Assure me it's ok to use my heart and not my eyes.

Day One – Something you like about yourself.

Honestly, there aren’t many things that I like about myself. I actually hate myself for the most part. I have absolutely no self-confidence, I don’t think I’m very attractive, I pretty much think of myself as a loser because I have a very small group of friends, etc. If I had to pick one thing I like about myself, though, it would probably be how I try to answer questions about myself as sincerely as I can. If someone asks me a question that involves personal reflection, I try to answer it as best as I can. I want my answer to mean something. I don’t just want it to be another one of those “I don’t feel like doing this so I’m going to bullshit the entire thing” situations. Even if I would rather be somewhere else at that moment, I try to answer the question. Not just for the person who asked it, but for myself as well. Here is an example of a question/response exercise we did in my English class while studying The Great Gatsby a couple of months ago. The response only had to be about 6-8 sentences. I clearly wrote more than that. I replaced the name of my school with the words “my school,” just so you all know.

Part One. In the opening of The Great Gatsby, Nick reflects on advice from his father, who tells him, “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone…just remember that all of the people in this world haven’t had the advantages you’ve had.” Reflect on something or someone in your life that has been an advantage or a support in an important way, and describe how this helped you to become who are today. Then, consider some aspect of yourself that you imagine you could “give back” to someone else, to give them a support or an advantage in life. What about you would you like to give to others, and how might you give it?

Personally, I have a strong support system for many reasons. This support system is made up of adults whom I can trust and go to at absolutely any time if I have a problem. Though my support system is only made up of four adults (teachers at my school and counselors), it is four more adults than some people in the world have today. I have a lot of issues and things going on at home and these people help me get through those things so that I can reach my full potential, especially in school. This has been such an advantage for me because if I did not have the money to go to my school or to pay to see a counselor, I would probably be in a much worse state than I am right now. These people have helped me get through so much and I don’t know what I would have done without them.

I feel that this journaling exercise is perfect for me, because I have been thinking about this topic for a couple of years now. I have thought about it long and hard, and I think that I just want to be a teacher when I get older. To be perfectly honest, the teachers from my school that have helped me so much have given me more chances and opportunities to reach my full potential than many other teachers would have the patience for. These teachers want me to do well, and they have showed me that they care about me and how well I do in their classes. At my old elementary school, I never had teachers like this. The teachers did not care about their students and they even made fun of them at times. When I came to my school, I saw a huge difference. I want to be a teacher because I want to help students the way that teachers at my school have helped me. I want to pay it forward and help other students succeed. Sometimes people assume that because I go to a private school, I can’t possibly have any problems or be struggling with anything. I want to show students that it is okay to be struggling, and there is always someone who will be there for them when they want or need help.