1 . Just a few months earlier, I would never have pictured myself acting in a play in front of two hundred people. If not for my teacher Mr Bricker, I might never have found that ______.

In the first and second grade, I was extremely ______. It just wasn’t in my personality to be very outgoing. I would escape into my writing. Mr Bricker always ______ me to write more. I think he was the first person to see my inner ______.

One day, he announced our class was going to ______ a play. “I need someone to play the lead part of Dorothy.” A few ______ students raised their hands at once. I, of course, was not one of them. After school, Mr Bricker said to me, “Dallas, I was ______ you didn’t raise your hands.” Me, the lead? I was ______ just thinking of standing on stage in front of a lot of people.

“You’re great at ______ things, so you won’t worry about lines. And you have such a sweet personality. Perfect for Dorothy! I had you in ______ for Dorothy while writing the play!”

I realized it was time to ______ my shyness. After five months of ______, we finally made the play a success. At the end of the play, when the audience stood and applauded, I knew they were ______ not just for my performance that night, but for the ______ that they knew would come in later years because of my new-found ______.

2 . I sat down at my desk and started writing a letter of thankfulness, but when it came to actually putting the letter into the mailbox, I ________ I couldn’t do it. I suddenly felt a sense of ________ and insecurity (不安).

The letter was to an old teacher with whom I kept in ________ on Facebook. For months, I read about what she ________ on her Facebook page, which helped me to live my life differently. Her volunteer work wasn’t huge. ________, she was doing small, local good deeds. Gradually, she changed my views on the world and for some reason, I felt I should let her know how her example ________ influenced me.

I could have easily sent her an email, but that seemed not enough for such an important thank-you. That’s why I ended up ________ the letter. But now here I was, standing before the mailbox, unable to put the envelope inside. What was stopping me? It suddenly hit me that I was ________ of being too nice. I guessed I felt strange because it wasn’t like she was my best friend or a relative. Maybe my letter was too heartfelt. Thinking this over, I put the envelope in the mailbox ________.

Weeks later I received a Facebook response from her. It turned out she was going through a hard time and my note ________ a lot to her. She said she had no idea that she was playing such a big ________ in others’ life.

Not only did this letter make her happier, but her ________ increased my joy as well. I was so excited that it had such a great influence on her that I decided to write a(n) ________ letter to someone each month. Now it’s easier for me to ________ the goodness in others and be more ________ for this beautiful life I’m living.

4 . My son had just gotten his driving license. On the way home, I ______ the car to a side road, unfastened my seat belt, and ______ places with him. “Okay,” I said, “I want you to drive home.”

Sitting behind the steering wheel, his body looked tense and ______ . “Mom,” he said quietly, “I can’t do this. I’m not ready.”

“It’s okay!” I said, “You’re ______ going to feel ready. You just have to go for it.”

“No,” he took a deep breath and ______ my father’s words. “Don’t ever apologize for knowing your limits. You told me that!” For a brief moment, time ______ I saw the very old photograph forever ______ in my memory. It shows my family standing arm in arm and ______ for the camera, with the then tallest roller coaster (过山车) we decided to ride together in the background. No one knew I was ______ terrified. I just didn’t want to be the one to stay behind. We ______ our way up the line and finally reached the end. Suddenly, my body was stiff (僵硬的) with ______ , and I knew: I just couldn’t do it. Too ______ to face my family, I simply called over my shoulder to Dad that I was leaving. Dad asked me what happened. “I guess I was too chicken. Sorry.” What Dad said next ______ surprised me. “Don’t ever apologize for knowing your limits,” he said, “And don’t let someone make you do something you’re not comfortable with. I’m proud of you for the choice you made.” This was the exact ______ of what I had expected him to say.

Instantly, I understood exactly how my son felt. Knowing the limits isn’t an ______ of weakness. It’s actually a sign of strength.

5 . It was 4 o’clock in the morning when I received the phone call.

“This is the emergency room calling and your son was just_________in with serious burns on his face, neck and arms.” The doctor described the_________, which caused the burns. At 6 a.m., my son and his friends decided to barbecue hamburgers in the courtyard of their apartment. Unfortunately, the charcoal burst into flames because they had sprayed too much petrol. The flames_________my son’s shirt tail and shot from his waist to well over his head.

Fortunately, one of the boys was quick- minded, grasped my son, and_________him on the grass. While it saved his life, there was not enough_________to save him from fearful burns and the terrible scars (伤疤).

After he recovered from the treatments, the doctors told him they would not do plastic surgery (整形手术) for 6 months _________ it took that long for the skin to stop shrinking and wrinkling. So he had to return to college with typical scars of burns.

When I was a child, my mother told my sister who had a very_________10-inch scar on her arm, “Nancy, if you ignore the scar, other people will ignore it. It does not mean they will not_________it, but it means it will not matter to them if it doesn’t matter to you.”

I_________this wisdom on to my son. He took my advice to his__________and returned to school with his head held high-glad he was alive. By the end of the six-month waiting period, he felt that the scars did not__________, so he made the__________to give up any plastic surgery.

We all have “scars” that we believe will__________people to keep away from us. And we spend a lot of time thinking that if we looked different, or dressed differently, people would like us better. But you see, people will only judge you by your looks, or your clothes, if you are judging yourself by these__________standards. Put your imperfections out of your mind and concentrate on what you value__________yourself, and your beauty will shine through.

7 . About a decade ago, my grandpa who was suffering from Alzheimer’s (阿尔茨海默病) got into my car and drove off Angel and I ________ the police, but before they could find him, two ________ kids pulled into our driveway with my grandpa.

They said they overheard him crying about being ________ at an empty gas station 10 miles away. My grandpa couldn’t remember our address, but gave the kids his first and last name. They looked him up online, found our address, and ________ him home

I was ________ on that incident today while sitting near the edge of a beautiful ocean side cliff I was suddenly ________ of footsteps behind me. I ________ around to see a young lady who was almost in ________ slowly walking to where I was sitting. I walked up to her and ________, “What’s wrong?” She told me she was ________ afraid of heights, but was worried about my safety and wanted to get over her fear. Her braveness and kindness truly warmed my heart.

I’ve spent the rest of the day thinking about what an extraordinary person she is, and about those amazing college kids who helped my ________, and about what it means to be a kind and ________ person. Sometimes you have to go the extra mile, or face your biggest _________, or stand up against your own negative tendencies to make a (n) ________ difference in someone else ‘s life. It’s ________ to start doing the hard things-the right things-for others.