myfirst英语作文最新20篇

The Culture of China is home to one of the worlds oldest and most complex

civilizations. China boasts a history rich in over 5,000 years of artistic,

philosophical, political, and scientific advancement. Though regional

differences provide a sense of diversity, commonalities in language and religion

connect a culture distinguished by such significant contributions such as

Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism was the official philosophy throughout

most of Imperial Chinas history and strongly influenced other countries in East

Asia. Mastery of Confucian texts provided the primary criterion for entry into

the imperial bureaucracy.

With the rise of Western economic and military power beginning in the

mid-19th century, Western systems of social and political organization gained

adherents in China. Some of these would-be reformers rejected Chinas cultural

legacy, while others sought to combine the strengths of Chinese and Western

cultures.

China is a unified nation consisting of many different ethnic groups.

Fifty-six different ethnic groups make up the great Chinese national family.

Because the Han people accounts for more than ninety percent of Chinas

population, the remaining fifty-five groups are generally referred to as "ethnic

minorities." Next to the majority Han, the Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, and Uygur

peoples comprise the largest ethnic groups. Although Chinas ethnic minorities

do not account for a large portion of the population, they are distributed over

a vast area, residing in every corner of China.

Particularly since the implementation of Chinas opening and reform policy,

the central government has increased investment in minority areas and

accelerated their opening to the outside world. This has resulted in an upsurge

of economic development in these areas. Each of Chinas ethnic minority groups

possesses a distinctive culture. The Chinese government respects minority

customs, and works to preserve, study, and collate the cultural artifacts of

Chinas ethnic minority groups. The government vigorously supports the

development of minority culture and the training of minority cultural workers,

and fosters the development of traditional minority medicine.

The relation among Chinas ethnic groups can be described as "overall

integration, local concentration, mutual interaction." Concentrations of ethnic

minorities reside within predominantly Han areas, and the Han people also reside

in minority areas, indicating that there has been extensive exchanges among

Chinas ethnic groups since ancient times. With the development of the market

economy, interaction among ethnic groups has become even more active in the

areas of government, economics, culture, daily life, and marriage. Linked by

interdependence, mutual assistance, and joint development, their common goals

and interests creating a deep sense of solidarity, Chinas ethnic groups

resemble a great national family, together building Chinese civilization.

Among all means of transportation, I like bicycle most. It’s cheap as well

as popular.

There are many advantages to ride the bicycle. In the first place, riding

bicycle makes me feel independent. I can go anywhere by bicycle. Especially

during rush hours, I can still move freely. Secondly, using a bicycle is good

for environment protection, because it wont emit any waste gas. Moreover,

bicycle riding is also a good sport. While riding a bicycle, I can exercise

myself, which is healthful to me.

In my free time, I often ride my bicycle to get around in the downtown area

or in the countryside, so as to relax myself. Its really a nice outdoor

activity for me, I think.

Last summer holiday, I visited to Xiamen with my parentsby plane. My

English teacher once told us that Xiamen is a beautiful city that worth of

visiting. We stayed there for four days. We lived in a small fishing village. On

the first day, we visited to Xiamen University and Nanputuo Temple. Xiamen

University is consideredas the most beautiful and romantic campus in China.

Indeed, its fantastic and its buildings are distinctive. On the second days, we

enjoyed the scenery of Jimei District. On the third day, We visited to Gulangyu.

Its amazing and I like it very much. There are many small specific stores.

However, the huge tourist visitors make the small island crowed. Anyway, it was

a pleasant trip.

More and more college students, in recent years, are finding it difficult

to find jobs. This may sound strange since college students used to be the "most

favored" people in society. They have received a higher education, hence they

are more intelligent, knowledgeable than their counterparts who failed to attend

college. But chances are that some of them can hardly find jobs after graduating

from colleges.

There are two reasons that account for this strange phenomenon. One is that

some college students cannot come to terms with themselves and with the world

around them. They pursue too high goals and are too particular about such

factors as working conditions, salary, and so on. Therefore, they are reluctant

to accept the job when they are offered to them. Another reason is that the

majors some students pursue do not match with the demands of the job market. As

a result, they canonly sit and miss opportunities.

