Entry 4

While doing this blog it has seemed to really help focus on one word at a time. That way Im doing my best work. My word I want to focus on today is silence. Silence is a very important virtue in life and something a lot of people don’t poses. I definitely do not have this virtue. Im overall a loud and obnoxious person. People tell me all the time but its super hard for me. At the night time i was looking for a snack and I slammed the pantry door. I quickly realized this was bad for my virtue. I changed my ways and was quiet for the rest of the night.

Emoticon Quite Quiet - Free vector graphic on Pixabay

Entry 3

Today, I really wanted to focus on engagement. In the morning my Mom tries to talk to me and ask how Im doing and sometimes, I give really short answers or nothing really at all. So today, I made sure to ask how she was and really tell her how im feeling about things. Math class is the hardest class in school for me. Ive never really understand math even since elementary school. Instead of dozing off I focused really hard and accomplished my goal of engagement. My day I feel like, was improved a ton by just simply engaging in life.

Teacher's hand writing complicated mathematical formulas o… | Flickr

Entry 2

Today, my focus was dedication. I went into the day with the goal to get better and improve. I started off instead not eating breakfast like normal, making myself eggs. In order to do this I had to wake up 2o minutes earlier. It was definitely worth it as the eggs were great and really woke me up. I then went to school with the goal to learn. Sometimes i tend to mess around and forget to do work. Today was different though. I went through my first hour class got all my work done and still had fifteen minutes before we were done. That was my morning and it was very productive.

File:Scrambled eggs-01.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

Connor Burrows – Nov 17

Order 4/5 – I went around the house tonight and cleaned up a bunch of papers that I had let pile up. I tend to avoid cleaning until I can’t ignore it anymore, so I’m pretty proud of taking initiative tonight, even with something so small.

Resolution 3/5 – As a typing this, I haven’t done any painting tonight, but I plan on ending my night with that, as it is a good way to relax just before going to bed. I’m giving myself a preemptive 3/5, despite not having done anything just yet.

Confidence 5/5 – I ran Ping Pong Club for the second time today, which was tons of fun! I was much more relaxed this time, and had a better time because of it. I just let myself have fun with friends, instead of stressing over small problems and inconveniences.

Health 5/5 – Ping Pong is honestly a great way to get exercise. I suppose it is possible to just stand there and swing your arm around, but the fun comes from really getting into it. The constant movements not only help you in the game, they’re also good for you, unless you’re like me and hurt your back trying to reach for the ball.

Responsibility 1/5 – I had some work that I could have done today, but I have free time in a few of my classes tomorrow, so I decided to just do it then. I’m pretty ok with the decision, honestly, because it means that tonight can be a time to decompress a bit, as I’ve been feeling kind of stressed lately.

Overall, I had a pretty good day, and I’m very happy that break is just two days away 🙂

Day Nine

Hello again!

Tranquility wasn’t all too great today because I had to do a lab in the morning and it was making me a little stressed. I just overall feel a little overwhelmed so being calm took more effort today. I feel like I did a pretty good job, but it definitely could have been better. 

Patience was decent today even though I was worried about things. While I didn’t necessarily feel calm, I didn’t feel rushed either and I was willing to wait until I actually had time to elevate some of that stress. 

Moderation was a normal amount because I went to school and then tennis, where I got to see my friends and do the thing I love. While I don’t have much time to moderate my schedule during the week, I think that over the break, I will have a great opportunity to spend a lot of time with my friends and family. I am really looking forward to taking a little time off of school. 

Order again was really failing. I haven’t done any cleaning today, but I am planning on doing some tonight because I don’t have as much homework. 

Joy was alright today. I did find joy in having lunch with my friends and seeing them periodically throughout the day, but I honestly wasn’t in that great of a mood overall. I did actually get donuts in my digital design class so that gave me a little happiness for a few minutes. I know it isn’t possible to have a great day every day, so I accept that it was just one of those okay days. I can’t wait for the break!

Have a great night everyone!

Yummy!

Day 9

Today I focused on the virtues of industry and tranquillity. I was especially successful in industry, maybe more so than I’ve been since the beginning of the virtues experiment. I missed school on Monday so when I came home today, I had more homework than normal. However, I stayed focused, didn’t let myself get discouraged, and was able to successfully complete my homework. I was able to get into a productive rhythm while working on long assignments—rather than falling into despair and, subsequently, distraction. I also organized my weekend schedule and did a good job of getting back to everyone and keeping everything organized. I would give myself a 5/5 in industry.

I did a fairly good job of practicing tranquillity today. I stayed positive in the face of my previously mentioned mountain of homework and did a generally good job of avoiding negative thought patterns. I still have yet to meditate before bed (maybe resolution should have been one of my virtues?) but I’ll give it a shot tonight. I give myself a 4/5 in tranquillity today. 

