Author: Hadley Chapman

I struggled most with the virtue of Tranquility. I chose this virtue because I tend to worry about things I can’t control or put myself in situations that induce stress. My high stress levels tend to negatively effect my moods, sleep schedule, eating habits, and school work so it was very important for me to try and improve this aspect of my life with the tranquility virtue. I currently have many different ways I chose to relieve my stress like work out classes, using a planner, and sticking to a schedule, but it was hard for me to stick with these things. I often myself having busy days and forgetting about things I needed to get done which I should’ve written down to do but I forgot. Whenever this would happen I would have to stay up late to get it all done so I can fall asleep without thinking about it. I definitely had some good aspects and accomplishments with this virtue, but overall I think it was the one I struggled the most with. 

I felt that I was most successful with the progress I made towards the virtue of Order. I was tested in this area especially over the past week involving my travel and many deadlines to meet for school. Using a planner and to-do lists is one way I keep myself in check and stay organized enough to complete my daily tasks. Over the course of the experiment I was able to keep up with most of my tasks when it came to deadlines. For example, I was able to be at all of my destinations while traveling on time and I was able to make time to complete assignments that were due while I was there. I did run into problems like not having wifi at the hotel, but I was able to problem solve and did the work other ways then communicated to my teachers the situation. There were definitely moments where I probably waited too long to do something or didn’t prioritize well, but in the end I still completed everything I needed to.

Although I do believe that I was able to improve certain aspects of my life with this experiment, I think it would probably be more beneficial the longer I stick with it. Whether each virtue was successfully met or not, I was able to start myself on the right path to improving on each topic. This experiment has ultimately benefited me and given me skills to practice managing my stress, organizing my time, and making smart decisions to make sure I don’t feel behind or overwhelmed with my current situations. Things I have learned to let go of are making everyones problems mine to fix and having the mindset that just because something isn’t happening in five minutes doesn’t mean I have to wait to prepare for it. Although I never was able to focus on all five of my chosen virtues in a s single day, I believe that the practice of the individual morals provided me with a new pathway to improving myself and my lifestyle. 

Last day of blogs! Today I finally felt some Resolution to the recent issues I’ve been experiencing. I’ve been trying to ask questions and get answers to help me find Resolution which in return will provide me with a stronger sense of Tranquility. I am babysitting right now for a new family which I really like. I’m hoping this can be a new regular family for me, which can provide for more of an Order to my schedule. The more things I have booked in my schedule the more Orderly it will be. When I have an organized schedule, I tend to feel less stressed as well.

Today was an okay day when it comes to virtues. I was able to go to a workout class which definitely cleared my mind and be more productive for the rest of the day. I think that this contributed to progress on Resolution because I found a healthy way to get back on track and do what I need to do. When I got home I worked on some homework, but didn’t do all of it because it seemed overwhelming, leading to me being stressed about it for tomorrow. I didn’t do great on Tranquility progress today, but I feel like I have been fairly strong about it in my previous days so I’m not mad at myself. This shows progress on my work towards sincerity, and realizing that I don’t have to be perfect. 

(combined days due to absence)

The past two days have been kind of rough for me and I haven’t really been able to focus on my Virtues very often. Someone I know got themselves into a bad situation and all I want to do is help, but there’s nothing I can really do. I’ve been very stressed and worried which have made me realize I might need to pay more attention to my Tranquility and Moderation virtues. I am in to meditating so I think I’m going to try to use that to help me find peace with it and take the situation with Moderation so I don’t spend all of my time worrying about it. I hope to be able to refocus myself on my Virtues so I can get the most out of the two week experiment.

(combined days due to out of town)

Today I am officially back in town. Yesterday was definitely the highlight of my trip and I was able to practice tranquility and resolution. We finished up our workshop classes yesterday and had an award ceremony and won lots of awards for Harbinger. After that we went to the Eastern state penitentiary. This was the only activity we did in Philly that wasn’t educational and was more recreation so I was very content. There were a variety of haunted houses to go through and ghost tours which I found very interesting. Some may find it weird to find peace in haunted houses considering they are meant to scare you, but I was able to find a sense of tranquility knowing that I didn’t need to stress about anything and could just enjoy the houses. The end of a trip is always kind of sad, but I was able to practice Resolution by realizing all that I had learned and how much I enjoyed the trip. 

(combined days due to absence)

Over the past two days I have found myself staying on top of my progress and goals for this project. I would say the most prominent virtue I have been working on is order. Being in a city that is not my own without my parents has made me have to take responsibility. We have times that we are expected to be places to get started on the day and keep things running smoothly so I have to be orderly enough to make sure my plans get me everywhere on time. An example where I had to use these skills was today when my friends and I had to be at a building that is a 15 minute walk from the hotel for our tour of the day. We had gotten back to the hotel with 20 minutes to spare so we had plenty of time to walk, but two of my friends needed to grab something from the room and took too Long so I had to research the subway systems and figure out which train to take to get there on time. We barely made it but it ended up working out and I felt accomplished with my planning skills. 

Todays I had an exhausting yet fulfilling day. I woke up at 4 am to go to the airport, then traveled from 5:30 am-2 pm. After getting settled in the hotel room we were back at it again and left to go on our historical bus tour. Then we returned and got dinner and ice cream as a group before going to bed. The main virtues I worked towards today are order, sincerity, and tranquility. Order was very important when it came to managing my time so that I would be packed and at the airport on time This morning. I also had to plan out what time to order the airport once I got to Philly to take me from the airport to the hotel. I practiced sincerity during the bus tour of the history around Philly. I’ve never been a fan of history and it is very hard for me to stay engaged when it’s the main topic of conversation. I had to try and pay attention and act interested as the tour guide went on because I knew that this was his job and he is clearly passionate about it so I need to be respectful and not dismiss his interest based on the lack of mine. I was able to try and practice tranquility throughout the day during my travels. Traveling can be stressful for me so it took a lot of focus to make sure I wasn’t panicking about making our next flight or getting to the hotel. Overall I feel that today was a good day in the sense of virtues. 

I am writing this at 12 am because I forgot I was supposed to start today so I guess that’s a great start to working on virtues such as Order and moderation. Today was mildly stressful to me because I had to pack for my trip tomorrow and get lots of things done in preparation for it. I definitely did things out of order for the whole day until about 10 pm when I realized I had to be up in five hours and had to pack. I wrote down categories of things I would need and then listed things under them to pack. Once I packed them I would cross them off the list. This strategy definitely helped me find Order and I think that me realizing that I needed to think of my moderation of  sleep definitely helped me prioritize getting important things done.