UNWILLING STUDENT
I remember the old woman who taught me to iron. I was about 15 and somehow got a live-in job taking care of a woman who had been an able-bodied, healthy woman until the accident or tumor or something that caused her to be paralyzed. ... read >
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SIGNING OFF
My Dad was the last of the craftsman - while others added workers to take on bigger jobs, Dad remained a "business" unto himself, painting homes and hanging wallpaper to the best of his decades of experience. ... read >
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AN OLD DUTCHMAN TEACHES ME WORK ETHIC
My Dad, raised during the Great Depression, realized the benefits and discipline of hard work. He didn't want me to grow up soft. ... read >
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WE DID IT
We played 19 matches with teams from other organizations and lost 18 consecutive matches though 19th one was a victory. We were not ashamed. We were determined to make the next season a better one. ... read >
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MY FRIEND'S DETERMINATION
My best friend is Ellice T. Without her determination, she would probably still be studying at a primary school. ... read >
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TEACH THEM IN THE WAY TO GO
My father used some unusual techniques to teach us and rarely spared us from the school of hard lessons. These are the two I cherish most. ... read >
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FINALLY GRADUATING
As my password, I called myself “mountainclimber.” The journey was difficult and every hill seemed higher to climb. I suppose the thing that pulled me through was when I couldn't do it for myself, I could do it to honor my friend! ... read >
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DREAMS DO COME TRUE
Married with two children at thirty-eight, I grew restless. I was unhappy with my job and felt exhausted at the end of the day. I wanted to do something creative with my life. “Life begins at forty” became my mantra. ... read >
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MOTHER HEN
I remember that hot summer afternoon when I was finally taken to the hospital to get a glimpse of my much-awaited sibling. I had a baby sister and in my five-year-old mind what was of utmost importance was that now I had my very own playmate at home. ... read >
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THE TWO FAILURES
My sister and I have been a trial for my mother. We were a pair of monkeys and the stories of our escapades are part of the family folklore. My father being in the army was not around too often during our growing up years so my mother brought us up almost single handedly and it must have taken some strength of mind to bring up two such naughty and stubborn children who got out from one trouble only to get into another. ... read >
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IN THIS MOMENT, WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT?
Today in the moments of frustration, ask yourself the question, "In this moment, what is most important?" ... read >
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KINDNESS
Before the day of the assembly, I had been trying to better myself by simply being kind to others. After the assembly, I got the idea of just saying thanks to the wonderful staff at my high school. ... read >
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SUNDAYS WITH JESSE
The principal had put me down for watching over Jesse. Jesse was like any other 4th grade boy except for one thing: He was profoundly autistic.
... read >
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2XTREME
John told me that if I could get good grades, have no negative police contact, do at least 60 hours of community service, and stay sober, he would take me on the "2Xtreme Dream" trip.
The “2Xtreme Dream” was a trip to southern Russia to climb Europe's tallest mountain, Mt. Elbrus, standing at 18,510 feet.
... read >
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HAVING FAITH IN YOURSELF
"If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." This quote has always seemed to describe me perfectly. All throughout my high school career I have always been the person to play it safe. ... read >
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BECOMMING WHOLE AGAIN
We all have our own story filled with chapters about people and events unique to us and I will never forget where my life story took a sudden change of course and brought about my most life altering events with people I’ll never forget.
... read >
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MY FIRST MANAGEMENT JOB
When I started my career in management I was really green, but I always tried to stay upbeat and positive on the job. I was working for a new company that was having a rocky time with their only major customer. ... read >
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HELPING THE ELDERLY
To live in a hard-knock place, and see that there are still values that people believe in and live up to, is so rare. ... read >
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MY SON SAVED MY LIFE
My teenager is gifted, talented and excels in school. Best of all, he has confidence in himself and his abilities! I still spend most of my time with him and he never ceases to amaze me with his wonderful intelligence. ... read >
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I LIVE INSPIRED
Two years ago my life took a quite unexpected turn. I can remember the exact moment, sitting on the front steps of my apartment listening to an old friend explain his goal to help people in recovery from substance abuse. Little did I know this mission would soon expand to include helping the world live more inspired.
... read >
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A SIMPLE LIFE PROJECT
In 9th grade I was assigned a "Life Project." During this project we had to interview a person whom we hoped to be like later in life. Then we had to give an oral presentation to the class about how it went. I wanted to become an entertainment lawyer. ... read >
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DELIVERING SMILES
My name is Destinee. I am 11 years old. I have a friend name Shelby. Shelby and I have set up a small organization with my Mom. It is called Delivering Smiles. ... read >
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RUNNING THE EMOTIONAL DISTANCE
When my cancer treatment concluded, I set a personal goal to run 10 marathons by my brother's 10th anniversary in 2009, hoping to raise $40,000 for the Boys & Girls Club and the Stephen O'Grady Scholarship Foundation to honor what should be his 40th birthday. Never underestimate what we can do in the name of love, or with the proper inspiration. ... read >
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JUST GIVE
A few years ago, I was the single mom of two kids, aged 12 and 14. Times, as always for us, were very hard. I spent 85% of my pay for rent ... read >
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MY JOB
My name is John Ralph. I don't have any stories to tell but what I can say is that your organization has inspired me more to strive harder in my studies. ... read >
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ENCOURAGEMENT AND BELIEVING
I just watched Track Coach and it brought back memories of when I was in grade 6. I joined the cross country running club. I hated running but joined because my friends were in the club. I worked hard and no matter how hard I trained, I constantly came in dead last. ... read >
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IMPOSSIBLE THINGS
During a particularly bad moment I emailed my old high school religion teacher that I was in the middle of a crisis of faith and didn't really know how to carry on. His response was simple but so profound, "to believe in the face of it all - that is faith. Impossible things happen every day."
... read >
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MR. AND MRS. POSITIVE
I have two really good friends, Nancy and Richard. They both believe in the power of positive thinking. However, though their personalities are similar, they are totally different in other areas of their lives. The biggest differences are their childhood, career choices, and lifestyles. ... read >
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