I started working with my hands at a young age. The youngest of five brothers, I took on   the role as a “maintenance ( 维 修 ) man” at an early age for our family’s small grocery store. Often my dad wouldn’t give me a clear idea of how something should be done, so I just had to figure it out by researching or through trial and error.

Fast forward to 2016 and those problem-solving skills would become the focus of Tippecanoe High School’s Homebuilding class. I knew I wanted to teach the students skills that went beyond just being able to hammer nails or cut pieces of two-by-fours. The problem was   that we didn’t have the resources at the time to do much else. The idea of attracting some type of funding seemed very important. Designing, building and selling a tiny house on wheels seemed like the perfect project to accomplish the task. I reached out to a number of local businesses and most of them responded with the greatest support for what x k w we were doing.

This year we added a new element to the program. Through one of our partners, we were able to connect with the nonprofit Veteran’s Ananda Incorporated. Students in the Homebuilding class are leading the design and production of micro houses to be donated to this organization. The new partnership gives the students another focus to consider when designing and building the houses.

There has been no shortage of students since our first year. Three years ago we had 41 students, the next 191, and this year it was limited to just over 160 students so we could have a safe and manageable classroom environment. The number of girls taking the class has risen steadily over the last few years as well. This class offers something for everyone and the skills are universal.

The outbreak of the novel corona virus pneumonia (NCP) has disrupted the lives and work of nearly every Chinese person. However, a new trend has been on the rise: many have turned themselves into livestreaming users or followers.

According to Questmobile, a professional big data intelligence services provider in China, the audience for Douyin, Kuaishou and other livestreaming platforms surged to 574 million during the Spring Festival holiday, up 35 percent from 2019.

Confined at home, away from their friends and loved ones, people turn to livestreaming to reach out to the world. For them livestreaming can help them share their lives and interest with a global audience, which will give them the sense of being “in the moment”. Even as viewers, they can also engage immediately with livestreamers by commenting and making suggestions.

“When I comment on the livestreaming videos, I’m not simply an audience member, but also an active part of the program. That gives me a sense of engagement,” an Internet user   named Wang Hao told People’s Daily.

Livestreaming is not only for fun, but also a new tool for many businesses. Affected by the pandemic, many businesses had to stop their sales in physical stores. To meet their business   goals and survive during these trying times, many chose to livestream to revive their businesses.

Joyoung, a leading maker of small kitchen appliances, is a good example. The company not only added a number of broadcasts each day to advertise their products, but also shared   the menus that were beneficial to health. “The responses to our livestreaming shows have been well beyond expectations,” Kang Li, who oversees the company’s livestreaming unit, told China daily. “It’s a natural opportunity to truly bond with our followers.”

Like it or not, livestreaming is likely to go mainstream in China for both entertainment and business.

Bob and Sue Harvey spent nine years as resident fellows in a dormitory at Sanford and in their book Virtual Reality and The College Freshman, they write “The Freshman often faces an identity problem during the first semester.” College is a more pressured environment than it used to be, in part because the academic gap between high school and college has increased. Many college freshmen have never had to make independent decisions about sex, drugs and alcohol. Most don’t know how to manage their time or money. They often feel lonely and overwhelmed, resulting in anxiety and depression.

Nancy Corbin, director of clinical service for student-counseling (咨询) services at Iowa State University, says her office is seeing a significant increase in requests for counseling from freshmen who are having trouble making the adjustment to college life. She says older teenagers increasingly lack the skills to deal with personal problems that aren’t easily defined or fixed. And they get homesick but have a hard time admitting it.

Parents and high schools can make things easier on freshmen by preparing them differently. For example, by teaching them to budget their hours and dollars. The Harveys think high schools should offer a college-life course. “Parents need to focus more on relationship and personal issues and less on how many sheets and towels to take,” they say. Many homesick freshmen   think they’ll be regarded as failures if they come home before Thanksgiving. So parents can help by letting them know they’re welcome to return if they feel the need. In the meantime, parents have to find new ways to keep in touch with their college kids. One of the best ways is e-mail. It’s less unpleasant and less expensive than constant phone calls and is more likely to be answered than a handwritten letter.

With seemingly endless streams of tweets, Instagram photos and Facebook feeds, society can seem glued to their cellphones.     31    It’s important that we connect, share and learn with social media, but it’s also important that we do these things responsibly.

Think about future impacts of what you post. What we post never truly goes away on the Internet, so it’s important to take a second look at why we are posting something. Many times we snap a picture and then click “post” without thinking of future impacts.     32    

Make sure you’re following trustworthy news sources. In the age of “fake news” we are flooded with hundreds of news stories every day. Make sure the news sources you’re following are confirmed and reliable.     33    Make sure you have all of the facts straight before you share or comment on a story.

    34    On average, we spend 2 hours and 22 minutes on social media every day. Recording the time we spend on each of our social media apps help us better understand how much time we are spending staring at our devices. If you’re spending too much time scrolling through Facebook or Instagram, consider setting limits for yourself.

Understand you’re often seeing highlights. Many people share their accomplishments and milestones on social media because they’re proud and want to show that to the world.

    35    It’s easy to compare ourselves to others, especially when we are going through tough times. But remember everyone goes through ups and downs and social media doesn’t always accurately represent that.