Flaws and Imperfections

We humans must accept our flaws and imperfections because no one is perfect and no matter what we do we will never be flawless. Everybody is unique in their own way. I don’t like my body and I complain about it. I get upset when I think really hard about it, but I have to realize that it doesn’t matter and that I should be happy with who I am. It shouldn’t matter what people think about me because it's not their body, it’s mine. Sometimes I might get a zit or two on my face and I worry so much about it and think that I'm ugly, but I tell myself that everyone in the world gets zits so it’s not a big deal because they go away in a few days. I need to be happier with my life because this is the life that God gave me and I have to accept that. I might not like my body some days but there are things I can do about it if it matters that much to me. Sometimes I will get a zit and I just have to get over it because there are so many other things to worry about in life than a little pimple on my face. I used to be very stressed about the way I looked when I was in middle school, so I started going to the gym and started to do MMA to get myself in shape because I didn’t want to be the kid I was before. I now accept the person I am, but the past has taught me that it's important to push myself, to try new things, and to work hard.

-Nicolas Bruntjen

Doubt Your Doubts and Believe Your Beliefs

I feel as though the future is now. What am I supposed to prepare for if I have no idea what is coming? Voices in my head are telling me now that the pressure is on, to start figuring out my life and basically what I want to do for the rest of it. Doubts are impossible to ignore, but they help me realize that I cannot control everything. I have been through too much in my short 17 years to start doubting myself anytime soon. I know whatever comes my way I will be able to overcome.

Even though I don’t know where I’m headed in the future I keep my mind and heart open to every new opportunity and every new struggle. If we live out our lives in the constant fear of “what if” it creates a void in our minds that allows these negative "what ifs" to actually happen. By doing this we are only shutting down ourselves to the life we want and deserve. Don’t confuse having a career with having a life, although our teachers and parents might try to convince us otherwise because there is so much more to life than work.

As these last few months of high school approach I know this is only the beginning. Yes, of course the stress is here now, but we have to just keep reminding ourselves that it’s not always going to be like this. My education is important, but it does not define me, my marks will only take me so far. Show me the real life experiences, throw me to the wolves; I’m ready for this new chapter to begin. I have hope for the future because I will be who I am and I will not compromise on what I feel is right for me in my life.

I would encourage you to doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs, because doubt is not always a sign that you are wrong- it may be just a sign that you are thinking. And believe your beliefs because at the end of the day there are always going to be people who hold different beliefs and values aside from yours, but as long as you stay true to yourself, I’ve learned, that’s the only thing that matters.

-Amanda Fox

2Pac – Keep Ya Head Up Lyrics | Genius Lyrics --- (I chose this song mainly because of the hook,the rest of the song is still great though.)

[hook]   

Keep ya head up, ooh, child

Things are gonna get easier

Keep ya head up, ooh, child

Things’ll get brighter

Keep ya head up, ooh, child

Things are gonna get easier

Keep ya head up, ooh, child

Things will get brighter

Anxiety

The monsters in my life are the thoughts in my head that at times discourage me. My own worst enemy is myself. It is a monster to me because it can tear me down so effortlessly. The thoughts can creep up without warning and almost every time I get convinced to believe them. I struggle with anxiety and some days are harder than others. I have had anxiety pretty much my whole life, or for as long as I can remember. I used to think that I was the only one going through the things I do. I didn’t know what anxiety was or how it worked. I have been through quite the rocky journey and struggled quite a lot. I still struggle sometimes, but I have my good days as well. I have learned many ways to help with the debilitating symptoms that come with anxiety, but the one thing I still have a hard time with is the thoughts that anxiety brings. It’s a constant battle between the thoughts.

The things I have learned the most when it comes to dealing with the thoughts is telling myself that they are just thoughts and I don’t have to believe every one. An example of a thought that I’m sure everyone has is when you’re alone and you pass a group of people who laugh, and you start to worry that they are laughing at you. Anxiety gives me irrational thoughts like that all the time. “What if something happened to them because they aren’t answering”, or “what if I die tomorrow”. I’m sure everyone has those thoughts from time to time, but I have to deal with those thoughts for so many things everyday. It has gotten better and distracting myself helps too. Having anxiety actually encourages me to be the best I can be and finding ways to better myself everyday. I challenge myself everyday to come out of my comfort zone which helps me to challenge the anxiety as well.

-Cierra French
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vx8iUvfyCY This link shows a guided meditation that helps with over thinking. Meditation is a great way to calm anxiety and the mind and is one thing I use that has helped many times.

