It was a hot and wet day in July. I was driving to the local grocery store because the heat had made my bananas go from yellow to brown overnight. My air conditioner in my car was on high, but it still wasn’t cooling me down. Suddenly, the car in front of me signaled that it was pulling off. I pressed on the brakes and slowed down. Out of the corner of my eye I saw several teenagers standing in the summer sun. They weren’t playing, killing time, or hanging around though. They weren’t drinking, smoking, chatting, or looking at their cell phones. They were working on a porch.

I recognized them immediately as one of the church work camps. For more years than I can remember these young men and women have volunteered their spring and summer vacations to come here and help repair the homes of poor people. I smiled when I saw them there sweating and working hard to do some good in this world. While the news headlines were so full of murder, hate, and violence in our society, these young people were doing their best to share some love and light with others.In my heart and mind, I heard the words once again, “I was hungry and you gave me food; I was a stranger and you welcomed me; I was naked and you gave me clothing; I was sick and you took care of me.”

There is so much good we can do in this life. There are so many people we can help. There is so much love we can share. And as long as there is life, there is more to do. Whether it is repairing a house, sharing a smile, offering a hug, adopting a dog, visiting the sick, giving to charity, praying for others, sharing a kind word, or doing any act of goodness, every single thing we do is precious in the eyes of people.

Nowadays loving each other is a good deed and common in the society.

Choose to love, and you will help others.

Many of us want to be a star. You may have imagined yourself dressed up, standing on a stage. With the spotlight shining on you, you prepare to give an amazing performance in front of a large audience. At the sound of their applause (掌声), you feel like a superstar. I’ve had similar thoughts. However, my point of view completely changed after an English drama show.

Since I was a little girl, I dreamt of becoming a star and performing on stage. When I found out that our school would hold an English drama show at the end of April, I couldn’t have been more delighted. I firmly believed that it was my time to achieve my dream.

But things seemed to go off track. After considering my skills and abilities, I was required to be a scriptwriter (编剧) instead of a performer. Hearing the news, I was so upset that it felt like my heart sank to the bottom of a dark lake filled with ice. But I eventually calmed down and accepted the position.

Over the following month, my partners and I brainstormed (头脑风暴) every day and discussed the plot. Though it was a difficult task, we never gave up. We surfed the Internet and got inspiration from others’ scripts. Sometimes, we also asked for help from teachers who knew about the topic. With great effort, we finally completed our script.

When the big day finally came, I was full of mixed emotions.

What I learned was that you don’t have to be on the stage to be a star.