9 Honors, Period 2 Personal Essays by Michael Donohue

Real Knights Write

Volume 3, Issue 2

Introduction - By: Mr. Donohue

Taking Out The Trash - By: Jayson Albert

Don’t Start What You Can’t Finish By: Gabriella Aordkian

No Fun Till Your Done - By: Jaden Baril-Newman

Shop ‘til you Drop By: Emily Browne

Cooking is Fundamental - By: Savannah Browne

“Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk” By: Maria Del Greco

Can I please get this? By: Elena Delgado

Get Your Homework Done Early-By: Andrew Ewanitz

Making a Commitment -By: Brendan Goger

Carrying My Own Load By: Ryan Hudson

When the going gets tough, the tough keep swimming

By: Zoe Kalantzopoulos

Dish Days - By: Katerina Mavromichalis

Hit or Miss By: Bryan Santana

Consistency is Key By: Pavlina Stefanova

Do Your Own Homework - By: Ryan Tranquada

Title: Starting Early-By: Jeffrey Yu

Introduction - By: Mr. Donohue One of the more powerful tools that Google Classroom has added to its arsenal of lineup is the capability to publish the work you create instantly. The Freshman students at Holy Cross write. They write often, and they learn to write well. By the midpoint of the year, they have had many different experiences in both reading and writing. They are proud of what they have accomplished, as am I. With this in mind, the class worked on a longer lesson in how to write a personal, reflective essay. According to the textbook, a reflective essay is one where the writer explores the meaning of an experience. In class, the students read an essay titled “Carry Your Own Skis” by Lian Dolan. In this essay she explores the importance of the lessons she learned as a child. Using this essay as a model, the students wrote about their own childhood experiences and how these have shaped who they are today. When the class complete their first draft, they edited. And edited, and edited until they created a version of their own story that they want to tell. They prepared their work for publication. What you see here is the result of all of their hard work and effort. Please read and enjoy. Mr. Michael Donohue Holy Cross High School English Department Chairperson

Taking Out The Trash - By: Jayson Albert When I was younger, my parents called me downstairs one night. They handed me a garbage bag in each hand and told me to take it outside. Recycling in the blue garbage can and trash in the black one. At first I assumed that they didn’t feel like doing it, or that I did something that deserved the punishment of taking out the trash. I thought it would have no impact on my life whatsoever, but little did I know that they were teaching me responsibility. They were teaching me to be my own person. It was a normal Wednesday night. I was watching TV and laying on the couch. Then they changed my whole routine to do something I didn’t feel was necessary for me to do. They informed me of the specific ways I had to do it. It was important to them that I remember these things, so it could be done the right way. Remember, recycling in blue, trash in black. Remember, take it out Sunday and Wednesday nights. Remember, don’t just leave it in the trash cans, bring them to the curb for the garbage people to take it. Remember, if the garbage is full and it’s not garbage day, take it out anyway. Remember, this is a responsibility. Over the years, I have seen how others have, and have not learned the same lesson. Some people still don’t do it. Their parents still do things for them. If they don’t start taking out garbage, or doing other chores, they won’t be able to learn responsibility. Other people take out garbage, and do even more tasks that their parents give them. Washing dishes, cleaning their room, vacuuming, or going to the store. They have learned and understood responsibility, and will definitely be responsible, independent in the future. The people who haven’t learned the same lesson yet need to learn it soon because if they can’t understand responsibility, then the people who do understand it will be more successful, and chosen more often than those who don’t. By doing these chores, I am learning to be my own person. I’m learning to be more independent and trustworthy. Taking out the garbage and doing other tasks, is an easy way of getting money as well. Though I don’t enjoy doing it, following through with what I’m told to do, and doing it the right way is helping me to become

more grown and mature. I’m changing and working towards a better version of myself. Continuing to take out the garbage and doing the responsibilities I’m given is shaping me to be a more reliable person in the future. People will be able to look to me for responsibilities and things that require full-focused, responsible individuals like me. It’ll make me more successful and more noticable.