You're Beautiful

I was always afraid that I wasn't not good enough, I wasn’t cool enough to fit in with others. I always think  about things like: why am I in this generation where popularity is everything in everyone's lives? Popularity is something that can make you have friends in school. Schools are something that I was always afraid of since I would ask myself: what if I just can’t make friends, because I am not cool enough or people won’t like me because of the way I dress or my race? But everyone isn't born the same and everyone has their own imperfections. One day that those imperfections will make you a much better person, because those are the things that made you, you. I overcame that fear and accepted who I was, and now no one can tell me who I have to be. If you don’t like me because I’m different from you then that’s your problem not mine. I accept who I am because I am the only one of me, and no one else can be like me. I keep in mind every flaw I have and every imperfection can be turned into beauty. I remember that not everything in this world can be destructive, and sometimes those things can be turned into something more beautiful. This idea is just like a larva transforming into a beautiful butterfly; we can’t hide the butterfly in all its beauty and there will always be something imperfect that makes a butterfly more beautiful than anything else. Now, I will never be ashamed for who I am. I am proud of who I have become and who I am now. I hope that no one should ever be ashamed about their flaws because that’s what makes them a person beautiful.

-Griffin Rivera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehToBz7zhqE This is the song that inspired me to write this whole blog about flaws and imperfection, because everyone is perfect in their own way.

Understanding Pain

It is important to feel pain because it makes us stronger and better. We will be able to face a lot of problems in the future with ease because we know how to handle them. The pain that we are feeling today doesn’t last forever because pain helps us grow to be more successful in life. We shouldn’t be ashamed of the pain that we are feeling right now, because we may all feel this pain in situations in life. There are situations that we sometimes feel we cannot handle, but in time it gives us the hope that we need to face the countless challenges that we are afraid to face. It also takes courage to admit that we feel pain. Even I am scared of admitting the feeling of pain, such as facing the reality of my life right now, and having to accept the fact that people who before were close to me are now far away. Also, I have to deal with difficult circumstances such as when people in my life need something from me I have no choice, but to give it to them because I know how they feel. I too have experienced how it feels to have a hard time finding a job. I don't like the idea of people looking down on me and maybe they would  think I’m weak, but the thing is I just have to brush away all the negative thoughts that I have in my mind. Now that I’m a young adult I am able to realize that having to feel pain is essential for us to mature and move forward in life. If we have the courage and hope to continue then life will come along its way.

-Norman Badong

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-25650/4-secrets-of-releasing-deep-emotional-pain.html

Above is a link on techniques to heal emotional pain and possibly overcome it.

Expectations

  I’m pretty sure I have made up my mind about going to college for Criminal Justice, and maybe end up working in Corrections after, but I am scared that I will not do well due to how physical it is. I am really doubting myself even though I know that I CAN do it.

  I'm scared that if after college if I get hired at the jail, that I will somehow mess up and disappoint my dad, who I will probably be working with. I’m scared that I will not live up the expectations people will have for me just due to who my dad is. I will have huge expectations to meet because my dad is one of the senior officers, and has been working at the jail for just over 30 years, and having the same last name, everybody will know who I am.

  I want to be able to live up to the expectations, but I really don't know if I can.

-Brooklyn Kandel

The Dream Physique

I am not very passionate about anything in life because I feel as though I have not fully lived my life to the fullest yet. I’m only 17 years old and I have so much to experience, but the only thing that I am very passionate about as of right now is fitness. To me fitness is what motivates me to get out of bed in the morning; it completes my day even though my day hasn't started yet. Even just the thought of going to the gym completes my day. I am very passionate about fitness because I love the feeling of walking into the gym every morning, seeing all the weights and the equipment, the smell of the entire gym. I love the burning and tearing of my muscles so that they can grow, drinking my pre-workout shake so that I can have a perfect workout, taking my supplements such as vitamins so that It can help me get bigger, and after every workout I get to go home eat all of my essential foods such as proteins, carbs, and fats. I strive to gain the perfect physique because it has been one of my goals since I was a child and to be able to actually put in the work to go and pursue my goals makes me feel ecstatic and euphoric. There are many difficulties that goes into fitness because sometimes people can lose motivation to do it, or they might have a lazy work ethic. Also, a lot of research must be done so that people will have the IQ to be more efficient at getting fit and also have more skills in the gym. It takes a lot of hard work to push myself every day at the gym, as I have to be mentally and physically tough to motivate myself. I remind myself that it is my body and not anyone else’s so to be able to push myself is the main challenge that I have to overcome. I always have to constantly think about not giving up to always keep pushing forward.

