The morning of my daughter’s first school play I had an important business meeting. I went to the play, getting a seat in the front row. I even brought my mum along in case it overran. But, not wanting to be late for my appointment, I moved quietly to the back. My daughter, who was just three at the time, noticed my empty seat and started to cry. Outside the doorway, I heard one mum say loudly and angrily, “She’s gone to work.” I watched as some of the others rolled their eyes. My stomach went cold.

It’s OK for a mum to have a job — as long as it’s part-time, fits around the school run or means she doesn’t have to leave the school play early or fly to the other side of the world now and again to earn a living. During the decade I’ve been a working mum I’ve received numerous critical comments from women about my work choices, but I think running my own business and travelling with my work when I can (while still taking my daughter to school most days and making pretty much every show or event) is setting a good example to my daughter. It shows her that it is possible to succeed at a time when women in many professions find it harder than men to reach the top and get less pay.

But I often feel I’ m in the minority. Do the women who roll their eyes at other women who leave the school play early or show up late to parents’ evening because their meetings overrun really believe females should only be in part-time, flexible work that fits around their children? I think it’s time for women to support each other’s career decisions.

Never give up on hope

Oct 31, 2013 wasn’t just another Halloween for me. While I was driving home, a vehicle struck my car from behind, sending me into the busy road. I fought hard to open my eyes for a second, but I lost my consciousness.

After I was taken to hospital, the doctor told me I wouldn’t be able to move anything from my neck down. I had lost the use of almost every muscle and was very weak. I then realized that I had to say goodbye to my dream of entering NBA.

But at the rehab center (康复中心), I saw a glimpse of hope and was inspired by other patients with injuries like mine. The first year was slow and I didn’t see much progress. My head felt like a heavy ball, and I couldn’t hold it up, and my blood pressure would drop all the time. And while I didn’t have a ghost of a chance to walk or even stand, I did try. Six month later, I finally returned home.

However, that’s when the reality of the situation became clear to me. I realized that my life was so different. I was unable to use a phone, and unable to feed or wash myself. I couldn’t hold on to anything; a fork or spoon was too heavy to pick up. I had to learn to be patient with myself, and to enjoy every moment going forward.

I was determined to walk again, so giving up was no longer a choice. I fought hard on my recovery and still do to this day. I’m now moving my legs and arms on my own, doing things like working out, swimming and yoga. All of this is proving my doctors wrong, and is turning the page from the impossible to the possible. My supportive family, friends and team encourage me to continue to work harder.

I believe that this difficulty is an opportunity to grow, become stronger and keep on fighting to hopefully inspire myself not to give up.

Robert Armstrong’s favorite food has been his grandma’s cookies ever since he was a child.

Years later and armed with a business degree, Armstrong, 28, is turning his grandma’s cookie recipe into a national brand, G. Mommas Southern Style Cookies, featuring chocolate chip pecan(美洲山核桃) and “buddascotch” oatmeal(燕麦片) flavors.

In February, California-based specialty retailer(零售店), Cost Plus World-Market, with 265 stores in 31 states selling home decor(装饰), food and drink, started selling the cookies. They will also be in 800 Cracker Barrel stores this fall.

After graduating from college in 2008 and unable to find a job, Robert Armstrong asked his grandmother, Anice Morris Armstrong, to teach him how to bake, which he thought would take an afternoon.

“It was harder than college,” he said.

With basic cooking tools and an oven in an abandoned kitchen, he set up his own business, Selma Good, and began producing cookies in an old warehouse. Baking 10 to 12 hours a day, he managed to deliver cookies to 35 stores. His grandmother helped him develop the “buddascotch” recipe before her death, aged 88, last July. “She inspirited me in ways no one else ever could,” said Armstrong.

He reached out via LinkedIn, a website, to a national distributor, who asked for samples. Within a year, he found a commercial bakery in Pennsylvania and a deal to go national with World Market. “Everybody has a grandma recipe, but I was lucky to find people that would take a chance on me,” Armstrong said. “They’re crunchy, but light, like feathers, and taste extremely good,” said Judy McKinny at Mark’s Market, one of Armstrong’s first retail customers in his hometown of Selma, Alabama.