To solve this problem, I think college students should know their own

strengths and weaknesses and have the right attitude towards themselves and the

job vacancies. In addition, they should not attach too much importance to

material aspects of the job. They should put priority to their future

development and their contributions to society in stead. Furthermore, they

should think of receiving some further training to meet the demands of

society.

Waking up on New Year, everybody dresses up. First they extend greetings to

their parents. Then each child will get money as a New Year gift, wrapped up in

red paper. People in northern China will eat jiaozi, or dumplings, for

breakfast, as they think "jiaozi" in sound means "bidding farewell to the old

and ushering in the new". Also, the shape of the dumpling is like gold ingot

from ancient China. So people eat them and wish for money and treasure.

Southern Chinese eat niangao (New Year cake made of glutinous rice flour)

on this occasion, because as a homophone, niangao means "higher and higher, one

year after another." The first five days after the Spring Festival are a good

time for relatives, friends, and classmates as well as colleagues to exchange

greetings, gifts and chat leisurely.

China has 56 ethnic groups. Minorities celebrate their Spring Festival

almost the same day as the Han people, and they have different customs.

This year. I want to have a happy summer holiday so I want to do some

interesting things.

今年。我想有一个快乐的暑假，所以我想做一些有趣的事情。

I want to go the sea and I would like to swim in the sea.I want to play

water with my parentsin the sea.

我想去海边，我喜欢在海里游泳。我想我的parentsin海玩水。

I would like to visit my grandparents and eat much good food.

我想去看望我的祖父母和吃很多好的.食物。

I want to have a wonderful summer holiday this year.

今年我想有一个美好的暑假。

Chinahas a very long and brilliant history, whose people are so friendly

and hospitable. But I am wondering why some people pay such little attention to

the environment and nature. In many places of the countryside, rivers have

become stinking sewers and brooks have disappeared. Heaps of garbage obstructs

the scarce flow of dirty water. The grounds are littered with plastic bottles

and bags. People are cutting down trees even though it is illegal. In some

towns, rubbish is hidden behind walls. Garbage cans are often of little use,

making cleaners must rush all day long and also by night to clean the

rubbish.

This lack of consideration for nature in general is extremely detrimental

to children’s education, toChina’s image, to public health, to tourism and to

the future.Chinais the common treasure of all Chinese, and we should live up to

be a member of this big family, a descendant of 5000-year-plus ancient civilized

country. I think the environment must absolutely be strictly protected by all

means. This protection should go at the same pace as the marvelous development

of the nation.

In this respect,Germanyis a rare model and leaves me a very deep

impression. After you have an exciting tour around in this country for a week or

so, it is unnecessary for you to polish your leather shoes. Personally, first of

all, the strong awareness of people’s environmental protection; then, the

advanced technology applied in the field of preserving the nature; We can learn

form others in building China into one of the most environmentally friendly

places in the world.

It seems like a silly question, anyone in sane would give a hand to the elderly who fell. But in China, this question is becoming tricky. Many news report that there are some old people not just fell, they do it on purpose. Usually, they walk on a crowdy street, and pretend to faint or just lay down on the ground, intend to accuse the one who comes to help as a perpetrator and blackmail him/her for the treatment fee. Many people have fell for that and had to pay as there is no witness to prove their innocence. As for these negative news, people is afraid to help those old people in need, that makes some of them who are in real trouble could not get help in time. I once asked one of my friends: “Why the old people turn bad? If you see one in the street, would you help?” He said: “It is not the old people turn bad, it is the bad people turn old. I will video him/her to make a statement first, then decide if I would help.”

这似乎是个愚蠢的问题,任何清醒的人遇到跌倒的老人都会伸出援助之手。但在中国，这个问题变得棘手。很多新闻报道说有些老人不只是跌倒而已，他们是故意这么做的。通常他们会走到人潮涌动的街头，假装晕倒或者是直接躺在地上，想要指控那些来帮助他的人为肇事者，敲诈他们要治疗费。很多人都上当了，由于没有目击者证明他们的清白，他们被迫支付了费用。正因为这些负面新闻，人们害怕去帮助那些需要帮助的老人，也因此造成了那些真正有困难的老人没有得到及时的帮助。我曾经问我一个朋友：“为什么现在的老人变坏了?如果你在街上看到这样的老人你会帮助吗?”他说：“不是老人变坏了，是坏人变老了。我会先录像让他做一个声明，再决定是否帮助他。”

August 15th in Chinese Lunar Calendar is the Mid-Autumn Day. It is one of

the most important traditional festivals in China.

