Digital Voices

Chelsea “This I Believe” podcast

I believe in being independent as a person. An independent person is someone who has the ability to grow, change, learn and make choices good or bad without the persuasion of someone else.

For me I was independent in all of those areas in my life while I was growing up and in my life now. When I was young my parents divorced, my sister was diagnosed with epilepsy and I was forced to be wise beyond my years. My mother sank in to what I would consider to be a deep depression, my father moved to Alaska and my step dad worked out of state. My mom spent all her time in her room leaving me to look after my sister who was three years older then me. There was no one to make sure my homework was done or my room was clean or talk to me about troubles I was having at school, yet I made sure my sister did her homework before mom got home, that she was safe and that I did what was expecting of me. As hard as it was to be independent as a young child and as mad as I was at my mom for not spending enough time with me and giving me so much responsibility it made me who I am today; responsible, self motivated and on my way to being successful.

I currently have a part time job at Arby’s, drive 40 minutes each way to and from school everyday, I have my own credit card, checking account and insurance to pay. This summer I start a job as a temp at a factory to help me pay off my car loan, and I go off to college in September to study Pre-med at Eastern Michigan University. I know that because I was able to make sure I did what I needed to when I was young and that I am able to do things on my own now, that when I go off to college it won’t be any different. I believe if it weren’t for my strong sense of self and independence that I would not be going to college or even graduating from high school.

I believe that independence is the best tool a person can have in life but only if there is a balance between to much and to little. I believe that it’s bad for children to be coddled; they should be forced to do things on their own. When a child is given tasks to complete on their own such as cleaning their rooms it gives them a since of independence. Children who don’t learn independence and responsibility and are not as well prepared for life on their own as children who know independence. Having too much independence is as detrimental as having no independence. Growing up I had a curfew, I couldn’t go out on school nights and I was forced to go to school even if I was sick. I’m sure that if I would have been able to stay out as long as I wanted and not go to school that I was not be where I am to day. I’m sure that I would have been in jail at least once, be working a minimum wage job making barley enough money to pay my bills. With a balanced amount of Independence a child will learn how to cope with problems on their own, make money to pay for their own fun and have dreams that they can actually achieve.

I believe in independence. That it is the key to happiness and success. That it gives you the ability to live life the way you want, to make choices that you believe in, and be able to bask in your success because you know that you it is because of yourself and not someone else. Being independent means that in the end you will know that your life will be the one you chose to live.

Philipp’s “This I Believe” podcast

Every day I meet new people who ask me about my home country Germany. All the new people, classmates and my host family are at first so interested and have a lot of good questions. I told them were I came from, what hobbies I have, what my parents are doing and so on and so on. Just what every single person would do to have a good relationship to these people in your, in this case my new community. Even when the new friends I made started asking me about every single thought, I stayed calm and answered every single one in a way it was needed to be nice and friendly and keep them interested. Not a real big deal. I think I tried to answer questions so, that on the one hand I work on my friendship and on the other hand I give them a good picture of what I represent, Germany and its people.

So I come to my point.

I believe that people should be more open and critical at the same time. Today too many are out there who don’t even care about what is going on around them. They live in their own little world separated from the rest, saying: “What I don’t know can’t bother me!” That is right till it is too late. I say we should start looking on our world as a whole. Me, as somebody from somewhere else with maybe a little bit different point view brings new aspects, concerns and ideas to these people.

Good is that People are natural interested in everything, but when you let work by them self they are lazy.

It is like a present. When it is big, heavy and nice wrapped you can’t sit still and wait to open it. You want to know what is in it. You want to know.

So the conclusion is that information has to be delivered in an easy format to the people. Knowledge has to be something what not just sound good; it has to be more than that. There has to be a price. Something you always wanted. If that isn’t there, nobody would put his most effort in it. The way to be good is hard and why make it even harder when you don’t know what you are working for.

I give the information first hand to my friends. They listen carefully and the interest growths.

My job is to learn the most about your culture out of my journey in America, bring a part of my country to the US and share my new knowledge and thoughts with somebody just like you.

I’m open to hear, learn and read about all of your ideas, questions and interest but this is just the next step. This step has to be made by you. The conclusion: Communication which brings the world more and more together to solve our problems with stile and respect to each other. It is more possible than ever before in history. The newest technology, the personal interest of every one of us: We can make a difference. We can make the world a better and safer place to live, if we just believe in it and keep track of what is going on in the world.

It is now up to you. Find ways to let the world now what you thing and be concerned about what the world things.

Sarah D.’s “This I Believe” podcast

Who Defines Beauty?
I believe that every woman is beautiful, no matter what her size. I believe that is a woman believes that she is beautiful, society has no right to tell her she’s not. I believe that women should not have such crazy expectations put upon them.

