"Kindness is the essence of greatness."

-Joseph B. Wirthlin

In order for you to be great, you have to be kind to each other. It isn't that difficult to be kind and you will end up feeling amazing afterwards. For example, let's say you decide to help out an elder by carrying their bags or something like that, you will have this amazing feeling that will always stay with you no matter what. Now if you see a poor lady struggling, but you decide not to help her than afterwards you will have guilt and you won't be able to shake it off. We try doing some many things to be seen as great, but the only thing we had to do was being kind and help others. even though this an easy thing to do we still decide not to do it, but if it was something else we will break our backs just for it. Sometimes the thing you have to do is right in front of you. 

Thanksgiving Week

During Thanksgiving Week I spent most of my time with my cousins watching movies and just hanging out with each other. Some of the movies we watched were When The Game Stands Tall, Finding Dory, and many more. When The Game Stands Tall is based on a true story and it is about a High School Football team, the struggles they went through, the importance of the game and their teammates, and the coach taught them that the most important thing isn’t winning the game, but how you play it and the importance of having each other and begin a team. Also during that week I did homework from my english, health, and BioMed classes. My cousins (2 boys) also had sleepovers at my house and we stayed up until 2am and we just talked and played games. On Thanksgiving Day I woke up early and watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Since a singer that I like, Jacob Whitesides was performing I decided to to watch it. Later on that day family members came over to my house and we got ready to eat. We ate turkey, salad, bread, chips, pie, ham, and the list goes on. While eating, most people were watching the soccer game, Chivas Vs. America. There were people from both teams at my house so you can hear them shouting when their team made a goal. I also watched the AMAs the first Sunday of vacation. Since my favorite male artist, Shawn Mendes was nominated and he performed I decide to watch it. The last days I just spent it with my cousins, watching movies, playing games, talking, singing, and the list goes on.

“Manners maketh man”

-William Wykeham

This statement means that depending on the manners we have that defines the type of person we are. If we have good manners then it is safe to assume that you are a good person and same goes if you have bad manners. Before we even know someone we always judge them depending on how nice they are to you or others. This is another reason why your manners matter so much because that is the first impression you give to others. If someone sees you being mean the first time they meet you they will think you are a mean person, even though they don’t know if you were just being mean that day and that you aren’t really like that. This is why you should always give people good first impression (even though those don’t really matter). For example, if it is my first day at school I always try to show how educated I am and I show my manners especially if adults are around. When they see me they will see me as a good educated person who has manners and this will show who I am. Now another example, if on my first day at a new school I decide to be rude to everyone and break the rules that is how people will see me even if that isn’t who I really am. This is why it is important to have manners everywhere you go, especially in front of people who are older than you. You can be different when you are surrounded by friends or family, but when it comes to meeting a new person you have to show your manners and be kind to those around you.

“If it is not right, do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.”

-Marcus Aurelius

This statement means that if you know that something isn’t right then why should you even get involve in it. You know that you will get in trouble for doing that so why go through all that when you can simply ignore and just walk away for it. For example if I know I’m not suppose to leave my house because my parents said so, but I still do it then I will get in trouble, especially if they find out. I already know what might happen before I do something or I can at least assume what will happen and that should stop me from doing anything that I know I shouldn’t. If I can prevent myself from getting in trouble then I won’t do it. The second part of the statement means to not tell lies. If you know that what you are saying isn’t true then why are you going to say it. For example, let’s say that my mom asked me what I did today and I tell her that I did homework and cleaned the house, but in reality I didn’t. What is the point of lying, she is still going to find out so you might as well be honest to her. When she gets home she will know it is a lie and know that you lied to her, she might ground you and you won’t be allowed to do anything. You already knew this will happen and you could of easily avoid this by telling the truth. We can prevent so many things from happening if we were just honest to each others and did what we should.

Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving started on 1621 by Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians. In 1817, New York was one of the first states to celebrate Thanksgiving. It wasn’t until 1863, midst of the Civil War, that President Lincoln made it an official holiday in the United States. Everyone celebrates it differently, for example people for are religious celebrate Thanksgiving as a day to give thanks to God for everything he has given us. Back then Thanksgiving was a more religious holiday, but now it is center more around eating turkey and spending time with family. We also watch parades now, they have actually become a big part of Thanksgiving, especially the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade which takes place in New York since 1924. Thanksgiving is just a way of getting together with your family, eating as much food as you can, but most importantly it is a day when you give thanks to everyone for everything they have given you, especially God. The day in which Thanksgiving is held changes every year, but it is always on the fourth Thursday of November. The day after Thanksgiving stores have something called “Black Friday” which is when stuff are “cheaper”, but in reality it is the same price or it just went down by a little. This day is when many people go Christmas shopping because they think it is better during that day.

What I’m Thankful For

1. My Family
2. Everything good and bad I have experience
3. Having a house, water, food, clothing
4. Having people who love and support me
5. Having an education
6. Living the life I have; isn’t perfect, but still great
7. My mom, who provides me with things I need and want
8. Getting the chances to meet people that I support
9. Having amazing people who always taught me to be kind to others
10. Living in California since people in other places don’t have such a good life
11.  Having the necessary things to achieve my goals and dreams
12. Having amazing friends

 

Move Forward

• Stop walking out
• Stop messing up property due to protest
• Write petitions
• Knowing the most important problems at the moment
• Speaking up about what is important and what we care about
• Having our schools provide better opportunities that will educate us on elections and our government
• Speak up when you don't agree with something
• Forget about it
• Change the system
• Vote
• Get involve
• Be optimistic
• Move to Canada
• Forget and Forgive
• Learn from your mistakes
• Make better choices
• Plan your choices
• Voice your opinion
• Be more confident
• Accept the fact that he's president
• Stop giving reactions because that's what he wants
• Voice your thought in a positive way
• Help/Support each other
• Encourage others to vote
• Help your community
• Accept the outcomes
• Make people feel safe
• Equality for everyone
• Not rely too much on social media
• Respect people beliefs and opinions
• Make smart decisions
• Choose the right 24/7

"Doing what is right, fair, and honorable is more important than winning or losing."

