2 . For the past ten years, my dad and I have attended the same school — he as an administrator and I as a student. Our relationship, in and out of school, has been totally unpredictable.

When I was younger, all that my dad said was doctrine (信条) and anything he did I, _______ , copied. We played games together, and stayed up late reading bedtime stories. I could _______ my dad taking me to school, running into him regularly during the day and riding home with him every afternoon.

As I grew older, we were not as _______ as we used to be. He wasn’t cool any more. He wore his socks too high, listened to horrible country music and laughed too loudly in front of my friends. He became a total embarrassment.

However, the _______ that occurred in school were even worse. The worst one happened in seventh grade. My dad came to our New Year party, dressed up as Donald Duck, guitar in hand, singing silly songs. Just kill me! I wanted to run away.

This _______ continued into high school but we somehow began to find a balance. Things started to _______ around the time of my 10th-grade physics project. The _______ was to build a wood bridge with the best strength-to-weight ratio (比率). All the students and physics teachers _______ , and so did my dad — the only administrator! Embarrassed as usual, I _______ the scene. However, later when I learned from my friends that my dad ________ all competitors and won everyone’s admiration. I found that mixed in with my ________ was a touch of pride.

I had needed someone else to show me what I ________ in my dad. It wasn’t the fact that he’d won, it was more than that. I began to ________ that we have many of the same values and sometimes the same opinions. No matter how much I had tried to ________ him, he still influenced me.

I feel fortunate to have such an unusual father. The ________ I have developed with my dad over the years has enabled me to look back and see how I’ve grown.

4 . My parents never once spoke of the stress of having to pay for college, but I knew enough to appreciate that it was there. Therefore, when my French teacher announced that she’d be leading an optional class trip to Paris over one of our ________ for those who could come up with the money to do it, I didn’t even ________ to raise the issue at home.

Yet one evening my parents ________ me down, looking puzzled. My mom had learned about the France trip through my friend’s mom.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” she said.

“Because it’s too much money.” I replied.

“That’s actually not for you to decide, Michelle,” my dad said gently, feeling almost ________. “And how are we supposed to decide, if we don’t even know about it?”

I looked at them both, ________ of what to say. My mother glanced at me, her eyes soft. My father had changed out of his work uniform and into a clean white shirt. They were in their early forties then, married nearly twenty years. Neither one of them had ever ________ in Europe. They never took beach trips or went out to dinner. They didn’t own a house. Everything went into us. It seemed that we were their only ________, me and my brother.

A few months later, I ________ a flight to Paris with my teacher and a dozen or so of my classmates from Whitney Young in Chicago. We would stay in a hostel, and ________ the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. We’d buy snacks from ________ on the street and walk along the banks of the Seine. We’d speak French like a bunch of high school kids from Chicago, but we’d at least speak French.

As the plane ________ from its gate that day, I looked out my window and back at the airport, knowing that my mother stood somewhere behind its black-glass window, dressed in her winter coat and waving me on. I remember all the ________. I remember the jet engines firing, ________ loud. And then we were rattling (嘎啦嘎啦地响) down the runway and beginning to tilt (倾斜) upward as the ________ seized my chest and pressed me backward into my seat for that strange, in-between moment that came before I felt ________ finally.

5 . About 15 years ago, I packed my suitcase and traveled to a town a few hours away. I would have an important ______ the next day, so I arrived ______. When I woke up the next morning in the hotel and started to get ______, something came to my notice —I had ______ to pack a white shirt.

This discovery made me get into ______. There was only about an hour left. Without thinking, I ______ went down to the lobby (大厅) immediately and flew to the attendant at the front desk. I explained my ______ situation and asked if he could suggest a nearby store where I could get a new shirt. I received a response before I finished speaking. “Sir, I have got a ______,”The attendant replied. How excited I was when I heard that! But instead of ______ me to a nearby shop, the man did something ______. Without saying a word, he ______ his own white shirt and handed it to me.

I finally arrived on time. Things ______ in the end—I got my dream job. I expressed my ______ when giving back the shirt.

That nice ______ has stuck with me over the years and that man’s behavior has ______ me ever since. And so now, when I see someone who needs anything, I’m willing to share.

