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Backup Documents 03/26/2013 Item # 5BTop Ivy, Each D�visi,ow c�t'zev,sh' cooperat'ovu courage Fa'rvkess Hfov -est� K%vAvless Patrbotbsvv. '>erseveravze rzespect Self- covvtroL ToLeravxe 5 B LAWS OF LIFE CHARACTER EDUCATION PROGRAM The Laws of Life Program is a character building activity that helps young people focus on and develop positive character traits that lead to successful citizenship and a successful life. The 2012 - 2013 Laws of Life Program was offered to students in grades 4 through 12 throughout Collier County. More than 3,400 students contributed essays for judging. Forty semi-finalists presented their papers orally in front of the Blue Ribbon Panel of judges. From these, our four finalists in each division (4 - 5th, 6 - 8th, 9 - 10th and 11 - 12th grades) were selected. The Laws of Life Focus on twelve basic character traits: CITIZENSHIP COOPERATION COURAGE FAIRNESS HONESTY KINbNESS PATRIOTISM PERSEVERANCE RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY SELF-CONTROL TOLERANCE 5 Elementary School Division ........................... ............................... 0 0 0.. 0 ...... 0 M M 0 N M .. 1 0 R 0 M 0 0 0 a x 0 M 0 0 0 0 0 N N N N N M w 0 M 0 0 0 a a M 0 0 M 0 M 0 M 0 0 0 M a a F 0 0 0 0 2 w w M 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 N 0 M M 0 0 0 0 0 N N 0 0 0 a M M 0 1 5B -�j Kylie Campbell Pelican Marsh Elementary Mrs. Hodge As someone once stated, "True strength is keeping everything together when everyone expects you to fall apart ", and that's precisely what Helen Keller did. Helen Keller lived in a silent, dark world, but she powered through her overwhelming problems with one thing - courage! Helen had a hard childhood, and she threw horrendous tantrums often. Her mother tried to calm Helen and communicate with her, but simply couldn't because Helen was blind and deaf. People told Helen's mother to "put her away" in a home for the handicapped. Helen's mother refused and decided to hire a tutor. The tutor, Anne Sullivan, knew Helen was very smart, and the tantrums were because Helen couldn't communicate. After learning some self - control, Helen began learning how to spell words into Anne's hand and how to read by feeling Braille. Helen learned to read, write, and speak! This was difficult, but Helen was successful. Helen may have had a hard time with her tutor at first, but she had courage to persevere no matter how difficult. Helen soon became a symbol of courage and strength. She was the first blind and deaf person to ever go and graduate from college. People wondered how she did this, but the answer's simple, she did it with courage. When she graduated, she showed that her handicaps hadn't held her back. After Helen graduated, she was offered a job at the American Foundation for the Blind. She always wanted to help other people like herself. She traveled the world giving speeches and giving hope to others. It took real courage to stand up in front of thousands of people and tell her story. Helen Keller proved that nothing is impossible when you have courage. She showed immense courage by having the strength to accomplish so much when others couldn't see beyond her handicaps. She may have lived in a silent, dark world, but that didn't stop her from doing the things she wanted to do. Helen Keller is a great example to all of us, that with courage you can overcome any challenge! ....................... ............................... 0 0 0 0 0 . X0..00 0 0 N E a N ...... 1 5 Bra 1 mommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmannommonmpoommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmommommommonI Middle School Division ................................................ ............................... 1 5 1 � Sophia Torres Marco Island Charter Middle School Mrs. Lampos "To be courageous requires no exceptional qualifications, no magic formula. It's an opportunity that sooner or later is presented to us all and each person must look for that courage in his own soul. " As he kissed his pregnant wife on his way out to the car, Todd Beamer probably thought nothing of John F. Kennedy's famous quote. He was more than likely pondering the route he should take to the airport or what he should say to the business men he was meeting in California. At about the same time, Jeremy Glick may have given his last embrace to his twelve -month old daughter, or grumbled about the flight delay, not even considering that his valor would soon be an inspiration to millions. At about 7:30 AM, on September 11th 2001, both of these men, and several others, boarded United Flight 93, a hijacked plane that crashed into a Pennsylvanian field, instead of the designated White House or Capitol Building. The group of men and women, who overtook the hijackers, not only gave their lives to protect our country, but gave us the true definition of passionate courage. Striving to reach a goal can be difficult, a road full of obstacles. But with the support of others, victory is attainable. The calls made and received by the passengers on Flight 93, filled with heartbreaking goodbyes from