When you set a foot outside of your door to drop trash, go to a social event or go for a walk, thoughts like “I hope I don’t see anyone I know” or “please don’t talk to me” may run through your mind. I’ve also said such things to myself. Sometimes the last thing you want to do is to talk with someone, especially someone new.

Why do we go out of our ways to avoid people? Do we think meeting new people is a waste of time? Or are we just lazy, thinking that meeting someone new really is a trouble?

Communication is the key to life. We have been told that many times. Take the past generations, like our parents, for example. They seem to take full advantage of that whole “communication” idea because they grew up talking face to face while Generation-Y grew up staring at screens. We spend hours of our days sitting on Facebook. We send messages to our friends and think about all of the things we want to say to certain people and that we don’t have the courage to do in reality.

Nowadays, we are so caught up in our little circle of friends — our comfort zone. We love it that they laugh at our jokes, understand our feelings and can read our minds. Most importantly, they know when we want to be alone. They just get us.

Holding a conversation with someone new means agreeing with things that you don’t really believe and being someone you think they want you to be — it is, as I said before, a trouble. It takes up so much energy, and at some point or another, it is too tiring.

But meeting new people is important. Life is too short, so meet all the people you can meet, make the effort to go out and laugh. Remember, every “hello” leads to a smile — and a smile is worth a lot.

It’s the end of August, and it’s time to start thinking about going back to school. For some, it’s a very exciting time. For others, however, they can feel very stressful. There are lots of things to do if you want to have a great first day at school.

Stay busy throughout the summer holiday. Usually those who struggle (挣扎) on their first days are people who spend too much of their summer holiday indoors and relaxing. So you should try to stay active and busy over the course of the holiday. There are lots of things you can do, such as getting a summer job or taking up a sport.

Continue learning over the summer holiday. People who struggle the most at first are those who aren’t learning over the holiday. Learning itself doesn’t have to be boring! You can learn about anything you want. Simply keeping your brain in the habit of learning will give you an extra advantage when it’s time to go back to school.

Spend time with friends that will attend the same school. If you have any friends living in the same neighborhood, there are chances that you will go to the same school! Make a point of creating stronger bonds (关系) with those friends. Spend part of your summer holiday with them, and grow closer. While there’s always some worry about going into the first day of school, having friends around that care about you makes it much easier.

Buy your school supplies. The most important thing you can do in preparation for your first day is make sure you have all of the equipment you need. Though the types of materials you’ll need differ from class to class, certain things, like pens and paper, will be used for all classes.

As 17-year-old Torri’ell Norwood drove through St. Parkersburg, Florida, last February, the laughter and chatter from the four teenage girls inside her car quickly gave way to screams. As they approached an intersection, another car T-boned them, sending their car sailing into the yard of a nearby home, coming to a stop only when it crashed into a tree.

As smoke rose from the other car, a bystander shouted, “It’s about to blow up! Get out!” Shaken, but otherwise OK, Norwood crawled out through the window. Along with two of her friends, who’d also managed to free themselves, she ran for her life.

But halfway down the street, she realized that her best friend, A’zarria Simmons, wasn’t with them. Norwood ran back to the wreck and found Simmons stuck in the back seat, motionless. She threw open the back door and pulled her friend out, avoiding the broken glass as best she could. She dragged Simmons a few feet to safety and laid her on the ground. “I checked her pulse.” Nothing. “I put my head against her chest.” No sign of life. “That’s when I started CPR.”

Kneeling on the lawn, Norwood started pumping Simmons’s chest with her interlocked fingers and breathing into her friend’s mouth in hopes of filling her lungs with the kiss of life. No response. And then, after the 30th compression (按压）, Simmons began coughing and gasping for air. The CPR had worked!

Soon, the ambulance arrived and rushed Simmons to the hospital. And when she heard how her best friend had saved her life, she said, “I wasn’t shocked. She will always help any way she can.”