When Joe was about to start school, all signs pointed to success. Yet things turned out to be quite1. The fourth grade even found him at the2of the class. Joe struggled day and night, but it did not3—until one stormy afternoon.

    On that afternoon, 4the math teacher started to introduce difficult concepts, dark clouds

    covered the sky, and the storm set in. Hard though she tried to make the kid, 5, the thunder won the battle for their attention. No one6the concepts. Except for Joe. He understood them and answered all the questions correctly. The teacher patted him on the back, and told him to go around to the others and explain how he had managed it. 7by his newfound success, Joe moved quickly throughout the room. Soon math time was followed by the time for8. All children naturally drew9pictures on such a day. Except for Joe.

    Since then, Joe started10. Though he never made it to the top, his math teacher was always11and curious about the change: Why had that stormy day changed Joe?

    On the day Joe graduated, he presented the teacher with his most12possession—the picture of a bright yellow sun. On the picture Joe had written: This is the day I13my brightness.

    Trying new things is the only way we can discover hidden talents. I 1 my career as an editor for a magazine. I didn't really mind the work, but I wanted something more 2Then I was offered a management 3 of a digital reading company. The job was a seemingly 4 mix of my skills and interests, so I jumped at it.

    5, soon after I joined the company, its model changed to focus on K-12 education, and everything about my position changed. I was asked to take on the 6 different roles of selling content to teachers and training people. I felt more than a little 7 my comfort zone.

    I knew I wanted to grow as a(an)8 and make a serious effect on the company. I told myself that everything feels 9 at first and I should at least try.10 I felt like I didn't have a(an)11. I knew jumping out of the 12 was the right thing for me, even though it felt pretty awful.

    I was fortunate to be 13by very helpful people, both at work and at home. They kept 14 me. I spent hours researching my company's 15. I asked lots of questions and spoke to many people in need. I looked for opportunities to put in extra 16 .The more I did, the better I felt.

    Over time, I discovered that the job was17I could do and liked doing. It was an amazing 18 to see the company grow and know that my efforts contributed to 19success and that it's important to take risks and accept new 20. Actually, there's nothing worse than failing because you refuse to even try.

    Years ago I was hiking (徒步旅行) in the Himalayas and had made the mistake of changing a large amount of money into the local currency(货币). As I walked through the villages of the Annapurnas, it soon became 1that the people were too poor to 2 even the simplest 3. They had nothing. This meant that it was no use carrying the wad(捆) of 4 in my pack and I was a virtual(虚拟的) walking 5 compared to the local people. I grew to 6 the money and it was 7 to have it in my bag. This led to a remarkable experience that 8 me deeply and its 9 has never left me.

    On this particular day I was left behind by my fellow hikers and found myself in a valley. As I made myself down, I noticed a young girl of around 13 10 some sheep. Like so many of the children of the amazing Nepalese people, she was very beautiful. I couldn't 11 looking at her and she looked at me. As I approached her she suddenly rushed 12 to me, and without a 13, handed me a flower. She 14 at me for a tiny moment and then she ran away. The spirit in this lovely child had responded to something she saw in me and her first 15 was to find something to 16 . Due to her 17 , there was nothing she had 18 a single flower. The 19 of my bag was never heavier than at this moment and I had just received one of the most valuable 20 I have ever had in my life.

    Today my son didn't feel well and came home from school early. I decided to take him to lunch. On the way, he saw a woman pushing her cart along the street. He said to me, “Ma, she's wearing baseball cleats(夹板) as 1. I just wish I made enough money to be able to 2 a pair of comfortable shoes for 3 I see that doesn't have shoes.”

    We drove to a shopping center and he went inside. He 4 thought out what he'd get. He 5 the most comfortable and the longest lasting shoes that would keep her 6too. He 7 two pairs: athletic shoes and also boots for the winter, along with a six pack of socks.

    We drove back to find her and give her this 8. I had no intention of taking a 9, but I was holding my phone as I saw her reach up to 10 him. It choked me up and I couldn't 11 that moment. I opened the camera as quickly as I could and 12 it. It brought tears to my eyes as he hugged her and then helped her 13 the tags and put them on. He quietly got back into the 14 and he sat there for a minute or so. When he looked over at me he said, “Ma, today is her birthday. She was so 15.”

    He didn't ask questions or talk 16 about her situation. He simply 17. He took basically one week of his pay and made this lady's birthday 18. I challenge everyone to love a 19 with the 20 of a child. Show compassion and give what you can. It doesn't have to be a lot. 

    When I was shopping a few months ago , I saw a man trying to get people to donate(捐赠)to a very well-known charity(慈善团体)for children. I 1 to him that I can't donate money any more 2 my bank account(账户)having some problems last year. It was a 3 time and took months to get back our money. 4, I noticed the man was hungry and cold, so I offered him a(n) 5 in the nearby restaurant.

    Last week I 6 home on a really hot day. My husband Stewart was at the table with a person from a Charity having a 7. We talked for a while and then I said, "I 8 you!" and he looked at me in surprise and said, "Oh, you're the lovely lady that 9 me a big lunch and drinks when I was at 10 trying to get people to donate." We both laughed and we had a little 11.

    He told me that he had let the organizers know about this lovely woman 12 him out on a cold day. He said 13was so unexpected. I was so 14 to see him again, sitting in my home. My act had really 15 him for the kindness of it and I loved the fact that Steward had 16 him in out of the heat for a cold drink.

    In our daily life, maybe we 17 know how we 18people when we do good things. But in fact, 19we do does affect others, for it is a lovely 20. Kindness is so catching (感染力的).

    When I look at myself in the mirror, I see a person that has not only changed physically, but mentally as well. In the three years of high school， my second year was the most1one because I had to do what most teenagers would never want to do.

    It all2 in the middle of my second year in high school. One day， my dad asked me if I had ever3going to Holy Family Catholic High School which was good at preparing students for4. After many nights of careful thinking, I5to go to Holy Family. Transferring schools in the6of high school was the hardest thing for me to do,7 , it was the best decision I could have ever made.

    I was one of the8 people at my school who had had to 9transferring to a new high school as a junior. On my 10day of school at Holy Family, I didn't know what to expect. My 11kept thinking about finding all my classes, making new friends, and wondering if people could like me. To be honest, I hated uncomfortable situations, and12I would just sit there and be quiet. But this time was13for me. I thought that now that I was in a place where no one14 me， I could be whoever I wanted to be. I decided to15the schools' soccer and track teams to try to meet more people.

    The experience of transferring schools has 16affected my life in a dramatic way. It has shaped me into a more outgoing person and a harder worker,17me to achieve more than I could have imagined. The18I have gained by attending Holy Family will 19 me throughout my life. I will have to use these skills in the next couple of years while I try to further my20by going to college.