Laws of Life Essay Contest

The Winners

Third place: Emily Bardo
Half Moon Bay High School
teacher: Mr. Andy Boysen

Honorable Mention

Jessica Vasheresse
Half Moon Bay HS;
tchr : Mr. Andy Boysen

The Essays

First place: Tammy Harrison
Half Moon Bay High School; teacher: Ms. Claudia Lunstroth, HMB High School

Phrases to Become

We are unguided and ignorant in life until we find something, a little piece of the world, that we feel we can own. We seek inspiration constantly to give ourselves meaning and direction and often adages are eloquent enough to comfort us. A great friend and mentor of mine once told me this: "All you can do is be brave, and keep humor in your pockets like pistols, and your own little dance in your step." A saying of his own creation which compelled me to wrestle with life's mystery. The words that most live by are often the truest colloquialisms, but I have been blessed with a token a truth that is brand new, personal, and means more than mere words and connotations could ever mean to me.
Bravery is such a circumstantial attribute. It's hard for me to embrace a quality that I feel so meek next to -- I am no Achilles nor Joan of Arc. My "brother," as I like to call him, didn't mean that, though. He didn't mean be heroic, he meant be open, he said to walk with your heart outstretched in your palm into the daggers that life holds against it. All you can do is be brave. This I have let rule me. I am brave now, brave and perfectly vulnerable. What comes of meekness? Sorrow, regret, burden, and then you are forgotten. The bravery my brother speaks of is that that most would consider risk, living life without regard for fear of failure, as long as your heart is in your actions. A simple word it is, but heavy, and shied away from. An attribute only the few embrace and use, making them, though not worldly, memorable.
I see now, after awhile of denying it, that lightheartedness is truly freeing. Like I've been instructed, I keep humor in my pockets "like pistols", and my attitude demands a round of bullets here and there. I see "humor" as more than making funnies, and foolishness, it is inclusive of my whole attitude toward life wrapped in the guise of wittiness. I am an open hypocrite, and openly passionate, to the point that I've been described as "a disaster waiting to happen" which I find to be a gross understatement that alludes to my obvious projected strength. In essence I have begun to live up to the caricature of myself by emptying my pockets of ammunition. Such reliving words I had not heard before. It is my belief now that my life can be lived seriously without having to regard it somber.
The dance in my step has been often referred to as a strut. I have been guided to walk among others and be a recognizable in a crowd by my aire of importance and determination. Significance is what I believe my brother was hinting toward, be significant. The dance in my step symbolizes the differences in myself that I have come to love. Further, my step extends into my personality. I have refused euphemisms, and unintentionally been simultaneously likable and obtrusive all at the expense of not fitting neatly into that crowd. Why would I ever desire that? The inspired dance in my step has given me the opportunity to live outside the cyclical and roundabout life that is so easily fallen into. For that, I am significant, and that's clearly recognizable; people, all around school, and town, know exactly who I am, though I haven't as much as shaken their hand nor looked them in the eyes. I may stand out, but my stand is a step, a step in a dance, a dance that is altogether enviable. I thank my brother daily for the inspiration to be myself, and not a working ant. I like to think that I lindy- hop while those around me gracefully waltz in life.
The advice I've received from Luc has for years directed me and taught me to be malleable when I see fit, and stubborn when I feel strongly. Perhaps it was Luc's brilliance in youth that inspired me to become so certain of who I think I am, it must be his genuineness that inspires me to be grounded. It seems ironic that the shirt he wore for the majority of the time that I spent with him said "ask me anything" since he became my oracle and muse. Until I become that image of myself, of course, a fancy-footed, humor-pistol-toting crusader, I'm not finished being inspired. In other words, his ideas will resonate invariably. His words have affected me in such a way that, rather than living by them, I live within them.
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Second place: Dante
Camp Glenwood, San Mateo County Probation Department; teacher: Ms. Kate Riveira

