This I Believe – Dedication

  “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth

 

   I personally believe in hard work, the raw effort and dedication that one puts into something in order to get their desired result out of it. There are no shortcuts, no easy paths to getting what you want. Or so that is what I have been taught throughout my entire life. I have always been told by my parents especially that I must work hard and commit to achieve whatever may be desired and that idea has most definitely been grounded within the aspect of school. Tests, projects, assignments, really anything that may regard marks and grades have been things that have haunted me and really have demoralized me in terms of my own self-confidence, of what I can achieve. Specifically within the past couple of years of my school experience I had not necessarily put in the effort that would have yielded a greater mark. I was not willing to work and prioritize my tests and assignments, which, in turn, had resulted in my mark suffering dramatically. At that time, there was not much of an understanding as to why any of this was important. I did not think that there was much of a need to be trying, to be caring about school when, being the little kid that I was, I could be enjoying my life with so many other things. 

 

   Looking back at those times, I feel that it was simply just that I did not want to do work, or really did not believe in the impacts of hard work. I did not hold a complete understanding of what these small changes could have accomplished. These beliefs have now obviously been greatly influenced by figures such as my parents, which have now formed what I believe. My parents’ wisdom has taught me many things, all of which I am grateful for, but most importantly they have communicated the most important idea of working hard.

 

   Now, reflecting on who I am today, lots has changed. I have developed and transformed into a much more wise and knowledgeable human being. I now put in a lot more effort into the work that I do at school, which most definitely has resulted in the improvement of my grades, and ultimately paved the way to my placement of an AP class. I have not only acknowledged but grown from these ideas of believing in working hard and believing in the effort and commitment that one puts into the things that they do. 

   I feel that there is the importance of extrapolating these values to other areas, not just within the realm of school and grades. These ideas really can be applied to just any aspect of my life in which I ever want to go and get something, to accomplish something that may previously just have seemed impossible. There will always be, within my life, the need to believe in myself, in what I can do and what I can be capable of. And with that goes hand in hand the need to believe in and appreciate your hard work. In whatever one may be so dedicated and committed to reaching, there will be the need to work hard, to push yourself, and to trust in your efforts. Being diligent and putting in the hard work is not simply something that you can say, it is something you must act upon and truly trust.

 

 

References: https://www.limepoint.com/blog/is-continuous-integration-at-the-heart-of-your-devops-movement

https://weheartit.com/entry/112236623

https://gfycat.com/tangibletotaljapanese

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5 thoughts on “This I Believe – Dedication

  1. Dear Ekaum,

    As I read through your “This I Believe,” I could not stop myself from nodding appreciatively, as your belief about dedication was so skillfully communicated. I felt like this piece was an endorsement of the effort and time that we put in for AP ELA;) Jokes aside, This ” I Believe” stood out to me as your belief was clear throughout the entire piece. In fact the way you started off with a clear statement about dedication helped me grasp this piece without needing to look further. I loved the authenticity of your anecdote and how it supports your view on dedication. The way you compared the state you were in before this belief and after this belief created a further level of understanding and helped me, as a reader, relate to the topic.

    As for improvements, I would like to see more detail on the jump between the past and now. I was able to understand how you have changed due to the new belief that you developed but I could not find how this occurred. I realize that you touched on this slightly in your second paragraph, but I would love to have more insight into what became the cause of your belief as this would further develop your anecdote and strengthen your belief in your last paragraph.

    I too, believe in dedication. One of the things that drives my dedication is the practice of Buddhism. The mindset of being victorious in our daily choices is something that echos in my life. Since your belief is about dedication, I recommend you take a look at this short biography. He is a Buddhist philosopher that dedicated his life for the betterment of all people. I feel that this will bring a new perspective in your belief regarding dedication. https://www.joseitoda.org/vision/vision_overview.html

    Thank you for an empowering I believe. I’m filled with happiness that I have peers like you that value dedication in their lives in my everyday environment.

