When I think about what my hero means to me, I realize that most of my special memories and feelings toward my hero come from the little things he does every day. My hero is not a celebrity or such a recognizable face. My hero is not a national hero or a multi-millionaire. He has never saved me from a burning castle or an avalanche (雪崩), but he does 1 me and tell me to have a good day. He is just an 2quiet man, whom I honor.

    My dad is my hero because he is brave, skilled, and 3 I know many people say their dads are their heroes, but my dad teaches me about becoming a man, which is extremely important for a young boy.

    Respect goes a long way with my dad, as does patience. As a(n)4my dad must deal with people every day, some of whom are nice and some are not. Either way, he5his well-mannered attitude.

    Dad is not afraid of many things, or if he is, he doesn't tell me6he wants to seem tough. He may not be a big guy but since he works with his 7all day, he is very strong. Dad works outdoors in all kinds of8 but the worst thing he has to do is 9 up and work in an attic (顶楼) in the middle of the summer. Trust me, this is the 10 place you will experience as an electrician and when you come back 11what is in your lungs will make you12 for hours.

    My dad and I have a very good 13. We talk about almost everything. We go hunting, fishing, and everything a dad and son would do. My dad and I enjoy 14 most because it gives us time outdoors together and there is nothing like that. He has 15 and taught me everything I need to know about 16

    I am 17to be the son of Mike C., and would not have it any other way. People come up to me all the time to18 me I have a good dad. It makes me feel 19 that a lot of people think so 20 of him. He is a good teacher of my life and would do anything for me. This is why my father is my hero.

    Hearing my name called, I turned and found it was Carina. After three months, I was 1 with my group leader. She was a twenty-two-year-old native New Yorker who had 2me on a five-week trip to Spain.

    3 our trip was my first experience of traveling and seeing the world, it was an eye-opening one that has left me thirsty for more 4. Much of the change that the trip brought to me came from Carina because she encouraged me to 5 myself while in Spain. She urged me to speak more Spanish and 6 more about Spain. We traveled around and 7 much about Spanish history and present situation, which helped me learn more about the rich Spanish 8.

    Now that we met again in New York, our conversation picked up again, 9 this time it was about our futures. 10, this meeting was less of a reunion but more of a goodbye. She would 11 San Francisco the next day, packing her life into two suitcases and moving to the other side of the country. “I'm not staying here just because it's 12 to live here. Make sure that you will 13 your heart and be brave in your college study,” she urged me.

    Carina's 14made me realize that the world is full of things to explore. I've lived in a small New England town my whole life without any adventure, so it's time to 15 and go somewhere I can do something  16. I see college as a 17 to take a risk and discover new things. I want a place to test new 18. Whether it's helping people as a doctor, or performing research for a field study, I want to be more like Carina and have no fear of trying new things. She introduced me to the world of 19, and now that I've gotten a taste, I'm going to 20 for more.

    In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed 1but one with quite a2 story to tell.

    My grandma, an amazing woman,3from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that 4. But one year after I started college, she 5cancer. I made the choice to stop learning at college to 6her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to7.

    Then I got married with another dream: building my 8with adopted and biological (亲生的)ones. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was9— and very exciting. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then 10son No. 3. In 2003, I 11birth to another boy.

    You can imagine how 12occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8! Our home was a complete zoo — a joyous zoo. Not surprisingly, I 13did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream, either. I 14 only one choice: to find a way. That 15taking as few as one class each semester.

    The hardest part was feeling16 about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to17, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.

    In 2007, I finished my study in the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to 18my college degree!

    I am not19, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you're looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you're inside, it just seems normal. Everything you want won't arrive in your life in a day. It's a20 . Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.

    I had just started my second year studying at Cambridge University when I was faced with the news I had never expected. A lump in my neck1out to be cancer. I would2six months of chemotherapy (化疗).

    After the shock, I was struck by this thought: my3 didn't have any room for cancer. I had so much I wanted to4 and so many goals I wanted to chase.

