“You're leaving again?” asked my daughter as she saw me packing my carry-on.

More than her words, it was her face that pierced (刺穿) my heart —I could see how crestfallen she was.

    “It's only for two nights, “I explained.

    But that didn't matter to her. It was just one more trip after barely being home for five days. I decided in that moment to travel less whenever possible and I managed to avoid flying altogether for most of the summer. As a result, it was a summer full of discoveries. I realized that my kids really were proud of me. In their time away from me they had learned lessons I couldn't have imagined.

    Recently I began traveling a lot again. But this time it was different, mainly due to the fact that I had seen firsthand that my children value strong female role models. They realize that hard work pays off. Being away from them even for a day at a time in many ways had done them a lot of good.

In particular, being a working mom is teaching my daughter how important it is to be independent and that you can follow your dreams. In many ways, her idea of a professional woman is much more realistic than what I imagined when I was her age. I think that even at nine years old she already knows that for all the success you might achieve, there is a price to pay, whether it's long hours, spending time away from those you love, or simply not having the energy to have fun at times. I know the wishes I would devote all of my time to her, but honestly, even if I didn't work I would rather she learned not to depend on me for everything, She needs to realize that she can fly on her own — and that isn't possible if I am hovering over her every single second of the day .

    I have also realized that having a career sets a good example for my son. He is not afraid of a strong woman, and has a great respect for them. When he's older, this will help him build healthier relationship.

    Therefore, for all the working moms out there who work long hours, remember to value the positive lessons you might be teaching your kids.

    For over 70 years, UNICEF has been putting children first, working to protect their rights and provide the assistance and services they need to survive and develop all over the world.

    It's the end-of-year giving season, and UNICEF has lots of good news to share about the influence its supporters have had on the lives of children. Thanks to its generous donors, UNICEF has helped save more lives than any other humanitarian organization.

    Monthly donors are a major reason why UNICEF can make that claim, according to Karla Coello, UNICEF USA Senior Director for Monthly Giving. “Last year, UNICEF responded to 377 humanitarian emergencies, from conflicts to natural disasters,” says Coello. “Emergency appeals bring in important revenue - but after the emergency, there are still a lot of things children need to make life bearable. That's what our monthly donors provide.”

    When drought destroys crops, conflict forces families from their homes, an epidemic breaks out or a disaster strikes, children suffer most. And in some countries, even the best of times are dangerous for its youngest citizens. Every day more than 15,000 children under 5 die from preventable causes.

    Protecting children before, during and after a crisis requires a reliable source of funding. The constant stream of revenue provided by monthly donations enables UNICEF to reach children with what they need most when they need it, prepositioning emergency supplies before a disaster strikes and continuing to build sustainable solutions after an immediate crisis has subsided.

    Monthly giving is also important to funding large-scale interventions(介入). Thanks to UNICEF's global immune campaigns, the world is now nearly free of polio(小儿麻痹症)and there are only 14 countries where mothers and children still face maternal and neonatal tetanus(破伤风)deadly threat. And UNICEF programs in 120 countries are helping to prevent and treat malnutrition, which is linked to nearly half of all deaths of children under 5.

    “UNICEF USA monthly donors are our most engaged, most dedicated supporters,” says Rebecca Volpe, UNICEF USA Manager, Monthly Giving. “So we do our best to make them feel appreciated by keeping them thoroughly updated about the powerful impact they are having and showing them how much they matter to us.” In turn, monthly donors tend to be dedicated supporters. “Protecting children - giving them opportunities to play, learn, feel safer, heal - is critical to us,” explained a survey respondent, expressing a commitment to children that UNICEF USA's Monthly Giving team sees every day.

    Supporters who sign up with UNICEF USA to give monthly automatically become members of the Guardian Circle, which affords them benefits, including:

    Annual statements to make tax time easier

    An easy-to-use donor access that simplifies modifying gift amounts, updating payment methods and making other changes, including the timing of donations with the option to cancel at any point

    Targeted communications in the form of monthly statements and a quarterly 8-page newsletter with stories from the field.

    A team available to answer questions via email or phone.

    “We have some donors who are on fixed income, others who can afford to make considerable monthly donations," says Coello. “Whether you give $5 or $700 a month, you are super important to us. What's important is that they all really want to give and help children. And that's amazing.”

    It can be time-consuming and difficult to track charitable donations. At end of year, Guardian Circle monthly supporters receive one statement that makes filing tax returns easier - and it's always delightful to see how much good has been done for the world's most vulnerable(受伤害的)children.

    Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror; you do not look like these stick -thin models seen across the media. Your legs are too big, your bottom is too small, and you are too pale. You are too “ugly” You stare in wonder and anger, “Why don't I look like them?" However, you don't need to imagine this situation, because this is a bitter truth for millions of people. In the media，one can quickly see the ideal body, the ideal face, and the ideal person. The advancement of unrealistic beauty on social media causes millions of people to become dissatisfied with their looks.

    Dissatisfaction with one's appearance can cause dangerous behaviors like dieting, which result in eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa (神经性厌食症) and Bulimia Nervosa (神经性易饿病). Eating disorders have seen a dramatic increase following the rise of social media, 119% increase according to recent statistics. According to Brittany Tackett, a mental health professional,“30% -50% of patients in eating disorder hospitals used social media as a means of supporting their eating disorders.”

