Liu Meng dan

A. Woe to you when you are blessed

As we all know， ones life is full of unexpected events， some of which are wonderful and some of which are disastrous. Those heavy blows， such as， floods， snowstorms， and earthquakes， threaten to weigh one down. However， its even worse if one cant drag himself out of the grief in that mental break-down is more serious than the disaster itself.

There is a chinese idiom “禍不單行”. It means that troubles never come singly. I agree with this sentence. My life confirms this proverb. Now I want to tell you my story of yesterday.

Yesterday was one of those awful days for me when everything I did went wrong. First ，I did not hear my alarm clock and arrived late for school. Then I did not read my notebook properly and forgot to finish my homework carefully. My Chinese teacher was very angry to me. During the class break，I dropped my coffee cup and spoilt my new clothes. At lunch time，I left my student card in the canteen and I could not find it. After lunch， I was very tired and made a mistake in the class. I fell asleep during the class time！My teacher was very angry and asked me to get out of the class. Then I did not notice a sign on the door that said Wet Paint and I hit it. When I got home，I could not get into my home because I did not take my key with me. So I had to climb through the window. But I broke my feet when climbing. What a sad day！

Yes，yesterday was very sad. But there is also another well-known saying in China：“Woe to you when you are blessed.” That is to say， luck and misfortune comes in turn. I think I agree with this sentence more. Yesterdays story did not end. The next day I learned a lesson. I got up early and finished my homework very carefully. I was praised by my teacher. Also in the canteen， thanks to a staff， I found my student card. While there are bad things happen in my life，I got much experience.

Finally， I get a motto of life—Gains and losses go side by side. For everybody， life is far from being perfect. There are so many unsatisfactory things in our lives. Sometimes we may think that life is all about failures and reverses. But in fact，that is not true. Success and failures，happiness and sadness are all the components of life. Owing to them，life becomes colorful，full of surprises and amazements.

B. 50-percent theory

This is similar to the 50-percent theory. Half the time things are better than normal； the other half， they are worse. I believe in the 50-percent theory.

Life is a pendulum swing. It takes time and experience to understand what normal is， and that gives me the perspective to deal with the surprises of the future. Yes， every one will die. I've dealt with the deaths of both parents， a best friend， a beloved boss and cherished pets. Some of these deaths have been violent， before our eyes， or slow and agonizing. Bad stuff， and it belongs at the bottom of the scale. Also，there are those high points： romance and marriage to the right person； having a child and doing those Dad things like coaching my son's baseball team， paddling around the creek in the boat while he's swimming with the dogs， discovering his compassion so deep it manifests even in his kindness to snails， his imagination so vivid he builds a spaceship from a scattered pile of Legos.

Looking back on that horrible summer， I soon understood that all succeeding good things merely offset the bad. Worse than normal wouldn't last long. I am owed and savor the halcyon times. They reinvigorate me for the next nasty surprise and offer assurance that I can thrive. The 50-percent theory even helps me see hope beyond my Royals' recent slump， a field of struggling rookies sown so that some year soon we can reap an October harvest.

Although plantings past may have fallen below the 50-percent expectation， and they probably will again in the future， I am still sustained by the crop that flourishes during the drought.

In 2008，a terrible disaster happened. Many people died in the earthquake. As for me，I feel I am lucky enough to survive in a disaster of life.I will try my best to help those who are suffering by donation blood or money. If I am a victim， I will endeavor to recover from the sadness as soon as possible and be certain to be strong and supportive to the recovery work.

C. Being positive

Due to the pessimistic and critical side of human nature，we only see the losses. We sigh，we complain. We claim that life is unfair. But we can also change and choose to look at the brighter side of life. Instead of indulging oneself in sadness， one should take positive attitude towards life and contribute to the reconstruction of his or her life and hometown. Then we can see what we have gained and be happy with our gains. Just like me，I learned a lesson from my experience. Obviously， it is the attitude of thinking that really matters.

I would like to talk about the importance of keeping optimistic. When we encounter difficulties in life， we notice that some of us choose to bury their heads in the sand. Unfortunately， however， this attitude will do you no good， because if you will have no courage even to face them， how can you conquer them？ Thus， be optimistic， ladies and gentlemen， as it can give you confidence and help you see yourself through the hard times， just as Winston Churchill once said， “An optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity； a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.”

Keeping optimistic， you will be able to realize， in spite of some hardship， there's always hope waiting for you， which will lead you to the ultimate success. Historically as well as currently， there are too many optimists of this kind to enumerate. You see， Thomas Edison is optimistic； if not， the light of hope in his heart could not illuminate the whole world. Alfred Nobel is optimistic； if not， the explosives and the prestigious Nobel Prize would not have come into being. And Lance Armstrong is also optimistic； if not， the devil of cancer would have devoured his life and the world would not see a 5-time winner of the Tour De France.

Oscar Wilde once said："What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise". In our daily basis， we will encounter many trifles which trouble us a lot but after our happy hard work， it will turn out to be good result.This is the strength of optimism.

Once on a time， I was not optimistic about frustrations and was subject to pessimistic when confronted with trifles. However， things began to change when I was selected to be a monitor that service classmates， notice something important and sometimes organize some meaningful activities. Besides， it needs me to have enough abilities to schedule time in order to ensure that I have ample time to study.

I'll never forget the very day when I failed at the mid-term exam when I was crazy and pessimistic about the trifles such as training sessions that didn't give me a second to study. It's true that score is one of the most important things to a college student， so after that， I began to schedule my time accurately and scientifically. From the warning of the mid-term exam， I have changed a lot， and get through the final exam successfully in the end. Thanks to the selection， thanks to the mid-term exam， I eventually learned the significance of optimism， which serves as indispensable components or personality and is beneficial to a promising prospect.

【作者簡介】Liu Mengdan， Nanjing University of Science & Technology， School of Foreign Language.