I believe in going after what I want because everyone deserves more than one chance to get what they want. One time when I was 11 years old, I was with my father on the Southside of Chicago at a shopping mall.  I saw a really pretty outfit that I liked, but it cost a lot of money, because it was name brand and I told him to buy it for me. When I handed him the outfit he told me that I can’t always get what I want because there will lots of things in this world that I would want, but I wouldn’t be able to get them. So I told him “I can get anything that I want because my mommy and daddy have the money!” So I began to pout and carry on until he bought it. One other time in the summer I was 13 years old and I saw a really cute guy that I had my eye on. I told my niece that I can get him to talk to me. She said “I’ll bet you $25 that you can’t get him to talk you, because that boy looks too good!”Just to shut her up I gave him a “friendly” wave and he asked me my name and began to tell me how good I looked. After he walked off she got really mad and said “just because he asked your name doesn’t mean he actually liked you!” I said “but that wasn’t the deal, the deal was that I can get him to talk to me, and next time you say that I can’t get what I want think twice because I get any and everything that I want, oh yeah where’s my $25 ?!” There was also another experience I had in my life where someone thought I couldn’t get what I wanted. My older brother bet me $50 that I couldn’t get anything that I wanted for the whole day. I took him up on that offer because I know that I can; besides that was easy money in my pocket. I asked my mom if I could go out and hang with my friends. She said no not until you do your chores and you homework. I began to cry and get mad, but she still told me no.  I went upstairs to my room and about 5 minutes later she told that I can go ahead, but I need to get my chores done and do my homework when I get back in.         Don’t ever let anyone tell what you can or cannot get because I know that I can get what I want. I’m not saying you should cry for what you because then they’ll think you’re acting childish and then you would not get whatever you are trying to get. If you still don’t get you want try being nice about it then later on try asking again, maybe they’ll give it to you because they saw you took it easily.

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I’ve always asked myself what my parents ever teach me in life. The answer always came out unknown.  Ever since the very first time I asked the question and came out with no answer, I was deeply disappointed. There was really nothing to look up to in my family because it seems like everybody doesn’t show any good qualities. It’s a dysfunctional family. And I’ve never thought that that doubt and dislike would soon change into a belief in blood is thicker than water. In the summer of 2007 I was bound to a doctor’s appointment in Chicago. It was meant to happen for just a day but things got unexpectedly complicated and the appointment extended to over a week. In order to go to Chicago, I had to be separated for my family for a period of a week and live with distant relatives that live there. I was looking forward to it since I was finally spending time away from my family. However things don’t always go as expected. The first couple days came and felt awkward. The absence of my family’s presence and the alien surroundings that came to me when I woke up was saddening. I had to admit, I was homesick and more than that, I miss my family. One afternoon as I was trying to entertain myself by reading a Gardening magazine a startling question came to my mind. Do I have family? It made me laugh for the first part but an overwhelming sadness soon came afterwards. Then the idea deepened as I started to think how lucky I am compare to other people in this world. Everyday numbers of children turn into orphans. These kinds of people don’t have a brother or a sister and some might even have no family at all. These people are the ones with nobody to care for them, nobody to love them, to nobody to depend on, no family. I was in bed the next day, thinking myself to sleep. I’ve only been here for five days and it seems ironic to miss my family already when I don’t even like them that much. I started pondering for reasons why I feel this longing for them. At that moment I just started thinking about the bright side of the family. My brother can be such a jerk to me, and he’s the member of the family who I dislike the most. I realize he’s the one that teaches me to be tough and he gives spunk in my life. I learned that having a perfect life isn’t the real meaning of happiness because nothing’s really perfect and happiness really is appreciating what you have. The last night I stayed in Chicago I have concluded my thoughts. My family might not be the best in the world but they are considered a gift and blessing to me. No matter how your family makes you angry or sad, just learn to see through their flaws and learn to like them. I believe that they’re your foundation in life and no matter how much they don’t meet your expectation of a perfect family, they’re there for you. Just like the saying, blood is thicker than water.

