Strive for Greatness

(Quotes taken from the story "Miss Bessie")

“You’ll play football because you have guts.But do you know what really takes guts? Refusing to lower your standards to those of the crowd. It takes guts to say you've got to live and be somebody fifty years after all the football games are over.” Many people are afraid to stand out and make something of themselves because they are afraid of what people will think of them. But when you get older, none of the things people say about you now will be held against you later in life. So why not strive for greatness and try to better yourself for the future so you don’t get in bad habits now. Bad grammar, partying, drinking, ect. may make you seem “cool” now but they are going to affect you in future.

“If you don’t read, you can’t write, and if you can’t write, you might as well stop dreaming.” This is a huge statement in terms of schooling. Not only can this be taken seriously but can also be taken in a figurative way. Schooling in general follows this format, as do many things in life. If you don’t do this then you can’t do this. If you don’t go to school, you can’t go to college, and if you don’t go to college, you have a lower chance of getting a good, high paying job that you like. There is just a way of doing things in the world we live in and it comes in steps that you must follow.

My Name in my Perspective: Sydney

My name is Sydney, a name chosen out of a list of movie credits by the eyes of desperate parents.. A spanish name given to a girl from a history of French Canadians. A name meant for my older sister but got voted for her when a comment was made by a coworker. “You can call her SID for short! Like Sudden Infant Death Syndrome!” Yet the name carried on to me with the change of one letter. “Sy” instead of “Si” makes a difference. My name is sand grains stuck in your teeth from eating a sandwich on the beach. A twitch in your leg when you are on a nerve.  My name is a language no one speaks. It comes out of everyones mouth as if they are talking to an infant, unable to comprehend. My name should be Anastasia, Clare, or Natalie. These names are floating butterflies in the breeze. They are a sweet song sung by the orioles outside the bedroom window.

Anxiety is a Strength

(These are quotes from "Anxiety: Challenge by Any Other Name" relating to my own personal life)

“Do what makes you anxious; don’t do what makes you depressed.”  This relates to me in a very simple way. I always have a tendency of backing out of things that make me anxious. When I was younger I always wanted to play soccer but always backed out when it came to soccer season. I got nervous about being bad at soccer but always ended up being depressed when I didn’t play.

“Anxiety always arises when we confront the possibility of our own development.” This is a big quote for me when I have anything to do with school. I get bad anxiety when I am getting ready for a presentation or get called on to read to the class. I know these are skills that I have to work on so I get anxious on how it is going to go with my nervousness on top of it.

“You will never eliminate anxiety by avoiding the things that caused it.” I often avoid things that make me anxious just because I don’t like the feeling. I hate having the nervous jitters and anxiety usually stresses me out. The one thing I have learned, however, that this statement is very true. I used to get anxiety when going out onto the soccer field before a game and having everyone watching you play but I have grown to get over it and enjoy it.

“You can’t learn if you don’t try.” I always play out, in my head, what is going to happen before it actually does. When I do this I am just feeding my anxiety and worrying myself. But the fact of the matter is I will never learn what is going to happen if I don’t take a chance and go see what’s out there for myself.

“Accept anxiety as another name for a challenge and you can accomplish wonders.” I see anxiety not as a problem, anymore, but instead a challenge to overcome. Not only is anxiety a challenge in itself but by overcoming other obstacles, it can help to get over anxiety.

Unwanted Education: From a Teens Perspective

School is one of the easiest things in the world; so how come no one takes school seriously? If you stay on top of your work, then all students should have at least a 3.6 GPA by their Sophomore year. Many students, however, would rather fail every class their Freshman year and spend five years in high school instead of graduating on time.

One day, a couple other girls and I were sitting at our lunch table Sophomore year. We were discussing our GPA’s; well, they were while I listened. “I have a 2.6 GPA,” girl number one stated. I sat in shock but kept my mouth shut. “Wow. I have a 3.2 GPA!” commented girl number two. I listened intently waiting for another ditsy girl to say her crappy GPA. “Oh my gosh you guys are so smart! I only have a 2.4!” I sat there with astonishment, having a 3.85 GPA, listening to these people think a 2.4-3.2 GPA is amazing. After one year of high school no student should have below a 3.5. I didn’t dare say my GPA and blow them out of the water. They would have looked at me with wrinkled foreheads as they gave me their dirtiest looks.

The class of 2016. If you were sitting in my school, that is all I would have to say. Half the class can’t even graduate on time because they failed all of their freshman classes and then have the guts to call their other classmates “Try hard” as if an insult to those who can graduate on time. They laid around everyday in class for their first year of high school as if the point of the seven hour school day was a long nap time. They would make fun of the students who got their homework done on time and finished their Freshman year with a solid 3.5 or better. The school day to them is more about talking crap and gossiping than working towards their future.

An international occurrence in all schools are those lazy people who sleep in class. There is always that one person who never turns in anything and fails every test because they sleep their way through school. This one kid in my class will sleep and sleep and sleep! The teacher will wake him up, he will say a bold faced lie,“I have been awake!”, and then quickly shut his eyes once more. The teacher proceeds to teach the rest of the class and ignores the snorefest in the corner. The student wakes up right as everyone is about to leave, turn to the person next to him and say, “What did we learn?” No one ever tells him seeing as we all know he won’t do the work anyways.

Some students sleep during class but only the videos. She will sleep during the video just to wake up at the end to say, “Did we just watch a video?” No, Sweetheart, we just all like staring at the whiteboard as colors flash before our eyes. Don’t worry you didn’t miss half the lesson or anything. I can guarantee it won’t be on a test thats for sure!

Some students don’t understand the point of high school, or maybe they do but just don’t care enough to stay awake. This is the only chance to show colleges what you’re made of, so why would you sit around and pretend it doesn’t matter? Just remember no pickles when you are making my cheeseburger at Wendy’s.

