Growing Pains

"Boys will be boys" is the common saying describing a young boy's behaviors such as teasing and rough play.  But where is the line drawn between normal boyhood aggression and bullying?  History has shown how situations can spiral out of control, resulting in more than just hurt feelings for either the bully or the bullied.

It's the 2nd grade and it's just another day at school.  You see the boy with whom you have a history of violence and tension.  The problems are often started by teasing, sometimes by jealousy, sometimes to impress a girl but you both always end up in the principal's office being dealt yet another speech and punishment.  You eventually get used to the routine but today turns out being different.

In the middle of class, everything is normal and you're talking to some of your friends.  Then he comes by and hits you on the back of the head.  From there starts the teasing and where things get out of control.  You both go back and forth for a while but then you realize your friends are laughing at you.  The last things you see are your desk and your pencil.  You lose yourself in you rage and embarrassment, and you come out of it seeing blood.  You realize you've stabbed him and see him crying.  You can't help but feel bad for what you've done and also break down in tears, the teacher's panicking and screaming doesn't help either.  As his wound is cleaned, you wait for him in the principal's office.  We both got our final warning about how we treat each other before we would both face serious consequences.

I have the scar on my palm to this day.  And I've been more mindful of how I treat others since that day.

WC: 300

Point:  Be careful how you treat people because what you say or do can affect them more than you can imagine and just may end up being the victim yourself.

My Love & Hatred for Teachers

My best learning experience is from my Language and Composition class.  Essays had always been a struggle for me and often found myself short for words both in writing and in conversation.  It was often due to thinking that whatever I said or wrote had to be perfect and concise at my first attempt.  My teacher made it seem so simple by saying "It doesn't need to be that complicated, just say what you think and don't think too much on it."  This gave me a new outlook and helped me to better communicate myself, and not just on paper.

WC:  100

My worst learning experience involves ridicule and embarrassment.  In my early school years I was a much slower learner than I am today.  That being said it was hard for me to grasp math, reading and writing, and learning Spanish as a second language.  In my 1st grade Spanish class, my teacher would come around to check our homework, and one day she simply laughed at all that I had written down with little explanation, at least not in a way that I could understand.  It had affected how I would view my intelligence and how I would approach learning.

WC: 100

"Friended"

"You're the friend of a friend...sure.  (Accepted)"  Many of us find ourselves "meeting" people this way.  Though it often only means adding another name to your list of "friends", it can also give promises to a real relationship.  It seems to develop, like any other friendship, by exchanging common thoughts and experiences.  You begin to trust them and believe in their persona; articulate, outspoken, and witty.  Months go by and you start to think that this individual is worth actually meeting and look forward to the concrete friendship.  When that day finally comes, there's a quiet awkwardness when you realize that the person you thought you knew, wasn't that at all.  You find them to be short for words and have little to nothing in common, leading to disappointment.  All you can think is you'd been fooled and lied to, and come to despise the person.  To this day I wonder if our meeting had led to the end of our friendship, or if there was even a friendship to begin with.

                The internet does more than provide information, it also brings people together through social networks and online forums.  Through these sites a person can post their life story, views, and interests, but even with all of this personal information it's hard to say you know them after viewing their profile.  It would seem we're meant to build relationships off of these networks, and has thus affected  how we socialize, but one cannot say you're truly living the human experience when there's a lack of shared experiences, tones, and body language.  It's essential to our personal growth that we be able to meet and have a face to face conversation to get to know each other; no editing, no screen names, no solitude behind a computer, just real talk.

WC: 300

The Millennials

Also known as Generation Y, as defined in Generations by William Strauss and Neil Howe, is the best way to describe our college-aged students.  In succeeding Generation X, we are more familiar with technology,  the media, and communications though I wouldn't say that we were born into it and are consumed or completely reliant on those forces like the current children and adolescents.  We can also be seen as culturally liberal and would explain our general acceptance of older controversies such as same-sex relationships and race.  And like other generations we are scarred by tragedy, in our case 9/11.

WC: 99

One Park, One Community

Growing up in Pasadena, it was hard to avoid  Downs Memorial Park which serves as a landmark for the community.  It's hosted rock and country concerts, garden weddings, firework displays on Independence Day, and provides spaces to play sports such as basketball, baseball, and volleyball.  This park has brought the community together since the 70s and represents the American ideals and the local wildlife to the area.

It's located down the road from the local elementary, middle, and high school.  So it has quite an impact on the community's youth.  I myself learned how to ride a bike in this very park and would later run its trails for track and field practices.  The park often holds educational programs through the schools or clubs in the area such as the local Cub Scouts and the Garden Society.  There are also various holiday events held at the park such as the 4th of July fireworks and a Haunted Halloween trail through the woods.  Needless to say, this direct involvement with the youth also involves the parents and brings families together to rent out pavilions and have barbeques and picnics in the summer.

The park serves various functions to the neighborhood but they are all meant to bring people closer to each other and give us a chance to appreciate family time and our local environment.  Without this park's preservation, I fear that there would be even more emphasis on technology (TV, internet, etc.) and staying at home for our community's youth.

WC: 250