1 . When I was a child, I suffered from a disease. It is a ________ condition, which makes it difficult fora person to form relationships and can make one very ________ in one particular thing. One of the biggest ________ I faced was communicating with others. I was shy ________ I loved to recite facts. This sometimes made me a ________ for bullies (欺凌). I didn’t really understand as much about the disease or how it ________ my life.

In my 20s, I ________ to Paris. I was deeply attracted by the city, and I ________ a job in a big hotel right then. As an Eiffel Tower ambassador, I ________ guests and visitors as they took the lift to the top of the hotel’s 46—story tower. There, I liked to ________ the local attractions and helped people find the best ________ for taking photos. ________, I had a problem with changes in everyday life, ________ when talking with people who were different from me. But I liked to memorize facts, and that really ________ in my job because people loved to ________ all of the interesting things about the city. Gradually, when I clocked in every morning, I felt it’s time for me to perform for and ________ the guests. I loved it when I learnt something new because I couldn’t ________ to share the information with others.

Everyone is ________, and everyone has a gift. It takes me more than 50 years to ________ that I am different. Just be yourself, be kind, and try to make a ________ in your life.

2 . I was in the second year of my PhD program when a colleague asked what I would do if I had a 25th hour every day. Without much________, I said I would use it to help others. Like many graduate students, I was________with teaching, coursework,________, and some attempts at a personal life.________, I asked myself, “Do I really need a(n)________hour to help other people — or do I need to make better use of the 24 hours I have?”

A short time later, I started to________for an organization that provides________for senior citizens and people with disabilities. To my________, adding this activity to my busy life was just what I needed to________the chaos I was feeling as a first-generation international graduate student.

I was a bit________before my first ride, as I had not________much with people outside school. But my nervousness quickly calmed when I________my passenger: an old woman on her way to church. She was________to see a young international driver and was full of questions about my________. She shared with me how thankful she was to attend________and get some fresh air. She gave me her blessings.________like these and the smiles on my riders’ faces________me to continue driving.

I started to volunteer about 3 hours every weekend — time I otherwise would have wasted________or looking through social media. Sharing stories with my riders was much more________. My previously overwhelming schedule began to feel________.