Monday 19 January 2015
Courage
The only time I can think about when I had courage and hope
is when I played football. Having courage and hope was drilled into my head when
I played football. I was never the biggest kid there, so I had to have courage
in myself whenever I played. I had courage in myself and I knew what I needed to do
when I played and I could do it. This was the one time I feel I had courage and
hope. When I had courage and hope it motivated me and made me want to do better
go harder and try with everything. Having courage and hope is something
everyone should have in themselves it motivates you. It makes you do better and
truly believe in yourself. Football gave me hope and courage. Which in turn
gave me confidence in myself. Football was my favorite sport because I had
confidence courage and hope in myself.
By Craig Colby
Sunday 18 January 2015
Connections to the Other Side
I
remember my cousin joking around about suicide which in itself is horrible to
joke about, but it is worse for me. I can’t stand when people joke about
suicide because that is how I lost my
father. From a young age I had hope that my father will come back from the dead and in some small way I have
the same feeling, but I know now that it is impossible. In my heart I know that he
has not passed on, I mean I know that he is dead, but his spirit lives on here on earth. When we
talk about him light sflicker, the TV
turns on and off, or changes channels to only channels he would watch like car
TV or things about the cars. I remember one Christmas we
had an ornament that had our names on it. It was tucked behind big letter that
said "dream". One day we heard a crash and the ornament broke, but only his name broke
and it was at least a ten foot drop. It was 13 years old, so it should have just shattered. Also, there is a doll that he bought me for Christmas or my birthday, it is 16 years old and the batteries have been removed, but it is still
talking to this day and off and on it will says phrases like “I love you” and “ see you soon”. I have been told stories of me sitting at the end of my bed talking to
thin air, but after being
asked who I was talking I would say, "a man named Bert" and mom would say, "Your dad?" I would say, "no" and describe my great grandpa to a tee. Or I would say I
would see my dad sitting on the end of my bed. Many times even now I see the
dead. At the beginning when I was
young this scared me, I didn’t have much
courage. I had a glimpse of hope that it was my father trying to let me know that he is here for me or that he was trying to send a
message of comfort, not one of fear but I was too scared. Many times when things started to move I would
go hide in my room and just cry I didn’t have the courage to shrug it off and say, "I love you too." Even now when
there is a spirit that does something that isn’t what we are used to I still get
scared, but I know that most spirits get bored of being mischievous. My great
grandma is a normal one as well, but she doesn’t speak with me though the typical way, she speaks with me though my dreams. The first time she spoke to me was after her funeral. It was scary because I was so young . I remember the words "thank you for being part of my life" and "I love you". Then
everything went to white and I woke crying
because It scared me. For me this is a regular thing and honestly I want
to find a safe way to communicate with
them again as I was able to when I was younger, but I’m not talking through ouija boards because
who knows who, or what, will come through, but I guess
that is the beauty of talking with the other side .
By Domminic Clifton
Look at the stories in the pictures at the bottom.
