basic principles

“Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink. But if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love. If you must steal, steal away from bad company. If you must cheat, cheat death. And if you must drink, drink in the moments that take your breath away.”
-Alex Hitchins

To lie, steal, cheat and drink are all negative actions that is true, but when going into further detail one can discover a bit of good in them when applied differently. This quote is a perfect example of how life is definitely not a one-way street. It is full of turns and twists to the point where that nothing appears black and white, but rather is full of gray spots.

Everyone follows certain morals that set humans apart from animals and their work. Then there are times when one is faced with challenges and must decide what is the right thing to do. It is not the problems that make the person; it is how that specific individual handles the conundrums and the results of their possible solutions. The result does not always match up with the individual’s desired solution. How they deal with what is in front of them shows an enormous amount about the content of their character.

In a common dictionary the term respect is defined as the following: high or special regard. Out of all the virtues in the world, respect is most significant. To have respect for others is quite a rare thing in today’s society. People nowadays do not even respect the meaning of respect. Without respect one does not really mean anything or hold any significance to the world. To have respect for oneself is in its own right and astounding accomplishment. The way one carries themselves and interacts with others demonstrates the values that they posses. People can admire the individual for not being cocky, but confident and giving off the same amount that they have to others.

Growing up in the nineties everyone wanted to “Be Like Mike” well that was not the case for me. I wanted to be like Rp, my older cousin. Rp was someone who I knew I could always turn and still do to this day. I can remember how I always wanted my haircut to match his. With myself being the oldest sibling in my family I could never really enjoy the benefit of have an older brother. Rp was the closest thing I picture in that sense. He did not mind entertaining me even though I was eight years his major. Rp was able to set a good example in which I did not mind following. He did not teach school subjects like math, grammar, science, and history, but rather life lessons.

An example of a life lesson that Rp has taught me is to always keep my head up. If ever I felt disappointed in myself or something in life was not going my way, Rp would advise me to not give up hope and continue to work hard. He taught me if I keep up my diligence that things would eventually turn around. With a mentality like this in college I will be able to fulfill my potential and not just waste away in a great institution such as college. It is life lessons such as this one that I will remember forever and will eventually pass on down to my son so that it will too help him down the road of life.

There is not a day when I do not wonder what is the meaning of life. After many hours pondering about this question I came upon an answer that I was satisfied with. The meaning of life is to fulfill one’s goals. For example my goal in life is being able to provide for my family in the future. I want to be able to provide food for the mouths of my loved ones. For that to be possible I must have money in order to buy food. To have money I will have to work at my job for a living and to have a job I must do well in college to truly accomplish something in life. I must achieve these goals so that my children can follow in my footsteps and one day provide for my grandchildren. Hopefully my grandchildren can follow in my children’s footsteps and so on and so on. Life should not be defined from when I person was born until they pass. People live on through legacies and the others they have touched. One can only hope that they leave this world in better shape than when they came.

-julian

“Are Those Sneakers?”

“Are those sneakers?” “Tuck in your shirt tail.” “Those look like jeans to me!”

These are just samples of the aggravating, yet oh so familiar quotes that the male student body of Mcnair Academic have to listen to everyday. While this happens, girls get around practically problem free, even though they’re breaking their already loose dress code. Sure the blame can’t all go on the girls because teachers are the ones that choose to focus on what’s in front of them and not what’s going on behind their backs. Everyone must admit that it’s easier to tell if a male student is breaking the rules than if a female is, but the fact is that while teachers are being hard on one gender, the other takes advantage and gets away.

Ever since I saw the dress code, before becoming a freshman, I always thought it was strange that girls dressed so freely, yet the boys were so restricted. Another thing that seemed weird was the explanation: The academic high school’s dress code is meant to be business attire. Most mornings, on my commute to school with friends or alone, we come across plenty of people going to New York , etc. for their business jobs. Not once have I seen one of these women wearing t-shirts (or inverted ones so the logo doesn’t stand out), shoes that are practically sneakers (with absurdly bright colors like yellow and orange) and the list goes on. The point here is that, most of the female body takes advantage of the already lenient code by which they have to abide.

A dress code should be something that distinguishes one school from another, something that can help strangers realize that a person attends one of our Jersey City ’s public high schools. When a male is from Academic is seen anywhere in Jersey City , it is instantly obvious that they come from McNair, yet if a female is seen, she could be from anywhere.
“McNair boys dress like they’re heading to work and after school they have to change to do anything, like play sports or just to go out because they might ruin their clothes, but girls can wear their “school” clothes to do anything and most of the time they’re seen wearing them casually.”, says a consensus of male students who believe there is an injustice in the school’s dress code.

