Over the course of the past couple of weeks, I had picked five virtues (Passion, Academic Acceptance, Patience, Tranquility, and Moderation), just as Franklin once did. When I first started blogging and practicing each of these virtues, I didn’t think that it would be much of a challenge. However, I was proven wrong in the sense that I had the most trouble being accepting towards my grades and school work. Academic Acceptance was the most important virtue for me, and the most challenging because I feel as though I consume myself with school, constantly worried about my grades and how they will affect me in the future. To practice Academic Acceptance, I would set reminders on my phone with smiley faces and emoji’s that would remind me to not get down on a bad grade and that grades do not define who I am. I so badly wanted to succeed in this virtue, but in reality, I sadly did not. I had some days where I did amazingly with this virtue and others where I did not do so well. For example, chemistry is a harder class, and I expect to get A’s on my tests and quizzes, but I came across a few days where I would miss a couple questions on a quiz and I would have to tell myself that it’s fine getting an imperfect score. Other days, I would get really down on myself for getting a B on any test or quiz in my classes, and I would let that one grade essentially bother me for the rest of the day. Now that my virtues assignment is over, I do not want to give up on practicing Academic Acceptance. In the future, I want to be able to look at a bad grade and not let it affect me. It is hard for me to come up with new strategies on how I can improve and practice Academic Acceptance because my last strategies did not do as well as I thought they would, but I am positive that I will create new ways for me to not get stressed over grades.
As for a virtue I was successful with, was Passion. I had been pushing myself to take photos as much as I can these last couple of weeks, and that I did. As I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs, I got to take photos for the PowderPuff game held at East, which was exhilarating. I also got to take photos of my best friend for her senior photos which was the most fun I have ever had taking photos. In order for me to have succeeded in practicing Passion, I would set my camera and camera bag somewhere visible in my room to remind me to go outside and take photos, or even view Pinterest for photo inspiration. I believe that I will benefit from this virtue by teaching myself to do what I love or want to love more and transfer that knowledge into my future. Finding your passion is very important in life, I believe that life can be mundane without finding something you truly cherish and enjoy. Being able to improve taking photos and enjoying it more has taught me to be more bold, brave, and confident with myself and my camera, which will benefit me later in life.
To conclude this amazing, virtuous journey, I am proud of my overall result, and I definitely saw improvements with myself. I tend to have a perfectionist attitude, but although I didn’t improve with every virtue like I had hoped, I have accepted the fact that failure is how you learn. As I have already stated, Academic Acceptance will be extremely difficult, but I am willing to master this virtue and challenge myself everyday. I am glad that I was able to participate on my road to moral improvement, and the main aspect that kept me motivated was the comments I got on each post. I found it encouraging having my fellow classmates being optimistic and motivational towards my virtues. I am excited to see what the future has in store for me and my prolonged voyage to Academic Acceptance