Sophs #2 Journal: "Be Like Ben" (post before January 6)
Post before Tuesday, January 6
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 250 words.
As Ben would have said, "Do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.
posted by JTF @ 11:13 AM
34 comments
34 Comments:
"When the well's dry, we know the worth of water."
What Ben Franklin is trying to say here is that you don't know the importance of what you have until you no longer have it. Also, we should be thankful for the things we do have and not take anything for granted. This quote relates to me and my family because my dad has not been home a lot recently due to my dad's work making him travel to Nebraska every week. I always want to go outside at night and shoot basketball, but with my dad being away for work and my mom having to drive my brother everywhere, I have nobody to rebound for me. Also, in the mornings I have to make my own breakfast now, and at night I have to make my own dinner. Another thing I like to do with my dad is play ping pong, but now I can't when he's away. My dad has also realized the importance of being home because he does not like being in Nebraska in a factory all day and then go be in a hotel room all night by himself. Also, my dad can only see my basketball games on the weekends which stinks because he and I both like it when he comes to watch me play and joke about the game afterwards. I have never really realized the importance of my dad's presence in my life until recently, now that he travels a lot. Now that the, "well is dry," I truly do know the, "worth of water."
“Eat to live and not live to eat.”
This aphorism means that you should do necessary things, but not over-do them. A lot of people in today’s world live to eat; although food is necessary for life, it is not the solution to all of life’s problems. I, personally, have been trying to work on eating to live instead of the previously mentioned opposite. People’s obsession with food is starting to bother me. I understand that it’s important, but it’s on most peoples minds all day; food occupies our thoughts whether someone is thinking about what he just ate, what he’s about to eat, or when he’s going to eat next.
To understand my point, first, assume you are someone who “lives to eat.” The first thing on your mind when you wake up is breakfast; there are so many possibilities of what you could eat. Regardless of how long you took to decide on, prepare, and eat breakfast, shortly after, or even during it, you think about what to have for lunch that day. Once decided, maybe you even spend your whole morning preparing a lavish meal for the middle of your day. Finally the time comes and you eat your delicious lunch. By this point it’s mid-afternoon, all you’ve done today is prepare food and eat it. Guess what! Now you have to think about what to do for dinner. You decide on what to eat, do something for awhile that (hopefully) does not involve food, and then it’s time to make dinner. You eat dinner and possibly some dessert, then go to bed shortly after. This day involved not much more than food, which I find saddening.
After considering that scenario, pretend that you are now someone who “eats to live.” You get up in the morning and grab a protein bar for breakfast on the way to the gym so you have some energy for your daily workout. After returning, you have some free time to do whatever you want. Maybe you have a smoothie to replenish. A couple hours later, you make a sandwich for lunch. Then you have some more free time. Around dinner time you cook something that’s easy to make. You eat just enough to be satisfied, not stuffed. You've had a healthy day, and you can wake up tomorrow ready for whatever the world throws at you.
Considering both scenarios, which is better. The you that “eats to live” has a healthier lifestyle and more time to do activities that they want. The you that “lives to eat” may have had more indulgent meals, but it’s important to remember that food is not everything. Using food to cope with hard feelings is not healthy, it can be harmful. I’ve heard it said that “too much of a something good is not always good.” I think that food is definitely one of those things. This is why I am trying to practice the role of “eating to live.” I know it will only create a better future for myself. Franklin’s aphorism could have been interpreted many ways, but I chose to interpret it literally. As he said, “Eat to live and not live to eat.”
"Fish and visitors stink after three days."
Every Thanksgiving my mother's parents visit. Usually they only stay two days, Turkey Day and the day afterwards. Except the Thanksgiving of 2013 was a different case. Because of the warning of snow and my grandfather's terrible vision my mom begged them to stay until the snow warning had cleared. After a delicious dinner (kudos to my mom) and then a day of nonstop rummikube and about a couple million "back in my day.." stories I was ready for them to leave. Unfortunately for me, Tom's River, New Jersey was than covered in a blanket of snow that my grandfather was just not capable of maneuvering through and my grandmother never felt like it was important enough to ever get her license. So, they stayed an extra day at my mother's insistence. And then the worst possible thing happened, it snowed in Delaware. I mean, it was obvious that a snowfall was coming, all the weather stations had predicted it about two weeks in advance of the holiday and the bird's had eaten all of the berries on our tree earlier than expected. With a grain of salt, I faced the facts and my brother and I were contrived to spend more time with our grandparents than we were accustomed too. After we ate all of the Thanksgiving leftovers and I went back to school my grandparents left. When my mom asked me to make the bed our guest bedroom the second i opened the door I was hit with the scent my grandparents had left. You all know the smell I'm talking about. So yes, fish stink after a number of days of being left out and apparently people can too.