The Significance of Courage and Hope
I’m going to share my opinion of the significance of courage and hope for an artist. Not just any artists, but all artists. Me for example, I love the art of rap. I love the craft, the techniques, the patterns, and way some rappers can capture an audience with incredible delivery. Artists like KRS-One, melle mel, Cool Mo Dee, they all knew how to capture the attention of their audience and once they had it they could say anything they wanted and the people loved it. Back then it was all about the lyrics, and artists were competitive. In several places people would sit around and have cyphers, or showcases if you will. This is where local artists would go and say the rhymes they had written the night before to any beat that a local dj played, or sometimes acapella. This is what I fell in love with. I fell in love with rap/hip hop because it was a way of free expression, and it works to all kinds of beats and instruments. I like the challenge of being put on the spot to a beat I may or may not of heard, and spitting the best verse I can. But it wasn’t always like that. I’ve been writing since I was in grade 7. It wasn’t until I learned about what other artists have been through to get to where they are that I had the courage to even say anything in front of people. The most inspiring artists in my mind are the members of Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony. The five members we’re from Cleveland Ohioan and all five lived on the same block growing up. They talk about standing on the corner around a trash can fire rapping with each other. They didn’t only rap though, they had a talent for singing and harmonizing. This made a come up difficult for them because they were from a place where if you sang then you were considered soft, and that could be dangerous. But they still had the courage to bring a new idea into the rap game. This is what inspires me because as much as I love rap, I also really enjoy old school instrumentals and classic music. I want to find different ways to incorporate all of it together and make something new. I’ve wanted to do it for years and only in the past year or so did I have the courage to stand up even just in front of my friends and show them what I had written. People already knew that I liked to rap my favorite verses from all artists, but rapping something that i myself wrote was hard. It took maybe 10 times before I was completely comfortable with it, now I’m at the point where I don’t even care if I stumble my words, and I’ve also encouraged my friends to do the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhaTg00auRM
By Geoffrey Andrews
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhaTg00auRM
By Geoffrey Andrews
When Hope and Courage are Nowhere to Be Found
“Here is the tragedy: when you are the victim of depression,
not only do you feel utterly helpless and abandoned by the world, you also know
that very few people can understand, or even begin to believe, that life can be
this painful.”
Giles
Andreae
It has been four years since I began
my battle with depression and just like any battle there have been quite a few
ups and downs. When thinking about a battle the first thing that normally comes
to mind is two different people fighting against one another; however, this
certain battle was between me and the demons that occupy my mind. There have
been so many times when I have just wanted to throw my hands into the air and give
up... like when I sit in my room with silent tears running down my face, or
like the first time I ever self-harmed. Although not every day is bad this war
going on inside me is so tiring that sometimes I don’t want to get out of bed
and attempt to face the world, and there are times where the things in my head
are just so hard to deal with that I don’t want to close my eyes and sleep for fear of the thoughts taking over. Normally the only time I feel any sort of
relief is when I am listening to music and honestly, without that momentary
escape I have no idea where I would be or how I would be handling any of this.
By Rosemary Gleason
Courage
Courage was something I needed when it came to
wanting to become a tailor in the arts of sewing. Throughout my years of
growing up I had seen that men were to work outside and women do the house work, the
very sad stereotypes that the world faded to. When I was
growing up I use to watch my grandma in her sewing room stitching and working
with the fabrics and threads that poured from the drawers of her sewing table.
My mother was another seamstress of the family and she also worked at seaming
together fabrics to create items that could be used in our household. When I
was older I found out that many of the stereotypes that seemed to be the
"norm" were very different in my family. A lot of my family members
had passed away before I was born or when I was very young. Now we still had
the men in my family that worked outside, but I also learned that many of the
males in my family also cooked in the kitchen with my great grandma. One uncle
that stood out to me in particular was the one that worked the arts of
tailoring, he was a great tailor that made many works of art such as buckskin
dresses, moccasins and many other native themed art pieces. Many of my family
members didn't go by the stereotypes of the past, lots of my family seemed to
do the opposite. Many of my uncles worked the kitchen as well as outside, many
of my aunties worked outside as well as the kitchen.
Wanting to become a tailor
was put into my mind when I was forced to take a sewing class in grade nine.
This was the only time I decided to try out the works with a sewing machine. It
took awhile to get into the whole ideal of sewing and working with fabrics,
this was a big step to take and was a very risky step I was taking.
After the class was done I looked the other way and decided not to keep working
with it. It wasn't till my grandma asked me to help her with curtains that she
needed hemmed up that I took a interest in the art of tailoring and sewing. After
helping I took a very big interest in sewing and tailoring, so I worked up the
courage to start sewing and working with fabrics to create large works of art that I didn't know I was going to love.
It took me a week to get fully into
sewing; I started sewing dresses and quilts for the fun of it and loved how I could take a
piece of fabric and by simple cutting it and sewing it together the pieces and
make something that was wearable. I created so many garments that I started
taking them apart and reworking them into other pieces. I had to work up the
courage to show others what I could create and showing others was a big step
that really bothered me for some reason. Taking such a big risk got me to work on
many different projects which really got me into the tailoring mood even more. Taking risks and jumping into sewing head on gave me the chance to have my
work shown in a production that was showing in the Yates theatre. I had made a
corset and a few dresses for the production and it featured them on the
"big stage". By taking this risk I was able to show others what I
could do and seeing that they weren't bother by a male sewer it really showed
me that it wasn't the big problem that I thought it was.
