Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Inspiration and Learning

Please answer the following prompts:  Be honest and specific:

1.  What inspires YOU?
2.  How are you staking your identity?
3.  What keeps you from finding that identity or being who you are (or do you even know who that is yet?)

29 comments:

  1. 1) I am inspired by things like this video and my peers. People with such unique talents really make me want to find my own. My peers inspire me to be better than them, quite simply.
    2) I am staking my identity by exploring more and more activities and ideas. Every time I try a new thing I ask myself if I like it and then, if I do, I'll continue to do it.
    3) Being a teenager keeps me from finding and capturing who I am. This is for a number of reasons, including the following: I don't have enough money to do many things that I would like to, there are certain things that I'm not allowed to do if I live in my mom's house, and I'm in school.

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  2. 1. I am inspired by positive things like encouragement, or seeing things like this video where this man couldn't ride on that fence at the beginning, but he kept trying until he reached his goal. That inspires me to try my best like he did and not give up.
    2. I am staking my identity by trying new things learning about new things in school. I believe that trying new things can help you find what you like to do. AN example of this is last year when I tried Cross Country and found out I liked it. If I never would have tried Cross Country I would have never known I liked it.
    3. I think that one thing that can keep you from finding your identity is peer pressure. Peer pressure can cause you to want to just blend in with everyone else and not be yourself. I think, especially at our age, peer pressure can cause us to lose sight of our identities.

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  3. 1. I am inspired by the things and people around me. When I see someone do something impressive or skillful it makes me want to get to that level, especially if it’s something I enjoy like cheerleading. I’m inspired by my friends, teammates, family, and those who motivate me. They inspire me to be my best and only get better.
    2. I am staking my identity by being open minded and trying different things even when I’m scared. By broadening my horizons and doing thing that may seem scary or different I’m discovering who I truly am. Also, I am finding who I am by reaching out and meeting new people. When talking to a variety of different people it is easy to find admirable qualities in them and that makes me figure out what qualities I want to have.
    3. As a high schooler, it can be hard to be who you truly are. We live in a society where many people feel judged and pressured to be something specific. Personally, I want to be liked by everyone and that can stop me from being who I am. Sometimes it’s hard to be myself because I want others to like me and I will do a lot of things to achieve this. Being true to myself is a personal goal that I am trying to work on.

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  4. 1. I am inspired by creativity, uniqueness, and honesty. I admire when people are different from their peers, yet choose to keep it that way. I also love it when persons are honest with me, and show me their raw, true selves.

    2. For me, staking my identity involves being around people I aim to be like, and then figuring out a mixture of different ideas and principles that I could call my “identity”. I also need to try new activities so I can figure what I do and do not like to do, which helps me identify with my likes and dislikes.

    3. There are many things that hinder my ability to find my identity, such as lack of resources, being too involved in education, and the fact that I am a teenager. I think that once I get older and have the opportunity to travel around the world and have the option of trying different things, only then will I know who my full identity is. I know bits and pieces of it now, but I don’t believe I will fully know who I am until later in life.

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  5. 1. I am inspired by people who do unique, amazing things. Watching things like this video leave me in a sense of awe. It makes me want to go out and do something incredible. I'm also inspired by people I look up too. When I see the achievements my heroes make, I want to achieve those things as well. My competitive nature makes it hard for me not to try and do something great if I have the inspiration to do so.
    2. I am staking my identity by trying to be different. It is all too easy to follow the traveled path. To do things that have been done time and time again. I want to stand out. I want to do things differently so I can show who I am as a person not who everyone wants me to be. By being unique, I am showing the world who the real Ethan Myers is and that's who I want everyone to know me as.
    3. I think the constant pressure to perform well in all situations is keeping me from finding my true self. I'm too focused on the constant judgement and doing things the correct way to find myself. I need to not let the pressure get to me. I need to do things my way even if that is considered the wrong way in others opinions. That's how I'll find my identity

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  6. 1) I am inspired by stories, whether they be fictional or the stories of my peers.. Stories where people do amazing things, come up with creative ideas, or even just change one aspect of their life that disappoints them.
    2) I am staking my identity by trying to expand my musical skills through various band activities.
    3) My insecurities keep my from being who I am. I worry about what other people would think of me if I was myself, which keeps me from really being me.

