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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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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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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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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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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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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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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THANK YOU TEAM HOYT
Last year the impossible happened. My husband, Scott, found out he had cancer and passed away six weeks later. I stopped running and didn't go to Philly. Yet, every time I passed by my dining room, I would see the picture of Team Hoyt- "qualify for Boston." ... 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."
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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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