Light One Candle

I wanted to write something tonight that was away from the general "this is what I did today" posts I've been doing....but speaking of writing...today at our faculty meeting we each suggested two different extracurricular's we can "teach" or "advise". I'm going to be doing a creative writing one! I'm (here it comes again) so excited! I'm also going to incorporate drama into it, because they don't have a drama department and I think it's really important for kids to have that outlet. I know when I was that age, I was dealing with my own issues and once I was writing or acting (yes, I could act..believe it!) I felt so much better. I'm not sure what my other one will be yet, possibly something to do with using the internet effectivley, possibly a community service one. We shall see.

I know it seems like I'm doing so many different things at the school...and that's because I am. With it being so new and small, all of us are wearing several different hats. While it may be overwhelming, I already discussed with my supervisor when to say no to things (if it's getting in the way of spending time with my community) and honestly I'm just so happy to be at this school that they could ask me to clean the toilets and I'd do it in a heartbeat. I wish all of you could spend a day there and see how awesome it is.

Tomorrow the freshmen come and I'm (once again) so excited to meet them! It's a little intimidating but I'm going to walk in ther confident and ready to learn from them as well as teach them.

Okay, so back to what I was originally saying. I wanted to write something different tonight. I looked at my list of potential blog topics (yes, I have one) and decided on "admiring people younger than me".

I have very few friends who are exactly my age. I have many friends older than me, and many friends younger than me. I haven't quite figured out how I balance this, I mean it really doesn't make much sense. Yes, I am young for my class, so that's why I befriend those younger, but it's not as though I am immature, otherwise I wouldn't be such good friends with people older than me. Anyways, it's easy to admire those older. They set example for me, I follow their footsteps. Something I've found though, is the deep admiration and respect I have for certain people who are younger.

I could give you a million and one examples, the one that has been on my heart the past year is Laurence. He's a 14 year old kid battling brain cancer, yet has more wisdom and strength than people twice his age can ever imagine having. His ideas and motivation to help the poor in third world countries are outstanding. The smartest people running our country could never think of what he does. I don't mean that to offend anyone but rather to encourage you that if there are more young people out there like Laurence, we're in good hands.

Another example is my wittle Alyssa. She's such a sweetheart but I know things haven't always been easy for her. She reminds me so much of myself at her age. Her compassion for her family and willingness to care for others at an instant is something I admire and that keeps me inspired. She's one of those people who doesn't realize how great she is, she just continues doing wonderful acts anyways. Love that.

Okay, I had another paragraph written about Lexi and it totally didnt/copy paste. Sorry Lexi! Here it is! Lexi is yet another example of someone stronger than I thought was possible at that age. She, like Laurence, has ideas to help bring compassion and justice to the world. She truly cares about making a difference and I believe that one day we'll all know her name and read about something fantastic that she accomplished. Lexi and Alyssa are both like little sister's to me, and I feel so proud to know all the wonderful things that they do.

I could keep going but I'll just close with this: We don't always know the impact we're making on people...but it's important to sit back and reflect on our family and friends and how much they appreciate us. It's okay to remember that, it's not selfish to recognize your strengths. Just remember to smile at a stranger and hug a loved one. I say that often but it goes such a long way, I pinky promise.