Conor Grennan was unwilling to be a volunteer(志愿者). The 29-year-old American was not sure if he had the skills or a strong feeling for it.However, he went to work at an orphanage(孤儿院) in Nepal. His first thought was to make people impressed.
"I thought that if I volunteered just once. I could retell the story over and over," Grennan said in a Huffington Post article.However, his three-month stay it the orphanage turned into in unusual experience. It was 2004 and Grennan had given up his job to begin a year-long around-the-world trip, His first three months were spent in Nepal.
When he arrived in the village, he knew nothing about the children or the local culture. When he opened the gate of the Little Princes Children's Home, he was faced by the excited children.
The young American ended up caring for 18 children. He later discovered that they were trafficked(被拐卖的)children. So he walked through the mountains with great difficulty to find the kids' families, "I started walking with photos of the kids." he told the Reuters reporter. "I would show up in villages and show photographs around. I went with 24 photos, and I found 24 families." At the same time, he put his heart into Nepalese culture.
Grennan said, “Volunteering is the single best way to see how the rest of the world lives.”
He also encouraged others to do what he had done. He believes that volunteering needs only making decisions to show up.
Grennan's fight against child-trafficking has changed him. His book, Little Prince, came out last week.
Could a cave be the place of buried treasure in a small village in Marajgushu, near Navasha, Kenya? A rumor of treasure has some villagers dreaming of wealth, while ohters see it as a cheat. It's said that in the 1800s a white man left treasure inside the caves.
This system of caves has become the center of excitement in the village. It is unclear where the rumor came from, but some local people believe white settlers hid gold and other precious metals in the cave before leavign the area, many years ago.
Local villager Edward Maina says the rumors have brought a lot of treasure hunters flooding into town to dig in the caves. Villages say original treasure seekers entered the cave nearly two months ago before being arrested by police. Local governmetns closed up the entrance, but they broke back in.
While neither gold nor silver has been found yet, the cave does guard another important resource: water. Many depend on a natural spring coming from the cave and local officials, among them Ward Councilor Gaka Mwaniki, worry the digging could affect or dirty the supply.
“There's nothing. We've seen ourselves there's nothing in those caves. The cave is natural. It's the water table that they're affecting” says Mwaniki.
Local resident James Mbugua Njenga wants the situation brought under control. “If at all there's treasure inside there, let the government come and dig and protect the water table,”says Njenga.
It might be true. It might be a cheat. Whatever the case, treasure hunters continue to be attracted to the mystery of the caves.
Derek Rabclo is not the only surfer to conquer Hawaii' s famous Pipeline big wave break, but while all others use their sight to do it, this young professional surfer must rely only on his other senses. That's because he is completely blind.
When Derek was born, over 24 years ago, he got his name from Derek Ho, the first Hawaiian surfing world champion. A surfing enthusiast himself, Emesto dreamed that his son would share the talent of his uncle, a professional surfer. Unfortunately, Derek was born completely blind, but this didn't slop his family from believing lhat he could do anything he wanted, even if that meant becoming a surfer.
At age 2, Derek received a bodyboard and the beaches of Guarapari, Brazil, became his backyard. He was always comfortable in the water and surfing was in his blood, but he didn't actually try riding a wave until he turned 17, when his father bought him a surfboard. His father taught him the basics and encouraged him to keep practicing, but after successfully standing up on the surfboard, Derek knew he needed to become much better if he was going to achieve Emesto's dream and become a professional surfer. So he joined the Praia do Moroo surf school, where he studied under coach Fabio Maru.
Standing up on a surfboard and conquering small waves is one thing, while gathering the courage to take on Hawaii's board-breaking Pipeline is another. But that's exactly what Derek Rabelo set out to do just months after learning how to surf. Everyone told him it was too dangerous, but he felt he could do it. And he did, earning the praise of famous professional surfers like Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning. Now 24, Rabelo has been surfing the Pipeline every winter since.
