January 12

Persuasive 4 day week

Dear Prosper school board I write this letter to you on the proposal of a four day school week, my name is Alex Wells and I am in grade 12. I have taken in all the potential factor not only for students but for parents and teachers, looking at both the pros and cons. I respectfully ask that the board keep my letter in mind when making the decision and to also remember their own responsibilities.  

 

 At first a four day week may sound very appealing and most will quickly believe less school equals less work and more free time but we should take in all the factors at hand. No matter how many days of school there will be there still must be a certain amount of class time required, and in the case of the Prosper School Board there would be longer school days starting at 7:55 and ending at 4:04. Having longer school days will begin to change the quality of students’ lives, an example of this can be seen with our student athletes who are worried they will have to attend practice after school at 4:15 then return home to eat and do homework while still being expected to wake up at 6:00am the next day and rebegin the cycle. There’s still one thing missing in a students four day week that wasn’t even mentioned in the student athletes day, every student needs a mental break from all the stress that comes with school and must be allocated time to relax. This period of relaxation resets teenagers minds and helps them refocus again. The Academic Journal states two important points in their latest research on the effect of sleep patterns on student learning first stating that teenagers require sleep to grow and mature, also that cutting sleep by just one hour drops an individual’s alertness by one third. The effects of sleep loss do not become worth the amount of days off as students would waste their time off trying to catch up with their sleep on their days off.  

 

 The opinion of teachers should not be taken into account when making this decision as this loss of rest will not affect them. This is displayed by the amount of school staff who said yes to the idea of four day weeks as they would be given fridays off. Teachers do not wish to have friday off for the benefit of the students but for themselves, so they are able to do other activites such as party and spend time with their friends .the opinion of parents shouldn’t be used when deciding as some of them as seen on Fastpool.com comment by Kristina Oudet believe that school is almost a day care for their young adults where they don’t have to worry about them. Thus creating a bias opinion for parents to not intake the other factors at hand, such as their child’s education or the amount of rest they will have.

 

I personally find it very alarming when the idea of students sacrificing rest just to gain an extra day off becomes acceptable, all students require the correct amount of rest time. If we are unable to keep the students of Prosper in the best mental and physical condition we will begin to see success rates fall lower and lower academic achievements. With the way the school system works now students have enough time for everything including work.shown by Rosies work schedule she will have the same amount of work hours per week without facing the risk of lost sleep and a greater amount of stress. Students such as Rosie prove how efficient the five day week is and why it should be kept, why must something be changed if it works perfectly fine. 

 

With all the reasoning given I find it clear that the four day school week should never be implemented, the cons outweigh the pros as the students quality of life should come before the benefit of anyone else. The schedule implace right now vastly beats the new one with pros and helps students become more successful.

 

Sincerely, Alex wells

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November 5

The Power of Perseverance

Miguel M.

Personal CPU

 

     Perseverance helps individuals keep moving towards their goals despite having difficulties and obstacles that block their path to success in life. Individuals will not stop and try to find obstacles to clear the path, as they  really want to be successful in their life. People have these values and apply it into their life when they decide on a goal and will not pause or stop to complete it. If an obstacle appears to knock the individual out of the path, they will find ways to get back up to where they started. This goal has to be something really significant in their life for them to be deeply motivated for it, just like the Filipinos in the picture. In the visual created by Bullit Marquez, it shows how three children will not stop at nothing to get to school. When individuals have a goal they want to achieve, then an obstacle gets in their way to slow them down or potentially stop them, they will try and find ways to get around and overcome difficulties they have to continue their path to success.

 

     Despite difficulties that individuals have when striving towards their goals, they will still try to reach success as it would impact them significantly. This can be observed through the photo that is focused mainly on the three Filipino children. These individuals are seen to be squeezed on an unknown object that is floating through the flood, with their backpacks and wet footwear although it seems like they don’t express feelings of shock or sadness. This could be because they are already used to it and know directions of where to go towards the school. Individuals in the Philippines, no matter what the month is, are used to these types of disasters. Floods are a common thing in the area, due to the fact that most of its countries are islands, meaning people who have lived in the area for a really long time don’t mind it, and continue their daily lives, especially in schools. Children during floods will still want to go to school, as it is hard to find an education due to its economy. This truly reveals that children will stop at nothing to reach their goals. I have been to the Philippines myself, and I continue to learn more information about its way of life every time we go back there.

