Then I started to notice 7 else about Amy. After lunch most of the kids got 8 from their parents, but none came for Amy.

    At 9 I used to sit on a bench at beach, 10 and looking over the lake. As I approached the benches one night, I saw Amy 11 there.

"Hey, Amy," I said, sitting 12 to her. "You see that light there, on the other 13 of water? I like looking at that light. For me it's like my dream. One 14 I'm going to do something important with my life."

The next day when the 15 was handed out, Amy's name was 16 out. She went up to get the letter. I went over and asked, "Hey, Amy, what's your secret?"

    She didn't 17. She looked at the letter, a picture of a lake with a big 18 shining on the other side of it. She looked at me, and put the 19 over her heart.

    On the last day of the camp, she gave me a big hug good bye. 20 she had dream of her own. I hope so.

    One evening after reading a story entitled "A Lady",I began to recall an important moment in my life.It was simple but so precious that it has1inside my mind for years.

    It was a very cold winter evening when a friend of mine got seriously2and was rushed to Westchester Medical Center,where she stayed unconscious for quite a while.Finally she was3.A friend and I decided to4 her,so we bought some flowers and were on our way.After quickly parking the car and signing in,we reached her 5but only a few minutes were6with her.Pretty soon after our7we were asked to leave by the nurses.

    We headed out to the car8did we know that we had to pay for parking.We had no money aside from a spare dollar or two9from our lunch money that day.We had no idea what to do,so I10to pay with whatever money we had,11of course,I was way off.

    A very sweet-hearted woman cleared her throat and said "Excuse me" in order to catch my12.She handed me a $20 bill.I13that she should give me her14and address and I will15pay her back.She refused.I thanked her for her16and told her how much it was appreciated.she turned to me and17with one sentence,“Thank you;being able to help you makes me happy,too.”Her words were so unusual that I was very18to hear that.

    What she did might be considered a small act of19but it is something I will never forget because it taught me that helping others could20both the givers and the receivers.

    I've always been a very anxious person—easily worried and stressed. And I've always been losing things.

    I'm not sure what exactly 1 my desire to attempt a more organized lifestyle. I started to attempt to be less 2and more organized. Instead of cleaning my room twice a year, I 3to do it about 4-6 times a year.

    Over a couple of years I started cleaning my room more, and I even 4using a planner on a daily basis: It took years to institute these actions into habits, 5I wasn't aiming for habits. I was simply trying to be a little 6—a little bit at a time.

    After I 7multiple outfits(装束) at home, 8leaving clothes on my bed and shoes on the floor, I put everything away before going out. After cooking and eating, I put everything in the dishwasher or wash it by hand. Each of these tasks only takes a few minutes. And not only does this 9immediate clutter(杂乱), but it's also much 10to deal with one mess at a time rather than leaving it all to turn into a giant mess. Organization creates ease, and ease creates organization, both of which 11to lower levels of stress and anxiety! And spending less time feeling 12means having more time to be happy, productive and present.

    Since I began intentionally being more organized, I find I have more 13to adopt other new habits to maintain(保持) and strengthen a calmer and cleaner lifestyle. Good habits result in more good habits, which help to create a better and happier you.

    If you find yourself worried, stressed or anxious beyond your control, then 14what you can—your 15. Create a comfortable, clean and calm space where you can escape from the outside world, and it doesn't have to be all at once.

    When I was young, my father invited my grandmother to come from Ecuador and live with us. When I first saw her, I thought she wasn't the person I had 1 for. For the first few days we didn't speak much, beyond her 2 me that I played too many video games. I never 3attention. Then one day, she showed me a 2's multiplication table (乘法表) 4 I was playing my beloved games and told me that I couldn't play any more games until I memorized it. I was5 but had to try to understand the pattern that all these numbers followed. That was when she approached me and explained the 6 to me. Within an hour I had 7 multiplication by twos, and was about to make a break for my video games when she 8 me and told me to learn my 3's table next.9and sad, I sat back down at the kitchen table. Again, she came to the rescue, but this time we didn't stop after three; we kept going. She 10 was old and boring. I thought she was a genius （天才）who 11 everything.

    From then on she taught me a lot. Even when we walked around the streets, she would quiz me on 12 . All of our conversation included education, but in such a(n) 13 way. I began to14learning about math and the world. Over time, we developed a close relationship 15 our lesson. We shared stories with each other every day.

    16, after only a year, she moved back to Ecuador. We didn't spend as much time together as we had 17, but she often sent me letters.

    My grandmother recently passed away. She always wanted me to attend college, and I've made that 18 a reality. I owe my love of math to her 19, because she showed me that there was a 20 beyond video games, and that education was both fun and interesting. She changed my life.

View life from new angles

    When I was 14, life felt dull and boring. The high school I went to had over a thousand students, I didn't really 1 to notice the differences between us all.

    Butth is dull view of mine 2 when my parents bought me a camera for 3Even though I didn't 4 the first thing about photography, I dived headfirst into the medium. It was after a month of playing with my new camera when I realized I had no 5 for taking pictures. My photos were clearly 6 something of importance and lacked 7. After a while, I became so 8 with my lack of artistic talent that I quit my new hobby.

    During the summer break, I suddenly decided to pick it 9 again. I went for a walk on the railroad track behind my house. Surprisingly, this walk on the tracks was 10 began my love for photography. When I was walking on the train tracks 11 a model to photograph and only 12 around me, I 13 how important it was to look at the details of things. I didn't worry about trying to create something beautiful. Instead, I just 14 photos of the beauty already around me. I quickly became 15 to color, lighting, shape, shading and everything in between. After months of studying outdoor 16, I was finally able to create beauty of my own and my work has been 17 in two small magazines.

    Slowly, my photos became something I was 18 of. They're not masterpieces, but they're important to me. And they're signs of how much my artistic abilities have 19: I went from zero artistic talent to being published.

    20 this Christmas gift from my parents, I now have a new way of looking at the world.

    No one is born a winner. People make themselves into winners by their own 1.

    I learned this lesson from a(n)2many years ago. I took the head 3 job at a school in Baxley, Georgia. It was a small school with a weak football program.

    It was a tradition for the school's old team to play against the 4 team at the end of spring practice.

    The old team had no coach, and they didn't even practice to5the game. Being the coach of the new team, I was excited because I knew we were going to win, but to my disappointment we were defeated. I couldn't 6 I had got into such a situation. Thinking hard about it, I came to 7 that my team might not be the number one team in Georgia, but they were 8 me. I had to change my 9about their ability and potential.

    I started doing anything I could to help them build a little 10. Most important, I began to treat them like 11. That summer, when the other teams enjoyed their 12, we met every day and 13passing and kicking the football.

    Six months after suffering our 14 on the spring practice field, we won our first game and our second, and continued to 15. Finally, we faced the number one team in the state. I felt that it would be a16 for us even if we lost the game. But that wasn't what happened. My boys beat the best team in Georgia, giving me one of the greatest 17 of my life!

    From the experience I learnt a lot about how the attitude of the leader can 18 the members of a team. Instead of seeing my boys as losers, I pushed and 19 them. I helped them to see themselves 20, and they built themselves into winners.

    Winners are made, not boom.