A Song of Ice and Fire is a seven-part series of fantasy written for adults. George R. R. Martin writes each chapter from the perspective of a specific character, providing a limited point of view for each section. The reader is able to understand the inner workings of the individual, but the reader is barred from a whole understanding of the text. The world he has created has magic, but there is much more than that. While magic exists, it exists on the edge, and the inner unrest of the characters is much more important.
His work also has a level of realness that is astonishing in a work of fantasy. Characters are imperfect, and many make questionable moral choices. In the end, however, Martin shows that both good and bad happen to both the people of high moral standard and the corrupt. He has made it clear that any character can die at any point, which has led to a lot of heartbreak from readers.
In 2011, A Song of Ice and Fire became a television series titled Game of Thrones. Martin has been closely involved with the production. It has currently run for seven seasons, and viewers anxiously await the eighth season to answer their questions from the season seven finale.
His fans are also waiting for The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, the next books in the series, to answer the questions Martin and the television show have not yet addressed. Martin, however, has no plans to rush. He has made it clear that he will continue to write the books while working on the television show and writing other novels.
But how will the story continue? What is going to happen in Westeros, and more importantly: when are we going to find out? Martinis skill as a writer has kept readers and viewers spellbound. Many hope he will finish the next book before the next season of the show begins, but no one knows with Martin. He always keeps his readers guessing.
I was very fortunate to be selected by Kindspring to receive $100 for the monthly kindness competition and it has helped to make a beautiful difference in people's lives.
The idea is simple. I took a lot of fallen branches and hung them from the ceiling with the help of volunteers and friends. Then we hung strings with pins attached to them from the branches. I got a whole lot of art supplies and as people came in for the art exhibit, they were encouraged to create a piece of art or a positive message to hang from the tree.
The tree changed into this really fun way of exchanging positive messages. If you were to hang a message up, you had to take a message down for you to keep. The experience was really amazing. People of all ages and from all walks of life were sharing art and encouragement through the tree.
With the $100 I received from Kindspring, I made a total of seven more trees. I am putting them all over our community（社区）. One will go to a youth shelter for homeless teens and one will be put right in the middle of town on our public square. They will have paper and art supplies at the base for people to use in creating a message or piece of art. For the classroom I was able to provide them with new colored pencils, markers, and some sketchbooks, which they all loved. The act is to create communications that are positive and can influence people's lives in great ways just by doing a simple act of kindness. The messages people receive can be kept with them forever as a reminder of the good in the world, or they can pass them along to others. The beauty of the idea is that the messages have unlimited possibilities.
Most dog owners feel that their dogs are their best friends. Almost everyone likes dogs because they try hard to please their owners. One of my favorite stories is about a dog who wanted the owner to please him. One of my friends has a large German shepherd(牧羊犬) named Jack. These dogs are often very intelligent (clever). Every Sunday afternoon, my friend takes Jack for a walk in the park. Jack likes these long walks very much.
One Sunday afternoon, a young man came to visit my friend. He stayed a long time, and he talked and talked. Soon it was time for my friend to take Jack for his walk, but the visitor didn't leave. Jack became very worried about his walk in the park. He walked around the room several times and then sat down directly in front of the visitor and looked at him. But the visitor paid no attention. He continued talking. Finally, Jack couldn't stand(容忍) it any longer. He went out of the room and came back a few minutes later. He sat down again in front of the visitor, but this time he held the man's hat in his mouth.
German shepherds aren't the only intelligent dogs. Another intelligent dog is a Seeing Eye dog. This is a special dog that helps blind people walk along the streets and do many other things. We call these dogs Seeing Eye dogs because they are the "eyes" of the blind people and they help them to "see". Seeing Eye dogs generally go to special schools for several years to learn to help blind people.
More than a hundred years ago, two boys were fishing in a small river. They sat in a heavy-bottomed boat, each holding a long, bent pole in his hands and eagerly waiting for "a bite". When they wanted to move the boat from one place to another they had to push against a long pole into the bottom of the stream.
