Trust.
It takes time to build trust, seconds to undo it, and years to build it back up again.
I've learned it the hard way.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Sunday, May 19, 2013
I know I'm a debater.
I'm a lot of things. I'm a reader, a writer, a student, a sister, a pianist, a thinker, an opportunist.
And I'm a debater.
Do you know how I know this?
1. I go to the library and come back with books on the United Nations.
2. Instead of watching a movie, I research Agenda 21.
3. I get really excited when I buy a suit or other debate clothes.
4. I actually read the newspaper articles involving international politics.
5. I buy a lot of sticky notes, pens, and long legal pads.
6. One of the things I am most proud of is my debate case.
7. I try to use my speech skills to persuade my other friends to join speech & debate.
8. My "workout" during the school year is going to debate tournaments where I carry a heavy box up and down stairs all the while wearing heels. Oh, and I don't eat anything.
9. Examples about people cutting off their legs or analogies about airplanes crashing are perfectly acceptable in a debate round. (okay, not the leg one)
10. I have friends who are as close as family.
11. I ENJOY going 3 whole days doing nothing but public speaking, starving, killing my feet wearing heels, getting nervous, staying up late, getting up early... and, of course, spending time with some of the coolest people on the planet. :)
Yes, I'm a debater. And I'm proud of it.
And I'm a debater.
Do you know how I know this?
1. I go to the library and come back with books on the United Nations.
2. Instead of watching a movie, I research Agenda 21.
3. I get really excited when I buy a suit or other debate clothes.
4. I actually read the newspaper articles involving international politics.
5. I buy a lot of sticky notes, pens, and long legal pads.
6. One of the things I am most proud of is my debate case.
7. I try to use my speech skills to persuade my other friends to join speech & debate.
8. My "workout" during the school year is going to debate tournaments where I carry a heavy box up and down stairs all the while wearing heels. Oh, and I don't eat anything.
9. Examples about people cutting off their legs or analogies about airplanes crashing are perfectly acceptable in a debate round. (okay, not the leg one)
10. I have friends who are as close as family.
11. I ENJOY going 3 whole days doing nothing but public speaking, starving, killing my feet wearing heels, getting nervous, staying up late, getting up early... and, of course, spending time with some of the coolest people on the planet. :)
Yes, I'm a debater. And I'm proud of it.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Heroes
Everyone has heroes. And I'm not talking about a super-hero. No, I'm talking about someone that we look up to, we respect, and we believe in.
I think it's important for us to have heroes. When we have heroes, we strive to be like them. We work to improve ourselves. We should always be continually learning and trying to make ourselves better people, and heroes help us accomplish that. I have a few different heroes, and when I look at them, I find their character traits that I want to emulate, and I work towards that. Yes, my heroes are human beings. Yes, they have faults and they aren't perfect. But every hero has something that you admire, something you want to copy. Heroes are not people like Adolf Hitler. He may have been effective at what he did, but effectiveness in killing people is not something we should try to achieve.
Heroes cannot be defined by a single definition or explanation. Everyone has a different idea about what a hero is. My idea of a hero is probably different from your idea of a hero. A hero for me is someone who does not allow society to influence or change his belief or actions. Someone who goes against the normal flow of things. Someone who can rise up above society and what everyone else believes, and can stand for what is right. Someone who does not view or treat certain people different simply because of their race, size, gender, or social status; but someone who will treat everyone as an equal human being. Someone who does not allow themselves to be defined by the beliefs of those around them. Someone who will speak out with confidence on their beliefs, even if no one else agrees. That is what I think is a hero.