"Work as if you were to live to a hundred years, pray as if you were to die tomorrow"
This means that we never know when Jesus will return, so we should keep working towards our goals but pray on a regular basis and get saved as soon as possible. An example of this in my life would be my aunt. She has been fighting breast cancer for over fifteen years. She has been declared cancer-free multiple times, with the cancer cells coming back later. Throughout this long process, she had still been working hard seven days a week. She didn't have to work since she never felt well after the chemotherapy treatments, but she still did. She truly did pray as if she were to die tomorrow, because it was always a realistic possibility. She honors everyday that she's here and healthy because she knows that one day something just might go wrong. I think this is why she is a religious person. Also, she tells us how she accepts the cancer because it is all in God's good plan for her. I've heard the statement, "God gives the toughest battles to the strongest people," and I agree with it completely. The whole family knows the struggle that she's gone through and we love and support her along the way. She still works towards her goals with the obstacles she faces and goes about thanking God for all she has.
"People who are wrapped up in themselves make small packages."
This aphorism means that people who are selfish, aren't very pleasing to others. This aphorism relates to me because even though I tend to get caught up with my own problems, my parents have always taught me to help others when they need it. They have also taught me that I should put others' needs before my own. This "practice" makes me overall a better person because when I look past my own needs, I see people who are not as fortunate to have the things I have. Sometimes I may get too "wrapped up" in my own problems, but my parents are there to remind me that being selfish will only bring me people who dislike me because I neglect to worry about anyone but myself. I think that this aphorism is very important to live by because it helps remind people to have a good character and that there are people out there dealing with more serious issues. Selfishness is not a good quality to possess because it shows a lack of sympathy and consideration. There will always be a time when I tend to focus on myself and my needs, but then I remind myself that the world doesn't revolve around me, and being overly self-involved isn't very pleasing to others. My parents tell me that when I get overly self-involved, it takes away from the nice person they know I am. When people meet me, I want them to remember me as nice or funny, not as a inconsiderate or self-involved. They tell me that selfishness will only ever poorly reflect my character.
“To err is human, to repent divine; to persist devilish.”
I think that Ben Franklin meant when someone may mess up or sin it is in human nature to sin and no man or woman is free from sin. I personally can relate to this because I have sinned many times whether it is lying to someone, being rude to someone, or cheating on a test in the past. I believe the second part of Franklin’s quote means that if you ask for forgiveness you will be lifted in to God’s grace. I can also relate to this when I had wronged someone I often ask for forgiveness from them and I sometimes have to ask multiple times and hope that they will be gracious enough to grant me forgiveness. In my opinion the third part of Franklin’s quote means that continuing to sin will bring you closer to the Devil and further away from God. I yet again can personally relate to Franklin’s thoughts, sometimes when I do something I may not be allowed to I will almost always say that I won’t do that thing again. Most of the time that statement is a lie which is effectively sinning more and if I get caught doing that action yet again I will lie again and say that I won’t do it persisting with sin.
A Plan for Running Success
Last summer, I planned out the running I would do for the upcoming cross country season. I decided how long and far I would run every day to meet my goal of two hundred miles for the summer by figuring out how long I would have to run every day. I set aside a time to run daily and made sure I never skipped a run. I also bought a GPS watch so that I could accurately track the miles I ran each day. I tracked my progress by writing down the location, distance, and time of every one of my runs. I used techniques that I learned during my practices in track and cross country to make sure my runs were productive. If the weather was bad or I could not get a ride to where I usually ran, I would practice on my treadmill instead. Each day I ran the distance I had set for myself and I was able to reach my mileage for cross country. This training and organization helped me become a much better cross country runner this season. Without a plan that organized my running I may not have been able to keep track of my mileage and reach the target I had set. I believe that planning my running out will help me for next summer when I try to reach three hundred miles. Hopefully even with a job, I will be able to plan out everything for myself so I can attain my goals for next season.
When I was in the seventh grade, my mom promised me an iPhone if I got straight A's for the trimester. It seems like an easy thing to do, but my middle school was not that easy and I was in all the highest classes. Also, an A had to be a 93 or above. I had wanted an iPhone for so long, so I was determined to work hard and get the grades I wanted. I had to study every night and never miss a homework assignment, which I never really did before that. Every day after school, I would do all my homework and study before dinner. That really helped me manage my time, and that habit has still not worn off to this day. When I got my report card at the end of the trimester, I was so excited! I had all A's, and I knew it was all because I worked so hard. I didn't know what I was capable of before, but once I had a great incentive that really appealed to me, nothing would stop me. My parents were very proud of me, and I got my first iPhone. I realized that if you really want to accomplish something, no matter if it's something smaller like getting all A's or something big like being the first female president, working hard is all it takes. I also realized that all I had to do to be successful in school was to study, which I had just discovered at that time. If only I did that before!
