The article "Finding Your Power" I felt was under spoken. This is because many of these ideas are rather textbook examples and the author does not go in dept with his response. However, it was short and to the point, which gave the article more of a direct feel. The article talked about owning up to your lives and mistakes to be a leader. I feel that his point, though cliche, did hit home on showing the ideal leader's ability. Personal, I avoid making excuses because of my belief in honesty. This is that I expect others to be honest in what they say and do and as a result, act in accordance to my belief. I feel that this is essential at times because it shows that one is able to own up to the deeds that they have done, both good and bad. It shows character to be able to own up to mistakes. To invoke others to stop making excuses, I would lead by example. The best way to convince someone to do something is to show them the positives of it yourself.

The article "The Do's and Don'ts of Being a Good Ally" I felt was a very important piece. Much of the information that is given is very essential in being an ally of other races and cultures. These points are essential because they express how to not be self centered and how to be an ally without appearing fake. With all honesty, I believe this is very essential. A genuine ally is someone who supports and shows no prejudice towards a race or culture, putting time and effort into understanding their beliefs and struggles without the attitude that you are a better person. I would say my biggest strength would be to "shut up and listen", not because I have nothing to say, but because there are points that it is not essential for me to talk but to listen. Listening allows for me to make better conversations as well as learn more about a group of people. An area that I require work is research. In many cases, I do not read up on the topic that I will be attending or listening to. This gives me the feeling that I am unprepared and not ready. I believe that this is essential to do however so you can break all preconceived notions of people prior to talking to them. Being an ally is essential in forming new bonds. Not just bonds like friendships but bonds like with different cultures. Being an ally encourages tolerance and acceptance of others and shows people that behavior and speech that belittles people is unacceptable.

Scholarships are one of the most important assets to obtain prior and during your college experience. They allow for everything from your tuition to laptops to books to be paid for. These scholarships though are highly competitive and require essays and various other profile things about one's self. One way in which students can enhance their application is to attend and join more activities that occur at their school. The more they partake in, the strong and more they can write about. Life experience is very essential in applying for scholarships. We can encourage them to participate more and do more in the school. We can appeal to their sense of need and school spirit and show them how that mere participation can accomplish enough to win them several more scholarships. I feel that scholarships are essential towards social justice because I believe that education is the first step towards a word that is all excepting. By gaining scholarships, students will be able to further their education and be able to break prejudices and begin forming a more perfect society.

I feel this song is pretty important. It shows breaking bonds and growing to be something against all odds.

How much is a child's education worth? How do you determine who is able to obtain these excellent programs and educations and who gets the scraps? You don't. As noted in the movie Waiting for Superman, education is the key to success. The most prominent men of our generation agrees that a well educated society results in a better future. This topic is very sensitive to me being raised in a failing school system that has such a low retention rate in public schooling. But, who do we look up to when we as a people make no attempt to change what is provided to us. This movie, did not surprise me, more so that it enraged me and upset me. Those looking to provide a better future and looking to change the lives of their children; their ability depends on their income. But schools in low income areas are to par at best. Many suffer with funding and perform poorly due to this. There are several ways out; the first way is through private school and the second is charter school. The private school, though it may be high performing, has a high cost in order to attend. The charter school, though is not independent requiring large amount of money, requires a lottery in order to enter. So where does this put us? We are left in a state where students have a change at success. The biggest advocacy group that supports this would be the teacher's union. The biggest barrier to change is this idea of tenure. Tenure causes teachers not to be able to be fire due to their contract. However, poorly performing school officials are kept because they are given tenure. This, though fair to some teachers, are harming the education system. The poorly performing school officials, whether it be a principal or a teacher, are kept and swapped rather than replaced. The protection should not be for teachers but for students. The students should be more important that one teacher's job. This is a very pessimistic way to put it but it is the truth. A teacher should not be held on to because of a word, they should be held on to and given praise do to performance.

The most inspiration quote I have ever heard came from this movie; it said "..I was crying because no one was coming with enough power to save us." This quote is powerful in showing the lack of power that we have in changing a world. If Superman were to rescue these students, I feel he would still be lacking in ability to change the system in which all students have a chance to succeed and match the wits of other regions of the world. This says a lot, showing one of the most powerful superheroes would not be able to change a education system. This is because the education system in all of America is scattered. The federal government set standards in which the state government overlaps with their own ideals. This dispersed method of educational services makes it difficult for any single person to make a lasting difference. However, in several Superman comics, he is able to speak to the nation or a group of people as a whole to change their ways. This is what Superman can do; convince the people that change is necessary in order to improve what we have.