Now I work on gowns of
period clothing, my favourite years of fashion are 1830-1860's. A big lesson I
also learned is that many great fashion artist were males. Now I have the
courage to do anything when it comes to sewing and working with fabrics. It
took a lot of courage to step outside my comfort zone but taking the risky step
I have been able to do tons and experience lots of new things that I would have
never done without my interest in sewing.
By Jacob Spear Chief
Hope Rekindled & Courage Everlasting
In a short
time I will be a high school graduate and be ready to take on the world. A
little scary to think about, but hopefully these last several years have
prepared me for future life and adventures. Do I feel strong enough or
courageous enough to leave high school? It is my hope that I am ready, but we
will soon see. As I reflect back over the years I realize that it is only by
relying upon my hope for a bright future and by being courageous that I will
succeed. I do however know that it has not always been so easy for me, but
others have helped me on my journey.
One thing that
has to do with courage is to have the will to be able to come from a place out of
the city that is rural to a place that is urbanized. It takes someone like me,
out of my comfort zone which is a place that has peace
and nature to another place that is much different than the plains that I call
home. It is taking a huge step because I haven’t become fully accustomed to the
urban city life that others are so very used to and me not so much.
A time in my
life where I lost hope was when I lost my grandmother a year ago, just before my birthday.
I felt the feeling of emptiness and fear at that time because I couldn’t fully
take the weight of losing someone so close to me. This is something that everyone
goes through during their lifetime, the end of the cycle of their lives. My
grandmother was in the last stage of her Alzheimer’s and she could barely
remember my dad, even me. She couldn’t even speak anymore or remember anything
that she had learned. Soon after that year ended I finally found a way to push
through that pain I felt and I moved on with my life. I regained my hope back
because I knew that she was in a better place and that she didn’t have to
endure pain any further. I felt happy again, but I know that this New Year in
twenty fifteen, I will feel a bit down when her birthday comes but only for
that one day. At the end of that one day I will feel happy again, continuing my
life as it is.
By Halee White Quills
Courage in the Gutter
Facing terrors of our past is looked upon as a form of
courage. As a child I lived in a messed up neighborhood living next to bloods,
Indian posse and Drug dealers. Even when I was just watching T.V I would always
see three to four squad cars per day cruising down the road. I would even see the
blinking of red and blue flashing through my window upon seeing neighbors being
arrested. As I prompted myself off the couch I would look down and ask my dad, “What’s
going on?” Then he would respond by saying, “Foolish choices son dumb choices”. As
a kid I always wondered why people have to live in this state. My parents where
refuges of a communist country just trying to start a new life in Canada. They are honest, hard working people who cared about me very dearly and loved me very much; they
were also like a pillow to comfort the rough of the hood. When I was four years old I was walking with my
grandmother down the block and I noticed a dog walking around and as I was walking
the dog came up and attacked me. I never
realized that what was happening would be so painful, as the stray dog was
chewing on me my grandmother came up and started beating
it with her cane. The love and respect I got from my family was all put there
in one picture. What also helped to give me courage growing up was being face to
face with Bloods to anybody else it would have traumatized them or even cause them to piss
themselves, but not me; I had many moments of painful lessons that taught me that there is nothing to fear when you have already overcome it.
By Chris Franczek
What To Do?
