My parents turned my whole world upside down when they told me they were getting a divorce (离婚). I couldn’t ______ our family was going to break up.

It changed my life completely. My mother and I moved ______ a small apartment (公寓) across town, ______ my father and brother, Bill, remained in our house.

And very soon I had my soon-to-be stepfather (继父), Dan. Although I wasn’t very nice to him, he ______ gave up on me.

As time went on, I realized that we had some things in ______, especially when it came to movies and TV shows. We began to spend a lot of time together ______ out. It gave us a chance to talk ______ get to know each other.

______ still, Dan was always around when I needed help on school or friends. Once I grew to warm to Dan, the ______ of us began spending a lot of time together. We often went out to eat and took short trips. Eventually (最后), I discovered I had the ______ family that I had never had before.

My father found happiness, ______ – he remarried and had ______ child, my half-sister, Michelle. ______ 13, I learned an important truth – ______ is not always for the worse. Sometimes, it is just something ______ we need the most. We should learn to accept it bravely.