3 . Never criticize someone until you have walked in a mile in their shoes. During the past 25 years, I’ve often found that the saying has helped me see _________ from a different view.

Once I was on my way to a party with several _________ . As we were leaving the office, we met another one, Wendy, who had _________ planned to attend the event. We asked her to go together, but she _________ our invitation rudely. The others were quite annoyed and clearly _________ with Wendy’s behavior.

_________ how tired Wendy appeared, I commented that perhaps we should pardon her. She was obviously having a _________ day, and it wasn’t worth holding a grudge (恶意) against her if we weren’t _________ of what led to her unusual behavior. A week later, I _________ that Wendy had a serious illness. Wendy wasn’t being rude to us __________ .

Whether it’s a family member who let me __________ , a friend who doesn’t keep his __________ , or a difficult workmate, the saying __________ me. Although it’s not always easy to __________ , I’ve been able to get rid of a lot of __________ over the years by focusing on it.

Yours,

Li Hua

5 . How to Make Friends

Having friends may keep you healthier and help you deal with difficulties better. It is not very hard to make friends. Continue reading to find out how to make friends.

    1    . There are many ways to do this—talking about the weather, asking for help or saying words of praise.

Introduce yourself at the end of the conversation. It can be as simple as saying “Oh, by the way, my name is ...”     2     Remember his or her name!

Join a sports team. As long as you enjoy the sport, you don’t have to be really good at playing a sport, just in order to make friends with others.     3     If you play the guitar or sing, try joining a band.

Be a good listener.     4     Ask questions about their interests, and just take time to learn more about them.

Encourage your friend. A very good friend encourages their friend.     5     Never make fun of or laugh at your friend in front of others. If someone is making fun of them, a good friend will come to save their friend.

Yours,

Li Hua

7 . When I was nine years old, I never dreamed that the small vending machine (自动售货机) I had owned would turn me into a small business owner. Wanting to inspire his daughter’s business sense, my dad brought home a vending machine he had purchased from a friend. Setting it down in front of me in our living room, he asked in all seriousness, “Do you want to start a business?” I said yes.

I owned 15 vending machines by the time I left high school, with all of the profits going toward my college fund. In addition to being a great bonding experience for my family, I couldn’t tell you how many skills I learned from starting and developing my own business that helped me gain responsibility. I learned that not every experience in life led to the comforting encouragement: Well, you were tried. You should face bravely all kinds of difficulties.

Understanding both personal and professional finances is one of the most important life lessons to learn—the earlier, the better. I had to be fearless and confident—learning these skills at a young age saved me from speaking with difficulty through presentations later in life. Truly understanding what you’re selling displays confidence and reliability, as does truly believing in it. Comprehending the ins and outs of your product and business shines through when speaking with clients though rejection (拒绝) happens all the time.

Throughout the unbelievable experience of running my own business in my childhood, I’ve learned valuable skills that help me in my school, job and personal life. I believe in the value of customer service. I go after clients and chances and understand that sometimes things don’t go my way. With the help of my parents and customers who supported me, I grew up as a young entrepreneur with skills to keep for the rest of my life.

8 . I took a deep breath and walked through the front door, my arms full of groceries. A challenge lay ahead of me, someone who could hardly boil water: cooking the Easter Sunday dinner. What if I made everyone sick? It could truly be our family’s last super meal.

Making the holiday meal was my brother’s job, not mine. I could never fill his shoes. Peter had died in September at the age of 45 from a heart attack, but he’d been a natural in the kitchen all his life. He planned every course in detail, from the crescent rolls to the Dutch apple pie.

My family was lost without him, and we went out to dinner for Thanksgiving and ordered pizza for Christmas. By the time Easter rolled around, though, I couldn’t bear the idea of another holiday surrounded by takeout (外卖食品) boxes. Peter would have hated that. To him, there was nothing more important than a meal made with love. So I convinced Mom that we should cook Easter dinner together. But we were terrible cooks.

I had been thinking what to cook for Easter dinner. I’d bitten off more than I could chew. No one could do this half as well as Peter.

I stepped into the family room. Mom was still at church, but her newspaper was opened on the coffee table, to the sports section, as usual. She was a huge Notre Dame women’s basketball fan, and the featured story was about the forward Devereaux Peters. I read the headline and nearly dropped my grocery bags, Filling Peters’ Shoes.

That afternoon, cooking in the kitchen, I didn’t feel so alone. Mom and I pulled together and the Easter feast was not that bad. The ham may have been a little dry, but it was all made with love— just like Peter would have wanted.

Yours sincerely,

Li Hua