The Power in Staying True to Youself

Taylor Ranney

Professor Mary Louise Hill

English 200

September 26, 2016

                                                The Power in Staying True to Yourself

No matter the circumstance, I believe in always staying true to myself no matter what life decides to throw my way. This belief is something I stand very true to, and have stood true to, for the past few years, anyway. There have been several circumstances where I have come to realize that staying true to me is the best thing I could possibly do.

 Throughout my early years of school I was never really one to fit in with a certain crowd, just always that person to mesh with almost everyone no matter what they were socially ‘labeled’ as. During that time I was always just being myself, being around people who were good for me.

When I eventually got into high school, my freshman year, my mentality unfortunately started to change, and I started to try to change myself, and not for the better either. I thought that being skinny, pretty and becoming a cheerleader was the only way I’d ever have someone, besides my friends, like me. So I started wearing more makeup, changed how I dressed, started to try to lose some weight and I even tried out for cheerleading and actually made the team just so I could ‘fit in’. With this being said, I know this wasn’t who I was, yet I still kept trying to be someone I wasn’t. Thinking in this mentality only brought toxic people into my life. For instance, an upperclassman started showing ‘interest’ in me and I thought it was the coolest thing as a freshman to have someone older than me interested in me.

Well, I thought completely wrong. This boy dragged me down into one of the lowest points in my life. He used me at my own expense, and would only talk to me if he wanted something that benefitted him. Eventually, about a year later, I learned that I didn’t need that toxic person in my life, and that I didn’t need to be who I was pretending to be all along, I just needed to be myself and stop trying to please others.

I think hitting this low point in my life actually helped me out in the long run. I learned to realize that not everyone will like me for who I am, and to me, that’s completely okay. Other people liking you is a bonus, you liking yourself is the real prize. I learned to just be myself. Don’t change to fit in and don’t change your ways because that whole time it truly didn’t feel right pretending to be someone I wasn’t.

Staying true to yourself is possibly one of the best things you can do for yourself, and this now means a lot to me as a person. So, about a year ago I decided I needed to give myself a reminder every day to just be myself, so I got a tattoo on my ribs of a quote reminding me to do so every time I look at it. The quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson reads “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” These are words to live by and this is one of my favorite quotes because it reminds you to always just be yourself in this world no matter who or what tries to change you. If you remain true to yourself, I feel that you will ultimately live a happier life.

Belief

This I Believe
In life we have two options; we either take all of life’s obstacles and grow from the experience, or we let those obstacles defeat us. My story begins when I was first separated from my family two years ago. My siblings and I were put into separate foster care homes. In the beginning all I could do was cry. I was separated from everything I loved, and I started to fall into a deep depression. I could not concentrate in school and it was hard to even go somedays. I honestly felt that giving up was my only option. I had no support and it was hard for me to trust anyone. I was not able to see my siblings for almost three months. Those three months almost killed me.


Growing up, my siblings and I formed a really strong bond, we always stuck together no matter what. We were one another’s support group because we were all that we had. I am the oldest of seven siblings; being an older sister is kind of like being a second mom, and that is how it felt. Once we were taken away it was like a hole was ripped into my heart. I could not do anything to protect them. As I watched the CPS workers split us up into separate cars; I saw in my sibling’s eyes so many emotions. Fear, hurt, anxiousness, and just about everything but their normal spark. I will never be able to forget those looks.

That day was the day I felt I had nothing left to live for. I mean, how does one live when we have lost our reason and purpose. It started to seem like the end for me. It was not until I finally was able to get visits with my siblings, did I find my reason again. The looks on their faces were enough for me to realize that I cannot just give up, that I could still be there for them, and lead by example. After the first visit I decided to get my act together and start being the person that my siblings could continue to look up to again. I realized that no matter what, I had to be strong for them.

My grades in school started improving, and I even started to volunteer at a youth center. It gave me a sense of what I wanted to do when I graduate (working with troubled teens). At the center I found what I believe; I believe that there is no such thing as losing. From every experience we learn something; whether it is what we should do, or what we should not do. So how can we lose if we are constantly learning? Going through the obstacles of losing and being separated from my family has taught me never to let an obstacle stop me. If I would have just given up, where would that have left me or my siblings? If I would have given up they surely would have given up too.

Lessons Taught

Lessons Taught

            Lessons taught to me throughout my life have impacted me tremendously and some of those lessons are hard work will get me far, treat others how you would like, and do not take what others say to heart.

