Day Three: Spend Time with People You Love

I have a very busy lifestyle as a high school student- much like a majority of the kids at my school.  I maintain a solid 3.9 GPA in school.  I’m in Oral Interp and FCCLA.  I just got a promotion at work.  I even have a boyfriend, who happens to be very needed and time-consuming.  (Just kidding babe!)

So in the mix of homework, house chores, and running to the bank to cash my paychecks, some things get pushed to the wayside.   Last year, for example, sleep was the last thing on my list of priorities.  And it made me CRANKY!  Seriously, if I don’t get a full eight hours of sleep, I’m a complete grouch.  So this year, I swapped my lack of sleep for a lack of a social life.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love my friends and family with all my heart.  I just forget to really appreciate sometimes.

So today, my mom, best friend, and I went shopping.

I know.  It doesn’t really sound like a big deal.  But, to me, it is.  I don’t spontaneously go shopping with the people I love.  I don’t spontaneously do ANYTHING.  And I think it meant a lot to my mom and best friend.  I know it meant a lot to me.

It felt good to spend time with them.

I chose to journal this as my positive act of the day because I want to highlight the fact that you should cherish the people you have in your life.  The people you love might not always be around.  That’s something I need to remember.

That’s something I think we all need to remember.

Day Two: The Thank You Letter

I don’t know about you, but when it’s my birthday, I don’t shut up about it.  My constant ramblings about it amount to the equivalent of a radio advertisement.  I tell teachers, friends, family, dentists, random people on the street…all multiple times.  And last Sunday I turned 18.  So, as you can imagine, my endless banters increased tenfold.

Something else you may not know about me is that I mentor for fifth grade.  I correct papers, clean and organize the classroom, and answer students’ questions.  What’s really cool is that the fifth grade teacher is the same teacher I had in elementary school- my favorite teacher I’ve had my entire school career.

It goes without saying that my big, excited, almost-18-year-old mouth told my favorite teacher about my birthday probably weeks before it was even September.  And she remembered.  And she made it amazing.

It was 9:10 on Thursday, September 6th*. (See!  This meant so much to me I remember almost everything- even the littlest details.  I NEVER remember the little details.)  The second period bell echoed through the halls as I walked into the fifth grade classroom.  I recall that the lights were off and a feeling of anticipation washed through me.  Mentoring is my favorite part of the day.

I was venturing to my student mentoring desk as the entire classroom burst into singing!

“Happy birthday to you!  Happy birthday to you!...”

When the singing was over a giant, homemade card popped out of nowhere!  All the kids had signed it with squiggly letters and misspelled words.  It made me so happy!

A little boy even gave me a beautiful bookmark!  Beaming, I walked out of the classroom to put up social studies projects in the hallway, and when I came back to my desk, a Maurice’s gift card greeted me.

It was an amazing birthday.

*Because of Homecoming on September 7^th and the weekend, the fifth graders couldn’t celebrate my birthday on its exact day, September 9^th.

I wanted to do something to show my supreme gratitude for what the fifth graders did for me.  So, in the spirit of my senior project, I wrote a thank you letter!

 My mom always stressed thank you letters.  In fourth grade I had my ninth birthday party.  And after all the cake was eaten and presents where opened, my mom forced me the write thank you letters.  I thought it was the stupidest thing in the world.

I mean, I already said thank you!  Why should I have to do it again?  So reluctantly, I wrote 20-some Thank You’s with no effort at all.  And my mom had me rewrite each one of them.

Now that I’m 18, I know the importance of writing thank you letters.  The person who gave you something doesn’t HAVE to give you it.  They went out of their way to make YOUR life better.  You need to be grateful and, more importantly, SHOW your thankfulness.

Thank you letters don’t have to be anything huge and expensive.  The one I created was made of construction paper for crying out loud!  Just make sure to put in as much time and effort in it as you can.

And most of the time, people give you extra props if you give them something sweet.

:)

Day One: World Suicide Prevention Day

 To Write Love on Her Arms Mission Statement:

"To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery."

  

For my first day of my senior project I wanted to do something big.  Something fantastic to really get this thing started.  I want to grab people's attention.

 

And what better way to grab people's attention then to wear yellow?