-Viustin Badilla

Here's a motivational video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NBdvGl71-Y

The significance of courage and hope is that they set out a good image for us and not only us, but for the people close to us. It takes courage and hope to grow up and become who you really are. Life is filled with the choices that we make. Opportunities are abundant, and this is the reason why life is so rich. In my experience, fear is the thing that keeps me stuck worrying about outcomes. Action takes courage because there are risks and the outcome is less than certain.

   I am choosing to write about my open door. I know that the poor choices I make in my present life will affect my future. To see that I've made it this far could mean a successful future, but not everyone is successful and that's because of the poor choices and mistakes they've made in the past. People only get scared of the future because they don't know what's to come, anything can happen. If I could go ahead in time, I would learn from my future and I would prevent those poor choices from messing with my future. Courage is word that moves us towards an outcome, but can’t guarantee the result. My advice for you all is to lead your own life because nobody will know you better than you know yourself. Make good choices and let go of the things that will make you successful.

-Jangkou Machonyjok

https://youtu.be/Urf0GFYdYTo

Key To Success Video

Superhero Inside All of Us

“There is a superhero inside all of us we just need the courage to put on the cape.” This quote reminds me of my brother, because he told me that if I ever get Alzheimer's disease, that he would put a wonder woman costume in my closet. He said that a long time ago, but it feels like decades ago because of how much has happened and the changes we've been through. Sometimes he can be a pain (what brother isn't?), but this quote also reminds me of when I was getting bullied. One day after school my brother found me crying on the playground and I remember he was really concerned and actually hugged me. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a tight squeeze then asked who upset me. I could tell he was frustrated, so I told him that it was not a big deal because I didn't want him to get in trouble. I was reluctant to tell him, but he was persistent, so I just told him that this guy by my locker dropped a textbook on my head and laughed about it. The boy didn't even care about the pain he inflicted, but I wasn’t surprised because he had picked on me many times before. My brother knew who he was, and as we were starting to walk home my brother saw him and then ran over to him and punched the bully in the face. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life, and how the kid fell on the ground holding his nose. I will remember how he looked at me still holding his nose with blood flowing through his hands, apologizing to me for picking on me then got up and ran away leaving a trail of blood behind him. In this situation my brother is my superhero -without a cape.    

-Linda Mannix-Elliott

Struggles of Life

I am not perfect, no one is, but there are some people who are pretty darn close. Doing some/most drugs makes you skinny, and being too skinny makes you scared of your own body. Doing drugs puts your mind in another place, making you think you're always sad and you don't know how to get rid of it. Your mind doesn't know how to get rid itself of anger, so you take the anger out on yourself. You cut yourself... and not just little scratches you cut yourself so deep that you won't stop bleeding for hours. Now that you are done, you are left with a very scarred up body, and you're so uncomfortable. You don't want to sit in the hot tub with your family or go to the beach with your boyfriend. You look in the mirror and cry. There are scars everywhere: arms, legs and your stomach and you always wear long sleeves because you don't want people to judge.

Now I've learnt from my past, I'm still learning to live with my scars and I'm getting less and less insecure of my body. My boyfriend helped me out a lot. One night he wanted to go sit in the hot tub and I didn't want to because I didn't want him to see my tummy and arms, so I just told him about it. I pulled up my sleeves and rolled up my shirt, so he could see my arms and tummy. He touched my scars and said, “I love your scars, they make you you! They make you a warrior, they tell a story”. Then he kissed my scars. Now everyday I look in the mirror and tell myself I'm beautiful, and that I'm a warrior.

-T

Lupe Fiasco and Guy Sebastian - Battle Scars. I chose this song because it explains my whole story in one song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mPd_SDAryQ

Significance in My Life

For my blog post, I wanted to talk about the significance of courage and hope in my life in my day to day activities. I've talked about being on the football team and how that takes courage in my journal, but it’s not just because I go to practice everyday and I play the games the best I can. It’s also taking the time to even do any of that. It’s hard to be a student athlete, not just in football but when you have to give up your time for sports, it's very hard and I would say it actually takes a lot of courage to give up your free time. Once you join a team, you go to practices and you no longer have as much free time because instead, that time becomes time for the sport you are involved in. A lot of people give up time with their families, or they have to wait to get a job or maybe even have difficulty keeping a job. It might not make the most sense that I'm linking this to courage, but it's just what I think and it's actually the situation that I'm in. When I get home, I have about 2 hours until I have to get myself ready for bed in order to get a good enough sleep and charge myself for the next day. Sometimes it’s difficult, but it is all worth it when I look at the good I'm doing for myself.