One of the lessons I have learned is that nothing comes easy to anyone. If someone is good at something, sure there may be some natural born talent there, but if they are really good they combined that talent with hard work. I know for me it was always sports, I had the natural ability and talent to do well, but to get where I wanted I used hard work every day and still do to keep myself on the right track. Hard work really for me is most represented in my school work. Some subjects like math and English I have struggled with from a very young age, but the more and more I worked at being a better student in those classes, the better grades I would end up receiving. Nothing comes easy in this world. Everyone at some point in their life, especially me, has had to work hard to achieve their goals and that work never stops even when the goal is reached, because a new goal will come in to fruition.

            Treating others with kindness and respect is something that I have learned first-hand about. Not ever being the most popular person ever, I had to deal with some adversity growing up. Sometimes it was family life that was taking a toll on me and sometimes it would be my fellow classmates or teammates, but my mom would always tell me that I should be the bigger man and not respond to anything negative. Her favorite quote that she would always tell me is “If you have nothing nice to say then don’t say anything at all.” I think that holds great significance in my life for the simple fact of knowing when to bite my tongue and not say anything, whether it is in a face to face conversation with someone or on the internet through social media. Someone’s definition of being treated well may be different than mine, there are certain values we all have and expect.

            Do not let other people affect me, whether it is by trying to bring me down or control what I do. That is important for me. It is so easy to hear criticism or negativity in this day and age with social media, anyone can say anything at any time and they can pretty much hide behind a username. Many times in my life I was told that I would not be able to play college baseball that I was not good enough, and this was from my friends who are supposed to have my back. Maybe they thought I was just joking about this but now I am playing college baseball because I did not let their negativity bring me down, but used it as motivation instead to pick myself up and work even harder to get where I am today.

            These three lessons I think are very important, not only for me, but the world in general. If anyone reading this essay can take at least one thing from here to make their life better it would be a success. While others may have learned different lessons, these are some that makes me the man I am today.

The Strength in Empathy and Understanding

            When a situation occurs and seems to be turning the opposite way that you hoped, I believe you should stay calm. Instead of screaming until you lose your voice, stay humble and try to understand the other side of the story. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and try to feel what they feel. Throughout life, many obstacles will be thrown your way and only you can decide how to react.  During my middle and high school career, life has done nothing to help me. Instead, it has chosen to try and throw me off balance. Between tests in history to losing friends over stupid reasons like having stolen their crush’s heart or offended them by calling them stupid.

The main happening that tested my belief was playing travel softball. Not realizing that travel would have so many politics incorporated into it, I was left heartbroken. I played for a travel league for four years and when I tried out for my fifth, I found out that two teams wanted me from the same league. By the end of the tryouts, I was super ecstatic knowing that other coaches saw so much potential in me that they wanted me. Although with my luck, it seemed too good to be true. The two coaches said they would talk it over of who would take who and proceeded to make calls and make the players aware who will play where. Days went by and I wondered if I was ever going to hear from them. My mom saw I was affected by this so she called them. That’s when I found out they never talked about where I would go. I was told I did not have a team because they forgot about me. While my parents screamed at the coaches on the phone, I went upstairs and went to bed.

The next couple of weeks I felt like a dead corpse walking. I was devastated knowing that I wouldn’t play with my friends or even play the sport that over took my life. I’d find myself crying or even blankly staring into space replaying what had happened. I thought of everything possible of what I could have done to make the outcome different but, there was nothing I could do. After I thought about it intently for hours, it came to me. I have no right to be mad because it was not on purpose. I then found out from an old teammate’s parent, that an outside source talked to one of the coaches. The outside source said that I was too good to be playing on his team and that I should play on the other team. For a while I was mad at that person, then again realized he wanted what was best for me even though it was not his place to say anything.

I ended up switching to a different softball league and was thankful that things had happened the way they did. The whole time my parents screamed and lost sleep over it. I could not change the situation. I compared my parents to myself; they looked terrible and lacked sleep. On the other hand, I felt alright and had slept fairly well. Because my parents didn’t stay calm, they started unhealthy habits. I believe that by staying calm and humble things will work out in the end, even when they seem like the world is going to end. It does not end. Instead, life goes on. 

I Don’t Like Being Lied To

Let’s be honest, how many of us don’t like to be lied to but are scared to know the truth sometimes? Well, I am. It’s weird because I’ll be at a certain point where I really want to know the truth but I would rather be lied to. If you were to ask your partner or anyone an important question about your relationship or whatever the situation might be, aren’t you going to expect the truth the first time you ask not the second time? I would expect the truth the first time. Do you ever question why some people tell white lies while you’re having a regular conversation? I have. It’s weird because you’ll ask a simple question and you’ll get an answer but five minutes later you find out the person was lying. I believe in honesty. Honesty is very important to me because I would rather get hurt by the truth than to have plenty of lies told to me. A lot of people live a lie; they’ve had someone close to them like their parents lie to them about something that they should’ve found out a long time ago. That’s one way of ruining trust.