"This is slow work, Robert," said the older of the boys. "Yes, Christopher, and it's hard work, too." answered Robert. "I think there's some better way of moving a boat."
Christopher advised rowing it and Robert promised to make some paddles (桨). The next day Robert's aunt heard a great noise in her house. The two boys were there, busily working. "What are you making, Robert?" she asked. He told his plan. His aunt laughed and said, "Well done! I hope you'll succeed."
After much work, they succeeded in making two paddle wheels. They were very rough, but strong and usable. They fixed each of these wheels to the end of an iron rod (长杆) which they passed through the boat from side to side. The rod was bent in the middle. When the work was finished, the old fishing boat looked rather strange, with a paddle wheel on each side. The boys lost no time in trying it. One of the boys could guide the boat while the other turned the paddle wheels.
That night when Christopher went home, he told his father a wonderful story. "Robert Fulton planned the whole thing," he said, "and I helped him make the paddles and put them on the boat." When Robert Fulton became a man, he didn't forget his experiment with the old fishing boat. He kept on thinking and working, until at last he succeeded in making a boat with paddle wheels that could be run by steam. He's now honored as the inventor of the steamboat.
A linguist is always listening, never off-duty. I invited a group of friends round to my house, telling them that I was going to record their speech. I said I was interested in their regional accents, and that it would take only a few minutes. Thus one evening, three people turned up at my house and were shown into my front room. When they saw the room they were a bit anxious, for there was a microphone at head height, with wires leading to a tape-recorder in the middle of the floor. They sat down, rather nervously, and I explained that all I wanted was for them to count from 1 to 20. Then we could relax and have a drink. I turned on the tape-recorder and each in turn counted seriously from 1 to 20 in their best accents. When it was over, I turned the tape-recorder off and brought round the drinks. The rest of the evening was spent in total relaxation. I joined them in talking and joking freely, leaving them only to take a telephone call, which lasted some time.
As a matter of fact, the microphones were not connected to the tape-recorder in the middle of the room at all but to another one in the kitchen. My friends, having seen the visible tape-recorder turned off, paid no more attention to the microphone which stayed in front of their chairs, only a few inches from their mouths, thus giving excellent sound quality. And my long absence meant that I was able to get as natural a piece of conversation as it would be possible to find I should add, perhaps, that I did tell my friends what had happened to them, after the recording was over, and asked them whether it should be destroyed. None of them wanted to—but for some years after that, it always seemed that when it came to buying drinks, it was I who paid for them. Linguistic research can be a very expensive business.
The pupils of Grangetown High have been busy getting to know their newest and tallest classmate — a 7-meter-tall giraffe outside their school.
The giraffe is a huge sculpture (雕像). The school's headmaster noticed it in an artist's garden as he drove past one day, and thought it would be perfect for his school. “I knew everyone would love it," he said, "because our basketball team is known as the Grangetown Giraffes, and they wear giraffes on their shirts. So I asked them to write to the artist, asking how much it would cost to buy the giraffe. He was very kind and got it ready to deliver (递送) in six weeks — all for nothing! It was expected to arrive one Sunday morning, so that the pupils would see it when they got to school on Monday — at that time they had no idea that we were getting it."
The artist, Tom Bennett was a university professor of chemistry before he retired in 2012 and only took up metalwork a couple of years ago. "I've always drawn pictures," he said. I can even remember doing it on my first day at school — I drew a horse. I wanted it to be the best horse picture ever, but I don't think I succeeded."Tom's first metalwork was a bicycle on which he and his wife could go cycling together, “It was the most uncomfortable bike ever created," he said, "so I gave up making bicycles and went into sculpture instead."
Meanwhile the pupils at Grangetown High are very happy with their new classmate. "We're going to hold a competition to give it a proper name," said one girl. "Everyone likes the expression on its face, so perhaps that will give us some ideas."
