Some years ago, writing in my diary used to be a usual activity.I would return from school and spend the expected half hour recording the day'sevents, feelings, and impressions in my little blue diary. I did not reallyneed to express my emotions by way of words, but I gained a certainsatisfaction from seeing my experiences forever recorded on paper. After all,isn't accumulating memories a way of preserving the past?

When I was thirteen years old, I went on a long journey on footin a great valley, well equipped with pens, a diary, and a camera. During thetrip, I was busy recording every incident, name and place I came across. I feltproud to be spending my time productively, dutifully preserving for futuregenerations a detailed description of my travels. On my last night there, Iwandered out of my tent, diary in hand. The sky was clear and lit by the glareof the moon, and the walls of the valley looked threatening behind their screenof shadows. I automatically took out my pen...

At that point, I understood that nothing I wrote could evermatch or replace the few seconds I allowed myself to experience the dramaticbeauty of the valley. All I remembered of the previous few days were the dullcharacterizations I had set down in my diary.

Now, I only write in my diary when I need to write down aspecial thought or feeling. I still love to record ideas and quotations thatstrike me in books, or observations that are particularly meaningful. I takepictures, but not very often only of objects I find really beautiful. I'm nolonger blindly satisfied with having something to remember when I grow old. Irealize that life will simply pass me by if I stay behind the camera, busypreserving the present so as to live it in the future.

I don't want to wake up one day and have nothing but a pile ofpictures and notes. Maybe I won't have as many exact representations of peopleand places; maybe I'll forget certain facts, but at least the experiences willalways remain inside me. I don't live to make memories--I just live, and thememories form themselves.

         According to EMTP and Stat Gear CEO Avi Goldstein, every driver should be taught how to get out of a car when it becomes submerged in water.

“Accidents and natural disasters often occur so quickly that it's essential for drivers to be prepared,” says Goldstein. “In this case, preparation is simply knowing what should be done before it happens.”

        Goldstein offers the following lifesaving tips:

1.Try to stay calm. The worst thing you can do is become overly agitated and      panicked.

2. Don't try to open the door. This will cause the car fill with water very quickly.

3. Unfasten your seat belt or cut it if it's jammed.

4. Help free anyone else in the car.

5. Use a window punch — preferably spring-loaded. It's nearly impossible to break a car window with your hands or feet.

6. Exit through the broken window and swim up to safety.

      “Every car should be equipped with a window punch and seat belt cutter, but they are usually completely forgotten by car owners,” says Goldstein. For example, the T3 Tactical Auto Rescue Tool from Stat Gear features a 440c stainless steel serrated knife, seat belt cutter, spring-loaded window punch and LED light.

       Goldstein asserts that the T3 or another similar tool should always be within arms length of a driver. “If for any reason a driver becomes pinned into his or her seat, emergency tools need to be within reach--otherwise they are useless. They will do you no good in your trunk or backseat.” The following is a quick demonstration on how to escape a sinking car with a baby on board.

    People seem to have a natural need for friends and with good reason. Friends increase your enjoyment of life and relieve feelings of loneliness. They even can help reduce stress and improve your health. Having good friends is especially helpful when you are going through any kind of hard time such as when you are experiencing anxiety, panic(恐慌) attacks, or depression.

    When you are with good friends you feel good about yourself, and you are glad to be with them. A friend is someone who —

●you like, respect, and trust, and who likes, respects and trusts you

●doesn't always understand you, but accepts and likes you as you are, even as you grow and change

●allows you the space to change, grow, make decisions, and even make mistakes

●listens to you and shares with you both the good times and the bad times

●respects your need for secrets, so you can tell them anything

●lets you freely express your feelings and emotions without judging, laughing at or criticizing you

●accepts the limitations you have put on yourself and helps you to remove them

    A person once said, “Friendship is a continuing source of bonding（连接）, releasing, and creating in yourself and with the other person. There is an emotional bond between the two people.”

    A good friend or supporter may or may not be the same age or the same sex as you, and may not have the same educational, cultural, or religious background, or share interests that are similar to yours. Friendships also have different depths(深度). Some are closer to the heart and some more superficial, but they're all useful and good.

