【推荐1】I’ve always enjoyed the idea of travelling and volunteering for a few months in southern Europe and living close to the sea, surrounded by nature, staying with the locals and exploring their culture. So when I had a chance to make this daydream a reality, I decided to apply for my first experience on a farm in Portugal.

The farm is located a few kilometers away from Lagos, in a remote location in the hills. It was designed around the idea of connecting nature and technology in a green way and with a self-sustainable approach. My host, Lucio, is really passionate about the do-it-yourself initiative or maker culture. He built and decorated his house using natural materials. He changed the shipping container into an electronic lab.

When my host learned that I majored in electronics at college, he was very trusting and encouraged me to work on one of the most important issues on the farm — the water well’s pump operation. Since the well was the only water source for the entire farm, it turned out to be a tough task for me. I wasn’t even sure if I could do it in the beginning, but with my host’s encouragement, I gradually made progress and was able to build a working prototype (原型).

Lucio was very excited when we connected the DIY prototype I built to the pump control panel successfully. I still remember the moment when Lucio shook my hand with a big smile and thanked me for solving one of the farm’s most difficult problems. With his trust, I got to work on more complex projects afterwards too!

Before this volunteer experience, I never thought my help would be so appreciated. I realized that I could make a very positive impact on people’s lives by sharing knowledge to build something useful.

【推荐3】My middle child was born and rushed to the newborn intensive care unit (ICU). I was shocked to learn that he was sick. Suddenly, my life was out of control. My husband and I with two full-time careers were dropping our 2-year-old at day care each morning before racing to visit our son at the hospital.

“Let me know what I can do,” many of our loved ones said. Instead of reaching out, I withdrew and struggled to manage everything on my plate. Why did it feel awkward being on the receiving end of assistance?

Being uncomfortable asking for help is an almost universal experience. We may worry about how embarrassing it will be if someone says no. We may also worry about how guilty we will feel if they say yes. “Do you see the person who asks for support as a burden?” I asked my mother. “No, of course not,” she said. “In fact, helping is one of the most rewarding experiences we can have.” Her words resonated(引起共鸣) with me. I was raised to be independent and to help others is something I’ve always enjoyed.

I felt funny relying on people outside my inner circle. I thought leaning on my closest family and friends would be most comfortable, but they lived an hour or more away. Then the favors from others made me feel loved and supported. With them often taking care of meals and other areas of our lives, it was easier to focus and take in news from doctors.

We all wish people could read our minds, know what we need and volunteer it. Actually, they have to understand that we need help, and know what kind you want them to give—that means you really do have to ask. I’m now a pro at asking for help. I don’t only rely on my inner circle. I have a large community of resources—which benefits all of us.

【推荐1】Anxiety has followed me around like a lost dog looking for a bone for years now. I feel it the most strongly when I’m worried about my health or my daughter’s health. I feel an unusual sensation and all of a sudden: panic! My worries are not limited to health concerns though, and they go in the direction of anxiety about the future of the world, worries about my finances, and fears that I’m not good enough.

Let me go back a few decades, back to when anxiety wasn’t part of my life. When I was a child, I loved art. I drew and I colored because that’s what I enjoyed. I went to college to become an art teacher. When I finished school in May of 2001, I had a part-time design job, and after the event of September 11th, 2001, I knew I needed to travel, to get out of the safe life I was living in my hometown. That’s when my creative practices fell by the wayside.

Luckily, after the birth of my daughter in 2014, the desire to create came back. At first, I was using a tiny corner of a bedroom in our rental house to paint. Eventually we bought a house, and I had the space to spread out, ready to paint whenever the urge struck. That’s when I started noticing something important: Painting stilled me in a way that nothing else did. It eased my fears and anxieties in a way other practice (deep breathing, etc) did not, at least not as consistently. When anxious thoughts start, I know what to do. I head into my studio, grab some materials, and start creating. Soon enough, the worries are gone and instead my mind is quiet.

I think the reason why painting is so helpful for my anxiety is that, in order for me to be anxious, I have to be worrying about the future and what it holds. When I’m doing an activity that requires my full concentration, I have to be in the moment. It doesn’t matter if you’re artistic. The only thing that matters is finding a way to be here, in the now, instead of in the unknowable future.

【推荐2】Taylor A. Humphrey, a 33-year-old woman from New York, works as a professional baby name, charging people thousands of dollars for helping them pick out the perfect names for their offspring.

Humphrey has been a full-time baby name for years. Her services range from a simple phone call and a list of bespoke names based on the answers to a questionnaire, to a $10,000 option that involves genealogical (家谱) investigations and selecting a name on-brand with the family business.

Humphrey has been interested in baby names most of her life. She recalls losing herself in baby-name books that her mother got for her from the library as a child, and she never really grew out of it. After graduating from university, she tried a bunch of careers, including screenwriting, but even then, the most exciting part of the job was picking out character names.

In 2015, the young New Yorker took her passion for names to social media, posting free advice and name suggestions on social media platforms like Instagram and TokTok, where her clips have millions of views. It wasn’t until 2018 that she realized her passion could be the basis of a profitable niche (商机) business.

So how does a professional baby namer find the right names for every client? Well, in Taylor’s case, she search the Social Security database for data, scans film credits, observes street signs, and keeps an eye on trends. For example, names associated with disasters (Katrina, Isis, etc.) aren’t too popular nowadays, and neither are those of popular tech services like Alexa or Siri.

Apparently, one of the most common issues of clients who turn to a professional baby namer is running out of names. On their third or fourth baby, people run out of inspiration, and that’s where people like Taylor come in. Then there are situations where families want a name befitting their family’s heritage or one associated with certain traits, and that’s Taylor’s bread and butter.

【推荐3】One weekend last summer, I paid a visit to the Sahara Desert with my boyfriend David. Before we went to the Sahara Desert, we had heard about the sandstorms there. But we didn’t believe we would be so unlucky to experience one.

We were in a jeep with our guide when someone who was traveling with us said a sandstorm was coming. But the guide shook his head, saying we shouldn’t worry. He took us straight to the place where we would take a camel ride.

We were watching sunrise after the camel ride when the sandstorm came. The winds roared through the valleys between dunes, lifting the sand until it was impossible to breathe.

David found me in the sand. Then he began taking off his long scarf around his neck and face, wanting to put it around my face instead. But I rejected it. Instead, I managed to put on a travel jacket that I had put in my backpack and pulled the hood around my face. David held me and we walked in the sand. All I wanted was to get back to our camp and out of the storm.

Unfortunately, getting back to the camp meant facing the storm. Both David and I climbed on our camels. Sand hit every part of my body. With eyes shut tight, I was blind, unable to control the camel. When we finally stopped, David helped me to get off the camel and led me to the side of a long black tent, where he rolled out a blanket and helped me to sit. We saw our guide near us. “I thought you guys were going to kill me,” he said. “There were signs, if I had paid attention. The driver asked me twice about doing the ride tomorrow morning instead of tonight, but everyone was so excited about riding camels that I didn’t want to see all of you feel upset.”

Most of us laughed it off. A few even took a pleasure in the experience. Though I suffered a lot, I didn’t regret my trip there. How many people can say they’ve ridden a camel through a sandstorm in the Sahara Desert?