    I was faced with the5 job of telling my friends and family. Then, I had to decide whether to 6 in Cambridge and take five exams at the end of the year. My doctor 7 against it, and so did my parents and teachers.

    My doctors and teachers convinced me that taking some time off to 8and relax would be the best thing for me. I could not think of anything 9. I did not want to10 a year of my life, receiving pity from those around me.

    Together with ray parents, I tried to persuade the university to 11 me to stay at Cambridge and study only half the course. At the end of the year I would take two exams. It was really a 12to persuade them to agree.

    Treatment began and I was up and down from Cambridge to London every other week. It made me feel 13, but to a much lesser degree than I had expected. I was14 to read, eat and socialize exactly as I used to. I slept a lot and rested a lot, but I also worked hard at my studies. It gave me focus, and it also gave me purpose. Completing my15 at the end of term felt like a great personal victory.

    I took a16 to continue studying while undergoing treatment, and it17. I was successful in my exams, and more18, I made a full recovery.

    Every person facing a disease like cancer must make the 19 that are right for them. I am 20 that I made the decision that was right for me.

The snow arrived earlier than predicted as I1 grocery bags into the Chevy's trunk and shut the hatch. Several feet of snow already covered our community, and this new2 was, of course, another cruel3 . "It'll probably be the disaster of this century, "I complained, thinking about the past few difficult years. Id4 the illness and the financial loss, but something else was5 me —the hopelessness that results from6 goals, 

Usually a positive person of7 , I had always viewed life as a series of problems to8 . 

Though I thought I'd handled the dilemmas well, I hadn't9 that the real me, the one whose passion for life had10 others, had burned out. In the past year, I had been faced with11 choices, and I'd made critical12 . Now I was afraid to trust my judgment and my future. 

When nighttime arrived, I decided to take a walk. Outside, my feet seemed to be13 in the endless white as I walked along snowy fields toward the forest. Somewhere along my journey, I realized I'd been crying. Pausing to catch my breath, I felt a moment's14 I'd traveled off the recognizable path from my home. Tired and defeated, I fell and15 against a very strong trunk,16 my head on my drawn-up knees17 . A deer stood only a few inches away, locking her stare on mine. A few minutes passed, she stepped closer and lowered her head to18 my pocket as if to be in search of food. I felt my pocket and offered an apple to her gently. 

"Mistakes can bring positive outcomes, after all. " Excited by my new19 , I moved ahead, growing tired but pressing onward. It's the20 and willingness to learn from the past and then press onward that can lead to a joyful future. 

All I needed to do to earn the two dollars was to clean her house for a few hours after school. It was a beautiful house with things that were common in her neighborhood, absent in mine.

Working for her brought me a sense of pride, not only because I could immerse myself in little luxuries like movies and candy, but also because I contributed half of my earnings to my mother, ensuring they were used for necessities. I was not like the children in folktales: burdensome mouths to feed, problems so severe that they were abandoned to the forest. I had a status that doing routine chores in my house did not provide — and it earned me a slow smile and confirmations that I was adult-like, not childlike.

Little by little, I got better at cleaning her house — good enough to be given more to do. After struggling to move the piano, my limbs ached terribly. Despite wanting to decline or voice my discomfort, I feared losing my job and the independence and respect it afforded me. She began to offer me her clothes, for a price. Impressed by these worn things, which looked simply elegant to a little girl who had only two dresses to wear to school, I bought a few.

Still I had trouble summoning up (鼓起) the courage to object to the increasing demands she made. Despite feeling overwhelmed, I hesitated to voice my concerns, knowing my mother would urge me to quit. However, one day while alone in the kitchen with my father, I expressed my disappointment. In any case, he put down his cup of coffee and said, "Whatever the work is, do it well — not for the boss but for yourself. You make the job; it doesn't make you. You are not the work you do; you are the person you are."

I have worked for all sorts of people since then, geniuses and fools, quick-witted and dull, big-hearted and narrow. I've had many kinds of jobs, but since that conversation with my father, I have never considered the level of labor to be the measure of myself, and I have never placed the security of a job above my self-worth and family value.