This I Believe, by Brittany

This I Believe

I believe that every child should have a parent that cares for them. I believe this because I grew up without both of my parents as a child.

The first three years of my life I was with my parents. We moved to Brooklyn, New York. My father started selling drugs, and my mother developed a habit of doing drugs. I think every child should have a parent who cares, and one who takes care of them, because if you don’t you’d probably feel like me. I sometime feel like nobody cares, feeling like nobody loves you, feeling like you’ve done something wrong as a child that made your parents not want you and feeling like you can’t love because all you’re going to do in the end is get torn away from that special person that you truly do care for and love.

After about two or three months, my parents moved to North Carolina and abandoned me with my two brothers with my grandmother on my father’s side. When she figured out that they weren’t coming back, she called the police. They took my brothers and I and put us into foster homes. I stayed for a year, but my brothers were picked up within two weeks, because their grandmother on their father’s side came and picked them up.

When I was four I moved in with my foster mother named Brenda. She had a son named Michael; they made me feel like I was a part of their family as a daughter and a sister. We did a lot of things together as a family such as going to the mall to shop, and going to my favorite fast food restaurant whenever we wanted. We also went to Universal Studios & Disney World; I was so excited because it was the first time I’d ever rode in a plane. After we got back to the house from our last trip, about a week or so later, I was literally taken by strangers that called themselves my “kin folk”. It felt like I was being torn away from the only family I knew. When we got back to North Carolina, I moved in with my so-called “great grandmother”, she made me feel special and she made me feel like I was a part of her family (our family). She continued to make me feel appreciated, and happy. But after about six to seven years of living with her, she started to get sick. She could no longer care for me the way she could when she first got me. So, this meant I had to either go to foster care again or get tossed around again. This time, I got tossed to my grandmother on my mother’s side. Again, I felt as if I were being torn away from somebody I really loved. Since, I’ve been with my grandmother, I’ve been to eleven different schools, I’ve had over at least fifty to sixty different teachers, and who knows how many different classmates.

This I Believe, by BJ Riley

This I Believe
(based upon the NPR "This I Believe" series)

Have you ever had anything that happened to you, that you thought was going too be the worst thing that ever happened? Well I have. That’s why I have the belief that everything happens for a good reason. There have been many things that have gone on in my life that made me to start to realize this belief. I didn’t always see this but through time I have come to see more of it.

My mom did not stay with my biological father. At first, one would think that this is a bad thing. He was a really difficult man, and if my mom had stayed with him, then I would not have turned out to be the person that I am today. I really think that if they had stayed together, then I might not even be in school. Or I would be in school but I really would not care about the work that I have to do.

Another reason that helped me see this believe, is that this past wrestling season, I wrestled for about two weeks before I got injured. So I sat out for about a month, then found out that I would have to have surgery that would put a end to my wrestling season. This felt like the worst thing that had ever happened to me. It was the worst for many reasons, first of all I would miss out on a lot of things like getting 100 wins, and the state duals which our team won this year. Although I felt frustrated I still trusted that it happened for a real good reason. For instance maybe next year will be the year that I can win a state championship.

I really feel strong about this belief. There are many reasons why I belief in this, and I shared two of the reasons with you. I hope that once you read this that you can find out that this is true and you could start to believe the same.

This I Believe, by Carter

This I Believe
(based upon NPR's "This I Believe" series)

Has a parent or guardian ever told you a quote or a saying by which they want you to live? Well, my father told me a saying that I try to live by everyday. I believe in always doing the right thing.

My name is Carter Holleman. I am seventeen years old and a junior at Orange High School. Throughout my seventeen years of life, my father has always told me for as long as I can remember, “Always do the right thing and life will be much easier.” Although this rule seems easy, it is not.

I have many stories I could tell about this saying that my father preaches to me, but one sticks out in my head. It was freshmen year of high school, and I had to write a paper on how I thought dogs became man’s best friends. I mostly worked on this project at school but was suppose to work on it at home. Not wanting to do anything at home, I wrote the paper in the library in about twenty minutes. A week passed and the project was due on Monday, and it had to be typed. So being the teenager that I was, I waited until Sunday to type my paper. Whenever I type a paper my parents always check it. You can guess my father’s reaction to the paper. He got really frustrated and very angry with me. He took me to my room and ripped the paper in two and asked “Why did you procrastinate?” I told him the typical teenage answer, “I don’t know.” Needless to say he argued with me some more, then said,” I always tell you do the right thing the first time then life will be much easier. Rewrite the paper and do it right.” I obeyed my fathers instructions and did the paper right.

I ended up making an A on my project and showed my grade to my father. He said,” See what doing the right thing does? Trust me Cater, do it right the first time and life is simple.”

Now in my junior year at high school, I still live by the saying my father told me. I have messed up a little bit, but I always bounce back. Life does seem simpler following this rule. “In the future” I will pass my fathers wisdom on to my children. I believe in doing the right thing the first time.