For the second time in a week, I've just sat down and read all 6 This I Believe sample essays we were provided on the Ms.A's Classroom site. It always interests me to read about others' beliefs about miscellaneous topics, as I tend to be way more nosy than is probably good for me. I think Ms.A did a damn good job of picking 6 essays of this type. There is a wide variety of subject matter between all of them and they're all the perfect length - not so short I can't grasp the point, but not so long I want to nap halfway through.
My favorite of all the essays listed was "I Believe In the Power of Stuff" by Ms.A herself. I can relate to this essay because I too am still in the process of removing all of my fiance's and my duplicate everything. I understand how stressful and annoying it can be to double the amount of stuff you have and don't necessarily need, because you do have to eventually chose the best version of everything you have or become a hoarder, which is disgusting. This writing truly inspired me to just get in there and do it. I'm certain there is someone around me who could actually use all of this junk that's just gathering dust at my house.
Another essay from the samples that I enjoyed was "Leaving Identity Issues to the Other Folks" by Phyllis Allen. I though Ms.Allen was a strong and inspiring woman and a great narrator as well. I like her stance on self-confidence. This essay made me feel like if a black woman (whoa, double minority) can go through the hardest times in history for black rights and still be confident in who she is and what she believes in then surely I can be confident in myself as well. This story spoke to me personally as I have always had confidence issues and am at a point in my life where I'm in the midst of a full-fledged battle with my self-esteem.
The other essays taught me life-lessons as well. I learned from "Be Cool to the Pizza Delivery Dude" by Sarah Adams that no matter what a person does for a living, they deserve to be treated with respect. This touched me because I've worked customer service, whether it be retail or restaurant, for 7 years and understand how terrible a feeling it is to be treated differently or like you're not worth anything because of a job. In reading "Always Go To the Funeral" by Deirdre Sullivan I learned that no matter how badly I don't want to do something, if it's supposed to be done, I must do it. If your potential actions can mean a lot to another person, even if it's inconvenient for you, you must do it for them. This essay made me think about a lot of the things I've skipped out on because it didn't sound like the most fun thing I could do that day. It made me think about how bad I could've made people feel. Sullivan is right in saying that you HAVE to do the right thing, even when you don't have to do it and really really don't want to.
I enjoyed reading all of these essays. Not only because they gave me an example of what I need to do in my This I Believe Essay, but also because I feel as though I've learned a few new things about myself that I may not have realized before.
No comments:
Post a Comment