You know what it means, it's been used in every fairytale and every story of old at one time or another. It's the fabeled Fortress, a word which immediately sends an image to your mind, an image of unshaken solitude, which stands tall and resolute against the most devastating of attacks. Now as times passes, this symbol of unrelenting resistance has slowly changed, changed from once defining that castle of realistic protection and pride to another kind of fortress. The only fortresses to be found today are the ones surrounding you and I, our own fortresses of values, which will always be on the defense.
It's shocking, it truly is, to see person after person fall under the pressure of moral attack, no longer able to stand for what they believe in. They're crumbling, like the walls of the Edinburgh itself, some faster than others, but the fact still remains so. One after another they fumble over themselves, questioning the very beliefs that have taken root in their earliest childhood memories. How could this happen? How could a fortress of upstanding values be crushed, devasted by mere words from another? It is a sad day when the question on everyone's mind is not "if" but "when." When will you fall to the world? When will you forsake everything you've known to know nothing? You better not answer that question.
There is still hope. Still strong, in the dark mists of the world there are few, few people who stand strong for themselves, and no other. They know why they choose to face adversity, They know what they stand for. Their example blazes through the fog, like a lighthouse at work, leading those woebegone through the dangerous seas. They are your friends of the past, the hope of the present, and the leaders of the future.
You know who they are, and it's about time you joined them.
Light up the darkness.
April 28, 2008
April 24, 2008
Junior Essay Contest
This is the essay I turned in for the Junior class essay contest, and hopefully it wins something. I only took about five minutes on it, and I'm really too lazy to change anything, so here it is.
This day in our age is a day of cold uncertainty. A harsh barrier of indifference and contemporary conflict separate us from each other in a world where a friendly hello from a stranger and other such courtesies are seen as mythical, rather than practical. As I look around at our community, our society, even our world, this plague of doubt and distrust has reached the four corners of the earth, casting everyone into its darkening shadow. How can one combat such an opponent as apathy and doubt? The answer may be simpler than you think. I can make a difference, I can contribute to the world close around me as well as the world encompassing us all by propagating education, extending a friendly hand to those who are struggling to stand, and by blazing my own path in this world, maintaining a fortress of upstanding values and using this example as a guiding light for those lost in the tide of today’s world.
Service, in all of its forms, sustains phenomenal results. However, the highest form of service and the greatest gift one can give is that of education. By tutoring, or supporting those who teach, I can change the very lives of those whom I have assisted. Education is the key to opportunity and by propelling forth the work of education we are advancing onto an age of enlightenment wherein ignorance is nonexistent, and along with it prejudice, for those two are one and the same.
The greatest counter against apathy is without a doubt appreciation. Extending a hand to those who need it is not enough, one must have compassion. Compassion and appreciation for those people around you is more than enough to change the world surrounding us. If I were to show unbounded love and tolerance for those I interact with on a daily basis, the positive results of these actions would be astronomical. It is possible to be friends with everybody, but sadly to find such a person is an extremely difficult thing to discover nowadays as this type of person is slowly fading into legend. Kindness works in that of a ripple effect, one kind deed will trigger another, until ripples form into waves, and we’ve covered the entire earth with this newfound harmony. It only takes one person to start such a wave.
When we look for role models and personal heroes today we all picture someone of great significance, some great person. All great people have led outstanding examples, and through this have affected thousands upon thousands of lives. Such great people are Mahatma Gandhi, who dedicated his life to the pursuit of justice through peaceful terms, and Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who gave hope and comfort to the poor and troubled of mind. Both of these men led impeccable lives, maintaining a fortress of upstanding values and standards that remain unshaken to this day, preserved in history books and in the hearts of their admirers. This is my goal, to lead an example that will remain unshaken in history, to stand as a lighthouse of truth, shining a beacon of light into the foggy mists of confusion and distrust, giving those who need a hero someone to lean on. Doing this will take astronomical effort, but I believe that the results it will bear are more than worth it.
Although we live in troubled times, there is always hope for a better future. Through these actions mentioned previously I intend to strengthen that hope, to feed it. One day this world will become a utopia of harmonious living and acceptance, and I surely do hope I have something to do with it. Through support of education, kind deeds, and outstanding examples, I believe we can change the world.
This day in our age is a day of cold uncertainty. A harsh barrier of indifference and contemporary conflict separate us from each other in a world where a friendly hello from a stranger and other such courtesies are seen as mythical, rather than practical. As I look around at our community, our society, even our world, this plague of doubt and distrust has reached the four corners of the earth, casting everyone into its darkening shadow. How can one combat such an opponent as apathy and doubt? The answer may be simpler than you think. I can make a difference, I can contribute to the world close around me as well as the world encompassing us all by propagating education, extending a friendly hand to those who are struggling to stand, and by blazing my own path in this world, maintaining a fortress of upstanding values and using this example as a guiding light for those lost in the tide of today’s world.
