Sophs #2 Journal: Be Like Ben
Post before Friday, November 22
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), examine your day each evening 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? About as easy and American as apple pie.
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 or practice that represents one of Franklin's thirteen virtues.
B. Tell me a personal or family tale or practice that represents the theme of one of Franklin's aphorisms. Write that aphorism as part of your title. Check out the "quotable Franklin" by clicking here.
C. Relate in detail some orderly plan that you contrived in order to achieve some goal.
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 or practice that represents one of Franklin's thirteen virtues.
B. Tell me a personal or family tale or practice that represents the theme of one of Franklin's aphorisms. Write that aphorism as part of your title. Check out the "quotable Franklin" by clicking here.
C. Relate in detail some orderly plan that you contrived in order to achieve some goal.
Remember, write a minimum of 200 words.
As Ben would have said, "Do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.
posted by JTF @ 9:45 PM
75 comments
75 Comments:
Ben Franklin wanted the world to achieve his goal of “moral perfection.” Franklin composed a list of thirteen virtues that he believed we should all live by. The virtues included temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. Out of Ben Franklin’s thirteen virtues, the virtue which my family and I embody the most is humility. My mom and dad have always taught me the importance of being humble. My parents tell me never to brag or gloat about an accomplishment and to always have humility in achieving success. They still want me to be proud of my accomplishments, but they do not want me to brag about it to others. Nobody enjoys being around someone who thinks they are better than everyone, everybody enjoys being around someone who is humble. We can be proud of our accomplishments as long as we are humble at the same time. My parents have had plenty of success in their individual lives, but I never hear them bragging about it. My mom and dad, even though being both very successful, are still very humble in their lives. My mom and dad have taught me that we should not brag to the world about something we might have achieved. My parents told me that we should instead show humility and want to achieve more.
A penny saved, is a penny earned
My dad really emphasizes the value of saving. He and my mom both believe in rainy day money, or saving money for a rainy day. For the summer before eighth grade my family had been planning a trip to Jamaica. A few months before the trip I began noticing that my dad was saving rolls of quarters. When I asked him why he said he was saving them so that he would have spending money in Jamaica. My little sister and I began saving as well. By the time the trip came I had $50 in spending money. Which was a lot at the time. While on our vacation we went on a shopping trip. All of the money that we had saved came in handy. I was able to get a lot of cool souvenirs and other really cool things. It made me appreciate saving money. I had saved money before then too. When I was in sixth grade I was able to buy an iPod that I had been saving for since I was eight. Whenever I babysit I always take some of my money and save it. Money is hard earned so it should be valued and appreciated. That’s why I save a lot of money because once I accumulate a lot of money I’ll be able to do something great with it.
B. "When the well's dry, we know the worth of water."
Many people often forget the importance of treasuring life and all its wonderful gifts; instead, they get caught up with material items and a desire to better themselves. Being American and having everything we could ever want at our fingertips, many of us disregard the importance of food, water, shelter, family, and friends. In fact, for many of us, it would take the "well to be dry" for us to "know the worth of water." For me especially, forgetting the significance of the little things in life is very common, and I often don't know what I have until it's gone. This is especially true for me in the case of my grandmother passing away in April of 2008. She lived only 15 minutes away from me, and I saw her every weekend, often spending nights at my grandparents' house on the weekends and eating pancakes at McDonald's in the morning. I never treasured or took advantage of me being so close with my grandmother, and looking back on it, I am ashamed to say I never showed much affection, despite the fact that she was by far my favorite grandparent. However, in 2008, when I was only ten years old, she became very ill with a cancerous disease, and not long after discovering the disease, she passed away. I was in a complete state of shock. It didn't seem real that my dear grandmother was suddenly just gone, the same woman I saw every single weekend and who loved me unconditionally. Almost immediately, I regretted never having shown much affection towards her (to this day I am just not a very lovey, affection person towards anyone), and I regretted never having taken full advantage of the fact that she lived so close and that I saw her every weekend. Even now, I miss her every single day, and I absolutely regret not realizing the true gift I had in having such a wonderful, loving grandmother. After this tragic experience, I certainly became more careful to be sure that I "know the worth of water before the well is dry."
He that speaks much, is much mistaken
Often in school or social situations, I’ll let others do the talking. According to Franklin, “he that speaks much, is much mistaken.” I find this to be very true. Having learned from my past mistakes, I’ve recently resolved to keep quiet unless I absolutely know the answer or the subject I’m speaking on. Those people who seem to speak all the time often have a false sense of self-confidence in what they are saying and of their knowledge. It almost seems that they may ramble or talk too much to compensate for the fact that they actually have no idea what they’re speaking about. I prefer to know all of the necessary facts and make sure I have a definite idea of what I will be saying before I speak. Now I’ve had many instances where I have spoken too much that my words lost their effectiveness and/or made a fool of myself. I find it much more beneficial to sit back and absorb the knowledge from those around me. Sometimes silence can be even more effective than unplanned or words that haven’t been thought out. I find that remaining quiet has worked out pretty well for me in my academics as well as in life in general, I can’t speak for those who speak much, but generally they seem less trustworthy, are often wrong, and are overly confident.
For my Ben Franklin journal, I am going to write about a time I contrived an orderly plan to achieve a goal. This goal I had in mind was typing my first blog of the second quarter before the due date, as I had recently had to make up several blog posts I had forgotten to do. I planned to sit down during my free period today and finish it then. And I did- I finished the entire senior blog post. When I got home, I checked schoolsville to find that I had done the wrong blog, so I had to sit down and do the correct one. I read through the paragraph and the three choices for my response. I couldn't think of a good family story, so I decided to respond to the third prompt, about an orderly plan that I contrived in order to obtain a goal. I sat down and completed the blog. Next time I will be sure to read the description before I start typing. Maybe if I'm lucky, Mr. Fiorelli will read my response to the senior blog and give me extra credit, as I have pretty bad grade. I also hope he puts in a grade for the two posts I made up late. But I doubt I will be that lucky.
A story that I have that represents one of Benjamin Franklin virtues is one of tranquility. A couple of years ago, my entire family was very busy getting ready for Thanksgiving. It was my families turn to have everyone over for dinner that year. We were all stressed because there was still so much to do with so little time left to do it all. And I have a huge family, so if everything was not done in time there would be many people missing out on the holiday fun. I was in charge of making some of the sweets for dessert. So I’m in the kitchen with my little sister and we are getting everything out to start baking some chocolate chip cookies and the counter is getting a little crowded. It was so crowded that I didn’t realize that the eggs were on the edge of the counter, and before I had time to realize it they had already fallen to the floor. My sister and I just looked at each other because we knew that our parents were going to kill us when they saw the mess that we had made. Before my parents came into the kitchen we tried to clean up the cracked eggs that were everywhere, but we were too late. My parents came down stairs and immediately started yelling at us, but it was mostly at me. I thought it was very unfair that I was getting all of the blame for this because it was my sister’s fault also. I wanted to yell back at them, but I realized that they were just yelling because that was one more thing that they were going to need to clean. I also took into account that they were probably overly stressed out and tired and that they were taking any anger that they had out on me. So just said I’m sorry and helped them clean up the eggs. I had to bite my tongue to not yell back at them, and to prove that it wasn’t my entire fault, but in the end my tranquility helped me not start an even bigger fight out of something as stupid as fallen eggs.
"Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; that is, waste nothing." Ben Franklin stated this in one of his 13 virtues. This virtue empazises frugality, which is part of my daily life. My parents have always been frugal people who watch how much they spend on excess items. However, we are not just frugal about money but frugal about how we spend our time. We do not just burn hours at a time watching television, but in more important ways. Also, my dad was brought up with over 10 other siblings, so his family is the perfect example of frugality. Growing up in Cleveland he didn't always have the spending money to get what he wanted. Luckily, he had a nice home and a hot meal every night. With America in such debt it surprises me that we spend so much money on possessions such as iPhones, laptops, and televisions. We need to take a step back and really see what our priorities are; those who are less fortunate barely are able to have 3 meals a day. We should use our extra money to help those who are in need. Not just on the newest Apple device.
In Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography he talks about thirteen virtues that he believes we should live by everyday. These virtues include temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. One virtue that my parents have always stressed in their lives and in my life is humility. My mom and dad have been telling me and my siblings ever since we were little to be humble and show humility when we do something. Growing up in a sports evolved world, my dad has always told me to act “like I have been there before” whenever I do something special. We should still be very proud of our accomplishments but we shouldn’t be bragging about it on the field or to others the next day. My parents are successful people and I have never heard one of them brag about jobs or things they have done. Someone who brags about everything is not fun to hang around with and makes me appreciate my humility. I think humility is a perfect pillar of St. Marks because I feel like we show humility as a whole school. We show humility on the sports fields and in the classrooms and it really gives St. Marks a good look and reputation. Humility is a virtue that I will always live by and will pass down to my kids.
