Digital Voices

I believe in Learning from Past Mistakes

Kassie’s speech
“The one who makes no mistakes in life, usually gains nothing in life” this is a quote that stood out to me by William Magee. I believe that the best teacher in life can often be yourself. You make decisions, whether they are good or bad you make them, and in the end will endure the consequences, and hopefully learn from them. If anything, maybe you can be a teacher to someone else who sees what you go through, and learn from it.

I grew up in an environment where I had to be an adult sooner than most kids. My mom was out all the time working two jobs – the life that most single mothers live and I had to become the head of the household while she was working. When I was about 10 years old, my uncle moved in with us, fresh out of rehab. He had just lost everything – his wife, kids, job – literally everything. When he moved in, my mom had set very strict rules for him and me. He was to stay at the house with my sister, brother and I, and help us with homework and housework until he could get a job – but I was supposed to baby-sit him? He had a drug problem and had relapsed before. At first it went great. It was so nice not having to be the parent for once, but as time went on, money started coming up missing, and he started leaving as soon as I would get home from school, and always told me not to tell my mom. My mom expected me to baby-sit him, but how was I, barely ten years old supposed to stop a full grown drug addict from getting a fix? Not knowing how I was supposed to stop him, and not wanting to start a fight between my mom and her brother, I didn’t say anything. Eventually one day, he left and didn’t come home. When my mom got home later that night she asked where my Uncle was, so I told her about all of his little outings he would take. She, like I had anticipated was not very happy. At about three in the morning I heard a loud noise and went out into the living room to warn my uncle about what my mom knew. At first I didn’t see him, it was really dark. I turned on the lamp next to the couch where he slept, when I looked over the back of the couch I screamed. There was my uncle, half on the couch and half on the floor shaking uncontrollably, a yellow foamy matter coming out of his mouth. I just stood there shaking myself, standing for what felt like forever, just staring at my uncle’s trembling body. My mom came running out of her bedroom, and yelled at me to call 911. A lot of the night has become a blur, but the next thing I remember was my mom crying as the back doors of the ambulance shut, and then I was in the waiting room of the hospital with my pajamas and winter coat on just staring at the doors that the doctors kept coming in and out of, the same one my mom was pacing in front of.

He had overdosed from crack-cocaine. Now my uncle has been clean for almost nine years – the night of his near-death experience changed his life. He never used again. I know that I would never do anything to abandon or hurt my family – especially the ones that went out of their way to help and protect me. My thing is that I experienced my uncle’s mistake and know that I will never follow in his foot-steps. I did learn from his mistakes, although he paid for the consequences I learned that night that I would never use. To me, experiencing my uncle’s struggle with drugs taught me more than any D.A.R.E. or health class ever has – because I witnessed first-hand the devastation tied to it. I believe people who make mistakes can change. Always give people a second chance because they way I see it they’re still learning. I believe in learning form past mistakes.

I understand now that podcasting is a way to express yourself more deeply than in writing. The technology is great and unbelievable how you can hear sounds that kind of help take you to the the place the speaker is trying to take you to. I like podcasts because you can hear the passion and sincerity in the persons voice more than you could in writing. I listened to “wilderness” and “A reference for all life”. I choose those because I like things about nature and the natural world. At one point I stayed with a tribe of Mojave Indians and I really love and respect all that they represent, and those speeches seemed to represent some of their morals.

I understand that it is an audio or MP3 recording which people from all over the world can listen to via the internet. The sound quality was much better than I expected. Everything was clear and articulate, with no feedback like old recordings used to do.

I listened first to “It is Time to Help”, which written by a high school senior passionate about solving world hunger. She went to a camp that allowed her to experience life like the underprivelaged in foreign countries, an experience that opened her eyes to the heartaches of the world. I chose to listen to this podcast because I am interested in humanitarian works. The aspect of her podcast that was most memorable would be her description of life as a tribal woman, cooking over an open fire, pumping and hauling water, etc. Her imagery was very effective.