To me, there are numerous reasons to explain why students lack in performance. The top reason's I came up with are influence, parental backup, and teachers. First off, with the idea of influence, many students in low income areas do not have inspirational figures to look up to. In many cases, the people around them are gang affiliated and/or in jail. This takes a toll on a child when he sees that everyone around him/her are in jail and start thinking less of themselves. With parents, education first begins with them. If a parent does not push their child to succeed and to do better, then there is no expectation put on them. A parent's guidance to do well means all the difference because in the end, parents are who the kids trust the most. It does not even need to be a long conversation. Children just need to know that what they are doing matter and that their effort has payoff and can make their parents proud. A quick chat in the morning or at night is all it takes. Finally, teachers. Students can only get as much as the teacher put in. Students learn different from one another and to say "I get paid whether or not you learn" is like saying I don't care. A teacher's job should include patience and determination, not to get the paycheck, but to teach.

What we can do to improve this situation? Grass root organizations and talking to big unions or interest groups. The first step is electing the right officials that will get the job done and are not afraid of blow back. Change is possible if your opinion is heard.

I constantly find myself saying "I have too much too lose." What am I talking about? Everything that doesn't require a risk isn't worth the effort. To to say that I have too much to risk is the equivalent as Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi saying they have too much to risk to take a stand and and ask for change. All change starts with a risk and as the article "12 Lies to Stop Telling Yourself" says, you will be more happy about your successes then what you lost in the end. However I feel hypocritical while expressing this opinion. Though I know better, I still tend to act quite the opposite. However, I am working to change this by taking up more risks and doing more in order to push myself and do things that I would normally not do. What is life if you don't live it? This information can be used to help people because it will encourage them to do more. Specifically, this can beneficial specifically to students. These doubts on ability and doubts on efficiency hinders education and causes a student to doubt their ability to perform. A student can perform well against all odds if they put forth a large amount of effort and is willing to work to obtain what they want.

The meeting that transpired was much needed for me. After a long stressful week, winding down and just chatting and drawing and writing was the perfect way to begin my break. But more than that. I believe that everyone writing something positive down on the paper was the perfect way to stoke everyone's ego and make everyone feel amazing about themselves. Because the most important person that praises another person is themselves. If someone thinks highly of themselves and believes they can succeed, there is nothing in the world stopping them from reaching their goals.

After reading "10 Ways Happy People Choose Happiness", there were some reminders and some intriguing information. The bit that struck me as most odd was the segment on "Choose to take care of your body." Though I currently already do, I found this most hard to swallow. I really didn't believe it so I had to check it out; online of course. Turns out, there is satisfaction and the ability to maintain happiness through exercising. For me, what I focus on is "Choose to be the best you can be". This is absolutely crucial in my life. Being a role model to my brother and those younger than me, I find that if I am not the best me that I can be, people can pick up on it. Furthermore, being the best that I can be allows for me to take on many more endeavors and further my various roles through dedication and hard work. In my journey, I partake in many challenges, both big and small. My biggest challenge would be to take on leadership roles. These roles require work and dedication and are very trying at times. However, the payoff of being a leader is fulfilling and can often influence someone's life. What makes me happy, in the literal sense, I would say, is helping others. Other's success and happiness through effort that I put forth gives me the most satisfaction and happiness. Knowing that I helped someone and made a difference means all the difference to them and why not live and help others?

For the rest of the semester, I plan on living in the future and not looking back. I may have suffered a few failures and have room for improvement here and there, but living in the past will not change that, only moving forward can progress be made. What I will embrace is smiling more. Though I smile a good amount, there is never too much smiling. Plus, smiling can always put you back in a good mood.

My e-potfolio. Yeah... That needs a lot more work to say the least. However, the capstone project, I would propose that we video tape maybe a quick briefing of each person and then record or put photos of our meetings or helping others.

SPRING BREAK. This was an amazing weekend. First off, I attended my conference in Ohio. The topic was food and its relation to history; quite a fascinating topic. I had several engaging days with acquaintances and enjoyed a relaxing day with my best friend. So to sum up my spring break, it was food, games, travel, and friends; pretty much just as I wanted.

My plan for summer would be probably a road trip over to either Florida or California. It is going to be just time for good friends to kick back and relax, enjoy the warm air and beaches and get that much needed rest.



Love this song. One of the best songs about living life.