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  7. 1. Everywhere we look, we see things that inspire us to be better people, to act differently, or to see the world in a whole new way. In the beginning of the video, Inspiring Bicycles by Danny MacAskill, I saw that he kept falling and hurting himself, but he always got up and tried again. Then throughout the video, he kept nailing tricks that he failed to do when he first tried them. This video spoke to me on a personal level because it showed me that I need to get up and try again when I fail. So after watching the video, I realized that what inspires me are not the people or things around me. What inspires me are my failures. Every time I don't succeed at something, it inspires me to look back at what I did wrong and correct myself. Failures are things that help me become mentally stronger and turn me into an overall better person. Some people may view failure as something negative, but for me it builds my character in ways success could never do. Failure is like a teacher to me, it teaches me about perseverance and courage. When I am at my lowest point in life, it tests my courage and perseverance to get back up and keep going forward.

    2. How I stake my "identity" is by being open to new ideas and new people. The new ideas help me realize that there are new things out there in the world, than only what I am exposed to. They can help change my perspective on certain topics, and widen my range of thinking. Everyone is different, and that is why I think it's important to get to know others who are completely different from you. They are the ones that were able to open my mind up and help me accept new hobbies, ideas, or styles that are different from the norm. So I've realized that I if I want to stake my identity then I need to start to say what I want and not feel bad about it, to wear the things I like without feeling ashamed, to express my passions without feeling judged.

    3. The pressure to please others is something that lures in the minds of many. For the lucky ones, they are able to block that idea and carry on to be themselves. But for me, that hasn't always been the case. The pressure to please is something that I carry with me wherever I go or whatever I do. So as I have been trying to please others, I have forgotten who I really am. Two things I've changed and could never get back is the way that I think and act. My words come out as what other's want me to say and not what I want to say. So how do you find yourself when you don't even know who you really are? How do you catch yourself acting like someone else, when it's a habit? I believe that in order for me to find my identity I need to first make myself happy, before I try to please others. However since pleasing others is something that I have been doing for such a long time, it won't be easy to correct. But it'll definitely be worth it in the end.

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  8. 1. I can be inspired by many things. Music, movies, quotes, animals, or other people. I believe being open to inspiration from multiple sources leads to a better, more well-rounded person. I’m inspired by positive or loving actions from people and animals. Witnessing these acts of kindness restore my faith in the world, especially in today’s world where tragic stories are seemingly always on the news. Music lyrics, movies, and quotes can inspire me at random times. Occasionally, I’ll find inspiration in a situation from a movie I watched months ago. Certain things stick with me and constantly inspire me to be my best self.

    2. My identity has been fully formed yet. I don’t want my identity to have set characteristics and strict borders, either, because that doesn’t leave any room for change. I’m setting the base work for my identity through my friend groups, interests, and passions. I strive to hang out with people who I want to be like, and I choose my extracurricular activities based on my interests.

    3. The main obstacle I face that prevents me from being who I want to be is peer pressure. In our society, there is immense pressure to do what is “cool”, even if that conflicts with one’s true self. I try my best to avoid these types of situations. If I mind myself in one, I stick to my values and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do normally.

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  9. 1. I am inspired by both people that are part of my life and people who aren't. Whether it be where they've gone, what they've done, or what they've said. It all seems to make an impact on me. I'm inspired by music and laughter and stories. I am also inspired by goals. Goals inspire me to actually carry things out instead of just saying that I will. It reminds me that everything I do and work toward doing is a small achievement.

    2. Right now, I don't really have an identity that is set in stone. I am growing every day. But for right now, how I stake my identity is to learn from every mistake, try new things, do and experience as much as possible, and be kind to everybody. I try to see everything from a different perspective so nothing is one sided and I can learn how I want to react to things.

