【推荐1】Life is not always smooth and easy. Sometimes we may encounter adversity, such as illness, loss, failure, or conflict, which test our resilience and courage. In these situations, we may feel lonely and helpless, and lose confidence and hope. However, we are not alone. We have our family members, who can play a significant role in helping us overcome adversity.

Family is the most intimate and trustworthy group of people in our lives. They share our blood and genes, and have a deep bond with us. They know our strengths and weaknesses, our joys and sorrows, our dreams and fears. They care about our well-being and happiness, and are willing to sacrifice for us. They can offer us unconditional love and acceptance, which can heal our wounds and soothe our pain.

Family is also the most supportive group of people in our lives. They have a long history and rich culture, and have a profound impact on our values and beliefs. They can teach us important lessons and skills, such as honesty, responsibility, cooperation, and perseverance. They can also provide us with various resources and assistance, such as money, information, advice, or connections. They can help us cope with challenges and difficulties, and find solutions and opportunities.

Family is also the most inspiring and motivating group of people in our lives. They have their own stories and achievements, and have a great potential for growth and development. They can set examples for us to follow and admire. They can also challenge us to improve ourselves and pursue excellence. They can encourage us to explore our interests and talents, and follow our passions and goals. They can support us in our endeavors, and celebrate our successes and contributions.

In summary, family is an indispensable part of our lives, especially when we face adversity. They can play a positive role in many aspects, such as giving us love and acceptance, teaching us lessons and skills, providing us with resources and assistance, setting examples for us, challenging us to improve ourselves, encouraging us to follow our passions, supporting us in our endeavors, celebrating our successes. Therefore, we should appreciate our family members and express our gratitude and affection to them.

【推荐1】As a child growing up in a suburban town in the Northeast of the United States, the arrival of spring had little meaning for me.

Sure, we had a weeklong spring vocation from school, but the key word there was vacation, not spring.

For the kids in my neighborhood, the arrival of spring was a non-event. There were two important seasons: winter, when we could go skating and sledding or build snow forts, and summer, when we could finally make proper use of the beach about 100 meter east of my family home. Spring and autumn were just technical details, weeks and weeks of waiting for the good times' return.

Admittedly, spring later developed its own attractions for me—"In the spring a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of love", ns the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson noted—however, it was not spring itself, but the other stuff bat got my attention.

In short, I never thought much at all about spring…. and then I arrived in China. I had been in Beijing for about three months when my first Spring Festival rolled around, and it could hardly be ignored. Aside from the random bursts of fireworks at any time day or night, what stood out most for me was that the capital seemed to be empty.

It was as though the crowds and streams of cars and trucks commonly seen in the capital had all gone into hiding. My puzzlement cleared up when I returned to work. My colleagues explained that Chinese traditionally travel, if necessary, to visit their families during Spring Festival, and that many Beijingers were not natives of the capital.

I also got my first knowledge of something about Spring Festival that never ceases to amaze me. Regardless of when the holiday is set to begin, there is m almost immediate and sudden change for the better in the weather. Spring really does arrive.

I can't begin to figure out how the ancient Chinese could create a system for the millennia hat would almost always accurately predict when the season would shift year after year after year. But they did.

【推荐1】People often say: “Be the person of your dreams if you want to be approached by the right person.” But that wouldn’t happen magically. There are many ways that we know we can improve ourselves and our lives. But most of the time we just let time pass by and live comfortably with the old habits, instead of managing time more wisely.

Take the other day for example: At 8:40 a.m, my ride to work pulled up in front of my apartment. I was ready... almost. I quickly grabbed my skirt and put it on. Shoes! What shoe... what shoe... I asked myself as I scanned my collection of shoes. The light ones with transparent ties go perfectly! Wallet! Keys! Cellphone! Cheek... check... I whispered as I locked the door! It was 8:46 when I sat down in the car. Great, I would be late... again. That was one of many busy mornings. Of course, I ended up not having the best day.

Then the light suddenly dawned on me when my mom told me: “Being smart is a gift. However, without discipline (自制力), you won’t go anywhere.” If I remained what I was. I couldn’t accomplish anything. I decided to work on my best version.

Spend some time discovering myself. Find my own strengths and weaknesses and then improve. Strengthen my mind and body by working out each morning. I am organized, focused and punctual. Everything else has flowed. That’s the law of attraction right there. You see, we all have qualities that can make us successful, but without self-discipline we couldn’t reach our full potential.

【推荐2】Did you hear about the rose that grew from the concrete? You know the one that shone in the middle of darkness and blossomed in times of misfortune?

It was December of 2000 and my dad had been in a coma (昏迷) for two weeks. Mom only had about $20 left because the rest of the money had been used to pay the hospital bills. She bought twenty bags of bananas with that money and sat on the roadside for eight hours until she sold them all. Since Mom had to sell bananas for a living, I had to stop going to school in order to take care of my four-year-old brother — at the time I was only in the third grade. I was too young to understand the whole situation. I was just glad that I didn’t have to go to school anymore so I could play soccer until mom came home at one in the morning.

A few weeks passed and I started expecting the nights when we would eat dinner together, as a family. Before this misfortune I had always complained about the food, but now I did not have any food and I had no one to complain to. For six months every day was the same: wake up in the morning, stomach hurting from hunger, ask the neighbors for food, feed my brother, play soccer until dark, and stare at the stars until mom got home. The day when dad left hospital was the first day when I came face to face with appreciation, although I was totally unaware of what the feeling was.

Now I’m eighteen years old and I believe that I’m the rose that learned how to grow from the crack in the concrete, the rose that blossomed in the dark when no one was around.

【推荐3】Eight hours and 48 miles into what was supposed to be a 24-hour run, Dan Frank entered his Columbia, MD, home at 2 a.m. last Saturday and sat on the sofa in the living room.

Frank, a 36-year-old who teaches math at Paint Branch High in Burtonsville, runs as a hobby, and about two weeks earlier he set a plan of running for 24 straight hours in support of the Howard County Food Bank during the COVID-19 outbreak. But he hit a wall.

Frank didn’t stay long. He got back up, had a lot to eat and drink, and returned to running Howard County’s roads. “It was like: ‘All right, well, you can’t imagine getting up, but it doesn’t really matter. Other people are depending on this, so get up and go,’” said Frank, who posted updates (最新消息) of his run on Facebook.

Late last month, David Kilgore, a 28-year-old who has made a career out of running, ran 100 miles in about 17 hours 47 minutes in Florida to help provide medical workers with supportive footwear. Frank brainstormed his idea and ran for about two weeks while he prepared for the online classes he is now teaching.

Frank began running about five years ago, and he has always felt road races were too serious for him. Still, he was encouraged to provide for those in need. His children attend Phelps Luck Elementary, where every month a mobile food pantry (储藏柜) is stationed. “Over the past month, fewer donations have been made to the food bank,” he said. “In good times, about 40 families show up every time we have that mobile food pantry, and I can’t imagine what it might be like now, with so many people losing their jobs.”

On Sunday night Frank had raised nearly $12, 000 for the Howard County Food Bank. “The coolest part besides raising the money is watching a community do a common cause in these times,” Frank said. “People are looking for things like that right now. They’re at home on Facebook anyway; they want to cheer something on that has some good meaning behind it.”