Knowledge / Wisdom

My law of life is to gain knowledge and use it to one day have wisdom.  Knowledge is very valuable to me because it can make me a better person in life. Knowledge is something that you learn at home, in school, and through your own life experiences. Knowledge can build up to having wisdom.
I have made many wrong decisions in my life because of my lack of knowledge, but I plan not to make the same because I have gained wisdom. If I make a mistake over and over I am not gaining wisdom; I am gaining knowledge on how to do that same mistake again. For example, I was incarcerated two times for robbery. I learned how to do the crime smarter and not get caught, but I did not have the wisdom to make the right decision. I chose to let friends and peers influence me too much.
When you want to do right your wisdom is there to help you make the right decision! For example, when I was released from Hillcrest Juvenile Hall after my first offense, I told myself I was not going to get in trouble, but when friends came around they influenced my decisions. If I had had wisdom, my life would be a lot better because I would have made the right decisions and be better off today. Using your wisdom is a better technique then using your knowledge to get away with something.
After growing up in the. system and not having my freedom, my mindset has changed a lot. My knowledge can still get me places I don't want to be, but my wisdom will keep me free. Wisdom and knowledge aresomething that comes with growing up. One day I will gain enough wisdomto become a better person. Knowledge is something that I will always seek,but wisdom is something that will grow.
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Third place: Emily Bardo
Half Moon Bay High School; teacher: Mr. Andy Boysen

Laws of Life essay

I believe in the power of "Try". I am not talking about limp, whining, half attempts, designed to be excuses for efforts. I am referring to my best shot, which leaves me spent and satisfied that I could bring nothing more to the table. Certain abilities are given. We arrived on this planet with set potentials, and attributes. Some have beauty, intelligence, athleticism; these are raw material gifts of genetics or luck. It is what we do with what we are handed, and how we shape ourselves with these raw materials that counts as accomplishment.
Life is an education, I learn as I wade through it. By reaching outside my comfort zone, keeping the bar high I expand my abilities and I risk failure. Yet the greater failure is not to try. We fall short when we give up before starting, to protect ourselves, especially publicly, from our own limits. Science is about experimentation which teaches us what works and what does not. Trying is the science of self-exploration and expansion; letting our mistakes guide us or challenge us. Both the novice and the professional have equally as much to learn. Albert Einstein once said, "The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know and the more I want to learn." There is never a lack of new areas to explore in our inner and outer worlds. All that is required is the motivation and bravery to try.
We learn from each other's mistakes. It is said that those who come later stand on the shoulders of those who came before. There is an element of contributing to the common good if the experience is shared. This is evident in scientific research, in exploration and it also applies to all things human. To share our fallibilities makes us more human. Younger siblings learn by watching older ones, our most significant mentors teach us by a living example of what to do and what to avoid. We all love winners in whatever form they exist, gold metals, Tiger Woods, Academy Awards. We should value what it takes to get there. It demands hours of practice, rehearsal, setbacks, with no guarantees of success, just the drive, the dreams, and the sweat equity. All those that try do not reach their goals or dreams, yet the value of their effort is not lost or even less. It is all I can do, I can't go beyond my immediate limits, but each time I give it my full focus and hard work it is an accomplishment and the limits recede. It is how world records get broken, how space is explored, and how babies learn to walk. Though his target audience is young children, Mr. Fred Rogers had a message for all of us when he said, "People aren't failures when they're doing the best they can. Our performance doesn't have to be measured against anyone else's-just against our own abilities to cope".
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Honorable mention: Alex Collins
Half Moon Bay High School; teacher: Ms. Rosabelle des Tombe

