Change is an unavoidable part of everyday life. It happens as time passes or as a consequence of one's decision. Changes may be positive or negative depending on how we understand them. Whereas some people are happy to live a life of routine, others accept change and prefer a challenging world where events are unpredictable

From one point of view, people who accept changes think that changes make their life meaningful. Firstly, changes create new opportunities, which make us leap forward. A new job, for instance, might present challenges that push the person to adapt, acquire new knowledge, or add to their skill set. Secondly, a change can represent a break with the past and an old routine which has become boring and predictable. Finally, as well as making life more fun and interesting, new experiences can be good for our physical and mental health. We find that changes can make us experienced and valuable

On the other hand, people who don't want to step outside their comfort zone prefer following their daily habits. They feel satisfied with their circumstances. Perhaps they feel that a routine gives them structure, maybe they are not fond of surprises or confident enough to face new challenges. They believe that staying secure and maintaining the present circumstances is the best way to live life safer. Such people have set times for performing certain functions and do things in the same way all the time. They fear the uncertainty of the unknown and may associate change with negative outcomes. For example, transition in position or status gives people worries as to whether they can   manage a new task

Both sides seem to have their own advantages. However, I personally think change is necessary if someone wants to keep up with the fast pace of modern life. Even if some people maintain a form of stability by following a routine, the world keeps spinning and evolving. Without change there would be no life at all. Our lives are actually fueled by change and seeing change as natural and unavoidable will bring us considerable stress relief.

When I was twelve, my parents let me babysit for Mr. and Mrs. Joseph who lived down the street with their two little preschool girls. Most of my babysitting occurred during daylight hours while Mrs. Joseph went shopping. One day she asked if I could stay with her daughters in the evening, promising she and her husband would be home by ten p. m. After pleaded with (恳求) them, desperate to earn fifty cents an hour for six hours—three whole dollars!—my parents agreed.

At four o'clock, I knocked on the Josephs' front door, greeted the kids, and received detailed instructions from their mother. A few minutes later, the girls and I were alone. We played hide-and-seek, did some finger painting together, and I fixed them scrambled eggs (炒鸡蛋) and toast soldiers for dinner. Then, at about eight p, m., I gathered the two kids beside me on the sofa and began to read them a story.

I heard a soft click, as if the front door had been opened, and I stopped. “Go on,” said Melanie, the four-year-old. “Keep reading.” “Wait.” I put my finger to my lips, “I thought I heard someone come in.” I heard the click again, and the lamp beside me switched on. All three of us jumped. Then the drapes (帘子) closed across the big window.

I screamed, put a little girl under each of my arms, and ran upstairs to the bathroom. As I locked the door behind us, I heard music begin to play from a radio somewhere downstairs. The girls clutched (紧紧抱住) each other in fear as I calmed them down, saying, “There's a bad man in the house. You have to be perfectly quiet. ”

The three of us sat on the floor, ears pressed to the wooden door ... listening. Even two-year-old Tricia was very quiet. For two hours we listened to the music playing, but we never heard another sound. No footsteps, no creaking (嘎吱作响的) doors, or breaking of china. Definitely no one walking up the stairs.

Then the front door opened with a bang and we all jumped.

My friend Maria and I got our degrees at the same time — hers in Engineering, mine in Mathematics. These subjects, in case you aren’t aware, are tough! There were classes we really had to struggle with, fight to get through, and survived only by digging our fingers in with everything we had. Along the way, many of the people who started at the same time dropped out, changed majors, etc. They quit. Maria and I didn’t and we have degrees to show for it.

Maria and I came up with a saying, ＂We’re not quitters. We’re failures！＂ We’d rather fail a class three times and eventually pass it than quit and resign ourselves to the idea that we ＂just can’t get it＂. That kind of sob story defeatism has to be removed from your mind. While there are things that you can’t do — like flying via pixie dust — you can have most of the things you want in life, but only if you treat failure as a part of the learning process. If you see failure as an end, that makes you a quitter.