Gregory Kloehn digs through dustbins every day, but not for the reason that most people would think. He isn't homeless. In fact he is trying to help the homeless.
Gregory began his life as a sculptor. But he often felt that his sculpture (雕塑) which just stood in rich people's houses for years, lacked a meaningful purpose. So in 2015 he decided to put his artistic energies into creating homes to sell—not ordinary homes but small structures built entirely from recycled materials.
The thought of creating homes for the homeless didn't come to him until the year 2017, when a homeless couple asked him for a tarp (防水布). Instead of a tarp, Gregory offered them something better: a small home with a water tank, a kitchen and a tap for waste. They were so grateful that Gregory decided to focus his efforts on helping house the homeless population in his city. And soon his "Homeless Homes Project" was started.
Before starting a new home, Gregory goes hunting for materials by digging through dustbins. Everything he finds is usable—refrigerator doors become house doors; washing machine doors often serve as windows, and the tops of cars become strong roofs. He put wheels at the bottom for users to move their homes around easily. Each home takes two to three days to make.
So far Gregory has donated dozens of homes to the city's most needy. While his small low- cost mobile homes are not the final solution to the problem of homelessness, they are really practical and do provide a warm and safe place for the homeless to stay in. They are simply a way for one man to do something nice for those in need of some help.
Gregory has written a book titled Homeless Architecture, where he explains techniques to build those homes and he is now working on weekend workshops. "A lot of people who hear about what I'm doing want to get involved," he said. "Maybe we can meet someplace and put a couple of homes together."
It was just before 8 a. m. on October 17, 2010. She'd checked the higher summits forecast posted by the Mount Washington Observatory before she left. Based on her experience, Bales knew that her hike was realistic. Besides, she had two plans and extra layers of clothing to better regulate her temperature as conditions changed.
At 10:30 a. m. , the weather was showing its teeth. Bales added even more layers, including a jacket to protect herself from the cold winds and heavy fog. She made her way across the snow—covered ridge toward Mount Washington and began to think about calling it a day. Then she noticed something:a single set of footprints in the snow ahead of her. She'd been following faint tracks all day and hadn't given them much thought, because so many people climbed Jewell Trail. But these, she realized, had been made by a pair of sneakers. She silently scolded the absent hiker for breaking normal safety rules and walked on.
Now she felt genuinely alarmed. She was sure the hiker could not navigate(找到方向)in the low visibility and was heading straight toward the challenging trails of the Great Gulf Wilderness. Bales stood there, shocked. The temperature and clouds were in a race to find their lowest point, and darkness was mere hours away. If Bales continued to follow the tracks. she'd add risk and time to the route she'd already adjusted to manage both. But she could not let this go. She turned to the left and called out, "Hello!" into the frozen fog.
Bales wouldn't get an answer until a week later, when the president of her rescue group received a letter in the mail. It read: "I hope this reaches the right group of rescuers. I want to remain anonymous(匿名的), but I was called John. On Sunday, October 17, I went up my favorite trail, Jewell, to end my life. Weather was to be bad. Thought no one else would be there. I was dressed to go quickly. Next thing I knew this lady was talking to me, changing my clothes, giving me food, making me warmer.
Mark Twain left school when he was twelve. He had little school education. In spite of this, he became the most famous writer of his time. He made millions of dollars by writing. His real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, but he is better known all over the world as Mark Twain, his penname.
Mark Twain was born in 1835 and he was not a healthy baby. In fact, he was not expected to live through the first winter. But with his mother's care, he managed to survive. As a boy, he caused much trouble for his parents. He used to play jokes on all his friends and neighbors. He didn't like to go to school, and he often ran away from home. He always went in the direction of the nearby Mississippi(密西西比河). He was nearly drowned nine times.
After his father's death, Mark Twain began to work for a printer, who only provided him with food and clothing. Then, he worked as a printer, a river-boat pilot and later joined the army. But shortly after that he became a miner. During this period, he started to write short stories. Afterwards he became a full time writer.
