【推荐1】When I was 12 years old, I already knew that my teen years were going to be the worst years of my life. I was a total outsider, bullied(欺凌) at school. I felt completely alone in my small town.

But by starting to do volunteer work when I was 14, I turned my problem into a passion for helping others. The opportunity to practice kindness made me feel like my life had a greater purpose. The more positive energy I shared, the more kindness and appreciation I received. I realized that my purpose in life would be to reach out to people, specifically teenagers, and help them feel less alone.

Books were my true friends back then. I was so thankful that the authors who wrote those books. The kindness that they offered me with their books saved my life. One of my biggest dreams was to become an author, so I could write books that would help other teenagers the way those books helped me.

After surviving terrible experiences at school and at home, I made a choice to take the optimistic, positive road in the next steps of my journey. My dream career, one I thought was only possible for the authors I loved, is what I am doing now. I have been a full-time author of teen novels since 2007 and am grateful for this amazing opportunity to reach out to readers every single day.

Kindness saved me when I needed help the most. Even small acts of kindness can change someone’s life. You never know what someone else is going through. But by practicing daily kindness, you become an architect of positive change.

【推荐2】I first began experiencing anxiety and depression at the age of 14, after being bullied (欺凌) at school for years. While at first anxiety and depression would come and go, it eventually became a constant part of my life.

I was so eager to find the solution to overcoming my anxiety and depression that I tried everything from when I was in college to graduate school: mood-changing medication, special teas, yoga, anything I read about in books, and advice given by doctors. Despite this, I still felt I hadn’t even come close to managing the problem.

But one afternoon, my eyes fell upon an article in a magazine I was reading that talked about how dogs were able to help people with anxiety and depression. The very next day, I decided to get a dog—a corgi. When I brought my little corgi, Buddy, home. I didn’t realize how much he would change my life. It didn’t happen right away, however.

Once the “puppy excitement” went away, my anxiety and depression came back as usual. One morning, I woke up with those familiar feeling again. I didn’t want to get out of bed. I turned to pull the covers back over my head and give up. That’s when I saw Buddy.

Buddy started jumping all over me, licking my face, letting me know that it was time to go outside. It was as if he were saying, “There’s no time to be sad; the world is amazing!” And for the first time in my life, my life was changing. I really was a new person. This was my new beginning.

It’s been more than a year since that day, and I’ve never spent another morning unable to get out of bed. I’ve not cried myself to sleep or spent my days stuck with fear and regret. Sure, I still have days when I feel sad or anxious. But with Buddy, my best friend, by my side, I’ve finally learned how to manage these feelings and emotions.

【推荐3】5-year-old Taylor Hooper was just one of the 35,0000 people who were attending the Foo Fighters concert in Belfast, Norther Ireland last week. Not only is the American rock group his favorite band, it was also his first ever concert.

Taylor's mother, Nikki Hooper, says that she and her husband have always been huge fans of the Foo Fighters. So when the band played in their home city, they decided it was finally time for their son to see their beloved rock and rockers in concert.

Mrs Hooper told BBC．“We called the event organizers and they said it would be no problem, but that we should know it would be a loud music event, so we got Taylor some special headphones. When we got there everyone was so welcoming to him.”

Throughout the show, the audience continuously made Taylor and his parents move closer to the stage. Furthermore, Mrs. Hooper helped her son stand out from the crowd by making him a sign that said he was a 5-year-old attending his first concert.

When Foo Fighters front man Dave Grohl finally saw the sign and read it aloud into the microphone, the crowd began chanting for them to bring the youngster onto the stage. When the stage managers brought the boy to the stage, Grohl asked Taylor to show the crowd how to dance．

The small boy then danced to the whole song, making him an “Internet wonder”. The band also invited him backstage to give him a number of gifts, including a pair of Taylor Hawkins's drumsticks(鼓槌).

【推荐1】When school started on that warm August day, I threw myself into everything I did, including playing volleyball. I decided to become beautiful, or at the very least, skinny. I stopped eating completely. Soon I began losing weight, which thrilled me, and I even grew to love the tiredness and lightheadedness that came with my poor diet, for those feelings meant that I was winning.

As the season progressed, things had become tense between my head volleyball coach, Coach Smith, and me. She felt that something was wrong with my health. She talked with me about my eating and was angry that I wouldn’t listen to her when she tried to make me eat. She tried to persuade me in a determined way and so we fought constantly. Then my hunger started to affect my performance. I was so tired that practice and games were becoming a struggle. One afternoon, with hurt in her eyes, Coach Smith asked me what I had eaten and I told her nothing yet, but I was going to. She looked at me, disappointment in her eyes, knowing she couldn’t make me stop, and walked away.

A couple of weeks later I attended a formal dinner for our volleyball team. I stood there as my coach managed to say something nice about me. I realized then that I had ruined my senior year by being disrespectful, and I had probably ruined hers as well. So that evening I wrote her a letter apologizing and thanking her.

Then one Saturday, as I was reading in the library, I felt someone gently take my arm and say softly, “Lynn Jones, how are you doing?” I looked up and saw the familiar face. “Thanks for the letter,” she said. “It meant a lot.”

When I think of a coach, I think of someone above me, someone who gives instruction-not a friend. But Coach Smith is different, and, like any other good friend, she dealt with my problem in a determined way even when I hated her for it at that time. I didn’t deserve her kindness, but she gave it anyway. I will forever be grateful for her help, and now for her friendship.

【推荐3】Coming of age is that time in each of our lives when we begin to see the possibilities. The world opens up in ways that mature our vision and give us a sense of responsibility and gratefulness. Connor had just started college and loved being at that stage in his life where he could eat all the pizza he wanted, yet engage in adult conversations with his parents about the responsibility to make life better for others. Connor’s optimism was infectious. There was so much he could do, and so much he could become.

But it all ended one night when Connor was distracted while driving on a Colorado high-way. A young man, who gave off so much light, suddenly went dark.

Connor’s father, David, took it particularly hard. A father sees more than his own traits (性格) in his son; he sees greater possibilities than he achieved. Taking that hope away left David feeling at a loss. But Connor’s optimism was one of those traits passed on to him by his father. So, David got to work.

First, he established the Honor Connor Scholarship Fund to reward students who served in the community. Next, he went to work creating a research-based curriculum that educates University of Colorado Boulder students and their families about the dangers of texting while driving. It includes a very simple three-part promise: Do not text or use social media while driving, speak out if riding with a driver who is distracted and encourage friends and family to drive phone-free.

David now works with lecturers at various colleges and high schools, ensuring young minds understand how statistically at risk they are when they text while driving. He’s become a passionate advocate for preparing young people to drive safely and not reach for their phones while they’re at the wheel. “I just don’t want other parents to go through what I did when I lost Connor,” says David. “It’s just so preventable.”