My problems started after I went to a boarding(寄宿)school. I was only 14, and at first I missed my family a lot. I often called them and cried on the phone. But after two weeks, I found I enjoyed being with my classmates at school. I had many friends who were boys. I thought of them as my best friends-but only friend. I never guessed my friendship with boys would become a problem.

    Then, two months later, my friends told me that some teachers and girls said I was hanging out with boys all day long to get attention(注意)from them. A few months after that, the class teacher James asked the class to choose some students to join the Student Union. I thought I could win for I was doing well at school. I came first in the English and Math exams. A week later, the list(名单)came out and it didn't include me. James came to me and said, "Don't be sad. I know you're excellent! Maybe you're a little distant(远的)from the girls in our class. They don't know much about you, so some of them didn't choose you. It doesn't matter. Do your best to get on well with everyone and I think you'll make it next time. "

B

    An old man was going home late one night with his horse and cart after a day's hard work. When he was not far away from his house, the light on the cart went out. He tried but could not repair it. He was near his home, and so he went along the road without a light. When a policeman saw this, he stopped the old man.

    "Where is your light?" asked the policeman. "No man may take a cart along the road at night without a light. You know that. You have broken the law." "I had a light, but it has just gone out," said the old man.

    "I don't believe that story. What's your name and where do you live?" asked the policeman. "Please don't write down my name," said the old man. "My home is just there. You can see it from here. I had a light nearly the whole way."

    "You came all the way without a light. What's your name?"

    The old man quickly took the policeman's hand and put it down on the top of the light. The light was still hot and burnt the policeman's hand. The policeman jumped and he was very angry. "Now, what do you think?" said the old man. "Did I come all the way without a light?"

    Alisa was walking around the swimming pool. Her friend Maria was waiting for her. "Come on, Alisa!" Maria said. "Let's jump off the diving board (跳水版)."

    "No way! I can never go that high," said Alisa.

    "Don't be scared," Maria said. "It's really fun."

    Alisa walked away and sat on a bench.

    "You go. I'll watch you," said Alisa.

    "You don't know what you're missing," said Maria. Then she climbed up the tall ladder (梯子). It made Alisa scared just thinking of being up there.

    Maria jumped off the board and then climbed out of the pool. She walled to Alisa. "Come on, Alisa; just try it. It's wonderful!" she said.

    Alisa looked up at the board. Maybe it was time to try something new. OK, she said. Alisa climbed up the ladder for the diving board. The water looked far, far away. She wanted to turn back to climb down the ladder， but that would be too embarrassing. There was only one thing to do.

    Alisa walked to the edge (边缘) of the board. Then she closed (闭上) her eyes and jumped. She got into the water in no time. "Wow, so wonderful! I like it!" she shouted.

    About 10 years ago, I started a job as a trainer. In one of my first classes, the head trainer told us a story.

    He began by drawing a man standing in the middle of a circle. To make it more interesting, he drew things like a house, a car, and a few friends inside the circle.

    He asked the question," Can anyone tell me what this is？"In a long silence, one guy decided to speak out," The world?" The trainer said, "That's close. Actually, this is your Comfort Area. Inside your circle, you feel very comfortable. You have all the things that are important to your home, your family, your friends and your job. People feel that inside this circle they are safe from any danger."

    " Can anyone tell me what happens when you step out of this circle？"A strong silence came over the room. At last, the same guy started," You are afraid." Another guy said," You make mistakes." The silence continued and the trainer smiled and said," When you make mistakes, what can the result be?" The first guy shouted," You learn something."

    "Quite right, you are learning." The trainer turned to the board and drew an arrow（箭头）pointing from the man to the outside of the circle.  He continued to say," When you leave your Comfort Area you put yourself out there, in front of the world to be in situations that you are not comfortable with. The end result is that you have learned something that you did not know and you slowly become a better person." He turned again to the board and drew a bigger circle around the first one, and added a few new things like more friends, a bigger house, etc.

    The moral of the story is that if you stay inside your Comfort Area, you will never be able to expand your horizons（开阔视野）and learn. When you step out of your Comfort Area you will finally make your circle bigger and your mind grow stronger, and all in all a better person."