Recently I saw a commercial where there was a very young girl who was saying things like, “You’re disgusting. You’re fat. Fatso.” And so on. Then the camera panned out to show that the young girl was standing in front of a mirror, speaking to herself. A statistic then came on the screen that said that 40% of all nine year old girls have dieted. I also recently saw a segment of a talk show, where a woman sat down with five 5-year-old girls and had cards with drawings of a big girl, and a skinny girl. The woman asked the girls questions like, “Who would you rather be friends with?” and all of the girls said the little one. When asked why, one girl answered, “Because she’s thin.” The woman asked another question, “Would you rather be fat or stupid?” and only 2 of the girls answered, “Fat.”

Society has engrained something in our minds that makes us believe that we’re not acceptable if we’re not thin. We see so many teenage girls who develop eating disorders, but their poor body image didn’t just develop in their teens; it’s a process fueled by images in magazines and on television of models, some of whose bones show through their skin. It doesn’t help seeing all of the fad diet advertising, or the weight loss headlines on the covers of magazines. Things to help people manage their weight, are not bad in and of themselves; but almost all of them are designed for adults. Actually, young girls look at them as much as their mothers do. Then, they get the notion in their mind that they always have to be thin, or they won’t be accepted.

Poor body image isn’t strictly for adults. It’s something that begins in childhood because of society. Instead of letting our young girls think that they always need to be stick thin, we need to promote positive body image, and teach them that they need to be healthy, but they’re beautiful no matter their size.

Madi is a Junior at Charlotte High School. Plans to attend Western Michigan University to major in Psychology. Here she is with her speech on her beliefs about family.

Madi’s “This I Believe” podcast

Sisters

From the time I awake, my alarm sounding at 5:30 a.m., to the time I drag myself back to bed after my long day at school and after making sure everyone’s had a glass of water and been tucked in with a kiss on the forehead, I lay down, hoping to get in a couple of hours of sleep before the entire routine starts over again.

I live in a family of five children; and not just any five children, FIVE GIRLS. Yep, that’s correct. Five girls. I am the oldest and am seventeen years old. I find that by being the oldest, it is my responsibility to help my mom out as much as I can, and that means helping take care of my four younger sisters. I have two sisters who are fourteen and two sisters who are ten. All of whom are nothing short of a handful. Sometimes it seems very stressful and hard being the “Big Sister” all the time, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything, because I believe in being the best big sister I possibly can.

Sometimes, it seems so overwhelming; always painting someone’s toe nails, or doing someone’s hair, or giving advice on how to get a cute boy at school to notice them, or even just as simple as being someone to vent to. Quite often, people forget how to use their listening skills and sometimes, that’s all a person needs, just someone to listen to them. My sisters know they can come to me with anything, and I mean ANYTHING and most of the time, they do. They completely trust me with everything and sometimes it seems very hard, but no matter how challenging it gets, I wouldn’t trade it for anything, because I believe in being the best big sister I possibly can.

My sister Alli and I have the best relationship out of all of my sisters. She is fourteen and I can proudly say she is turning into a beautiful young woman, inside and out, hopefully with a little bit of help from me. We share a room and needless to say, she’s my best friend. We are constantly wearing each other’s clothes and doing each other’s hair and wrestling around together on the floor. She talks to me about everything and I love that she has complete trust in me. I try my hardest to be a good role model to my sisters, Alli especially, because I’m closer to her than I am to any body else in the world. Sometimes, she gets on my nerves and I’m sure I do just the same with her, but we’re sisters, and best friends, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, because I believe in being the best big sister I possibly can.

I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the love and support my sisters and I share. A bond between sisters is unlike any other feeling in the world. I wish I could explain the feeling, but it is just so magical that words cannot describe it. I try my hardest to keep my relationship with each and every one of my sisters as strong as can be, because I want us to be just how we are now, fifty year from now. I believe we can accomplish it, because I believe in being the best big sister, not just for now, but for as long as I possibly can.

Jamie’s “This I Believe” podcast

Jamie

I believe in forgiveness. What would you do if you were angry at a loved one, you had gotten into a big fight with them, and then a bad thing happened to them? Most people would feel horrible. When I get mad at a person I make sure they know I forgive them before I go anywhere. I don’t want the last thing I say to them to be hurtful or something I don’t mean. Everyone makes mistakes, so why should I hold onto all the mistakes they make. I know that if it were the other way around I would want people to forgive me for the mistakes that I make.

There are many times in my life when people have done something that has made me really mad. Many, many people have made me angry, hurt my feelings and just plain lost my trust because of things they’ve done. It hurts me to not forgive them because I care about them, but at the same time they need to at least acknowledge that they’ve done something wrong. When things like this happens to me I can’t help but feel bad because these people are such big parts of my life, but I’ve been hurt a lot in my life by people I really care about and I’ve just gotten to the point that I can’t deal with it anymore.