I think my family represents Benjamin Franklin’s virtue of order. At my house, everything has its own place to be. Also, work has its own place too. You work at home, and be with your family when you are home. When I was a little kid, I always used to leave things laying around the house. My mom would always say, “ Everything has its place, now put it there.” Even today I still leave things around the house, and she still says that. Also, when my sister and I asked for new toys for Christmas, we would have to clean out the computer room to make room for the new games. We were not allowed to put any new games into the computer room until it was all cleaned up and every toy had a place. My family is just like Franklin’s virtue of order. Everything has its place, including work. My family is also big on saving, which is another one of Franklin’s virtues. With my sister in college, and me playing travel volleyball the costs add up. Whenever my mom can save even just a couple dollars she does. I do not think I have ever bought something that was not on sale.
“Does thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that's the stuff life is made of.”
Most people in this day and age often take many things for granted, especially the value of time. No one truly realizes the little time we have each day. We often find ourselves looking forward to events in the future instead of living in the present. Personally, I find myself doing this almost everyday, hoping for it to be the weekend or wishing for it to be my birthday. All of these things will come more than once, but I will never be able to get back this exact moment on this very day. That is why I value time very much and want to start living in the moment. I also catch myself saying, “there’s always tomorrow,” when sometimes there’s not. This is the reason why I always try to tell my family I love them or resolve any problems I have with people just in case I don’t get another “tomorrow” with that person. People may realize that life is short when someone close to them passes away, but they never really do anything about it. I want to live life to the fullest, and for me, that will involve appreciating the present moments rather than hope for a future day or event. Our time on earth is very scarce and is something we should not be taking for granted. You will never get back this moment right now; it will only be a memory. So why remember it as a time when you were wishing for something else rather than living your life?
They say that speech is silver but silence is golden. This may be the truest thing I have ever heard. Silence was one of Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues and it really applies to a story in my family. One day my sister, Tara, and I got into a huge fight and while we were fighting there were all of these terrible things and words coming out of my mouth. Things I said and didn’t mean and regret saying. Things like “I hate you”, “You’re the worst sister ever”, and “I hope you die.” After we were done screaming at each other she left. She had plans with her boyfriend so she was out the rest of the night. I felt terrible about the things I said. A little while later my mom received a phone call from the hospital saying that Tara had been in a car accident. A drunk driver hit her. We didn’t know how seriously she was injured, so we rushed to the hospital. The whole time I was thinking about the fight and how if those were the last words I said to her I would never forgive myself. When we arrived at the hospital we found out that Tara was going to be okay and that her injuries weren’t too serious. I am so grateful that my sister was okay and that I didn’t have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life. We still get in arguments sometimes but I know now that it is better to be silent than to say something I would regret.
Little strokes, Fell great oaks
Ben Franklin said, “Little strokes, fell great oaks.” Even though something may seem impossible, if you break it up into small parts and take one step at a time, you will be successful in reaching the final goal. This aphorism applies to my family personally. Fourteen years ago, my grandmother underwent surgery that forever changed her life. The surgery went incorrectly and caused severe nerve damage in her spine. The doctors did not expect her to be able to walk again, but she remained determined to overcome the spinal damage and become mobile all over again. She took small steps to try to reach the seemingly impossible goal of walking. My grandmother started by going through intense physical therapy. Then, she had numerous different surgeries to try to fix the damage in her spine. Today she still occasionally has small surgeries to help her with the pain the spinal damage now causes her. She also regularly attends physical therapy. She is still not fully mobile, but is able to walk by herself using a walker. My grandmother took a number of small steps to accomplish a large goal that at first seemed unmanageable to both her and the doctors.
“When the well’s dry, we know the worth of the water.”
When I was younger, I took everything for granted. I took my family, friends, and even life for granted. I realized after I lost my best friend unexpectedly that you really do not know the worth of a life until you have lost one. My best friend never got to graduate, never got to go to her dream college, and never got to go to her senior prom. I took her life for granted. I thought she would always be there. It was not until a few months after her death that I realized she really was gone. I took her time with me for granted and assumed that nothing could ever change. Since her death, It has been easier to realize how I need to cherish everything I have at the moment I have it. I treat everything as if I only get to experience it once. That way, I can make the best out of things and never take them for granted. My friend’s death taught me a lesson in learning to be happy with what I have and to make the best of things. I no longer am selfish in thinking everything is an endless supply. I also learned that no matter what happens to me, there is always going to be someone else who is going through a worse situation.
Ben Franklin created a list of 13 virtues to live by. These include temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. The virtue my family best represents is humility. To me, humility is something that can be achieved by anyone. My family values humility, as well as respect. My parents raised me to be a very humble and respectful person. They taught me that bragging and overweening people are not the role models I want in my life. My parents are both very successful, but they do not show it. They are my role models for humility and integrity. My parents taught me that no matter how proud you are of something, do not boast about it. Boasting, gloating, and bragging are all negative aspects that my parents do not want me to acquire. Although I am very lucky to have the family that I do, I will never rub it in someone else’s face. My parents also taught me that you can still be proud of yourself and your accomplishments while also demonstrating humility.
When the well's dry, we know the worth of water.
This aphorism by Benjamin Franklin means that you don’t notice how important things are in till their gone, or people don’t cherish the thing they have every day in till they are gone. I do often forgetting the things that are important to me that a lot of people take for granted like, clothes, a home, food, going to a good school, and etc. I often don’t know these things are important in till their gone from my life. Franklin’s aphorism relates to me especially because my dog Mia passed away in March 2013. I would always take her out on walks and play with her every day. I never realized how important these normal things to do with your dog were in till she got sick in March and passed away. I was completely depressed for about a month (I still get teary from time to time thinking about her) and would of done anything just to see her wag her tail and do that sill face she does. Losing my dog was my first experience of having anyone passing away in my life. Every day I miss her and wished she was just still with us. She was my first and favorite dog, and I think after this experience I would say I know the aphorism “When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water” pretty well.
B. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. ”
Often in life, people don’t usually do things they they should do before it becomes too late. Backing up files, renewing a subscription, finishing homework, these actions are often put back until the very last second. When something does go wrong, these now large problems spiral out of control. In more than one occasion, many people I know (including myself) have worked on something the day before it is due, only to something mess up. One time, my brother had been working on an essay that was due the next day. He was up until midnight trying to finish his work that he did not do before. About halfway through his paper, he spilled his drink when he reached over to grab something, and it short circuited the computer. He then had to go to a different computer and start all over again, since he did not save anything beforehand. If he had taken the time to write his essay before that, he could have easily finished it, printed it, and saved it in case he had to print additional copies. Taking the time to foresee problems and then solving them before they become big is what Franklin had said in this aphorism, and it would be wise for all people to take heed of it.
Necessity never made a good bargain.
Many people often look at gas prices and fresh produce prices as they skyrocket to never before seen highs and are astonished by the emptiness that will soon be their wallet after they pass through the register. However, it must be realized that the things that we need most, whether it may be concrete like food and clothing or abstract like friendship and love, will always come at a hefty price. Likewise, one must sometimes be ready to offer more than they had expected to live comfortably and also to give them a sense of appreciation for what they already have. My mother has always, for as long as I can remember, known the difference between what she wants and what she needs. Often times she may want to take a break from running us, her children, around from point to point but she can realize that that is a want of her. She breaks her back to make us happy children and has given more than a mother should to her children in order to do so. At times I'm sure she wants to just lay down, sleep, and get some peace and quiet but she also sees the need to support us in all that she does and to help us become the young men that she wants.
My grandfather emphasizes the trait Benjamin Franklin would have called resolution. I remember when I was younger my grandfather would always tell me about how necessary it was for you to live by your word. He rubbed that message into me and it seemed as if he has etched it into my mind. As I have grown older however, this has showed very important throughout my life. When I would depend on my peers to complete projects I quickly learned the meaning of my grandfather’s words. When the time came for me to look over all the gathered information I can remember felling angry that almost none of the people in my group had actually done what I had asked them to. After I had stayed up all night editing the work trying to glean what little useful information I could find in it. When I saw my grandfather the following week he asked me how I was doing with school. I told him about what had happened and he listened to me. When I had finished he looked at me and said now you understand what I meant when I said that when you give your word follow it through. You now know what it feels like to not have a person follow up on their word so never do it to anyone else. From that moment I have always attempted to honor my word. As one great man whom I will never be able to match taught me. Your word is your life now live your life not by what you say, but by what you do after you have said it.
