Showing posts with label 4th Edition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 4th Edition. Show all posts
Lola O.
Before I tell you about my precious thing, I want to thank all of you for sharing with all of us the precious thing(s) you have in your life. Whether it is your family, health, teaching, dream, cell phone, friend, or pet if it is precious to you then it is also very precious to me.

Thank you for telling us your story. Thank you for having the courage to stand up in front of everyone and give your speech. Thank you for spending all the time it took to write and then memorize your speech. Thank you for letting me and everyone get to know you a little bit better. You are all amazing students and I am so thankful and grateful to have the honor of being your English teacher. Whether or not you win, you have done something spectacular and brave. No matter what, remember to appreciate, thank, love, and take care of your precious thing(s). If you do, then those precious things will last for a very long time.

Since you took the time to share your precious thing(s) with me I’d like to share mine with you. Like many of you the most precious thing to me is my family. Without them all the other precious things I hold dear like my dreams, friends, and future would be meaningless. My family is the most precious thing to me because they love, encourage, protect, and support me unconditionally in everything I do. Without them I’d be nothing. They are my everything. I’ll always do my best to make them smile, laugh, and feel at peace when I am at their side.

My family is made up of my grandmother, mother, older sister, younger brother, and me. I’m sure a lot of you are wondering about my father, he left us when I was seven years old, and my mom has raised us as a single mother since then. That is why I love my mother more than anything in this universe. She has sacrificed and suffered so much for the three of us and I am forever thankful to her for the love she continues to shower on us.

I didn’t meet my maternal grandmother Florence Olasogba till I was in high school, but ever since she came into my life I’ve been able to understand and feel the love of a grandparent. She cooks my favorite foods, tells me stories, listens to me, gives me advice, and is just a blessing to have. I’m lucky to have such a strong and beautiful grandmother with me. Her warm hugs and sweet smile make all the sad moments fade away.

My mother  is the most precious person to me on this earth. The love and affection I feel for her goes beyond words but I’ll try to describe it for you. My mother has always believed in me. Everything and anything I want to do she would always say “it is well” “you can do it!!!” “just believe in yourself” and those words would give me the courage to go after my dreams. My mom raised me to be strong, and the strength she planted inside of me has helped me grow into the woman I am now. She is my biggest inspiration and greatest gift, and I love her immensely.

My older sister is so beautiful and amazing from the inside out that sometimes I wonder if she’s even from this planet. She has always been like a second mom to me. Growing up she would do a lot of mom things for my brother and I like make dinner, check our homework, tuck us into bed, and just be there when we needed her. She’s always been the one with the heart of gold even if she doesn’t realize that. She’s someone who knows who she is and won’t let anyone make her feel like anything less. My sister and I are very close, like two peas in a pod. I can tell her anything and know that she’ll always be there to help me.

My younger brother is the baby in our family. When we were growing up we fought like “cats and dogs” but even then we still loved each other. As we grew up we became kinder to each other, and I feel like we are very close even though we are very different. My brother is quiet, and keeps to himself most of the time, but when he does speak you better listen up because it is usually important unless he’s talking about video games!

These four people are the most precious things I have in this world. They are my heart and my soul. Forever and always they will be my precious things.

Thank you for listening, and I hope that you never forget to cherish your precious thing(s)!

