3 . When Roosevelt was a kid, his doctors claimed that he was too weak to live a normal life like most children of his age. They strongly recommended him to avoid participation in any physical activities, fearing that it could worsen his health condition and potentially lead to his death. Their opinions implied that he would face up to a life full of all kinds of limitations. Instead of permitting their limiting beliefs about what he could do and achieve, he chose to live a meaningful life.

Despite his doctors’ strong suggestions that he remain inactive, he didn’t want to be a carefree observer of the world as it passed him by. He was determined to force himself to be active. Roosevelt had daily adventures in the woods as a boy.

He continued to play sports when he got to college. In fact, he didn’t just play, but he excelled in both boxing and rowing, both of which require astonishing levels of strength and endurance. When Roosevelt graduated from college, his doctors were still not completely sure about his health condition. They still believed that he would be putting himself in serious danger, because his heart problems had not improved. They firmly believed that it would be best to find a desk job for him after completing a college degree. Once again, Roosevelt decided to challenge himself to his physical limits by living an extremely energetic adult life. In about every field he took part, he would aim to push his physical limits. Impressively, he was excellent as an explorer, a hunter, an author, a soldier and a politician.

Eventually, Roosevelt went beyond the mistaken limitation upon him and lived an amazing life.

4 . Mary Dickins had been a member of the audience at poetry nights before and knew “the poetry clap”. She made a polite tapping of fingers. But when she made her debut (首次演出) as a performer at the age of 62 at the legendary Bang Said the Gun night in south London, she said, “It was so wild — like nothing I had ever seen before.” The audience stamped their feet and shook shakers. “It felt transformative. I thought, ‘I’ve got to have more of this,’ ” Dickins said. Becoming a performance poet has given her a place on a stage of her own making.

All her life she has written, mostly without being seen or heard. Her mother died when she was nine, and, after she went into a care home at 13, Dickins’ writing stayed in notebooks. Really, she says, a lot of her adult life has been about getting over childhood shyness. At university — she studied education — she met her husband of 40 years, but in three years of seminars she did not say a word. Some of this results from her years at the children’s home. She says, “It gave me a sense of what it’s like to be excluded. I never fitted in anywhere.”

After she graduated, she discovered that she loved working with people with learning disabilities. She became an expert in inclusive education. “That was my niche (称心的职业),” she says. She published books and returned to the University of North London as a senior lecturer in early childhood studies.

Dickins now sees that in adulthood she has been giving herself permission to be silly. “The sillier I allow myself to be, the better the writing is,” she says. Her observations are humorous.

“Putting things into words and giving shape to your emotions is an important part of coming to terms with the things that happen in life,” she says.

Does she still feel like an outsider?

“I think I’ve made it into a virtue. I celebrate the fact that I don’t fit into a box. Finally! You have to wait till you’re 62 to feel confident!” she says. “But I have a sense of who I am and I'm proud of it. I wouldn’t be anyone else now — and it took me a long time to say that.”

5 . Four years ago, Rome Leykin was on his way to work when he accidentally fell onto the tracks of Brooklyn's train as a subway was approaching. The incident resulted in the loss of both of his legs.

But surprisingly, with the loss of his legs, Leykin gained a new passion for racing. Before his accident, he wasn't really that athletic. He would just occasionally play basketball. But that all changed after he was introduced to hand cycling. “When I saw it, I was like, ‘Oh, this is great. You don't even need legs to use it. This is perfect.’” he said. “So, I got on it, I rode and fell in love with it right away.”

Within a few months, he completed the TD Five Boro Bike Tour, a 40-mile ride through New York City. After that, he did his first marathon in 2021. He fished that race in 2 hours and 11 minutes, placing 12th out of 38.

“I'm going to attend this year's marathon and take on challenges. My hands are on the wheel, my eyes are focused, and I think my time is going to speak for itself.” he said. He's made a significant commitment to training. He hand cycles at least 13.1 miles a couple times a week and spends a lot of time in the gym.

And he plans to keep pursuing his athlete goals. He wants to complete the Abbott Six-the world's six largest marathons. One day, he said, he'll maybe even make the Paralympics.

For those who might be following his journey, he hopes they will take some lessons from his story. “There will be ups and downs but the trend is what's important. Focus on the good,” he said. “And also, take your big problems and split them into small solutions. And then all of a sudden, your big problems turn into many small wins.”

6 . 75-year-old hip-hop (街舞) grandma Stephanie Walsh has gained worldwide attention with her intense dance moves and incredible energy. Better known as “Ms. Stephanie” online, Walsh has been featured on social media accounts with some videos drawing more than 11 million people to watch.

Walsh believes the videos gained popularity because she is 75. “It’s because I’m a senior,” said Walsh. “You don’t usually see someone my age doing hip-hop and moving like that. ”But actually, it’s more than that. Just as her profile claims, Walsh’s videos are “inspiring the world to dance like no one is watching. ”

“Dance isn’t just your body, it’s what you’re feeling inside about the dance and it’s what comes out here in your face,” Walsh said. “What I want to put through my movement is how much fun it is and how much joy it gives you.”

From a young age, Walsh loved to dance but her family didn’t have the money for classes. When she was nearly 30, she got her daughter ballet lessons, which her daughter hated. So, she took her daughter out and started classes herself right away.

