love is my top concern When I began to select a subject for this contest, my initial step was to think of those things which were to me the most important things in the whole world. Things which I believed to be important to all people everywhere. Then a line of a book I read called < The five people you meet in heaven > popped into my mind. “Life has to end, but love doesn’t.” Then I can hardly come up with any other word as powerful and lovely as “love” which I assumed is the most important skill and nature of a human being. Even when you are past away your love for everything and everyone will be left to warm the world forever. It was my grandpa who taught me the first lesson about what love is and what love can do. My grandpa was a soldier when he was young and in my memory he was kind, cute and full of wisdom. My mom told me when I was a little baby, grandpa used to hold me, listen to the Chinese Opera and explain to me what was happening on stage. And I as an innocent baby was just smiling with mouth watering or occasionally you know, peed in his hug. He always seemed happy and satisfied. I remembered clearly what he told me after my fight with a boy, he said, “violence is not the best way out, Love is. You have to learn to love everyone in your life. It sounds difficult but if you try you will find it’s just easy.” he added, “It may not help you make a fortune but believe me it sure will make you happy.” And years later after grandpa’s death I get a similar line from Dr. Karl Menninger in a book that goes “love cures people-both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.” I was so accustomed to the company from grandpa that I was not able to adjust to the life without him. I feel alone when I can’t see his smile or hear his stories or bring him food or play basketball with him. But with days going by those feelings fade away and memories rise up. Memory becomes my partner. I see it hear it nurture it and I grow with it. People say they “find” love as if it were an object hidden by a rock. But love takes many forms. Lost love is still love, and it just comes with a different form. “There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love.” Says Thornton Wilder. The only regret I had was I didn’t make it to tell my grandpa how much I love him. Then I know death is a challenge. It tells us not to waste time to tell each other right now how much we love each other. Chinese have a reputation for being reserved. For us saying “love” may seem a little “western” and, well, “embarrassed.” But I hold the belief that it’s the most natural and beautiful thing in the world that someone tells another “I love you.” If we discovered that we had only five minutes left to say all that we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling others to stammer that they loved them. Now I feel lucky to be here to share these feelings with you all. Love is my top concern and it should everyone’s. It may not help us make a fortune but believe me it sure will create us a happy world.