Alex sat quietly at the back of his Chinese class, his eyes fixed on the textbook before him. As a shy and unnoticed student, he felt like a lone wolf, struggling against the complexities of high school life. Ms Lau, his Chinese teacher, was a light in his otherwise dark world. Her warm smile and gentle behavior made her stand out among the sea of teachers. She was the only one who seemed to understand his conservative nature, always encouraging him to step out of his comfort zone.

One day, after class, Ms Lau approached Alex with excitement shining in her eyes. “Alex, I have an offer for you,” she said, her voice filled with enthusiasm. “I am organizing a cultural exchange program to China, and I believe it would be a great opportunity for you to explore a new world.”

Alex’s heart skipped a beat, the prospect of traveling to a foreign country both exciting and terrifying. He hesitated, unsure if he had the courage to start such an adventure. But Ms Lau’s firm belief in him gave him the push he needed to take a leap of faith.

Under Ms Lau’s guidance, Alex began preparing for the trip. He got really interested in Chinese culture and learned about its long history and traditions. Ms Lau became his mentor(导师), teaching him not only the language but also invaluable life lessons. She taught him the importance of being confident and not giving up, reminding him that growth only happens outside one’s comfort zone.

The day of departure arrived, and Alex found himself on a plane headed for China. He couldn’t help but feel amazed as he stepped off the plane and into a world so different from his own. The busy streets, bright colors, and unfamiliar sounds flooded his senses. Yet, Ms Lau’s comforting presence by his side provided him with the strength to face the unknown.

During their time in China, Alex wholeheartedly enjoyed the experience.

Back in the United States, Alex was a changed person.

Two years ago, homeless Minnie was adopted by a single rich woman. Life did get a bit easier ever since she was taken in by her foster mom, but the little girl was still not happy. How she wished she could have a father!

One morning in class, Minnie’s teacher, Mr Thompson, made a surprising announcement, making Minnie frown (皱眉) again.

“Kids, tomorrow is Father’s Day! And at school, we’re all celebrating it by having breakfast with Dads! All of you get to bring your dads or anyone you look up to as your dad to school tomorrow. We’ll all sit in one circle, share funny stories, and have breakfast together.”

“What a terrible idea!” Minnie muttered (咕哝) under her breath.

For the rest of the day, most kids were talking up their fathers: businessmen, policemen, engineers, and even an actor. Everybody had somebody who was a father figure, except for Minnie.

After school, Mr Thompson spotted the sad little girl sitting alone by the school gate.

“Are you all right, Minnie?” Mr Thompson asked. Suddenly, the child hugged his legs and cried. Minnie told her trouble to her teacher and Mr Thompson comforted her.

After getting home that evening, Mr Thompson couldn’t shake off the sadness he had seen on Minnie’s face. Suddenly, he had an idea. He opened his laptop, and as the keys on the keyboard clattered, Mr Thompson began to smile.

He was putting out a post on social media, sharing Minnie’s story and asking for a dad to volunteer for Minnie and show up to school the next day as her father figure. Thirty minutes later, his phone buzzed.

And it buzzed again and again. By the time the teacher checked his phone, he was shocked to see the number flashing across the screen.

“50 volunteers? Am I reading this right?” Mr Thompson gasped. He put on his glasses and read through all the responses on his post. He was so surprised. These 50 volunteers all wanted to come and help Minnie.

The next day, Minnie went to school sadly, not knowing the surprise was waiting for her.

Minnie was confused at first, but when she saw those “dads”, she was obviously happy.

I failed again. It was the day of the big marathon. I had decided three years ago to train for the half-marathon event and take home a medal. There I sat, in front of my TV, while I watched others cross the finish line. It was just another in a long string of failures. I had never met a single weight loss or fitness goal and I was majoring in the art of failing.

We are a family with the spirit of exploration. We often plan active vacations. It seemed that on every vacation I was the one who couldn’t go the distance. Each time I urged my family, “Go on without me. Bring me lots of pictures and videos. I’ll be fine just sitting here taking in the view.” I lied. Sick of being left behind, I decided that it would never happen again. As a teenager, surely, there was still hope for me. I always spent weeks walking to prepare for our active vacations. I had lost weight many times. I just always seemed to fail to get where I needed to be.

But this time I would do something different. I was going to walk a half marathon. Surely I would lose weight and get in shape if I could complete over 12 miles in four hours. Be-sides, this would be training. Training sounded cooler than diet and exercise. I was excited and ready to go. I bought the proper equipment and clothing, checked out what type of drinks would be handed out at the marathon and prepared a lot. I had a plan!

The day I expected finally came.