The purpose I hope this article serves is not for teachers to give females more detentions, but rather bring attention to the lack of respect female students have for the dress code. It was part of the agreement we accepted when deciding to attend McNair just like how we are suppose to maintain certain grades, we are suppose to look the part as one of New Jersey’s most prominent high schools. So female students of McNair I am asking you to step it up and take pride in the fact that you are someone that is going somewhere in life with a good job and let the dress code play its part.

-chris

What Would Jesus Do?

Hi, this is Riza. You might have seen me around the halls of McNair, but I’m not there anymore. I graduated last June, class of 2007. So, even though I’m a freshman in college (and not a high schooler anymore,) Julian has graciously allowed me a spot as poster. So here it goes. Hope everyone had a lovely holiday.

—-

I went to church with my mother this morning, and as we walked, huddled together for warmth, she lamented to me about my sisters and brother.

“I don’t know why your siblings don’t go to church. Etel doesn’t go to church. Wady and Kate don’t go to church. Your Ate Rhea is the only one who goes every Sunday.”

Oh. Another conversation about God.

“You know, don’t do that, okay, anak? When you have a family, you go to church every Sunday.”

I nodded.

“You pray every night, right?”

“Mhmm,” I responded, as we stepped into mass. I took full advantage of the silence and said nothing. Sure it was a just a vibration of my vocal chords, but it was a lie nonetheless. 

 —-

I was born a Catholic, but throughout my years, I have lost my faith in “God.” It wasn’t due to the painful events in my life, and it wasn’t due to my family’s sometimes over-religious undertones. As I grew up, I just came to my own conclusion, based on things I had learned in school and people I’ve met.

It doesn’t make me feel empty at all. In fact, I do indeed feel that there’s something bigger than us, something that blankets and envelops all life. I feel that we are all connected somehow, but I choose not to call it God. I do not believe in most concepts of religion.

However, I know I can never tell my family this. My family is very religious, like most Filipino families are. We center around God and Jesus Christ. Every major holiday, we pray before we eat. My uncle is a deacon. My cousin is a eucharistic minister. Can’t really escape that. Life would be much harder for me if I were to announce that I don’t believe in God. They’d try to ’save’ me. They would not allow me to do things like go through the sacrament of marriage (which I would want to, despite my beliefs, for tradition’s sake.)

But it’s not just about me. It’s about them. Throughout my 18 years of life, I have watched my family grow in love. They all thank God for their lives, for their triumphs, and even for their hardships because the hardships have allowed them to grow. I understand the power of religion. Yes, there are many out there who believe that life would be better without religion. And indeed, it has been a large part of war and anger towards one another. But there is no doubt that the power of faith is strong, and that faith is often the single thing that helps a person get through his or her day. To take that hope away from anyone would be a horrible to do.

I would not want to deny my family the grief they must go through upon my death; I would want to allow them their way of dealing while being comfortable with mine. I do not want to challenge their faith at all, and I am fine pretending because I know that they would challenge mine. I will continue going to church every Sunday with my mom; I will continue saying that I pray and that I believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I will continue to lead the prayers before meals at family functions and lead the rosary during my father’s death anniversary. I will even allow my earthly remains to be preserved, have a wake, and be buried in a coffin wherever my family desires despite the fact that I would rather be cremated and thrown in the river upon my death.

Sounds hypocritical, doesn’t it? Perhaps it is, sometimes.

No matter what, however, I would not resent my family if they found out my views and challenged my beliefs. I know that they would only be doing it out of love. After all, what would Jesus do?

 – Riza 

Chances.

From the thoughts of Romer Jed:

I looked out of my car window with my head pressed against the glass, I could feel the cold seeping in slowly through as I stared out at the bleak landscape of 440. We are stopped at the usual U-turn and I could see a homeless man holding a cup and asking for money. My first thought was not about money or the criticism of the man, but the reply of others. I had a chance to give this man a dollar, to give him a chance to get a warm cup of coffee, and maybe a chance to get back on his feet. I had but a moment to make a choice that could have decided his immediate future, yet I didn’t do anything. I just drove away.

We grow up to be wiser, or at least that is what we believe. We automatically assume that a homeless man is a drug addict, we automatically infer that other parents don’t know how to raise their kids when they don’t agree with our ideals, and we automatically agree with ourselves that a situation may be hopeless when we didn’t even try to begin with. We learn to grasp our limits, as well as others, in a split-second. We condition ourselves not to give this situation a second chance to reprimand itself and prove to us that this time it may be different.