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I believe in repetition because you don’t get anywhere without doing it over and over again. How do you think major league players got where they are today? They either hit and hit and hit or shoot and shoot and shoot. Kids think it is dumb to do something over and over again.  But they don’t know that it is really helping them.  If they want to become like the people that they think are awesome, then they need to practice the same thing over and over again to get better at it.    I haven’t got where I am at baseball without doing the same thing over and over again. I do one thing over and over again to get better at it. I now get compliments from high school baseball coaches because I’m so good. For example, I had a high school coach come up to me and ask me to move to Westville with him. He wanted me to come and pitch for his team. This would not have happened if I didn’t practice my form and release over and over again. Your parents are a good source of repetition. They help you succeed in life and sports. They encourage you to do better. My dad encourages me all the time because he knows I can do better. He wants me to go further than what he did. He went to Lakeland College and was their starting catcher. He did things over and over again to get where he did. He caught and caught and caught every day until could no more. He wants me to do the same so I’m going to do repetition for catching until I can know more just like him. That’s what repetition gets you. I believe in repetition because you couldn’t get anywhere whit out it. It has helped to succeed the thing I want to do.

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I believe everyone should have equal rights.  I think this because of height and weight discrimination.  I can barely go on a roller coaster because of my height. Some people don’t even get to be five feet tall. I am in the eighth grade at a height of four eleven and ninety two pounds. Really heavy or tall people experience this to they can’t fit.  They also have people looking at them for how different they from them. Same thing for waterslides you have to be a certain height and a certain weight. So height and weight discrimination is still in affect. You can help stop this from happening any more.

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I believe in life in Heaven or Hell after death because if I didn’t I would have no hope in life. I go to church and I have all my life and it has just been a fact to me that when you die life isn’t over you go to heaven. I never even thought about it as a kid. I just knew if you believe in God and God coming to earth in human form as baby Jesus and Jesus died for our sin and was resurrected. When I got baptized I accepted God and my belief of going to heaven for myself and continue believing this. When my grandpa died I was really upset and kind of scared but I read John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son and who ever shall believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” The part about the eternal life is what comforted me I knew he believed so he was in heaven looking down. Heaven isn’t the only place you could go when you die there is hell. When a non believer (believer of God coming to earth in human form as baby Jesus and Jesus died for our sin and was resurrected) dies they don’t go to heaven they go to hell. Matthew 13:42: “And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”  This belief has made my life less worrisome. My list of fears is not very big from this belief. I can go and do something dangerous and know that if I die Ii will go to heaven.   The hell part of my belief is scary. Not really scary for me but for the knowledge that a lot of people are going to end up in hell. Heaven and Hell are very real. This is what I believe.

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I believe in art as an expression of a person. Art (being drawing, writing, acting, photography …whatever) is a way of being expressive, without worrying about whether or not people will understand. It can relieve any stress you have, and help keep you calm about things. Not only that, but certain things, should you just say them out loud, can get you into trouble because of what is considered a “good” thing to say, and a “bad” thing to say. People don’t always understand. Whether it’s getting a point across, or a personal belief, sometimes people just don’t get it. If you express it in other means than just telling them, not only can it be helpful to them, but it can be helpful to yourself. People don’t understand why I draw horses, when it’s just that they’re the easiest thing for me to relate to. People may not understand why you do some of the things you do,  but doing whatever thing you do to express yourself, you can maybe show them what you mean, and even if you don’t, it may help you just to have tried. Art can help you relieve stress. Sometimes life is hectic, and you really need to just relax. By writing, drawing, acting, or doing whatever it is you consider “art”, you can relieve your stress. It helps you express things without necessarily just saying them blatantly and, possibly, doing something that you may regret later. It can also help you calm down if you happen to be angry about something. By expressing your stress or anger or frustration this way, you avoid doing something you may regret later. If you openly say you’re -fill in the blank- at someone, you spark arguments. Instead of openly saying it and, for example, drawing it, you may not get into a fight or hurt someone. If you openly say some things, you may get into trouble. Saying openly that you dislike someone means that they get angry at you, and then they may do something to “get back at” you. Then it can drag out and turn into a huge, ugly fight. And if this fight happens to be at school or work, you’re going to be in huge trouble. Who really wants that? By drawing something, writing something, or even practicing your lines for a play or something, you can get out your anger. This way you won’t get into trouble. You can’t always just openly say nor do something, and art can help. Whether its people not understanding what you mean, needing to get out frustration and stress, or you fear getting in trouble for thinking some way. Just by expressing it trough artwork, you feel better for getting it out in a way that is not harmful. By no means am I telling anyone to never say anything; most of the time, saying something is good. But when you just can’t say something, art can help you so it isn’t bottled up, and it isn’t hurting anyone. And nothing says your art has to even reflect the situation. You can draw something humorous even if you’re angry or something cheerful even if you’re not-so-happy. It doesn’t matter; it’s an expression of yourself and that’s all it has to be or has ever needed to be.

