Know Thyself

It is impossible to know everything about anyone, including yourself. We learn new things every day, and often we discover that we are capable of doing something we thought we would never be able to accomplish. To know yourself is to know your own strengths and weaknesses, to know how much you can handle, or what is too much for you to take. We know what we are able to do, what is required to do it, and how we, as individuals, are able to react in certain situations. It is important to know yourself because we are the best judges of our actions. By having this knowledge, we are able to stop ourselves from doing things we know will not turn out well, and when to push ourselves when we are confident we can accomplish something if we work hard at it. We know what kind of people to surround ourselves with, how to differentiate right from wrong, and when to make choices that will be beneficial to people other than ourselves.
My worst quality. I can easily say that I have many. I talk too much, I don’t take other people’s advice, I don’t listen when I’m warned not to do something. I lie about stupid things that aren’t worth lying about. My absolute worst quality is that I trust people way too easily. I have found in the past that if I feel that someone can be trusted, I don’t think twice about it, I automatically trust them with everything. I have learned that trust cannot be handed over, it has to be earned. This past summer, I became friends with someone who had me convinced that I could trust him with anything. We spent every day together, and if we weren’t together physically, we were on the phone for all hours of the night. I trusted him with my life, told him everything, went out of my way to be there for him when he needed me, and would have done anything for him. I lied to my parents so I could see him, lied to my friends when they asked me to hang out with them, because I would have rather been with him than anyone else This friendship turned out to be a false one, and I was mistaken in trusting someone so quickly. I was devastated that I put so much time and effort into someone and got nothing in return. I learned the hard way, and will never trust someone again until they have proved that they are worth it. I have found that this is my worst quality because I have seen people in my life be betrayed, but was still fooled myself. I ignored those who really cared about me because I wanted something that wasn’t real. I have learned my lesson when it comes to trusting people, and I have known what it is like to have my weakness get the best of me.
My best quality would be my organization and perseverance. This has not always been my strength, but as the years have passed I believe I have gotten better at it. In the beginning of high school, I did not care about my grades and did not have any drive to succeed. I wanted the school days to be over, and school was the last place I ever wanted to spend my time. I didn’t put any time into my assignments and made no attempt to do well. My rude awakening came in the summer before junior year when I realized that if I wanted to get into college, I had to get my act together - quickly. I have learned that nothing comes easy and that I need to work hard to succeed. I will never be someone who can achieve something without putting a great amount of effort into it, but if I try my hardest I will be pleased with the results. I have managed to organize my life so I concentrate on my schoolwork, manage a job, and still spend time with my friends & family. I no longer get stressed over the tasks I am expected to complete, and have realized that complaining about something is not going to make it go away. My best quality is that I have the drive to succeed and do not give up until I feel that I have done everything possible to make it the best I am capable of. I know I am not perfect, but as long as I reach my own personal standards, I am satisfied. This is a quality that will be useful as I enter college, because the expectations people have of me are only going to get higher, and I will need this quality to push me to work my hardest
It is easy for people to write about their bad qualities. People are very self conscious and can often point out what they don’t like about themselves in an instant. Every day I hear people complain about what they would change about themselves if they could, what they think isn’t fair, or how bad a certain situation is. It is easy to point out the bad things because we all know what we would change if we were given the choice. I feel that writing about my bad qualities is easy for me for these same reasons, because I have learned from mistakes and know exactly what I would do differently if I could go back in time. I also know that bad qualities are what make us who we are, and the bad experiences teach us how to react in the future, which will lead to our good qualities. Learning from mistakes shows us what we can do differently, and when we do something the way we know is right, this becomes a good quality. It is hard to write about our strengths because we don’t like to brag, and we don’t want others to think we are full of ourselves. I believe it is important to know our strengths and weaknesses because from these things we gain knowledge, and part of life is making mistakes, learning from them, and being even more successful because of them.

I Wish Someone Had Told Me . .

