Our Last Group of Writers!

 All Students:  Be sure to read the entries for this group --April writers).  Everyone is required to comment on at least THREE different pieces of writing.  You must submit comments on Canvas (for each one, include the name of the author and the title of their piece, and then your positive, specific comment ) by Friday, May 10 on Canvas.

Remember, comments must be positive, original, personal, supportive, constructive, and SPECIFIC.  No "Good Job!" comments, unless you follow that with specific things you thought were done well in the piece.  Show them you actually took the time to read and enjoy their work!

“Facing Regret” By Breanna C.

Ian Cox Speas states, “No pain is unbearable except that of regret.” What makes regret one of the most unshakable feelings individuals have? How is it so impactful?

            The dictionary definition of regret is a feeling of sorrow or remorse for a fault, act, loss, or disappointment. It is felt around the world, whether it is about education, romantic relationships, finance, health, etc. I strongly believe it stems from the possibilities of the “what if.” Endless scenarios, thoughts, and feelings go through your head when you ponder about how different the outcomes of your life could have been. It is something I have experienced and struggled with a lot more than I anticipated growing up, and I continue to battle these constant “what ifs.”

            Choosing between one thing over another, whether it is work or fun, a stable career or true passion, and a decline or acceptance all have one thing in common. Opportunity. Opportunity provides a variety of possibilities, and with many possibilities comes success and failure. This is where regret comes into play when you choose something over another, and it ends up not being as glorified or expected as it was in the moment. You begin to rethink your choice and how differently things would have turned out. Sometimes regret can come later in life, when you’ve gone through many ups and downs to know what you took for granted or overlooked. Due to the strong emotions connected to failure and disappointment, it is a reason why the feeling of sorrow can linger for longer periods of time, even when the situation has passed.

Although it is strictly seen with a negative connotation, the feeling of regret can be a significant eye-opener and a way to learn from past mistakes. Self-improvement and reflection can be derived from the overbearing sense of guilt one has due to personal decisions. I regret not being a better daughter and friend at some points in my life. I regret not making good educational choices when it came to procrastination and building discipline. I regret not being nicer to myself when I made mistakes or when something did not go as planned. So much regret but little I can do to change the past. With this being said, all that could be done is to stop dwelling on previous circumstances, but rather pinpoint what I could do better from now on so I can avoid feeling even more remorse in the future. It is unfortunately not a nice emotion to feel, especially when you know you could've done better or did more. However, like any other emotion, it won’t consume you if you don’t let it.

Everyone will face situations in their lifetime where they will feel regret, some more than others. Living in the past does not help overcome the guilt, but rather just replays it. Instead of trying to relieve it as a way to degrade yourself, it can be used as a way to self-reflect and move on with your life knowing what you could do for your future. Regret is not always bad, but not learning from it is even worse.

 

 

Work Cited

“REGRET Definition & Meaning.” Dictionary.com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/regret. Accessed 19 April 2024.

 

"In a Good Way" by Hanry G

 

Love: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties

 

The word Love can be interpreted as the stereotypical definition; their affection for their significant other. In other words, love can mean they find interest in a particular subject or tend to enjoy the matter to an elevated extent. But in my situation, the definition was expressed differently.

When asked about the term love, I referred to the relationship between me and my family. Of course, at a young age I believed that was the broad meaning of love but as time gradually progressed; the term began to broaden in definition. I realized that the emotion my parents portrayed and released was unconditional, almost artificial. I’m not saying their ways of expressing the emotion were negative. They are the best parents I can ask for in the world. However, it just felt like something was missing and the definition wasn’t completed. I went on with life and experienced new things, trying new food, and hobbies, and meeting new friends. I loved secluding myself in this environment and it felt nice but it still felt incomplete. Fast forward to the beginning of high school, I began to search for an interest and a passion. Experiencing these four years has led to the greatest memories in my life and the realization of the term love.

I encountered a variety of people, ranging from individuals who weren’t fit for my niche or classmates that I befriended because they made the time go by quicker than usual. But my whole perspective changed when I encountered this particular woman, “A”. Now this girl, was a bundle of what love is classified to be. Love finally felt evident and real for the first time. Usually, love is used in sentences but the way I felt was far more than words can describe. It felt ecstatic and surreal, every moment and time feeling so slow, yet so fast. Love felt comfortable and open, not narrow like a tunnel; but free and breathable like an open road. “A” showed me both sides of love, the negative and the positives. Yet, even if it came with the negatives; I still experienced the joy and emotion because it felt realistic. That’s what love is, realistic and unartificial. I finally felt the comfortability with another human being, whom isn’t related to me by blood but by soul. Love was no longer a confusing and misunderstood term, a term that I thought was the correct meaning growing up as a child. It’s interesting knowing the world and even school wasn’t able to teach me something so simple and minimal, yet brought a significant impact to my existence.

