Gone through two weeks of grief and pain, I finally have the mood to write something. I knew before I came to America that the past half year would completely change my life. But I never thought it would be in this way. Everything that I used to believe and treasure seems untrustworthy and fragile. I wish I could easily tell myself that people who love and care about you will eventually leave you because they think you’re strong enough to live by yourself. But I can’t. I believe in my father’s eyes I’m always a little girl who needs his love and protection and he will never want to leave me.
Everyone feels sorry for me. But actually I never feel sorry for myself. I just feel sorry for my dad. He was too young to leave. I’ve been thinking for the past few days. What was his dream? How did he plan his life in the future before his sudden death? What did he expect from his only child? I’ll never know. I can’t help imagining what the day was like when the accident happened. He didn’t get up until the noon because he stayed up too late to watch TV the other night. Then he decided to do laundry. After the clothes were dried, he thought maybe he should iron them, and he found out that there was no ironing table at home because he just moved in this new house not so long ago. He wanted to buy one right now since he was the kind of person that wants everything pops in his head to be done right away. So he went to the mall to get a table by bike. After leaving the mall, he didn’t go home because he wanted to visit his friend who leaves nearby. They chatted a little, and then he found it was time to go home. He bought a lottery on his way home as usual. But this time, he would never know whether he would win or not. Fifteen minutes after buying the lottery, he ran into the god damn car that would end everything. This crapped car driven by a drunk driver hit him and fled. And there came endless darkness and silence.
He was the kind of person that was good at hiding true feelings. He wasn’t thrilled like me when I finally got the chance to study abroad. But he googled everything about my school. He never told me he missed me. But he told mom that he’d like to receive a call from me. Mom used to say that I was dad’s lucky star. Then I guess he was so unlucky this time because his lucky star was so far away. I feel that I will be killed by those memories, since they are like knives cutting through my heart.
People tell me to forget and move on. But I don’t want to. I just want to stay right here, waiting for him to come back and never leave me.

The most important thing is life

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.

　　You never know who these people may be - a roommate, a neighbor, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger - but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

　　Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

　　The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones.If someone loves you, give love back to them in whatever way you can, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

　　If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and listen to what they have to say.

　　Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don"t believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.

　　You can make anything you wish of your life. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.

　　And if you love someone tell them, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.

Happiness

Are you happy? Do you remember a time when you were happy? Are you seeking happiness today?
Many have sought a variety of sources for their feeling of happiness. Some have put their heart and efforts into their work. Too many turned to drugs and alcohol. Untold numbers have looked for it in the possession of expensive cars, exotic vacation homes, and other popular "toys". Most of their efforts have a root in one common fact: people are looking for a lasting source of happiness.
Unfortunately, I believe that happiness evades many because they misunderstand the process and journey of finding it.I have heard many people say that,"l' II be happy when I get my new promotion,'or "1' II be happy when I lose that extra 20 pounds." This thinking is dangerous because it presupposes that happiness is a "response” to having, being or doing something.
In life, we all experience stimulus and response. Stimulus is when a dog barks at you and bares his teeth. Response is when your heart beats faster, your palms get sweaty and you prepare to run. Today, some people think that an expensive car is stimulus. Happiness is a response. A great paying job is stimulus. Happiness is a response. A loving relationship is stimulus. Happiness is a response. This belief leaves us thinking and feeling:"l'll be happy when..."
It has been my finding that actually the opposite is true. I believe that happiness is a stimulus and response is what life brings to those who are truly happy. When we are happy, we tend to have more success in our work. When we are happy, people want to be around us and enjoy loving relationships. When we are happy, we more naturally take better care of our bodies and enjoy good health. Happiness is not a response rather, it is a stimulus.
Happiness is a conscious choice we make every day of our lives. For unknown reasons to me, many choose to be miserable, frustrated and angry most of the time. Happiness is not something that happens to us after we get something we want -- we usually get things we want after we choose to be happy.
I have made only one simple rule for my own happiness: Every day above ground is a good day. Therefore, I tend to have a lot of good (and happy) days in succession.