I also listened to a podcast by Elie Weisel. I chose to listen to this podcast because I have read a lot about him, and I think that it is very important to listen to the survivors of Nazi camps and learn from them, so that we may prevent a repetition of history. His stories were memorable, and his lessons were wise and authoritative.

I thought that the introductions were interesting, because they gave the speaker more authority over their topic, and let the audience start to know them a little bit better. The most effective introductions gave information about the speaker that pertained to their topic, were intriguing, and brief.

1. I understand now how you use podcast. I understand that people use podcast to get more informational feedback from people all over the country. I noticed that the technology is more advanced for the podcast, and the sounds people use to make the speech more interesting for you to listen to.

1. I listened to one of the This I Believe essays. It was “A Feeling of Wildness”. I chose this essay because it sounded fun and crazy and very interesting. What really stood out to me about the speech is that it sounded free and just made you think that you could let out for a little bit and relax.

1. What i noticed about the introduction speech is that it was a different form of speaking from the NPR speeches.

THIS I BELIEVE RESPONSE

1. I understand now how you use podcast. I get that people can respond to what you have said. I noticed that the technology on the second website, http://thisibelieve.org/index.php had sound clips along with the written speech. I noticed that the people who recorded their speeches changed their tone to get us interested in what they were saying.

1. I listened to two This I Believe essays. They were “The Time to Help Is Now” and “A Feeling of Wildness”. I selected these essays because they sounded interesting to me. What really stood out to me about the “The Time to Help Is Now” speech is that there are set up simulations for people to see how the people in Tribal Villages live. From her speech you understand how poor and helpless they were. What was effective about her speech was she explained how the people in Tribal Villages live, and how poor they really are.

1. I noticed that the introduction speech caught your attention in both of the speeches that I heard and read. The introductions were interesting because both of the speeches caught your attention, but in different ways.

I understand the reasoning behind the pod casting now. It adds more heart to some of the speeches, or it adds another element to the speeches. The technology is obviously advanced to be able to record something on the internet that is being read to you while you are reading it. The sounds and the voices add much more to the speech.

I read a speech called It is time to help, by a girl from Miami, FL. I read it because it was the first one I found. The essay was so much better because you could feel the way she felt about the hungry people. What was memorable about this piece was the first time hearing and reading the essay at the same time.

-Mitch

One Lonely Page
Aleisha

Aleisha’s speech

Everyone comes from somewhere, and it is important to know your heritage. The past is significant to the present and the future. People are like the pages of a book. The pages before them are their ancestors, and the ones after them are their descendants. If you rip out a piece from the middle of the book, it makes little sense. You have to know what came before to completely understand. I, myself used to be a lonely page, until I found my book.
My grandmother had always told me that I had the same personality as my great-great grandmother, Beverly. To be honest, I never really cared. However, I recently found my grandmother’s family tree. It dated all the way back to the Mayflower. Down near the bottom I saw written in a flowery scrawl Beverly (O’Neil) Andrews 1862-1957. Underneath the dusty life map was a pile of yellowing papers. A little journal on top caught my eye. It was my great-great-grandmother’s journal. Only the first four pages were written in. It told a story of how she had fallen in love. Sadly, the man wasn’t in love with her.
Like Beverly, I have suffered from a one-sided love for almost a year. My heart had shattered when I realized that it would probably always be one-sided. I had seen movies in which the main character overcame their feelings and moved on. I had seen movies where their love was realized and accepted. It didn’t help. My mother had told me that everything would work out. She had told me I was wonderful and only a fool would give me up. That didn’t help either. I felt alone in my pain, like no one else understood my heartache.
I can’t remember how many times I read those pages. Five, six, seventy-two. On the last page, was Beverly’s greatest gift to me. A passage about how she had learned to move on. Knowing that someone who is a part of me suffered as I did helped me to cope. She was the only one to truly understand.
Thanks to my dead relative’s four pages of love lessons, I managed to piece together my broken heart. I realized that even though I love that one person with all of my being, I will still be able to move on if and when the time comes.