Laws of Life essay

Most people go through life living by personal mottos, quotes from movies or even lyrics from songs. Everything around us is influential to our everyday lives. Laws of life. I live by three quotes that have had a major impact on my life. These quotes include “You never know what you've got until it’s gone." "Don't take life for granted" and "You can do anything if you set your mind to it."
The first quote that I strongly abide by "You never know what you've got until it’s gone." This was very important to me because I lost my grandma two years ago. She lived in England. I saw her once or twice a year at the most. Every time she would come to visit it was nice to see her and my grandpa. We had a pretty strong relationship because we talked on the phone and saw each other every so often. I took our relationship for granted and thought that she would always be there. I had seen her three weeks before she died because she was out here for my brother’s eighteenth birthday. I assumed it was just like every other visit. I never guessed that it would be the last time I would ever see her again because she seemed so healthy. I don't think I have ever appreciated all the wonderful qualities about my grandma as much as 1 do now that 1 can't tell her. I have always looked up to her for her one simple love. Her family. It would always make her happy when we would go over to Bristol, England, because that meant that all of our family could be together, even if it was for a short time. She adored all of her grandchildren even when three out of the five lived thousands of miles away. Her passion for life was an inspiration to everyone in my family. When I heard that she had died I was not only saddened but shocked. A woman that I looked up to most was gone and I would never be able to say all that I wanted to say, but I realized how much more I loved her for all the joy she brought not only to my life but most importantly to my dad, reminding him of his roots, and my family. Though her death was a tragedy it wasn't in vain. I appreciate her so much more because she has made our family closer.
The second quote I strongly abide by is "Don't take life for granted." My mother is anurse and works with children with cancer and leukemia, people who are so young withso little hope for a cure to their disease. I myself have had the world served to me on asilver platter. I have two loving parents who have taken me all over the world from Paris,Rome, Austria, Spain, to even England multiple times. My dad has sacrificed his want tobe in England, to build a life here for his family. From my experiences from visiting Stanford Hospital and UCSF, I have realized that some of the children don't havefamilies and they are dying alone at an extremely young age. Their have been multipletimes in my life that I have lied to my parents, ignored the fact that they were trying tokeep me safe, and taken them for granted. Waking up every morning and going to schooland hanging out with my friends, I've taken for granted also. Some diseases aren't genetic and you can catch them on the street. Accidents happen, people make mistakes .Mistakes affect more people then you, and people don't realize that. It's a proven fact that people see horrible things happen to other people and think it could never happen to them, but it can. I along with most of my classmates take school for granted, when thereare people in third-world countries who would give their lives to go to school and get aneducation but aren't allowed to because of gender and or race. I myself used to take lifeand everything it included for granted but know I realize that as easy as it was given itcan just as quickly be taken away.
 Finally the third quote that I abide by "When you put your mind to it you can doanything." I have had simple bad habits like biting my nails, but the worst habit I gotvery comfortable with was sitting around doing no exercise. I got so used to not reallytrying in PE and coming home and either doing homework or sleeping. I didn't eat veryhealthy and when I did I would make up for it by eating sweets. This was a horribly hardhabit to break when I wanted to start wrestling this year. I was in bad shape and mymotivation level to succeed in such a tedious sport was very low. At the beginning Icould barely complete the runs and at the end of the first week I was very ready to giveup and I knew the whole team thought I would be done. This only motivated me to keepgoing. I went up from doing no exercise to having an hour of PE and then two and a halfhours of practice. In the first month I felt I hadn't physically done better, but after that Inoticed along with my coaches and friends, that I began losing weight, gaining musclesand strengthening skills I never knew I could. Near the end of wrestling I had so muchconfidence and after the season was over I realized I could do anything. My friend whohad gone into the Marines said that wrestling was harder than the boot camp training hehad gone through for many months. It made me feel good that I had actually been on ateam and had multiple individual accomplishments. After taking every day of practice oneday at a time and every tournament as a goal for the weekend I realized that when puttingmy mind into doing something that I wanted so much I could achieve it with effort.
Everyone has their own guidelines to life, and these are mine with my own personalexperiences and accomplishments. Writing this had made me realize what I have and notto take people or life for granted. Some of the reasons in life I have to be proud of myselfand the people I live with. These are the three main quotes that I abide my in my life.
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Honorable mention: Megan Deacon
Pescadero High School ; teacher: Ms. Sue Allison
(My essay was written in diary form from a teenager's perspective).