World Market is ordering two cases per store each quarter, a huge leap from the 9,000 bags he made himself per quarter.

His goal is to one day move production back to his native Selma to help its development. Selma has struggled economically since the closure of a candy factory several years ago.

Have you had to overcome difficulty in your life? Your difficulties may appear small compared to those of April Alvarez. Doctors said she had a memory problem and severe learning disability. They said she would never learn to read and write. She was diagnosed (诊断) with a growth hormone problem at age 3. Later she had to endure (忍受) years of doctors’visits and daily shots. But she never gave up hope.

April expresses her attitude this way: “Even if it’s dark sometimes, in my mind the stars are there.” April refuses to let learning challenges hold her back. She receives special education services. But she also worked her way into advanced classes at Hawaii’s Kahuku High School. With persistence and the help of others, she has learned to develop her memory and become a top student.

“I rarely get things the first time,” she said. But she keeps trying and often ends up with a better understanding than other students. For being such a good example, April was featured as an All-Star Kid in the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper.

Art and design are like therapy (疗法) for April. One of her watercolor designs won the grand prize in a national Christmas card contest. She also enjoys designing clothing, handbags and other items. April hopes to develop this talent into a career. Her plan is to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

In a major step toward this goal, she received $27,500 in scholarships from state and national awards last year. She won these awards in recognition of her academic success.

April isn’t content with just improving herself. She tries to help others, too. With her church, she has collected food for the poor and done chores for the elderly. She organized a Christmas event where poor children receive donated gifts.

Does she have advice for others? “You can do anything if you put your heart into it and try really hard.” she says. Her story certainly inspires people to try hard and never give up.

One day I decided to plant a garden in our backyard, and my husband began to paint our fence. We’re renters, not owners, and were growing tired of waiting for the day when we would be able to buy something, so we began turning our house into a place we could call home.

We’ve also taken on new responsibilities: I started volunteering at the city’s animal shelter, and my husband has been volunteering for a nonprofit art gallery. Being involved in this way has given each of us an increased sense of purpose and strengthened our ties to the place we live in.

But it’s not just the things that you can add to your restart that matter. I’m happy to be able to help out an elderly woman I see struggling with her bag. I know I’ve done something good when I knock on a neighbor’s door and let her know her car lights are still on. I feel I’ve done my part when I find a lost dog wandering in the neighborhood and return him to his relieved owner.

No doubt it works the other way, too. As we come to care about the place we live in, the people here grow to know and care about us. It feels good to know that when we’re out of town, our neighbors are picking up our mail and keeping an eye on our house for us. We’re delighted when a neighbor congratulates us on my pregnancy.

This symbiotic (共生的) relationship we’re building with our community is exciting and inspiring. As I watch new life sprouting up in my garden, I think about all the possibilities for laying down more roots to this place and growing along with it. And as I think about the baby growing, I am knowing we will be bringing a new person --- a new participant --- into this community, a community he’ll call his hometown.

There was a little boy whose name was Peter. He lived in a village close to the sea. The villagers built sea walls to keep sea water from the doors of the houses. But once the sea walls almost put the village in great danger.

One day, Peter was walking on his way back home along the sea wall when it began to rain. All of a sudden, he saw a hole in the wall, from which the sea water was running. Peter shouted for help because he knew the hole meant that the sea was making its way through the sea wall, but no answer came. He thought he should do something else as quickly as possible, or the sea water could be pouring over the whole village. He started to rush towards his village. At the same time, the rain became heavier and heavier.

It was getting dark, but Peter rushed on and on. He felt cold and hungry. In the rainstorm, he fell down over and over again. Many times he thought about giving up, but he fought on. He remembered his father’s words, “Lots of strong men have made every effort to build the walls which can keep the village safe from danger. The sea walls are really important.”

Finally, when the boy’s father saw him, Peter was black and blue all over. The boy told the villagers what happened to the sea wall. They repaired it in time. “Thank God! He saved the village,” they praised Peter. All the villagers called him “Peter the Guard（守卫）” from then on. Peter’s parents were really proud of him!