Student Success Statement

"The Ultimate Choice. Of all the choices you will ever make, one choice supersedes all others-the ultimate choice. This one choice will help you to always make correct decisions. This one choice, the Ultimate Choice, is your keystone to being the best student and person you can possibly be. This one choice will forever affect you for good more than any other choice. The ULTIMATE CHOICE is:

To be a CTR person- to Always CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!"

Reflection:

I think that this is a very excellent quote to end the year off with, and it brings back alot of nostalgia as I go back to all the wonderful lessons that I've received from my very insightful computer teacher, Mr. Haymore. I believe that it is always important that you do what feels right, what you are positive that is right, because that is the ultimate choice. Whether or not someone is kind or a good person is a true display of character. In these days, where everyone is attracted to that rebellious boy, I'd much rather be with a boy that shows that he finds importance in being kind, in being responsible, and always has good intentions. I find that it is very difficult to be the good person that always does the right thing, and I have major respect for those that do decide to do the right thing. I have no idea what paths I will take in the future, but I know for sure that I will always follow the road that many fear to venture into, regardless of how steep the journey may be..I will go down the path that leads to success, by choosing the right.

Student Success Statement

"Success is not an accident. Success is actually a choice. Are the habits you have today on par with the dreams you have of tomorrow?"

- Alan Stein

Reflection:

I was a bit moved by the words of Alan Stein, because they really do reflect my mindset. At the end of the day, you're the one making the choices that affect your success. If you are planning to lose 50 pounds, but haven't changed your exercise or eating habits...are your habits really on par with your dreams of tomorrow? If you don't have the resolve to change things about yourself to meet your goals, then do you expect to achieve any of them? I like thinking about these things, and reflecting on them. 

I know some people who say they "can't diet", therefore, they never lose weight. No, the reason they can't diet is because they don't have the resolve to diet as extensively as they need to. I know I want to lose weight, so I make sure that I'm not only hoping for a better tomorrow, but that I'm striving for a better tomorrow. Most people don't really recognize the fact that you have to choose to work hard to succeed, because success is most definitely not an accident, it is a choice.

Student Success Statement

"A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder."

- Thomas Carlyle

Reflection:

When you have no idea where you're going, no idea what your ambition will be, without motivation, you will not find your path. What's important about setting goals for yourself is working towards accomplishing them. Much like a rudder guides a ship, our goals and our choices guide us towards the paths we decide to take. Know where you plan on going....so that you won't get lost.

In addition to what I said previously, you should set goals and pursue them. Don't get caught in the current of normality and get swept away just like everyone else. Don't become part of the crowd, be that person that stands out. Wouldn't you much rather emphasize on the things that you love and receive praise for that, or do something you hate and become a typical full-time worker at fast food franchises?

Student Success Statement

"If there is beauty in character,

there will be harmony in the home.

If there is the harmony in the home,

there will be order in the nation.

If there is order in the nation,

there will be peace in the world.

Conclusion:

If there is beauty in character,

there will be peace in the world."

-Chinese Proverb

(The key to success is definitely good character.)

Reflection:

I think that there is much to be said about this proverb, but it all amounts to a single conclusion: this is all tremendously true. I see it as something of a domino effect. Let's say there's no beauty in character, then there will be no harmony in any home, which will lead to discord in the nation, and soon there are senseless wars across the world. People underestimate the power that good character can have, and it is important to realize that fact. Without giving good value to our character, I feel that this world will slowly deteriorate. In fact, it's already deteriorating, so shouldn't we start working towards a bit of a change?

Student Success Statement

"I would prefer to fail with honor than win by cheating."

- Sophocles

Reflection:

People like Sophocles are good, honest people. As much as I wouldn't want to admit it, I'm not sure my conscience would feel guilty enough if I happened to cheat on a small test. Cheating isn't something I do, I'm too dumb to actually pull it off and I tend to study heavily beforehand anyways, so there's no real reason to cheat, but if I was taking a test and circumstances made it impossible to study, I just might feel tempted to cheat. I wouldn't feel proud of failing even if I did it honorably, I'd MUCH rather get a good score.