 

     Sometimes in travelling, I see individuals living their ways of life in a really different way to how people in Canada  manage their own ways. When I was little, we had traveled to one area that I never knew about, and witnessed a man digging through trash cans; eventually he finds noodles and eats it. I had to ask my father why, as I was disgusted, but never knew the standards of living in the Philippines during my childhood. As he explained, I later understood and was first introduced to homeless people. We always go to the Philippines every two years during winter break, and this is where I would always find something new. This time, as we travelled to an amazing island area called Boracay, our family had seen a man using a type of tube that he would insert into random places in the smooth, soft sand and remove it during the morning, and wondered what he was doing. Eventually, he caught something massive; which was a mix between a type of worm and a clam. He explains to us that there are some tiny holes on the ground that is used to find these creatures and is easy to search for them while the tide is low. After finding a hole, he likes to dig them and use them as a source of food. At this point in my life, I felt like individuals would also use perseverance as a way of surviving in life, as without this value, they would be laying on the street, depressed and hungry. I learned that individuals will not just find ways to find success in their life, such as gaining a career or completing a life goal, but also as a way to keep them determined to survive in life. Individuals really value their lives, and want to see how they would end up, as they push themselves to find food without money or even live without shelter from rain or floods. It is really important to keep being determined to reach a goal to at least survive in society, especially in places like the Philippines that are harder to survive.

 

     Individuals have a goal, or at least the will to survive, despite having many obstacles that can either be easy or incredibly difficult to overcome, but because of determination to see where the path can lead, they try their best efforts to reach success. This success will impact them in a significant way to a point where they will continue to create goals and use their determination. Even if it’s not just a goal, individuals will use values of perseverance anyway to at least survive in society. Without perseverance, society will find it difficult to function because nobody will seem to find the determination to reach a common goal of the community. If these values were lost, how would anybody become successful in life?

Category: Miguel, Sept 2019 | 1 Comment on The Power of Perseverance
November 4

The Journey to School- Visual Response

It was a really loud and scary night, almost the scariest one I have ever had. The lightning bolts were smashing into the ground, as if the ground was being punished. The rainfall was so heavy; it was like the water was trying to wash away the grime and filthiness away from our small country. It was 5:00 am, “ding, ding, ding” as my alarm clock went on, time for me to wake up and get myself dressed for school. I had to make sure that mine and my brother’s breakfast and lunch are prepared before we head out for our eccentric journey to school.

Saad is 12 years old. Bilal, the youngest, is only 5 years old and I am 7 years old, we all seemed to be grateful this morning because our house wasn’t flooded from the rain like others. It was a disgusting mess outside, people’s personal belongings were washed away into the streets, their houses looked like they had been melted. I couldn’t help but compare the sight to ice cream in a bakery, always melted. Everyone was so devastated, they had lost all their hard work and the so-called place “home”.

When we got near the city, it was worse. There was a huge flood, everyone running and screaming for help, going after their vehicles, workshops, personal belongings, etc. The water was higher than me and Bilal, Bilal was begging to go home, but Saad got angry and told Bilal, “school is where we will learn how to make this world a better place. If you don’t want your kids to grow up like us and face the struggles we do, then we must attend school to gain knowledge and education, so we can make enough money to leave our home country.” “Home country”, I repeated this to myself, I loathed this word. It was a country where children were taught to act and think like adults the minute we said our first words. 