A. Usually when my Dad makes rules for me to follow they generally deal with one of the virtues that Ben Franklin wrote about. This virtue is moderation, and he constantly says (to the point of being redundant) that everything has to be in moderation. This is a family practice that to this day I have to deal with. Whenever I do anything, play a video game or watch TV, I can only do it for so long before my parents make me stop and do some chores or go do homework or anything else to make up for the time that I spend featherbedding. Ever since I was a child that has been the way I have had to grow up and spend my time, for every hour I played video games, I had to spend 2 reading a book or doing math or anything else that my parents considered productive. My brother also grew up the same way, with the virtue of moderation being something that was very important in my parent’s approach to how we spend our time. And practically all rules my parents make relate to that virtue, such as how when I was little I could only play video games for an hour a day, or how I shouldn’t use my computer for more than 3 hours in a day, et cetera. All these rules were to keep my activities in moderation, and even when it came to work, I shouldn’t study for 4 or 5 hours straight, I should take a break every once in a while and watch TV so that I can rest and all the information can sink in. While not all rules and regulations my parents put in place are related to the idea of moderation and time management, most of them are. This goes further than my time spent dawdling, it goes so far as to making me sleep within certain parameters and many other things. Moderation is a very important virtue to my parents, and their rules show how important it is to them.
"When the well's dry, we know the worth of the water."
This aphorism's meaning is similar to the saying "you don't know what you've got until it's gone." Water is a basic necessity that we don't appreciate too often. But we use it for so much, drinking, bathing, cooking, and many other things. If you lose water for even a day, you'll realize how much you need it. This appreciation for something once you lose it, is something I have for my aunt and uncle's ski house in Vermont. My cousins take my sister and I up to Vermont with them around five times a year. However the week I went up over Christmas break this year, may very well have been the last time I stayed there. My family is sadly being forced to sell the house due to financial reasons. I never realized how much the house meant to me and how much emotional attachment I had to it. The house holds so many memories. When in that house, we all have such a deep connection with each other. The house is charmed. Once in it, all your everyday problems slip away, and you just feel the warmth of the people around you. A couple days ago some family friends of my cousins came to stay with us. We were telling one of the kids how fun his parents were, his response was "They're never like this. They're usually so strict." But when in the Vermont 1828 House, somehow your priorities are in order. No one is on their phone or computer or watching tv. You just hang out with your family, laughing and talking.You have huge, home cooked family meals. You appreciate nature. You just focus on having fun. However, no one in my family truly realized the Vermont House gave us all these amazing things until this past week when we realized that the well was drying up, and that was our last sip of water.
When I was in sixth grade, I really wanted a new puppy because I thought my dog was lonely. I begged my parents for months for a puppy, so finally my parents told me they would get me a new puppy if I got all A's. I was so excited. I finally had a chance to get a puppy, but I also worried because it was difficult to get all A's because I was in the highest classes. I knew that I really had to work hard and make sure I did all my work. I made a plan that I would do all my homework as soon as I got home from school or practice. When I finished my homework, I would eat dinner. Once I ate, I would study for about an hour or more. When I finished everything else, I would watch TV then get ready for bed. For a while, I was getting good grades on all my tests and quizzes, and I finally got my report card and it was all A's. I couldn't wait to show my parents so I could get my puppy. When I showed them they promised me they would take me to get a puppy that weekend, but my neighbor's puppy just had puppies and offered us one of the puppies. I was so happy to finally have a puppy, but I knew I had to keep good grades, so I still mostly follow this plan.
Although showering is a very commonplace and ordinary practice, it represents Benjamin Franklin’s virtue of cleanliness in many ways. Taking a shower not only cleanses a person physically, but it can also cleanse a person mentally. I usually try to shower twice a day, in the morning and at night before I go to bed, and possibly more times if I exercise and I am sweaty or I feel dirty throughout the day. When showering in the morning, you cleanse your body by erasing the dirt, oils, and dead skin from your body, and by doing so you give your body a fresh start to accomplish your tasks for the day. I always feel like I’m dead when I wake up for school, but after taking my morning shower I feel shockingly awake. Showering in the morning also allows you to look ready for approaching people, which can really help on rough days when you don’t feel good on the inside. Showering at night is more of a mental cleansing for me because I am able to reflect on my day in order to move forward the next day. However, when my sister doesn’t shower at night after her volleyball practice, I make sure to tell her that she looks disgusting and that she smells like garbage. During my pre-bedtime shower, I usually wander into thinking about my grades and experiences at school, and from there I can determine what I need to change to make the following day even better. When I have nothing on my mind to reflect on, I rock out to my favorite songs and unwind for bed.