Don’t Start What You Can’t Finish By: Gabriella Aordkian Ever since I hit double digits, I was the busboy of the family. I would have to clear the table, scrub the tablecloth if there are any stains, and wash the dishes. It might seem like an easy job, but it was not because my family (including myself) are all messy eaters, so I was always grossed out when I cleared the table to find several spills of sticky maple syrup on the tablecloth whenever we had a pancake breakfast or spots of this burnt red shade of smelly Heinz ketchup whenever it was burger night. No matter how messy our dinner was, I was the person that had to clean it. When I was halfway through cleaning, I decided how it was way too gross for me to finish it. So I would complain to my mother and she would always say to me “don’t start what you can’t finish” and walked away. I didn’t understand what my mother said but I was upset that my mother didn’t help me, I ended up finishing the dishes on my own because no one else was going to do it. However it was only a few years later when I realized the significance of my mother’s motto and how it has affected my lifestyle. When I used to be on my dance team years ago, there was one time where we had to perform at Barclays Center for the Nets and 76ers game. I was very anxious and I did not want to go. But my mother stepped in and changed my perspective by sternly telling me “Gabriella don’t start what you can’t finish”. Again, I did not realize what my mother was saying but as I kept thinking about what she meant, I was convinced that I had the courage to go out there and perform with the team. In races too, my mother still repeated the same motto “to not start what you can’t finish”. Whenever she said that, I reminded myself that I could finish a race strong due to all the training I’ve done before and fear became completely foreign to me at that

moment. So those words really motivated me to face my fears and just simply do it. I realize the people that don’t finish what they start often make promises they cannot keep. Like the people who dropout of college because they don’t feel like going anymore but they truly have so much potential to finish it. Or the people that are scheduled to make a speech but back out seconds before they are about to speak. Even the people that get on the line for a roller coaster and twenty minutes in, but they back out because they are too scared. I am not like those people anymore because my mother’s motto helped me mute the doubtful side in my mind.

No Fun Till Your Done - By: Jaden Baril-Newman When I was younger, I loved to go outside and play. I would ride my bike or scooter up and down the block. Even though I might have scraped my knee on the concrete a couple times, I still loved the outdoors. I loved the whistling winds that swept past you as you rode your bike. I loved hearing the birds chirp in the high branches of the trees. I loved to see the flowers dancing in the sunlight. Sometimes I would go outside before I had even finished my homework. My mother yelled at me everytime I had done this. She said that I cannot go outside to play until my homework is done. I hated this rule. In my eyes, it felt as if I was sentenced to life in prison. To escape this prison, I need to prove that I am innocent. To prove that I am innocent, all I needed to do was give evidence. In my case, my evidence was my finished homework. The lesson that my mother was teaching me was actually really simple. Be responsible for yourself or you will miss out on all the fun. And I didn’t want to miss out on fun, so, I finished my homework as fast as I possibly could. The “No fun till your done” lesson applied to almost every aspect of my life. Getting to school on time, studying enough for an exam, and doing chores are some of the things that you must be responsible for or you will miss out.

I was in the 5th grade when I noticed that some people weren’t taught the “No fun till your done” rule. I noticed that people would come to school and begin their homework that is due the very next period. The people that forgot their projects at home or didn’t do the project at all. These people weren’t responsible because they most likely got distracted by something else. They probably got distracted watching Netflix, playing 2k, or checking their social media. Though it may feel that you have been sent to Rikers Island, you must follow the rule of “No fun till your done.” With this rule, I’ve made it to highschool and I am in all honor classes. Now, things in my life are not as easy as the things that I previously used the “No fun till your done” rule on. Things like getting to school on time, getting good grades, and doing chores are all things I need to worry about that was not as easy as finishing my homework. But finishing my homework before I could go outside taught me to be responsible for your own things or you will not be able to achieve the things that you want.

Shop ‘til you Drop By: Emily Browne Some might say it would be a dream to live next to a grocery store. You forget something you walk down the street and get. It's as simple as that. I can say as someone who has lived across the street from Stop and Shop grocery store for my entire fifteen years of existence that it is terrible. When I turned ten my parents bestowed upon me the honor of going to the grocery store. It isn’t a very long journey. You cross one street and your there. As a kid it felt like an honor to hold the grocery list and go to the grocery store by myself. Well I wasn’t “by myself” I was with my older brother but it still felt like my responsibility. The fate of dinner was in the palm of my hand. Like all good things it had to come to an end. That new feeling of pushing the shopping cart and and finding the milk disappeared about the second time I went to

the store. It began to feel like a chore which, in retrospect, it was. If I forgot something I had to go back and get it. Who knew you can’t make spaghetti and meatballs without spaghetti. As I got older I dreaded having to go to the grocery store. It wasn’t fun anymore. That's when I saw something in the people around me. You could tell the person who had searched a store for its produce aisle from the person who didn't know where the closest grocery store was. Those people were the ones who forgot their homework or never remembered things they had committed to. They clearly never had to go back to the store for butter. I can only see my experiences shopping helping me in the future. It has taught me a lesson in responsibility. I am going to be a student for the foreseeable future and after that I’ll probably have a job. Grocery shopping has taught me to be prepared ahead of time and to remember important things. Which is a lesson that will stick forever.