6 . I have struggled with feelings of unworthiness since forever. My most painful moments were at parties. My friends made fun of me because I was rhythmically (有节奏地) _________ and I couldn’t get my _________ body to imitate the latest dance moves. I was never chosen to dance. I felt like I didn’t _________.

Around age 12, I decided that the way to _________ these feelings of unworthiness was perfection. If I was just perfect then I would fit in. But this strategy didn’t _________. My self-esteem (自尊心) was high when I got good grades and felt _________, but crashed when I didn’t do well _________ or was left out.

After several years of spiritual growth, it _________ me that for many of us, self-worth is tied to our _________. We experience low self-worth as __________ as we fail or lose approval. So I have begun to cultivate an unconditional self-worth. It’s not about doing things perfectly. __________, “Unconditional self-worth” is the __________ that you deserve to be alive, to be loved and cared for.

The __________ to unconditional self-worth is not always easy. It takes courage to __________ yourself from the conditions you’ve placed on your worth. But this journey is beautiful and worth taking. So I challenge you to embrace yourselves and find your metaphorical (隐喻的) __________ floor and move freely.

7 . Katelyn Varga was an amazing teacher. The first day I had her social studies class, I knew we would have a great _______. Her style of teaching was so _______ that almost every student loved studying social studies.

My favorite _______ was from our class about the American Civil War. Each student _______a person from the American Civil War to research and then explained his or her findings in class. Mrs. Varga could always find useful ways to make her students well _______ while they had _______ at the same time. Besides, she always encouraged us to explore new things.

Honestly, Mrs. Varga has a great _______ on me. I remember I _______ badly before. _______, I met Mrs. Varga and she made me become the best student that I could be. I really appreciate her coming to our school. During my eighth-grade year when I was ________ where to go to high school, she was one of the biggest reasons I continued to ________ Conrad Schools of Science. The last day of school was a(n) ________ one for us, because she would no longer teach me. ________ our graduation ceremony was over, I went to her room to say my final goodbyes. Mrs. Varga gave me a big hug. ________ of us stood there crying in each other’s arms.

Mrs. Varga is one of the best teachers that I have ever had. She pours everything she has into her ________. Thanks to Mrs. Varga, I had a great time at Conrad Schools of Science.

8 . In 2019, after Ane Freed-Kernis retired, she decided to build a home workshop and devote all of her free time to stone carving. “I might be ________ head to toe in dust but I’m happy.” she says.

This ________ has its roots in Freed-Kernis’ childhood. Growing up on her father’s farm in Denmark, she used to wander through the fields with her ________ fixed on the ground, looking for stones to ________ to her collection.

After moving to England in 1977 and training as a social worker, Freed-Kernis soon became ________ with her busy career and the demands of raising her son. Stones were the ________ thing on her mind, until her father died in 2005. “He took a stone carving course in his retirement, and I always thought it seemed so ________ but never had the time to look into it myself,” she says, “After he died I became determined to learn ________.”

“It was really ________ at the start because you would spend hours just hammering.” She says, “I’m glad I kept going, though, because eventually you begin to see the ________ that was in your mind emerging from the stone-and it’s ________.”

When she turned 60 in 2019, she realised this had become a passion she needed to ________ to. “Everything else ________ and I only love the creative process of seeing a design I have ________ in 2D drawing become something real,” she says. “It felt like a new ________ of life.”

9 . A club called We Dine Together was formed at Boca High School in Florida last autumn. During each lunch period, ________ make their way around the school courtyard looking for students who are eating ________. They then introduce themselves and get to know the students.

Estimon, who came to the US from Haiti in the first grade, is one of four students who ________ We Dine Together. He said having been the ________ kid before, he knew how it felt to be ________. And he didn’t want any other kid to have ________ problems.

“When I first arrived, I had a great feeling of loneliness, which was more ________ during my lunch break,” said Estimon. “If we don’t try to make that ________, who’s going to do it?”

Allie, who also helped organize the club, got emotional while ________ what it was like to sit alone at lunch.

“It’s not a good feeling — you’re ________. And that’s something I don’t want anybody to ________.” said Allie. “Meeting someone who actually ________ and listens to what you have to say really makes a difference.”

Since the club was founded, dozens of ________ and friendship have already been formed between teens who may not have met ________. Estimon and his friends are planning to ________ the success. “We’ll open clubs in schools across the country — no matter where anyone lives, they have the chance to make friends.”