#10 The Most Important Lesson I Have Learned About Life Thus Far.

In life we learn many lessons. Some are a result of experience and others are obtained simply by listening to those people older and wiser than ourselves.

The lesson that I closest is to my heart is to try and love everyone for who they are.

I often find myself looking at someone that I don't like thinking horribly mean thoughts about them. Then I catch myself and realize that I’m not being a nice person and tell myself, "just try to love them, you don't have to like them but just love them enough to give them respect and treat them like a human because that is what they are.”

I honestly think that even though I hold this so close to my heart I fail at this all too often.

One reason that I have found this lesson to be so very important is because in the past when I have gotten into a big fight with someone or someone has done something bad to me I have bad mouthed them up and down; and I did it constantly. After a couple of days of being so obsessed with my "hatred" for that person I found that being hateful to them was extremely tiring to both my mind and body.

It can make me feel physically ill to be mean to someone simply for the purpose of making myself feel better, which if it is making me feel physically ill, it’s obviously not making me feel better about the situation!

There is one person in my life that has really taught me to love others no matter your true feelings for them and that was my grandma Claudia. This woman was the only person that I know that could really love others for who they are. She had the most genuine heart of all of the people I have ever met and could truly see past all flaws of another human being.

The ability to love others for who they are is an ability that isn't easily obtained, but once it is obtained, it is an ability that will make your life so much happier. When others are around you, your happy aura will radiate to them and make those around you happy as well.

The ability to love everyone for who they are is one that even I have yet to master, but when I do, I know that life will be a thousand times more pleasurable than it is today.

So as you can see, just loving people for who they are can be challenging but that challenge is one I am willing to take if it means having a happier life; and I think you should take that challenge too.

#9 Super Woman

In life we meet people that cause great impact, whether it be negative or positive. Some of the people cause such a great impact that it causes us to remember them forever.

Last week when my English teacher Mrs. Caffey told us that our next blog was to be written about someone that we have met in high school that has made an amazing impact on our lives; I had no clue who I was going to write about. Not because there is no one that has made an impact on my life in my high school career, but because there are so many people that have made an impact and I just couldn't decide which one to choose!

However, I finally decided who I want to write about, Mrs. Caffey!

I never really knew Mrs. Caffey freshman or sophomore year. I knew of her but I had never really spoken to her. When signing up for classes at the end of sophomore year I decided that I wanted to take AP English with Mrs. Caffey. I had heard such great things about her so I was very excited to take her class the next year.

The first day of school junior year, the very first hour of my school day, I knew that my decision to take Mrs. Caffey's Junior AP English was not a mistake.

Throughout the course of my last two years of high school, Mrs. Caffey has taught me more than anyone has ever taught me in my entire life. A lot of what she has taught me has nothing to do with English but it is these things that she has taught me that have made me who I am today.

Mrs. Caffey has allowed an outlet for not only me, but the other AP English students that take her classes, to be creative, to ask questions some other teachers would be upset if students were to ask them, she has allowed us to challenge her ideas and we have allowed her to challenge ours, we have learned life lessons that will take us far in our futures, we have learned commas (more than once), we have learned that our words can really hurt people, we have learned so many amazingly beautiful things that I think most people never get to learn.

Sometimes I wish that I could get inside her head and think the way she does because I have never met someone with such a beautiful outlook on life while living such a hectic life. She deals with high school students, she grades crazy amounts of papers, she mentors and helps students that need it, and she deals with all of our cry baby excuses and sometimes even gives us another chance!

To me, Mrs. Caffey is Super Woman, saving the world one AP English student at a time.

#8 Just Pray

Just Pray

By no means am I a crazy faithful Catholic boy. Yes, I break the rules, and no, I don't agree with everything my church expects me to believe. However, this doesn't mean that my relationship with god is any different than it would be if I were the perfect member of the Catholic Church.

For a large sum of the past two years I have found my relationship with God to be intensely strained. I would question my beliefs in my church and in God himself almost constantly. I never let myself think that I didn't believe in God but there was definitely room for denial in my day-to-day thoughts.

I would continue to pray every once in a while but when I would pray, I would feel like I was just talking to myself, like God wasn't really there listening to me. That was up until last week.

