I often go to France to visit my grandmother who is very dear to me. She's now 76 years old, so every time I go to1 the two of us are very aware that it might be the2time we see each other for she has cancer.

    Last time I visited her in December of 2012. I did a series of short video3about her life. I asked her about her greatest memories and life learning so far, her 4books, food and stories. I learned a large quantity of amazing new things about her I5knew before.

    This year, I did not really have 6 only a great urge for her to know how much she is loved. I cooked for her and read her stories.

    Before leaving, I was7a way to leave something8behind besides the memory of our 9together. So I wrote her five different 10and gratitude notes to let her know how much she11to me, and hid them in different places where I knew she would 12find them. One under her pillow. Another one 13from the lamp cover by which she reads in the evening. Another one by her toothbrush. One in her14which she eagerly checks every day. And the last one on her car's steering wheel.

    I left 15knowing that these cards would surely 16her up after I left. She called me as I was departing for Paris to catch my plane back to the US and said, “I17your three cards! By the time I discovered the third card, I was laughing out loud!18 they did me so much good. Thank you so much!” I19to myself, knowing she still has two more to go! It was Sunday, so my 20was that she had not checked her mailbox and had not yet driven her car!

    When I was a young boy, my family was very poor. I would often help do something for the neighbors to 1 a little pocket money.

    One day I 2 on the door of an elderly woman and asked 3 she needed me to clean the yard. She asked why I was not in 4 and I showed her my worn 5, which no longer kept me warm. She 6 me to work in the yard. When I finished, she looked at me and said, “I suppose you want to be 7 now.” She then 8 a jar filled with dollar bills and said, “I'm glad you've done a 9 job today but that is not something you should be doing again. I want you to 10 new clothes and get back to school. I also want you to come back to 11 me with your report card and I will 12 you when I see you have worked hard and have some good 13. Now reach out your little hands and take out as much 14 as you can.”

    I put my hands in the jar and 15 so much money that it was 16 for me to buy what I badly needed. Later, I returned several times to see the woman and she did just as she 17. She looked at my report card and gave me a handful of dollars and some delicious food every time I 18 her that I had an “A”.

    I was twelve years old when I moved from that neighborhood. I will never forget the huge 19 this wonderful lady made over my life with her 20. This is something I hope to do myself in this lifetime over and over again.

    I always come across random acts of kindness in my life. Many years ago, I was 1Costa Rica when I found myself in an 2situation: my credit cards and bank cards went out of 3 abroad, and I only had $5 to my 4.

    I had no way to get money. I didn't know anybody in this country. I only knew basic Spanish, and besides the cash the only 5I had was a return ticket to my country in almost two 6. Back then, there was no such thing as mobile phones, and7email was very limited. To find help, I decided to go to the countryside. With the only coins I had, I 8the bus terminal(终点站)and found a village, which 9almost the exact amount. About 4 hours later, I arrived at Santa Rosa Abajo at midnight.

    I knocked door to door,10in my very poor Spanish that I was a foreigner travelling in Costa Rica with no money but I 11to stay here for over ten days. I begged them for a 12－such as cooking , cleaning and looking after their kids, anything like that. Everybody 13, “oh my, but so poor are we that we have no 14 food or space. Maybe you can try the next 15.” And they'd point me to another house.

    16, I arrived at a Chinese restaurant. The owner of the restaurant was very 17. She gave me food and called the Red Cross to come to 18me. With the help of the Red Cross, I spent my19days in Costa Rica.

    This is one of the best trips I've ever had, because I realized that when you're in a position to be able to 20, it actually makes you feel happy.

    Jake was born healthy, but his parents noticed there was something wrong when he was 5. Jake 1 about 20 pounds in just six months. He kept putting on weight 2 eating only salad. In 2015, Jake was diagnosed with ROHHAD, a 3 condition that affects the brain and causes rapid weight gain. Only 75 cases have ever been reported, and 4 of the sufferers is known to have survived twenty years.

    But Jake wants to fight for his 5. Although there is no way to fully 6 the weight gain, he does everything he can to slow it down, including 7 competing in triathlons (铁人三项). Triathlons help him keep fit and active. It's good for his 8 and also gives him a chance to socialize with other kids. He 9 with the Malta Youth Triathlon Association three times a week.

    "He is extremely 10. He never misses a training session without valid 11 and is constantly eager to train," Jake's trainer said. "Jake is very lovable and steals the heart of all who know him. It's heartbreaking to see what he has to 12. I look at his family with a mixture of 13 — despite the hardship they try their best to ensure that Jake gets as 14 a life as possible."

    Everybody is more than happy to help Jake, and they 15 change event dates and training schedules just to make it easier for him to 16. He is always very determined, but due to his condition, he can't 17 himself to push his heart rate too high.

    Jake's 18 is to meet two famous British Triathlon players, 19 due to his disease, he cannot travel. After Jake's story was made public, someone 20 that he would do everything he could to make the boy's dream a reality.

I still remember that busy fall evening as I hurried with my eldest daughter, Athena, to get to her classroom on time for a parent-teacher night. We walked in and all 1 were on me. A few adults quickly quieted their kids' 2 . A classmate 3 my daughter, "What's wrong with your mom's 4 ?" Shocked, I started to explain my 5 , but my six-year-old daughter looked at him and said, "It's my mom's birthmark! Don't be rude!" I was extremely 6 of how she handled that situation. 

I was quite young when I realized I looked 7 . I always thought I would be alone because of birthmark, but I was lucky enough to meet my 8 who saw me for who I am inside. When I had my first daughter, I was overjoyed, but I began to 9 if the world would judge my children. 10 , my facial difference has 11 my children. My daughters get disinvited from birthday parties or certain kids are no longer friends with mine. 

When my kids were 12 , I explained how my special purple skin was rare, and we talked about acceptance and never 13 others on how they look. With time, both my daughters have become my strongest 14 : we see the world a little differently and with a kinder, more 15 heart.

Grief ran through the first decade of my career. I photographed stories about terrible topics: immigration, conflict, war. On the cover of my notebook in 2019, I wrote, "Discover the joy again." It was intended to remind me to play more.

Sometimes I'd get a rare assignment where I could breathe — for example, photographing an article on tea for an airline magazine. I took the job hoping to make interesting, almost movie images, but at the end of the day, I found I'd made nothing of the sort. Packing up my camera, I felt like a failure.

On the drive back to the hotel, I noticed heavy steam rising from a building up ahead. Arriving at the scene, I opened the car door — and realized it was a tourist attraction traditionally pulled by a steam engine. Then, out of nowhere, a figure ran toward me. I picked up my camera and quickly made three pictures. One was out of focus. One was poorly composed. But one worked.

When I submitted my pictures to the editor for the tea article, this one wasn't chosen to be published, but I knew it meant something to me. I had been looking for good luck in my own life. This photograph symbolized exactly that.

I was 27 when I first traveled to India after the sudden passing of my father. Over many months, with my best friend, I traversed India with no phone, with limited Internet, and with healing as my compass. I climbed mountains, swam in the sea, and lived in relief entirely.

As I learned to travel to some of the world's cities with the largest population, I began to see life with more color and magic. I permitted myself to walk aimlessly, with no goal but to observe, and each moment became a dance. If this journey taught me anything, it's that what comes next will bring its own magic.