I Believe in People

In my FYSX class, we are reading a book called This I Beieve. It is a collection of philosophies that different people hold. The authors compiled include Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, politicians, famous screenwriters and regular joes just like you and me. If you have never come across this book, I urge you to go buy it. It is an easy read, and it opens your eyes to the wonder of...well, people in general. I've read the firsthand account of a homosexual male and his struggle with sexuality, the hardship as well as beauty of a man with autism, the strength of a mother that lost her child, the success of a woman left by her father and raised by friends that became family. So many walks of life I'll never experience, but I am able to peer into their stories and feel their emotion by reading the three pages they added to the book.

This weekend is Wilderness Weekend for my class. We will be camping and trying to get closer to one another by "going back to the basics" with no cellphones and no technology to stifle our communication, or atleast that's what I think it's all about. :) Our assignment for the week is to think of a defining moment in our life. Not necessarily a moment that changed our life, but a story that will better express who we are to the class. Unfortunately, I have not decided which story I will tell around the campfire, but I did want to share what I believe with you now.

I believe in people. I believe that no matter who you are and where you come from, you have the ability and the opportunity to be something incredible. Sometimes, we try to make ourselves think that the only way to get ahead or become successful is to abandon our ties to people and go it alone. This is actually the opposite of the truth. Every musician needs someone to listen. Every teacher needs someone to teach. Every businessman needs someone to sell to. Everyone needs somebody. For encouragement. For affection. For strength.

I believe that everyone is innately good. Now, this belief may cause controvery. You may ask, well, what about terrorism? What about rape and murder? If our society is declining so rapidly, how could I possibly think that people are GOOD? I just do. I believe that anyone can change no matter what their background may be and what their story is. Life is too short to remain cynical and hateful of the world around us. Instead of belittling and shunning those that are not like we are, we are adding to their negative cycles. "A smile can go miles." No matter how corny that may sound, I try to follow it everyday. Someone may have a bad attitude, or they may have had a bad day... But I will not perpetuate that. What's the point? I refuse to walk around life worried, cynical and unsociable simply because, generally, people are "bad".

I believe that happiness is a choice. You can see rain as an omen or as an opportunity. You can fall flat on your face (figuratively or literally) and choose to be defeated and broken, or you can stand back up and believe in yourself with reckless abandon. You can live your life just going through the motions or you can make every single second full of wonder and passion.

This, I believe.