Sophs # 3--Be Like Ben (Franklin, of course)
An older and wiser man writing his autobiography, Dr. Benjamin Franklin gave to the world his prescription for achieving "the bold and arduous task of moral perfection": list 13 virtues you wish to master, work on only one per week (like eradicating weeds from one flower bed at a time, he said), each evening examine your day to see if you had committed any actions contrary to that virtue (keep a record in a lined notebook), proceed to the next virtue the next week, and continue this process for a year (you'll be able to go through four cycles in 52 weeks). Sounds simple enough, right?
As a young man hiding behind the nom de plume of Poor Richard Saunders, Franklin's words of wisdom often took the shape of clever, pithily worded aphorisms like "God helps them that help themselves; a penny saved is a penny earned; fish and visitors smell in three days; an apple a day keeps the doctor away, etc."
Your journal assignment gives you some options.
You should (choose ONE of the three):
A. Tell me a personal or family tale that represents one of Franklin's virtues.
B. Tell me a personal or family tale that represents the theme of one of Franklin's aphorisms. Write that aphorism as part of your title. Check out the "talking Ben" by clicking here.
C. Relate in detail some orderly plan that you contrived in order to achieve some goal.
Let's get to work on this pronto.
You will earn three points EXTRA CREDIT if you post your response by Thursday, October 9.
As Ben would have said, "Do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.
posted by JTF @ 11:13 AM
48 comments
48 Comments:
Last year running cross country was my first year running when I ran I just hoped I got better, but I never had a way of checking to see if I had actually gotten better. This year I have decides to change to that. Since the very first practice even in preseason I have been keeping track of what I have run. I have a folder that I have put my running logs in. On the left side of the page I put the date of the run then after the red line, the place I have run at, then I put the amount of times I have run it. If it is more the one I put an x to know it is more then one if it is just one I put lap next to it. Next to that I write down the time it took me to run that practice. This way I can tell if I have improved and what I need to work on. My goal for this year is to cut at least three more minutes off my time.
In Ben Franklin’s autobiography, he mentions 13 virtues a person would have to overcome to achieve "the bold and arduous task of moral perfection". These 13 virtues are: temperance, order, resolution, frugality, moderation, industry, cleanliness, tranquility, silence, sincerity, justice, chastity, and humility. Ben Franklin tried to lead his life following these virtues. He placed each one on a separate page in a small book; he kept this book with him for most of his life. Ben Franklin would evaluate his daily performance with regard to each one of them. He would also select one of the virtues to focus on each week. One orderly plan that I contrived in order to achieve a goal would be when I tried out for the St. Mark’s Junior Varsity field hockey team. This was a goal that I wanted to achieve very much. Even though I was on field hockey teams during the past school years, I knew it would be much more difficult to make this team. The tryouts were scheduled to start mid August, and some of the girls would not make the team. In order to be selected, I knew I would have to be in the best physical condition. Since my family and I are members of the YMCA, I decided to take advantage of my membership. In the middle of June, I started a daily running program. My dad and I practiced field hockey in our backyard several times a week. In addition, I attended a five day field hockey camp at University of Delaware, which improved my skills. During the summer, I also tried to eat healthy foods. For instance, on weekend nights when my friends were eating junk food, I did my best to resist the temptations. Most of the time, I was successful. Furthermore, in the beginning of August, I started a better sleeping pattern. I knew proper rest was essential. I put forth my best effort during tryouts. Fortunately, my plan was successful and I was selected for the team. I am continuing to do my best during the field hockey season.
Ben Franklin lived by 13 virtues. These virtues still influence people in today’s society. An example of this is the common virtue of resolution. The virtue of resolution says, “Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.” In my house, my family usually doesn’t resolve fights. But once, when my brother and I got in a really big fight over something stupid, my parents changed their ways. My dad just wanted to punish us, but my mom disagreed. “Making them sit in their room teaches them nothing,” she said. So instead, my mom came up with an elaborate plan to help my brother and I communicate. Her idea was to have us both write up a list of ten things that we appreciated about the other person. Our fight had something to do with being thankful for the other person, hence the lesson. After a while of pondering, we both managed to come up with our ten things. I was 10 at the time, and he was 13, so the lists weren’t very creative. Some of the things we came up with were “She makes meals” and “He makes fun of me less then he used to.” As you can see, these lists didn’t accomplish much, but they gave us a good laugh and made us forget why we were fighting. I bet Ben Franklin would have been proud of us practicing the virtue of resolution.
“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”.
Is this a cute expression from a man who might just need some sleep? Or is it actually a prescription to success? According to Ben Franklin, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” is a definite way to a successful life. In today’s modern medicine there is a body of evidence to support this theory.
I however, am 100% certain that this aphorism is correct. All my life that has been what my parents have always told me. Maybe they were just tired and wanted me to go to bed. However, I have tested this theory on several occasions. One night that really exemplifies the accuracy of this aphorism was New Years Eve ’07. We have a great party with tons of food and friends. The party of course lasts past midnight and into the early morning. We celebrate with music and fireworks. Needless to say the next day I do not feel “Healthy, wealthy or wise”! So as this aphorism says an unreasonable bed time makes you unable to succeed the next day.
“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”.
