Vicky Where I'm From

Lyana's Where I'm From

This I Believe, By Terell

I believe that practicing Martial Arts can actually prevent violence. As a martial artist, you have self control, and can also control others, manipulate them with your confidence and your desire to resist fighting. You can talk your way out of almost any problem that comes your way.

When I was young, I didn’t have the ability to resist fights. In the third grade one morning at “The School of Excellence,” my friends and I were in the lunch room hanging out, doing what third graders do in the morning, you know, talking about what happened on wrestling last night. Ms. Burger, our teacher came over to the table and told us to lineup. Before I got on line I asked her if I could go get a fruit. She told me, “Okay, but hurry up.” As I walked to the fruit bin, I saw that there was only one orange left so, I ran over and got it. I peeled the orange as fast as I can so I wouldn’t get in trouble, a fifth grader told me if I didn’t give him the orange he would kick my ass. Now I wasn’t your average third grader. I was big and stocky with a nasty temper. I looked at the fifth grader, and he looked at me. I told him, “You’re not getting my orange, and you can try to kick my ass.” So we started fighting. After the fight it was clear that I was the winner because of the damage to his face. When we got to the office, they couldn’t believe that I, a third grader, was the one who did this to a fifth grader. So I got suspended for two weeks and still had to do homework.

Before I joined martial arts I was fighting people, catching jukes (robbing people), trying to follow the “cool crowd.” Then one day my aunt asked me if I wanted to join karate with her because she thought I was hanging out in the street way too much, which I was. I said yes, because I loved the movie “BloodSport” and always wanted to do the moves from the movie, and from there I was hooked. Today I am a second degree black belt in TaeKwonDo, Taeshodo, and a brown belt in JuJitSu,.

When I was younger I knew how to fight and always wanted to. Then I joined my martial arts class and learned one thing I wouldn’t have learned in the street: Discipline. When we lined up in class, if we even looked back then that meant we weren’t ready for our next rank. We would meditate for at least an hour, eyes closed, thinking about good thoughts. I was scared to open my eyes, because I was afraid I would fall from meditation.

Now I can fight even better, but I don’t want to. Knowing my own ability keeps me from resorting to violence.

This I Believe, By Crystal A.

I believe a relationship is like a new pair of sneakers. If you don’t care for them, they will stink. In the beginning of a relationship you put your all into it, but if there’s no communication and nourishment in the relationship, then it will grow distant.

When I was younger my father was always there to care for me. Although he was an immigrant from Guyana and all odds were against him, he still tried his best to give me the necessities of life. Whether it was a new dress for school pictures or new shoes for Easter Sunday, he made sure I had it. I didn’t seem him much during the day, so I made it my duty to stay up at night to tell him how my day went or just to talk with him. Going to the park was our favorite. While I was playing on the swings, he made sure I didn’t get hurt. He use to reserve every Saturday for quality time with me, but that dwindled down to once a month. I no longer waited up for him at night because he never came home. He would hang out on the corner from sun up to sun down and entertain the local fiends with what he called “adult candy.” That was his job. When I was eight years old, that lifestyle caused him to get deported, and our relationship to go sour. Now my father and I don’t communicate unless it’s my birthday or someone is sick in my family. I’m now 19 and haven’t seen my father in over 10 years. He no longer cares for our relationship, because if he did he would have chosen family over the streets.

The first time you get a new pair of sneakers, you feel like a brand new person, as if all eyes are on you and no one can steal your shine. You make sure no one steps on them or damages them. When I was little, I was like his new pair of shoes. Anytime I told my father I had a problem or someone was messing with me, he made sure he got to the bottom of it. After a while he stopped protecting me; he stopped cleaning his sneakers. He stopped wearing them and just threw them in the back of the closet. Slowly but surely he forgot he even had those sneakers.

I learned that if I love someone, and they mean a lot to me, then I should put work in the relationship at all times, not just in the beginning. I am going to stay committed to the relationship and work hard to keep it strong.

Now when I buy a pair of new sneakers I cherish them. I clean them every so often and make sure they don’t stink. My friends call me crazy for wearing a 5 year old pair of sneakers, but I just laugh because I keep them clean.

This I Believe Essay

I am a huge fan of both NPR and WNYC (New York public radio). I get a lot of teaching ideas from listening. One media project that I love is called "This I Believe," which is based on a 1950s radio program, hosted by Edward R. Murrow. In creating "This I Believe," Murrow said the program sought "to point to the common meeting grounds of beliefs, which is the essence of brotherhood and the floor of our civilization." You can listen to/read examples here: http://www.thisibelieve.org/view_featured_essays.php

I had an awesome time working with my students on this, especially sharing our beliefs. The website has lesson plans at this link: http://www.thisibelieve.org/educationoutreach.html. They're good.

Shatoya's Where I'm From