-Chick Moorman

This statement means that you feel bad if you win unfairly, but if you lose by doing what is right than you won't feel bad about losing. It is always better to do what is right than to do what is wrong and win. Winning unfairly will only last awhile, but if you do what is fair and still lose that will still last longer because you will have the feeling of doing right with you all the time. Doing what is fair, right, and honorable will stay with you longer than any reward you can possibly get. Those rewards may end up being destroyed or in the trash, but knowing that you did something good will always stay with you. For example, if I win an award, but I know I didn't deserve it than I won't feel good about it and I will have the guilt with me all the time. Now if I lose, but I know I didn't cheat my way to the top then I will feel good about it because I will always have the feeling that I did what was fair. Now don't think that it is better to lose than win, sometimes you can win by doing what is right and that is honestly better. You won't only feel good about doing what is right, but you will also feel happy about winning. Winning isn't the best thing in the world and that shouldn't be your focus in life, you should always keep your mindset in trying to always do what is right, fair, and honorable.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day is a holiday held on the anniversary of World War I. On this day you honor the US victims and veterans of all the wars. This holiday is celebrated every November 11 in the United States. The purpose of Veterans Day is to honor and remember those who fought in the World Wars, those who fought and are still with us. Veterans Day isn't only celebrate in the US, Canada celebrates it too, but it's called Remembrance Day instead. Also in Britain they hold a moment of silence (2 minutes) at 11 am on November 11, they have Remembrance Sunday (the second Sunday of November). It is important to show honor on Veterans Day because we have to acknowledge the sacrifice those soldiers did for us. We need to show appreciation to them, show our gratitude. Without them we wouldn't have freedom from those countries that where controlling us. Some way to honor them is to thank them if you ever see one, help them out if needed, and/or just talk to them and ask them about how they feel. Something of special interest to me about Veterans Day is that I like how we have kept this tradition and every year we honor those who fought for us. It is special how thanks to someone's bravery we were able to be free and independent. My feeling towards Veterans day is that, I'm very happy for those who risk their life for us. I will honor you all, even though I don't even know you guys. Your sacrifices will never be forgotten! I am happy that we have such brave men who decided to risk their life for us, so we have a better place. I'm very thankful for those who risk their life constantly for this country and for the people in this country, thank you! I also feel that it is good that we still honor them today. I feel so much gratitude towards the veterans because without them we wouldn't have this freedom. Finally, I feel that we should continue this holiday because I think it is important to continue showing support for them.

 

1.  Have the courage to say no.
2.  Have the courage to face the truth.
3.  Do the right thing because it is the right.

These are the 3 magic keys to living your life with integrity."

-W. Clement Stone

This statement means that in order to be responsible in life, you have to follow these three things. Have the courage to stand up to someone and not let them drag you all over the place. Be brave enough to say no and not let others tell you what you should do. Have the courage to stand up to your own friends when you know they are doing something they shouldn't. Be brave to stand up for yourself and do what you want to do, not what others say. You also need to have the courage to accept the truth, even when it hurts. Sometimes we love someone so much that we don't want to see the bad that they do to others and yourself as well. People try to tell us the truth and even when it hurts and it is just unbelievable, we have to learn to accept it. We have to open our eyes to those around us and see that at times you are better off without a certain someone, no matter the pain. Finally, the third magic key is to do what is right even in the hardest times. At times we want to do what we want, but it isn't the right thing. We need to have the courage to not let our wants be stronger than our needs. We have to always do what is right because that is the best way to live your life. Even if your friends are doing a certain thing you have to be strong enough to not do what they are doing if it isn't the right thing.

"He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed."

-Proverbs 13:20

This Proverb is trying to tell you that depending with who you hang out with, that is the person you will be. If you hang out with good people eventually you will become good and the same goes if you hang out with bad people. This is the reason why you have to choose your friends wisely, pick the ones that you know are  going to be good for you. For example, if you hang out with the bad crowd you will start doing bad things. You will end up being in jail and even worst you can get kill! They might be the coolest kids there are, but trust me they aren't worth getting in trouble for. Just like you can have bad influences you can also have good ones. For example, if you have good influences as friends, even if you are bad yourself you will become good because they will eventually rub off on you. Now for some people it is different, they aren't easily changed for good or bad. For example, I can hang out with bad people, but that doesn't mean I will become bad myself. I don't let people have that effect on me where they can change me. Hanging out with troublemakers doesn't mean you will become one of them, at the end of the day you are the one who makes that decisions. If you let others change you for the bad then it was all because you allowed it. To make sure you don't become bad just hang out with good people.

"The best recreation is to do good."

-William Penn

This statement means that the best way to be reborn is to do good. In order for you to be a different person you have to become better and you become better by doing what is right. In other words it is saying that if you want to start fresh, from the beginning, you have to start doing more good in the world or else you will never change. For example, if you have done some terrible things in the past and you want to change you have to start doing good stuff. This will help you start a new life, where you are a better you. This also means that the best thing you can ever do in live is doing what is right. No other thing, like swimming, playing soccer, etc., can be a better recreation than doing the right thing.