Published in the December 24, 2014 – January 6, 2014 issue of Morgan Hill Life
#13 – Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring young people’s behavior
By Ali Daneshvar
Ali Daneshvar
Don’t you just hate those ding-dong ditchers? I know I do. They waste your time and are very annoying. Your neighbors feel the same way, and sometimes they even do something about it.
One time when I was playing with my friends, we saw some teenagers running around ding-dong ditching. One of the adults saw what was going on and told them to stop, or there would be consequences, but they didn’t stop. Once again, they were going around and ding-dong ditching.
About 15 minutes later, my friends and I saw a police car driving around. The police officer asked us if we had seen anyone ding-dong ditching, and we told them where they were. The officer went to them and told them to stop, and went to their parents house to tell them what they’d been doing.
Neighbors are aware of what’s going on and they will keep an eye on it to make sure that the whole neighborhood is safe and happy.
#40 – Positive view of personal future
By Lizbeth Arrayga
Lizbeth Arrayga
As any regular day shopping with my mother, we park in front of the store with emergency lights flashing just to get her out quick. Suddenly this man comes and starts disrespecting and offending my mom about her background and making fun of how she couldn’t understand what he was saying or how to defend herself. Well, when that happened I stepped in to politely stop the discussion. This was the moment when I realized a lot. I learned that people look down at some people just because of their race and their inability to speak English.
This was a turning point for me and I thought to myself, “Damn, this is sad. I need to break the cycle.”
Everyone can be successful with or without education, but without an education it takes more hard labor and struggles. I want to succeed in a different way, try something new in my family and culture, get an education and land a well-paying and enjoyable job. This will make me happy and satisfied because I know I can make a difference and everyone can do the same things if given the opportunity to do so.
#29 – Honesty
Kaleb Watkins
Kaleb Watkins
Developmental assets can help you and your friends and family prosper and become closer to each other.
There are many assets. The one that I will be sharing with you is one that can be a really big factor bringing the community closer and helping it bond more easily. What better asset is there to do this but the asset … Honesty?
There are many ways honesty can tie people together. The most powerful way, though, is through trust. People tend to trust you more if you are honest with them. Being truthful deeply reflects your personality and if you are honest, people you will most likely have richer friendships and more loving relationships with your family. For instance, when I was in elementary school I used do math facts in the car. If I didn’t finish all my facts before we got off the freeway, I wouldn’t get a treat. But if I did well, I would get a treat.
One day I wasn’t able to complete all of my facts. My mom called to see if she needed to stop by Target that week to pick up a prize for me. I ended up telling her the truth and, of course, I didn’t get the prize. But mom sure was proud of me for being honest.
