Influence

Who is one man and one woman who have influenced your values and what you believe?

Ms. Jenkins taught me to value education. Before her classes, I was just trying to get by in school so I could make the grade and go to Ball State and make something of myself in this life. I'd wanted to be an actress, then my dad told me he wouldn't pay to send me to acting school, so I decided that I wanted to be in telecommunications, because I had a knack for it, and still do. But when I was in her class, I was forever thirsty for knowledge and the betterment of my intellect, and I decided I wanted to be that to children as well. When I realized that if I wanted to be successful in the TCOM field, I'd have to be far away from my friends and family, and that's something I didn't think I could handle. I can barely handle being at school all the time and not being near people who love me. So I decided I wanted to be a teacher. As a teacher I had an opportunity to make a difference to kids in a way that their friends or parents never could. None of that would have been possible if it weren't for Jenkins.

James Stewart had this life mantra:

"I'd like to be remembered as someone who was good at his job and always seemed to mean what he said."

Since hearing that, I've adopted it as my own life mantra. I can't think of a better way to realistically live your life. Sure, give to charities, go to "church," be a friend to all. These are all things you should do, but no one can ever ask more of you in your life than that: be good and your job and mean what you say. Just those two things cover so many bases. James Stewart was that way in every way. He was a terrific actor and he was an honest man until the day he died. I want to be James Stewart.

Buzz Lightyear Mission Log: Entry 1

Who is a person who has had a negative impact on your life?

Who is a person who has had a positive or nurturing impact on your life?

Its hard for me to think of someone who has hurt me whom I’ve not forgiven. There is the matter of a certain ex-boyfriend, but I don’t want to write about him. I suppose that a person who’s had a profound negative effect upon my life would be a girl named Jayme. I don’t personally blame her really, I don’t think. She’s just a very negative person. A life of hardship set her up for such outlooks. At a certain point in life, she just decided that she would no longer make apologies for her behavior, no matter how crass, rude, or insensitive. She didn’t care whose feeling she hurt. It was just her way. It wasn’t even necessarily something she did explicitly to me, but rather the people I cared about. It upset me. In fact, I was one of the only people she treated rather decently. It was because I was one of the only people who treated her like human being rather than this void of moral character. She was a human being. I don't hate her at all. In fact, I love her. She needs people to love her, and I love her very much.

A person who's had a positive and nurturing impact on my life, aside from the obvious, (mi madre), would be a theater director named Christine Schaefer. She fostered in me a sense of self-worth. To know the value of my talents. When my camera broke, she started a secret fund to replace it, taking donations from my friends. It was the most beautiful present I've ever received and it would never have been possible without her. She's the older sister I always wanted, someone who's always there with wisdom when I'm in my darkest of places. She's a friend and a teacher, and she exudes hope and sunlight everywhere she goes. One day, I hope to have a spine like hers.