There are many things that matter to me but what I hold closest to my heart is family, Boy Scouts, martial arts, sailing, nature, and shooting. But most of all, what matters to me is my country.
Family matters to me because they are the people who will always be there for me, no matter what happens. They’re the people who will love you for who you are, not because of how much money you have or because you’re the popular guy at school; they love you for your personality. I have a code of ethics that I live by but the most important one to me states that I promise to continuously strive to develop love, happiness, and loyalty in the family and acknowledge that no other success can compensate for failure in the home. This basically states that no matter what, family matters most.
The next thing that is important to me is Boy Scouts. I am currently a Star Scout almost; a Life Scout which means that after Life is Eagle so I am very close to being an Eagle Scout. Scouting is important to me because I have been actively involved in it since I was in the second grade. It has taught me so much. It has taught me how to survive in the woods also it has taught me to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. It has given me a sense of accomplishment and devotion. Many teens do not see any interest in Scouting so more than one time I have been made fun of for going into high school and still being a Boy Scout. They do not yet know what an accomplishment being an Eagle Scout is. Every adult I have ever met has told me to stick with it or that if you’re an Eagle Scout it looks phenomenal on your record. That is why I will be an Eagle Scout. Scouting has done one more thing for me it has caused me to make inseparable bonds with people in my troop. In several of the pictures above, a flag retirement ceremony is taking place. This for me is considered a great honor to be a part of only three groups that have permission to retire old flags. Those three groups are: active military, ex-military and the Boy Scouts of America.
One thing that has literally made me the person that I am today is martial arts. Martial arts has taught me a lot of things too it has not only taught me how to manipulate the human body by breaking bones or throwing striking techniques for defense only but it has taught me to be at peace to relive myself of stress, it has taught me valuable Life lessons such as the one you saw earlier about family it has taught me twelve other lessons similar to that:
1. I will look for the good in all people and make them feel worthwhile.
2. I will always be in a positive frame of mind and convey this feeling to every person I meet.
3. I shall give so much time to the improvement of myself that I will have no time to criticize others.
4. If I have nothing good to say about a person I shall say nothing.
5. I shall continuously strive to develop love, happiness and loyalty within the family and acknowledge that no other success can compensate for failure in the home.
6. I shall develop myself to the maximum of my potential in all ways.
7. I shall be as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.
8. I shall remain loyal to my country and obey the laws of the land.
9. I shall forget about mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements in the future.
10. I shall maintain an attitude of open-mindedness towards others’ viewpoints while holding fast to what I know to be true and honest.
11. I shall maintain respect for those in authority and demonstrate this respect at all times.
12. I shall become and remain highly goal oriented throughout my life.
13. As a martial artist, I understand the value of a human life and am therefore committed to a drug free existence.
These are some extremely valuable things to know and live by.
I studied at Elite Martial Arts and Fitness Center for six years. I also studied grappling there for four years. Grappling is basically just martial arts wrestling; it teaches you how to force your opponent to submit by using arm bars, camorras, umplatas and other joint locks. It basically taught me how to break, shatter, or dislocate every bone in the human body. I also know six different choke holds that are capable of killing people; I understand this comes with great responsibility and I have to be extremely careful in practice. I also competed in Wrestling for two seasons at Powell Middle School.
Sailing. Although I have only sailed a few times, it is definitely something I love to do. I sailed with my Boy Scout troop in the Abaco, Bahamas for one week this summer. And, I’ve sailed at Peaceful Valley summer camp. Being out in nature, whether it is on the water or climbing Mt. Missouri, is something that I love because it can be as beautiful or unpredictable as it wants to be.
Shooting is something I enjoy because I have done it since I was very young and there is a sense of competition or a sense of accomplishment when I hit the bull’s eye or I get a nice grouping. In the two photos above, I am shooting an AR-15 match rifle at the Remembering the Brave Match Competition run by the Colorado Rifle Club. This match is about remembering soldiers who fought and died in Iraq or Afghanistan. Winners get their name on one of the trophies. In the other picture, I am shooting a 12-guage pump action shotgun at an annual Boy Scout event at my grandpa’s house in the mountains. My troop goes up usually in September and we shoot shotguns and rifles.
Being a Boy Scout and being raised in a patriotic family, I have a high respect and value for this nation. I would be willing and am planning on fighting for this country after high school in the Marines. It has been a tradition in my family to go into the military, most commonly the Navy. But, I will be the first one to go into the Marines because I do not want to be stuck on a boat for six months. When I do go into the Marines, my family will have served in all four of the major branches of the military (Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines). I feel that serving our country is the right thing to do because freedom is not free and I would take great honor in ensuring that my family and friends would still be free.
No comments:
Post a Comment