Now if someone currently asks me what the definition of the word Love means. I can finally give a precise and accurate definition. I not only would describe the word or saying of the phrase. But I would dissect and dive deep into the individual who gave me the feeling from the beginning. Love: The emotion we humans feel, when we finally receive acceptance and cherishment, despite what enfolds in our past and present.

 

 

Sources:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/love

 

 

"Success" by Natalie G

 

Over time I have particularly recognized that my academic accomplishments do not quite bring me a sense of satisfaction when I thought they would since it is what I devote most of my time to. This is not to be taken in a depressing way, just a realistic realization of what brings me closer to defining my idea of “success”. I think this is because as soon as I achieve a certain goal of mine, I am always looking forward to the next without stopping to appreciate my hard work.

 

Now, evidently, success is identified for each individual in a unique way. Some may picture success through wealth, others in an educational form (like obtaining a doctorate), others through fame, and even others by forming a family; these are just some of plenty of other different examples. Essentially, the amazing part is that individuals can support whichever ideology they connect with the most, live with it, and respect others’ perspectives.

 

Oxford Languages defines success as, “The accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” Their definition of success is very generalized opposed to Maya Angelou’s definition upon which I agree with, “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” I interpreted her definition to convey the idea that success falls within one’s character development in learning more about ourselves and shaping the life we idolize based on our understanding of our wants and needs.

 

A successful person is confident, joyful, and can uplift others; they do not feel like they need someone, they are satisfied with having themselves (this does not mean that they have to be alone, just that their emotional state does not depend on others). Therefore, people can begin to be successful by taking the time to spend quality time with themselves and contemplate different areas of their lives they want to improve or simply question how they feel about it. These can be emotional as to understanding what makes you mad and why that makes you mad. Why don’t you have patience? What has caused you to not have patience? (see, just prompting questions).

 

Self-awareness is key! I find frustration with not knowing what to do. I detest the feeling of being lost and disconnected from myself; it makes me feel as if I have abandoned my shell. Therefore, some practical activities that make me happy are watching sad movies (ironic), spending time with my cousins, creating vision boards, listening to podcasts, cleaning, and learning more about a new topic. These bring me a fondness for inspiration and can make me feel productive after a long day.

 

Nonetheless, if there is anything that this blog should highlight, let it be this: Never stop questioning yourself, it is the way to uncover many more characteristics within you. Take the time and patience to get to know more about yourself by practicing new activities that will bring out new feelings out of you that can hopefully cause you to get closer to being a successful person.

 

Works Cited

Adu-Wusu, Euegene. “The Meaning of Success and How to Define Success in Life.” LinkedIn, 3 February 2016, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/meaning-success-how-define-life-eugene-adu-wusu/. Accessed 18 April 2024.

Catron, Jenni. “How Self-Awareness Will Make You Successful.” The Grit and Grace Project, https://thegritandgraceproject.org/purpose/how-self-awareness-will-make-you-successful. Accessed 18 April 2024.

Robak, Lucas J. “25 Definitions of Success from Very Accomplished People | by Lucas J. Robak | Thrive Global.” Medium, 3 December 2017, https://medium.com/thrive-global/25-definitions-of-success-from-very-accomplished-people-d3c43955e40e. Accessed 18 April 2024.

 

"The Challenging Journey" by Mark K

 

Eight years old-that is when my whole life was changed after my family decided to migrate from Egypt to the United States. At the time, I didn’t fully grasp the idea that I would be leaving my home and being thousands of miles away from all of my friends and the rest of my family.

 

As I was growing up in Egypt, family wasn’t merely a concept, it established my whole life. I would spend most of my time with my cousins that ranged from all ages. Some who were much older and wiser than me would teach me many lessons that I could never forget. Others who were much younger, would spend their time with me playing for countless hours. Relationships that were so similar to those of siblings. During special occasions such as birthdays or weddings, I would get to see my distant family such as my second cousins or my parents’ cousins. One would expect that the relationship between us would be awkward and uncomfortable.However, they would still treat me with unwavering love and shower me with gifts. These types of relationships can never be replaced by strangers that have not watched you grow up. Little did I know that being so far away from my family would be what I miss most from my old life. I still remember the sad looks and tears on everyone’s faces as they dropped us off at the airport.

