27 September 2001
It's great looking back on the things that happened in high school and seeing how petty I was and how much I have learned. At the same time, I still readily look to my friends for advice. The respect I have for them is unparalleled. I see their lives of humility and the honest hand they extend to one another. Looking at the way some of the kids have chosen to live their lives not only humbles me, but sometimes it makes me question whether I am making the right decision by being here. There is no real answer to that, of course. I know that. I still wonder, though, and plague myself with the question, "What else can I do to help my friends?" I see them when they are half starved, but they do not accept food. I see them when they are poor, and they do not accept money. Instead, they show me that the most valuable things are not physical. Love, patience, understanding, dedication, and wonder can not be handed out like a handbill at a show. These are things that are taught and fostered. A pure heart is something that an individual has to work for. It can not be bought. It is things like these that make me understand where I came from. I come from a place where kids pick you up when you fall down. They shelter you even though they might be working two jobs to provide for themselves. They put all of their being into helping others become happier. No lack of food or funds ever breaks their spirit. That is where I am from and what I strive to become. A 315 Kid.
26 September 2001
On a more serious note, is it too much to ask for a decent person these days? So many people are so lazy and so shallow. Despite their senority in age, they still hold fast to high school ideals. The type of clothing you wear makes the person that you are; your religion is different than mine? Then we can not be friends - I can't believe you reject God, our savior! With everything that even my generation has witnessed (and we're not all that old), I would think that human beings would appreciate each day more, celebrate the company of others more frequently. Jobs and social status might be important somewhere I suppose, but not here. If you smile at me and shake my hand, maybe give me a hug when I see you, hell, that means more to me than all the money in the world.