每个人的人生道路不可能都是一帆风顺的，都会有困惑彷徨、失意痛苦的时候。说得更直接一点儿就是，从我们每个人出生的那一天开始，就注定了要背负起经历各种困难折磨的命运。每当我们困惑、失意的时候，心灵就要承受着巨大的压力与打击。

本书系“心灵鸡汤”之《象牙塔里的日子》，书中收录了一些清新隽永的小故事，这些故事经典耐读，流传广泛。当你心烦意乱、困惑彷徨的时候，请打开这本书，相信你会得到最及时的指点、最细心的呵护。

Introduction

1. GETTING IN

 The Wonder Years

 Never Say Never

 College Bound

 Bloopers from College Admission Essays

 Strange Scholarships

 The Envelope, Please

 If the Dream Is Big Enough, the Facts Don't Count

 Hani

 Inspiration Can Be Anywhere

 A Proposal to Myself

2. TRANSITION

 Good-Bye, Mr. Blib

 A Dad Says Good-Bye

 College Talk

 The "No Hug" Rule

 Shoes in the Shower

 Deck the Halls

 A Letter from College

 The Times I Called Home from College

 The Long Road Home

 Breakdown of Family Traced to Psych.1 Student

3. LESSONS FROM THE CLASSROOM

 Undeclared

 Making the Grade

 The Good, the Bad and the Emmy

 I Passed the Test

 The Wicker Chair

 Dissed

 How to Get an A on Your Final Exam

 A Compassionate Philosophy

 Library Science

 Your Legacy

 Angels on a Pin(101 Ways to Use a Barometer)

 Topsy-Turvy World

4. LESSONS FROM OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM

 College Wisdom Seldom Exercised in the Summer

 Learning How to Be Roommates

 The Plaster Shell

 The Great Escape

 Wranglers and Stranglers

 Of Mice and Maintenance Man

 Knowing Where to Tap

 Miracle on Times Square

 The Dark Gift

 Blameless

5. LOVE 101

 Finding My Way

 The Mirror

 I Dare You!

 The Love I'll Never Forget

 Heartbreak 101

 What Is Sex?

 Swans Mate for Life

6. ACTS OF KINDNESS

 The Boy Under the Tree

 For the Kids

 Piano Music

 Ten-Dollar Bills and Roses

 A Not-So-Random Act of Kindness

 Christy's Last Day

 The Gift of Music

 Our Community

7. FRIENDS

 The Kids in the Hall

 My Sanctuary

 My Friend Kim

 819 Garfield Place

 An Unlikely Hero

 With Help from a Friend

8. TOUGH STUFF

 My Star

 Independence Day

 #38 Chucky Mullins

 Zap the Sap!

 I Said No

 The Rest of the Story

 Stuck With No Way Out

9. MIND OVER MATTER

 Breaking the Mold

 A Better Message

 Homeboy Goes to Harvard

 From the Heart of a Blessed Temple

 Second Kind of Mind

 Work for Your Supper

 Catsup Soup

 Student Super-SaverTM

 Dare to Take Risks!

 Emma's Ducks

 Consider This

 All in the Family

 Never Too Old to Live Your Dream

10. GRADUATION

 Life Lessons

 A Homecoming of a Different Sort

 Two Stories for Life

 Humor Them!

 Know Where You're Going!

 Don't Go!