What Represents Me Draft

What Represents Me

            Throughout life, there are many people we meet, places we go, and things we do that influence us.  Some are people and things that we come across daily.  Very rarely does a person stop and think about how special these things are to them.  Many objects in life people take for granted everyday.  People do not comprehend how treasurable many daily parts of life are, and how they have shaped how individuals have grown as people.  When you pause, take a breath, and think about these things, you may realize just how special they are.  There are many small, but precious things in my life that have shaped me, including my running shoe charm, the color green, my faith, and a ribbon.  Each of these things has somehow affected the way I have developed as a person and how I view the world today. 

            That view of the world can also extend to my running shoe charm.  My running shoe charm is a very small charm that I wear around my neck on a chain.  It never comes off.  I wear it absolutely everywhere unless I am required to take it off, like in a meet.  It is special to me because it was given to me by my aunt right after I ran in the state track meet this past year.  It fully represents my love for running.  I started running Cross Country in 6^th grade off of a whim, and I haven’t stopped since!  Every year since that first practice, I have been a part of the Episcopal Cross Country, Indoor Track, and Outdoor track teams.  I have run 196.72 miles since summer started.  I ran 100 of those just in the month of July.  So far, all of my hard work has paid off.  I have obtained a lot from working hard in my running.  I have learned many things that cannot be taught, but have to be experienced. 

            My running shoe charm is more than just a pretty piece of jewelry that I wear around my neck.  To me, it represents the things that running has taught me and is a constant reminder to live by what I have learned.  Running is like life.  Every aspect of running can be transcribed into different parts of your life.  The training and work that you put forth can develop your mind to never give up, and to always go the extra mile.  This can be used in school, work, faith, friendship, and many other things.  An old saying that I like that talks about going the extra mil is the 212 degrees saying.

At 211 degrees, water is hot.

At 212 degrees, water boils.

And with boiling water comes steam,

And with steam, you can power a train.

One extra degree makes all the difference.

This shows how going the extra mile makes all the difference in the world.  In a race, the stronger of the two runners will win.  This can be applied to everything in life.  The person who works the hardest will have the best results.  The person who does things the right way and doesn’t take shortcuts will eventually find success in everything that they do.  They learn to work hard in everything.  Running the extra mile also means to do what’s right when no one is watching.  That means going out a running everyday even if the coach isn’t there to make sure you do it right.  It means doing extra homework or studying to make a better grade in a class.  Going the extra mile is not an easy thing to do, but it will always pay off in the long run. 

Yet each piece represents another side of me, and just the same as my running shoe charm represents hard work and going the extra mile, the color green represents the love of life and what true determination looks like.  The color green is everywhere people go.  It is all around outside in nature, it is on clothes, on bags, on books, it is on food, it is on candy wrappers.  The color green is the color that the human eye can perceive the most shades of, and therefor is seen the most everywhere. It is the most calming color and the color that is most used in areas of relaxation and peace.  It symbolized health, balance, nature, and most importantly, life.  To me, it symbolizes my grandfather, Bobo.  He passed away 4 years ago, and his favorite color was green.  It was green from the first moment that I can remember.  Now that he is gone, we always go to the cemetery to see him, especially on special occasions.  The most special occasion of all that we go visit him for is his birthday.  Every year on April 3, my entire family goes to the cemetery and we release green balloons to the sky and watch them until we can’t see them anymore.  Once we cannot see them, we know that he got them in heaven.  My family always spends the entire afternoon there on his birthday.  We have a picnic and some cake, we play tag, and we just sit and relax.  The color green represents my grandfather, the things that he taught me, and the treasured memories that I have of him. 

            The color green symbolizes life, and how special the people that we love are to us.  When my grandfather died, it taught me two very important lessons that you can only relate to if you personally experience them.  The first and most important thing that I learned is to treasure the small moments, because one day, they might turn out to be big moments.  Towards the last few days of Bobo’s life, he was unable to see well, feed himself, get out of bed, or do all the little things that most people do everyday.  I would sit by him and feed him little bits of peaches while all the other kids in my family went to the back and read a book or watched TV.  I remember wanting to go and play with them too, but instead I sat by him and fed him.  I have never regretted that decision. The time I spent with him is some of the best moments that I ever spent with my grandfather.  The memories that I have of doing that are ones that nobody else in my family has.  These memories are some of the most valuable memories that I have and I have never regretted a single small thing that I ever did with Bobo. 

