It is not always easy to discover yourself. From a young age, I had a strong sense of who I would become —but an accident changed everything.

To me, skating was more important than anything else in the world. Nothing else filled my heart with so much ________. I spent 24 hours a week   ________ my skills.

I had no social life or interests other than skating. But I was rewarded with first place medals in nearly every _________.

Unfortunately, during one competition, I fell and was badly hurt. The doctor told me that I couldn’t skate anymore. The pain in my back was hard to bear and even basic daily tasks became   ________.

My passion (激情) had been taken away. I lost heart and had no idea what I would become. After eight months of suffering, something had to   ________ . Instead of sitting around and wasting my days, I began to work with local community service projects. By volunteering as a swimming teacher and summer reading assistant (助教) for kids, I got an idea of who I wanted to   ________ . After a few months, I found a new _________. Little by little, I stepped out of the shadow and   ________ my confidence.

Sometimes, ________in life will get in our way. We can choose to stay behind or try to get past these challenges. My accident was a challenge that failed to stop me from   ________ success. Today, I’m a very confident and optimistic person.

At times my mom has been uncomfortable seeing these qualities in me. For example, when I was 12, I went to Puerto Rico all by myself to stay with my ______ for the summer. My mom was extremely ______ about it. She kept telling me how things were different there, to always put on sunscreen, not to ______ away from my grandmother, and other ______ . But despite her worries, she let me go.

As I moved into my teens, she continued to give me ______ to grow and learn. When I reached my senior year, I found that I ______ from my peers. While many of them wanted to be ______ home, I couldn’t wait to be ______ in the world on my own. I had been looking forward to this chance for longer than I could remember. And ______ , while my mom was not happy, she was supportive. Sure, sometimes she would nag (唠叨) me about certain choices I made, but for the most part she did not stand in my way.

I realized that she actually trusts me, which ______ a lot. Most of my life, I tried to ______ my mother. I knew she expected ______ but the best from me. Sometimes it was hard to ______ her standards: getting a single B on my report card would make me feel bad because I knew she wanted me to have all A’s.

I know that her high standards have helped me focus on what’s important, like education. I am thankful for her support and ______ in my life. She is the strongest woman I know and that’s why I have ______ out so strong and independent.