Courage

I have always valued courage as one of the most important qualities one could possess. Although somewhat irrelevant, one of my favorite movies, the first movie I ever saw in theaters, has always been the Lion King, which has strong themes of Simba (also my cats name) overcoming fears, and being courageous in the face of adversity. However, the line between stupidity and courage is fine. The courage we most often talk about, moral courage, involves acting righteously even when your all alone. This is what seperates Martin Luther King, who was courageous, and Hitler who was simply crazy. To elaborate, Courage does not just mean doing crazy, dangerous things. If I jump off a bridge, I do not necessarily have courage. For these actions to be courageous there has to be a greater reason behind it. If I jump off that bridge to save a group of children, I may then be considered courageous. I believe is somewhere in all of us. Every time you sacrifice something, or stand up for family or a friend, you are showing your courage. In fact, I would consider the parent working 12 hours a day to support his family much more courageous than a sniper shooting down an enemy plane.
I suppose I see courage all of the time. Although we most often associate courage with adults, I think it is actually most evident in young children. It always seems like the children are the ones who want to help people, and sacrifice time and money for others, while the adults are more likely to shrug it off, and leave someone helpless. The reason we hear about the adults more often is because they are the ones with enough resources to get things done, but if you gave children those same resources, there would be much more generosity and courage. After all, doesn't every kid dream of being a superhero? In my own life, I see courage in school when kids stick up for others. Especially in high school and below, sticking up for a kid takes a lot of courage. Kids in school are always under the impression that they have to throw their "less cool" friends under the bus in order to make cooler friends and gain social standing. However, I have found exactly the opposite. It actually seems that the coolest kids I know are friends with everyone. It takes courage to stand up to a cooler friend while defending someone. At home I see it through my grandparents, aunts, parents, siblings, etc who are constantly arguing, pushing, and fighting for their fellow family to become successful and happy.
Now that I think about it, one of the most important ambitions and goals in my life has always been to be a selfless courageous person. Everyone leaves a mark on the world, and if in my life I am able to help at least a few people, and stay stern and strong in my beliefs then I think I could be happy anywhere.

Being Mr. Mannion

In today's society, parents often emphasize the limitless possibilities the future can hold for their kids. However, this is not always the case, some parents give their kids a clear path to a clear goal. For example, some parents may tell their kids to "follow your dreams, you can be successful at anything you put your mind to" while others may be more precise, telling their children from a very early age that they are going to be a lawyer or doctor, making all of the moves to ensure their children's success.

But does doing this really increase your childs chances of success? Which method do you think is better? How will, or how do you parent your children? What have your parents done to make you successful?


Write about it.

Avoiding Conflicts

I will start this one off by telling you that avoiding conflict is impossible, which is not always entirely bad. However, there are certain "strategies" that I can use to experience as little conflict as possible, and water down conflict when I do encounter it. First of all, you have to learn to roll with the punches. Being able to recognize mistakes, and accept the consequences of these mistakes is key to avoiding all kinds of conflict. Many people tend to be stubborn, which only escalates the argument, and therefore the conflict. Somewhere, there must be compromise. Some people tend to simply ignore the people or problem at hand. This is equally as problematic. Ignoring a problem merely puts it aside for a period of time, it almost never erases the problem completely. Sure, since we were very little we have been told "if someone is bullying you, just ignore them", but it is never that easy. When ignored, most people's anger will only escalate until they are recognized. Then there are the kind of people who do whatever the problem or person asks them to do. At face value this seems to solve the problem, but inside the damage is done. I have found the best way minimize conflict in my life is to accept mistakes, face things head on, and then move on.
The things I've explained are great for dealing with the problems once they've come, but is there a way to avoid it all together, like a conflict vaccination? Well, I think I've come across the closest thing. Like most kids, I spent much of my life so far trying to impress people. This meant doing some things, and saying things that got me into sticky situations. Although these situations were stressful, I could never say I would take them back because they taught me my most valuable lesson. Never say or do anything that you may end up regretting. I can't say I stick to this all of the time, as I am somewhat spontaneous, but when I do the results are always positive. The idea is pretty simple, so simple that many overlook it.
One way that you can avoid conflict, both personal and social, is never lie. I can say I have drastically changed through high school. If you went back to a freshman me, you could probably catch me lying to the teacher after forgetting a homework or assignment. After a while though, I learned that making up a believable lie is often more work then the work itself, and besides teachers seem to know whether your lying or not no matter what you say, and most don't even care. I've learned that by not lying, awkwardness is avoided, and being truthful tends to actually get you more respect. After realizing this in school, I applied this to my personal life, and never looked back. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to answer.
As far as siblings go, it is funny to see my brother learning the same things that I did. He has the same attitude that I did in middle school. He is always too stubborn to admit he was wrong, and even more stubborn to fix it. Even funnier is how scared he is of what people think. He is just as argument prone as I was, and just as quick to lose them. I help as much as I can with good advice, but for the most part it is best that experience be his teacher, not me.

