Niall was a 10-year-old boy who enjoyed the outdoors. He was fond of parks and nature trails and was saving up for a new bike he could use for his outdoor adventures.

One day after school, Niall checked the refrigerator for some leftovers. He was very hungry after spending the early afternoon playing football with his friends.

He noticed his mom Linda’s to-do list stuck on the refrigerator door. “Prepare dinner, wash the dishes，mow the lawn (修剪草坪), water the plants，do the laundry, clean the house...” Niall read the list. He realized his mom would only be able to go to bed at one o’clock in the morning if she wanted to accomplish everything. And she had to wake up at five to prepare breakfast for both of them before school and work.

“Oh, Mom,’’ Niall sighed. He was sad that his mother had to work hard because she was raising him as a single mother. Without hesitation, he quickly finished his meal and decided to help with the housework on his mom’s list in two hours before she came home.

Niall first cleaned the floor and did the laundry. Then he went to his mom’s room to put the folded clothes in the closet, where he saw a beautiful card. It was his mother’s bucket list. Niall found her top wish was to fly to a white sand beach alone. The boy smiled. He knew how much she loved going to the beach and how much she had devoted to the family.

Inspired, Niall decided to use the money he had saved to buy a plane ticket for his mom. He could ask his grandma to teach him how to book a flight. He imagined how happy his mom would be when he handed her that ticket.

Smiling, Niall quickly placed the clothes inside the closet. There were still many other chores — like mowing the lawn — that needed to be done.

I had never had a birthday party before. When I opened the door, my parents were both smiling at me. There were colorful balloons all over the house, a big poster saying “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”, and of course a cake with 16 candles. It was a wonderful feeling. I knew that I had finally turned sixteen and I might possibly get the thing I wanted most.

My mom came towards me with a small box which seemed to be a birthday present. When I opened the box, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had really gotten an iPad Pro 2022! Throwing myself into their arms, I let out a cry of joy, “Thank you! I love you!”

“You’re welcome. We knew this was going to make you happy but we got you this not only because you turned sixteen, but also because you were doing well in school. We expect you to keep getting good grades.”

“I will,”   I promised.

As soon as I went back to my bedroom, I was taking out my iPad and playing the latest computer game. It was such an interesting and exciting one that I became addicted to it.

From then on, there would only be computer games in my world. I wouldn’t pay much attention to the lessons the next day because I stayed up too late every night to play games.

I always dozed off in the class and my academic performance dropped sharply! Two weeks later, the headteacher called up my mother and told her how I behaved at school. At the beginning, she couldn’t believe it. I would never forget the disappointment and anger in her eyes that day.

From then on, my parents realized the fact that the iPad had led to my failure.

Seeing the disappointment in their eyes, I decided to change myself.

The story began with a young mother who had three sons in a big city. Unfortunately, the youngest son developed slow thinking skills, not having the intelligence of his brothers. With double duty as the mother of the household, she was exhausted, so that the youngest was often the target of anger and annoyance. Bad words, such as "you little fool” and the like, served as a daily meal for the youngest.

The words and curses he got from the mother and ridicule (嘲笑) from friends convinced him that he was distressing (使痛苦) and embarrassing his family. Every morning he woke up with his own face staring from the mirror reflection, he started to say quietly and sadly, “The fool is going to school.”

As adult citizens, there was compulsory military service which should be lived. Thus, the youngest son also signed up and started to follow the various tests: a medical, physical ability test and other tests. On the day of the announcement, he was called into the board of examiners.

In his mind, he convinced himself that he was the fool and couldn’t pass the tests this time as he entered the room with his head down. It was not expected at all. The tests turned out to have the highest praise from the board of examiners.

“Congratulations, young man! Your test results are incredible! You are really a great and talented young man.” Words from the board of examiners became the discovery of a new side of himself that was not known in advance. Voice kept echoing in his mind, such as “I, the great man, am in the shower”, “The great man washes his face”, “The talented young man again brushes his teeth” and so on. Confidence and improved self-image came beyond usual.

He decided to join the military and was sent to the front.

Ten years later, the man went back to his hometown.