The most recent time I was really hurt by a loved one was when a really good friend of mine just stopped hanging out with me and barely talked to me. Even though she denies the fact that she did anything wrong and she says that it is entirely my fault, it still hurts me that it’s been months and we still aren’t like we used to be. It’s gotten to the point that I just can’t care anymore. I’ve learned to block it out, because there isn’t really any point in me caring so much when she doesn’t care at all. I’ve always made it a rule that I wouldn’t stay mad at a person that’s important to me for very long because my biggest fear in life is that I will loose someone I love, and if I stayed mad at them and then a bad thing happened to them I would feel really bad. Even in this circumstance it just kills me that it’s been this long and I haven’t forgiven her. But like I said before the person needs to acknowledge that they’ve done something wrong, and it seems like everyday another thing happens to make it worse and she doesn’t see how much it hurts me.

Besides this time I have always made sure that people know how I feel even if we have just gotten into a fight. It kills me that they don’t know how I really feel. So if I truly love someone I try not to stay mad at them for longer then a day. I forgive them because even though I am mad I would be even madder at myself if I didn’t. Over the years I have gotten into a lot of fights with friends, siblings, and parents, but I can’t stand too stay mad at them for longer then a day. If I love them I don’t want the last thing I possibly say to them to be something I will most likely regret.

I think forgiving people is a really good thing to do because everyone makes mistakes. Holding a grudge and not forgiving people for the things that they do wrong hurt that person and it could possibly hurt you in the end. When it’s all said and done it’s a lot better for everyone involved to forgive people for things they do, instead of holding it all in and making things worse.

Jack’s “This I Believe” podcast

Everything is Small Stuff

By: Jack

As I walk through the halls, looking for a dropped five dollar bill, I think of what my dad told me. “Rule number one; don’t worry about the small stuff. Rule number two, everything is, small stuff”. I thought about it for a while and quit looking for the money. I sat on a bench and realized how much time is wasted looking and pondering small stuff. It may seem large at the moment, but it never affects the rest of my life. I believe, everything is small stuff.

Situations always seem small compared with stuff that is a really big deal. Like death, marriage, divorce, car accidents, or loosing a job. Here are some examples of things that could happen to me or you: I lost five dollars-but I can still go to work and earn that money back. I just got trash thrown at me - but at least I survived the car accident. Why am I so worried about whether or not my team is going to win- when I should be worried about my parents crumbling marriage? Why am I sad, that my pet died- when one of my best friends, is getting married, and I’m the best man! These are a few scenarios where small trivial things can be compared with big stuff.

Even big stuff can seem like small stuff. I lost my job, I can get another one. Plus there are plenty of people around me who care about me. Losing my job means I get a 7 day weekend. I get time to reflect on my life and perhaps catch up with a few friends and family members. Thinking optimistically can help gain confidence, and confidence, is what employers look for.

Ok so maybe I got into a car accident. The car is totaled, but my insurance will help me. Plus a car has no feelings; it’s a materialistic object with no influence on my life-except for how fast I fly through it.

Even a collapsed marriage can seem small. Say Mom and Dad aren’t getting along. It doesn’t mean they don’t love me, or I won’t see one of them ever again; they just can’t live in the same house for the sake of tax purposes. All marriage really is, if you look at it in a literal sense, is a ring on one finger and boxes to fill on many tax forms, jewelry and tax forms are small stuff.

Now death. I view death as not the end, but a new lesson to be learned. When someone dies, I never cry or mourn that person, I smile. I smile because I remember all the stuff they have taught me and the good times we have had. When some one dies, its time to use what that person has taught me, and apply it to my life.

I believe everything is small stuff. No matter what it affects, down the road, it won’t affect me anymore, only unless I let it. I live a happier life when I think of the glass half full, rather than half empty. I believe in keeping an optimistic view to help me see situations as small. Everything is small stuff, and this, I believe.

About Jack:

Jack Joined the Army on November 29th 2006 and is going to boot camp this summer. He originaly wanted to be a Combat Engineer, but was not accepted because of color blindness. Dispite this, he is happy he joined and lives a happy life. He Plans to study Mechanical and Electrical Engineering at MSU while attending ROTC to become an officer in 2 to 3 years.

Carley’s “This I Believe” podcast

All Season Friends

by Carley

Everyday, I am surrounded by the people that I choose to be around. These people are called my “friends”. My “friends” are the people I hang out with on the weekend, and the people I call when I need to talk. But over the last couple of years, I have started to look at my “friends” in a different light. I realized that not all of my friends were there when I needed them, or only wanted to talk, when they wanted to talk about themselves. These friends are conditional friends, and because of these types of friends I have realized that they are not the type of friends I want. This is why I now believe in the value of all-season friends.