Currently
I am in my last year of high school and I’m terrified, because I still can’t
figure out what I am going to do, or who I am going to meet in life after I
am finished. I stress out thinking about it too much which leads me to
anxiety attacks that make me feel like I will be nothing but a failure. Now
that January is here I have come to realize that there are only five more months
until I will be completely finished with high school, then I will start having
to apply to colleges or universities depending on what I want to do. I
have a few options in mind of what I might want to do, but when I think about
it more and more, I think into the future and wonder if I’m going to love it as
much as I have when I thought about it. Although most people say that when you
get out of high school it is common for people to not know what they want to do
and that you can always change your classes if you’re not interested in them, I just want to be done with school and have a plan laid out for
me to accomplish. I almost feel a like I am Red from Shawshank Redemption because he too,
was scared of getting out of his comfort zone and not knowing what life would
be like outside of the prison, but he made it and he is now in what seems to be
like paradise for him and his friend Andy. The courage for my journey is to
face my fear of finishing high school and know that it is ok to make
mistakes because that’s the whole point of being human; always do what you’re
afraid of because you will become stronger knowing that you can get through
those fears that once made you weak.
By Tanis Crosschild
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZwLtlOtmcs
By Tanis Crosschild
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZwLtlOtmcs
Dirt
When I was a
kid my dad and I were at home together watching TV. He changed the channel and
he showed me Monster Jam. This was the first time I ever saw a monster truck,
the truck known as “Big Foot”. I could remember it clearly, a 1970’s brick
style Ford F-150. It was blue with big white rims and huge tires too. That thing
was crushing cars, doing awesome donuts and hitting big jumps. That truck along
with many others opened my eyes to motorsports.
A few years after my dad passed
away I got a dirt bike for my 14th birthday. It was something I’ve
always wanted, but my family could never afford. I fell in love with that bike
even though that bike battered and bruised me up and even broke my collar bones
I still never stopped riding it. I loved it. But that bike taught me how to do
3 of the best things in life:
1: Never Panic. 2:
How To Drive Manual/Stick 3: How To Have Fun Behind The Wheel
With those 3
things I’ve learned it gave me the courage to keep on making the sacrifices I
make to do the things I love. When I do these things I risk so many things, my
truck, my hard work and more importantly my life. The thrill it gives me is
what I want to do for the rest of my life. That why my hobby gives me hope and
guidance towards my future dream of becoming a automotive technician so I can
keep on building my F-150 - the same truck as big foot.
By Darwin Healy
The Passionate Pursuit of Reading
I’ve always loved
reading, ever since I was a little kid; I am addicted to reading. The funny
thing about my reading is that when I was little and started kindergarten by the end
of the school year, my teacher wanted to fail me because I wasn’t a good
reader. Then we went to St. Mary’s and they tested me and I passed. I always
try to remember that because I find it funny. I’m always reading no matter what
I do; if I’m 100% busy I’ll still find time to read a book. When I’m reading I
love it because I get to see what the author has written. I get to see what
they spent hours, maybe even days, months on in order to get published - their
devotion to the novel. In that novel you get to work your imagination and
that’s why I love reading, I get to experience the universe in novels like this
one book I read, it was called Across the Universe. I don’t remember the author, but it is such a good book! It was about these people in space who had to
learn how to survive and they froze all these people and someone started
killing them off slowly, but then when this one girl was about to get murdered,
these doctors saved her. Then she finds out that she’s only been asleep for a
shorter time then she was supposed to be. There are tons of different books
about space, aliens, sci-fi, romance, action and everything else; I love
reading them because I get to escape from life; I get to experience a whole
other world without any distractions and just focus on that novel. I read like
crazy and I can finish a 300 page book in a hour if I wanted to, just
because I’m so into the book, that I don’t care how long I’m sitting down
reading it for, it just captivates me so much that I continue anyway. My mom is
always talking about how well I read and just how fast I can read a book, but
it’s just I don’t like rushing through things and when I finish a 300 page book
in a hour, I just feel like I rushed myself even though I didn’t. I’m very
passionate about reading; I like the feeling of reading a book because I have
that awesome feeling of imagining something that I thought I’d never
thought I would experience, and that is what I am very passionate about.