I have two heroes: Martin Luther King and Mrs. Gage. Martin Luther King didn't allow society to bring him down or change his beliefs. He stood up for what he believed and he got things done. He BELIEVED that his ideas could be achieved, and they were. He stood firm, even in the face of great opposition. He stood up for what was right and he fought. He is a hero. Mrs. Gage is my debate coach. She's not as famous and Martin Luther King, but she's a hero to me. She has always stood up for the rights of the unborn. She's done things to further the pro-life movement. She speaks out about her beliefs, because she believes them to be right. Not only this, but she has had an impact on my own life. Throughout debate, she has always been willing to talk to me about anything. She encourages me, but she is also willing to give constructive criticism. Because of the manner in which she gives me criticism, I have been willing to listen and take to hear what she says. She's helped to make me a better person.
In my opinion, all heroes have one thing in common: They leave a positive impact. Whether it's Martin Luther King who left a positive impact on civil rights movement... or Mrs. Gage, who is still leaving a positive on those around her and on myself, all heroes in some way change those around them for the better. Of course, the ultimate hero would be Jesus Christ. We should all strive to make ourselves more like Him.
John Piper put it well, I think. He said, "All heroes are shadows of Christ."
I think it's important for us to have heroes. When we have heroes, we strive to be like them. We work to improve ourselves. We should always be continually learning and trying to make ourselves better people, and heroes help us accomplish that. I have a few different heroes, and when I look at them, I find their character traits that I want to emulate, and I work towards that. Yes, my heroes are human beings. Yes, they have faults and they aren't perfect. But every hero has something that you admire, something you want to copy. Heroes are not people like Adolf Hitler. He may have been effective at what he did, but effectiveness in killing people is not something we should try to achieve.
Heroes cannot be defined by a single definition or explanation. Everyone has a different idea about what a hero is. My idea of a hero is probably different from your idea of a hero. A hero for me is someone who does not allow society to influence or change his belief or actions. Someone who goes against the normal flow of things. Someone who can rise up above society and what everyone else believes, and can stand for what is right. Someone who does not view or treat certain people different simply because of their race, size, gender, or social status; but someone who will treat everyone as an equal human being. Someone who does not allow themselves to be defined by the beliefs of those around them. Someone who will speak out with confidence on their beliefs, even if no one else agrees. That is what I think is a hero.
I have two heroes: Martin Luther King and Mrs. Gage. Martin Luther King didn't allow society to bring him down or change his beliefs. He stood up for what he believed and he got things done. He BELIEVED that his ideas could be achieved, and they were. He stood firm, even in the face of great opposition. He stood up for what was right and he fought. He is a hero. Mrs. Gage is my debate coach. She's not as famous and Martin Luther King, but she's a hero to me. She has always stood up for the rights of the unborn. She's done things to further the pro-life movement. She speaks out about her beliefs, because she believes them to be right. Not only this, but she has had an impact on my own life. Throughout debate, she has always been willing to talk to me about anything. She encourages me, but she is also willing to give constructive criticism. Because of the manner in which she gives me criticism, I have been willing to listen and take to hear what she says. She's helped to make me a better person.
In my opinion, all heroes have one thing in common: They leave a positive impact. Whether it's Martin Luther King who left a positive impact on civil rights movement... or Mrs. Gage, who is still leaving a positive on those around her and on myself, all heroes in some way change those around them for the better. Of course, the ultimate hero would be Jesus Christ. We should all strive to make ourselves more like Him.
John Piper put it well, I think. He said, "All heroes are shadows of Christ."
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Keep Calm
Considering the name of my blog, I thought this was entirely appropriate:
Now tell me that isn't the greatest thing ever...
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Dandelions
My whole life, people have always told me that "dandelions are weeds".
They're wrong.
I have never called a dandelion a weed. It has always been, and always will be, a flower to me.
The other evening, I was out picking dandelions, and I realized just how beautiful they are. They're a bright, cheerful yellow color, easily spotted. They're little flowers of sunshine. The dandelions inspired me to write a haiku:
They're wrong.
I have never called a dandelion a weed. It has always been, and always will be, a flower to me.
The other evening, I was out picking dandelions, and I realized just how beautiful they are. They're a bright, cheerful yellow color, easily spotted. They're little flowers of sunshine. The dandelions inspired me to write a haiku:
Dandelions are
like golden sunshine growing
up from the dark earth.
