I found it hard to communicate with my mother. Relations between us became difficult.

One day I ran away from home and stayed outside for a few hours. When I returned home at night, I saw the pain, anger and disappointment on my mother’s face. We knew that we were in great need of a talk. We agreed to have breakfast together the next morning. In the end, we decided to go to a restaurant.

On our way to the restaurant, I noticed my mother had two notebooks in her hands. I asked her what they were used for. She explained to me that sometimes it was easier to write down our feelings than talk about them. We should write down our feelings.

Our first topic was “Why am I so angry?” I wrote a half page, and my mom filled up nearly three pages. I saw tears run down her face while she was writing. I never realized anyone could hide so much anger. After we finished writing, we exchanged our notebooks. As soon as I started reading my mother’s words, I began to cry and so did she. When we finished reading, we discussed our feelings. Finally, it felt like all the anger inside me went away from my body. Our talk helped me realize so many things I had never thought of before, not only about my mother but also about other people.

My mother and I continue using our notebooks as a way of communicating with each other. We know that no matter how we feel about each other, our notebooks are a safe place to express our feelings. We have come to an agreement that we write “I love you” at the end of each letter.

Confidence（自信）is very important in daily life. It can help you to develop a healthy attitude（态度）. A study shows that the people who are more confident are much happier.

They can have more chance to make themselves successful. Here are some suggestions about how to be more confident.

Speak loud When you are not confident, you can’t do well what you want to do. You speak in a voice so low that other people can hardly hear you. Try to speak aloud enough so that people can hear you clearly. The high voice can help you become more confident.

Play sports Physical exercise makes you tired but completely relaxed. A strong body helps you be full of confidence.

Encourage yourself Write down a list of things you did during the day to see how many things you have done well. Did you finish your homework? Did you tell a joke that made everybody laugh? Give yourself praise for the good things you’ve done.

Pick up a hobby If you like singing, sing as much as you can. In some ways, a hobby can make you outstanding. And it will make you happy and confident.

Get rid of（消除）fear Fear comes along with failure（失败）. But it’s easy to overcome（战胜）if you know that failure is part of your life. Don’t hide your head just because you said something stupid last time. Try to start again and believe you can do better.