【推荐1】I was hired for my first airline job in August 2009. I had $45, 000 of credit card debt. Most of it was from my flight training.

Ten years ago, I was watching TV in my bedroom one day before my flight training began and I saw the second airplane hit the World Trade Center. Then I got the call saying I no longer had a job. My career was destroyed. I had no place to go and ended up moving into my car. I read newspapers to look for a job and I was offered one, which offered me $75, 000 a year, but I decided to make a change. I wanted to receive fight training and become a pilot. It was my dream. So I refused the job and chose to work part time. It sounded unbelievable to do such a thing. It was even more so because I was over the age of thirty, but I was determined to make my dream come true. I left the state of Virginia and ended up in Las Vegas.

Though I made about $25, 000 a year at that time, I was severely in debt because the fees for training were high. I was living in my tuck and sleeping in parking garages. I didn’t plan for my life to take this direction, but I insisted on my training. Then at last my world changed and my dream came true. I finally became a pilot.

The passengers that I flew had more money in their pocket than I had in the bank. I hated myself and was worried about my situation, but I never gave up. I kept paying back the debt and I kept saving in the bank. And finally, I paid off my credit card debt.

Today, I am a skilled airline pilot based in Milwaukee. I wrote in my spare time. My autobiography (自传) has been published, which sells well. That is my first book, but it won’t be my last one.

【推荐2】Xiong Linghao was born on May 29th, 2002 in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province. She lost her eyesight because of illness when she was only two months old. But her mother later found that Xiong had a talent for music. She could play children’s songs on a small electric (电子的) piano when she was 3 years old. At the age of 6, she started learning the piano.

Unlike most learners, Xiong could not see the piano keyboard (琴键), so she must remember where each key is through its sound. That was very hard for her. She practiced for six to eight hours every day so that she could find the right keys.

Xiong’s piano skill was getting better and better as she kept practicing. In 2020, she won the Special Jury Prize in an international youth piano competition in Shanghai. “The piano is my best friend,” said Xiong. It brings so much pleasure into my life and encourages me to face my life bravely.”

Xiong has a great dream. She wants to be a great musician like Beethoven. Beethoven lost his hearing in his 20s and later went completely deaf, but he didn’t give up his love for music. He wrote so many famous music works in his life. So for herself, Xiong still has a long way to go.