    Not only can social media become a support-system for unhealthy behaviors, but an article written by Rachel Simmons, a Time magazine writer, suggests that people who spend more time online tend to link their self-worth to their looks. A study conducted by Park Nicollet Melrose Center also says that in the 1990's, fifty-percent of women wanted to lose weight. Now it finds that eighty-percent of women want to lose weight. Although this higher percentage cannot be directly related to the rise of social media, one can argue that the unrealistic and damaging beauty expectations that social media presents contribute to this number.

    In addition, social media causes stress. A survey was conducted in which people were asked whether or not they used social media, and how stressed they felt they were. The study found that “social network users are, in fact, 14 percent more likely than non-users to characterize their lives as at least 'somewhat stressful.' Non-users are 28 percent more likely than users to say their lives are 'not at all' stressful”. Additionally, stress may have more connection to self-confidence than is believed.

    So，there you are again, standing in front of the mirror criticizing the parts of your body which do not follow the idealistic images of models seen on social media. Your legs are too big, your bottom is too small, and you are too pale. You are too “ugly”. Although this time, you realize it is not you who are the problem. The problem is the unhealthy and unrealistic standards that social media encourages. So the next time you are looking through Instagram, opening WeChat, or commenting on Twitter, ask yourself, “Is it worth it?”

    Last month, voters in the second Congressional District in New Orleans, Louisiana, made a historic choice. They elected Anh "Joseph" Cao a Vietnamese-American Republican party member, as their representative. It is the first time in over one hundred years that voters in this area of New Orleans elected a non-democratic Party lawmaker. And, Anh Cao is the first Vietnamese-American to be elected to the United States Congress(议会).

    Anh Cao went through difficult times to get to where he is now. He was born in Saigon in nineteen sixty-seven during the war in Vietnam. In nineteen seventy-five, North Vietnamese troops took control of Saigon. He was separated from his family for many years. Anh Cao lived with his uncle in Indian, then later moved to Houston, Texas.

    He decided to work for social justice in a non-religious way. So, he worked as a lawyer in New Orleans.

    He joined the Republican Party and became active on local and state political committees. He decided to compete against his local representative in Congress, William Jefferson, who had been in office since nineteen ninety-one. Minister Jefferson's reelection campaign was not helped by federal corruption charges against him.

    Mister Cao won the election. That night he said that never in his life did he think he could be a congressman. He said the American dream is alive and well.

    When traveling in England, here are some things to keep in mind.

    When taking the underground in England, once on the underground train, stand clear of the closing doors. They can give you a pretty hurtful knock if they hit you. When getting on or off the tube train, make sure you mind the gap(缝隙)! This varies from a few inches to a foot at some of the stations.

    The saying that English food is boring and tasteless isn't true, at least not anymore. You'll find a huge variety of international restaurants, especially in London. Make sure you eat some of the old-fashioned traditional foods in pubs, and wash it down with some local beer!

    Come prepared for any sort of weather ——even if the day starts off well, it's likely that the temperature will change. The best thing to do is layer(分层穿套) your clothes so that you can add or reduce as necessary.

    The British are in general very polite people and will expect at least basic politeness from travelers. Pleases and thanks go a long way! At the same time  they like playing jokes on others. Don't be surprised or offended if you're called darling, dear, dearie, flower, love, chick, chuck, me duck, son, ma'am or any other similar pet name by someone you don't know. It's quite normal.

    England is generally quite safe, but you'll need to be more careful in London and the other large cities, especially at night. Choose an underground train that has plenty of people in it and avoid suburban underground stations at night. There are many night buses you can catch, but try not to do this alone. A licensed cab is often the best choice. Try and leave valuable things in your hotel room, as pickpockets(扒手) do operate in some areas. Be careful of bags especially when in some busy areas.

    Scientists have created a scent(气味)-delivery system that releases a pleasant fragrance when you sweat. Apply it to your skin, and the more you sweat, the better you'll smell. That's because the perfume only gets released upon contact with moisture(湿气).

Chemists from Harvard University combined two compounds to create their new system. One chemical is alcohol-based. This is the nice-smelling perfume. The other chemical is an ionic liquid(离子性液体), which is a type of salt that is liquid at room temperature. Ionic liquids are made of ions—molecules(分子) that have lost or gained one or more electrons(电子). If the molecule loses electrons, it will have a positive charge(正电荷). If it gains electrons, it gets a negative charge. Ionic liquids contain the same number of positive and negative ions, which makes them neutral, with no overall electric charge. In general, ionic liquids have no smell.

    When the perfume and ionic liquid are mixed together, a chemical reaction occurs. This bonds the molecules to each other. The reaction also temporarily inactivates the perfume's molecules. So when applied to the skin, the new perfume has no scent in the beginning. But adding water or sweat breaks the bond between the molecules. That releases the scent into the air.

    "The rate of the release of the fragrance depends on how much you sweat, in other words, how much water is available," explains chemist Nimal Gunaratne from Harvard University, who led the research. "Sweat is like the command to let the fragrance go."

    Christian Quellet is a chemist who has worked in the perfume industry for a long time. He is now an independent consultant based in Switzerland. "Gunaratne's perfume opens the door to new developments and applications of fragrance controlled-release systems," he says. Controlled-release systems allow small quantities of some compounds that they hold to enter the environment slowly.

    The system also traps some chemicals in sweat that are responsible for the bad sweat smell. These compounds are called thiols (硫醇). Just as water does, thiols break apart the bond that ties the perfume to the ionic liquid. When this happens, the thiols attach to the ionic liquid and their bad scent is inactivated as the perfume had been. This means the water in sweat and its thiols are both able to release the fragrance from the newly developed perfume.