msberd

[msberd]

Importance of Signature Strengths

When quarantine first began, I had many elaborate plans. I was going to prepare for the SAT, finish all my online work ASAP, and began looking at colleges. Then the quarantine extended. Then again. And again. I stopped doing any work and slowly transitioned into this lethargic routine: wake up unreasonably late, eat breakfast, play some video games, scroll through social media, complain about how much work I have to do, sleep. Before I knew it, a month had already passed. The goals I had at the beginning were a joke and I had zero motivation. I don’t know what gave me the kick I needed to do better. Maybe it was the upcoming AP exams or the possibility of failing junior year. Regardless, I realized I could no longer behave in such a way. I began taking actions that would make me happier and motivated, and help me mentally. I started to address my mental health rather than ignore it. I have begun exercising. I’ve slowly stopped being socially distant. I am sleeping appropriately rather than pushing my limit at three in the morning. I have taken the time to review past actions to understand what leads me to experience anxiety or laziness. I even started reading more. Luckily, this project was introduced shortly after I began taking steps that would make me a happier individual. Rather than view this project as separate, I incorporated its ideas into my schedule. The ideas illustrated in the project have reinforced my recent habits. Such a headstart made it easy for me to continue participating in strength training. Embodying my signature strengths has yet to be a challenge, except during the occasional migraine. The most important thing is to build these strengths as habits until they eventually become a part of my life.

[msberd]

My Top 5

My character strengths, in order, are as follow:

  Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence: I was genuinely surprised that this was my top strength. However, I believe the actions that play to this strength have a profound impact on my happiness. One action I do is wake up early in the morning just before the sun is up. Then I go for a walk with my dog or take my bike. The quiet environment, the smell of the air, and the sunrise have a calming effect. It allows me to clear my mind and start my day with positivity and serenity. Another thing I do is learn new words that better express my emotions when I find something beautiful, feel happy, etc. I can reflect better on an event or emotion when I’m not limited to “good”, “tired”, and “happy”.  

  Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness: This strength did not help me in terms of happiness or mental health. However, it did help me understand how I think and ways to improve. After monitoring how I look for information, I found out I often seek out new information to expand my views as opposed to simply confirming my previously held beliefs. I have tried “thinking in reverse”, which is a weird technique that has allowed me to create more creative solutions and demonstrate better decision making. Over the past week, I have also identified possible causes of past failures and disappointments and took the time to think deeply about how I can improve. 

  Love of Learning: I won’t go in-depth with this strength, as my actions regarding these strengths were very straightforward. I’ve begun to read more and study topics that aren’t directly related to school. And I am attentively following current events  

  Kindness and Generosity: This strength was all about the little things. I surprised my lactose-intolerant friend with dairy-free chocolate for s’mores. I made pancakes in the morning for everyone in my family. I started to use kinder words (and curse less). I started talking to an older friend about his future. He was always uncertain about what he wanted to do and gain from life. After a few conversations, he felt more confident in what he wanted to do with his future. That was a truly gratifying experience.

  Citizenship, teamwork, and loyalty: Now more than ever, this strength must be exemplified by every individual. For the first time, I started using my social media significantly to talk about current events. I would join a protest, but the fear of COVID is still very much alive. So I have stuck to speaking out on Snapchat and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/CA1XV8aln2A/), signing petitions, and educating myself.

-Sidi Sofuan Nasser

[msberd]

Social Intellegence

During this past week seeing all the posting on social media of the BLM movement I can say that I truly took my time to see what is happening in this country the steps people can proceed to help the current situation of black people in this country.Doing this has also helped me realize how you can truly tell how people feel about this movement now that people are saying how unacceptable it is to be silent during this time

-Malachi

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Hope, optimism, and future-mindedness

This strength training project has allowed for to connect with myself better and learn that I'm in control of my thoughts. This project gave me peace and allowed me to reflect. Some actions I took the past week that were most meaningful were making a Pinterest board of positive quotes and writing down my goals for the future. It wasn't hard for me to continue because it motivated me to keep doing more tasks related to strength training. 

-Victoria Verdin

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Social Intelligence

I have gone through an array of emotions to try and place my feelings. I felt sudden anger, then deep sadness. The anger was from the death of a man, then I felt angry cause I could do nothing about it because of my mother. Then the sadness set in as the neighborhoods I grew up in were destroyed, then confusion. I was confused on why people would do this to their own homes and own stores. I just can’t comprehend the thought of why someone would do it. I thought about what can I do then, as a socialite I felt it was my job to help educate my non black peers on what is going on. As the media portrays me in one light I know that is only the tip of the iceberg. Me being the acceptable black, one who knows how to code shift I make many white people feel comfortable. Using this access I propelled conversations. I also tried something new and instead of trying to make others to me and arguing I tried to listen to people just for listening sake people with views that are opposing mine.

