Writing Prompt #2

What does the following quote mean to you?  "You don’t get to pick where you’re from, but you always have control of where you’re going."

Basically wherever you came from, you can choose your own path. For example, the general perception on kids that grow up in the projects is that they’ll sell drugs, join gangs, hop in and out of jail etc. Most of these kids grow up in single-parent households and don’t care about school. That’s how we see it. But some of those kids really care about their future and how to get out of that lifestyle. Various successful people came from poor backgrounds and worked their way to top. Once they’re living the life, they’ll come back to their hometown and realize they still belong there. Life may have been rough, but it shaped them into the person they are today.

Paragraph for Scholarships

Over the course of my school years, I believe the biggest challenge for me was maintaining my grades. Most kids don’t really care that much about their school work and how a failing a certain class freshman year impacts the rest of your high school schedule. I’ll admit that there were plenty of times I didn’t want to complete any homework. I always said to just to the bare minimum and you’ll pass with a B. Whether it was my parents stressing the importance of good grades or my inner will preventing me from failing, anything below a B was unacceptable.

Freshman year was a breeze with A’s and a couple B’s. Sophomore year I surprisingly got all A’s. When junior year drew near, I knew my classes were going to increase in difficulty. I signed up for my first college class, Oral Communications. Speech class. I absolutely hated writing speeches and even more that I had to speak in front of an audience. That one class was like a punch in the gut. I realized that I actually had to make an effort. It may have been writer’s block or something else entirely, but I couldn’t get any ideas on what my speech was going to cover. Also meeting a specific time limit didn’t help the situation either. For the first time in my life, I felt helpless. All the other students in my class basically were masters at writing speeches after the first two. Then there was my speech, which sounded like a middle school student had gotten a hold of my paper. I spent hours writing out outlines and searching the Internet for speech writing help. I asked my teacher, took notes, and still nothing.

Then it hit me. I was looking over a few of my previous speeches when I came to the realization that my speeches didn’t sound like me. The wording in each one seemed forced in a way. That was not how I talked. See how I’m writing now? This is my natural mind at work and how I would normally speak. So I reevaluated my thinking and wrote exactly how I would normally respond to a topic. I noticed my grade started improving, which boosted my confidence in school. Outside of school and in life, I realized I needed to be myself. People really respect you when you show them the real you and give straightforward answers. Who would have thought writing six minute speeches about softball and art could teach you a lesson about being yourself?

Writing Prompt #1

If a handful of people can change the world for the worse, then I am certain that a handful of people can change the world for the better.

What will you do do to make this world of ours, which feels so broken right now, a better place?

I think what the world needs most today is a break from the pull of social media and cell phones. In other words, face-to-face communication needs to gain its worth again. Nowadays, you see eight-year olds with iPhones at a park, sitting on a bench, instead of running around and mingling with the other children. Kids growing up in the day and age are too into their phones to realize a rainy day outside is the perfect mud fight waiting to happen. 

It’s not just affecting kids, adults are just as bad. Friends go out to lunch and the whole time they’re on their phone scrolling through Twitter or Facebook. It’s a silent and lonesome lunch, since you’re basically keeping to yourself. I guess what I’m trying to say is, is that everyone is too stuck in their phones to enjoy the world around them. They don’t talk with their friends during hangout sessions. “Live” concerts are experienced through a video camera. No one wants to enjoy life’s experiences with those who are involved physically, but they’ll share it with everyone on Instagram. 

I want to change that. When I'm around other people, like my family or friends, I try to keep my phone away. This, I hope, registers to my friends that I enjoy what we're talking about or doing, instead of scrolling through Twitter and not paying attention.