"What is serving God? Tis doing Good to Man"
Benjamin Franklin was a master with words. He was able to take complicated ideas and turn them into short and simple quotes. What this quote is saying is that by doing good to man and serving man is serving God. God wants us to do good to man and to serve others. By doing so we are doing what he asks thus we are serving God. We are serving God through the act of doing good ad serving man. This quote is a play on words. Serving God is figurative because we can't really physically serve God directly since he is not human. But doing good to man is literal because we can physically do good to other humans because we are also human. Doing good to man and serving others is very important to me and my family. Since I was little I have always been taught to do good and to serve and help others. Since I am catholic and my family is catholic I am taught as a part of my religion to serve others. As a catholic I was also taught that God wants us to do good to man. It is what he wants and asks of us and by doing what he wants we serve him. Also because I got to a catholic school service and doing good is part of my life. I am constantly doing service for my school and for others because it is one of my priorities. Since I "do good to man" I am "serving God".
Fish and company stink after three days. My next door neighbor of 10 years also just happens to be my best friend. We grew up together and we plus my sister were hardly apart. Since we are all around the same ago it was great for our parents. We kept each other occupied and out of trouble for the most part. We would have sleepovers on the daily. It was nice that because we lived so close whenever we got sick of each other we could just go home. Every year in the summer my family and I go away to beach for two weeks. Since Carmela had a boat her family was down in Rehobath. My parents saw this as a great chance for Corryn and I to get away from the family. Don't get me wrong I love my family but being trapped in a house with them for two weeks is brutal. Having my little bratty cousins there didn't help . So my parents invited Carmela to stay with us for like four days. Everything was all good,new went to the beach, went to the boardwalk, messed around with other people. But all good things have their breaking point. Putting three teenager girls all together problems are bound to happen. We started getting on each others nerves over clothes, who we were talking to, and bathroom space. Finally after we all got in a huge fight we worked things out and everything was better. Just as fish starts to go bad after the third day, friendships get tested after spending three straight days together.
"When the well's dry, we know the worth of the water."
This aphorism goes to show that we as people do not know what we have until it's gone. People are always wishing for things that they do not have, just to be part of the latest trend. But, when they have to sacrifice one of their own personal objects, they realize what that object means to them. One way I can relate to this aphorism is because currently I have no hot water at my house. I never realized how much my family relies on hot water. From cleaning our dishes to showering, hot water was always used. Now my family has to either freeze in the shower or drive to my uncle's house to use his shower. It is very inconvenient, let alone difficult because we are now depending on my uncle's water so that we do not freeze. Another way I could relate to this aphorism was when my grandpa passed away three years ago. Due to the fact he lived nine hundred miles away in Florida and was divorced from my Grandy, whom I stayed with when I visited, I was not very close with him. I never realized how much I loved him until the day he was hospitalized a couple weeks before he passed. After he passed, I appreciated even more the times he used to call to check on my sister and I every Sunday night and the time when I was six and my parents trusted me to give directions to get to Charcoal Pit just to get one of their famous milkshakes they did not have in Florida. But most of all, I never realized how much I would miss him after he was gone.
Little strokes, fell great oaks
This aphorism literally means that when cutting down a tree, using small strokes is more efficient than using large strokes. This aphorism can also be applied in the sense that when working on something, getting it done a little at a time is better than procrastinating till the absolute last minute and trying to do it all at once with one big stroke. My mom and dad have always told me that I should start an assignemnt as soon as it is assigned to me, rather than wait till the last minute and try to get it finished in one night. I, however, ignored them because I could still get it done by doing the assignemnt all at once. However, I learned the hard way, that even if I can get it done in one night, it doesn't always get the grade that I know I am capable of receiving if I had worked hard on the assignemnt. I have started trying to do assignments in "small strokes", working on an assignemnt a little bit each night, rather than waiting till the last minute and trying to get it done in one "big stroke". Since I have started trying to break the habit of procrastinating till the last minute, I have noticed that I am getting better grades on projects and assignements. I have also developed better time management skills. By doing a little bit of a few assignemnts each night, I have had more free time. As Ben Franklin said, and my parents reinforced, little strokes really do fell great oaks.
