my inspiration in life short essay

• Free Essays
• Citation Generator

My Inspiration in Life

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

Hispanic family influence.

Every major event in my life has shaped who I am, particularly, how I approach my academics. Helping my family has made me selfless. I strive to help others first, whenever possible. Balancing family and school work has made me a reliable person who always perseveres. Working with my parents has allowed me to value, appreciate and take advantage of every educational opportunity. Acquiring an education is critical to me because it gives value to all of my parents’ hard work. I have learned that everything should be done with compassion and no obstacle is…

Compare And Contrast The Crown By Suzanne Weyn

If it's to become a better person or to write a book. Everyone is able to relate to the fact that they have been or are inspired by someone or something.…

Michael J. Fox's 'Epiphany'

Many people in my life have prepared me for my future and have taught me how to handle any obstacle thrown my way. My parents have inspired me to never settle for anything but the best, and have taught me the value of hard work and perseverance. Both of my parents came from families without a strong financial basis or a stronghold of people who believed that they could excel; moreover, this led my parents to becoming doctors and providing support in every aspect for my sister and I. My parents’ determination has led to my belief in the veracious message: nothing is going to be handed to you because you must work to make something happen. As I have gotten older and realize the little time I have left sheltered by my parents, this idea has prepared me for the real world due to the fact that I know not to take anything for granted, but to work for what I want to accomplish in life.…

Five Towns College Essay Sample

Inspiration can come from anything. For me, one of the major inspirations in my life is audio or audio engineering. It has opened up many opportunities for work and has opened my eyes and mind to a new type of education, one that I will enjoy learning at your school, Five Towns College. As it is one of my biggest passions, I know I will enjoy doing this for the rest of my life as my career and as a hobby.…

Business Environment

I am extremely grateful to my parents for their love, caring and sacrifices they have made for my education and preparing me to face my future. Your prayers is what have supported me to go so far and help me to stand firmly where I am now.…

Personal Narrative: My Life Changing Experience

I now realize all of the unspoken sacrifices that my parents have made for me so that I can chase after my American dream. I’ve come to understand how much my beloved parents mean to me. In the end, they matter more than anything else in this entire world. Their unconditional love and support is truly valuable and indispensable and is worth so much more to me than the materialistic aspects in…

Who Inspires Me

Some people think that for someone to inspire you the person still has to be alive. Well in my case I just recently lost the person that inspired me the most. My father, he was the person whom I asked about money, about how to get better at playing golf and about anything else I needed help with.…

Obstacles Of Being A Collegiate Athlete

Growing up as a kid in the 21st century, you are always being told to make something of yourself. “Never let your talent be wasted.” “Do something with your life.” These are the ideals that my dad instills in me every morning as I prepare for school. He saw the potential in me but knew that there would be obstacles that could get in my way of my future, if I did not overcome them.…

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Inspirational Speech

Inspiration is a complicated and complex emotions to break down for analysis. Inspiration makes you go beyond the definition of the words. It goes deeper than the eloquent tying of sentences, and the bad attempt at humor. Inspiration is a transcendent adventure which logically shouldn’t happen. I start off listening to a story and word by word it is less about the story but more about the relationship between my life and the speaker’s story. You start asking yourself; can I do it? What if that was me? What if I changed? And then you have this uplifting and urgent urge to work harder, be nicer, be better. The most inspiring stories and speakers are the ones that talk about failure. Growing up we learn that to make it in life you need to be nothing but successful.…

What Is the Biggest Problem in Hawaii? How Do You Solve It?

I am inspired most by my mother, I observed her ever since I was born. It was a very natural for me as a young child to get impressed by ever her minor achievement, and I want to follow her footsteps. Besides she took special care to inculcate in my skills, habit and Ideas, that I have found very useful in my life.…

My Inspiration In Mark Twain's By Henry David Thoreau

My Inspiration is not a person, place, or thing. What inspired me was a simple quote…

Inspirational Quotes

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.…

What Achievement means to me

Everyone has a person that inspires them to seek the career goal that they aspire, such as a…

My Inspiration

The person that inspires me the most is my mom.Why????? First of all she’s the one that gave me LIFE!…

Steve Job's Autocratic Leadership Style

Apple Inc is considers as a history of passion. It was begun by a pair of Stevens,…

Related Topics

• 2007 albums
• 2006 albums
• 2008 albums

Some Lessons I’ve Learned From Reflecting On Life In 150 Essays

As I look back over my last 149 essays, I see memories, heartbreaks, and joys, all poured into my essays of size 12 font. I see times I was feeling high on life, and simultaneously, times I was struggling and felt as though I was stuck in the dark.. But even more than a simple timeline of moments and checkpoints, I see someone trying desperately to make sense of a messy world full of complicated emotions. I see someone a little bit lost at times, a little bit curious, and also a bit hopeful – someone just trying her best to seek meaning, inspiration, and above all, healing. 

It is an understatement to say that writing has been therapeutic for me. When I have felt lonely, or afraid, or let down, I have often sought comfort in writing. Words have been magical – they have been a way to gain a new perspective on my life and on the lives of all of the people around me. Writing has unfailingly encouraged me to look twice at life – to examine what lies beneath the surface, rather than accepting things at face value. 

And when I look back at all of these thoughts I have spilled across the white pages of my MacBook, I see many themes that seem to pop into my life over and over again, with each passing year. These themes are mainly lessons – those that I have learned, and those that I am still learning (or relearning).  Looking over my writing, I can’t help but notice how as human beings, we are constantly learning. We never seem to stop changing, growing, or healing.  

While I do not have all of the answers (or any answers with certainty), I do hope that some of the thoughts I have gathered and the lessons I have learned through examining the world through words may resonate with you as well. I hope they can bring you some comfort or reassurance in the midst of the mountains and valleys of your own life. 

1. It can feel comforting to seek home in nostalgia – to live in our memories, to replay them over and over again, like little film strips that continue to roll on. But at some point, we have to remember that life is still happening and the earth is still spinning, right here, right now. At some point, we have to be here for ourselves and for our hearts in the present. We have to be brave enough to hope that the present and the future will be just as good, if not better, than the old memories we are living in.

2. I’m learning that joy doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of sadness, and grief doesn’t necessarily imply the absence of joy. Though we often want to choose an either o r, life is not quite as binary as we make it out to be.

3. I’m realizing that being at peace with life doesn’t mean that everything is perfect, or that we don’t have any troubles or tribulations or low energy nagging at our hearts. Being at peace doesn’t mean that life is wonderful, or that we aren’t stressed, or facing anxiety. More so, being at peace means finding some form of “okayness” amidst all of the parts of life that are not (yet) “okay.” It means sitting amidst the chaos and making the conscious decision to remain calm. To be okay. Ultimately, finding peace means acknowledging the storm and coexisting with it, rather than sitting in the eye of the tornado.

4. It’s the hardest lesson in the world, but sometimes, the best thing we can do is let them go. Sometimes we have to say goodbye to someone good and wait patiently for someone better. 

5. Something odd about life is that the right choices don’t always feel right in our bodies. Sometimes, though difficult, we have to find the courage within us to pursue what we need, rather than what we want in the present. We have to take care of ourselves by honoring what we know is best for us in the long run. And oftentimes, in the present, it really does hurt a lot. The pain doesn’t mean the decision is wrong. Sometimes the best choices can leave us let down and hurt. But later on, we will be thankful.  

6. I don’t believe that everything happens for a reason. I don’t believe in fate. But I do believe that we can give meaning to some of our hardest most heartbreaking moments. We don’t need to build an identity that is rooted in our grief or in our trauma or pain, but if or when we want to, we can allow the healing process to bring out our best. We can grow new, fresh roots, and we can choose to define ourselves by how we rise back up again.

7. We can’t expect others to heal us – no one can love us so much that we automatically love ourselves. But maybe, when someone does love us, they can remind us what love feels like. They can help us to believe that we are loveable. And this can be the first step of loving ourselves – knowing that we deserve to be loved.

8. Grief is ugly and painful and devastating. Grief is dark swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Grief hurts.  But we cannot deny the sheer beauty that grief holds. We cannot deny that grief is, in some ways, a gift. To grieve means that we are blessed enough to have loved and to have been loved by someone special – and this is remarkable. Grief means we are missing someone – someone who touched our lives in an irreplaceable way. And thus, I’d like to believe that the sadness and grief we endure when we lose someone close to us is simply the price we pay for loving them. And there’s something so dear and precious about this.

9. As hard as it is to hear, some people aren’t meant to stay in our lives forever. They are passerbys, like boats in the night. And though they may only stay for a short while, they stay safely in our hearts indefinitely.  Temporary people can leave permanent footprints.

10. Anxiety and overthinking do not change the situation. They only turn a gentle rain shower into a hurricane.

11. We can miss someone, but we can’t lose ourselves when we lose them. We can miss them, but we can’t let our lives be over when they are gone. Because we still have our lives to live. And we still have so much love left in us to give. 12. We don’t need a reason to have hope – we don’t need evidence or logic, as much as we think we do. We don’t even need to fully understand or grasp what hope is. We just have to find it in our hearts to believe that hope exists. We have to bravely decide to give in to hope, even when we can’t see it or touch it – even when we don’t know if it is there. When life is dark, we have to believe that there is something still worth living for around the corner. And this belief – this hope – this is what will help us move forward. 

13. It’s okay to find home in another person. It’s one of the sweetest, purest parts of life. But somewhere along the way, we must also find home within ourselves.

14. We know we are healing when we piece back together our broken parts and turn them into something greater than what we had before.