Cody’s speech 

I believe in selflessness.
That’s selflessness. Not selfishness. That’s putting others before self. Not self centered.
That’s looking outwardly. Not inwardly.
Yes, I believe in putting others before oneself.

And I believe that using selflessness for small, insignificant situations can solve a bigger problem. For example, I stand in the lunch line and watch as mobs of students cut to the front. I tell myself that it’s not that big of a deal, but I realize that if nobody cut, the line would move incredibly fast. People cut because they don’t want to stand forever, but if nobody cut, the line would run so smoothly people would get to the front just as fast.

There have been many times when I have not been selfless. Such is the case in basketball. The basketball court is a battlefield. I used to look out for myself, because if I didn’t do my job, I sat the bench. I know, I should have been thinking “teamwork,” but in the end it came down to who was doing their job on the court, and who wasn’t. During one of my games, I was going up for a lay-up and I got hammered, sprawling out on the baseline. I went to get up, and an opponent offered me his hand. Now I find that “cool.” I find that respectable. Of all the hot-shots out there, of all those who can dunk and dribble like mad, I admire those who can help me up from the court. Here we were, in a situation made for selfishness, and this kid had enough decency to get me on my feet.

There are many times when I am selfless. Such is the case in one big memory of me tutoring a student. I circle a math problem on the piece of paper, telling him to try one by himself. He looks toward a few students on the other side of the classroom, but I pull him back, not letting him lose focus. He’s smart, and I know it. He doesn’t know it, and doesn’t want to. I won’t let him fail, so I push him, forcing him to think, to work. Within a half-an-hour the homework page is done. It is the first piece of homework that he has ever completed. He looks up at me and smiles.

There have also been times when I have seen others that lack selflessness. For instance, a woman was unloading packages from her car. Her arms were full, almost to the point of dropping the packages, and she was advancing towards the door. A man on a cell phone passed her halfway there and slipped through the door, letting it shut behind him. The woman stopped walking and stared. She was just as surprised as me. Then she began to attempt to open the door herself, shuffling sideways to get a hand out. I raced up and grabbed the handle for her, and she smiled very pleasantly, thanked me, and headed through.

I believe that lifting someone to their feet, helping someone learn, and holding a door are all selfless. I believe that simple acts can be selfless, and thus selflessness is actually very easy. I believe that people appreciate selflessness, and that I should strive to be selfless toward others.

I also believe that selflessness can be spread. Selflessness is the hidden cure. In a world of violence, people ask for a solution. Selflessness is that solution. It’s a cure that no one has considered. It doesn’t require brilliant mind and a multibillion dollar research facility. It doesn’t require incredible motivation and dedication. It requires believing. I hear about selfishness all the time, but I barely ever hear of selflessness. I want to replace selfish with selfless. I’m going to be selfless to others, in hopes that they will do the same. Let’s share selflessness with the world.
Let’s believe in selflessness.

Zach’s speech

I believe everyone should take a vacation every once in a while. How often do you dream of that nice vacation to Florida or California? Do you ever wonder why vacations are desirable? It’s because they relieve stress from everyday lives.
Everyday in our world, no matter how you go about your life, you will become stressed since stress is unavoidable. Stress has many harmful effects. Some include: body aches, trouble concentrating, and poor relationships with people, harmful eating habits, and in the worst cases can lead to extreme acts of violence. Going on a vacation can help relieve stress, because it helps you temporarily escape the everyday places that you see that may be causing you stress.
Another way in which taking a vacation is beneficial is that you can bond with your family, or friends, depending on who you take with you. There’s nothing better than hanging out with your family or your good buddies away from home. When on vacation, there is no one around to distract you while you have a conversation, there is no need to worry about forgetting to say or do something with your family or friends, since it’s not like they will just leave. Also, vacations are a perfect time to enjoy activities such as fishing, hiking, biking, jogging, bonfires, cruising, or other activities together.
In taking a vacation, you also have an opportune chance to try and see new things. Vacations always come with plenty of surprises, and there’s always that story that you can tell everyone about when you come back. Also, you can try going to different places around the area. If you are staying at Florida, try going to Disneyworld. Check some places out. Even if you don’t like what you see, you know what’s there. Also in trying new things, it keeps you away from activities that negatively impact you such as drugs and alcohol, gang activities, and other illegal activities.
In short, taking a vacation helps reduce stress, keeping you emotionally healthy. Vacations also help you connect with your friends and family, to rekindle the relationship, or just enhance it. Vacations also give you an opportunity to see the world outside of your daily community, which lets you see and experience great things.