Walsh believes her lifelong passion for dance is what motivates her today. “Everybody has to have a passion in their life,” she said. “It’s like that saying, ‘A life without passion is a life half lived.’ I believe that.”

Walsh dances for fun and fitness, but also for therapy (心理治疗). She struggled through countless hardships, and she has more than enough reasons to keep her down. But they don’t. She turns to her faith, her friends and of course, dance, to shine as an inspiration to those around her.

Gilbert, one of Walsh’s followers, says she inspires him every day. “She’s a beautiful soul who teaches me that it doesn’t matter about your age or your size. As long as you feel good, that’s all that matters,” says Gilbert. “I am truly thankful that Walsh is teaching me at the age of 32 to live my life full and stop being so scared.”

7 . Tina Leverton was 62 when she bought her first pair of ballet shoes. She said putting her feet into the soft leather was very emotional. She said: “I’ve waited a long time for it.”

A few days later, Leverton took her first ballet class after seeing an advertisement in a newspaper. It showed older women dancing in a class near Leverton’s house. “As I came in the door, I found a big smile on my face. From the minute I started, I felt like coming home.”

Leverton had longed to dance as a child. Sadly, her parents couldn’t afford ballet classes, for they were first-generation Indian immigrants, struggling to make a living in the UK. Her father was a train driver on the underground in London and her mother held two cleaning jobs. Nonetheless, she harboured her dream of being a ballerina (芭蕾舞女演员).

At her present age, a grand plie-lowering to the floor with bent knees-seemed to be out of the question. It took her three months to master the move: leaping and landing on one foot. ”I love the struggle and the challenge of learning something new. People in their 60s have a lot of self-limiting beliefs: ‘I can’t do it,’ ‘I’m not good enough.’ And maybe they’re not good enough. But it doesn’t matter,” she said.

Ballet has been transformative. At a medical appointment a few months after Leverton’s first class, a nurse measured her at 163cm, half an inch taller than she had thought. She attributes (归因) the difference to improved posture. Her muscle tone has improved and her lower back pain has stopped. Dancing has also brought new friends. She met a group of older, more independent women and worked together towards a team award with the Royal Academy of Dance. And then, of course, there is the joyful feeling. “Ballet is all the therapy (治疗) I’ll ever need,” said Leverton.

8 . Born in Russia and living in an orphanage (孤儿院) for the first 13 months of her life, Jessica Long had no idea what her future would hold. The little girl born with Fibular Hemimelia would not only go on to be a 13-time gold medal-winning Paralympic champion, but she would inspire others to chase their dreams.

Long was born in Russia, where she lived in an orphanage until her parents adopted her in 1993. Soon after being adopted, she had to have her legs amputated (截肢) at only a year and a half. “It gave me a lot of freedom and movement,” Long said. “But growing up was definitely really hard. From a very early age, I just decided that I was going to be unstoppable and I wasn’t going to let my legs hold me back.” From that point forward, she didn’t let anyone tell her what she was or wasn’t capable of doing. She started doing gymnastics as a kid. Then, in 2002, Long found her sport for life: swimming!

“I was the only girl with no legs on the swim team, ” she said. “There were moments I struggled, but my teammates treated me like a friend. When I look back on my life and I think about anyone on that team, no one made fun of me for having no legs and they were so kind.” Long defied (顶住) all odds and surprised everyone when she qualified at age only 12 for the Paralympics in 2004 in Athens. After four Paralympics, Long has won 13 gold, six silver, and four bronze medals. She has dozens of World Championship medals and has broken numerous world records throughout her career so far. But she didn’t concentrate on winning awards or being famous. “I really just love swimming. It’s important for any athlete to remember just why you started,” she said.

As one of the most decorated athletes in history, Long’s goal is to just keep competing as long as her body allows. “Dream big,” she said. “There are so many possibilities out there, so find your passion, be consistent and work hard. You define your own success.”

10 . Wang Fang, a Suzhou native, has given her heart and soul to Kunqu Opera. Wang, who has twice won the Plum Performance Award — China’s top award for theater and opera performances-started to learn the traditional art form in 1977.

Born with a melodic voice, Wang loved to sing and dance when she was little. She performed frequently, and was recruited by the Suzhou Kunqu Opera Troupe (剧团) when she was in middle school. However, her parents refused the troupe’s invitation, insisting that she should concentrate on her studies and not drop out of school. After members of the troupe visited the parents repeatedly and showed great sincerity,Wang’s parents finally agreed.

Learning the traditional art form was never easy. She started to learn how to pronounce words, sing them lyrically and make gestures gently. As an actress playing martial artists roles at first, she had to spend extra time practicing kung fu movements. Years later, Wang used the word “unimaginable” to describe how hard the days were when she first learned Kunqu. She was soaked in sweat when practicing movements in summer, while in winter she often had chilblains (冻疮) on her hands when training in shabby classrooms with broken windows. “But I was young and determined at the time. No matter how difficult, I always got up early the next morning to practice,” Wang recalls.

Wang says she did not love Kunqu at first, but in her early 20s,when she watched the show Peony Pavilion performed by Zhang Jiqing, a master of the art form, it clicked. “I was shocked,” Wang says. “Her every movement was full of elegance and delicacy. Each of her lines and songs was perfect. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of Kunqu for the first time in my life, and it has stayed with me since.” Now, Wang has herself become a master of Kunqu. Her performances have impressed generations and helped to promote the art form among young people.