Don't Wait for a Change, Be the Change.

         If you want something to happen, don't just wait for it and hope for it to be done for you. Each and everyone of us are much stronger than that. No matter how enormous the change may be, if you don't give up, you'll be able to achieve it. Don't just wait by yourself and hope that it'll come to you. Stand up, and start running and screaming. Even if things turn out all wrong and messed up, isn't it better than just waiting there and having a definite plan that nothing will happen?

        Here's one of the most common and best examples for a change : Relationship. ( Boyfriend and Girlfriend) Let's say Boy A likes Girl A. They're friends and Boy A isn't satisfied with it. If he does nothing and just waits there, hoping for Girl A to take the initiative, than of course nothing will happen. But if he becomes brave and asks her out, then there's actually a chance of change rather than nothing at all. Besides, even if Girl A rejects him, and things get awkward, isn't it better to say that you had the will to try? If Girl A knows Boy A's feelings, she might come to like him back. But he never confessed, then she will never know, and won't develop any feelings for him. The best option is to be the change, not wait for it.

     Don't wait for a change, be the change. Of course this saying doesn't only apply to relationships. It applies to everything. Instead of hoping for someone to lead you, YOU lead. The ones that stand up and start running and screaming, the ones that become the change and not wait for it, are the ones that all of us will remember forever.

Word Count: 300

Time passes by, once again.

        While life passes day by day, time will continue to move. Before each of us know it, we'll be full grown adults looking back at our childhood, laughing the day away. Right now, while I'm still young, I want to make the very best of the time presented to me. I have my entire life ahead of me, but how long do I truly have? Many people in this world think that "death" is the worse thing ever. Once you die, you die. Some of us believe in heaven and hell, while others of us believe nothing happens once we leave this world. From my prospective and my opinion, I believe death to be one of the most beautiful things of all time.  Just like graduation, death is a new beginning for all of us. I used to believe that nothing happens after death, but now I'm convinced, and have a unique amount of hope that it's a new beginning for all of us. We are all equal to each other, no matter what skin color we have or the place we were born in. Time doesn't stop for anyone, it won't stop for me and it won't stop for you.

        YOLO. You only live once, so make the most of it. The BEST time in our lives is when we are young and have the confidence to take on the entire world, without a second thought. While we're young, we have to try many different things, even if they are "stupid." As I personally said in the past and now the present - " The most stupidest memories, are the best memories." I'm convinced that most of us don't want to be forgotten when we die. We don't want to be part of the "normal people." We want that ONE PAGE in the history book to be dedicated to us. There's nothing in this world worse than then wasting your precious time. Time is most likely the number 1 thing that all of us take for granted. Even if death is a new beginning, that doesn't mean this life, right now, is irrelevant.

       Time passes by, once again. Personally, from my experience and thoughts, looking back at my memories when I was younger, always leave me in tears. I will always wish and will continue to wish that I would be able to relive those precious and important moments. I don't want to time to move on. I don't want to grow up. I don't want to graduate high school. I don't want to leave my friends. Time won't wait for me, the only thing I can do now is to make memories. - Setsu
       
Word Count: 445

Least Favorite Season

          My most favorite season is autumn, and of course, my least favorite season is winter. Autumn is nice and warm and the colors during this season are absolutely breath-taking. Of course, "breath-taking" can also apply to winter as well. Winter always seems to cause the most problems regarding my health. I have asthma, so it really does take my breath away thanks to the temperature. Winter is when I receive the most asthma attacks, since my body prefers warm temperature. Winter is also sometimes incredibly dull looking. Even though I personally love the color white ( My most favorite color) it just doesn't feel right. Everything is white when you go outside and most of the time it's a pain. Now if the snow, ice and wind weren't cold, then I could see winter as one my most favorite seasons. 

 

       The color white is a reason why I don't completely hate winter. I personally love the color white. It's a color that hasn't been dyed by any other color. It follows it's own path, ignoring everyone and everything else. It's completely independent and not plain at all. I used to think the color white was the most stupidest color there ever was. I thought it was way too plain and shouldn't even exist. As time passed though, white become as most favorite color because I believe it's the best color that represents myself, other than the color black. The fact that white follows it's own path and is unaffected by everything else is so unique. 

