When I was twelve years old, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to tell me about my shortcomings. Week by week her list became 1 : I was very short, and I wasn't a good student, I talked too much, and so on. I tried to stand all of these as long as I could. Finally I became very 2 .I ran to my father with tears in my eyes. He listened to me 3 ,and then asked , “Are these things that she said true or not? Jane, have you ever 4 what you're really like? Now you have the girl's 5 . Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are 6 . Pay no attention to the other things that she said .” I did 7 he told me. To my great surprise, I found that about half of the things were true. Some of them I couldn't 8 , like being very short, but a good number of them I could. I wanted to change the bad things in me, and for the 9 time I knew something about myself in a very clear way. I brought the list back to my father. He 10 to take it. “That's just for you,” he said, “You know better than 11 else the truths about yourself, but sometimes others' opinions are also important, so you have to learn how to 12 and just close your ears in anger and feel hurt. When something 13 is said about you is true, you'll find that it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think that they know you. Don't shut your ears. Listen to all of them, 14 hear the true and do what you think is the right thing to do.” I have remembered my father's 15 at many important moments. I have never had a better piece of advice in my whole life.