Podcast
NSHS This I Believe 2021
Hosted by Renee Saylor · EN
North Star High School's Class of 2021 created This I Believe essays
11episodes
Episodes
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Alma Mater
May 17, 202100:01:59Tap to summarizeNorth Star's Alma Mater
Transcribe →Austin A.
Apr 29, 202100:02:09Tap to summarizeAustin's This I Believe
Transcribe →Zariah Y.
Apr 16, 202100:02:26Tap to summarizeGood People by Zariah Y. To me, I believe a hero is someone who does anything for the good of society. People who you never think about too much are the same people who make life so different. If you think about all the people that impact your life in a positive way and then think about life without them it would be such a different place. To me, the mailmen, garbage collectors, and teachers are all heroes. It might seem odd that a mailman could be a hero to me, but without them, many people would be left without their necessities. Mailmen deliver necessary supplies every day, and due to the pandemic, more and more people rely on them. Many elderly people are at risk when they go out to the store and the pharmacy, but they just get their groceries and medicine through the mail which eliminates many risks. The postal service has greatly affected all of us in our daily lives. To me, a garbage collector is also a hero. If we didn’t have collectors pick up our trash every week, it could pose enormous health and environmental issues. Not having our garbage go to one place can serve as a breeding ground for disease which would affect us as a whole. Garbage collection protects the environment and plays a vital role in the sanitary needs of our lives. Their service usually goes unnoticed, but we should show them more respect and kindness for their hard work. To me, teachers are heroes. They give them purpose, help them grow, and educate them. Many children carry with them from childhood what they have learned. Today’s youth is tomorrow’s future, so without teachers guiding them along the way we wouldn’t be as educated as a society. A teacher that has helped me was Mr. Deluca. He’s talked to me many times about my problems and has helped me through them. He always lightens the mood and manages to be more of a friend than a teacher at times. It’s very comforting to know I have this resource in school and someone who makes a big difference in my day. I feel as if without teachers being there to talk to and to relate to their students’ problems, schools wouldn’t be considered a “safe place” for me and many others. I believe that anyone who does good for the sake of society is a hero. The postal service, garbage collectors, and teachers are all examples of people who do good for the sake of doing good. These are the people that I believe are heroes. So next time you see your mail being delivered, or your trash being taken away, be sure to show them kindness and respect, wave to them, or give them a smile. Who knows, maybe that little gesture could make you a hero to them.
Transcribe →Davia T.
Apr 14, 202100:02:52Tap to summarizeThis I Believe by Davia T. When I was younger, my parents always told me that I needed to try something before I said I didn’t like it or I wasn’t good at it. I was always trying different foods so I could officially say whether or not I liked them and the same with sports. I did various sports when I was younger including dancing, tumbling/gymnastics, soccer, cheerleading, softball, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, etc. While I was younger, the one I stuck with the most was dancing. I was four years old when I decided to dance. I was sitting on my parents’ bed when my mom asked me, “What would you like to do today?” I said,” I am not sure, what is there to do?” Then my mom brought over the phone book and flipped to the pages that showed all the activities to do based on the area that we lived. She told me that we could go to Planet Ice to ice skate or we could go to Richland Lanes to go bowling. We kept looking because I always went ice skating or bowling. She then mentioned that I could go check out Linda’s Dance Studio to see if I’d like it. I was really thrilled to go there. This decision changed my life for the next 10 years. So, my mom called the dance studio and they told me to come and watch a class to see if I would like it. I loved it. So, my mom signed me up for a hip-hop class. We went to competitions for this dance and I knew I was going to stick with it. The next year, I signed up for a hip hop and jazz class. Sadly, after this year, we decided to leave this studio because my dance teacher wanted to start her own studio. However, my dance teacher (Jess) took us with her and started The Dance Factory which was moved later on from Jennerstown to Sipesville. As the years went by, I continuously signed up for more and more dance classes until I was taking about 11 dance classes a week. It was very stressful, but I loved it. I dedicated all of my time to dancing. When we started to get seriously into dancing, we took up many competitions. We traveled to New York, Gettysburg, Harrisburg, etc. One year I decided to take on two solos, which would put you in the Super Soloist category in one of the competitions. For this specific competition, you would compete once in Johnstown and a few months later in Hershey. In Johnstown, I was so excited to do this until I lost in the Super Soloist category. I was very upset, and I was determined to win when we went to Hershey. I pushed myself harder and worked as hard as I could so that I was able to win Super Soloist. While I was backstage in Hershey, I told myself to give it my all and so did my mom, my dad, my brother, and the rest of my family that was there supporting me all the way. I went out onto the stage and tried my absolute best. When the awards were being announced, I got very nervous. However when I heard, “And the Super Soloist winner is…. Davia Tremain!” I never felt that much excitement in my life. This is why I believe you have to fail in order to succeed because it is the only thing that s going to make you try harder and work for what you want.