You put your trust into these people like family, friends, your partner or someone who’s trying to get to know you, to tell the truth the first time not the fifth or tenth time. I expect my family to tell me truth. That’s home and I’m expecting to trust them. Home to me in this situation means, the trust I have for those really close to me. I expect my friends to always tell me when I’m wrong, not let me believe my wrongs are right. I expect my partner to be honest throughout the whole relationship.

Life is based on reality not fiction unless you make it that way. It’s like being blind and not being able to see the world, you’ll just get to touch it. It’s also like living in a cave, you’re living in a cave like the prisoners in The Allegory of the Cave by Plato. The cave held prisoners who only saw shadows but had never seen the “real world”. The prisoners had mistaken shadows for reality. Once, the prisoner was released he’d see everything he had seen in the cave, get used to it, go back and tell the other prisoners but they wouldn’t believe him.

During the summer I met this guy who said he wanted to get to know me. The problem was that every time we met up he kept throwing little white lies. That was really the most annoying experience of my life. Do you want to know why? Of course you do. It was the most annoying experience of my life because that meant if he was lying about little tiny details that barely mattered, he’ll keep lying about things that do matter. So, after that experience I told him I’d rather be friends.

I don’t like being lied to that’s why I’m always honest. I don’t really care about telling the truth. So, if I’m telling you the truth when you ask me about something or whatever the case might be I will expect the same in return. I don’t like being untrustworthy and I rather still trust you than not to. It’s like having to question everything the person says to you, because of that lie they told the first time.

A few words can change your life

Stephen A. Bruno

English 200/ Professor Hill

“This I believe” Essay

21 September 2016

A Few Words Can Change Your Life

                    During my senior year in high school, I figured out what was meant when my track coach said very powerfully “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”. Those words to me mean that no matter how talented somebody is, Hard work will always prevail because you actually have to work for it, it’s never given to you.

               My beliefs are simple and stem straight from my coach’s wise words. That is that anything is possible to achieve once you start using words such as the ones I live my life by. Those are Motivation, Dedication, and Determination. Once words such as these are used as assets in your life; you won’t ever let something with true meaning to you slip away and given up on. You never truly lose sight of the goal big or small if it has true meaning to you and you definitely won’t lose grip of the future you so clearly see once you start to live by what you believe in.

              My beliefs weren’t always what they are now. The words dedication, motivation, and determination weren’t anything I saw clearly at a young age and until I cracked my wrist and damaged my back in my third football game of my senior year of high school football; I thought talent in the sport I loved would get me anywhere I needed to go. Well, let me tell you I was dead wrong and I was going to have to work hard for what I wanted to achieve in life.

             Starting with my health. Being big was all I ever knew in life and my position I played in football kind of called upon being an immovable object. A change in living arrangements soon after my injuries was the final straw for me. Watching what my uncle goes through, struggling with diabetes wasn’t anything I was looking forward to in life and weighing in at over 300 pounds it was the path I was ironically “Sprinting” towards.

              I say ironically because perhaps my greatest decision in life up to this point was joining my high school Track and Field team. Track not only gave me another chance to be somebody in life, but opened doors for me that I never saw coming. I was more Determined, dedicated, and especially motivated then anybody in my school and it was seen and awarded. I went from the 303-pound kid with nothing going for him to a 179 pound “Student Athlete” with nothing but a bright future. I lost 120 pounds within my final six months of high school and honestly can’t say that’s possible if I didn’t live my life by the words I stated above.

         I educated myself on everything health related and now am pursuing a degree in sport management to one-day help in a bigger way then just speaking.

           More often than not you hear people using these strong words as excuses. The best one being “I’m not motivated enough”. That’s just a sad way of saying no I like where I’m at. There is always room for improvement and nobody has the right to think otherwise. Nobody does by watching, one must go out and fight for greatness.

         One must learn to reevaluate their life before they can ever make improvements upon it. Adding a few strong words to your vocabulary will change your life tremendously, I am living proof that a few simple words can go along a way.

Be Their Voice When They Cant Be Their Own

Be Their Voice When They Can’t Be Their Own

            I believe that all animals should be treated humanely and should not be harmed. I believe that animals of all sorts don’t have a voice so you should give them one. I love all animals no matter if they are fat, ugly, old, young, dog, cat or any other species. They are all the same to me. I believe that you should always get an animal from your local pound. If you adopt from an online source instead, the dogs probably came from a puppy mill and their mothers are killed when they cannot breed anymore.  