 

It was now time to start my new life in a foreign country. My first memory of arriving here in the US is as soon as my family and I stepped outside of the airport. Everything in my new environment seemed brighter and the air smelled pungent. I felt a surge of excitement, longing for my cousins to share in this exciting new chapter of my life.

 

A month or so later, I started school. I dreaded my first few months as I was not able to communicate with any of my classmates or my teachers. Even though the teachers tried to be understanding, I couldn't help but feel like I didn't quite fit in. It was like I was on the outside looking in, as they'd often pull me aside for lessons that felt watered-down compared to what the rest of the class was learning. This only seemed to underline the differences between me and my classmates, making me feel even more isolated. This still led me to confusion as many of the assignments encouraged critical thinking. However, my education in Egypt was based on a structured affair, as it included memorization and strictly adhered to the curriculum. Aside from the confusion which was brought on, I enjoyed having the freedom of exploring my interests and expressing my newfound freedom.

 

Despite the language barrier between my classmates and I, many welcomed me and helped me with my school work and advancing my vocabulary of the English language. I encountered many differences in lifestyle as I got to know people who have lived their lives in the US and I tried to adapt to such differences in order to try and fit in. My parents would encourage me when I was feeling down due to my frustration of not being able to communicate with my new friends and feeling like they would always be better than me in that aspect. 

 

As the days went by, my life became more enjoyable as I made new friends and would spend time with them after school. I also would find myself to explore many new opportunities such as joining a swim club. Every day would bring on a new challenge in which I would triumph. Although my life was not pleasurable after being completely reconstructed, I was able to accept that the change was for me to live a life in which I could explore my freedom and effectively succeed as I will be able to choose my own career doing something that I enjoy.

 

To this day, I am still influenced by my old life in Egypt and have accepted that my differences don’t cause me to be an outcast, but they develop my character. One thing that I still miss is seeing my family almost every day and having countless memories made with them. Although I still see them almost every year, I realized that our relationship has immensely changed from what it once was. I see that they all still have that special bond as they all continued to grow up together. I still maintain a good relationship with my cousins and their unconditional love and support still inspire me to be the best version of myself.

"Exist As You Are " by Lorenzo R

 

“Hesitation is defeat” - Isshin Ashura

 

            As this is my fourth time restarting my writing, I’ve come to realize the true art of overthinking. At first I bounced around ideas of ambition or consciousness or existence, but I thought too hard about how to portray them in a way that wasn’t generic or lackluster. Now, as I’m sitting here, I find myself 30 minutes from 11:59 with almost nothing. Overthinking is not an activity or an action but I believe it is truly an art form. Merriam-Webster defines overthinking as, “putting too much time into thinking about or analyzing”, but I believe it is beyond this. Overthinking, as simple as it may seem, requires endless loops of creativity. It is like analyzing a chess game trying to find the best move, the detriment in this though is that your clock never stops ticking. Think too little and you’ll make the wrong move, but think too much, and you’ll have no time to make a move at all. This is why I believe overthinking is a fine art form. Like an abstract painting, overthinking throws conventions to the side to make room for splotches that can be interpreted, and reinterpreted and ultimately you are left realizing that it probably never meant anything in the first place.

The art of overthinking requires true sentience and complex thought, it requires human nature at its most nuanced form. It requires the true irrationality we all possess and a disregard for the obvious answer of “who cares”.  The concept of Occam’s Razor, otherwise known as the Law of Parsimony, best encapsulates this, asserting that the explanation or reasoning for something is often the simplest reasoning available. This is what makes overthinking such a uniquely human experience, and such a detrimental one at that. No lion has ever pondered over its next meal, it simply hunts, eats, and sleeps. The time wasted in overthinking is its most damaging factor, and overall time is the one thing we can’t afford to waste.