On that day people usually go back home to have family reunion . Each

family will have the members get together to have a big dinner. The most popular

food is moon cakes. They are round and look like the moon.

The moon is the brightest this night. People eat the delicious food while

they are enjoying a beautiful full moon in their yard. At this time, some old

people would like to tell many past events and tell the children a story about

the rabbit on the moon . The children really believe that there is a rabbit on

the moon. They hope to go to the moon and have a look one day.

What a great festival!

中秋节

农历八月十五日是中秋节，在中国它是最重要的传统节日之一。

在那一天，人们通常回家与家人团聚，一家人聚在一起饱餐一顿。最流行的食品是月饼，它们圆圆的就像月亮。

中秋节晚上的月亮特别地圆。人们都在自家的院子里一边赏月一边吃着可口的月饼。这个时候

，一些老人会讲述许多古老的故事，如月亮上的玉兔，孩子们信以为真，他们真想有一天登上月球看个究竟。

中秋是个美好的节日啊!

As is known to all， food is a priority for the mon people.Recently，

however， reports about food problems have often been seen in the newspapers，

showing that people have always been concerned about what they eat every day.

The reason for this problem is that some of the food producers are too fond of

making money， leading to the result that they use whatever will make the food

look good or taste better without considering the bad consequences。 This is not

normal because people just cannot live without eating anything.

So we should take all the measures necessary to forbid the food producers

to make food that is not safe enough. Laws should be strengthened and the

government should have more control over these producers。 Only when people are

no longer worried about whether their food is safe or not can they enjoy a

better life.

Every child is surrounded by the deep mother love. However, we often turn a

blind eye to the love. One day I deeply felt the love.

One day I hurried home for lunch after school, because there would be an exam

in the afternoon and I had expected to go back to school early to prepare for

the exam. But when I got home, the lunch was not ready yet. I felt unhappy. When

the dishes were served, I forund none I like. I ran out of my house angrily and

wanderde on the street for a while,hungry. Then I walked to school.

When I got into the classroom, I saw a lunch box on my desk. One classmate

told me that it was my mother ther that had brought it here.After opening the

box, I found my favorite food inside. My eyes was moist with tears.

Mother gave me her love without asking for return, How deep mother love

is!

Ching Ming festival is a traditional Chinese festival, has a history of two

thousand five hundred years; Its main traditional cultural activities are:

grave, outing, cockfighting, swing, play mat, pull hook, tug-of-war), etc. The

members (the grave), is very old. Tomb-sweeping day, as a traditional culture,

it is a full of mysterious colorific festival, on this day, the pedestrians on

the road are missing people who died, to express their respect and grief!

Ching Ming festival, in hainan many locals call it the "qingming festival".

Middle age the qingming festival is very important, if not as a legal holiday,

they will also take time to go home "qingming festival". This suggests that the

qingming festival has become a culture, become a man of the late express a way

of missing loved ones.

Qingming festival, is a kind of Chinese traditional culture recognition and

respect. Qingming festival is very important in the ancient tradition of a

festival, is also the most important festival of festivals, was the day of

ancestor worship and the grave. This grave, the shrine of the dead an activity.

The han nationality and some minority are mostly in the tombs. According to the

old tradition, the grave, people to carry goods such as especially fruit, paper

money to the grave, will be food for offering in the family tomb, then paper

incineration, new soil up to the grave, fold a few branches pale green branches

ed in the grave, and then salute kowtow worship, finally eat especially home.

The tang dynasty poet tu mus poem "qingming" : "rains fall heavily as qingming

comes, and passers-by with lowered spirits go. Restaurant where? Boy pointed

apricot blossom village." Write the tomb-sweeping day is special atmosphere.

Until today, tomb-sweeping day ancestor worship, mourning the late relatives

customs still prevail. And the more brought to the attention of the people.

Chinese is influenced by its culture, make clear the Chinese memorial

ancestors festival. Ancestor worship in qingming festival people are back, this

is a kind of culture, a kind of habit.