    3. The main thing that keeps me from finding my identity is my peers. Worrying what they think, doing whatever it takes not to be judged. One of my goals is to stop caring what people thing, and do what I like. That is way easier said than done, but I know that it's possible. I also think age and experience have a lot to do with what keeps me from finding my true identity. I haven't lived to see enough yet where I know who I am. Everyday I feel like I get a little closer to knowing exactly who I am, but who knows, I might be learning about myself for the rest of my life.

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  10. 1. I am inspired by the creativity and positivity in others. Seeing people following their dreams inspires me to follow my own,and do great things in the world. Beauty is all around us, you just have to know where to look. I find inspiration from nature, it is so resilient and continues to grow despite the great challenges it faces. Hearing stories whether real or fictional about failing and then trying again until they succeed sends such a message of persistence and inspiration. Music is also very inspirational, it has the power to change a mood or spread joy. There are so many things that inspire me in life it is hard for me to put them all into words.
    2. I stake my identity by being a friend, a thinker, a learner, an open mind, someone to fall back on and confide in, an animal lover, a musician, an actress, a leader, and an athlete. I really stake myself on being myself. There is no one else in the world like me, and I am the only one who can make the impact on the world I was destined to make. Everybody has overlapping qualities but no one will ever be the same as you, if they were this life would be so boring. Differences make us come together and appreciate others.
    3. As a high schooler, it can be really hard to embrace yourself and love yourself for who you are. There are so many stereotypes of what a girl should be, what a teenager should be, what the high school experience should be that is is hard to accept being different. My friends, my parents, my teachers, my peers, my mentors, my enemies, and my critics all have a different opinion on how I should look, what I should do, the grades I should get, the activities I should be involved in, etc. Sometimes it ca be really hard to block them all out and stay true to myself. My brother gave me some driving advice over the summer while I was driving to Southglenn that I think applies to life, "Don't worry about how the cars around you feel, do what you are comfortable with. When you make a decision be confident in it even if it was wrong."

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  11. I think that inspiration can be found in big things and little things. But I find things especially inspiring when someone is extremely passionate about what they are doing and continue love it. A lot like Danny MacAskill in his video, he found something he loves to do and continues to grow and learn and be better at it every day. He gets to travel and make people happy and inspires others to do what he does. I think that things that inspire me can be People doing something great in their lives, music, film, and books. And I don't necessarily think that they need to be big and famous. My friends and parents can inspire me every day with the little things that they do or say.
    I am staking my identity by learning as much as I can all the time. I do it by trying to always keep an open mind and not judging others. I think that to start to stake your identity you need to try new things all the time and to not be afraid to try those new things. You need to start to figure out what you love, and maybe what you don’t, what you really believe in, and maybe some things you disagree with. But to always keep an open mind and have fun doing whatever you do.
    I think that many things can keep you from finding your identity. For example worrying what other think of you and how they are judging you. Not having self confidence can make you unsteady of who you really are. Maybe doing things that you don’t really like just because everyone else is doing it. I’m not sure if I can say who I really am yet, and that's not because I don’t know, but because I am still learning about myself and others in the world around me everyday.

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  12. 1. Throughout my entire life, I have been able to derive the majority of my inspiration from other people's persistence and accomplishments. The reason for this is that observing the success of others inspires me to create something myself that will be able to inspire other individuals the way that they inspire me. Although a great deal of people feel that one must find their own inspiration, and not play off of the incentive of others, I have concluded that it is just as adequate to find your inspiration in people other than yourself, and that it does not deem us incapable of inspiring others in our own way.

    2. For me, I have never felt the need to steak a definite identity for myself. I believe that my identity is perpetually changing and growing more and more complex as my life goes on. However, I have been adding to the amalgamation that is my identity by doing everything I can to find something that I am truly passionate about. I am constantly on the look out for new ways to be involved at school and in my community, and I am always trying new things in the hope that I will find a new passion that I can add to the cocktail of my identity.

