Not being sure where I want to start this, I will say that I lost my mom back in April of this year. She was ninety­two. 1, I was not expecting her to 2  and I don't think she was expecting it either. I was very close to my mom, being an only child. We did have3 on the surface，but we still had a close relationship4 those.

    Being newly married less than a year, and having moved a couple of times 5, I have had more changes recently in my life than at any other point of my fifty­four years. Stability is one of the gifts that Mom6me and it had so many7that I wasn't aware of until now. My husband and I have made some 8 to Mom's home and will be moving at the end of next week. It is now our home, but it still has my9 heart in it. It's where I grew up, and there are many 10   that will live there with us. At the same time, I am looking forward to  11 some very happy and memorable ones with my husband.

      Mom12 such a big part in my life. Our lives were 13 woven because she gave me her values which have become deeply 14in the woman I am today. I don't have any children whom I could15 these on to. However, Mother's values affect me every day with the16 I have with others, whether I know them or not.l hope Mom would be  17  of who I am, what I've become because of her, and of 18 I am going to live with my19. She gave me everything I needed to know in life: respect others, and give help to others who 20it most. I love you, Mom, and I will never forget you. ​

    Recently I understood the true meaning of love. The 1 was Kane, my neighbor Joline's two-year-old son.

Kane was born with a physical problem on his 2. And I witnessed (目睹) the 3 that Kane's physical shortcomings had on his family. I also saw a 4 family that embraced (拥抱) this special child. A family that wouldn't allow Kane to know he was 5. Joline had constructed a small cart for his son to6 . Kane used his hands to move about, and the cart 7 him to "go to" any place just as everyone else was able to do. Kane was not just a member of the family, but the 8 of the family.

    With a wide smile, it was easy to see that even at the age of two, Kane liked to 9 with people very much. With wisdom of an individual (个人), this boy even 10 the most complex of human emotions. Later I came to  11 that this child was sent to help some of us who weren't just getting what love was all about.

    Kane demanded attention, 12  not because of his mobility (移动能力) challenges or other apparent shortcomings. In his mind, he had no13 or shortcomings. The 14  was that he received attention because he was alive and real and had so much to offer.

    Kane 15  me in a deep way. His ability to refuse to be different has 16 me. Kane was and is 17 a boy of powerful energy to me. From him and his family I learnt the 18 : love surpasses (超越) all things. I can only imagine that as the parent of a child like Kane one might be filled with19  . But I believe that having a child like Kane is actually a(n)20  . The parents of such special babies are angels too,just as the babies are.

    Once upon a time, there was a large mountainside, where an eagle's nest rested. The eagle's 1contained four large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain, 2 one of the eggs to roll down the mountain 3 a chicken farm, which was in the valley below. The chickens knew that they must 4 and care for the eagle's egg, so an old hen 5 to hatch (孵) and raise the large egg.

    One day, the egg hatched and a beautiful 6 was born. Sadly, however, the eagle was raised to be a(n) 7 . Soon, the eagle believed he was8more than a chicken. The eagle 9 his home and family, but his spirit cried out for more. While playing a game on the farm one day, the eagle looked at the skies above and 10 a group of eagles soaring in the skies. “Oh,” the eagle cried, “I wish I could soar 11 those birds.” The chickens shouted with laughter, “You cannot soar like those birds. You are a chicken and chickens do not 12 .”

    The eagle 13staring at his real family up above, 14that he could be with them high in the sky. Each time the eagle wanted to let his 15 be known, he was told it couldn't be done. That is 16 the eagle learned to believe. Slowly, the eagle 17 his dreaming and continued to live his life like a chicken.18, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle 19.

    You will become what you believe you are; so if you ever dream of becoming an eagle, 20 your dreams, not the words of a chicken.

    “And this is me kissing the Blarney Stone”, says Carrie, my seventeen-year-old daughter. She turns the pages of her new photo album, recounting her recent ten-day1 abroad, and my mind wanders back…way back to when she was only five.