Is this a cute expression from a man who might just need some sleep? Or is it actually a prescription to success? According to Ben Franklin, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” is a definite way to a successful life. In today’s modern medicine there is a body of evidence to support this theory. I however, am 100% certain that this aphorism is correct. All my life that has been what my parents have always told me. Maybe they were just tired and wanted me to go to bed. However, I have tested this theory on several occasions. One night that really exemplifies the accuracy of this aphorism was New Years Eve ’07. We have a great party with tons of food and friends. The party of course lasts past midnight and into the early morning. We celebrate with music and fireworks. Needless to say the next day I do not feel “Healthy, wealthy or wise”! I sleep until noon and am groggy all day. I don’t study or get anything accomplished. Therefore as this aphorism says an unreasonable bedtime makes you unable to succeed and carry out normal tasks the next day.
In the past two weeks a few things have changed. First, my cross country coaches told me that they wanted me to start stepping up my game. Second, at the meet we had that week I made my personal best time ever. I got 25 minutes and 23 seconds for the 5K or 3.1 miles that is the standard cross country course, which is a minute faster than my personal best time that I ran at the county meet last year. Last, my coaches moved me up from the JV B team to the JV A team. This past Saturday I had my first meet running with the JV A team and I tied for second within our team. For the rest of the season I am going to look at who’s ahead of me when we are running at practice and keep up with them and then pass them. I am going to try to cut down on my race times and make myself a good spot on the JV A team. From now on, after each meet I am going to keep my number and write my time on the back of it. I am going to try to cut down on my time little by little, and hopefully by the end of the year I will be able to beat my personal record.
choice 1 -
I have a family tale that represents silence and sincerity. My sister and I used to get in stupid meaningless fights a lot, mostly because of either a miss-understanding of words, or we simply say stuff just to get each other mad. The place where most of our fights used to occur when we were young, was the back seat of my moms car. Whenever we would drive somewhere to run errands with my mom, we would be in the back seat either laughing together, or fighting. Sometimes I felt that my sister wasn't paying enough attention to me, which would spur me to annoy her until she talked to me. I would poke her and than look away and pretend I didn't know who did it, sing loudly, and do other annoying things. She would usually continue to ignore me, knowing that this would make me even more mad. After about 10 minutes of this little game, it would erupt into a verbal fight, which quickly turned into a slapping fight. My mom would get so annoyed with us fighting in the back seat, that she actually had to pull over one time to make us stop fighting. She would always tell us "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." When I was younger these words meant nothing to me, but now i realize that these words represent two of Ben Franklin's virtues. This represents Silence and Sincerity.
The virtue of temperance was violated severely at my last family reunion. Much of the food was delicious and almost everybody ate more than their fill, all except one of my cousin, who was, ironically, possibly the largest of all the other guests, considering that he is only 13. I do not mean to insult him, however, because he was possibly the smartest of all of us. Almost immediately after we ate, my uncle brought out a football and we began playing. Within the next few minutes, however, everyone became sluggish and tired due to all of the food. A few people even threw up after being tackled (which was just as bad for the tackler as it was for the one being tackled.) Everyone that is, except for the cousin that ate only what he could handle. Needless to say, he dominated that game.
He that lieth down with Dogs shall rise up with Fleas.
When trying to think of one family tale that best represents the theme of this quote one in particular comes to mind. My mother told me a story once about when she was younger she had bought a piece of jewelry, and when she went to pay the cashier gave her more money back than what was owed. She knew and she didn’t say anything. Then when she got home her mom (my grandmother) went out, and while was out my mother’s piece of jewelry broke. This quote could also mean not to stoop to low levels for revenge. Another story that comes to mind is one about my father and his brother when they were kids. As children my father and uncle had many pets between them. There are two sides to this story, but my father’s side most applies to the quote so that’s the one I’ll tell. Apparently my uncle let of my father’s hamster loose, eventually leading to it’s death. My father was so mad to get even he let out all the pets in my uncle’s room and made it look like an accident. The second part of the saying occurred when the pets soon got bored with my uncle’s room and spread around the house. After that it was clear that my father was the culprit, and his punishment was to help clean the house. So I think this quote kind of explains bad karma. If you do something to someone out of vengeance or just plain meanness something going to back to bite you (not literally, of course).
My parents have always taught me morals and virtues that all relate to Benjamin Franklin’s virtues. One virtue that my parents have always talked to me about is Order. My dad is a “neat freak”. Everything is perfectly in order, separated, color coded, classified in mini groups, outline, you name it. His stuff is always easy to find and he always knows where everything is. “A place for everything and everything in its place.” My father has always told me that quote. Every weekend he says that quote when he tells me to clean my room. When you are organized it helps you in so many ways. I can find things so much more easily, and it is a good habit to form while you’re young for when you’re in the working world and really need that quality the most. I still am not as good as my dad with order but practicing order and organization every day helps. The quote that my father says to me is perfect for this virtue. Over the years when I never had order or organization I always got jammed up. Now I really try to have order in everything I do. It makes so many things easier to do. It is also a very good quality to have.
“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”.
Is this a cute expression from a man who might just need some sleep? Or is it actually a prescription to success? According to Ben Franklin, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” is a definite way to a successful life. In today’s modern medicine there is a body of evidence to support this theory. I however, am 100% certain that this aphorism is correct. All my life that has been what my parents have always told me. Maybe they were just tired and wanted me to go to bed. However, I have tested this theory on several occasions. One night that really exemplifies the accuracy of this aphorism was New Years Eve ’07. We have a great party with tons of food and friends. The party of course lasts past midnight and into the early morning. We celebrate with music and fireworks. Needless to say the next day I do not feel “Healthy, wealthy or wise”! I sleep until noon and am groggy all day. I don’t study or get anything accomplished. Therefore as this aphorism says an unreasonable bedtime makes you unable to succeed and carry out normal tasks the next day.
