The Best and Worst Times

It took me a while and I had to go all the way back to my elementary school years, but I actually recollected a positive memory in school. I was in fifth grade and my teacher was Ms. Spunn, and she made that year memorable forever. Maybe it was the lack of work we did or maybe it was the fact that she made learning entertaining that made this year memorable to me. Before and after I was done with this class I’ve had problems finding another class like this. She made reading, writing and any other learning activity fun. I never truly enjoyed learning as much as I did this year.
The negative experiences I’ve had in school would definitely be failing classes. This has happened on more than one occasion between middle school and high school. I don’t have any excuses as to why it happened nor am I blaming my teachers, even though I might’ve initially. Failing classes because I was too lazy to do my work or just getting into trouble was very embarrassing. After the fact, I use to feel embarrassed and disappointed in myself for letting this happen. Failing classes were by far the worst experiences I’ve had in school.

This I Believe...Life Lesson Through Tragedy

My senior year in high school I had one goal in mind, to get an athletic scholarship. I had always played basketball for my school team and could not imagine not playing for my college team. My high school coach told me that the further my team went into the state playoffs the more college coaches would be interested in me. Therefore, losing in my league’s championship by three points broke my heart because that was not far at all. At this point I was not too confident in my future and did not think things could get any worse from here on out.
The Easter before my senior year one of my closest aunts had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The survival rate of this cancer is incredibly low but my aunt was an upbeat person and never seemed to be too worried. My aunt had been going to chemotherapy during my senior year and it seemed to be going very well. Her body showed no signs of breaking down and it almost made our family forget about her condition a little bit. Then within a week of my team losing in the championship, her condition worsened and her doctor was suggesting that moving her to a hospice would be the best thing to do. Witnessing one of my closest aunts struggling for her life made me realize that I should not let basketball control my life and be thankful that I was healthy enough to play a sport.
After her passing I tried to not let a loss in a basketball game dictate my every move anymore. I will always remember her as a woman that was always laughing and more importantly a strong person but the last few days of her life will always stick with me. A couple of weeks after her passing I got a couple of offers that I liked to play college basketball. I got a chance to pursue my dream, but the passing of my aunt taught me the importance of life itself and that nothing is promised. I wish she could have seen where I am today but I'm thankful for the lessons that she taught me.

The NOSEY Generation

Words: 85

After much thought the only appropriate name that I could come with for my generation is the nosey generation. In this day and age there is constant texting and internet use which allows people to stay in contact for twenty four hours a day seven days a week. The paparazzi simply follow around celebrities from artists to politicians to find out what they are doing. These celebrities get scrutinized more for their private lives than the substance of the material they are supposed to produce.