【推荐1】The day Madelyn McClarey’s twin sons, Aaron and Aubrey Hough, each received scholarships(奖学金)to Florida A&M University, she figured that after they moved seven hours north from Hollywood to Tallahassee, she’d be lucky to see them on weekends.

But her sons had something else in mind. The twins told her they’d move to Tallahassee on one condition. She had to go with them—and work toward the college degree she’d always wanted. And that is how McClarey ended up in a green cap and gown this month at FAMU. Cheering her on were her twins. “Our mom is so determined and dedicated, we’re lucky to have her as our mother,” said Aaron. “It was a lot of hard work, but she never gave up.”

McClarey’s sons jumped as she was awarded a bachelor’s degree (学士学位)in English with a minor in education, excited that their mom finally had the degree she’d dreamed about for more than twenty years. Her professional goals were put on hold when she became a single mom looking after two kids. Before motherhood, before divorce, McClarey had gone to business school.

McClarey, who described herself as “40ish,” said that when her sons insisted she go with them to college four years ago, her jaw dropped, having known most teens are eager to start lives away from their parents once they graduate from high school. She said, “But I was also delighted when I realized they weren’t joking and weren’t going to leave home unless I moved with them, so I said, ‘Well, all right—let’s go, then.’”

Now that McClarey has graduated, she doesn’t plan to leave Tallahassee anytime soon. She wants to stick around to encourage and support her sons, but there is also another matter to deal with. “My goal is to become an author someday,” she said. “So this summer, I’ll be working on getting my master’s degree.”

【推荐2】A talented teen painter in Waterbury is helping her very sick father with her love of art. The 15-year-old girl from Waterbury could become a well-known artist one day. For now, though, part of her love for painting is the chance to help her dad, who’s ill. “It’s kind of like an ache—a heartbreak,” she said. “You never want to see one of your loved ones get hurt.”

Her father is suffering from type-one diabetes(糖尿病) and is having trouble affording his mounting medical bills. “I’m suffering from heart disease, and blindness from my diabetes,” her father said. Angie has decided to put her talent as an artist to good use.

On Saturday, Sept. 23 from noon to 4 p. m., she’s hosting her own one-day art exhibition to sell her paintings and raise money mainly for her father’s medical bills. “Angie’s Art Exhibition” will be at the North End Recreation Centre, located at 262 North Main Street in Waterbury. She’s also using it to help the Fairfield Animal Shelter. Angie loves animals—you see that on many of her paintings.

This isn’t the first time Angie has put her paintbrush to good use helping others. Her mother tells News 8 that Angie has also used her work to help her community: a local family who lost their father, and children who needed school supplies.

“She has an angelic heart. If there were more people like her in the world, there wouldn’t be so much chaos and hate. I just look up to her and say ‘I’m very proud of you,’” her father said.

“My dad’s a great person. Though he goes through this, he still loves me and supports me in any way he can. It makes me feel important,” she said.

【推荐3】Family traditions are things that families do together on a regular basis.     1     They can be repeated daily, weekly, monthly or once a year. It is important for families to observe their traditions even as their children get older. Here are reasons to observe families traditions:

Family traditions create good feelings and special moments to remember. They are fun things to do.     2     These are the memories that will last a lifetime.

    3     Being a part of a family is more than living in the same home or having the same last name. It is about relationships and family bonds. Since family traditions are something you do together, they strengthen the bonds you have between each other creating a stronger sense of belonging to the family.

Family traditions help teens a lot when they are trying to figure out who they are, which job teenagers often do. A family encourages a teen to be a part of it and its traditions provide a strong foundation for teens to stand on.     4    

    5     Every day teens face some very difficult issues. Knowing that they are secure and have a family to turn to is a powerful tool to use against negative peer pressure, drug use influences, etc.

【推荐1】Understand your directional future, and plan ahead, but most of all plan a life which is full of excitement and a life which you’ll enjoy living.

As the manager of the World Youth Organization, I must say, “It is not quite easy to get this position.” My parents have always been top supporters for my educational progress rather than my true passion, which of course is the World Youth Organization. There have been many arguments when it comes to the controversial(有争议的) topics. Time after time I have to protect my belief and hope it will come true one day.

Proving one wrong, especially your parents, is a tough ride. But when you love something, you constantly put up a fight. You stand for what you believe in, which is one of the most important aspects of life. Any parent or career would require too much. “You must go to university” “You will not get anywhere without that degree”. All of those sentences make perfect sense, when you’re dreaming of becoming a nurse, doctor, teacher or scientist, or a career path which requires that important degree. But I believe what many parents see is that when one has the degree, he/she is automatically set on the right path of life.

