【推荐1】When I was a ten-year-old girl, my mother determined to lead us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what our mother meant. What she meant was not that we could take drawing classes or painting classes but that we would have to spend our afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles. It was almost as dreadful as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with our friends at the swimming pool?

First we had to read about ancient Egyptians and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Age who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn’t see what was so great about art.

On our last visit to the museum, things changed when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the woman’s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn’t stop looking at the painting! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.

【推荐2】I was in the seventh grade, and we had moved to New Jersey in November. By then, everyone already had had their own friends, and no one wanted to talk to a new girl. To make things worse, they put me in “Section L”. I found out later that everyone called Section L “Loserville”. It was sort of an open secret that it was the section for troublemakers and not-so-smart kids. When I found out, I wanted to scream. I had always been a good student and had amazing friends, and now everyone thought I was a loser!

I did text my friends in Illinois almost every night, especially my best friend, Ana. At first my friends wanted to hear all about it. But then some stopped texting back once I said something about how miserable I was. One night when I was texting with Ana, I complained about another friend who had just done that. Ana’s texts came really fast for the next few minutes and they surprised me. She said that she was tired of hearing about how bad everything was in New Jersey, too. She said she did not want to hurt my feelings but that I needed to stop feeling so sorry for myself all the time, and I had to try to make things better.

The next day, I thought a lot about what Ana had said. She was right!

I wish I could say that everything changed overnight after that, but it didn’t. I was still stuck in “Loserville”, and some people were still mean (苛刻) to me, even though I tried to just stay out of their way.

But what did change was me — I stopped feeling so sorry for myself and did something about making friends. I signed up to make sets for the school play. I met a lot of new people there, and suddenly I had friends to say hi to in the halls!

I still miss Illinois sometimes, but life in New Jersey isn’t so hard anymore. Even though I couldn’t change my situation, I could change my attitude — and that made all the difference.

【推荐1】The 14-year-old, Amit Dodani, a talented speaker and persuasive debater at school, suffered as a child from a speech disorder.

He began working with a speech therapist (理疗师) when he was 6 years old, but it was his decision to try out for debate team at the end of seventh grade that helped him most.

“That experience changed my life,” he wrote after his team went on to nationals. “It gave me hope, and helped me see my own true potential.”

Since he launched MynameMystory last year, the site has attracted national and even international attention. Amit’s mom said her son’s website is meant to send a message that no one is alone in their experience, showing how people overcame their challenges and how others can, too.

“The big thing that clicked in Amit was the belief that people are really needed (to help each other) in this country,” she said. “I wasn’t surprised he wanted to do this, because at such a young age he had this spirit in him.”

In addition to the website, Amit also wanted to expand the idea of sharing stories. So he asked his friends and classmates to donate books to distribute to local hospitals. He hoped to collect perhaps 1,000, but in just two weeks, he received more than 2,300 donations.

“There was an absolute connection between the website and books,” Amit said. “But books are something that can really make a difference to someone who is in the hospital and can’t go to school.”

Amit said he’s hoping to organize a large live event for MynameMystory at the end of this year at Chaminade High School in West Hills. Those who shared their stories on the website will be invited to speak and encourage others to share their stories of overcoming challenges.

“We’re hoping for big things,” Amit said. “We have a lot of events planned out for the future. The goal is basically to inspire people in a different way.”

【推荐3】Few people realize the army of volunteers that it takes for one young child to have a half-hour riding lesson. I volunteer at Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association (VTEA) in Aldergrove. B. C. , close to the Washington State border. It takes a few paid staff and an army of volunteers—about eighty to take care of a dozen horses and help with eighty or more children during the week. There is a large ban to clean, and hay nets and water buckets to brush and fill. Specific feeds for each horse must be prepared twice daily. . . The list is endless.

To prepare a horse for a ride, someone has to bring it in from outside, at times sinking into inches of black mud, which was too clinging to pull the feet and legs out, during the winter months. Then they lead the horse to where the lesson takes place. There, one volunteer leads the horse, and usually two walk alongside for safety, one on each side. Then the horse must be returned to the barn, unsaddled, cleaned and fed.

Yet so many people willingly give their time— because the children need us. Ranging image from two upwards, the children have varying degrees of mental disabilities. Some have severe physical handicaps (残疾) . Riding strengthens their muscles and bones, enabling them to enjoy a more fruitful life.

Throughout my past life as a business author and speaker, I volunteered on many levels and in many organizations. However, a terrible motor-vehicle accident changed my life in a split second when my car was hit—as was my head— causing severe brain injury. It was hard to accept a new “me” and her often-frustrating limitations, until I discovered that I needed to do something that I have a passion for. I’d loved horses from childhood, and working with them and with the children has helped turn my life around, making me warm from the inside out. The journey back has been painful but worthwhile. Now, fourteen years later, I am a different, more simplified person.