1 . I was born legally blind. Of all the stories of my early childhood, the one about a _______ is my mother’s favourite.

I was only two when the _______ occurred. We had just arrived home from a trip. Mom lifted me out of the car and _______ to speak to the driver. I took advantage of my brief _______ to dash across the lawn (草坪)—and hit a large maple tree! I was running so fast that I bounced off the trunk and _______ on my backside. Mom _______ me to start crying, but I just sat there for a minute. Then I _______ myself up and kept right on going. Mom always adds here that, as many times as I _______ across the lawn after that, I never again _______ into that tree.

Mom loves to use this story as an ________. It reminds her that children don’t enter life afraid to take risks or unwilling to ________ again when they fall down. She never wanted me to lose that ________ as I grew older. When I made my major life decisions, I was still that little girl tearing full­speed across the lawn. I studied abroad and later moved away from my parents’ home to look for a ________. Through years of ________, I have become a respected teacher in a school serving high­need students.

We are almost certain to get ________ at some point during the process of achieving our goal. When that happens, don’t sit in the grass and cry. Just get up and keep on going. It will all be worth it in the end.