-By: Danilo Wrightsell 

[msberd]

Recent Events

The events of the past few weeks impacted me, as a young person of color, in many ways. On May 6th, my brother was subjected to police brutality. Some officers had seen him sitting on the curb of a street, he had bikes all day, gotten himself lost, and hadn’t eaten, so he was resting his sore legs and was eating a snack. They asked him where he was going and other questions, they left him alone, called for back up and then drove to him again. They asked him the same questions and he didn’t give them a response they liked so they threw his bike to the ground and then attacked him. He needed to go to the hospital to make sure they didn’t break his wrist because it was in intense pain due to the excessive force and they even threatened to tase him after he was on the ground. Me and my family waited hours to get him back. He was taken to the hospital after they had already took him to the precinct, where he was held for hours. Then after he got out of the hospital they took him back and we had to wait even more. When we got to see him, he had scratches on his hand, his arm was in a sling, and he had stuff in his hair from the ground. Now when he walks too long he has a very noticeable limp due to intense pain in his knee since the attack. So during this protest I posted a lot on social media about how we, as black people, are being treated and what’s been happening all over the country to minorities. I became more vocal and I also went to try to clean up our communities after the riots. I’m happy to see multiple people protesting and support the movement. I believe we all need to come together and support one another in anyway we can.

-By: Keme Brame

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Gratitude

Engaging in this strength was a bit easier than i expected it to be as I usually try to be thankful for the things in my life. Before I'd go to sleep, I would think of at least 3 things to be thankful for or any blessings in my life. Some nights were very hard to think of some things, as COVID-19 has not been the kindest or easiest times in my life, or 2020 in general hasn't been the best year of my life. But this strength helped me cope through COVID-19 and our lockdowns as it pushed me to keep my head up, and look forward to the good things in life. This strength taught me that although life may be hard and difficult at times, there is always a bright side or better things to come. 

-Arianna Almaguer :D

[msberd]

Capacity to love and be loved

Engaging in this strength made me feel reflect on how loved I am by family and how appreciative I should be. I thought about what I appreciate most about my friends and family. I thought about how supportive my parents are, how loving my brother can be at times I need it the most. I realized how amazing my friends can be when it comes to supporting me and loving me inside or outside of school. Working on my strength has given me lots of positivity during COVID-19 and has kept my mind off of a lot of negativity going on in the world today. From engaging in this strength, I have learned to appreciate, spend more quality time with your loved ones, and to enjoy every moment.

-Arianna Almaguer, period 6 :)

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Social Intelligence, Humor, Critical thinking

While engaging in these character strengths, I have become a happier person and feel like I’ve helped not only myself feel better as a person, but helped other people to understand others. I have helped someone who was poorly educated on the BLM movement understand that the movement isn’t about race vs race, it’s about people uniting from all races to take down a racist system that targets all minorities and bringing light to how Black people are targeted the most for criminal activity and dealt with excessive force because of their skin color. It was hard to continue training because these are stressful times and there are so many things to think about, worry about, and try to do. Using my #1 character strength of humor, I have coped with covid 19 because when your having a good time and laughing with the people you love and care about, you tend to forget the bad that is going on in the world around you, and get to focus on the good in life. That’s a lesson that I am going to take past this week, to reflect on the good things in life, not only the bad.

-By: Keme Brame

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Humor and Playfulness

With all the rioting and protesting that's gone on over the past few weeks, I've decided that I would play to my humor and playfulness strengths in order to provide a distraction. I think what people are fighting for is very important, but I also think its important to watch out for your mental health, and laugh at something every once in a while. It isn't healthy for people to be stressed out 24/7 over the situation, so I'm trying to tell jokes and play games with people so they don't think about it all the time. 

-Devaunn Parker

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Spirituality, Sense of Purpose, and Faith

This past week I've given as much as I could over to God. I took almost if not every opportunity I could to praise Him, express gratitude in my actions or prayer, read my bible, and reach out to family and friends to encourage them with biblical truth. Doing this throughout the week made me feel so thankful. For the first time, I felt as if I have fulfilled as much as I possibly could towards the purpose of having a mindset like Jesus, of being a servant for the glory of God. In Ephesians chapter 2, the bible speaks about the humility of Jesus Christ, how He didn't consider equality with God as something to be used to His advantage, but instead took the very nature of a servant, He humbled himself and was obedient towards his father, even death on a cross! Then it goes on to speak about his exaltation. This past week I dedicated more time into living for God in every way I could and serve Him so that he may be glorified. A specific highlight of this was that I didn't let any shift at work break the joy He has given me when customers came in regardless of what their attitude was (kept in mind Ephesians 6:7 which says "Serve wholeheartedly as if you were serving the Lord not people".) Several times the warm greeting I gave had customers admire the kind service and enjoy their day even more. All that was glory to God for guiding my thoughts. The most meaningful action I took this week was using the wisdom from my youth pastor Josh to support those around me, customers coming in and my friends. On Wednesday I watched a live youth meeting concerning what we can do to make a change, to end racism. Prior to this, of course I believe racism is wrong. God teaches us to love one another. In Galatians chapter 3 verses 28 and 29 it says "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." This is powerful. God despises racism. The bible says that we are created from His image and if we hate God's creation then we are hating the creator. Initially I couldn't piece together the words that clearly say what needs to be said, but during this meeting it was made pretty simple. Racism is sin. God tolerates no sin. We need a change. Black lives matter. Right now black lives are the ones being endangered by law enforcement and we need to seek a change in this area. I have the opportunity among many to have a voice and speak out for this cause. I'm thankful for the wisdom God has given me during this time to truly understand the movement, and I intend to change the conversation and contribute in every way I can. God bless you. 