There was no way we could cross the cities unless we knew how to swim to the next village, but I had no idea how to maintain a steady balance; therefore, my older brother found a way to get us three through the city. There was a massive tire, perhaps for a truck. My brother dragged it near us, while doing so, he told me and Saad to quickly hop on before it floats away. We all successfully climbed on top of it and were floating towards the direction we needed to head, it was a filthy tire and smelled like disgusting, but we had to find some way through the city. Saad had lost one of his shoes while he was searching for the tire but that was the least of our concerns at the moment. Everyone was staring at us they all looked very curious as to what we were doing.

We have finally passed through the easier part of our journey. Our tire was not slowing down. It kept going faster with the current flow of the water; leading us to the river. We were all freaking out about how we might be late for school, but not about the fact that we were heading towards the city river. We all loved school, it was the only place that we were able to act like children. We have finally reached the river, filled with garbage, resembling a landfill. Our school was just across the river, all three of us had to put one hand into the water and steer south. Finally, we reached school, feeling relieved. We made it through another mysterious day of our lives, and it was only through perseverance and for the hope of a better future.

Hope is the key to life. It guides everyone to become a better person and believe in something good. It helped me and my siblings when everything was going bad. It helped me through rough times because I believed some good will result from the hard work. If we didn’t have hope then we would not believe or trust anything. Hope is a great quality that everyone should have.

 

 

Category: Aneeqa, Sept 2019 | 2 Comments on The Journey to School- Visual Response
September 27

I believe in Perseverance

 

 

“I May not be here yet, but i’m closer than I was yesterday”-unknown

 

“ if you are going through hell,keep going”- Winston Churchill 

 

I believe in perseverance 

 

I believe that we all go through hardships in life. Sometimes it’s inevitable and we, as individuals, have to fight through our challenges even when we are at our lowest point in life. That is what I believe is perseverance. Having to go through hell and still having to walk past all the difficult situations that are going against you in life.

 

Ever since I was little, I always had eczema. I always had the “itchy” feeling since elementary school and it was something I was used to. Then came middle school where my eczema became dormant. I had no issues with my skin and I was able to be at ease for the 4 years I was in middle school. But then came 10th grade when my eczema started to come back. I didn’t think of it as much because it was just a little flare-up that didn’t really affect my daily routine. I finished the 10th grade but that summer was a time that will always be embedded in my mind for the rest of my life.

 

My life changed drastically that summer. It was the summer where I would be going into the 11th grade, the most important year of my life. Over the summer, my skin got worse to the point where it was affecting my quality of life. I was in a constant state of pain. My bedsheets looked like a murder scene because of how much my skin would leak blood. I would always have this burning sensation like someone poured hot oil all over my skin. It felt like 1000 needles poking my skin all at once. I was immobile at this point where I couldn’t do any of my daily activities. My mom got so worried that she took me to the doctors that summer. But what the doctor said changed my life for the worse.

 

The doctor had told my mother and I that it was “basic eczema” and gave me a steroid cream that would help improve my infected areas. During the appointment, she never examined my swollen, inflamed skin. The resident, that was there to see me, looked from afar and after she gave the prescription she left. She also told us that she’ll refer us to a dermatologist “as fast as she could.” My mother was furious that they weren’t diligent with what I was going through and decided to take me to the children’s hospital. They were more helpful than my own family doctor. They looked at my skin thoroughly and got me a referral to a dermatologist right away. After the last few days of summer were over school had finally started.

 

When school started I was doing okay, I wore the uniform and attended my classes as best as I could. During the beginning of school, I went to the dermatologist and they examined my skin and took a swab of it. She wanted to check if “there was an infection” that had appeared in my skin. Another couple of days had past and I started to bleed through my shirts and I had to constantly go to the bathroom to stop the bleeding. Fast forward to my next dermatologist appointment and the doctor told me that I had “a heavy staph infection”. I was prescribed antibiotics for four weeks. It got the infection out. At this point, I stopped going to school.

