GHCDS This I Believe: True Voices (B‪)‬ This I Believe

This is a quick essay on what I believe in and how some of my experiences led me to believe in this.

Elyssa Franklin a senior in high school and attends good hope country day school.

I believe you can't make everyone happy but you can make yourself happy.

This became very true when picking a college. I had two options to choose from one close to my mom and the other that fit into the price range my dad gave me. This turned into a division in the home between my father and I. He didn’t understand why I would even give the other school an option. I stayed up countless hours arguing with my dad. But if I chose the school my dad wanted me to go to, my mom would have been heartbroken. She doesn't see me that often and with that school she would have seen me once a month. She was so excited and I just didn't want to hurt her. Choosing a college became a chore. It wasn't some exciting thing that all of my classmates had.

It became so hard for me that I reconsidered even going to college and just breaking off my parents to do my own thing. I resented them for the fact that they were not respecting my opinions. They were living their college “dream” out of me.

The more I thought about which school to choose I realized that I was choosing based on my parents' likes and dislikes. Not my own opinions and what school I wanted to go to. I stayed up all night for countless days just thinking about everything. Where I would fit in the best at. Succeed the best in. And I did it alone. Not with their help or comments. Just me

In the end I chose what made me happy. I believe that sometimes in life you have to do what makes you happy and your parents should just support your decision rather than make you choose what they would prefer. I think freedom of choice is just part of growing up. Asking your parents for direction and advice is one thing. Making decisions should come down to what you think and what makes you happy. If someone can’t be happy with you because of a decision you made, then you should not worry and try to give them space, they need to come to terms with the fact that you are living your life and they need to love you for who you are.

In life do what you want so you can be happy and not make everyone else happy because it’s your life not there’s

Alexandra Bhola wrote this essay as a high school senior in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. In her free time she volunteers at her church and tutors students. She also enjoys running for her track and cross country teams.`

I expand on why I believe poverty is not a choice

Rosei Simpson is an 18 year old student in the 12th grade attending Good Hope Country Day School, she is passionate in writing. in this podcast Rosei will be talking about coral and how our coral reefs are dying and what is causing this, she will also be discussing ways YOU can help. coral serves as a protection for small islands along with breaches in other parts of the world and double as a habitat for marine life. she believes that we have the ability to save our reefs before its too late, but only if we all work together.

Andre McIntosh Common app
The Journey

Who am I? What is the self? Questions like these are the type I ponder about a lot, and the ones that changed my life. In order to find these answers I had to look into different philosophies such as Buddhism, and Taoism. And by trying to find these answers I’ve been led onto a path which has taught me many things, that have got me more in touch with my feelings and how to view the world. I was introduced to ideas of modern philosophers, learned about how many different ways I can view the world, and how important both self discovery, and self improvement are. And with this, my life was affected in a positive way, I can confidently say I believe in both self discovery, and self reflection.

Would you believe if I told you the reason I started this journey was because of someone saying that they didn’t know me? And it's not like I was the most popular or well known kid, but the idea of knowing someone stuck in my head. With the idea of not knowing somebody, I began to question if I even knew myself or if I could ever find myself. Also, during this period in my life I was reading the book Black Skin White Mask. This book helped me to realize I had on a mask, and had no idea who the person underneath was, nor did I know how to take it off. With this new realization I started a journey that won’t ever end, and one that has changed my life for the better

To get started, I did the usual google to try and find the answer to my questions. The answers I got from google led me to a spiritual side of the world, and I learned I was going through a spiritual awakening. When I learned this I genuinely believed it because it was accurately describing how I felt and my thought process. Now knowing that I was going through an awakening, I found new leads on the answers to the questions I asked myself.

Buddhism and Taoism were some of the leads I had found. Buddhism has taught me how to treat others as well as myself, with the concept of karma. While Taoism taught me about how you can’t have one thing without its counterpart. By learning about the practices and beliefs within both Buddhism and Taoism, I’ve learned much about myself and my environment, so much that my entire mindset changed. I went from a sour and lost mindset that was disappointed in everything, to an understanding and grateful mindset that made my life better. By deep thought and research I've learned that suffering is a vital part of life, and important for one’s growth from Taoism, and from Buddhism, suffering is caused by some sort of desire.

Meditation was one of the most vital parts of my self discovery journey. If I never practiced meditation I would have been a completely different person, and I would have never found out about the things that have shaped my values. By meditating I have become more aware of my thoughts, and with the practice of being more aware of my thoughts, I’ve become more aware of how my thoughts affect my feelings. When I realized how my thoughts and feelings affected one another, I was able to influence what I feel and I was able to see the world in a better light.

Everything that I’ve mentioned in this essay, isn’t everything that made an impact on my journey. I’ve learned a lot on this journey, and I haven’t even started to talk about the second part of this journey, which is about self improvement and discipline. This journey has helped to better myself, find answers, and help me understand the world we live in and the people on it. The answers to the initial questions were not what made the journey worth it, but rather the feelings, thoughts, and experiences.