【推荐3】At age 14, Kristin Beale suffered injuries in an accident. She was riding one Jet Ski on a lake when a schoolmate ran over her, leaving her with a serious spinal cord (脊髓) injury.

Before the accident, Beale was an active student at Henrico’s Deep Run High School, involved in competition cheerleading and hockey. Afterward, she had to relearn how to perform daily tasks. “When I was in hospital, doctors told my parents I would be a vegetable, and that I wouldn’t be able to breathe or swallow. I wanted to disprove everything they had on their list,” she says.

Beale began writing about her experiences while working on her recovery in California. By the time she finished, she had written 32 stories. She narrowed them down and eventually gathered them into her first nonfiction book, “Greater Things”, about how people react to her and how she has overcome her injuries and stays positive. “I never thought it would become a book, but that’s how it all started,” Beale says.

Her second book, “Date Me”, is a collection of comics coming from three dozen unsuccessful dates. “I would turn those dates into comic strips,” Beale says. Instead of typical banter, she says, each meeting was a “disability-centered date. It felt like interviewing about my disability. I would open up on the dates.” Trying to find humor in something that is not really funny. Beale drew comics about her dates’ reactions to her wheelchair-bound status. She didn’t start dating to get material for a book. Beale notes, “I love to meet people, go out and do things. It turned into,’ How can I turn a waste of time and hurt feelings into something good?’”

Now working as a literary scout for her publisher, Morgan James Publishing in Hampton, Beale continues to write. Another nonfiction book, “A Million Suns”, details her journey “from the darkness of disability into the sunlight of circumstance” and how she has found happiness.

【推荐1】It lasted just 24 seconds, but it’s an unforgettable moment that has caught hearts everywhere. During a basketball game at Zeeland East High School in Zeeland, Michigan, the crowd fell quiet, giving high school junior Jules Hoogland an opportunity to take a shot.

Hoogland, who is blind, followed along as a woman tapped (轻敲) a yellow pole against the backboard and a teammate guided her to the perfect position. Thirteen seconds later, the 11th grader nailed a free throw and the silent audience erupted in roaring cheers and applause.

Zeeland Public Schools shared the extraordinary moment, filmed by Brandy Navetta, the school district’s communications and marketing director on Twitter, along with the words, “You thought national basketball tournaments were infusive, but Zeeland Public Schools Unified Basketball took over the court this morning. And the crowd went wild!”

Hoogland’s mom Karen said she was so proud of her achievement. She also praised the young students for their respect and sensitivity towards her daughter. Hoogland set a new record on what blind people can achieve and wanted this video to inspire all those who are facing challenges. “I’m hoping this video will inspire others to keep trying no matter what their challenges are,” she said.

Students from both Zeeland East and Zeeland West High School witnessed Hoogland’s uplifting shot, part of an inclusive basketball game with zLinks. Nathan VandeGuchte, a special education teacher with Zeeland West, added that inclusive sports has made a significant impact on students at Zeeland schools since the zLinks program started. “It was so moving to see Hoogland hit that shot again in front of 2,500 people,” said Nathan. “The lens (视角) with which many of our special education students are viewed has now been forever changed. They know that they are important, and they recognize that they are contributing members of our student body!”

【推荐2】A 23-year-old woman has achieved an unbelievable thing that many of us dream of—visiting every country on Earth.

Lexie Alford was born into a family of travel agents, which gave her the opportunity to tour places such as Cambodia, Dubai and Egypt during her childhood, according to Forbes magazine. She began saving up at age 12 to fund her goal of visiting all countries. By her 18th birthday, she had travelled to 72 nations. In October 2016 she realized she could see the remaining nations on her list in time to set official record.                    Many people follow her travels on social media platform Instagram and she decided to chase the world record partly to inspire others. “Honestly, in the beginning, I simply wanted to push the limits of what I thought I could do with my life                    and see as much of the world as possible in the process,” she told Forbes. “It wasn’t until things started getting really challenging that I realized I was inspiring people around me, especially young women.”

“I also loved visiting Northern Pakistan, the natural beauty of the mountains and kindness of the locals was astonishing,” Lexie Alford said. “The most pleasant surprise about travelling to all these misunderstood areas of the world was that the countries for which I had least expectations endd up being the most amazing.”

“My advice for young people is to believe that you can do anything you set your mind to do. If you want to travel, you have to prioritize (优先处理) it over other aspects of your life.”