 

When I didn’t attend school, I was in bed, in pain. When everyone was having fun at school, I had to suffer at home, alone. The pain that I felt was unbearable. I couldn’t move any part of my body and had to stay in bed because wasn’t able to walk either. liquids would be pouring out of my skin and would dry up and turn into yellow scabs that would be scattered all over my body.  My arms, hands, legs, and stomach area were all swollen, bubbly and inflamed. I eventually started to smell this weird odor coming from my skin. I soon figured out that it was coming from all the patches. During this time, I was heavily depressed and lonely. My parents had to work and my siblings were still going on with their life while I was bedridden for 4 months. My mom tried to stay home as much as she should when I was severely ill, but there was only so much that she could do. My family was very supportive and would come over to talk to me. In this time, I had never craved for so much human interaction in my life. I was at the lowest point of my life. At that point in my life, I was so scared of what the future held because of how many absences I had at the beginning of grade 11. After 4 months of taking medication, I was finally able to go back to school.

 

After going back to school, I felt good about myself. I was doing something other than laying down in my bed and being cooped up in my room. I had a lot of work that I had to do in order for me to pass grade 11. It took a lot of effort and time to get where I am today. I had to work 10 times harder than everyone else because of the fact that I was already so far behind. During this time, I was still facing problems with my skin, but I didn’t let it come in my way. I persevered through the pain during school and got my school work done. Eventually, when school was coming to an end, I had successfully completed second semester of grade 11. The feeling I felt on the last day of school was of pure relief. it was joyous moment for me. I had done what I thought was impossible for me. I persevered and had successfully passed grade 11.

 

https://nation.com.pk/08-Jul-2017/an-open-letter-to-people-suffering-from-depression

Category: Rania, Sept 2019 | 3 Comments on I believe in Perseverance
September 27

This I Believe: Redemption, Resilience.

I believe resilience is a vital trait for an individual to have. 

I believe redemption is the key to making people see you the way you are now as opposed to the person you used to be. 

 

“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” – Dale Carnagie 

 

When I was little I was always taught that i needed to make the best of each situation, no matter how bad everything really was. I was told either to bend to make everything work and if I didn’t bend, I would simply break. I learnt the true meaning of this when I was in the ninth grade. Sure I had little hardships along the way but this was the first thing that directly after I didn’t know how to bounce back. I was completely floored. In the ninth grade I wasn’t in the best headspace. I wanted nothing to do with school work and wanted to be out with my friends all night who were all at least 2-3 years older than me. Which made my best friend, become interested in my brother. That caused major fighting between us and we let that leach into our school environment and into what we both shared for extra curriculars. Unfortunately we both weren’t very mature either so it had cost us a school trip that we had both been looking forward too. That devastated me because I wasn’t sure how to bounce back in the drama program I was, to put it simply young and dumb and had royally messed up. Little did I know they were welcoming with open and warm arms. I realized that year though because of how much I had messed up and had gone through my “rebellious phase” sooner rather than later and I was able to get my head ever so straightener on top of my shoulders and it made a world of a difference for myself because I was able to accomplish so much more because of it. 

 

“She stood in the storm, and when the wind did not blow her way. She adjusted her sails” – Elizabeth Edwards

Category: Erika, Sept 2019 | 2 Comments on This I Believe: Redemption, Resilience.
September 27

This I believe: Resilience

“With the new day comes strength and new thoughts” 

Eleanor Roosevelt

 

I believe in resilience 

I believe in perseverance

 

I believe that even if the odds are stacked against you, it’s important to take what you have and make the best of the situation you are in because at the end of the day, gratitude for the small situations that you are placed in makes you appreciate the big moments more.

Resilience is the ability to smile and move on when the unthinkable happens. With each painful situation we gain knowledge and an experience that will forever be in your heart. The ability to be resilient is shown within the individual who keeps going even if no one is cheering for them. 

To be resilient is to be strong. Unbreakable and determined.

Each individual you meet throughout life has a different story of how they became who they are. The things that broke them and the experience that made them stronger. 

