Challenge Day

Challenge Day is something that I believe in 100%. I have been watching the show for years now, and I still get emotional every time. I had never seen this episode before but it was one of the most.... real ones that I had ever watched. It seemed that this episode had a lot of different stories in it, and a lot of stories that a lot of people in our community can relate to. The thing that I could relate to the most was definitely the story about the girl comparing to her sister. I think we see that a lot in this school, especially with our high athletics, and it being a small town. A lot of students here are compared to their older siblings who were 'shining stars' at IDCI. Our school is different from RV, as we are about half their size. I think contributes towards the rumors in both ways. More rumors are spread at IDCI because everyone knows everyone else's story and is everyone else's business. On the other hand, less rumors are spread because we all have history with each other. There are a lot of things that we have in common though, rumors ARE spread, students DO get excluded, and there IS a lot of bullying.

I love the idea of Challenge Day, and I wish I was able to participate in it myself. I think that the idea does bring people closer together. Even if the 10% of students that attend get something out of it, that's more than we had before. The Ripple Effect. It has been proven that through society, and especially through teenagers, there is a ripple effect. What one does, another will follow. For example, if 50/100 students who attend Challenge Day feel the least bit moved by the concept, they will share that with the people around them, in whom they confide in, and their families. This makes the concept spread around the town, and eventually everyone will hear stories about the day and feel moved as well.
Challenge Day is something I would definitely participate in if given the opportunity. I believe that we all have stories to tell, whether it be tragic or not, they still exist and still cause us pain. I don't have trouble sharing things with people, and I'm not afraid to get to know other people. It might sound bad but I'd rather someone tell me something they struggled through rather than boast about themselves, because it makes me feel more of a connection towards them. (I like psychology, can you tell?)

I think there are a lot of problems at IDCI. not culturally or ethnically, but economically. There are many different classes of people in this school. We are all able to do different things, and wear different things that some others may not be able to afford. If we came to a common understanding in this school and took time to understand each other , we would function a lot better as a school. Another thing about IDCI is that we have our athletics, and we have our academics, but there is a grey spot below those where most of the school fits in, but never gets recognized. You don't very often see athletes communicating with lots of people other then athletes, and so on. Cliques rule this school and that needs to be put to an end! This is not only something IDCI should take part in, but every school. It is definitely not a waste of time, and it is definitely not a waste of money.

All I gotta say folks,

Lyss