My biggest fear used to be writing essays in English. When I was in the military (required for men by Taiwan), I failed the writing section of the English certification exam. But now I tell myself that I'm awesome, and compliment myself, too. Now I discovered that when I'm actively facing hardships, the hardships aren't hardships anymore. Also, after I discussed English essay-writing with my Tai Ji Men brothers and sisters, I found that I could further improve. We encourage each other to grow. When a sister, who had just become a middle school teacher, heard that I wanted to become a English teacher at an after-school, she gave me lots of support and advice. With the support of my brothers and sisters, I worked up the courage to mail my resume to the after-school. Funny that this time the headmaster actually called me to meet him, because before, sending out my resume was like throwing a rock into water. Once I even got two calls in one afternoon. Of course, when I went, I went with a grateful mind, because I was already 30 and had no English-teaching experience. An interview opportunity was already a valuable thing.
　　
　　Because I was willing to change myself, my luck was able to change along. After my interview, they hired me. I had turned from a part-time worker into a full-time English teacher.
　　
　　I woke up early one morning, planning to move the things in my apartment back to my parent's house. I happily practiced half an hour of qigong. On my way to get breakfast, I suddenly discovered that my dry eye syndrome had disappeared! For the past five years after my corrective eye surgery, I had never gotten a good night's sleep, because my eyes were so dry that it felt like needles were pricking them or knives were stabbing them. I always had to worry about bringing sunglasses every time I went out in the daytime, as well as glares from light at night. My eyes hurt when I looked at a computer screen. I was done trying to use eye drops or saline, because they only provided temporary relief, and some even irritated my eyes further.
　　
　　I started to cry when I made this discovery, because the pain in my eyes was finally going away. In these two months during which I changed myself nonstop, my eyes slowly returned to normal. Thank you, eyes, for working so hard for me for 30 years, enduring my bad temper and resentment towards you. From now on, I will treat my body with gratitude and practice qigong for my physical health. I've experienced various physical problems, but the answer was in front of me all the time. Exterior treatments can only give me temporary relief. I have to rely on myself for a real cure. In Tai Ji Men Energy Family, I'm thankful that I hear so many good stories that inspire me to help myself, and to have so many brothers and sisters providing me with support and advice, accelerating my introspection and personal growth. When I see my shortcomings, I quickly improve them, and when I see my brothers' and sisters' virtues, I quickly learn from them. With a grateful heart, improved temper, endless joy, and willingness to improve myself, my five years of dry eye syndrome improved drastically. Seeing my self-improvement, I am again moved to tears.