The Best and Worst Things to Buy in March

Frozen food

    Grocery store ads aren't the only places to find deals on freezer-section treats. To take advantage of the deepest discounts, combine coupons (优惠券) from sponsoring brands, such as Dole, Green Giant and Tyson Foods, with grocery store sales. Plus, look for printable savings on Coupons.com and EasyHomeMeals.com. Brands participating in National Frozen Food Month will offer more than 180,000 coupons that make frozen food among the best things to buy in March.

Boxed chocolates

    If you desire to give a gift to a friend in March, consider chocolate. Two minor holidays in March provide the perfect excuse: National Chocolate Caramel Day on March 19 and National Chocolate-Covered Raisin Day on March 24. You can discover chocolate deals online as well as in stores. Head to sites like RetailMeNot.com to find discount coupons for boxed chocolate savings of 10 percent or more.

New cars

    With the latest car models filling dealers' lots, you'll have a hard time finding discounted models from the year before. Car dealerships are less motivated to offer steep discounts from March through May. Instead, plan to buy your car during the fall or winter. You should also research the auto you want at TrueCar before heading for the dealership. The site offers information on what people in your area paid for vehicles equipped with the options you want.

Spring clothing

    When warm weather makes you want to head outdoors, resist the urge to do so wearing the latest fashions. You won't find March deals on swimsuits, Easter dresses or other spring items. To find discounts on clothes of this spring, hold off until Memorial Day weekend. You can also look for online and in- store savings at Amazon, Macy's, Saks Fifth Avenue and other retailers.

    Philadelphia offers a ton of attractions that are suitable for people of every age and here are some family—friendly attractions.

    Spruce Street Harbor Park

    Spruce Street Harbor Park, one of the best urban beaches in America, is an outdoor heaven on the Delaware River waterfront. Visitors can relax in a hammock, play on the playgrounds, and play games like table tennis and giant chess. Don't miss out on the park at night, when colorful LED lights hanging from treetops make the entire area bright.

    Blue Cross River Rink

    Offering ice skating in the winter and roller skating in the summer, Blue Cross River Rink creates a fun, outdoor experience for the whole family. Visitors can play on the nine-hole mini-golf course during the summer, and enjoy eats and drinks from the on-site bar and restaurant all year round.

    Sesame Place

    Big Bird, Elmo and the other stars of Sesame Street come out and play at Sesame Place, the only theme park in the nation starring the popular TV show's most lovable characters. A water park, interactive activities, parades, fireworks and shows add to the fun.

    Once Upon a Nation Storytelling Benches

    On summer days, uniformed and professional storytellers at 13 storytelling benches throughout Philadelphia's Historic District entertain visitors with true, free, three-to-five minute tales about the colonial era as part of Once Upon a Nation. Children can pick up a Story Flag at any storytelling bench, and then collect a star from every storyteller on their journeys. Flags with all the stars can get free rides on the Parx Liberty Carousel at Franklin Square.

    Shyness is the cause of much unhappiness for a great many people. Shy people are anxious and self-conscious; that is, they are excessively concerned with their own appearance and actions.

    Worrisome thoughts are constantly occurring in their minds: what kind of impression am I making? Do they like me? Do I sound stupid? Am I wearing unattractive clothes? It is obvious that such uncomfortable feelings must negatively affect people. A person's conception of himself or herself is reflected in the way he or she behaves, and the way a person behaves affects other people's reactions. In general, the way people think about themselves has a profound effect on all areas of their lives.

    Shy people, having low self-esteem, are likely to be passive and easily influenced by others. They need reassurance that they are doing "the right thing." Shy people are very sensitive to criticism; they feel it confirms their feelings of inferiority. They also find it difficult to be pleased by compliment with a statement like this one, "You're just saying that to make me feel good. I know it's not true." It is clear that while self-awareness is a healthy quality, overdoing it is harmful.

    Can shyness be completely eliminated, or at least reduced? Fortunately, people can overcome shyness with determined and patient efforts in building self-confidence. Since shyness goes hand in hand with a lack of self-esteem, it is important for people to accept their weaknesses as well as their strengths. Each one of us is a unique, worthwhile individual, interested in our own personal ways. The better we understand ourselves, the easier it becomes to live up to our full potential. Let's not allow shyness to block our chances for a rich and fulfilling life.

As online learning becomes more common and a mass of resources are changed to digital form, some people have suggested that public libraries should be shut down and everyone should be given an iPad with an e-reader subscription (订阅). They believe that it will save local cities and towns money, provide more materials and encourage more people to read.

 However, it would be a serious mistake to replace libraries with tablets (平板电脑). First, digital books and resources are related to less learning and more problems than print resources. A study found that people read 20-30% slower on tablets, keep 20% less information, and understand 10% less of what they read. Additionally, staring too long at a screen has been shown to cause more health problems than reading print does. 

Second, it is incredibly narrow-minded to believe that the only service libraries offer is book lending. Libraries have lots of benefits, and many are only available if the library has a physical location. Some of these benefits include acting as a quiet study space, giving people a way to communicate with their neighbors, holding classes on a variety of topics, providing jobs, answering visitor questions, and keeping the community connected. One neighborhood found that, over a third of residents reported feeling more connected to their community after a series of local library instituted community events. Similarly, a survey conducted in 2015 found that nearly two-thirds of American adults feel that closing their local library would have a major effect on their community.

While replacing libraries with tablets may seem like a simple solution, it would encourage people to spend even more time looking at digital screens and end access to many of the benefits of libraries. In many areas, libraries are such an important part of the community network that they could never be replaced by a simple object.

I was sitting at my desk when another graduate student in my lab approached me. "Can you help?" he asked. His experiment wasn't working and he desperately needed help. I was then a fifth year PhD student, and I took pride in being the senior member of the lab, whom everyone looked up to. But that also meant I was the one everyone turned to for help — which ate away bours, days, and sometimes weeks that I could have spent on my own research.

There were many reasons I had a hard time saying no to such pleas (恳求). I was new to the United States for graduate school. I found it difficult to make new friends and discover activities I enjoyed. So I spent a huge chank of my time in the lab, with my lab-mates serving as my primary source of social connection. I feared that if I turned down their requests, I'd lose their favor.

But the extra responsibilities came at a cost. I had to work extra hours to catch up with my own work, and I often made sacrifices to my personal life.

It wasn't until my wife gave birth to our first child that I realized how thin I had stretched myself and how misguided my priorities(优先次序) were. While she lay in a hospital bed in the early stages of labor, I sat nearby hunched(伏首前倾的) over my laptop finishing up a work report. Hours later, after hearing my daughter's first cry and watching her tiny fingers grab tightly onto mine, it dawned on me: I should have been fully present during my daughter's birth. I was clearly spending too much time working if my job had intruded(侵入) into one of the most precious moments of my life.

From then on ,I decided to spend more time with my family by declining extra assignments and carefully considering each request for help. I still enjoyed collaborating with others, but I prioritized mutually beneficial tasks or those my manager asked me to take on, rather than accepting everything that came my way.

I noticed many benefits: no longer working overtime and improved work performance. I was also pleased to discover that "Sorry , I'd love to help but I have a deadline coming up" is an acceptable response to a request for assistance.

It's hard to say "no " to those you work with. But I've learned that sometimes that's the best course of action to avoid an excessive workload and lead a freer and happier life.