         The cold is why winter is my least favorite season out of the four seasons. I have to wear layers and layers of clothes almost everyday during winter just to get a little bit of warmth. With the combination of wind during winter, could make one of the worst days ever for me. Winter is too bad in temperature by itself, but with wind, it makes everything worse. Wind works well with every other season, benefiting each and every one of them, but for winter it's just horrible. 

         

Don't get me wrong though. I can see why you winter lovers love this season the most. You can go sledding, make a snowman, and have snowball fights. But for me, there are more negatives in winter than positives. Even though winter just started, and thanks to it we have a snow day, I can't wait for it to end. Maybe one day I'll like winter, but as of now, 12/20/12 I don't like it. 

Word Count : 421

          

Trust

        In this world, one of the most important things is to have trust in other people besides yourself. But just how much trust should we put in them? Enough trust that's worth our lives or no trust at all? Trusting others is what every single one of us do, whether we notice it or not. Whether we known that person since forever or a much shorter amount of time. Whether they earn that trust or not, sometimes we trust them fully. Our trust in the people we love might just stay forever, or they could disappear, forever.

         Trusting people is not an easy thing, even though sometimes we think it is. Not every single one of us can trust someone we've known for a day or since kindergarten. It can be hard, painful sometimes. Some of us faced incidents in the past that will never be forgotten. Our trust in people is limited. No matter who the person is, the full trust that we had before in people, will never meet the person. Trusting is no doubt a double-edged sword. There's no trust in this world that isn't. No trust in a person can only have positive effects, there will always be negative.

          Losing trust in people is by far one of the most horrible feelings that we'll ever have. Just is a paper, once you crumbled it up, it'll never restore back to it's full original form. There will be damages everywhere no matter how much we or they try to soothe them. Trust isn't a thing we can all buy again with our money. Once you lose it, you lose it. Trusting others is irreplaceable no matter who we are or where we are. To have no trust means your alone.

          Having trust within others is by far one the most best feelings that we'll ever have. Just like earth, all countries in this entire world were created though the trust in others. We don't just wake up someday and hope to make a country. With trust, we depend on other people besides our selves to create that magical country. A country is not one person, it's a group of people who trust each other and will help one another in their moment of need. To have trust means your not alone.

Word Count: 516

Eyes wide open

          Our eyes is something that all of us take for granted. Our eyes are our treasure that is impossible to replace. No amount of money that equal the value of our precious eyes. Without our eyes, the world is gone. Even with our four other senses that we have, losing sight means losing them all. Eyes are what makes us who we are. It shows us the kind of person we are. We can't exactly look in a mirror or anything in the matter, without eyes. So let's keep our eyes wide open until our time has come. Pray that nothing happens to them, and that we'll have them for as long as we live. Look beyond the sky and look beyond ourselves. Eyes wide open.

           Our eyes show everything about us. It shows our emotion and our true selves. Everything lies in our eyes. Whether we divert our eyes away, or keep them looking straight forward, without looking back. They are the ones that keep us going and support us. We cry in despair with them and we have courage with them. The look on a person's eyes is what they truly are. We should judged and characterized by our eyes instead of our: race, size, and friends.  Our eyes are all different, it's a unique feature to all of us. Showing them off isn't such a bad thing.
       
Word Count: 244

After a Bad Start

The feeling we get when we start off horrible and hoping that we will recover, is one of the worst feelings we can have. Whether it’s starting on a new trimester, a sports competition, race, etc. We don’t know if we will ever recover from the bad start, we just know that we’ll do our best to overcome it.  We start to wonder if it’s the end of the world, just from a few quizzes or tests. We sometimes think that grades are everything and we try to keep them up as best as we can. We try to win for our school, but with the bad start that we had, we failed to do so. With all of these losses, which path will we take afterwards? Will we hope that we can learn from them and recover from them?