    3. Although this is hard for me to admit to myself, the only thing hindering my ability to find my identity is me. Something that Mrs. Comp has said numerous times during class that has really stuck with me is that we have absolutely no control over what the world might throw at us, but we have unmitigated control over how we react to it. I am not going to deny the fact that there are many aspects of my life that narrow my options in terms of finding my identity, such as my school work and a plethora of social limitations that have already been mentioned in other posts. However, it is up to me to decide how to react to these restraints, and overcome them in order to successfully find myself and my identity.

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  13. 1. I am inspired and rejuvenated when I am exploring nature. Being surrounded by beautiful scenery helps me to clear my mind. Also, I am inspired by kindness and gratitude. When I see someone that displays these two qualities and lives them out in their everyday lives, I am inspired to be a better person myself.
    2. I am staking my identity by trying new things and having different experiences. I learn the most about myself while I am in situations that I have not experienced before. However, I also think it is important to not think of my identity as permanent, because I am constantly changing and opening up my mind to different opinions.
    3. I definitely struggle with the desire to be liked by everybody, and this makes it extremely difficult to stake my identity. Everybody has a different idea of what I should be like, but it is impossible to fit every single one of those ideas. Also, our society has expectations that can sometimes distract me from being myself.

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  14. 1.) What inspires me is the people around me. I believe that we can learn so much just from others around us as well as the mistakes that we all make every single day. I am inspired from the lessons that I learn from these daily events and how each and every one of us has the power to become better every day. I am also inspired by the positivity of others to make these types of changes and create growth on the way we look at life, including both the good and bad things that happen in it.

    2.) I am staking my identity and growing within it by applying the things that I learn from others and the mistakes that I make myself to my personal life on a day-to-day basis. I am trying to grow from everything that comes my way and most importantly, having an open mind about things. As humans, it is impossible to learn without being open to experiencing different things. Additionally, I want to have a passion for everything I do and not put a mediocre effort into anything.

    3.) I think what keeps me from finding/ building to my identity is feeling embarrassed of what others will think of my beliefs and my ideals of life. Getting past worrying about the opinions of others is difficult, but I believe if I worked to avoid those thoughts, becoming the best me would be easier. I think that I know exactly who I am at this point but that I am constantly editing myself to become a better version of me. I believe it is important to know this about yourself even when you are young because you cannot become better until you know and understand where you start.

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  15. 1. What inspires YOU?
    -The biggest inspiration in my life comes from animals. Every since I was very little animals have been my greatest passion. I want to be a zoo veterinarian and I am currently a teen volunteer at the Denver Zoo. I love learning about animal behavior, anatomy, and conservation. Animals are one of the most important things in my life and they come before school almost every time. My religion is inspiring to me as well. I am a very spiritual person but not in the traditionally religious sense. I practice a very eclectic nature based religion that doesn’t really have a name. Music and literature also inspire me. I love quotes and poems. Concerts are some of my favorite places, the energy of the people dancing and singing together is unlike anything I’ve ever known. For me, inspiration comes in many forms and I am always looking for new inspiration.

    2. How are you staking your identity?
    - One of my biggest strengths is being myself. I went through a time where I always wore masks and I never was who I wanted to be. I put a huge effort into being an open book now. My heart is on my sleeve everyday and I am no longer afraid to be me. Occasionally I do have to put on a mask for one reason or another but I try very hard to be open and honest. I have my own style, I am eclectic in everything I do. Trends and fads don’t have a large effect on my life and my mindset. I am dedicated and passionate. I am extraverted and I put a lot of energy into the things I love. I tend to be grade-obsessed and I have a lot of perfectionist tendencies. I am my own biggest critic. I am working on not being though. I can’t expect to receive love or respect if I do not respect and love myself. I try to keep an open mind, an open heart, and open hands. I am a big personality, with sarcasm, cursing, passion and most importantly, love.

    3. What keeps you from finding that identity or being who you are (or do you even know who that is yet?)
    -The only thing that truly keeps me from being exactly who I want to be is my age. I have obligations to school, curfews, and other restrictions that I have because of my parents. I don’t have the money or the time to do everything I want and unfortunately I don’t have the education to have the career I want. I can’t even drive by myself yet. All of these things I accept and I am okay with because I know in a few short years it won’t be a problem.