Another aspect of overthinking I find interesting is the social implications that I believe cause it. People often overthink about their relationships, or how they appear to others and fail to realize their own ego in doing so. The slightly sad truth is that most people don’t truly care as much as you think they do, and if they do, their opinions ultimately hold little weight. Wanting to be liked by others is natural but its important to differentiate when someone’s opinion matters and when it doesn’t. Overthinking takes all variables into consideration but fails to account for the fact that some of these variables don’t even matter in the first place. That is why I believe overthinking is such a profound artistic process because I believe it takes a truly creative person to imagine problems in places they don’t exist, and then find solutions to these nonexistent problems. At the end of the day, the art of overthinking is ultimately a hinderance, the lowest of art forms, and it is important to live in the moment; to exist as you are instead of as you will be. Living in the present allows you to be able to realize when you’re thinking too much and instead of thinking, doing. Instead of hesitating ultimately just go for it, whatever it may be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Eighteen, but long to be Ten" by Rebekah P

   

The word “adulthood” for me is a hard pill to swallow, it's the realization of transition. But transition also means change and one might argue that change also means growth. I am eighteen you see, but long to be ten. I want to worry about insignificant issues. I want to worry if I have enough money for the book fair, not if I have enough money to get a well-rounded education to pursue my goals. I want to worry about the weather and if it rains, so that I can put on my polka dot glitter rain boots and stomp onto the puddles and not worry about the seasonal sadness that comes with rain that I face every year. I want to worry about the monsters in the dark under my bed and the comfort it brings when my mom reassures me that there is none. I want to worry about hurting my stuffed animals' feelings when I pay more attention to one stuffed animal than the others. I want to worry about the imaginary tea being piping hot when playing with my tea set.  I want to worry about getting caught stealing my mom’s makeup that I used just to put on ridiculous amounts of eyeshadow all over my face. However, only to be faced with the realization that I am no longer 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 years old. It's been challenging for me to understand that I will never experience all the things listed above until my kids experience it themselves. The harsh reality is that I'm closer to adulthood than I’ll ever be again to my childhood and oh how I will miss it. But transition is growth and growth is good but growing up isn't always so kind. It introduces goodbyes, uncertainty, expectations, responsibilities, and financial stresses which are all aspects of adulthood that make the transition process rather challenging. I believe growing up means outgrowing yourself, outgrowing the make-believe fantasy that once was created when you were ten. Outgrowing the fear of “cooties” and growing into the idea of intimacy. Outgrowing your polka dot glitter rain boots and growing into simple sneakers. It's outgrowing your bedroom which highlighted your love for pink and growing into the color black. Reminiscing to the kid I once was is all a part of maturing, accepting that I am in fact 18 and not 10.  I can't worry about the book fair, the muddy puddles, the monsters. Mainly because I like simple sneakers, the color black, the dark, and coffee instead of tea. I don't have it all figured out but that's the thing about being eighteen, you are expected to come of age and establish your own beliefs and values. Turning 18 is considered a milestone but the truth is navigating through new experiences is something that scares me but it's not so much the path but the idea that that final destination might be failure. When I was 10 I was quite competitive. I never liked to come last when running the mile. I never liked to be found first when playing hide and seek but I guess some things never change because now at 18 I still don't like to be last. I like to perform and to succeed in what I perform in. I do not like to fail nor do I want to fail in upcoming years because to me I have not only failed myself but I have failed my 10-year-old self who was only concerned for her own happiness. So for me, the word, “adulthood” means a journey of growth and new moments to learn that life is unpredictable but when challenges come and, that they will, the lessons will only bring you guidance and wisdom. Because with each new year brings a new age and in the 365 days that you live you will continuously outgrow yourself. So, accept the transition, adulthood is hard, you will fall but you will also heal, so yell and you will be heard, and experience to learn. Growing up is bittersweet but growing up doesn't end when you are eighteen, it continues, so grow and outgrow yourself and outgrow yourself some more to fully grasp that being eighteen is only the beginning so live life as if you were ten years old, embrace the joy and simplicity that life could bring. The freedom one experiences when they are no longer a kid is a wondrous feeling and where the real story of your journey of life starts. Because somewhere between then and now you will long to be eighteen again.

"No Job? No Problem" by Jorge R

 

 

            I stand skeptically in front of this unknown man, analyzing his every word and movement. His name is Ralph. I’ve never seen him prior to this meeting, yet he seems trustworthy enough. Nonetheless, I keep my guard up and continue inspecting the motorcycle for anything that mismatches Ralph’s story. The bike was clean. I had played my cards right the entire evening and came up with a deal that was almost too good to be true.