There are only two options we can take after the bad start. One option is to give up and continue failing and not try anymore. Each and every one of us can do that. We were affected by the loss, and we think recovering is impossible. We think that continuing to try is futile. Since we didn’t get rewarded before.  The other option and also the harder opinion, is to try to get revenge. When I say revenge I don’t mean killing or any of the sorts. I mean recovering from the loss and to move forward. “Keep on running forward” is one of the best quotes I have ever heard. It’s helped me multiple times no matter how many times life has stopped me.

                It’s much harder than it sounds. Some of us just can’t say that we will study hard and get an “A” next time. We need to make a commitment to it. Some of us need to show more emotion then others to overcome it. There may be people who don’t have study to get the best grade. There may be people who recover really fast without trying at all. But those people don’t know hard work like us normal people do. There’s a difference between smart people and hardworking people. Yet they can also be the same people. Smart people can be considered people who don’t have to try and people who work hard for the grade. I personally don’t see it that way. I believe they are separate. Smart people are smart. Hard working people are hard working. The struggle that hard working people go through is something that not even the smartest person in the world will know about.
           
              If you want to follow through and recover from the bad start then there’s no other option then to work hard. Even after we work hard and the results are still just as bad as before, we have to continue to work harder and to neutralize the bad start. Keep on running forward, don’t even think about looking back. Once we start, we hard working people will overcome anything and everything that stand before us.

Word Count: 501

Hardest and Happiest Moments in our Lives

            Even though the hardest days in our lives are memorable sometimes, there are also happy moments that will stay with us forever.  In a year, there is 365 days, but only a small number of those days are memorable. Although the hardest days are indeed amazingly memorable for me, it's the happy moments in my life that I will forever cherish more. For example: Today I finally passed my driver's test, completely making me the happiest male on the face of the planet, for the day at least... December 8th 2012, will always be in my memories because I consider it one of the happiest moments in my life so far. To even have these moments in my life is a unique pleasure. Although I don't like the hard times, I know that as time passes by, things will go my way. 

           Always take down the hardest moments first. It's similar to saying " homework first, then play." To do  your homework first and finish it, means that you won't have to worry about it anymore, after you finish it for the remainder of the day. You can play to your hearts content after the hard times are over. Our hardest times may be difficult to overcome and recover from, but it makes us who we are. We wouldn't be us without these moments. The hardest moments make up half of who you are, the other half belongs to.. our most happiest moments in our life. 

          Whether you passed an all important test, whether you got an amazing present, a happy moment is the moment in our lives. Each person is different in this world, and our definitions of happiest may not intersect. But one thing is for sure, the happiest moments in our lives are the moments where we truly smiling and have that fuzzy feeling saying " it's great to be alive." 

Word Count: 310

Confidence is Key

       When your about to break a wall standing in front of you, confidence is the key to winning. I obviously don't mean a wall literally, I mean an obstacle, like a drivers test, ACT, SAT, opponent in a sports game, etc. If you have confidence, you have a much better chance of winning then you would without confidence. If you don't have confidence from the start, and say some lines like " Well, I'm probably going to fail anyway, " or " let's give it our best shot, even though we'll still lose! " kind of lines, then you already loss from the start, regardless of the score in the end. Why should you even get the victory if your not confident? Do you think that if you don't get your hopes up that luck will go your way? Get your hopes up. Have confidence that you will win no matter what. Try your best and give it your all, no matter what anyone says about it, and regardless of the result. If you lose in the end, at least you had confidence. You'll soon forget about the loss and move on and take the victory next time.

        Don't lose hope to the very beginning. If you already think you are going to fail then odds are you ARE going to fail. No one is lucky every time during a test. I personally used to think that if I don't get my hopes up that I was going to get a good grade on a test. It worked quite a bit of times, but not anymore. I learned that you have to have confidence before taking a test that you will do well on it. If you fail, well at least you died trying. You know what I mean.  Rather than having no confidence in the beginning and lose, which is similar to a double loss.

