mindfulness

In Sociological Mindfulness by Michael Schwalbe, I learned that being mindful is about paying attention to other things and people that you wouldn't normally see or appreciate. He related it to the mind of a child which helped me understand what being mindful is all about. It is that sense of clarity, and since children's minds are new and accepting, they have not been affected by the media or their surroundings just yet. If more people could think in this way there would be more peace, cooperation, and a real understanding of one another. It shows us how we affect others and how we are affected everyday. Even if someone tells a racist joke about their own race, that can be harmful to others. It may be unintentional, but there is indeed harm done. Also, by telling a joke like that it makes it okay to make fun of races just for a stupid little laugh, but it's not worth it. Mindfulness is about respecting people and understanding peoples hardships and other obstacles they may face. This could be better for the world as a whole because if people would just stop and appreciate, there would be less hate and bitterness. Even though I support sociological mindfulness, I also see how hard it can be to do. At our school and throughout our lives we are taught individualism, to look out for ourselves instead of one another becuase the only person you can count on is yourself. In some cases, people have failed me but we are only human and we need to accept that. We all need to be less selfish and more selfless.

Who am I?

My name is Alyssa and I just turned 17 on July 30th. I have been playing softball ever since I can remember, it has definitely shaped who I am as a person and taught me several life lessons. I am really close with my family and they all influence me in a good way. I'm really close with my sister even though she is 7 years older than me. She has shown me that in order to succeed you must work hard and try your best to get to the top. I have learned from softball that people make mistakes and it is okay to lose at times but to never get down on yourself. My parents have taught me respect and other values and even though sometimes I don't agree with the advice they have to give me, I know they're right. My goal after high school is to go to Columbia College in Chicago and study fashion. When I graduate college I want to have a job that I love going to everyday and not have to come home and complain about how I hate my boss or how stressful it is...which I know is very hard to come by. I'd really like to study abroad for fashion in Paris because I know it would be an amazing experience. However, after college when I eventually get married I want to live in the country. I want to major in fashion whether it's design or styling because it gives people confidence and interior design gives people comfort. I like being able to make people happy. I love hanging out with my friends we always have fun even if we're doing nothing and I value my close friends a lot. We're really random and weird but I love it. There are things that people don't know about me up front but when I get closer to people I let my gaurd down.