Like many perfectionists, I truly believed that self-sufficiency was a virtue. And1my brain was so good at finding what it was looking for, I noticed every single time that idea got proved2 and so I always had lots of3for why it really was better if I just handled everything myself.

    This kind of thinking, friends, was the 4in disguise (伪装).

    My self-reliance came in handy when I was a kid in the seventies and in adulthood when I was an independent 5Then, in the first years of 6the Organized Artist Company, I found myself 7everything I could about websites, copywriting, graphic design, etc. Later whenever one of my business friends 8about how her website was being held hostage (人质) by her designer, I9felt too satisfied10if mistakes were made in my business, they were all mine.

    Now this was where my false11showed up—in not wanting others to know I made mistakes. If I had other people12me, they would see my errors and13. Working alone, I could keep up a pretty good display of 14.

    But as the Organized Artist Company became increasingly 15, I realized I was doing harm to the people I was trying to serve by attempting to do everything myself. I was16my growth and the depth of my work.

    I had built a business with my own two hands, and I 17with a business that I could hold in my own two hands. Cozy,18limited in scope (范围).

    Once I was willing to control my ego( 自负) and admit that my vision of self-sufficiency was a 19my business took a remarkable leap forward, and revenue 20 Little change, big difference.

    There was my mother, standing in a fuzzy (毛绒绒的) pink bunny(兔子）costume. This can't be, 1 I thought to myself. Being ten was 2 enough.

    Our class was taking a trip to a convalescent home（疗养院) that day.I had 3 to stay at home pretending I'd caught some rare disease. My mother who's a(n) 4, sent me to school anyway.

    When we got there, I 5 wished for that 6. I'd fall to the ground and be 7the humiliation (耻笑) of anyone ever knowing that I 8every day after school there, dressed as a bunny.

“Hi, Shelly!” The residents waved at me, “ Do you know them?” someone asked. “No! They 9 me for someone else. I'm Machille,” I responded. I didn't look up 10 I might make eye contact with them. Then, Mrs. Deist, our teacher, handed us tulips (郁金香) to give to the residents. I quickly went to the back of the 11. My mother just went along her way— hopping（单足跳跃）. Last year, we hopped together. 12, “I'm too old for that now”, I thought.

    I hid behind my class. “ Shelly, how about a game of Fish?” Lou asked. My class and teacher 13 and stared. “ Machille, do you know these people?” Mrs.Deist asked me.

“Um….yes！”  

    “Well you should 14 the way,” she said, smiling. So I stepped forward, handed a tulip to Rose, waved to Frank and gave Mr. Blusso a high-five.

    “My mother is in a convalescent home. I wish she could have someone like you to 15 her.” Mrs Deist said. My mother hopped over then. “This is my mom. Every day she looks after these special people who need nurses' care.” I stood straight as I 16 the information. My mother then explained a program where kids can 17 after school. The residents cheered at the18, and my class seemed excited, too.

    I realized how 19 it made me to make other people smile and feel good. I should never be 20 of that.

    When I was young, each morning I woke up and would find my father nowhere around the house. He usually got up early before1and began milking the cow and cleaning the farmyard. In summer, he got up2earlier to mop the grass and water the flowers and vegetables in the garden. Once I helped my father to3weeds from the corn field. It wasn't long4I felt very tired but the field ridge（田垄） seemed5. Finally I totally threw myself6in the field, feeling7. My dad seemed to have8my mind. He came up and said, "Farming is backbreaking and really takes9and sweat, but in10the sweet harvest will be worth the11. "Encouraged by his words, I struggled to my feet. My father12and added, "Rome is not built in a13but it can be built in hundreds of days. So whenever14with a huge project, just break it into 15parts and then complete them one by one. Finally you will be amazed at your16. "Hearing what he said, I was greatly17and continued removing the weeds from patch to patch. Believe it or not, at the end of the day, I18in weeding half an acre of corn field.

    Now, I have tried different jobs and finally19down running a big restaurant. In my lifetime, my father's devotion to his job and his special working methods can always encourage and guide me20all kinds of difficulties.

    If life were a book and you were the author, how would you like the story to go? That is the question that1my life forever.

    One day I went home from the training of snowboarding with what I thought was the flu, and less than 24 hours later, I was in a2on life support with less than twenty percent3of living. It wasn't until days later that the doctors diagnosed me with a4blood infection. Over the5of 2.5 months, I lost the hearing in my left ear and both my legs below the knees. When my parents6me out of the hospital, I7that I had been put together like a patchwork （拼接物）doll and I had to live with8legs. I was absolutely physically and emotionally broken,9streaming down.

    But I knew in order to move forward, I had to let go of the Old Amy and10the New Amy. It was at this moment that I asked myself that significant11. And that is when it12me that I didn't have to be five-foot-five anymore,13I could be as tall as I wanted. And14of all, I can make my feet the size of all the shoes. So there were15here.

    Four months later, I was back upon a16. And this February, I won two Board World Cup gold medals,17me the highest ranked snowboarder in the world.

    So, instead of looking at our18and limitations as something19or bad, we can begin looking at them as a wonderful20that can be used to help us to further than we ever know we could go.

    It was December 22. The bitter wind swept the countless snowflakes across my front yard. My dad was there sweeping the 1. His nose was red as a cherry. With every breath he took, a white puff 2 into the air.

    Inside, my mother was 3 the last of the boxes. As I entered the front door, the 4 that after today I wouldn't enter through that door 5 again burned a hole in my stomach. I picked up my dog and sat Indian style with him in my lap on the 6, wooden floor. I had no 7 but to sit on the floor, for there was no longer any furniture occupying my house. I sat there in a daze (恍惚), just 8. There was no reason for my parents to make me, a once 912-year-old kid, 10. I had two best friends right across the street; I did well in school and I always kept my room clean. 11, this was "my house". By no means did I want a couple of 12 living here. These recurring (重复) thoughts danced around in my mind and I couldn't find a(n) 13.

    Out of the front window I could see the orange top of a truck pulling in the cleaned driveway and I knew it was the other U-Haul. Instantly three men came 14through the back door like World War III was starting.

    I watched 15 as the men, my mother and my dad loaded the truck. My dog even winced(畏缩)as he stared out of the window. I wondered if he was 16, too, or if he just wished to play outside in the snow.

    My mum came in, looking solemn(凝重)for my sake, I imagined. She turned 17 the overhead light, put the 18 in my arm and followed me out of the back door. A totally 19 feeling filled my inside. For the first time in my life, I wondered what 20would be to me tomorrow.

I hadn't got exercise lately and felt a bit dizzy. I was a little1 . One of my friends invited me to show up to see a2 that they said would help me feel better. Little did I know that I was about to see something I would never forget.

They introduced a young3 , Mr Patrick Henry Hughes. He was4 onto the stage in his wheelchair and began to play the piano. His fingers5 across the keys as he made beautiful music. He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more beautiful. For some reason,6 , I knew that I was seeing something special. Ten minutes later, someone came on the stage and7 a video of Patrick Henry Hughes.

Patrick was born with no eyes and a tightening of the joints which left him8 for life. Before his first birthday, he9 the piano. On his second birthday, he asked to play it. His father was10 . "We might not play baseball, but we can play music together. "

Today, Patrick is a11 at university. His father attends classes with him and he has made nearly all "A" s. He is also a trumpet player of a band. He and his father do it together — they12 all the band practices and the half-time performance in front of thousands of people.

But even more than his13 musical talent, it was Patrick's attitude to gratitude that touched me. I will never forget that night, that smile, that music, but most importantly, that14 attitude to gratitude. Gratitude can change your attitude,15 your life forever.