As my dad would say, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." My dad always says this to my sister and I. He would usually say it when it was time to go to bed on a school night or if we had to get up early the next day. If we went to bed late we realized when we woke up that we should have listened, because the next day we would be tired. My dad also told us that if we studied for a test before we went to bed then we would remember it better the next day. I always thought that was what the "wise" part of the saying meant. It's always better to go to bed early, then you will be healthier. You should get at least nine hours of sleep every night. I've come to realize that if you don't get enough sleep you will be very tired the next day. If you have a test and you study for it the night before, you won't be able to concentrate, or remember what you studied if you don't get your sleep every night. Everything that my dad told us related to this saying from Benjamin Franklin and that is why he constantly says it to us each night.
One of my biggest meets of the year was coming up and I had to be at peak health which meant conditioning and eating right. My goal was to become healthier by cutting out junk food and eating in the right proportions, in other words I was trying to achieve the virtue of temperance, which was on Benjamin franklins list of thirteen virtues. I contrived a plan that would test my will power beyond its breaking point, I absolutely love food and sometimes I would give in to temptation. The plan was to entirely cut out all junk food such as sour patch kids, sour skittles, and my favorite resse’s cups. The other part of the plan was to eat food in the right amounts, a tough feat to accomplish for I love stuffed shells. I would go through the day with my plan in mind and strive to accomplish my goal. At the end of the day I would look back and if I had eaten something I shouldn’t have I would do crunches to make up for that mistake. Some days were better than others but I believe that I accomplished my plan for better health in order to get ready for the big meet.
“A penny saved is a penny earned” an aphorism of Benjamin Franklin that I have recently come to use often. Since the economy has not been as good as it has been in years past, the average American is holding on to every cent they own. Even though I am only fifteen I too watch my money. My parents made a bank account for both my sister and myself for college, when we need a new car and anything else we may need when we are older and on our own. As we work hard, earning the money, and putting the money in the account, saving the money, we ensure ourselves that we will be prepared for the future. I feel that Benjamin Franklin himself would do what my family is doing in planning for the future, ensuring order in his life. By starting early are confirming that we will be set for life, and will not have to worry our whole lives if we have enough money another aphorism of Franklin “Do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.”
One of my biggest meets of the year was coming up and I had to be at peak health which meant conditioning and eating right. My goal was to become healthier by cutting out junk food and eating in the right proportions, in other words I was trying to achieve the virtue of temperance, which was on Benjamin franklins list of thirteen virtues. I contrived a plan that would test my will power beyond its breaking point, I absolutely love food and sometimes I would give in to temptation. The plan was to entirely cut out all junk food such as sour patch kids, sour skittles, and my favorite Resse’s Cups. The other part of the plan was to eat food in the right amounts, a tough feat to accomplish for I love stuffed shells. I would go through the day with my plan in mind and strive to accomplish my goal. At the end of the day I would look back and if I had eaten something I shouldn’t have I would do crunches to make up for that mistake. Some days were better than others but I believe that I accomplished my plan for better health in order to get ready for the big meet.
The aphorism of Benjamin Franklin that best describes a situation or tale in my life is the aphorism that says. "Does thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that's the stuff life is made of." Many times in my life I waste my time worrying over very little things that I shouldn’t let bother me. During a volleyball match of mine I was getting very frustrated with myself and how I was playing. Many of my hits were going out and I was worrying so much of my playing situation. After the game I was very upset with myself and how I played. After I got my emotions out I thought to myself I shouldn’t waste my time being upset over a little thing. Everyone has an off game and can always get back into their normal playing routine. No ones perfect and no one should waste their time worrying over little things. Life is made of people making mistakes and shouldn’t be too much affected by their little faults or mistakes. In my situation, it was only a game that I had let upset me. Mistakes are what make us human and we can’t let the little instances in our life bother us. We should just love our life and live it to the fullest.
My goal for this year is to make the varsity men’s basketball team as a sophomore. To achieve my goal I became dedicated to getting better in almost every aspect of my game. I sat down one day after basketball season was over last year and I wrote out an organized plan for becoming a better player. I was eager and ready for weight training and for playing for my traveling team just three weeks after the season. My plan was to weight train on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to become physically stronger and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I would have practice with my other summer team. With tournaments one to two weeks apart from one another, I would see how my training was progressing. Immediately after the tournaments I would think about what improvements I would have to make for the next game, like playing better defense, hustling, or improving my shot. My plan went on through the middle of July until our last tournament for the season. My plan continued with weight training. Instead of practice Tuesdays and Thursdays, I would run at least two miles at home to get in better shape. I am still following my plan and I notice that I am improving. By the time basketball tryouts begin, I believe I will be ready to show all of my hard work. My goal to make the varsity team will be achieved in November so that I can set another goal for self improvement.