Cooking is Fundamental - By: Savannah Browne Six years old was the age that I learned how to cook. Spaghetti and meatballs, pork chops, and meatloaf were some of my first meals. I was not allowed to use sharp knives or be near the stove, but it was the simple fact that I was the one reading the instructions from the cookbook to my mother that satisfied me. After every instruction, my mother would glance at the book to make sure that I was reading the correct part. Every time I would ask why she kept looking at the book she would respond with, “Following instructions are crucial.” Being six years old, I did not understand what it meant but I did not care enough to ask. After having experience as a chef-in-training in the school of Le Kitchen, I was finally allowed to use every chef’s favorite tool. The butter knife. The tool above all tools. At least that’s what I thought at six years old. I wanted to cut everything from bananas, apples, mushrooms, play doh, and napkins. This extremely sharp knife gave me a power that I had never experienced in my entire six years of life. It was one day when my mother asked me help her bake a chocolate cake that taught me a lesson I’d never forget. It was our usual routine where I would read the instructions and my mother would do the hard work such as mixing the batter, cracking the eggs, measuring the flour, cutting the butter, etc. As I read the instructions I came across a scientific term. ⅔ cup. I did not know what this meant so

I told my mother it was 2 cups of flour. To my surprise, my mother did not glance at the book after I gave the instructions. As she’s mixing all the ingredients together, she realizes that the batter is unusually thick. In a panic, she snatches the book from my hands and reads the instructions for the chocolate cake. I look at my mother like she has 3 heads because of the look in her eyes. I ask, “Mommy what’s wrong?” She responds, “Sav, it’s important to follow directions. If you need help understanding the instructions, ask for help.” I didn’t understand the concept of instructions because at six years old I wanted to do what every other six year old wanted to do. Play in the sink, clog the toilet, make stinky concoctions, and eat. As I got older and more mature, the lesson from my mother finally clicked. I was in the 4th grade when I realized what was being taught to me. Science class was always my favorite because I loved to make weird mixtures, learn about animals, and learn about the human body. My class was doing a lab about the densities of liquids. My teacher hands out the lab and I look at the first page. On the first page it says in big bold letters, “DO NOT OPEN BOOKLET UNTIL YOU ARE GIVEN THE INSTRUCTION TO DO SO.” In my head, I was having an internal battle. My good conscience was telling me to wait for my teacher, but my bad conscience was urging me to open it because I was eager to see what’s inside. Then it clicked. I had finally understood what my mother was trying to teach me all these years! My good conscience took over and I decided to wait for my teachers instructions. I thank the Lord for my mother’s great words of wisdom because it taught me a lesson that I can use in the future and teach that lesson to my own kids. The lesson of following instructions. This lesson can help me succeed in college, when I’m at work, or even just following a simple chocolate cake recipe. Who knew that cooking is fundamental?

“Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk” By: Maria Del Greco When I was two years old my mom signed me up for my first activity, dance, and so on after that she signed me up for more, and more. She signed me up for soccer, gymnastics, basketball, softball, volleyball, hockey, and rugby. When I was

younger I just thought that she signed me up for all these activities to keep me out of the house so she can do what she needed to do. I would fight with my mom all the time when it was time to go to dance or practice. I remember one time when I was three I hid my dance clothes so that I wouldn’t have to go to dance. However now I realize that if it wasn’t for her always putting me in these “pointless” activities, I would be such a different person than I am today. These sports have taught me many things. As I got older volleyball has become a big part of my life. However the one thing that I will always carry with me from sports is, “Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk”. This was something that my mom would tell me time and time and again. When I was little, I would be so upset when I lost a game. However as I continued doing these sports, I learned to deal with it. In sports if I would still be hung over a bad play I made during the game, then that one bad play would turn into one whole bad game. I remember when I was nine I realized this. I was playing volleyball and I “shanked” the ball, meaning I made a bad pass. For the rest of the game I was thinking about that one bad pass which made me lose my focus on what was happening right in front of me. As you can imagine this game didn’t go well. That is how I realized that being attached to one bad play you make will cost you the rest of the game, so it's better to just get over it. This mentality stuck with me throughout school. In sports I learned to deal with losses, so in school if something didn’t go my way I didn’t cry about it, I learned from it, and I wouldn’t let it keep me down. I simply picked myself up and came into school the next day, optimistic. It’s times like these where I ask myself, “would I be different if I never played sports?”, and I would answer myself, yes. Volleyball, soccer, basketball, dance, gymnastics- all of these activities taught me what it's like to lose, and how to deal with loss. A bad test grade shouldn’t stop me from learning and excelling in school, it should encourage me to do better on the next test, and that is what sports and these activities taught me. Out of all the lessons sports have taught me, this lesson by far is the most effective. This is because it will be something I will go by for the rest of my

