When we think of a generation gap we usually think of conflicting tastes in music, or pastimes. But now the generation gap is handwriting. After one teacher in Tennessee discovered that she had students who couldn't read the assignments she was writing on the board, she posted it on the Internet saying handwriting should be taught in schools.

    Opponents claim that handwriting has become out of time in our modern world. Typed words have become a primary form of communication. Once a practical skill, handwriting is no longer used by the vast majority of Americans. It is no longer taught in schools, and some claim that the time that it would take to teach it could be put to better use, for instance, by teaching the technical skills.

    But even in today's world there are still plenty of reasons to pick up a pen and apply it to paper. Many American institutions still require original signatures, for instance, signing for a registered letter and buying a house. And original signatures are much more difficult to forge（伪造）than their digital counterparts. There is also strong evidence that writing by hand is good for the mind. It activates a different part of the brain, and improves fine moving skills in young children. People also tend to remember what they write by hand more than what they type, and the process of writing by hand has been shown to stimulate ideas. Not only that, studies have shown that kids who write by hand learn to read and spell earlier than those who don't. Not to mention, handwriting is pleasing, as is evidenced by the fact that no one has ever typed a love letter. And handwriting remains popular as an art form.

    Yes we live in a modern world, but we live in a modern world that is based on fundamental values.

    I recently posted a picture on Facebook from the movie Mad Max, a film where two groups race through the desert in steam punk vehicles, and wrote, “Actual picture of my way to work today.” It was meant to be a joke because of the sandstorms in Beijing, but one of my friends from back home thought it was real.

    I couldn't imagine how they could think that is actually what China is like. China has so many more conveniences and advantages than the West, and many of my friends agree. “I don't know how I will be able to deal when I go back home,” said a friend who is about to end her gap year in Beijing. “I've become so spoiled in China.

    China seems to be leading the way in innovation and convenience for daily life. Back home I could never shop, pull out my phone and scan a QR code to pay.

    There have been rumors of starting bike sharing in my hometown for years with little success while bike sharing suddenly appeared in Beijing overnight. I just step outside and scan a code, and I am on my way.

    Going out to eat with a group of friends back home was troublesome for both the group and the servers. Splitting checks and swiping (刷) 10 different cards or making change for each person in the group can be a pain. But with China's WeChat, you can quickly send your friends your part of the bill.

The list goes on...

    When I first arrived in Beijing, I was dead set on leaving in a month. That month has come and gone. Now, when someone asks me when I'm coming back, I think to myself, “Who knows?”

    While my friends think I'm riding through the desert on a motorbike, I am actually taking a “Didi” for what is the equivalent of $5 in the US.

    With all the conveniences and technology here, I may never want too go back.

    Recently, my mother asked me to drop off some letters at the post office and pick up some stamps for her. Without giving it a thought, I took the letters and purchased her stamps.

    A few days later, she mentioned that one of the letters I had mailed was missing a stamp, and asked me if I had put a stamp on it. She had remembered asking me to put a stamp on it, though I certainly had not heard her. So, unfortunately, it looked like the letter, which was a bill of course, would come back marked "Return to Sender for Insufficient Postage". A few days went by and I returned to the post office to pick up our mail. While I was there, I saw the postmaster and happened to tell him about Mom's letter missing the stamp. I asked him to be on the lookout for it coming back. It was then that he told me his story. "You know," he said, "I immediately saw after you had dropped the mail off that your letter was missing a stamp. I also noticed that it was a bill for a credit card company. I thought to myself that you have always been kind to me and my partner, and I wanted to return the favor. So, to prevent your mother from getting charged a late fee from the credit card company, I took money from our change dish (extra pennies for folks who need one), and purchased a stamp for you."

    When I heard it, I couldn't believe it. What a blessing that was! I thanked him over and over again for putting the stamp on the letter for us. Then, I immediately dumped(倾倒) all the change out of my purse and into the penny dish in order to help others out in the future. When I got home, I was able to tell Mom the good news. This was kindness karma(因果报应) in action, I believe!

    For an increasing number of students at American universities, Old is suddenly in. The reason is obvious: the graying of America means jobs, coupled with the aging of the baby-boom generation, a longer life span means that the nation's elderly population is bound to expand significantly over the next 50 years. By 2050, 25 percent of all Americans will be older than 65, up from 14 percent in 1995.The change poses profound questions for government and society, of course. But it also creates career opportunities in medicine and health professions and in law and business as well. “In addition to the doctors, we're going to need more sociologists, biologists, urban planners and specialized lawyers,” says Professor Edward Schneider of the University of Southern California's (USC) School of Gerontology（老年学）.

    Lawyers can specialize in “elder law”, which covers everything from trusts and estates to nursing-home abuse and age discrimination. Businessmen see huge opportunities in the elder market because the baby boomers, 74 million strong, are likely to be the wealthiest group of retirees in human history. “Any student who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with, say, an MBA or law degree will have a license to print money,” one professor says.

    Margarite Santos is a 21-year-old senior at USC. She began college as a biology major but found she was “really bored with bacteria.” So she took a class in gerontology and discovered that she liked it. She says, “I did volunteer work in retirement homes and it was very satisfying.”

    Basketball Statistician Help Wanted

    The Athletic Department is looking for students to assist staff during the Fall 2016, Winter 2016-17 and Spring 2017 semesters. Students in this position will be keeping live statistics during basketball games. Students must meet all of the following requirements:

    Good computer skills

    Available evenings and weekends

    Knowing basketball rules and statistics

    Students interested in working for the Athletic Department should contact the Athletic Coordinator at their respective(各自的) campuses.

    TP/SS Athletic Coordinator, Michael Simone,240-567-1308

    Rockville Athletic Coordinator, Jorge Zuniga,240-567-7589

    Springfield Athletic coordinator, Gary Miller,240-567-2273

    Germantown Athletic Coordinator, GavriChavan, 240-567-6915

    A body image is the way a person views his or her body. It affects how a person “feels” about his or her body. For example, when not looking in a mirror, people have a sense of what their bodies look like. A positive body image is having a realistic and accepting view of your body. However, very few women have a positive body image. Society, dieting, eating disorders, and overweight are all related to a negative body image.

    A century ago, full and curvaceous (曲线美的) bodies were admired. They were also more natural for women to keep. Nowadays, the best female body has a tiny waist, flat stomach, thin legs, and is very slim. Women are told to weight less than ever before. Supermodels are the new women's idols. However, most of them are teenagers, and many of them have eating disorders or diet strictly. Trying to follow these standards is hard to most women. As a result, they starve themselves, or exercise—excessively (过度地), or both.

    Most women who know the standard of beauty and body weight are dieting to reduce weight and change their figures. Eating disorders are not simply unhealthy diet habits; they are considered as mental illnesses and can sometimes end in death. Strict dieting or food restriction combined with a negative body image can become an eating disorder.

    A negative body image can also lead to overweight. This is due to excessive eating to comfort bad feelings about their bodies. In addition, yo-yo dieting, which often follows a negative body image, leads to increasingly higher weights with each diet attempt.

    A negative body image is bad for women. I may help them to see an advisor who is good at treating women with negative body images. Lastly, if society worked on encouraging healthy lifestyles and healthy looking bodies for women, a lot of good would come from it.