    Sincerely,
    Dai

  2. Dear Ekaum,

    Similar to Dai’s reaction, I couldn’t stop nodding my head as everything you mentioned was so relatable to my mindset about life. I also believe in dedication and hard work, and how it leads to success in my aspirations. The lines that most related to me were, “There are no shortcuts, no easy paths to getting what you want.” Your style of communicating this message was beautiful, from the vocabulary, to the different periods of your life that you seamlessly progressed through. Throughout the entire essay, you provided a variety of realizations through which your belief was very clear.

    As for improvements, I would suggest adding more specific moments since most of yours were general examples. You could add some specific quotes of wisdom that your parents told you, or you could mention something outside of school that you apply your belief to. Simply adding more relevant examples would greatly benefit the quality of this piece.

    The last paragraph stood out to me as you said dedication is important in many aspects of life, not just school. This applies to me especially in karate because you can’t get a black belt without dedication and hard work. I thoroughly enjoyed your writing, and I’m excited to read more of it in the near future.

    Sincerely,
    Neha

  3. Dear Ekaum,

    As I was scrolling through the blog page, I was first attracted to yours as I connected to your featured image as the movie was one of my childhood favourites. I am confident that many other people will click on to your work since your first image will connect with many other individuals. You had conveyed your ideas in a powerful way that made your writing beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed your transitions, “Looking back at those times” and “Now, reflecting on who I am today…”, as they made the paragraphs flow together nicely. The transitions also showed the different times in your life where you had grown and changed. Your first and last paragraphs portrayed a deep meaning about hard work which enables readers to truly understand how important your belief is, since it changed your life for the better.

    For improvements, I recommend that you have a more specific story or talk about the ideas in greater depth, so that readers can know exactly the type of person you were and how the experience changed you for the better. The beginning and end of your piece are very strong, but in the middle when your explaining your experiences it does not feel as powerful. By expanding and adding specifics on ideas already presented your work will become even better.

    I very much relate to this as well, since I have now realized that hard work has many benefits, specifically when wanting to do well in school. Your work is a thrill to read and I am so happy that I get to work with you every week.

    Sincerely,

    Zanir

  4. Dear Ekaum,
    First week of high school: I was put in a group with you in Science class, we had to make a presentation on Fertilizers. That was the first project of my high school career, and I was determined to get a good grade. But my prior experience with “group” efforts were always at least a little disappointing, and I‘d usually find myself doing most of the work. Your work ethic was a pleasant surprise — not only did you do more than your part, you did it undeniably well. And since then, I’ve had you pegged as one of the most hard working students in school. And the fact that you wrote your blog post on the importance of dedication… It’s so fitting.

    Your writing is deliberate, and seemingly error-free. Very refreshing. The last paragraph specifically had a great impact on me, and I felt you successfully made your belief relevant to everybody’s lives, not just your own. The way you reflected on your past shortcomings created a helpful contrast when you compared yourself to the dedicated person you are now.

    To improve on your writing, I agree with Neha — consider adding relevant examples and expanding on the specific causes of what brought on your belief, and the significant changes in your life that followed. You wrote about your marks dropping, but dedication affected more than just your school life, as is suggested by this quote: “I feel that there is the importance of extrapolating these values to other areas, not just within the realm of school and grades.” What other areas? A bit more detail would enhance your writing.

    Overall, your writing is an excellent reflection of your belief. Reading about how dedication transformed you into a wiser person motivated me to do the same, and that’s evidence of your obvious skill of connecting to your reader/audience. I’m anxious to read more of your work! Stay dedicated to yourself and your future… You’ll do great things, I’m sure.

    Sincerely,
    Kate

  5. Dear Dai, Neha, Zanir, and Kate,

    I really appreciate all of you taking the time to read through my very first blog post and providing some insightful comments. You have all pointed some errors which I actually have not previously noticed, and now that you have mentioned it, I will definitely keep it in mind. My story and own personal reflection could have definitely used some improvements. I feel that this is largely because my personal story that I chose is not necessarily one that I completely identify with, which has a big impact on the rest of the piece. I’m glad that you guys have pointed this out sooner than later, and I feel that it will have a great positive influence on the quality of my work, especially personal response, in the future.

    Sincerely,
    Ekaum

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