EDHS Contemporary World Affairs

We've talked a lot this semester about ideas and opinions.  Hopefully you, as a thinking evaluating analyzing Smarty McSmartypants, are starting to develop a core philosophy/world view that is the basis for all of said opinions.  As a final topping/culimnation of the semester, please participate in an international project devoted to exploration of those core views:

* Submit your This I Believe as a reply to this thread so that your classmates can read it TODAY! 

* Consider also submitting it to the actual This I Believe project (directions for how to do so can be readily found at www.thisibelieve.org along with lots of samples!)

DIRECTIONS:

This I Believe is an international project engaging people in writing and sharing essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. Over 70,000 of these essays have been collected by the This I Believe project (and are available online at the above website if you want to look at some samples!), and yours will be the newest 25!

The task is simple: Write an essay explaining to me exactly who you think you are (a princess, a jock, a basket case, a brain, a criminal...).  And by essay,  I mean essay, not a single word repeated hundreds of times :) (RIP John Hughes)!




This I Believe Essay-Writing Guidelines:

We invite you to contribute to this project by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. We understand how challenging this isit requires such intimacy that no one else can do it for you. To guide you through this process, we offer these suggestions:

Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenchingit can even be funnybut it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

 

Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words (you can use the "Word Count" feature in the Tools menu of Microsoft Word to check). Thats about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.

 

Name your belief: If you cant name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief, because three minutes is a very short time.

 

Be positive: Please avoid preaching or editorializing. Tell us what you do believe, not what you dont believe. Avoid speaking in the editorial we. Make your essay about you; speak in the first person.

 

Be personal: Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

 

For this project, we are also guided by the original This I Believe series and the producers invitation to those who wrote essays in the 1950s. Their advice holds up well and we are abiding by it. Please consider it carefully in writing your piece.

 

In introducing the original series, host Edward R. Murrow said, Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent. We would argue that the need is as great now as it was 50 years ago. We are eager for your contribution.

 

The Original Invitation from This I Believe:

This invites you to make a very great contribution: nothing less than a statement of your personal beliefs, of the values which rule your thought and action. Your essay should be about three minutes in length when read loud, written in a style as you yourself speak, and total no more than 500 words.

 

We know this is a tough job. What we want is so intimate that no one can write it for you. You must write it yourself, in the language most natural to you. We ask you to write in your own words and then record in your own voice. You may even find that it takes a request like this for you to reveal some of your own beliefs to yourself. If you set them down they may become of untold meaning to others.

 

We would like you to tell not only what you believe, but how you reached your beliefs, and if they have grown, what made them grow. This necessarily must be highly personal. That is what we anticipate and want.

 

It may help you in formulating your credo if we tell you also what we do not want. We do not want a sermon, religious or lay; we do not want editorializing or sectarianism or finger-pointing. We do not even want your views on the American way of life, or democracy or free enterprise. These are important but for another occasion. We want to know what you live by. And we want it in terms of I, not the editorial We.

 

Although this program is designed to express beliefs, it is not a religious program and is not concerned with any religious form whatever. Most of our guests express belief in a Supreme Being, and set forth the importance to them of that belief. However, that is your decision, since it is your belief which we solicit.

 

But we do ask you to confine yourself to affirmatives: This means refraining from saying what you do not believe. Your beliefs may well have grown in clarity to you by a process of elimination and rejection, but for our part, we must avoid negative statements lest we become a medium for the criticism of beliefs, which is the very opposite of our purpose.

 

We are sure the statement we ask from you can have wide and lasting influence. Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent. Your belief, simply and sincerely spoken, is sure to stimulate and help those who hear it. We are confident it will enrich them. May we have your contribution?

 

Adapted from the invitation sent to essayists featured in the original This I Believe series. Excerpted from This I Believe 2, copyright © 1954 by Help, Inc.

 

My Favorite TIB that I've heard:

Be Cool to the Pizza Dude

by Sarah Adams

 

May 16, 2005

 

(Sarah Adams has held many jobs in her life, including telemarketer, factory worker, hotel clerk and flower shop cashier, but has never delivered pizzas. Raised in Wisconsin, Adams is now an English professor at Olympic Community College in Washington.)

