【推荐1】“Will you go on this ride with me? ”my friend’s eleven-year-old daughter Jenny asked. I could have made up an excuse for not wanting to have a go. But earlier that morning, I was ready to push myself out of my comfort zone. Jenny stared at the ride, eager to experience the same excitement as the brave group of riders in front of us. I couldn’t say no.

After climbing into our seats, an attendant reached up, pulled down the bar, and locked it in place. The ride lifted us slowly, then turned us over like the blueberry pancakes I had eaten three hours earlier, and hoped to keep in their proper place. As I stared at the concrete directly below us, I had a sudden feeling of great fear. I wondered if I had replacement coverage for the phone that I was sure would slip out of my pocket and break into a million tiny pieces. I wondered when my new health insurance would kick in.

The ride touched down after twisting and turning our bodies. My friend was waiting for us at the exit. “How was it?” she asked. “Fine. No big deal,” I said, even though my head was spinning(旋转)like one of the other annoying machines dotting the midway.

Jenny walked ahead of us and convinced me to keep taking chances and sample more rides.

“Oh, look at the pirate ship(海盗船)!” she said. “That looks like a calm ride.”

“Let’s go, Auntie!” she said as she rushed to join others in line.

I followed her, confident the ride would be uneventful. When I reached the bottom, I tapped out like a WWF wrestler admitting defeat. Although my body was shaking and my head was still spinning, I felt exhilarated just like I was on cloud nine. That morning, I had set a goal, taken my first step to reach it, and felt the joy of achievement.

Each time you try something for the first time, you will grow—a little piece of the fear of the unknown is removed and replaced with a sense of satisfaction.

【推荐1】After working a long shift at a restaurant, most people want to collapse on the sofa at the end of the day. But it’s not the case with Eliot Middleton. Instead, he picks up his tool kit and heads out to his front yard, where he works on one of the many junk cars resting there.

On his days off,Eliot replaces,repairs,and saves auto (汽车) parts from donated vehicles. He learned how to repair cars as a teenager when his dad gave him two that needed major repairs as soon as he got his driver’s license. He was tasked with taking the good parts from both vehicles and creating one safe, reliable ride. He did it and the project left him with a lifelong appreciation for auto repair.

Eliot studid and worked as an auto mechanic for years after high school. But in 2020, he purchased a barbecue restaurant just days before the COVID-19 forced restaurants to shut down. Instead of panicking, he focused on takeout and outdoor dining to keep his new business going on.

No matter how busy he gets at the restaurant, he never loses sight of his passion project. He has collected about 90 donated cars, which he keeps at his home and at friends’ properties nearby. He has already refurbished 28 of them so he could give them away to struggling families in his community.

Eliot donated the first car he repaired to the mother of a child with a disability, as she needed a vehicle to go to the hospital regularly. The freedom that comes with transportation enabled her to finally get a job and make positive changes in her family’s life! Since then, Eliot has started a nonprofit called Middleton’s Village To Village. Its mission is simple: “We repair donated cars to donate them to families in need!”

【推荐2】When a situation becomes serious, it can be difficult to think clearly. Luckily, Austen MacMillan of Florida had the knowledge he needed to save a life. It all started when he and his friend, Jason Piquette, were swimming in a pool. Everything was going fine, but things took a turn when Jason tried to see how long he could hold his breath underwater.

For a moment, 12-year-old Austen patiently waited for Jason to return to the surface. But as seconds turned to minutes, it became clear that something was wrong. By minute five or six, Austen knew it was time to action.

As quickly as he could, Austen swam to get a hold of Jason, bringing him back to the shallow end of the pool. He ran outside, screaming for help, but nobody was around. Finally, he performed CPR (心肺复苏), something he had never done before.

“I just saw it from a TV show— ‘Stranger Things’, ” Austen said. “After I gave him CPR, he woke up a few minutes later.”

Right when Jason regained consciousness, Austen’s dad got home and immediately called 911. It turned out that Jason had passed out at about 30 seconds after holding his breath. When Austen’s mom heard what happened, she could hardly believe it.

“When I first got the call from my husband, I almost felt like I couldn’t speak,” Christina MacMillan, his mom said. “My body was nearly locked up. It was definitely a really critical moment. He’s really brave.”

Through this accident, both families hope others will learn the importance of teaching kids CPR and how to dial 911 on a cellphone that is locked. And as far as Jason goes, he’s doing just fine, and he couldn’t be more grateful.

“I’m just so amazed at how wise he was in that moment,” Jason said. “And I always want him to know that he is a hero.”

【推荐3】The True Story Behind “Clouds” and the Real Zach Sobiech

This Friday, Disney will release the movie “Clouds,” an inspiring film about a teenage songwriter Zach Sobiech who rose to fame before passing away from osteosarcoma, a deadly bone cancer. The movie chronicles Zach’s senior year of high school and the last year of his life. But how much of “Clouds” is based on the real Zach Sobiech?

The real Zach Sobiech was a teenager and singer/songwriter from Stillwater, Minnesota. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the age of 14. A few years later, doctors told him his cancer was terminal. That’s when Zach decided to write a handful of songs to say goodbye to his friends and family. His most popular song, “Clouds,” went viral, first in his home state of Minnesota, then across the United States and around the world.

Before Zach passed away, he and his family decided to create the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund to raise money for better treatments and cures for osteosarcoma. Proceeds from Zach’s music go towards his fund, which has raised millions for osteosarcoma research. Zach was inspired to give back in this way not only because of his own struggle with osteosarcoma, but because he watched other kids go through harsh cancer treatments alongside him.

“I often think about a moment during Zach’s fight where he was sharing a hospital room with a young boy, who also had cancer.” Laura, Zach’s mom, said. “He said to me, ‘Mom, if I had to die so that little boy could live, I would.’ Ever since, that’s been the goal of the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund-to use Zach’s story and legacy to fund research that will save the lives of kids with osteosarcoma.”

In the seven years since Zach’s death, researchers funded by the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund have made many new genetic discoveries about osteosarcoma and opened a clinical trial for a new drug to treat the disease.

“Without the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund, we would not have the core of researchers and scientists and dedicated effort for patients with osteosarcoma,” said Brenda, a cancer researcher at the University of Minnesota.