学进去

I was a new kid in town. I was not an _______ person. Shy and quiet, I read a lot and did not make friends _______ . My head was full of fears and _______ . But there I was, _______ for a new school full of strangers I didn't know, but they all knew one another already.

I was _______ and good at school, for which _______ liked me but other kids did not. I felt I was a _______ . I thought nobody would like me but I tried not to be _______

Then one day, a _______ , strong boy in the English class walked right over to me. He ________ that he was on the school basketball team and asked me to help them with their English. From that moment on, life at school ________ for me. I taught the basketball players about commas and subject-verb agreement while they taught me how to play basketball. And they also taught me that being smart could be a real ________, which I could use to help others.

Nobody gave me any ________ about being smart anymore. And though I was only five feet tall, I walked the halls feeling as tall as those towering basketball players who helped me to________ a new state, new city and new school. They gave me ________ and courage to be myself—and to be a short girl who really knew how to play basketball!