The second thing that I learned was that the people you love are never truly gone until you forget them and the things that they taught you.  They will always live on in the hearts of the people that cared for them.  I still remember my grandfather today.  I remember the little things that he taught me, like not to eat while laying up side down on the couch, or eating right by the computer.  He taught me more than just little things.  He showed me how to work hard through his every day actions, like using holding his own fork and knife, or walking.  One year for my mom’s birthday, he walked across the room for her.  It made everyone cry.  Doing little things like that showed how hard he worked and how true determination is working hard to achieve your goals, even the little ones, which is a lesson that he taught me that has stuck with me to this day. 

            Faith is something that everyone learns about at a young age.  Many learn first about the birth of Jesus and Noah’s Arc.  As they get older, they learn more and more about their religion and the history of it.  Religion can be a very central part of a person’s choices and personality.  In my family, it plays a significant role in our Sunday lives.  Every Sunday morning, we all go to church together.  It is a time of peace and a break from doing homework.  I usually like going to church.  Part of the reason that I love Christmas break is because of the Christmas Eve church service.   The entire congregation is together at once, and when everyone sings, it just fills you up with a sense of hope, joy, and a sense that you are a part of a unique community.  This is something that is very special to me.  My love for my faith is shown through my decisions and actions towards others.  I have chosen to be on the student vestry for 3 years.  I have always participated somehow in my school’s church community ever since 1^st grade.  It is something that I have always enjoyed.  I always help my friends with any schoolwork that they are struggling with and I always make sure to encourage them in anything they want to do.  I feel like my religion has been a part of influencing me in those decisions, just as it has influence my entire life. 

            There are many things that our faith teaches us.  It teaches us how to live, how to think, and how to pray.  My religion has particularly taught me about how to treat others.  I have learned that the people that we love the most are the people that we usually treat the harshest.  This has taught me to always choose my words carefully, in case I end up having to eat them later.  This is an important lesson in life because it teaches people that when you say something, it sticks with you.  A very famous saying that can be applied in this situation says,

“There are two things that you can never take back…time and words.”

These words mean that when you are unkind or tell a lie, you cannot change what was said.  When you say something that is not nice, it leaves a permanent impression of you on everyone.  It ruins your reputation and can affect your entire high school experience.  The things that you say will always be in the memories of those that heard you.  It is something that cannot be erased or taken back.  When you tell a lie, the only way to undo it is to tell the truth.  When a person tells one lie, they end up having to tell more lies to make their originally lie still believable.  The deeper that you get buried, the harder it will be to climb out.  The more lies that you tell, the worse the consequences will be.  This is an important life lesson that was emphasized in my church.  It is a lesson that I will always carry with me in everything that I do. 

            There are many different objects that can symbolize many different special bonds that people may have in life.  For me, that symbol is a ribbon.  A ribbon is a strip of cloth that can tie to things together.  This is significant to me because it is something that my mom and I do together that brings us closer.  Every single morning, summer and school year, my mom puts a ribbon in my hair.  She always brushes it out first, which feels really, really good.  Then she fixes it by pulling it back, leaving it down, or putting it up.  Then we pick out a different colored ribbon together and she ties it in my hair. I always look forward to this occasion every morning because it is a time that my mom and I share. 

           

            A ribbon is one of the many common things that unite my mom and me together.  A ribbon is a long piece of cloth that can be tied to two separate things and bring them together.  The ribbon tying is a moment that my mom and I share together.  When the ribbon is tied, it brings us even closer than we were just a few minutes earlier.  This symbolizes the special bond that a mother and a daughter have together.  It is a very unique bond that cannot be copied.  It is a bond that cannot be with your father, grandmother, or siblings.  It is something that is unique to each individual.  The bond between a mother and a daughter is a very strong one that is not easily broken.  A mother and a daughter do so much together and are such big parts of each others’ lives.  The mother teaches her daughter the right way to be.  She gets to pick out homecoming and prom dresses with her daughter as she goes through high school.  A mother gets to be there at every moment to support her child in everything that she does.  A daughter looks at her mother and sees who she wants to be when she grows up.  Her mother teaches her everything, from simple math problems in first grade that she may not understand, to driving on the interstate and learning to park.  A mother and a daughter have a bond that gets tied together even more with every little thing that they do together.  It is something that is irreplaceable and one of the most precious things to a girl, no matter what happens. 

            The significant pieces of life come in many different shapes and forms.  For me, they are simply, a running shoe charm, the color green, my faith, and a ribbon.  Each of these things describes me in some way and how I have grown into the person that I am today.  The things that complete you are things that can not ever be replaced and are priceless.  Every now and then, stop and think about the things that are valuable to you, and learn to treat those things (or people) with the respect and love that they give to you.  Some of the objects that you may hold special in your heart will always teach you something.  The question is whether or not you will learn from the things that they teach you, and whether or not you will actually apply the things that you learn into your daily life.