Dear Politicians

Dear Politicians,

This year I turned 18 and it will be my first time voting in any election. As I look at the you as candidates, I can't say that I really like any of you, be it from either party. When I look at you, I don't see any differences, but I instead see one major similarity. You are all far from the men who made this country, who's ideals are on which this country was built upon, who looked out for this country and it's people more than themselves.

After you are elected, you won't choose to be accountable to me, or many other regular Americans, you instead will choose to pay back those who helped and donated to your campaign. You will help those who have big ideas, who are part of big companies and organizations, who wrote big checks to you and your campaign. After all, without money and donations, what kind of campaign would you have? Possibly an honest and fair one. But there is something I would like to alert you to. While those who gave you money or other donations helped your campaign, they didn't get you to your office, the voters did. They are the ones who deserve your help, because even though most of them couldn't afford to give you a donation big enough to even register on your radar, they elected you in.

Here is another thought for you to ponder over. You are all so caught up in making your opponent look bad and trying to undercut them to get votes, that you are alienating the voters. As of right now, laws are being passed that would in turn restrict some groups of citizens from voting. Although this is meant to restrict voter fraud, it is really restricting what has always been a basic right in America: the right to vote.

So as election day approaches, I have no clue besides who's name I will check the box next to, but at this point I don't even know if it really matters. Politics was never meant to take the terrible turn that it has taken this in country. When America began, George Washington gave us the advice to never form the political parties, politicians worked together, and there was a dream to make a better country in which everyone had power and a voice with it, not just the wealthy. Now, 235 years after the Constitution was signed, the political parties that we were warned about have torn us apart, politicians seldom work together if it involves crossing party lines, and the wealthy have more power than does the average voter. Right now in Washington, we don't need a politician, we need someone who genuinely cares about what happens to all of America and its people, not just a fraction. If you think you can be that person, show me and the rest of America that. Help me make a decision on election day that I can be proud of.

Sincerely,
Sarah, An American Citizen

A Teacher: A Gift Giver and A Game Changer

Of all the people who have shaped my life, the ones I owe some of the biggest glasses of gratitude to are my teachers. Education is one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone and the people who give this deserve a huge thank you. From the alphabet to algebra, educators devote their lives to teaching us knowledge that will hopefully serve us well in the future. But my teachers, like many others, didn't only teach me things from the world of academia, they taught me things from the book of life as well. I live in a small city that is pretty closed off from the outside world, but I had teachers that taught me about that world beyond my city limits and changed my view of it and the people that inhabit it. For me, this was an important lesson to learn and could always be put to good use. When I had a bad day and thought my life was bad, I remember what my teachers said about people around the world who faced problems greater than I could ever imagine. To say the least, teachers gave me the gift of perspective.

While its important to teach children to have perspective, it is as equally, if not so more important, to teach children to dream. This is something that educators from my small city to Harlem to the idyllic suburbs all around America all try to leave with their students. Teachers want to change lives and want to see their students succeed and what a better way to do that than by encouraging them to imagine greater. Dreaming makes us set goals and strive to achieve them. If we were never taught how to dream, how far could we possibly get in life? Not very, because without a dream, how could we ever want to be better than we are?

Although we may not have the highest test scores in the world, I do believe that we have a great education system. In this country, we are lucky to have a free public education so that everyone has the opportunity to learn. Many citizens of other countries are not lucky enough to have this gift that so many take for granted. Education leaves a huge impact on our lives, and much of this comes down to the teachers who are there to help us. Teachers do not get into this line of work for the money or the days off. They become educators because they want to not only better their lives, but those around them. They are passionate about making a positive difference in people's lives through education. In my experience, one of the biggest reasons that teachers become who they are is because they have learned something in their life and want to teach it to others to make their lives a little easier.

So here is to the teachers who transform lives with their gifts, passion, and wisdom. You inspire us and prove the saying true that it only takes one person to alter the course of a life. With you, we learn and go on to change the world. Without you, nothing we do would be possible.

Puppy Love

Among the many things in the world I am grateful for, dogs are at the top of the list. There are many ways to describe the relationship between humans and their dogs, "man's best friend" being among the most used. For me, I describe my dog and our relationship in another way: world's greatest angel. I have had my dog Sophie for almost fifteen years and every single year has been a gift. Sophie is probably the sweetest dog I will ever meet. Whenever anyone in my family is upset, she makes sure that she is there to take care of us. Those qualities paired with the fact that she has filled my life with love and joy since I was three, make her one of the most wonderful blessings I have been lucky to have in my life.

This past winter, we began to notice that Sophie had a growth in her mouth. Thinking that it was an abscess, my mom and dad took her to the vet to get checked out. They returned with news that I never would've expected. Sophie, the dog who was barely sick, had melanoma. She was given a few months to live. In the next week, she would undergo surgery to remove the tumor from her mouth, but soon, within two weeks, the tumor had returned. Now the timeline of a few months had been lessened to just a few weeks. To say the least, our family was a complete mess, but I had yet to cry. Its not that I wasn't sad because I was devastated. I instead looked at it with the view that if I only had a few weeks left with dog who had made my life so much better, I should try to make her last weeks some great ones;that these last weeks should be about taking care of her. This meant no crying or acting sad, because if I did this, she would just try to take care of me. On the inside, though, I was a complete wreck. Sophie was my childhood dog and I had expected her to be there for my high school graduation and my 18th birthday, both a few months down the road, as she had been there for my older sisters'.

Weeks passed, then months, graduation and my birthday came and went, and Sophie was still here. In fact, her tumor had disappeared and she was acting like a puppy again. Last weekend, we had another scare with her, but she came back, fighting as hard as ever, and has returned to good health. She has surprised us and the veterinarians a like. Every day I get with her, I am reminded how truly blest I am to have her in my life. But I know that someday, those day will run out and when the time comes that Sophie does go, and I am faced with having to live in world without her, I will be a wreck. What will get me through is
remembering all of things she gave me in her time and that her impact on my life will be everlasting.

Dogs are amazing creatures with amazing souls. They always take care of us and bring us comfort and joy. In the scheme of things, we have them for such a short amount of time, and yet, they can leave an impact much larger than other people that touch our lives. I would like to end with a quote by John Grogan who, I believe, gives the greatest description of a dog and all that they give us:

A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. As I wrote that farewell column to Marley, I realized it was all right there in front of us, if only we opened our eyes. Sometimes it took a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see.

Sophie