Looking on the bright side

     I recently attended a local youth soccer game and I was helping one of the teams out. So I'm standing on the sideline, it's the second half, and I couldn't help but notice that the other team's coaches were really negative. Now, I know that saying things behind people's backs is not okay but it really reminded me about how important it is to be encouraging and focus on the positive, uplifting things.
     I think that sometimes we forget to congratulate those we know. But, you know what's interesting? We seem to be very quick to judge and point out others faults and weaknesses.
     Can we at least strive to recognize the accomplishments of our family members, friends and co-workers? I think so.
     I play soccer (or football) and I've found that you've got to look on the bright side. Because, let's face it, "you're going to win some, you're going to lose some," as one of my coaches once said. So look on the good side. It's kind of like that saying that says something like, "if you think you're going to lose, you're right."
     Besides, when you look on the bright side, you feel better about it later. That's because you recall the good things that happened, not just the bad things. And the good things are things  you can be a little proud of.

"You never see a fault in anybody. All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in your life." ~Elizabeth Bennet about her sister, Jane. Pride and Prejudice.

      I wish this could be said of me. I'm still working on it and that's okay because everyone is. Judging and seeing the faults in others, that's natural. But if we can remember to see the positive things that happened, we're happier. (And, you know, soccer is just a game. And as players, we just want to play. Sure we want to win and it feels great when we do but we're not going to die or anything if we don't.)

We don't choose the consequences, either good or bad, that come from the choices we make but we do get to choose our reactions.

What would you do with 275 feet?

This video illustrates the importance of doing well in school now. We have to stand our ground and fight back.

Ever since I learned about Joshua Chamberlain, I've admired him. His bravery and faith was incredible.

We all have a Joshua Chamberlain inside us who is determined and ready to charge, we just have to let him take over. 

We cannot take this lightly! This is the real deal; we need to decide that we're going to charge and then do it. We cannot afford to think about it too long. In the big picture, your years in high school are short. And essential. This is the time when you are transitioning from a child to an adult. Your habits in high school will heavily affect your life. If you take high school lightly and push it aside, letting your grades slip and spending time with people that don't lift you up, how much harder will it be to change? If you work hard and keep your grades up, college life and life in general will go much smoother.

275 feet. That's less than half a mile. It seems small and insufficient but trust me, those 275 feet are essential.

If Joshua Chamberlain hadn't charged, he may have lost the battle. If he lost the battle, the Union line would have fallen.

If we let our guard down and we let the enemy in, our future is in jeopardy. No one knows exactly what their future is going to be but one mistake can cause a whole bunch of problems.

John and his friend left the party. John's other friend did not. John and his friend stayed in Japan and became successful. John's other friend was sent home.

One choice, one small, seemingly unimportant choice, changed their lives.

I cannot lose my ground. You cannot lose your ground. If we do, we will not get that land back, at least not without a whole hoard of trials.

What are you defending against? What is your enemy? Are you letting them win? 

Don't give up, don't give in.

There is a war raging all around us. We have to stand up and fight. We need to arise. We need to do this now. 

Now is not the time for sitting back and letting others fight. This is our time.

What are you going to do with your 275 feet?

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Note: These two videos can be found on YouTube. The first one is called How 275 feet can change your life for ever, just like it changed America. It was made by Tatiana Fallon (who happens to be a great teacher and mentor.)

The second one is called Leave the Party and was made by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

9/11

Today we commemorate the 2,977 people who died when terrorists crashed 4 planes (although one wasn't really crashed by a terrorist).

When you hear about the events that happened today 14 years years ago, you just feel depressed. But you also feel proud of the brave souls who went in the Twin Towers to rescue others, the passengers of the fourth plane who overpowered the hijackers.
People gave their lives on September 11th, 2001. Police officers and firefighters and EMTs did all they could to save people. None of the passengers on the fourth plane survived.
These people are heroes.

"Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say"

Do we pay attention to what we say? I don't. I mean, I can be pretty sarcastic. But there are some people that would be offended even if you say you're only being sarcastic.

So, taking the whole saying about meaning what you say and meaning what you say, do we pay attention to what we sing?
I personally don't always pay attention to song lyrics but I try to because I think that what goes in our minds definitely plays a part in shaping our characters.