A long time ago, there was an emperor who told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he liked, then the emperor would give him the area of land he would have covered.

Sure enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could. He kept on riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was hungry or tired, he did not stop because he wanted to cover as much as possible.

Finally, the horseman was exhausted and dying. He asked himself, “Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I need only a very small area to bury myself.”

The story above is similar with the journey of our life. We push very hard everyday to make more money, to get power. We don’t pay attention to our health, time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding beauties and the hobbies we love. One day when we look back, we will realize that we don’t really need that much.

Life is not only about making money, getting power. Life is definitely not only about work! Work is only necessary to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauties and pleasures of life. Life is a balance of work and play. Happiness is also the meaning and the purpose of life.

So, take it easy! Do what you want to do and appreciate nature. Life is fragile and short.

On the first day of my new high school, I almost had a nervous breakdown. Everything about the school seemed so difficult. When I got home, my parents said, “You're nervous and that’s okay. Everyone is afraid of high school.” I denied(否认)it. I wanted to be strong, so I refused to let anyone know about my fear, even my closest friends.

On the first day I was late for every class and was constantly lost. The school seemed like a puzzle that I couldn’t figure out. Was this how the whole year was going to be? I didn’t think I could rise to this challenge, especially carrying a huge backpack that I could hardly lift. It was so big that I could knock someone out with it! The schoolmates seemed to regard me as a fool, and they were probably right.

Despite my fears, after the first week I finally had my schedule figured out. With the exception of falling up and down the stairs a couple of times and getting laughed at, high school was turning out to be not so bad. It was actually much better than middle school and much more challenging.

Since then, I’ve been elected vice monitor of my class, which wasn’t much of a victory since only three people ran for the four positions.

It is normal to be scared about a new school. Take a deep breath and relax. High school is something that any student can overcome. Make sure you take part in some out-of-class activities because you’ll find it easier to make friends. Try to do your best, even if it isn’t straight A’s.

Most important of all, be who you are, whether you’re a “fool”, an athlete, or a lower grader. Don’t try to pretend(假装)to be someone you’re not. Now you know the true secrets of high school.