However, when the truth is bitter(令人痛苦的), it doesn’t always go smoothly. If I am not full of passion, will I lead a happy life? Possibly. Will I be true to myself? No. However, if you are enthusiastic about the subject you study, you are willing to do everything to make it a reality.

A person can take many paths in life and you just need to find the best one for yourself. I strongly agree with considering something to fall back on just in case plan A doesn’t go well. Stick with your passion as plan A, unless staying in college can ensure that you are going to be okay in the future.

Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard, be devoted and above all, don’t let anyone limit your dreams.

【推荐2】I used to work in an office, which had a locust tree (槐树) growing outside the window. It had grown into a tall tree and must have been there for a long time. The tree blocked the view and made the office seem dull. Unfortunately, this happened to be the room assigned (分配) to me, and I was depressed by it for quite some time.

When the first spring came, everything was green except the locust tree. I felt very happy because I had thought it had died!

One morning, when I opened the window for some fresh air, I unexpectedly smelt a familiar sweet scent floating into my office which I could not name. Suddenly, I realized it was the locust tree! The tree that I thought dead was in full bloom!

From then on, I usually came to the office very early to see dew (露珠) forming on the locust tree blossoms, and was eager to see spring again every year.

During summer, the green leaves provided shade protecting me from the harsh (刺眼的) sunlight, but allowing enough light in to make it pleasant. In autumn, the leaves turned many different colors. Its beauty touched my soul. Many times, I thought to take photos but never did. Then, I had to leave in a hurry. Later in life, it became a great regret that I had not done so.

Actually, many times in our lives, we think we own something and thus do not value it. We don’t feel regretful until we lose it one day! Moreover, sometimes, we have to accept the things we don’t want and need to discover the hidden beauty to find unexpected joy!

The autumn wind woke me up from my dream. I took a deep breath and looked around. Suddenly I saw two people approaching me. As there was no one else in the park, they caught my attention immediately.

The two people were getting closer and I heard them laughing. At first, this laugh made me annoyed as if they had broken my unity with this park and disturbed my thoughts. But all of a sudden, I noticed the age of them — they were old. I could not clearly identify their age, but the woman looked as old as my grandmother. She had grey hair, blue eyes, and a smile on her face. And all the time she was looking at HIM...

“Jim, I think we should change the park. It’s the same every Saturday. You know...” “Sus! Hug me.”— that was all he said. He looked at her, smiled and gave her a hug.

At this very moment, I saw an old but strong man who knew his wife, and no matter how often she could be complaining, he loved her! I imagined the many things they might go through together — so many hardships that might make them cry, all the problems that they might be experiencing right now and the probability that one of them would outlive the other. And the one that outlives will think the life they spent together was the most beautiful period of their life.

They left, and I was sitting on my bench, shocked, and I had a special feeling in my heart. This feeling was hope! The old couple with all the complaints and tons of mistakes behind their backs made me realize that it was happiness that mattered in life. Eventually, all people would get old and die, and what made a difference was the person you had dedicated your life to. I made a wish — waking up one day, being old and feeling proud of being together with the person I loved to overcome all the obstacles ( 障碍) and fight for happiness.

【推荐1】It was a cold winter day. A woman drove up to the Rainbow Bridge tollbooth(收费站). “I’m paying for myself, and for the six cars behind me,” she said with a smile, handing over seven tickets. One after another, the next six drivers arriving at the tollbooth were informed, “Some lady up ahead already paid your fare.”

It turned out that the woman, Natalie Smith, had read something on a friend’s refrigerator: “Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” The phrase impressed her so much that she copied it down.

Judy Foreman spotted the same phrase on a warehouse wall far away from home. When it stayed on her mind for days, she gave up and drove all the way back to copy it down. “I thought it was beautiful,” she said, explaining why she’d taken to writing it at the bottom of all her letters, “like a message from above.” Her husband, Frank, liked the phrase so much that he put it up on the classroom wall for his students, one of whom was the daughter of Alice Johnson, a local news reporter. Alice put it in the newspaper, admitting that though she liked it, she didn’t know where it came from or what it really meant.

Two days later, Alice got a call from Anne Herbert, a woman living in Marin. It was in a restaurant that Anne wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper, after turning it around in her mind for days.

