Connor J. Vosberg
January 12, 2015
Temple Grandin: “The most important thing people did for me
was to expose me to new things.”
Henry David Thoreau: “What you get by achieving your goals is not as
important as what you become by achieving your goals.”
Dear Mr./Ms. ___________________________________:
One of my favorite projects we did this year that really
opened my eyes to my life and others lives around me was the split face
project. At first, I thought to myself,
“Why would I share with people I barely know secrets I’m not proud of as well
as things I like about myself.” It
wasn’t until later after we had already completed the project that I realized
this room was so non-judgmental. I
really ended up appreciating this project because it made me reminisce on my
life around me and made me think that if there are things about myself I don’t
like, why don’t I try and fix them, or try to reduce the things I don’t like?
From doing this, I realized that I may have imperfections,
but those imperfections make up who I am, so rather than trying to get rid of
them, I embraced them and learned new things about myself.
I remember just before middle school started, I was picking
what classes I was going to take in 6th grade. After I had thought I had signed up for all
my classes, my mom said if I wanted a ride to school in the mornings, I would
have to take a zero period because she had to be at work early. As a result, I had to choose another elective
class. My mom recommended choir to me
and I thought that would be the last class I would ever take. I didn’t have many choices. It was either study hall or choir, so I ended
up taking choir. Much to my surprise, I
really enjoying it and have taken it every year to this day.
If I were to have done one of these split face projects back
then, I definitely would have placed choir on the side that I didn’t want other
people to know about me. As I entered
high school, I realized that peoples opinions of me didn’t really matter that
much and that I should do what made me happy.
It was about that time in my life when choir switched from the “dark
side “ of my face, to the “light side,” where I was proud of what I could do. Honestly, I could not see myself without
choir in my life and all the wonderful people that come with it.
I’m almost certain that everyone in this room has had at
least one moment in their life where they were unsure about doing
something. I hope that all of you have tried
something that you were unsure about at first.
Even if it turned out bad, at least you tried and that is an
accomplishment in itself. There’s a
saying: “Regression to the mean.”
Basically meaning that no matter how bad, or how good things get in your
life, things will always come around to the middle again and be neutral. I think of this saying with many choices I make
in life and I hope all of you will too.
Take care now, bye bye then,
Connor Vosberg
Activity:
Think of a time when
you are faced with a task that may have made you feel uncomfortable. How did you go about your decision? How did
it affect you today?
Hey dude, I think it's cool that you like choir, personally, it's not my cup of tea. However, you have some interesting view points.
ReplyDeleteYou offer a very true viewpoint, that most people aren't critical of each other, which I believe is a point I haven't taken myself, but should accept. I tend to hide in my own shell of sorts, when others aren't even going to judge me. Your quotes are great introductions to the idea of self-exposure and self-improvement. Thanks for your wisdom.
ReplyDeleteThis letter makes me wish I joined choir in 6th grade instead of my junior year of high school. It has a way of improving your self esteem and personality. You make a great point of trying things that you are uncomfortable with and embrace imperfections.
ReplyDeleteYour post very insightful. I can relate to how some things that I was ashamed of when I was younger are actually things that I am proud of now. I guess its just natural that we grow that way.
ReplyDelete