Lottery

In the last decades, the development of market oriented economy has brought a large number of newly emerging things into our daily life. Yet when it comes to one of these new things lottery, welfare lottery in particular, some people believe that it creates a good social atmosphere while others argue that the opposite is true. There is probably a little bit of truth in both statements. But in recent years, lottery has done a lot to support the view that it does more good than harm.
On one hand, welfare lottery encourages people to do small kindness for the welfare of others as well as for the profit of oneself. When we read the daily newspapers, we are frequently appraised of the "Big Kindness" performed by well-to-do philanthropists who donate large sums of money for the establishment of schools, libraries, free hospitals for the poor, orphanages, and the like. These, of course, are laudable acts of charity that deserve wide public acclaim. But in my estimation, not all the people have the financial ability to support these "Big Kindness", and those many minor acts of kindness performed daily in different situations by public minded citizens who receive no recognition or praise from the mass media are equally commendable. Similarly, welfare lottery provide the majority of people a chance to perform this kind of small kindness.
On the other hand, in a large city like Shanghai, where the general tendency of the people is "to look out only for one's own", the atmosphere is cold and miserable for those unable to keep up with the rapid pace of competitions. By launching a personal campaign such as welfare lottery, we can try to remedy the present situation and to make our society a much better place to live in.
However, every coin has two sides. Lottery, inevitably, has some side effects. As to the general criticism that it encourages some people's opportunistic attitudes and makes them unwilling to make a living by finding a job, I believe that the tax system in our society will keep the necessary balance between the poor and the rich, thus maintains the stability and unity of our country.
Recognition of a problem is the first step toward its solution. Since we are now generally aware of the advantages and disadvantages of lottery, it seems necessary that we improve this scheme to meet the public needs. If we are to succeed as a society in 21st century, a better society atmosphere should be created.

Abortion

Opinion: Abortion should be allowed.

• First of all, pregnancy can be unexpected which will lead to heavy burden for the family in the future. If the family has already had a lot of children and can't afford another one, abortion will be the choice if the mother are pregnant accidentially.
• Second, abortion can help some teenage mothers. Some teenage girls are too young to be a mother and they are not ready to take the responsibility. If they don't want the baby at all, it will be unfair that they give birth to the children for both of the mothers and babies. So abortion can be a better way out for teenage mums.
• What's more, in some countries like China, every couple is allowed to have only one child due to the huge population. If the wife get pregnant when the family has a child already, abortion seems like the only choice because it's illegal to have a second child.

Similarities and Differences: Outline

Thesis statement:
Dogs and cats are both popular animals. They share many similarities. But at the same time there are also differences between them.

Topic sentence:

First of all, they have a lot of similarities.

• For instance, they are relatively small animals.
• What's more, they always look adorable.
• And they are easy to feed.
• Most importanly, they are both good company for human beings.

These similarities make them perfect pets for people to keep.

Topic sentence:

However, they do have all kinds of differences.

• For example, they have quite different characteristics. Cats can be really cool and have some special habits, which makes them not so easy to get along with. On the contrary, dogs are more friendly and most of them have a kind nature.
• Moreover, cats are always sensitive so they become aggressive when feel threatened, even to their owners. But dogs seldom hurt owners if well trained.
• When it comes to habits, I have to say: cats are neat while dogs are messy and stinky.
• In addition, cats can't help people do too many things due to their physical limit. But many dogs, especially big dogs, can help their owner in daily life. They can be great assistant of the disabled.

Compare & Contrast

The are some similarities between these pictures. For example, the main objects of the pictures are both clocks. Besides, both are special clocks. However, there are also many differences. The most obvious one is that one picture is a photo while the other is a painting. In addition, the clock on the left is hung on a tree while the one on the right is placed on the edge of a table. Furthermore, it misses an eight on the right one. Also, the needles and numbers are actually not on the plane of the clock. And the surroundings of the clocks are quite different.