My name is Destiny, working at a Psychological Counselling Center. In my teens, there was nothing special about me. My older sister, Antia, is beautiful. My younger brother, Tye, is a genius at the age of 13. He completely skipped the sixth grade. How do I compete with that?

My mom and I were home alone one day. I went into the room where she was watching television and blurted out, “Mom, is there anything special about me?”

She thought about it for a moment and then turned down the volume on the TV. She took a deep breath，took my hand and exhaled (呼气).

“You have the ability to say just the right thing at just the right time.”

“Really! Is that it, words?" I tried to keep my voice steady but I could hear the anger even as I fought to control it.

“It's more than words, Destiny," my mom said. I know my mother meant well but I felt worse than ever. I burst into tears. Why was I even born?

The next day is when my whole life changed. I went to school earlier than before and noticed Darwin sitting across the room which is strange because no one ever notices Darwin.   Suddenly, Darwin stood up and threw away all his books, shouting loudly. I could hear screaming and crying but the sounds seemed distant as I focused my full attention on Darwin six feet in front of me. I felt the words swell up in me. “Darwin," I heard myself say with a calm, steady voice. "I have family and friends with so much talent and potential and I have none. There is nothing special about me." From the corner of my eye, I could see other staring at me in silence. I continued talking. “You are so smart. You can answer questions that the teacher hasn't even asked yet. Do you know that everyone in this class is envious of you?” Hearing my words, he calmed down and gave me a big hug.

Then the teacher came. Learning about what happened the teacher smiled, “That was a great job you did, young lady Superman could not have done a better job than you did here today.” I couldn't believe that she compared me to Superman. Well, I work at Psychological Counselling Center now. There is a cork board over my desk filled with thank-you cards and letters from people who say they owe their lives, careers, or their family's to my words. But to me, they are more than words, they are my super power!

Many people are well aware of the benefits of teaching our children to love reading. 【小题1】 Here is how you fit yourself in regular reading with your children.

Select a suitable time of day. The most suitable time of day is often bedtime but it might not be suitable for you. So it is important to consider your free time throughout the day. If reading a goodnight story at 8 pm. has you yawning(打哈欠)and trying hard to remain awake, perhaps a story before dinner, or a story in the afternoon will work out better. 【小题2】

Break down the reading if necessary. Rather than try to go through five chapters of a large book each night, cut it down to two chapters. 【小题3】 When the choice is nothing at all, books with fewer chapters will be much preferred by your child.

Read loud together. 【小题4】 If an older child who is able to read finds this “unfair” or “annoying”, you can let him read something that interests him and read it out loud to the family. Another way to gather more than one child is to read stories in turn and have each of them listen politely. As a result, they will love hearing and favor such group activity.

【小题5】 It goes a long way. When your children read anything -the label off a packet or a book, be sure to praise their reading at every chance you get. Thus, you are creating a reading culture in your family, which is an important way of helping children cope with their feelings and problems, as well as answering their curiosities, and developing their imagination.

My dad is a kind, gentle man, and a man of few words. Throughout my life, he offered advice rarely. But the words were always appropriate to the situation I was facing.

As a teen when I struggled with making sense of the world around me, he said, “All things are relative.” He taught me the right view of the world. When I was offered the opportunity to be a manager of an organization as an undergraduate student, I asked him for advice because he was a senior manager of a large company. His advice was simple, “Only when you become the manager can you have a vision for how you can make the organization better; management isn’t about power and it’s about leadership.” I learned what I needed was not only to be responsible for my team but also to have leading ability.

My dad is 86 now, living on his own and enjoying life while struggling with the challenges that aging brings. He keeps a positive attitude despite long pain and the losses that come in life. Although we live quite far away from each other, we talk daily on the phone, and he shares the joys of my young family. As I tell him how we’re heading off cycling or on a trip or out to play tennis, now his typical response is, “Do it while you can.” This is very important. We can’t be sure of the future. My father’s advice is like the ancient dictum (格言) of “ carpe diem”— seize the day and enjoy it to the fullest.

My dad rarely “lectured me”. He trusted me, and helped me when I needed help. His patience and wisdom have been true gifts in my life. As I doubt my ability and my motivation, I recall his most recent gift of wisdom, “Do it while you can”. It’s enough to “just get me started”.