About six months ago, I joined a gym. Every morning, there was one personal trainer who worked out. He did his routine with such a quiet determination that he made it all look very easy. When I wanted to quit, I watched him push himself to his own limits, and I found myself motivated to work hard.

Several weeks ago, I was watching him do chin-ups (引体向上) effortlessly. I asked him if I could try a chin-up. I had never tried before. He eagerly stepped aside and encouraged me to step up to the bar. I pulled myself up without thinking... Once...then twice. I had no strength left. I told him that was all I had, so he stepped up behind me and pushed me up for a third and a fourth pull. It felt so good and I smiled from ear to ear.

The next day when I was done with my workout, I asked him to spot me again. Again, I did two. Again on day three and so on. I thought it was pitiful that I could only do two, but he said he was impressed with my chin-ups, explaining that most people couldn’t do them at all. He further told me that if I practiced every day, I would be doing five or six in no time.

I just jumped in and gave it a try. A few months had passed since that memorable day at the gym. I continued to work on my chin-ups, slowly but steadily. With each passing week, I could feel my strength increasing and my determination growing.

One day, as I approached the chin-up bar, my trainer noticed the determination in my eyes. He smiled and said, “You know, you’ve come a long way in such a short time. I believe it’s time to set a new goal for yourself.” I asked, “What do you have in mind?” He replied, “How about aiming for ten consecutive (连续不断的) chin-ups? I have no doubt that you can achieve it with your insistence.”

I was both excited and nervous about this new challenge.

Finally, one morning, it happened.

Mitzvah

Mitzvah is a word my grandmother often said to me since my childhood. It’s a Hebrew word that means “to do a good deed”. But according to my grandmother, it also had another meaning. This was the one she was always pointing out to me because she’d noticed how shy I was about letting people do things for me. “Linda, it’s a blessing to do a mitzvah for someone else, but sometimes it’s a blessing to let another person do something for you.” I never really understood what she meant until recently.

It was three months ago, and I'd just moved into an apartment for college in Brooklyn, New York, Several of my friends had offered to help me settle in after the moving men left, but I'd said I could manage. Letting them help did not fit my image of myself as a capable and independent woman of 21.

As December arrived, getting to school became more difficult. One day, snowflakes had been falling past my window for several hours when it came time to leave for class. I put on two sweaters, a coat, a wool hat and boots making for the bus stop. In this December storm it was a hard journey. As I tied around my neck the blue scarf that Grandma had knitted(编织) for me, I could almost hear her voice: “Why don't you see if you can find a lift?” A thousand reasons came into my mind: I don't know my neighbours; I feel funny asking for favours. Pride(自尊心) would not let me ask even though I came across three neighbours at the door of the apartment building. One of them was the woman living upstairs, and in her hand there was an obvious car key.

Result? An hour of waiting in the bitter cold before the bus finally arrived, followed by another half-hou journey. When I sneaked into the classroom, the class was almost over. If only I had taken the chance and asked for help! It would have been a 10-minute ride by car, Grandma would be shaking her head at my stubbornness(固执).

On the day of my final exam, I again walked to the bus stop through heavy snow.

As I pushed open the door of my apartment building, I found myself face to face with the woman from upstairs.

During my six years at the Boyd E. Smith Primary School, I was lucky to have so many great teachers who served as thoughtful role models. They were admirable characters who had far-reaching effects on me in more ways than I could have known. Among them who influenced me the most was my fourth-grade teacher, Mrs. Green.

The truth is that Mrs. Green was unlike anyone I had ever known. She had so much energy and passion for the world and for her students that she spent thirty years of her life at Boyd E. Smith. Mrs. Green taught maths. She devoted herself to her work. I would never have imagined that I would have left her class with so much.

Mrs. Green is everything that I want to be. The first time I met her, I knew she was someone special. Being young fourth-graders, we were taught to show respect to teachers as we learned to say “Thank you, madam” and “Yes, madam” on a daily basis. We did not complain about it. We knew she did it to make us better young adults that would carry on through life with respect for our elders.

Mrs. Green was an amazing teacher for many reasons, as she was intelligent and passionate about what she taught. She did not scold (责骂) us, but she taught us to recognize the difference between right and wrong and to be responsible no matter what we did. Looking back upon those days when I was in her class, I realized that she was teaching us qualities that were important to our characters. The most valuable lesson I learned from her was to live with honesty. I had no idea what this word meant until the incident (事情) in a math exam.

I was caught in the act of cheating in the exam.

Now I am also a primary school teacher like Mrs. Green.