Out of all the thirteen virtues that Benjamin Franklin gave that should be followed by all people as they live their lives, my family practices the virtue of justice the most. Although we do not fight crime or are police officers, we believe in fairness and consequences. Just because you are older does not mean youngest more rights than younger members. You can also not take things that don't belong to you. We believe3 in being responsible fop your own actions. If you make a mess, you are the one who has to clean it up. No one is going to help you when you are doing something wrong and get in trouble. You are responsible. It might seem strict, but I am glad we follow this virtue because it helped me to become more independent and self-sufficient.
My grandfather is a farmer. He farmed the land my great grandfather homesteaded. If there was one occupation that exemplified industry it would be farming. Industry means to spend every waking second working, choose your work wisely to make it beneficial for other people, and make sure everything you do is something that is needed. A farmer’s work is never done. My grandfather used to say, “Make hay while the sun shines.” This portrays the meaning of using your time wisely. One may get the idea that farmers are uneducated workmen who only know who to lift a hay bail. Unknown to them, farmers have to be accomplished, intelligent human beings. All farmers are mechanics, botanists, truck drivers, accountants, and businessmen. When the weather is cooperating, they are working to their last sweat to harvest their crop. When the weather is not cooperating, they are fixing or maintaining their equipment, managing their cash flow, or planning for their next harvest. You have to be born a farmer. You cannot just pick up a shovel or milk a cow and call yourself a farmer. Farming takes diligence to make sure their farm is the best one around. A farmer’s life is not only to please themselves because they love what they are doing but to grow the vegetation that feeds our country.
What is serving God? Tis doing Good to Man.
In my family, we’ve always valued service. We all love to volunteer, as it’s an easy and fun way to help people. Every Sunday my sister, my brother, and I help as teacher’s assistants for our church’s religious ed classes. We all also help when our church does it’s Vacation Bible School camp for a week every summer. I’m grateful to my aunt, as she’s the one who runs these programs and is the one who really got me interested in service through them. I also was able to work with the New Castle County Safety Town program during the summers leading up to ninth grade, a program that helps teach young children about safety, and one that I really enjoyed doing and hope to work with again soon. My brother also is an altar server, and he served the daily masses almost every day this summer because if he didn’t our priest wouldn’t have anyone, and he didn’t want the priest to have to be alone. My mom and my dad are also very involved in service. My mom goes out and volunteers a lot with her work, and she’s also very involved in helping my aunt with the various programs at our church. My dad also helps out a lot with running some of my brother’s boy scout projects, along with always volunteering to coach some of the many sports my sister plays. We all like to try to help out the best we can with these things because we’ve always believed that the easiest way to serve God is through serving others, a value that is shown in this Ben Franklin quote.
Ben Franklin incorporated a lot of virtues in his life that he believed to be important in his journey to achieve “Moral Perfection”. These thirteen virtues were temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. My family and I best represent the virtue of Humility. One thing my parents always instilled in me and my brother through sports is always be humble. They’ve always kept us and themselves on the balance of being confident and humble, they never let our heads grow too big. They keep us humble and down to earth. With all members of our family being dedicated athletes at one time or another we all understand being too over confident or too cocky can be dangerous, better to be humble and take in criticism and learn then to be cocky and not listen to anyone because you think you’re to good. Being humble keeps me hungry to fight for successfulness. If I bragged about past accomplishments I wouldn’t be focused enough to fight toward future successes. Being humble won’t always make you successful, but it can give you the hunger and thirst for being great. My family and I most certainly exemplify this virtue we are always humble and willing to take criticism and fight on.
“There are no gains without pains.”
My family says this to me constantly. They always say there’s always going to be that little “rough patch” when you try to accomplish something, but when you get through it, you know you have achieved. This aphorism can also relate to school work. The pain could be you studying all night for a test, the gain would be you getting a good grade. Even if you didn’t get a good grade your gain could be you realizing you have to focus more and study a little longer. Everyone always goes through a rough time in their life, but if they constantly say “no pain, no gain,” then they know that there’s something great waiting for them. You just have to always think positive but also keep realistic. You don’t want to get your hopes up for something miraculous for getting an “A” on a test. When I’m running, I’m in so much pain most of the time. But I know in the long run, it’ll all be worth in when I get better times. “There are no gains without pains” is a quote to live by on a day-to-day basis. Always do your best and you will achieve.
“A penny saved, is a penny earned.”
“A penny saved, is a penny earned,” is one of Benjamin Franklin’s aphorisms, short proverb like sayings, but that are simple and wise. This aphorism embodies one of Franklin’s thirteen virtues that Franklin deemed necessary to live, frugality. From a young age I was raised on many quality values, with frugality being a prominent one. My parents, especially my dad, would also try and show me the importance of even a penny. (He’s the guy who actually cares about that penny in change when buying something 99 cents.) I would always mock my dad, calling him a cheapskate or something resembling that, but as I grow older I realize that frugality is very important. I also believe that I am the only kid who took his advice seriously, as I see my brother and sister squander their money constantly. I plan to use his passed down frugality to save up and buy my own car when I am sixteen. I honestly do not believe my family would be the same as we are now without my dad’s thriftiness. It is one lesson that I have been taught from a young age that I hope will stick with me throughout my life and allow me to end up like him
My personality is the determined type to make a plan and go after it. When I set goals, they are always on my mind, and they never dissipate. This past spring semester of my freshman year, when track ended, I met with my coach and made a goal, and a plan to achieve it. My goals for the upcoming fall cross country season were to be first team all-state, break all of the sophomore records, and go under nineteen minutes for a 5K. After setting these goals, the next step was to generate an effective plan to put me in a good position for the fall season. To be fit and prepared to meet my goals, I knew I had to dedicate my whole summer to training in the heat, no matter how bad I wanted to stay in the air-conditioning. My summer training consisted of thirty to forty or more miles a week with one down week every three weeks with weight training, and ab and core workouts almost every day; I kept a log to track my progress, and I religiously filled it in every night. The hardest part of summer training was actually motivating myself to get outside and just run, but my goals were pasted in my mind, and they weren’t going anywhere. Before I knew it, summer had come to an end, and preseason was beginning; I was in the best shape of my life, and looking forward to meeting my goals. Right when the season started, I hit the ground running, and by the end of the state meet, I had met all of the goals I had been working towards for almost six months. Goals take sacrifice and commitment to achieve, but once they are conquered, it is like breaking through a barrier you never thought you could.
"Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee."
One of Ben Franklin’s aphorisms is “Keep thy shop, and thy shop will keep thee.” I think that this can apply to anything, not just shops. I relate this saying to talent. You have to use your talent and nurture it for it to be any good to you or others.
Over the summer I received a letter that allowed me to audition for a chance to sing with a national choir at Carnegie Hall. I had to prepare for a long time for this audition. First of all, my mom set up some voice lessons with a teacher who would help me prepare. We selected my All-State audition piece for the audition tape. I had to practice well and frequently, due to the nearing deadline. My voice teacher had to teach me different techniques to help me make my singing better. After several voice lessons and practicing, it was finally time to record the piece and send it in. After waiting for a few months, we finally got an email, saying that I was accepted to sing with the choir in February.
In every endeavor, you should work hard, be determined, and disciplined. Eventually your talent will help you succeed.
“Who is rich? He that rejoices in his portion.”
Nowadays, people usually forget how fortunate they truly are. It seems like some people are never happy with what they have. People tend to care too much about materialistic things; all they want is money and once they have it, it’s not enough. Not just adults and teenagers, but young children, too. It’s actually sad how young first graders always want the newest action figure or the newest Barbie and once they get it, they want something else. Of course everyone isn’t satisfied with what they have at one point or another, the problem is when someone is never satisfied and becomes ungrateful for what they have. Ever since I was a young child, my parents emphasized on being thankful for what I have. They taught me that others would love to be as fortunate as I am and I am lucky in comparison to others. Over the years, I have learned to be thankful for what I have because I have seen how little others have and they are still so happy. My mom always says, as long as I have my family I’ll be happy. I agree with what she says whole heartedly. Even at my family’s lowest points, my parents never fail to stay positive because they know that we don’t go through half the struggles other people do, that is why I can relate to this aphorism especially. I feel like what Ben Franklin was trying to say in this aphorism is that people shouldn’t dwell on what they do not have, yet what they are blessed with and I feel like everyone should put this lesson into practice.
