【推荐1】Ever since I graduated from high school I've worked in the factories surrounding my hometown every summer. However, making the transformation between school and full-time blue-collar work during the break never gets any easier. For a student like me who considers any class before noon to be unacceptable, getting to a factory by 6 o'clock each morning is suffering. My friends never seem to understand why I'm so relieved to be back at school or that my summer vacation has been anything but a vacation.

There are few people as self-confident as a college student who has never been out in the real world. People of my age always seem to overestimate the value of their time and knowledge. In fact, all the classes did not prepare me for my battles with the machine I ran in the plant, which would jam whenever I absent-mindedly put in a part backward or upside down.

The most stressful thing about blue-collar life is knowing your job could disappear over night. Issues like being laid off and overseas relocation had always seemed distant to me until my co-workers told me that the unit I was working in would shut down within six months and move to Mexico, where people would work for 60 cents an hour.

After working 12-hour shifts (轮班) in a factory, the other optionshave become only too clear. " This job pays well, but it's hell on the body, " said one co-worker. " Study hard and keep reading. " she added. When I'm back at the university, skipping classes and turning in lazy re-writes seems too irresponsible after seeing what I would be doing without school. All the advice and public-service announcements about the value of an education that used to sound stale (陈腐的) now ring true.

My experiences in the factories have inspired me to make the most of my college years before I enter the real world for good.

【推荐2】Are you bored with your daily routine? Here are some things you should try before you are 18, because after that it’s too late!

If you don’t have your own garden, find a friend who has one! Take a lot of food and drink with you into the tent and play games until it gets dark.     1    You will need a torch to see all your sweets, and it might get a bit too frightening.

Seriously, this is so important it could save your life. If you can’t swim well, you won’t be able to do water sports like water-skiing, surfing and diving.     2    

One of the best hobbies for under-18s is collecting things. The best way to collect is to have a special album to put your collection in and to write what each thing means to you.     3    

Being a good team player is an important skill in life.     4    Team sports keep you fit and healthy, and they are also great fun. Teams usually have a good social life too—you’ll go to lots of parties and make many friends.

When you are young, get to know all the older people in your family and find out as much as you can about when they were young. Draw a family tree and make notes about each person so that you won’t forget.

【推荐3】When he tells people that he is deaf, Oliver Stabbe is called a liar. "The idea that deaf people cannot speak is a very offensive assumption." The sophomore（大二学生）said.

Stabbe's experience speaks of many of the misunderstanding about deaf people and the struggles they face-things commonly found right in Rochester. This city is home to 90,000 deaf people, a significant slice of the more than 1.1 million national population. The percentage of deaf people is higher than the national average, due in part to RIT's National Technical Institute for the Deaf, the first technological college in the world created specifically for the deaf and hard of hearing.

"Really, there seems to be an embarrassment in communicating with deaf people," said sophomore Steven Davis, another deaf student. This awkwardness might arise because non-deaf people just don't know how to do so without possibly offending someone. "I guess they think saying 'deaf' is offensive, but it really isn't and deaf people don't get upset about it," Davis said. He noted that the biggest issue he's had when communicating with other students is their anxiety about communicating.

Deaf or hard of hearing students also face frustrations on their end when interacting with others. "Sometimes people talk about you, maybe to a non-deaf friend standing beside me, as if I were not there," Davis said. "That's depressing." As Davis put it, "We don't see ourselves as the disabled, so the awkwardness is only one-sided."

Stabbe advised that these communicating should not make assumptions about others' preferences or ability. If you have a question, ask. A moment of awkwardness is absolutely worth it if you are being educated about an important topic.