Day #9: November 17, 2021

Today was a really good day! However, my cleanliness this morning was a little weak, I tidied up as soon as I got home so I wouldn’t get back in bed. I made a big to do list to help me organize myself and all my tasks, benefitting my order. I also did homework as soon as I got home from nannying which was super nice. I had soccer practice at 7 which was actually really fun and it was our first indoor practice which was exciting! For patience today, I stayed really patient with others, including myself. My sister was annoying me after school but I kept my cool and just kept doing my homework. With balance, I went on a drive with my mom which was fun and made her listen to Taylor Swift with me. For my kindness virtue, I was kind to myself and made sure to not stress myself out with all my work. I also have been trying to check in on friends everyday and ask how they are doing (sincerely) and I think that also goes into kindness. Today was overall really beneficial and I got a lot done!

Day 6- November 15th

Today I have been really working on my independence. These past few days I have been stressed and overwhelmed. I have been feeling like I have to please everyone around me but I also need to realize that I need to please myself first. It can be hard to be alone sometimes. For me, it can cause anxiety, a lot of over-thinking and self reflection time. But spending time with only myself today, even for a few hours I feel better. It did make me anxious for a little bit but then I remembered at the end of the day I only have myself and I am happy about that. You are your only friend and your relationship with yourself is what matters most. So today that is what I worked on.

Day 5- November 14th

Day 5 with moral perfection and today was a great day. I mainly focused on confidence but I incorporated my other virtues as well such as Frugality. Instead of spending money on things that I don’t need, I went shopping with my mom and got things that I really do need. It was helpful to go with my mom rather than alone because I would’ve spent money on things that wouldn’t financially help me. I also wrote in my journal again before bed and I decided to make a list of all the things that I like about myself instead of things I don’t. This list was hard to come up with but after reading it over and over I began to feel better about myself and even slightly more confident. This was a great step because things will slowly come and get better, nothing just comes with a snap of a finger.

Day 4- November 13th

It is day four and I think I am mainly going to focus on cleanliness today. I have not been doing the best at keeping my room and car clean but I remembered how happy I will be in the end when I pull through with all of my accomplishments. So once again I cleaned my car again but hey that is all okay because even though you are down sometimes it is always great to be able to pull yourself back up. That is just a little something that I learned while practicing forgiveness.

Day 3- November 12th

Day three and things are settling in. As each day goes by I am finding new ways to work on myself. However, this morning I did something I have been trying not to do. I went to a local coffee shop and spent money on breakfast and coffee. I have been working on Frugality and not overspending on things that I don’t need but apparently this morning I decided it was ok. Even though I made a mistake I now feel regret and so I am hoping that it doesn’t happen again. Here and there it is ok but every single day buying food and things I don’t need will not benefit me. I did forgive myself for the mistake and decided I deserved it. It’s been a hard day so I am glad I could treat myself, and know not to do that every day.

Day 2- November 11th

It is day 2 of moral perfection and I have been finding new ways to achieve my goals. My car is still clean and today I am working on my bedroom. Cleaning sheets, organizing clothes and books will help me to feel even better. Tonight, I am planning on making dinner with my mom instead of spending my money on food down the street. I wrote in my journal again before bed and it felt refreshing to reflect on my day again. It is definitely better for me to write my words down on paper because sometimes I can get caught up in my own thoughts which can make me unmotivated and down. Today, I was mean to my sister because of something she took from my room and instead of continuing to blow up on her I decided to forgive her and let her have another chance. Although it was hard to do this I am glad I did because the outcome was greater.

Day 1- November 10th

Today I have been thinking about the first way I can work on my virtues. My first idea was to clean out my car and get it washed so I did just that. I took it to the Waterway on State Line and paid to get it cleaned inside and out. This is a way for me to get a fresh start with cleanliness. I can now keep it up by throwing away all the trash from now on and not leaving my clothes and other useless objects lying around inside. My mom was quite proud of me for doing so and it felt good to have things clean and not dread getting into my sticky car. To end my night, I wrote in my journal the good things from the day and the bad. I reflected on myself and forgave myself for mistakes. This also helps me work on my independence. Writing in my journal before bed gives me time for myself that is hard to gain during the long busy days.

Intro to Moral Perfection

 I have had many opportunities in my life to perfect myself, and be a person who I truly adore but for an odd reason I save changing myself for tomorrow. It’s about time things change and I am using this blog to share my progress. Ben Franklin’s virtues are guides to building character and I admire his motivation to become a finer person. The 13 virtues that he came up with from the 1700’s are still relevant today and can be used to help each and every one of us. This is my journey of perfecting myself and becoming the best version of myself that I can be. Welcome!

       I chose five virtues that I am going to live by and work on to be a healthier person and here they are. Cleanliness, Frugality, Independence, Forgiveness, and Confidence. I carefully looked and thought about things I need to work on and currently these five are the most important ones. Each one of these virtues have different approaches in order to be successful. For example, with cleanliness, instead of leaving trash from the recent fast food in my car, I will bring it inside and throw it away. Frugality, I will make my meals more often instead of spending money as if it grows in my backyard. Independence, I will make more time just for myself to reset and recharge so I don’t feel as overwhelmed from the activities of life. Forgiveness, I need to work on forgiving myself and people around me and get the validation and love from within myself. Last but not least there is confidence. This one I will focus on the good about myself instead of picking myself apart. These are just a few examples of how I can achieve my goals of being the best me. Stick around, and watch my journey through this experiment of changing myself! 