       Throughout my life there have been many things that have broken me down and made me stronger. But one thing in particular that truly showed me the power of resiliency was last September I witnessed my best friend trying to commit suicide. Her  mom and her had gotten into a fight over something, I never figured out what it even was. Her mom stormed out leaving me, her sister, and Meg. It all seemed so quick – one moment we were cooking dinner together the next one she had downed a mouthful of bleach and we were in the hospital having to retell the story over and over again to different nurses and doctors that would come into the room. Knowing that Meg was going to be okay, I proceeded to push down this to the back of my mind and ignore the many psychological effects this would have on anyone, especially a sixteen year old girl whose world had been shattered. Before I knew it, the weeks turned into months and it had been six months since the incident and it was bleeding into my relationships along with my school work, turning me from an 80’s student to someone who would get constant 50’s on all her things. Unfortunately, this dug me into a dark hole and a space where I  would make constant bad decisions that seemed to pull me into an even darker place. It was then when I realized that instead of trying to fight my demons, I had to embrace them because they made me who I am today. I am glad I made this decision because of it I am stronger and wiser than I was a year ago. I got to the end of my tunnel and I found a place that made me happy, confident, but most importantly I became my true self and not a facade that I wanted people to love. 

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 If it wasn’t for the people that I met and supported me even when I wouldn’t say what’s wrong I wouldn’t be standing here today. They had ignited a fire within me that could not be tamed, a fire that would be infectious and help others to push through. A fire that came in a time of darkness for which I am grateful for every day when I wake up. I had become stronger and most importantly resilient and wouldn’t let anything break me down. 

Resiliency and strength go hand in hand and I am grateful that through all the hard times. As cliche as this may sound, I found the light at the end of a tunnel that I thought would never end. 

 

Life has a funny way of showing you just how capable you are for the things you want to achieve. With each card I was dealt, I found a way to change my destiny and my future into the one I wanted. I had found the things I was missing. 

 

I believe in strength, love, and perseverance. 

I believe in being resilient. 

 

“Strong people alone know how to organize their suffering so as to bear only the most necessary pain” 

Emil Dorian 

 

Category: Sept 2019, Tyra | 4 Comments on This I believe: Resilience
September 27

Dance: A Power That Unleashed From Within

https://i.pinimg.com/474x/1a/7b/b0/1a7bb035c2987634ceddaa6b139afc13–dancers-pose-indian.jpg

I believe in the power of dance.

“To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking.” by Agnes De Mille. This quote resonates with me because when I dance, I’m transported into another world where I can be myself and not worry about what anybody thinks. It’s like an escape from the real world where I am one with myself and I feel more confident and powerful. I like to think of myself as a silhouette where you can’t see much detail and you only see an outline of the shape. My shyness can be represented by the silhouette because I don’t like talking to new people and I like to be independent. When I discovered dance, I slowly started to become more confident in myself and becoming a colorful picture instead of a silhouette. 

This all started when I was 8 years old, and my parents decided to put me into dance classes. I loved dancing but I was terrified to meet new people because I thought they would judge me if I did something wrong. So, I decided to stay in my own space and not express myself in the way I wanted to. The reason for this was that the other girls in my class were all more popular than me and I felt as if I didn’t fit in with them. After class that day when my parents picked me up and asked me how the class was and if I liked it, I started to cry and said ,

”I don’t fit in because all the other girls can dance better than me and I feel as if I am not as good.” 

My mom replied by saying, “Why does it matter how everyone else dances? You are dancing for yourself and nobody else. You don’t need to worry about who is doing what; just focus on yourself and you will do an amazing job.” 

The next week, I had classes again, and I moved forward with what my mom had said to me in mind. I entered the studio and danced my little heart out. I danced so well that my instructor told my mom after class how well I did that day. I felt so proud of myself and I’ll never forget what my mom told me.

 June 30, 2012:

The day of my dance recital. We were waiting in the changing room and everyone was helping each other with their hair and makeup and then there was me, sitting in the corner reading my book. Again I felt that feeling of “a nobody”, until one of the older girls asked me if I wanted help doing my hair and makeup. That feeling of a nobody was gone in an instant and I felt so much better going on stage. 

We were waiting in the wings backstage wearing our pink and black sequined costumes. Since it was the first time any of us had performed in front of a crowd, we were all terrified. I closed my eyes and remembered what my mom had told me the first day of classes. It gave me the courage to spread my wings as I walked onto the stage.

