Fright caught Spencer’s heart, as he saw his lifelong friend fall in the battle of World War I. He asked his Lieutenant(陆军中尉) if he could go out to bring his fallen companion back.

“You can go,” said the Lieutenant, “but don’t think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away.”

The Lieutenant’s words didn’t matter, and he went anyway.

Finally, he managed to reach his friend, raised him onto his shoulder and brought him back to their company’s trench(战壕).

The officer checked the wounded soldier, then looked kindly at his friend. “I told you it wouldn’t be worth it,” he said. “Your friend is dead and you are badly wounded.”

“It was worth it, Sir,” said Spencer.

“What do you mean by worth it?” responded the Lieutenant. “Your friend is dead.”

“Yes Sir,” He answered, “but it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him say “Man... I knew you would come!”

Many a time in life, whether a thing is worth doing really depends on how you look at it. Take up all your courage and do something your heart tells you to do so that you may not be sorry for not doing it.

I was born with bad eyesight. At high school I couldn’t read the blackboard. By the time I got to the university of Bath to study Chemistry it had got to the point where I couldn’t really see images at all, only the difference between light and dark. And a few years later, once I was in the first year of my PhD, I was almost completely blind.

But climbing is my great passion. I started climbing when I was young. My dad taught me everything about climbing. When I was 11, I led my first climbing route outside. People are usually amazed when they discover that not only do I climb, but I also lead climbs.

At university I joined the Mountaineering Club and was able to climb much more frequently. We had regular trips to indoor walls and weekends away outdoors. I developed a great circle of climbing friends and went on several trips to Europe. After these I started Alpine climbing and ice climbing, too.

When my sight dropped to a level where I could no longer read, I thought I might have to give up leading. But I never thought I would stop climbing. I just learnt to adapt with the support of my friends.

People often ask me, “Why rock climbing? It doesn’t seem like a good activity for a blind person.”

But when I think about the danger, crossing the road is far more dangerous, and also, it’s something where I’m not in control.

It’s quite possible that I wouldn’t be such a good climber if I weren’t blind. If I didn’t have these challenges, it wouldn’t focus me. That determination is built through my disability.

When I reach the top of a climb, I don’t get to appreciate the view, but the feeling of achievement is extremely good.

Climbing is a way to prove my way of thinking in life — which is that I’m not disabled, I’ m blind and able.

My name is Pablo. I think I’m a lucky guy. I have a good family, and we live in a nice neighborhood in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. People travel here from many countries for their vacations. We have beautiful beaches, hotels, restaurants, shopping and sports.

However, in my beautiful hometown, there are also very poor neighborhoods. These areas are crowded and have a lot of crime (犯罪). Life is terrible for many of the children in these areas. Some don’t really have a childhood because they’re homeless and live on the streets. They don’t have education. They don’t have enough food. Many use drugs or have illnesses or other problems.

Last year, I came back to Puerto Vallarta from my university in Mexico City, I spent one year as a volunteer with an organization called Outreach International. They have several programs. I volunteered for one program to help street children.

I worked in a home for street children (all boys, at this one). At this home, the boys have a place to sleep and three meals daily. The home keeps the boys off the streets. It shows them another way of life. As a volunteer, I helped to prepare meals. I taught games—such as basketball, football and art. I helped the kids with their homework. These kids can be fun. They have a lot of energy, but they’re also really tough (坚韧的). Their long and difficult time on the streets make them strong and not always “sweet little children”.

At this boys’ home, I met two other volunteers—Brian from Canada and Greg from Australia. In many ways, we were very similar. We were the same age, came from good homes and had a good education. They were both college students, like me. We became very good friends. Now, we email each other.

It was the best—and most difficult—year of my life. I learned a lot that year.