Family

Cheaper by the Dozen may be a funny adventure story about the lifestyle of a crazy family of 12 children, an irritable father, and a collected mother, but it is alos much, much more. The story itself was most likely written to illustrate the importance of family in the lives of all human beings. Family is a support system of people who love and care for one another. In a loving family, anyone can go to anyone else for help or support when one is approached with any problem whatsoever. Everything that was once difficult, becomes that much easier when family is there to fall back on. In Cheaper by the Dozen, the crazy family of 14 is held together by such an intense bond, that even the most insanely unpredictable disaster could never tear them apart. Although larger families are more chaotic, they are just as close as smaller families. Because larger families are just as tightly-knit as smaller families, they are stronger overall. Tearing apart any section of a large family, even a family of 14, would cause just as big of a problem as the loss of an only child from a family of 3. In fact, it may even cause more damage, because losing a member of a family of 14 would affect the other 13 members of the family just as powerfully.

In Cheaper by the Dozen there many times during which members of the Gilbreth famaily decide that they would rather have nothing to do with the rest of their family than deal with the chaos and irritation. However, after the specific family member breaks away from the clan, he or she return moments later in the story deciding that he or she needs the family, even if the family is driving him or her absolutely crazy. No matter how hard we all try to run away from our parents or our siblings, we will always need them in our lives. Family is one of the most essential apects in the world. From our family, our values are born, and we choose how we think, talk, walk, and appeal to others. Family is, essentially, the infrastructure on which each and every one of us builds our respective lives.

More Excitement by the Dozen

In Cheaper by the Dozen, Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey depict the significance of family in the lives of every human being. The book provides comic relief to family struggles and difficult times, yet imbues a sense of heartwarming peace in the heart of the reader who picks the book up for enjoyment. It's almost impossible to guess what could happen in a family with 12 kids. Many people assume that chaos would be immeinent. Such an assumption would be correct. But not many people would assume that the mother and father of the 12 children would be able to stand such a way of life. In fast, Cheaper by the Dozen recounts the love and importance of the family bond among the Gilbreths, even in their chaotic household. Mr. Gilbreth, even though he cannot stand the chaos, would never give up any of his sons or daughters for the world, no matter how much they irritate him.



When Mr. and Mrs. Gilbreth got married, they knew they were in for a difficult time. Both spuses came into their relationship with a significant amount of baggage. Mrs. Gilbreth was ready, being a psychologist and an expert at taking care of young children, but Mr. Gilbreth was not as prepared for what was to come. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbreth now had 12 children to deal with, combined, thus the title Cheaper by the Dozen. Mr. Gilbreth is far more impatient, and is constantly found hooting and hollering at his children for misbehaving, while Mrs. Gilbreth has her moments, but is, for the most part, calm and collected, considering she is dealing with 12 children. Of which only a few are mature enough to take care of themselves, and more than half are obnoxious troublemakers. On top of their 12 kids, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbreth are forced to care for a trouble-making dog named Gunner and their children's equally boistrous friends. Needless to say, every day in the Gilbreth house is an adventure. Sometimes things get so crazy that the parents flip their respective switches, but these explosions of frustration simply add to the pragmatic nature of the story, and supply a strong taste of reality to readers.



Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (pgs. 1-152)

Don't Stress

Last week was one of the most stressful weeks of my life, and this week has promise to be a close runner-up. Over these couple of rough weeks, I have had trouble handling the stress tha has resulted from the numerous research papers, projects and finals I have been writing, working on and studying for respectively. Saturday morning I was forced to standby register for the SAT at Southside because I didn't realize that the next SAT isn't until October, until it was too late to register for last Saturday's SAT. At the time I felt like the world was coming to an abrupt halt because of all of the work that had led up to that moment of stress release. I couldn't stand all the pressure of performing well on the SAT after receiving a disappointing score on my physics final and stressing about several papers and projects all week long.

I now realize that there was no point for me to do all of that stressing. Stressing is largely superfluous, because it does not change the events that are set to occur. Stressing over a test doesn't make the test go away, just as stressing over turning in a good paper doesn't make you work more efficiently. Stress just slows us down. It causes everyone to perform worse than usual, and it ultimately guarantees unnecessary unhappiness for the time during which one is stressing.

Stressing is not only superfluous, it is damaging. Over the past couple of weeks I have stressed so much that I actually led myself into a kind of brief and shallow depression. Although I am certainly not in any psychological trouble, the stress which I allowed to control me during the time which I was writing my research paper, working on my projects, and studying for finals ate away at my happiness and caused me to think negative thoughts. Stress is what causes me to lose my confidence and my smile. I now realize that hard times would be so much easier if I could just control the stress which I experience, instead of letting it boss me around.

No matter how hard it gets, I'd have to say it's never worth stressing.