 

One of the most beneficial lessons I have learned is that time is the most valuable commodity. As a student-athlete and multi-club member, time of my own is rarely available. I started looking for a job as soon as I turned 15 years old, though due to my lack of availability, I was rejected everywhere I applied. While spending the days trying to figure out how else I could make money, I was reminded of the “side hustles” I ran during my elementary and middle school years.

 

 Reselling is the art of purchasing goods or services to sell them at a higher price to make a profit. During my 4th grade year, fidget spinners were going viral and rapidly gaining popularity among the students at my school. It was not long before I caught onto the trend and decided to take full advantage of it.  “Brand new fidget spinner, in the color of your choice, brought directly to you the very next day for only $5”. I offered a product and service deal that was too good for any elementary school student to turn down. Although my business did eventually blemish, (due to the district-wide ban on fidget spinners) I had learned that making money without a job was very much possible through enough creativity and dedication.

 

            As I grew older, I became more and more driven by curiosity into the world of business. I had started a variety of small businesses and “side hustles” to find out which was the most profitable. While studying the concept of reselling, I came up with a strategy that inevitably changed the whole game for me. Rather than selling unfamiliar products and services to consumers whom I did not understand, I decided to resell items that were part of a niche in which I was already an expert.

 

The concept of motorized vehicles has always been a passion of mine. I started riding motorcycles at 5 years old and quickly grew obsessed with the adrenaline it awarded me with. This was the perfect category for me to focus on because it is one I have had the most experience. At the age of 13, I purchased a non-running go-kart for $300 from my neighbor. I spent 3 straight weekends getting everything working right and looking pretty and I was beyond excited. At the end of it all, I listed my go-kart for sale online and successfully sold it for $1000.

 

During the following years, I spent my free time repeating the same process with different low-risk items. Today I continue expanding my reselling enterprise by experimenting with different motorcycles and cars to find the most profitable vehicle. Though it does take lots of knowledge and dedication to succeed, time itself is not a necessity for it can be done simply during your free time.

"The Journey or the Destination? " by Alondra Z

 

“If you don't know where you’re going, any road can get you there.”

  - Lewis Carroll

I strongly believe that the destination is the most significant part of the journey. Some may argue that it isn't the destination of the journey itself. However, without a destination we would all just be wandering endlessly searching for our purpose. When in reality, we haven't even identified what that is yet. How could you choose the best path to go down when you don't even know where you're going? The answer is simple, you can't. You can't arrive at your final destination without knowing what it is. Unless you have an end goal, any path is as good as the other. In other words, any road will get you where you want to go. The issue is that everyone assumes that you will ultimately arrive at your set destination, therefore it's not really something people think about. However, due to this mindset, many people never end up reaching their true goals in life. First, you need goals. Then, you can achieve them. Sure you learn through the value of experiences, but in the end, reaching your desired destination is what makes you value the journey more.

This applies to us specifically because we are at the point in our lives where we are deciding what colleges we want to attend, what careers we want to pursue, and what person we want to become. However, it's not an easy decision to make. More often than not, the thought overwhelms us and we tend to disregard it and just “go with the flow” to see where the path takes us. But what good is not having any direction in life, not having a goal, not knowing where you’re going? Ultimately, the outcome is the same and you go nowhere. Without direction, you are adrift in the course of life, susceptible to all life's problems, and completely without recourse. On the contrary, with direction, you have a sense of guidance that with every step taken, will bring you closer to fulfilling your purpose.

Despite it seeming like a very overwhelming process, it doesn't necessarily have to be. The first step is to have a solid foundation of core values. Guiding principles that lead your life and guide you towards the path to achieve your goals. This allows you to identify the certain goal that you are chasing. However, that doesn't mean that you can’t deviate or adjust your goals as you continue to learn and grow over time. The whole point is to be chasing something, if there's no drive then there's no reward. In this case, the journey and experiences you make along the way will be the reward for getting to your destination. For example, would you continue playing your sport if all you did was practice? With no games or competitions to show the outcome of the work you put in? Probably not. It's true, the journey is how we arrive at the destination. However, without a destination there would be no journey.  It's like trying to hit a moving target, it's difficult, but what happens when there is no target at all? There's just no purpose.

To get what you want out of life, you can never get there without a destination, without a goal. Ask yourself where you're going. If your response is "anywhere," then you're likely already there.