I decided that if I die young in life, I want to buried with some dandelions. They remind me that even the simplest of things can still be beautiful and can still bring joy. So often I find myself overlooking the small things in life (like dandelions), but when I do notice them, I realize just how much I love them. They brighten my day. Just like sunshine.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
When Life is endangered
This evening I experienced something I will never EVER forget.
I was babysitting for a group from church this evening. That's 15 kids... mostly toddlers. I had two helpers. We weren't allowed to go inside, so we had to keep everyone in the backyard. Which was hard... because there was NO FENCE. We had kids running everywhere. I had to hold an infant most of the time, otherwise he would start crying. And then other kids kept running off because they thought they "didn't need supervision". It was crazy. So I was trying to keep track of everybody... lots of toddlers in a non-fenced in area. And then one of the parents came out.. and was like "Um.. just so you know, one of the neighbors just found one of the toddlers walking down the middle of the road towards Van Dorn (busy street)."
My heart stopped. And then one of the parents came out and said, "I'm not trying to chew you out, but it is not okay for my son to be walking down the middle of the road. He could have died."
I know. I know he could have died. I was so close... so close to being held responsible for what could have been the death of a toddler. It was horrifying. I came home and cried. :(
I was babysitting for a group from church this evening. That's 15 kids... mostly toddlers. I had two helpers. We weren't allowed to go inside, so we had to keep everyone in the backyard. Which was hard... because there was NO FENCE. We had kids running everywhere. I had to hold an infant most of the time, otherwise he would start crying. And then other kids kept running off because they thought they "didn't need supervision". It was crazy. So I was trying to keep track of everybody... lots of toddlers in a non-fenced in area. And then one of the parents came out.. and was like "Um.. just so you know, one of the neighbors just found one of the toddlers walking down the middle of the road towards Van Dorn (busy street)."
My heart stopped. And then one of the parents came out and said, "I'm not trying to chew you out, but it is not okay for my son to be walking down the middle of the road. He could have died."
I know. I know he could have died. I was so close... so close to being held responsible for what could have been the death of a toddler. It was horrifying. I came home and cried. :(
I'm still shaken. I'm SO thankful that God protected that little one and that he is okay. But still... what if the neighbor hadn't found him? What if he had made it to the street? It's scary. He could have died. That little guy's life was on the line... and I feel responsible.
I guess I don't need to think about that, though... because "there are no 'if's' in God's world". I'm just going to be grateful that he was found.
When Life is endangered... it's tough. It's shaking. Right now I'm just really really glad that nothing worse happened.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
37 minutes: Reflecting back on Extemp
I honestly don't know what on earth I was thinking when a couple months ago my mom was signing me up for the first debate tournament, and I said to her, "Why don't you sign me up for extemporaneous... that sounds like fun."
Mhm. Well here I am, 3 and a half months later, and I'm still alive. I seem to have survived that experience. Let's just say that extemp is like NOTHING else that I have ever attempted. For interp speeches, you need to know how to act out a piece believably. Platforms, you need to know how to present information. Apologetics, you need to know the Bible. Impromptu... you just need to have a lot of stories in your head that apply to a lot of topics. And then there's Extemp. Where you actually have to know something (or in my case, you have a vague idea about what you're supposed to speak on, and then try to make it sound intelligent).
I remember back in January... it was a few days before our first tournament. And I was starting to get pretty freaked out about the fact that I was signed up to do extemp. I was definitely having second thoughts. I sent a rather panicked email to a good friend. I told her about how I wasn't ready to do this, and how I was stressed about the fact that I might get 3 topics of which I knew nothing. This friend sent me back an encouraging email. She told me that I was brave to try extemp. She reminded me that even if I drew 3 topics that I knew nothing about, it shouldn't matter... because while it may seem like a big deal at that time, it's only 30 minutes of prep time and 7 minutes of speaking time. Only 37 minutes. Even if those 37 minutes were the worst minutes of my life, in the big span of life, that is absolutely nothing.