        My hopes for this journey is that I can learn something new about myself. I hope I can find out what makes me happy and what doesn’t and what makes me feel the best. I am excited to see how I do and to see myself at the end of this. I am looking forward to finally changing what I need to and not holding it off. I know that I might feel lazy sometimes and down about doing what I have been wanting to do, but with this I think it will teach me to just get up and do it. To do instead of say or want. Here’s to new beginnings.

Day 8

Today I went home after school and immediately did my homework so I could have the rest of the night off. We got our house cleaned today so I did not have anything to pick up which was a nice break. After I did my homework I got done around 4:30 and took a nap. I took my dog on a walk because it was pretty nice outside. She is still a puppy so we are trying to leash train her. Training a dog takes lots of patience, that is how I practiced being patient today. I think I am realizing how much the five virtues I picked do come into play in my everyday life. 

Cleanliness-A

Order-A

Productivity-A

Patience-A

Acceptance- C

Day Eight

Hello!

Yesterday was a long but pretty successful day. Tranquility was alright but I was pretty stressed and hadn’t gotten much sleep so I wasn’t too calm. It was hard for me to get back into a calm state of mind after starting the morning overloaded. 

Patience was hard as well because I don’t really enjoy my classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and so it was difficult for me to wait for school to be over and to get time to relax. I also took yesterday off tennis so I didn’t play as well today because my rhythm was a little off and I got easily frustrated by it. 

Moderation was alright as I went to school, then home for an hour to decompress and relax before I went to tennis. I then came back to do homework for the rest of the night for several hours, but I was also able to eat a quick dinner with my family so that was a nice ending to the day. 

Order was not good. I am really having a hard time keeping things in order but I know I will have to clean my room tonight because our house cleaners are coming Thursday and I need to tidy up so that they can actually deep clean. 

Joy was decent as I found talking to my friend for fifteen minutes after tennis was a really good source of happiness after all of my activities were done for the day. I am realizing that I am truly my happiest when I am with my friends and just laughing with them. It releases all of my stress and makes me feel grateful which is always a good feeling. I also listened to Taylor Swift while I was doing my homework at full volume, singing as loud as I could so that was also very cathartic.

Hopefully tomorrow I will have a much better day where I feel like I was able to make more progress on my virtues. Only three more days until Thanksgiving break!

Currently my two favorite Taylor Swift songs!

Entry 1

Today I decided to focus on tranquility. I am normally a very hyper person and If I am more calm then I wont be as tired at end of day. Whenever I get home from school Im just dead tired because Im always moving and talking. Today instead of being hyper during lunch I decided to be quiet and just have light conversations with people. When I got home I still had a ton of energy and overall felt better about myself. I had soccer practice and i felt like a different player. I was doing the extra work and my coach noticed it and said good job.

Day 7

Sundays are usually my more productive days. I cleaned my bathroom this morning. I always try to get all my work done before Sunday night and I split it up so it is more manageable. I did all my math and apush in the morning, and then did my art at night. I feel like I always have the most motivation and productivity on sundays. I did not have to do anything else besides a few homework assignments so I organized the week and everything I needed to accomplish. 

CleanlinessB

Order-A

Productivity-A

Patience-B

Acceptance- B

November 17, 2021

Day 9

Once again, I am preparing for a very busy day, so I am planning on focusing on certain virtues more than others. These virtues will be moderation, patience, and silence.

  • Tranquility: 3: Although I am not journaling today, I have found that I am keeping in mind my journal from Sunday. If I am feeling stressed out about something in the future, or something that I can’t control, I think back to what I wrote down and crossed off over the weekend. I am suprised to see that this is helping!
  • Silence: 3: I am trying to get my homework done early today because I go straight from school to basketball tryouts, and then onto soccer practice. I am hoping that by doing this, I will be able to have time later to myself.
  • Moderation: 3: Today will be another busy day. I probably will not get home again until around 7pm. Despite being busy, I am trying to get work done early that way later, I have time to do something that I enjoy. I am hoping that this plan will work.
  • Patience: 3: So far, I have been fairly good at staying patient today. In math, on questions that I did not understand, I asked for help and really waited and listened during the explanation. Sometimes, I try to rush through my work, to get it done instead of really trying to understand the material. I think this change will really help me.
  • Contentment: 1: I did not journal today, nor did I really think much about contentment.

Day 6

Today I went home pretty early, around 10. I got myself ready and did all my laundry. I cleaned out my dresser to try and make space for my winter clothes and put all my shorts and summer clothes away. I had to babysit for a few hours in the afternoon, I was not in the best mood and my patience was very low. I just tried to make it fun to make it go by faster. After I babysat, I had my friend’s birthday party. I did not do any school work but at least I cleaned and organized my room today. 