“Does thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that's the stuff life is made of”
This quote means, in a sense, to not procrastinate or waste time. I learned this lesson the hard way when I was in middle school and had to write a three page original narrative. I have never like writing very much and usually do not show much enthusiasm for it. This was especially true when I was younger. I had a good week to work on this assignment in class, but I did not work very hard or do much outlining for my story. Instead I wasted my valuable class time to talk to my friends and mess around. When the weekend came I was in trouble. Because the assignment was due that Monday, I had to finish the entire thing over the weekend. At this time I was very lazy and did not like to do my work, so I further procrastinate until Sunday night. I was only at the last moment that I decided to do my paper. I started to get more and more worried the later it got. I decided to ask my mom to help me and she said that she would not because I needed to learn to do things on my own and not waste so much time that could have been used working on my essay. It took me all night but I was able to complete the paper. I ended getting a D on it because of the spelling mistakes and the proofreading errors which wouldn't have happened if I had worked on it earlier.
"Well done is better than well said"
This aphorism is very close to the more common saying "easier said then done." It is much easier to say something, and say it well, than to do something well. It takes a lot more effort and practice to actually do something, but it can only take a moments thought to speak. It is much easier to say that you will be President, than to actually be President. This quote really applies to me because I am a huge procrastinator. I will tell myself I will so something, and that part is easy, but actually getting up and doing whatever it is takes so much more energy and effort. A great example of this is that I told myself that I would try to get this lit journal done over break, but whenever I thought about doing it, I kept putting it off and giving myself excuses. The times when you actually do what you say you will, it is very rewarding. Having an actual basis to your statements, knowing you can back them up and not just make them sound good is a great feeling. Another common saying that fits along next to this one is "actions speak louder then words." For example, when you tell someone you are good at sports, they could believe you, but if instead, you invited them to one of your games, and they saw you play great, they would be a witness rather than the beneficiary of meaningless words.
“Does thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that's the stuff life is made of”
This quote means, in a sense, to not procrastinate or waste time. I learned this lesson the hard way when I was in middle school and had to write a three page original narrative. I have never like writing very much and usually do not show much enthusiasm for it. This was especially true when I was younger. I had a good week to work on this assignment in class, but I did not work very hard or do much outlining for my story. Instead I wasted my valuable class time to talk to my friends and mess around. When the weekend came I was in trouble. Because the assignment was due that Monday, I had to finish the entire thing over the weekend. At this time I was very lazy and did not like to do my work, so I further procrastinate until Sunday night. I was only at the last moment that I decided to do my paper. I started to get more and more worried the later it got. I decided to ask my mom to help me and she said that she would not because I needed to learn to do things on my own and not waste so much time that could have been used working on my essay. It took me all night but I was able to complete the paper. I ended getting a D on it because of the spelling mistakes and the proofreading errors which wouldn't have happened if I had worked on it earlier.
A Plan for a Vehicle and Independence
The plan that I have come up has not occurred yet but it is for a noble and important goal to me. I am 16 years old and stereotypically 16-year-olds get their first cars. I have taken it upon myself to buy, maintain, and pay for the vehicle myself. I already figured out how this would happen. First I would look at my current savings and see what my starting point of money would be. Second I would get a summer job most likely at the grocery store, a retail store, or a restaurant and work all summer to meet the monetary goal. It would be a part time job. Meanwhile, during the spring and summer, I would be shopping online and at car dealerships to see what my ideal vehicle would be and what price range it sits in. Using the information I would gather I would see how much I would need to work and at what salary in order to buy a car by September. The goal is to get a car by September, as it is the month of my birthday, and would be the first month of my junior year in high school which by then, I would like to have my own transportation. The rewards of executing this plan would be more than a car. It would be the satisfaction of knowing what I had achieved over the long period of time that I had worked for it. It would also make my standards of living easier and more independent. I could also assist my parents in their daily lives, by driving to places or picking people up from places. More so, my social life would expand and blossom under my newfound freedom. I feel like this is a great goal that is one I will pursue until it is finished.
"When the well's dry, we know the worth of water."