 

If I have one operating philosophy about life it is this: "Be cool to the pizza delivery dude; it's good luck." Four principles guide the pizza dude philosophy.

 

Principle 1: Coolness to the pizza delivery dude is a practice in humility and forgiveness. I let him cut me off in traffic, let him safely hit the exit ramp from the left lane, let him forget to use his blinker without extending any of my digits out the window or towards my horn because there should be one moment in my harried life when a car may encroach or cut off or pass and I let it go. Sometimes when I have become so certain of my ownership of my lane, daring anyone to challenge me, the pizza dude speeds by me in his rusted Chevette. His pizza light atop his car glowing like a beacon reminds me to check myself as I flow through the world. After all, the dude is delivering pizza to young and old, families and singletons, gays and straights, blacks, whites and browns, rich and poor, vegetarians and meat lovers alike. As he journeys, I give safe passage, practice restraint, show courtesy, and contain my anger.

 

Principle 2: Coolness to the pizza delivery dude is a practice in empathy. Let's face it: We've all taken jobs just to have a job because some money is better than none. I've held an assortment of these jobs and was grateful for the paycheck that meant I didn't have to share my Cheerios with my cats. In the big pizza wheel of life, sometimes you're the hot bubbly cheese and sometimes you're the burnt crust. It's good to remember the fickle spinning of that wheel.

 

Principle 3: Coolness to the pizza delivery dude is a practice in honor and it reminds me to honor honest work. Let me tell you something about these dudes: They never took over a company and, as CEO, artificially inflated the value of the stock and cashed out their own shares, bringing the company to the brink of bankruptcy, resulting in 20,000 people losing their jobs while the CEO builds a home the size of a luxury hotel. Rather, the dudes sleep the sleep of the just.

 

Principle 4: Coolness to the pizza delivery dude is a practice in equality. My measurement as a human being, my worth, is the pride I take in performing my job -- any job -- and the respect with which I treat others. I am the equal of the world not because of the car I drive, the size of the TV I own, the weight I can bench press, or the calculus equations I can solve. I am the equal to all I meet because of the kindness in my heart. And it all starts here -- with the pizza delivery dude.

 

Tip him well, friends and brethren, for that which you bestow freely and willingly will bring you all the happy luck that a grateful universe knows how to return.

In short I believe I am a very superstitious person. With my father born and raised in a small town in Louisiana, Farmerville, he grew up hearing and believing old wise tells often from African American heritage as he did indeed grow up just outside of New Orleans. My mother was also brought up in a similar way, only she moved around a lot as a kid. She was primarily influenced, however, by her cousin who was a believer in the supernatural. The background of both of my parents has shaped my beliefs immensely.

There are a few superstitions I hold onto very tightly even now that Im old enough to know they arent always true.

January 1st Ever since I was little I was told by my parents that what you do on the first day of the new year is what youll end up doing all year long. This primarily came from my mothers mother who grew up in Kentucky (just something about those southerns huh?). The idea is if youre happy and relaxed and whatnot on the 1st of January thats the way your whole year will be, but on the flip side if you fight and argue with loved ones or are mad and angry thats how you will spend the rest of the year. On top of this every year on the 1st we have Black Eyed Peas and have to eat a certain amount for good luck in my case my individual favorite number, 3, for my mom 8 and so on. This idea came from my fathers grandmother who was influenced by the slaves her family owned when she was just a kid. Whether or not it works it certainly makes me feel better so I assume I will continue to do it!

Smoke Blows to the Prettiest Person The first time I heard this I was a 7 year-old Indian Guide at Spring Camp building a fire with my dad. Repeatedly the smoke blew into my face and as I would walk around the fire it would follow me. Annoyed I made a comment and my dad responded with, Dont you know that smoke always blows towards the most attractive person by the fire? Guess you got us all beat. Although humorous, it has occurred at other times in my life (beach bonfires, backyard fire pit, etc.) where in my mind I will notice that the smoke is actually blowing towards the person who would appear to be most attractive. When I have explained this idea to friends of mine they all seem skeptical but eventually agree with me that in fact they notice it too. This is one of my personal favorites.

