I learned that friends and family are the best things in life. Without them, I would be miserable. I think that you can never run out of family because friends turn to family. I have friends that I know I could count on ifI ever needed anything. I have friends that go to my house and have dinner with my parents while I'm here in Cleveland, so my parents won't miss me so much. I have friends that text me everyday to make sure I'm doing okay with all the changes up here. I have friends that will drive two hours to pick me up in Orlando when I get home for a break just so I won't have to wait the extra thirty minutes it would take if my parents drove. I have friends who send me food because they think I'm a "starving college student". I have friends that I would do anything for and would do the same for me. These friends are my all part of my family.

This I Beilieve...

I believe that you have to depend on other people. From the time I was born, I've been dependant on other people. Without my parents, I would have not survived. Nobody would. Now that I'm older, I still depend on other people. I depend on the people in the cafeteria to make food so that I can eat. I depend on my teachers to educate me. I depend on my friends to keep me company and keep me happy.
When I first started sixth grade, I wanted to believe that I was the only person that I needed. That I could live by myself, without anybody else's help. It was at this time that I noticed how much I really needed other people. The first day I told my mom I wanted to do everything on my own, she didn't iron my clothes before school or make me lunch. She didn't even wake me up for school. When I woke up 45 minutes late and missed the bus, she got angry with me. When I tried to leave the house in wrinkley clothes, she got mad at me. When I tried to get in the car without a lunch, she got mad at me. I ended up not even going to school that day because by the time I got all of that done, both of my parents were at work. While I enjoyed staying home, I didn't enjoy the talk I had with my parents that night at dinner.
From that point on, I started looking for the little things that people do. The things that most people don't notice because they're expected. The things we depend on people to do so that we can get through the day. And I thanked them everey chance I got. In reality, without other people to help us and guide us, we wouldn't be able to survive.

Gilmour Academy Lower School

The trip to Gilmour Academy Lower School was a fun and an overall great learning experience. I was amazed at how well disciplined the students were. In such an open environment I would expect children of that age to have a hard time focusing. I know I would. What was even more impressive about the students was that even though they knew we were there, they stayed on task and did their respective assignments. The sixth grade Humanities class was, by far, the most diligent group of sixth graders I’ve ever seen. They have been working on a research paper since October and I was amazed at the tremendous amount of research each student had done. They had binders full of internet print-outs, each one highlighted with important facts. I was also impressed with the smart boards that were touch responsive. I’ve never seen something like that in a class before so that alone tells me how much of an advantage these young students receive at Gilmour.

Read and Respond

I can tell immediately that Draper is a talented writer. I’m a little lost on what to write about because I didn’t make it to the first class and was unprepared. We went over questions that we wanted to know in class. Among them were things such as what defines a good teacher and what might be a proper relationship with a student. It seemed to me that everybody’s favorite teacher was the one that you could talk to about anything, but at the same time was able to be serious and teach. For me, it was the same. My favorite teacher was a Physical Education teacher and a football coach so we were connected on that level. I’m excited to visit Gilmour because I’ve never been to a school in Ohio other a few colleges. This whole blogging deal is pretty new to me too so this should be pretty fun as well.