When I think of hope in my life, nothing really comes to me off the top of my head, but it doesn't mean I don’t have any hope. I have hope for my to do good in school and activities I'm involved in after school and I like to think that my future will be good. I have hope in myself to succeed in life and that pretty much wraps everything up. If I don't succeed today, then I pull myself together and I go on to succeed the next day because what's in the past is past, and I just need to focus on what's going to happen next and the things I need to do to succeed. The thing that drives me is hope and I don't know if it's just me, but I think that courage along with hope are very significant  to have in life.

-Kaymen Piper

Don't Understand

Life is full of unanswered questions, moments we don’t understand or actions we regret, but everything we do in our lives leads to one thing - the future. The future is one big mystery, without knowing it our actions can lead to something completely different. As kids we are told to be strong and independent, but without realizing that we can lean on other people to help us get through the hard times. The people that we lean on can affect our actions and the outcome of our life. A person's life  really starts at the end of their comfort zone, when we are in an uncomfortable situation we must bring out our courage and learn how to fly by ourselves.

Maslow created the hierarchy of human needs, showing that humans have an all or none response, simply meaning that when the nerve gets stimulated the muscle fibers respond or the stimulation was not great enough for the body to respond. The human body is designed to defend itself in all kinds of situations. The most common defense mechanism that the body uses is flight or fight response. When the body is faced with change it makes the stress hormone cortisol, and cortisol is the hormone that makes glycogen which lead to weight gain. It’s the body's way of protection from the world.

For the last year I was in a relationship with someone who meant a lot to me, we started off as a normal couple, but I soon realized that I was in for one wild ride. Around the 4 month mark of the relationship he was diagnosed with diabetes, it was a very hard pill to swallow. We both took it very hard, but I was still there for him every step of the way. As time went on things kept going against us, the medicine that the doctors prescribe for him did not work. He was placed in the hospital for 3 months and everyday I went to see him everyday. When he was released from the hospital I hoped and prayed that things would get better between us but a short time after I learned that he only wanted me around when he was to weak to stand on his own. Looking back at the relationship now I know I put my everything into the him; I was his protection from the world when he had no courage or hope that things would get better. Maybe one day we can be friends and look back at the good times and memories we share, but for now we must face the world and learn what life has to offer us.

-Drew Samek

Demi Lavato - "Tell Me You Love Me"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0z45UdhoWc

Fear, Comfort and Courage

The Oxford dictionary defines comfort as “a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint," so in other words, our “comfort zone” is when we feel physically and emotionally safe, it can also refer to a place where we don’t feel vulnerable and where things feel familiar.

My “comfort zone” is my bedroom, my own place where I can do, say, or think what I want - it’s my home. One of my worst fears is leaving my comfort zone, leaving my home, the place where I can be myself without the fear of people judging me. When I was 11 years old, my dad told my family we had to move because he got a job offer from another company. This was not all the news that he had to tell though, there was more. Thoughts were running through my head: Is he just moving? Am I changing schools? What was it? Then he told us… we were moving cities. I was excited for my dad for getting this offer but I thought about my friends, the school I went to, and the house I lived in. I had to leave everything behind. A million more thoughts came into my head. OH MY GOD!!!! How could we move to another city? Lethbridge? Where is that?  I ran up to my room as I needed to be in my own space with my thoughts to contemplate what was happening. I didn’t know how to feel, should I be happy or sad? I struggled a lot with this move. I had to leave my comfort zone and create a new one in whatever house we were moving into. To me, that took a lot of courage because I had to leave my comfort zone where I felt safe and had to walk into the real world. I had to start over, find a new place where I felt truly comfortable, and make new friends in this new, strange city. I feared being the new kid in school where I would be put on the spot and talked about, having to make new friends and I also had to face the struggle of fitting in while coping with the fear that I may not necessarily achieve that.