Saying Hello to Fate

Hunter’s speech 

I believe that everything happens for a reason. The decisions we make, for better or for worse, develop who we are and who we are meant to be. Struggles and challenges are nothing but an epiphany for us, because they strengthen our character, and teach us endurance. Faith is the most meaningful word there is, because it is the word that measures where we are going in our lives. Without this faith, my life would be on the fast track to nowhere.
I believe everything happens for a reason, because this phrase is a piece of who I am, and who I will become. Growing up, most of my memories are based on just my mother and me. When I was three, my mother married into an unhappy marriage. Three years later, my sister was born, who made circumstances even more stressful. Even at the tender age of six, I was a parent figure for her. A couple days before my ninth birthday, I knew my parents were getting divorced. Being so young, this was really hard on me; he was the only dad I knew, and I was aware my mom didn’t have a steady paycheck. Because of the struggles I was dealing with, my grandparents started taking me to church, where I went until I was fourteen. If they all hadn’t have made this decision for me at a young age, I think my way of thinking and believing would be completely different. Everything I went through those years made me believe more and more everyday that eventually things would get better; and eventually, they did.
I’ve learned that my choices today reflect who I will be tomorrow. They act as a mirror outside of me that shows the reflection of my own strengths and weaknesses. With each weakness that is exposed and faced, I become the person I should, and want, to be. With this in mind, I believe that without the wisdom and guidance of failure and pain, our accomplishments would not be as inspiring, and would not feel so fulfilling. The things that happen to us throughout our lifetime, we have no control over. Some people choose to take these struggles, and let them break them down. I believe everyone does this at one point, but I try to take these, and use them to my advantage. I can’t change the way of life, all I can do is change the way I perceive and use it.
I believe everything happens for a reason, because wisdom can only come from experience. It is easy to judge and criticize something you have never been through; but when God throws obstacles in your way, you become more compassionate towards other people with obstacles. When I was twelve, I met someone who ended up being a huge part of my life. He was one of my best friends, and the main person who had an influence on me for a few years. Coming from an unsteady background filled with drugs and alcohol, he had basically given up on life, even in seventh grade. Many times he tried to drag me down into how he was feeling, and being young and naïve, I felt I had to fix everything. It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I realized I had learned two things from this person; compassion for people despite all circumstances, and also my independence to find my own life, and stand up for what I know is right. I learned that if someone does not go through complications, and does not learn how to get through them successfully, these issues will continue to appear in their life, and make things much more complex than needed.
Along with the negative things strengthening you, I also believe positive things have the same affect. When I accomplish something I’ve worked hard at, I am inspired and driven to work harder, and accomplish more. Life has a mix of ups and downs, and it’s important to me to look at each individual situation God has given me, and try to work with that to get where I want to be.
I believe everything happens for a reason, because my life is made out of all the pieces that have happened to me, good and bad. Looking back on those struggles, I’m not always proud of how I handled the situations, and I accept that sometimes I don’t know what to do. But with the actions I’ve taken, or haven’t taken, the consequences have led me to my life, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. This is why I believe, in all aspects, that everything happens for a reason.