Journal A
My family follows Benjamin Franklin’s saying “necessity never made a good bargain,” very well. As much as they can, I have noticed people in my family will buy something that is on sale but they do not really need at the time. This has always seemed silly to me but their excuse is “I just couldn’t pass up that great deal.” I have recently realized how closely this follows a virtue of Ben Franklin. This is a very wise saying, it is much better to get something on sale that you may not need at the time, but will eventually use it. I guess what they all think is that they do not want to be caught without it off-guard and have to run out to a store very quickly and pay whatever they have to under pressure. This could result in paying a lot more for something, especially if something breaks. My dad follows this virtue by keeping a plethora of devices and hardware to fix everyday problems that you might not always be prepared for. Such as a light bulb burning out or a broken chair leg; we always have what we need to fix it on hand. Now I personally do not value these practices, probably not as much as I should too, but hopefully when I am the one who has to keep things together I will understand the genius of the moral if Ben Franklin.
“Who has deceived thee so oft as thy self?”
This quote may come across with a negative connotation for some. Chronic self-deception has been a flaw of mine for as long as I can recall. Whether it be lack of self esteem or simply deluding myself with anxiety and stress, I always seem to confuse and depress myself. Despite the many instances where that is the case, there have been a select few events where I surprise myself. I find the courage to abandon my self-doubt and overcome my biggest obstacles. The event in which this is most evident is my Saint Marks Cross Country career. All my life I have played soccer, a sport that doesn’t require a lot of distance training, in the autumns of middle school and junior high. When I started freshman year, I learned that girl’s soccer was a spring sport, forcing me to choose a different sport for the fall. My mom signed me up for cross country without telling me and I got so incredibly angry. I thought I was going to be the worst one on the team and that everyone would either hate me or alienate me. Boy was I wrong! Sure, the first season was difficult, and my times weren’t incredible, but I had more fun that I thought I would. However second season, this past season, was the first step in what we runners call “making the jump”, meaning the jump from JV to varsity. My personal best from last year was 27:44 for a 5K, not awful. This year, I decided to work harder than I ever had before, and push to try and be a better runner. Though my body ached and my mind was weary of fighting for so long, I kept on running. My last race this year was at Bellvue State Park, the flattest course in Delaware, known for giving monster personal records. I mustered up all the will and determination I could, and ran the best race of my life. I ended up finishing in 23:57, a full 3:47 off of last year. I came through the line feeling on top of the world that day, and received numerous compliments from both teammates and coaches. I realized that I had it in me to succeed. In addition to this, I came out of my shyness shell and ended up meeting some of the best friends I’ve ever had. All in all, I’m excited to see what I can do next year, and have made a long term goal to be varsity my senior year. As Ben Franklin states, you are your biggest critic, not anyone else, you are. No one, not even yourself, can tell you that it’s impossible. Even though I still tend to deceive myself, I stop and think of all the things that I have accomplished and remember that I am a champion. And that, is no deception…
Resolution. Resolution is the course of action determined or decided on. Franklin focused on bettering himself with the help of his determination and resolves. Also, my family does this too. Mostly resolution in my family and to me was introduced by my dad. I was seven years old, and I was riding in his sleek red “jag,” and I told him that I wanted to play tackle football this year. I also told him that I was a little bit worried because I would be the only third grader on the team playing against fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. He said things about how I have to be determined to not let my size interfere with my play. He said something like you don’t have the most size to be good at football; you just need to have the most heart. Then he said ten really powerful words that were really small in the English language. He then proclaimed, “If it is to be, it is up to me.” He instilled that confidence and determination to better myself not only in football, but in everything. Ever since that day, those ten words have had a big place in my heart. Also looking back I see my dad’s intentional or unintentional use of logos. He basically said before you don’t have to be big to have the most power. Then he utters those magic words, “If it is to be, it is up to me” which are very minor words, but are also colossally powerful words. My dad has always fused resolution to better one’s self in all of his children’s minds. By doing this, he bettered us as individuals, but also as a family.
“Eat to live, not live to eat”
In America we often forget how fortunate we are. We often have a surplus of goods and can afford to spend money on things we want instead of what we need. Many people waste food nowadays. They don’t see it as a necessity to eat all of the food and it is no big deal to throw extras away. People in Africa may get one meal a day and yet we still have the audacity to waste perfectly good food. Cavemen and Native Americans only killed for food and never wasted any part of their kill. They only took what was needed and ate only to survive. People also constantly eat food and often overeat. My family tries to limit both of these awful habits. We only put what we can eat on our plates. We also save leftovers and eat them the next night. We also limit the amount of snacking we do and the amount of food we eat. We also try to not overuse or waste other things such as plastic bags and electricity. We realize that not everyone is fortunate enough to have these things and only use what we need when we absolutely have to.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Since my brother and I were young children, my parents have always stressed the importance of eating healthy and staying physically active. My mom would often even use the phrase “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” as an encouragement to remain healthy. I can distinctly remember my mom using that phrase on the way to the doctor's when I was sick. Since I did not like going to the doctor's, my mom used the phrase in an effort to make me want to choose a healthy lifestyle. My parents recognized the importance of not only being academically strong, but also being well rounded by playing sports such as soccer, baseball, or basketball. By playing multiple sports, I could develop myself both physically and socially by improving my skills while playing and also by making friends and learning to be sportsman like in both victory and defeat. I was encouraged to eat healthy by choosing fruits and vegetables, such as apples, over unhealthy snacks or sugary desserts. While other kids would eat a lunch filled with salty, fatty, and unhealthy foods, my parents would pack me a lunch that contained food that would keep me healthy both at the moment and for a long time to come.
“When the well is dry we’ll know the worth of water”
My dad has always said that youth is wasted on youth. He’s always stressed how teenagers have all the things adults wish they could go back to, but teenagers don’t know the worth of their youth. My father has also always talked about how people in general don’t know the worth of their life until it’s too late. In my family appreciation has always been important. As a family we are very blessed; we are all healthy, we are not struggling in any way and we all love each other very much. For that reason my parents have always taught my sister and I that we should cherish every moment of our lives. They would always tell us that one day we may regret not appreciating the precious things and even the little things in our lives. I know that they want me to realize the worth of my life right now instead of when I don’t have so much ahead of me. I know that this is the case for many people. Many times when people have something in their lives that is great they don’t realize the worth until it’s gone. From what my parents have said I always make a conscious effort to realize the good things in my life right now rather than someday when some of those things are gone.
My family has always stressed hard work and determination. Ben Franklin values thirteen particular things, and two of them are resolution and industry. These two virtues go hand in hand because hard work is linked to becoming successful and accomplishing great things. Resolution relates to seeking a goal and setting your mind to it in hopes of grasping it at the end. This virtue is dependent on the virtue of industry. Industry relates to a hard earnest work ethic, something that both Ben Franklin and my family value in order to be successful. Hard work is very beneficial and it should be embraced always. My parents hold high standards for my siblings and I, and they constantly embody resolution and industry in everything they do. Nothing came easy to them; they had to work productively and honestly to accomplish things and stand where they stand today. Industry stresses that it is better to work as hard as you can and accept the results for what they are, rather than have things handed to you and learn nothing. “Hardwork beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” This is a quote that my family and I embody in everything we do. Even if you may not be great at something, you can strive to become better through determination and endurance. And if you do, you can beat out someone whose carelessness overpowers his or her talent. My parents have taught me to do things for myself, so that in the future my experience will aid me in becoming successful. Just like Benjamin Franklin, my family and I practice the virtues of resolution and industry.
“A child and a fool imagine twenty shillings and twenty years can never be spent.”
To me, this means that while you are young and foolish you wish for wealth but when you have lived your life you wish for more time because experiences are irreplaceable. This is important in my family and both my parents and grandparents stress the fact that money is not everything. You can have all of the money in the world but that doesn’t mean that you are the happiest person in the world. I personally would rather spend money on an experience or to vacation somewhere with friends and family rather than buy something such as a car or TV. This is because experiences will always be kept in your memory while material things may not be around forever. My grandfather always tells me that there are two paths in the world of jobs and degrees; one to money and one to happiness. He tells me to choose the road in life that brings me happiness and if that brings wealth than I will be a very lucky man. Some people find happiness in material things and wealth, and if that is the case then they can choose the fast track to money in a business career on Wall Street and be happy with their money. The most important things to me in life are experiences which become memories, because in the end the memories are all that we have.
“God Helps them that help themselves.”
