What is success? To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty; To find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived; That is to have succeeded. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Just because she comes off strong doesn’t mean she didn’t fall asleep crying and even though she acts like nothing is wrong, maybe, just maybe, shes really good at lying.” – Unknown
I feel as though this quote greatly resembles me, and my life. Many people are afraid to talk to me, because they feel that I come off strong. I will admit, that I am guilty of this, but the reason is because I have learned not to trust people. It takes a lot of time for me to trust someone, and to open up to someone. I have been hurt many times before by friends who I thought I could trust, however, they hurt me anyways. True friends are hard to find, and especially hard when all of my friends are older than I am. I can honestly say that my real, and true friends are in college. This poses a great problem because I cannot see them all of the time, and school is normally very hard for me. Of course I talk to people at school, and have friends, but I don’t have one genuine and true person that I can tell everything about my life to, and to open to when I need someone. I can honestly admit that there were many times that I did go home and cry, because I felt as though many people at school didn’t like me. It was really hard for me for awhile, until I had a talk with my dance director, who really listened to me, and told me that I needed to be my own person, and not to be ashamed of that. It really meant a lot to me that she took the time to listen to what I had to say, and what I was feeling. This actually connects to the second aspect of the quote, because I can play it off as though everything is okay, even when it is not. I realize that this is not okay, because everyone needs to talk to someone, but I just like to deal with things on my own. For some reason, I feel as though releasing your thoughts and feelings to someone shows weakness, but I have come to realize that showing these colors makes you stronger. If you are able to express thoughts with someone else, you know that you are more at peace with yourself, and are confident in yourself, and don’t need others to rectify what you are saying.
What do I want out of life? Being at such a young age, some may say it is crazy to believe that I can dream of the outcome for my life twenty, thirty, or forty years down the road. So, what DO I want. I would like to be successful, and happy. I believe that everyone has a different answer of success, however according to Merriam Webster Dictionary, success is defined as “a favorable or desired outcome.” My personal definition of success is to follow all of my dreams and aspirations, to work hard to get what I would like. Even if I fall short, I will be fine because I know that I tried my very best. My ultimate goal is to become a dermatologist. I have wanted to be a dermatologist since I was 10 years old. I have worked so hard to attain good grades, and I feel that my diligence with school work will help me through college, and medical school. Once my life is stable, meaning after medical school and anything else life throws at me, I would like to start my own practice, or maybe even just to open my own store. I love the idea of opening a clothing store, that focuses only on eco-friendly clothing, accessories etc. While medical sciences have always been my strong point, I have also had an interest in business and the management of that business. In addition to having success, I would also like to be happy. I feel the best when I am able to help another person, whether it is through volunteer work, or just monetary support, I feel that that is my definition of being happy. I greatly enjoy working at soup kitchens with Key Club, because it really makes you thankful for everything, and everyone that you have in your life, and it also makes you good that you could help someone out in a simple way. I would also like to donate to many of the charities in Africa and other underprivileged nations around the world, because I think it is important for everyone to at least have a chance at life. While the choice you take once you receive this chance is up to you, it is worth taking a chance on someone, because there is always a fifty-fifty chance that it will turn out well.
http://tinyurl.com/ybn735j
My dreams are seemingly ambitious, but I know that I will attain them. To obtain my dermatology goal, I will continue to work hard in high school. Once my high school career is over, I am planning on going to a good college. Hopefully, I will make it into PITT, PENN STATE, or TEMPLE University, and from there I will go on to medical school. Medical school is very hard to get into, so I know that it will take a lot of work to make it into this school, and I can do so by studying hard in college. While some people may choose their college based upon how many parties occur, I know that I will keep a straight head on my shoulders and resist the party scene so that I may do well in college. Doing well in college is very important, because the grades that you attain here will determine the medical school or graduate school someone can attend, so I know that it will be very important for me to do well in college.
My backup plan if I am not able to become a doctor would be to start my own business. Business is also interesting to me, and I feel that it would be very rewarding to start my own business, whether or not I am able to become a doctor. My vision of a store would be to sell eco-friendly clothing, and to sell things at prices that everyone can afford. Many stores increase their prices merely for the label they sew onto their clothes, and many people cannot afford these clothes. I think clothes should be attainable to many people, and not just to some. Another backup plan that I have, would be to become a writer. I really enjoy writing, and most people have a positive response to my writing, and many people have told me that I have strong writing abilities and that I should be a writer. If either of these possible careers are will not be attainable, I feel that a career in writing would be prosperous.
What are five different things that I can do to improve myself? To improve my scores at my dance competitions, there are five things that I can do….
Practice Daily: “Practice makes perfect,” is a known virtue, and has been proven to be true. I cannot better my dancing abilities unless I practice several times per week. Practice helps to improve my performance, increasing my stamina, and perfecting my steps. Tap dancing is difficult, because there are so many aspects to it, more so than other types of dance. In tap, the sounds resonating from the floor must also match the music flowing through your arms. Normally, there are specific sounds that match the beat or rhythm of the music, so by practicing daily, I will be able to accomplish accurate sounds and clean steps.
http://tinyurl.com/y87xj2g
Perform well on Stage: A good percentage of your score by the judges at competition comes from your stage presence. Of course how well, and accurately you perform your steps are is important, but your presence exudes much more. An excellent dancer is able to show how much she loves dance through her movements and face. She lets energy flow out of her fingertips, and has a brilliant smile. A poor performer looks unhappy on stage, and looks as though they do not want to be there. I love being on stage, so I always try my hardest to convey that to the judges and those who are watching me. I will need to continue my work with this concept, so that my score improves.