15. Perhaps, when someone doesn’t love us or doesn’t fight for us, it isn’t actually a reflection of us. Perhaps their inability to love us does not mean that we are unloveable, or hard to love. Maybe it means that they have been hurt one too many times before and that their walls are now built high of concrete and stone. Or maybe it means that they have been defeated by love one too many times – maybe love continues to let them down, time and time again. And maybe, even if they want to love us, they simply cannot. And we can keep trying and trying to knock down those walls. But perhaps when they don’t love us, the very best thing we can do is to hug them close, wish them the best, and then walk away.  Because even if they were special, we each deserve someone who is ready to let us in fully.

16. Most of the time, when we think we need closure from someone else, what we truly need is closure from ourselves – permission from ourselves to let things be. To accept the ending and to understand that it’s time to let the ending stay an ending. We must find the strength to seek peace and healing on our own. Healing is our responsibility, not the responsibility of the person who hurt us.

17. Sometimes growth is quiet and subtle and doesn’t look like growth. Sometimes growth is simply viewing a situation from a fresh perspective. Sometimes growth is trying something new, despite whether or not it ends up being a good experience. Sometimes growth just means making it through each day and noticing one small good thing about the world each night. Some seasons are for making leaps and bounds, while others are simply for surviving and just being. Both seasons are important. Both are needed. 

18. How do we know when we are healing? I think we know that we are coming close when we feel immense gratitude that something happened, rather than devastated by the fact that it ended. 

19. We don’t always need to find the silver lining. Sometimes really crappy, awful things happen, and there is much more bad than good in the world. Sometimes we go through devastating, heartbreaking experiences that don’t have a silver lining, and the idea of trying to find one only hurts us further. In these really rough moments, we don’t need to search for the light. But maybe, when we are ready, we can remind ourselves that there is still light in the world. Maybe there’s no shining light in our situation, but there is still goodness somewhere out there. And hopefully knowing this will help us make it to the other side

Perhaps the secret isn’t avoiding pain or numbing ourselves from pain, but rather, putting our energy into cultivating joy and peace. Perhaps when we value joy over pain, life becomes a little bit easier. 

Colleen George

“there can be magic in the messes” @apeaceofwerk

Keep up with Colleen on Instagram , Amazon and linktr.ee

More From Thought Catalog

This Is What Self-Care Really Means, Because It’s Not All Salt Baths And Chocolate Cake

This 1992 Cult Classic Is The Only Movie You Should Watch This Earth Day

Lessons On Life And Love I Learned From ‘The DUFF’

14 Women On The Things People Seriously Need To Stop Romanticizing

When You’re Ready, This Is How You Heal

You Are Allowed To Let Go Of Your Old Dreams, Don’t Let Anybody Tell You Differently

The internet can be a dark and, quite often, violent place for women — many of whom are subjected to trolling, harassment, and threats on a daily basis. But it can also be a truly wonderful place, one that provides free access to news, educational resources, entertainment, communication, and wealth of incredible writing — including these empowering essays by women you can read online right now . Written by Cecile Richards, Lindy West, Lady Gaga, and more, these essays are filled with inspiration and wisdom to guide you through your day.

For female readers, the online world can sometimes feel like a minefield, one that is littered with destructive words meant to tear women down or shut them up. But for famous authors and writers, beloved celebrities, and popular athletes, it can also serve as the perfect platform to share their empowering stories, which often include plenty of inspirational anecdotes and practical advice that makes the whole mess of the internet worth it.

Whether you’re looking for a bit of guidance in your own life, or hoping to inspire your friends with some sage advice from more experienced women, here are nine empowering essays you can read for free online right now .

"The Most Daring Women Don’t Always Make Headlines" by Cecile Richards

"Today, women across this country are doing her proud. The earth is shifting under the force of millions of women standing up for themselves, for each other, for their daughters and their mothers and sisters," writes the former president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund Cecile Richards in her inspiring piece about women and activism for Harper's Bazaar . "Women are no longer asking for permission. They’re just diving in and taking risks. They know we can’t afford to sit this one out."

Read the full essay here .

"Rebranding Motherhood" by Diksha Basu

"If anything, so far being a mother feels quite delightfully self-indulgent. I have a daughter in whom I can constantly look for and find little bits of myself or, better yet, improved bits of myself," writes Windfall author Dikashu Basu in a moving essay for The New York Times about redefining motherhood. "Recently a construction worker called out to me on the street in Lower Manhattan and I got my angry anti-catcalling face ready to respond but he very respectfully said, 'You have a beautiful daughter, ma’am.' My vanity now has two bodies within which to reside — the sacrifice looks more like narcissism from certain angles."

Read the full essay here.

"This Is Survival" by Aly Raisman

In a heartbreaking but incredibly powerful essay for The Players' Tribune , American gymnast Aly Raisman opens up about her experience with sexual abuse, and offers some words of encouragement to anyone else who has gone through the same thing. "I am not a victim. I am a survivor. The abuse does not define me, or anyone else who has been abused. This does not define the millions of those who’ve suffered sexual abuse," the two-time Olympian writes. "They are not victims, either. They are survivors. They are strong, they are brave, they are changing things so the next generation never has to go through what they did."

"What I Learned at War" by Tammy Duckworth

Senator Tammy Duckworth has often spoken out about her time serving in the U.S. army, including in this persuasive essay about the price of war and what it can teach us that she wrote for Politico. "That day, I lost both of my legs, but I was given a second chance at life," she writes, recounting her experience fighting in the Iraq War. "It’s a feeling that has helped to drive me in my second chance at service—no one should be left behind, and every American deserves another chance."

"The 'Perfect Body' Is a Lie. I Believed It For a Long Time and Let It Shrink My Life" by Lindy West

If you have read Lindy West's memoir Shrill , you know that she has a lot of incredibly insightful things to say fat acceptance and body positivity. In an essay for The Guardian, she shares some of them, saying "The 'perfect body' is a lie. I believed in it for a long time, and I let it shape my life, and shrink it – my real life, populated by my real body. Don’t let fiction tell you what to do. In the omnidirectional orgy gardens of Vlaxnoid, no one cares about your arm flab."

"Bring It On" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

The first Muslim American to medal in the Olympics, fencing champion Ibtihaj Muhammad opened up about what it is like to compete in an sport where so few people look like her. "One day, during a fifteen-hour flight to a training camp in Beijing, I arrived at a moment where I said enough is enough — I’d spent years fighting for every win, every opportunity, every ounce of respect on my path to becoming an Olympian, and I was no longer going to allow other people to affect how I perceived myself or restrict what I was capable of," she writes in Lenny Letter. "When people stared me down at a tournament, I didn’t know if it was a race thing or a religious thing or that they weren’t ready for change, but I finally realized: Why was that burden on me to figure out? I didn’t have the time to acquire their baggage or analyze why anyone wanted to make me feel inferior. I had a job to do on that team, and that job was winning a medal."

"Why It's So Important That CEOs Like Me Speak Out Against Trump" by Reshma Saujani

In an essay about corporate responsibility in the age of Trump by Reshma Saujani, the Girls Who Code founder and CEO reminds readers that individuals have a lot of power to enact change. "But if every American has the power to sway a CEO," she argues in a piece for Teen Vogue, "then every American quite literally has a chance to sway public opinion, to shape the way we talk and think and act on our values system — to change the way we treat our fellow Americans and those who come here seeking a better life for their families."

"Ava DuVernay on How to 'Pivot Towards Positivity' in Trying Times" by Ava DuVernay

There are few creatives as wise, or as giving when it comes to advice, as A Wrinkle in Time director Ava DuVernay. "These days I’m a lot less competitive, a lot less concerned about what other people do. I’m much more focused on the things that make me happy," she writes in an inspirational essay for InStyle. "I believe that good comes when you put out good, and so I just try to emanate joyful vibes. Why not? I’m not going to spend my day hating on someone else. I’ve got so many better and more joy-filled things to do."

"Portrait of a Lady" by Lady Gaga

In her 2016 essay on being a woman in the modern world, Lady Gaga opens up and offers a truly refreshing and inspiring perspective. "Being a lady today means being a fighter. It means being a survivor," she writes. "It means letting yourself be vulnerable and acknowledging your shame or that you're sad or you're angry. It takes great strength to do that."

• Social Justice
• Environment
• Health & Happiness
• Get YES! Emails
• Teacher Resources

• Give A Gift Subscription
• Teaching Sustainability
• Teaching Social Justice
• Teaching Respect & Empathy
• Student Writing Lessons
• Visual Learning Lessons
• Tough Topics Discussion Guides
• About the YES! for Teachers Program
• Student Writing Contest

Follow YES! For Teachers

Eight brilliant student essays on what matters most in life.

Read winning essays from our spring 2019 student writing contest.

For the spring 2019 student writing contest, we invited students to read the YES! article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age” by Nancy Hill. Like the author, students interviewed someone significantly older than them about the three things that matter most in life. Students then wrote about what they learned, and about how their interviewees’ answers compare to their own top priorities.

The Winners

From the hundreds of essays written, these eight were chosen as winners. Be sure to read the author’s response to the essay winners and the literary gems that caught our eye. Plus, we share an essay from teacher Charles Sanderson, who also responded to the writing prompt.

Middle School Winner: Rory Leyva

High School Winner:  Praethong Klomsum

University Winner:  Emily Greenbaum

Powerful Voice Winner: Amanda Schwaben

Powerful Voice Winner: Antonia Mills

Powerful Voice Winner:  Isaac Ziemba

Powerful Voice Winner: Lily Hersch

“Tell It Like It Is” Interview Winner: Jonas Buckner

From the Author: Response to Student Winners

Literary Gems

From A Teacher: Charles Sanderson

From the Author: Response to Charles Sanderson

Middle School Winner

Village Home Education Resource Center, Portland, Ore.

The Lessons Of Mortality 

“As I’ve aged, things that are more personal to me have become somewhat less important. Perhaps I’ve become less self-centered with the awareness of mortality, how short one person’s life is.” This is how my 72-year-old grandma believes her values have changed over the course of her life. Even though I am only 12 years old, I know my life won’t last forever, and someday I, too, will reflect on my past decisions. We were all born to exist and eventually die, so we have evolved to value things in the context of mortality.