By Crystal Bruisedhead
By Crystal Bruisedhead
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I Am My Worst Enemy
A
time in my life when I needed courage and hope was almost a year ago; I broke
my leg being stupid at a grad party. It was the worst possible time to break my
leg because my grad was coming up and more importantly summer. It was broken so
bad that I couldn’t return to school for the remainder of the year. So, I ended
up not being able to finish my classes and take the diploma exams, and as a result I never
passed my English or Social classes. I was stuck at home while all my friends, that I have gone to school with, graduated and got their diplomas. Luckily I had
over 100 credits so I graduated too, but I couldn’t go to the ceremony because
my leg wasn’t healed enough to be crutching around. Going through this really
discouraged me from ever going back to school and getting my diploma. I was
disappointed in myself and became very depressed for a while. All I could think
about were all the things I’d never be able to do and how many of my dreams and
passions were broken with my leg. I told myself I wouldn’t go back to school.
After a while I realized there’s nothing I can do but live with it and being
depressed and sad about it only makes my situation worse. I started to think that if
I didn’t go back to school then what would I do? I knew that there would be no
hope for the future I want if I didn’t go back to school and get my diploma. I
had a lot of help from my parents who gave me the courage to believe that I can go back and
get through it. They helped me to realize how much I can achieve if I try hard
and stay dedicated. Hope for my future and what I can become got me through
this tough time in my young life, but mostly the confidence and courage my
family gave me. I have hope that someday I’ll be able to skateboard again and
do the things I dream of.
By Stonewall Manychief
Testing My Courage
The words Courage and Hope in many ways help me create a
visual for the world around me. Courage, more than most things, gives me the
sense that anything can be achieved. Most people live their daily lives never
realizing the true potential that their day holds. The possibilities they may
be able to unlock, or that special person they never got a chance to talk to.
In all ways, courage is the foundation of an adventurous and healthy social life. We now, at this period in human history, need a little bit more
courage in our lives to do what should be a daily thing, socializing with
strangers. Some are true masters in this sense and have no problem creating a
new friend and opportunity in life, but there are those who are so embraced in
technology, that it has created a different form of socializing.
I personally, have had many opportunities to test my ability
to wield my courage. Some moments I can wield it, others I can’t. I really have
no excuse I can use to deal with my inability to take advantage of my
opportunities. My Mother passed away recently and this, as I saw it, was a
new test to my skills in courage. Can I move on? Will I be able let go of a past that gripped me all my life. This answer is yet to be revealed, so hence I
wait for the arrival of when I can finally be reunited with my Mother. Courage
is a value in my life, that I personally try to conquer every opportunity I
get. Some people are so weak in courage that they have no idea when another is
conquering it. My courage is strong, but to what extent do I flex it?
By Denver Provost
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FkG-Bh9J9c
By Denver Provost
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FkG-Bh9J9c
The Thrill of Pressure and Pain
Laying there on the solid bench holding up a heavy weight, the
feeling of pressure the weight inflicts. As I bring the bar down slowly upon my
chest, feeling the pain that comes from the stretching and the small tearing. The
bar resting on my chest for only a millisecond. With a burst of power and
strength the bar is back up in the air and resting on the rack. I put myself through this pain so I can become stronger so I
can save the ones I love and care about from the evil that is the world.
My weaknesses include physical injuries that stop me from
reaching the level I wish to achieve and a mental weakness that holds me down like
a lead weight, this weight torments me because I struggle, I struggle so hard
to surpass it. Alas, it seems that this weight is actually a wall that reaches
impossible heights that I cannot reach and an unlimited length in both
directions. But I come back to face this wall every time I am rested hoping
that I can find a hole, or create a hole or even jump over the wall hoping I can
surpass this wall but to no avail.
