MAIN DESCRIPTION 1:

CL: “My dad was a huge role model to me growing up.He instilled a lot of quotes along the way that really stuck with me. One of the quotes was, ‘Hard work pays off.’ He felt strongly that you might have good luck at certain stages along the way, but your true success comes from working hard, setting goals for yourself and pushing yourself to do the best you can.  My dad always worked very hard in his job and his personal passions, and he instilled the same in us. We could decide what passions we wanted to pursue, but once we committed, then there was no quitting. For example, it was up to me if I wanted to play tennis a particular year or be on the debate team, but once I committed I was committed. There was no quitting at that point.  He never pushed us too hard, but he felt it was important for us to try our best and not look back and wish we had tried harder.”

INFORMANT’S OPINION 1:

JL: What do you think this phrase means?

CL: “He thought kids should be curious and go out of their way to entertain themselves, read, explore, etc., in their free time. To sit back and wait for others to entertain you and have a plan and decide that you are bored is only a sign of a boring person and nobody wants to be boring!”

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION 1:

I grew up with the same values and ideals and now I see how much they shaped how I approach challenges. As a child I sometimes felt discouraged by tough challenges but these sayings always reminded me that my hard work would eventually be worth it. I discovered that hard work is not only about the results you see right away. “It’s about what you create as you go on your journey.” These sayings still help me today and I understand them better as I get older. I work hard stay curious and don’t expect things to be easy. The amount of effort you put into your life will decide how successful you become in the end.