“Here’s the idea,” Anne says. “Anything you think there should be more of, do it randomly.” Her fantasies include painting the classrooms of shabby schools, leaving hot meals on kitchen tables in the poor part of town, and giving money secretly to a proud old lady. Anne says, “Kindness can build on itself as much as violence can.”

The acts of random kindness spread. If you were one of those drivers who found your fare paid, who knows what you might have been inspired to do for someone else later. Like all great events, kindness begins slowly, with every single act. Let it be yours!

【推荐2】Abbey Ahern, 34, who lives in Oklahoma, was shocked and heartbroken when she was told at her 19-week scan that her daughter had the incurable illness anencephaly (无脑畸形) which meant she would not live beyond a few hours. It ripped her heart out.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the illness means the baby has an underdeveloped brain and incomplete skull (颅骨). Approximately one in 10,000 babies in the US are born with anencephaly, most of which result in early death.

As a result, Abbey and her pilot husband Robert, also 34, decided to have a live birth so that they could spend time with their daughter and donate her organs — making Annie the first newborn baby donor in the state.

Afterwards they asked the doctor for the gender of their unborn child and decided to name her on the spot. They named her easily: Annie, which means, “grace”. Abbey said: “Carrying a seriously-ill baby to term was by far the most difficult thing I have ever done…For us, even in the middle of our terrible heartbreak we were able to see so much beauty.” The family spent just 14 hours and 58 minutes with Annie before she passed away.

Her organs were not available for transplant (移植) because her oxygen levels were too low — which Abbey said was “disappointing”— but they were able to donate her heart valves (瓣膜) and some of her organs could be used for research. She said: “Annie’s story is one of hope. I think it shows people that in the middle of tragedy, there can be beauty.”

【推荐3】Gary McKee ran 365 marathons in as many days to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice at Home West Cumbria.

Gary McKee, 53, from Cleator Moor in Cumbria raised his arms in victory and was cheered by a crowd of supporters as he completed his 365th marathon of the year on New Year’s Eve. As of (截止) 4 pm on Saturday, he had raised more than £890,000 for the charities Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice at Home West Cumbria, just shy of (缺少) his £1 million fundraising target. The father of three has gone through 22 pairs of sports shoes and has run 9,563 miles in rain, snow and sunshine to raise money for the charities.

“The support has been amazing and it always is and the West Cumbrians get behind us, but cancer affects everybody so it isn’t just a West Cumbrian thing, it’s a national thing,” said Gary.” I just hope that people do get behind us and we do raise those million pounds.” Gary has not only raised money for two fantastic charities, but he has also sprinkled magic on the local community and brought people together to support him with the challenge.

Chris Young, 29, ran 90 marathons with Mr. McKee. “Gary has set a good example to me this year when I began running frequently with him and has given me both physical and mental resilience (适应力) that I don’t know if I would have ever discovered in myself in a million years. I know I don’t just speak for myself on that front as he has inspired not just me or the few, but the entire local community and beyond,” said Chris, “This challenge has raised a great amount of money for two fantastic charities, but the impact (影响) Gary has provided to the community and people around him is immeasurable. A lot of people’s lives will be much better off thanks to Gary’s efforts, mine included.”

【推荐2】Good things will occur if parents always support their children and their natural talents. When 9-year-old Joe Whale’s parents encouraged their son to keep drawing, that’s what exactly they thought, even though he got into trouble for doodling (涂鸦) during class.

Joe’s artistic abilities were quickly noticed by those around him after he was sent to an after-school art class. In fact, Joe was invited to decorate the dining room of the “Number 4” restaurant in Shrewsbury, England. Now, Joe is known as The Doodle Boy and has his own website, as well as social media pages showing off his awesome art.

According to Greg, Joe’s dad, his son has always loved drawing and “was added to the Gifted register in primary school aged 4”. Greg also mentioned how long it took Joe to finish his drawings on the dining room walls in the restaurant. “Joe spent about 12 hours painting the wall.”

What’s more, Greg had some advice for parents who want to encourage their kids to develop their talents: “I would advise parents to encourage their children to always follow their passion and dreams and they should be there and offer help whenever their children need them.”

Joe’s teacher recognized his talent and posted his work on Instagram. Then his drawings caught the eye of the “Number 4” restaurant which asked him to come over and decorate their walls with his doodles. Now, his dad drives him there so he can draw his heart out. Who knew that drawing in an after-class program would lead Joe to get his first job at barely 9 years old?