When my parents were buying their first house they searched house after house to find the perfect fit. Little did they know that this was going to take months. They attended many open houses and didn't like any of them. They soon realized that the realtor did not truly understand what they were looking for. But one day they decided to drive around looking for houses for sale. They searched for about two hours and finally they found the perfect house. They knew it was perfect as soon as they pulled up, because the house had just been put on sale that week. It was the perfect size and price and they soon bought the house. If they did not go and search for that house they might have ended up with something they really didn't want. By taking the initiative they got what they wanted. Benjamin Franklin 's aphorism has the same type of meaning and goal. He says that God helps the people who do things for themselves and that is exactly what my parents did.
Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a big ship.
This aphorism is related to how you spend and save money. This relates to me because I love to spend money on little things. I always think that it’s only a dollar here and there, but after a while it really starts to add up. You can tell if instead of spending it, you save it. Then you count it and see that there is actually quite a bit of money. I did this with all my one dollar bills and coins for a year. I had a couple hundred dollars after that year. It showed me that you do not need to spend money on pointless little things because you can save it and buy something nice. By doing this, it taught me to be more frugal and save my money. My parents would always tell me to save it, but I would never listen to them because I was young. I had to learn for myself how to manage my money.
Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
I believe that people shouldn’t waste time and that they should get things they need to do done. I try as best as I can do always be doing something productive. Whether its practicing for a sports team, doing schoolwork, or simply feeding the dogs I always like to be doing something. As Stephanie Stroco once said, “If you aren’t doing something, then you are doing something wrong.” These infamous words are good to live by. Now granted you can’t always be doing something. I’ll be the first to admit that I get distracted sometimes instead of doing homework. But it’s important as Ben franklin said to cut off all unnecessary actions. It may not be easy or some people, but in the end once you’ve realized how much you’ve accomplished without being distracted it’ll be well worth it. Plus once you’ve finished whatever you’re doing you’re done. Unlike if you stop every five minutes and check twitter or something. The bottom line is if you have something to do, do it.
“Does thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of.”
Even before I knew Ben Franklin had written this quote as one of his aphorisms, this was a saying I have always lived my life by. I tend to make my goals more long term than short term, so I know that I must plan in advance how I am going to achieve a particular goal. Most of the time, I need to budget my time according to how I feel I want to accomplish my goal, and there is always work to be done to ensure that I can maintain my goal as a possibility for me to achieve. One example of how I try not to squander my time is in my schoolwork. I tend to try and be a perfectionist, and maintaining good grades is just one way I try to be the best at what I do. I try to do as much work as I can in school, and when I am home I budget my time so I can finish all of my homework and study for any upcoming quizzes or tests. As I said before, I always keep the bigger goal in mind. I use school as practice for using my time efficiently so when I get to college and eventually find a job, I will be able to manage my time well enough so I will not be stressed out by the amount of work I plan to have. Ben Franklin never squandered his time on Earth and he is known as one of the smartest men to roam this planet. I hope that by following in his footsteps I can one day make the impact that he had on this world, too.
“When the well's dry, we know the worth of water.”
This is one of the things I live by. Many people take things for granted in their lives, whether its money, people, or anything really. In April of 2008 I lost one of the most important people in my life, my Poppop. I saw my Poppop almost every single day since the day I was born. He was my bestfriend. From my earliest memories I remember him picking up my brother and me from school, waking up early to make us our favorite breakfast on the weekends. He was truly the greatest man I have ever known. He always was there for me no matter what things was going on for him. He always knew how to put a smile on my brother and my face. He taught me many things, and everyday I think about what else I could’ve said to let him know how much he meant to me when he was still here. That’s where the saying “when the well’s dry, we know the worth of the water,” comes in. Cherish every moment you have in your life. And cherish every moment you have with the people in your lives because you never know what could happen.
Ben Franklin wrote a list of thirteen virtues that he wanted everyone to live by. The virtues were temperance, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility industry, sincerity, justice, silence, order, resolution, frugality, chastity, and humility. The most important virtue to my family and me is to be sincere. My parents have always taught me to be sincere and to be a good person. This has had big effects on my life and, my dad had a saying that "the truth always comes out" and I have kept that in mind, and it was a great saying. I have always tried my best to be honest with everyone in my life and anyone that I meet. Due to this, I rarely lie and I do my best to keep my friends honest and sincere. This is also, why I try my best to do the right thing, instead of what is easiest. This can be hard sometimes, and I try to do I as often as possible, especially when my personal opinion is involved. Even though is a hard virtue to uphold, my family and I represent sincerity the best out of the thirteen virtues listed by Benjamin
Franklin.
Fear to do evil and you need fear nothing else.
I believe strongly that this is how you should live your life. If you fear to do evil, you always want to do the right thing. This concept is very important to me. If you are always doing the right thing then everything else will fall into place. I believe that the best people in this world are those who always try to do what is right and just. If people learned to make better choices and decisions then life would be easier for all. I try to follow this as well as I can. Making the right decisions can often be hard for people to do but the reward is worth it. If you try to do everything well then you will have nothing to be guilty about and no reason to feel ashamed. You are making good choices. If you consistently do the right thing you will eventually be recognized for it at one time or another by someone. You will be seen as a trustworthy, reliable, and responsible individual because you have a well-developed conscious. The fear to do evil is almost like the want or will to do what is right. It may be hard but I strongly believe that it is a great thing to live by.
To me, the sport of swimming is a mind game. Those who go in confident will succeed and those who are ill prepared and nervous will fail. In order to insure my success, every night before I go to bed I read the goal sheet that I have made for myself. Reading this goal sheet before I go to bed every night reminds of the goals that I want to achieve and the necessary steps it will take to achieve my goal. I put goal times on my sheet, along with the things I need to do at practice and throughout the day to achieve these goals. Things I need to do during the day include drink water, eat a meal that will energize me for practice, and mentally prepare myself for the grueling practice ahead. If I read these things each night before bed, they are in my head and as I go through my day I am reminded of the certain things I need to do to achieve my ultimate goal. If I take the necessary steps, my goal will be easily attainable and I will be able to achieve anything I set out to do in the sport of swimming.
A. Frugality
Ben Franklin had a image of a perfect world and went by thirteen virtues to obtain it. Those virtues included temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, and chastity and humility. One of Ben Franklin’s thirteen virtues that I think is very important is frugality. Franklin believes in avoiding waste and having extreme care in spending. My family and I like to adjust our life on frugality and the importance of not wasting. Within this economy, many people are having a big shortage of money. My parents have taught us to be thrifty shoppers, but to also know our limits. My mom and dad say that because of the worldly struggle to regain economic stability, costs are very limited on to what is needed. As everyone around us if very quickly losing money because of their many previous purchases,we are still doing fine with our frugal attitude from the start. Ben Franklin says that, “You can spend on your wants all day when times are good, but if you don’t save for a rainy day you’ll be in trouble later on”. People are starting to finally realize to value frugality and give it the honor it deserves.
A Song A Day Keeps the Conductor Away
Using this phrase in a literal sense, Franklin inferred that if one took car of their eating habits they would be healthy. By eating “an apple a day,” one avoided the struggles of seeing physicians for medical consolation. He symbolized that one should do what ever it takes to stay on top of himself. In my life the saying could be changed to “A Song a day keeps the conductor away.” By inferring that if one is to practice their musical work every day that they would stay on top of their work musically. If I do my level best and rehearse every day then my conductor will not have to come to my aid as often or with complaints. By striving to do one’s best they already are one step ahead of where there were before.
A Song A Day Keeps the Conductor Away
Using this phrase in a literal sense, Franklin inferred that if one took car of their eating habits they would be healthy. By eating “an apple a day,” one avoided the struggles of seeing physicians for medical consolation. He symbolized that one should do what ever it takes to stay on top of himself. In my life the saying could be changed to “A Song a day keeps the conductor away.” By inferring that if one is to practice their musical work every day that they would stay on top of their work musically. If I do my level best and rehearse every day then my conductor will not have to come to my aid as often or with complaints. By striving to do one’s best they already are one step ahead of where there were before.
Ben Franklin composed a list of thirteen virtues which he strived to better himself at. Of these thirteen, silence was the one that stood out to me the most. Ever since I was little, I have been a quiet person because I was always taught that silence and respectfulness are two of the best qualities you can have. My family always taught me that all actions, physical or verbal, have either good or bad consequences. They taught me to think before I speak because words can do just as much damage as anything else. Half of my family is boisterous and occasionally inattentive to what comes out of their mouths. As a result, debates and arguments arise when we are all gathered together and they each decide to express their opinions on important or controversial issues. None of them listen to each other and it just becomes a big problem. Although this does not happen often, it happens enough for me to realize why silence is sometimes the better option. Through both observation and personal experience, I have learned that in some cases it is better to just sit back in respectful silence while other people talk. It seems to me that those who talk constantly are those who get into the most difficult situations. I’m not always the best at keeping my opinions and remarks to myself in everyday life, but I like to think I know when to restrain myself and keep silent when it matters most.
