You’ve been around forever. I can remember all the pain you’ve caused for me.

Do you remember the night you almost took my father’s life? I do. He loves you. Sometimes I think he loves you more than he loves me. He’s addicted to you, to the way you promise to rid him of his problems only to cause more of them. You just sat back and laughed as his car went spinning through the street, crashing into two other cars. He wasn’t the only one hurt by you that night.

Do you remember the night of my first high school party? You were there. My friends were intrigued by you. They treated you as if they were never going to see you again, drinking all of you that they could. I spent two hours that night helping my friends who had fallen completely. “I’m so embarrassed,” they said as I held their hair back so that they could vomit (呕吐). “I’m sorry,” they said when I called taxies for them, walking them out and paying the driver in advance. “This won’t happen again,” they said as they were sent to the hospital to have their stomachs pumped. Two 15-year-old girls slept in hospital beds that night thanks to you.

Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbour who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car? He died the next morning too. His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio. She didn’t realize her brother was in the midst of it all. She never saw him again. And it’s all your fault.

I wish you’d walk out of my life forever. I don’t want anything to do with you. Look at all the pain you’ve caused. Sure, you’ve made people happy too from time to time. But the damage you’ve caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable. Stop luring (引诱) in the people I love. Stop hurting me, please.

Sincerely,

Anonymous

Memories have great power over us. Childhood memories are the first memories we make. They can be like pleasant dreams with a smile or nightmares (噩梦). As parents, we can influence our children’s memories. 【小题1】 Or we can fill it with criticisms (批评) and quarrels.

We can never be sure of what kind of memories we will remember or which events will stand out. Think of our strongest memories.【小题2】 Or is it of the smallest incidents — a conversation or shared laughter?

School takes up a lot of the childhood years. In an effort to make sure our children do not fall behind their classmates, we ask them to do their homework, stop playing so much and maybe send them to all kinds of classes. 【小题3】 But we should let them know that we value them beyond their grades in school.

【小题4】 But what is more important? Our children could enjoy their childhood. They only have a few short years to enjoy their childhood. Our children’s childhood memories should be of more than just studying. They should remember the parties they had, childish fun they had with their friends and the loving family outings they enjoyed.

What kind of memories the children form depends on their attitudes. 【小题5】 So they form happy childhood memories.

During the winter break, I found my dad’s old CD player in a drawer that I had never seen before. It reminded me of the three CDs I recently bought from Mostly Books, a second-hand media store on South Street. I knew I could put the player to good use with them.

However, I was a naughty kid who broke closet doors and shelves, so my dad was often unwilling to let me borrow his things. I couldn’t decide whether to ask my dad about using the player. “Can you help me with your old CD player? I want to play some CDs,” I finally asked him after walking into his home office that day. Despite my worries, my dad said yes.

Growing up, I felt that my dad disagreed with nearly everything I did. I was frightened to take his advice because listening to him felt like going against my own ideas.

This new side of my dad encouraged me to finally take the time to look for our similarities. I discovered how similar we really are while fixing the CD player with my dad, which helped me see him as someone I could relate to, instead of someone to avoid. Watching my dad prepare his old CD player for use was my first step toward understanding him. I observed several of his characters that I recognized in myself, like persistence, patience and calmness. Seeing these characters in my dad showed me how similar we are, which lowered the defenses (防御) I built against him, allowing our relationship to heal (愈合).