At 17, I didn’t have enough money for college. My mom’s boss, Mr. Overstreet, often made generous ______ for various charity purposes. On the ______ that Mr. Overstreet would agree to help me, Mom suggested that I ask if his company would ______ helping me pay for my college.

I ______ walked into his large office, and told Mr. Overstreet with all my ______ that I wanted a college education badly. He told me that he would refer my ______ to the board of directors.

Later, as ______, I went to his office. Mr. Overstreet ______ me that if his corporation paid for my education, they would have to do it for all the ______.

I thanked Mr. Overstreet and then, ______ started to run down my face. It hit me that in no case would my chance of going to college ______.

Then, full of ______, Mr. Overstreet said, “Son, the company couldn’t pay for your college, but I could.” With that, Mr. Overstreet produced a ______ from his desk and sent me to college.

Four years later, I had the ______ of keeping my promise to Mr. Overstreet. I graduated first in my class and went on to Vanderbilt Law School, and Mr. Overstreet lived just long enough to see me ______. Eight years later, I was elected to the US Congress. In my ______ speech that night on stage, I ______ Mr. Overstreet looking down from heaven.

______, as Chairman of the Higher Education Committee, I managed to increase college ______ aid for low-income students by 62%. Mr. Overstreet’s single act of ______ to one poor kid ended up helping more students from low-income families go to college.

When I was 16， I wanted to buy an album(专辑)from my favorite band,but I could ________pay for it. My parents were not the type of people to give money to me ________, or even for workdone at home.

This led me to search for work opportunities in my neighborhood, and I was ________to Mrs. Hudson, the oldest person in the community. At over eighty years old, Mrs. Hudson could no longer ________ her garden, and I offered to help her out.

My first job was to ________ weeds in her front yard and backyard. After this________task, I mowed(修剪)her lawn．With the ＄10 earned from my first day of work， I bought that________．Listening to music, I felt a cool ________running through my heart, which made me realize all the efforts I had made were worthwhile.

However, my desire for material possessions did not end there. I later set my ________ on a Gameboy, which was very fashionable at the time. I started to work for multiple clients, in order toearn enough money to purchase this ________ possession.

After many days of working, I ________ enough money. But just after one day of playing on it, I realized that it was not as fun as I had thought. I ________ in the hot sun for hours doing yard work to buy something I did not ________．So the next day，I returned it for a full refund(退款)．

Ever since that day, I have come to________ the value of money, realizing that the sweat and dedication that________earning it are truly invaluable assets that cannot be taken away from us.

I was 12 years old when my life changed forever. It was just before the end of the school day, and my teacher told me that my mum had asked me to go home immediately. There was a police car in the _________, and I heard the sound of my sister crying in the living room. My mum took me upstairs and told me that my dad had died. I remember crying like forever.

Then my uncle ___________ me down and told me what had happened. I remember thinking Dad must have been in an accident in his car—he had a sporty red one, and I thought he must have _________. So it was shocking to learn he had been murdered—especially when I then discovered that he had been trying to help someone. Our cleaner had been _________ a difficult break-up with her husband, and had her post delivered to our house so her partner couldn’t _________ it. Dad had taken her mail round to her, but her partner saw him, stole a knife, went to the house and ___________ my dad through the heart, which killed him instantly.

It took me a very long time to be able to get to a place where I could remember the happy times with my dad. It’s as if your brain won’t let you remember, because it’s too _______. Even 30 years on, it can be a challenge. It’s like a coping surviving _________ and I still work through it today—but that’s life living with sorrow.

During the past few years I’ve found that talking and writing has been a big help. It’s helped me _________ what happened, and has made me see these feelings are completely normal. Actually for many years, I used to ____________ why I was still feeling this way, but I come to realize there is no set __________ to sorrow. It’s not a quick-fix process; it’s not even a(n) __________ process. It’s something you have to live with, and you take comfort wherever you can find it.

For someone who has just gone through an unbearable loss, please take it easy on yourself. I’m not sure whether time is a __________, but it will show you how to live with these feelings you’re experiencing. And through your own __________ journey, you’ll get to the __________ of understanding yourself a little bit better.