In the darkness, eyes opened and the body was awakened. The brain naturally signaled the turning of the head to check on the time. The crack. Crack. Crack. The head tried with difficulty and gave up midway because the accompanying sharp pains with the rotation were unbearable. With the fear of losing control of the body and the fear that the body was disabled, the brain cried out in despair. That was the night of my Sweet Sixteenth.

　　The next thing I can remember was being pricked almost one hundred times by a tiny needle at the Chinese acupuncture(针灸) clinic.

　　My body flinched at each of the first twenty pricks. After that, I had learned to endure, yet still bit my lips until they bled during the next eighty. Then, five larger needles were punctured along each of my arms, all the way up to my neck. I groaned(呻吟) and closed my eyes so tightly that I worried about finding permanent(永久的) wrinkle lines when the process was over. Finally, I was told to rest for thirty minutes, with fifteen needles still in my skin. The needles loosened with each body movement and thus had to be re-screwed back into their original spots several times. Oh the screwing, screwing, screwing. My sweat rolled down like an untying chain of beads. But I experienced, endured, and survived. The shoulder and neck pains still return to haunt me often, but now I regard the pain as constant reminders of the lessons I have learned through the experience. The night made me realize the weaknesses of the flesh and the fragility(脆弱) of human life.

　　Being human, I have no control over my body. Before the incident, I had self-centeredly indulged myself in the enjoyments of life. But when I could not move through my own will that night; when I suffered at the clinic and was at the mercy of the acupuncturist, it was indeed a humbling process. I felt my limitations and how I had taken my life and the surrounding environment for granted. It struck me that it was time to stop and say thank you to those speculators who had cheered me on along the race to my dreams. Even though the experience has made me realize my weaknesses, it also has strengthened me.

　　Helen Keller once said,“the world is full of suffering.”It is also full of overcoming. That unexpected vegetated state symbolizes all the future unpredictable(不可预测的) challenges that might startle me, numb me, and even make me suffer. Through the realization of my weaknesses, I have been awakened. Awakened to appreciate life and not take it for granted. Through the realization of my strengths, I have been renewed. Renewed with fresh self-confidence in my ability to conquer any hardships.

　　The difficulties in my life will be like the acupuncture needles, though painful and numerous, they will eventually help to heal me. I suffered on the night of my Sweet Sixteenth. But the irony of the night no longer exists, because I have redefined(重新定义) the meaning of Sweet Sixteenth. In suffering, one becomes stronger. The sweetest sweetness is after bitterness.