“Who can ever have imagined that someone like me would make it this far?” asked Chad Wood last week during his high school graduation speech as the best student. Chad offered 1 to his fellow classmates to never give up-and the words 2much more to himself. That's because Chad is deaf, and he told the story of the serious troubles he 3 to graduate first in his class at Harrison High school in Kennesaw, Georgia.

    Chad didn't start to 4 until he was 5, according to his mother, Pam Wood. Although her son was 5 a disadvantage, she was determined not to treat him6.“I've expected him to do everything every other kid does, and I saw no 7 why he couldn't,” she told ABC News.“And if he 8the first time, we just tried again.”

    Chad, 17, worked hard throughout school, 9 no special treatment but sitting at the front of the class and using a special audio system so he could hear the teacher. All his hard work 10. He received full school fare to Vanderbilt University. “Deafness had taught me a lesson to never11 ,” he said in the speech. ”Not when the experts tell you it cannot be done. Not when you have 12 so far behind that escaping seems the only way 13. Not when achieving your dreams seems an entire 14.”

    Chad spoke for about four minutes, after which he received a standing applause from the class and 15 messages from family, friends and strangers. “They've been sending me messages on Facebook, email; they've been talking to me in person telling me how it had a 16 on their lives and how they're really 17 by it,” Chad told ABC News. “It feels 18. Seeing that my words 19 have a power on someone and that they want to work harder 20 my words makes me feel wonderful.”

    Last weekend, I had an opportunity to serve as a volunteer at a nursing home in another city. I don't have a car, and even the 1 train station is far away from my house. 2, I wasn't sure how to get there.

    I posted a(n) 3 for a ride on the ride share board. Soon an individual I'd never met 4 that he'd be able to pick me up and drop me off at the station. He said he'd wait until my train arrived5 he drove away. My heart 6 and the stress I'd been feeling disappeared 7 and thus our friendship began.

    I ended up arriving at the nursing home in 8. The tiny team of servers there were 9 for the additional help. We all worked together as a team. I was glad to be a part of this and be of 10 to the elderly.

    That evening when my new 11 dropped me off at the station, he 12that it was in a deserted area. So he parked his car and said. “We will wait for the 13 to come together.” I couldn't believe is his 14.

    With five minutes left before the train arrived, he 15 with me stories of his childhood. As a young boy, he 16 to sit near the edge of the train tracks, waiting 17 for the trains to rush by with all their force. That night he waited with me as my train 18. It didn't rush by with full force but I left that station 19 the full force of his kindness and generosity. People like him would always 20 me how to love and how to give.

    Two weeks earlier, my son, Ben, had got in touch. He'd moved to England with his mum when he was three and it had been 13 years since I'd 1 seen him. So imagine my 2 when he emailed me saying he wanted to come to visit me.

    I was 3 ! I arrived early at Byron Bay where we were supposed to 4 . The bay was5 in sunshine, and there was a group of kayakers around 150m off the shore. Getting a little 6 .I realized one kayak（皮划艇）was in 7 . "Something's not 8 !" I took off my T-shirt and 9 into the water. I saw there were two instructors on board and a man lying across the middle. He was 10 violently. Linking arms with one of the instructors. I helped 11 the young man out of the water. He was unconscious and as I looked at his face, something 12 to me. Those brown eyes were very 13 . "What's his name?" I asked the instructor. "Ben," he replied, and immediately I 14 . That stranger was my son!

    The instructors called for an ambulance. 15, after a brief stay in hospital. Ben was well enough to be allowed to 16 and later the family met up for dinner. We chatted about everything and then Ben 17 to me. "I'm just want to say thank you," he said, "You 18 my life!"

    I still can't believe what a 19 it was. I'm just so glad I was there 20 to help my son.

    Douglas was my cousin. I first met him when he came to stay with my family for a 1, because his parents were going to teach in Africa.

    He and his family 2 all the way on the other side of the country, so we had never had a chance to visit. 3, when we arrived at the airport, it was not hard to find which person was my 4. He was the one standing all alone, looking around for someone to 5 him. He looked a little scared to meet us, 6 started to smile shyly after my mom hugged (拥抱) him.

    When we got back home and Douglas 7 putting his things away, I could not believe it. All of his 8 were the same, all white shirts and dark blue shorts. He 9 had a dark blue jacket with a tie!

    "How come you 10 only one kind of clothes?" I asked him.

    "That's the way my school has 11 been," he said. "We have to wear uniforms."

    "I would hate having to wear the 12 thing every day," I said.

    "I don't 13," Douglas said. "It 14 time. I don't have to think about what I am going to wear."

    "Well, we don't wear uniforms at our 15. You're going to look pretty 16 if you come to school in a jacket and tie."

    Douglas looked worried. I felt bad. I had not meant to 17 his feelings. After all, it was not  18easy to live with some 19 family for a year. Then and there I decided that I was going to 20 my cousin and try to make this as good a year as possible for him.

    When I was 13 my only purpose was to become the star on our football team. That meant1Miller King, who was the best 2at our school.

    Football season started in September and all summer long I worked out. I carried my football everywhere for 3.

    Just before September, Miller was struck by a car and lost his right arm. I went to see him after he came back from 4 He looked very5, but he didn't cry.

    That season, I 6all of Miller's records while he 7 the home games  from the bench. We went 10-1 and I was named most valuable player, 8I often had crazy dreams in which it was I who caused Miller's 9.

    One afternoon, I was 10 the field to go home and saw Miller stuck(困住) going over a fence—which wasn't 11 to climb if you had both arms. I'm sure I was the last person in the world he wanted to 12 help from. But even that challenge he accepted. I  13him move slowly over the fence. When we were finally14 on the other side, he said to me, "You know, I didn't tell you this during the season, but you did15. Thank you for filling in for 16 ."

    His words freed me from my bad 17. I thought to myself, how even without an arm he was more of a leader. Damaged but not defeated, he was18ahead of me. I was right to have 19 him. From that day on, I grew  20 and a little more real.

    In 2011, a law was born. A kind of ladybug（瓢虫）became the state insect of North Dakota. When the governor 1 the bill into law, four kids stood behind him!

    Jaden, Logan, Megan and Isabel were in first grade 2 their idea for a law was born. Megan and Logan were farm kids and they had been 3 with the ladybug already. They knew that farmers had difficulty in 4 crop-eating pests called aphids and that ladybugs tended to 5 on aphids. The more ladybugs were around, the fewer 6 the farmers had to use.

    They decided that this ladybug should be their state insect. This ladybug was of great 7 to the crops on the farm and deserved a place of 8. But they had no idea how to 9 a law. So they asked help from their teacher, who happened to 10 their local state representative. When they all met, he told the kids they would have to present facts and reasons to 11 lawmakers that North Dakota was 12the ladybug as the state insect.

    The students spent much of that first-grade spring 13 ladybugs. There was no doubt that their research was hard work; 14 , they fell in love with it. "Even if we hadn't 15what we wanted," says Jaden, "even if the bill hadn't passed, I think it was really 16 a lot."

    In the fall of their second-grade year, they were invited to speak to a committee. In 17 , Megan wrote songs for the group to sing, they 18 more experts for support, and they practiced their presentation a lot! They showed up at the state building in ladybug costumes and presented their case. 19 , the bill passed!

    The students want everyone to know that kids can make a 20 . "Whether you are 20 or 80," says lsabel, "you have a voice in your community（社区）."