life. In college if I go home with a ton of work I can’t cry about it, or else nothing would get done. I have to do my school work to succeed, so I can be what I want to be. When I get a job, a difficult task can’t be complained about. Sure, maybe I don’t like it, but I still need to do it. When I get older and become a mom, I have to be a role model and do things for them that I might not want to do, but have to. I see kids my age that I can tell haven’t learned this skill. These kids are always complaining and think that whatever they want will be handed to them. One time I was at the mall and a girl about my age was complaining to her mom about these shoes she didn’t get her! In my head I thought, if you want them so bad get them yourself. Usually when my mom says no to something I want, I’ll let it go but this girl was kept going back and forth with her mom. Kids my age assume that everything has to be served to them on a silver platter, but they’re wrong. In life you have to work for things to get things, and if it doesn’t work out, that shouldn’t stop you. Life is all about learning as you go along, but you have to know how to use your mistakes for the better. I see kids in sports that never get better because they aren’t willing to learn from their mistakes and admit that they are wrong. I’ve been playing sports for such a long time that this skill is involuntary and comes natural to me. Kids that learn this skill will be able to succeed in life and recover quickly through challenges. I thank God that my mom fought with me to do these sports and activities because I wouldn’t have this mentality, and without it I wouldn’t be able to get better, and excel at academics, and sports. I’ve learned to play with confidence that even if one play doesn’t go well, the next one will. Without this mentality I’ve developed I wouldn’t be as discipline as I am today. Honestly I think that I would be spoiled right now. If I never played sports and never learned this skill, I would be complaining to my mom about how she didn’t buy me the latest trend. Sports taught me commitment, responsibility, teamwork, and to not cry over spilt milk. `And all this time I thought my mom just wanted to keep me busy and out of the house, but really she was just giving me the opportunity to learn.

Can I please get this? By: Elena Delgado

Growing up I always wanted the newest toy. Everytime I went shopping with my parents I would find a new toy I liked and always ask them, “ Can I please get this?”. They would say no most of the time, even if it was something small. I never fully understood why. I remember when I was around the age of 8 or 9 I saw this doll and I wanted it really bad. I grabbed the doll off the shelf, ran to my mom and asked, “Can I please get this?”. She looked at it and her answer was, “Not today”. I was very upset and tried to ask her one more time but she replied, “ I already said no”. I was still very upset but I had no choice, I had to put the doll back. When I asked my mom and dad why they always said no they would always reply, “ Because I said so”, or they would reply and say, “ My answer was no”. Although I really wanted the toy and may have thrown a few tantrums in the store, I always put the toy back. It wasn’t until I hit middle school and was surrounded around new people that I realized that all the times my parents said no to the toy I wanted, they were teaching me a lesson. It was very easy for me to seperate the kids who always got told yes from the kids that got told no. The kids who usually always got told yes always expected things their way and when things didn’t go their way they didn’t know how to react. They’ve never been told no so hearing it from people was a shock to them. There were kids that would be upset because they got told no if they asked if they could do something. There were kids that would be upset when they asked to go places and were told no. They would complain about not getting the newest phone, or the newest shoes, or the newest bag, or the newest clothes. Although everyone may be guilty of this at times, my parents always made sure I knew how much I had to be grateful for. They always taught me how important it is to look at the positive side. They always taught me to appreciate what I have because there are kids my age, just like me, who have it far worse. They always taught me to not pay to much attention to materialistic things like the toy I always begged for when I was little. They always taught me that it’s more important to buy the items you need rather than the items you want. If it wasn’t for my parents and them saying no to a simple question such as, “Can I please get this?”, I wouldn’t be who I am today. I wouldn’t appreciate what I have, instead I would just be upset because of the things I don’t have. I didn’t know it when I was younger, but my parents were trying to teach me a very valuable lesson, be grateful for what you have. This will not only help me now, but in the future when I feel like things are not going to well, I will be reminded to appreciate what I have.

Get Your Homework Done Early-By: Andrew Ewanitz Around 1st grade, I would come home, and watch TV or play games instead of doing my homework. I would procrastinate until it became late, and then I would begin to do my work. Sometimes, I would not complete my work because of my curfew, 8:30. My grades were mediocre and eventually, My father became sick of the nonsense, and told me to get my work done earlier. He said that If I got my homework done first, then I could play later on without worrying about my work. At first, I just brushed it off I did not think that this would help, but I slowly began to do my homework first. I noticed that I had more time to play on my DS, watch television. My grades also began to rise because of this. As I began to grow, I began to apply this mindset to many other activities, such as scouting. Whenever I had the chance I would do as many requirements and badges as possible. My friends would tell me not to worry, and that I have plenty of time. This has paid off, since I am almost to the rank of Eagle Scout right now. In Sea Scouts, I am almost to the first rank because I have applied that same mindset to it. I constantly see others trying to do their work last minute, panicking, rushing, or copying someone else’s work. Another common sight are scouts who are 17.99999999999… years old and are looking for an Eagle Scout Project. I have seen about six scouts that did not get Eagle Scout because of their procrastination. One of whom actually completed the project, ut did not get the paperwork in. When I see these individuals, I know that their parents did not make them do their work early.

