Not being sure where I want to start this, I will say that I lost my mom back in April of this year. She was ninety­two. 1, I was not expecting her to 2  and I don't think she was expecting it either. I was very close to my mom, being an only child. We did have3 on the surface，but we still had a close relationship4 those.

    Being newly married less than a year, and having moved a couple of times 5, I have had more changes recently in my life than at any other point of my fifty­four years. Stability is one of the gifts that Mom6me and it had so many7that I wasn't aware of until now. My husband and I have made some 8 to Mom's home and will be moving at the end of next week. It is now our home, but it still has my9 heart in it. It's where I grew up, and there are many 10   that will live there with us. At the same time, I am looking forward to  11 some very happy and memorable ones with my husband.

      Mom12 such a big part in my life. Our lives were 13 woven because she gave me her values which have become deeply 14in the woman I am today. I don't have any children whom I could15 these on to. However, Mother's values affect me every day with the16 I have with others, whether I know them or not.l hope Mom would be  17  of who I am, what I've become because of her, and of 18 I am going to live with my19. She gave me everything I needed to know in life: respect others, and give help to others who 20it most. I love you, Mom, and I will never forget you. ​

    I used to hate being called upon in class mainly because I didn't like attention drawn to myself. And 1otherwise assigned（指定）a seat by the teacher, I always  2to sit at the back of the classroom.

All this 3after I joined a sports team. It began when a teacher suggested I try out for the basketball team. At first I thought it was a crazy 4because I didn't have a good sense of balance, nor did I have the 5to keep pace with the others on the team and they would tease me. But for the teacher who kept insisting on my " 6for it", I wouldn't have decided to give it a try.

Getting up the courage to go to the tryouts was only the 7 of it! When I first started 8the practice sessions, I didn't even know the rules of the game, much 9what I was doing. Sometimes I'd get 10and take a shot at the wrong direction—which made me feel really stupid. 11, I wasn't the only one "new" at the game, so I decided to 12 on learning the game, do my best at each practice session, and not be too hard on myself for the things I didn't 13"just yet".

I practiced and practiced. Soon I knew the 14and the "moves". Being part of a team was fun and motivating. Very soon the competitive 15in me was winning over my lack of confidence. With time, I learned how to play and made friends in the 16 — friends who respected my efforts to work hard and be a team player. I never had so much fun!

With my 17self-confidence comes more praise from teachers and classmates. I have gone from " 18" in the back of the classroom and not wanting to call attention to myself, 19raising my hand— even when I sometimes wasn't and not 100 percent 20I had the right answer. Now I have more self-confidence in myself.

    Looking at the checkout lines at the grocery, I quickly turned my handcart to line number three. There were only two women there, and neither had kids or coupons(赠券) ! The store was my first 1that morning, and I had a half dozen others on my2before meeting my husband for lunch.

    Two minutes turned into ten, and I watched as the other lines moved 3. I moved my 4in the shopping handcart and dug for my wallet, trying to5the cashier that it was time to get a move on. Finally, after fifteen minutes, I took a breath and6. Then I heard the cashier tell the women in front of me: “And just like that, he told me what she looked like and 7one hundred dollars here to8her groceries. He said not to worry about the9, just give it to charity.”

    The story she was10had taken place in the sales department. An older man had witnessed a(n) 11mama in need.12for foods with kids around, she was sticking to her list and 13the items on her calculator as she went. The gentleman said he had a little 14on him that day, so he left one hundred dollars to 15her groceries and, just maybe, add a little wiggle room(回旋的余地) to her 16.

    After hearing about the man who had17served a fellow traveler in life, I realized that my hurry, 18and general worries were19. What's five extra minutes in a line to hear a story of a man sharing his  20? Suddenly, I know I could wait.

    Around twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. I could not find 1work although I had a lot of experience and a Master's degree.

    To my 2, I had to drive a school bus to 3my family. At the same time, I had some 4with different companies but they all5to say I did not get the job. I went to the bus barn（车库）, feeling6.

    Later that afternoon, 7doing my rounds through the town I had an inner wave rise from deep 8 me and I thought “Why has my9become so hard?”

    Immediately after this internal（内心的）scream, I 10the bus over to drop off a little girl. As she11, she handed me an earring saying I should keep it12somebody looked for it. The13was stamped with words “BE HAPPY”. Then it struck me. I had been putting all of my14into what was wrong with my life rather than what was15!

    One night there was a phone call for me from the16at a large hospital. She asked me whether I17do a one-day training for 200 hospital workers. I said 18and got the job.

    My day with the hospital workers19very well. I got a great20and many more days of work. To this day I know that it was because I changed my attitude to life.

    I guess I was spoiled at first. I was an only child, 1 by all relatives. Up until I was eight years old, life was 2. Then along came Grant and everything 3.

    Grant is my little brother. He was born a month earlier, so he needed a lot of extra 4. My parents still 5 me, but I was no longer the center of the universe. I was angry about the change. And at first, I was also 6 with Grant.

    Fortunately, Grants didn't cause any real 7 in his growth. Gradually, he developed the habit of 8 himself to me. My parents want me to be 9 to him, but I found him totally annoying. By the time I became a teenager, he was, at five, my shadow, 10 me around, copying my every move, and asking endless questions.

    Still, in spite of my unhappiness towards him, I began to 11 the time we spent together.

    As time went on, we developed connections and partnership, becoming more 12. Grant stopped asking to go along on dates with me, and I set aside time to go fishing with him. He cheered me on at my soccer games, and I 13 to coach his T-ball team. He became less 14 and more of a buddy. I became more patient, more able to 15 and more likely to accept the unconditional love he 16.

    Today I am happy to say that Grant and I are a 17. We have already 18 how he will come visit me when I am in college. It will be hard to be 19, but I know that we will always be close, if not in age or distance, we will be close in the long journey shared by 20.

    I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes(糖尿病) in 2017  And then I was told that I couldn't 1for a few weeks until my blood sugar levels had 2.

    Driving was a 3very soon after diagnosis for me. I needed to get to the chemist's shop for my diabetes 4and to hospital appointments, but initially couldn't - having been told not to drive. I didn't want to be a 5 -having to ask for lifts all the time.

I found it really 6 to be unable to drive, but things settled down after that and seemed to be7 —--for a while.8, to my surprise, I had a severe hypoglycemia(低血糖) last year and wasn't able to 9it myself. I called an ambulance and was taken to 10, where I saw doctors and nurses I didn't 11as none of them were connected to the diabetes team who usually cared for me. That's where my 12began - they advised me not to drive on the basis of this 13. They told me to call the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency(DVLA) and 14what they'd told me to them. This 15my license being withdrawn.

    I couldn't 16 all that had happened - it seemed 17. I needed answers and 18, so I phoned the Diabetes UK Helpline number I got from their website. They 19 I was right in thinking that the DVLA shouldn't have 20 my license based on this hypoglycemia, according to the law. With their help, the DVLA sent me a letter admitting making a mistake. I got it back in six weeks.