Jaden Hayes first lost his dad when he was four and then last month his mom died unexpectedly in her sleep.

    “I tried and I tried to get her awake—I couldn't,” said Jaden.

    Jaden is understandably heartbroken. But there's another side to his sadness. When he first made public a few weeks ago he told his aunt, and now guardian, Barbara DiCola, that he was sick of seeing everyone was sad all the time. And he had a plan to fix it. He asked his aunt Barbara to buy a lot of little toys and bring him to downtown Savannah, so he could give them away.

    “I'm trying to make people smile,” said Jaden. He gave his toys to people who weren't smiling and then turned their day around. He has gone out on four different occasions now and he is always successful, though sometimes he doesn't get exactly the reaction he was hoping for.

    It's just so unexpected to some people that a six-year-old child would give away a toy— expecting nothing in return—except a smile. Of course he is paid beautifully in hugs and his aunt says the reactions have done wonders for Jaden, who will then feel joyful.

    “But I'm still sad that my mom died,” Jaden said.

    This is of course not only a fix, but the smiles he has made so far—nearly 500 at last count—Jaden has clearly found a purpose.

    “I'm counting on it to be 33, 000,” said Jaden.

    When asked if he thought he could make that goal, he answered, “I think I can.”

    Half a year ago I came across a book called "Salt, Sugar and Fat. How the Food Giants Hooked US", but finished it only recently. I am far from being a fan of junk food, over-salty, or over-sweet stuff, and honestly this food doesn't appeal to me at all. Maybe it is related to the fact that I grew up in Russia and at that time we were not so exposed to the foreign, especially made in America foods. We knew Coca Cola, Pepsi, juice powder and Cheetos, but this stuff was not so cheap or available to buy it every day and we couldn't buy them in large quantities. We didn't know the word "fat" was not a bad thing but a normal of life for some people. We always had sweets and especially on holidays they were served as a dessert along with a cake. Russians like eating sweets when they drink tea. Even with my passion to desserts I still can't relate myself to the people Michale Moss was writing about, those consumers who could not say “no” when it came to junk food.

    What I found interesting in the book was that the author didn't focus on diets, necessity to exercise, sleep well at night and all other things we all are pretty aware of. The aim was not to teach people how to live but instead, after having made a huge research, interviewed more than 100 people in the food industry, Moss reveals the ugly of the food business. It puts all the facts in front of us and offers a choice: to buy or not to buy. However, the answer was known at the very beginning. Moss mentions the well-known food like Coca, Cola, Pepsi, Nestle and some others and tells how skillfully the consumers can be cheated when it comes to choosing what to put in the food basket in the supermarket. We like this taste of a chocolate, the crispy chips, and sweet porridges because it was all put on test by groups of scientists who made experiments to reveal what kind of taste will be most appealing to us. It involves brain, of course. Apart from scientific researches, it was also due to successful marketing strategies and plans that people prefer to buy food.

    In this companies' money race, the most vulnerable(易受伤害的)victims are kids. They can't tell good from bad and love everything that makes them feel good. Commercial ads of fast food particularly targeted kids and played on the fact that mothers can't fully control what their children eat because they spent all day at work. Mothers themselves buy chocolates bars and com flakes for their kids, guided by a powerful brainwashing that actually, these products were not unhealthy, on the contrary, it was encouraged to give them to kids, because fat and sugar provide energy, so they are good, right?

    Giving a credit to some food companies, they made attempts to fight the trend, but consumers, who already worked a habit of eating too salty, too fatting and too sweet products, didn't react to the changes. So the companies returned to the old policy. Surprisingly, such behavior was strongly backed up by the government.

    I would definitely recommend reading this book not only to those who struggle in the battle with his addiction to fast food but also people living healthily. It casts light on many things, including how vulnerable we can be in front of corporations and their powerful and accurate marketing strategies.

    We've all had cases where we've waited just a bit too long to pay an electric bill or speeding ticket. But one man, from California by reasonable assumption, who goes by "Dave", recently took procrastination (拖延) one step further, by paying a parking ticket almost a half-century after it was given.

    In December 2018, the Minersville Police Department in Pennsylvania received a letter in the mail. Whoever wrote the letter decided it was best to keep his name somewhat unknown, so he put the return address as "Wayward Road, Anytown California" under the name "Feeling guilty".

    When the officers opened the envelope, they found a brief letter, along with a $5 bill, and a parking ticket dating all the way back to 1974. The note read, "Dear PD, I've been carrying this ticket around for 40 plus years always intending to pay. Forgive me if I don't give you my info. With respect, Dave."

    Even though the initial parking ticket was only for $2, "Dave" must have felt awfully guilty because he left 150 percent, or $3, in interest.

    Michael Combs, the Police Chief of the Minersville Police Department, stated in an interview that the same ticket would cost about $20 if it were given today. Combs went on to share that the original ticket from 1974 was given to a vehicle that had an Ohio license plate.