CleanlinessA

Order-A

Productivity-A

Patience-B

Acceptance- B

Day 5

Since today is Friday, and I usually like to take Fridays and Saturdays to do whatever I want and spend that time with my friends, I did not accomplish a lot today. I went to dinner with my whole family for my dad’s birthday which could take a lot of patience, because i have five siblings that come along when we go out. After dinner, I slept over with my friends and was not able to do any school work or pick up my room again like I hoped. I feel like these are going to be a lot harder to practice on the weekends because most everything involves school. 

Cleanliness-B

Order-B

Productivity-C

Patience-A

Acceptance- B

Day 7

This day started a bit unusual. I got ready like normal, and made sure to appreciate my alone time while I got ready. However, when I left the house, I noticed the passenger door of my car was open. So was the glovebox. My car had been broken into, and my wallet was gone. This, of course, did not allow me to practice my bliss virtue. I did get the chance to work on order. I went to the bank and got a new card, and found a cheap new wallet for myself. I finished the day by making a pumpkin pie with my family, which I could appreciate. Although this day was very stressful, it ended up being a pretty good one.

Day 4

I had to babysit right after school today until eight. Since I was babysitting for five hours after school, I did feel pretty tired. I got home and picked up my room to practice cleanliness and order. I set aside 30 minutes between nine and 9:30 to do my two math worksheets I had been putting off the whole week. I think the biggest thing I need to work on is productivity. I get easily distracted and have a hard time staying focused. I also always tell myself that I can do it later and put it on till the very last minute. I think the only reason I keep doing this is because i have not failed yet, I just always feel very stressed. Once I fail something because i put it off, I think it will teach me that I need to give myself more time. 

Cleanliness-A

Order-A

Productivity-B

Patience-A

Acceptance- B

Day 3

Today was a lot harder to follow than the first two. Right when I got home I felt very tired and told myself I was only going to take a 30 minute nap. I accidentally ended up sleeping for almost three hours. I forgot to set an alarm and I feel like that ruined the rest of my night’s plans. I was going to get started on school work to make the rest of the week easier but I woke up around 7:30 and did not feel motivated to do any school work. I think this could be a part of learning how to accept things, because not everything is going to be perfect and go as planned. 

Cleanliness-B

Order-B

Productivity-C

Patience- B

Acceptance- B

Day 6

Today, I went back to school. I would say that it was one of my weakest days when it comes to my virtues. I am two days behind on my blog, and I didn’t write in my planner. This means that my Order virtue is a little bit lacking recently. I did clean my car again, which was my practice on cleanliness for the day. I was stressed most of the day for my Physics test. This did not allow me to practice my bliss virtue, however, I did use my time in the morning to practice my appreciation virtue. Although this day was not my finest, I still took the time to practice some of my virtues.

Day 8

Today was tiring. It was my first day back at school after a nice vacation, which always sucks. I was so tired when I woke up in the morning, and I was dreading going to school. Knowing I was super tired I thought focusing on temperance would be good for me. I decided to take all my classes hour by hour, and focus only on what I needed to do during that time. I found it helped me relax and not get so stressed out. I think that today could have been better, but I tried my best and that is all that matters!

Day 9- November 17

I typically write my blogs at the end of the day to show my progress and what I worked on, but I’ve decided to write my blog at the end of the day to set goals and predict how well I will do. Today, I really want to focus on patience and academic acceptance. I’m starting to get nervous about a few upcoming tests, but I just need to tell myself that I need to be patient and really make sure I understand all of the content. I’m going to try a new strategy when I’m studying: I’m going to study for 30-40 minutes working in sections of what I need to focus on, and then I’m going to take a break to give my brain a rest. I’m eager to see if this study strategy will work, and allow me to be more patient with myself. I guess this is also a way for me to practice moderation as well. As for academic acceptance, I’ve come to the conclusion that I probable won’t get a good grade on another test I have, but I’ve accepted that fact and I’m fine with it. I’m telling myself that I’ve given all the effort I can and that it’s totally fine to not always get good grades. I’ll keep you guys posted on the new patience/study strategy 🙂

Day 5

This was my favorite day of the week! It was the first day in two weeks that I actually didn’t need to do anything. I took the time to clean my room, which helped me practice my cleanliness virtue. I spent the whole day watching football, which allowed me to work on my appreciation and bliss virtues. I didn’t work a lot on Order, but on weekends I feel like being organized is a little bit less necessary. I used today asa way to unwind and appreciate my down time.

Day 7

Today was a pretty good day. My friends and I woke up and had to pack up our suitcases to head back to Kansas City. It sucks having to go home from a trip, but I decided to focus on sincerity again. I knew my mindset could not be the best knowing that I had to go home, but I turned it around and realized I was so grateful and thankful that I got to go on this great trip! We all got in a cab and headed to the airport. While we were waiting for our flight, it got delayed. Instead of getting upset, I focused on transquility knowing that this was not a big deal and there are many more problems that people have to deal with. Overall today was a 7/10.