Last week was probably one of the worst weeks of my life. My aunt attempted suicide and then two days later my sister-in-law miscarried her first conceived child. How I was keeping it together those two days, I don't know. These events were constantly on my mind and just wouldn't seem to let up and give my mind some peace. I would be driving alone after school and ever so slightly fall apart at the idea of not getting to hold what was supposed to be my first niece or nephew, and not knowing why my aunt thought that taking her life was a good idea.

One night while I was in the shower I began to tear up as I thought about that week’s events. I sat down in the shower and let the warm water run over my head and routinely, when I don't know what else to do, began to pray, but this prayer wasn't like the other prayers I had been experiencing. As I sat and prayed to god in my shower I began to sob, not because of the events of that week, but because of the fact that for the first time in a long time, I felt god there with me as I prayed. It felt as if he placed his hand on my back and was telling me that everything was going to work out and things would be okay.

Since that day, I have not completely healed my relationship with God but I definitely got a good start.

Like I said, before that night, praying didn't seem to be anything but me thinking to myself trying to give myself the slightest sliver of hope in a rough situation, but I never stopped praying and I have made it through some pretty rough times just fine.

So there you have it kids, whether praying is your thing or not, even if you just need to think to yourself and give your soul a sense of hope, Just Pray, because in the end, everything will turn out just fine.

#7 Don't forget to tell the people close to you that they are loved

Don't forget to tell the people close to you that they are loved

*I am not including actual names in this blog simply for the purpose of keeping my family’s privacy.

Today was one of the best days I have had for a while. Everything went so well, at least for me. There were many people that didn't have the best day today but I didn't let that change how mine was going.

Tonight while I was at my cousin’s birthday party I got an urgent call from my aunt. She didn't tell me what was wrong; she just asked me if I was with my mom and if she could talk to her. From the sound of her voice I knew that something was wrong. I handed my mom the phone and as my aunt talked to my mom I saw the joy drop away from my mom’s face. I became very nervous. My mom continued to talk to my aunt for a few more seconds then hung up grabbed her purse and rushed outside. I was still nervous, and now very curious, so I jumped up from my seat and followed my mom outside. She was checking her voice mail with a very confused look on her face. At the time, I thought that something was wrong with my aunt, like maybe she was sick or something. When my mom got done listening to her voice mail I asked her what was wrong with my aunt and she said that it wasn't her that it was my uncle.

I couldn't think of anything that would be wrong with my uncle, his life just seemed so easy going and happy. Next my mom called my uncle and talked to him for about ten minutes. Hearing my mom speak to my uncle made me so entirely nervous. I couldn't really tell what was wrong; I just knew that it had to do with my aunt, my uncle’s wife. Once my mom was off the phone I asked her what happened.

Before I tell you what happened, let me explain some things about my aunt so that you might better understand what I am going to tell you. My aunt has lymes disease. It is something that she has dealt with for a very long time that makes her life very difficult. She has had to take so many medications and worry constantly about everything in her life. The time has drawn near for her to get her next dose of medication but the medication costs a very large sum of money that she just doesn't have. My aunt is a gentle soul, as is her husband. They live in Northern California where my uncle trains horses. Being that my aunt enjoys a simple life, lymes is hard for her because it forces her to pay extra close attention to everything she does.

This morning my aunt decided that she just couldn't take it anymore and decided that she was going to attempt suicide by taking a large amount of pills. After taking the pills she changed her mind about things and called a friend to take her to the hospital. My aunt has now been in the hospital all day as the doctor’s work swiftly to remove the drugs from my aunts system.

This is not something that I could have ever imagined my aunt trying. She always seems so very happy. I find it very hard to understand the dark place that a person must be in to try and take their own life.

When I got home all I could think about was my Aunt. I sat and thought about how maybe, just maybe, if I would have told her that I loved her today or yesterday, maybe she wouldn't have decided to try and take her own life. This leads me to my rule about life for this blog.

We can't always expect for people that we truly care about to just know that we love and care for them. As of today, I will take advantage of ever opportunity I have to tell the ones I care about that I love them. You never know when the ones you love will be taken away from you.

So there you have it kids, this year be sure you Don't Forget To Tell the People Close To You That They Are Loved, it just might save someone’s life.