Conditional friends may seem like they are your best friend, especially when you first start the relationship. But these people are a lot different then the people you see as real friends. They are only there for you through the good times. Conditional friends like to talk about themselves, and as soon as you start to talk about your problems, they make it into their own. When you are in a tough situation, they will save themselves, before they ever try to defend you. They could stop being friends with you at anytime, for any reason, and it wouldn’t be a big deal. But don’t worry; I have noticed this type of “friend” will only stick around for a short amount of time, and then they will move on and find someone else they can use.

All-season friends are the opposite of conditional friends. They will be there for you, no matter what. They will listen to your problems, and if you are a true friend, you will listen to theirs. When you are arguing with someone else, they will stick up for you no matter what. Also, through good and bad, they will stand by your side and support you. But the most important thing is, true friends will also be your friend, even if you don’t spend all your time with them. They are the person you know you can call when you are upset, and they will always have their shoulder for you to cry on.

About Carley:

Carley is a senior at Charlotte High School. She is involved in many activities, and is excited to go to Michigan State University this fall. Leaving her home town, and starting her own life somewhere else, will present many new opportunities.

Mrs. Reed’s “This I Believe” podcast

Take a Risk

by Mrs. Reed

I believe in the importance of taking risks. I have loved the thrill of rock climbing and white water rafting and I think I’ll go skydiving some day, but that’s not the type of risk we have to take. Risk is definitely taking adventures you never thought you’d take, but at the same time, it doesn’t have to be overly adventurous, putting your life on-the-line, but every day pushing yourself beyond what you thought you were capable or comfortable with.

As a child it was easy to take a risk. So much is new that it’s almost necessary to do so. I took a chance and put-on my courage when I believed my brother and sisters’ stories of the boogieman and carefully crept down the dark basement stairs to find him. I used to risk getting in trouble when my siblings told me it was ok to draw on the side of our house with chalk. I got in trouble of course, but that dare was worth it.

We take the chance of failure when we try something new. We dared to step up to an unfamiliar person and ask them to be our friend. As young adults we risk asking another person out on a date or telling a secret to a friend we’re not sure we can trust. As we get older, I find that it doesn’t get easier to take a chance. We get stuck in usual routines with work, school, social engagements, family events, and other aspects of the daily grind, because they are familiar. While familiar can be good, we still need to take a chance on new experience.

As a high school English teacher, I value the risk that students take when they try something new in their writing. Yet, with grades on the line, this type of risk in general may not be favored or easy. I want my students to learn to be critical, make their own meaning and discoveries and to learn more than they expected. When I started writing my “This I Believe” essay, the topic I chose, is one that I feel very passionate about, literacy learning and the power of voice. True, I have written about this topic before. My students immediately caught on to that and didn’t allow me to go back to my usual topic; instead they told me that I should try something new. And so I took that risk.

By taking a risk and trying something new with this podcasting project, I believe that my students and I have learned about technology’s influence on communication in our world today. We’ve also learned a great deal about the value of taking our voices from the front of our classroom to the ears of the world.

About Mrs. Reed

Mrs. Reed is an English Teacher at Charlotte High School and a Red Cedar Writing Project Teacher Consultant.

This spring she wanted to provide opportunities for her speech class to have a larger audience and extend beyond the walls of the classroom and therefore she decided to embark on this podcasting project and explore the ways in which technology is influencing communication in our world today.

Mrs. Reed is grateful to everyone that helped with this podcasting project, especially Charlotte Public Schools and Red Cedar Writing Project. She is inspired and energized by her students for taking this risk with her.

Special thanks to…
National Public Radio for the inspiration to compose spoken essays following the “This I Believe” series and the “This I Believe” staff.

Jon Schmidt whose album provided music for our podcast. Schmidt’s album Powerful Exhilarating Piano featuring song “All of me” is from the Podsafe Music Network.

Thank you Jack for the introduction.

Thanks Sarah L for closing remarks.

Thank you to Charlotte Public Schools, especially the technology department for your assistance in this project.

Thank you to the Red Cedar Writing Project for your assistance with this project.

As we prepare to piece our podcasts together, we’d like to give credit to National Public Radio for the inspiration to compose spoken essays following the “This I Believe” series.

Music for this podcast is from Jon Schmidt’s album Powerful Exhilarating Piano featuring song “All of me” from the Podsafe Music Network.

End Credits for Podcasts

Check out version two with more end music. Credits with extended music

Listen in for the introduction to our speeches about our beliefs. Our Beliefs Introduction Clip

Special thanks to National Public Radio (NPR) and the “This I Believe” series.

Music for this podcast is from Jon Schmidt’s Powerful Exhilarating Piano featuring song “All of me” from the Podsafe Music Network.