This aphorism by Benjamin Franklin means that you do not know how important something really is until you do not have it anymore. For example, my dog Addie is about thirteen years old and my family and I have had her for over ten years now. She ran away one day when I was ten. My brother and I were so upset. We looked all over the neighborhood hoping she had not gone too far. My mother helped us look for her by driving us around to try to cover more ground. Luckily, we found Addie right down the road in front of a neighbor's house. My brother and I gave her so many treats and played with her the rest of the day. We were so happy to see Addie and have her back home. I know I was scared I'd never see her again and my brother was, too. I really love Addie, but when I was little, I did not even consider the fact that I could lose her. I did not know the worth of the water until I did not have any more. Now that she is getting so old, that weighs heavily on my mind a lot. I can not take for granted my time with her like I did when I was younger and did not understand. I know the worth of the water now. I will never forget it when the well is finally dry.
A good example is the best sermon
When I was a little girl, I went to church almost every Sunday, and of course I would find any way I could to keep myself entertained. I would sit there and goof off. The only times that I really paid attention were when the priest would tell a story at the beginning of his homily. Even now, I still find it much easier to stay completely focused when the priest open with some crazy story of his. I still remember this one sermon Father Jackson gave about a man whose neighbors made him convert to Catholicism so that he would not be able to cook meat on his grill on certain days in lent because they found it hard to fast when they could smell the delicious aroma of meat wafting out of his backyard. Of course the plan backfired when he found a hilarious way to eat meat.when he was Baptized the priest had said to him "you were born a protestant, raised a protestant, and now you are Catholic." So of course over the meat he would say, "you were born a cow, raised a cow, and now you are fish." This was a very long time ago and I still remember it to this day. The entire homily was about forgiveness and baptism, but he told a story and mad us laugh. When anyone tells a story or even a personal example, it makes it easier to remember the message because it seems more real and it helps us to relate to the topic even if the story is not about us.
"He that lives upon hope will die fasting."
Being humane means that there are certain qualities each human is inclined to acquire. We each possess hatred for something, though, we also encompass an abundant amount of love for others. We envy, we dream. Yet, there is a fine line between humans that embody hope and those that hold determination. Ben Franklin's aphorism speaks, in its own words, the importance of knowing the difference between hope and determination. Between my sister and I, hope and determination is a huge difference. Aislinn is the type of student that can achieve straight A's and Honors by just listening in class and looking over notes. Everything she learns in school comes naturally to her. I, on the other hand, must review and drill the information into my brain, over and over again. Now, I am not saying she does not work hard for the grades she earns, yet I simply have to work much harder than she ever has in school. I've learned the hard way that I cannot sit around hoping that I will remember the information or become miraculously better at standardized testing. Instead, I have to study for hours and use practice SAT books. Thankfully, I wasn't raised with parents that compared me to my sibling. Yet, in my own mind, I have always felt as though I have to be as successful as Aislinn to fulfill my parents expectations. Therefore, I can thank my sister for always being a role model and helping me in ways she doesn't even know. I have become the student I am today from the pressure (in a positive sense) that she has placed on me.
"Fear not death; for the sooner we die, the longer shall we be immortal."
My family and I strongly believe in this phrase. We think that death is something that should not be feared, but can be accepted. It is something that will bring us closer to eternal life in Heaven. One person that deeply believes in it is my aunt. She thinks that each day that passes by brings her one day closer to seeing her son in Heaven. My aunt is someone who doesn't fear her own death. Although it has been over twenty years since she last saw her son, she still believes that the time will come again when she will be with him. My mom feels the same way. She believes that she will one day be reunited with her grandmother and her nephew in Heaven, where she can be happy eternally. My family believes that we will all meet again with our loved ones in Heaven. Some people think that after death there is nothing, or they are reincarnated. I like to think of the future after death as a time where I will be immortal with my family, friends, and God. When I think of death in that light, there is nothing I am afraid of. Even though my family and I miss the people who are gone from our lives, we know that the time spent on Earth without them will never compare to the eternity we will share with them in Heaven.
At the beginning of track season last year, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I was not prepared to run at all. I didn't even decide I was going to do track until a week after the season started; however, after I started doing the workouts and running in the meets, I realized I was getting faster as the weeks went on, and I realized I could get even faster and even better if I trained even more and even harder. I went on and devised a plan for over the summer. Wake up early and run very morning, go to the track two times a week and do one of the twelve workouts I created based on the workouts we did at track practice during the spring, and go to the gym four times a week. It was a foolproof plan where I was going to get faster, stronger, and better in order to prepare for the spring season. Unfortunately the weeks of summer came and went, and I don't think I ran more than a mile, but I still wasn't discouraged. Maybe my hours of making that amazing plan didn't turn out so well, but there was still field hockey season where I would get in great shape for track. Then I realized I am indeed a goalie who moves all of five meters, but I still wasn't discouraged. I just made a new plan (if you haven't noticed by now, I'm all talk). This plan was the plan, and it still is the plan. Go to winter track practice four days a week and try my hardest at every practice, go to the meets and race like I'm Carmelita Jetter, and when I don't have practice, run on my own or go to the gym. This means when coach says run a 400 in 85 seconds, I'll run 80 seconds just to push myself and get faster. Over break, I went to the track and went to the gym. I went to a meet and slipped and nearly fell on the start, but I got right back up an didn't lose my heat. Overall, although it took three plans to get to one that actually works, I'm still getting the benefits of this plan and achieving my goal, which is to get faster.