One of the ways I feel most alive is when I play roller derby. I started playing for the Rose City Rollers Juniors two years ago, and this year, I made the Rosebud All-Stars travel team. Roller derby is a fast-paced, full-contact sport. The physicality and intense training make me feel in control of and present in my body.

My roller derby team is like a second family to me. Adolescence is complicated. We understand each other in ways no one else can. I love my friends more than I love almost anything else. My family would have been higher on my list a few years ago, but as I’ve aged it has been important to make my own social connections.

Music led me to roller derby.  I started out jam skating at the roller rink. Jam skating is all about feeling the music. It integrates gymnastics, breakdancing, figure skating, and modern dance with R & B and hip hop music. When I was younger, I once lay down in the DJ booth at the roller rink and was lulled to sleep by the drawl of wheels rolling in rhythm and people talking about the things they came there to escape. Sometimes, I go up on the roof of my house at night to listen to music and feel the wind rustle my hair. These unique sensations make me feel safe like nothing else ever has.

My grandma tells me, “Being close with family and friends is the most important thing because I haven’t

always had that.” When my grandma was two years old, her father died. Her mother became depressed and moved around a lot, which made it hard for my grandma to make friends. Once my grandma went to college, she made lots of friends. She met my grandfather, Joaquin Leyva when she was working as a park ranger and he was a surfer. They bought two acres of land on the edge of a redwood forest and had a son and a daughter. My grandma created a stable family that was missing throughout her early life.

My grandma is motivated to maintain good health so she can be there for her family. I can relate because I have to be fit and strong for my team. Since she lost my grandfather to cancer, she realizes how lucky she is to have a functional body and no life-threatening illnesses. My grandma tries to eat well and exercise, but she still struggles with depression. Over time, she has learned that reaching out to others is essential to her emotional wellbeing.  

Caring for the earth is also a priority for my grandma I’ve been lucky to learn from my grandma. She’s taught me how to hunt for fossils in the desert and find shells on the beach. Although my grandma grew up with no access to the wilderness, she admired the green open areas of urban cemeteries. In college, she studied geology and hiked in the High Sierras. For years, she’s been an advocate for conserving wildlife habitat and open spaces.

Our priorities may seem different, but it all comes down to basic human needs. We all desire a purpose, strive to be happy, and need to be loved. Like Nancy Hill says in the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” it can be hard to decipher what is important in life. I believe that the constant search for satisfaction and meaning is the only thing everyone has in common. We all want to know what matters, and we walk around this confusing world trying to find it. The lessons I’ve learned from my grandma about forging connections, caring for my body, and getting out in the world inspire me to live my life my way before it’s gone.

Rory Leyva is a seventh-grader from Portland, Oregon. Rory skates for the Rosebuds All-Stars roller derby team. She loves listening to music and hanging out with her friends.

High School Winner

Praethong Klomsum

  Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, Calif.

Time Only Moves Forward

Sandra Hernandez gazed at the tiny house while her mother’s gentle hands caressed her shoulders. It wasn’t much, especially for a family of five. This was 1960, she was 17, and her family had just moved to Culver City.

Flash forward to 2019. Sandra sits in a rocking chair, knitting a blanket for her latest grandchild, in the same living room. Sandra remembers working hard to feed her eight children. She took many different jobs before settling behind the cash register at a Japanese restaurant called Magos. “It was a struggle, and my husband Augustine, was planning to join the military at that time, too.”

In the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” author Nancy Hill states that one of the most important things is “…connecting with others in general, but in particular with those who have lived long lives.” Sandra feels similarly. It’s been hard for Sandra to keep in contact with her family, which leaves her downhearted some days. “It’s important to maintain that connection you have with your family, not just next-door neighbors you talk to once a month.”

Despite her age, Sandra is a daring woman. Taking risks is important to her, and she’ll try anything—from skydiving to hiking. Sandra has some regrets from the past, but nowadays, she doesn’t wonder about the “would have, could have, should haves.” She just goes for it with a smile.

Sandra thought harder about her last important thing, the blue and green blanket now finished and covering

her lap. “I’ve definitely lived a longer life than most, and maybe this is just wishful thinking, but I hope I can see the day my great-grandchildren are born.” She’s laughing, but her eyes look beyond what’s in front of her. Maybe she is reminiscing about the day she held her son for the first time or thinking of her grandchildren becoming parents. I thank her for her time and she waves it off, offering me a styrofoam cup of lemonade before I head for the bus station.

The bus is sparsely filled. A voice in my head reminds me to finish my 10-page history research paper before spring break. I take a window seat and pull out my phone and earbuds. My playlist is already on shuffle, and I push away thoughts of that dreaded paper. Music has been a constant in my life—from singing my lungs out in kindergarten to Barbie’s “I Need To Know,” to jamming out to Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” in sixth grade, to BTS’s “Intro: Never Mind” comforting me when I’m at my lowest. Music is my magic shop, a place where I can trade away my fears for calm.

I’ve always been afraid of doing something wrong—not finishing my homework or getting a C when I can do better. When I was 8, I wanted to be like the big kids. As I got older, I realized that I had exchanged my childhood longing for the 48 pack of crayons for bigger problems, balancing grades, a social life, and mental stability—all at once. I’m going to get older whether I like it or not, so there’s no point forcing myself to grow up faster.  I’m learning to live in the moment.

The bus is approaching my apartment, where I know my comfy bed and a home-cooked meal from my mom are waiting. My mom is hard-working, confident, and very stubborn. I admire her strength of character. She always keeps me in line, even through my rebellious phases.

My best friend sends me a text—an update on how broken her laptop is. She is annoying. She says the stupidest things and loves to state the obvious. Despite this, she never fails to make me laugh until my cheeks feel numb. The rest of my friends are like that too—loud, talkative, and always brightening my day. Even friends I stopped talking to have a place in my heart. Recently, I’ve tried to reconnect with some of them. This interview was possible because a close friend from sixth grade offered to introduce me to Sandra, her grandmother.  

I’m decades younger than Sandra, so my view of what’s important isn’t as broad as hers, but we share similar values, with friends and family at the top. I have a feeling that when Sandra was my age, she used to love music, too. Maybe in a few decades, when I’m sitting in my rocking chair, drawing in my sketchbook, I’ll remember this article and think back fondly to the days when life was simple.

Praethong Klomsum is a tenth-grader at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California.  Praethong has a strange affinity for rhyme games and is involved in her school’s dance team. She enjoys drawing and writing, hoping to impact people willing to listen to her thoughts and ideas.

University Winner

Emily Greenbaum

Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 

The Life-Long War

Every morning we open our eyes, ready for a new day. Some immediately turn to their phones and social media. Others work out or do yoga. For a certain person, a deep breath and the morning sun ground him. He hears the clink-clank of his wife cooking low sodium meat for breakfast—doctor’s orders! He sees that the other side of the bed is already made, the dogs are no longer in the room, and his clothes are set out nicely on the loveseat.

Today, though, this man wakes up to something different: faded cream walls and jello. This person, my hero, is Master Chief Petty Officer Roger James.

I pulled up my chair close to Roger’s vinyl recliner so I could hear him above the noise of the beeping dialysis machine. I noticed Roger would occasionally glance at his wife Susan with sparkly eyes when he would recall memories of the war or their grandkids. He looked at Susan like she walked on water.

Roger James served his country for thirty years. Now, he has enlisted in another type of war. He suffers from a rare blood cancer—the result of the wars he fought in. Roger has good and bad days. He says, “The good outweighs the bad, so I have to be grateful for what I have on those good days.”

When Roger retired, he never thought the effects of the war would reach him. The once shallow wrinkles upon his face become deeper, as he tells me, “It’s just cancer. Others are suffering from far worse. I know I’ll make it.”

Like Nancy Hill did in her article “Three Things that Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” I asked Roger, “What are the three most important things to you?” James answered, “My wife Susan, my grandkids, and church.”

Roger and Susan served together in the Vietnam war. She was a nurse who treated his cuts and scrapes one day. I asked Roger why he chose Susan. He said, “Susan told me to look at her while she cleaned me up. ‘This may sting, but don’t be a baby.’ When I looked into her eyes, I felt like she was looking into my soul, and I didn’t want her to leave. She gave me this sense of home. Every day I wake up, she makes me feel the same way, and I fall in love with her all over again.”

Roger and Susan have two kids and four grandkids, with great-grandchildren on the way. He claims that his grandkids give him the youth that he feels slowly escaping from his body. This adoring grandfather is energized by coaching t-ball and playing evening card games with the grandkids.

The last thing on his list was church. His oldest daughter married a pastor. Together they founded a church. Roger said that the connection between his faith and family is important to him because it gave him a reason to want to live again. I learned from Roger that when you’re across the ocean, you tend to lose sight of why you are fighting. When Roger returned, he didn’t have the will to live. Most days were a struggle, adapting back into a society that lacked empathy for the injuries, pain, and psychological trauma carried by returning soldiers. Church changed that for Roger and gave him a sense of purpose.

When I began this project, my attitude was to just get the assignment done. I never thought I could view Master Chief Petty Officer Roger James as more than a role model, but he definitely changed my mind. It’s as if Roger magically lit a fire inside of me and showed me where one’s true passions should lie. I see our similarities and embrace our differences. We both value family and our own connections to home—his home being church and mine being where I can breathe the easiest.

Master Chief Petty Officer Roger James has shown me how to appreciate what I have around me and that every once in a while, I should step back and stop to smell the roses. As we concluded the interview, amidst squeaky clogs and the stale smell of bleach and bedpans, I looked to Roger, his kind, tired eyes, and weathered skin, with a deeper sense of admiration, knowing that his values still run true, no matter what he faces.