As teenagers, we are in the middle of the conflict of losing our childhood purity to the “truth” that the world seems to display. We are losing that previous innocence of asking a person’s name before judging him or her. We are losing the ability to smile at a stranger for no apparent reason, but for the sake of being nice. And the sad truth is, most of the time, people lose themselves to the general rush of the crowd as it pushes toward adult-hood.

The chance for us to retain a sense of self, the chance for us to continue holding that outstretched arm out of goodness, and the chance for us to hold on to that less judgmental  form of knowing a person before we ask that person’s name is slipping away. This rant comes as a reminder that we must either hold on or let go, because their is certainly no middle ground. And once you let go, the slope is quite slippery and coming back up might just end with you falling even faster than before.

Chance. Just by chance, you happen to retain that innocence towards the world, please don’t ever let it hold you down. The world is cruel, but kindness is stronger.

- Romer Jed.
P.S. Where are the other posters?

The Awakening Project

According to a study done in 2004, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death for all ages and accounts for 1.4% of all deaths in the US. If that number seems small, consider this: 1.4% of the population is more than 32,000 suicides, which is equivalent to 89 suicides per day, one suicide every 16 minutes. It puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?

But what’s the point of all of this?In order to shed light on a situation that the media has completely ignored, I, Therese Bailey, have created this group, called The Awakening Project, in which talented young adults can create short films which will be presented at an annual film festival* hosted at a venue in the Jersey City area. There is currently an application being written up for a grant of $1,000 from Youth Venture. However, this can not be completed without a group of committed young adults (ages 12-20) to support the cause. Please join! Every member’s involvement is highly appreciated. If you are interested in a leadership position such as Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer (thought this might be taken by Norlan Cruz), Event Organizer, Marketing Leader, or Researcher, please contact me, Therese Bailey as soon as possible.

The Awakening Project: Opening the eyes of America to the Suicide Problem

-Therese <3

Thanksgiving Proclamation

Before I begin, I wish to say good day to you all. If you might not know me, I am Romer Jed. Now that we have introductions out of the way, let us begin…

On Thanksgiving, family is usually depicted as sitting around the table, eating turkey, and laughing about memories shared from previous visits. Yet, does that really happen in our lives? Do we really sit around a table with family and friends pretending that what they are saying is truly important to us? I can’t honestly say I do, nor do I expect anyone else to care. I visit distant relatives once a year during Thanksgiving in New York. I love the food, I love the atmosphere, but I don’t know who those people are. I don’t know what they believe in, how they react to certain things, or what they do for a living.

Yet that is not the main concern of mine, my main concern is in the word, Thanksgiving. We do ourselves an injustice by saying Thank You to everyone, usually, only during this time of the year. And it may seem nice, but why don’t we do it too often? It’s not like I love you that loses it’s luster over time nor is it like I hate you that it gets stronger the more you say it and wish it. Thank you is something simple and unique. It lets someone know that they are acknowledged for their good tidings and their actions.

In this case, shouldn’t we say thank you all the time then? Not just during Thanksgiving or any other major holiday. And the sad truth would be, I’m also guilty of this. I fail to say thank you to my friends who are their for me or to my family who has always taken care of me. Without them, I wouldn’t be, essentially, me. So I would like to give you guys an incentive to thank your family and your friends not only during this time of the year, but whenever you remember them.

The last and foremost message I’ll leave to you guys is something I texted to myself to say at TORCH.

“I was about to come in here with a page long essay about giving thanks and being grateful. However, I don’t need to, all I need is a text long message. I was about to walk in with a paragraph of cliches, but I didn’t. All I care about now is my friends, my family, my future, and my memories. And I’m thankful for everything. All I need to tell you, is to be thankful and happy. Because I’m thankful all you guys exist and are here spending time with me now.“

Well hope you guys enjoy reading. (Smile) (Wink Wink)

- Romer Jed

get your gobble on

TPOT would like to wish you all a happy thanksgiving and remember what you’re thankful for. . .hope your turkey isnt dry.

-julian

good morning

actually good evening I’m Julian, the head of TPOT, and will be the main poster up here, but don’t worry. I will not the be the only one posting, but rather the rest of my friends.

our mission at TPOT is to invite readers into our heads, minds and digest our perspective on certain issues. Possibly say things that you’re too scared to?

SO enjoy as this will be a long and hopefully entertaining ride

-julian