    I look in the mirror, and I'm not happy with what I see. I don't have a "perfect" face. I look in the magazines and all I see are girls with fair hair, blue eyes, and, of course, a pretty little nose. They're on the outside of the buses that I take home, the television programs I watch, and the billboards（广告牌） I walk under. Almost every advertisement I see shows this human physical "perfection". These billboards not only tell me what to drink, but also how to look.

    Our society place more importance on a person's physical beauty, rather than their ability, honesty and character. We have influenced women to go through painful surgeries（手术）and starve themselves to become this society built physical model. To be a beautiful woman in the 21st century doesn't mean that you are a brilliant doctor or caring mother. It means you have the perfect jaw, eyes and lips. It means that you can be six feet tall and weigh one hundred and ten pounds.

But what about the women who are starting to leave their youth? Instead of looking at aging as a sign of wisdom, we try to prevent the aging process(过程）. It's a kind of funny thing to want to look eighteen when fifty. Fifty is a relaxed age, when you can step back and look at all you've achieved (successfully complete something). It is when your hard work pays off. Unfortunately, our society just sees you as "old". To stop the aging process, women buy wrinkle（皱纹） creams, do eye lifts and face lifts. They spend thousands of dollars to win the hopeless battle against age.

    I remember when I was about thirteen years old and going through teens, I had oily hair, and a half developed body. I hated the way I looked. I used to cry to my mother all the time, but she would just laugh and tell me that "you don't want anyone to like your appearance. It's your heart that is important, because beauty fades.（消逝）" I knew that she was right. If you work on your heart enough, people will start to see the beauty in you, which lasts and remains on even after you die.

    Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was one of the most popular modern artists. The Pompidou Centre in Paris is showing its respect and admiration for the artist and his powerful personality with an exhibition bringing together over 200 paintings, sculptures, drawings and more. Among the works and masterworks on exhibition the visitor will find the best pieces, most importantly The Persistence of Memory. There is also L'Enigme sans Fin from 1938, works on paper, objects, and projects for stage and screen and selected parts from television programmes reflecting the artist's showman qualities.

    The visitor will enter the World of Dali through an egg and is met with the beginning, the world of birth. The exhibition follows a path of time and subject with the visitor exiting through the brain.

    The exhibition shows how Dali draws the viewer between two infinities (无限). “From the infinity small to the infinity large, contraction and expansion coming in and out of focus: amazing Flemish accuracy and the showy Baroque of old painting that he used in his museum-theatre in Figueras,” explains the Pompidou Centre.

    The fine selection of the major works was done in close collaboration (合作) with the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain, and with contributions from other institutions like the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg.

    These hotels don't have all the necessary facilities(设施),but each of them offers something different. Don't miss them if you travel to Canada.

    Sleep on a train at the Train Station Inn. This hotel is in an old train station in Nova Scotia. The owners, James and Shelley Le Fresne, use the station and the train as rooms. There are seven old train cars and there is also a restaurant in the dining car. Prices are from $89 to $169 per room or train car.

    Sleep in a jail(监狱) in the Canadian capital, Ottawa. Here, you can sleep in the old downtown Ottawa Jail Hostel. There are group or private bedrooms. There are still bars on the doors! Prices are from $ 25 to $ 65. Don't worry, there aren't any criminals(犯人）there !

    Sleep in a tepee (a tent of the American Indians) at a UNESCO World Heritage site in Alberta. At this hotel, there are guided tours and lessons in local culture. The best part: sleeping in a real tepee outside. The price is around $ 300, or $ 620 for a full package.

    Sleep in a lighthouse at the Quirpon Lighthouse Inn. This hotel is on Newfoundland's Quirpon Island. There are great views of the ocean from the windows. There are 11 private rooms in total. Prices are from $ 225 for a single to $ 350 for a suite(套房). Meals are included in the restaurant. The hotel has the traditional look and feel of the lighthouse, so there is no Internet, TV or telephones in the rooms. There are tours available, and boat tours to the island are included.