The last time I saw my mother, she didn’t know who I was. Although having   36  from dementia(老年痴呆症) for many years, mother was never   37 . All our family came to the hospital to spend time with her. She didn’t   38  them either, but we wanted to be there with her.

I have just flown back from Texas. Mother   39  looked at me, or past me, and said “Yeah”. That’s   40  she responded to   41  around her. In spite of this, I held her hand and talked to her.

I told her about the big old house in Highland where I   42  . When we first   43  there from Mascoutah when I was 5 years old, I was   44  of that house. The yard was full of   45 and the house was falling apart. But my father and mother were intelligent and   46  and we eight kids helped to turn it into a home. All of a sudden, I wasn’t frightened any more.

I told her she must have been very   47  when I decided to go to college to study journalism   48  being a priest（牧师）, which she thought was the highest   49  for a family. But she didn’t show it. She just saw me   50  with my favorite chocolate chip cookies.

When I told her all about Texas,   51  she and father had been to visit me, mother seemed   52   by that Texas beach on which they had taken a   53  . She   54  the trip and kept the picture in the living room all the time.

We had too many stories to tell. It was time for me to say   55  to mother and I told her I’d see her again. “Yeah,” she answered. But I wasn’t able to.

I was an introvert(内向的人) by  36 . For as long as I remember, putting on a sincere smile when meeting someone had  37  been easy. The key to a sincere smile,  38 , is simple. It’s to be  39 . But that’s the source of the problem. When meeting people,  40  being excited, I often felt upset.
But we all know  41  are important. The more friends you have, the more opportunities you get,  42  it’s job opportunities, a romantic relationship, or business partners. So a smile is important to make others feel  43 . Mother Teresa said, “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a(an)  44  to that person, a beautiful thing.”
The smile I’m now talking about is not to make a face to cashiers or waiters. I’m talking about those  45  smiles you make when meeting old friends. So I’ve discovered a  46 . And I call this technique “Oh, it’s Jamie!” When I meet someone, I imagine an old friend of mine called Jamie who was my first friend when we were  47  kids. It’s  48  why my smile is as wide as I can possibly make. And it’s not just the smile, but my tone and attitude that turn warm as well.
And the best part, whenever you’re friendly to others, they turn friendly  49 . You’re not hearing this from me. Some research done by scientists actually  50  this claim. So do remember to give it a try.
Three years ago at the age of 23, I took a long hard look at my life and decided that I was  51 .  52  of my life, I set about  53  dramatic changes and now I have become a popular writer. My  54  reflects that nothing is too difficult if you  55  bravely.