The Power of One

Dear Diary,
You'll never believe what happened today! I'm going to start from the beginning so this makes sense. This gorgeous guy came up to me and told me that he thought I was really pretty. Then Courtney, the popular blonde cheerleader that everyone thinks is so hot, told me that he had only said that because she asked him to. 1 kind of laughed it off and said that if that was so, then why was she telling me. She said that it was because she felt bad about giving me false hope of having an actual boyfriend.
Of course I felt realJy stupid and went outside to sit on the steps of the school building. I started crying and suddenly this guy showed up. He asked me if I was okay and I nodded. Instead of going away he sat down and asked me what was wrong. He was a pretty young guy, but I was a little scared since my mom had told me so much about not trusting strangers. Yet, he seemed so nice, and I was upset, so I spilled my guts about what happened. At first he was silent, and then he laughed. I was really pissed that he thought it was so funny, and I guess he realized it because he apologized and said he wasn't laughing at me. He told me that I shouldn't feel bad and just remember that she just wanted to make herself feel better by making fun of me. I wiped my tears and thanked him for making me feel better, and he smiled and just said you’re welcome.
Then he just got up and started walking away! I was so surprised that I just stared for a little while before I jumped up and yelled out to him. When he stopped, I ran up to him and asked, "Why did you stop to help me?”He smiled and said, "When life gets us down all we want is someone out there to care. By showing that we care enough about a person to stop and ask if they're okay, and when we know they're not, to take the time out of our lives to listen to them, we make that person feel better. That, in turn, fills us with joy because we helped another human being."
"That's why you stopped to help me?”I asked.
"No. Not necessarily. It's to show that anyone can care about a stranger on the street. The point is, to show that no matter where they're from or who they are, you care about them. In this way a single person can change the world."
He asked that I do the same for anyone that I should meet on the street. From now on I will, and you know? He's right. I do feel like a better and happier person, and I hope that anyone I help, will do the same thing for someone else.
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Honorable mention: Grace Meador
Half Moon Bay High School; teacher: Ms. Rosabelle des Tombe

Carpe Stylus

Last night I watched a movie called "The Dead Poets Society". I guess when I first heard about the Laws of Life essay assignment, I dismissed it because I couldn't think up anything original or striking enough to meet my standards. For most of my life I have lived by standards of perfection. Since grade school I have aspired to be better, smarter, funnier, more conscientious than anyone around me. Even now, especially now, I am driven not only to fulfill such stereotypical teenage desires as fitting in, having friends, and being liked, but to excel, to stand out, to be respected not only for quality of character but intelligence and discernment as well. In the movie "The Dead Poets Society", a group of teenage boys at a boarding school, whose lives have been planned for them by their parents, learn to break out of their molds and witness the perversity of conformity with the teaching of their English professor, played by Robin Williams. His philosophy is “Carpe Diem..” This simple Latin phrase, meaning seize the day, sums up everything I want to do: live life to its fullest potential without fear, guilt or distraction.
I have, at school, been categorized as “the smart girl” by those who don't know me very well, or even “the smart girl dating the smart guy'” by those who know me even less. Even people who surround me daily are shocked when I receive a less than exemplary grade, and exclaim incredulously, "I got a better grade than her!" I suppose my near-obsession with academic performance stems from an inner fear of failure. I'm not talking about tests, grades or report cards. I am afraid of simply failing life. I am afraid that someday I will end up hungry, poor, friendless, hopeless, broken, and half crazy sitting in a box in a dank alley. Before, I never considered a more chilling and less avoidable type of failure. My fear of failure may lead me to it, with all my grandiose plans for college and beyond, I could receive a high-paying upper-class job, but still be cold inside trying to live up to impossible standards, and seeking a false definition of happiness that I have convinced myself is the “right way to go.” True success can be reached not through fear, but courage. Carpe Diem means overcoming your fears to persevere and find the right path for you in life.
Last night I also read a book entitled The Lovely Bones. This book tells the story of a fourteen-year-old girl watching her family from heaven after she has been murdered and longing to experience the life she missed out on. If I died right now, my business on this planet would be far from finished. There are so many experiences I have been denied, and indeed denied myself, brushing off disappointment with “you'll thank me later.” I get so caught up with doing the right things now, so that I can be happy later, that I often forget about being happy now. One day a girl asked me what I did for fun, how I could survive being mature for so long. I found myself at a loss for words. I enjoy typical teenage hobbies such as watching television and going on the internet, but they're not really fulfilling, and I enjoy reading, but not to the extent that a good book is my definition of a “fabulous evening”. With all of my responsibilities and commitments it is difficult to purely goof off and hang out with my friends when there is a biology exam the next day, and 25 questions about the economy of Asia due as well. Carpe Diem also means doing what you love without feeling guilty or ashamed about it.
In Half Moon Bay, you can't usually see the stars at night. A thick layer of cloud cover normally graces our skies, hiding the stars above, and when it is clear outside, the night is too cold for many prospective astronomers. On one clear, but freezing, night I snuck outside in my pajamas and gazed up at the sky. For the first time in my life, I was able to see constellations instead of just random pinpricks of light. I identified the Little Dipper, Orion's Belt, and many more stellar connect-the-dots scenes. Naturally after my original awe had worn off, I retreated back inside to observe the heavens at a more hospitable temperature, but merely gazing from the window, some constellations were incomplete, or hidden. The cosmic slideshow was over, and the film had reverted to a light-speckled sky with little meaning. Life is like that. Sometimes you don't want to get cold, or it's too much work to turn off your soap opera and walk outside, or you simply have "more important" things to do, but no matter what your reason, you will never find the constellations in life if you don't take the effort to look for them. Above all, Carpe Diem means avoiding complacency, seeking out the mysterious and magical, and always pushing ourselves to look at life in new and different ways.
I suppose this essay was meant to focus more on ethics and morality, and I suppose I cheated in a way by taking my “law of life” from a movie that seems like a regurgitated Hollywood cliche, but some things in life are elemental truths of being that cannot claimed by any producer, or scholar, or mortal. Carpe Diem is more than an outdated, overused, or dramatized philosophy. Carpe Diem is a joy within that comes from anticipation of love and living. If my essay hasn't hit on the necessary points for maximum credit, and if my essay is under expectations and needing vast revision, that's all right now, because I am free, at least for a while, of my fear, and guilt, and distraction. And to you? Well, my best advice is: Carpe Diem.
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Honorable mention: Jessica Vasheresse
Half Moon Bay High School; teacher: Mr. Andy Boysen

