Miss Baugh taught seventh-grade social studies. She was the kind of teacher that perhaps everyone has had at least once: scary. In class, she always taught us to take school seriously. She had been teaching for a long time and I was as afraid of her as anyone, including the boys who were typically naughty in the back row.

But I also had a life outside of school and had just discovered cheap objects for pranks. One such prop had two parts: an ink bottle painted to look as though it had overturned, and a piece of shiny black metal shaped like a pool.

Of all the people I could have tricked, unexpectedly I chose Miss Baugh. At the beginning of the class, I opened her book and placed the props on one of the pages. Then I waited for the fun. When Miss Baugh saw the bottle and the spilled ink, she let out a little cry and looked for something to wipe up the ink with. The trick had succeeded beyond my expectations. But then I suddenly knew I had no control over what would happen next. When Miss Baugh tried to remove the ink with a paper towel, she discovered it was just a piece of black metal. She picked it up, her eyes sweeping the classroom with a deadly gaze. Then came the question: “Who did this?”

After some hesitation, I raised my hand. Miss Baugh fixed me with a stare that terrified me, and my classmates. And then, most unexpectedly, she laughed. “Well, it certainly fooled me!” she said. She returned the props to me, and for a few seconds a sweet little aged lady appeared right where Miss Baugh stood.

We got back to having a class. But something had changed for me. I began to realize that, if someone like Miss Baugh had a warm heart beneath that crusty surface, then other crusty people would probably do, too. That may have been the most valuable lesson I learned.

I was the youngest of the five boys and also had four sisters who had to pull together and take care of each other. Dad wasn’t around, so I never knew him well. He killed himself when I was three years old, leaving Mom with the job of raising and providing for nine kids.She was a very hard worker, and in order to make ends meet, she hardly ever rested. With my mom as my example, I learned that hard work is the best way to get what you want.

Even as a little boy, I knew I was going to be successful. Of course, I dreamed about what I wanted to be when I grew up. But regardless of what I chose, I wanted to make my brothers, sisters and mom proud of me—not only by being successful in what I chose to do, but also a person who could be looked up to for the right reasons.

By junior high, I started playing basketball on a team. I loved to compete. For me, it paid off. I just let my success in basketball take its course, but I always put the effort in, every day.

I am grateful for the life I’ve enjoyed as a basketball star. But when I see those shirts that say “Basketball is life,” I think “Yeah, right! It is not only life. It can be exciting.” But the important thing about basketball is that it gives me a way to do good things for others as I move through this journey called life.

The U.S.has more than 4,000 wild bee species,and many are in danger of dying out due to human activity,chemical overuse and climate change.In Colorado,the Girl Scout troops(童子军团)have take on the task of saving bees.They made tiny homes for wild bees called"bee hotels" to fight the big drop in the population of bees.

Bee hotels are like birdhouses for wild bees.Since wild bees don't make honey,they don't live in the containers for bees,but they always need a suitable habitat(栖息地）.Out in the wild, these bees often live holes of dead trees and broken branches.But natural habitats can be hard to come by in the developed areas,which are where bee hotels come in.Dennis vanEngelsdrop,a professor at the University of Maryland,says that bee hotels play an important role in keeping the wild bee population.When wild bees check out of their hotel rooms,they leave their kids behind. A wild bee produces her eggs and leaves food for them to eat.If built correctly,bee hotels can even attract new bee species.

The troops repurposed carboard boxes,paper pipes,etc.to create homes for bees in their local community.A hotel design can be as simple as paper pipes stuck into a box.After building their bee hotels,the girls went out to place them in green pockets of their community,such as community gardens."The most interesting thing I learned is when you think of bees,you just think of honeybees,but there are so many different types,"says Aimee,a Girl Scout.Working with bees can be a daunting task.Many children only know them from the pain of bites.But the Girl Scouts learned to overcome their fears."It was hard for me to go to look at the bees,"says another girl."I'm glad I' did.We need bees for food and flowers.”

Bees are a big deal in the world of plant reproduction.They move pollen(花粉）from one plant to another.While honeybees live communally,most bee species are wild and live on their own.Honeybees may be better known,but wild bees are important pollinators(授花粉者）too.

The bee hotel project also plays an important role in bringing up a new generation of responsible citizens."What you're seeing is that you need bees to survive;so who is better to be concerned about that than the young generation?"vanEngelsdrop says."These efforts are really good because hopefully the girls will show lifelong devotion to the preservation."