On my first day of middle school, at G.S Lakie, I stayed to myself as I didn’t want to face the struggle of making new friends when I already had my own in Calgary. After a couple days, I knew I had to get myself out there to make friends and in order for me to make new friends, I had to step out of my comfort zone and face my fear. I realized that I couldn’t stay in my comfort zone and stick to myself for the rest of my life. I had to have courage to get myself out there and create a sense of belonging for myself. I started talking to people, getting more involved in group work and many more things to get myself out there and this eventually paid off, as now I have many more friends whom I closely associate with.

-Carissa Spoulos

Here is a TedTalk video by Damon Davis, who talks about courage being contagious. A statement that he said in his speech is, “Even in the face of that fear, you do what you’ve got to do? That’s called courage. And just like fear, courage is contagious.” This statement stuck with me because when we are experiencing fear, we go straight to courage and we overcome it. When we show that we have courage, it allows other people to have courage when they are facing their own fears. Later on in the video, Damon talks about a group of people who were standing around while yelling and screaming because they had courage to stand up against the police. Damon saw this happening and it gave him courage to do the same thing, so he started yelling and screaming as well. He saw people showing courage and facing their fears which resulted in him doing the same.

This Is a Blog I Guess...

Some people in this messed up world, struggle and not with just normal things like money, or physical issues, they struggle mentally and they hate everything and everyone around them, even themselves. It's a sad truth, but still a truth nonetheless. We put on fake smiles like putting on makeup. We laugh and smile like it's all okay even though every piece inside of us is slowly breaking down with every grin. We fight the battles of others and catch the falls of those who let go. What kind of a life is it always helping others, even though we can't help ourselves? The words they speak cut deeper than the blades we use. No one should go on with a fake smile, we should take a moment and talk to someone about what they really feel. We all need someone to talk to, or just know that someone cares… all we want is someone to care. The screams we cry get covered up by the laughter of the ones who look at us and tell us to get over it, we all have problems, suck it up. It's not fair, we can't even get out of bed in the morning let alone want to deal with the assholes who say things about us even though they will never know how hard we fell and how hard it is to get back up. I'm ending it at that. Just don't be the person who kicks people when they are already down because you will never know that feeling.

-Steven Stella

Do It With Passion Or Not At All

Having a passion for something is like devoting your existence into one single bright idea. For example, I am crazily passionate about music, and that’s why I actually take the time of day to write down in pen and paper, because more ideas represent themselves when written down on paper. If I had the opportunity to choose my future and got the chance to pave my own path, I wouldn’t take a second to hop on such an opportunity because that's how passionate I am about music. There are many difficulties along the way, but I know for certain that if I stay true to what I desire then I know that I’ll achieve it because I’ll have my courage and hope backing me up, and it will keep me very dedicated. I’m very aware that I have flaws to fix when it comes to work ethic, but I know that if it's something I love doing then I won’t second guess putting my all into it, I’ll just simply do the work that needs to be done. When it comes to courage and hope I think that everyone has the courage to do SOMETHING they love because if you didn’t have that confidence or drive to do the one thing you enjoy doing every day, why try? Why even get out of bed at this rate. If there’s a reason you love doing a certain activity that you enjoy and you love it enough, you will do it and you won’t think twice about it, because that is passion, and that is courage and hope.

-L.T

Being Strong

In my life, I had courage when I joined the CCH football team. I think that it took courage because it takes a lot of time out of my life, and it stops me from doing other things that I would like to do. Being part of the team is a huge commitment. I practice hard everyday for 3 hours after school, even if I am sick or tired, and no matter what the weather is. Playing football has given me courage and strength, physically and mentally. It has encouraged me to work out, to become stronger and healthier. I changed my diet, and worked out everyday for the past 3 years. Football takes lots of discipline, and commitment.  I’ve also learned not to give up on any challenges, on and off the field. It has also helped me have more confidence in myself. If I get knocked down, I get back up and keep on going.

Playing football gives me hope to stand together as a team, and help each other out. You have hopes to win, but win or lose, you are still part of a great team that encourages each other. I hope that all my practice and discipline will help me be a better teammate. I hope that all of my working out will pay off, and help me in the long run in my future career. I also hope that the discipline, hard work and commitment will help me through life to be successful in different areas of my life.

-R.W

The Beauty of Courage and Hope

  In this generation we all should overcome our fear to earn happiness in our lives. Like Martin Luther King once said, “Only in the darkness can you see the stars”. Every human being on this earth should have the courage to stand up to their obstacles in life because there’s a beauty that’s going to be the outcome of facing our fears, and that beauty is going to be happiness! We’ve got to fight for our happiness if we want to achieve in our lives, and we’ve got to make sacrifices for our own sake.