By Taran Russell
Grade 9 Year
In grade 9 I had the worst year of my life. I was being called fat and ugly, and I never said anything about it because it was my “best friend” and I thought if I had said something to him he would stop being my friend. When it started it was funny and I laughed, but half way through the year all my “friends” started to call me fat, ugly or stupid. Whenever I would stand up for myself they would think I was just making a joke and then call me stupid again. It really destroyed my self-esteem. They finally disowned me and no one would talk to me. I wanted to end it all because I did not want to be made fun of anymore. I thought that ending my life was the best way to go, but that summer my sister started to talk to me about coming to youth more. I started to go to youth and learn more about God. At first it was a bit weird and I felt out of place, but soon I started to find God. My whole life changed 360 degrees. I started to go to church every Sunday and youth every Thursday. Since then, I have started to go to a young adults group on Tuesdays. I am the leader of the worship team at my church and my youth. God has saved my life and He is awesome. When someone calls my ugly or fat I just shove it off because I know God loves me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jas8siNG3Bo
By Kyra Webb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jas8siNG3Bo
By Kyra Webb
Through a Pencil
I never had the guts to sit
and write about courage and hope in my life. Honestly, I haven’t even thought about that
until now. I think in my life there is a lot of courage and hope, but it’s just
maybe hard to see it some times. My life has always been so stressful trying
to cope with everything going on with friends, family, school and all this
thinking about the future. All this has been so stressful and I think facing
that in its self is quite courageous, but I can honestly say that I really wish I
could have more courage…. because I was bullied for five years and not once did I
do anything. I wish I would have said something because then maybe it would
have stopped. From being bullied so much
I did lose a lot of hope in myself and hope that there were good people out
there, and after that I never trusted anyone. After that I turned to art because
with art I can express my feelings and emotions without getting judged or
insulted. Now, because of everything it takes a lot of courage to even get up in
the morning, to even go to school because I’m so paranoid that people
will constantly judge me where ever I go. With art I find it away to relax as well
because being paranoid all the time gets me really worked up and I over think a
lot. Art helps me relax and calm down. To this day I still always
think of things I could have said to people or done differently to stop the bullying or fix
it, but I’ve always been that person who just keeps quiet because I don’t want
to make it any worse. It’s stopped now and I’m very thankful for that. Maybe in
some ways I was courageous because I didn’t just give in to it, I kept going
and kept trying to hope through it because nothing stays bad forever and I
always believe that everything happens for a reason.
By Kisa Blasetti-Ford
By Kisa Blasetti-Ford
The End is Just the Beginning of Something New
In this world all we need is courage and hope to
survive, courage to do what needs to be done and hope to not give up when
things are not accomplished. Sadly, not all of us have the patience to maintain
hope or the courage to stand up for what we believe in. Fortunately I was
gifted with both or else I would not be the man I am today. I have experienced
several devastations in my life that made me think more than twice about my
life and why I am on this planet.
The thing that really brought me down was when
I got injured at a football camp in grade nine. My knee cap popped out and
caught a ligament on the left side of my knee and stretched it. When I got my x-rays
the doctor said it would take a long time to heal but he informed me that it
would be best if I didnt play anymore. I was heartbroken. All my life I’ve
been playing football, it was all I knew. After a few weeks of being depressed I
told myself it would get better, that my knee would be better than before.
After my knee healed and I was able to walk again, I started to work out and focus on playing in
grade ten. Sadly, I was not up to play in grade ten for fear of hurting my knee
again. I took the year off and started to make myself prepared for next season.
After a year of hard work I was confident enough to play in grade 11. I made my
starting position at defensive tackle and had a great year of football. I was
able to maintain hope that I would be able to play football again and I got
to.
Courage and Hope
Courage means to me doing something out
of your comfort zone and going through with it. Like when people join the army, or it can be trying to take the game winning shot at a game you can be afraid
or have anxiety to do it, but if you go through with it than to me that’s
courage. There were times when I had courage and times when I didn’t have courage in my life.
When I was younger I didn’t have a lot of courage because I was afraid to do
things, but as I got older I started to do more things out of my comfort zone. I
think playing sports gave me a lot of courage because when I was younger it was
my teacher who said I should play basketball I didn’t want to because I was afraid
to play, but she made me and from there I kept playing more and more sports and
I wasn’t so afraid anymore. Playing sports has given me more courage because
before I stared playing I was always shy and didn’t like to try new things, but
when I stared playing it felt good to be
a part of a team that cared for one another. I think that made me who I am now. When I’m
out there playing it gives me courage because I think I earned my place on this
team and I made the team for a reason. Sports have given me hope for the future
because they made me want to continue with the things I’m passionate about in life.