Emily Greenbaum is a senior at Kent State University, graduating with a major in Conflict Management and minor in Geography. Emily hopes to use her major to facilitate better conversations, while she works in the Washington, D.C. area.  

Powerful Voice Winner

Amanda Schwaben

Wise Words From Winnie the Pooh

As I read through Nancy Hill’s article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” I was comforted by the similar responses given by both children and older adults. The emphasis participants placed on family, social connections, and love was not only heartwarming but hopeful. While the messages in the article filled me with warmth, I felt a twinge of guilt building within me. As a twenty-one-year-old college student weeks from graduation, I honestly don’t think much about the most important things in life. But if I was asked, I would most likely say family, friendship, and love. As much as I hate to admit it, I often find myself obsessing over achieving a successful career and finding a way to “save the world.”

A few weeks ago, I was at my family home watching the new Winnie the Pooh movie Christopher Robin with my mom and younger sister. Well, I wasn’t really watching. I had my laptop in front of me, and I was aggressively typing up an assignment. Halfway through the movie, I realized I left my laptop charger in my car. I walked outside into the brisk March air. Instinctively, I looked up. The sky was perfectly clear, revealing a beautiful array of stars. When my twin sister and I were in high school, we would always take a moment to look up at the sparkling night sky before we came into the house after soccer practice.

I think that was the last time I stood in my driveway and gazed at the stars. I did not get the laptop charger from

my car; instead, I turned around and went back inside. I shut my laptop and watched the rest of the movie. My twin sister loves Winnie the Pooh. So much so that my parents got her a stuffed animal version of him for Christmas. While I thought he was adorable and a token of my childhood, I did not really understand her obsession. However, it was clear to me after watching the movie. Winnie the Pooh certainly had it figured out. He believed that the simple things in life were the most important: love, friendship, and having fun.

I thought about asking my mom right then what the three most important things were to her, but I decided not to. I just wanted to be in the moment. I didn’t want to be doing homework. It was a beautiful thing to just sit there and be present with my mom and sister.

I did ask her, though, a couple of weeks later. Her response was simple.  All she said was family, health, and happiness. When she told me this, I imagined Winnie the Pooh smiling. I think he would be proud of that answer.

I was not surprised by my mom’s reply. It suited her perfectly. I wonder if we relearn what is most important when we grow older—that the pressure to be successful subsides. Could it be that valuing family, health, and happiness is what ends up saving the world?

Amanda Schwaben is a graduating senior from Kent State University with a major in Applied Conflict Management. Amanda also has minors in Psychology and Interpersonal Communication. She hopes to further her education and focus on how museums not only preserve history but also promote peace.

Antonia Mills

Rachel Carson High School, Brooklyn, N.Y. 

Decoding The Butterfly

For a caterpillar to become a butterfly, it must first digest itself. The caterpillar, overwhelmed by accumulating tissue, splits its skin open to form its protective shell, the chrysalis, and later becomes the pretty butterfly we all know and love. There are approximately 20,000 species of butterflies, and just as every species is different, so is the life of every butterfly. No matter how long and hard a caterpillar has strived to become the colorful and vibrant butterfly that we marvel at on a warm spring day, it does not live a long life. A butterfly can live for a year, six months, two weeks, and even as little as twenty-four hours.

I have often wondered if butterflies live long enough to be blissful of blue skies. Do they take time to feast upon the sweet nectar they crave, midst their hustling life of pollinating pretty flowers? Do they ever take a lull in their itineraries, or are they always rushing towards completing their four-stage metamorphosis? Has anyone asked the butterfly, “Who are you?” instead of “What are you”? Or, How did you get here, on my windowsill?  How did you become ‘you’?

Humans are similar to butterflies. As a caterpillar

Suzanna Ruby/Getty Images

becomes a butterfly, a baby becomes an elder. As a butterfly soars through summer skies, an elder watches summer skies turn into cold winter nights and back toward summer skies yet again.  And as a butterfly flits slowly by the porch light, a passerby makes assumptions about the wrinkled, slow-moving elder, who is sturdier than he appears. These creatures are not seen for who they are—who they were—because people have “better things to do” or they are too busy to ask, “How are you”?

Our world can be a lonely place. Pressured by expectations, haunted by dreams, overpowered by weakness, and drowned out by lofty goals, we tend to forget ourselves—and others. Rather than hang onto the strands of our diminishing sanity, we might benefit from listening to our elders. Many elders have experienced setbacks in their young lives. Overcoming hardship and surviving to old age is wisdom that they carry.  We can learn from them—and can even make their day by taking the time to hear their stories.  

Nancy Hill, who wrote the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” was right: “We live among such remarkable people, yet few know their stories.” I know a lot about my grandmother’s life, and it isn’t as serene as my own. My grandmother, Liza, who cooks every day, bakes bread on holidays for our neighbors, brings gifts to her doctor out of the kindness of her heart, and makes conversation with neighbors even though she is isn’t fluent in English—Russian is her first language—has struggled all her life. Her mother, Anna, a single parent, had tuberculosis, and even though she had an inviolable spirit, she was too frail to care for four children. She passed away when my grandmother was sixteen, so my grandmother and her siblings spent most of their childhood in an orphanage. My grandmother got married at nineteen to my grandfather, Pinhas. He was a man who loved her more than he loved himself and was a godsend to every person he met. Liza was—and still is—always quick to do what was best for others, even if that person treated her poorly. My grandmother has lived with physical pain all her life, yet she pushed herself to climb heights that she wasn’t ready for. Against all odds, she has lived to tell her story to people who are willing to listen. And I always am.

I asked my grandmother, “What are three things most important to you?” Her answer was one that I already expected: One, for everyone to live long healthy lives. Two, for you to graduate from college. Three, for you to always remember that I love you.

What may be basic to you means the world to my grandmother. She just wants what she never had the chance to experience: a healthy life, an education, and the chance to express love to the people she values. The three things that matter most to her may be so simple and ordinary to outsiders, but to her, it is so much more. And who could take that away?

Antonia Mills was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and attends Rachel Carson High School.  Antonia enjoys creative activities, including writing, painting, reading, and baking. She hopes to pursue culinary arts professionally in the future. One of her favorite quotes is, “When you start seeing your worth, you’ll find it harder to stay around people who don’t.” -Emily S.P.  

  Powerful Voice Winner

   Isaac Ziemba

Odyssey Multiage Program, Bainbridge Island, Wash. 

This Former State Trooper Has His Priorities Straight: Family, Climate Change, and Integrity

I have a personal connection to people who served in the military and first responders. My uncle is a first responder on the island I live on, and my dad retired from the Navy. That was what made a man named Glen Tyrell, a state trooper for 25 years, 2 months and 9 days, my first choice to interview about what three things matter in life. In the YES! Magazine article “The Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” I learned that old and young people have a great deal in common. I know that’s true because Glen and I care about a lot of the same things.

For Glen, family is at the top of his list of important things. “My wife was, and is, always there for me. My daughters mean the world to me, too, but Penny is my partner,” Glen said. I can understand why Glen’s wife is so important to him. She’s family. Family will always be there for you.

Glen loves his family, and so do I with all my heart. My dad especially means the world to me. He is my top supporter and tells me that if I need help, just “say the word.” When we are fishing or crabbing, sometimes I

think, what if these times were erased from my memory? I wouldn’t be able to describe the horrible feeling that would rush through my mind, and I’m sure that Glen would feel the same about his wife.

My uncle once told me that the world is always going to change over time. It’s what the world has turned out to be that worries me. Both Glen and I are extremely concerned about climate change and the effect that rising temperatures have on animals and their habitats. We’re driving them to extinction. Some people might say, “So what? Animals don’t pay taxes or do any of the things we do.” What we are doing to them is like the Black Death times 100.

Glen is also frustrated by how much plastic we use and where it ends up. He would be shocked that an explorer recently dived to the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean—seven miles!— and discovered a plastic bag and candy wrappers. Glen told me that, unfortunately, his generation did the damage and my generation is here to fix it. We need to take better care of Earth because if we don’t, we, as a species, will have failed.

Both Glen and I care deeply for our families and the earth, but for our third important value, I chose education and Glen chose integrity. My education is super important to me because without it, I would be a blank slate. I wouldn’t know how to figure out problems. I wouldn’t be able to tell right from wrong. I wouldn’t understand the Bill of Rights. I would be stuck. Everyone should be able to go to school, no matter where they’re from or who they are.  It makes me angry and sad to think that some people, especially girls, get shot because they are trying to go to school. I understand how lucky I am.

Integrity is sacred to Glen—I could tell by the serious tone of Glen’s voice when he told me that integrity was the code he lived by as a former state trooper. He knew that he had the power to change a person’s life, and he was committed to not abusing that power.  When Glen put someone under arrest—and my uncle says the same—his judgment and integrity were paramount. “Either you’re right or you’re wrong.” You can’t judge a person by what you think, you can only judge a person from what you know.”

I learned many things about Glen and what’s important in life, but there is one thing that stands out—something Glen always does and does well. Glen helps people. He did it as a state trooper, and he does it in our school, where he works on construction projects. Glen told me that he believes that our most powerful tools are writing and listening to others. I think those tools are important, too, but I also believe there are other tools to help solve many of our problems and create a better future: to be compassionate, to create caring relationships, and to help others. Just like Glen Tyrell does each and every day.

Isaac Ziemba is in seventh grade at the Odyssey Multiage Program on a small island called Bainbridge near Seattle, Washington. Isaac’s favorite subject in school is history because he has always been interested in how the past affects the future. In his spare time, you can find Isaac hunting for crab with his Dad, looking for artifacts around his house with his metal detector, and having fun with his younger cousin, Conner.     

Lily Hersch

 The Crest Academy, Salida, Colo.

The Phone Call

Dear Grandpa,

In my short span of life—12 years so far—you’ve taught me a lot of important life lessons that I’ll always have with me. Some of the values I talk about in this writing I’ve learned from you.

