It has always been my dream to attend college. When I was younger, I would watch TV shows with college students having lots of 1.It looked like a great experience－going to parties,2with

    friends and letting the good times 3 When I entered high school, however, I started learning the real4 of college－to get a good education and a well-paid job. Therefore, with a passion for success in life, I expressed my 5about attending university to my parents. They were6I'd chosen the path, but were disappointed because they couldn't 7the cost. Upset and stressed, I started looking for 8to pay myself.

    My search for money began online. I went to every free scholarship search engine and spent up to five hours each day looking for scholarships I 9for. It was hard, but I knew it would10When I'd found almost all the scholarships I could apply for, I11them by deadline, which  gave me a way to prioritize my schedule. After12 everything, it was time to fill out the applications. Despite the amounts, ranging from＄100 to ＄40,000, I took each scholarship13because together they would fund my goal. With this in my mind, the hardest part began: writing the essays. To 14my writing, I asked friends, relatives and teachers to15over my work. Now I've won16scholarships and can attend college for free.

    The scholarship search truly made me a17person. I learned the importance of setting a(n)18 and accomplishing it.19 I did have to read several rejection letters, those made me stronger. I'm thrilled I had the opportunity to learn more about my20to succeed no matter what difficulties got in my way.

    Experts say boredom is good for kids. It forces them to be creative, 1their imaginations and helps them discover new things. A (n)2in point is 13-year-old Luke Thill from Dubuque, Iowa.

    Luke was3of playing video games and riding his bike, so he decided to build a tiny house in his backyard instead. He made money from cutting lawns(草坪)and4exchanged some services, such as gaining the help of an electrical engineer5sweeping his garage. Luke also6spare materials from his grandmother's house and other7materials from his neighbors for some of the windows and the door.

    The 89-square—foot home cost $1,500 to build and 818 months. Inside there's a kitchenette, a back sitting room, a table and a mounted(镶嵌的)TV, and an upstairs bedroom can be easily9by stairway.

    Although Luke did the10and learned how to do all the work, he had his father's11throughout the project. Greg Thill was very happy that his son learned to stay on12and deal with grown-ups.13 ， he had some simple rules when Luke14the house: “You 15the money. You build it. And you own it."

    Luke is now in love with 16. He has a YouTube channel and hopes to 17other kids to start building.18, he wants to build a bigger tiny house to live in, but for now, he19in his new home a few nights a week, does homework there, and uses it to take a20from his twin brother.

    When I was a college student, I did a lot of traveling abroad. That was because a professor1me to do so. She said, "Now it is the time for you to travel around the world,2your knowledge through actual experiences and have fun?" I3her.

    Since I started to work for a4company, however, I have done most of my traveling through the Internet. By using the Internet, I have seen the5of many cities on my computer screen. And I have really made business6, too. With the help of the Internet, I have also got7about food in different countries.

    Therefore, I was beginning to feel that actual trips were8necessary when I happened to read a famous chef's (厨师) comment on the Internet. He said, "It is very difficult to have real Italian food in a foreign country, because we enjoy food and the9around us at the same time. So why don't you fly over to Italy and enjoy real Italian 10? "Those words reminded me of my11advice. As information technology12, you might be able to do without making some real trips. But this also means that you will miss the various13 you can get from traveling.

    Today there are people who14 direct communication with others and spend much of their time on the Internet. It is not surprising to see a group of people15not with each other but into their micro phones. It seems as if such people are16by an invisible wall. They seem to be losing out on a good chance to17and talk with other people. I do not think that they are taking good advantage of information technology. We should use information technology as a tool to make our daily18 more fruitful. However, we should never let it 19our time for face to -face communication. Let's make use of information technology more20, and have great fun in experiencing the actual world.

As a child, I hated going to the store with my mom. Whenever my mom asked if I wanted to go1, I would say, "No, mom! Who wants to get car sick and walk near the frozen section(冷冻区)? That's the2 part — the freezers and smell of seafood. Why would any mom3their only child this way? I hated it. 4, I did get cookies, French fries, and chocolate. This5 treatment went on until I left for Culver Academies.

    Here at Culver, I had no chance to walk around with my mom and get snacks I wanted. I found myself stuck(被困住) at the 6 whose store had high prices for a slice of cheese. I 7walking near the frozen sections with my mom.

    My first vacation home, my mom asked what I wanted from the 8, knowing I wouldn't go.

    "Can I 9?" I asked with a look of 10 because I wanted to spend time with her. I also felt sad while asking 11 I took all those 12for granted in my childhood.

    I 13 come home now. But when I do, I 14 to go with her every time. If not, I always say, "Love you mom. Drive safe!" I run to the gate and watch her15. I wave, smile, and 16 that I stay home.

As a child, I hated going shopping with my mom, but now I 17 it. I like walking near the frozen sections of stores now— it gives me a(an)18to stay with her. When I go with her, I really19 every detail in our trips. Now I'm eighteen and will be in college soon. I hope she knows how much those eight minutes'20 to the store meant to me .Thanks mom.

    On a cold winter evening, I was walking home, tired and hungry, when suddenly came screams (呼喊声) from behind some tress. 1, I slowed down to listen, and2that what I was hearing were the sounds of a fight. A woman was being3not far from where I stood.

    "Should I go to help her?" I thought. I was worried about my own4, and I regretted having suddenly decided to take a new way home that night. "What if I'm5too? Shouldn't I just6to the nearest phone and call the police?" But already the girl's7were growing weaker. I knew it was time for me to act fast because I could not8to the life of this unknown woman, 9it meant risking my own life.

    I am not a10man. I didn't know where I found the11and physical strength (体力), but once I had finally12to help the girl, I became suddenly changed. I ran behind the bushes and13the attacker off the woman. Struggling, we fell to the ground, where we fought for a few minutes14the man jumped up and escaped.

    15heavily, I stood up and came up to the girl, who was crying behind a tree. In the16, I could not see her clearly, but I could certainly17her shock. Not wanting to frighten her any further, I at first spoke to her from a distance.

    "It's OK," I said18. "The man ran away. You're safe now. "There was a long stop and then I heard the words, said in both wonder and19. "Dad, is that you?" And then, from behind the tree, stepped my youngest20, Katherine.

If you ask 100 people what subjects they wish they had been taught in school, there is a chance that the vast majority of them will complain about the lack of personal finance education. In my case, I did learn a bit about financing while in school — just not in the classroom. One of my earliest lessons on the basics of budgeting came from an unlikely source: the cafeteria.

My lunch budget was a set amount each week. Without a plan, it would be all too easy to blow through the budget long before meeting all expenses. Therefore, my very first budgeting lesson was to make a budget well. A bit of simple arithmetic (算术) helped me determine exactly how much money I could spend each day if I wanted to actually have lunch all week. 

Besides, my school had relatively diverse lunch offerings. You could not only get the common hot school lunch but also find many other foods of varying attractions. As far as I was concerned, what attracted me most was the ice cream. Unfortunately, I couldn't blow my daily lunch budget on ice cream. And I'd already figured out that splurging early in the week made for a rough time for the rest of the week. Hence, I learned my second important budgeting lesson: save for a goal. Because of this lesson, when Friday rolled around, I would have just enough left over for a wonderful lunch and the highly desirable ice cream. 

Nowadays, my budget is a bit more complicated than the lunch budget in the past. Although I no longer have to save my pennies for a frozen treat, budgeting my money today uses the exact same skills I learned all those years ago. Actually, whether you're budgeting for school lunches or credit card bills, the basics remain the same. And it's never too early — or too late — to learn how to make a proper budget.