In order to achieve big things in your life, you must be willing to think big.{#blank#}1{#/blank#}When you've busy working toward bringing your goals to life, you also feel happier in your journey. Follow these steps to make your goals a reality.

    {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Where do you see yourself in a year, five years or ten? Do you see yourself with a family, children, a good job and a college degree in ten years? Try to think as far ahead as you can. Pay attention to every detail, and let your dreams come to life in your mind, showing you what matters most to you.

    {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Write down everything you imagine.{#blank#}4{#/blank#} write down the most important achievements that you want to center on and the details about each. What matters most to you? Once you have a list of goals in mind, work out a plan. How will you achieve these goals? Divide your goals into achievable steps.

    Start achieving goals today. Put your plans into action today. {#blank#}5{#/blank#} Move forward every day, even if you are only taking a small step at a time.

    When you can picture what your desired life is like, you can better decide the goals you need to set and achieve. All it takes are small steps toward your desired future, and you can achieve the life you want.

A. Center on what you want to achieve.

B. Close your eyes and imagine your future.

C. Take a small step toward the future each day.

D. You should dream big and try to make your goals happen.

E. It's okay to change your dream sand goals based on your needs.

F. Use as much detail as you can when writing down what you remember.

G. Think about where you want to be in the future and how you want to get there.

    Your kids might be ready for a break from school but the idea of being at home for three weeks loses its magic. Lucky for us Portlanders, the city has no shortage of awesome winter camps for kids.

    Trackers Earth

    For winter break, Trackers is offering several one-day outdoor and craft camps. The hard part will be choosing between so many fun options: “Ninjas Save Christmas?” Or “Here We Go A Waffling - Caroling and Waffles?”

    Details: $70. Dec. 23, 27, 30, 31; Jan. 2, 3. （Ages 4-14）

    Address: 5040 SE Milwaukie Ave.

    Tel: 503-345-3312

    Audubon Society

    Your kids don't have to be specifically bird-crazy to appreciate the Audubon Society's one-day winter camps. The classes all have a broad nature focus, including everything from ducks for the younger set to introducing older kids to bats, wolves and wildlife rescue work.

    Details: $65, Dec, 2S, 24, 26-31; Jan, J-3 (Ages 6-14)

    Address: 5151 NW Cornell Rd.

    Tel: 971-222-6120

    Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI)

When your kids start to get bored with his or her own Legos (乐高玩具)－yes, it occasionally does happen－check out OMSI's one-day Lego and Museum Experience, a full day of hands-on Lego activities in one of the city's most fun, family-friendly museums.

    Details: $49. Classes offered throughout December and January, (Ages 7-10)

    Address: 1945 SE Water Ave.

    Tel: 800-955-6674

    The Children's Gym

    Your kids definitely won't complain of being bored at Children's Gym's Winter Sports Camps. From 9:0 -5:30, they'll develop their gymnastics skills on the center's excellent equipment, then squeeze in a little rock climbing and field games.

    Details: $60/day; Dec. 23, 26, and 2 7; Jan. 2 and 3. (Ages 3-14)

    Address: 1625 NE Sandy Blvd.

    Tel: 503-249-5867

    I grew up in a house where the TV was seldom turned on and with one wall in my bedroom entirely lined with bookshelves，most of my childhood was spent on books I could get hold of. In fact，I grew up thinking of reading as natural as breathing and books unbelievably powerful in shaping perspectives (观点) by creating worlds we could step into，take part in and live in.

    With this unshakable belief，I，at fourteen，decided to become a writer. Here too，reading became useful. Every writer starts off knowing that he has something to say，but being unable to find the right ways to say it. He has to find his own voice by reading widely and discovering which parts of the writers he agrees or disagrees with，or agrees with so strongly that it reshapes his own world. He cannot write without loving to read，because only through reading other people's writing can one discover what works，what doesn't and， in the end，together with lots of practice，what voice he has.