Most smokers are males, because they need to smoke for social communication

or for set themselves free from the pressure. In the packaging, we can find that

every packaging has written the words that smoking is harmful to health. Though

smokers know it, they ignore it. For the harmony of the family, people should

quit smoking.

To quit smoking is not easy, people know smoking does harm to their health,

but they just can’t resist the temptation and then start to smoke again, so they

must have strong will. They must tell themselves that smoking not only does harm

to their health, but also does harm to their families. The families will have

much chance to take in the second-hand cigarette, in order to keep the families

healthy, smokers must have the strong will to quit smoke.

When people find it hard not to smoke, their mouth will feel uneasy, they

want to smoke again. At that time, people can find some food or fake cigarette

to take place of the real cigarette, in the long time, they will have less

desire to smoke.

Some people like to work alone while others enjoy teamwork. In my opinion,

everyone had better learn to work with others together because teamwork is

definitely necessary and important in modern society.

First, working in a team provides a chance for us to communicate with each

other. Just as the saying goes, “many hands make light job.” Working in a team,

teammates share their ideas with each other, which is helpful to create a better

achievement. Second, working in a team is a way to broaden our horizon.

Teammates in a team can learn something from each other because they are from

different places, owning various experiences and hold different views towards

things. Therefore, getting along with other teammates is also a process of

increasing our knowledge. Finally, working in a team is also a way to establish

our friendship. Teammates in a team have chances to help each other, to solve

the problems together, to share the happiness of being successful, which make a

great contribution to establishing friendship. Thus, working in a team is one of

the most effective ways to extend our personal relationships.

To sum up, to learn to work in a team is really necessary and important and

we should try to enjoy it.

There are many different beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival.

But one thing for sure is that it had something to do with celebrating and

cultivating positive relationship between people, families, nature and the

higher beings they believed were responsible for bringing/returning the light

each year.

One legend tells us that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven

in ancient times. The belief was that the God of Heaven controlled the destiny

of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided

when to inflict drought, storms, famine or pestilence upon human beings.

Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite the country, all the

emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to

bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people. Emperor Wudi of

the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC, he

proclaimed it as one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would

last throughout the night. They clean it all up in the morning.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the

Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of

the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of

entertainment, so followers prepare various kinds of activities during which

they pray for good fortune.

Yet another common legend dealing with the origins of the Lantern Festival

speaks of a beautiful bird that flew down to earth from heaven, which was hunted

and killed by some villagers. This angered the Jade Emperor in Heaven because

the bird was his favorite one. Therefore, he planned a storm of fire to destroy

the village on the 15th lunar day. The Jade Emperors daughter heard of this

plan, and warned the villagers of her father’s plan to destroy their village.

The village was in turmoil because nobody knew how should they escape their

imminent destruction.

However, a wise man from another village suggested that every family should

hang red lanterns around their houses, set up bonfires on the streets, and

explode firecrackers on the 14th, 15th, and 16th lunar days. This would give the

village the appearance of being on fire to the Jade Emperor. On the 15th lunar

day, troops sent down from heaven whose mission was to destroy the village saw

that the village was already ablaze, and returned to heaven to report to the

Jade Emperor. Satisfied, the Jade Emperor decided not to burn down the village.

From that day on, people celebrate the anniversary on the 15th lunar day every

year by carrying red lanterns on the streets and exploding firecrackers and

fireworks.

There are many stories on how this festival was created. One other story is

about a maid. In the Han Dynasty, Mr. Eastern was a favorite advisor of the

emperor. One winter day, he went to the garden and heard a little girl crying

and getting ready to jump into a well to commit suicide. Mr. Eastern stopped her

and asked why. She said she was a maid in the emperors palace and her name was

Yuan-Xiao.

She never had the chance to meet her family after she started worked at the

palace. She missed them so much every 12th lunar month. If she couldnt have the

chance to show her filial piety in this life, she would rather die. Mr. Eastern

promised her to find a way so she could reunion with her family. Mr. Eastern

left the palace and set up a fortune-telling stall on the street and disguised

himself as a fortuneteller. Because of his reputation, many people asked for

their fortunes.

