*Your comment post should be at least 400 words this week
due Thursday by 11:59 pm (worth 70 points) and you will be responsible for
responding (respectfully) to one of your classmates in at least a one paragraph
reply entries by Sunday at 11:59 pm (worth 30 points).*
Live & Learn and Pass It On: "I Have Learned. .
. "
As the year come to a close, I would like to share one
last piece of literature with you. Below
you will find The Dash Poem by Linda Ellis- one of my favorites. Read and consider the poem carefully- the
simple message is definitely thought provoking. . . after you’ve finished reading, respond to
the prompt below.
I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.
-
He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.
-
For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth...
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.
-
For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars....the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.
-
So think about this long and hard...
are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left.
(You could be at "dash midrange.")
-
If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.
-
And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.
-
If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile...
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.
-
So, when your eulogy's being read
with your life's actions to rehash...
would you be proud of the things they
say about how you spend your dash?
Writing Prompt- Consider the title of this blog post
“Live & Learn and Pass It On”. Write
about the most valuable lesson you have learned over the course of your life
and share it in your response. Explain
how you came to learn this lesson and how it has changed your life. Most importantly, think and write about this
lesson will help you move foreword and do the most with your "dash".
A really valuable lesson I have learned would have to be one that I learned when I was younger. The time when I learned this lesson I got in to a big mess of trouble. The fact that I got into this trouble really got me thinking about what a person I had met told me. The person he was reasonably wise, and he told me one thing I go through over and over in my head when I am speaking to everyone and it just recites in head over and over again. What he told me was that, when you are talking to someone always look them in the eyes and they will and can believe what you are saying because when you look away it just shows you are either intimidated or you are lying. So, when ever I talk to someone I look them in the eye because I want them to believe what I am saying and to show that I am not intimidated by them. This lesson has changed my life because when I am doing things like talking and people think I might be lying I look them dead In the eyes and they should / will know. Then, when I go and tell other people that person I told before can back me up and let the next person know that I mean what I am saying without lying! This has changed my life not in just one way but in many ways all of the people that are in my family know they can usually trust me if I am looking them in the eye with a straight face and not turning away because a challenge doesn't intimidate me.
ReplyDeleteI think that the lesson you learn is a very important one. I think that this lesson is a cool one because it was about how to get away with lying. Also i think that i will use this whenever I have to lie to someone.So also thinks for giveing me the advice to help me lie to people.
DeleteI believe what Julien said was important because now I'm going to go by his lesson because its true if you look in someone eye, you will be trusted and if you look away they know you will not be able to be trusted.
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ReplyDeleteThe most important lesson that I have learned throughout the course of my life is that relationships matter. It could be romance or friendly. It matters because relationships affect everyone’s life.I came to learn this lesson by ruining it with this girl. I won’t say her name but she was every special to me. We were very close and we were in a romance relationship. But when it all was over it became every awkward in my classes. I would always see her but i would ignore her. I wanted to be friends with her afterwards but she didn’t want to be just friends.So it affected me all thoughout the school year at the time. Also another way i got to learn this lesson is when I stopped a friendship with this person. I had to because they were horrible for me. I wanted to be with them ,but I knew that it was for the best. So of course I saw them every single day of this school year. It was horrible to know that I be with them and be happy. But the things they do hurts me inside knowing the person you care about is doing all these horrible things. But what most hurt me is that the person wanted to do these things with me. I knew in a matter of time I would do these things. So I didn’t want to get in trouble or to get hurt mentally or physically. I think that this lesson will help me move forward and do the most with my dash. By teaching me to stay close to people that will not hurt me. And also to remind myself if I want to get in a relationship with a girl that I always be the best I can be with her and treat her like she is the best thing that ever happened to me.To make her feel like she is the only person that I care more than everyone.Also it will help me move forward by teaching me by to always to be my best around the people that I care about.
I think that what you learned was very true. I think that relationships are extremely important. Most people wouldnt be able to survive without the relationships that they have with their parents, family, and friends.
DeleteI think your life lesson was really good dude honestly you have a really good personal lesson. Most people have different life lessons they are always thinking about.
DeleteI agree with you about relationships do matter. They keep your life up and so you be able to go on in life.
DeleteI think that the lesson you learned was a good one. Like you I learned relationships are important. Making people happy can make you happy.
DeleteThe most valuable lesson i learned in my life is to never make fun of people if you do not know their lifestyle. People who did this are racist to black people never learned that from their parents. The parents might not teach you this because of your ancestors owning slaves. To me people should treat each other equally. They also did this to the jews only because they were afraid of hitler. They never had to believe their fuhrer. He used the jews as his scapegoats. I learned this lesson from reading the book ¨Anne Frank¨. I read the book last year yet i never knew how they were treated. This can help me move forward in life because i know not to say things that are not true. If i would say something i can get in trouble. This has changed my life because i know not to say anything if it's not true. People always say things to me that were true but, are not true now. It was hard for me to move. I made new friends and new lifestyle changes.