- Jasmin Nunez 

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Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be amplifying my humor and playfulness strength. While participating in humor related activities, I had a blast. I began watching the Tiger King documentary on Netflix. The documentary wanted to explore the unique people who have an addiction to and own exotic animals. The documentary also zoomed in on a feud between various exotic animal private zoos. I found watching the zoo owners bicker and host hypocritical podcasts about exotic animal abuse - although they exploit exotic animals for political gain themselves- hilarious. Since I am stuck in the house, it is easier to commit to this activity. However, This activity has truly made living in the house more bearable. I never thought I would laugh this hard at a documentary. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and all the other impactful situations currently happening, I have taken on a mantra to always move forward. This attitude helped me stay focused and cope with my current living situation.

 - Kyle H

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Trying to do strength training has been tough, so much as been happening. Over the past weeks, racial injustice and police brutality have been the main topics talked about in my household. One of my strengths is fairness/equity/justice. I’ve been motivated by the Black Lives Matter movement to donate and sign petitions, to educate and spread awareness. I’ve have used this time to have inclusive conversations, hearing the experiences and opinions of others. It’s a shame that we live in a world where innocent black people are dying because of the color of their skin. It’s crazy the number of people that have been getting away with such heinous acts and hate speech. Everything that has been happening is a result of decades of oppression, neglect, and abuse. At times, it seems like change won’t come when the cards are stacked against you. But with so many people coming together, standing strong, protesting, rioting, and demanding change has been amazing and has given me faith in a brighter future.

- By: Tyshea Leslie

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Humor & Playfulness

In the midst of all this craziness going on in the world, my laughter has kept me sane. My family and I have spent a lot of days just sitting in the house playing Charades and Uno attack while making jokes about how my aunties hair was looking and people toe nails etc. This has brought joy and happiness into my life. Ever since April life has been kinda rocky, Corona came and affected so many. Then protests and riots for social justice had begun and it have made a global impact on everybody. In the midst of all that chaos I had lost somebody very important to me, my great grandfather. This situation made it really hard laugh and joke while I was hurting inside. But a wise man once said, “Laughter keeps you from crying” so I acknowledged that and laughed and smiling away. There are many proud moments during this coronacation in the midst of chaos. African Americans are being recognized as human beings and governmental regimes is being held accountable for the damage they caused. We as a people just have to hope and pray that the real change is going to come.

- By: Chimiah Trapp

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Strength Training

Perspective Wisdom : Engaging in this strength made me think more profoundly about my actions and thoughts. I started by talking to my aunts and uncles about their life’s and how their challenges growing up are different from mine. I also decided to help my brother on his homework when he asked. I was able to gain incite on how I am able to learn from others to help myself with future issues. Spiritually, Sense of Purpose, and Faith : This was the easiest strength to engage in due to my entire family being religious. I was able to pray and read meaningful verses that gave me courage and strength. This strength helps me cope during Covid-19 with the positive and motivated verses that keep me going throughout the day. Honesty, Authenticity, and Genuineness : This strength made me think about everything that I say and do. I monitored the about of times I said a white lie or the times I said I would do a favor but never actually do it. I noticed that there are more times I tell the honest truth rather than lie. This strength was harder to monitor due to the fact that I don’t usually pay much attention to my actions, but doing this allowed me to grow and be more honest throughout the day. - Jovie.Reyes

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Modesty and Humility

     This was a bit harder to work on, because if I were to get into a disagreement it would usually be about something I would be so sure about. If I wasn’t sure or didn’t care too much about the topic then I would give and apologize if I was wrong, but if I was wrong on something I was sure about then I would try and find every little reason to debate on why I am right. Although there is a downside to this and having a bit of an ego, is that the more you debate the more you don’t want to give in, making it harder and embarrassing to apologize. As the week went on it gradually became easier to admit my wrongs because I reminded myself that I don’t have 100% certainty on everything, even the things I think I know. Being the eldest amongst my siblings giving in to a hot-headed 12 year old was frustrating but now it feels refreshing, to admit you’re wrong, learn, and then move on, gave me some pretty intense moments out of this quarantine, but I enjoyed them.

~Amir Henderson                             Period 6

[msberd]

Self-control and Self Regulation

       A couple of the things in this strength I already practice and had little effect in strengthening my character strengths, but by making it a clear, set goal made me realize how often I utilize the character strength of self-control and self-regulation. Even though I’ve been refraining from using profane language and setting fitness goals for myself, amplifies how much power I have over my actions, keeping them from being impulsive. By setting a goal like avoiding talking about others in their absence, kind of does the opposite, instead it showed me how much I don’t have self-control in this aspect. There are so many times where I do talk about people when they're not there, even though it wouldn’t be negative, it’s still not good to be doing that. Well, this just shows me how much more character strength training I need to do.

~Amir Henderson                                 Period 6