A. My mom came from a family of five children. As her family grew, her father developed many ways to follow one of Benjamin Franklin's thirteen virtues, frugality. She once told me about how he decided to take on the task of grocery shopping himself, instead of letting his wife do it, because he wanted to cut back on the grocery bill. He would look through each of the stores' ads, circling the best deals. Then, early on each Saturday, he would travel up and down Concord Pike to those certain supermarkets to get the bargains. When he came home, he would organize all the groceries, placing the older and soon-to-expire products in front of the newer and later-dated ones, to make sure that they were used up before they spoiled or went stale. His greatest innovation to help him succeed at this shopping "game" was his lunchbox full of coupons. It was previously used by one of his kids, and he even made cardboard dividers to sort it neatly by category (e.g., cereal, frozen goods, paper products). He then sub-sorted each category by expiration date, to make sure he wouldn't miss out on any deals. My mom, being the oldest, quickly followed in his footsteps of frugality, though she wasn't as intense. From when she first moved away from home, and to this day, she clips and organizes coupons. Occasionally, she will even have me check to see if they are expired. She rotates the stock in our cabinets and refrigerator, and doesn't let any food go to waste. This process of food frugality will probably be followed by me in years to come.
As all teams in all sports do, my basketball team developed plays for our games. Due to a decrease in the number of players who signed up this year, there are only four teams in our league. This means that my team only has to play three other teams. We play each team at least three times. My team is a group of twelve girls from five separate teams . We devoted our first; and so far only, practice to developing plays and strategies to beat all of the other teams. First we took time to familiarize ourselves with our teammates' strengths and weaknesses. Next, because our coach had never coached before and had no idea where to start, each of us showed the team our plays that we used on our previous teams. From that we chose a few plays that utilized our players and their strengths to the best of our abilities. Once we established which plays we would use during our games, we ran through them for the rest of practice until we were all familiar with them. The next weekend following our first practice, we had our first game. We used one of the plays that we learned at practice for the entire game. Our plan was working, each of our players had scored at least once in that game. Because we followed our plan and ran through our plays correctly, our team managed to score in almost every possession and shut the other team out with a simple two-one-two defense. We continued to follow this plan for our next two games. This helped us to beat each of the other teams in the league and to discover which players work the best together and what plays they can use to do the best they can. My team put into action a plan to achieve a goal, and once we worked through the plan, we achieved our goal with ease.
"Well done is better then well said"
In this aphorism by Ben Franklin, he is stating that getting something done well is better then saying something well. In other words, actions are greater the words spoken. A tangible product is better then a thought. This relates to my life because I am a bit of a procrastinator and I do not do everything that I say I am going to do. With all of the things going on in my life, I always push off things to the last minute. Whenever I have a project for school, I always tell my mom I am going to get it done way before the due date, but I always end up doing it the day before. She says, "Show me that it is done, do not tell me." I now understand what she means. The action of getting my work done proves more than just saying I will get it done. In another part of my life, I do not always keep my word about doing things in sports. Over the summer, I was going to lift to gain some muscle. I told my dad a plan that I had, but I never took action. From not keeping my word, I am not as strong as the other guys and it has affected my sports performance. From now on, I am going to put a little more dedication into my word, so that it pays off in the long run. This means that I will show my dad that I am lifting instead of just telling him. Proving that I can do it, is much more meaningful than saying I will do it. When I take action to get something well, it will feel better than just saying I will get it done.
My family practices Ben Franklin's virtue of moderation through our daily routine. We spend time apart and together that allows us to enjoy each other. We also moderate our time spent with electronics. Every night, my mom takes our laptops and phones so that we can get a good nights sleep without the distraction of electronics. When we spend time together, it sometimes involves watching a tv show and other times we go on fun adventures. One of our favorite adventures is called geocaching. We go on the geocache website and obtain a set of coordinates. We then use a GPS to get to the coordinates. At each set of coordinates is a small box. When you find the box, you take a small token or trinket out of it, and then leave a token for the next person. Another adventure we went on recently was to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. While we were there, we went shopping at the outlets and got some really good post-Christmas deals. Some of our favorite shows are Downton Abbey, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, and The Walking Dead. I love spending time as a family, but we also spend time apart. My little brother plays video games in the basement, and I often read books. We all love our lazy Sundays when we get a chance to be together through the hustle and bustle of school and sports practices. It is easy to take these times for granted, but when you don't get to experience these things, you miss them more than anything. I think this is a great example of Ben Franklin's virtue of moderation.
