Professor Paul Hughes says the way we talk to ourselves and about ourselves to other people can affect our life in many ways, from our career to our family life. He saw this firsthand while teaching at a community college.

He noticed that some students who studied hard and came to class every day still did poorly in exams. They are filled with angst about taking a test. Hughes used one of his students as an example. Lindsay was a good student. She came to class early, took part in discussions and did all of her homework. However, she did poorly in exams. When Hughes asked her how she felt before a test, she told him she was very nervous. She wondered why she had trouble remembering what she had learned. She said she did not trust that she knew the right answers.

Hughes took Lindsay’s negative statements and turned them into positive questions. Before a test, he told Lindsay to say to herself: Why am I so relaxed when I take an exam? Why am I so focused during my exam? Why do I remember everything I study for an exam? Why do I trust my answers?

Lindsay took his advice. Two weeks later, she took an exam and scored 15 points higher than she had in an earlier exam. Four weeks later, she got a “B” in the final exam.

After Lindsay left the community college and went to a four-year university, she continued to use the method of positive self-talk. She got straight A’s in all of her exams. Hughes saw student after student succeed with his method. They got more than just good test scores. They got their selfconfidence back.

Hughes does not just help his students. He also uses his positive self-talk method to help his friends and neighbors. In a television interview, he summed it up this way, “We can program ourselves for failure in class or in life, but we can also program ourselves for success.”

The day had started out as usual for Mrs. Ito until the late afternoon, when the news of the destructive tsunami waves came over the radio.

At last, 12:30 a.m. came as the radio warning had said and nothing happened. She could hear passing people say the tsunami waves must have missed the islands and they laughed as they were returning to their homes. Mrs. Ito went into her living room and looked down the street. It was calm.

Then, a sudden flash-like lighting lit the sky over Hilo Bay and a deafening explosion broke the night’s silence. The first large wave of the tsunami had burst Hilo’s electric power plant. Suddenly, all the lights in Hilo went out.

Next thing Mrs. Ito heard was a rumbling sound. Before she knew it, the wave roared into her house. She was knocked to the floor as her house began to spin (旋转) and finally tore apart. Terrible yelling and crying sounds came from her neighbors’ homes. Desperately, Mrs. Ito grasped for anything to stay above water. Suddenly, something heavy fell on her. The floorboards opened up and she became trapped. She used every bit of strength in her body to struggle out of the boards and managed to squeeze free. Then she blacked out.

When she woke up, she found herself being washed back and fourth as the water rose. She couldn’t see anyone else and listened for the sound of ocean waves. There were no waves, so she figured she had to be floating over flooded land. Mrs. Ito carefully tried to stretch her foot to touch bottom but it was too deep. Not knowing how to swim, she hung on tight to her tiny makeshift (临时的) raft.

At sunrise, she spotted two boats on the horizon. She saw in the distance a radio station tower light. She remained at peace and kept her head down. She thought that death was just a matter of time away. She thought the people on the boats hadn’t seen her. Then the boats came closer and closer. Mrs. Ito was seen and saved.

The summer I turned 16, my father gave me his renewed car. It was a gift wasted on me at that age but Hannah and I could drive around our city in it.

Hannah was my best friend, a year younger but much taller, very attractive. That summer she signed with a modeling agency. She had already started her work in fashion show.

A month after my birthday, Hannah and I went to a movie. On the way home, we stopped at the McDonald's drive-through, putting the fries on the seat between us to share. Then we decided to ride around awhile. Taking a turn too fast, I hit a neighbor's wall and drove into a full-grown tree.

An impossible amount of blood on Hannah's face. They took us in separate ambulances. I'd broken my cheekbone, and Hannah's forehead was badly scarred( 留疤痕 ). In the emergency room, my parents spoke quietly, " Best plastic( 整形的 ) surgeon in the city for Hannah. " End of Hannah's modeling career.

I didn't know what I could say to Hannah. When her mother, Sharon, came into my hospital room, I started to cry, preparing myself for her anger.

She sat beside me and took my hand. "I hit my best friend's car when I was your age. ”   She said. "I damaged her car and mine badly. You're both alive, and the rest is   window dressing. ”   I started to protest, and Sharon stopped me. "I forgive you. Hannah will too. ”

Sharon's forgiveness allowed Hannah and me to get back in the car together that winter, to stay friends throughout high school and college, to be in each other's weddings, and to watch my daughters play with her children. I think of her gift of forgiveness every time I feel angry at someone. And whenever I see Hannah, the scars are so faded no one else would notice, but in the sunlight I can still see it just below her hairline-for me, a mark of grace.