We’re often in difficult times or meet difficult problems. They are hard to solve and they are common in our life. When we’re in difficult times, just stopping isn’t enough. We need to ask for help.

When I’m in difficult times, I never turn to someone for help. In fact, I am lucky enough to have a helpful group. They always support me when I meet some problems.

First, I have a good relationship with my parents. They always give me good advice. So when I’m in difficult times, my parents are usually the first ones I turn to. As teenagers, many of us don’t think our parents know us. However, they have gone through more situations（情况）as hard as or maybe even harder than those we are having now. So why not listen to them and learn from their experiences?

There are quite a few different situations. But we don’t want to ask our parents for advice. For those, we can turn to our friends. It’s great to get advice and help from a peer（同龄人）.

Don’t be shy to ask for help when you’re in difficult times. The help from others can often solve your difficulties!

When you have a different opinion from your friend, what should you do? I think the best way is to talk to your friend and tell him or her how you're feeling. It's always important to tell your friend your feelings.

Of course, sometimes friends_do drift_apart. As we grow older, we have different interests and sometimes this means that a friendship may not be as close as it was. This also means that you may find a different group of friends to spend time with.

Then what should you do to keep a friendship? One helpful thing is to be sure you let others know you like them. Smile to them, talk to them and show your interest to what they say and do. People usually like to make friends with those who appreciate them.

It's also important to remember that you should always be yourself. When you try to keep the friendship,you might begin to do things or act in some ways that aren't normally part of your personality. If your friend is unfriendly to you, that doesn't mean you should become unkind to other people. If keeping a friendship means you have to become someone who you aren't, that friendship isn't worth keeping.

What are the basic ingredients(要素) of good manners? A strong sense of fairness is one of them.

A friend once told me an experience that he had. When he was driving along a one-lane(单行小路) mountain road, the car ahead of his produced clouds of choking dust(呛人的尘土) and it was a long way to the nearest main road. Suddenly, the car ahead stopped at a wider place on the road. My friend thought there must be something wrong with the car ahead. He stopped and asked if anything was wrong. “No” said the other driver. “But you’ve endured(忍耐) my dust so far. I’ll endure yours the rest of the way.”

Another ingredient is empathy(同情心). It makes a person see into the mind or heart of someone else. Recently I happened to read such a story in a book.

A man was having dinner alone, and he was trying to open a bottle. But he failed. Then he asked a waiter for help. The waiter took the bottle, turned his back and opened it without difficulty. Then the waiter closed it again and turned back. He pretended(假装) that it was hard to open the bottle. Finally he took it into the kitchen and returned very soon. He told the man that he succeeded in opening it, but only with a tool.

Yet another ingredient is the ability to treat people alike. No matter who he is and what he does, everyone should be respected(尊重).