Motivated, open-minded, compassionate and loving are words which describe people I admire. They also describe my husband and three children. Helping others and making a positive difference has always been important to me. My personal goal was to marry someone and raise our children with good values and respect for others. Along the way, they have also taught me valuable lessons. In this paper, I will share a few details about each member of my family and what I have learned from them. My husband’s name is LeRoy, and he is a brilliant man. Our beautiful wedding took place on December 3, 1988, and we spent our honeymoon in Hawaii. From our first night together, in a hotel by the old Stapleton airport near downtown Denver, life has been full of excitement. We arrived in our room around 7pm and found chilled champagne waiting. For some, silly reason, we turned on the TV, and one of our favorite movies, Die Hard, was playing. We decided to watch the movie, while drinking our champagne. About halfway through the movie, the hotel fire alarm went off, and a voice came through the speaker letting us know we should stay in our room. We were on the 9th floor and went out on the balcony to see the fire trucks pulling up below. Fortunately, it turned out to be a small kitchen fire, but we were a little nervous. Our married life has always been an entertaining adventure. LeRoy has taught me how to stay motivated and always reach for my dreams. He was raised in a family with very little money and no understanding for how to acquire a college education. In spite of this, he has become a successful business owner. He installs and repairs sports fields for many teams and schools in Colorado including Colorado University, the Rockies and the Broncos... ... middle of paper ... ...after all, she is only twelve. What I love is that she will soon calm down and come find us to resolve the problem. She does not like conflict and is very good at mediating disagreements. She has a lot of compassion for those not considered socially acceptable and is friendly to everyone. This year, LeRoy and I will celebrate our twenty-second wedding anniversary and my children are all approaching adulthood. I married and became a mom in my early twenties, and I would not trade those choices for anything. I grew with my kids and can reflect upon what I might have changed and what I would have done the same. The one constant that always remains is how proud I am of my family. My goal was to raise children who would make a positive contribution in their world. In the process, they are the ones who have taught me how to make a positive contribution within my own world.
, Sean Tuohy, and Sally Jenkins. In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving. Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2010.
Ms. Compton was born in Cottonport, Louisiana; at the age of three, she and her family moved to Palms Springs, California. Ms. Compton reported growing up in Houston, Texas. She considers her family’s socioeconomic level to have been middle working class. Her parents are Lucille Perkins and Russell Compton. Ms. Compton described her father as loving and caring. Russell Compton’s educational background was some college and he was a Vietnam Veteran. Ms. Compton loved that her father was accepting and loving. The one thing she would change about her father was for him to have been more active during her childhood. Ms. Compton reported speaking with her father a few times a week and sees him quite often.
Kathy Harrison starts her personal story happily married to her childhood sweet heart Bruce. Kathy was living a simple life in her rural Massachusetts community home as the loving mother of three smart, kind, well-adjusted boys Bruce Jr., Nathan, and Ben. With the natural transitions of family life and the changes that come with career and moving, she went back to work as a Head Start teacher. Her life up until the acceptance of that job had been sheltered an idyllic. Interacting in a world of potluck suppers, cocktail parties, and traditional families had nothing in common with the life she would choose after she became a Head Start teacher.
“People will be people good or bad, and if you say you love them then you have to love them through it all”, says Pearl Brewer eighty year old widow and mother of twelve. By looking at Pearl you can see that she has lived a full yet hard life. She is a mother, a wife, and daughter. She has migrated from rural Oklahoma to the Midwestern factory town of Peoria, Illinois where she has experienced a successful career at one of the town’s most booming factories: Caterpillar.
...ghtful and inspirational to many. Realizing that each member of a family has his own issues that he is dealing with on top of keeping his family together can alter his reasoning and decision-making. Becoming less self-obsessed and demonstrating empathy for family members during difficult circumstances can be essential in keeping a family strong. Building and fortifying a foundation of family unity can be pivotal distinction between a family who stands together and one who crumbles apart.
Growing up our parents taught us several lessons about life values and principles that we are supposed to follow. We learn that human life is precious, we learn that we are all equal, we...