Dedicated to my Gramps.

In the YES! Magazine article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age,” author and photographer Nancy Hill asked people to name the three things that mattered most to them. After reading the essay prompt for the article, I immediately knew who I wanted to interview: my grandpa Gil.      

My grandpa was born on January 25, 1942. He lived in a minuscule tenement in The Bronx with his mother,

father, and brother. His father wasn’t around much, and, when he was, he was reticent and would snap occasionally, revealing his constrained mental pain. My grandpa says this happened because my great grandfather did not have a father figure in his life. His mother was a classy, sharp lady who was the head secretary at a local police district station. My grandpa and his brother Larry did not care for each other. Gramps said he was very close to his mother, and Larry wasn’t. Perhaps Larry was envious for what he didn’t have.

Decades after little to no communication with his brother, my grandpa decided to spontaneously visit him in Florida, where he resided with his wife. Larry was taken aback at the sudden reappearance of his brother and told him to leave. Since then, the two brothers have not been in contact. My grandpa doesn’t even know if Larry is alive.         

My grandpa is now a retired lawyer, married to my wonderful grandma, and living in a pretty house with an ugly dog named BoBo.

So, what’s important to you, Gramps?

He paused a second, then replied, “Family, kindness, and empathy.”

“Family, because it’s my family. It’s important to stay connected with your family. My brother, father, and I never connected in the way I wished, and sometimes I contemplated what could’ve happened.  But you can’t change the past. So, that’s why family’s important to me.”

Family will always be on my “Top Three Most Important Things” list, too. I can’t imagine not having my older brother, Zeke, or my grandma in my life. I wonder how other kids feel about their families? How do kids trapped and separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border feel?  What about orphans? Too many questions, too few answers.

“Kindness, because growing up and not seeing a lot of kindness made me realize how important it is to have that in the world. Kindness makes the world go round.”

What is kindness? Helping my brother, Eli, who has Down syndrome, get ready in the morning? Telling people what they need to hear, rather than what they want to hear? Maybe, for now, I’ll put wisdom, not kindness, on my list.

“Empathy, because of all the killings and shootings [in this country.] We also need to care for people—people who are not living in as good circumstances as I have. Donald Trump and other people I’ve met have no empathy. Empathy is very important.”

Empathy is something I’ve felt my whole life. It’ll always be important to me like it is important to my grandpa. My grandpa shows his empathy when he works with disabled children. Once he took a disabled child to a Christina Aguilera concert because that child was too young to go by himself. The moments I feel the most empathy are when Eli gets those looks from people. Seeing Eli wonder why people stare at him like he’s a freak makes me sad, and annoyed that they have the audacity to stare.

After this 2 minute and 36-second phone call, my grandpa has helped me define what’s most important to me at this time in my life: family, wisdom, and empathy. Although these things are important now, I realize they can change and most likely will.

When I’m an old woman, I envision myself scrambling through a stack of storage boxes and finding this paper. Perhaps after reading words from my 12-year-old self, I’ll ask myself “What’s important to me?”

Lily Hersch is a sixth-grader at Crest Academy in Salida, Colorado. Lily is an avid indoorsman, finding joy in competitive spelling, art, and of course, writing. She does not like Swiss cheese.

  “Tell It Like It Is” Interview Winner

Jonas Buckner

KIPP: Gaston College Preparatory, Gaston, N.C.

Lessons My Nana Taught Me

I walked into the house. In the other room, I heard my cousin screaming at his game. There were a lot of Pioneer Woman dishes everywhere. The room had the television on max volume. The fan in the other room was on. I didn’t know it yet, but I was about to learn something powerful.

I was in my Nana’s house, and when I walked in, she said, “Hey Monkey Butt.”

I said, “Hey Nana.”

Before the interview, I was talking to her about what I was gonna interview her on. Also, I had asked her why I might have wanted to interview her, and she responded with, “Because you love me, and I love you too.”

Now, it was time to start the interview. The first

question I asked was the main and most important question ever: “What three things matter most to you and you only?”

She thought of it very thoughtfully and responded with, “My grandchildren, my children, and my health.”

Then, I said, “OK, can you please tell me more about your health?”

She responded with, “My health is bad right now. I have heart problems, blood sugar, and that’s about it.” When she said it, she looked at me and smiled because she loved me and was happy I chose her to interview.

I replied with, “K um, why is it important to you?”

She smiled and said, “Why is it…Why is my health important? Well, because I want to live a long time and see my grandchildren grow up.”

I was scared when she said that, but she still smiled. I was so happy, and then I said, “Has your health always been important to you.”

She responded with “Nah.”

Then, I asked, “Do you happen to have a story to help me understand your reasoning?”

She said, “No, not really.”

Now we were getting into the next set of questions. I said, “Remember how you said that your grandchildren matter to you? Can you please tell me why they matter to you?”

Then, she responded with, “So I can spend time with them, play with them, and everything.”

Next, I asked the same question I did before: “Have you always loved your grandchildren?” 

She responded with, “Yes, they have always been important to me.”

Then, the next two questions I asked she had no response to at all. She was very happy until I asked, “Why do your children matter most to you?”

She had a frown on and responded, “My daughter Tammy died a long time ago.”

Then, at this point, the other questions were answered the same as the other ones. When I left to go home I was thinking about how her answers were similar to mine. She said health, and I care about my health a lot, and I didn’t say, but I wanted to. She also didn’t have answers for the last two questions on each thing, and I was like that too.

The lesson I learned was that no matter what, always keep pushing because even though my aunt or my Nana’s daughter died, she kept on pushing and loving everyone. I also learned that everything should matter to us. Once again, I chose to interview my Nana because she matters to me, and I know when she was younger she had a lot of things happen to her, so I wanted to know what she would say. The point I’m trying to make is that be grateful for what you have and what you have done in life.

Jonas Buckner is a sixth-grader at KIPP: Gaston College Preparatory in Gaston, North Carolina. Jonas’ favorite activities are drawing, writing, math, piano, and playing AltSpace VR. He found his passion for writing in fourth grade when he wrote a quick autobiography. Jonas hopes to become a horror writer someday.

From The Author: Responses to Student Winners

Dear Emily, Isaac, Antonia, Rory, Praethong, Amanda, Lily, and Jonas,

Your thought-provoking essays sent my head spinning. The more I read, the more impressed I was with the depth of thought, beauty of expression, and originality. It left me wondering just how to capture all of my reactions in a single letter. After multiple false starts, I’ve landed on this: I will stick to the theme of three most important things.

The three things I found most inspirational about your essays:

You listened.

You connected.

We live in troubled times. Tensions mount between countries, cultures, genders, religious beliefs, and generations. If we fail to find a way to understand each other, to see similarities between us, the future will be fraught with increased hostility.

You all took critical steps toward connecting with someone who might not value the same things you do by asking a person who is generations older than you what matters to them. Then, you listened to their answers. You saw connections between what is important to them and what is important to you. Many of you noted similarities, others wondered if your own list of the three most important things would change as you go through life. You all saw the validity of the responses you received and looked for reasons why your interviewees have come to value what they have.

It is through these things—asking, listening, and connecting—that we can begin to bridge the differences in experiences and beliefs that are currently dividing us.

Individual observations

Each one of you made observations that all of us, regardless of age or experience, would do well to keep in mind. I chose one quote from each person and trust those reading your essays will discover more valuable insights.

“Our priorities may seem different, but they come back to basic human needs. We all desire a purpose, strive to be happy, and work to make a positive impact.” 

“You can’t judge a person by what you think , you can only judge a person by what you know .”

Emily (referencing your interviewee, who is battling cancer):

“Master Chief Petty Officer James has shown me how to appreciate what I have around me.”

Lily (quoting your grandfather):

“Kindness makes the world go round.”

“Everything should matter to us.”

Praethong (quoting your interviewee, Sandra, on the importance of family):

“It’s important to always maintain that connection you have with each other, your family, not just next-door neighbors you talk to once a month.”

“I wonder if maybe we relearn what is most important when we grow older. That the pressure to be successful subsides and that valuing family, health, and happiness is what ends up saving the world.”

“Listen to what others have to say. Listen to the people who have already experienced hardship. You will learn from them and you can even make their day by giving them a chance to voice their thoughts.”

I end this letter to you with the hope that you never stop asking others what is most important to them and that you to continue to take time to reflect on what matters most to you…and why. May you never stop asking, listening, and connecting with others, especially those who may seem to be unlike you. Keep writing, and keep sharing your thoughts and observations with others, for your ideas are awe-inspiring.

I also want to thank the more than 1,000 students who submitted essays. Together, by sharing what’s important to us with others, especially those who may believe or act differently, we can fill the world with joy, peace, beauty, and love.

We received many outstanding essays for the Winter 2019 Student Writing Competition. Though not every participant can win the contest, we’d like to share some excerpts that caught our eye:

Whether it is a painting on a milky canvas with watercolors or pasting photos onto a scrapbook with her granddaughters, it is always a piece of artwork to her. She values the things in life that keep her in the moment, while still exploring things she may not have initially thought would bring her joy.

—Ondine Grant-Krasno, Immaculate Heart Middle School, Los Angeles, Calif.

“Ganas”… It means “desire” in Spanish. My ganas is fueled by my family’s belief in me. I cannot and will not fail them. 

—Adan Rios, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

I hope when I grow up I can have the love for my kids like my grandma has for her kids. She makes being a mother even more of a beautiful thing than it already is.

—Ashley Shaw, Columbus City Prep School for Girls, Grove City, Ohio

You become a collage of little pieces of your friends and family. They also encourage you to be the best you can be. They lift you up onto the seat of your bike, they give you the first push, and they don’t hesitate to remind you that everything will be alright when you fall off and scrape your knee.

— Cecilia Stanton, Bellafonte Area Middle School, Bellafonte, Pa.