        Here's a narration for you guys. I believe narration is similar to a story, so here's a story. The first time I took my drivers test, I knew I was going to fail even before even taking it. My mind only processed myself failing the test repeatedly, never once did I imagine myself passing the test. On the day of the test, I went to the driver's licence place, obviously nervous. I thought that I might just get lucky and that God will shine on me helping me pass the test because I have given up. I spent about 10~15 minutes with the driving instructor and at the end he gave me the results quite bluntly. I failed. I couldn't believe it. I didn't get my hopes up at all, and I thought that would work in my favor. Obviously it didn't. When I got home, I was really depressed and completely disappointed in myself. I thought if only I had more confidence in my driving, I would have passed ... it was a really valuable lesson that I learned, that I will never forget, ever.

Word Count: 596

Our lives

There are many things that can change your life. Whether it's a present from a special someone or a new person entering your life.  Or graduation. Obviously there is more life changing examples that can be used, but these are the subjects/events that are on my mind right now.  Things come and go, whether we want it to or not. Our entire lives can change in an instant of any time. Our lives may change, making them better or worse, but our memories will always stay the same. Memories are our life. Those precious pieces in our minds is what make us who we are. Whether our lives change for better or worse, it’ll always be memorable.

               Something as small as a present during Christmas can change our lives. The cheap presents sometimes might not mean much to us but as always the quote that always comes up “It’s the thought that counts.”  No matter what the present is, we’ll probably look back at it one day and laugh. Getting a present from our friends may seem like an everyday thing to some of us, but to others, it’s one of the best events that we will treasure forever. No matter what the present is, deep down in our hearts we’ll love it.
 
                A new life can come with a new person entering our lives. Whether it’s a baby, our old classmates, or someone from our past.  As time wanders off and loses control, that person will change our lives. Sometimes whether we want them to or not.  A new life with that person can be a special thing. That person could be the person we spend the rest of our lives with. That person could be the most powerful person in this world. That person could be the one who saves you. Who knows.

               Graduation is one of the most well-known life changers there is. Graduating high school is huge. The relationships that we’ve made over the years can change in an instant. Graduation means a new life, sometimes a new life on our own. With graduation means getting older. As each year passes, we go to the next grade and grow older by 1. Each age is life changing, no matter how small it may be.

               There are many life-changing events that we still haven’t experienced and there are just as many events that we have experienced.  Our lives changes at any time and sometimes without us knowing. It’s our precious job to take them all in and to make the best of them. Then one day, in our memories, we’ll look back at our life changes and wish to relive them.  –Setsu

 

Word Count - 448

           

GPA

              Grand Point Average. GPA is really important for high school, college, etc. It shows how well your doing in your classes as an average. It's the thing that you usually are concerned about regularly if you check for grades frequently. If someone wants to know how smart you are, they sometimes ask the question: "What's your GPA currently?" and then you might tell them your GPA and they will decide whether you are "smart" or not. Well, the thing is GPA does not determine how smart you are. There are many things in the world you can do to be called "smart" For example, you can know the answer to a single problem that nobody else knows and you just might be branded as smart. There's much more in school then just the grade, but in this time period it seems like the GPA is what all students care about. Some students would do anything to get their grade up, because they think it shows how smart they are, and they know it's what colleges look at when your applying for college.

          There are many students that I personally know that are really smart, they just don't try to do the homework/assignments in school. GPA requires repetition. You have to want the grade to get the grade, continuously doing the homework, projects, quizzes, tests, etc. But if your lazy and don't do the homework you won't have a high GPA. A high grade point average is awarded to people who try their hardest in school whether they were smart or not. Me for example. I'm not smart, and I'll never be smart. But I know how to try hardest, do my homework every night and study. That's why I have a decent grade point average.

          GPA doesn't mean your smart, I've talked about that. But just because I said it doesn't mean your smart doesn't mean it's meaningless. GPA is used for many, many things. Obviously, college is the prime example for how your grade point average matters. Your grade point average has to be above a certain number to enter some colleges. It's also used for some jobs too.

Word Count: 361