Day 6

Boy was today amazing! We got ready for the day and headed out to brunch. Afterwards we shopped all day long and walked all over the city. I was thinking about my virtues, and I thought about focusing on sincerity today. I wanted to focus on this because I thought about all of the people who do not get to have this opportunity, so I wanted to be as meaningful and sincere with my actions and words as possible. It really made me feel good, and proud of myself. I think I am going to start doing it more, not because I do not try to but I want to make more of a point of it!

Day 5

Today was so fun! I woke up early and hopped on a plane to Chicago with a couple of my friends. We got to walk around the city and eat some great food. I was focused on my health today, because I always get antsy about sitting on a plane and eating a lot of food and not moving my body, but I thought about it and I decided to not let that mindset get in the way of my trip. I had a great time looking at all of the different shops in Chicago, and walking all around the pretty city. I focused on having a healthy mindset as well. I got to be with some of my best friends in such a cool place, so why not be happy!

Day 4

Today was very good. I felt very at ease with everything going on, the only thing I was stressed out about was packing for my trip. I felt like I had no time because I was going to be at school all day, then I had to go home and get ready for a Friendsgiving. During that time of stress, I stepped back and focused on tranquility. I thought about how there is no reason to stress, if I kept stressing it would get in the way of my happiness, and I did not want that to happen. To help, I just took a couple of deep breaths and planned out what I was going to do and when I would do it. It ended up helping so much and I was able to have fun at Friendsgiving and not worry about packing!

Day #9 – 11/16/21

In all, besides this being the first log in which I have not written it retroactively, this day has been simply a moderate success. Overall, my greatest achievements were those in Resolution and Enjoyment. Yesterday, I set out a plan for myself to continue the work I was unable to complete the night prior, and I did just that: I woke up at 6 AM, grabbed one of my energy drinks, and started working on the AP Chemistry homework I needed to finish up. As well, I also completed some assignments which had previously slipped my mind, leading to a day with little to do. Because of this, I’ve been able to Enjoy more than I normally have; I’ve definitely found myself obsessed with a specific mobile/Nintendo Switch game and it’s nice to be able to oblige myself fully in such. (As well, I finished one of the novels I set out to finish, so that’s a definite bonus!) However, there has been little work in the other domains today, with the only notable work being that in Regulation, as I went to my dentist for a filling. I just hope I don’t have the severe nerve pain I had last time (being unable to drink cold tap water was not a fun experience!) Besides that, there was not much for me to do in regards to Awareness or Sincerity, though as I’m not noting anything negative then perhaps that’s a success in itself.

Sleep Log (I changed it slightly, now Wake-Ups are only 10+ minutes)

8:06 – Water
8:28 – Pajamas
8:53 – Water
10:23 – In Bed
11:10 – Lights off, Phone off

11:17- 6:09 AM – 6:52 Hours – 74 Sleep Score, No Notable Wake Ups

For tomorrow, I wish to complete my remaining work, as well as complete some chores I’ve been putting off; I want to strike a work-play balance. As well, I hope to continue this recent pattern of Awareness.

Nicholas Karr – Day 8

Industry: 4/5
Order: 2/5
Flexibility: 4/5
Resolution: 1/5
Tranquility: 1/5

I had another pretty rough day. My tranquility is very low because I spent a lot of time panicking. However, industry is fairly high because I did a decent amount of work when I was actually conscious. My unusually high flexibility rating comes from a successful rearrangement of my schedule. I had to stay home from a class with an ear infection without complaining too much. Order was also a low point for me because my past ordering led to me having to complete a lot of math homework. It was hard to remember because we do math units out of order and the homework due dates happen at odd times. I didn’t manage to do anything related to resolution at all today. Currently, my main roadblock to improving my virtues is that I’m still sick. Hopefully, I can have a strong finish to the rest of the week over the next two days when most of the work happens.

Rafaela Grieco-Freeman: Day 8

Tuesday, November 16th, 2021

Overall I feel like I had a really good day today! For my video production class, I got to film a story at my elementary school and visited my 5th-grade teacher, which was a lovely surprise when she recognized me. It was definitely the highlight of my day getting a big hug from her, especially since I haven’t properly seen her in 6 years! As for my virtues, I would say some of my strongest were industry and temperance (at an 8/10) as I got on top of some work that is not necessarily due and even attempted some extra credit in a class. For tranquility, I would rate myself around a 7/10 since after my stresses for filming at my school I felt that I had finally got everything into place for the rest of the week. Cleanliness I did not do as well in, maybe around a 5/10, since instead of cleaning my workspace I just moved to the kitchen table for my homework, but I was able to organize my room overall a little bit by putting away laundry. Lastly, for productive downtime, I would rate myself a 5/10, since when I had a moment of downtime it was often spent on my phone. However, I did attempt an actual crossword with autofill on, and “completed” it in 41 minutes and 55 seconds (super impressive, I know). Overall I feel like over these past few days I have seen a definite improvement in my virtues which has been encouraging me to keep at them, even if there are slight bumps in the road to “perfection”.

