It is now my senior year, and it is quickly coming to an end. I was always very______ about music and I am proud to be a______ of our band. However, I almost quit last year______ my fear of playing solos (独奏曲).

Two months ago, my______ informed me that he wanted me to be the featured soloist in a piece of music. Of course, I was______, but he assured me that everything would be okay and that he had______ me and knew that I could do it______ four days ago, I could not make it through the solo. Every time, I would always seem to get______ after I played it, and I wondered______ I could mess things up today. I decided to ask my director for______ thinking that he would tell me that I didn't have to do it and that he was still______ me. Instead, all he said was "You just have to have faith in yourself". I thought what he said was cliché(陈词滥调), ______ I didn't really think about it. But, I figured______ his advice wouldn't hurt, so I started the next morning in a(n) ______ way. Instead of my wondering how I could mess up, I______ myself playing through my solo with confidence and I kept on ______ myself that I could do it.

The strange thing was…it______！ Every single day after that I played the solo without any______. Tomorrow is my big concert. I don't know what's going to______ tomorrow, but I realize that______ this time the only person that was holding me back from being my best was myself. Now I have faith in myself.

Be a Good One

“Whatever you are,” said Abraham Lincoln, “be a good one.” He _______ it with his own life. And in the present age, his words need an improvement.

Composer Frederick Loewe was not always _______. He learned the piano from the great masters of Europe and achieved huge success as a(n) _______ and composer in his early years. But when he immigrated to the United States, he _______ as a piano genius. For a while he tried other types of _______ including looking for gold and boxing. _______ he never gave up his dream and continued to play the _______ and write music.

During those _______ years, he could not always afford to make payments on his piano. One day, bent over the keyboard he heard nothing but the music that he played with such rare inspiration. When he finished and looked upon, he was _______ to find that he had the audience of three men who were seated on the ________ .

They said nothing and made no movement toward the piano. Instead, they stood from the floor and dug into their pockets, collected together enough money for the payment, placed it on the piano and walked out, empty-handed. Moved by the ________ of his music, these men recognized excellence and ________ to it.

Whatever you are, be a ________ one. If what you do is worth doing, if you believe that who you are is of value, then you can’t afford to be ________ with mediocrity. When you choose the path of excellence through this life, you will bring it to your best and ________ the best it can offer in return. And you will know what it is to be satisfied.

Candace Leslie Cima is a 75-year-old fashion and lifestyle influencer working to change the attitudes regarding aging.

Recently, Candace’s video, sharing a comment on her sleeveless shirt style that says “you’re 60, you shouldn’t bare your arms,” has got 7. 4 million ________ on TikTok. She is only answering with “I am 75, actually”.

Cima’s story as an influencer ________ at 72, when she first got an Instagram account. ________ about what influencers were, she ________ a deep research, only to find that there weren’t that many voices in her age group. The magazines would always have headlines like “How to look your best at 20, 30, and 40.” Never did they ________ 50, 60, and 70. ________ , she decided to establish an account to discuss the issue of aging.

In addition to her ________ , Cima also has a blog where she speaks in detail about aging and fashion. She ________ her readers that in the 1800s, it was ________ for a woman to show her ankles (脚踝) in public, in the 1920s and 1930s, going without a hat was considered very bad taste, while 1940s and 1950s women were often ________ to wear gloves. The list goes on.

She makes a point, saying that it is we who ________ whether aging is a bad thing and whether we are ashamed of our natural aging ________ and let others make us feel less than we are. ________ , everyone ages, so we should normalize these changes and learn to see them ________ .

“The only way to change people’s view is to show them that aging is a gift, something to be embraced, ________ and shared,” she writes.