In 1870, Mark Twain got married. In the years that followed he wrote many books including Tom Sawyer in 1876, and Huckleberry Finn in 1884, which made him famous, and brought him great fortune.
Unfortunately, Mark Twain got into debts in bad investments(投资) and he had to write large numbers of stories to pay these debts. In 1904, his wife died, and then three of his children passed away.
At the age of 70, his hair was completely white. He bought many white suits and neckties. He wore nothing but white from head to foot until his death on April 21, 1910.
a. He became a miner. b. He worked as a printer.
c. He got into debts. d. His father died.
e. He became a full-time writer. F. He joined the army.
In 2017 American rock climber Alex Honnold reached the top of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in about four hours. Though it was two years ago that he began preparing for this historic climb and he has climbed El Capitan wearing safety equipment countless times, this time, he used only his hands and feet. "I was pretty much elated, Honnold told the reporter his feelings about reaching the top" I was probably the happiest I've ever been It's something that I thought about for so long and dreamed about and worked so hard for."
During his two years' preparation, he tried to memorize every hole he had to hold and the positions of his body. He repeated the climb over and over again, until he felt certain enough to try the so-called "free solo" climb. The most difficult part of the trip is about 700 meters off the ground. At that point, the very small holes in the rock are only for a thumb to fit.
But Honnold said the climb was more mentally challenging than physically challenging. For many years, Honnold dreamed about this climb, but whenever Honnold went to the park and looked up at El Capitan, he became frightened. "To walk up to the base of the climb without rope and harness, it just feels a little outrageous(骇人的). Getting over that side of it was the hardest part, "he said。
Many people say Honnold's climb has pushed the limits in a sport that requires a high level of physical ability, risk-taking and mental strength. It has never been done before. And it's hard to imagine anybody ever coming close to what he's done Honnold has an extreme ability to control fear and his body for a long period of time。
I remember her words, almost as if they were spoken yesterday.
Mrs.Mabel Price, our high school teacher in that little town of Westminster, in Western Maryland, said,
“You belong in college, and I'm going to do everything I can to get you there.” For me, college was something out of the question, something on a far distant planet, something only， those people who had special rights did. I said, ”I can't go to college because I don't have the money. There's no way I could afford it. I'm going to join the army.”
Even though I was graduating at the top of my class in that small town, and enjoyed the experience of learning and thinking, I was used to a long tradition of experience in my family. We were people of limited means, and three of my four older brothers had gone off to join the army.
“Being an army man is a perfectly respectable way of life, ”she said, ”but you have a gift that can make a difference in the world. I want you to continue your education. I think I can get you into Johns Hopkins University. And I'm working on the money. ”Finally, I was off to college.
One day I was walking from the parking lot to my first class, talking with my friend and classmate, and we passed by a group of men who were digging a deep ditch(沟渠)。Suddenly, I knew why I was in college. She was right-I had been given a gift that could take me to wonderful places. I decided then and there that I preferred to make my living with my brain rather than my back. I had been given a choice they didn't have an education.
Some years ago, as I reflected on the experience for many times, it occurred to me: ”Maybe I could locate Mrs.Price. Maybe she's still living in Westminster. I could go back there and visit her, bring her a gift, and really let her know how much I'm thankful for what she had done for me.”
So, I began to search online for information about where she might be. I soon discovered an article about her death, published in the Baltimore Sun and dated October 8,2001.
I suppose the lesson for me in this story-or one of the lessons-is this: If you love someone; if you thank them; if you're grateful to them-tell them now. One day it will be too late.
Well...anyway...Mrs.Price, wherever you are-thank you.
Many years ago, when we first went to Canada, we were driving through Montana with our two children. We thought we would find a motel(汽车旅馆) on the way and had not made a booking. As it was getting late, we started looking for a motel, only to find that all were booked, which worried me sick.
