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

Every person is dealt a different hand in life. Some people are born into a religious family or non-religious family. Life is not just black and white there is a lot of gray area and that gray represents me. Persuasion, responsibilities, age and one’s situation in life can have all have an influence on who someone is or what they believe in. All of these things may have an effect on my thinking and my beliefs but I understand about who I am and what I believe in.

Who is Mahalia H.? This is a question I could debate all day with myself because it’s a complex question. Does anyone know who they are at such a young age? In maybe five years from now I will have an answer but a lot can happen in five years to change a person. I may be young and naive but if I had to describe myself in one word answers it would be leader, overachiever, opinioned and sometimes a shy person.

I feel like I was born to be a leader. All my life I have been take charge; in the classroom, in sports and even hanging with friends. When I was young I was the friend that came up with what we were going to do at recess or who we were going to hang out with. I strive to be the best person I can possible be making me an overachiever. I want others to see how determined I am about my future and I want people to know that I’m not afraid to go the extra mile for what I want. I can be very opinioned person when it comes to something I believe in. I’m not the type of person to sit back and let things happen, if I don’t like something I let people know. It’s hard for me when I don’t agree with some ones opinions because I’m not afraid to argue for what I believe in. I can be super shy when I first meet people and I don’t like having to talk to people I don’t know. But being shy is not a bad thing because it gives me something to work on to improving myself.

            What I believe in? I get asked this question all the time and I have come to realize is I believe in a lot of things. I can’t sum up my beliefs in a paragraph or even a two page paper. My beliefs range from god to the right to bear arms. I believe every one was put on earth for a reason and we shouldn’t waste the life we were given. The more I continue to learning and live I will have more beliefs and some of the things I believe in now may change with time.

            I may have only been alive for seventeen years now but I have seen enough to know that people can’t control everything that happens in life but people can control the outcome on who or what kind of person they want to be. Being an overachiever or a leader makes me, me and if  I wasn’t  given great  parents that let me believe in what I want  I would be the person I am today. I may not be perfect and not everyone is going to agree in my beliefs but this is who I am and what I believe in.

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

The summer before freshman year had begun I was terrified to enter the new big world but I knew that my family would always be there for me to help me get through the bad times and the good. At that time I had really thought that they would always be there for me, but now that the days are getting closer were college is just around the corner I realize that I will be miles away from them knowing now that they aren’t going to be there physically for me anymore. But I know that I can make it because I made my mother a promise. She once told me a quote by Christopher Robin “Promise me that you’ll always remember you’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” I promised her and now I believe in myself no matter what anybody else has said to me, and it has gotten me so far and so close to where I want to go in life. I believe in myself.

When my mom had first said this to me I shook it off and just said “ya’ya mom I know.”But thinking back at how long ago she said that to me and actually taking the advice and following through the promise, I have accomplished so much. I now know that whatever I set my mind to I can do it. For example I desperately wanted to be on the all-stars team for rugby my junior year so all season long I worked my hardest to prove to the coaches that I have what it would take to go, and by the end of the year I was accepted to go and went to Boise Idaho for the tournament. To me that proved how well that believing in myself worked, because I was one of the smallest girls that was there but I had the big dream. This to me proved that I was stronger and braver than I thought that I could ever be.

To me it was harder to see at first that I actually was smarter than what I thought I was. But when I first moved from Idaho to Montana I had a hard time with grades and fitting in. I went straight down on my grade point average and I was slowly going downhill on class rankings. But then one day my mom sat me down and we had us a long important talk. And the words she said to me changed my views on everything. “Jessica I am very disappointed in you.” She was talking about my schooling and then she told me, “If you don’t believe in something you will fall for everything.” From that moment on I had put my focus on everything that was important to me and anything that was going to carry me out through the tough runs. And now I can say that I am a happy person and I know in just a short time from now I will be living my dream and teaching young students. I am Jessica D. and I believe in myself and others around me.

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

            Believing is how you look at things, and what you have faith in. What you believe makes you who you are, because you live by what you believe. If you don’t believe in yourself you can’t expect anyone else to believe in you or who you say you  are. Personally I believe in forgiveness, communication, loving, and staying true to who you are.

            Forgiving is something I strongly believe in, even if you have to forgive and forget. Its still better to forgive and forget than to stay angry at someone. Yes people do make mistakes, but you have to learn to learn to accept them for the misatkaes they have made. There are always people who question why I forgive so easily and honestly, it’s because I just want everyone to get along.  I believe there is always a solution to the problem. A lot has happened in my life to make me realize forgiveness is a good thing to be able to do, people deserve second chances and to be able to be accepted for whom they are. I always try to find the good in people even if they have done something to hurt me, it doesn’t mean I let them back in; it just means I put it behind me. I become more cautious of that person and what they do.  Its easier to accept the fact the person made a mistake and let go and move forward with your life.  You don’t need anything holding you back from being completely happy.

            I believe in communication. Communicating is something you have to be willing to do, it may not always be easy to express what you’re feeling; but it will help you in the long run, because you’ve finally been heard, you may not be understood but you are herd. Communication hasn’t always been my strongest point, I’m the type of person who will keep my feelings to myself and try to hear everyone else out first before I say anything. People may not like what you have to say all the time but it’s what you believe and what you feel and in the end that’s all that really matters. You have to make yourself happy and be able to know that speaking up and trusting others is okay. My weakest point is being able to trust others. When it comes to important things I don’t speak up, I let others talk and say what they want. I may not always agree with it, but it’s easier for me to sit there and listen to what they have to say; rather than starting a argument. But over the last year, I have learned that trust comes along with communication, you have to communicate to find out who you can and can’t trust. There are going to be people who surprise you with how much you can trust them and others who disappoint you. In the end you will find out who you can communicate with and know that you can trust them.

