10. gift

　　The gift: music box

　　The reasons you chose the gift:

　　- sentimental

　　- thoughtful

　　- useful

　　My favorite gift is a music box. It has a great amount of sentimental value. It was given to me as a gift for my first dance recital with my ballet class. I was only seven years old and my family planned a dinner celebration. At the table, my father presented me with a little jewelry box. When I opened it, music played and a small plastic pink ballerina burned in a mirror. My family knew how much I loved ballet and understood my dream of becoming a ballet dancer. I didn’t become a ballet dance, but I still use my favorite gift because it reminds me of my parent’s thoughtfulness.

　　11. Motto

　　The motto: honesty is the best policy

　　The reasons you chose the motto:

　　- personal philosophy

　　- easier to live with

　　- overall moral good

　　My motto is “honesty is the best policy” because life is easier when we tell the truth. I have felt this way ever since I read the story of Pinocchio, the little marionette whose wooden nose grew whenever he told a lie. It just seems better to deal with the truth. As a result, there are no surprises or stories that don’t match up. It also helps people treat themselves with more self-respect and in turn, others will treat them in a more dignified manner. Lying to others is lying to oneself. If everyone were honest, we would all fell better in our personal lives and in dealing at work.

　　12. Criticism

　　The criticism: how I looked

　　The reasons you chose this:

　　- lazy, careless in my attitude

　　- attracting undesirable people

　　- but appearance did not mean everything

　　When I was in school, I was criticized because of how I looked. I had long hair of many colors – often a mix of black, blond and blue. My clothes were big and baggy; nobody saw my shoes because my pants were so long and dragged on the ground. I felt comfortable in this way. It was a way of expressing my feelings about the world around me. However, my family didn’t agree with this. They said it made me look lazy and careless in my attitude. People thought I didn’t care about my parents either. They were worried about me and about my appearance attracting undesirable people. I know they were just trying to show their love to me. I was the top student in my class, so to me, looks and appearance didn’t mean everything.

　　13. Embarrassing Moment

　　The moment: sending an email by mistake

　　The reasons you chose this moment

　　- careless moment

　　- revealed personal information

　　- lost people’s trust

　　My most embarrassing moment came when I recently sent an email carelessly to the wrong person. A friend revealed personal information to me in an email and asked for my advice. At first, I concentrated on answering him, but then the phone rang and I mistakenly sent it off on another friend in my address book. I sent off a friend’s confession about how he had cheated on his girlfriend, not once, but twice in the same day. The friend who received it happed to be a good friend of the guy’s girlfriend. In this one embarrassing moment I carelessly revealed private details and might have lost the trust of both friends. I also revealed my stupidity and lack of care – personally very embarrassing.

　　14. Game

　　The game: skipping

　　The reasons you chose the game:

　　- nostalgia

　　- group singing

　　- regular recess activity

　　In the schoolyard I liked skipping as a child because everyone could be included in the same game at the same time. The older girls at school taught us all the songs. Every time we had recess we would all run out to the yard and take turns turning the rope and all the other girls would sing and jump in and out together. We were together singing songs and exercising; it was a lot of fun. As we grew up and got to be the older girls, we would teach the songs we learned. Skipping was a schoolyard activity that we could all enjoy together and pass on to younger students.