This is my retarded english essay, but im going to publish it here so if other people need help they can read it, or you can just read it to find out more about me.

~*~Warning! 75% B.S.!~*~

Beliefs and Values

First and foremost I believe in God and Jesus Christ. I may not be perfect but I try hard to be a good Christian. This heavily influences my daily decisions. I believe in helping other people in need. It makes me feel so good when I can look at someone and see that I've made a difference in their lives. A big part of this feeling comes from Kentucky and the Appalachian people. Every summer, Emily Heimer and I go down to Kentucky to help some disadvantaged people out. I think this makes me a better person inside and I look forward to going back again next summer.

I believe in several ideals that seem to be lost in the world today. I have a worldview, which is my basic beliefs about human nature, how the world works, and what life is about. Sometimes my worldview seems a bit naïve. I believe that most people will make the right decision in the end. I believe that every person has a little bit of good inside them. I believe everyone has opportunities to make their lives better, and even though it's harder for some than others, I believe that if you try hard enough you actually can achieve anything. Sometimes it's just a matter of will power and determination. I believe society as a whole is not going downhill as most people think. I think society is actually learning from its mistakes and moving up, but the media takes advantage of our distrust of the world and turns us against each other. Some people might think these beliefs are false in the world today, but I still hold them as true.

I believe killing is wrong. While this might appear to be an obvious belief, it doesn't appear to be that obvious when you look at some of the controversial issues in the news today. I am pro-life which means I am against abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment. I view abortion as the killing of a life yet to be born and I think its cruel to assume they don't have a unique life before they are actually brought into the world. To me, euthanasia is killing someone who can't make that choice for themselves. I don't understand euthanasia so I'm really not qualified to pass judgment on it, but something about it just feels wrong. I'm against capital punishment partly because I am a devout Catholic and my church tells me it is wrong, but mainly because I don't see how killing someone who has killed others makes everything right. I definitely think these people are unsafe to society, but they should be incarcerated for life instead. A lot of people think this is too expensive, but it is actually more expensive to deal with a death row inmate then to just let them live in jail. My basic belief on capital punishment comes down to "Two wrongs don't make a right"

I see values as ideals that guide my personal conduct and interaction with other people. They help define me as an individual. I value fairness and justice. I value my faith. I value honesty and integrity. There are things I don't value as much as other people do. I would like to think that I don't value beauty, money, or power as much as the general populace, but maybe I'm wrong. I should probably value things like organization, patriotism, and satisfying others more, but there is only so much one can truly believe in and value.

I value my family immensely. I don't know what I would do without them. I can always talk to my mom and I can just sit there with my dad and not say anything at all. My sister would never admit it, but I know she looks up to me and that really puts weight on my choices. We used to fight all the time, but now we're really close. My immediate family is always there for me, and more often than not, my extended family is too. I don't want to play favorites or anything, but I value two of my cousins in a very special way. They are my little buddies and I love them to death. Whenever I'm feeling low, all I have to do is go visit them. The instant screaming of KATIEKATIEKATIEz1 when I walk in the door is priceless. I treasure Christmas and other major holidays, because as soon as I walk in the door, I am overwhelmed with a feeling of being loved.

I truly cherish my friends. Through thick and thin, my best friends have been there for me whenever I needed them. I might act a bit stupid sometimes but they're always there to straighten me out. I would trust them with my life. I have great friends who I don't get to see often enough. We started leaving notes in each other's locker and those notes have evolved into long letters that sometimes touch me so deeply that I keep them safe in a little drawer. I love how different and unique my friends are. Some I have so much fun with and they are there to party all night with me, and some are there for deep talks and meaningful conversation, but they all hold a special little piece of my heart.

I value my music. I like to think I'm pretty good at piano and sometimes use it as a therapy. Nothing works better to calm me down then to slam a few chords down on the keys. When I'm not angry, I use it to think. Once I've become competent at a song, I can let my hands do all the work while my mind just lets the music wash around it. I also like listening to music. My favorite songs have different meanings that I have to think about for a while before I finally figure it out. I have a taste in music that is unparalleled to anyone else's...because no one else can understand it. Sometimes I'm not sure if I even do.

I try not to think of myself as a materialistic person, but there are a few small yet sentimental things I attach importance to. I still keep my teddy bear Tom that I've had since I was a baby. I still look through my scrapbooks and diaries every once in a while. I value a few trivial things such as my jewelry and my books. I could live without them but I prefer not to. I treasure my photographs of my friends and me because they always bring back so many great memories. If my house suddenly was burning to the ground and I had time to grab only one thing, it would probably be my last diary. It's the history of my life as I saw it and I wouldn't ever want to leave that behind. I plan on keeping my diaries forever. Sometimes now I look back and see how I've learned from my mistakes. Later in life I might look back in them to reminisce about memories I had forgotten about. I've even let other people read excerpts from my old diaries. The one I'm writing in now is more of a therapeutic journal. I only write in it when I have strong feelings that I can't keep inside anymore. Obviously I don't want anyone to read this one yet because some of those issues are still a little touchy. I change its hiding spot twice a week.

I value things more if I've worked hard for them. If I've studied hard for a test, I'll be happier with my grade then if I got the same grade for a test I didn't study for. Now and then I'll fall short of my expectations and that hurts more when I've actually tried hard to succeed. If I've studied for a test really hard but end up failing it, I would get more upset then if I had forgotten to study for it. This doesn't just apply to school. It also applies to sports. If I feel like I have been working hard in practice lately, I would expect to get more playing time, but if I feel like I have been slacking a little, I wouldn't be hurt as much if I sat a little more time on the bench.