My goal for this year is to make the varsity men’s basketball team as a sophomore. To achieve my goal I became dedicated to getting better in almost every aspect of my game. I sat down one day after basketball season was over last year and I wrote out an organized plan for becoming a better player. I was eager and ready for weight training and for playing for my traveling team just three weeks after the season. My plan was to weight train on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to become physically stronger and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I would have practice with my other summer team. With tournaments one to two weeks apart from one another, I would see how my training was progressing. Immediately after the tournaments I would think about what improvements I would have to make for the next game, like playing better defense, hustling, or improving my shot. My plan went on through the middle of July until our last tournament for the season. My plan continued with weight training. Instead of practice Tuesdays and Thursdays, I would run at least two miles at home to get in better shape. I am still following my plan and I notice that I am improving. By the time basketball tryouts begin, I believe I will be ready to show all of my hard work. My goal to make the varsity team will be achieved in November so that I can set another goal for self improvement.
A personal family tale I would like to tell is one about my grandmother. My grandma faced many adversities through the course of her life. One of her many adversities were her mother and father dieing when she was just eight. She was then forced to live with her grandmother who was dirt poor. During her time living with her grandmother she had no heating or air conditioning, cracks in the walls, terrible furniture, no money, and barely any food. The local nuns would frequently give them food. My grandma said that she felt like the poor kid on the block because no one else was as poor as she was. But when she got out of high school she got a job and started providing for herself. When she married my Dziadzia (polish for grandpa) they successfully had a family which consisted of my Mom, my Uncle Bernie, and my Uncle Dean. Today my Mom is a nurse practitioner, my Uncle Bernie is the strength and conditioning coach and linebackers coach at Wesley, and my Uncle Dean is a mover for a very successful moving company. Even though she told me there were some things that she whished she could do over, she felt that she did a great job raising a family and overcoming adversity. Now my grandma is happily living with my Dziadzia in Middletown. This emulates Benjamin Franklin because like my grandma he also grew up dirt poor and overcame it to become successful. The virtue my grandma performed as she grew up was resolution. Benjamin Franklin’s definition of resolution is perform what you ought and performs without fail what you resolve. My grandma did what she had to do to become successful despite growing up poor and facing all of these different adversities.
"order", well my grandmother is a very hardworking woman and she's everything you would want your grandmother to be, kind, helpful, loving,etc but she also has an urge for cleanliness and order and that urge is not a little one it's like getting arrested for dropping a tasty cake paper on the street.my grandmother doesn't go to bed unless she rids the house of it's smallest bacteria and puts everything in order. she makes sure before she sleeps she cleans and organizes places mostly because she is scared of having little creatures running around her house.Her room is the most organized thing I've ever seen and she makes sure she organizes her kitchen, her shopping lists and her food according to vegetables,snacks, and dairy.I just think if she loosens up she will see that a speck of dirt won't disorganize every thing.
The aphorism that I have chosen to talk about for this blog is “eats to live, not live to eat." I have an interesting family tale to tell about this aphorism. It was a Sunday night and my mother and father had decided to take my family out to dinner at Friday's. On our way there my oldest brother, Greg, said, "I can’t wait to get there, imp going to eat everything on the menu." After Greg said this everyone in the car laughed except my youngest brother, Kevin. When Kevin heard this he said to Greg and everyone else in the car, “Greg, it is better to eat to live than it is to live to eat." When he said it he put on a British accent that when very amusing. The whole family was shocked to hear Kevin, the youngest member of the family, repeat such a phrase. We were all wondering where he had heard the aphorism and how he knew what he meant. He later told us that he was study Ben Franklin in school, and that his teacher had taught his class about some of Ben Franklin's aphorisms. She also taught them what an aphorism was. I was surprised to hear that because at the time I did not know what it was. My family and I spent the rest of the night laughing at my little brother's surprising intelligence and questioning him to see what else he knew. Turned out that he didn’t know much more then that!
I have a personal tale that represents the theme of one of Benjamin Franklin's aphorisms. The aphorism, "God helps those who help themselves," is one that I have really come to acknowledge growing up. I've learned that you can't always depend on other people to do things for you. If you really want something, it takes hard work and determination to get it, and most of the time you have to do it by yourself. When I need to get something done, I try to follow this aphorism as best i can. My family and friends have both helped me in there own ways to become a more independent person. I know it's only human for us to need help, but on certain issues I feel that it's better if you stand your own ground. For example, if I know a project is due ahead of time, I know i need to space my time out to get it done, and usually people aren't going to be there to remind me or help me with it. The aphorism, "God only helps those who help themselves," means that if you strive for what you want, eventually you will get it but not without hardwork. Because the best things in life don't come easy.
To achieve my goal of breaking ten minutes in the 2-mile this spring track season i have contrived an orderly plan to achieve my goal. First i plan to average 50 miles a week this indoor season so that i have a strong base mileage for spring track. I also am going to do a significant amount of speedwork and tempo runs. My daily plan to achieve my goal is to eat healthy and benefical foods so i stay healthy. If i don't i will punish myself by adding a couple extra miles to my run that day. Also i plan on consulting with my coaches each day at practice to see what i can do to make myself better. I will also ice my legs each day after runs to speed up my muscles healing process so i can be 100% ready for the next day. Finally, i will get at least 8 hours of sleep each night so my body has time to recover. All of these steps that i have contrived will help me to achieve my goal just like ben franklin would've.
“Well done is better than well said.”