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  16. 1. I'm inspired by compassion, persistence, hard work, and success. The definition of inspire is to fill with the urge or ability to do or feel something. Because of Danny MacAskill's Inspiration Bicycles video, I was inspired to accomplish something in my life that parallels biking in his life. I wasn't inspired to go ride my bike and try his bike tricks, but his message of perseverance leads to success really touched me. One of my favorite inspirational videos of all time is just a montage of an athlete training while the athlete tells a story about a guru who teaches the student about desire and effort. My second favorite clip is the death crawl scene from Facing the Giants. Effort is the key to success and the amazing feats and messages of effort are what empower me to maximize my own effort. I could keep going with some of my favorite effort scenes from movies, but I feel like I have gotten my point across.

    2. In my mind, staking my identity means establishing who I am. To accomplish this, I have to compete and strive to be the best in what I love. I have goals I must meet in order to be the best. That requires effort. The more effort I can incorporate into what I do, the stronger and more concrete my identity becomes.

    3.Boundaries, pride, and time hold me back from meeting all of my goals I need to fulfill so I can stake my identity. Boundaries prevent me from pushing myself towards things I'm trying to accomplish. These boundaries are both self-imposed and society established boundaries. A couple examples are giving up too early when it hurts too much or when society limits what I can do based on my age. Pride helps to set up mental boundaries. Sometimes, I also just don't have enough time. The same thing we all have the same amount of is time. I can't add a couple extra minutes to my day because I want them or think I deserve them. I only have so much time where I am able to establish who I am and I try to maximize it.

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  17. I can find myself being inspired by any little thing at any given time, however it is the people closest to me that inspire me the most. Watching this video, I think to myself how great it would be if I found a passion and got really amazing at it. But if this were a video of say a friend of mine doing all these amazing stunts, well that would inspire me on a different level. Now it’s not just some random guy with internet fame, it’s someone real. For example, when I watch the Olympics I get inspired to be a better gymnast. But if my best friend did a new skill that was not even a third as astounding as the Olympian, it would still drive me to work harder than watching the Olympian would because I have a personal connection with them, and I could see their struggles, and how they overcame them. It would put me in the correct mindset of, if they can do it, I can too. This is why I am inspired by the people I love.

    For me, I am staking my identity by trying to find some more things I love and have a passion about. For now, that means trying new things and keeping an open mind. For my whole life I’ve never really tried a lot of new things. I had found what sport I was good at and I stuck with it. I found what subject I was good at and stuck with it. I found what instrument I was good at and stuck with it. Now, I’m trying to veer off of my path of doing nothing new by trying to branch out a little. One thing that I have learned to love about high school is the opportunity to try new things and meet new people, and that’s the only way any of us will ever be able to find ourselves. So although nothing is written in ink, I’ve at least picked up the pen.

    I think that there are a couple of things keeping me from finding my identity and I am one of them. I am the only person that can decide who I am, and right now I don’t know how to figure that out or where to go next. Others are another thing that keep me from being myself. I’m a pretty confident person, but that doesn't mean that I don’t ever worry about what others think. I just want to live a life of being a highly likable person, and even though that is not entirely in my control I still feel accountable for it. But it’s almost a good thing that I feel like that because then I have the opportunity to have a learning experience of how to comfortable in my own skin no matter the situation.

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  18. 1. People can certainly inspire me for one, typically my friends or celebrities. I could also find inspiration in other things, like nature and animals and art and architecture. Space really inspires me as well, just knowing we are looking down into the vacuum of technical never-ending void is a pretty big thing to live with.

    2. I'm assuming this means how am I coming to terms with who I am as a person, and I would say slowly but surely. Some things I still learn about myself everyday, and others I learn to further understand each passing day. People are ambivalent, always changing and thinking and moving, never stopping. I'm an amalgam of emotion and memory, and I just have to pass each day through to figure out what that means to me.