But every one got the same prediction - a severe fire accident on the 15th

lunar day. The rumor spread quickly. Everyone was worried about the future and

asked Mr. Eastern for help. Mr. Eastern said, "On the 13th lunar day, the God of

Fire will send a fairy lady in red to burn down the city. If you see a lady in

red wearing green pants riding a black horse on that day, you should ask for her

mercy." On that day, Yuan-Xiao pretended to be the red fairy lady. When people

asked for her help, she said, "Im the messenger of the God of Fire and came to

check on the city and Im going to set up fire on 15th. This is an order from

Jade Emperor. He will watch from the heavens.

I will give you a copy of the imperial decree from the God of Fire. You

should go to ask your emperor to find a way out." After she left, people went to

the palace to show the emperor the decree which reads "The capital city is in

trouble. Fire burns on the palace, and fire from Heaven burns all night long on

the 15th." The emperor of Han Dynasty was very shocked. He called and asked Mr.

Eastern for advice. After pondering for a while, Mr. Eastern said, "I heard that

the God of Fire likes to eat Tang-Yuan (Sweet dumpling). Does Yuan-Xiao often

cook Tang-Yuan for you? On the 15th lunar day, let Yuan-Xiao make Tang-Yuan.

Your Majesty will take charge of the worshipping ceremony and you will give

an order to every house to prepare Tang-Yuan to worship the God of Fire at the

same time. Also, deliver another order to ask every house in the city to hang

red lantern and explode fire crackers. Lastly, everyone in the palace and people

outside the city should carry their lanterns on the street to watch the lantern

decoration and fireworks. If everything goes this way, the Jade Emperor would be

deceived.

Then everyone can avoid the fire accident." The emperor happily followed

the plan. Lanterns were everywhere in the capital city on the night of the 15th

lunar day. People were walking on the street. Fire crackers kept making lots of

noise. It looked like the entire city was on fire. Yuan-Xiaos parents went into

the palace to watch the lantern decorations, and Yuan-Xiao made a big lantern

and wrote her name on the lantern. They happily reunited together after her

parents called her name. Everybody was safe during the night. The emperor of Han

Dynasty had a new order that people should do the same thing every year. Since

Yuan-Xiao cooked the best Tan-Yuan, people called the day Yuan-Xiao

Festival.

Young people were chaperoned in the streets in hopes of finding love.

Matchmakers acted busily in hopes of pairing couples. The brightest lanterns

were symbolic of good luck and hope. As time has passed, the festival no longer

has such implications.

Those who do not carry lanterns often enjoy watching informal lantern

parades. In addition to eating tangyuan (simplified Chinese: 汤圆; traditional

Chinese: 湯圓; pinyin: tāngyuán), another popular activity at this festival is

guessing lantern riddles (which became part of the festival during the Tang

Dynasty), which often contain messages of good fortune, family reunion, abundant

harvest, prosperity and love.

Study has been the necessary part of humans life. Many students take it as

their duty and they dont realize the meaning of study. Most people believe that

the purpose of study is to master some skills and make money. This is the basic

function of education. I believe that the further meaning is to teach people the

way of thinking. If there are two jobs, one is to sell pastry for 12 hours, and

the other one is to work in the office for 8 hours, but the former can earn

double income. The young people will surely take the second job, because they

need more private time to do their own things. They have more things to chase

besides making the ends meet.

My summer holiday begun on July 7th.I love summer holiday because I dont

have to go to school and I can enjoy myself with my friends.I often spend the

mornings doing my homework.And I always watch TV in the afternoon at home

because its very hot outside.And in the evening,I go swimming with my family

and then hang out with my friends.I love swimming very much.

My plan for August is travelling.I travel with my family every summer

holiday.I like travelling because I can go to different places and meet

different people.Sometimes I make good friends during the journey.And its very

sad to say goodbye to them when the journey ends.

As a student, I expect the winter holiday very much, because I don’t have

to go to school every day. So I can sleep and get up late. But this winter

holiday, I am not very happy. I didn’t do well in the final exam. It makes my

parents disappointed. I feel sorry to them. Besides, I got ill the whole winter

holiday. I caught a cold at first and then had a fever. I had to see a doctor

every day. My parents worried much about me. Because of the illness, I didn’t

have a good time during the New Year. Now, I am a little better. I hope I could

be well soon, because the new term is beginning. I don’t want to go to school

with illness.