Necessity never made a good bargain.
One of Benjamin Franklin’s most famous aphorisms, or witty sayings, was “Necessity never made a good bargain. This means that if a person is in need of something, they will do whatever they can to get it, rather than looking for a bargain, or an easier or cheaper way to obtain or do something. A personal family story of mine exemplifies the truth in this aphorism. We had recently driven to Maine to celebrate my cousin’s graduation from high school. It was a good time, and now we were returning home. We were in Connecticut when we accidentally drove over a screw and blew out our tire. This was unlucky, as it was a Sunday, and many parts of Connecticut still have blue laws in place on Sundays. As a result, there were very few stores open to repair our tire. After we replaced the broken tire with the temporary tire, we drove around Connecticut for about 4 hours trying to find an auto-repair store that was open. We eventually found a store that would replace our tire. We wound up paying more than we should have for the service to be done, but we needed it. This fits in with Franklin’s aphorism because we didn’t waste time or effort trying to get a good deal to replace the tire; we needed the service done and we found a place that would actually do it, so we agreed to overpay. Our necessity for a new tire did not make a good bargain on what we paid for it.
The aphorism “Eat to live, not live to eat” relates to what my father and mother would always say to me as a kid. Whenever we would go out to eat at a buffet or something like a buffet, my father would always say “Don’t take too much! Only take what you can eat!” meaning to not waste the food you get. This aphorism is basically saying that you should not be looking only to eating in the day. “Eat to live.” It is saying that you are just eating enough to stay healthy. “Not live to eat.” This is saying that you should not hoard food and do nothing but eat all day, as my dad would always tell me, “you should only take what you can eat.” Don’t ever waste food and be considerate because people that are less fortunate do not have much to eat so you should think of them when you want to eat and be fortunate that you do have enough to eat. You should not waste food because of those starving would very much enjoy that food and make sure that none is wasted.
“People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages.”
Society is pretty strange nowadays. Between all the diverse personalities and views of different people, it is difficult to respond when asked what the definition of an overall “good” person is. A common answer would be someone who is kind, helpful, or generous. Something you rarely hear is what you should not be in order to be a “good” person. It is easy for someone to think of what they should do. It is easy for one to believe that they are doing the right thing at all times. It is hard to actually do it, and it is even harder to maintain humility while doing these things. In today’s world, everyone is told that they have to be the best possible human being in all aspects: appearance, intellect, physicality, and so on. The problem with this, however, is that everyone is told to be the stereotypical best person out there, not to be the best that they can be. This can ruin the self-esteem of a person very easily if they are not deemed one of those “perfect” people in society. This can also provide the basis for an enormous ego in people who are looked at as superior in the common sense of the word. Benjamin Franklin could not have stated it in a more perfect and clever manner, “People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages.” We all have our strengths, and we all have our weaknesses, and we all have to deal with these aspects of our lives. I take it upon myself to take a moment and just be thankful for who I am and what I excel in, whether it is for my parents or for God Himself. If we all were to accept ourselves as who we are and love ourselves (to a modest degree, that is) we could make this world a better place.
Benjamin Franklin hoped the whole world would obtain “moral perfection”. Franklin said that in order to achieve “moral perfection” one must focus on thirteen core values. These core values are temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. Of the thirteen core values, my family and I best represent humility. Humility is the state or condition of being humble, or having a modest opinion or estimate. My parents have told me to always be humble and to never brag or gloat about academics, athletics, or anything else. My parents said to me that nobody wants to be around an arrogant or cocky person. They said it is all right to be confident and proud of my accomplishments, as long as I do not brag about it to others. My parents show a great example of how to be humble. In fact, they are the epitomes of humility. Despite their successful careers and varied accomplishments, they never brag, boast, or draw attention to their accomplishments. Even when I was younger and I would brag or boast, my parents would bring me down to earth.
Whenever I want to achieve a goal I always start by writing it down. Whether it is in my planner, on a calendar, or even just a note, I always write it down. I will always (well, almost always) work at my goal a little each night if I can. If my goal is to study, I will bring what I need to study home each night and study a little each night. I will also ask others to help me with achieving my goal. For instance, I will ask a family member or a friend to quiz me on the material I am studying. I read somewhere once that if you repeat an action everyday for three weeks straight (twenty-one consecutive days) that this action will become part of your everyday routine without you even thinking about. If my goal is to run a mile everyday, then I will keep up with it everyday for twenty-one days and eventually I will have completed my goal because it will become part of my everyday routine. Repetition is ultimately the key to achieving a goal. If my goal is to get better at something, I will work on it every day and repeat it until I have accomplished my goal.
Benjamin Franklin created thirteen virtues in order to be successful. There is one of these virtues that I personally like to live by. This is the virtue of resolution. I believe in this because I am very determined to be the best at everything I do. This includes sports, school, family life, and my friends. To focus in on one of these, I really am firm in my belief that I can be a great athlete. To me, this means I need to outwork all of my competitors, which I am willing to do. Using the virtue of resolution, I have set my goals high and will do anything to achieve them. With football, I know how hard I have to work and train in order to be great. I am aware of my talents and know what weaknesses I must attack. Lifting weights constantly and running hard all the time are only a couple of the things I need to do. I also must mentally train myself for the battle my team goes through on the field. There is no giving up in football and that is why I love it. I know I must continue with resolution as my main virtue if I want to be the best I can be.
Ben Franklin's virtue of frugality is a very big part of my family. We are always trying to save money in our family in anyway possible. My mom, for example, never goes shopping without a coupon. Though it does sometimes get annoy how she will never buy anything without a coupon, she always has a way to save money. Also, my family never buys anything that is not on sale. "A penny saved is a penny earned" is actually a mantra my family lives by, as they constantly have reasons to save. Though it is a recession, I have a feeling even if the economy was in perfect shape, that my family would still try their best to save as much money as they possibly can.
The aphorism “necessity never made a good bargain” pretty much sums up my life. I am a dedicated shopper. Over the past year my shopping addiction has grown significantly. I’ve learned a few lessons along the way, one being you can survive without this piece of clothing. A few months ago, I received my confirmation and got a nice sum of money with it. I immediately came home and went on the website over my favorite store TopShop and fell in love with this sweater. However, this sweater was eighty dollars, I was so tempted to buy it, but I wanted to wait because I didn’t want to spend all my money they day I got it. A week later I came to the conclusion this sweater was an essential to my wardrobe. When I went back to order the sweater, I saw that it was in the sale section and it was forty-five dollars instead of eighty. The deal got even better at checkout TopShop took another 30% off and it came with free shipping. If I would not have waited to decide if this sweater was a necessity I would have paid about three times the amount I did end up paying. I think this is what Franklin meant by this aphorism, that if buy something because you believe you have to have it, your ultimately going to pay a higher price than you would if you waited a little.
Well done is better than well said.
This is one of Ben Franklin’s aphorisms. The aphorism basically means if you do an action its better than talking about how you’re going to go do something. Another saying similar to this is, “easier said than done.” This aphorism could describe how my brother and I wanted a pet dog. We begged our parents for months, and they finally gave in after we persuaded them. I promised that I would get up every morning, no matter how early or cold it was, to walk the dog. My brother said that he would feed and constantly pay attention to our pet after school. I thought it would be easy for me to get up early to walk a dog, but I was wrong. I slept over my best friend’s house one day, and she had a husky. We stayed up late talking and finally went to bed around three in the morning. A few hours later when it was still dark out, her husky started barking outside her door. It was frigid and raining outside and I felt sorry for my friend as she had to get out of bed to walk the dog. I realized that it is a lot easier to say you can do something without actually doing it. We ended up never getting a dog, but instead we got a cat, who never need to be taken outside.
"Have you something to do tomorrow? Do it today."
How many days have you said, “I’ll do it tomorrow.”? Probably many. One thing that I know is that my mother tries never to say this. She is always doing something to keep her day exciting. Our weekends are never usually lazy. A few weeks ago, on a Saturday, my mom woke me up early and we went to breakfast. Then we went bike riding, and after that we went to the mall. We bought all my homecoming stuff! After that we went to see a movie. All in one day. These things are usually done spread out through a series of three or four days, but my mom decided to do it all in one day. My mom is an early riser; she gets up early and makes the best breakfast. She refuses to let time pass. She has taught me never to waste a day. All of the things we want to do “tomorrow” will probably never get done. Procrastination is the worst to get involved with. Instead of procrastinating, just use your day to the fullest and get things done.
