【推荐2】Early in my senior year at Whitney Young, I went for an obligatory(强制的)appointment with the school college counselor to whom I'd been assigned. I can't tell you much about the counselor, because I deliberately and almost instantly blotted this experience out. I don't remember her age or race or how she happened to look at me that day when I turned up in her office doorway, full of pride at the fact that I was on track to graduate in the top 10 percent of my class at Whitney Young, that I'd been elected treasurer of the senior class, made the National Honor Society, and managed to vanquish(击败，征服)every doubt I'd arrived with as a nervous ninth grader.

I don't remember whether she inspected my transcript(成绩报告单)before or after I announced my interest in joining my brother at Princeton the following fall. It's possible, in fact, that during our short meeting the college counselor said things to me that might have been positive and helpful, but I recall none of it. Because rightly or wrongly, I got stuck on one single sentence the woman uttered. “I'm not sure,” she said, giving me a careless, patronizing(居高临下的) smile,“that you're Princeton material.”

Her judgment was as swift as it was dismissive, probably based on a quick-glance calculus involving my grades and test scores. It was some version. I imagine, of what this woman did all daylong and with practiced efficiency, telling seniors where they did and didn't belong. I'm sure she figured she was only being realistic. I doubt that she gave our conversation another thought.

But as I've said, failure is a feeling long before it's an actual result. And for me, it felt like that's exactly what she was planting –a suggestion of failure long before I'd even tried to succeed. She was telling me to lower my sights.

But three years of keeping up with the ambitious kids at Whitney Young had taught me that I was something more. I wasn't going to let one person's opinion dislodge   (强行移除)everything I thought I knew about myself. I would apply to Princeton. Then I settled down and got back to work.

And ultimately, six or seven months later, a letter arrived in our mailbox on Euclid Avenue, offering me admission to Princeton. I never went to the college counselor to tell her she'd been wrong—that I was Princeton material after all. It would have done nothing for either of us. And in the end, I hadn't needed to show her anything. I was only showing myself.

【推荐3】My family visited the coastal town of St. Pete Beach. Florida. With its pretty sandy beaches, deep blue waters and year-round sunshine, it’s clear to see why St. Pete is a popular tourist destination among travelers from around the world.

Just a few feet from our apartment, we found ourselves walking on white sand towards the bright blue ocean. We were soon greeted by a man offering us the use of one of his luxury beach cabanas (小屋) for the day at a very reasonable price and settled into a full day of relaxation. The peaceful atmosphere was a true escape from the hustle and bustle (喧嚣) of the city. It was so easy to while away the days from morning until dusk, enjoying the warmth of the sun’s rays and getting lost in a good book, before taking a quick swim in the calm waters to cool off.

Once the sun set, there was a various range of bars and restaurants to choose from just a few steps away. The warm evening atmosphere was peppered with the mouthwatering smell of sizzling freshly-caught fish. The only hardship was trying to decide where to dine each evening with so many tasty options!

After a while, we began to desire a bit more adventure on our trip which, to our delight, we discovered was easy to come by. On one of our outings, we took a boat trip to the undisturbed island of Egmont Key State Park. There we explored the ruins of a military outpost built in 1898 and a 150-year-old working lighthouse. The island is also a protected wildlife reserve. On our return journey, we were excited to discover we were being followed by over a dozen dolphins, who were taking turns to leap out of the water playfully in the wake of our boat.

【推荐3】When Nathan Johnston was younger, people told him he was “dreaming” when he talked about starting his own business. The 27-year-old lives with cerebral palsy (脑瘫), uses a wheelchair and cannot read or write. “All those hurtful things said to me by several different people drive me to where I’m right now,” Mr Johnston said. “They made me a bit angry-but they made me more determined.

On International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD), his dream will become a reality. Working from his dining room table, he created a fully accessible social media platform called Disability Club. Mr Johnston entered his concept for Disability Club in an innovation competition and was awarded a $10,000 grant. Mr Johnston admitted he was “shocked” at the support he had received for Disability Club.

“First I want to get everyone in Australia on board, whether it’s free members or corporate members, and then I want to take it international,” he said. Along with Disability Club, Mr Johnston has also developed a music streaming platform, DME3, for musicians with disability.

Mr Johnston said it was important on IDPwD that every day he and other people with disability were treated like everyone else. “It makes me feel quite proud and warm inside to know I’m getting treated equally,” he said. “I’m excited for the future and feel like there are bigger things to come. No matter what your dreams are, no matter what capabilities you have got, if you’ve got the support of your family and friends in whatever you do, then you can do it.”