home, were also packed with information about the crashes into the Twin Towers and words encouraging the overthrow of these terrorists. These passengers knew that it was unlikely that they would come home. Faithful to their country, they did not hide in fear and let their nation fall apart, but took action. Often, part of being courageous is being united to people who believe in the same cause. These passengers, who had never met before, became united through the brotherhood of our nation. Would you be willing to sacrifice yourself, for a cause you are devoted to? Many of these men and women were just starting families. Some were almost ready to be grandparents. One passenger was pregnant with her first child. The passengers could have died cowering in their seats, submitting to the terrorists. 5 g -c", But instead, they gathered, proposing ideas on attacking the terrorists, as they could NOT bear to let their country fall apart in front of their eyes. Although the exact details are unknown, the passengers, weaponless, must have used hand to hand combat, eventually forcing the plane down into a Pennsylvanian field. Taking risks this immense, only heroes would dare to accomplish. On September 11th, 2001, 2,977 innocent people lost their lives, including the 40 passengers on Flight 93, who successfully aborted the terrorist's mission. On that crestfallen day it seemed as if Hell had come to earth; but there was hope. Those 40 noble Americans proved to us, that through inexcusable events, courage not only prevails, but provides comfort to many and in this case, our whole nation. ............................... ............................... 0 0 a 0 0 M a 0 a 0 A 0 .... 1 High School 9 -10 Grade Division 0 m 0 0 0 m m m 0 m 0 m m m 0 0 m 0 m m m a m 0 0 0 m 0 m 0 0 m m 0 0 m m 0 0 0 m 0 K 0 m m 0 m 0 m m 0 0 0 0 0 m 0 m m m a m m x 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 m m m m I 5 B, ce,,i Alexandra Argueta Golden Gate High School Mrs. Pinckney I am shy. I always just keep to myself. Whenever anyone asks me, "What are you good at," I shrink back and shrug. When people ask me, "What do you want to do ?" I hesitate, then whisper, "I want to be a writer." But I don't tell them the details because I'm too much of a wimp. I'm afraid I'll make a fool of myself. But, the truth is, I am a liar! I do know what I'm good at, and I do know exactly what I want to do: I want to be valedictorian of my senior class; I want to graduate from a prestigious writing program at Columbia University; I want to be top editor at Simon and Schuster, and then ... I want to write a best - selling novel that will inspire people so much, they'll want to read it again and again ... And buy it again and again! How will I do it? How will I get there? I have no idea. All dreams come with obstacles. I have one obstacle, one huge obstacle, which has been stalking me for as long as I can remember -- my worst nightmare. When most people hear the word "nightmare," they usually think about that enormous, green, one -eyed monster that hides under beds and gobbles up little children. But that's not my nightmare. My worst nightmare is that twenty years from now I'll be bagging groceries at a supermarket or working at a McDonalds drive - through. Not that there is anything wrong with those jobs, but they're not my dream. I don't want to wake up each morning only to drag myself to work at a job I absolutely hate, a job that reminds me each and every day that I was too much of a coward to pursue my dream and make something of myself. My nightmare is of being knocked down and never bothering to get back up. My nightmare is of cowering in a corner, avoiding each and every obstacle that gets in the way of my dream. Knowing that I never tried, that is my worst nightmare. When you have a nightmare, what is that thing you most want? You want to wake up. Right? That's how I have begun to learn to deal with my nightmare: I wake up to the reality of people who have faced their worst fears and succeeded, people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King; even The Beatles had to overcome their 5 g . Cq-'j fears to end up on top. Have you heard of a story entitled "From Homeless to Harvard," the heartbreaking yet courageous story of Liz Murray? Liz came from nothing, but ended up graduating from Harvard University... Harvard Liz Murray had no family, no money, and no home. She took whatever she had and threw it all into her dream. Her parents were drug addicts. When Liz was only fifteen, her mother died of AIDS, and the family scattered. While we were in our nice warm homes, she was sleeping on a concrete bench in New York subway. Each time I hear this story, I get inspired all over again. I remind myself I come from a loving family; my parents provide for us all well; my home is safe, cozy, inviting and overall the best place on Earth for me. Knowing Liz Murray accomplished so much with so little, I get a tremendous boost to pursue my dreams and to never give up, for Liz was afraid. Just like me. Now I ask myself, "What do I fear more? Making a fool of myself or living my worst nightmare every day for the rest of my life ?" With that perspective, I find I am willing to risk making a fool of myself, to put myself and my dreams "out there," for all to see. I will make fear, fear me. I may be shy. I may be afraid. But what does that matter? What matters most is that I face my fear and prevail. I will not let fear get the best of me. I will not let fear define me or my future. Fear, will no longer dominate me or my life; Twill dominate my fears, for I have discovered that the pathway to dreams is through - not around - your worst nightmare. The dream is your goal and the nightmare is your journey. Take that journey, pursue the dream, and make a life you want to be living. ....................... ............................... 