Everything Ends Up Accounted For I guess another way you could phrase this would be Karma is real. For as long as I can remember my dad has also been the helpful-good-ol-boy from down South, I assume people relate that to southern hospitality. My dad never has a problem helping anyone who needs it, no matter what the task. Just recently I witnessed my dad hop out of the car we were in at a red light because he saw another car that had run out of gas trying to turn into the gas station and stalled in the middle of the intersection. As traffic continued to drive swerving by him, honking, and cussing, my dad got out of our car (so did a few other men) and went over and pushed his car into the gas station. I was so baffled by this action I had to jump into the drivers seat to move our car when our light changed but I couldnt help wondering why and obviously admiring this action. Later when I asked my dad he simply responded with I hope that if I was in that position someone would help me the way I helped them. I am firm believer that someone would help my dad kind of like the universe repaying his good deed. This is another favorite because it promotes a genuinely good and honest life style. As my mom would argue if you dont do whats morally right someone or something somewhere would know about it and eventually it would come back to haunt you.

I like to think these small beliefs help make me a better person, or make me a little more eccentric in some unique way. Although Im sure not all are true (the wind often blows the smoke in a direction, East West North South, whoever happens to be on the other side is just a coincidence, right?) they certainly make life a little more interesting at times. And I guess you never really know.

So some of my punctuation and bolding of titles didn't get transferred from word :/ hope you still understand!!

Throughout my life, I have visited many countries and have learned about a variety of cultures. Each experience has had a positive effect on me and my outlook on life, ultimately shaping the person I am today: Diverse. Open minded. Knowledgeable. Curious. With this said, I strongly believe that through travel and exploration, you are able to better yourself and gain a fresh perspective on life.

When I was younger, I had travelled throughout most of Mexico, the Caribbean, and the Bahamas. Although I appreciated visiting the different Mayan ruins or going snorkeling with sea turtles, I never actually had a passion for exploring the wonders of our world, I just thought that these trips were just cool or fun. Dont get me wrong, I definitely appreciated those trips, but I never fully grasped the true meaning as to why people travel, or at least as to why people should travel.

Many view travelling as a solely luxury filled with materialistic items and fancy hotels with filet mignon and personal cabana boy, and it definitely is (to a certain extent), but I think sometimes you need to take a step back and envision the full picture. The purpose of travel is to go to an unknown and foreign country. But why? Yes, because of the views and scenery, but isnt it because we have a yearning to escape a world from our own in order to gain insight on cultures different than ours? To see what the world is really like? Sadly, I believe that travelling has become materialistic and we as human beings have lost sight of the fact that travelling gives you a new outlook on life and from this, you become a better, more intelligent and diverse person.

It wasnt until last summer when I travelled throughout Western Europe that I came to this conclusion. After seeing so many historical monuments I became more knowledgeable of history that I know had been taught to me in class before, but never fully understood. I was able to interact with people of different races and was able to have a hands on experience as to what their culture was like. I learned different languages even if it was only a few words. However, I wasnt concerned with whether or not my hotel was A++ material or that I had to indulge myself in the fanciest meal ever just because I was on vacation. I didnt need that to complete my day. Just the fact that I was able to have the experience to see the world and the many cultures that lye within it filled my days with joy and that was all that mattered to me.

After this trip, something ignited within me. I have now discovered that this passion is for travelling. I constantly dream about seeing the many countries of the world and discovering different cultures. Now, I plan on being a travel journalist so I can do what I love for a living and hopefully can inspire many to explore this world as well. I believe that through travel and exploration, you are able to better yourself and gain a fresh perspective on life and as St. Augustine once said that The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

I am a post modernist who believes nothing is quite certain. Therefore, I live, believing everything is possible, while also believing that everything can be entirely false. I do not know whether I believe in Socrates realm of ideas or Aristotelian world view. In other words, I am not sure I know whether a chair is a chair because there exists an idea of a chair in the realm of ideas or because I have known similar object to be things to be sat on. It is an interesting ways to live a life; you could agree with everyone at times and also disagree with everyone.
I reached this belief because I didnt like the previous philosophy that breached all parts of society: modernism. Everything is so set in place in society of Modernism, and I didnt like how the world worked then.
I attend a Christian Evangelical Church, but I am closer to being a Deist than a conservative Evangelical like many of those at my church. Needless to say, many of the times, whatever they say, I disagree. But I dont speak out because they could be right; and at this point in my life, I wouldnt really care if they turn out to be right. However, I whole heartily disagree with those that express certainty in existence or non-existence of a divine being.