Everyone always says actions are louder than words, and its true. I think that phrase is what “well don’t is better than well said” is all about. You can prove something by the way you act. That being true, I can think of many times my actions have definitely been louder than words. One particular time, I had gotten in a little trouble. My mom told me that I needed to work harder and get better grades. I tried to say I was sorry and give her a little speech about how I knew I could do way better. She was understanding but that didn’t help me much. So I worked really hard for the next couple of weeks, doing anything I could to impress her with my schoolwork. I did any extra credit I could. I finally got all my grades up and looking good. She saw how hard I had been working and she was really proud. I didn’t have any fuel to do better, besides making her happy. So my actions showed her I was serious about it and that I really wasn’t all talk. I had told her a million times that I would do better. She had to see it. To do well is way better than well said because saying something is so general, when a person says something, they don’t always mean it but you can see their expressions when they do something. I think actions are easier to read than to say something.
My family and I were at dinner a few months again at my grandparents house. As at all my family dinners, there was lively debate and conversation. My oldest brother, of course, was the center of the conversation, because hes really smart and always has an opinion on everything. My middle brother and I were involved in the conversation but only minimally. My youngest brother began trying to direct the conversation at himself, despite the fact that hes twelve and the conversation was regarding the economy. Of course he was coming off as immature and annoying everyone, but he persevered, he was becoming annoyed and had even started being rude to my oldest brother. He kept interrupting my oldest brother, grandparents, and parents. Eventually after numerous interruptions and obnoxious remarks from Eric, my little brother, my mom suggested he go watch TV. He declined and continued talking, until she demanded he leave. this shows how the worst wheel of a cart makes the most noise. He had nothing constructive to say, but he made more noise than anyone else. He was trying to get attention, and he did, but it was the wrong kind.
I’m sure that you have been told at some point in your life “not to take things for granted”, and ‘to live for the present”. “To live your life to the fullest because if you’re not careful, it will pass you by in the blink of an eye”. After reading many of Ben Franklins aphorisms, it is clear to me that even back in the 1700’s these wise sayings were still being told. One of the most famous aphorism written by the ingenious Benjamin Franklin was “when the well's dry, we know the worth of water.” The theme of this dictum is that nothing in life should ever be taken for granted, because one day you’re going to wake up and it won’t be there. The reason I chose to write about this particular saying is because I can easily relate to it. When I was in 6th grade, my mom made my brother Patrick and I begin to participate in volunteer work. As immature and inconsiderate 11 year olds, we were extremely reluctant and annoyed that she would even think about making us take part in community service on a Saturday. Our task for the day was that we had to go and visit a homeless shelter dedicated to mothers and children in Philadelphia, and spend the day with the kids that were there. Upon arriving, I took note of how bad of a neighborhood it was… many of the houses had bars on the windows and there were policemen stationed at every corner. I went into the shelter with a bad and selfish attitude, along with the many other kids my age that were there, but once the children were brought out, our moods shifted tremendously. These 4-7 years olds had nothing… they had no home and little clothes and toys, and they were by far the most well behaved and well mannered children I’d ever met. We baked cookies together, played board games, and went outside on the playground. After a few hours with these amazing kids I was ashamed of myself for how selfish I had been going into this. Being with these children was by far a life changing experience that taught me to never take life and the things I have for granted. Just spending time and playing with these kids was enough to make them happy, and surprisingly I found that it made me happy too. Though most of the kids have grown up as I have, I still spend time at the shelter a few times a month.
One of my biggest meets of the year was coming up and I had to be at peak health which meant conditioning and eating right. My goal was to become healthier by cutting out junk food and eating in the right proportions, in other words I was trying to achieve the virtue of temperance, which was on Benjamin franklins list of thirteen virtues. I contrived a plan that would test my will power beyond its breaking point, I absolutely love food and sometimes I would give in to temptation. The plan was to entirely cut out all junk food such as sour patch kids, sour skittles, and my favorite Reese’s Cups. The other part of the plan was to eat food in the right amounts, a tough feat to accomplish for I love stuffed shells. I would go through the day with my plan in mind and strive to accomplish my goal. At the end of the day I would look back and if I had eaten something I shouldn’t have I would do crunches to make up for that mistake. Some days were better than others but I believe that I accomplished my plan for better health in order to get ready for the big meet.
fish and visitors smell in three days
Last summer we had tons of company staying at our house. It started with my Dads 50th birthday. For his Birthday his Mom and one of his brothers and nephews stayed at our house. Two days after they left another one of his brothers, a nephew, and a good family friend stayed with us. Now all of this was kind of fun and exciting, until my Mom's brother, wife, and two daughters came. At this point my oldest sister was in Wisconsin for Summer Fest, and my other sister was working at a day care, so I was the only one home with my cousins. I do not really have much in common with them, and they live in Florida so I do not know them well. My mom made me do everything with them. I saw the Liberty Bell about four times that summer. I was sick of them before three days!
“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise”.
Is this a cute expression from a man who might just need some sleep? Or is it actually a prescription to success? According to Ben Franklin, “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” is a definite way to a successful life. In today’s modern medicine there is a body of evidence to support this theory. I however, am 100% certain that this aphorism is correct. All my life that has been what my parents have always told me. Maybe they were just tired and wanted me to go to bed. However, I have tested this theory on several occasions. One night that really exemplifies the accuracy of this aphorism was New Years Eve ’07. We have a great party with tons of food and friends. The party of course lasts past midnight and into the early morning. We celebrate with music and fireworks. Needless to say the next day I do not feel “Healthy, wealthy or wise”! I sleep until noon and am groggy all day. I don’t study or get anything accomplished. Therefore as this aphorism says an unreasonable bedtime makes you unable to succeed and carry out normal tasks the next day.
