The Formative Years

     High school is considered the formative years and has always been a place for people to decide what they will do after graduation and how they will get there.  Because of this, life can become difficult and strenuous during the school year with assignments, tests, and projects along with work and home life.  During my high school years, I have encountered multiple struggles, but have surpassed them to accomplish many goals allowing myself to push further academically.  My struggles however, have been minimal and have not held me back to great lengths.
     These struggles all center around getting assignments done and have inhibited my learning at points.  Being organized is very important for success, but it does not always happen.  Disorganization has caused me to have to waste my time hunting down homework, books, and study guides while I could be using the time to study or finish assignments.  Due to my occasional organizational issues, I have not been able to balance my time effectively.  Without the time I used locating work, finding time to accomplish all of the tasks becomes challenging.  Not getting homework finished is my largest struggle because it leads to lower grades and increased difficulty on tests.  As you can see, all of my struggles intertwine to make my school life a constant endeavor.  Despite all of this, I have managed to make many academic accomplishments so far.
     The accomplishments made in my high school career thus far have been relatively small, but important none the less.  My greatest achievement is being selected for Dr. Harry Kestler's Microbiology Research Group.  This was a huge honor and a success beyond belief in my mind.  Since joining, I have excelled in research and committed myself to doing more than my own part.  None of this would have been possible though without having had the high grades that are needed to be chosen.  Since my first report card, I have never gotten below a "B" in any subject.  This has been comparatively easy for me as I have not had the need to study in great detail like most students.  Because of these high grades I have kept throughout my school career, I did not allow myself to slip on any test or quiz.  For most classes while I was at Amherst Schools, tests and quizzes accounted for sixty percent of the overall grade.  Therefore, failing a tests would result in a sudden decrease in my grade that may have been impossible to fix.  Having known this, I would not allow myself to fail a test.  Failing to me is getting a "F" or "D" and I have kept myself from slipping down into that zone my entire school career.  This is one of my greatest achievements as well because keeping this perfect record is quite difficult.  I hope to continue this record into the future.
     In my future, I would like to continue what I already do now, but also reach other goals.  Continuing HIV/AIDS research through high school and even college is my biggest goal.  My life would not be complete without it.  My grades are very important to my future in college and graduate school, so I will keep them up and hold my grade point average above a 2.5. Going to college is my superior aspiration and partially depends on my passing of the Ohio Graduation Test.  I have no doubts in my mind that I will not only pass my OGT, but excel and score advanced in all subjects.
     Although the struggles shape whoa  person is the most, I believe that the accomplishments do so as well.  My high school experience has been full of goals, success, and even some failures.  The difference between myself and let us say, a drop out, is that I continued to flourish at school despite them.

The Darkest Hour (Bullying and Its Effects)

     Bullying is just a part of life. It is unavoidable throughout school and even more in high school. This has been stated before and ideas very similar to these have even been published by a man named Tim Gill in his book, “No Fear; Growing Up in a Risk Averse Society.” He goes on to state that society has exaggerated what bullying really is and has even gone as far as to say that “playground spats” are being regarded as something overly serious. This man, after publishing his book and receiving multiple letters of hate, stated that he did not believe that bullying was a part of life. The people who sent him these letters are a perfect example of what Mr. Gill said did not exist. Bullying does exist and is the both the cause and effect of many of life’s great tragedies.

    Why do people bully? The most simplistic reason is that the bully craves power over another individual or group to make up for some kind of defect whether it is emotional or physical. These bullies are often hard to get rid of as they feel the need to prove that the defect does not make them weak. Thus, standing up is very difficult as is best done in a group. Bullies are often weakened when they are stood up against by multiple people. This is fantastic, but it rarely happens. People are slow to stand up and defend each other; it is just easier to walk by and ignore the problem. Another reason that this happens is that people are scared of being knocked down or bullied as well. The internet tends to give people a sense of fake confidence that allows them to stand up for each other without fear. It is so much more likely that one would stand up for another when they are not face to face with the problem.

   

     The most terrible tragedy seen as a result of repeated bullying is depression and then possibly even suicide. According to the CDC, an average of 4,400 young people take their own life every year with more than half being a direct result of bullying. To me, that is shocking, but at the same time, I understand it. These are not just numbers as they represent the lives of young people across the country. People, who will never graduate, never get married, never have a career. These people have ceased to exist physically and the changes, lives they would have affected, and goals they would have reached have ceased to exist as well. A whole life ended because of the decisions of a small group. These lives cannot be replaced and what has been done cannot be undone. Everything, no matter how small, comes with a price.

