Who am I, and what do I believe? -Karleigh

Every person differs greatly in their beliefs whether they are religious or moral.   I think that teenager’s beliefs often stem from their parent’s beliefs or experiences.  As an eighteen year old about to graduate from High School, I have been considering my personal beliefs.  When asked, “What do I believe?”, a million thoughts come to mind.  Where do I even start? The core of my beliefs is centered on what I have been taught throughout my childhood. 

I believe in honesty and the importance of showing respect to others, whether they are a different race or sexuality.  I am aware that every human being is different in every way; therefore if a person treats me with respect I will give them the same respect.  I am an avid believer in giving to others who are less fortunate than me.  At some point in every person’s life, they will need help.  Lending a helping hand to people who need it seems natural to me.  I believe there should be a cycle.  If someone needs help, you give it; if you need help someone else should help you. 

In a society that often tries to influence individuals, the greatest feat one can overcome is staying true to oneself.  The media has a way of poisoning individual’s minds into believing they aren’t good enough how they are.  I believe that you decide your own self-worth.  Although I make mistakes, I know that I am a good person.  Neither the media nor any other person will change how I think about myself.  Along with staying true to myself, it is also very important to not let other people influence my beliefs.   I believe in imperfections and flaws.  There isn’t a person in this world that is perfect.  Everyone makes mistakes continually throughout their life.  Judgments shouldn’t be inflicted on someone simply because they make different mistakes than other people.  I think that everyone should embrace their flaws.  Imperfections are what make individuals who they are.  Without mistakes, human beings would all be the same. 

Compassion is a virtue that should be seen as a valuable quality in people.  Although I lack life experience, I know that life can be cold and unfair.  Feeling compassion for others is important because I believe that a person with no compassion for other people is not a very good person.  Having sympathy is second nature.  If you see someone struggling most people have sympathy for that person and show kindness.  If nobody was compassionate, the world would be vastly different.

I have never really put much thought into who I am or what I believe in.  I have many beliefs, but most of them didn’t seem significant enough to describe who I am.  Honesty, compassion, integrity, selflessness and confidence are important qualities to strive for.  However, since I am still young I don’t think I really know who I am yet.  I know what I believe in, but I don’t think putting value on certain qualities or virtues makes me who I am.  I am an eighteen year old, trying to figure out who I am.

Who am I, and what do I believe? -Darian

Who am I? Who am I? What do I believe? What does everybody else believe? There’s the world, and then there’s me. There’s the world, and then there’s me. That’s the way it’s always been. Maybe everybody thinks like that though. Maybe everybody thinks that it’s them against the world. Maybe that’s how people survive, and keep surviving. Who am I? I am somebody who thinks they’ve got it all figured out, someone who knows all the answers…well maybe not all of the answers, but someone who knows enough to understand the outcome of things. I can understand why people do the things they do, and say the things they say. I am well versed with the ways of the world, though I’ve not personally experienced 99.9% of it. Right now I am impatient and tired. I want to be in the world, even if the world doesn’t care.

 I treasure truthfulness and steadfastness. I am someone who thinks I have something to share with the world, though I’ve yet to find that “something.” I am not so ignorant as to think I can change the entire world, because the entire world does not want to listen. But one day I’ll do something big, something wonderful, something worthy of hearing about, and once that happens I’ll ask for no more. I do not want fame, (though I suppose that goes hand in hand with “big” things), or recognition necessarily. I want my family to be able to be proud of me, and I want to take care of them because they spent so much time taking care of me. Time goes on and forgets nobody. I want to use my time to do, or think something extraordinary. I want to be forever in the memory of my family, and to be remembered. That’s what I really want. To be remembered. That sounds selfish in a way, but in a way it’s not. If you want people to remember you, does that mean you think highly of yourself? If you think highly of yourself, then you could be selfish. But if you think lowly of yourself, I don’t think you’ll ever get anywhere or do anything. So maybe it’s good to be a little selfish sometimes. I want to be selfish so I can share with the world.

I am someone who thinks they’ve got it all figured out. I believe in pessimism and I believe in optimism, because both are rooted in experience and reason. I want to be remembered. I want to be selfish in a way that allows me to share with the world. And I want to take care of my family because they spent so much time taking care of me.    

Who am I, and what do I believe? -Jasmine

                Who am I? What am I capable of? What can I achieve while breathing, while living? What am I in this world? Am I even important? Can I make a difference in at least one person’s life? What is my purpose? These are a few examples of many questions I ask myself. I’m living in a world that answers none of them at all; I have to answer them myself. I have to find myself. I believe there’s plenty of time to know exactly who I am. I realized I’m just someone who can and will make a difference in others’ lives. I am someone who is filled with hope and faith. I’m a dreamer. I dream of happiness, and I know I can find that happiness by helping other’s find theirs.

As some individuals grow up, they are stripped of their happiness. They are stripped of the only thing that really matters while breathing their limited breaths. Basically stolen from their lives, believing everything that is untrue and disbelieving the things that are true. Every heart, every life, and every soul matters. As long as someone’s heart is beating, there is and always will be hope. Every heart beat is beating for a reason. Some people find their purpose a lot quicker than others, while some never find theirs at all. When some people have a hard time believing they have a purpose, and haven’t found it yet, they give up on trying to finding it. Then they have a difficult time believing they have a purpose at all.