            Loving isn’t always easy there is a lot of hurt that comes along with loving someone. People you love the most sometimes hurt you the worst, which can lead to putting a guard up and not letting anyone in, because you’re tired of getting hurt. We often don’t realize when people do things that hurt us, that they aren’t actually trying to hurt us. When really they are trying to help us and the things they say might not always be what we want to hear but  could be something you need to hear to figure out what you really deserve. Loving takes a lot, letting people in takes a lot, but you can never love someone to much.

            Staying true to who you are is sometimes hard to do. Every once in awhile you may second guess who exactly you are. I believe in taking a step back when I start to feel like I don’t know who I am or what is going to come next in life. Or if the decisions I’m making are best for me. No one can ever take who you are and what you believe away from you. There comes a point where you start pleasing yourself instead of worrying about what others think. It’s hard not to listen to all the small talk people are saying about you, but when you stop caring what they say you start to become happier; because you finally realized who you are and it doesn’t matter what people say, you are who you are and no is ever going to change that.

Profile of Tayla D., by Reece

Tayla D.

            In an all-white dress covered with elk teeth and jingles, Tayla effortlessly floated above the ground, like the blue and purple beaded butterflies in her hair would float if they were alive. Just by herself in wide open fields dancing as if nothing else in the world mattered exclaimed Ms. Carney on her memorable but unexpected dream of Tayla D.

            Dancing since she could walk, she’s been practicing her style and carrying on her tradition. The sound of jingles and the beating of the drums keeps her moving and the fringes on her dress swaying. Each year perfecting how to stop with the music and make the dress’s fringes and jingles move without moving you’re body in the wrong way. Inspirations for her dancing come from watching her mother and keeping her cultural traditions alive.

            Summer time, the best time for dancing smiled Tayla. Crow fair is the best powwow to dance at because the ground is flat and it’s better than dancing on uneven ground because it throws off you’re stepping. Tayla started out dancing with jingle worked her way up to fancy dancing then jingle and then to traditional. Throughout the many years of dancing Tayla has received some awards. At the age of 14 was when she first started contesting and the first time she won an award was when she was 14 and she took 1^st place. When she was older she won 2^nd place at Elmo powwow and 3^rd at crow fair.

            An outfit can say a million words. Taylas outfit is buckskin with the main color being a creamy white with other colors red, black, and blue and buckskin fringe which is a northern tradition style. Dancing can be a way of life and for Tayla she dances for people who can’t dance and for the sick also to make herself feel happy. But for now her dancing is on hold because in Assiniboine and Navajo tradition when you’re grandmother passes away you don’t dance for a year because you’re supposed to be in mourning, and last June 7^th  Tayla lost her grandmother so she hasn’t danced this year and is excited to get back to dancing.

            Dancing is basically in every culture and the importance of it is highly regarded to some people and for Tayla it’s a very spiritual and important thing. If you talk to her about dancing you’ll very quickly see how important it is to her. She enjoys talking about it just as much as she does actually dancing. Watching her explain powwow dancing, you can see a light in her eyes like she’s watching everything she’s talking about happen in her mind. The joy she gets just from speaking about it is almost contagious because of the pride, happiness, and joy she gets out of dancing. Culture and tradition can be carried on in many different ways or forms but for Tayla her way is dancing.

                 

Profile of Reece P., by Jasmine

“Lights, camera, action!” Everyone has a hidden talent but don’t be surprised if you see Reece P., one of your old high school friends or student on the big screen playing a crazy over the top role. After graduating high school he will most likely be hearing this phrase often. He is planning to become an actor after receiving his diploma in 2013. He enjoys participating in school plays, and has been in every play, every year since he started his freshman year in high school.

He didn’t have a favorite actor or actress that made him want to pursue a career in acting but throughout his years of growing up; his friends and family have noticed his bubbly personality and gave him the indication that he should pursue a career in acting. “I don’t know, my family and friends gave me the idea and I thought I should try it out and then I ended up liking it and being good at it.” One of his close friends, Mahalia H. would describe Reece as “A spunky, loose, laid back cool person.”

He would like to star in horror, suspenseful and drama movies because he can truly take on the character well, and it is easy for him to become someone else.  And in acting you have to have different personalities to fill a role. Acting is the ability to turn into a new character. Becoming a different character is tough but for Reece it comes naturally.  His friends said they could see him in comedy movies because he can pull it off. They could see him in a Hangover 3 movie or any type of drama movie. Mahalia had this to say, “I think his personality fits his career because he can be funny one minute and then serious the next.” I would say so as the interviewer. I would describe his personality as free flowing and easy going; he’s a very happy person and is always laughing or making others laugh.

His favorite director is Stephen Spielberg because he is known to direct suspenseful movies. He likes taking the crazy, over the top roles maybe because his personality is crazy and over the top already. He prefers silver screen rather than Broadway because he finds it entertaining and easier to play. He doesn’t look up to any actors or actresses; he prefers to be his own person and hopefully after Hollywood acknowledges him and his acting, that people one day will look up to him and would want to be as great as an actor as he is.

He likes being in plays because it opens a door for him to play someone completely different than himself. He likes the feeling of being heard and seen. The way it feels to be on stage, saying his lines while acting out his role in front of a crowd. He likes being able to control what the crowd feels whether it’s making them happy to the point they cry or scared where they are on their feet’s. And within acting he can control someone’s emotions like making a person outburst into laughter or start hysterically crying. He is passionate about acting, and the love he has for it entertains others.  His friends and family encourages him well, and they help him with his lines for plays. But they don’t give him tips on acting because he does fine in what he does. “He takes direction well but he doesn’t really need tips for the roles he’s playing because he’s naturally good at it.” -Mahalia H.