Two Good Things: A Journey Into Positivity by Laura

Two Good Things: A Journey Into Positivity by Laura - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

Every Wednesday at 6pm, from age thirteen through the end of high school, I met with the same group of girls. We had a teacher who for some strange reason took interest in being our mentor. Looking back, I think, “was she crazy for putting up with us every week for some many years?” Either way, I am eternally grateful that she did.

In typical teenage girl fashion, we would start the evening out by complaining about boys, homework, parents, anything and everything that made our week “the worst week ever”. The quieter of us would struggle to get our weekly venting in because the louder ones had so much to grumble about.

One day, things began to change. Our teacher gave us each a small notebook. We were told to write down two good things that happen during the next week. They could not be purchases, such as, new shoes or a hair cut.

The first few weeks were a struggle. Most of us would forget about the assignment all together and would struggle to, on the spot, come up with even one positive thing that happened. We kept thinking of all the terrible events and were blind to the positive.

As time went on and we continued to do the assignment, it became easier. It reached a point where we were able to talk about three or four positive things that happened. Our hour and a half together evolved from a negative environment to an incredibly positive environment. We began doing better in school. Our relationships with people grew stronger. We began respecting ourselves. We were even able to recognize when people were disrespecting us and leave them behind.