"A penny saved is a penny earned"
-Benjamin Franklin
This proverb has a funny story that goes along with my brother's married life. My brother, Eric, is 24 years old and he got married last summer. Going into the marriage, my brother and his wife, Katie, were both still living with their parents. As my brother grew up, my dad always encouraged him to save money and put it in the bank. The incentive to save was the fact that my dad would match what he saved, when it was time for him to buy a home. Throughout his teenage years, Eric had many jobs and he saved many of his paychecks. He was still tempted to use the money for other things, though. When Eric turned sixteen years old, he wanted to use some of the money to buy a car. Luckily, he remembered the deal my dad with him and didn't spend it. Many other times, from his teenage years until last summer when he got married, Eric wanted desperately to use the money for other things. After the wedding, when Eric and Katie went to buy a house, Eric was relieved to remember he still had that deal made with my dad. Eric had over $10,000 saved up in his bank account, so my dad matched it with $10,000 more. Eric was able to put a $20,000 down payment on his house, along with the money that Katie brought to the table. Today, my brother still saves his money and knows that it has its benefits to save because he was taught from a very young age. It's easier to teach people things if they learn from a very young age. I'm glad that my dad has also made this deal with me, so I have also been saving.
A penny saved is a penny earned.
This aphorism relates to me because a year ago I wanted to buy this Gucci bag which cost four hundred dollars. I told my parents I wanted that bag and I asked if they would buy it for me. They said you can buy it if you can afford it. They were trying to teach me responsibility and the value of a dollar. I am the type of person if I want something I must have it. So I did jobs around the house and cut back on a lot of my spending, for example not shopping often and not going to the movies every week with my friends. After three months I had earned enough money to get that bag. But then I realized that I had really worked hard to earn this money, so instead of spending it all I put it in a savings account! (On a side note my parents were extremely happy with the decision that I had made, they said I was becoming responsible, learning the value of money and learning its hard work to earn money so for Christmas they brought me the Gucci bag!)
"He that lieth down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas."
This quote from Ben Franklin reminds me of something that happened with one of my friends about 2 or 3 years ago. We were best friends and always did everything together. In school, we never left each other's side. However, there was this group of girls that we "bad news." They were big on partying and drinking and not to mention, they were disrespectful to a lot of other students. As the days went on in school, my best friend and I started growing apart. Right before my eyes, she became part of that group of girls. She drastically changed into one of them almost over night. I remember telling her that as soon as she starting hanging out with them, she turned into a person I knew she wasn't. We eventually grew very much apart, but it was for the better. think the quote "he that lieth down with dogs, shall rise up with fleas" fits this story perfectly. It shows how quickly someone can change for the worse as soon as he or she decides to go along with them. Not only could this happen with teenagers, but it could've happened in politics in Franklin's age.
My aphorism is "A penny saved is a penny earned". I can relate to this aphorism by one of my family stories. Usually every year when it's my birthday I get some money from relatives and my parents. My mom always nagged me about putting some of that money in my savings account or my college fund. I never really listened to her until just a few years ago. One year I bought a few things that I wanted with my birthday money. Everything seemed great until there was this one day i wanted a new video game but, I didn't have the money for it. I asked my mom to spot me on that one and what she told me really made me think. She said to me "Well if you had saved any money from this year or any other year you would have enough money to buy the game". At first I didn't really catch the drift. After a little while it finally clicked I finally relized that to get what i want in life I must save what I earn or in other words learn to keep from spending right away and valuing what I can get. If I hadn't gotten this message then in the future i may have run into many financial problems.
My dad use to always (and still does every once and a while) recite the famous aphorism by Ben Franklin, "A penny saved is a penny earned" to my sister and I. This aphorism is an example of parallelism, by the way. We never really understood it and it always annoyed us when he would tell it to us before a major expenditure. Through my experience and from growing up I have learned that this aphorism is indeed very true and wise. It means that if you are going to spend money but you really do not, it is as if you have earned that amount of money. What Ben was trying to say is that it is best that you save your money rather than spend it wildly. I have gotten wiser with the way I treat money I earn or receive and have learned a lot about personal management from my dad. Now I save my money to purchase something I really want. I believe that some of Ben Franklin’s aphorism will still be in use for a very long time and I believe that this will be one of them. It is 100% accurate and everyone should learn to live by it.
“ Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” This aphorism of Ben Franklin’s closely relates to my life. I live very far away from school. Farther than most people would know, and because of that it is sometimes hard for me to adjust to the rigorous schedule I have. My schedule is exactly what Franklin says you should do. I go to bed every night at nine and wake up every morning at five. For a teenager or even an adult that is very early for both going to bed and waking up. But even though I do live that way, I am much wiser than before. I also play sports year round and am very studious. So I have learned to manage my time very wisely, to fit in sports, school, and sleep. I have also become healthier without even knowing it. Since I have little extra time, I find myself eating more nutritious foods, which hold off my hunger and keep me full throughout my crazy day. I also have a healthier life style; I am happier and more energetic than ever. In a way I have also become wealthier too. I do not spend my money but now only save it. So as you can see, I really do live through the aphorism “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
A couple months ago I decided that I wanted to become apart of a program called Las AMIGOS. This program is all about helping other people in third world countries be benefited with American culture. I would travel to some third world country in South America for six weeks next summer and help little kids learn to read and write. First I needed to be selected into the program, so I came up with a plan to achieve this. The first part of my plan was to become affiliated with the owners of this program. The second part was to fill out there question sheet they sent to me thoroughly and of the best of my abilities. The next part of my plan was to try extra hard in Spanish class considering that I would be traveling to South America. After that the next part was to work very hard on coming up with a sheet with a lot about myself for the phone interview that they would be having with me. The last part of my plan was what I thought to be the hardest. My plan was to raise enough money to pay for all my expenses on the trip. At the moment I am in the process of completing this plan and I hope to achieve my goal of being excepted and able to take part in the Las AMIGOS program.