Visit a Historical Time

I am inclined to say that if I could go back to any "historical" time in history, I would go back to the beginning of the marking period so I could do all of the blogs I neglected to do, but truth is I don't like looking back, I prefer looking forward. However, if I could go back to any period of time, I guess it would be Jesus Christ era Jerusalem. At first I thought I might want to visit the end of Mesozoic era to see what really killed off the dinosaurs, but that seemed too unrelated to our world today. Then I thought I would want to go to one of the world wars, but that seemed too recent, and already too well documented. The reason I finally settled of Jesus Christ era Jerusalem is it's obscurity. Little fact is actually known of this era. Most of what we think we know is based off of the bible, which is not exactly the most reliable source. After all, this same book contains stories of great worldwide floods, and human creation, many of which have basically been proven wrong in modern history. I spent my freshmen year attending Monsignor Donovan High School, where religion was a required course. Coming from a family where religion is pretty much ignored, this experience was extremely interesting to me. I could see how faithful many of the staff were to their religion, and how unfaithful others were. My history teacher once told us "To be honest, since working at this school, I have basically dropped my religion." Funny thing is, same thing happened to me. However, I can't help but wonder, what if who was Jesus Christ? The life, and possible identity of Jesus Christ is one of the most puzzling, not to mention one of the most influential mysteries in our history. His story has saved lived, as well as started wars. Countless numbers of people have died fighting for his ideals, and vice versa, even though there is not even factual content large enough to prove his mere existence. I suppose if I were to visit this place in time, I would devote my entire time attempting to see Jesus Christ, and find the line between what is fact, and what is fiction. Winston Churchill once said "History is written by the victors", and in a culture mostly dominated by Christianity, those lines become blurry. I guess the real reason I would want to play detective in Jesus Christ Era Jerusalem is to finally close the book on my beliefs. It is easy to blindly believe something, it is much harder to blindly disprove something. Without proof, I really do not know what to believe, I can only guess. For most however, this would not matter, and many would not want to know. After my one year stint at catholic school, the most important thing I was taught in religion class is that often in the bible, the themes are what matter, not the truth of the stories.

Too Much Homework

Nobody likes it, but it has to be done. Many kids often find it difficult not because of the content, but rather the inconvenience it causes. While many kids our age often complain about the amount of homework that they receive, I do not think that I get much homework at all, and I am in all honors courses. Throughout my school career, it seems like the amount of homework decreases from year to year. While this may be true to some extent, I understand that it is entirely possible that others in my situation are experiencing the opposite, and that some of my observations are products of new work habits. For example, I do much more of my homework in school the morning it is due, and rarely study. Also, I seem to wait to the last minute to do everything, and have gotten into the habit of doing decent work fast, as opposed to great work slow. I guess I sort of limit myself in these ways, but these habits are hard to break. In other words, I am staying up until midnight doing this blog, but it's because I was watching the Giants game, not because I had too much homework. Many nights I simply do not have homework, and never spend more than an hour or two doing homework, and that is often more because of procrastination than length or difficulty. Now I must say, I think I actually get more homework on the weekend then during the week in some classes, or at least longer, harder homework. This is especially annoying because it is easily forgettable. On the Friday before the weekend I am often so busy thinking about the weekend that I overlook the homework, and forget to do it for monday. As far as homework trends go, I believe that homework is in the same place it has always been. It will always be a major part of school and learning, just as it always has been. Doing extra work outside of school has been proven time and time again to help the mind put the information into long term memory, and help people learn it. Too much homework is bad however, because people learn in different ways, so while homework is great for some, others learn in a more hands on approach, and therefore, schools have to be diverse. Personally, I find that it depends on the material. Often in math, homework is like a double edged sword. Sometimes it helps you make the problems almost routine, while other times, it only confusing you more than you already were. Other classes such as English are much different. Writing more can only make you a better writing, and reading is always beneficial as well. As you can see, I learn from homework, but I feel like the learning is often more significant in certain classes. As far as large projects, essays, etc. are concerned, I often wait until the last minute. This often results in me sacrificing quality as I explained before, but it rarely results in anything terrible. Perhaps the funniest example was when I made a video about Jekyll and Hyde in 8th grade. No one in my group had read the book when we were supposed to, and when it came time to film the video, we basically guessed, and used spark notes when we could. We got a 100 on the project, which our teacher praised to all her classes, and put on good morning central, but when it came time to take the test on the book, not one of us passed.