Connor Burrows – Nov 16

Order 2/5 – I was kind of disorganized today, and despite getting a lot of work done, I didn’t split it up into very reasonable sections. Because of this, I ended up doing a lot of work later than I would have liked, but I got it done.

Resolution 4/5 – I did a good bit of painting today. I’m finally getting to the less monotonous parts of the figure, which is fun. I did a drybrush of orange onto the metal plates to resemble rust, which I think turned out well (though it looks a bit strange in the picture – I swear it looks better in person). I also started on the inner portions of the golem, and I’m excited to work more on them.

Confidence 4/5 – I was a lot more relaxed and confident in my classes today than I normally am. I don’t really know why, I think it might just be random, but it felt good nonetheless. Tomorrow is the second meeting of Ping Pong Club, and I’m less nervous for than the last, which is a good sign.

Health 5/5 – I went on a really nice walk around my neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful weather tonight. I took some pictures, and the lighting turned out really cool (especially on the second one).

Responsibility 3/5 – I got a lot of work done tonight, which I’m proud of, but I wasn’t super responsible about it. As I mentioned before, I didn’t start until it was already fairly late. Overall, not a bad day for this virtue, but certainly not a great one.

Day 8 Nov 16

moderation- C

frugality- A

accountability- A

self-discipline- C

cleanliness- C

I Started off today as stressed as I have been through the past eight days. I had an exam in my class that I struggle the most in, physics. I am proud of myself for putting in the work last night and today to succeed. I took the initiative to go and get all my questions answered by my teacher which is something I wouldn’t normally do. After school I spent time with friends as opposed to spending time with family. I didn’t make it to the gym for the third day in a row so tomorrow I’ll make a better effort to make it to the gym. 

Day 8- November 16

Today was much better than yesterday. I was mainly focusing on academic acceptance, tranquility, and moderation today. I woke up a little earlier this morning so I could have a slow morning and have some extra time to myself before leaving for school. Usually when I have extra time in the morning, I go on my phone, but today, I reminded myself that I was going to work on moderation, so I got some studying done before my chem quiz. I was surprised to see that I did so well on my chem quiz just because I didn’t study the content hardly at all the night before. I ended up missing two questions which is alright, but I’m trying to tell myself that it doesn’t need to be a perfect score. I got over the score pretty quickly and moved on with my day, making sure I was practicing tranquility and moderation throughout the day. I was hardly on my phone today which was awesome, so I got most of my work done. I give myself a 4/5 for moderation and 4/5 for tranquility. I definitely got stressed before my quiz which wasn’t a good way to practice tranquility, but I turned my attitude around and surrounded myself with my friends at lunch which put me in a good mood. Now, I’m about to get some more homework done that I wish I would’ve gotten done a little earlier. I hope everyone has a great night :))

Day 8:

Today was a much better day. My virtues improved from yesterday. To start, my Sincerity was a 9/10 because I got to eat dinner with some of my friends. This was really good to take a break from all the stresses in life. Next is Frugality. I had to buy gas which is pretty expensive nowadays so I would give frugality a 7/10. My Tranquility is a 6/10 for the day. This is because of the 3 upcoming tests I have all on the same day. My Order is still upholding, even with my busy schedule and I plan to keep it at a 9/10. Lastly is Humility which is staying constant at a 10/10.

Day 7:

Today my virtues were really put to work. To start off, my Tranquility is lower than usual because of the large work load given on the final week before a large break, and basketball tryouts. I’d have to give my Tranquility a 4/10 for today. For Humility, I would give myself a 10/10 because I was humble after winning a soccer award at my banquet. My Sincerity was low today because I had school, basketball tryouts, and a soccer banquet giving me no time to see my family through the day. I would rate my Sincerity a 2/10 for the day. Order is a bit off with everything going on in my life, but I was able to keep track of what needed to be done for tomorrow. Order gets a 7/10 for the day. My final virtue was frugality which remained high because I didn’t get the opportunity to spend any money.

Day 8

I focused on physical health and creative productivity today and I think I did a pretty good job of improving at each virtue. For creative productivity, I had an acting lesson this afternoon and got two new monologues to work on. One of them is a lot of fun and the other one is challenging, so I’m looking forward to learning and working on both. Last night I wrote a monologue for rep theatre class and tonight I resolve to get one of my poems finished and ready for submission. So, all in all, a pretty creatively productive day. I would give myself a 4/5. 

I also took steps to better my physical health, taking advantage of the good weather by going on a walk after school. Typically I would save time and drive to the library/the bank, but today I walked everywhere I needed to go. My eating hasn’t been super healthy (though it hasn’t been bad either) and I will try and get something good to eat for dinner. Overall for physical health, I would give myself a 3/5. 