By Traven Weasel Traveller
Monday 5 January 2015
Courage is
something that comes to us in some of the most unbearable of times, it's what
makes us get up even when ore bodies say its impossible, and we are able to keep fighting
on.
On August 10th
2013 I was diagnosed with a type two brain tumor that I had probably had for some
time. The first seventy two hours all seem like such a blur and I can't remember a
whole lot, but it's funny I didn’t ever remember feeling scared or like all hope was
lost. I always had high hope and never spoke about how awful and pissed off
I should be because I just wasn’t.
To be brave I think
it means to see how hard you can get hit and keep getting up and asking for
more even when every one says you shouldn't. I don't think of my self as being that
brave or courageous, or anything special even when people say how brave I am. I
just think of myself as an ordinary guy who was just unlucky and it was
just my turn in line.
Courage is something that we all must face and its up to
you whether you can rise to the challenge and look through the dark skies and find that one ray of hope and hold on and
don’t let go. To a lot of people hope is the only thing people have...to well,
really hope for. It's the feeling of walking out on to the other side and saying
"look we made it".
By Dylan Westerson
By Dylan Westerson
Courage
When I think about when I had courage not a lot comes to
mind, except football. I
didn’t play football in grade 11 or 12 because of an injury I got and because
one of the coaches on the team made it unenjoyable for me. I had courage in
football because I played a lot of games with a lot of injuries. For example I
played a whole season with a broken hand and played a lot of games with bruised
ribs and with sprained ankles. I only sat out of games because of my mom
caring about my health; if it was up to me I’d play every game.
When I first
started football I was scared of contact, too scared to hit anyone because I
didn’t like hurting people and I didn’t want to get hurt myself, but after about
a week of being there it started to become fun and a passion of mine. I started to enjoy contact more and more; it
was a way for me to get my anger out by hitting people - who wouldn’t enjoy
that? As I got older and played longer the game starting to mean a lot more to
me, when I got to my finale season of bantam (grade 9 year) I got a
whole bunch and of guys to join. I had a ton of friends and a ton of great
players but that was the year we got new coaches. The head coach would come
once and a while but he was pretty busy, so another guy took over for him. This
guy was mean, rude and no one on the team really liked him.
I liked playing; it
was fun to wake up every Saturday and know I was going to go play a game
that day, plus I was one of the oldest and the strongest so that made it a lot more fun.
I remember I was even named one of the captains for the team and I looked at it
as a sign that I needed to step up, and show the guys that I was going to give them my all, but in the first game of the season that’s when I bruised my ribs and it was
just uncomfortable to play. I remember my mom asking the actual head coach to
get me a rib protector because my mom didn’t want me in pain anymore. One day
in practice I don’t know what the coaches were trying to do, but they were
making fun of me for wearing it. They were telling me I had a nice bra and telling my mom
she was babying her son too much and that’s what got me going. I then started
to play to show the coaches that I was meant to be a starter on that team and
that I wasn’t going to let an injury hold me back and not play. So that season
I maybe sat out two games because of my rib injury and whenever I would get
hurt I'd just put it in the back of my mind.
Now that I think of that it is the
stupidest thing ever! I basically just made myself more sore and in more pain
because I didn’t sit out and wait until I got healthy again. That is the only
time I can think I had courage because at first I was scared to get hurt then I
was starting to play with injuries.
By Daniel Coatney
The Significance of Courage
The significance of courage can be physical,
spiritual, and emotional. It is a time
in our life when we think it is time for us to stand up and speak out even if
we are in danger, in pain or afraid.
