This is a big world. Being a person in the world is glorious. I am Lobsang Youten, and now I am 22 years old. There are five people in my family-my parents, my brother, my sister and I, My father is 48 years old. He is fond of fun and brings us much happiness. My mother is younger than him by three years. She is a good housewife and keeps her mind on cooking. The food she cooks is the most delicious , I think.

My big brother likes playing snooker and my young sister is a lovely girl - she is a high school student. But my sister likes studying more than my brother and me. We used to quarrel, but still love each other. I love my family.

Once upon a time, I was the happiest child in the world. My parents loved me very much. They could offer me anything I wanted and we lived happily. At school, my teacher and friends always cared about me. Together, from sunrise to sunset, I learned how to become strong and be friendly with others. Every day, school was memorable. In a nutshell, those unforgettable days are the best days in my life, and are especially valuable for me to make my dreams come true in the future.

I grew up in the beautiful town which is called Shangri-la. It is my birth place and from time immemorial, my countless forefathers and mothers have

been born and died in that place. From there a river of milk has flowed and is called Milk River. I can still remember the good old days. The river I saw was pure, clean and blue. We could hear the cries of birds as they circled over the river. In my memory, the river was the most important character of my childhood.

In the spring, the weather was warm. I remember, under the blue sky. My dad and I ran hand in hand on the beach and when we felt tired, we sat on the beach and watched the sunset. In summer, the weather was hot. I liked swimming with my father in the river. It was so comfortable to swim in such hot weather. We enjoyed ourselves .After swimming, we lay on the beach and breathed the fresh wind. In the winter, the weather was cold. The river was covered in thick ice all winter. Although we felt cold, we still skated on the river. We made snowmen and had snowball fights.

How time flies! Now, I am getting older.

When I first stepped into childhood, I always wanted to grow quickly taller, to grow up. When I didn't understand anything, I just wanted to be an adult, go to work and earn money to give back to my parents. In the first grade, I was not used to school life. I didn't like the students in the class or

the teachers; even more than that, I didn't like the double class doors. I felt they were grumbling and laughing at me, laughing at my age, laughing at my height, laughing at In general, schools are like prisons, classrooms like cells, covered with moss. Small children, raising their hands, can't touch the class door, like the black railings. When I was seven or eight years old, I joined in fights with other children every evening .There were about ten children of my age who, except for girls, regularly beat each other up. The defeats were painful, blood would ooze from my nose, or there would be cuts and scratches on my face and hands. From these fights I carry many scars, the permanent marks of finger nails on my face and hands to this day. The funny thing about the fights was that when we fought, we did our best to defeat our opponent, but when we ended our fights, we were friends as before. The mates who grow up with you and share both bad and good times together, feel closer to each other than to their own blood relatives. I miss them.

By third grade, I had matured a lot and understood a lot of things that could be done, and loved school more. Now, the school was no longer a dark prison, the classroom was no longer a cell, and I was as high as the class door. I felt it was kind of special; it was my home, where I made a lot of buddies. Now, I was young and I was proud.

The ebullience of youth shone through me. My eyes sparkled with happiness, my cheeks were pink with excitement, and my smiles full of satisfaction. With youth, I could run around wildly; with youth, I could explore and experiment freely; with youth, I could be myself.

Time is the most precious of all things. And I happen to own a lot of time. As a novice, I make mistakes. I correct them. And I learn never to do that again. Youth gives me chances, youth grants me forgiveness.

I am young. Every morning I look into the mirror and I think to myself, if today is the last day of my life, how would I live it? I would use all my mind and heart to absorb new knowledge. I would treat teachers with respect, parents with love, friends with care, and the needy with sympathy. I would live above and beyond myself.

Yet I have many of these "last days". I have over 7,000 days ahead of me. I can be as successful as I want to be, as long as I follow my hea

Thanking you

E.S.Tibet Student
Lobsang Youten