In the real world, there is no excuse for work being late. If you slack off at your, job, you get fired. Late work will not be accepted by some college professors. In the future, I am going to do my projects early, and complete my work on time whenever I will have the chance. This should allow me to get a good occupation that I will continue use this mindset, so i do not appear as a slacker, allowing me to keep my job, and receive raises. to This is why it is important to get your work done early. I am grateful for my father telling me to get my work done early, especially at a young age.

Making a Commitment -By: Brendan Goger My parents taught me to stay committed to things. My Dad especially taught me this lesson 2 years ago. He was the coach of my baseball team and we weren’t the best team. We would play in a league with only 3 other teams and 2 of the teams would beat us bad every time. I told my dad that it’s not fun to lose almost every game and he told me that I made a commitment to this team and I can’t quit now. Our team would practice and get a little better as the season progressed and the games started to become a little closer. Then it was playoff time and my team was looking good. We won the championship with a score of 10-1 and that’s when I learned something about commitment and so did my team. Everyone was very excited and surprised that we won and we all celebrated together. I learned that even if things aren’t looking good that just try and to improve and don’t give up. I can see this in others when they join and leave teams and the first problem that comes up. This also applies to school when students aren’t trying and don’t care about education. They won’t do much work and will just be passing because they aren’t committed. This baseball team to was more than a team it was a lesson to me. I saw this in someone who never came to a game and when that team started winning they would show up.

It was a lesson about commitment and not quitting. It was a lesson about how anything can get better or you can get better at anything. It was a lesson about friendship and working as a team to do something. It was a lesson about how you have to work for success like my team had to. This applies to my life now because I know that I have a commitment to a team and even if a team isn’t good I am still apart of it. I also have a commitment to school and I need to try my best to get good grades for me and my parents. In the future this lesson will help me remember the time i stayed with this team and that if I join anything even not sports that I am committed. In school I will do the most I can to succeed and the most in life to succeed.

Carrying My Own Load By: Ryan Hudson It was a regular cold, Thursday midday in March. 7th period, 1:51 pm to be exact. I was in the 7th grade and attended Stephen A. Halsey Junior High School 157. It was during passing, and right as when the bell rang to signal the end of our lunch period, I asked my friend to hold my favorite sweater for me, while I attempted to talk to my middle school crush. However, that would be the last time I will ever have someone carry my load for me again. After giving him the sweater, I turned back around to my crush and her and I started talking. After a good 2 minute conversation filled with laughs and smiles, I turned back around to my friend whilst smiling ear to ear, looking for my sweater, only to find that he wasn’t there. No worries, right? He must’ve gone back to class and put my sweater on my desk. So, I ran to class whilst playing back the entire conversation word-for-word in my head, eager for school to end so she and I can take our usual walk to the pizzeria and converse a little more. I make my way up the stairs and turn to face the long, colorful corridor, I walk through the hallway, step by step, wondering if my sweater will be waiting for me at my desk. I turned the corner to my section of the hallway with my class, take a deep breath, and walk in. I take a glance at my desk, and there it is… An empty desk.

I look over at my “friend,” and he asks, “Where’s your sweater?” I look at him in anger, confusion, and a little more confusion all at once. At first, I laughed because I didn’t think that he was being serious. I thought that he was hiding my sweater in his desk or something like that. However, when I was laughing and he was not, was then I realized he was being serious in the fact that he truly did not have my sweater. So, I asked, trying to remain as calm as possible, “Ty, where is my sweater?” He responds, “I gave it to you.” With that answer, is when I knew he was joking, so I laughed again. “You’re joking right?” Again, he gives a confused look as if I was going crazy. “Ry, I gave it to you after you were done talking to her.” “Tyrese. Where is my sweater? There’s no way you gave me my sweater after I was done talking to her because after she and I were done talking there was nobody in the halls. And, if you were given it to me while I was talking to her and put it on my shoulder I would’ve felt it and said ‘Thanks, bro.’” Disappointed and confused, I ask my teacher for permission to begin my search. After granted, I ran through the retrace of my steps. I checked every corner, every tiny spot, every entire square inch of everywhere I have ever been near during that time period from when I left the lunchroom, to when I entered the classroom. I checked the library, the windowsills in the hallways, the lost and found, where I was sitting at during lunch, the stairs in which I walked through after my marvelous conversation, all of which provided zero luck. Almost shedding a tear, on my way back to class, I had continuously repeated “Never again. I will never ask someone to watch/hold my stuff again.” It was that day, that I learned that you can never trust anyone else with something that belongs to you. Even though it may seem arrogant or even selfish, at the end of the day it is all about keeping your stuff safe and secure, and you can only reassure that feeling when you know and have your stuff. When I had lost my favorite black sweater, which was kind of a family emblem, it had our last name within a catchy slogan, in nice bold letters, and eye-gazing font, I didn’t know whom to blame other than myself. I should’ve never asked him to hold it, I should have taken better care of my things. My mother always told me this as well. Whenever I was little and I felt lazy and didn’t want to hold my toy or my GameBoy, I would ask my mom to hold it for me. She would always say no, and instead of getting mad or throwing a 6-year-old outburst, I learned very

