I Believe in Doing the Right Thing, by Owen Roche

I believe in doing the right thing. Often times, it is a lot harder to do the right thing rather than doing something else or nothing at all. This reigns true for almost any scenario, from holding the door open for someone to forgiving others for their mistakes. As a young child, this concept of always trying to do the right thing was simply a lesson my parents tried to teach me, an idea that seemed to fly over my head. This changed, however, when my world was flipped upside down.

I was 10 years old when my father told me he was being deployed to Iraq as part of his military service. Devastation, confusion, and sadness swept over me. I was feeling sorry for not only myself, but my mother and sister as well, because I knew how hard the following 14 months were going to be. My sister and I both played multiple sports, hockey and baseball for myself, lacrosse and swimming for her. As I said, I was 10 years old, and she was 8. It was going to be an absolute nightmare for my mother to even attempt to drive us to each and every practice and game, making sure we each had three meals every day. This, along with making sure we were performing well in school, proved to be quite the burden early on.

The first day after my father left, my mother had to take me to baseball, drop me off, take my sister to lacrosse, pick me up, pick my sister up, and finally take us home. On the way home, our car got a flat tire, and that night I sat awake in my bed, listening to my mother weep alone in her room.

It appeared that this stretch was going to be tougher than we thought. That is, until the community we lived in stepped in. Families of teammates for both our teams began to offer rides to and from practices and games. Neighbors would make amazing dinners and bring it over for us to enjoy. Friends would invite my sister and I over to spend the night, giving my mother some much needed nights off. Why were all these people doing this for us? Wasn’t driving out of their way to pick me up a huge inconvenience? Why were they cooking us dinner and not cooking for themselves?

It was because it was the right thing to do.

These families knew the challenge we were facing and stopped at nothing to help. It would have been so easy for them to just turn a blind eye to us. To this day, my family and I are indebted to these people for their graciousness and generosity. Their actions also made a lasting impression on a pair of young kids. To this day, I always strive and will continue to strive to do the right thing, regardless of the difficulty or inconvenience it presents.

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This essay was written for Dr. Elizabeth Flowers’ World Religions in America course.  You can read more about the TCU Religion Department here. 

 

I Believe in Words, by Iara Roberto

Words are things that are used to say, write and think in every moment of our lives. Even now you are reading words and listening to the voice inside your head speaking these words. Words are everywhere, but we really underrate them. We simply don’t realize the power that words carry. It is completely automatic for us to speak and talk without thinking carefully about what we are actually doing. When we are speaking to a person, it does not matter who, we need to be careful about the words we use because sometimes one simple word can activate a hurricane of emotions in the other person. They are not always bad emotions, but unfortunately those are the most common.

Words can and must be used to create good emotions like support, love, happiness, etc. If you just think about it, with a few beautiful words we can change someone’s day radically. For example a “Good Night” or “Good Morning”, or “Are you home yet?” “Oh, I love your dress!” Just simple things that require no effort can make someone so happy beyond thinking.

Another example is reading books. When you are reading a book you experience thousands of emotions like anger, desperation, sadness, happiness, excitement, even love making you want read more and more. One phrase I really like is, “Beware of those who can write; they have the power to make you fall in love without even touching you.” This quote says everything that needs to be said. I have had the experience of loving a book character, being angry with a book character and also hating one so much that it made me angry, and all of this just by reading words.

Words matter when you say to your son “stupid” or “you don’t deserve it”, when you say to your husband “When are you going to get a better job?” or to your friends “fat” even if you are joking, for the other person that may be pretty serious. Another clear and well-known example is bullying. Bullying is just words, but we all know that’s not the case. Bullying is the greatest example of how words can affect others so much; so much to the point that they don’t want to live anymore. They wish they were dead.

I believe that words have the power to move the world. Words move the world; we just need to learn to use them wisely. I believe that words have the power to change the world. A couple of words or an entire speech could be enough to motivate a person, an entire community, even thousands of people to do wonderful things but terrible things also. A couple of words can save a person’s life, or actually end it. A book can change a person’s opinion about something that leads to something bigger like choosing what your career will be. I believe that words can be used for wonderful and amazing things; we just have to say them.

 

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My name is Iara, I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After graduating High School I moved to Fort Worth, Texas with the future plan of studying a career in the US as an international student. Currently I am studying in the TCU Intensive English Program. I really enjoy reading, investigating, writing, and listening to music. In the future I would like to pursue a career in Journalism and Criminal Justice

I Believe in Store Brand Candy, by Michaela Eichers

I believe in store brand candy. It can be found anywhere, and shared with anyone. It can be the catalyst to a conversation with someone you would have never anticipated.