"I don’t want to go on vacation with you, I want to stay home and spend the last weekend of the summer with my friends." This was the newest argument between me and my mother. Arguing was something that had gone on at many different times during the course of that particular summer. It was the summer before 10th grade, and I was convinced it had been the best experience of my life. And I was mortified when my mother told me I had to miss the last two days of camp to go on a boring vacation with my FAMILY. "How dare you, why would you make me go with you when I don’t want to, I want to stay home with dad, you can’t make me go, I REFUSE." I was dead set on winning this argument. "There is no way I'm going to miss camp to spend a weekend in wildwood. I'll be bored." I was convinced this vacation wouldn’t be worth it, and I wouldn’t get to say good-bye to my friends.
"Friends will come and go, but your family will always be there for you." Probably the best piece of advice I have ever received in my life (Besides not to take a box to my head), although at the time I never would have believed that my mother could be right. This was her answer to the fit I threw when she tried to "force" me to go on vacation with her. She was hurt, upset, and angry that I did not want to spend time with her. She had been planning this weekend for months, and would not get her deposit back for the house that she had rented for my family to spend the weekend in. But I won, as I usually did, and was allowed to stay behind with my father while my mom and the rest of my family went off to have fun in New Jersey.
At the time, I was ecstatic. I didn’t have to sit through a long boring car ride, or spend time with my mother or brother. I was going to stay with my new friends and enjoy the last two days of camp. And then summer would be over and my friends and I would keep in touch and be best friends forever - or so I thought. For the time being, I was glad to have skipped my only vacation of the summer. My family was boring, and it was uncool to be seen with them.
Time went by and school began. Camp ended and to my absolute shock, my friends and I did not keep in touch. My mother never let me forget that I skipped my vacation to spend time with people who I thought were the most wonderful in the world, and to this day, I am still reminded of how selfish I was being.
"Blood is thicker than water." A famous saying. I never believed it was true, and often preferred to spend time with my friends instead of my family. My groups of friends have changed countless times since that summer, and I have learned my lesson the hard way. You will always have a few good friends in life, but many friendships. Friends will come and go, but your family is forever. Your family will always forgive you, and always be there for you when you need them. No friendship can replace this. I have finally figured this out.. and will never miss out on a family vacation again.

The Meaning of Life

Life is not permanent. This has already been established. What a person does throughout their life and how it affects them personally is what deems whether or not their life is considered worthwhile. Your life is considered to be valuable once you have achieved the goals you have set for yourself, and if you have accomplished them to your full potential. We are given life without a choice, but it is up to us to make it count. Everyone’s life has some sort of value, no matter who they are and what they have done in the past. You can choose to make your life valuable at any point in time; it is never too late. Life’s purpose is to be successful in what you do, and your success should ultimately lead you to happiness once your life is finished.

Personally, there are many goals I would like to accomplish before my life is over. I want to gain knowledge from everything I experience, and learn from all of my mistakes. Everything I do can end up teaching me a lesson, no matter if my actions are right are wrong. Everything has a consequence, and from this, I can either learn how to make better decisions in the future, or how a good decision will positively affect a situation. People make decisions and they always gain some sort of experience. There is always a price to pay; weather it be good or bad. It is important for humanity to be able to recognize the consequences of their actions, and to see how this affects a persons’ life as a whole. This will help people choose right from wrong, and cause people to act more responsibly and appreciate the knowledge they gain from making mistakes.

I want to know what real love feels like - the ups and downs of everything about it, and to understand what it really means to possess love for another person. Everybody needs love in some form, no matter who the person that they love is. It is important to feel this way about the people in your life, because it proves that the relationships you have with people are meaningful. People say they are "in love", but may not necessarily know what this feels like. You can’t have the same kind of love for a person as you do for your car, or something materialistic. Your expensive car won’t be there for you when you need someone to talk to, or be able to relate to you when you are going through a hard time. It is necessary for humanity to know what love feels like because love gives a person a sense of meaning, and to have love for someone else is to know that you can’t survive without that person being there for you when you need them the most. Though you shouldn’t depend on others to keep you happy, knowing that you have someone who cares for you should contribute to making your life worthwhile.