swiftly to just say okay or not even ask at all. This taught me to always carry my own load because why make someone else’s load heavier if nothing of what you're asking them to carry belongs to them? Nevertheless, for some reason, with the sweater, I let all that home education go to waste. But it was that point in time where it crystallized what my mother has been teaching me over the course of 14 years, where it really hit me. Consequently, as of today and forevermore, I will never put my trust in someone carrying my things and I will unendingly carry my personal load.

When the going gets tough, the tough keep swimming By: Zoe Kalantzopoulos When I was little, my mom signed me up for swimming lessons. These lessons took place at the beach at 8 o’clock in the morning when the water was as cold as ice. Every summer morning I was dreading to go to these lessons and swim in the salty, murky, sea weed infested water. However, my mom would wake me up, drag me to the car and take me. Once I finished all my lessons it was time for me to take my swimming test. That day I woke up and I noticed the sky was dark grey and a storm was approaching. I thought to myself, well obviously I can’t swim in this weather, but my mom still took me. I was crying and screaming the entire car ride trying to convince my mom not to take me, but she kept on repeating, you have to take your test. Only two kids showed up that day, and one of them was me. We arrived at the beach and it started to rain heavily and the waves were as high as the lifeguard stands. As I was swimming, salt water getting in my mouth, I could only wonder, why would my mom make me do this? Little did I know my mom was trying to teach a very important lesson, commitment. She didn’t want me to quit something that I already was invested in, just because times got tough. She didn’t want me to be those other kids who didn’t show up to take their test. Going to each and every swimming lesson despite my feelings towards it, taught me a significant word, responsibility. I constantly revisit

this lesson in my everyday life, especially now that I am high school. For instance, whenever I don’t know how to solve a math problem I learn to persevere through it and just try my best. In addition, I take dance lessons which involves an abundance amount of commitment and responsibility. Whether it is, to arrive on time, or to make sure I know my dances extremely well. I can tell when another person wasn’t forced to take swimming lessons at eight in the morning in exceptionally frigid water. I can notice when other people haven't learned the same lesson it took me years to understand. Every so often when people are put in a tough situation their reaction is just to give up. I've seen this happen in my dance classes, particularly when some girls quit as the class was getting more advanced. The classes were becoming more challenging and instead of making an attempt, they decided avoiding dance entirely would be more beneficial for them. This, however, was not my mindset. Knowing and constantly readdressing this lesson will me help me in the near future. For instance, when I attend college and my profesor gives me a difficult assignment, I can’t just walk away from it. I have to be committed and be willing to challenge myself. When I have a job and there is a difficult task that needs to be completed I can’t be expected to quite. I have to face it as it is and deal with the situation at hand. Therefore, whenever life gives me obstacles despite whatever it may be, I have to persevere through it and be committed like I was on that gloomy Saturday morning.

Dish Days - By: Katerina Mavromichalis For as long as I can remember, my cousins, my sister and I would all go to Greece together for two months during the summer with my grandmother. My grandmother took care of five children, a set of twin boys, a set of twin girls and another girl. Five children at a beach house in a different country are not easy to control, especially at a young age. My grandmother discipled us during our summer vacations together. My grandmother expected us to make our own breakfast, a bowl of cereal or yogurt. After we ate we spent the day on the beach and got called over for lunch, the biggest meal of the day, and the only one she cooked. We were expected to make our own dinner, toast, yogurt with fruit and honey, or leftovers. My grandmother was very strict about this one rule- everyone takes turns washing dishes after we eat. If you were not washing dishes, you were clearing the table, drying dishes or putting away dishes. My grandmother had a calendar with everyone’s name on their assigned “dish day”. Your “dish day” consisted of dishes from the entire day- breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack. To make matters worse, pots, pans and anything