Finally, around 9 p.m., we stopped at a gas station to fill up the gas tank. My husband asked for a phone book and told the woman at the counter that we were trying to find a motel. He tried for 15 minutes. When he was unsuccessful, the woman, Linda, said she and her family lived nearby and would be happy if we spent the night at her home.
My husband was stunned by her offer. She called her son to direct us, since she had to hold the fort at the gas station till midnight.
When we reached her home, her husband greeted us. He took out two sleeping bags for the children. He invited us to have coffee and chat while we waited for his wife. When she came back, we asked if we could slip away in the morning so as not to disturb them. They said we were now guests and we would have to have breakfast with them.
We woke up to a table set for breakfast. They made a mountain of pancakes and bacon. We ate breakfast, and when we were leaving, my husband asked if he could offer some payment.
They insisted we were their guests. We left moved by their spirit of hospitality(好客). We were amazed that they would take in a family of total strangers from a different country. We kept in touch for many years. Over the years, we've lost touch with them, but have never forgotten their kindness.
Is there anything more important than health? I don't think so. You can't be good at your studies or work when you are ill. If you have a headache, or a bad cough, if you run a high temperature and have a bad cold, I think you should go to the doctor. The doctor will examine your throat, feel your pulse, take your temperature, sound your heart and lungs. After that he will advise some treatment, or some medicine. The only thing you have to do is to follow his advice.
Speaking of doctor's advice, I can't help telling you a funny story. An old man came to see the doctor. The man was very ill. He told the doctor about his weakness, memory loss and serious problems with his heart and lungs. The doctor examined him and said there was no medicine for his disease. He told him to go to quiet place for a month and have a good rest. He also advised him to eat a lot of meat, drink two glasses of red wine every day and take long walks. In other words, the doctor advised him to follow the rule："Eat at pleasure, drink with measure and enjoy life as it is." The doctor also said that if the man wanted to be well again, he shouldn't smoke more than one cigarette a day.
A month later the gentleman came into the doctor's office. He looked cheerful and happy. He thanked the doctor and said that he had never felt a healthier man." But you know, doctor, "he said, "It's not easy to begin smoking at my age."
As a child, Jane Goodall had a natural love for the outdoors and animals. And at age 23, she left for Nairobi, Kenya. There, Jane met famed Dr. Louis Leakey, who offered her a job at the local natural history museum. She worked there for a time before Leakey decided to send her to the Gombe Stream Game Reserve in Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees. He felt her strong interest in animals and nature, and her knowledge as well as high energy made her a great candidate to study the chimpanzees.
In December 1958, Jane returned home to England and Leakey began to make arrangements for the expedition(考察), securing the appropriate permissions from the government and raising funds. In May 1960, Jane learned that Leakey had gained funding from the Wilkie Brothers Foundation.
Jane arrived by boat at the Gombe Stream Game Reserve on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika with her mother. The early weeks at Gombe were challenging. Jane developed a fever that delayed the start of her work. Finally, an old chimpanzee named David Greybeard began to allow Jane to watch him. As a high-ranking male of the chimpanzee community, his acceptance meant other group members also allowed Jane to observe. It was the first time that Jane had witnessed David Greybeard using tools. Excited, she telegraphed Dr. Leakey about her observation. He wrote back, "Now we must redefine 'tool' and 'man' or accept chimpanzees as humans."
Jane continued to work in the field and, with Leakey's help, began her doctoral program without an undergraduate degree in 1962. At the University of Cambridge, she found herself at odds with senior scientists over the methods she used—how she had named the chimpanzees rather than using the more common numbering system, and for suggesting that the chimps have emotions and personalities. She further upset those in power at the university when she wrote her first book, My Friends, the Wild Chimpanzees, aimed at the general public rather than an academic audience. The book was wildly popular, and her academic peers were outraged. Dr. Jane Goodall earned her Ph. D. on February 9, 1966, and continued to work at Gombe for the next twenty years.
One day about eight years ago in the departure lounge (休息室) of a flight from New York's LaGuardia airport to O'Hare in Chicago, I found a young boy in tears and his mother at his side also appeared upset, I walked to them and invited them to our VIP lounge.
