The letter was a great disappointment to me．It was from Holy Cross, the only school I really wanted to 1 ．I scanned the page,“…．We had a great applicant pool this year．…We can't offer spaces to 2 …and place you on our waiting list．”
“What does it say, honey?”my dad asked, his voice full of 3 for me．
“I didn't get in, but I'm on the waiting list．”
“Well, at least it isn't 4 ,”he said brightly．
“Yeah, but 5 , I don't want to be on the waiting list; I want to be 6 ．No one gets in off the waiting list．It's a way of saying‘Thanks for 7 ’．”
“Then let's go out there and tell them so．”
“That sounds 8 , dad．”I said sadly,“It doesn't work．”
Upset and annoyed, I 9 myself in my room．However, my father's advice kept 10 in my head．I thought about it for a few days, finally coming to the 11 that he was right．And the next day I seated myself across from Mr．Luis Soto, my admissions officer．
“What can I do for you, Nacie?”he asked pleasantly．
“Well, sir, I am here to tell you that I love this school and would love a 12 to be here．I just wanted to tell you how much going here would 13 to me－it is my only dream college－and that I would use my time here to the best 14 ．I wanted to let you know that if you gave me a chance and reconsidered my application, you wouldn't 15 it．”The words had poured out 16 I could stop them or check their desperate tone．
Mr．Soto looked me over for a minute before he smiled broadly．
“OK, that is the kind of thing we love to hear．Congratulations, you're in．”
It was so 17 and I asked,“I'm sorry?”
“We want people in the class who want to be here, who will 18 the best of this education．I'm glad you came to talk 19 to me．I'm happy to offer you a position in the Class of 2010．”
The whole experience taught me a lesson：if you truly want something, never, ever 20 ．
Courage is a big, tough word that no child should have to know, but too often they do．When they do, courage takes on a whole new meaning．
Alex was diagnosed(诊断)with cancer on September 13, 2008．On that dark night, his mother was 1 after hearing the diagnosis, but she kept up her 2 , went into Alex’s room in the hospital and lay down beside him．
“When I told Alex, he 3 over and patted my arm and said, ‘It will be OK, Mama,’” said Kim Morgan．“His 4 was for me, not for himself．But that’s Alex．He is the most 5 little boy that I have ever known．He always 6 others before himself．He is amazing, and he has so much 7 ．”
In fact, five years ago, Alex’s father, Ron Morgan was also 8 with cancer．He 9 the disease and the treatments well, but he also kept his 10 from others．
“We really didn’t want people to 11 ,”Kim Morgan said．“But by 12 Ron’s illness from others, we kept blessings from them 13 people really want to help．But when Alex was diagnosed, we got on the telephone and started 14 people．By church time on Sunday morning, there was 15 a church in Pike County that didn’t have Alex on its prayer list．We 16 so much the prayers and the concern of the people of Pike County．”
“That Ron had 17 the cancer and had done so well was a great encouragement to all of us,” Morgan said．They knew that cancer could be fought and 18 ．Also there was a lot of 19 in their little boy．“Alex is a(n) 20 ,”Morgan said．“Whatever he does, he gives it his all．And we knew that he would have the courage to do whatever it took to fight this disease．”
We live in a world where there is so much competition．Every single person has a(n) 1 to succeed and be the best at what they can．There are college basketball players 2 reaching the professional level and students trying their best to get an “A” on their math test．We meet businessmen that have 3 a lot of money．We all have a role 4 we look up to, or have looked up to at some point in life, whether it is a respected elder in our family, a trusted friend around us, or a(n) 5 person often appearing on TV screens or magazine covers．
It is 6 having role models and looking up to people that 7 us．However, how often do you ask yourself, “why is he smarter than me?” or “How did this person achieve such a great 8 at such a young age?” I went to a great high school that was very 9 and demanding; I saw many very 10 student graduate and get into Ivy League a famous school．I also 11 when I got my math test papers back, I sometimes 12 why I never got consistent “A” s like the student sitting two seats away from me．
However, what I 13 after entering college was that one should never 14 their skills or levels of success with other people's．Every single person is 15 and we all have some sort of unique talent．If you are not good at 16 or want to improve a specific skill, you have to learn how to be patient and understand your 17 and try to overcome them．
The 18 is you can all become an honor student if you want to or even improve your running skills．But you have to keep in 19 that understanding your weaknesses and strength is a very 20 step in the process．You have to learn how to look at yourself and set goals step by step so that you can track your improvement．
I was feeling pretty low．It was the week before I was scheduled for gallbladder surgery(胆囊手术)and I couldn’t escape my worried 1 ．The surgeon was highly 2 but was new to me－and he didn’t have the best bedside manner．My sister, an 3 operating-room director, who usually put my 4 at ease about my medical care, had moved away recently．This would be my first time 5 an operation without her right there by my side．
I was on my own．“ 6 something goes wrong?” I tossed(翻来覆去)and turned all that night．
The next day I 7 I had to get my mind out of everything．A good 8 will do the trick, I thought．I 9 to the bookcase in my guest bedroom to get something to 10 ．Next to the bookcase 11 some novels I had 12 from a library sale over a year ago．Right on top I saw a best-selling mystery novels．
I sat down in the bedroom, 13 the book and began to read．I could’t 14 it－the book’s prologue(开场白)began with a woman awaiting surgery! She was also feeling 15 , struggling with knowing if she had 16 the right hospital, the right doctor．
“This is a team 17 , ”the doctor said to her．“We mustn’t 18 someone very important, ”he continued, “the most important member of our team．Do you know who that is?” I read on, breathless．
The doctor patted the woman’s hand gently and pointed to her．“ 19 , ”he told her．
And I realized my life wasn’t only in the doctor’s hands; it was in mine as well．Immediately I felt more confident and 20 about the upcoming surgery．
Last night I was driving from Harrisburg to Lewisburg, a 1 of about eighty miles．It was late and I was in a hurry．However, if anyone asked me how fast I was 2 , I'd say I was
not overspeeding．Several times I got 3 behind a slow-moving truck on a narrow road, and I was holding my fists tightly with 4 ．
At one point along an open highway, I 5 a crossroads with a traffic light．I was alone on the road by now, but as I 6 the light, it turned red and I braked to a stop．I looked left, right and behind me．Nothing．No cars, no suggestion of headlights, but there I sat, waiting for the light to 7 , the only human being for at least a mile in any 8 ．
I started 9 why I refused to run the light．I was not afraid of being 10 , because there was obviously no policeman around, and there certainly would have been no 11 in going through it．
Much later that night, after I 12 a group of friends in Lewisburg and climbed into bed near midnight, the question of why I'd stopped for that light 13 me．I think I stopped because it's part of a contract(合同)we all have with each other．It is not only the 14 , but also it is an arrangement we have, and we trust each other to 15 it：we don't go through red lights．Like most of us, I am more likely to be 16 from doing something bad by the social convention(传统习惯)that 17 it than by any law against it．
It's amazing that we ever 18 each other to do the right thing, isn't it? And we do, too．Trust is our 19 preference．
I was so 20 of myself for stopping for the red light that night．