A couple of years ago, my friends got me into basketball, and i have really taken it to heart. It all started with just playing simple games of 3 on 3 on my neighbor's court. Now, i have my own court that i practice on every day. Last year, (when I went to glasgow) my goal was to make it onto the basketball team. I worked hard for this everyday up until and through tryouts. I made a schedule with what skill I would work on every day of the week. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I would work on my ball handling. Every other day would be committed to my jump shot. I did squats and lunges every day to get my legs stronger. I did that to eventually be able to grab the rim. (I can now) I can really tell the difference in my skill from day 1 to now. I did make the glasgow freshman basketball team and this year i hope to make the St. Marks Jv team. At the beginning of my "basketball career" there was one player in my neighborhood that was by far the best. From day 1 I had always hoped to beat him in a game of 1 on 1. And guess what i just did last week? I can see my improvement and i am going to continue to get better as long as i can.
"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
Keeping some sort of schedule like this does help to make you healthy, wealthy, and wise. In my family this has always been a good quote to live by. We are always very busy and have many things to accomplish everyday. By my parents enforcing a loose curfew it helps me to get to bed at a reasonable time and get up the next day, well rested and ready for a full day. Living by this quote also helps with my baseball tournaments. The more rest you get the better it will be in later games. Getting to bed early and waking up early helps allot to get a new day started and to be ready to play. By being ready for the new day it helps make you work better which will make u wealthy. And by being ready you are also thinking more clearly which will make u wiser as you learn from experience. All of this applies to my baseball which I’m very serious about, proven by living this quote.
In Ben Franklin’s autobiography, he mentions 13 virtues a person would have to overcome to achieve "the bold and arduous task of moral perfection". The virtue I am going to talk about is,” INDUSTRY." Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. This applies to something that I was involved in the summer. My father is a Police Athletic League (Pal) Officer in Philadelphia, and works and helps many kids down in the very bad areas of Philadelphia. This is where the drug dealers are, the violence happens. And virtue applies to this because many of the kids living down there see my dads center as a way to get away and stay out of trouble. It’s one of the places kids know there safe and can enjoy themselves and not get sucked in to the tornado of peer pressure, or in that matter, anything that’s bad news. By going to this center, they do cut off all bad habits and actions. They become occupied and are always at that center, and for them, I know it represents the virtue of Industry. They waste no time there, and cut off all unnecessary actions. That’s how I can relate to a virtue of Ben Franklin.
The one thing I love to do is to play football. I've been playing football since the 4th grade and I can't get enough of it. I always try to work my hardest and excel in everything I do, just like B. Frank would have done. I work hard during the season, and try improve on other things during the off-season. After this current football season, I want to get much better for next season when I'm a junior. My goal is to improve on my acceleration and speed especially for my halfback postition; and, I want to gain at least thirty pounds of muscle for my linebacker position. I plan on following the workouts held for the football team on every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. During these days the football team conditions and lifts. I will make sure during my weight-training that record my weights and progressively increase the weight so I can build muscle. Along with the workouts, I will be taking protein supplements during the offseason. I will take two supplements on the days I workout and one supplement on the days I don't lift. The days I have off I will take some much-needed rest for my muscles to recover and I'll do a regimen of push-ups and sit-ups. I know these goals will be hard to achieve, but I'm sure I can accomplish these through my hard work and dedication.
Ben Franklin put together his thirteen virtues in order to try and become an all-around better person. Each virtue states a different goal that he wished to accomplish. This past August I decided to try out for the JV field hockey team here at St. Mark’s. Last year I played on the freshman team, however no cuts were made. This year not every girl who tried out was guaranteed a spot on the team, so I knew that I was going to have to work extremely hard to make it. I dedicated a lot of my time over the summer to training and to getting into shape. Every morning I would go for a run in my neighborhood, and three days a week my dad helped me with weight training. I would also practice playing field hockey with my cousin at a park close to my house. In the middle of July I also went to a local camp where we worked with college players to help improve our skills and game play. All of the hard work that I did ahead of time really prepared me for pre-season and try-outs, and I was able to successfully make the team.
I have never been an organized or orderly person. I have let virtues slip out of my mind at the worst of times. It is hard for me to relate to Ben Franklin who was so determined to perfect every aspect of himself. It is good to want to better yourself but I think Franklin was too obsessed with it, which can run a person ragged. I once had a friend like Franklin and her quest for perfection led to her to beat herself up over every tiny mistake. She was a master of the virtues silence and justice as Franklin describes them. She hurt none (but herself) and participated in no arguments. Though this meant she would not stand up for herself or her friends. She refused to enter into any sort of hostile situation and suffered for it. Fighting is certainly not something I encourage but one needs to defend themselves and the ones they love instead of enduring the pain silently. Tranquility was a virtue she could never accomplish. Her face was serene and her actions peaceful but her mind was always punishing itself for its most insignificant mistakes. From knowing such a person I cannot admire Franklin's list of 13 virtues. A person is supposed to make mistakes in life. All good habits make a boring person in my eyes. To live means to mess up, learn, and love even the weeds in your flower bed.