Ever since I was younger, I have had the desire to travel around the world, learn about other cultures, and to gain information about everything I take part in. My goal is to acquire knowledge about customs that are foreign to me, and to experience cultures that are different than mine. I want to learn from people who are different than what I am used to, and not be afraid of what I do not recognize. I have been very fortunate growing up, and I realize that other people in other parts of the world have not the same opportunities as I have. I want to expand my knowledge of other cultures, and be tolerant and aware of what goes on outside of my hometown. It is necessary for people to learn about those who are different than them so they have an appreciation for the things that they do not understand. This information will lead to peace among people of different cultures, and hopefully one day the people of the world will be able to coexist without any drama among their specific groups.

I want to be able to help others in any way that I can, and to feel that I have had a significant affect on the life of somebody else, if not many other people. I want to become a teacher and pass on my knowledge to others, and help children gain the skills necessary to be successful in life. I have spent much of my time working with children and watching them grow up into real people. As I get older, I want to continue this job, and be able to gain satisfaction because the fact that it was my efforts that have caused other people to possess a certain amount of knowledge. Passing on information to others is what keeps humanity going, and the continuation of our culture and knowledge contributes to the success of people over time.

My biggest goal of my life is to be able to say that I am content with myself, and be happy with what has been given to me. People constantly go through life wanting more, and don’t ever stop to realize how good they have it. Often, we take advantage of the little things in life, and do not see how the small things can affect our happiness. I want to be happy with the way I am, and to accept the fact that everything happens for a reason. Life is what I make of it, and I cannot waste time sulking if something does not go my way. To achieve this goal, I need to spend more time learning about other people, and seeing how different circumstances cause different situations. Working to help others will lead to my satisfaction because my knowledge has benefitted the life of someone else. When people are able to be happy with what they have, and not continuously look for something more - that is when life will truly be appreciated.

What is a Hero?

In order for someone to be viewed as a hero, they do not necessarily have to do something that proves them to be the strongest, or the “best”. A hero is someone who has faith in what they believe in, and whose actions give other people reason to believe that they are brave. Every story has some sort of hero – someone who is looked up to by others because of what they have done. In The Odyssey, Huck Finn and Beowulf, the "heroes" of the stories are fighting to achieve something that they feel is right, and do not give up until they are satisfied. These characters are faced with a troubling situation, and are successful in getting through it by the end of the stories. A hero is someone who stands up for what they believe in, and does not let anyone change their mind. Someone is considered a hero because they are strong - not physically, but mentally - strong enough to fight no matter what may stand in their way. Heroes are brave people who are perseverant, and give other people hope to follow in their footsteps.

A hero does not necessarily have to be a male – there are many females in history that have stood up for what they believe in and deserve to be considered heroic. Your gender shouldn’t be what classifies you a hero – your actions are what earn you this distinction. People choose their heroes based on what they believe fits the description. To some, a hero could be someone who plays a sport, and to others, a hero may be someone who finds a cure to a disease. Depending on your personal definition of a hero, you may look up to different people than the person next to you. Everyone who fights for what they believe in is considered a hero – no matter what their gender is. Men are usually the ones portrayed as heroes because they can be described as built, strong, and may physically look the part. Women who fight for something they are passionate about are also considered heroes, but are rarely seen in movies or books, because people enjoy hearing about someone defeating a person rather than someone who is skilled in something that does not include physically fighting.

Brecht’s statement is meant to say that without heroes, humans have no one to learn from, and without being able to benefit from others, we have no way to acquire knowledge. Learning from others' experiences is what helps us improve ourselves, which is why we continue to be even more successful than those of the past. By having heroes to look up to, we give ourselves role models, and have something to set our goals against.