Mothers Day is a celebration honoring mothers and celebrating motherhood,

maternal bonds and the influence of mothers in society. Its a day to show

thanks to mothers. This festival first appeared in ancient Greece and modern

Mothers Day originated in the United States which usually falls on the second

Sunday of May each year. Mothers usually receive gifts on this day and

carnation(康乃馨) is regarded as the flower for mother. In China, the flower for

mother is day lily(萱草花), also known as Nepenthe(忘忧草). In addition, cleaning up

the room, doing housework and a big dinner are considered to be the best

Mothers Day gifts.

Stepping into the new century, environment pollution has become more

serious than ever since. There are different kinds of pollution. Such as, water

pollution, air pollution and noise pollution and so on. It seems that we live on

a planet which is full of pollution. Where all these pollution comes from? To a

large extend, the environmental destruction is the heavy price that we pay for

the rapid development of economy and the growing population. In order to have

more fuel, people cut down trees and dig more corals. But the growing needs for

energy are hardly to meet. Countless private cars on the street, the gas

stations are short of gasoline, even the government has raise the price so many

times in order to control the needs of gasoline, but it’s still not working.

Overusing the natural resources has already affected the ecological balance.

However, the factories still release the toxic air into the sky and the polluted

water into the rivers. People still lack of the conscious of protecting the

environment. I think it’s time for all of us to do something.

The government should put forward some more strict laws to prevent the

environment from being further polluted. And they should let people know more

about the importance of environment protection. And we should find the balance

between the economic growth and environmental protection. Plant more trees in

the deserts and stop cutting down the forest. Forbid the factories to pour the

waste water into the rivers directly. Encourage people to use public

transportations to work. Both government and ordinary people should join hands

together to make our home clean and fresh again. Only in this way, our earth

could be a better place to live in.

I had a very rich winter vacation this year.

At the time of the holiday, my mother was going to work. I was at home in

the daytime. My mother just went home for lunch at noon. Mother said, do things

tight and loose. I hope to finish my homework earlier, so I basically follow the

schedule of school, but I didnt get up early when I got up in the morning. When

I was at school, I had to get up before dawn. In a few days, I finished the

written homework assigned by the teacher, and the rest is to recite Tang poetry

every day, review English and finish the exercises that have not been completed

this semester. In my spare time, I will read extracurricular books. I have read

several extracurricular books during the winter vacation, "childrens literature

in China", "love education", sometimes I will read "readers". Im looking at Niu

Niu by the writer Zhou Guoping.

Close to the end of the year, the busy mother was even more busy. Grandma

knew, and went to our home to help take care of the family, lighten the burden

of mother, grandma came, I have a companion. So my schedule changed. I did

homework in the morning, and I had a new project in the afternoon, that is, let

my grandmother call me knitting yarn. Many people think that knitting wool is a

girls favorite thing to do. I think knitting is fun, so I learn to knit. Mom

said, "knitted sweater is not only fun, but also can exercise our fingers

flexibility very well, which will help greatly in the future, such as typing and

typing, etc. Sometimes, I also contact my classmates, or invite my classmates to

play at home, that is my happiest moment.

The time is so fast that the mommy unit has a holiday. Mom busy in the

work, then busy with things at home. Of course, I have not been idle, I have my

mother went to the market to buy special purchases for the Spring Festival, we

bought a lot of food special purchases for the Spring Festival, poultry meat,

sweets, fruits, beautify Home Furnishing bonsai flowers, festive couplets......

My mother put the flowers and pots well. I drank my father and put it on the

Spring Festival couplets. On the door, and on the walls of the house, a red,

red, big "blessing" was attached to the house. In a moment, the family was

disguised as a year of Chinese taste.

The bell of the new year rounded, we welcomed the year of the tiger, and

people were immersed in a cheerful atmosphere. On the first day of the year, my

mother and I went to relatives, friends and elders. Every time I go, I will

receive the red envelopes from my elders. I think I have received not only a red

bag but a good blessing and a good expectation from my elders. I will study hard

and live up to the expectations of my elders.