“Come on, boy! You can make it,” a man shouted.

Everyone in my drama class saw the paper in my hands shaking when I stood up to try out for a lead role in the yearly school Thanksgiving play. I was there because the teacher wanted everyone to try out for a part.

Being shy and not confident, I began nervously reading the part for the main character, Star. She had no parents. Feeling so sorry for her, I finished reading.

Later when reading the name list, the teacher looked at me and announced, “Patty, you play Star. Come and get your script (剧本).”I was shocked. Jim, an excellent boy, was playing the other lead.To learn my lines, I practiced every day and finally memorized them. I became more confident and happier.

Then we started practising acting. Jim played the character, a Scrooge (吝啬鬼), who is unwilling to put a candle in his window so that the light will show passers-by the slippery ice on the path below. On the Thanksgiving day, Star comes along, falls on the ice and gets injured.

Finally feeling bad, the Scrooge helps her up. To thank him, Star kisses his hand.

One day, before our drama class started, I saw a terrible drawing of me on the blackboard with words: Falling Star. I was laughed at by someone.

The teacher asked,“Who did this?” Nobody knew. We started rehearsing (排练), but my heart wasn’t in it. The teacher told me not to care about the silly trick; it wouldn’t happen again. But I was sad and anxious, wanting to quit. Finally I moved on and continually worked hard for the play.

Soon it was the day before the show. It was time for the dress rehearsal. I was excited. Everything went smoothly at the dress rehearsal until the scene where I slipped on the ice and the Scrooge helped me up.

When I kissed his hand, a terrible noise and laughter sounded from behind the set. I quickly left the stage and hurried into an empty room. With tears, I said, “I can’t do it. Please get someone else!”

Suddenly, I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder.

The following Thanksgiving day, we were ready for the play.

When I was young, I lived in a small village in Melaka. The spirit of neighborliness was very strong then. The village had a variety of trades to serve the needs of the villagers. There was a barber, tailor, coffee shop owner, grocer, and so on. All of us were quite poor but we got by. However, one family which could be considered as living a marginal existence was the Lim family living in the bicycle shop opposite our dwelling.

Mr. Lim, the bicycle mechanic, had a large brood of children — twelve to be exact. My mother was a kind-hearted soul. Often, she would remark that his children were dressed in ragged clothes and looked malnourished (营养不良的). My family was relatively better off in the village. My parents would bring over whatever food we could spare to the Lim family.

I remember one particular year when times were very hard. Even my family had to make do with two meals a day. We stopped the practice of giving food to Mr. Lim. One day, I noticed my mother looking troubled. She had learned that the Lim family had not been eating for the past two days. She decided to sacrifice a portion of our meals to the family despite the protests (抗议) from my brothers that were too hungry. Fortunately, the lean spell (困难时期) did not last long, and the children in our family resumed our three meals a day again.

As time went on, the number of customers at Lim's shop had increased rapidly. Business at his shop took off like a rocket as Japanese bikes were very useful and popular for transport. They were much better off than before.

It was at this time that my father's health was worsening. We were confused by the mysterious illness he was suffering from. Because of lack of attention to his provision shop (食品店), the business became worse. My father then sold our family car to pay off the mounting bills. My brothers and I had to stop schooling because we could not afford the fees.

They say that one good deed deserves another.

With the help of Mr. Lim, the situation in my family took a turn for the better.

“Attention! Everyone! I would like you guys to meet Jose from Mexico. He is a new here, so be nice to him and show him around,” said Mrs Espinoza.

No one talked and the classroom was silent. And then some students stared at Jose and began to whisper to each other. Jose was wearing loose gray pants and a dirty white shirt. His shoes made a short and loud sound when he walked to his desk. Everyone giggled (咯咯地笑) at the sound, but no one talked to him. I wondered how he felt being here and having everyone’s eyes on him and even being laughed at. I wanted to say “Hi” but I was afraid that I might be made fun of for talking to “the new kid”.

In the following days, Jose was lonely and he struggled to fit into the new life. Besides, it was hard for him to learn a new language and make new friends in the new school.

Every day he would sit by himself and eat his lunch quietly, without a word, just focusing on his food. Many of the students would pass by and make unfriendly comments on him. He would just frown (皱眉) and look down at the floor. I wanted to be kind to him but still I couldn’t take the first step.

When I got home, I talked to my sister about Jose. I told her about him being new here and about how the students at school treated him. Then I told her that I wanted to talk to him but I was worried that my friends would make fun of me. She said with a smile, “If they are your true friends, they will stick by you no matter what you do. You know, those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. “The next day, I knew exactly what I was going to do.