We all have a purpose in life, whether it’s being a teacher inspiring student’s to be the best they can be or being known to play an instrument very well. No matter the case, we are all good at something. But I know every person on this planet is meant to be happy. We all should be happy with who we are and what we do in our own lives. We are meant to live in harmony with ourselves and the people around us. We shouldn’t direct hate towards others, or have self-hate for ourselves. We should love ourselves because we only live one life, our only life. We can only be ourselves.  Someone can’t just stop being them and start being someone else because they like that person better. We can’t be someone else, but we can be a better self.

In conclusion, anyone is capable of every single thing in life as long as they have the push and will power to do so. If a person has that, they can achieve everything their heart desires. No matter the case, each and every one of us is important. We can be someone’s inspiration without knowing it, or someone’s angel, we are always in someone’s thoughts and heart. There is continuous hope in the life we all share. Our life doesn’t only belong to us; it also belongs to the people who love us. And we shouldn’t take that away from ourselves or our loved ones.

Who am I, and what do I believe? -Nakeya

I’ve been taught that if you are hard-worker in school you will be successful in life. I have been working so hard in school, to make my dreams come true. I want to make an impression to other kids in my school that working hard is not nerdy or stupid. I want to show the underclassmen that they need to keep up with their homework because it is important. It will help you in the future.

I am a very generous person when people come and ask me questions I help them as best to my ability. I try to be there for anybody who needs my help.

I also believe being a role model is important. If others can see that you’re a hard worker you are encouraging them to be a better person in school. Making good decisions will make other people make good decisions. Education is very important to me, and I want to show and make people realize that it should be important to them.

I have a kindness that has a huge impact on my education. It is really hard to find people who are mannered, kind, and respectful. Making people realize these kind of qualities will help you with your future careers. All the people I have met are rude, I want to bring back manners and kindness. I have been kind all my life and I found out that I am more successful then I would ever thought possible. I found that being kind has made me friends that I will have for a lifetime. I also have great relationships with my teachers and has made me get excellent grades. I feel like I put my kindness out there and it has helped other kids realize that its okay to just be yourself.

This is who I am, always putting my education first. Having a smile on my face to put others in a good mood. Just being me, I realized that it is okay to be yourself. Helping others to come out of their shells just makes me feel good inside that I actually helped somebody and maybe even changed their lives. It is a very hard thing to do putting yourself out there in the world. I think that I made good decisions about my education and feel proud about them. I hope that one day my kindness and working hard in school will pay off. This is who I am and what I believe in.

Who am I, and what do I believe? -Tayla

In order to receive respect, you need to give respect. Believe there is good in bad, in others and yourself. I believe in helping others who have fallen off the “good” road. This goes for traditional ways too. Not every bad guy was or is always bad (metaphorically speaking). It takes time and usually someone’s help or an event to change someone’s ways. Patience is key to helping someone. But there comes a point when a person can’t help someone who does not want to be helped. I try to be compassionate and understanding, for those who are lost or don’t know their ways can be taught. Native Americans are losing their ways. It is up to our elders to teach the younger generation and it is up to the younger generation to want to learn. They forget the significance of sweats, sun dances, and powwows. It’s a time to reflect and rejoice the life you were given. I believe in motivation and taking pride in whom you are and where you come from. Don’t let pride make your head big. There is a fine line between having pride and being arrogant and conceited. Be humble. Tribes are not gangs; you represent your tribe and respect other tribes. I believe in keeping sacred doings, sacred. This means no cameras or videotaping, during sun dances, sweats, Navajo ceremonies, whistled songs, etc; they are sacred for a reason. I have faith and hope, listening to my elders and voicing myself.

Perfection, in my dictionary, does not exist. Nothing is ever perfect, but that is okay. I accept that. I understand mistakes will be made, I may fall off the “good” road, and maybe I have already.  I take those mistakes and learn/grow from them. Someone may be there to guide me or not. I don’t have a place to judge, but I and others have to be able to admit we do judge, whether we notice it or not. I believe in the power of prayer, but that doesn’t mean I have to attend church to prove myself. I offer my prayers in sweat or by myself. I do go to church most Sundays though.  I believe in individualism. I am myself and I have to allow others to be themselves. Almost any and every situation is what I make it. I believe if you want something to happen, you have to make it happen. Stuff doesn’t happen on its own, don’t wait around for other people, just do it. I believe in sticking up for myself.  Do not let someone down grade you and make you believe you’re something you are not. I have strong view points and if someone has different views, that’s okay. In order to be who I am, I have to accept the way I am.

I am a stubborn, stern, compassionate individual who has strong beliefs in my heritage. I am a person that lives by respect and still learning what life is all about and what life has to offer. I am almost a mirror of my mother. I am a proud Navajo, Assiniboine, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, and Klamath.  I am Tayla D.