Transcribe →Nolan R.
Apr 14, 202100:02:12Tap to summarizeThis I Believe by Nolan R.
Transcribe →Jesse C.
Apr 14, 202100:02:21Tap to summarizeHandling Stress by Jesse C. One of my core beliefs is how you act under stress shows who you really are. Throughout everyone's life, there will be points where they are put into a stressful situation. How well they handle them shows people who they are. If someone breaks down when put in a tough position, others might not see them qualified for a job position due to them being unreliable in important problem-solving positions. On the other hand, if someone responds in a calm manner to stressful challenges, people might see that as a good quality and be more likely to hire or promote you. There have been many instances throughout my life where I've had to deal with problems that cause stress. I feel that I have dealt with those instances in a very calm manner and that has led me to make it out of those instances and leave a positive impression of who I am to people. One time in the camp where I was working during the summer, my boss wanted to go out to eat for lunch, so he left me in charge of the area while he was out for an hour or two. Everything started out fine until one of the people started an argument with another person about him stealing a plastic flamingo from him. The argument started to get heated and was becoming a bad situation. I made sure to handle it calmly and told the one who started it to calm down and go back to his tent to cool down. He instead got even more mad and stormed off, swearing and flipping people off on his way out. At that point, I was pretty stressed, but I still remained calm and went to try and settle the issue before it got any worse. Eventually, I caught up to him while he was trying to jump over a fence, and managed to talk with him and calm him down. If I were to have handled the incident in a panicked way, he most likely wouldn't have settled down and the problem would have gotten even worse than it was before. When my boss came back, he was impressed with how I handled what happened and gave me more opportunities to be in charge. The next year when I came back, I was even offered a promotion. That is how stress can show who you are and can help benefit you. In that case, because I handled the situation well, my employers decided to give me more leadership opportunities. They were able to tell from how I handled that problem that I could handle other problems well. So being calm and collected when dealing with challenges that can be stressful, can ultimately lead to getting a positive view about you.
Transcribe →Kalese W.
Apr 14, 202100:02:19Tap to summarizeGrowing Up by Kalese W. Growing up, there was a lot of bad. My mom abused me and left, my dad was in jail, my grandma was always working, and my pap was always outside or out drinking. Even when Nunnie and Pap were home, they were usually annoyed or drunk. This wouldn’t have been too bad if I was alone, but I had a little brother that I had to care for. Even now he agrees that I had to mother him when I was still much too young for that responsibility. I also cared for the cats that would be dropped off at our house and all of the kittens that came from those cats. On top of everything, I was also struggling with depression and who I was as a person. Through all this bad though, there was still good. Nunnie would rock me to sleep while reading me a story and Pap would show me how to do things around the garage. My friend Mack and I would run around outside until dark and jump on the trampoline until our legs gave out. Best of all, Dad came home. After a while, he even brought a woman and her daughter to live with us, and they became my stepmom and my little sister, Cali. Then there was some more bad, like when we got kicked out of what I thought would be the house we lived in forever. But of course, with more bad came more good. I was allowed to get a kitten that I named Muffin and love dearly. I was also able to get a hamster that I named Sherman and who very much enjoys chewing on the bars of her cage to demand attention. Through this time, I’ve also gained two little brothers, Ike and Odin. Ike, who’s 3 now, is my little buddy, and he knew how to say Pusser, my family nickname, better than Cali did, who deemed me Pea Sue. Odin is only 1, and he still doesn’t know how to say Pusser, but there’s still time. In the meanwhile, he calls me sissy and loves to communicate in screams and steal my phone. He can’t even run yet, so he just waddles away with the cutest little grin on his face and little growls spilling from his mouth. I’ve stopped letting my depression and anxiety rule my life, and I’ve become a better person because of it. I’ve grown closer to my family and made more friends, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. I believe that even though life may be hard and even mean sometimes, there is still so much good and happiness to be taken from it. I believe that one has to choose to ignore the bad and focus on the good. I chose to change my life and I will never regret that decision.
Transcribe →Stephaney E.