...er strength and commitment to "being the best she can be" through her desire to "keep up with society." This is demonstrated through her eagerness to learn to use a computer and her utiilization of the Internet and E-mail. However, the common theme Maxine discussed during the interviews was her love and dedication to her "Christian family." Her almost life long, loyal involvement, with her Church has given her membership in a Christian family. This Christian family fills a vital role in her life. This same Christian family gave her the opportunity to meet her current husband and best friend. I am grateful for the opportunity to conduct two separate interviews with Maxine. Her story is interesting and encouraging. As I progress towards my "golden years," I hope that I will maintain a healthy body, mind and soul. This formula has obviously worked for Maxine.
The ideas of both of these 21st century authors corresponds with Emerson’s notion of success based on leaving the world a better place, not simply acquiring more things. Likewise, the empty relationship with my mother’s materialistic family versus the rewarding bond I share with my father’s family clearly illustrates the fundamental truth in Emerson’s quote. Measuring success by wealth and gain only serves to drive people apart and perpetuate a shallow, incomplete view of the world focusing on the high minded ideals Emerson espouses; genuine affection, finding the best in one another, and appreciating beauty, that is the true measure of success.
...child. I had no choice but to shape up and make a way for the both of us. Having a child made me realize that life is not all fun and games as my mother would say. I learned that in life there are responsibilities. I truly believe that had I not had a child at an early age, I would still be a wild absentminded party girl and who knows what else may have happened.
Despite any hindrances in one’s life, it is important to treat every individual as an equal, functioning member in the community. It is simple to act the way society wants you to, but it is important to stray away from debilitating stereotypes and prove that individuals who are different and may have more complications in their life can be powerful and make a difference in the world. As I continue through life, I will take with me an important lesson that I have been told before, but did not quite understand the significance of until now: despite any obstacles, everyone is capable of achieving greatness.
Before I wrote this essay, I read it silently, until I sat down and read it out loud to myself; did I fully understand some of the subtle meanings behind the words; before they were just meaningless letters arranged into meaningless words. James Agee and Walker Evans truly, deep in their hearts, have a new earned respect and understanding for these people, and really hope for the best for their future.
When I think about what counts as learning to me, I think about my life. Just being able to live in this world to me is a learning experience, because I feel that my life is full of lessons and I believe that it takes lessons to learn in life. I feel that I have learned to understand learning more and to also understand the value of learning. As I get older I can comprehend subject matters more than I could ever do before. I am learning to be more serious and I find myself not taking life for granted anymore.
... those families in order to keep our democracy healthy. By providing quality out-of-school time programs, family engagement and support, and connections to other community institutions and agencies we can help children and families overcome obstacles. As I reflect on my twenty-three year teaching career and begin my new career as a literacy consultant, I feel I have an ethical responsibility to the teachers and students in my school districts in order to make positive changes for the good of society. Palmer’s quote, “If our experience in the company of strangers is to deepen our sense of civic community and help us cultivate democratic habits of the heart, the lens of compassionate imagination is crucial” (p. 116). As I embark on this new chapter in my life, I plan to put on my “lens of compassion” and will strive to be an ethical and moral steward for my community.
To begin with, I would like to describe my mom’s ambition. She wakes up every morning with the positive attitude, and a smile on her face. She is always searching for ways to improve her persona, and live a happier life. About five years ago my mother, my sister and I moved from Ukraine here to the United States. The first year in the United States was tough for us because we did not know English, however, we all worked hard and today we speak English fairly well. Since we moved from Ukraine, my mom has worked really hard to give my sister and I the lifestyle we have. My mom’s ambition to succeed in life has allowed her to grow into a wonderful person full of kindness and knowledge. Ambition is a great virtue to have, and that is one reason why my mother is my role model. My mother is a hard worker, she never...
Family plays an enormous role in people’s lives, and whether we like it or not our family helps shape us into who we are today. Many families were torn apart during the perilous 2004 tsunami that shook the earth and acquired many lives. When Dang was running, trying to escape the colossal wave that was ravaging her village, all she could contemplate was how to get back to her family. She did not stop to help other people, because she wanted to make sure her husband and children were unscathed. At one point, Dang ignored the warnings of a man who saved her, only thinking that, “…she needed to get home, and she needed to get there now.”(Krauss 127) Family provides unconditional love for most, and that love is something that we cling to in a hard-hearted world. Furthermore, a mother’s love for her child is undying and genuine. Nearly all mothers would give their lives for their children without a second thought. When facing disaster our loved ones are there cheering us on and holding us together. Family keeps us moving forward, and helps us overcome and conquer our worst fears and hardships.