I have one belief that I apply to everything in my life pretty much and that is when all is said and done Im going to die at the end of it. That might sound very obvious but I think at times I find others not being able to understand that.

When all is said and done Im going to die at the end of this life so its kind of foolish to live in a way thats not true to who I am. I mean after all, Im given one shot, one chance, one moment of existence as my absolute and complete self. It is very common and easy to imitate someone or something you see that appeals to others. However, it is very much a journey and rewarding challenge to not only find myself but create myself as a person; to take in every experience, every failure, every victory, and let that mold me into who I was destined to become. I believe that it is almost a betrayal to the idea of life and death not to let who you are becoming shine forth for fear of rejection or judgment. I believe that others will try to fit you into designated molds that are convenient and manageable in their own lives. But that is just it, its convenient for the life that they have to die at the end of not the one you must die at e end of. To live for someone else maybe considered a romantic notion however it is one that serves no purpose at the ultimate end that is death. After all, in death I owe no one, I please no one, I dont fit into anyones life conveniently. I am dead. I am no longer. I do believe in after life however I believe it is one where I dont exist as me. I have one chance to put myself, what I love, what I want, what I want in to this world. I have only one life ended by death to say what I believe.

When others ask why I dance, I most often answer with the generic response; Because its fun. The reality is, dance is much more than an after school activity to me. I believe with ever fiber of my being that dance is the most powerful and raw form of expression that there is. I feel this way for a number of reasons and through my experience I have found that sometimes, dance is one of the only things that keep me sane.
One of my dance teachers once said to me, Dance is what music looks like. I heard this and pondered it for a few seconds, not really understanding what he meant. I looked at him and he smiled and told me that I would understand one day. Fast-forward to a few weeks later. Im standing in my dance studio, all of the lights are off except for a spot-light that sat in the corner of the room by the stereo and my dance teacher. The light created an almost eerie aura around him as he said a dancers most feared word; Improv. Improv is basically freestyle, just do whatever you want, dance, go for it. Most dancers have this fear that theyre going to make themselves look stupid and being new at this particular studio, I for sure had a feeling of creeping anxiety. Then, my teacher points to me and says Syd, you first. I stood there like a deer in headlights, What!? He smiled and pushed me in the center of the floor. He played the music and said; Dance is what music looks like. I listened to the song and began to move. It was amazing that that one statement completely changed the place from which my movement came from. It was as if some outside force was guiding me telling me what to do. The song as I specifically remember it was I doesnt hurt by Katie Thompson. The only way I could describe it was that as I moved, instead of listening to the words and developing a story with it, I was able to listen and take on her emotions and in doing so, I discovered that this particular emotion; frustration ,was pouring out of me effortlessly. When I was finished, I understood. Dance is emotional expression through music. The movement from the dancer takes whatever the music is saying and gives it a physical meaning. Whether or not I was actually frustrated about something, I dont remember. I do however; remember that after I finished dancing I felt this overwhelming sense of relief and contentment.
The reason I think I felt so relieved is because, dance is movement and movement is a natural way of expressing oneself. When people feel a powerful emotion, the natural response is to move in a way that conveys that. For example, someone who is sad may curl into a ball. Someone who is frustrated may hit the wall with their fists. Afterword, there is a sense of a burden of emotion being lifted. Dance takes this, using music as its facilitator, and magnifies it. Im an emotional person and so often I find myself feeling overwhelmed with it. Dance is the only way I can explain my emotions. Using my movement, I could tell someone so much more about the way Im feeling then I could if I tried to tell them about it. The beauty is, no one has to be watching or listening and I still feel heard.
I feel that dance is for me, a window into who I am. The way I move, regardless of style, is reflecting what I feel and think and believe in. Its my way of telling people that I am much more then meets the eye.

