I’d like to talk about my first teaching experience. It was in the fall of 2010—I had to teach integral calculus (积分学). I had taught before but it was always 2-3 students at a time. I had no experience of classroom teaching. So I had butterflies in my stomach.

Anyway, the appointed hour came and I had no choice but to go on. I introduced myself, asked each one of them to do a brief introduction and got down to business. Fortunately, it was a worksheet session, so I didn’t have to do much. The students were well prepared—most of them had done AP calculus. The first day was a success.

As the quarter went by, I found the work more and more easygoing. So I was lax and stopped preparing the homework problems beforehand. How wrong I was!

One day we were doing surfaces of revolution. I used to do them in a more different way than it was taught in the text. I tried to do the first problem but it wasn’t just a piece of cake—I had to step back and think for five minutes before the solution came to me. To the credit of my students, no one showed any sign of impatience in the meantime. I was feeling doubly uncomfortable because it was a day of observation by the school leaders.

The next class I tried to give some additional resources on advanced materials, especially to students who would stay after the class or come to my office hours.

My evaluations were mixed. Two major complaints were about my accent and my handwriting on the board.

I learned a lot about teaching after this course. In my view, teaching is like a performing art. No amount of reading or attending workshops will prepare you for the challenge. You only get better with practice.

It's not easy growing up. Growing up can be a real “pain” for some of us. Sometimes we feel trapped, sometimes we feel sad, sometimes we are fearful, and sometimes we just don't understand why we can't stay young forever. But we should take a look back on all the hardships in life with a positive attitude and learn from them. We must overcome every obstacle one small step at a time. We should realize that all of our growing pains actually turn into growing gains!

Throughout our lives we are going to face many challenges and pains, but we should never let these obstacles keep us from following our dreams. We must overcome every obstacle one small step at a time.

As a young girl, my parents forced me to do so many things that I didn't like. They made me learn to play the violin and then the piano. At that time I hated music and I also hated them. But looking back now, I am so glad that my parents encouraged me to take music lessons. Music has enriched my life in so many ways. I now realize that my parents and teachers wanted me to have a better life than they did themselves.

We are all going to experience growing pains, but they are just part of our life. They might seem so huge at the time, but we must be strong. Think about how we would feel if we had no challenges and lived a life like that. Life would be really boring and meaningless. The future is ours! A little hard work and sweat never hurt anyone! If we realize that these pains are just small bumps（碰撞）on our road to success, we will realize that our growing pains are actually growing gains!

Growing up in a Jamaican American household, food was an important part of my childhood. I remember my grandmother preparing fried dumplings and curry mutton, jazz music playing in the background. Food was our greatest treasure. Food brought the family together. Food celebrated new beginnings and eased the wounds of life’s untimely endings.

When I was 8, I was diagnosed with a muscle disease, which caused me to spend most of my childhood in hospital. rooms and wheelchairs, slowly gaining weight by swallowing prednisone (肾上腺皮质激素) hidden inside mint chocolate chip ice cream. My mom made it her duty to help me lose the weight through strict dieting. I’ve tried every single one. In fairness, my mother did the best she could. As a single mom, she felt this brought us closer. However, as an adult, I began to experience a paralyzing fear of food. My “I’ll start a new diet on Monday” mind-set lasted for 16 years as I uncontrollably ate and abused my body. I was worried that I was not attractive enough. So obsessed and afraid no one would hire me as an actress if I didn’t win the battle with the numbers on the scale, in February 2011 I was send to hospital.

We do extreme things to our bodies because of those numbers, numbers that cannot talk with us or love us. I have had to stop judging my belly, stop starving myself, stop getting on the scale and staring at those numbers. I have come to the realization that my life is more important than those numbers on the scale and that the quality of the life I live is more important than how I look in the mirror.