I know that suicide is something that people really don't agree with, including me. However, regardless of your opinions or beliefs I would really appreciate it if you avoided those types of comments. Thank you.

#6 Just Dance

Just Dance

There is such a passion in dance that can't be found anywhere else. -Kylie K.

        Last year when writing an essay about dance I was stumped. I had absolutely no clue what to write about. I looked over at my friend Kylie and began discussing what to write about. As we talked Kylie rattled off the quote I have written above. This one quote inspired me so much. 

        After speaking with Kylie I wrote my paper with such ease. While writing the paper I realized that dance really does have such passion! As I continued to write my paper I found another quote by a famous dancer named Martha Graham, "Dance is the hidden language of the soul". This quote holds so much truth. When choreographing a dance you can make the dance strong and powerful, you can make it dark, you can make it pleasant and happy! You can really portray any feeling you want through movements of the body.

        After writing this paper I found myself putting more and more of my personal feelings into my dancing. I participate in a dance class at a dance studio named Creative Rhythms Dance Studio and when we aren't learning choreography or doing some other form of structured activity I find myself just dancing and letting my feelings from that week flow out through my body, it is honestly one of my best sources to relieve stress and "vent". 

        Before Kylie said this quote I would just dance and do what I was taught, there really wasn't to much feeling that went into it but after this quote I have completely transformed my dancing from a structured activity to a time when I let loose and allow my feelings to be released from my body. I find that when I don't dance for a period of time, I am unhappy and grouchy with the people around me.

        I don’t know what I would do without dance because there is no other outlet for me that allows such stress relief. Even as the years have gone on I have continued to further my dancing skills and allow more and more of my feelings to show. I wish that everyone could let loose the way that I know many dancers do. I love dance and honestly I don’t see myself ever giving it up because first of all, I don’t think that the people I associate with could stand me if I didn't and secondly because It is one of the only things that I do well and thuroghly enjoy doing. All in all, dancing just makes the world a happier place.

So there you have it kids, make the world and yourself happy and just dance, it’ll be okay ;]

See what I did there? But for real kids, Just Dance.

#5 See the potential not only in yourself, but in the others around you.

See the potential in the people around you.
     
        Today I wrote an essay for the Timothy Portenier Memorial Scholarship. The prompt that I had to follow was The Importance of a Special Needs Individual in Society Today.
I’m going to be 100% honest, when I first read the prompt I was blank minded. Nothing popped into my head. I continued to think about the prompt and finally I came up with some reasons that special needs individuals are important to today’s society. First of all, they are capable of teaching us tolerance. Secondly, they can inspire us greatly. And last, they can bring us great joy. As I wrote this paper I began to see the potential that each of these unique human beings has. Then I went on to think about all of the potential that each and every human has.

        Think about it this way, when you really don’t like someone, you think derogatory thoughts about them, for girls it may be, “she’s such a slut.” Or “She’s so ugly.” You never hear a girl say something like, “She’s such a slut, but she’s so smart.” Or “Her hairs so ugly, but she has such a pretty face.” This is because when you see the potential in someone, it makes it really hard to dislike or see something negative about them. If everyone could see potential in the people around them, the world would be a much better place, there wouldn’t be bullying, there wouldn’t be racism, there wouldn’t be any more comparing ourselves to others, there would just be recognition of potential in the people around us.

        I’m going to make it a goal of mine this year to see the potential in others around me simply because it will do away with the negative thoughts and comments that run through my mind about others. It’s going to be very hard to find the positive in all situations at first because of the whole optimistic pessimistic thing (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, read my last blog) but once I get my feelings under control, finding at least one good thing about a person and seeing that they aren’t just a target for hatred will make you not only feel happier but look happier to others.

        Who knows maybe your new happy appearance will shine upon others around you and spread like wildfire! So there yuh go kids! This year take the initiative to See the Potential in the People Around You!

#4 Be Optomistic

Be Optomistic

In life, things don't always happen as we expect them to; and when they don't we automatically resort to a pessimistic train of thought. At least that's how we react at the beginning, after thinking about how we feel, some people would realize that they were acting ridiculous and start to look at the bright side of things but some would just decide to stay angry and pessimistic.

