To my dear daughter
My dear beautiful Ariana,
You’re probably wondering why it is that I’m writing you after my death so long. I was hoping to give this letter to you on your 23rd birthday, but guess that plan is out. I might not have had an awesome life or great friends like you will during your remaining days of high school and starting years of college. I do however know something that your friends, boyfriends, or future husband will never know “Success is not given, but earned. It is something that you cannot buy or take from someone else. Success is something far greater than boyfriends, future husbands, or best friends’ combined. Success is like a shining sun helping you to realize that there is a far more perfect day out there waiting for you to go and get it.” I might have realized this a few years too late, but I’m hoping that you won’t make the same mistakes that I did by worrying about what other people thought about me or trying to become something that I never was nor wanted to be. My dreams were that I had wanted to give you the life that you could always dream of, to try and take the world on just to make you smile and laugh, to be the mother that you would tell the world that I was yours; these were dreams on the day that I held you for the first time and when I looked down at your small delicate face with your eyes closed. My dreams before you were worldlier however; I had wanted to become a novelist, a photographer, or just someone with some actual goals to love and live by. However that all changed from two things: you and the strategies of my Critical Thinking class. Some of the strategies that I learned during my years of taking Critical Thinking 101 at Chowan University are Intellectual Perseverance, Intellectual Integrity, and Confidence in reason.
The first strategy is Intellectual Perseverance because it is defined as “Having a consciousness of the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations; firm adherence to rational principles despite the irrational opposition of others; a sense of the need to struggle with confusion and unsettled questions over an extended period of time to achieve deeper understanding or insight.” To me I guess I probably should have used this lot more than what I did at Chowan and during the rest of my life. However I did use it a little bit than most of my other classmates because I had to find ways to put this in my life during all the ups and downs I’ve had to face. I had to deal with everyone judging me for whatever it was that I wasn’t, I’ve had to deal with almost failing out of Chowan University completely, and having to deal with the almost disappointment that would have been on your grandparents faces. I realized this before all of that could happen and knew that I had to stop everything that I was doing that was taking me down the wrong path. I had to stop hanging out with the wrong kind of friends, I had to stop daydreaming about guys who turned out also would have been a bad influence on my life. After doing all of this, my life turned out much better than I could have hoped for. I was able to graduate Chowan University with the rest of my classmates, was able to realize that anyone that I had to change what I am was not in fact a true friend, and I was also able to see the joy that shined brighter than even the North Star itself on your grandparents faces when I received my diploma.
The second strategy is Intellectual Integrity which is defined as “Recognition of the need to be true to one's own thinking; to be consistent in the intellectual standards one applies; to hold one's self to the same rigorous standards of evidence and proof to which one holds one's antagonists; to practice what one advocates for others; and to honestly admit discrepancies and inconsistencies in one's own thought and action.” To me I probably should’ve used this one a lot more during my high school years than finally having the courage to use it during my years at Chowan University; although I do have to say that it was a rocky first few years seeing as I had thought that getting the approvals of those whom acted like my friends were more important than standing up for myself and having the belief of those who were my actual true friends. To accomplish this all you have to do is believe in yourself, don’t listen to what others might say, and only trust in those who trust and believe in you even more. A teacher of mine once told me “That no matter the questions; there are no truly wrong answers of one’s own opinions.”
The final and last strategy is Confidence in Reason which is defined (in short terms) as “Confidence in one’s own higher interest and those of humankind.” Confidence which is defined by The Webster’s II: New College Dictionary as “A feeling of assurance especially of self-assurance.” This is pretty much basically saying that if you tell someone something secretive, they will take it with them to the grave. Reason is defined from the same source as “A declaration explaining or justifying an action, decision, or belief.” Basically it’s saying that if you believe in your own opinion to be true; you must justify the reason why it is true. I didn’t have much for this strategy until like the last few years at Chowan when I decided that I was sick and tired of not having my voice heard over everyone else. That I was sick and tired of being the shy quiet girl who either sat in the back of class to not be noticed or the shy quiet girl who sat up front to be considered as the goody-two shoes of the class. Just always remember that you too have a say in a something, no matter who tries to stop you.
You could use these strategies of Confidence in Reason, Intellectual Perseverance, and Intellectual Integrity in any way that you see fit, whether it be to blend it with your friends, to stand out with your new ones, to stand apart from everyone and just be yourself, to party like there’s no tomorrow, or to be an upstanding student at any University of your choice; just know that these three strategies can take you above the clouds and beyond the stars.
Love forever and always,
Your mother Cherre’
My final exam term paper for my Critical Thinking class. We had to pick three strategies and either do a full out essay paper or do it in letter form. I choose to do letter form where we had to write to someone that we love and explain our strategies to them in hopes that they will use it in a later years. So here's to hoping this will at least get me a 'B' for the class. Wish me luck!