However, the thing that holds me back the most is my own personal habits. I haven't cheated on a test my whole life, and starting to cheat now could become a bad habit and I always remind myself, "If I cheat on this test, I'm cheating myself". That's one of my many mantras, and honestly, I wouldn't want to break it now.

Student Success Statement

"The most important thing you will ever have is good values."

- Dennis Prager

Reflection:  

I think that this is definitely something that is true. Without good values, you can watch as your life quickly falls apart. Good habits and good morale lead to a more accomplished life, whereas bad values, and no morale can lead to being unproductive or even becoming someone who loses their life early on because they fell into a bad path (drugs, excessive drinking, etc.). I've often said that I will never feel the need to take drugs or do alcohol because I've learned from other people just how catastrophic taking that dark path may become. I want to be someone that my parents brag about later on in life and that they still think about with rose-colored glasses on their deathbeds.

Student Success Statement

"Nothing is ever gained in doing what's wrong."

- Wilford Woodruff

Reflection:

There is definitely profit from doing what's wrong, you can gain a perfect score on a test, or money, you could win that soccer game, or even the girl of your dreams. What you don't get, however, is the satisfaction that you've done something right. Even those with no conscience or consideration would likely ponder on the fact that perhaps they aren't capable of anything unless it's by less than morally correct means. Wouldn't you much rather feel proud that you do everything right, and have that knowledge that you are capable of great things without having to resort to choosing the wrong? I would much rather get a low A on a test and know that that result was the fruit of my efforts than get a perfect score and know that nothing I wrote came from my actual capability as a student. 

Student Success Statement

"The reward for doing right is mostly an internal phenomenon: self-respect, dignity, (self worth ), integrity, and self-esteem."

-Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Reflection:

There is no monetary or materialistic reward for altruistic actions. I think that's what makes doing right most important: there is nothing physical to be gained about it. Doing the right thing is about being a self-less person who does things for others even when in a position to lose something. There is, however, a spiritual value to being good. Never mind fights over the existence of something like heaven, being a good person leaves you with a healthy conscience. Being someone who commits admirable feats is someone who can feel good about themselves, feel happy because they made someone else, maybe not even someone they know fully well, happy. What Dr. Laura says is true: the reward for doing right is mostly an internal phenomenon. 

Student Success Statement

"When a deep injury is done us, we never recover until we forgive."

- Alan Paton

Reflection:

Harboring anger or resentment towards another person is kind of like holding yourself at a standstill. If you're always dwelling on these negative feelings, you'll never get past them, you'll live a bitter life where the only person who suffers is you. Holding a grudge continually isn't just hurting yourself, it's hurting others as well. Unless you walk the path of forgiveness, you can never even dare to hope that you'll stop feeling so much pain.

Student Success Statment

"Dare to stand alone."

-Thomas S. Monson

Reflection:

There is great importance in standing alone, because whenever everyone else is doing something wrong and trying to convince you to do the same, it's important to have your own integrity and have the courage to follow a different path. I think that saying you'll stand alone is easier said than done, it is something that requires more than simply just the belief that you are right, it requires hardened resolve and true longing to stand up for what you believe in. I don't know if I would dare to stand alone if everyone else was contradicting me, trying to convince me that I'm the one who's wrong, because with so many people against me, I just might believe them. It's happened before, on a math problem, but I don't know what my reaction would be in a real life crisis, or how someone can dare to be the only man standing.

Student Success Statement

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing."

- Theodore Roosevelt

Reflection:

But what is the right thing? Is it that easy to tell what to do when you're torn between two choices? I suppose, the right thing is always the best thing to do, but in a moment of anxiety, will you know what is actually good? I wonder about this, because the easy thing, and the right thing, are not usually one and the same.