Without good friends, I wouldn’t know what I would do to endure the brutal machine of public education.

—Kenneth Jenkins, Garrison Middle School, Walla Walla, Wash.

My dog, as ridiculous as it may seem, is a beautiful example of what we all should aspire to be. We should live in the moment, not stress, and make it our goal to lift someone’s spirits, even just a little.

—Kate Garland, Immaculate Heart Middle School, Los Angeles, Calif. 

I strongly hope that every child can spare more time to accompany their elderly parents when they are struggling, and moving forward, and give them more care and patience. so as to truly achieve the goal of “you accompany me to grow up, and I will accompany you to grow old.”

—Taiyi Li, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

I have three cats, and they are my brothers and sisters. We share a special bond that I think would not be possible if they were human. Since they do not speak English, we have to find other ways to connect, and I think that those other ways can be more powerful than language.

—Maya Dombroskie, Delta Program Middle School, Boulsburg, Pa.

We are made to love and be loved. To have joy and be relational. As a member of the loneliest generation in possibly all of history, I feel keenly aware of the need for relationships and authentic connection. That is why I decided to talk to my grandmother.

—Luke Steinkamp, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

After interviewing my grandma and writing my paper, I realized that as we grow older, the things that are important to us don’t change, what changes is why those things are important to us.

—Emily Giffer, Our Lady Star of the Sea, Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.

The media works to marginalize elders, often isolating them and their stories, and the wealth of knowledge that comes with their additional years of lived experiences. It also undermines the depth of children’s curiosity and capacity to learn and understand. When the worlds of elders and children collide, a classroom opens.

—Cristina Reitano, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif.

My values, although similar to my dad, only looked the same in the sense that a shadow is similar to the object it was cast on.

—Timofey Lisenskiy, Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica, Calif.

I can release my anger through writing without having to take it out on someone. I can escape and be a different person; it feels good not to be myself for a while. I can make up my own characters, so I can be someone different every day, and I think that’s pretty cool.

—Jasua Carillo, Wellness, Business, and Sports School, Woodburn, Ore. 

Notice how all the important things in his life are people: the people who he loves and who love him back. This is because “people are more important than things like money or possessions, and families are treasures,” says grandpa Pat. And I couldn’t agree more.

—Brody Hartley, Garrison Middle School, Walla Walla, Wash.  

Curiosity for other people’s stories could be what is needed to save the world.

—Noah Smith, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio

Peace to me is a calm lake without a ripple in sight. It’s a starry night with a gentle breeze that pillows upon your face. It’s the absence of arguments, fighting, or war. It’s when egos stop working against each other and finally begin working with each other. Peace is free from fear, anxiety, and depression. To me, peace is an important ingredient in the recipe of life.

—JP Bogan, Lane Community College, Eugene, Ore.

From A Teacher

Charles Sanderson

Wellness, Business and Sports School, Woodburn, Ore. 

The Birthday Gift

I’ve known Jodelle for years, watching her grow from a quiet and timid twelve-year-old to a young woman who just returned from India, where she played Kabaddi, a kind of rugby meets Red Rover.

One of my core beliefs as an educator is to show up for the things that matter to kids, so I go to their games, watch their plays, and eat the strawberry jam they make for the county fair. On this occasion, I met Jodelle at a robotics competition to watch her little sister Abby compete. Think Nerd Paradise: more hats made from traffic cones than Golden State Warrior ball caps, more unicorn capes than Nike swooshes, more fanny packs with Legos than clutches with eyeliner.

We started chatting as the crowd chanted and waved six-foot flags for teams like Mystic Biscuits, Shrek, and everyone’s nemesis The Mean Machine. Apparently, when it’s time for lunch at a robotics competition, they don’t mess around. The once-packed gym was left to Jodelle and me, and we kept talking and talking. I eventually asked her about the three things that matter to her most.

She told me about her mom, her sister, and her addiction—to horses. I’ve read enough of her writing to know that horses were her drug of choice and her mom and sister were her support network.

I learned about her desire to become a teacher and how hours at the barn with her horse, Heart, recharge her when she’s exhausted. At one point, our rambling conversation turned to a topic I’ve known far too well—her father.

Later that evening, I received an email from Jodelle, and she had a lot to say. One line really struck me: “In so many movies, I have seen a dad wanting to protect his daughter from the world, but I’ve only understood the scene cognitively. Yesterday, I felt it.”

Long ago, I decided that I would never be a dad. I had seen movies with fathers and daughters, and for me, those movies might as well have been Star Wars, ET, or Alien—worlds filled with creatures I’d never know. However, over the years, I’ve attended Jodelle’s parent-teacher conferences, gone to her graduation, and driven hours to watch her ride Heart at horse shows. Simply, I showed up. I listened. I supported.

Jodelle shared a series of dad poems, as well. I had read the first two poems in their original form when Jodelle was my student. The revised versions revealed new graphic details of her past. The third poem, however, was something entirely different.

She called the poems my early birthday present. When I read the lines “You are my father figure/Who I look up to/Without being looked down on,” I froze for an instant and had to reread the lines. After fifty years of consciously deciding not to be a dad, I was seen as one—and it felt incredible. Jodelle’s poem and recognition were two of the best presents I’ve ever received.

I  know that I was the language arts teacher that Jodelle needed at the time, but her poem revealed things I never knew I taught her: “My father figure/ Who taught me/ That listening is for observing the world/ That listening is for learning/Not obeying/Writing is for connecting/Healing with others.”

Teaching is often a thankless job, one that frequently brings more stress and anxiety than joy and hope. Stress erodes my patience. Anxiety curtails my ability to enter each interaction with every student with the grace they deserve. However, my time with Jodelle reminds me of the importance of leaning in and listening.

In the article “Three Things That Matter Most in Youth and Old Age” by Nancy Hill, she illuminates how we “live among such remarkable people, yet few know their stories.” For the last twenty years, I’ve had the privilege to work with countless of these “remarkable people,” and I’ve done my best to listen, and, in so doing, I hope my students will realize what I’ve known for a long time; their voices matter and deserve to be heard, but the voices of their tias and abuelitos and babushkas are equally important. When we take the time to listen, I believe we do more than affirm the humanity of others; we affirm our own as well.

Charles Sanderson has grounded his nineteen-year teaching career in a philosophy he describes as “Mirror, Window, Bridge.” Charles seeks to ensure all students see themselves, see others, and begin to learn the skills to build bridges of empathy, affinity, and understanding between communities and cultures that may seem vastly different. He proudly teaches at the Wellness, Business and Sports School in Woodburn, Oregon, a school and community that brings him joy and hope on a daily basis.

From   The Author: Response to Charles Sanderson

Dear Charles Sanderson,

Thank you for submitting an essay of your own in addition to encouraging your students to participate in YES! Magazine’s essay contest.

Your essay focused not on what is important to you, but rather on what is important to one of your students. You took what mattered to her to heart, acting upon it by going beyond the school day and creating a connection that has helped fill a huge gap in her life. Your efforts will affect her far beyond her years in school. It is clear that your involvement with this student is far from the only time you have gone beyond the classroom, and while you are not seeking personal acknowledgment, I cannot help but applaud you.

In an ideal world, every teacher, every adult, would show the same interest in our children and adolescents that you do. By taking the time to listen to what is important to our youth, we can help them grow into compassionate, caring adults, capable of making our world a better place.

Your concerted efforts to guide our youth to success not only as students but also as human beings is commendable. May others be inspired by your insights, concerns, and actions. You define excellence in teaching.

Get Stories of Solutions to Share with Your Classroom

Teachers save 50% on YES! Magazine.

Inspiration in Your Inbox

Get the free daily newsletter from YES! Magazine: Stories of people creating a better world to inspire you and your students.

Goals and Ambitions

Last Updated: January 23, 2024

My Inspiration in Life | Discover What Inspires You In Life

What’s my inspiration in life? Is that a question you’ve been asking yourself recently? This guide to finding what inspires you in life should help! Check it out.

Danny Newman

Hopefully my inspiration in life motivational guide will help out in your search to find inspiration!

I feel inspired at the moment.

I’m hopeful, happy, and full of motivation. A lovely sense of purpose and progress courses through my veins.

I say it’s ‘lovely’ because it makes a welcome change to how I sometimes walk through life! Honestly, if melancholy and rumination were Olympic sports, I’d be in contention for a medal!

But, aside from the occasional bad day, I feel lucky that the general backdrop to my life feels positive right now.

It’s also made me a) wonder what inspires me and b) ask the question “what is inspiration?” More to the point, how do you find out what inspires you in life so you can cultivate, nurture, and harness its positive influence?

If you’ve been wondering similar thing, keep reading to learn about the current source of my inspiration in life, and, hopefully, some ideas for discovering some inspiration of your own!

[Last Updated: March 2021]

What is Inspiration? My Inspiration in My Life & What Inspiration Means to Me

More than anything else, I want to make the most of my life.

In a way, that is my ultimate life inspiration.

It’s why I’m travelling now, instead of sitting in an office. It’s why I’ve chosen life on the road, away from the comfort and security of friends and family, to do something a bit different.

It’s why I’m working hours on end trying to grow this blog and make passive income from it.

I want to free up time, push myself, and focus on projects and ventures that bring me joy.

Yet, ultimately, I guess my inspiration in life is related to fear as well.

I’m scared of being on my death bed one day and feeling like I still have life left to live. The thought of squandering what little time I have on this planet inspires me to do cool stuff.

I see this as my macro-level inspiration. That’s what inspiration means to me and where I get my inspiration from.

“It works like a compass point, channelling me down certain paths- away from the safe and predictable and into unfamiliar territory that’s aligned with my goals.”

On the subject of goals, check out these 100 life goals to help find your aim in life!

At a micro, day to day, level, though, I get inspiration from all manner of sources.