 

As I was brainstorming ideas to kick this project off, many ideas popped into my head.  But the idea I chose to follow was one that came to me in a text message.

 

"Suicide awareness day tomorrow.  Wear yellow or write love on your arms!(:"

 

That is the exact text message that my best friend sent me.  She's big with TWLOHA, and I wanted to show my support.  So what did I do?  I wore yellow AND I wrote love on my arms.

 

 

 

I wanted my first day to be something everyone could do in their everyday life.  And I want 98% of this month to be that way as well.  Passing around good deeds and positivity isn't something that always has to be a "big deal" and it most certainly doesn't have to come in the form of money.

 

Some of my friends also participated in World Suicide Prevention Day.

 

 

World Suicide Prevention Day

 

On http://www.twloha.com/facts/ I learned some interesting facts about suicide.  They stated that the World Health Organization estimates that about one million people die from suicide a year.  And that number is only going up.  There has been a 60% increase of suicide rates in the last 45 years, and by 2020 experts say that that rate will increase to one death every 20 seconds.

 

One suicide every 20 seconds.

 

As it is, suicide is one of the three leading causes of death for both males and females between the ages of 15 and 44.  What’s even scarier is that the young people suicide group is at the highest risk of suicide in one third of all countries in the world.

 

That's one third to many if you ask me.

 

Suicide is only getting worse, which is why I want to raise awareness for it.  And although all suicide is tragic, I really want to emphasis teen suicide.  As a teenager myself, it’s hard to believe that other teens are tempted to end their own life.

 

So what causes teen suicide?  On www.kidshealth.org/teen it says that “most teens do it because they were trying to escape from a situation that seemed impossible to deal with or to get relief from really bad thoughts or feelings.”

That means is that teenagers do it because they felt alone and helpless.  Maybe that loneliness was caused by a loss of a loved one or because they were having trouble developing their identity.  Maybe it was because of their parent’s divorce or constant bullying.

 

If you go to bed tonight only knowing one thing, please let it be this:

 

You never know what someone’s story is- what they are feeling, what goes on at home- and your actions can make or break someone.

A Slight Change of Plans

As you may or may not know, I am extremely excited to start my senior project.  I have everything in order.  This project has been approved by my principal, I have all the necessary paperwork and a pen laying right next to me as I type, and I have my in-school advisor all set up and ready to go.  However, I have one slight problem.

I have no idea who my OUT-of-school advisor will be.

 

How can I do my project if I don't have one of the most important factors of it?  So!  To make my life a little easier, I am going to start this project on September 10th.  This not only gives me time to decide and contact my out-of-school advisor, but also works best with my upcoming schedule.

My Upcoming Schedule Includes

- Working at the State Fair.  Who knows if I'll have Internet access! -

- Coronation and Homecoming -

- My 18th birthday and senior picture clothes shopping -

- LOTS of extremely hard homework -

- TONS of quizzes, exams, and tests -

 

My schedule also include plans to cure cancer, student procrastination, and that awkward feeling you have when you know you are making pitiful excuses...



I know, I know.  The only legitimate excuse I have is the first one- I can't journal on the Internet if the Internet isn't there!  And I do feel very sad and guilty that I have to change the date I start this project.  I mean, I chose to start this project in September because I knew it was going to be a busy month for me.

I just want to make sure that every entry I make in this journal will be an interesting, thought provoking one.  Quality is my number one concern.  Oh, and the whole out-of-school mentor thing...SEE!  I forgot I needed to get one of them AGAIN!

My last subject of business is how this effects the rest of my dates.  To make this as easy, informative, and entertaining as possible, I will list the dates off in a short list and color them!  Here goes:

• September 10th- I will start my project FOR SURE.
• October 11th- I will be done with my 31 day project.  This will be the latest day you can start your own journals.
• November 12th- This will be the last day I'll accept jounrals.  (I slipped in one extra day for you- so I don't feel so guily about slipping in one extra week :D )

Alrighty.  With all that said and done, I'm going to bed.  (I started this post at 11:00 P.M.  It is now 12:11 A.M.  Boy, I talk a lot...)  I'll talk to you next time...and next time I WILL have an out-of-school advisor!!