http://tinyurl.com/ylaehe8
Listen to the Judges: Ordinarily, we compete in several competitions per year for our solos, however it varies based upon the individual. At each competition, we are given a score sheet with the judges comments, and ways we can improve. Each of these comments are very beneficial, so I must make sure to use comments from other judges to better my performance at the next competition. Just like teachers, judges are only there to make me better as a dancer, so I need to listen to their advice greatly.
http://tinyurl.com/ye932hl
Remain Calm: Many times before I go on stage, I become tense, and agitated because I am so worried about my performance. I know now that I just need to get myself focused, by listening to my iPod, and taking deep breaths. It is always bad to go on stage nervous, because you speed up and rush things, and could even miss steps or sounds.By being calm, I will be able to focus on the steps and not on my nervousness. I just need to relinquish the fear while I am waiting on the wings, because once I am on stage everything is a breeze.
http://tinyurl.com/yew4hf2
Believe in Myself: Many times I am not confident enough in myself, so much so that I put myself down once I am off stage. No matter how many times people tell me how well my dance went, or how nice my costume shined from on stage, I never feel as though it is good enough. Every missed step, or arm, I criticize myself for, and worry that missing one or two things will bring down my entire score. I always place well, and even received fourth place last year for my solo out of my age group, but I still never feel as though it is good enough. So, this year I just want to have fun and realize that the judges do not know whether I missed a step, or arm, or anything like that. If I show a mistake on my face and let the rest of my performance slip, then they will be able to tell that I messed up, but otherwise they won’t.
Even if you don’t believe about in the war, it would of course be difficult, but you can support something. You may not be able to support the war, but you can support the soldiers who are fighting in the war. Personally, I do not believe in the war in Iraq, because I don’t think that there was enough reason to go over, however I do believe in the soldiers who are over and fighting for us. To me, any soldier fighting heartlessly for their country, whether they want to be there or not, is a hero. They put their lives on the line for myself, and others so that we may have a peaceful place to rest our heads when we go to sleep. Of course we hear about the atrocities of the war overseas, but we do not have any other countries trying to take over our lands, we have no other nations that are willing to come to our great nation and cause bloodshed. This is due to the strength and courage of our soldiers. The fighting that is actually occurring is for us, for our benefit, to make sure that I will be able to lead a life of prosperity, the life that our founding fathers wanted for us, the life that they fought so hard to attain. Being a soldier is an ultimate sacrifice, there are so many troubles and hardships which may occur after your time in the service is over, including PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) or having amputated limbs, etc. Many people may not be able to give up the life that they are living now to do this, however you would get to see many parts of the world. Of course many of these places may not be so pleasant, such as in fighting zones, but there are many other stations and bases around the world that you could be stationed at. Also, a soldiers duty does not end at the fighting line; it also means that you should lend a helping hand to someone, help rebuild a city you bombed. Lastly, a war may not be able to be supported, however the soldiers who are fighting should be thought about time and time again.
As with anyone, your first instinct in the experience of loss is, “why me?” We ask ourselves this because we don’t like the feeling of the loss of our possessions. If I was stricken by a fire, of course I would initially be upset, however with time I would be able to cope. The loss of possessions, is not very important to me. Most things that I have are replaceable, such as boots, or clothes or furniture. However, possessions such as photographs, or family heirlooms would greatly bother me. I feel that these items link you to a time in the past; photographs provide a small snapshot of your life, and family heirlooms give you a small sense of your relatives, whether you have met them or not. I have my grandmother’s necklace and some of her rings, and whenever I wear them, I think of her. In the event that I lost these possessions of hers, I would be greatly upset for the simple fact that I can never be able to get them back.
While the loss of your possessions is upsetting, the loss of a person, a family member especially is very difficult to deal with. In the past eight or so years of my life, I have lost three people in my family who have meant so much to me. It really hurts me, because I can no longer remember the sound of their voice; my grandfather, my great grandmother, and my uncle. This really bothers me, because of course you can look at the photographs and see their faces, but to I cannot identify myself with that person. I love to watch old family videos because it allows me to see their faces and listen to their voices. While I am greatly saddened by their loss, I also know that I must not be selfish. All three of my family members were going through great medical struggles, and I know that they are with God in a happier and better place now, free of pain and worries. Sometimes, when I am alone I like to think that they are still there within my life, they are just sitting on a cloud looking down.
Love is an experience that many people cherish; some relationships fail, while others thrive for years and years. One quality that I believe makes a relationship last is trust. Trusting in someone allows both people in a relationship to have freedom, not freedom in the sense of dating around, but in the sense of allowing you to breathe. Also, affection is key to having a long lasting relationship. Everyone can go through the motions of loving someone, but if you are just talking the talk and not actually meaning what you are saying, means that you don’t actually love them. Affection means that you can look into their eyes and see yourself, or when you hug or kiss them you feel a tiny spark of energy, of love. Lastly, finding true love is very important as well. Everyone will “try on” many significant others, some may be your favorite sweatshirt, or some may be those jeans you wear for two days and get rid of. I believe that God does have a plan for everyone, and everyone will find that special someone He has set aside for you. It may be your first time out of the gate that you find him, or maybe even more than you can count on two hands before you find him. It doesn’t matter whether you are 15, 50, or 150, you can always find love; it may just take a little looking. <3
I found this quote actually as a necklace, and I find that this quote is very inspiring and it means a lot to me. This quote was said by Mahatma Ghandi….
YOU MUST BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD.
Photo From: http://73110.netministry.com/images/grief.jpg
