Australia was always a country I wanted to visit, so I saved up some money and booked a flight to go traveling up the east coast of Australia at the end of my work in London.

The flight made me realize exactly how far away Australia is from home. I spent 10 hours traveling on a plane from London to Hong Kong, then a further 8 hours to Sydney, my first stop in Australia. The flight went quite quickly though, since there were lots of films to watch to keep me amused. It was strange when I arrived because everything was upside down over there; it was the start of winter (in May)! It also took me a while to get used to the time difference as I was always one day ahead of all my friends and family back home.

The country is truly beautiful, full of amazing views and wildlife you wouldn’t find anywhere else in the world. One of my experiences of my trip was seeing koalas closely in Brisbane—there were koalas everywhere sleeping in the trees and I even got the chance to hold one. There was also big grassland full of kangaroos that we were allowed to feed.They were really smart and very friendly.

The highlight of my trip was snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef, as the water was amazingly clear with a beautiful shade of blue. I also got the chance to see some special creatures underwater, such as sea turtles and even a shark.

Australia is an amazing country and worth visiting one day if you ever get the chance.

Nate Evans of Ankeny, Iowa, got into teaching many years ago. So when his classes went remote at the start of COVID-19, he was on the lookout for ways to make children learn online effectively. One of the first things he noticed was how few students had a proper desk at home. He said students in his remote classes were often sitting on their beds or working from their family's crowded kitchen table instead of sitting at a desk.

As a woodworking hobbyist, Nate has a work section in his garage, so he bought some materials for basic wooden desks with his own money and got to work. “It's for kids who have absolutely nothing, to kids who have everything they've wanted but don't have this space because it wasn't available,” Nate said. “Somebody had to provide it and I thought, ‘Why not me?’” Once his first set of desks was complete, Nate had no trouble giving them away.

He shared his desk project on Facebook, and the members of his community suspected his intention at first, thinking he was seeking glory and wealth, but soon they understood his purpose and began sending him donations so he could build more desks. Soon, he had a whole team of woodworkers working in his garage most weekends. He's set a goal to make 2,020 desks for the 2020—21 academic year. He offers them up for free to local educators. Once they're picked up, they are distributed to kids all over his town and beyond.

Best of all, he plans to keep building desks for kids as long as they are needed. “I became a teacher to help kids,” Nate said. “I volunteer wherever I can. I feel honored to be able to do all this for the students. I want to see them learn and grow in my classroom, and I want to see them learn and grow at home too.”

A girl had to usually face adversity(逆境). One day, she couldn't help complaining to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She didn’t know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them into the water and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter waited impatiently, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He made the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl. Then he poured the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her, he asked, “What do you see?” “Carrots, eggs and coffee,” she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma(香味). She humbly asked, “What does it mean, Father?”

He explained that each of them had faced the same hardship, boiling water, but each reacted differently. The carrot had been strong and hard. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been easily broken. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after going through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique. After they were in the boiling water, they changed the water. “Which are you?” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

How about you, my friend? Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with pain and adversity you move back and become soft and lose your strength? Are you the egg, which starts off with a flexible heart? Were you a liquid spirit, but after a breakup, a divorce, or a layoff have you become hardened and stiff? Your shell looks the same, but are you bitter and tough with a stiff heart? Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean changes the hot water, the thing that is bringing the pain. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and make things better around you.

Ask yourself how you handle adversity. Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?