I listen to podcasts from inspirational people. I read inspiring books by inspiring authors, about interesting and inspiring topics. Sometimes I just look around me and find inspiration in the world outside.

Each source of inspiration feeds into my ‘why’ and reminds me how I want to live.

Finding inspiration has a host of positive outcomes to look forward to. Within them is the meaning of inspiration. Keep reading for a list of inspiration advantages.

The Importance of Finding Inspirations in Life

Why is inspiration so valuable? Here are some of the key benefits being inspired seems to provide.

Heads up, you might also like this post about how to stop thinking about the past !

1. Positivity & Hope

It’s hard to feel inspired and negative at the same time.

“There’s just something intrinsically positive about it. Getting a dose of inspiration can lift you out of a place of negativity and into one of hope.”

To be inspired is to be stimulated. It pokes and prods and invigorates you into charting a course. Inspiration is energy! You can’t help but feel better about life.

2. Creativity

Inspiration goes hand in hand with creativity.

And creativity is central to doing things differently. For me, creativity is about having new ideas, thinking outside the box, and living in a novel way.

It often takes a moment of inspiration to get there.

3. Hard Work

Nothing in life that’s worth doing is ever easy.

Everything from attaining fitness goals to career goals takes hard work to get there.

Sticking it out through thick and thin is tough.

Inspiration can spark and sustain the drive you’ll need to get through.

Having ‘drive’ allows you to keep your foot on the pedal, over time. You navigate the good and the bad and commit to a certain outcome without getting derailed by difficulty.

4. Direction

The meaning of inspiration can be revealing.

It can shine a spotlight on hitherto unrecognised aspirations. Being inspired catalyses action and slingshots you towards newfound purpose.

That’s no small thing! Meaning and purpose are vital to a sense of fulfilment and wellbeing.

Ultimately, inspiration leads to far better results.

It’s like walking through life with a jetpack on your back. You’re stoked to get going and exceed in one way or another.

There’s no limit to what you can do when you’re truly inspired to take action.

6. Antidote to Apathy

Apathy is toxic.

You walk around in a constant funk.

“Nothing stimulates, excites, frustrates or instils any sense of urgency whatsoever. I see apathy as the enemy. ”

It’s a one stop shop to mediocrity and a subpar life.

Being inspired renders apathy obsolete. You could market inspiration as an instant apathy-killer. A bit like how it’s an antidote to negativity, it’s a cure-all for feelings of indifference too.

7. Incredible Life

All told, inspiration makes for an incredible life.

You’re energized, hopeful, and engaged; you’re instilled with a sense of purpose that drives action and overcomes obstacles.

Inspiration is anathema to ordinariness.

And to that end, it’s worth going to the greatest depths to find it.

Inspiration can be found in any number of places. Here are some of the places I’ve found inspiration in my life.

Sources of Life Inspiration: How to Discover What Inspires You In Life

Inspiration is a funny thing. This world is full of inspiring things; sometimes it jumps out at you unexpectedly. Other times, though, you have to work hard to forge it from nothing.

Want to discover what inspires you? Looking for ways to spark inspiration?

Hopefully, the following ‘source of inspiration’ list will help you identity what gives you inspiration in life.

Heads up, you might also like this post about 30 Things to Do Before You’re 30 !

1. Thought Exercises (Powerful Examples of How to Get Inspired)

Thought exercises can be a remarkably powerful way to spark feelings of inspiration.

There’s one in particular that I think about a lot. It goes something like this:

Imagine being on your deathbed at the end of a long life. You’re lying there, preparing to die, when a magical being approaches.

They tell you they’re going to turn the egg-timer of your life on its head, such that you’ll live it over again from scratch, in exactly the same way, from start to finish. From birth to death, you’ll live the same life again. This process will repeat again and again for the rest of time.

What feelings are evoked from the idea of living your current life over and over again?

If it’s positive, and you can’t wait to get back into it, then that’s a good sign! You’re obviously doing something right. But if it feels like a punishment, then it’s a clear warning sign.

You’re obviously living a life you’re unhappy with.

This realisation can be a powerful catalyst for change. It can inspire you to take action and do things differently.

2. What Is My Inspiration? Death…

It’s all too easy to pretend we’re going to live forever.

Why else would we settle for a mediocre life?

The thought that I could die tomorrow, or be diagnosed with a terminal illness, is one of my greatest motivators. I want to at least try and make the most of my time.

Don’t get me wrong, I know it isn’t always this black and white.

Life can be truly unfair and deal people an almightily bad hand. Your current circumstances may only be down to force of circumstance.

Even so, if there’s any wiggle room for improvement, then I think it’s worth exploring.

When I think of wasted time I think of going through the motions. Time goes so damn fast! It’s a limited resource. I want to milk it for all its worth.

Struggling for inspiration? Stop and really consider that you might die soon. If that doesn’t work, then think about someone you care for dying!

“Don’t wait for an actual major life event to shake you from apathy. Instead, imagine something catastrophic happening. Use it for inspiration to make changes in the present. ”

3. Fear (What Gets Me Inspired!)

This one is big for me.

Like I said earlier, I think a lot of my life inspiration comes from a simple fear of missing out.

I’m scared of leaving money on the table! I want to live differently. I want to push myself to have extraordinary experiences. I want to be the best version of myself I can possible be.

The fear of failing in this pursuit inspires me to try even harder.

What are you scared of? How can you use it to fuel your journey and enhance your life?

Finding space to sit and reflect can be an important means of finding inspiration and discovering its meaning in your life.

4. Deciding Your ‘Why’ (How to Get Inspired & Be An Inspiration to Others)

Your ‘why’ is a key player in feeling inspired and maintaining drive.

It’s not what you do. It’s not how you do it. It’s why you do what you do.

I could say that mine is living the fullest life possible. That’s what drives me to certain actions and guides my decision-making.

In this way, having a ‘why’ serves as an invaluable north star.

It’s your ‘raison d’etre’. It’s the reason you get out of bed in the morning; the thing that drives and motivates you forward.

Pinpointing your ‘why’ is a direct method of cultivating inspiration.

It’s a central ingredient to feeling truly inspired for the long term.

5. Taking Action (A Key to Being Inspired)

Inspiration is nothing without action.

It might feel nice.

But by failing to act upon inspiration, you do yourself a major disservice. Nothing objective changes.

Ironically, I’ve found taking action can spark inspiration too. It is cause and effect of inspiration rolled into one.

Struggling to feel inspired? Do something that resembles progress. Growth stimulates a feeling of inspiration like nothing else.

Go for a run. Go to the gym. Learn a new dish to cook your family. Start a journal. Create a business plan for an idea you’ve had. Heck, it might just mean doing the dishes, or mowing the lawn!

I can relate to the power of this approach.

At the end of last year I came out of a long term relationship. I was devastated and lost literally all motivation. I didn’t want to do anything at all. Everything seemed totally pointless.

I watched a YouTube video on heartbreak (pretty tragic, right!?). In it, this guy talked about the power of taking action and feeling a sense of progress.

I decided to buy a new domain name and get started planning a new blog.

I designed a logo, made it on the computer, and set about the task of establishing a new website. That was the origin of What’s Danny Doing!

It wasn’t smooth sailing. There were major ups and downs. But it was a useful distraction, which led to further action, and additional positive decision-making.

Now I’m here, 8 months later, feeling more inspired than ever before.

It’s hard not to feel inspired when you find yourself in places like this!

6. Time and Isolation (One Inspiration Idea That Isn’t Always Easy)

When was the last time you sat down by yourself, in silence?

…Being asleep doesn’t count!

I reckon spending time alone and with no external stimulation is key to a healthy mind. It definitely seems key to self-awareness. After all, it’s in these moments that you learn about yourself.

You get to see where your mind goes. You can hone in on how you’re truly feeling.

Life is full of distractions that make it hard to do this.

We need space to think. We need time and silence to be creative and come up with ideas.

I find that spending time alone, in stillness, with nobody else around, and simply ‘being’, can be enough to stimulate self-discovery and true inspiration.

7. How Do People Get Inspired? They Use the Internet and Social Media!

Okay, those are the deep and meaningful sources of inspiration behind us!

On to some more tangible ways to find it.

The first? Social media.

I’m actually not a big fan of social media. I think it’s a massive time drain, which works against my desire to make the most of my days.

However, it’s obviously an incredible tool for connecting people around the world.

You can also come across some truly inspiring people. Used in the right way, you can discover amazing individuals and ideas that trigger positive change in your life.

Some influencers do it right. They seem genuinely passionate about inspiring people and bettering lives. Tom Bilyeu, Tim Ferriss, Marie Forleo and David Goggins are four examples I recommend checking out.

Ask yourself who inspires you and follow them on the internet/social media!

Indeed, the internet’s one of my primary sources of inspiration.

It’s an absolute treasure trove of it. You have instant access to some of the world’s most inspiring people ever! You can literally bring these individuals into your life, by virtue of the web.

I listen to podcasts and watch interview-type videos of this nature (on YouTube) every day.

It’s almost unbelievable to think that the greatest and most inspirational people of our generation (and history) are at our fingertips.

I recommend mining this resource for all it’s worth in the hunt for inspiration.

8. Quotes (a Big Source of Inspiration for Me)

I love a good quote !

It’s amazing how much power can come from a few well-chosen words.

Inspirational quotes are some of my favourites. The internet is full of them. If you’re short on inspiration, just run a quick google search and you’ll be inundated!

I’ve found it personally useful to commit some to memory.

Here are a few of my top quotes for inspiration:

• “Live life such that the fear of death can never enter your heart” – Tecumseh
• “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage” – Anais Nin
• “Throw yourself into the river of life and let the questions disappear” – Buddha
• “I will not die an unlived life” – Dawna Markova

I find having a quote or two to draw upon can make a big difference when inspiration is in short supply.

