Growing up, I had always been told that girls only take the money from their parents but never look back to taking care of them. I always wondered if it was true.

I got married at the very early age of 22. I had always been a quiet girl, but with a loving heart I wanted to have a huge family. I found a husband but as we grew older things changed. I have been judged, accused, and blamed over and over again to the point where I was broken down emotionally. I was not able to make anyone understand what I felt. I would just keep on smiling and just focused on taking care of what was necessary, which was my family. Whenever I needed a friend to talk to, I felt judged to the point where I felt that opening my mouth was wrong. I lost my self-confidence, my belief, my faith, and my trust.

One thing I never gave up on was reading, because I have learned that to cut down the negative in life I had to keep adding positive things in my life. Sometimes reading did not help me right away but I knew it was working internally. The Secret Book is one of my favorite books that I have on my phone and next to my pillow. I am a firm believer in the saying, “There is light at the end of the tunnel.” No one knows how long the tunnel is, but yes, there is always light at the end of it. My tunnel was filled with judgments, accusations, and blaming. I have not overcome it completely yet but I know that I will overcome all of it soon to become the best version of myself.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned is to never judge anyone without knowing the real story. I have also learned to always encourage and pour positive things into people to build them up.

Emily Bhatnagar has always loved reading. “Growing up, I was really shy, so I always turned to books,” she said. “They became my best friends when I didn’t have one.”

In 2019, when Emily was in her second year of high school, her dad suffered from cancer. The news was difficult for the family. Books became an even bigger comfort, and she started thinking about families in similar situations. When her father recovered, she came up with a plan to help others. “The idea came from the fact that there were kids who were facing the same problem,” she said.

Then, Emily started the book drive in her hometown, Gaithersburg, Maryland. The goal was to collect books and give them to kids being treated for cancer in local hospitals. Her father was not surprised by this plan. “She always wants to do things for the neighborhood,” he said. Since the start of the book drive, which she calls For Love & Buttercup, Emily has collected more than 10,000 books.

Emily had no idea how much attention her work would get. She started by posting on social media, asking people in her area to donate. “I was expecting maybe two or three neighbors to do it,” she said. “But it ended up blowing up,” especially when newspapers began reporting it.

The Children’s Inn is one of the places where Emily has donated books. “Donations like Emily’s share a piece of the world with kids and families that they may not experience,” said its director, Aisha Campbell. Emily continues to run the book drive with her parents’ help. She hopes to one day make it reach more kids. The memory of the first time she visited children who’d received her books sticks with her. “It was the best day of my life,” she said. “I realized I wanted to do this type of work forever.”

Cecilia Chiang, named the “mother of Chinese food in American”, a famed restauranteur who helped introduce real Chinese food to America in the 1960s, died on October 28, 2020 at the age of 100. Opened in 1961, Cecilia’ legendary San Francisco restaurant, the Mandarin, was arguably the best Chinese restaurant in the US for over 30 years. She challenged the American idea of Chinese food and transformed their appreciation for authentic Chinese cuisine.

Ms Chiang was born in Wuxi in 1920 as the seventh daughter in a wealthy family. After her parents died, Cecilia managed the businesses’ finances while still in her teens.

Ms Chiang came to San Francisco in 1959. Once in San Francisco, she met two acquaintances who wanted to open a restaurant. Ms Chiang agreed to put up a huge deposit. But when the two women quit, Ms Chiang found to her horror that the deposit was not refundable. She decided to open the restaurant herself. “I began to think that if I could create a restaurant with Western-style service and the dishes that I was most familiar with-the delicious food of northern China — maybe my little restaurant would succeed,” she wrote in her book.

The Mandarin, which was opened in 1961 as a small restaurant, introduced customers to mainly Sichuan, Shanghai and Canton dishes. The early days were especially tough. But little by little, Chinese diners, and a few Americans came regularly. Overnight, the tables filled and became a huge success.

Ms Chiang enjoyed many extraordinary honors. In 2013, when she was 93, she received the long overdue Lifetime Achievement Award from the James Beard Awards, known as the ”Culinary Oscars“ at New York’s Lincoln Center. Cecilia considered it her legacy to have redefined what Americans know about Chinese food and culture. In her acceptance speech, Cecilia said, ”This is an incredible honor. James Beard was one of my close personal friends, so this award holds a special place in my heart.“