Some people would have you believe that being fat is the worst thing you can be. They think that if a person is fat they have no life, no love, no reason to want to look good in their clothes. The sad thing is that many people who are fat do feel the same loathing toward themselves and others who are overweight or obese.

    I know what I'm talking about because I have been there. I have been that fat girl who wore big T-shirts to cover my “sins”. Forget style. Forget fashion sense. I absolutely had none. I didn't even bother getting haircuts for years, just wore my hair long and straight, pulled back in a ponytail, I have to wonder if the reason the fashion industry has ignored plus sized women and children for so long is because plus sized people, feeling they couldn't possibly look great, didn't bother shopping for new clothes, and therefore no profit was to be found by producing those sizes.

    For me, the change that improved my outer look actually started with my outlook on life. I started by being grateful for all I do have, like great health, a stable family, a steady income, freedom, a decent home, the ability to see the trees turn orange in the fall, to hear my grandson humming in the back seat, to remember the great times I've had in my life.

    I started to focus on all the positive aspects of the life I already had. I actually started to feel the beauty of the Universe all around me and to realize that I am part of that perfection. The self loathing stopped. I noticed all the people in my life who loved me in spite of my size. I got off the pity pot and smiled at myself. I acknowledged my shame and embarrassment and moved through that too.

    When I was 10 years old, I tried out for the cheerleading squad. I had taken gymnastics classes for two years to prepare for these tryouts. However, I didn't make the team. It was a heavy blow to me. I cried all night.

    Kids today won't experience that kind of rejection. They're growing up in “everybody gets a turn” world where every child gets a chance to kick the ball, sing the song, and win the award. But that's not always such a good thing.

    Parents have become fearful of letting kids fail, thinking that our children are easily hurt and will never recover from anything—that's a serious problem. Last week, my 7-year-old daughter didn't get into the school play. At first, I was upset by it. How would she react? When I gave her the news, I was ready to hug her and cry with her. She looked at me, made a slight face and said, “That's too bad. What's for dinner?”

    It clearly wasn't the end of her world. Maybe if we let our kids experience rejection once in a while, we'd realize they are much stronger than we think. Kids need to be able to handle disappointments; doing so helps them to prepare for real life. Most importantly, rejection carries the possibility not only for growth and can also motivate kids to try harder the next time.

    Rejection is pain. There is no way around that. How will our kids ever discover their true talents if we don't let them? Instead of complaining, maybe we should consider rejection an opportunity.

    Alexis, 17, sat quietly in the passenger seat of her dad's car. She let her eyes lazily scan the landscape for wildlife. Then a deer came into view about 200 yards in front of them. “Dad, there's a deer there!” Alexis said. It was a male deer with sharp antlers (角) on each side of its head.

    As the car moved closer, Alexis saw that the deer's head was bent toward the ground. Then she heard a scream and saw an arm fly up near the deer's head. Alexis realized the deer was attacking a woman. Sue, a 44-year-old mother, had been out for her morning run. The deer followed her and edged closer. “I knew I was in trouble.” Sue says. She went to pick up a stick for self-defense, and the deer charged. It lifted her with its antlers and threw her into the air. Sue could feel blood flew down her leg. Within seconds, the deer had pushed her off the road.

    When Alexis and her father pulled up, the deer was throwing Sue like a doll. Alexis looked into the woman's terrified eyes, and before her father had even stopped the car, the teenager jumped quickly out of the car and ran toward the deer. “I was kicking it to get its attention." she says. Then her father, who had followed his daughter, pushed the deer away from the women.

    Alexis helped Sue into the car and then applied a piece of cloth to Sue's injured leg. “We're going to get you to a hospital.” Alexis said. Then she heard her father shout loudly. He had been knocked to the ground. Alexis took hold of a hammer from the car and ran to where her father lay on his back. She beat the deer's head and neck, but the blows didn't scare it away. “I was losing faith.” she says. “A couple more strikes. Alexis.” said her father. “You can do it.”