I believe
that every day is progressive, and time is powerful. That no matter how bad an event is in my life, It was going to happen. Its kind of the saying like things happen for a reason, but in my way of thinking I involve time. Every day is better than the last, whether something good or not happened previously. Challenges and hardships should be accepted positively, because today I am alive more than ever. I cannot change how I acted, or what happened in my past. What I do here and now reflects my future. Time is never ending, It goes on, and on, with or without me, but it will always be here when I am ready to rise up from adversity that I face. This also plays into being optimistic during hard times. I feel that time will do its part in fixing and healing my mind and soul. What exactly is time though? We divided it into 12, then 60. It creates stress and anticipation. But I believe patience and optimism will do its own part in reconstructing the mind. Ive been through a lot of tough times and stress, when I least expected it. I didnt know how to handle or absorb the changes that were happening. But with my belief that it was meant to happen, and that everyday is progress made in the book of my life, I slowly picked myself up. So with time Ive learned to accept what comes into my life. And translated it to being positive. I feel that there is no such thing as a set back. Everyday is me in progress. As disappointing of an outcome something might be I will continue to learn, and see every day as progress made. As much as someone might look down on me for a failure I have no feeling of regret, because the only way I can know how to do something correct I need to learn how to do it wrong. So to conclude my thoughts I don't think that negative events in my life define whether or not Im making progress in my life. Theres too much to learn in this world to have setbacks from our hardships and adversity we may face. Every day Im alive, is a positive step forward always.

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. Oprah Winfrey

 

I believe in the power of friendship. I think a friend is someone who gives you the freedom to be whoever you want. A friend is someone who picks you up when you are down, makes you laugh when you are in a bad mood, and most importantly someone who is there for you whenever you need them.

I think friendship completes me and I would not be the same person I am today without it. I think a friend is someone who gives you the freedom to be whoever you want. I personally have a lot of friends and I treat them all them same, always respecting their decisions and I hope they do they same with me. I strongly believe that you should treat others the way you want to be treated.

Friendship has shaped the person I am today, because without friends and meeting new friends I would have been a loner sitting in the corner all the time and not getting involved in the social activities. Having friends is hard at times but at other times it is the best thing you have. Friends know how to make you happy and change your mood around when you are down and you don't need a lot of friends just to be happy!

I believe in many things, but I think I probably believe in kindness most of all. Thats probably because I firmly believe that a little kindness can go a long way toward improving peoples lives in the simplest ways.

Ive experienced this personally in the glummer periods of my life. Smiles, hellos, hugs, its the small things that helped me through tough times. I dont know what I would have done, if it hadnt been for these tokens of acknowledgment from others, some of who probably were probably going through their own problems. When I look back, however, what really strikes me is that much of this kindness came from acquaintances, people I didnt know very well at all, and that it mattered just as much to me as the kindness my friends paid me. It wasnt necessarily what kindness they paid me, a sincere hello or compliment, what mattered was that they took time out of their lives to recognize me as a person. It was like they were saying, Oh, hello! Youre not invisible, youre worth speaking too, worth a smile, hug, compliment, kindness. And I cherished that at a time I felt I was alone.

Its because of my experience that I always try to smile at people, even when Im feeling down myself, because I know it really does mean something, however small, and I think that something is worth it. More than just smiling, I also do my best to talk with people, and listen to them when they speak to me, really listen. Its hard, sometimes. Life can be stressful and its easy to focus on my own problems and myself and ignore things that dont affect me. After all, its hard to be nice when you have unfinished work and are running on a sum total of three hours of sleep. Its easy to say, Oh! You have problems? Just wait until you hear about mine But I find that if I stop myself, and give others that small kindness of shutting up and listening, really listening, I feel better too.

Thats the amazing thing about kindness: You get as much as and more than you give. And its so easy. So easy to tell someone they have pretty hair and mean it. So easy to smile and ask how their day has been and actually wait and listen to an answer beyond fine. Thats why I believe in kindness. Because it doesnt end, because it really matters.