondered what he was doing there and my jaw dropped in amazement when he 8the line for food. The closer he came to my service station, the more I9. What was this man doing? I wanted to know. Surely he was not going to take food meant for those who were really in10!

    Then my11quietly took me to one side. She said, "You12that the needs of the people who come here must be purely13: hunger, inadequate shelter, clothing, etc. And this gentleman doesn't seem to have any of those problems.14what if he needs emotional help? What if he needs15, or just to be among other human beings?" Her words16me like a ton of bricks! I felt like I should apologize to the man—but I didn't.

    About a week later, the shelter17a large donation from an anonymous(匿名的)person. I can't help but18if it came from that man.

    Now, whenever I meet someone I remember my mother's19and try to send kindness and blessings their way, regardless of how they look. Needs aren't always20. But kindness always makes a difference.

Strategies to Overcome Self-Doubt Once and For All

Being self-confident is not easy and not everyone can do it, but it doesn't need to be that difficult. {#blank#}1{#/blank#}

Going through life can be very challenging at times. When we were young, no one told us how hard it will be in the future but here we are {#blank#}2{#/blank#} And it is unpleasing and can kill your confidence levels if not controlled from the beginning.

We will all experience some self-doubt, which is natural. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} It happens to us during normal days or whenever we are going to start a new job, a new task, or a new relationship, anything new in life will make you self-doubt. This sort of feeling puts you into dark days when nothing seems to go right and you might feel like giving up, and that is the time to be strong.

 {#blank#}4{#/blank#} Self-doubt is when you are unsure about one or more aspects of yourself. For example, when starting a new job, you might feel inexperienced or might think that you are not fit enough for the job, and this is a prime example of self-doubt.

 {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Low-level of self-criticism is actually good for you. It motivates you and pushes you to be better in life, to become greater than yesterday. This type of feeling will push you to work harder and faster than before and will also increase your productivity, but it should be a low level of self-criticism. You don't want to punish yourself over things that are beyond your control.

A. We needn't take it seriously.

B. It's impossible for us to deal with it.

C. One of the big problems of adult life is having self-doubt,

D. Self-doubt isn't all that bad, let us tell you why.

E. Let's explore to find ways to remove self-doubt forever.

F. It will take long for us to solve this problem.

G. There are some people mistaking self-doubt for something else.