Throughout my experiences in life I have found that being optimistic has the best pay-out. In the moment, it may seem like letting the anger control you is the easiest thing to do but in the long run, being angry is a waste of time. When we are angry we aren't ourselves, things that we would normally see as extremely fun and entertaining become irrelevant and stupid to us because we are letting the anger control our lives. Being pessimistic could lead to missing some of the most important events in our lifes.

Like I said earlier, being pessimistic seems easier sometimes but in the end the best pay off will come from being optimistic and looking at the brighter side of things. When we look at the brighter side of things we take into consideration all of the things that we can improve on, we are simply happier because we see that we can improve and that things could have been ten thousand times worse.

Over the weekend I went to the Mad/Jazz Festival on the NAU campus in Flagstaff, AZ. At the festival, the jazz choir that I am involved in performed then after our performance a lady that is trained in vocal jazz came on stage and critiqued us. I was fine at this point; I mean I was a little disappointed with our performance. I felt like we didn’t do our best.

It wasn’t until we got our rating that I really was like, “Wow. We suck.” We got a Good, which is almost the worst rating that you can get. All I could think was, we are terrible. Then as I kept thinking I got more and more pissed because I thought about all of the new people that have no previous training in jazz. I was livid. I wanted to turn around and blame it all on the other people in the choir that I knew had not jazz training previous to this year.

 I continued to let the angry fire kindle in my heart and then I asked myself, “What the hell are you doing? You’re beating yourself and your group down. You will go nowhere with that mentality.” At that point I decided that I was acting like a total idiot. I needed to realize that we did what we could. I needed to realize that all of the people I felt were inferior in jazz training had nowhere to go but up.

On the way home we finally got a chance to listen to our recording as a group in the car and I was amazed. We sounded pretty damn good. Sure there were little things that needed to be fixed but they were just that, little things. I don’t believe that the clinician that we got gave us a fair rating. Instead of making me angry, this experience has just given me confidence to push further and help the others in my jazz group to go further as well.

My experience shows that being pessimistic will take us nowhere in life so therefore kids, we must choose to Be Optomistic.

#3 Titles don't matter.

Titles don't matter.

 Yesterday my cheer squad went to the State Championship Competition. We got 5^th place in Co-ed show cheer which is amazing, and then 9th in partner stunting. Needless to say, I was less than excited to hear that.

 I was beyond excited for 5^th place in show cheer! That means that we are the fifth best team in the state in our division which is pretty darn amazing if you ask me, but 9th in partner stunting? When they said that we got 9th I didn't know what to feel. I knew that my friend Andy who is the main base just had his heart torn out of his chest, but I didn't know if I should be angry because we deserved much better than 9th, sad because I knew how Andy and Violet must be feeling, or just pretend to be okay because that's what would look best for Holbrook. I went with the fake put on a smile choice because in the end, making Holbrook look good is what is going to matter most. We don't want to be known as the poor sports.

 Inside I was fuming. How the hell did we get ninth?! I felt like we did better than the 1st place team! I don't know if I am just being biased or not but I really felt that way. For the rest of the day yesterday all I could think about is how we deserved a better place, but after a long while I started to think about it deeper.

 Everyone that was there watched us, they loved us, and they know we got screwed over. They know who the best is, sure we didn't get the big ugly bronze plaque like the first place team, but in the end the plaque isn't what matters! We, and the people who witnessed our performance, know who the true winners are.

 The plaque is exactly what it is, a big ugly bronze plaque. There is nothing pretty about it. Yeah it may be the "official" state title but that’s all it will ever be is a title.

 Like I said before, everyone that saw it, whether in person or via internet, knows that we were truly amazing. All the other team has over us is a plaque! Nothing more than that! We should be proud of what we did yesterday morning. We should be proud of the months of effort that we put in, and we should be proud that people will remember Holbrook as a bad ass cheer team with a hard core partner stunt routine that many will remember forever.

 I could not be more proud of my team, I could not be more proud of Andy and Violet, I could not be more thankful for my amazing coach, and I could not be more proud to call Holbrook my home.

 So remember kids, all that matters is that we know in our hearts, we are truly #1 and that in the end, titles don't matter.