Humility
Ben franklin had a list of virtues that he thought if he practiced them he would become a better person. Humility was one of Ben franklin's virtues. Humility is a very important virtue in my family as well. Practicing humility does not only mean not bragging but it is also means putting the needs of others. This is very important in my family as my parents always teach us self sacrifice and how to be respectful and modest
"When the well is dry, you would known the worth of the water"
This aphorism is a metaphor that teaches us about importance. To put into simpler words, humans tend to not pay attention to anything until its gone and then we realize that certain thing was very importance to us. Humans tend to run into this problem in many different ways whether it is involving money, relationships, or time. I relate this aphorism to the relationship between my sister and I. Some siblings do not get along very well but it seems very natural to me to be friends with my sister. It is so nice that our rooms are right next to each other so I can go in and talk to her anytime. I also enjoy seeing her in the hallways at school. Thinking about this aphorism, today was the first time I really thought about how she won't be there next year. I won't be able to yell her name because I have a question and I won't be able to see her face everyday at school. I am really going to cherish her presence in my life from now and to the day she leaves for college because I do not want to be realizing the "worth of the water" when we drop her off at her dowand I come home and don't have my best friend living right next door. So I am going to take advantage of the last months I have with her so I know how important she is to me before she goes off and starts a whole new life.
A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned
When I was 3, my family started what we call the "Penny Saved Project". Over the year, starting around September or whenever the last one ended, we will take the pocket change that we may not need at the time and put it into a five gallon water jug, or more if we need them. It may not seem like there would be enough to fill even one five gallon water jug, but there is usually a lot. There was one year that we filled three whole jugs. In June, or whenever we decide to go, we take all of the money that we saved up and we go on a vacation. If we wanted to go on a more expensive trip, like a cruise to the Caribbean or a trip to Disney World, we would have to save the pocket change for two years instead of one. My parents got the idea from my grandmother who used to save coins all year for christmas presents when she was a little girl. This shows that Benjamin Franklin's aphorism "A penny saved is a penny earned" is true to real life. The time I spent on those family vacations was definitely worth all of the pennies I put in the jar. I wouldn't trade that time for anything. Thanks to Ben Franklin, I finally have a better understanding of what my parents were trying to do. The fun I earned was worth all of the pennies I saved.
"When the well's dry, we know the worth of the water."
An aphorism is a pithy observation that contains a general truth. This aphorism has a similar meaning to the saying, "you don't know what you've got until it's gone." Water has so many uses, and it is often under appreciated. It's not until you don't have it anymore, that you realize how much you need it. I learned the meaning of this quote the first time that I did "no stirrup November" in riding. During the entire month of November, I wasn't allowed to use my stirrups, or even have them in my saddle. After my first lesson without stirrups, I was really sore. I had never realized before how much easier it was to balance and just ride in general with stirrups on my saddle. While it did help make me a stronger rider, it was a very difficult and I was sore for thirty days. So now every time November rolls around, I have to mentally prepare myself for a stirrup free month and for the "well to be dry." Ever since that first no stirrup November, I now know the worth of having my stirrups on my saddle. So from now on, I won't take the little things for granted, and hopefully I will "know the worth of water," before "the well is dry."
Payton Applegate
Blue
English
A virtue followed in my family is justice. My family is very large and more then often we are together, whether it be dinners or play dates we are never far apart. The majority of my family is quit young and with that being said it is probably obvious we are always getting into some kind of trouble. In my generation I am the only girl with all boy cousins, however I consider then brothers above anything else. While they are my best friends and I would never change them they bring a lot of mischief. It could be anything from breaking a piece of furniture to sneaking out in the middle of the night, but when we are caught by one of the uncles, aunts, or grand moms, the consequences have to be faced. They feel that justice has been served when they provide a punishment that they feel fits the crime. Yet in some cases, they do not know who committed the act. As I said we are all very close and would take the blame for another however no one wants to be punished for something they didn’t do. It is now up to the person who broke the rule to come forward and face the adult. Sometimes this takes awhile but they never stopped until they know who did what. When this happens we all feel bad for whoever got into trouble but at the end of the punishment in the eyes of the adult, justice has been served.
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