What Patriotism Means to Me

To me patriotism means a lot more, than just the American flag.
It extends further than just having pride in my country.
To me patriotism is all about accomplishing our dreams.
When I think of patriotism, it makes me think about Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.
His speech shows us how far we have come, yet it still reminds us of whom we are.
I think it's from his speech, that the roots of patriotism lie.
He spoke of how that one day he hoped that race, would not be the judgment of our character; but rather who we are as an individual.
It's through this dream that patriotism is discovered.
Embracing who we are is what I think patriotism is.
It's not about how much money you have, or where you live,
It's about you as an individual, living your life the way you want to live.
Whether that means pursuing your dreams today, tomorrow or even in the future; as long as you stay true to yourself, your dreams will become realized.

The Towering Giants

A memory that will stick with me for a lifetime is my first day of preschool.
When I first arrived at the preschool, I remember seeing the huge doors of the building.
The doors were made out of wood; they were shiny enough that you could see your own reflection.
I remember wondering, if I would be big enough to even go through the doors.
While I was walking in, high school students were walking out.
When I saw them, I was stunned by their size.
They had to be as tall as sky scrapers and the more I looked up,  the taller they seemed.
I asked them if they were giants.
I had really hoped that they were giants, because I had always wanted to meet one.
When I asked them if they were indeed giants, they smiled and laughed.
In a thunderous voice, which echoed in my ears, they told me  that they were not giants.
Which was very disappointing news.
However, I did redeem myself.
When I got to preschool, I told everyone how I had just met giants, but they didn't seem to believe me.
It took a while, but I finally got them convinced that  I met giants.
After that day, all the  kids would come to me and ask me, what giants looked like and were they could find one ; since of course , I was an "expert" on identifying giants.



 

The Man Who Walks Around the World

The man who walks around the world always walks alone.
He walks around the world no matter the weather.
He walks from sea to sea; from mountain top to mountain top.
He never has one destination.
He is tall and slender.
His dark green eyes make him visible for miles.
He rarely speaks to anyone and when he does he says very little.
He is lonely in this world.
I could never tell you for sure, why he walks so much.
Perhaps he is just lost in this world and wants someone to find him; and perhaps, when the day comes that he is found, he will have reached his destination.

The Meadow or the Mountain?

Do not allow a single avenue to define you.
For there are numerous avenues,  that are waiting in the road ahead.
As you continue along your journey, do not allow a single footstep to misguide you.
Each mile that we walk is what will define us.
Where we walk and how we walk, will determine our future.
Walking up the mountain is much more challenging, as opposed to walking in a meadow.
Although walking in the meadow is easier, you don't get as far.
Whereas when you walk up a mountain, you have to take bigger steps towards your future, because if you don't you won't make it up the mountain.
As opposed to in a meadow, you take little steps towards your future.
Even though, you might have accomplished what you were working for faster, by walking through the meadow,  you wouldn't have learned as much, as you would've if you had taken the steps necessary, to reach the top  of the mountain.
 

Social Media: Taking a Stand to End Negative Propaganda

Over the course of a decade social media, has become a vital part of our everyday lives. We use social media to communicate messages and ideas across the globe.   Not until recently, have I come to the conclusion that not only is social media being misused, but it’s also changing our society. We use to live in a society where, if you wanted to talk to another person, you would have to talk face to face. However because of the growing popularity of social media, face to face interaction is rapidly disappearing.

Social media’s purpose has changed drastically from what it was. It used to be a place where you communicated with another person via Internet. However as social media has become more popular, it has become a propaganda campaign. Now in days you see less and less communication, between people and you see more propaganda in our lives. Well some propaganda is beneficial and spreads awareness of an issue. The majority of propaganda is negatively impacting our society. The purpose of propaganda is to make us believe in a certain idea. As social media continues to expand, more children will be affected by these negative ideals. It's common for a child to repeat what he or she hears, even if it’s something bad.  In any case if a child grows up seeing negative propaganda, this is what they will grow up believing. It might be the case that their parents might still teach them other beliefs. However within a few generations, these negative ideas that might have been rejected before will be accepted, because social media changes the way we think.

As a solution, I believe that we need to become more aware of propaganda's effect on not only society, but also ourselves. That's not to say we can't embrace new ideas, but we have to be more self-conscious. We must also ensure that the generations after us, don't fall victim to negative propaganda. In reality we cannot tell them what to believe, or what they should do, but we should always be there to give them another opinion. However, at the end of the day society is always changing; and well there isn't very much we can do about it, that doesn't mean that we can't keep our old traditions alive.

 

 

The Man Who Can't Be Swayed

Do not trust the man who tries to impress you.
For the man who tries to impress you isn't what he makes himself out to be.
Trust the man who isn't trying to impress you, for he is modest.
He not only respects who he is as a person, but he also respects you for who you are.