    “Someday I'm going to Ireland”, she said, holding her Childcraft book in her lap. Her blue eyes 2 as she looked at the beautiful pictures. “Well, maybe you can!” I said. However, it was3 for our family to pay for the luxury of traveling. I was working as a secretary. My husband Charlie had to close his 4 last year due to his poor health…

    Ten years later, Carrie came home from school one day, hardly able to contain her5“Mama, you'll never 6where the class is going. To Ireland!” she smiled 7“You're kidding!” I said. “Ireland! Where you've always wanted to go!”

    “The trip is 8 for year after next, and the $2,100 can be paid in installments (分期付款).” Then she added, “But that's too much… isn't it?” Her voice was9 yet doubting. “Well,” I said slowly, “Daddy and I can't help much10 you have two years to earn the money.” “You think so?” Carrie's face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Well,” I11 “maybe you could use your father's bakery and sell baked goods.” Sell baked goods? We12 at each other. Carrie was an excellent 13! This would work!

    So the plan was14 Carrie began working, making a variety of baked goods. She used dried apples, cooked, seasoned and spiced to perfection. Soon, however, fried apple-pies became the customer favorite. All ingredients were 15—real shortening (起酥油), real butter—and the crust (皮) was handmade and hand-rolled. Finally the pies were fried to a beautiful, golden brown! The finished product was an extremely pleasant treat, winning16from even the little old ladies in these hills who have been making dried-apple pies for decades17 began rolling in, and the Ireland fund grew, and well 18 the given time the trip abroad was paid in full…

    Now I'm looking at her album as she proudly points out the19 she visited: castles of Ireland, historic bridges and churches, cobblestone (鹅卵石) streets of Dublin… so much like those in her Childcraft book. My daughter will forever remember this dream come true, a dream that began in the heart of a five-year-old girl and was completely made 20 by the delicious apple pie!

    While high school does not generally encourage students to explore new aspects of life，college sets the stage for that exploration. I myself went through this1 process and found something that has changed my2 at college for the better：I discovered ASL—American Sign Language(美式手语).

    I never felt an urge to3 any sign language before. My entire family is hearing，and so are all my friends. The 4 languages were enough in all my interactions(交往).Little did I know that I would discover my5 for ASL.

    The6 began during my first week at college. I watched as the ASL Club 7their translation of a song. Both the hand movements and the very8of communicating without speaking9me. What I saw was completely unlike anything I had experienced in the10.This newness just left me11more.

    After that, feeling the need to12further, I decided to drop in on one of ASL club's meetings. I only learned how to13the alphabet that day. Yet instead of being discouraged by my14progress，I was excited. I then made it a point to15those meetings and learn all I could.

    The following term, I 16an ASL class. The professor was deaf and any talking was17I soon realized that the silence was not unpleasant.18 if there had been any talking, it would have19us to learn less. Now, I appreciate the silence and the20way of communication it opens.

    It was January 2000, and I had just finished the final term of my year abroad in Auckland, New Zealand. Warm feelings and happy thoughts1 into my mind. I began thinking about the 2 I was due to take with my friends over the summer, across New Zealand.

    I went shopping for gifts to take back to my family in Malaysia. Then I made my way home. I have always been very careful of3 safety. But, for some reason, on that day I quickly ran across the 4 without looking. At that moment, a 5 turned the corner. I was in the driver's6 spot so he did not see me, nor I him. I was hit by the minibus and was 7 under its wheels.

    When opening my8, I learned that it took 15 minutes to. 9 me from the wheels. A(n)10 team from a local hospital had to lift the minibus off me with their hands.  A tourist in the crowd had come to help, holding my hand and 11 me in the ambulance(救护车). When I arrived at the hospital, 12told me my injuries were life-threatening. They also told me there was a13 chance I could never walk again.

    However, although I14a lot, I was not paralyzed(瘫瘓的). It took me six months to15. I was sad to miss out on the trip across New Zealand but my friends comforted me a lot. 16I was able to attend my graduation, crossing the stage with walking sticks; it didn't matter, because I was just happy to be17. The accident changed my18; it made me think about the terrible things that could have happened. It regularly19me to step back and think twice about my problems, to be20for the second chance I got at life.