We can also help others by being courageous for them and helping them get through their fears in life. We all have the ability to stand up for each other and assist every person on this earth. A reason why so many people allow others to step on their dignity and treat them with a lack of respect, care, kindness, etc.. is because they are as complex as human nature itself, but the real reason is because we are too scared of what might happen if we stand up for ourselves.

                                     People without hope will probably not excel in the parts of their life in which they hold no hope. This does not mean that they’re not committed or hardworking, it’s just my experience that if people don’t believe that their work will make a difference, that they can make tomorrow better for someone. In these instances the work may be okay, but it’s unlikely to be outstanding. Hope isn’t something that just happens to us sometimes, especially in the beginning and then again in difficult situations, we have to decide to have it, and we do have to work at it.

-K

Perfect Imperfections

I try hiding it under my bed; I try to shine light on it, but it never works. Day by day it gets bigger, stronger, smarter. I can’t handle it. It scares me. I’m scared. Everyday, every hour, every minute, it’s always with me. I try to run away from it, but how do I run away from myself? I am my own monster. I am my own fears. How have I created such monster? I know and can understand that I am not perfect, nobody is, so why is it that I am obsessed with perfection? Why do I wan to live such a perfect life? Is it to have a taste of happiness? What is the word “perfection” to me?

“Perfection” is scary to me. I am scared simply because I don’t know what it is. I've never seen it, but I want it. For years now the sense of perfection had been an itch in the back of my head. I don't know how it got there, but it’s still there. I have to cure it soon because it's getting hard to live with. I beat myself up simply because I'm not perfect. I’m not the smartest, I’m not the prettiest, I’m not the nicest. I have many downfalls that can not be controlled. I am my own problem, that needs time to get fixed. One day I will get over that monster, and hopefully we become good friends.  I'm a wild bird learning to fly, but I’m too scared to try it, all because of “Perfection”

-Michelle Flores.

Selena Gomez - "Who Says"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzE1mX4Px0I&list=PLfA6GWWcZ1GTpUU4BI0mbpbtq4_uJHDi4

Is Everything As It Seems?

We walk into life thinking it’s all sunshines and rainbows. "Oh look at that, I made a new friend", or "Wow, that was such a great day!" Little did we know as we got older we didn’t know what to expect out of every day. We didn’t know if we were going to live or die, or if we were going to win the lottery or become homeless. Everyday we face the unknown just hoping it will be good. As we get out of bed everyday we've got to be strong because we don’t know what we will face. As I walk the halls I don’t know what everyone is going through, all I see are smiles, but is that really how everyone feels - happy? We put on these masks everyday because we want to be strong and show that we can take on the world. We face the unknown everyday, and for some people that could be terrifying, so we put on these masks to help us. Our masks are that extra bit of courage to help us fight on throughout the day.

We want to please everyone around us and for some people that could be terrifying, so we put on these masks to help us. Our masks are that extra bit of courage to help us fight on throughout the day. It’s our armour and our shield. I ask myself everyday, why do I put on a mask? What am I hiding from? I don’t know why, but all I know is that I was putting on this mask and hiding from those around me I thought I could trust. That being said it’s important to have courage and hope because if we have the courage to face the things that we are hiding from, we can do anything and it will give us hope that these fears that lock us behind masks won't keep us locked behind our masks forever.

-Traelyn Shaw

Finding Hope in Music

Many people have passions that drive them and give them inspiration, and for me that passion is music. I love singing and playing the drums, and there are so many other instruments that I want to learn how to play. I hope that one day my future career will have something to do with music, maybe I’ll join a band or do musical theatre. I’m currently taking voice and drum lessons, and I’m in the schools concert and show choir and I plan on auditioning for the school’s musical this year. Music is a huge escape for me. Whenever I’m feeling anxious or depressed, it makes me feel at home no matter where I am. I’ve been through some hard times in life and whenever I’m feeling down I know what to turn to. I really hope that other people currently going through struggles in their life are able to turn to music to because it’s a great way to express your emotions and your creativity. I’ve been considering writing my own music, but I don’t know where to start, regardless I hope that this is something I get to do for a full time career.  Although this is a cliche, music is what keeps me going and I hope other people are able to feel the same way. I have provided a link to a song that I like to listen to when I’m feeling down and want to feel better

-K.L

"You Will Be Found" from the DEAR EVAN HANSEN Original Broadway Cast Recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSfH2AuhXfw