November 16, 2021

Day 8

(you can listen while reading if you want)

After yesterday, I tried to focus more on certain virtues like silence and moderation. Since I had such a busy day yesterday, I thought those would be most beneficial. Honestly, I would say none of my other virtues for today have achieved above a 2/5, and I am okay with it. I think that by really focusing on moderation and silence today, I will have a more positive outcome.

  • Silence:5: By getting homework out of the way early, I believe that I will be able to have some time later to myself. This week has already been so busy with school, soccer, and basketball, so I am really looking forward to a little time to relax.
  • Moderation:3: Today has not been my best day for moderation, but it has definitely been an improvement from yesterday. I am hoping that by getting my homework out of the way, tryouts out of the way, and completing my ACT tutoring, I will hopefully have time later tonight to enjoy with my family.

I hope everyone has a great rest of their week!

day 5

I really focused on cleaning today and keepign order in my life and creating a good space for myself and those around me. That seems to be really important as it is an important aspect of my goals. Today was just an overall ok day, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I give myself a B+ average, today wasn’t a. particularly difficult day.

Cleaning: I shot through all of my weekend cleaning to do list which is exactly what i need to do and i kept myself clean which was very good of me, most of the thing i did was just surface level cleaning but doing a deeper clean of everything is something i need to get around to. I think i may make a goal for the rest of the week to

-clean out my closet

-deep clean of everything in the bathroom

-go through my clothes and books and wipe down the entire shelf

-clean under my bed

i’ll make note of how i do with this over the next week

tranquility: i was calm in my being and myself, i won’t lie though i’m starting to internally panic a bit, i’m having some regrets and i’m analyzing the living being out of them. i did a lot to try to keep myself calm including going on walks and stuff and i kept a grip on my thought process

order: I had a calming order to my day, doing what i need to do and not stressing about it is the type of order i would like every single day. I really liked how this day felt and i felt like everything had a place and it felt very calming if i’m being honest

resolution: I did what I said I was going to do today and was kind to myself. The day didn’t require a lot of resolution but i feel ok with this one

boundaries and keeping my peace: i didn’t really see people so how other people affected my peace didn’t completely affect me today, this wasn’t something i had to focus too hard on 

Day 4

So today was a very high anxiety day with a lot to get done.

resolution: This was the goal that I really tried to focus on because I had my ear piercing appointment today. I have issues with needles, things like getting my blood drawn and getting shots scare me so much. Both of my covid shots took like 15 minutes each its a problem. I had my ear piercing appointment and I told myself and my mother that I wasn’t going to freak out this time, I was going to take a few deep breaths and it would be ok and it was. I have never done so well in a situation that I was getting poked in and I remained calm and I thought of this goal while I was getting my ears pierced. It really helped me and kept me on track. I felt so happy and strong.

tranquility: I will say i got done what i needed to get done but i was high stress the entire time. I was snappish and stressed and constantly felt like the day was running so much faster than I was. I didn’t stop to process or think about things as they were happening and was so focused on getting to my next destination and overall was not very peaceful in myself. i give myself a C

cleanliness: i fell asleep in my jeans and a mediocre at best toothbrush job, i kinda just wanted to sleep so cleanliness was not my strong suite today and that’s ok it happens and honestly it was not the most important thing going on today so yay give myself a D

order: i kept alright order, honestly i could have done more prep on day 3 making sure that my day was more ordered and making sure that everything was in place and all of my plans were solid and good but day 3 just wasn’t the day to do that and to a certain extent i think i kept an alright orderly day given life. i give myself a c

i think i’m going to call this officaly setting boundaries and keeping my own peace: i did alright with this today, not as well as i had hoped to do but i didn’t particularly struggle with it today, i communicated what i needed to communicate an the only person disrupting my peace was myself and i didn’t have time to disrupt my own peace. 

Day 3

I was doing well and kicking arse, taking names, being productive and sticking to my goals and then something i wasn’t expecting happened. I got dumped, which is certainly not. The worst thing that could have happened but i’m kinda in a bit of a shock. I haven’t been in a relationship for too long, only a couple of weeks and I kinda just sat and processed for the rest of the day.

cleanliness: I didn’t do as well at this as i had hoped that i would, i made hot chocolate and left the mug on my desk, and only had it in me to brush my teeth

order: my thoughts are scattered, i’m not feeling very ordered right now because some of my order was taken away and now i’m just kinda lost, maybe that’s not good but it how i am right now i give myself a C+

tranquility: given that i was just dumped i’m remaining calm and relitively good in my being i guess i’m going to really need to focus on this one the next couple of days. I give myself a B+

resolution: well i wasn’t late to anything and i took all of my vitamins. lost in what i should do, i don’t know what there is to do i give myself a B

human: well i wanted to ask more questions of people today, and to be upset but i was really anxious and felt like everyone was staring at me and felt like i couldn’t be a person comfortably. I didn’t focus on positive self-talk and I let my decisions regarding my wellbeing and contentment be defined by what I thought others wanted. I didn’t do great here. But thats ok, i don’t think i want to grade this one today

Day #8: November 16, 2021

I had a really good day today. I woke up on my own before my alarm which was weird but I felt energized and was for some reason excited to get my day started. I kept up with my orderly routine of making my bed and cleaning my room before going to make my breakfast, giving me a good start with 10/10 for both order and cleanliness. I went to school and felt very organized with my work which is always good and helpful. I kept very patient with myself and when I began to feel stressed about anything I calmed myself down quickly. After school I went to a workout class and hung out with a friend which was really relaxing and helped with my kindness. Day eight was for sure one of my better days for my virtues and myself.

