Confidence Is All, By Christina Grimmie

Olympic gymnast and four-time gold medalist Simone Biles has revealed that she shares her Christian faith with other kids she encounters to help them conquer their downfalls.

Although the United States of America has gained global recognition for honorably operating under the famous words of the “land of the free and home of the brave”, the country's history has essentially demonstrated continuous attention surrounding ethnic diversity and the effects upon individuals. As this occurs, the concern has transformed through generations into one of the nation's oldest, yet vital issue. University of Columbia alumni, Anna Lisa Raya, writes in her student essay titled, "It's Hard Enough Being Me," where she expresses empowerment and confidence within her experience, despite negative conditions. In her work, Raya emphasizes individualism, background, and perspective over the response to ethnic diversity in the United States.

Under the lights by Abbie Glines. There are three teens that grew up together in a southern small town. Willa’s mom had her when she was a teenager. Willa had gotten into some trouble at a young age and had to stay with her Nonna. Willa’s two best friends were Gunner and Brady. Willa has made some bad choices in her past life which made her go down the wrong path in life. Brady’s a high school quarter back now and with the choices Willa has made Brady sees Willa as a different person. Gunner is also a football star in high school. Gunner is living a good rich life the only matter though he cares about himself only, except for Willa. He understands the person she has grown into over her time. As they were known to be child hood friends secrets start to come out and the truth may be the reason of them losing each other.

Words can leave a positive effect on others. An influential speaker will impact his or her audience by the power of the speaker’s words. In her essay, Angelou, describes the speech of Henry Reed, stating “We were then on top again. As always, again. We survived. The depths had been icy and dark, but now a bright sun spoke to our souls” (Angelou, 2015, p.188). The speech reminded Angelou of her culture’s background, allowing her rejuvenation through the words that Henry spoke (Angelou, 2015, p.188). Providing support for an individual allows him or her to reach beyond the limitations

Later, at the Bar by Rebecca Barry is a book containing multiple fictitious interwoven short stories about individuals living in a small town in upstate New York. Linda, an advice columnist, writes back to those who need her guidance but cannot quite seem to follow her own advice. There is Harlin, who cannot stay away from his ex-wife, Grace, despite their extremely dysfunctional relationship. Harlin often also breaks the law, categorizing him as an ex-convict. Elizabeth, a schoolteacher, who recently separated with her husband due to him realizing he was gay. There is also Madeline, a school bus driver who struggles with attempting to get her daughter to trust her and live a normal life. There are many more characters in Later, at the Bar with all extremely different, complex lives. Each character has their many problems and quirks in their lives that they have to live with. They each live out their days undertaking their dead-end jobs in their small, blue-collar town. By night, they end up in Lucy’s Tavern as the regulars. Lucy’s Tavern is the gathering place to forget the day they struggled to get through and drink excessively with people who will not judge them. Due to each character’s economic despair, lack of family, and lack of opportunity in their small, impasse town, they turn to Lucy’s Tavern as a place to feel comforted and secure. This “family” of lost souls can only turn to each other for solace because there is absolutely no one else to go to.

For example, Lilly Singh is a well known motivational speaker in present time by many teens around the world. She gives speeches about self love and equality between men and women. She was discover on an internet site called YouTube with breathtaking about of 10,000,000+ subscribers. She has touched peoples hearts in many different ways but what people don’t know is how hard she worked to get where she is now.

Influential people tell people things that bring them up , then make them succeed. Stephen Curry inspires people to keep working by saying, “Success is not an accident.” Clearly, this means that if people keep working they will succeed, and people will look up to them by training, and studying to improve grades to make themselves get a more excellent career. Obviously, Michael Jordan Inspires other by being a 6 time NBA champion, “I've failed over and over again in my life but that's why I succeed.” if people fail, their learning how to succeed so they know what it's like to achieve goals. Thankfully, Wilt Chamberlain said, “I believe that good things come to people who work.” First, if people work excellent things will happen to them. These

My song is Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. This song is about being ready for your future and hopeful. This song has a lot of symbolism in it. It also has an important theme. This song shows that it is okay to not have your life figured out, but to still be open to new things and not scared.

Nicolo Ammaniti explores the themes of betrayal, fear and maturity in the novel ‘I’m not scared.’ The protagonist Michele is a boy who is challenged by his imagination but as he matures he discovers that “its men you should be afraid of, not monsters.” Michele’s family and friends are who he associates himself with, these characters portray betrayal, fear and growing up despite the fact that they know what they might lose in the process.

So F*cking Happy For You: a lesson in friendship for millennials with lives at an impasse

For my independent directed reading project, I selected the book, Me Before you, by Jojo Moyes. In this book, there was circumstantial quantities of passages and quotes that spoke to me and were sheerly imperational. One of these quotes stuck with me most with its compelling message of positivity and inspiration, “you only get one life. It is actually your duty to live it to the fullest” (Moyes 194). The indicated quote is so compelling because its is an influential message that everyone should keep in mind. I feel it is so influential because a lot of people, like Will, are just waiting for death and do not see the true meaning in life. People like this miss out on all life's best features because they are dwelling on all the negativities.

Influential people inspire everyone to believe in our selfe because you and I are the only people who can change our selfe. Shia Labeouf inspired people to do whatever they wanted to do but they have to take it into their own hands “Do it just do it don’t let your dreams be dreams just do it.” Obviously, Shia wanted people to do it themself and get people to do what they want. Jacksepticeye, which is the name of a famous Youtuber, “When good things are happening you don’t question them you just enjoy them and let them happen. When you start question them they stop being good.” Clearly, Jack was saying that people that see something as good and don’t change that thought stay happy and keep dreaming. Markiplier said, “Whatever you do be it small

Katherine Barlow changes dramatically from the beginning of the story to the end of the story. In the beginning she is a beautiful and nice schoolteacher that makes the best spiced peaches. All of the her students loved her. The author says, “She was a wonderful teacher, full of knowledge and full of life. The children loved her.” (Sachar, 102) Sam and Katherine Barlow were friends and one day Sam fixed a leak in the roof of the schoolhouse. Soon, Katherine Barlow fell in love with Sam and she ran out of things to ask him to fix. Then Katherine Barlow went to the place where Sam sold onions and told him that her heart was breaking. Then Sam kissed her and Hattie Parker saw them and spread the word. The author says, “ He took hold of both

Me Before You, a realistic fiction book by Jojo Moyes, is a story told primarily through the perspective of Louisa Clark, a bubbly and chatty girl in need of a job. As she searches for a job that will allow her to contribute to her family’s financial situation, she comes across a position caring for a wheelchair-bound man named Will Traynor. Her main obstacle is trying to balance her time between her family and boyfriend while spending an increasing amount of time with Will. As she becomes more invested in Will, she makes it her personal mission to convince him to want to live, rather than follow through on his plan to end his life. Her attachment to Will causes conflict between herself and her boyfriend as well as an internal battle within

“I think there’s so much honor and integrity and beauty in being able to be who you are,” Sara Bareilles stated to The Advocate, in 2013. Sara Bareilles pop single sensation “Brave” illustrates my perspective on a combination of issues from the Third Wave Manifesta that seems particularly relevant to me. The most relevant for me was number six that was stated, “To support and increase the visibility and power of lesbians and bisexual women in the feminist movement, in high schools, colleges, and the workplace. To recognize that queer women have always been at the forefront of the feminist movement, and that there is nothing to be gained-and much to be lost-by downplaying their history, whether inadvertently or actively.” I saw aspects of supporting and encouraging LGBT in the music video “Brave” that illustrates my perspective on the topic stated.