Of course, my biggest fear entering extemp was... failing. I have a fear of failure... I don't want to do badly at ANYTHING. This encouraging friend helped me move past that. She said to me, "Anne, if something is worth doing, it's worth doing badly. If you are willing to try, even though you are afraid of failure, it shows the strength you have."
So I did extemp. And believe me, it pushed me WAY out of my comfort zone. Before that first tournament, I had always had a general idea of what I was going to say before walking into any event. But this time, I didn't. 5 minutes before walking into my very first extemp round, I was sitting outside the round. Just sitting there. I didn't know what I was supposed to do or think. So I just prayed... and I gave that round to God. I asked Him to give me the topics that I needed the most. I asked that He would give me the words to say. And then I walked into that room and drew my topics. And I gave my first extemp speech. It wasn't perfect, but I felt a sense of accomplishment because I had conquered my first extemp round.
Thankfully, throughout all the tournaments, I didn't draw any topics that I knew nothing about.... until the second round at the Regional debate tournament. It was International round, which isn't my favorite anyways, but the inside of me sort of died when I drew my topics and I didn't know a thing about any of them. I spent the next 30 minutes (my prep time) trying to choose one of them and think up something creative to say; when in reality, I didn't have a clue what I was going to say. When my prep time was used up, I walked into my presentation room, and found that my mom and a couple of friends were there to watch me. I then proceeded to talk for what seemed like the longest 4 minutes of my life (I had 7 minutes to speak... didn't make it quite that far, heh). It wasn't fun. At all. I was embarrassed that I didn't know what I was talking about, and annoyed that I didn't have anything at all to say about my topic.
When I look back on that round though, it doesn't seem so bad. As my friend pointed out... it was only a few minutes of my life. They may not have been the most fun minutes of my life, but they still look pretty insignificant when put in the large scope of everything.
Extemp this year... has been a good experience for me, I think. Yes, it was hard. No, it was not the most fun event. In fact, I completely hated it at some times. And despite the fact that I didn't always have the most amazing time doing it, I did come out of it learning something: I should never rely completely on my own knowledge or speaking skills -- because even that will fail me at times (as I experienced in round 2 at Regionals). I'm positive that God had a reason for me drawing each topic that I drew in each round at each tournament. God always picked the topic that was the best for me... the topic that I needed to get. And I always learned something, which is the important thing.
Next year? Well, I think I have more to learn from Extemp. I can improve myself. It's not my favorite event... but I'll be coming back.
Mhm. Well here I am, 3 and a half months later, and I'm still alive. I seem to have survived that experience. Let's just say that extemp is like NOTHING else that I have ever attempted. For interp speeches, you need to know how to act out a piece believably. Platforms, you need to know how to present information. Apologetics, you need to know the Bible. Impromptu... you just need to have a lot of stories in your head that apply to a lot of topics. And then there's Extemp. Where you actually have to know something (or in my case, you have a vague idea about what you're supposed to speak on, and then try to make it sound intelligent).
I remember back in January... it was a few days before our first tournament. And I was starting to get pretty freaked out about the fact that I was signed up to do extemp. I was definitely having second thoughts. I sent a rather panicked email to a good friend. I told her about how I wasn't ready to do this, and how I was stressed about the fact that I might get 3 topics of which I knew nothing. This friend sent me back an encouraging email. She told me that I was brave to try extemp. She reminded me that even if I drew 3 topics that I knew nothing about, it shouldn't matter... because while it may seem like a big deal at that time, it's only 30 minutes of prep time and 7 minutes of speaking time. Only 37 minutes. Even if those 37 minutes were the worst minutes of my life, in the big span of life, that is absolutely nothing.
