An optimist is a person who believes that al good things happen to him and the world is the best possible place to live in. his attitude is always to look at the brighter side of life. Being active, he is prepared to face any challenge in life. Courage and courtesy are armor in life. His speech is melodious and heart is happy.

In spite of a series of failures, an optimist takes a hopeful view of things. He comes out brilliantly with flying colors. On the initial steps of failure, he constructs a concrete stairway of success with optimism as is tool and hard work and sincerity as materials. Helen killer said, ``keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow’’.

An optimist person with such an approach finds a way through even the most add situation. He tames a dragon and continues to show many remarkable and unimaginable things arousing curiosity in others. With such an approach an optimist adds a feather to his cap every time he makes an attempt. And success awaits him at his doorstep. Here is the story of brave Terry Fox.

Terry Fox was born in 1958 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. When he was ten years old the family moved to Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. There terry grew up with his family members.

Terry Fox thought of himself as an average boy. But he loved challenges. One he started something; he simply would not give up until he had seen it through. Terry set himself many challenges as he was growing up. Basketball was one of them.

Terry finished school with a very good sports career and entered Simon Fraser University. There too he made it to the basketball team. But before e finished his first year at university, something very sad happened. A pain in his right knee had been bothering Terry for weeks. Tests showed that terry had cancer. He was going to lose his leg. This was surely the greatest challenge terry had ever faced in his life.

And Terry did face the challenge, with spirit and determination as always. Barely six weeks later. Terry was walking around with an artificial leg and a cane in his hand. Once his coach had brought for him a magazine article, it was about Dick Traum who also had an artificial leg and ran in the New York Marathon. This set him thinking. Terry said. ``well if Dick Traum can do it, I can too! In fact I can do more all the money I raise will go for cancer research’’.

Terry began to prepare for his marathon. To test himself terry entered the Prince George marathon. And terry did reach the finish line. After running 3,000 miles in training, he was ready to take the challenge of 5, 3 00 miles to run across Canada.

On April 12th 1980, terry started the run. His family and many others watched him on television in the morning news. Terry told reports that his challenge was to raise a million dollars for cancer research.

In St. John’s new found land his friend, Doug Alward was there in a car with Terry. Ford Motor Company, imperial oil and many other big companies also helped in many ways.

Terry felt a sharp pain in his chest. He did not want to disappoint the crowds waiting for him. But he had to discontinue. This time the cancer was in his lungs.

Terry became the youngest Canadian ever to receive Canada’s highest civilian award, the companion of the order of Canada. He received thousands of letters, including from the America president Jimmy Carter and pope john Paul II.

Terry died on June 1981, but today he remains a symbol of hope and courage to million throughout the world.