This I Believe
What do I believe? What is the one thing that I learned that I use in my everyday life? I believe that the most important things I learned in my life, I learned from my elementary and middle school counselor Mr. Thweatt.
Mr. Thweatt taught me how to work out problems with other people. He used a frog to teach. The frog always had problems and would work them out in peaceful ways. I don’t know why I remember this frog, but I do. I remember how another animal took the frog’s ball, but instead of getting angry he went to the other animal and asked if they could share. Now days I use this idea of working things out peacefully when I confront a classmate who is being rude. I try not to blow up at them, and instead talk about what is bothering me.
Mr. Thweatt also treated me like an equal. It was the way he talked to me, not as a stupid kid, but as a person who knew what I wanted. This treatment taught me to respect others and how to interact with adults. I learned that if I wanted people to treat me with respect I would first have to show them respect. This is true with teachers especially. Most teachers just want their students to be respectful and not talk when they are talking. When I respect adults I find that in return they respect me.
Finally Mr. Thweatt taught me to not take life so seriously. It was the way he talked. He was always happy when I walked down the hall. I remember he was teaching my class about depression in health class. He would walk into class every day with a smile on his face and find a way to laugh even when talking about such a dense topic. It taught me that no matter what was going on in my life finding a way to laugh would make every thing better.
Who is one person in my life that taught me the most? Mr. Thweatt didn’t teach me book smarts, but instead life lessons. From him I learned how to interact with people, and how to live a healthy life. I believe that Mr. Thweatt was one of the bigger mentors in my life. This I believe.