Six years ago, I walked into a local animal shelter on a cold, rainy day.1my house was already full of cats and dogs, I still couldn't 2an occasional visit to the shelter. This time as I was walking down the row of pens(畜栏) full of barking dogs, I3a small boy looking into one of them.

    He had a malnourished（营养不良的）looking body and a4face with a big nose5out of the middle of it. He was looking at a small golden dog. Its ribs（肋骨）were showing and its thin tail was folded between its legs. It wasn't begging for6like the other puppies7was hiding in the corner instead. The boy looked up at me with8eyes and asked what was wrong with it. “It was probably abused and9 ” I said. “That is why it is so 10 ”

    The boy 11turned to an old lady and said, “ Grandma, I want this one.” The old woman smiled and walked to the front desk to fill out the 12forms. I followed her and asked 13the boy. She told me that he'd had a 14start in life, too. She had just gotten custody(监护权) of him15the state had taken him from his parents. She hoped getting a dog would make his life 16for him. I looked back at him, holding his scared puppy, and said a prayer for them both.

    It was yesterday that I was driving down the road enjoying a gloriously sunny, spring day. Then in a green front yard I saw the boy. His 17body was tall and strong. His nose no longer 18big but fit well into his smiling face. He was throwing a ball to a healthy, happy dog shining golden hair. His little act of love and 19had indeed gone a long way. It had saved a dog's life, 20his own heart, and given this middle-aged man fresh hope for the whole world.

    At a gathering, we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank.

    Frank began to tell us of his childhood. "I1in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was2making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to3 the family."

    He looked at us and said, "I 4you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for the 5. When you got close to him, he6like the ocean. He would wear his old coat and his overalls. No matter how much my mother7them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish."

    Frank's voice dropped a bit. "When the weather was bad he would 8me to school. He had this old truck that was older than he was. 9he would drive toward the school, I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear. He would10 right in front of the school gate, and it seemed like everybody11 be standing around and watching. Then he would12over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so13for me. I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!"

    He14and then went on, "I remember the day when I said 'No' "

    It was the first time I had ever talked to him that15, and he had this surprised look on his face. I said, "Dad, I'm too16for a goodbye kiss. "

    My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him17.

    He turned and looked out the windshield(挡风玻璃). "You're right, " he said. "You are a big boy....a man. I won't kiss you anymore. "

    Frank got a sad look on his face, and the tears began to18in his eyes, as he spoke. "It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back." Tears were running down Frank's cheeks. He spoke again. "Guys, you don't know what I would19to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek....to feel his rough old face....to smell the ocean on him....to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a20, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss."

    It was early one hot morning in 2015 when, accompanied by my mother, I was 1 wheeled to the taxi stand. Three weeks earlier, I had 2 my left ankle at home. Now, I was on my way to being 3 for an operation at the Philippine General Hospital.

    I was feeling 4 as I'd never had surgery before and the thought of it 5 me. After waiting for 6 for more than 90 minutes, we were still standing there. It usually only takes a few minutes, but on this particular Sunday they would 7 us either already filled with passengers or 8 to take us. Perhaps they weren't 9 to carry my 10. My mother was starting to get frustrated as we were fast running out of time; our 11 was scheduled for 10:45am. Then a black SUV 12 and stopped in front of us. The driver, taking a look at us, said, “You two look like you could use a 13!” He told us he'd seen us earlier as he was taking his son to a 14 school activity. He was now returning home and saw that we were still there.

    With no questions asked, this good Samaritan welcomed us aboard and got us to the hospital. We arrived at 10:30 – just in time. He refused any 15, saying people should help one another. He left with a smile.

    I was finally 16. A long recovery process and physical therapy followed and now I am able to 17 again.

    To this day we have not 18 again this friendly driver who went out of his way, but his generosity towards us has 19 in our minds and taught me to keep watch for and help others 20.

