【推荐1】More than 100 people, all visually damaged models, attended a fashion show organized by a 41-year-old Hempstead blind model, Annalee Smith, on Saturday.

Smith, who began modeling five years ago and won The Face of Kurvacious Model Competition last year, was diagnosed (诊断) with retinitis pigmentosa (色素性视网膜炎) at the age of 12. The rare genetic condition worsened her vision.

She explained that there were few visually damaged role models in the public field. And while the first New York fashion show starring blind models took the stage in 2016, visually damaged models still don’t have a largo presence in fashion.

So Smith began planning her own show over a year ago. She initially planned for only a handful of models, but after announcing the event, she expanded the number of participants after reaching more visually damaged woman that she expected. “I’m inspired even by my own self,” she said.

Rafia Lawal, also a model, 37, was diagnosed with cataracts (白内障) as a young girl. She auditioned (试演) for a spot on “America’s Next Top Model” during the show’s early seasons but wasn’t selected. She blamed it on her previous lack of confidence and insecurity due to her disability. “Instead of looking at the camera, I was kind of closing my eyes,” she said. Now filled with confidence, she said she viewed the event as a chance to correct the belief that blind or visually damaged women don’t care about fashion.

【推荐2】The wheelchair-bound young man, a patient of mine, was pushed to the lectern at the high school to deliver his commencement address. His face still partially paralyzed, he spoke in a soft voice. But Mark Orsini delivered a powerful speech and received a thunderous applause from his fellow students, who had wondered if he’d live to graduate.

The 18-year-old had developed Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause paralysis. Soon he was almost completely paralyzed.

His parents insisted that he was a fighter. He’d get through this and go on to attend Dartmouth. But meanwhile, immobile and on a ventilator (呼吸器), how was he going to ask questions or be involved in his care?

The solution was remarkable: The Orsinis would sit at Mark’s side and recite the alphabet. When they got to a letter Mark needed to spell a word, he’d nod “yes”. They’d write it down, then start over and wait for him to nod again. They never lost patience and Mark was involved with every decision. Standard treatment hadn’t helped, so I proposed a risky procedure to filter (过滤) his blood. After treatment he showed improvement and soon he could move his toes, his legs and then his arms.

Mark has graduated from Dartmouth. I saw him in my office some time ago, and he was feeling great. But there was a lot left unsaid. I wanted to say I was in awe of him, and that his parents were some of the most amazing people I’d ever met, sitting by his bed for hours, patiently listening to their child speak letter by letter. I wanted to tell him of my shame when my children tried to talk to me and I brushed them off because I didn’t have time to listen. I wanted to say I’d never forget him or his parents. But words failed me.

【推荐3】Armenian musician Astrid Poghosyan, a 29-year-old violinist, takes great pride in the Chinese name she picked for herself, Ma Xingxing. Last summer, she were busy making preparations for a series of in-person and online music events and cultural exchange programs. Poghosyan said she always put all her energies into the projects which she took part in, whether they were offline or online events, as she believed that every little effort would help her realize her music-related dreams.

“I believe music knows no borders, and cultural exchanges through music are especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic (流行病),” she said. Having studied and worked in China for 13 years, Poghosyan has now become a real China hand, skilled at the country’s language and culture. Such a multicultural background has certainly helped her stand out in her present job. For Poghosyan, the life she now leads is a far cry from when she first came to China in 2009 to learn to play the violin at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. At that time, Poghosyan could not speak a word of Chinese. “And my high-school-level English wasn’t of much help at that time,” she said. “So I decided to learn Chinese to solve the communication problem.”

She has a strong desire for Chinese movies, traditional festivals and history stories, all of which helped her through the difficult language-learning process. As she gradually buried herself in the Chinese language and culture, she also started to make Chinese friends and explore the energetic city life of Shanghai.

“Since I first came to Shanghai, I have always been impressed by the kindness of the people here,” she said. “Even when I couldn’t speak Chinese, in the first days, everyone I met gave me a big smile. Their smiles have made me feel the warmth of the city.”

【推荐1】A few years ago, my wife and I had a chance to live in New York for a year. I’ve always loved jogging, so I was really happy when I found the apartment we lived in was next to the Central Park. I could go for a run before I went to work every morning.

Because a lot of people had told me to be careful of robbers (抢劫者) in the park, I didn’t usually take anything with me. How could they rob me if I didn’t have anything? But one morning my wife asked me to buy some bread on the way home, so I put a $10 bill in my back pocket.

While I was running through the park, another jogger ran into me. He apologized and continued running. I thought it was kind of strange, so I checked my pocket and found that the money was missing. I immediately started to run after the jogger. I finally caught up and took him by the arm. I started shouting and demanding that he should give me the $10 bill. This seemed to frighten him, and he quickly put his hand in his pocket and gave me the money. Then he ran away as fast as he could.

I bought the bread and went home. As soon as I got home, I began to tell my wife my story. “You won't believe what happened to me,” I started. She immediately stopped me, “1 know. You left the money for the bread on the kitchen table.”

【推荐2】“Let’s go see Santa!” Samantha said, pointing．

I shrugged. I found out long ago that the real Santa doesn’t hang out in malls. He’s always too busy checking his list for kids twice and supervising the elves (小精灵)．

Last year, “Santa” had a tattoo on his arm. I pretended I didn’t notice and named all the toys I ever wanted, until he was about to kick me out. I like playing around with fake Santas．

We joined the line and after what seemed like ages, it was our turn. Samantha’s eyes were glowing with excitement as she listed her wishes. She went back to Mom and Dad with a delighted smile and some candies．

I sat on Santa’s lap and moved from side to side to get comfortable. He made a face. “Have you been good this year? Ho! Ho!”

“Oh, yes! I played nicely with my sister, obeyed my parents, and teachers are fond of me.”

A suspicious smile appeared on his jolly face. “What would you like for Christmas, my boy?” “Santa, I want a new teacher for Christmas.”

He got a little surprised and looked at me. “Don’t you want any new games, or a baseball mitt (手套)?”

“No. I want a new teacher who doesn’t give too much homework. I don’t have time to play anyway, with all those assignments I’m getting.”

It was worth waiting in line just to see the look on his face. He gave me a coloring book and a Christmas sticker. Just before I left, he pulled me closer and said in a low tone, “I’ll make sure Miss Coleman makes your wish come true.”

How did he ... that voice ... “Mr. Principal?”

I guess sometimes wishes do come true. I had a lighter workload until June!