I had just started my second year studying at Cambridge University when I was faced with the news I had never expected. A lump in my neck_________out to be cancer. I would_________six months of chemotherapy (化疗).

After the shock, I was struck by this thought: my_________didn’t have any room for cancer. I had so much I wanted to_________and so many goals I wanted to chase.

I was faced with the_________job of telling my friends and family. Then, I had to decide whether to_________in Cambridge and take five exams at the end of the year. My doctor_________against it, and so did my parents and teachers.

My doctors and teachers convinced me that taking some time off to_________and relax would be the best thing for me. I could not think of anything_________. I did not want to__________a year of my life, receiving pity from those around me.

Together with my parents, I tried to persuade the university to__________me to stay at Cambridge and study only half the course. At the end of the year I would take two exams. It was really a__________to persuade them to agree.

Treatment began and I was up and down from Cambridge to London every other week. It made me feel__________, but to a much lesser degree than I had expected. I was __________to read, eat and socialize exactly as I used to. I slept a lot and rested a lot, but I also worked hard at my studies. It gave me focus, and it also gave me purpose. Completing my__________at the end of term felt like a great personal victory.

I took a__________to continue studying while undergoing treatment, and it __________. I was successful in my exams, and more__________, I made a full recovery.

Every person facing a disease like cancer must make the__________that are right for them. I am __________that I made the decision that was right for me.

At 14, I was the new girl at a rural school. There were 28 kids in my class, which was equally _______ between boys and girls. The other girls as a group kept me a (n)   _______. They laughed at me about everything like my bright red hair, my height, etc. Although my parents comforted me, saying all the _______ things like “Give it time” and “Once they get to know you, they’ll love you.”, I still felt sad and _______ myself to sleep. I wanted to believe them, but things _______ otherwise.

Then, a few months later, my parents’ predictions _______ . I was playing out for the girls’ baseball team when a _______ rocketed right at me. I put my glove up _______ and the ball packed itself right into my glove. That play _______ the game, and we beat the boys’ team for the first time.

Well, after the game, the girls couldn’t just exclude (排除在外) me from the ________ party. It turned out they ________ my sense of humor and my bright red hair. Suddenly, I was “in.” Friendships grew, and soon I was ________ in the overnights and birthday parties.

From then on, my life was ________. I found myself no longer an outsider. The victory on the baseball field ________ the divide, and I found a true sense of belonging. To anyone who may feel ________ or excluded, I would say: “Give it time. Don’t lose hope.”

Penny Stevens is a health and physical education teacher at Mills E. Godwin High School. Those who’ve experienced her _________ say she finds a way to interact with others, especially teenagers, so that they feel _________.

Stevens, a mother of five children, first came to Godwin as a _________. She was an active volunteer in her children’s schools and was always _________ when they played sports. In 1998, Godwin’s then-principal, who knew Stevens was a single mother, offered her a _________ as an instructional assistant. As she was working, she sought her teaching certification, so she was _________ to apply to be a full-time teacher two years later.

Over the years, she also _________ the job of athletic game monitor, helping coaches, students and visitors _________ Godwin’s athletics. “I’m here by 8:00 am and _________ get home by 9:00 pm; spring has longer days,” she says. “It’ s not __________ for me because it’s what I love.”

While most people __________ Stevens as she’s performing her after-school duties, her real __________ is in the classroom. Alongside her goal of teaching the importance of healthy __________, Stevens wants to support students when __________ are tough. “There’s a lot going on with these young people,” she says. “I just want them to be happy and healthy and __________ of who they are. I try very hard to prove to them that they can __________ me. I’ve had quite a few students who __________ and open their hearts to me when they aren’t in a good place.”

Stevens starts every day with a prayer and __________ what is needed by the people around her. That might mean __________ a student who has a wonderful solo(独唱) in a school performance or helping a grandfather find his grandson on the field. “All of these __________,” she says.