8 Responses

1. Paulo

   January 11th, 2010 at 8:56 pm

   1

   Hello there, I’ve come across this blog while searching for motivational quotes. I have read some of your posts and found them to be very interesting.

   I’m 17 years old and I’m from Portugal but currently living in the U.S, and I still don’t know what I really want to do, there has been lots of times in which I left something unfinished or nearly started, I want to solve this problem as fast as possible but I don’t know how…Can you give me some advice?

   Paulo

2. Angie

   January 12th, 2010 at 4:44 am

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   Hi Paulo,

   Thanks for checking out my blog! At 17, it’s not surprising you don’t really know what you want to do. I wouldn’t feel bad about that!

   The best advice I can give is to find something you’re passionate about and follow that route. Figure out what you want to do and also why. Because you are less apt to leave something unfinished when you’re passionate about it and have a good reason why you want to do it in the first place.

   Most of the things I’ve left unfinished were things that I thought I should do, not something that I was passionate about. For me, that’s the key. There are always things we have to do in life, and those are a little tougher.

   How about looking at what you will get out of finishing and focus on that? Write down your reasons to accomplish what you need to do and what you’ll get out of it. That way, you can refer to it and change your mindset about doing it. It’s all about perspective.

   Think about how you feel when you get to do something you want to do, as opposed to something you have to do. You can just feel the positive energy in the first part of that sentence but in the latter, definitely not…

   I think you’re on the right track by working to improve yourself at an early age. That’s a good sign! How long are you in the U.S.?

   Good luck!

   Angie

3. Paulo

   January 12th, 2010 at 4:50 pm

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   Thanks for your advice Angie, its a great help =)

   I’ve been in the U.S for almost 3 years, before coming here I was in England.

   I hope you had a great day with smiles.

   Paulo

4. Angie

   January 12th, 2010 at 6:11 pm

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   You’re welcome, Paulo. Glad I could help!

   Wow… That’s great that you’ve been here and England. Very cool for someone your age!

   I always make some smiles in my day. It makes the day much better!

   Angie

5. Paulo

   January 12th, 2010 at 10:32 pm

   5

   Thats nice. Well, I don’t really like it here, I can’t smile much at all in school even though I’m the kind of person who likes to smile everyday and every time even if there is some kind of problems at home. I never complain about anything. The world moves on, and person has to move on.

   I want to learn more but the people here don’t allow me to do so that much, its hard to concentrate with all the noisy fellow mates. I would say that the school I’m in, circulates lots of negative energy.

   In my opinion, U.S doesn’t care that much for the people, meanwhile, U.S is a money sucker* country, as for Europe, and since I’ve lived in Europe for lots of years, I can tell you that Europe care more for the people, thats why there’s better education in Europe than in U.S, I hope you know what I mean by this. I’d rather prefer England over U.S. I won’t say Portugal because its very hard in Portugal, well the only subject most Portuguese people have problem with is Portuguese Literature, its very very hard.

   Have a nice day/night.

   Paulo

6. Angie

   January 13th, 2010 at 6:42 am

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   Paulo – It’s a shame you have those issues with the school you’re attending. Negative energy is hard to deal with. Sometimes, as hard as it may be, being the light in an otherwise dark room, can be a gift to everyone around. I understand high school here is about having fun, and not so much the learning… (I have a daughter in high school, so I’m quite aware of a lot of what goes on there.)

   Just remember, you can always smile, even around negative energy. There’s always a reason to smile. Always. Try to look at it from a different perspective. There is usually an excuse for why we can’t do something, but reasons why we can. I see you’re not a complainer, and that’s good! Just don’t give up your happiness due to a circumstance.

   I know that the U.S. has issues; however I love it here! I also understand our education leaves a lot to be desired, in relation to other countries. We can point out fallacies in every area, but there are just as many wonderful things to experience here!

   Keep in mind that you can embrace or repel in any given situation, Paulo. Back to your classmates: Do they intentionally keep you from learning, or is it just the fact that they’re noisy?

   I wish you the best of luck with everything. I can tell you’re going to go far in life if you’re this interested in education at your age.

7. Paulo

   January 13th, 2010 at 7:10 pm

   7

   Yes, I agree with all you said. I always view things from different perspective. My happiness as a human being shall not be taken away so easily, furthermore, I will always smile no matter what(of course that there are exceptions).

   As for my classmates, I would say yes, they are very noisy, interrupting the teacher many times.

   I am interested in psychology and some other areas, but my English is not good enough for that, nor can I speak well in front of many people.

   I hope you had a nice day Angie, and thank you for the nice replies.

8. Angie

   January 14th, 2010 at 5:12 am

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   Paulo – From what I’ve read, your English is fine! You can do whatever you want in life if you think you can. BUT, you can also be held back from everything if you believe you can’t.

   It sounds to me like you have formed a belief that you have to have excellent English and be able to speak easily in front of people to get into psychology and similar areas. I don’t agree. You are still young. You have plenty of time to perfect your English and get more comfortable speaking in front of people. Both are easily worked on to improve upon and in time, will get easier.

   Think about why you believe those are barriers to what you want to do and ask yourself: Is this belief really true and what would I be able to achieve if I held a different belief? Then really think about it…

   I am extremely impressed by you from what I”ve read, and I think you’ll do great things!