and everything my grandmother used to make lunch was included. If your dish day landed on a Sunday, you could easily be washing up to twenty plates, cups and not to mention, the big pots and pans because on Sundays, my grandmother invited the whole family and her friends for lunch. If you skipped a day, you had to make up the day and take another one as punishment. We all dreaded our dish days because it took time out of our beach time. While I was washing the dishes, I heard the other kids yelling and having fun on the beach. I began questioning why I was washing dishes while the other kids were having fun. My cousin asked my grandma why we had our dish days and she responded, “ How are you going to learn how to take care of your own house if you can’t wash dishes once a week?”. My grandmother was right. My mother is not going to be washing my dishes, doing my laundry and cleaning my house when I move out, so it was time to start learning. Even though we despised our dish days we all kept up with the schedule because we knew we were helping our grandmother and that it was our responsibility. My grandmother’s system taught me that everyone needs to chip in and that you cannot expect for someone to do your dishes for you because it is your responsibility. The lesson my grandmother taught me applies to my life right now in school. In a group project, I am responsible for my part of the project, nobody else is. I cannot expect for somebody to do my part because I don’t feel like it, because it is my responsibility. The project is only successful is everyone does their part. It is obvious that some people did not have “dish days” because they were not taught a lesson about responsibility. Some people do not do their part in a group project. This not only brings you down, but the whole group, everyone needs to chip in. You cannot be expecting somebody to do your work for you, because you’ll never learn how to do it yourself.

My Youth as a Spendthrift By: Thomas McKnight

Ever since I was old enough to start saving up change in my piggy bank, my Dad always told me to spend my money wisely and save it up. My Dad constantly nagging me made me think that he wasn’t trying to help me save money, but trying to get me not spend it on food and video games. At the time, I didn’t fully understand why my Dad was making do this. Then, more recently, I realized, the hard way, that my parents were making a lot of sense. As I got older, I began raking leaves, shoveling snow, putting up flyers, and even babysitting for my neighbors. By doing this, I was earning some serious cash. In total I think I made something like 400 dollars. My only problem was my money-wasting ability. When I had this money, every day after school I was tempted to spend 5 dollars for pizza and a drink. I thought to myself, “It’s just 5 dollars right”. I thought wrong. By the time I stopped this bad habit and realized that I was constantly using my hard earned money on food, I had 200 dollars left. I hated myself for being so foolish with my own money. Then with only 200 dollars left, I resumed by normal life of being bad at spending money, and went on a shopping spree and the mall to go buy a pair of shoes and clothes that I didn’t even need. Then I remembered my father’s voice in the back of my head saying. Don’t spend all your money now, you’ll regret it. You should save up for a bike.”. A bike was just what I needed, but now I had no money to buy one. Then during that summer, I was riding my old, small bike thinking about how nice it would have been riding a new one and not having blown all of money. As I found out recently though, being bad at spending money runs in my family. My brother, who is currently in college, was given a debit card so that he could buy food or go out. When he visited during Christmas break, he told me that his debit card is almost empty, as he still has half a year of college to go. As I learned at a young age, spending money is an important responsibility. Wasting your money on unnecessary items, like pizza, that are not important and will come back and hurt you. Instead, spend your money wisely and save up for a “bike”. The lesson I learned from this experience can always help me remember that the five dollars I’m using to buy pizza is never going to be “only five dollars”.

Hit or Miss By: Bryan Santana As a young i grew up around sports my whole life. My mom loved tennis growing up, my dad grew up surrounded by baseball, and both of my older brothers like to play baseball and basketball. From the age of 4 years old I have been playing my favorite sport baseball. My father would put me in little tee ball leagues, and little league pee wee games, until he felt that I was read to play travel ball. If you don’t what travel ball is it's where you have your own travel ball team and you and your teammates and you guys go to different tournaments in different states around the US. At the age of seven I started to play travel ball with the age group of eight and nine. At the beginning it got a little nervous but i knew eventually I’ll be able to handle it. After a couple of years I started to see results like many championships being won, people telling they loved my swing at such a young age, even some of my family members telling me that I will make to the big leagues. That's when I told myself and my father that if I can really push myself I can really take my career in baseball very far.

Consistency is Key By: Pavlina Stefanova Since I was little, I’ve always wanted to help my parents with chores and cleaning. Weather it was laundry or washing dishes, I felt like I needed to be useful. I remember one time while my parents were sleeping, I grabbed a chair, climbed on it, and started washing the dishes. I was still living in Macedonia at the time so I must’ve been about four or five years old. I didn’t end up washing all of them because my dad woke up and caught me doing it. He told me that I was too young to be washing them and that the time would come for me to start doing chores. I was in sixth grade when they finally allowed me to wash dishes and do chores. At first I was ecstatic that they considered me mature enough to do this, but after a while I started dreading it. I found it to be annoying and very time consuming when I