    Because there was no system for tracking tickets given to out-of-state cars back then, "Dave" could have gotten away with never paying the $2 fine. But apparently, guilt got the best of him, and he decided to finally cough up the money more than 40 years past its due date.

    Crossing your legs is an extremely common habit; most people don't even notice that they're doing it when they sit down. While you may find it comfortable to sit with one knee crossed over the other, it might be causing health problems that you are not aware of.

    A study published in Blood Pressure Monitoring stated that sitting with your legs crossed can increase your blood pressure. The reason for this is that the blood in your legs has to work against gravity to be pumped back to your heart and that crossing one leg over the other increases resistance(阻力), making it even harder for the blood to circulate. This causes your body to increase your blood pressure to push the blood back to the heart. You won't feel any immediate effects, but repeated, drawn­out increases in blood pressure can cause long­term health problems. So, planning to sit for a long period of time? Don't keep your legs crossed.

    Crossing your legs at the knee can also cause pressure on the major nerve in your leg that passes just below your knee and along the outside of your leg, explains Richard Graves, a medical expert. This pressure can cause numbness and temporary paralysis (麻痹) of some of the muscles in your foot and leg, preventing you from being able to raise your ankle—what we know as that "pins and needles" sensation. While the feeling of discomfort may only last a minute or two, repeatedly crossing your legs until they feel numb can cause permanent nerve damage.

    So next time you sit down, try to get yourself in the habit of sitting with both of your feet on the floor. Not only will it help your posture and stability, but it will also save your health in the long run.

    Alison Malmon was trapping up (完成) the end of her freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania, US when she got the news: Her older brother Brian, a student at Columbia University, was suffering from mental illness.

    Inspired by this, Malmon formed a group at her university to empower (使能够) students to talk openly about mental health. It soon blossomed into a national organization that today has more than 450 campus chapters. Leaders with the organization spend their time talking with college students about the pressure that today's young people face.

    "What you hear often is just a need to be perfect," said Malmon, "and a need to present oneself as perfect."

    And a new study in the UK proved that this need for perfectionism is simply part of today's society. In the study, two researchers studied more than 40,000 students from the US, Canada, and the UK. They found that what they called "socially prescribed(社会定向型的) perfectionism" increased by a third between 1989 and 2016.

    Lead researcher Thomas Curran said that while so many of today's young people try to present a perfect appearance online, social media isn't the only reason behind this trend. Instead, he said, it may be driven by competition in modern society, meaning young people can't avoid being sorted and ranked in both education and employment. That comes from new norms(准则) like greater numbers of college students, standardized testing and parenting that increasingly emphasizes success in education.

    For example, in 1976, half of high school seniors expected to get a college degree of some kind. By 2008, more than 80 percent expected the same. The researchers also said changes in parenting styles over the last two decades might have had an impact. As parents feel increased pressure to raise successful children, they in turn pass their "achievement anxieties" onto their kids through "excessive(过多的) involvement in their child's routines, activities or emotions"

    Those in the mental health community like Malmon say they're concerned about the impact the culture of perfectionism has on mental health on campuses. "Mental health has truly become this generation's social justice issue," she said. "It's our job to equip them with the tools and to let people know that it's not their fault."

That night, when Aksionov was lying on his bed and just beginning to sleep, someone came quietly and sat down on his bed. He peered(看) through the darkness and recognized Makar.

"What more do you want of me?" asked Aksionov. "Why have you come here?"

Makar Semyonovich was silent. So Aksionov sat up and said, "What do you want? Go away, or I will call the guard!"

Makar Semyonovich bent close over Aksionov, and whispered, "Ivan Dmitrich forgive me!"

"What for?" asked Aksionov.

"It was I who killed the merchant and hid the knife among your things. I meant to kill you, too, but I heard a noise outside, so I hid the knife in your bag and escaped out of the window."

Aksionov was silent, and didn't know what to say. Makar Semyonovich slid off the bed-shelf and knelt upon the ground. "Ivan Dmitrich" he said, "forgive me! I will confess that it was I who killed the merchant, and you will be released and can go to your home."

"It is easy for you to talk," said Aksionov "but I have suffered for you these twenty-six years. Where could I go now?... My wife is dead, and my children have forgotten me. I have nowhere to go..."

Makar Semyonovich did not rise, but beat his head on the floor. "Ivan Dmitrich, forgive me!" he cried. "When they flogged(鞭打) me with the knot, it was not so hard to bear as it is to see you now... yet you had pity on me and did not tell. Forgive me, devil that I am!" And he began to sob.

When Aksionov heard him sobbing, he too, began to weep. "I will forgive you!" he said. "Maybe I am a hundred times worse than you." And at these words his heart grew light, and the longing for home left him. He no longer had any desire to leave the prison, but only hoped for his last hour to come.

In spite of what Aksionov had said, Makar Semyonovich confessed his guilt. But when the order for his release came, Aksionov was already dead.