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I believe we should be able to kiss and hug in the hallways because it’s no fun when you have to wait till after school. It’s hard not doing these things because these things come natural when you see your girlfriend. 

First we should be able to kiss in the hallways because it’s hard not to and we’re going to do it anyway. People don’t like to listen because they think the rule is stupid and there’s no point to it. It’s a waste of all teachers’ and administrators’ time. 

Now we should be able to hug in the hallways because it’s harmless and it’s not going to hurt anybody to hug each other. It’s part of life. Everybody hugs everyday and people don’t try to stop that. We should be able to have a little freedom to hug. 

Last but not least they should let us kiss and hug it won’t hurt anybody. Kids may be happier in classes. They may not have a bad attitudes at teachers’ and other kids. They should just let us be because we are going to do what we do. What we do is kiss and hug in the hallways. Just let us have some freedom. 

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I believe that roller coaster is not good for me. When I went to Kings Island with my family it was my first rollercoaster. I had lots of fun. I was scared because it was so big. I ate some food and it was Burger King. I was full and it wasn’t a good thing. Now it is time to get on the rollercoaster.  

First, I got on the rollercoaster and they had to put on everybody seatbelt. After this they started the ride. On the rollercoaster I went up and came done fast. I was very nervous and scared. I told the people to stop the ride.  

Second, I ate so much I had thrown up on the ride. When I got off, the man ask me was it on purpose or on accident. I said it was an accident and he said ok keep going. I felt embarrassed. I was mad and left from that area. That made me feel better, and then I told my mom that I throw up on the ride.  

Third, my throw up landed on someone’s head. It landed on a grownup’s head. He screamed. Then he went to go get a towel. It made my day but made my fist rollercoaster bad.  

Last, this experience made me remember to not eat before getting on the rollercoaster.   I really don’t want to go on a rollercoaster again. I will get on a smaller rollercoaster if I don’t eat before getting on the rollercoaster.       

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I believe in basketball because it has sportsmanship and teamwork. Sportsmanship and teamwork are important because that’s how you win in life. Sportsmanship is like being a nice person to one of your teammates. If they miss a shot and they was wide open you’re not supposed to say ‘’you suck.’’ You’re supposed say, ‘’maybe next time but that was a good shot.’’ Teamwork is when you pass the ball around to your teammates instead of ball hogging. That’s how you don’t win sometimes.  The first thing I am going to talk about in basketball is sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is when you beat another team you don’t brag about it when you get home or to school. You’re supposed to go up to the team and say, ‘’good game’’ and ‘’you played a good game.’’ Another reason is if you lose you can still get mad at yourself, but don’t take it out on the other team. Especially if it the championship and you were undefeated and you just lost the biggest game of your life. The second thing I am going to talk about is teamwork. Now teamwork is working with the whole team not you. Because if you try to do everything by yourself you are going to probably lose. The team is going to be mad at you because you didn’t pass the ball to them not once and they always pass the ball to you; like when you say that you’re going to give the ball back to them but you never do. Then the next game the team never gives you the ball or they throw the ball away on purpose and then you lose the game. That’s why it is important to have teamwork and sportsmanship. If you combined all these together then that makes you a good player, but if you don’t use these two things it doesn’t make you a bad player it just makes you a stupid player. You don’t even say anything nice to the other team you beat you say bad things and that could hurt their feelings and that would not be nice to them. The reasons why I pick teamwork because that is important to the whole team even the coach and he/she isn’t even playing. If you are the best player it makes you a better player if you use these two things right here: sportsmanship and teamwork.

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