Laws of Life essay

I was adjusting the contents of my sandwich as my friends and I pulled up to a stoplight in our town during lunch one day. A homeless man in filthy clothing sat on the comer holding a sign, which read the ever-popular Will Work For Food. At that moment, the light turned red, and my friend stopped the car, directly next to the man.
"Don't you feel bad eating in front of homeless people?" one friend asked. I suddenly reached for the locks on the car door. It was a joke at the time, but it laterprompted my thinking. Was I honestly scared? No. Why did I do that? I did not know his name, his story, or anything about him at all. Yet, I had completely judged this man. I had not previously considered myself a judgmental person, but in reality, we all are. Being nonjudgmental is the best quality anyone can possess.
We hear the famous phrase from the time we are in kindergarten, don't judge a book by its cover. Through my experiences, I have found that opportunities to get to know others are lost to judgment. Assumptions can never be made.
Last year, I worked as a summer camp counselor for elementary-school children. Prior to the camp, all counselors were required to go to training sessions, and meet our partners. Not knowing who I would be paired with, I glanced at the room full of possibilities. I spotted one boy who stood out from the rest. His pants hugged his body closer than mine, his shoes tied with checkerboard laces. He wore jewelry with large, sharp protuberances, and a bright pink shirt with Bright Eyes labeled across the front. His name was Alex. The only thought running through my mind was, I hope he's not my partner.
As it ended up, he wasn't my partner. However, he is definitely one of the nicest, funniest people I have ever met. Initially, I thought Alex would be the stereotypical depressed type. I figured he would brag about cutting himself and despise popular bands on the basis that they were too "mainstream." I am angry with myself looking back. Had he never approached me, I would have never said a word to him. I almost ruined my chance to get to know an awesome person.
As humans in today's society, individuals whom we have never talked to intimidate us. We assume characteristics and never take the time to investigate. We envy movie-star lives, yet we do not really know anything about them. We see slender females and presume that they are plagued with an eating disorder. Even today, some of us still harbor racial grudges. We miss frequent opportunities to allow new people into our lives.
I feel that my previous mistakes will help me in the future, especially since I will be attending college in the fall. Judging my peers based on their appearance, attire, or any other irrelevant details will not only create hate, but also eliminate potential friendships.
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