    3. The present could stop me from knowing, because I have not passed a milestone to understand who I am yet. There's always strangers, who deem to know me before I let them. Family and friends, because they might not understand or want to understand any one or more parts of my identity. Just about everything in the world that's human, basically, is able to stop me from progressing. Does it always? No. So I continue forward and I stand here today still developing who I am.

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  19. 1. I am inspired by the children and people I meet on missions trips and in places around the world, or even the people I hear about in countries other than America. There are children who are born in third-world countries, growing up with only the clothes on their backs and very little, if anything to play with. And yet they are completely and utterly blissful. They find joy in the little things that life throws their way, and find happiness simply in being alive. Yet here we are, spoiled American teenagers who have the newest iPhone, laptop, and every other piece of technology available and we are still unhappy, greedy for more. We have more than those people could ever imagine, and who are the unhappy ones? I am inspired to find joy in the little things and seek happiness out of the everyday mundane moments of life. And it's people who have nothing that inspire me to do so.

    2. I am staking my identity by continuously striving to be someone that others can look at and say "There's something different about her". I don't want to conform to the world, or even the pressures of high school, but I want to stand out, and have people notice a difference in me because of my relationship with God. I find my identity in Him and I strive to live my life in ways that mimic His.

    3. The things that usually keep me from acting on that are the fear of rejection/judgment, and my own stubbornness. It's incredibly difficult to live life as a child of God when I know that there are those in the world who will push me down due to my beliefs and will judge me. I know that even my friends will judge me for bringing my "church self" to school, instead of keeping it tucked away. My stubbornness is another big part that's keeping me from being who I am. Head knowledge and heart knowledge are completely different things. I may know in my head who I am, but accepting it in my heart and shifting my life to reflect that is not easy. Especially when it means admitting that I can't do everything on my own, and I need help. In short, fear of the world and fear of myself are the things that hold me back from being who I am.

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  20. 1. I am inspired by an endless list of people and things. Videos like this inspire me to find my passion and really pursue it. People who treat me and others with nothing, but love also inspire me to become a better person and make me desire to do good in the world. I am inspired by people who work hard and are passionate about what they do. I could listen to people talk about what they love for hours and it just inspires me to do what I love. Positivity, however, is the one thing that inspires me most. People who are always positive and looking at the bright side of every situation inspire me every day. I strive to live a life of positivity, passion, and love.

    2. I am staking my identity by learning from the people around me. Everyday and every person has some sort of lesson to teach you whether it is from what they do right or their mistakes. Each day I try to learn something new from the people around me to become a better version of myself. I strive to grow from these lessons and be open-minded about what they are teaching me. Last, I want to learn to be passionate about everything I do and do everything out of love and kindness instead of judgement and hatred.

    3. The things that usually prevent me from acting on that are my fear of judgement and the fact that I am a teenager. So many people have told me "you are only a teenager, you don't know what you really want in life" or "you can't do that when you are this young" that I am so scared of being judged or rejected for doing what I love and what I am am passionate about. There is so much negativity and hatred in this world, sometimes it is nearly impossible to have a positive outlook on things.

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  21. 1. I am inspired by seeing other people who have problems similar to mine prevailing through them. It helps me know that other people can do it, which gives me the drive to do it as well.
    2.I'm staking my identity through experiment. I try different things to see if I like them, I meet as many new people as I can, and I try to do as much as I can every day.
    3.I don't really know who I am yet. There are some things that I want to do, but don't because I'm scared of judgement from other people or I'm scared of messing up/hurting myself. Often, I feel like I won't be good at something so I won't try it in fear of embarrassment and shame.

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  22. 1. I am inspired by little victories. For example when the shy kid answers a question despite the fact that they do not want to be seen. Or when you successfully talk to a person you like without making an idiot of yourself. Little victories may not mean much to the people around but they mean the world to that one person which is encouraging to me. It is like a snow ball rolling down a hill, it gets bigger and bigger until it is huge. One small victory can lead to a championship for someone.