            When you adopt from your local shelter at least you know more than if you were getting a dog from a mill.  There are about 10,000 puppy mills across the United States (By State).  You shouldn’t get a dog from a mill when there are about7.6 million dogs in shelters that need good and loving homes.

            Dogs today in puppy mills have very bad experiences including being put in overcrowded cages where they get very little food or water and there is no flooring so they’re always stepping on the crate which make it very painful for them to stand correctly once they get out of their cages. The majority of the mother dogs spend their whole lives in these crates creating new puppies constantly.   

            There are many health risks that come with a puppy that has been in the puppy mills. Some of these include heart disease, difficulty breathing, kidney disease, deafness, eye problems, epilepsy and musculoskeletal disorders (ASPCA).  The majority of these puppies have many behavioral issues which in the long run people don’t want because they want well- behaved dogs. Often the dogs are returned and they are killed to make room for other dogs that people are going to send back.

            When it comes to dogs that are put into shelters there are probably many different reasons.  Some of those reasons may be that their owners can’t take care of their pets anymore and they need to get rid of them or they might not be able to afford the vet bills. A person who owns a dog spends about 38,000 dollars to have a dog until they die.

            I believe that if you really want a dog, you should think about what you are doing and where it comes from.  Also, keep in mind that this dog may have different health risks and if so, can you afford all the vet appointments, treatments and medicine. Please, when you go home and you see your pet, just think  about where they came from and  if  it was the shelter or the kennel  remember that they can’t tell you what their life was like previously. When you go home later express love to your pet how they do to you.

A Voice for the Voiceless

A Voice for the Voiceless

When I was in high school, I always felt passionate about wanting to help animals and pursue a career in veterinary technology. Ever since college started, I realized how academically challenging this major is, but it will be worth it in the end. I also started to become a vegetarian at the age of 14 for certain health reasons along with believing that eating animal meat was wrong. I believe that creating awareness for abused animals will be helpful and gets people’s attention about the reality of it. Whenever I see helpless animals being dropped in shelters or pounds, I wish that there was something I could do about it, so they don’t end up getting put down if no one adopts them. I always feel so much joy being surrounded by these furry critters, and I just knew that this is exactly what I wanted to do.

Since I was a kid, my family and friends would call me an “animal magnet” because all the animals would just come right on up to me whenever I went on vacations or camping trips. In some of my high school classes, I chose to do projects that were about animal awareness. Some of them were the reality of how brutally humans treated the animals, such as cattle or pigs, before getting turned into meat. Doing the research for those projects made me realize how unhealthy and unsanitary the meat process really is, which is the reason I chose to become a vegetarian. When I did my first internship at an animal hospital back in Rochester, I saw firsthand of what being a veterinary technician is like. I enjoyed having the hands-on experience with the animals and being able to help them, along with learning a lot while I was there. Some of these hands-on experiences I had were basic stuff such as restraining the animal and giving their temperature.

I try to do what I believe is right for myself along with others around me. Sometimes I would go the extra mile to help out someone in need. I also believe in doing my best in school and getting good grades in all of my classes, no matter how difficult they are. Another thing I feel strongly about is becoming a better person on the inside and out. Doing what I feel passionate about, helping and working with animals, makes me believe that I am doing something right. 

For Friday September 30, Option #3

This story was published in a magazine called Tikkun, which, according to its website, is “a magazine dedicated to healing and transforming the world. We seek writing that gives us insight on how to make that utopian vision a reality. We build bridges between religious and secular progressives by delivering a forceful critique of all forms of exploitation, oppression, and domination while nurturing an interfaith vision of a caring society — one whose institutions are reconstructed on the basis of love, generosity, nonviolence, social justice, caring for nature, and awe and wonder at the grandeur of the universe.”  (Tikkun)  Why do you feel Tikkun published this story?  How might this story be “transformative”?  

For Friday September 30, Option #2

·       What is "Poor Thing" about?  Can you apply the meaning of this story to situations in the modern world?    This requires that you interpret the story, but also apply it to contemporary situations

For Friday September 30; Option #1

·       

Present a careful analysis of how Joyce Carol Oates wrote this story.  Why do you think the author chose to put it in first person?  Who is the narrator?  Who/what is Pepe?  Why does Joyce Carol Oates end this story as she does?  Why is this called “Poor Thing”?  What/who is the poor thing?