I’ve written a few “orderly plans” in my time, and continue to do so when something needs to get done. I’m a boy scout and was recently elected to lead the troop, which also means I’m in charge of all of those with positions of responsibility. We all get together every month in a meeting to plan out a course of events for activities and trips that we want to do in the troop. It’s my duty to write out a plan for the meeting so that we get as much done as possible. First things first, I have to communicate with the scout master of our troop so I know of upcoming events and meetings. After that I need to type up an agenda for the meeting, including all upcoming trips as well as information on who’s running the next troop meeting. As this is happening, I send out emails to those that are running these trips and meetings so that I know their plans and can convey them or tell them to convey them to the scout master. I send out a reminder email for the meeting, which includes the agenda and any other important documents that relate to the meeting, and answer all questions regarding the meeting. In a nut shell, this is my orderly plan for handling these meetings.
Genius without education is like silver in the mine.
In my family, education is highly valued and of paramount importance. My parents understand that education is the key to success in this society. They have put us in excellent schools, and they expect us to try our hardest. Though we are given a lot of freedom with our studies, if we do not meet their standards, then they watch over us like hawks. Yes, that can surely be annoying, but is it for the best? Of course it is. Intelligence cannot be wasted by just not trying. As a kid, school seems pointless and boring, but it is the key to being able to do what you want to do. Once it gets time for college applications, my parents say that we do have to go to college. They do not care which one or for what we want to study, just that we receive a degree. They know that without that, we cannot get as far as our own dreams take us. My parents put all of these guidelines in place to allow us to be success in whatever field we could want. Ben Franklin understood that no matter how much intelligence you are born with, it will be untapped without schooling. My parents have taken his aphorism, “Genius without education is like silver in the mine”, and applied it to our family, all in hopes to be as success as he had been.
At one point in his life Ben Franklin tried to become morally perfect. To do this he came up with 13 virtues that he would practice, everyday, one at a time for a couple of weeks, every year. One of the virtues that my family and I practice is frugality. To be frugal means to be thrifty and when someone is thrifty that save money and are careful with how much you spend. Whenever I am out at the mall or something I do not usually buy anything when I go it is usually to just go and hang out and walk around with friends and family. When I do buy anything I will not buy a lot of stuff and it won’t be very expensive. It’s the same thing for the rest of my family we don’t always buy stuff while we are out but when we do we don’t buy a lot or expensive stuff. I think everybody should make sure that they practice frugality on a regular basis it is a good virtue to follow and if you practice it you will not go on a crazy shopping spree whenever you are at a store or mall.
At one point in his life Ben Franklin tried to become morally perfect. To do this he came up with 13 virtues that he would practice, everyday, one at a time for a couple of weeks, every year. One of the virtues that my family and I practice is frugality. To be frugal means to be thrifty and when someone is thrifty that save money and are careful with how much you spend. Whenever I am out at the mall or something I do not usually buy anything when I go it is usually to just go and hang out and walk around with friends and family. When I do buy anything I will not buy a lot of stuff and it won’t be very expensive. It’s the same thing for the rest of my family we don’t always buy stuff while we are out but when we do we don’t buy a lot or expensive stuff. I think everybody should make sure that they practice frugality on a regular basis it is a good virtue to follow and if you practice it you will not go on a crazy shopping spree whenever you are at a store or mall.
When I was in 8th grade, I devised a plan. After being persuaded into joining the track team, I told myself that I would prove others wrong. I wasn’t quite sure how I would do that because I did not know what my strong suits were. After a few practices I figured out I was one of the fastest girls on the team. I then had a plan: a plan to become the fastest girl in the division. I quickly found out that it would take much longer than one season to achieve that goal. At our first meet, my coach decided to assign me to high jump as my field event. Granted, I had never done that before so I was very nervous I would mess up and make a fool of myself in front everyone. After a few practice jumps, I kind of got the hang of it. As a matter of fact, I placed second in that meet. I actually had the highest jump but because I had taken more jumps than another girl, I came in second. From then on, my goal was to beat every girl in high jump. My plan was to eat healthier, train harder, train longer, and focus more. Every day I ate a half bagel with peanut butter for breakfast. After school, if I did not have practice, I would come home and practice my falling technique on the couch and work on kicking my feet up during my jump. Also, there were specific practices I attended with a different coach to better my jump height and technique. Not every meet location had a high jump pit and bar therefore I was not able to test my ability against other girls. Soon, championships arrived. Because of a previous knee injury I switched one of my relay teams so I would not jeopardize their chances of winning and I could focus more on high jump. When the time came, I was the first to go. Eventually as the bar was raised, more girls could not clear it, which increased my chances. By the height of 4’5” only one girl was left, but she did not manage to clear that height. Luckily, since I was the first to go, I was already safe. To see how high I could jump, they continued to raise the bar. Finishing at 4’7”, I had won the championships and broke the school record. Even though I quit track after that season, I will never forget the wonderful feats I accomplished and how my name will forever be on a plaque on Christ the Teacher’s wall.
As a scout, my ultimate goal is to achieve the rank of Eagle. My plan to achieve my Eagle Scout status is comprised of four steps: proceeding through the ranks, obtaining it in a timely manner, achieving the rest of the eagle-required merit badges, and carrying out a project that benefits my community. I have to go through numerous other ranks before reaching the apex of scouting. The ranks in chronological order are Scout (whenever someone first joins or crosses-over from Cub Scouts), Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, Star, Life, and finally Eagle. Each rank can have different numbers of requirements ranging from seven to fifteen. My plan is to achieve a new rank every six months starting at age eleven (when I joined Boy Scouts). At the moment I am a Life scout striving for my Eagle rank. With this plan in mind, I should be able to accomplish my goal before I am seventeen. As a requirement for each rank, I had to earn Eagle-required merit badges. So far I possess ¾ of the needed 12. In order to attain my goal I need to achieve the other fourth of the Eagle required merit badges. Finally, it is essential that I perform a project that benefits the community such as painting a church or building shelves for a local elementary school. In scouting there is no higher rank than Eagle and it is a prestigious position that I believe that I can attain by using the guidelines that I have set for myself.
When the well's dry, we know the worth of water.
Everyone in their life has had an experience where they have something, and they never realize how important it is to them until it’s gone. For me, my boyfriend was one of those things. Earlier in May, my boyfriend and I got into a big argument. Like all couples, we had our first big argument. I was extremely mad at him, so I ignored him for a while. I went to school the next day and continued to ignore him. At lunch that day, I could do nothing but think about him. During those few hours that I was angry at him, I realized just how important he is to me and just how vital he is to my happiness. I realized how much I cared for him and how much he really meant to me. I broke down in tears in the cafeteria and he hugged me and we made up. In that small argument I realized how important my relationship was to me. That argument with him taught me that I shouldn’t ignore him because he was and is very important to me. To this day, I continue to remember how important he is to me, and to this day, while we argue occasionally, I never let him go because I know that “when the wells dry, we find out the worth of water.” While I ignored him, I realized the worth of my relationship and I am very glad I learned that lesson.
Industry. To be industrious is to make the best use of every moment you have and to never waste your time in sloth. It is to devote all of your time to productive matters—never those that are frivolous. Industry can easily be prevented if one has a mind that tends to wander which is an issue I tend to struggle with. I can always find something to distract me especially, as it always goes, when I desperately need to focus. This past summer I made an agenda much like how Benjamin Franklin would have. However, it was not an agenda to better me as a person to moral perfection but and agenda to help me accomplish all my summer homework within the first two weeks of summer vacation. I had homework for every school subject and at least a week’s worth of homework for each class but I was very determined, at first. I made a list that designated particular time slots for particular sections of particular subjects on particular days. I got very fed up with my plan in the first couple of days because it was summer. I had no interest in doing schoolwork. My mistake was that I should have taken everything in stride. It didn’t need to all get done at once. If I had better spaced out the work and left time for breaks I might have gotten everything done sooner instead of leaving it until the last week of summer because I had procrastinated. In spite of my organizational attempts, I remain a procrastinator but I’m not perfect and neither is Ben Franklin which he found out as her strived for moral perfection.
Industry. To be industrious is to make the best use of every moment you have and to never waste your time in sloth. It is to devote all of your time to productive matters—never those that are frivolous. Industry can easily be prevented if one has a mind that tends to wander which is an issue I tend to struggle with. I can always find something to distract me especially, as it always goes, when I desperately need to focus. This past summer I made an agenda much like how Benjamin Franklin would have. However, it was not an agenda to better me as a person to moral perfection but and agenda to help me accomplish all my summer homework within the first two weeks of summer vacation. I had homework for every school subject and at least a week’s worth of homework for each class but I was very determined, at first. I made a list that designated particular time slots for particular sections of particular subjects on particular days. I got very fed up with my plan in the first couple of days because it was summer. I had no interest in doing schoolwork. My mistake was that I should have taken everything in stride. It didn’t need to all get done at once. If I had better spaced out the work and left time for breaks I might have gotten everything done sooner instead of leaving it until the last week of summer because I had procrastinated. In spite of my organizational attempts, I remain a procrastinator but I’m not perfect and neither is Ben Franklin which he found out as her strived for moral perfection.