Even if we don’t know the outcome, we hope that it will turn out well. A couple of years ago I
had to made a decision if I wanted to be happy and feel like I am significant
or live in an environment that makes me feel unhappy and insignificant. It took courage for me to open up to the
people that could help me move out of that environment. I knew there would be opposition from those
around me, that they would be negative about the change - I wanted to make to
where I was living. The difficult times
I had to face was gathering all those people together to make my choice known
to them and answering the question: “Why? Why do you want to leave?” I had to face my own fears, was I making the
right or wrong decision because my heart was not fully in it. When I made the decision and started in the
new environment, there were negative comments and lies that hurt me and took the
joy from the start of my new life. But
then I remembered the courage; I had to make the decision because I knew that the same courage
would l help me get through the lies and help me start a new future. What helped me to have this courage was the
gift of courage I saw in one of my friends who has overcome great obstacles
that I don’t think I could face. Her magnificent
courage helped to motivate me to do something for myself, to make the changes I
needed to make.
By Georgina Nyavor
By Georgina Nyavor
Courage and Hope
I have had
many times where I have had hope in my life. The one that’s most significant to
me is when my grandmother was in the hospital. Her being in there scared me; it
made me think that I would never see her again. I always tried to think
positively and always hoped she would get better. She had to have surgery on
her brain to keep it from bleeding. She was put into a coma for the surgery and
we had to wait until she woke up. Days went by and she wasn’t waking up; I was
getting worried. I wasn’t allowed to see her because I was sick and all I
wanted was for her to get better. Each day went on, still hoping she would open
her eyes and she would see us there. Eventually we decided we would let her go.
That was the hardest moment I have ever had to deal with in my life. It gave me
a lot of issues trying to get over it. A lot of times I had no courage, no will
to do anything. My family and friends were always there for me and helped me
get through it. Times have been getting easier now and I miss her everyday, but
I know she is always with me. I always look back at this time to give me
courage to go on because I know that’s what she would want of me. She is my
angel in heaven and I know I will see her soon one day.
By Braxton Weiss
By Braxton Weiss
Tapped Out of Courage and Hope
"Magic the Gathering" is my favourite activity and I find that
almost every game something requires courage and hope. As far as hope goes,
sometimes I look at a board state and think that there is no way that I am
ever going to get out of this and I may as well give up and move on to the
next game, but sometimes I just have to stick it out and I might just draw
the answer I need off the top of my deck. Magic requires courage because
sometimes I go into an event and there are over 60 people there and I may
know 5-10 of them. Most of the time when I sit down across from someone I
may have never met this person before and that can be pretty intimidating.
The first magic event that I went to had over 40 people there
and I only knew 3 of them. I played 5 rounds that day, 1 of which was against one of
my friends and the other 4 were against complete strangers, luckily everyone was
nice and I had an overall positive experience. With the only downside being
that I got ripped off in a trade with a more experienced player who traded me a
$5 card for my $20 dollar card (I didn’t realise this until much later).
By Austin Row
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjG-hj38KgU
this is a good video if you do not know what magic the gathering is
By Austin Row
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjG-hj38KgU
this is a good video if you do not know what magic the gathering is
I Bow Down for No Man
Walking tall and not fearing anyone is a feeling I hold dear
to me because of the bullying that happens at schools and homes and in society. I have witnessed kids getting beat up or taunted
and it is something I cannot stand back and watch, I have to intervene and stick up for people who were helpless.
It all started when
I was in grade 3. When the teacher left the classroom, the whole class cornered
me behind the teacher's desk where they cheered on the classroom bullies to fight
me. I was punched again and again. Ever since this happened I
always stuck up for myself; I never wanted anyone to hurt me again and the
thought of this makes me want to go back and change what happened.
It was courage
and hope that changed my instinct and forced me to act in a situation where certain people
are hurt. Now I only choose certain friends and certain people and battles where it
is a good thing and a good outcome, only acting in my own defense and the defense of others.
I have trained my mind to avoid fear in a situation where it means not backing
down. I never want lose another fight; I will die before I will lose another
fight. I never want the thought of losing and keeping it in my mind for ever. I
have become a little too aggressive at times where I created my own self-inflicted
battles, but it was only stemming from the knowledge that I did not want to be hurt again and
sticking up for myself is the greatest feeling of victory I could of ever have.
“Always in the wrong
place at the right time”
By Joseph Day Chief
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