Not many 17-year-old girls know how to solder (焊) copper pipes together or light a pilot light. These are 1 I’ve learned as an assistant to my 2 in his plumbing (管道) business. My summer job deals with 3 that constantly cause physical and mental discomfort, and the work 4 an attitude of determination and patience that I frequently struggle to adopt. Each morning, I 5 myself into large-thick men’s jeans most girls would 6 to wear and climb into the plumber truck. As my classmates begin their 7 babysitting or selling groceries, my dad and I carry 8 toolboxes and work in the dark basements. I often get 9 in messy storage boxes looking for the water meter. Nothing around is beautiful or tidy. Sometimes I 10 why I stand the dust and sweat when I could be in my air-conditioned house doing summer homework. Yet as much as I 11 the mess of plumbing. I look down upon myself for being so easily annoyed by disorder. 12 , the world was built by people willing to get their hands 13 . Five such summers have 14 me that the messy parts of people’s houses 15 the messy parts of their lives. As I learn to 16 the mess, I also learn to handle the 17 and contradictions in my adolescence. Life is a process of accepting 18 and learning to put it in order. Plumbing work is no different. You can see it in each newly soldered group of copper pipes. And when customers express 19 , I understand that, in a small way, we bring 20 to their lives.