You’re probably wondering why it is that I’m writing you after my death so long. I was hoping to give this letter to you on your 23rd birthday, but guess that plan is out. I might not have had an awesome life or great friends like you will during your remaining days of high school and starting years of college. I do however know something that your friends, boyfriends, or future husband will never know “Success is not given, but earned. It is something that you cannot buy or take from someone else. Success is something far greater than boyfriends, future husbands, or best friends’ combined. Success is like a shining sun helping you to realize that there is a far more perfect day out there waiting for you to go and get it.” I might have realized this a few years too late, but I’m hoping that you won’t make the same mistakes that I did by worrying about what other people thought about me or trying to become something that I never was nor wanted to be. My dreams were that I had wanted to give you the life that you could always dream of, to try and take the world on just to make you smile and laugh, to be the mother that you would tell the world that I was yours; these were dreams on the day that I held you for the first time and when I looked down at your small delicate face with your eyes closed. My dreams before you were worldlier however; I had wanted to become a novelist, a photographer, or just someone with some actual goals to love and live by. However that all changed from two things: you and the strategies of my Critical Thinking class. Some of the strategies that I learned during my years of taking Critical Thinking 101 at Chowan University are Intellectual Perseverance, Intellectual Integrity, and Confidence in reason.
The first strategy is Intellectual Perseverance because it is defined as “Having a consciousness of the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations; firm adherence to rational principles despite the irrational opposition of others; a sense of the need to struggle with confusion and unsettled questions over an extended period of time to achieve deeper understanding or insight.” To me I guess I probably should have used this lot more than what I did at Chowan and during the rest of my life. However I did use it a little bit than most of my other classmates because I had to find ways to put this in my life during all the ups and downs I’ve had to face. I had to deal with everyone judging me for whatever it was that I wasn’t, I’ve had to deal with almost failing out of Chowan University completely, and having to deal with the almost disappointment that would have been on your grandparents faces. I realized this before all of that could happen and knew that I had to stop everything that I was doing that was taking me down the wrong path. I had to stop hanging out with the wrong kind of friends, I had to stop daydreaming about guys who turned out also would have been a bad influence on my life. After doing all of this, my life turned out much better than I could have hoped for. I was able to graduate Chowan University with the rest of my classmates, was able to realize that anyone that I had to change what I am was not in fact a true friend, and I was also able to see the joy that shined brighter than even the North Star itself on your grandparents faces when I received my diploma.
The second strategy is Intellectual Integrity which is defined as “Recognition of the need to be true to one's own thinking; to be consistent in the intellectual standards one applies; to hold one's self to the same rigorous standards of evidence and proof to which one holds one's antagonists; to practice what one advocates for others; and to honestly admit discrepancies and inconsistencies in one's own thought and action.” To me I probably should’ve used this one a lot more during my high school years than finally having the courage to use it during my years at Chowan University; although I do have to say that it was a rocky first few years seeing as I had thought that getting the approvals of those whom acted like my friends were more important than standing up for myself and having the belief of those who were my actual true friends. To accomplish this all you have to do is believe in yourself, don’t listen to what others might say, and only trust in those who trust and believe in you even more. A teacher of mine once told me “That no matter the questions; there are no truly wrong answers of one’s own opinions.”
The final and last strategy is Confidence in Reason which is defined (in short terms) as “Confidence in one’s own higher interest and those of humankind.” Confidence which is defined by The Webster’s II: New College Dictionary as “A feeling of assurance especially of self-assurance.” This is pretty much basically saying that if you tell someone something secretive, they will take it with them to the grave. Reason is defined from the same source as “A declaration explaining or justifying an action, decision, or belief.” Basically it’s saying that if you believe in your own opinion to be true; you must justify the reason why it is true. I didn’t have much for this strategy until like the last few years at Chowan when I decided that I was sick and tired of not having my voice heard over everyone else. That I was sick and tired of being the shy quiet girl who either sat in the back of class to not be noticed or the shy quiet girl who sat up front to be considered as the goody-two shoes of the class. Just always remember that you too have a say in a something, no matter who tries to stop you.
You could use these strategies of Confidence in Reason, Intellectual Perseverance, and Intellectual Integrity in any way that you see fit, whether it be to blend it with your friends, to stand out with your new ones, to stand apart from everyone and just be yourself, to party like there’s no tomorrow, or to be an upstanding student at any University of your choice; just know that these three strategies can take you above the clouds and beyond the stars.
Love forever and always,
Your mother Cherre’
My final exam term paper for my Critical Thinking class. We had to pick three strategies and either do a full out essay paper or do it in letter form. I choose to do letter form where we had to write to someone that we love and explain our strategies to them in hopes that they will use it in a later years. So here's to hoping this will at least get me a 'B' for the class. Wish me luck!