Thomas Edison once said; "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time."

When I was younger, my teacher gave an assessment to everyone in the class
It was a simple assessment
But when we turned them in, he gave each and every paper a big red F
And then proceeded to sit down and watch us react as the papers were passed back
He asked us, ‘What do you think F stands for?’
The loudest response was ‘Failure’
And he shook his head hypnotically and told us
‘F does not mean failure like most think, but instead, it means ‘Find Another Way’

Those simple words changed my perspective on the tiny institution known as school
Classrooms have remained the same for decades
But the subjects change, they advance as we make new discoveries
The material we learn today is different from what adults had to learn years ago
I could use a metaphor or personification
Or describe to you the exact chemical formula of KNO3 and what it stands for
I could tell you how biology is important; meiosis and mitosis
I could tell you the first shot of the American Civil War
Or who Alexander the Great and Napoleon were
Sally sells seashells by the seashore
That was an alliteration

Do not let an exam grade or an insignificant letter define your outlook on life
Find another way to earn your A
An A does not stand for awesome or amazing, it instead stands for acceptable
Twain once said; "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
I will not let an exam grade define my future
And you shouldn’t allow it to either
Decide on something that drives you
That motivates and ignites you with passion
Live for being content and happy; instead of successful yet depressed
Because what we take when we leave this world is not our possessions but it is our memories.

When I have saved enough
I have this plan; this desire to help
Statistically speaking, there were 560, 000 + homeless people on the streets of America in 2019 alone
As we drive by them; they sit or stand, grimy, foul, and unclean
They hold posters or ask for our spare change so that they may survive
It breaks my heart, despite how infinitesimal it may already be
Every time
I see them, the rejects, the outcasts of society
I offer them a smile, and whatever it is I can
If they need food or a new blanket/ clothes or new shoes
I will stop whatever I am doing and help in whatever way I can because I am not in a rush
In our society today, it appears that we are in a hurry
Society does not stop
Society does not care
They see a smudge of dirt on a sidewalk another human being occupies
Because we have forgotten that they are, like us, people

We race against time as though every single second we hurry is another second we live
Rather than slowing down to truly cherish the seconds
The seconds that pass by us every moment
Think; if only for a moment, we are in the present
But now we are not
This now is already passing us by as you gaze upon this line
I would ask you to take a moment to reflect upon that line
But we are in a hurry; you probably wouldn’t

I could end this right there
And that would be my message
But it’s not my message
I often write and lose track of my message
The message that floats inside my head, knocking down books of knowledge and pictures of memories
My head is something I need to clean out
It’s getting full of random thoughts or questions I wish I had the answer to
Oh my, I’m sorry, I did it again
I got off-topic because my mind has no place to rest, it has no place to stay,
So it wanders and wanders, looking for its own place to lay its own head

We cannot sleep on the streets, in alleyways or rest on unused benches
Because we are scarred and filthy
And we have no hope
We have no hope that tomorrow will be any different
Because we have faced the reality of not having a home or a safety net to fall back on
As I bring this to an end, all I challenge is this;
Carry a case of water in your car or some loaves of bread or both
And when you see a homeless person, remember that they are a human being
And share with them water/bread/food
They need not money if you have; if you can help them in other ways
Do not rush by, but try to help
Ask yourself this: If I end up without a home, would I survive all on my own?

My greatest fear is not the fear of death
Instead, it is the fear of not being heard
I am often asked 'What is your most defining moment?' and I am asked as though I have given the question a lifetime of thought and my answer means absolutely everything
But I have not; because of the complexity of the question

The perception of the question itself is what I question
Perception is honestly the most complicated when it comes to emotions
My most defining moment? I cannot say
Like the good and the bad
They are there and they exist as a combination of moments that define us
Like night and day
Rain and the rainbow at the end
The choices I make daily define me, not just one moment.

But if you must be given an answer at the time you pose this question?
I will give you one, but only one
What is my most defining moment? My answer would be my birth
My birth is the most defining moment because it is when I began to make choices that define myself
Perhaps I will reflect upon this question and later my answer may change
I dream that by perchance I may have the opportunity to speak to Death
So that I may ask him when my time will come
Not so I may attempt to cheat him
But so that as my time approaches, I may look back and reflect upon my life for that one defining moment of my life