ReplyDeleteThe most valuable lesson I learned in my life is to never take anyone for granted and to make as many memories with that person as possible. Life goes by quickly. When you make plans with that person keep them because there might not be another time. I learned this lesson during this past year. I lost my Nonna less than a year ago. I always thought it was boring to visit her ,but now I wish she was here to visit. Another way I learned this valuable lesson is with my Dad. They found a mass in his throat and had to have surgery. It was very scary waiting for him to get out of surgery. Then they found cancer. All I was thinking that I haven't spent enough time with him lately. Luckily the cancer he has, has a high curable rate. Which means I still have time to do things with him that we like to do together. We enjoy to go fishing, work on cars, go out to eat, etc. I think people are the most important part of life. If you are alone then that is not living. You need to enjoy the moment. It has changed my life by that I try to spend more time with my family and friends. I try to visit relatives more often. This will help me in the future by not having regrets. By spending time with my friends and family I won't fell any regret that I didn't spend enough time with them. I will have memories of those who do pass away. Cars and money might make you happy for a short time, but it's not everything. People are the ones that matter.
ReplyDeleteThe most important lesson I learned in life was to never take anything or anyone for granted. I am thankful for everyone and everything in my life. I realized that this was important bevause in no time the littlest or biggest things could be gone in no time. In eighth grade I used to not want to go to basketball practice every night until I broke my ankle. After that my whole perspective changed because I couldn't be there for my team. I missed playing like crazy and couldn't wait to be back on the court. Ever since then I go to every practice and don't mess around.
Deletei like what you wrote. i agree with the part about not taking people for granted. your response was good.
DeleteThe most valuable lesson I’ve learned over the course of my life is to cherish someone and spend every moment you have with them because you will never know when that’s not gonna be there anymore. I learned this because on August 15, 2012 I lost my mother from cervical cancer and I was only 11 when that happened too. During the time I got to spend with her from the day she adopted till the day she died, we had our amazing fun times and then we had our worst times. My mom and I fought often because I’d never listen and I was just a brat, but I regret those times we fought or I made her cry because if that didn’t happen I would’ve spent more time with her by bonding or having fun. It’s not fun losing someone so close to you or someone so important in your life that you loved the most. Everyday I wish to spend more time with her or to see her because I miss her so much and I know that I will never see her again till it’s my time to go. Learning to cherish someone and to spend every moment I can with someone is helping me move forward by always having good times with my friends and family and trying not to fight with them because at any second of the day they could be gone. This helps me with “dash” by when I become and adult and have children of my own, I can teach them the right way to do things and to cherish things and when I’m an adult, I will cherish the things I have even more. That was the most valuable lesson I’ve learned in the course of my life so far and to always live by that lesson for my future life.
ReplyDeleteOver my lifetime I have gone through many ups and downs just like everyone else. But the difference is what we learn and how we use these ups and downs. Throughout my life I always “judged a book by its cover”. I assumed the worst of people sometimes and as I got older I realized that that isn’t the way anyone should go about their life. If I see people doing something that annoys me I used to think to myself that being annoying is their personality and that they are bad people. With more life experience I see that people may act because of emotions not their personalities because I have done the same. If I put myself in someone's shoes, a lot of the time I understand why they are doing a certain thing. I realized that when I didn’t see if from the other person's’ shoes that I could be hypocritical. When a person acts a certain way and it bothered me I would be annoyed even though in their situation I would do the same. I learned this lesson while I was arguing with my brother one time. My brother and I were both arguing and he did something that made me mad. But right after we had the pointless fight he told me that I would have done the same. From there out I just subconsciously think if I would do the same or for the reason people do something. Knowing this lesson will greatly improve the quality of that dash. In my life if I spend less time thinking negatively and more time seeing where people come from with their actions and seeing their emotions it will improve my life. The whole point of doing anything is to make you or someone else happy and if you’re thinking the worst of people what’s the point of that little dash. If you have an option to make yourself happier and more positive and you aren’t that little dash doesn’t mean anything. It shows you’re taking it for granted. If you spend that little dash making yourself a better person then you spent your time wisely and did it the right way. When people use their dash in a pointless way then there is no point in it.
ReplyDeleteI have learned many important lessons in my short amount of time on earth. For example, I learned not to judge a book by its cover. Also, when you talk to people, you shouldn’t always believe everything that comes out of their mouths. Lastly, you should be able to support yourself before you can try to support other people.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are young you are always told not to judge a book by its cover. Some people, like me, might have thought that it literally meant don’t say that you don’t like a book just because of the way its cover looks. The actual meaning is to not think or say something about people because of the way they look. For example, when you see somebody on the street and they have on the dirtiest clothes you’ve ever seen. Most people would jump to conclusions and say that the person was a hobo or some kind of beggar. In reality, the person might have been a rich person who just had been through a lot in the past 24 hours.
The next lesson I learned was that you cant believe everything you hear come out of peoples mouths. This is a lesson I learned very early in my life. Its like when you play the game telephone. The sentence might start out as something like “I like fruit” and end up as something like “I want to shoot”. When you talk to people you should learn to retain the information they tell you is the truth, so that later on you can test their truthfulness if they say something completely different.
The last lesson I learned is that you should be able to support yourself before you try to support other people. For example, before you think of getting married, you need to make sure that you know how to survive on your own successfully, so that when you do get married, you don’t rely on you better half for everything. The other big part of this is that you even think of having a child you need to be able to protect yourself before you try to support another living, breathing human being. All in all I feel like I have learned quite a lot in my lifetime. I would not have been able to learn any of these lessons if I didn’t have people to help me along the way. People like my family and my teachers and friends.