    2. I stake my identity by always trying to do what I want, not what is considered the popular choice. If I do not like something about myself I change it. My idea about life is like this quote, "Reputations are just history in rumor form," (12 Dates of Christmas). To me this means that who people think I am is based on what I do so I can change one by changing the other.

    3. Sometimes I feel scared to try new things because I may not be good at them, but the guy in the video could not have started off that good on a bike so I have to accept everything takes practice. Also I honestly am so focused on school, homework, tests, sports, and a million other things that the only time I really have a moment to myself is right before I fall asleep. Or it would be if I was not so tired from the day that I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Part of being a high school student is discovering who you want to be but there are so many other things to do that it is extremely hard to have time to think about who you want to be.

    12 Dates of Christmas. Dir. James Hayman. Perf. Amy Smart and Mark-Paul Gosselaar. ABC Family, 2011.

    P.S. I did not know how to cite the movie where I got the quote from so I did an easybib for it and took the first part of it for the in text citation.

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  23. 1. I am inspired by the people around me. I am easily inspired by other people being successful and also making mistakes. I am inspired when I see some someone make a mistake and then learn from it. I think it is a very important part of life to learn from your mistakes. In addition, I am inspired by simple acts of kindness and gratitude. I am inspired by these different things and I learn and grow from them.

    2. As of right now, my identity is not fully formed. I don't necessarily want my identity to have any bounds. I want it to continually change as I meet new people and go through different experiences. I want strive to do new things and met new people so my identity is continually changing.

    3. The main thing that prevents me from being who I am is my peers. The need to want to be ¨cool¨, and to fit in usually gets in the way of me finding my identity. I usually try to stay away from this and I know if stay away from this I can find my true identity.

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  24. 1. I am inspired by competition. Competition can teach people many important life lessons needed to succeed. In the process of competition there are many challenges that have to be faced. The video started out showing the biker falling off a fence and failing at what he was trying to accomplish, later in the video he got across the same fence. Competition inspires me because it brings out great things in people that wouldn't have been there before. Watching people compete and bring the best of themselves is something that inspires me to do the same.

    2 I try to stake my identity by looking at my future and what it can become. Everyone has enormous potential in their lives ahead of them. High school is where you start on the path to success. There are so many things in high school that try to sway you from this path. All of these things are easy to find, and then pressured to do it. I stake my identity by staying to my moral values of whats right and whats wrong and what will keep my on the path to success.

    3 In my opinion no one in high school truly has their identity figured out yet. This is because so much is still going on in this time in our lives. Throughout high school and college everyone will change so much from who they are now. There is so much pressure to fit it that it makes it hard for anyone to find their identity.

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  25. 1.) I am inspired by the growth of people around me. Throughout the video Inspired Bicycles by Danny MacAskill the complication of the tricks and the successes became more amazing throughout. Toward the beginning of the video Danny MacAskill was having difficulty riding on the fence. They showed multiple failures before a success and the tricks got higher, faster, and more daring from there. I think they showed this to remind us that you won't be good at something on the first try or maybe even the first 100 times you try something new! This is inspiring to me because you saw the growth he had throughout the video as a reminder to be persistent and that practice makes perfect.

    2.)I'm staking my identity by putting my best foot forward and keeping an open mind. Whether that means smiling at people in the halls or putting all I have into sports projects or relationships every positive effort you put forward helps you learn about yourself. Although i'm not sure exactly what my identity is, keeping an open mind and trying my best puts me in a positive place where I can explore and someday be concrete in who I want to be.

    3.)I think that time slows me from finding my identity or being who I am. We all know that we get caught up or unreasonably busy that sometimes we don't take the time for ourselves or our families. Personally my busiest time is after school. Getting from school to home and then to sports practices can be quite a haul. Sometimes i'm so caught up in being late or remembering the things I have to do, so I don't spend enough time appreciating the things around me.

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  26. 1. I'm most inspired by relentless hard work. When I see someone, who even in the worst of circumstances continues to work hard to their goal, then I envision I can do the same. An example of this can be seen in the video, where Danny MacAskill continues to work hard and never ceases to stop trying until he can ride his bike on top of the fence. As MacAskill persevered through his mistakes, I became inspired, thinking, if he can keep going and continue to try to reach a seemingly impossible goal, then I can also fight and work hard towards completing my own dreams.