We danced like there was no tomorrow and after walking off stage while hearing the crowd cheering and applauding, we all went back into the change room and had a big group hug. I finally felt like I was apart of the group and had made new friends, and the support from the audience and my fellow dancers helped me realize that I didn’t have to be conservative of my dancing and that I could be confident if I just put my heart and my mind to it. 

Now, I’ve been dancing for nine years and I have grown so much mentally and physically and feel that I am a big part of this “dance family”

During this time, I learned that if I set my heart on something and if I love it so much, I don’t have to worry about what others think and be confident in myself. This impacted my life a lot because I was very conservative and shy when I was younger and now I am more powerful and sure of myself. I like to think of myself as a flower. When I was younger I was like a bud of a flower where you can’t see what it is going to turn into. Dance and my parents were the water and nutrients for the “ flower”, which helped me start to bloom. Now, I am a fully bloomed flower and people can actually see how beautiful I am and what I’m capable of.

In conclusion, I believe that dance is powerful enough to make a person establish their legacy, and this is the start of mine.       

Category: Aafreen, Sept 2019 | 2 Comments on Dance: A Power That Unleashed From Within
September 16

The Power of Failure

 

Failure. The word itself carries such a negative connotation and is often times rejected as much as possible. So much, that we don’t realize the honest and true impact that it really has on us. Failure has the ability to enlighten us about the things that nothing or no one else ever could. It shouldn’t be perceived as a measure of intelligence or as a weakness, rather to test the strength and determination of one’s willingness to persevere. Over the course of high school, my definition for failure has definitely changed.

I treated my failures no matter how big or small as a diversion from my path to be successful. Not as a pinpoint of my journey.

My last chance, rather than an opportunity to grow.

A weakness, not an acknowledgement of my strengths.

A setback, not a motivation.

Fighting all the stress and disappointment no matter the circumstances, reflects how passionate and determined one is to accomplish an ambition they’ve tirelessly been striving for. If I didn’t learn from my mistakes, then I’m destined to revisit them over and over and over again until I inquire the knowledge and the answers from them to move on.

I think I can get  so caught up in comparing myself to other people, that I let myself down way too many times because I just couldn’t meet the standards of those who I wanted to be like. So I tell myself  that I’m not good enough, or it’s just not meant to be in the first place. It’s human nature to be competitive.  But what I have realized the most, is that it isn’t easy or as reachable as people make it seem. If making my mark, or creating a change was that easy, then anyone could of done it. It’s about the willpower, persistence, passion, and perseverance that separates us from the rest.

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

~ Maya Angelou

The summer of 2017 was my last time of doing Tae Kwon Do after 4 years. Martial arts has taught me so much about dedication, and determination. Looking back on this experience, past all the actual physicality of it, I realized it was more about testing my mental strength rather than what I am able to do  physically. I was a red belt at the time, about to get a black stripe, which is 2 ranks before becoming a full black belt. I knew that my training was going to get even more challenging, and harder to endure. I knew I was going to be held to even higher expectations than before. My pre- test before getting a black stripe included a physical portion where I had to complete a variation of tests. One of them was to do 100 burpees in 3 minutes or less. If I had exceeded the time limit, it was an automatic fail. I remember that day not being one of my best. I started this test feeling anxious, and not believing in myself. I felt so much pressure. Mid -way through, I started feeing sick and even lightheaded and so I just stopped, ran out of the class, and threw up. I came back in, drained of energy. My instructors asked if everything was okay. I simply answered, “I’m fine.” And right away they started the timer again, and said, “continue where you left off.” In that moment of time, it felt so impossible. But I continued even though it was slower and sloppy, and didn’t stop until all 100 was done. I obviously didn’t pass, and I became really hard on myself, that I believed if it wasn’t achievable now, what makes the amount of time different. At the end of class, my instructors told me, that it was okay, and that I tried my best, but they told me the most important thing to take away from this, is that even though it was hard, I didn’t give up. And that showed them that I was wiling to try again until I could do it. At this point, it wasn’t even about the outcome, but how I worked harder to get there, how could I prove to myself that I was capable enough, and how I can make myself better. I allowed this “failure” to motivate me, to not only achieve the desired results, but to mentally strengthen my endurance and overall confidence. And that to me, was my ultimate success.