could very well be doing something else. How could I have ever wanted to do this in the first place? I started slacking off or making excuses as to why I couldn’t do it, so my parents would punish me. That was when I realized how important having a consistent schedule is. If I wasn’t responsible, I would get in trouble. Usually my punishments consisted of getting my phone taken away, weather it was for a day or a week. I also realized that if I was responsible and kept a persistent schedule, I would get reward. As a developing teen I obviously found my phone to be my prized possession and my favorite thing in the whole world. I couldn’t bear the thought of being without it for more than a few hours. When I realized how addicted I was to my phone, there was no way I could be away from it, so I started doing my chores like I used to and started being more consistent with it. The lesson was not for my parents to teach me to love washing dishes or doing chores, because I still despise it and so do they. Their lesson was to teach me how to be responsible and consistent with my schedule. It wasn’t until years after when I realized that this lesson doesn’t just pertain to life at home but also life outside of home. This lesson is important and it pertains to everyone. Others have learned the same lesson weather it was through chores or other things like homework. Currently I have a pretty busy schedule with school, sports, and extracurricular activities. This lesson helped me manage my time and commit to certain things like clubs and track. This will help, not just me, but most people in the future. This lesson is important for maintaining relationships, jobs, and keeping up with school, especially in college. This helped with consistency but also responsibility and being on time. It taught me how to be steady and stable and in today’s world that’s a requirement no matter what you want to do or who you want to be in the future.

Do Your Own Homework - By: Ryan Tranquada

When my parents were younger, they grew up with little help in school from their parents. They had to take the bus and train for 2 hours to go to school and another 2 hours to go back home. This was before school buses were widely popularized and had proper heating and cooling. But they still went, sleet or hail, rain or snow. When I was in elementary school, they did everything they could to help me. They went to parent-teacher conferences, drove me and picked me up, packed me lunch, etc. But there was always one rule. Do your own homework. There was no way around it. If you needed help, ask. And I did. I remember a 5th grade project I had to do. I had to make a 19th century lighthouse. I asked my parents to help me make it, and they gave me pointers, but they wouldn’t help me build it or do my research. I got a hundred on the project. So did the other kids whose parents built it for them. But they sure didn’t get a hundred on the quiz we had the next day. When I entered middle school, everything stopped. I had to make my own lunch, and catch the school bus. I missed the bus a few times, but I always finished my homework. A month into middle school, I could tell who did their own homework or didn’t. The kids that didn’t do it still got hundreds on homework grades, but failed tests and in class projects. In 7th grade, I noticed my friend let his older brother do all of his homework for him. His older brother was in his senior year of high school. I was always jealous of my friend, because after school, he would go out while I had to slave over my homework and finish my projects until late in the evening. The following year, his brother went to college at Ohio State University. Later that year, my friend failed 8th grade history, math, and science. While I was on summer vacation, going to the beach and amusement parks, playing football with my friends and playing video games, he woke up at 6 every day and went to summer school.

Now in High School, I realize the importance of this lesson my parents have been teaching me since a young age. Kids are handing in their homeworks late or not doing them at all. They don’t prioritize the importance. Of course it sounds boring and lame now. Of course it’s more fun to play video games than doing your homework. Of course it’s easier to postpone a project till the day it’s due. But it sure is easier to work hard for 12 years of childhood than working hard for the rest of your life.

Title: Starting Early-By: Jeffrey Yu When I was a young child I learned to start things early rather than later. When I was in elementary school I always had to start my homework at 3:00. I would keep saying I don’t want to start it yet. But I would always be forced to start my homework everyday. When I started middle school I had the freedom to choose when to start my homework. Then I would always start it later than I would in elementary school. Then I would start to procrastinate on a daily basis. I would normally start to play video games when I was supposed to be doing my homework. Then I would constantly keep being yelled at to stop playing video games and start doing my homework. Then I would say “I’ll start it in a few minutes.” Then a few minutes would turn into a few hours. I would eventually start it but it would be late at night. Then I would start to worry that I would not be able to finish my work. Then my work would be rushed and I would make careless mistakes that I would have not made if I wasn’t rushing. I see that other people have also learned this lesson because they start their homework early in the day rather than late at night. They take their time with their work and don’t have to rush to finish all their assignments. Now I start my homework as early as possible when I get home. So I don’t have to rush to finish it. This puts less pressure on me because I don’t have to worry about finishing my work late if I start it early. Now I don’t have to rush to finish all my work on time since I actually start my homework early. I also have the opportunity check all my homework and fix any mistakes. Now I can manage my time efficiently.

This will help me in the future because it will teach me to get my work done early. If I have an important exam, then I will know to start studying earlier. But in the past I would have started to study at the last possible moment. Then I would never actually be prepared to take a test. This has taught me to not procrastinate. This will teach me to start important tasks as soon as possible and to not keep putting them off so I can do them later.