What 's important
in Life is how we treat each other.
Hana Ivanhoe. age
15
Throughout my junior
year in high school I had been looking forward to the Junior Overnight,
a retreat that was offered to the junior girls at my high school. The purpose
was to talk about how our lives were going and to discuss our problems,
concerns and worries about school, friends, guys, or whatever. We had some
great discussions.
I went home from the retreat with a great feeling. I had learned a lot
about people that I could put to good use. I decided to put the papers
and notes I had received on the retreat in my journal, which is where I
keep some of my most treasured items. Not thinking much about it, I set
the journal on top of my dresser and finished unpacking.
I was feeling so great from the retreat that I went into the next week
with high hopes. However, the week turned out to be an emotional
disaster. A friend of mine really hurt my feelings, I had a fight with
my mom, and I was worrying about my grades, particularly in English. To
top it all off, I was worrying about the upcoming prom.
I literally cried myself to sleep almost every night. I had hoped that
the Junior Retreat would have had a deeper impact on calming my nerves
and helping me to be stress-free. Instead, I began to think that it had
only been a temporary stress relief
I woke up on Friday morning with a heavy heart and a bad attitude. I was
also running late. I dressed quickly, grabbing a pair of socks out of my
dresser drawer. As I slammed the drawer shut, my journal fell off the top
of the dresser and its contents spilled all over the floor. As I knelt
down to pick it up, one of the sheets of paper that had fallen out caught
my eye. My retreat leader had given it me. I opened the folded sheet and
read it.
Life isn't about keeping score. it's not about how many people call you
and it's not about who you've dated, are dating or haven't dated at all.
It isn't about who you've kissed, what sport you play, or which guy or
girl likes you. It's not about your shoes or your hair or the color of
your skin or where you live or go to school. In fact, it's not about grades,
money, clothes, or colleges that accept you or not. Life isn't about if
you have lots of friends, or if you are alone, and it's not about how accepted
or unaccepted you are. Life just isn't about that.
But life is about who you love and who you hurt. It's about how you feel
about yourself It's about trust, happiness and compassion. It's about sticking
up for your friends and replacing inner hate with love. Life is about avoiding
jealousy, overcoming ignorance and building confidence. It's about what
you say and what you mean. It's about seeing people for who they are and
not what they have. Most of all, it is about choosing to use your life
to touch someone else's in a way that could never have been achieved otherwise.
These choices are what life's about
I aced my next English
test that day. I had a fun time with my friend that weekend and got the
courage to talk to the boy that I liked. I spent more time with my family
and made an effort to listen to my mom. I even found a great dress for
the prom and had a wonderful time. And it wasn't luck or a miracle. It
was a change in heart and a change in attitude on my part. I realized that
sometimes I just need to sit back and remember the things in life that
really matter-like the things I learned on my Junior Overnight.
I am a senior this
year and preparing to go on my Senior Retreat. But that piece of paper
is still in my journaL so that I can look at it whenever I need to remember
what life is really about.
Katie Leicht age
17