As for Hallie Barnard, who was born with a rare blood disorder, a song, whose main idea is about a good friendship turning bad like the bad blood, meant a lot to her. The song represents her inborn struggle with a unique blood condition and the impact it has on her life.

At just 15 months old, Hallie was diagnosed (诊断) with Diamond-Blackfan anemia(DBA) , and she spent most of her life in and out of the hospital. Hallie said she relied on the singer to bring her joy. The only way to survive DBA is with a bone marrow transplant (骨髓移植) and Hallie was eager for one. But she knew thousands of other patients were, too.

So, a few years ago, she decided to do something about it, creating her own foundation, Hallie’s Heroes. “It started selfishly as just trying to save my life, but then we realized there’s so many other children out there that needed a bone marrow transplant.” she said. “So, so far we’ve tested over 8,000 people and we found over 300 matches.” After a 9-year wait, Hallie got her own match through her own foundation. The recovery was hard, but Hallie said she stayed hopeful. “I would just kind of daydream. And sometimes I would listen to her music and I would daydream about the singer and meeting her and seeing her in person,” Hallie said in her social media.

When the singer’s assistant heard about Hallie’s Heroes and knew about her wish, he was inspired to help the selfless little girl who turned her own health battle into a way to help others and decided to give Hallie the surprise of a lifetime. He offered two tickets to the singer’s concert in Houston. When Hallie received a call offering her the tickets, she was shocked and enthusiastically accepted and attended the concert with her mother in the front row.

Now Hallie has recovered. She no longer has “bad blood”. Thanks to her foundation, hundreds of others can say the same.

Football is my favorite sport. I loved to watch it, but I had never played in a football game before I went to college. I didn’t have enough confidence and I wanted to know whether I could do well in a team, which was why I hardly did sports in company with others. I just loved practising playing football in the backyard of my house.

About one month after I went to college, one day some of my classmates said they’d play a football game with some players of another class. I really looked forward to but never thought I’d join them to play. That day finally came and I went to watch with my classmates. However, just about ten minutes after the game started,one member of our football team got injured and could no longer play. The other members looked worried. Then one of them came to me and asked, “Can you play?” At first, I shook my head, but then I nodded.“Great! Come and play.” he said. I followed him, having no idea at all what to do. To my joy, he asked me to play in defense(防守). Defense was my favourite because I found it more fun and less complicated(复杂的). Then the game began again.There weren’t a lot of big kids on the offensive line(攻击线) of the other team and I suddenly became confident. About five minutes later,the ball was kicked toward the guard. I thought it was a good chance for me.I quickly ran past the guard and got the ball. When the guard came to the offensive line. I kicked the ball. I scored and all my classmates cheered. You may not believe it, but I scored twice that time. The final score was 6-2 and we won. My teammates thought that I did very well and none of them believed I hadn’t played in a game before.

That game really changed me. I am a really confident person now and often play football games with my teammates.

I was sitting in my grandpa’s oak chair having coffee when a text message from a former colleague woke me from my daydreams.

“Do you want to pick up your rocking chair?”

For 17 years, I taught grade one and two, and my dreams as a teacher were tied to that rocking chair. It was a magical idea to have it in my class. Every day after breaks, the class would gather around and listen to the story I was reading. When the kids were close, they found the courage to share their stories, dreams and fears. The chair was part of my job, part of me.

Unfortunately, I became unwell and couldn’t keep teaching. I experienced severe depression and anxiety and was forced to leave the job. With my life as a teacher over, I needed a new path. And I didn’t have to look far.

My husband and I adopted one of my former students in 2017. The complexity of parenting a child who came to us at 9 years old changed our lives in unexpected ways. It called on the part of me that learns to be a good mother. We spent countless hours snuggling up (依偎)with books — healing, bonding and solidifying our family. This gave me a new purpose.

I joined a support group of local moms. For about a year, I met with them weekly for walks or coffee. We came together to share. Then I started giving and receiving help. I gave driving practice to a single mom with her learner’s license and received emotional support in return. I also took her son on hikes around the city. Another woman encouraged me to buy a stand-up board and gave me lessons on surfing.

My family, my books, finding a new purpose and belonging in a community — these are fulfilling the sense of self I used to prize as a teacher. I learned my identity doesn’t need to change. I’m still honoring those core values whether or not I’m working as a teacher.