I remember hearing the crunch of the dry mud crackle underneath my boots as I sauntered through the tall grasses in Botswana. My all khaki ensemble blended in with my surroundings, but disagreed with every fashion instinct I had in my body, as I chewed on the same piece of candy for ten minutes. Our tour guide explained how my family and I would be meeting the indigenous people that called the safari their home; the blood in my veins turned red hot with fear. How would I interact with them? We do not speak the same language and knowing myself I would do something on accident that would offend them.

As soon as we went through the wooden fence, the people stared at us. The elders had seen Caucasian people before, but for most of the children, this was the first time. Filled with trepidation, I approached a young girl and kneeled down so I was eye level with her dark, round eyes. As she stared into my eyes, I could tell she was confused and even a little appalled. She had never seen a seventeen year old white girl with embarrassingly pale skin and blue eyes. I smiled at her and reached into my pocket and pulled out a small piece of cherry flavored candy. I stuck out my hand with my peace offering but her eyes stayed locked on mine. Panicked, I grabbed a second piece, unwrapped the delicate red plastic and ate it. Her eyes widened with excitement. I sat down on the dry dirt and opened my backpack revealing a ziplock bag filled with candy, and before I could catch my breath, ten more children found their way to my lap, wondering when it would be their turn to have a piece.

As the day progressed, the amount of candy I had dwindled. Every piece of candy I passed out was a ticket into the life of someone else. The children would tell me their names, and use hand gestures to try and act out important scenes from their lives. Even the Elders would tap on my shoulder, reach their hands out, and ask for a piece. Laughing to myself, I would agree, and without asking, they would invite me into their homes made of mud and straw and share their wisdom with me. Others would grab my hand and begin to dance, and some would roll what was supposed to be a soccer ball at my feet and start hollering to initiate a game.

I believe in genuine laughter, memories, and unexpected friends. The bitter flavors and unpleasant chewiness were microscopic compared to the laughter of the children, the stories from the Elders, and raw happiness that will never leave my heart.

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Michaela is a student at Texas Christian University

I Believe in Kindness, by Tobi Carter

I believe in kindness.

I went to visit my grandfather the week before he died, not realizing that he was about to pass away. I knew he had stage 4 lung cancer and I knew he was fighting hard. But no one ever knows when someone else is going to pass away.

It was one of those days that cancer patients look forward to – a day where he got out of bed. We went for a slow walk around his neighborhood so he could get some fresh air. I’m not the closest to my grandfather but he always taught me kindness, even through his actions.

We were walking down the street when a car zoomed by and, like a scene from the movies, splashed water all over my dying grandfather. I expected him to get angry (he was a grouchy old man) but instead, he sighed and said, “Well.”

“Pops?” I asked to make sure he was okay.

Unprompted, he said, “You know, usually I would get mad. But one thing I’ve been taught throughout my time with cancer is niceness. People didn’t realize I was given only three months to live and would get angry at me because I was distracted.”

My grandfather left me alone with my thoughts for a bit until he said, “Always be kind. You never know what people are going through.”

I believe in kindness because you never truly know someone’s story. They could be going through hell but still have a smile on his or her face.

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Tobi Carter is a junior journalism major with an anthropology minor. She hopes to work for a publication such as National Geographic. She’s a part of Eta Iota Sigma sorority, TCU 360, the Women’s Club Volleyball Team, and the Adventure Trip Program with TCU. Tobi’s originally from Lewisville, Texas but is happy to make Fort Worth her new home.

I believe in Smiling

Author: Jimena Reyes, TCU Student, Strategic Communications Major, Published Fall 2012

I believe in smiling.

Have you ever had a stranger smile at you when your day was not going well? And without realizing it, you smiled back? It has happened to me, which is why I smile as often as I can, even to strangers.

Smiles help us communicate non-verbally; for example, we usually smile when we like something, or when we are happy, or when we are excited, or when we see a familiar face. We sometimes don’t even notice we are doing it. It’s an unconscious reflex.

Smiles are contagious – and this is why I love smiling at people, even if I’m sad or mad. I do it hoping I will get a smile back. I have experienced how powerful smiling can be from both perspectives.

When I was in middle school, my parents decided to change my school. In this new place, I had no friends and I was to shy to talk to strangers. It was easier for me to stay in my “safe bubble”.

On my third day I was eating on a bench when a girl who was two years older smiled at me for no reason. I just couldn’t understand; people from higher grades just don’t go around smiling at the young ones. Her smile made that day better than the rest. If it weren’t for her, I would have never gotten the courage to go talk to the girl on the bench next to mine, who would become my best friend.

Smiles are powerful, and I believe in them. Give others your best smile. You never know whose life you might change.