0 0 0 E 0 0 0 a 0 E E 0 ...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 C9,-, High School 11 -12 Grade Division ................................................ ............................... y B,­O�, Kimberly Nguyen Golden Gate High School Mrs. Witt I entered my sophomore year blindly, with no real knowledge on what it was going to be like. What did happen was a slap of reality. My freshman year was like a whole different world; it consisted of honors classes that were a breeze to ace. I was foolish to think that sophomore year would be the same. My honors classes turned into AP classes, and I had underestimated the rigor of AP classes. I dug myself into a hole which I had no way of escaping. I spent every night doing homework, and usually nighttimes melted into early mornings. I lost sleep, and I lost touch with friends and family. My life suddenly revolved around just schoolwork. To top it all off, not only were my classes tedious, they were also extremely labyrinthine. I often had to reteach myself the lessons I learned during school because forty -five minutes of learning a new subject was simply not enough for me to fully grasp the content. I had days where I felt like giving up and dropping everything. Those days were my breaking points. Every time I hit a brick wall, my mother would always be there to comfort and persuade me to keep going. Up until then, I never realized that my mother was the catalyst to my success. My mother is the epitome of perseverance and she is what keeps me going through all of life's tough decisions. My mother taught me what perseverance truly is. My mother was born in Vietnam in 1970- a child of the Vietnam War. Her mother was a Vietnamese woman, while her father was an American soldier who, to this day, she still has never met. In Vietnam, people born with American blood were nicknamed "mutts" and were considered a huge disgrace. My mother faced a lot of criticism and was rejected from society for no reason other than the fact that she was half- American. My mother was the fami ly outcast. Her own fami ly ousted her because of her background- something that was beyond her control. Instead of having her mother care for her as a child, my mother was required to care for the entire family. My mother was forced to climb mountains for lumber, to cater to the family's needs, and to quit school in the sixth grade to find work. 5B -cw My mother even found herself forcefully hidden in her room when company was around because her family was embarrassed of having a "mutt." My mother was a slave and an embarrassment to her own blood family. Life was not pleasant for my mother. In fact, she lived a horrible life. She spent every day being despised by her own family. My mother became suicidal, and she contemplated why life was worth living. Each day brought nothing to look forward to, but my mother knew that she had potential. She knew that she couldn't give up because she knew that there was a better life out there, and that in order to live the life that she deserved, my mother had to escape from her family. But not just her family —she had to escape Vietnam. Being a "mutt" was an image that my mother desperately wanted to shed. In 1989, my mother escaped Vietnam and spent ten months in the Philippines in the refugee camp, Morong Bataan PRPC. She landed in America on February 16, 1990. After years of studying, my mother finally became a true American citizen in 1997. In America, my mother found love and married my father, and they eventually had me. My mother currently works as a nail technician and a hairstylist. She works hard to give me the life she never had. She promised herself to be a better mother to me than her mother ever was to her. My mother made many sacrifices so that I would be able to have the childhood that she never experienced. My mother defied all odds, and now not only is she successful, she is also serving to me as the perfect example for why it's important to have perseverance and to never give up. Whenever I reach a stage in my life where I just want to throw everything away, I just look to my mother. I see her eyes, and I see the story that hides behind those eyes. Then I know that if she can be successful after everything she has gone through without giving up, I too, can persevere my way to success. ............................................... ............................... 1