Comfort Foods

Let me start off by saying, that when I am stressed out, i try not to use food as a stress reliever. I find better results from listening to music, or exercising. However, there are certain foods that I often crave, favor during certain parts of the year, or prefer to eat at certain places. One food that I often crave is a good grilled cheese. Grilled Cheese has been one of my favorite meals since I was very young. As a kid, whenever I would go over my grandparents house, my grandpa would cook me a grilled cheese, and cut it up into four small triangles. Even today, he sometimes surprises me when I come over. It also doesn't hurt that a grilled cheese is one of the few things simple enough for me to make myself, and still enjoy it as much as a large meal. The rest is history. I have grilled cheese for lunch frequently (although never at school), and my mom frequently makes it for dinner. I even have grilled cheese while at fancy restraunts while on vacation. I will probably never get tired of grilled cheese. It will always remind me of my grandpa, and that's part of what makes it so good.
Another food that i would consider one of my comfort foods is a good macaroni and cheese. Unlike the grilled cheese, my enjoyment of macaroni and cheese cannot be associated with any specific situation, place, or time. Rather, my love for macaroni and cheese is simply something that seems to have always been. I can remember being a kid watching T.V. and seeing the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese commercials, and instantly craving it's taste. To me, macaroni and cheese is the perfect addition to any meal, whether it be a sophisticated steak, or a hot dog. It never feels out of place Macaroni and Cheese has always given me a certain comfortable, homey feeling that I can always enjoy.
The third, and last food that I get this feeling from are oatmeal cookies. Oatmeal cookies are my favorite kind of cookie. In fact, I do not really enjoy other types of cookies at all. As much as some may enjoy chocolate chip cookies, I think they are rather disgusting. My love for oatmeal cookies comes from a vacation to disney some years ago. We stayed at the Polynesian's conciere building, where you could simply grab food, whenever you wanted it, free. One of these foods that was always there, were oatmeal cookies. I must have eaten hundreds of them, and ever since I have practically been addicted to oatmeal cookies. Whenever my mom goes to the store, I tell her to pick up a box, and get two of them everyday at school.
These are my favorite foods. They represent a certain closeness to me, and I know I can eat them whenever I feel out of place, or whenever I want to remember a certain time.

Arguments Vs. Discourse

Arguing is to me, a defense mechanism as well an enjoyable activity. More primitive than a debate, argument is often very emotionally driven, and very personal. Although the purpose is the same, to prove a point, unlike debate, arguments have nearly no rules. That does not mean that all arguments are the same however, there are actually all different kinds of arguments. Some types of arguments are very respectful, while others seem to simply be a contest of who can scream the loudest. Something tells me the public greek arguments were not this type of argument. I believe that while arguments don't mean that people do not like each other, that is the reason why many people do get in arguments in the first place.

In the case of the person who loves the president and the person who despises him, this does not mean that they are enemies, they simply have disagreeing opinions. There may still be tons of places where they can find common ground or agree on.

Arguments get personal for many reasons. One of the main reasons is human nature. When you are arguing, what you are really trying to do is make someone else seem wrong, and the other person right. When you are doing this, especially when it is done unexpectedly, people often feel like they are being stepped on, and take it personally, starting a rivalry without even considering what the other person has to say in the first place. This is much different then when someone is expecting shots to be fired, such as in court. A big reason why people often get so fueled up in arguments, is that they simply feel very strongly about the cause, which is not necessarily bad. As long as it does not get violent, you should be as active as you can.

When it comes to arguments, there should be no rules set. If you are looking for a ruled argument, go have a structured debate. Arguments are arguments, they make you mad, and sometimes satisfied. Although the you and the person you are arguing with may never admit it, the argument forced you guys to look at a different angle, as you had to come up with a counterargument. When it comes to arguments leading to violence or war, there is not much you can do about that, not even rules can do that. War is something that will happen regardless of argument. After all, you don't think we went to Iraq because President Bush had an argument with Saddam Hussein, do you? No, we went to Iraq because we didn't like their policy, and treatment of civilians. The only way we could stop arguments from reaching that next level, and spinning out of control would be self restraint. Instead of flipping out when someone starts to challenge your beliefs, stay calm, and express your own belief in a more sophisticated manner. Besides, flipping out on someone usually just makes you look like the fool anyway.