Check out this post for sunset captions and quotes you might like… Check out this post for inspirational captions you might like…

Sometimes a simple quote, or something you see in your environment, is enough to find inspiration in your life.

9. Books, Videos & Films (Endless Inspiring Things to be Found Here!)

You find inspirational books, videos, and movies everywhere you look.

They can be truly awesome sources of inspiration and motivation. The movie ‘Rocky’, for example, is probably high on the list for lots of people!

I’m a little cautious of relying exclusively on these sources though.

They can provide a short, sharp burst of inspiration. But it’s often short-lived. I read or watch it, and feel pumped up to make some positive change.

Then, within hours, I’ve forgotten about it!

That said, one or two of these sources have had a lasting effect on me. One book of this nature that I read recently was called ‘ Can’t Hurt Me’ , by David Goggins. If you’re looking for an inspirational read, then I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Click here to check it out.

10. Friends and Family (People of Inspiration)

Sometimes you don’t need to look too far for inspiration.

Friends and family can hold all the answers you need.

Look around you to see what they’re doing. Where are they excelling where you aren’t? What can you learn from them? How can you gain from their example?

I actually find it easy to get disheartened when I feel like I’m somehow ‘doing worse’ than my peers.

I try to pinch myself and take the positives instead. Love is inspiration! Use it as fuel for the fire and see how you can emulate the success of high-achieving friends and family.

11. Nature (Where I Go When I Need to Be Inspired)

There’s inspiration to be found in nature as well.

Try and get out into the great outdoors every now and again.

I find natural beauty inherently inspiring. Mountains, forests, grassy plains, rivers, lakes and oceans…It doesn’t matter.

Something about these places sparks creativity and reflection. The natural world can be so profoundly beautiful that it’s difficult not to feel inspired by it.

Nature also provides a reprieve from the fuss and hubbub of ordinary life. It’s simple, quiet, and wholesome. That break from the norm, and step back from stress, can be enough to help rediscover passion and motivation.

Inspiration means very little if you never act upon it. My inspiration in life often snowballs. Feel it, act upon it, and before long you experience ever greater levels.

Found a Source of Inspiration? Here’s How to Act on Inspiration

Finally, having struck upon inspiration, let’s turn to what to do with it.

Remember, inspiration is a powerful thing! But without action it’s almost worthless.

Don’t let it go to waste. Here are just a few of the ways you could use inspiration to your advantage by doing something with it.

1. Draw Up a Bucket List

Take that inspiration and draw up a long list of things you have to do before you die.

Think about every single area of life.

Where do you want to go? What do you want to do? Who do you want to meet? What do you want to achieve?

Write them all down and commit to ticking them all off. Having a bucket list is great way of realizing your priorities and highlighting changes you must make in your life. It’s the ideal way to channel your inspiration.

Here’s my personal bucket list , if you want to take a look!

2. Goal Set

Next up, goal-setting.

This is similar to writing down your bucket list.

However, there’s something more realistic about setting goals. Bucket lists are about dreams that’ll happen at some point in time. They’re more about experiences and encounters than making progress.

Goals are about objectives and forming actionable steps to make them happen.

Channel your inspiration into establishing a set of goals for yourself. Treat it as a business plan for life. As yourself these questions:

• What do you want to do?
• When do you want to do it by?
• How will you do it?

They could be travel goals. They could be career goals. They could be personal goals, relationships goals, or fitness goals. It doesn’t matter! Just sit down and write them all out.

Goals help you turn vague, ambiguous thoughts and aspirations into concrete plans.

These goal-setting games should help.

3. Start Small

With your goals in place, now it’s time to make them happen.

Don’t rush in, all guns blazing. It’s tempting to try and do everything at once.

Pace yourself instead! Take small, measured steps towards your overall aims. Inspiration can be fickle. It can turn on a dime and disappear overnight.

Trying to do too much at once can lead to overwhelm, which is sure to stifle your drive. Start slow and let your momentum snowball.

Deciding to act upon your inspiration will ensure you live an incredible life!

Sometimes you just have to decide to make something happen.

Think about anything you’ve ever done in your life.

It all started with a decision.

Being truly decisive means cutting off all other options. You burn your bridges and commit to a course of action. There’s no going back. You’ve cast your dice and you’re on the move.

Use the inspiration as rocket fuel to catapult yourself into a decision. Then don’t turn back.

5. Challenge Yourself & Persevere

Inspiration should always be put to good use.

The best return on investment is generally on tasks that will challenge you somehow.

On the other side of suffering lies greatness. But accessing it is sure to have trials along the way. Inspiration will help you chart the course and stick it out.

Cultivate inspiration, bolster your willpower, and do something incredible.

6. Memorize Favourite Inspiration

Feeling inspired is a learning opportunity too.

It’s a chance to reflect on why you feel that way suddenly.

Take stock of the situation. What exactly is it that inspired you? Moreover, what is your newfound inspiration compelling you to do?

Understanding what inspired you means you have a better chance of feeling that way in future. You can put yourself in the same situation, or around the same stimulus, once again. It might have been a solitary thought, film, quote, or conversation.

Whatever the case, write it down to refer back to in future.

Similarly, realizing what you feel inspired to do highlights your priorities. You might discover something new about yourself.

What Is Your Inspiration In Life?

Inspiration is one of the greatest feelings out there. It’s one of hope, excitement, and motivation.

Everyone stands to gain by finding inspiration in their life. It inevitably leads to a more enjoyable, vibrant experience.

My inspiration in life is tied up in my desire to live as fully as possible. Hopefully, this post has highlighted some of the key sources of inspiration from which to find your own ‘why’- that North Star to lead you to an awesome life.

I’d love to get your thoughts. Where do you find inspiration in your life? Did I miss anything out? Let me know in the comments.

And please subscribe to the newsletter too! I’ll send through more posts like this to help inspire and motivate you to live the best life possible.

4 thoughts on “My Inspiration in Life | Discover What Inspires You In Life”

Thanks for this topic. It isnpired me to ask the same question to myself and friends

Hey Lila! That’s awesome! Really glad you liked the post 🙂

Power of google I ended up in this blog, Too late in life and I learned what inspire means I start looking for answer. Sometimes simple things in life are too complex to understand.

Inspiration as an act or person gives other a path to follow , thats what i always thought hearing the word, I was so wrong… What I learned is resonated in your blog and I couldnt stop reading each line.

You surely nowhere close looking like me but each and every line and your life philosophy seems like it’s me written down everything .. lol Thanks Pal, great stuff .. So where’s danny these days and whatdanny doing 🙂

Hey Rohit! Thank you for such a lovely comment. I’m really glad you liked the post and related to my thoughts on inspiration. I’m currently travelling in Ireland! I hope you’re well wherever you are in the world 🙂 Best wishes, Danny

Comments are closed.

Home / Essay Samples / Life / Emotion / Inspiration

Inspiration Essay Examples

The person who inspired me the most: my mother.

Throughout our lives, there are individuals who leave an indelible mark on our hearts and minds, shaping our perspectives and values. For me, that person is none other than my mother. This essay delves into the profound influence my mother has had on my life,...

The Role of a Teacher: Shaping Minds, Inspiring Futures

Teachers hold a pivotal position in society as they shape the minds of future generations. This essay delves into the multifaceted role of a teacher, highlighting their impact on education, personal development, and the broader community. From imparting knowledge to fostering critical thinking, teachers play...

You Are Braver than You Believe, Stronger than You Seem, and Smarter than You Think

One fine day in April, as the shimmering, coppery sun, glowed through the pearly clouds, a ragged, quivering mass of bones staggered across the humongous and towering building. Yes you got that right, that petrified little soul was me. An innocent soul deprived off all...

An Inspiring Person Who Gained Success

There are many different ways that people define success, which makes in an exciting prospect, because you can then achieve it in many aspects of your life. In my opinion, success isn’t just about how much money you make, or how popular you are. Success...

My Inspiration to Build a Career in Engineering

As a female student, I have always received endless criticism on why I want to pursue a career in engineering. My response is that I want to use innovation and management to resolve societal challenges, improving environmental quality regardless of my gender. The range of...

The Movie Dangal: an Inspiration to All

The movie Dangal is inspired by the Phogat Sisters who are women wrestlers. The three musketeers: Geeta, Babita and Rita; have indeed showed the world that strength is not limited to males only. Talking about Ritu who is the eldest sister amongst the siblings is...

The Role of Inspiration in Worker’s Performance

Inspiration is empowering, motivating and instigating the workers to perform to their best limit. Inspiration is a basic component of representative commitment and authoritative achievement. While representatives need inward inspiration, the PR officer is additionally in charge of making a motivational culture where representatives can...

My Inspiration to Take a Course on Climate Change, Management & Finance

Climate change has received increasingly wider attention from scholars and practitioners in recent years. It does not only affect our day-to-day life, but has also been integrated into many relevant matters, such as ecosystem valuation, energy systems and policy. Climate finance is personally considered as...

Speech in 50th Anniversary of Mlk’s Historical Speech

Thank you everyone for joining our “National Action to Realize the Dream” rally, here today in the same place where our hero delivered his historical speech “I Have a Dream”, and allowing me to speak to you on this 50th anniversary of MLK’s inauguration. Many...

My Ambition to Become a Professional Financial Investment Banker

I believe the most important element in regards to being a successful student and achieving desired grades to advance to a higher level in life, is not just about having a good work ethic and being consolidated to a subject, it’s also one's interest and...

Trying to find an excellent essay sample but no results?

Don’t waste your time and get a professional writer to help!

You may also like

• Helping Others
• Volunteering
• Courage Essays
• Betrayal Essays
• Happiness Essays
• Fear Essays
• Ambition Essays
• Gratitude Essays
• Loyalty Essays
• Kindness Essays
• Honesty Essays
• Nostalgia Essays

samplius.com uses cookies to offer you the best service possible.By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .--> -->