Student Success Statement

"Make each day your masterpiece. You have to apply yourself each day to become a little better, and over a period of time you become a lot better"

-John Wooden

Reflection:

Treat every day with equal enthusiasm for what is right. There is not one day you can simply get up and say, "Today, I won't try." No. It is extremely important to always give it your best, as long as you keep trying with unrivaled fortitude, nothing, nothing can stand in your way. Whether you are striving to lose weight, or to be a better person, put your thoughts into action, and over time, that goal will come to you thanks to your strength of will.

Student Success Statement

"A promise must never be broken."

- Alexander Hamilton

Reflection:

I don't think I've ever taken a promise seriously. I promise things to people, people make promises to me, but somehow they're never kept. I can't swear something to anyone because I have no idea what kinds of circumstances may lead me to break my oath in the future. I want to agree with this,  but I've already contradicted this quote with my actions multiple times, and therefore, yes a promise mustn't be broken, so I'll never make promises.

Student Success Statement

"What you see is what you get."

-Anonymous

Reflection:

I think that this ties into an idea that I once read in the book, "Think and Grow Rich!" by Napoleon Hill. Although perhaps the point of this quote isn't to emphasize the power of auto-suggestion (you believe, therefore you are) but rather to place stress on the idea that you control who or what type of person you see when you look in the mirror. If you do bad things, you'll see a devil standing where your reflection should be. Whereas if you do good things, you'll see a genuine honest person when you look at yourself. I think that having a good idea of who you are is extremely important, and knowing what type of person you are is always displayed in your character and when you reflect upon yourself.

Student Success Statement

"Goodness is the only investment that never fails."

-Henry David Thoreau 

Reflection:

Goodness is an investment that others carry along with themselves, even after you're long and gone. Goodness is something that ensures that you will be remembered by other people, that were touched by your kind actions. I want to be viewed as a good person, and I want to be loved, not hated or feared. In this life, we don't get to choose how other people feel about us, but we do influence the impression others have of us. There is someone out there, that I really want to make a good impression on, and in order to do that, I need to be the best person I can be. Even if my nature is evil, I will aspire to be good because I care about what that person thinks about me. And what others think about me. Some say a reputation is meaningless, but a reputation also decides as to whether you'll live on in other people's hearts.

They say that a man is immortal if his memory lives on.

Student Success Statement

"My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are easy; you don't make them because they are cheap; you don't make them because they are popular; you make them because they are right."

- Theodore Hesburgh

Reflection:

I think that this is mostly true, although I have definitely made many decisions because they are easy, like shortcuts on a math problem, not only is it easier, it is smart to employ shortcuts that you can use to your advantage. Another thing, I buy pizza because I like it and because it is cheap, and as to whether or not this is right or not, it makes me happy. I've bought shoes in the past because they were popular, and I felt ecstatic at the time, I don't know if that is right either. However, referring to the moral view of things, I know that this man is right in what he says, because the easy, cheap, popular path is not always the right one.

Student Success Statement

"It is our duty to concentrate all our influence to  make popular that which is sound and good, and unpopular that which is unsound (not good)."

- Joseph Smith

Reflection:

Emphasizing and spreading the idea to be good is incredibly important when aiming to create a harmonious community. In the past, persecution of colored people was made popular, so it became widespread, but when people rose in defense of the victimized, then it changed. It is always important to remember that not only when interacting with others, but in the case in which you became a parent, and have children looking up to you for an example as what to be.

Student Success Statement

"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong."

-Abraham Lincoln

Reflection:

I think that this emphasizes something that I really like, which is to side with your instinct, your morality, your principles. When you feel that something is ethically wrong in what you do, then you have the obligation to abandon that type of person, or type of environment. You choose who you surround yourself with. You choose what is right, and make your judgments based on what you believe in. I think that a mentality like this is exceptionally important.