One day at the end of the class, a wise teacher told each of her students to bring a plastic bag and a bag of potatoes to school.

The next day she _____ her students: “From today on, for every person you don’t like in your lives, you can choose a potato, write the person’s name and the date _____ it and then put it in the plastic bag.”

Day after day, some of the students’ bags were very _____ . They were then told to carry this bag with them everywhere they went for a week. They would put it on their beds _____ , on the seats when sitting in a car or on a bus, and next to their desks at school. The days carrying the bag around with them _____ students get to know what a weight they were carrying in their minds. They had to pay attention to it all the time _____ they wouldn’t forget it. As time passed by, the potatoes went bad and _____ nasty（恶心的）.

They all tried to get rid of them.

Too often we think of tolerance（宽容）as a gift to _____ people, and it clearly is for ourselves! If we choose to keep our sadness and hatred（仇恨）in our _____ , we will have to carry them around all our lives.

Do you think you have got ______ from the wise teacher and what she asked her students to do?

Think of life as a game in which you are playing with five balls in the air. You name them work, family, health, friends and spirit（精神）and you keep all of them in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce（弹跳）back.

But the other four balls, family, health, friends and spirit, are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be broken. They will never be the same. You must understand that and try to have balance in your life.

How?

▶Don’t look down on your value by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different and each of us is special.

▶Don’t let other people set goals for you. Only you know what is best for yourself.

▶Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

▶Don’t shut your life out of your life by saying it’s impossible. The quickest way to receive love is to give it: the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly（紧紧地）; the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

▶Don’t use time or words carelessly. You can’t get them back. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a secret, and today is a gift.

A few days ago, I received a letter from my Aunt Cathy. It was a “thank-you” letter written by hand because I sent her some cookies. Aunt Cathy is ninety-one years old with good manners. That is why she sent me the letter. She also has wonderful hand writing. Each letter and word is perfect. It is a pleasure to read her letter. Aunt Cathy received education many years ago. At that time, handwriting was considered an important skill. Now, it is the age of e-mail and social media. Few people have the time or need to practice their handwriting or write letters by hand.

This is unfortunate. In my opinion, good hand writing is still important. This is especially true in school if you want to get good grades on your writing, neatness will be important, your writing maybe full of good ideas. However, bad handwriting can turn an A into a B or even a D！

Good handwriting has other benefits, too. Since it is a skill, it trains your brain and develops your learning abilities. It also helps you organize your thoughts. Believe it or not, slow process of pushing a pen along paper improves your reading, spelling and even your pronunciation of English.

In addition to all these educational benefits, good handwriting also has personal benefits. A well-written letter to a friend is something he or she will keep forever. A letter that looks like a chicken dances across the paper will be quickly thrown away. I have kept the letter from my Aunt Cathy. It’s a great treasure！