Service, in all of its forms, sustains phenomenal results. However, the highest form of service and the greatest gift one can give is that of education. By tutoring, or supporting those who teach, I can change the very lives of those whom I have assisted. Education is the key to opportunity and by propelling forth the work of education we are advancing onto an age of enlightenment wherein ignorance is nonexistent, and along with it prejudice, for those two are one and the same.
The greatest counter against apathy is without a doubt appreciation. Extending a hand to those who need it is not enough, one must have compassion. Compassion and appreciation for those people around you is more than enough to change the world surrounding us. If I were to show unbounded love and tolerance for those I interact with on a daily basis, the positive results of these actions would be astronomical. It is possible to be friends with everybody, but sadly to find such a person is an extremely difficult thing to discover nowadays as this type of person is slowly fading into legend. Kindness works in that of a ripple effect, one kind deed will trigger another, until ripples form into waves, and we’ve covered the entire earth with this newfound harmony. It only takes one person to start such a wave.
When we look for role models and personal heroes today we all picture someone of great significance, some great person. All great people have led outstanding examples, and through this have affected thousands upon thousands of lives. Such great people are Mahatma Gandhi, who dedicated his life to the pursuit of justice through peaceful terms, and Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who gave hope and comfort to the poor and troubled of mind. Both of these men led impeccable lives, maintaining a fortress of upstanding values and standards that remain unshaken to this day, preserved in history books and in the hearts of their admirers. This is my goal, to lead an example that will remain unshaken in history, to stand as a lighthouse of truth, shining a beacon of light into the foggy mists of confusion and distrust, giving those who need a hero someone to lean on. Doing this will take astronomical effort, but I believe that the results it will bear are more than worth it.
Although we live in troubled times, there is always hope for a better future. Through these actions mentioned previously I intend to strengthen that hope, to feed it. One day this world will become a utopia of harmonious living and acceptance, and I surely do hope I have something to do with it. Through support of education, kind deeds, and outstanding examples, I believe we can change the world.
Drum Major Application Essay
This is the essay I turned in with my drum major application. I thought it was pretty good myself, so go ahead. Indulge.
For years and years, the tradition of excellence has been carried in the arms of our band’s drum majors. As our school rises to that of epitomizing glory, only the best should be placed at the forefront of our band. Those who hold the standards of greatness and compassion, and have the makings of a great leader, should be the ones marching at the head of the Davis High Marching Band. Those qualities previously mentioned, coincidentally, parallel my own traits in many ways. Strong leadership skills, compassion, understanding and experience are just a few of the reasons I could make a great drum major.
Ever since childhood, the mantel of leadership has been placed upon my shoulders. Throughout my life my family and friends, have rallied behind me looking for direction. Even today, family members both younger and older than myself have looked to me for guidance and support. With outstanding determination and a fortress of upstanding values, I have successfully led myself and those around me to a better place in life. These personality traits are extremely difficult to find in a sea of followers that engulf us today.
I also have the great gift of compassion and understanding, which has been one of the most powerful tools of friendship and communication I have ever had the opportunity to use. I have never met a person that I have not been able to relate to and find common ground with. With this gift of tolerance and the ability to put forth a basic feeling of warmth all around, I feel that this is a great quality of a drum major.
Even in my religious experience I have been placed at a leadership position, as deacon’s president, and teacher’s president, and as a District leader at the soon to come Aaronic Priesthood Training Camp. I also have experience in marching band, as last year I aided the trumpet section with my leadership skills as a Squadron leader. My experience as a leader has grown exponentionally throughout my life, as I use my past positions to learn how to greater benefit those I influence now and later in my career.
For years and years, the tradition of excellence has been carried in the arms of our band’s drum majors. As our school rises to that of epitomizing glory, only the best should be placed at the forefront of our band. Those who hold the standards of greatness and compassion, and have the makings of a great leader, should be the ones marching at the head of the Davis High Marching Band. Those qualities previously mentioned, coincidentally, parallel my own traits in many ways. Strong leadership skills, compassion, understanding and experience are just a few of the reasons I could make a great drum major.
Ever since childhood, the mantel of leadership has been placed upon my shoulders. Throughout my life my family and friends, have rallied behind me looking for direction. Even today, family members both younger and older than myself have looked to me for guidance and support. With outstanding determination and a fortress of upstanding values, I have successfully led myself and those around me to a better place in life. These personality traits are extremely difficult to find in a sea of followers that engulf us today.
I also have the great gift of compassion and understanding, which has been one of the most powerful tools of friendship and communication I have ever had the opportunity to use. I have never met a person that I have not been able to relate to and find common ground with. With this gift of tolerance and the ability to put forth a basic feeling of warmth all around, I feel that this is a great quality of a drum major.
Even in my religious experience I have been placed at a leadership position, as deacon’s president, and teacher’s president, and as a District leader at the soon to come Aaronic Priesthood Training Camp. I also have experience in marching band, as last year I aided the trumpet section with my leadership skills as a Squadron leader. My experience as a leader has grown exponentionally throughout my life, as I use my past positions to learn how to greater benefit those I influence now and later in my career.
April 21, 2008
What is wrong, and what separates us from radical Islam?