Because of that one experience, I look at how I approach my everyday work differently, in the sense that if it wasn’t a good day today, what can I do to make it better tomorrow.

Success. It seems almost magical. Unattainable even. But at the end of the day it’s about pursuing the greatest fascination in your life even though you encounter many brick walls to make it there.

The most significant lesson I have learned to this day and age, is that failures are inevitable. That the past doesn’t equal the future and that everything does happen for a reason. It’s not about the experiences themselves, but what I choose to takeaway from them.

Category: Sept 2018, Simran | 2 Comments on The Power of Failure
September 13

This I Believe: Perseverance is a Power That Cannot Be Tamed

Perseverance is is the ability to keep fighting for something you want even after many failures, it is the ability to get back on your feet after being knocked down. To me this is very important because if I let one failure keep me down how will I be able to keep going and achieve the goals I want in life. Failures are going to happen no matter who you are but it’s how you get back up from those failures that determine what type of person you are. No matter how many times someone fails if they are ready to get back up on their feet and carry on they will succeed in their life. Failures creates a bondage only those who persevere can escape and those who cannot live a life of regret wishing they could escape.

Image result for perseverance

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In my life I have persevered through school, I used to be below where I wanted to be in school but instead of letting each individual test get to my head and make me feel like a failure I used it as motivation to help me improve my marks and study harder and now I am finally getting the marks I’ve wanted my whole life. I didn’t let those tests bring me down but I used them to help me get back up and prepare better for the next one. Because of perseverance I have reached my goals in high school and I want to be able to maintain them throughout the year. Perseverance is one of the traits I value most about myself it allows me to get back up and continue fighting for what I believe in. Because of perseverance I am able to maintain averages I never thought  I could do and its because I never give up no matter how hard my life gets I keep fighting because if I stop I will lose all my hard work.

“Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th”

Julie Andrews

Perseverance is one of the most critical traits to posses, if one does now have it how will they continue fighting for what they want. Giving up is not an option for success, if you let the failures consume you, you will never be able to reach your goal. This is why I need to keep practicing my perseverance, because when I develop the trait fully no matter how many times I fail I will be able to get back up and keep working for what I want. Never giving up and pushing for my dreams is what separates the people who succeed and the people who don’t, I want to be able to achieve my dreams and obstacles are bound to happen but letting those obstacles take over your life is not what perseverance is about. I have to be able to escape the bondage that the failures hold on me and work through them to become who I am and be the person I want to be.

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Category: Brayden, Sept 2018 | 2 Comments on This I Believe: Perseverance is a Power That Cannot Be Tamed
September 15

Life Philosophies

DO NOT GIVE UP

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       The most obvious one. Work hard. Work hard for yourself. Work for the things you want to achieve. On the road to your success you will face many obstacles and feel like giving up. But there is no point in trying and settling for less than you planned to.

       I’d like to share a story of me in grade 10. I was in -2 english and -3 math I knew there were a lot of people taking -2 so I was fine with that but taking -3 math made me feel like I was put into a class full of people who don’t try in school at all. So instead of actually trying I kind of accepted that I was dumb and worthless especially after I searched up -3 math can’t get me a proper job in the future. My parents were disappointed in me and all of my friends were in -1 classes. I didn’t try the whole semester so when I was put into math 10c I realized that this is my chance to work hard and prove to my friends and family that I am capable of something. I ended up getting a higher mark in 10c than I did in -3.

       So that is what motivates me to keep trying in school and not giving up because I am capable of achieving more than I can imagine. Its these small steps that prepare you to keep on working hard. And you all may not see how much potential you all have but believing in yourself and working hard and having a strong mindset will get you where you want to be.

