【推荐1】Who would dream of starting a travelling circus at the dawn of the 218 century? Who would brave old trucks, noisy animals, lack of toilets, lack of baths, unless they had been born to it? Nell Gifford would. From 1998, when she and her husband Toti took the great decision, she built up Giffords Circus from one second-hand tent and one abandoned wagon found in a wood to a treasured summer institution. As soon as her shining hand-painted wagons appeared in a town, queues would form and tickets would fly out as fast as they could be printed.

It was a pocket circus, with a small ring and a group of perhaps four dozen performers. Most of the costumes were handmade. Yet all the thrill of the circus was there full-on. And there she was at the centre of it all, dressed in whatever feathers or hat the show demanded.

What was a middle-class graduate form Oxford doing in such a place? She had many answers.Childhood dreams came into it, of horses and dressing-up boxes, and of living in a beautifully decorated wagon under the stars. The ring allowed her to ride horses, which she loved, in ways that magnified(放大) their mystery and possibilities. She could push her creativity to the extreme.

Nonetheless it was a business, and the road had been long to get there. She and Toti started with almost no money and almost no experience. In her head, though, were the images (景象) that had amazed her at the Circus Roncalli in Germany, where visitors drank wine and the front-of-house staff wore designer uniforms, celebrating shows that were also works of art. She would have elegance and order in her circus, too.

Meanwhile, as they renewed their first wagon, they worked in a freezing hut, were fed for nothing by a friendly restaurant owner, and ran up debts of $10000. Slowly they found performers. Then in 2000, they played at the Hay Festival and everything changed. By 2007, they needed a director. By 2010 they had a permanent base on a farm. They became famous.

【推荐2】Emmy Combs, 17, lost her hair as a young girl due to the autoimmune disorder, a disease which caused complete loss of hair all over her body. From the age of five until she was 16, Emmy wore bandanas(花绸巾) to cover her head.

But in May last year, she made the decision to stop wearing them. Emmy admitted that taking her bandana off for the first time was a fearful experience, but her close friends and family stuck by her. "It was time to try new things and I have always wanted to grow out of wearing bandanas, " Emmy said. "My friends and family pushed me to go through with it and I'm glad that they did. Even though it does not seem that hard to do, it was one of the hardest things that I have ever done. It was stressful, but I had my friends and family by my side the entire time. "

"I have always been a confident person to others and myself. I was at a very young age when it happened, however over the many years of growing up with it the reaction I usually get from people ranges from just curiosity and kind, generous comments. Sometimes I will get an occasional rude-sounding comment, however I have never let it get to me. "

Emmy taught herself how to use make-up to improve her natural features and replace the ones she's missing, such as eyebrows and lashes. She shares her make-up looks on her blog and is committed to helping others be confident with their appearance.

"I have learned over the past 17 years of my life that you control how you want to live your life. You choose the lifestyle that makes you happy, " she said.

【推荐3】Before my daughter, Evelyn, was born, I eagerly expected her first year of life. I imagined celebrating every milestone --- bonding with her as a newborn, seeing her smile for the first time, hearing her say her first word. 1 didn't think of feeding tubes, long hospital stays or an organ transplant(移植). For Evelyn, the first year included all and more.

Evelyn came into this world at just 34 weeks, weighing less than 3 pounds. Genetic testing revealed she had Alagille syndrome, a genetic disorder that can damage the liver(肝脏),heart and other organs. Soon, we received the news that baby Evelyn needed a liver transplant.Our family moved nearer to UPMC Children's Hospial of Pittsburgh so that we were closer if a liver was available for Evelyn.

When Evelyn was added to the organ donation wait list, I was under the liver allocation policy in place at that time,which was map-based. This policy lacks any special consideration for transplant candidates.We were told it would likely take three months. Just then, a new policy for liver allocation was tried out.Under the new system, the sickest child patients get first priority(优先).The new policy was only in effect for a little over a week, but in that period, Evelyn received her liver transplant.Had it been just one week earlier or later, we would not have received the call.

As Evelyn recovers from her transplant, we are grateful for the change.I am also sad, because the new policy was short-lived. That means another mom like me might not receive that phone call with good news.

Other children should have the same opportunity as Evelyn to live healthy, happy lives. When it comes to liver transplant policy, we can and must do better for children.