Of course, my biggest fear entering extemp was... failing. I have a fear of failure... I don't want to do badly at ANYTHING. This encouraging friend helped me move past that. She said to me, "Anne, if something is worth doing, it's worth doing badly. If you are willing to try, even though you are afraid of failure, it shows the strength you have."
So I did extemp. And believe me, it pushed me WAY out of my comfort zone. Before that first tournament, I had always had a general idea of what I was going to say before walking into any event. But this time, I didn't. 5 minutes before walking into my very first extemp round, I was sitting outside the round. Just sitting there. I didn't know what I was supposed to do or think. So I just prayed... and I gave that round to God. I asked Him to give me the topics that I needed the most. I asked that He would give me the words to say. And then I walked into that room and drew my topics. And I gave my first extemp speech. It wasn't perfect, but I felt a sense of accomplishment because I had conquered my first extemp round.
Thankfully, throughout all the tournaments, I didn't draw any topics that I knew nothing about.... until the second round at the Regional debate tournament. It was International round, which isn't my favorite anyways, but the inside of me sort of died when I drew my topics and I didn't know a thing about any of them. I spent the next 30 minutes (my prep time) trying to choose one of them and think up something creative to say; when in reality, I didn't have a clue what I was going to say. When my prep time was used up, I walked into my presentation room, and found that my mom and a couple of friends were there to watch me. I then proceeded to talk for what seemed like the longest 4 minutes of my life (I had 7 minutes to speak... didn't make it quite that far, heh). It wasn't fun. At all. I was embarrassed that I didn't know what I was talking about, and annoyed that I didn't have anything at all to say about my topic.
When I look back on that round though, it doesn't seem so bad. As my friend pointed out... it was only a few minutes of my life. They may not have been the most fun minutes of my life, but they still look pretty insignificant when put in the large scope of everything.
Extemp this year... has been a good experience for me, I think. Yes, it was hard. No, it was not the most fun event. In fact, I completely hated it at some times. And despite the fact that I didn't always have the most amazing time doing it, I did come out of it learning something: I should never rely completely on my own knowledge or speaking skills -- because even that will fail me at times (as I experienced in round 2 at Regionals). I'm positive that God had a reason for me drawing each topic that I drew in each round at each tournament. God always picked the topic that was the best for me... the topic that I needed to get. And I always learned something, which is the important thing.
Next year? Well, I think I have more to learn from Extemp. I can improve myself. It's not my favorite event... but I'll be coming back.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Family
I heard a quote once, "Family isn't always blood. It's the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones who would do anything to see you smile, and who love you no matter what."
That quote has always meant a lot to me. And it's true. Family isn't just the people you are related to by blood. And I'll be honest, there are some people in my life who are more to me than just friends. I don't just talk to them because there's no one else to talk to. I don't just hang out with them for the sake of hanging out. No, I treat them like they are family. Why? Because they love me, they accept me, they make me smile. And I want to do the same for them; I want to love them, make them feel accepted, and make them smile. :)
The thing about family is that sometimes there are rough spots when not everyone gets along, and sometimes there are hard days... but no matter what, family still sticks together in the end.
I just got to spend 3 days with my speech & debate family. Memories that are made with this family are the best memories in my life thus far.
I have a big family. And I feel so incredibly blessed.
That quote has always meant a lot to me. And it's true. Family isn't just the people you are related to by blood. And I'll be honest, there are some people in my life who are more to me than just friends. I don't just talk to them because there's no one else to talk to. I don't just hang out with them for the sake of hanging out. No, I treat them like they are family. Why? Because they love me, they accept me, they make me smile. And I want to do the same for them; I want to love them, make them feel accepted, and make them smile. :)
The thing about family is that sometimes there are rough spots when not everyone gets along, and sometimes there are hard days... but no matter what, family still sticks together in the end.
I just got to spend 3 days with my speech & debate family. Memories that are made with this family are the best memories in my life thus far.
I have a big family. And I feel so incredibly blessed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)