Day #8 – 11/15/21

Overall, I think I consider this day simply mediocre, not a true success nor a failure. In Awareness, I felt somewhat proud of myself as I finally listened to a piece of advice my therapist gave me: tell individuals who can hold you accountable about the bad habits you want to break. In this, I feel that I succeeded, even if I did catch myself picking at my skin a couple times. However, I think I struggled with Regulation today, as I used my phone for around 20 minutes once in bed, and I had to force myself to stop using it by throwing it across my bed. If nothing else, I remembered to shower and brush my teeth extra well for my filling tomorrow. As well, I remembered to be Sincere for most of the day, and with that I felt a bit more comfortable in conversation while also maintaining ground on my opinions (and stopping a silly debate from becoming a whole blown fight; I hate conflict!). I don’t really think I succeeded with my Resolution though, as I struggled to get the minimal work I had done (as it was minimal), and I instead needed to make a plan for the next morning. I don’t think I really did wonders with my Enjoyment beyond the interesting conversation I had, but if nothing else I acknowledged what was not key to my happiness, and acted according to that.

Sleep Log

8:18 – Water
9:12-9:40 – Shower + Brush Teeth
10:17 – Lights Off + In Bed
10:40 – Off Phone

10:47 – 6:04 AM – 7:17 Hours – 78 Sleep Score, No Notable Wake Ups

Tomorrow, I hope to keep with my schedule for work; as well, I think I’ll be setting a strict “phone-off” time as to keep myself from mindlessly using my devices. I also wish to keep up the current habit of Sincerity, (and luck for my filling tomorrow!)

Nicholas Karr – Day 7

Industry: 4/5
Order: 4/5
Flexibility: 3/5
Resolution: 1/5
Tranquility: 1/5

I would say that I did about as well as I conceivably could today. I used almost all of my limited free time to do schoolwork. It was highly restricted because the robotics team meetings last until 5:00pm. That meant I didn’t really have any time to do schoolwork until 9:30pm because my schedule was very full. I gave myself a high rating in both industry and order because I got a fair bit of total work done. My flexibility ranking is lower than it could be because I acted too harshly to some other students who threatened me with razor blades a few times as a joke. Meanwhile, my very low tranquility score was inspired by how I freaked out over losing hearing in one of my ears for a few hours. It’s mostly okay now, for reference. It should be a lot easier to maintain an acceptable level of tranquility tomorrow alongside order because I won’t be going to robotics. I sure will need it though because there’s a lot of math homework due on Wednesday. It will be a real test of my order virtue to finish all of it in a reasonable timeframe. After that, the week appears to lighten a bit.

Day 7 11/15/21

Today I woke up feeling not much resolution to go to school, but I was able to wake up and go and when I got to school I found more resolution in doing my school work. Overall I would say that my resolution was average. On my order virtue I did a better job as I gave myself a good amount of free time, and left plenty of time for my homework. I was about average in industry as I was not particularly efficient, but I did get what I needed done in a reasonable amount of time. On moderation I was able to successfully moderate my homework and free time, so I would say that this was overall pretty good. Finally on justice today I would say that I did a good job, because there were no obvious examples where I would not give people that I knew equal chances, despite how they have acted in the past. Overall it was a pretty average day with most of my virtues being slightly above average.

Rafaela Grieco-Freeman: Day 7

Monday, November 15th, 2021

Mondays are always pretty hectic, but luckily I still had some time to work and focus on my virtues for today. As for my virtues, I would say my strong suit was industry, ranking it a 7.5/10 for today. I got a lot of work done for my classes, plus I put in extra work to organize an interview for tomorrow. For cleanliness, I would rate it about a 5/10. I cleared my desk space a little to work and cleaned up leftover glasses of water from my bed stand, but I am still procrastinating on putting laundry away (oh well!). For tranquility, I would rate myself a 5/10 as well, since I was able to take a brief nap after school to get me through the evening ahead. Plus, a shipment from an Argentine goods company finally came in which really put me in a good mood as I got some snacks and candy that are not part of the US. For productive downtime, I would rate myself a 4.5/10 since I did not really have any downtime for the day other than taking a nap, which can be seen as both productive and counterproductive since I was able to have more energy later, at a sacrifice of time at the moment. Lastly, for temperance/moderation, I would rate myself a 6.5/10 since I got ahead on my homework which was nice for a change, and continued on with SAT preparations. I feel today has been the strongest my virtues have been thus far, so I am really pleased with the results.

Have a good night! 🙂