My son had just gotten his driving license. On the way home, I ______ the car to a side road, unfastened my seat belt, and ______ places with him. “Okay,” I said, “I want you to drive home.”

Sitting behind the steering wheel, his body looked tense and ______ . “Mom,” he said quietly, “I can’t do this. I’m not ready.”

“It’s okay!” I said, “You’re ______ going to feel ready. You just have to go for it.”

“No,” he took a deep breath and ______ my father’s words. “Don’t ever apologize for knowing your limits. You told me that!” For a brief moment, time ______ I saw the very old photograph forever ______ in my memory. It shows my family standing arm in arm and ______ for the camera, with the then tallest roller coaster (过山车) we decided to ride together in the background. No one knew I was ______ terrified. I just didn’t want to be the one to stay behind. We ______ our way up the line and finally reached the end. Suddenly, my body was stiff (僵硬的) with ______ , and I knew: I just couldn’t do it. Too ______ to face my family, I simply called over my shoulder to Dad that I was leaving. Dad asked me what happened. “I guess I was too chicken. Sorry.” What Dad said next ______ surprised me. “Don’t ever apologize for knowing your limits,” he said, “And don’t let someone make you do something you’re not comfortable with. I’m proud of you for the choice you made.” This was the exact ______ of what I had expected him to say.

Instantly, I understood exactly how my son felt. Knowing the limits isn’t an ______ of weakness. It’s actually a sign of strength.

I’ve noticed that negative thinking is very common in our daily life. The latest example comes from my ________ with an unhappy woman. No matter what I said, she kept ________ that she could not be pleased and that her ________ had closed. I tried to help her see that if she looked only at the negative side of life, she would only harvest more ________.

Yet try as I might, I knew I couldn’t help her ________ her unhappiness. I began feeling ________ after thirty minutes of trying to help her. At the moment, I ________ heard a bird singing outside and was inspired to say, “It may be a ________ thing. Does the bird song bring you any joy?” Her ________ was surprising, “That’s not a small thing to me. I love to hear birds sing.”

For the first time in our conversation she ________ saying that she had nothing to be happy about. She didn’t say any more word. In her ________ I could tell that my message had finally worked.

I’ve found that negative thinking has roots in our ________. When we were little children, we have been taught how to criticize ourselves. ________, we often looked at ourselves in a negative way.

I think it is time to put the negative ________ behind us and encourage our children to remain optimistic and positive even in the most ________ conditions.

Being brave enough, girls are free to explore in their learning and life. That exploration leads to the________of their talents, passions and drawbacks. On Saturday night we saw one of our students act so bravely that it took my________away.

One of the lead characters of our show, Blue Stockings, was played by a science teacher, Ben Walker._______, Ben broke his nose very badly playing football on Saturday and consequently couldn’t________. Ella Jones, a Year 1 student and part of the cast, who _______to rest on Saturday, was________to play Ben’s role.

Think about that. She had three hours' _____, playing a role of a man she had never played before, in front of a/an _____ audience, and if she couldn’t ______, she would reduce the impact of the whole play. Not the end of the world, but it would be disappointing for all     _______

She would have run, but Ella _____to the challenge. She said, "I was astonished;_____, I figured the show must go on and I wanted to_____. I wasn’t scared _____I arrived at the theatre and realized how much there was to ______.It wasn’t just about lines, but it was the stagecraft(舞台表演技巧). I was___about the other actors because I know how _______it is to perform a role with someone who isn’t as invested, especially if it is an emotional scene.”

Asked how the show ___, Ella said, "It was amazing, and the audience seemed to love the male character I played for the first time." She added, "Being scared doesn’t mean you can't be ______. Anyway, I___."