The Key to Happiness

Happiness comes from within. Everyone creates their own happiness from their perspective in life; on the other hand, happiness can be created or demolished by those around you. Happiness can be contagious.

When I was walking through Walmart one day I saw an old lady who had dropped a can of soup that she was trying to put in her cart. I was in a good mood, and it looked like she was having a rough day, so I picked it up and placed it in her cart. She turned to me with a huge wrinkled smile and said to me, “God bless your young heart. I guess there really are good people left in the world! Thank you so much!” I smiled back at her and said, “You’re welcome” and carried on my way. Before I left I saw her once more; however, this time she was smiling. I caught a part of her conversation with another girl, and she was talking about me. She seemed to have a bit of a glow to her now.

Sometimes, though, there aren't people around you to make you smile and to give you happiness. I was home alone a couple weeks ago feeling sad while I worked on my homework; nothing I did turned out right. I started to get frustrated. I took a deep breath and closed my book. I was getting nowhere and knew I needed a break. I grabbed my dog, hooked her to her leash, and walked out the door. With my first step out the door I already began to feel better. The cold wind hit my face which was refreshing from being in the stuffy house all day. We walked down the dirt road to a cliff above the lake; I sat down and listened to the waves crash against the shore. I had become happy once again.

There are times that happiness can be ruined. Just as happiness is contagious, so can other emotions. I was sitting on the bus minding my own business. I was in a great mood: the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the wind was blowing; I was as happy as could be. I suddenly got a phone call and looked at the screen. My boyfriend! I was smiling and talking on the phone with him. The conversation was short seeing as he was only calling to say good-morning, so I hung up and began to gaze out the window once more. “Who calls at 7 in the morning?!” my friend said to me. I began to get embarrassed and feel stupid for being so happy. “My boyfriend. He was saying good-morning..” I responded; this time I was talking without a smile on my face. “Well that's dumb.” My happiness faded into the background.

Into the ER

Last year on September 10th, I will never forget that day, I spent that day in the hospital. It was a brisk night and my allergies were bad. On top of my allergies, I was also getting sick. My asthma had been pretty bad for a few days before that but this day was one of the worst.

I sat in a rocking chair, watching television, holding my inhaler firmly in my right hand. Breath in, breath out. I bright the inhaler up to my lips and inhaled the steroid for the 12th time that day, two puffs each time. I was getting light headed but I knew my lungs wouldn’t stay open if i set down my inhaler for more than an hour. An emergency inhaler is only supposed to be used at a maximum of four times in one day, on puff each time. I had used 24 puffs in the last 18 hours. I waited, watching the clock. Another asthma attack. The distance between my attacks were getting shorter and my inhaler was no longer effective. I grasped my inhaler tighter, took a wheezing breath of air, and walked out to the car.

8:45 P.M. my mom and I arrived at the hospital. The crisp air of the hospital helped a little bit as we entered the building. I checked in and went and sat in the waiting room. Trying to stay relaxed, I grabbed a magazine and began flipping through the pages; however, I was only pretending to read it. My mind was racing. I didn’t get a room till 10:55.

I entered my hospital room and found I was sharing it with an infant who was having trouble breathing as well. I got handed a nebulizer and began to breath in the steroid and bronchodilator mix. I felt my chest open up after the first respiration. I have never breathed that well in my entire life. The doctor came back in and asked me how many times I used my inhaler that day. I responded, “12 times, two puffs each time”. His eyes were wide with amazement. I was told I should have come in way earlier. That much steroid being put into my lungs was harmful. I now know to see a doctor if I have to use my inhaler more than four times a day.

Risky Party

It was a Saturday night and my parents were out on a date night. Me and my sister decided to throw a party; this ended up being a bad idea. It was one in the morning, and the party was starting to get pretty wild. There were people everywhere: up the stairs, in the closet, on the porch, and in the yard. I knew the party was out of my control, and I would just have to watch it till it died down. I stood at the top of the stairs, listening to the loud music blaring as people danced throughout the place. I couldn’t possibly count how many people were there. There was a sudden loud crash that came from the kitchen. The music stopped, and I bolted to the kitchen. When I got into the kitchen, I wondered into the middle of the ring the crowd had created. I looked at the faces of everyone and then moved my gaze to the floor. It was broken glass. My eyes went wide when I realized it was my moms favorite vase. I stared at it for about 10 minutes straight; I would have stared longer but a bright light swept through the kitchen window. It was my parents headlights and I was caught like a deer in the road. My sister came up behind me, glaring at me. I started to sweat.

My sister grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me out the back door. She warned me to take a deep breath and to calm down. She began pulling me to the shed outside and put me inside. Her idea was to hide and pretend we didn’t know about the party like we were never home. If mom asked, I was told to tell her that my sister and I had gone to spend the night at our cousins house. I was then supposed to continue to lie and say that the school found out we weren’t home and used our house as their party location. She had convinced me.

We hid in the shed, listening to everyone exit the party. The loud rumble of my dads voice echoed through the neighborhood. I began to shook but tried to stay quiet.

When the attention turned to the front of the house, my sister and I snuck out of the shed and tried to sneak out of the yard. The crunch of leaves, however, blew our cover. It was time for me to step forward. My mom came up behind me, crying. I was thrown off by her lack of anger. “I’m so glad you are ok! These teenager broke into the house!” her voice quaked. I look of curiosity rolled over my face, but I stayed quiet. My sister spoke up before my mom could continue her thoughts. “They broke your vase mom!” I looked at my sister and she winked at me. Now I understood. Another lie to cover it all up. My mom didn’t seem to care however. She was just happy we were safe.