I have been cheering since i was in third grade. Now in tenth grade i am on the Varsity cheerleading team. Becoming a good cheerleader didn't happen over night I had to work hard every practice. Everyone says cheerleading isn't a sport and that it isn't hard. Throwing people in the air and having to catch them is pretty complicated to me. Cheerleading is considered one of the most dangerous sports. Many girls have died from broken necks or been injured. Gymnastics is a big part in cheerleading. You have to train hard and start with basics to move on and go on to more complex passes. To stunt you have to have muscle to be able to hold people in the air and to be able to catch them when they are falling from such a great height. Flyers have to have incredible courage and trust in their team mates to be able to know that they will protect them from getting hurt. For cheerleading i have been going to gymnastics for 5 years. In total I have been cheering for 8years. Each year i progress and hard work has brought me being able to be on Junior Varsity my freshman year and to being at the Varsity level in only my Sophomore year. I hope to Cheer in college and maybe get a scholarship for it.
I am using letter C to comment on this blog. A long time ago when i was like eleven or something, my stepdad and me designed a ball skills chart to prepare me for the travel soccer team iwanted to play for. This chart also included cardio exercises. Surprisingly for me i was very diligent with my workouts. I made sure i had plenty of time to complete the chart at least ten times before the try-outs. By he time the try-out date came along, i was ready for anything. I was fit and i didn't get tired. I was very aggressive, and determined. I didn't want all my hard work to go to waste. Afterwards, i recieved a phone call saying i was now apart of the team. All i had to do was to stay at my course and keep away the distractions. Now i consider myself to be a very hard working and skilled soccer player.
I chose option C and I have done a lot in my lif eto try and achieve goals, but one goal in particular is very important to me and I strive to try and keep my hopes for this goal alive. This goal is to get into either the University of Delaware or Penn State. These are both pretty difficult goals and to keep my hopes to achieve one of these goals I have to do many things. First I must keep my grades up because colleges don't mess around and will only take the students they believe can excell and graduate eventually. Next I must do extra cirricular activities to get a good "resime" for college. They want their students to do something after school like community service or sports or even a club that a school offers. I also need to stay out of trouble because if a college sees that you are causing trouble or like to mess around they will deny you instantly without even thinking twice. These are just a few things that I try to do every day to keep my goal of getting into U.D. or Penn State possible.
Benjamin Franklin’s virtue of tranquility, “be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable,” best pertains to my mother. I have a sister who is two years older than me, so of course we get into a lot of fights. My mom always tries to calm us down or help us settle all of our arguments. I feel that my mother is a very tranquil woman and is not easily angered, although we do give her many reasons to be angry. Whenever there’s an accident such as a glass breaking or someone losing something she is always patient with us and helps us to solve the issue instead of getting mad or frustrated with us. She is not easily disturbed by the little things. I feel that part of her tranquility and strength comes from her past experiences. My mother is a very strong woman because she has been through a lot during her lifetime, and she has come to realize that life isn’t worth getting worked up about the little things. She is always kind to me and my sister and understands that sisters often fight because she too has a sister herself. She realizes that these little fights are unavoidable because people living in the same house with each other that are close in age, like my sister and I, are bound to disagree with each other and but heads often. I respect my mom and look up to her for this quality. I believe that she is a prime example of Ben Franklin’s virtue of tranquility and I think he would be very proud of her.
In order to achieve all my goals I always come up with an organized plan to ensure I have enough time and know everything I need to know to be able reach it. Last year I ended up having to take four of my six finals, and I really wanted to ace them all so I came up with a plan in order to do so. Starting the week before the finals I would study a different one of the four subjects each night. On Monday I created a study guide and began studying science for an hour since that would be the first final I’d have to take. On Tuesday I filled out a study guide for English and devoted an hour to that, knowing it’d be the next final I’d take. Wednesday I took a break in order to complete any other studying and homework I needed to catch up on. Then Thursday it was back to studying for finals, and during that one hour I made a math study guide of what I’d need to know and began to look over it. Finally on Sunday I made my history study guide and began looking over it for a little more than an hour since I knew that would be the toughest. The week of finals had arrived and the night before each final I’d do some extra studying to ensure I knew everything for the subject of the following day. My plan turned out to be a success and I got A’s on all my finals!
One of the reasons America is the way it is today is because of great man who fought for our freedom. They risked everything they had to ensure our freedom. One of these great men was Ben Franklin. Ben was a very intelligent man who tried to live his life according to his virtues and plans. In my life I have set a plan in order to make the Varsity Lacrosse team this year. My plan is lift at the gym 4 or 5 times a week so I can get bigger, because that is a big part of lacrosse. Another part of my plan is to run at least 12 miles a week, because in try outs the coaches make us do a lot of running so they can see who is in shape and who is not in shape. The second most major part of my plan is to do as much camps and leagues as possible, because they will help give me the experience I need to help me succeed. The most important part of my plan is to just simply work on my stick skills, and work on all of the basics. Because without the basics you cannot work on the advance things.
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