As it turned out, the boy, Miles and his mom were returning to their home in Kansas City. Miles has had some health problems. Though he had received more than thirty operations in a Jewish Hospital in New York, he would be back for more.
Miles enjoyed spending his time in our VIP lounge looking at the entire wall filled with the pictures of many celebrities (名人) who often came to our office. We soon added Miles' picture to the wall among those celebrities.
Among the celebrities, Miles like the country singer Garth Brooks best. Miles would just sit and stare at Garth's picture,
One day, Mr. Brooks was waiting in the lounge for his flight. As he looked at the collection of photographs, Garth asked about the youngster with the big smile. We told him about Miles. We also told him how much Miles loved and respected (尊重) him. He nodded and left.
About six months later, Garth was going to be performing in Kansas City and he asked our workers to help him get in touch with the family. He wanted Miles to be his guest. That evening, not only did Miles sit in the front row, but he and Garth also had a private meeting after the performance.
Although Miles would receive many more treatments after that special evening, his smile greeted us with every following visit. The face of a sick boy was changed by the joy of a stranger.
The first time I used the TV to distract my daughter, I felt like a bad parent; I convinced myself I was a "bad" mom—these days I believe the opposite to be true. Screen time makes me a better mom.
Now I know what most of you might be thinking: That's ridiculous. Only crappy(糟糕的) parents rely on the screen to care for their kids. Then again, experts suggest parents limit media use. And while I do not doubt experts, there are things they fail to consider.
Like most 6-year-olds, my daughter gets worked up and excited easily and watching a cartoon gives her a chance to shut off her mind. And there are other reasons—more selfish reasons. I am a work-from-work mom, and giving her screen time gives me "me" time. I'm able to write while she watches TV. And while this may sound bad, I believe I am helping my daughter realize she should rely on herself. When Mommy works, she gets her own snacks, drinks and toys.
There are other benefits, too. TV has also taught my daughter. Thanks to "super Why", she knew her alphabet at 2, and thanks to "Sesame Street", she was able to count to 20 by age 3. And I use the screen as a great incentive. My daughter earns "tablet time" when she completes tasks, e. g., making her bed earns 15minutes while doing her homework gets her 30.
Of course, I have a few rules. During meals, the TV is off; all programs must be supervised; on weekdays, she is limited to two hours maximum. So remember: It doesn't matter what our kids watch; it matters what they do, what they say, what they feel and how they act, and only you know what is best for them.
There're lots of articles in which writers like me leave social media and report on how their lives have transformed. I swore I wouldn't add to it. But here I am, writing about it. And I'm doing so because it didn't change my life in quite the way that I expected or many of these essays promised it would.
I genuinely enjoyed Twitter. The problem was that I loved it a little too much. I'd find myself checking it when I should be working, running late to my daughters' school events because I tried to fit in a quick glance or staying up far too late surfing vast oceans of information, tired and barely interested but unable to resist it.
In November, my friends encouraged me to drop my Twitter habit, at least for a little while. My life was overfull, and this was something I could cut out. I followed, though hesitantly and with a little bit of unwillingness, because I trust my friends and their wisdom.
I went from being on it nearly every day to being off it for two months now. Being offline didn't make my life that joyful. But there is one way that leaving Twitter has benefited my life and my mind. The times when I checked Twitter were often the transition points in my day: when I waited in line or to pick up my kids from school. Freeing up those seemingly inconsequential moments has been transformative. These moments are nothing I really considered before and I even didn't notice their departure when I began going online. Leaving them unfilled has changed how I walk through time. I may wave to a neighbor; I may feel gratitude or delight. I may notice that I feel tired or lonely. But this, too, is part of the gifts of these small moments.
Our days, which are so full of work and thinking, of disappointments and confusion, must have moments when nothing much is happening, moments when we get no input, no videos, no opinions.