    Turning the hammer around, Alexis closed her eyes and beat the deer's neck with all her strength. When she opened her eyes, the deer was running away.

    Alexis got in the driver's seat and sped toward the nearest hospital. After Sue was treated, she tearfully thanked her rescuers. “You expect a teenage girl to get on the phone and call for help,” she says, “not to beat up a deer.”

    Will it matter if you don't take your breakfast? Recently a test was given in the United States. Those testes included people of different ages, from 12 to 83. During the experiment, these people were given all kinds of breakfast, and sometimes they got no breakfast at all. Special tests were set up to see how well their bodies worked when they had eaten a certain kind of breakfast. The results show that if a person eats a proper breakfast, he or she will work with better effort than if he or she has no breakfast. This fact appears to be especially true if a person works with his brains. If a student eats fruit, eggs, bread and milk before going to school, he will learn more quickly and listen with more attention in class. Contrary to what many people believe, people become so hungry at noon that they eat too much for lunch, and end up gaining weight instead of losing. You will probably lose more weight if you reduce other meals.

    UK is becoming a popular destination for people who wish to study abroad. However, Britain is quite an expensive place to study and live in. Tuition fees have now reached £ 9,250 a year and students also face some of the highest living costs in the world.

    Fortunately, there are a number of countries where universities offer degree programs entirely in English, along with the chance to learn the local language while you live there. Here are three of the options.

    Tianjin University

    Moving to China is not for the faint hearted. Undergraduate degree courses at Tianjin last four years. Living costs are only around £ 400 a month and tuition fees are £ 2,300 a year. Flights will cost £ 3,600 over the four years. The total cost, at £ 28,800, is still around half that of a three-year degree in Britain. Tianjin is one of the world's latest cities and is only a half-hour train ride from Beijing. Three undergraduate programs are offered in English: Chemical Engineering, Environment & Energy and Pharmaceutical Science.

    University of Amsterdam

    The Dutch capital is not a cheap city to live in, but standard tuition fees of £ 1,800 a year make it significantly cheaper than a British degree. There are 14 bachelor's degrees on offer that are taught in English, including Political Science, Economics & Business Economics and Actuarial Science. Nearly all Dutch people speak English, making it an easy country to get by in.

    University of Milan

The University of Milan's fees range from £ 140 to £3,650 a year. The one bachelor's degree offered entirely in English—Political Science is a three-year course. While living costs in Milan are high, the significantly lower fees make it a cheaper option than a British university.

    "Bill, you never miss!" Joe said admiringly. "Unless I'm in a real game," Bill complained. "Then I miss all the time." Joe knew that Bill was right. Bill performed much better when he was having fun with Joe in the school yard than he did when he was playing for the school team in front of a large crowd. "Maybe you just need to practice more," Joe suggested. "But I practice all the time with you!" Bill objected. He shook his head. "I just can't play well when people are watching me." "You play well when I'm watching," Joe pointed out. "That's because I've known you since we were five years old," Bill said with a smile. "I'm just not comfortable playing when other people are around." Joe nodded and understood, but he also had an idea.

    The next day Joe and Bill met in the school yard again to practice. After a few minutes, Joe excused himself. "Practice without me," Joe said to his friend. "I'll be back in a minute. "

    Joe hurried through the school building, gathering together whomever he could find-two students, a math teacher, two secretaries, and a janitor(看门人). When Joe explained why he needed them, everyone was happy to help. Joe reminded the group to stay quiet as they all went toward the school's basketball court. As Joe had hoped, Bill was still practicing basketball. He made five baskets in a row without noticing the silent people standing behind him.

    "Hey, Bill!" Joe called out finally. Bill turned. A look of surprise came over his face. "I just wanted to show you that you could play well with people watching you," Joe said. "Now you'll have nothing to worry about for the next game!"