Apr 14, 202100:02:05Tap to summarizeFather Figure by Stephaney E. Growing up I was never really close to my dad, so my grandfather became the father figure in my life. He became the person that I relied on for many things within my life and the person I look up to most in life. He became my best friend and my number one supporter when it comes to anything I do. I believe that good memories can help overlook the bad. I used to wait on my mom’s porch steps for my dad to come to pick me up, but usually, he wouldn’t show up and would make excuses as to why he wasn’t coming. So my mom would call my pap and he would take me out and we would go shopping, run errands, or go get ice cream at the local mill shop in town. My dad only ever came to my sports games when he was told he had to go by my mom but my pap was at every game cheering me on or yelling at me to get my head in the game. He was my own personal sideline coach and cheerleader. You can always see him wearing my number and name on the back of his hoodies and shirts along with his own custom Juniata college hoodie that he calls his outing hoodie. I believe that no matter what, there is always going to be someone by your side. My pap was always there when I needed someone to talk to or just a shoulder to cry on when I'm sad. He is the person who holds all my secrets and struggles, and he helps me and teaches me how to overcome them every day. He has also taught me how to drive, and how to manage my checking accounts. He even took me on my college tours and taught me how to cook even if it’s just a little bit. He tries to do the best that he can to be the father figure that I need in my life. As I look back on all the memories made by both my dad and pap, it helps me to realize that it’s better to remember the good times and not to hold on to the bad ones or else it will just consume you. It took me a while to really truly let go of all the bad in my life but I try to overlook it every day and not think about it. Now that he is getting older I call him every day to make sure he’s ok and I try to stop in and visit him once a week. I try to look over him as much as he did to me when I was younger and even now he’s still looking over me whether it be with sports, school, or even just my well-being.
Transcribe →Zoe D.
Apr 14, 202100:02:16Tap to summarizePeanut M&Ms by Zoe D. I believe in sharing Peanut M&Ms. And the golden rule. Treat everyone how you want to be treated; because someday, you might find yourself having less. For a good portion of my life, I was an only child. I received all of the perks: attention, the constant help, and guidance that came with every minor problem. But I didn't learn fundamental lessons because I never needed to. I didn't understand what the words ¨share¨ or ¨be nice¨ meant. And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it just wasn't something I needed to know at the time. One distinct memory that lives in my mind is sharing with my grandfather. He was a hardworking man who believed in traditional values; especially sharing. We were watching one of his favorite shows, and he sat me down on the counter while grabbing a snack. He picked out Peanut M&Ms, which he thought were my favorite. I heard the scattering of the M&Ms pouring out into a yellow cup while the show began. He was preoccupied watching the show, not realizing how I was eating the M&Ms. By the time he went to grab one, I said, ¨Pappy, you can have the rest!¨ And to his surprise, I ate the chocolate off of every M&M, and left the peanuts behind. He laughed, surprised at my idea of sharing. That's when he sat me down and genuinely talked to me about the importance of giving. ¨Zoe, one day you are going to have to share. You're not in trouble, but it's always good to consider others, especially the less fortunate.¨ I have always internalized his words. Not in a negative way, but to carry out my actions with intention, even if it's as simple as sharing. Now that I'm older, I can add onto his words to complete a full thought. Even though sharing is important, and should be done out of kindness, remember that even though you might not always feel like sharing, there may come a day where you are the less fortunate one. In these times you would have wished someone shared their grace or mercy with you. In my life now, I make an intentional effort to share. After my brother was born, I shared toys and attention. And now, I share with friends. We’ll take turns driving places and occasionally paying for each other. And that's completely fine. My friends will pay for me next time. It's more or less about the amount, but about balance; between being generous and helping others. And who knows, that good karma might come back around to help you someday.
Transcribe →Laura H.
Apr 14, 202100:02:38Tap to summarizeMy Father’s Memories by Laura H. When I was seven years old, my dad was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. This means that he is dying faster than most people. Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia in which the brain deteriorates itself and the person with it begins to forget not only themself but everyone around them, too. Normally, people don’t get Alzheimer’s until they are well over sixty-five, but unfortunately, my dad got it at forty-six. I believe that life isn’t fair. Why does a seven-year-old girl have to learn to accept that her dad will eventually forget who she is, and then forget himself? My dad knew that this disease meant that he had limited time left, so he made the most of it. Every summer we would go fishing at a family friend’s pond. To get there, we would have to hike through knee-high weeds carrying five-gallon buckets. Dad said the buckets were to put in the fish we caught, but he always let me flip one over and sit on it so I didn’t have to sit on the ground. I know that those days were more of a hassle for dad than anything but he still took me out anyway. I believe it is the little things in life that make the unfairness worth it. Sure, I might have gotten the bobber stuck in the tree limbs next to me when I tried to cast my line, and, yeah, I made him carry the full buckets back to the car, but to him, those are memories that he will never have the chance to make again. My dad may never get to walk me down the aisle at my wedding or hold his grandchildren, but he did get to hold his little girl on his lap at the Kingwood picnic and teach her how to hold a fishing pole, so to him, these little things make life worth living. Recently he has been getting worse, forgetting more common things like words for items and plans that we made, but we are soon doing something together again. He always loved Erie, so this summer my family is going up to Erie for a week. He is really excited and even though he probably won’t remember the trip after we get back, seeing him happy while we are there will make it worth the hassle. With a current diagnosis of approximately five years left to live, life isn’t fair. It isn’t fair to me, it isn’t fair to my mom, but most of all, it isn’t fair to my dad. I believe that life is unfair. Life gives and life takes, but I believe that what matters most in life is what you do with the moments in between.
Transcribe →