    2. I'm staking my identity by embracing my passions and hobbies. The only way to build a true identity of oneself is exhibit what they enjoy and what they want to be. For me, I stake my claim by embodying my love for learning languages and trying to become better at them. By taking more language classes and teaching myself the languages that don't have a class at Arapahoe, I continue to embrace what I enjoy. In doing this, I build an identity that I will have in the future and in my career. My passions of languages will benefit my dreams to become a translator or to get involved in international business.

    3. What keeps me from fully completing my identity is that I still need to build more skills to be able to use my identity towards my dreams. Although my passions consist of most of my identity, I still need parts of it that will also help me in the future and to achieve my goals. The biggest example of this is my need to become better speaking in front of a group. The only thing that's holding me back from improving these skills is myself. I need to practice public speaking to a point where I am more confident and comfortable talking. With getting over my fears of public speaking, I can complete my identity and proceed with working towards my goals in life.

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  27. 1. I am inspired by other people working together. People are able to create great things that can change lives. People that work together on something are able to overcome obstacles that they couldn't have without each other.

    2. I am staking my identity by only worrying about myself. Drama that goes on in school, social media, etc. should not have an effect on me.I will take part in things that I enjoy, so that I do not create an image of myself that isn't true.

    3. What keeps me from finding my identity is my shyness. I sometimes find it hard to work with other people who I am not familiar with. Also, I do not put myself out there to be noticed by others.

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  28. I am inspired by the beauty of the world and beauty created by those in it. I am inspired by seeing how others thrive in extreme adversity, people handling situations they did not ask for and the change they make because of the way they reacted to it. I attempt to stake my identity by following the examples that people like that set, stepping outside of my comfort zone for things that are worth it, and being honest with others what I stand for. My concept of self is loosely defined, and very much a work in progress. I know bits and pieces of who I am, and am not in any rush to find all the missing pieces. In fact, I hope I am never so confident in my every belief that I would be opposed to ideas different than my own. I also hope that I am dimensional enough to not be able to sit down and immediately figure out who I am. However, I do feel strongly about being who I am, whoever that is.

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  29. 1. I am truly inspired by the world God created and by people who are passionate about their own personal inspirations and who bring something completely new to the table. I am inspired by people who go above and beyond the guidelines instead of following the rules exactly as written. I am inspired by the way nature varies, the way no tiny speck of earth is alike and that you can go anywhere you want in the world and never get tired of it, never see the same thing twice, and always learn something new. The way that everyone is their own person, seeing through a different set of eyes than mine, thinking and feeling different feelings that I can't see because I can't read minds.
    2. I'm staking my identity in the firm believe that God there, He is real, and He cares for me and others and knows the plans He has for me so that I should not worry about anything but instead cast my cares on Him. I want to be like HIm and share his love to those who need it and who can't find it, and I want to be that person who reaches out to help them discover who they are in Christ. I want people to look at me and think "Why is it that she's so different?" I stake my identity in being out-of-the-ordinary for God. I'm not the usual teenager and I refuse to be one. I won't cuss, I won't fall into the patterns of this world, I will stay the person I am and no one but God is allowed to shape who I am. :) I am a soldier on God's side and ready to be used as he would have me be used. If anyone else has a problem with this, well, it is their problem and not mine. Sorry, but it's true. That's who I am.
    3. Something that keeps me from being the person I described in #2 is being busy and being stressed. Stress has a way of worming itself into the back of my mind and rooting itself there where it constantly taunts me. I react to stress with procrastination. Which is really bad. And when I react to stress with procrastination, my body reacts with more stress, which causes me to become so enveloped in the things of the present that I lose sight of God's plan for me and forget to give all my cares to him. I forget to be kind to others and I forget to follow in His ways because it's SO HARD to be stressed out! But it really is no excuse, and it's what is keeping me from being who I want to be.

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