#2 Use Your Time Wisely

Use your time wisely.

This is something that I have always had a serious problem with. If I have somewhere to be at a specific time, most likely, I will be late to that place. If I have homework due at a certain time, I have a cram session a few hours before the assignment is due or before I go to bed, such as this one, which is entirely too close to the time that it is due.

The only time that I have something done on time is when I will suffer serious consequences if it isn't done, such as being on time to school this semester because If I am not I don't have a lunch period! 

Part of the reason that I don't get stuff turned in on time is because I find other, more entertaining, things to do such as the following examples.

-Oh my god! I ****** love this song! *three minute concert in my room, by myself*

-*ding dong* the door rings. It's Kimmy Kent with all of her homework that she needs to do too! But instead of doing homework, we watch four movies, eating hummus, and suck helium out of balloons and sends snaps to friends.

-My Guitar: *chanting louder and louder* Play me! Play me! Play me!

- My Heart Will Go On comes on Spotify...

NUFF SAID!

I guess I should really start to try harder at being on time. Sure, it is fun to live a care free life and just go with the flow and it is definitely more fun to have a one man concert in your room by yourself but in the long run, it's going hurt me more than anything. Someday when I have a real job and a real life my boss isn't going to like the excuse, "I don't know, I'm just late!" Excuses like those lose jobs!

For most of us, we don't realize how big of a deal it is to create a habit of being late. My entire high school life I have been okay with it because it never really affected me, I still got what I needed to done and had fun when I wanted to but when we grow up and start living in the real world getting the one assignment we have due, finished, won’t cut it. We will have multiple jobs: dads, moms, husbands, wifes, grandmas, grandpas, and last, professionals in our real job fields. Taking care of our children only when it is most needed isn't going to work. Doing our job at the last possible second will get to hard to keep up with. As for being a grandparent, well I guess that's the pay off for working hard because you can spoil the grandchildren and send them back home to their parents, therefore you only have to be a grandparent sometimes. Oh the perks of being old ;]

Cramming at the last second isn't something that will allow for successful, happy futures so it is time to use our time wisely because in the very near future we will be taking off into that new world of jobs and bigger and badder lives. So it’s time for us to put on our big kid pants and use our time wisely!

#1 Confidence Is Key

Confidence Is Key.

Yesterday my good friend Andy and I tried out for UCA (Universal Cheer Association) which is essentially professional cheer leading. This tryout was something Andy and I had been stressing about for weeks. This opportunity is a huge one for the two of us. If we make it in, we leave a week after graduation and drive around the country getting paid to do what we love. Cheer. This weight on our shoulders left us extremely stressed. What if everyone is better than us? What if we didn't learn the right material? So many questions and worries were running through our minds. They were just the right questions to ruin our confidence, to make us feel like we didn't have a chance.

Last night around five fifteen we decided we had better find a UCA instructor so that we would know where to check in before tryouts which was supposed to be at five thirty. We approached a woman in UCA staff attire and she informed us that the cheer competition they were hosting was running a little behind so the check ins wouldn't start until six o'clock. That was somewhat relieving because it gave us a chance to stretch a little bit before the tryouts and go get changed into different clothes. When it came time for tryouts we walked over to the corner of the convention center where a bunch of people with white papers were. We went over and immediately began talking to the other people trying out.

As we talked to the guys, we began to realize some things. First of all, we were some of the only high school guys trying out. Second, we were two of the only guys that took time to learn the cheer before we attended tryouts, and last, we had better skills than most of the other guys! That made me feel really good that we, the high school kids, stood out like soar thumbs amongst these male college cheer leaders!

As we continued to talk to people and meet new friends we figured out that we learned the right material which was extremely comforting in itself. When it came time for us to try out in our separate groups, my confidence was right where it needed to be and everything went perfectly. I couldn't have been more proud of my tryout.

The example of my UCA try out shows that without confidence, we have nothing. We may be the most amazing athletes with the most skill and technique but when you throw low confidence into the situation, it can destroy. Lacking in confidence can make you into someone you are not and strip you of all skill but having confidence can make your skill and technique look sharper than ever before!

So remember kids, along with many other things, this year to be successful in all that you do make sure you have a healthy dose of confidence because in the end confidence is key!