Through the Eyes of Middle School Students - Part III

Resilience, self-control, leadership, open mind, courage, knowledge, determination, mental strength, respect and heart. According to my middle school students, these are the qualities of a Bushintai-Do martial artist. These also became the titles of the chapters for our unpublished book, The Way of the Teenage Warrior. For an entire school year, my students read essays from current and former middle school students, students who, like themselves, had studied and written about Bushintai-Do. What follows is a sample of the essays or excerpt of essays my students thought represented the warrior quality of heart.

Chapter 10

Heart

I am a hard worker. Being a hard worker comes from my parents getting divorced and then living in a crappy trailer with hardly any money and clothes. I also didn’t have a very good school to attend. When I was little, I tried hard in school, but wasn’t learning anything. My mom finally decided to move to Vermont to be with family. Then we started doing well because my mom was able to get a good job, rent a house, and I started to learn at school. 

At the age of seven, I had to go out and chop wood for our fireplace, take out the trash, tend to the compost, shovel my long driveway, and mow the lawn. As I got older, I had to do more. However, I didn’t stop and complain because I had to do more. I just did my best. 

Then we moved, again, and I had to go to a new school. With the new school, I tried hard to fit in and it worked, but I didn’t like it. I’ve tried really hard to get good grades, but sixth and seventh grade were difficult because of my grades and the other students. However, I didn’t let it get in my way. I am doing my best for eighth grade year, and it seems to be working.

Doing my best at home will help my family when they come home from a long day of work. Doing my best at school will help me, too, because when I have a family, I don’t want them to have the same life I’ve had. Bushintai-Do has helped me with getting good grades, and trying to be more respectful to other people. Because have discussions about what it means to do your best, I remember to do my best in everything I do, even when I don’t want to. I have had to do my best throughout my life and Bushintai-Do has reinforced the purpose of doing my best. Doing my best is basically just being me. And being me will help me through life. 

John, age 14 

I wanted to be a great martial artist like Bruce Lee. He always had a wise thing to say. He once said, “To spend time is to pass it in a specific manner, but once passed, it is gone forever.” What Bruce Lee was saying was that if you don’t spend your time wisely enough, your life will waste away.

I have thought about this quote, and I figured it would be a great saying to live by. To waste your time is like wasting your existence. A wise person would see this, and not hesitate to do something to stop their life from being ruined. Perfect practice, a healthy diet, and time with friends are all people need to keep themselves happy. Perfect practice can be for anything, from exercise to studying. These are the things that Bruce Lee probably did. If he could do it, then anyone can do it.  

Will, age 13

One hot afternoon, my friend, Karen, and I were hanging out at my house. We felt like we were hungry, so we decided to make some toast with peanut butter and jelly. I thought it would be a better idea if she used one piece of bread and fold it over. She said, “No, I want to use one piece for peanut butter and one for jelly.” I laughed, and thought it would be funny to pick up her toast and throw it on the ground so that she couldn’t have any. 

Karen didn’t take it that way. 

We ended up fighting. We get mad over little things sometimes. Then she said something that I really didn’t like, and I told her to get out of my house, and she left. 

During the next few days that we weren’t talking, I felt lonely. I was bored and I was stuck in the TV. Three days later, she came over to my house and we talked it out. We talked about how we get in fights over some things that are so little and how we just need to get over them. 

I would say that our friendship is the warrior qualities of heart and resilience. Because we are dedicated to our friendship and we care about each other, our friendship symbolizes heart. Also, every time we have a fight, we have to overcome the problem and when we do, our friendship is smarter and stronger because of it. This is resilience.  

Desiree, age 13

Nancy Keller, Education Coordinator

Bushintai-Do Programs

Milton, Vermont

Teacher at Winooski Middle and High School

Winooski, Vermont