Contestant #18 Be Your Best Self
When you look at your life, what do you see? Is it filled with joy, happiness, and right decisions? Or has it been filled with regrets and wishes unfulfilled? The saying Be Your Best Self is one approach to which many may go about their lives fulfilling everything they would and could wish for. Now how do you implement this saying in your life?
For me it started with little acts of kindness, every day, with the virtues of being responsible, being healthy, being involved, being studious, and being ambitious.
One way in which to show how dutiful I am to these values being implemented in my life was by finding a service project in which helps me to be my best self.
I decided on a service project that affects a dear person to my heart, and that was something that I do every day. My sister Miriam was born with some learning disabilities and she doesn’t function as fast as the other people her age. She needs help in almost all aspects of life. Thus every day I get up in the morning, at about 5:30am, to start my daily life, and hers. I wake her up, make her breakfast, and help her choose an outfit for the day. I also do her hair and make sure her hygiene is suitable for the day. This process starts the same every day before I get ready to go to school for early morning Jazz Band at 7am. The experiences I have had with her strengthened, humbled, and helped me to become my best self.
Now how do I apply all the principles of being my best self into these every day ordeals? Well, to start out with, I am responsible for my sister. I need to make sure that the meals she eats, the clothes she wears, and the choices she makes help her in her life. She needs to look presentable to go to school, and if I w...
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... prize that her support will still leave me at the top. She always thinks that I can do it, and because of her I know that I can involve myself in anything and succeed.
With all the times that I help Miriam achieve her goals, or even simply get her ready for the day, she has been an inspiration to me. Sometimes I even think that even with all the things I do for her physically, she has done so much more with her support, love, excitement, and joy of life then I could ever repay. This service project was meant to help her more in her life, but I think that instead that it has shaped my life in too many ways to count. I know that through her example and dependence on me, that I can always be my best self and exceed each new towering height. I can achieve my dreams and wishes with no regret because I will be my best self for myself, and more importantly for her.
Many service projects have had an impact on my life, but the significant one is the time that our group put together Blessing Bags. The Blessing Bags were bags put together for homeless people. This project had an impact on my life because at one point in time, my family struggled. We did not have a stable home and we had to continue movie because of the living expenses. It is very difficult to buy many products that are needed for personal hygiene, especially if someone does not have a stable home. There are many people that live in the streets and it breaks my heart. Whenever I see homeless people, I give them what I can. Although my family did not become homeless, I could not imagine living in the streets without any food, clothing, or products
My favorite service project was my silver award for girl scouts. Before Jamie Lince, Faith Brown, and I did the silver award the hoophouse by the elementary school was very rundown. There were holes in the plastic, weeds in the beds, and the wood chips in the aisles were worn down. The hoophouse couldn’t be used. We wanted to fix that problem. First we applied for grants. I never knew how many steps or how much time this would take. It really taught me how to handle deadlines so things get turned in on time. It also taught me that there are people that want to support you, and you just need to find them. The two grants that we received were a Lowes grant for fifteen-hundred dollars and a seed grant from Van Atta’s. The second step was to get people to help weed out the beds so we could plant the seeds we got from the grant. This took a few hours and a lot of people from the community showed up to help. The Lowes grant was used for the plastic that goes on the outside of the hoophouse and new wood chips for the aisles in the hoophouse. We had to have the help of Mr. Montry who makes hoop house...
I have participated in several volunteer opportunities as a Girl Scout, singing Christmas carols at a local hospital, picking up trash along the beach, working at a homeless shelter, leading events for younger Girl Scouts and much more. These opportunities have influenced me to become aware of the struggles within my
come with a goal in life - to succeed on it. With that kind of mentality I
People’s lives are changed every day by their actions and experiences. This past summer, I participated in a community service project, an experience that opened my eyes in many ways. I was a volunteer at the County Memorial Hospital. In my time as a volunteer at the hospital, I was able to meet patients and staff members from all over the world and learn about their life experiences. Listening to all of their stories has made me truly appreciate everything which I have.
It was the summer of 2013 when I was living with my grandparents and they told me about volunteering at the church. I didn’t know what they were talking about, so I took the initiative to go find out for myself that following Sunday. I was in the balcony on Sunday, when I heard the announcements saying we can volunteer for their hope food pantry. I was excited because it was going to be a chance where I can help other and get community service hours. Volunteering I began to think positive thoughts and telling myself “ I am doing a good deed”.
During the [Project Wisdom] program, my principal tells us a quote then he goes on to explain it. For example, he would say, "Danny Thomas once said, 'Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others." This quote hit me like a thunderbolt. I was constantly thinking about it. Then I saw homeless people while I was walking home from school. I thought of nothing but the quote, so as I got closer to the homeless people, I pulled out my wallet and gave them a ten dollar bill. The feeling I got when the homeless people looked at me is indescribable. After this experience, almost every time someone is in need of something, I give or at least try to give them what they need because of the self-content it brings me. The "Words of Wisdom" program made a difference in my life by helping me discover that it feels good to serve others.
When deciding what to do or be in life, a person will think of many things: what college will I attend, what job will I have, how much money will I make? An important question to succeeding in life is usually left out of these thoughts. That question is “how will I get there?” To truly be a distinguished young woman, I not only need goals but also an idea of how I will achieve them. Throughout my time in the Distinguished Young Women program, I have realized the importance of five major qualities I will need to reach my goals: being healthy, involved, studious, ambitious, and responsible. I firmly believe if a person utilizes these characteristics, she will be successful; and with success she will become the person she is meant to be: her best self.
I have always considered myself a very promising student. I have worked extremely hard and received high grades. I have a close knit group of friends and my teachers and I have mutual respect for each other .Although I would consider myself at this present stage ‘fulfilled’ something was missing. I realized it wasn’t a materialistic aspect of my life. Through a tragic incident I finally discovered what fit perfectly in that vacancy. The consecutive hospitalizations of my grandparents evoked great pain and sorrow. However, out of the scorching intensity of this tragedy I was warmed and comforted by realizing what I was devoid of: community service.
Firstly, I will begin by identifying my core values. These values can be put into two separate groups. Firstly, there are instrumental values: courageousness, intellectualism, and helpfulness. When considering the myriad of ideals, many others were eliminated
My service hours, pushing Jalen around, has remarkably impacted my life. This year I have helped Jalen around campus. Joseph, Anould, Jalen and I have become very good friends just because I helped push him around school.
...alues and beliefs and always stick to your word. Help lead and show others who look up to you and always give it 100%. Always remember that people are always watching and learning from you so always lead by example!
To start off my day, every morning I work with special education kids for an hour. Many days I work with Jason, who is paralyzed from the waist down and has learning disabilities as well as troubled speech. Jason and I look at the newspaper, work on worksheets, make projects, and sometimes go on walks. Throughout the months I’ve worked with him I have learned a lot about patience. Being a beneficial peer helper requires me to explain things in multiple ways until he understands, this can sometimes take a good while. Everyday Jason improves and it’s truly heartwarming to watch his growth and achievements. Jason makes me very thankful for my health and ability to walk, as it is something many of us take for granted. Overall, I have learned a lot about interacting with those of special needs and I greatly appreciate those who teach and volunteer with Special Olympics.
perfect grades to be satisfied, and so I'm always working as hard as I can. It
Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule • Be tolerant and accepting of differences