Industry. To be industrious is to make the best use of every moment you have and to never waste your time in sloth. It is to devote all of your time to productive matters—never those that are frivolous. Industry can easily be prevented if one has a mind that tends to wander which is an issue I tend to struggle with. I can always find something to distract me especially, as it always goes, when I desperately need to focus. This past summer I made an agenda much like how Benjamin Franklin would have. However, it was not an agenda to better me as a person to moral perfection but and agenda to help me accomplish all my summer homework within the first two weeks of summer vacation. I had homework for every school subject and at least a week’s worth of homework for each class but I was very determined, at first. I made a list that designated particular time slots for particular sections of particular subjects on particular days. I got very fed up with my plan in the first couple of days because it was summer. I had no interest in doing schoolwork. My mistake was that I should have taken everything in stride. It didn’t need to all get done at once. If I had better spaced out the work and left time for breaks I might have gotten everything done sooner instead of leaving it until the last week of summer because I had procrastinated. In spite of my organizational attempts, I remain a procrastinator but I’m not perfect and neither is Ben Franklin which he found out as her strived for moral perfection.
One of Ben Franklin’s virtue that my family practices is order. When I was little, my mom started to teach me about order. Everything needed to be in the correct place and it had to be ordered. I would leave my toys on the ground and my mom would always say “Brianna, is that the right spot for your toy? Put it back in it’s right place, this will help you when your older!” When you first walk into my house, you’ll see that everything has a specific spot and it’s extremely ordered. If one thing is off, my mom needs to clean the entire house and make sure everything is in the correct spot. My Grandmom and other family members are like this too. Before i go to bed each night, I put everything away and organize my room to perfection, so my mom doesn’t go ballistic in the morning! I’m always getting told to do something involving organization. On the other hand, my dad is not very good with order, but we have rubbed off on him a little so now he is starting to put more things back everyday. Each day my mom reminds me that when things are organized, it’ll help you in the long run.
Out of Franklin’s thirteen virtues, I think my family practices industry. “Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions.” Industry is all about hard work. My family is very hard working. My dad is in the United States Coast Guard, so due to his job he goes back and forth from Delaware to Boston. He has to leave home a lot and sometimes is gone for as much as two months. He hates leaving home, but he does it so he can support his family. When my dad is gone my mom is practically a single mom. She works full time, goes to school, manages the household, and supports me and my sister’s activities. She does this all on her own. I would say that my parents work hard to take care of the family and I appreciate that. My parents are always encouraging me to work hard. They are always giving me a challenge such as taking all honors courses at St. Mark’s. I always have to keep my grades up and be responsible. They always are telling me to “always work hard because it will always pay off.”
“God helps them that help themselves.”
Trying to find the key to success has been searched for throughout most of man’s existence. Some people look to fate and others look to God; however, the real secret is within the individual with the most drive behind their wants and wishes. “God helps them that help themselves.” Benjamin Franklin meant by these words that in order to receive grace from God, you must prove to him and yourself that you will put in the effort to achieve your goals. I do my best to live this aphorism everyday through my work in sports, school, and other hobbies. I push myself everyday to successfully accomplish the most I can in any given amount of time. ALthough, there are some times that I need outside help to accomplish my goals. These are the times I ask for God’s help to accomplish or achieve whatever I need. Before I ask God for help, I make sure that I have done everything in my personal control before asking Him. I can honestly say that I have received help from God every time that I have done my best to help myself. On the contrary to the belief that good things come to those who wait; better things come to those who go out and work to achieve their goals.
Ben Franklin made every attempt to organize his life. He organized and planned everything he did hour to hour. While I can only hope to ever be remotely close to being as organized as Ben Franklin I can still organize myself and my life to the best of my abilities. I do attempt to organize many aspects of my life like for example how much I train for sports and how much I study for a specific subject in school. I specifically want to talk about how I organize my school work and my studying. While it can be difficult to finish all my homework on days that I have practice I can still finish all my work the majority of the time without issue. When studying I will rotate between several subjects in an attempt to study as much material as possible without just sitting down and mindlessly reading over information. I usually complete my homework before I start to study, and when studying I will give priority to classes I am having trouble with or that I have a test coming up in. So for example if I have a math quiz and a history quiz on the same day if I have a higher grade in history or if I understand the information better I will study for math first.
Alex Scott
“Necessity never made a good bargain.”
I think that this is a great observation because it is so true. If you need something desperately, and the person who is selling you something knows it, you’re going to be charged a lot more than if you didn’t need it. For example, gasoline: almost all vehicles require gas. The people who sell it know this, so they’ll charge you $3.34 a gallon because they know that you’ll pay. Another good example is bottled water. At amusement parks like Disney World, people will charge up to four dollars for a liter of water. That’s more than four times what gasoline costs, and gasoline is more expensive to make. Because you need that bottle of water on that hot summer day, you’re going to be gouged for it. The same goes for food, razor blades, ammunition, electricity, and so on. If a salesman has got your arm, he’s going to twist it. It’s the same principle of scarcity in economics. If something is plentiful, it will be cheap. If not, it’ll be expensive. The quote “Necessity never made a good bargain” is my favorite of Ben Franklin’s. It is accurate, clever, and kind of funny.
“Tis easy to see, hard to forsee”
Out of all Franklin’s aphorism the most to me because in my life I don’t usually see problems, until they are upon me. My parents would always say to me “You need to plan ahead” or “You should have considered the consequences.” I’ve always ignored them thinking I’ll solve my problems as they come. But, what I should have been doing was “foreseeing” them before they had come to plan ahead better and not be so stressed and destroyed by them. A particular example of this would be long term assignments for school. As usual I would always pass them off and save them for the last minute, cramming to get the work in. The proper solution would have been to just think ahead instead of waiting. This applies to almost every aspect of my life, and affects me every day. It would make sense that this aphorism would mean the most to me and be the most relatable.
Just like Ben Franklin, we all have goals that we strive to achieve, but to achieve these goals; you have to have a plan in mind. Last spring, I wanted to get in shape for my 10th season of softball in my life. I had let myself get a little out of shape by not exercising, and not eating healthy like I should. So I came up with a game plan. Every morning I would run 1-2 miles, and then throughout the day I would avoid snacking and eating junk food and try to eat healthier. Along with eating healthier, I also tried not to eat as big of portions as I was. Eating less and eating things that were better was my goal. By time softball season came around I felt great and I was one of the best shaped on the team. Since I had been doing my routine for so long, it became a habit. Since it became a habit, it has just become part of my lifestyle, even though I don’t run like I did, I still eat healthy and eat less which has helped not only me play softball better, but it has made me feel better about what I was doing.
Let’s face it, if we don’t have a plan of attack as to how you want to tackle an obstacle in everyday life it probably will not get done. But even if you are lucky enough to pull it off by just winging then that’s awesome but its not going to work every time. Benjamin Franklin knew this as well. Franklin was a very intelligent and time regimented man who for a large chunk of his life strived for moral perfection. He established his own set of thirteen virtues that he felt were necessary to practice in order to achieve moral perfection. Franklin also developed his own orderly plan of attack so that he could accomplish his goal. I often come up with my own plan of attack so that I can more affectively accomplish the things that I need to complete. Although the plan may not go exactly as I envisioned it at least I have established a sense of how I would like to accomplish my task even if I have to alter my plan of attack. The orderly plan that I used most often was during football season, it was our practice schedule and eventually led up to our game plan for Friday night’s game. Monday the varsity would watch the previous game film and workout while the JV had their game. Tuesday was defensive day which I would prepare the varsity defense by running the scout team quarterback and prepare them for what they would be seeing and how they should defend it. Wednesday was offensive day and that’s when the Head Coach would establish the offensive game plan for Friday night. Then Thursday was review/ special teams day. We had this day so that any questions that the starters and backups may have had would be cleared up. Finally it’s Friday, we get to cap off the week and go out there and play some football. Now our week long plan would now go into affect. But like I said more often then not the plan of attack becomes altered based on the adversity that you faced during the game. But it is very important that you come up with a well designed plan of attack so that you are prepared for any bumps in the road no matter the task at hand.
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