GO OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY LIFE HANDS YOU AND IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE; FORGIVE YOURSELF.

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       Although it can be hard to try things that are nerve racking it is important for all of us to try something new because with new experiences comes more knowledge and opportunities. Maybe when you come out of your bubble, everything you ever wanted can be out there.

      Some of us are not as privileged as others so we should not take anything for granted instead we should make use of yourselves.

        Later on we will realize that bad decisions and choices have only made us more knowledgeable and prepared us for other life challenges. We should all take our mistakes and bad choices as blessings so we are better prepared for next time.We should all learn to forgive ourselves not only for the bad choices we made but for not knowing what we know now. There is strength in forgiving. Because forgiveness does not mean you are over it, it means you understand your worth and you are powerful enough to not let that bring you down.

BE HAPPY AND STAY HAPPY

       Be happy. Once this year is done I encourage you all to plan your future where you feel comfortable around the people you are with and happy with what you do. Take a year off to travel or to work or go to university or any trade school if that is what you want. Because of what I have noticed in my life personally is that if I don’t like the people I’m surrounded by I miss out on the fun. If I don’t genuinely like what I am doing I won’t try at all. Do stuff you’re passionate about no matter what anyone thinks because this is your life follow your dreams and work hard for your goals. If you aren’t happy with where you are in life make goals to change yourself and/or circumstances. Work hard for your happiness. Once you are happy life becomes beautiful to you. Life is too short to always live under other people’s rules. Invest time in yourself and I promise you happiness will follow you.

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LOVE YOURSELF

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       And my one last. Love yourself. Love yourself because no one will do it for you. I feel this one needs to be brought out in today’s society especially since it is such an important part in building yourself. You cannot expect anyone to give you the love you need to be happy. Not your girlfriend not your boyfriend, your best friend or even your family sometimes. I feel like when someone starts to show some attention we become too attached and sometimes in that process of being attracted to someone we detach yourself from us. It is true that every relationship has problems whether it is with your spouse friend or family.But some relationship can be unhealthy. There is a lot of emotional, physical and sexually abuse that happens often in some relationship making it hard for the victim to consider themselves as a victim in the first place. And then it gets hard to walk away or take a stand for yourself especially when the other person is using your weakness against you. I believe the first step to love yourself is to believe that you are everything you will ever need. Before you are someone’s friend, sister, brother, daughter, mom or dad you are your own person. Do not allow anyone to make you their property. Sometime in your lifetime you will have people bringing you down and no matter how hard it gets you need to convince your mind that you are nothing but beautiful.  

        Over the weekend I was caught in between two teenager girls arguing with the mom of the girls ex-best friend.  They started off talking about how her daughter is a “cokehead” and how her boyfriend beats her. Before the mother got to say anything back they yelled at her for not being financially stable and made her feel like society views her lower than everyone else just because she lives on rent. I was standing there trying to process how much hate those girls have for them to not only talk rudely about their ex best friend but also create a scene where they yell at a mother who probably is working hard to keep a roof over her families head. If I was to assume they were telling the truth, it blows my mind just trying to imagine what that young girl might be going through. The abusive boyfriend might be using her weakness against her making it hard for her to realize that she is worth way more than that boy treats her. Maybe she does not have anyone supporting her- helping her gain that confidence to stand up for herself. Maybe due to her innocence she unintentionally gave him the power of control. And that is not a sign of weakness- is a sign of broken love; broken promises; childhood trauma that still needs healing till this day. If the picture of her in my head is true I admire her. As a another girl in this world I want her to know that she will survive this. I feel a really strong connection with her, without even knowing her and if I was to reach out to her I won’t ask why, when, where or any detail of traumatic incidents where she struggles to define her feelings. I will open my arms to her; provide her shelter and prove to her that she will find a way back to herself. 

        One thing everyone can take away with this is to not fear anyone’s rejection, so when you believe what you are, you will respect yourself and the right people will come to you.

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Category: Sept 2017, Simran | 4 Comments on Life Philosophies