    Now I am in college，and have come to realize how important it is to read fiction (文学作品)．As a law student，my reading is in fact limited to subject matter — the volume (量) of what I have to read for classes every week means there is little time to read anything else. Such reading made it all the clearer to me that I live in a very small part in this great place called life. Reading fiction reminds me that there is life beyond my own. It allows me to travel across the high seas and along the Silk Road，all from the comfort of my own armchair，to experience，though secondhand，exciting experiences that I wouldn't necessarily be able to have in my lifetime.

    I've never been the kind of person to say, “it's the thought that counts” when it comes to gifts. That was until a couple of weeks ago, when my kids gave me a present that blew me away.

    For years now, I've been wanting to sell our home, the place where my husband and I raised our kids. But to me, this house is much more than just a building. In the front room, there's a wall that has hundreds of pencil lines, marking the progress of my children's growth. Every growth stage is marked in grey, with each child's name and the date they were measured. Most people I know have been featured on a wall like this, or at least had a wall like it in their home.

    Of all the objects and all the memories, it's this one thing in a home that's the hardest to leave behind. Friends I know have returned home after work only to discover their wall of heights has been freshly painted over. A new paint job wouldn't normally be greeted by tears, but erasing that evidence of motherhood hurts more than it should. Our kids grow in so many ways, but the wall is physical evidence of their progress, right there for everyone to see.

    Over the years, I've talked about how much I would hate leaving that wall behind when I moved, even though the last marks were made 10 years ago when my kids stopped growing. So one day, while I was at work, my children decided to do something about it.

    They hired Jacquie Manning, a professional photographer whose work is about capturing (捕捉) the beautiful things in life, from clear lakes and skies to diamonds and ballgowns. She came to our house while I was at work, and over several hours, took photos of the hundreds of drawings and lines, little grey fingerprints (手印), and old marks. Somehow, she managed to photograph all those years of memories perfectly. Afterwards, she put all the photos together into one image, transforming them into a beautiful history of my family.

    Three weeks later, my children's wonderful gift made its way to me – a life-size photo of the pencil lines and fingerprints that represents entire lifetimes of love and growth.

A recent study by UK researchers has shed light on a phenomenon termed "plant blindness," which contributes to the widespread but mistaken belief that plants are perceived as less vibrant or alive compared to animals.

It was not established that plant blindness is an innate trait; instead, the root cause appears to be the significantly diminished interaction with the natural world in societies that have become highly urbanized. The research indicates that a decrease in prior exposure to plants leads to a cycle of inattention.

Urban cultures exhibit a well-documented incidence of plant blindness. Children are often observed to regard plants as less significant than animals, especially during their early years, and they have difficulty recognizing a diverse range of plant species. Both educators and students have reported varying levels of knowledge about plants, with primary school teachers lacking a background in science being particularly affected. In contrast, older individuals tend to possess greater plant knowledge, likely due to their increased participation in outdoor activities.

Thirty-five studies have concluded that the process of urbanization or modernization has had a negative impact on people's understanding of plants. The value of plant gathering has diminished due to an increased reliance on urban services and a cash-based economy. Additionally, the time available for outdoor activities has been curtailed by work and school commitments. These factors have also reduced family time, which in turn has adversely affected the oral transmission of plant knowledge to younger and older family members.

Stagg has suggested that rather than a cognitive impediment to the visual recognition of plants, individuals residing in highly industrialized nations suffer from a lack of attention to plants due to a reduction in relevant exposure.

To disrupt the cycle of plant inattention, Stagg emphasizes the importance of exposing people to diverse ecosystems and demonstrating the direct benefits of plants to humans, as opposed to the indirect benefits derived from their industrial use or advantages to distant, traditional communities. Engaging with edible and practical plants in local settings can be instrumental in this regard. The level of botanical knowledge among younger generations is directly linked to their perception of the usefulness of such knowledge in their lives.