It was a sad day that morning, when two jumbo jets veered off course and slammed into the sides of the Twin towers and the Pentagon. Thousands of lives were destroyed that day, and millions of lives affected. Who could have orchestrated such a disgusting display of perverted zeal? None other than Osama Bin Laden, the Islamic radical from the east, is to blame for this horrific deed. In the entire composition of this generation, the worse possible thing that one person could do was done by bin Laden, and his actions of hate and cowardice stained the history books with the blood he spilled that day.
Why were his actions wrong? Technically, it’s a matter of majority to decide what is wrong and what is right, and in this situation, a majority of the world agrees with America that what bin Laden did that day was indeed wrong, compared to the small group of Islamic radicals who praise bin Laden for his “achievements.” His actions are wrong because he is pursuing his beliefs to a limit where the safety of those he has targeted have come at risk, where is encroaching our rights, and that is where we draw the line. Attacking a nation solely for the purpose of destroying as many people as you can in that nation is universally viewed as horrifically wrong. Another term for prejudice based crimes, or hate crimes, increases the precision of the accusations against bin Laden.
Now for infiltrating a country illegally and abusing the privileges found in this country to fly its own jets into the trophy buildings of the western hemisphere is truly wrong. The Twin Towers were a symbol of patriotism, pride and success, which is why they were the main target of Osama bin Laden, whose sole purpose was to tear down such a successful nation, by any means possible. Terrorism is not only wrong; it is the lowest form of cowardly destruction ever to have disgraced this planet.
While fighting this war on terror, our nation has participated at what you could call a “proper” level of war-like manner. Needless to say, we’ve followed the rules defining a just war and how to fight one, in stark contrast to the stratagems produced by bin Laden and his Al Quaiada. Never have we stooped so low as to use suicide bombers, or religious zealots to infiltrate the opponent’s nation in an effort to turn it inside out. No, we came into this war too late for that, for Iraq was already tearing itself apart, as can be seen by the gross amount of inhumane actions against the peoples of Iraq constructed by the Iraqi regime, which only further justifies the intervention of America and the war on terror. Last time I checked, we were flying our own planes towards the small hideouts of Islamic radicals, not hijacking the Iraqi’s planes. No, we are right in our actions, defending democracy and fighting for its stability in the middle east, there can be no wrong when fighting for an ideal such as that, no matter how long the war or how incompetent the president directing it is.
All in all, to even suggest that our military, and our nation along with it, has adopted a way of terroristic fighting style to accompany our terroristic views on war is to openly expose your blind ignorance to the world. Never has anything been further from the truth as we see our boys from home being constantly attacked by suicide bombers and religious zealots, only to retaliate in the appropriate, humane, matter. At least as Americans we can say that we have fought a “fair war” in Iraq, even if many didn’t even want to fight it in the first place.
Why were his actions wrong? Technically, it’s a matter of majority to decide what is wrong and what is right, and in this situation, a majority of the world agrees with America that what bin Laden did that day was indeed wrong, compared to the small group of Islamic radicals who praise bin Laden for his “achievements.” His actions are wrong because he is pursuing his beliefs to a limit where the safety of those he has targeted have come at risk, where is encroaching our rights, and that is where we draw the line. Attacking a nation solely for the purpose of destroying as many people as you can in that nation is universally viewed as horrifically wrong. Another term for prejudice based crimes, or hate crimes, increases the precision of the accusations against bin Laden.
Now for infiltrating a country illegally and abusing the privileges found in this country to fly its own jets into the trophy buildings of the western hemisphere is truly wrong. The Twin Towers were a symbol of patriotism, pride and success, which is why they were the main target of Osama bin Laden, whose sole purpose was to tear down such a successful nation, by any means possible. Terrorism is not only wrong; it is the lowest form of cowardly destruction ever to have disgraced this planet.
While fighting this war on terror, our nation has participated at what you could call a “proper” level of war-like manner. Needless to say, we’ve followed the rules defining a just war and how to fight one, in stark contrast to the stratagems produced by bin Laden and his Al Quaiada. Never have we stooped so low as to use suicide bombers, or religious zealots to infiltrate the opponent’s nation in an effort to turn it inside out. No, we came into this war too late for that, for Iraq was already tearing itself apart, as can be seen by the gross amount of inhumane actions against the peoples of Iraq constructed by the Iraqi regime, which only further justifies the intervention of America and the war on terror. Last time I checked, we were flying our own planes towards the small hideouts of Islamic radicals, not hijacking the Iraqi’s planes. No, we are right in our actions, defending democracy and fighting for its stability in the middle east, there can be no wrong when fighting for an ideal such as that, no matter how long the war or how incompetent the president directing it is.
All in all, to even suggest that our military, and our nation along with it, has adopted a way of terroristic fighting style to accompany our terroristic views on war is to openly expose your blind ignorance to the world. Never has anything been further from the truth as we see our boys from home being constantly attacked by suicide bombers and religious zealots, only to retaliate in the appropriate, humane, matter. At least as Americans we can say that we have fought a “fair war” in Iraq, even if many didn’t even want to fight it in the first place.
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