Be blessed,
~Lola O.~

I wrote this speech this morning to share with my students who are participating in the English speech contest tomorrow.
Lola O.
  • Humidity makes me feel sticky and sweaty and that is just all kinds of gross!!!
  • I am extremely terrified of bugs whether it is a butterfly or bee, they are all evil to me
  • This month I've been really homesick. I miss the comfort of being around what I know. But at the same time I'm thankful for the freedom I have here to explore, change, and discover...
  • I feel at my most feminine when I put on a dress or a skirt. It's kind of annoying though, how much more people stare when I wear them.
  • On bad days, I like to get an Orange Mango coolatta from Dunkin Donuts, then I go home and watch something funny
  • Time seems to be moving faster these days, things don't stand out as much as they did in the beginning
  • Even when I get lost (literally/metaphorically) I know I will find my way out/back
  • I wear red when I need to feel stronger or powerful. These days the red item of choice are my converses
  • Bus number 5623 has to be my favorite one to take to school in the mornings. I always have a seat, and it isn't crowded
  • Where did Spring go? It vanished before I could enjoy it
  • I really miss drinking Arizona Green Tea and Ginger-ale
  • One of my best friends had a baby girl a few weeks ago, it's a bittersweet moment for me. I'm glad she's in our world, and I'm sad I wasn't there to greet her on her first day. I can't wait to hold her, and my other niece in March.
  • My favorite number is 7
  • I love eating the rice porridge from Bonjuk
  • I really hate to sweat, and I am doing a lot of it these days
  • Sometimes I wish I could be in two places at once, so I could here in Seoul, and back home helping out my family.
  • I'm not going to be a lawyer. I'm going to be a guidance counselor. Sorry mom!
  • It's weird when my students try to grab me and rub my arms, like I am some pet.
  • Summer=Ice cream to me
  • Did I mention how freaked out I get by bugs? All logic and sense leave me...and I run away or scream...sometimes both. My students have witnessed this side of me, which is rather humiliating.
  • I'm a closet proscrastinator
  • My favorite song at the moment is Wakey! Wakey!'s "Light Outside"...
  • Octopus scares me, so there is no way I can put it in my mouth
  • I can't fall asleep without listening to music. First, because whoever lives above me has an annoying tendancy to move stuff around when normal people sleep. Second, it's the only way to shut my mind off besides writing
  • I hate wearing high heels, and I don't know how the women here wear it everday like they are wearing sandals
  • I'm kind of nervous/scared about traveling by myself to Japan/Jeju but at the same time I think it will be liberating to do this on my own. I'd rather have a friend or two with me, but even if they can't go I won't  let that stop me.
  • Since being in Seoul, I've met a few women who have inspired me with their independence and youthfulness no matter their age. Sometimes age is really just a number...
  • Currently listening to P.Diddy's Last Night on my ipod as I type this out:)
  • In 3 months and 9 days I will be 23. To everyone, I'm just a baby, but I'm really excited about this birthday. Ever since I was twelve I hated my birthday. Bad things always happened around that time without fail every year. This year though, I have a lot of things to celebrate. Being alive, being healthy (will do my checkup in August), living in Seoul, and just coming into my own. I'm planning to celebrate it by going to Okinawa. A place I've wanted to go to for years.
  • If you are not watching Glee, you should stop reading this and start:)
  • It's funny how we are so sure who we are going to be, or who we want to be, and then it all changes. Being here and teaching my kids has opened my heart to what I really want to do after this chapter ends
  • I don't think I will ever be a city girl
  • I miss reading my Cosmo magazines
  • I think halmonis here are so cute with their visors, and snarky attitudes. Muhahaha...unless they push me into the subway...so not cool
  • Monday is the worst day of the week
  • I miss being able to call my sister and vent to her about my day
  • I love finding free furniture by my apartment
  • When I need a break, I like going to parks and walking around
  • Sometimes I wonder to myself, am I really here? Should I be here? What am I doing here?
  • I love walking around my neighborhood. There are so many paths to take, so many places to discover. That's the thing I like most about life here, there are so many places I can go to, so many things I can see.
  • Whenever I look up and see the blue sky and the sun shining down on me, I become lighter, happier, and I can't help but smile because it makes me feel closer to home.
  • Sometimes you have to leave home, to return back to it.
  • Lastly, I'll leave you with my favorite Eleanor Roosevelt quotes...
    •  "The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." -Eleanor Roosevelt- 
    • "People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built."
    • "We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot." 
Be blessed,
Lola O.