    Every year around this time kids perform in their holiday concert. For many schools it is the most well-attended 1 of the year. In years past, my daughter has joined her classmates in singing. This year was 2 though. She had a few 3 parts.

    My daughter was very 4 about earning these parts. Yet with her excitement also came some nervousness. She 5 practiced her lines until she knew them 6. And, each day her class would prepare for what was going to be a special 7.

    Each day she would tell us that she did well but that she was very 8. She was worried that people would 9 her if she made a mistake. 10, she was worried about speaking in front of over a thousand people.

    Then the 11 night came last week. We luckily got front row seats, which was great for 12.

    When the time had finally arrived for my daughter to recite her lines, she did it 13. But she thought she had made a mistake, and I could see that she was close to 14 when she had finished her first part. You can only imagine how 15 it was for me not to run up on stage and 16 her and tell how much I 17 her. What happened next was the reason she is now my 18.

    She went back up to the microphone two more times and spoke her lines perfectly. The 19 it took to do that was something I will never forget. I will not 20 myself in any situation as long as I remember the night my daughter showed me what real courage looked like.

"Someone once asked me, 'What's the tool you would want to give any student'? And I said, 'A mask and snorkel （潜水通气管） set, "' the ocean biologist Thys says in a video. And Thys explains, "Ninety-eight percent of the living space on this planet is the ocean. It's worth a view. "

Thys has devoted her career to seeing the ocean and to helping others watch the great diversity of the underwater world. A big part of what motivates her work is the chance to let people develop a sense of respect for the grandness of the ocean, and to get people to participate in efforts to protect endangered ocean ecosystems. 

Since studying ocean biology, Thys has focused her research on how sea animals live. One animal she particularly studies is the ocean sunfish. "It's so different from any other fish, "says Thys. "It looks like a mistake. Where does the tail go?" Thys adds. "The sunfish provides an entry point to understanding more about the behavior of creatures in the ocean, and about how environmental changes impact underwater ecosystems. "

Thys's work also takes her above ground, where she's looking at ways to create new connections between human populations and natural environments to help address social and environmental challenges. For instance, she's working on nature's effects on mental well-being. 

Thys's passion for her work is evident in every lecture, video, and public appearance she makes. Using the media, Thys encourages people to learn about the ocean and love it. Due to many ocean research projects and activities from the media, Thys is up to her neck in work every day. She could hardly spare plenty of time for a good rest. Thys's devotion to her work as an ocean scientist and ecological warrior is infectious. She's a role model and an inspiring guide to ocean life. 

Grief ran through the first decade of my career. I photographed stories about terrible topics: immigration, conflict, war. On the cover of my notebook in 2019, I wrote, "Discover the joy again." It was intended to remind me to play more.

Sometimes I'd get a rare assignment where I could breathe — for example, photographing an article on tea for an airline magazine. I took the job hoping to make interesting, almost movie images, but at the end of the day, I found I'd made nothing of the sort. Packing up my camera, I felt like a failure.

On the drive back to the hotel, I noticed heavy steam rising from a building up ahead. Arriving at the scene, I opened the car door — and realized it was a tourist attraction traditionally pulled by a steam engine. Then, out of nowhere, a figure ran toward me. I picked up my camera and quickly made three pictures. One was out of focus. One was poorly composed. But one worked.

When I submitted my pictures to the editor for the tea article, this one wasn't chosen to be published, but I knew it meant something to me. I had been looking for good luck in my own life. This photograph symbolized exactly that.

I was 27 when I first traveled to India after the sudden passing of my father. Over many months, with my best friend, I traversed India with no phone, with limited Internet, and with healing as my compass. I climbed mountains, swam in the sea, and lived in relief entirely.

As I learned to travel to some of the world's cities with the largest population, I began to see life with more color and magic. I permitted myself to walk aimlessly, with no goal but to observe, and each moment became a dance. If this journey taught me anything, it's that what comes next will bring its own magic.