“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”

A long time ago, my friend Joan believed it. At least, she _______ to. When she was young and fat, she was _______being laughed at.

Then things changed. Joan grew up. Her friends politely say she's   "_______", Her doctor calls her "morbidly obese （病态地肥胖）The rest of the _______ calls her fat.

Some people say it out loud to her face. Some people _______the word. And there are some people who say things even worse..

Don't think she hasn't heard the words. She has. _______ they hurt her deeply. But Joan has learned how to avoid the cutting （刻薄的）_______: She simply stays home.

One day, her husband _______ her to have an eating out. The restaurant was Perfect. _______, the servers weren't.

Joan ________ not to hear the unkind words. But she couldn't overlook the young girl at the table across from them. When the girl ________toward their table, Joan felt uncomfortable. ________ had taught her that kids could be especially ________

The wide-eyed little girl stopped next to Joan. Reaching out a single finger, she________Joan's blouse.

"You're so ________in that blouse?" The little girl smiled and walked back to her seat.

Simple praise. That was all. But it was enough to change her life and her ________

"Now," Joan says, "when people speak in a low voice behind my________,I can bear a young angel's ________reminding me that I'm pretty. And I'm equally sure the words everyone whispers are________

"That's all I hear now," Joan says： "Only praises. Words that can never ________ me."

It was almost 10 p.m. Stephen, a 14-year-old boy, was seen _______ on the road.

He had a fight with his mother in the afternoon. She scolded him for being so _______ in the recent exam. He had words with her and the fight ended up _______ badly that Stephen _______ out of the house.

He walked for almost more than 6 hours. He was _______ by a nice smell and felt very hungry.

It was a small noodle shop and he stopped by the shop. The shop owner saw him and asked him to have some _______.

Stephen told he had no _______. The owner smiled, saying “It’s OK. I don’t ask you for any money.” He asked him to eat some food _______ he looked very hungry.

The owner _______ a hot bowl of delicious noodles. Stephen thanked the owner from his heart. He felt that he owed something to the owner and ________ him that he would return the money.

Stephen was in ________ when he ate the noodles.

The owner asked ________ he cried when he was eating. Stephen told him about the ________ with his mother. The owner asked Stephen, “Do you feel you ________ me something?” Stephen said, “Yes!”

The owner smiled, “Now think about your mom. She was there with you from the moment you were born. She cooked for you. She played with you. She helped you with all her ________ in your difficult times. What did she expect? ________! Don’t you think you owe her something?”

Stephen ________ his mistake, thanked the owner and rushed home. He saw his mother standing ________ on the street.

His mother said, “Where did you go? I was ________ you everywhere. I cooked your favorite meal. Come and have it now. You must be so ________!”

I am a vegetarian and I have different skin color, which always make me feel distinct from everybody else at school. I started getting bullied (霸凌). I _______ who I was, tied up my bright red hair, and wore really _______ clothes and thus I wouldn’t attract as much _______. Eventually, I _______ to another school which was much more _______. There, I felt brave enough to show the _______ sides of my personality and made friends who loved me for who I was.

Recently, I have _______ with confidence in my skin. I started getting bad cystic acne (痤疮). I didn’t want to go outside, and if I had to, I would _______ makeup. I have learned that I cannot constantly control my _______, but I can control how I ________ myself. When I tell myself I am ________, or take a few minutes for skin care, I wake up the next morning feeling content.

Many of the popular TV show Riverdale fans made the assumption that I was as ________ as Cheryl in the show, so I started a YouTube channel for them to get to know my true ________. And so many of them ask for ________ about how to handle bullying. Playing a mean girl has helped me see the reasons I was bullied. I tell them, whoever is treating you that way is ________ something themselves, and it has ________ to do with you. Like for Cheryl, every time her ________ erupts, it has to do with how she is feeling about herself ________ the other characters. Cheryl behaves in a way that ________ reflects her own problems, not others’.

My motto: if you ________ yourself, you will always feel confident and happy.