     

Belongings

            Do people have any right to take things that do not belong to them?  A person may think that taking these belonging back would right the wrong done, right? I see it differently.  The people in South Africa who have had their homes demolished because they were built on stolen land had some form of ownership of these homes and were in no way at fault for buying these homes.  Taking these homes back would not make the problem go away or rectify what has already been done.  It simply returns the stolen goods to the rightful owner without giving help to the families displaced.  Once the homes are returned or destroyed, the families had no place to turn and were left homeless.  The homeless families were left abandoned in the street as if it was their fault for buying the homes.  They were, from my understanding, previously unaware of the circumstances in which their homes were built and were therefore not at fault for the occurrence.  In conclusion, it does not make the problem disappear or rectify the wrong done by returning the stolen goods.

Heroes and Villians

People are a selfish bunch.  They choose to do a lot of things to benefit themselves and not the people around them.  Even when they care deeply about somebody else, they cannot risk their lives for others.  It takes a very special person to risk their own well being in order to protect that of another.

These people are the heroes every person knows.  They are firefighters, policemen, and paramedics.  They save life and run into the face of danger to save strangers that they have never met.  They are the true heroes and always will be.  Keeping the public safe is their main goal when they wake up and go into work.

Why do these people do what they do? How do they go to work knowing they may never come home?  This is because they know that even if they parish, they will be remember and forever loved by the family and friends of those that they saved.  The work that they do is so amazing that they do not need to worry about being forgotten after they die, or fear that their loved ones will have no way of moving on. They know that their family will move on with the honor that their relative saved a person's life without hesitating; knowing that they themselves may not come out.

On the other hand, some people (most people) could not imagine running into danger to defend their country.  They could never, in a million years, go into a life threatening situation for the sake of the country that they call home. Looking out for themselves is the natural way.  Ensure that they themselves are safe and cared for before looking for the others.  It is human instinct to protect one's own body and only a few people can really go against that in reality. These people are the heroes, while the others might as well be the villains.

Meeting in History

            If I could meet anybody in the universe and do anything I wanted to with them, I would want to meet John Lennon and just talk to him.  His message of peace and forgiving still stands today and we all hope for the future that he imagined.  If I could meet him, I think I would like to go get some coffee or out to dinner and talk to him about what he really thought on a bunch of issues. I am very curious as to his inspiration to write many of his songs including the most famous one, “Imagine.”  John Lennon has influenced my life greatly as I grew up listening to him and the rest of The Beatles.  I learned to be a love my fellow man and gained an understanding of the world around me.  The man was truly amazing and did not deserve the cruel ending he received at all.

Winter Break 2012

Over winter break this year, I did quite a lot.  I went sledding, saw a few movies, and went to some parties. One of my favorite days of break was the day Cody, Mike, and I went sledding.  We went to Fox Creek Gold Club and slid down a hill on one of the back nine holes.  The only problem was, that right about the same time that we arrived, three or four families arrived with a bunch of little kids.  This kind of scared me because we were sliding all over the place and flipping off the sleds trying to slide down them standing up and attempting crazy stunts.  I was a bit worried that I would hit one of the kids, and I was not alone in this thought as Mike announced that he did not want to go down the hill and possibly kill a small child.  We ended up leaving having only sled maybe ten times.  It was pretty lame that we did not get to sled that many times, but I had a ton of fun and I only injured myself a few times which, of course, was an added benefit.

A Letter to a Loved One

To my loved one,

If you are reading this than I guess I am dead.  One of those many diseases or syndromes I claimed to have is probably the culprit.  You did not believe me when I said I had whatever it was an now look, I am dead.  Since I will no longer be around, I want you to know how much I really loved you even if I never said it aloud.  You truly are an amazing person although you tend not to show it.  There are so many things that I wish I could tell you now, but I want to keep this short.  Never let anybody tell you that you cannot do something or that you cannot feel a certain way.  We are who we are not matter what the rest of the world thinks.  You can do anything, be anybody, and go anywhere.  Everything you do makes somebody's life worth living and that should make it all worth it.  I hope this letter has brought some type of understanding as to why I have always been there for you.  You are one of the most, if not the most important person in my life and I want to move on knowing that you will continue living your life.  You can grow up and be an amazing individual.  You can have a great future even if you do not see it right now.  I once thought I had no future, and at this point in my life, I know exactly what I want to do.  For the first time in my life, I can see myself having a future.  You will have this moment too.  Do not give up.

Love,
Nick