A young woman turns around and around quickly, and jumps high. In the background, a young girl reads a rejection (拒绝) letter from a ballet (芭蕾) school. “You have the wrong body for ballet.” it says, “and at thirteen, you are too old.” This was one of the most popular advertisements of 2014 and it describes American ballet Theatre’s principal (主要的) dancer Misty Copeland.

This was not a real letter. But Copeland says it is very similar to letters from her childhood. While many dancers start at the age of three. Copeland only began to study ballet in 1995 as a thirteen-year-old. People often told her that she was too old, or that she didn’t have the perfect body type (She is only 157 cm tall). Her family moved a lot, and it was sometimes difficult for her to attend ballet classes. But Copeland loved dancing and did not want to give up. She stayed with her ballet teacher during the week and spent time with her family only at the weekend. This was a difficult life, but she worked hard and won her first national competition when she was fourteen years old. Copeland joined the American Ballet Theatre in 2000 and performed in many ballets over the next few years. in 2007, she became a solo (单独的) performer, and in 2015 she became its principal dancer.

Copeland is now a dancer, author and Broadway performer. She also stars in the 2015 film A Ballerina’s Tale. So what’s next? According to Copeland, anything is possible: “My career (职业) really is just now beginning.”

I met Luis, an exchange student from Mexico, on campus and soon we became best friends. Language was no barrier as he was determined to perfect his English. We might have lived happily ever after if his three sisters, who spoke little English, hadn’t decided to visit.

By that time, we got well along with each other and he suggested I visit his family. I was determined to make a good impression. The only problem was that I was too busy with my classes to take a Spanish class. Instead. I decided to take the Spanish-English cognate (同源词) shortcut. I discovered that I could add a vowel (元音) to the end of many American words. Instantly, it became Spanish. Thus active was active, habit was habito, and abrupt was abru pto.

When his sisters arrived. I was invited to dinner at Luis’s apartment. I thought the dinner went well since the three girls continually returned my friendly smiles. Little was said, and no one seemed to find the silence awkward. Then Luis excused himself from the table to go to the restroom. Though his absence couldn’t have been over two minutes, the silence we’d enjoyed throughout the meal took an ominous (不祥的) turn.

With three sets of eyes focused on me, I felt forced to speak. I chose to play it safe by simply praising the fine meal they’d made. “Me gusta dinero.” I said, smiling at each girl in turn.

Three pairs of angry eyes stared me down as Luis re-entered the room. Confused, he asked, “What did you do?”

“I just praised your sisters for this delicious dinner,” I replied weakly, suddenly questioning my limited Spanish vocabulary.

Luis turned to his sisters. The three spoke at once, each managing to point an accusing finger at me.

I can’t say this ended my relationship with Luis, but things were never quite the same between us after that fateful night. I learnt a valuable lesson-it was always the shortcuts that got me in trouble.

The signs appeared practically overnight. They appeared everywhere. Each featured just a few uplifting words in simple black type：“Don’t Give Up. ”“You Are Worthy of Love. ”At the high school in Newberg，Oregon，two students killed themselves that year，so the town of 25，000 instantly understood the messages. For days，what no one could figure out was who had planted them.

Amy Wolff had. She felt necessary to address Newberg’s grief. She planted the signs anonymously(匿名)because she wanted them to be about their message，not any one person.

Yet as Wolff saw the deep influence her signs had on her neighbors，she decided to share her message publicly. Instantly，her mailbox was flooded with requests for more signs. She asked a friend，graphic designer Jessica Brittell，to print more. “We decided to just ride it out，just keep going until the orders stop，”says Wolff.

That was in May 2017. Since then，the Don’t Give Up Movement launched by Wolff has spread from Newberg to the hearts and yards of people in every state and several countries. Wolff charges only the cost of materials and shipping. “It’s a terrible business decision if we wanted to function like a business，”she says.

One of the most heartening elements of the Don’t Give Up Movement is that it has gone viral in a remarkably human way. People have taken to planting the signs in their lawns，taking selfies，and then posting them to share.

“It was the best feeling in the world that I could have an impact outside of school by using these products，”says a teacher，in Texas teaching a lesson in unity after his classroom moved online. “This was a good way to let them know that we care even when we can’t see them. ”

Wolff's message is about to grow yet again. “But there has never been a more fierce backdrop to the power of hope and sympathetic action than right now，”Wolff shares.