Never Give Up

In Positive Thinking Every Day, Norman Peale also discusses the importance of perseverance and willpower. He stands behind the motto "never give up" without budging throughout the writing. First of all, he says "never talk defeat" and he tells everybody to "use words like hope, belief, faith, and victory." Furthermore he tells us all to "cultivate willpower" in order to make it through all of the hard times that try to bring us down. Most importantly, Peale reminds us that a heart "warmed with the fires of enthusiasm" will never be shaken by "life's blows". Therefore, if everyone holds onto his or her will to carry out a happy and successful life by cultivating an enthusiasm to achieve, the world will have a much stronger foundation from which to evolve and flower.

"It's always too soon to quit!"

-Norman Vincent Peale

Peale wants everybody to know that giving up is never the right choice. Where there is a will, there is a way, and there is always a reason to have a will, or to persevere. The hard times only make us stronger. That's why we all have to struggle to mature and grow into adults. Just as breaking down muscles by lifting weights eventually rebuilds stronger, healthier muscles, fighting through life's many obstacles without giving up, while maintaining a positive outlook on life, guarantees a stronger and healthier adult life for all human beings. Peale tells us all to forget about giving up, because everything in life is worth fighting through in order to better oneself in the future that awaits everyone.

Positive Thinking Every Day- Norman Vincent Peale (pgs. 1-163)

Happiness Is What You Make It

In Positive Thinking Every Day, Norman Vincent Peale discusses the advantages to approaching life with a positive outlook. This book speaks to me in many ways due to the fact that I tend to look at the downsides far more than I look at the positives. By always looking at the negatives, I realize that I'm only ruining my chance at happiness. Norman Peale states that happiness is a choice or an approach, rather than an effect caused by the luck in life or good memories. Therefore, everyone makes his or her own happiness, or sadness. Sometimes, when I'm sad, I can recognize that it's my choice and my choice only to have that frown on my face. Consequently, it should be easier for me to turn my frown upside down, because I can make happiness my choice at all times. In every bad situation, I can look at the positives, instead of dwelling on the ifs, ands, and buts, or telling myself that I could be better off. Peale states that "our happiness depends on the habit of mind we cultivate."

"Thoughts of a kind have a natural affinity.

While the negative thinker tends to draw back to

himself negative results, the positive thinker

activates the world around him positively."

-Norman Vincent Peale

The happy person is happy because he or she thinks positively and is capable of handling failure and defeat calmly and collectively. Sometimes, when someone hurts my feelings or shows me disrespect, I feel like the whole world is against me and I either lash out or go quiet. Maybe if we all followed Peale's advice, we'd all be able to smile at the people who try to get us down, because we know that we all have the power to be happy in every situation life presents to us.

Happiness is a state of mind.

You Can't Win If You Don't Take a Risk

Earlier in my entires I discussed the likeness of poker to life. After today, I would like to further that discussion, because I feel like I have some more key advice.

Today I folded a great hand because I was too afraid to take a risk. After folding, I realized how big my opportunity to had been, and how haunting my mistake would be. I still cannot let it go, even though it happened hours and hours ago. I could have taken my friend out of the game. Instead, he went on to win.

My preceding rant might seem random, until I implement it as a metaphor for life. Basically, in life, everyone has to take risks to get to where they are. When I folded my hand, I was too worried about the possibility of losing to imagine the benefits of calling the all in and taking the pot. This works the same way in my life, and the lives of many others. I did not take a risk that was presented to me, and now I feel sick to my stomach, despite the fact that I did not lose too much in the process. When I play for the Homestead soccer team, I never seem to play as well I as I do for my travel team. On Homestead, I am always so afraid to make a mistake that I am incapable of taking risks. This not only obliterates my confidence, but it stops me from succeeding and standing out. Instead of going out to the fields and playing my own game, I seem to worry too much about the possible downfalls of making a mistake or a bad pass. In poker, you can't win a hand if you never call the bets, and in soccer, you can't score a goal if you never shoot. I am trying to teach myself that there's no point in dwelling on your errors and playing timidly in order to prevent further mistakes. Nobody is perfect, therefore, everyone makes mistakes. If nobody ever took a chance, we would be nowhere near where we are today in every aspect of our society. I say, from now on, if I am dealt the hand, I should take the risk. Whether I have a solid hand in poker, or I have a solid skill set in soccer that I am unable to use due to my fear of failure, I need to make the best out of what is given to me. It's better to take all the risks and shake off the failures, then to take no risks at all, because, if you don't take any risks, you'll look back on your life and kick yourself for all the good things that could have come from the risks you could have taken. If you don't risk anything, you give yourself zero chance to succeed.

Making Mountains out of Molehills

So I just got back from my soccer tournament down in Columbus, Indiana, and for one reason or another my last post did not register on the day that I had entered it from my dad's laptop. Anyway, it's re-entered so I'm satisfied, and I hope my loyal subscribers can forgive me for postponing their main source of entertainment.

In this segment of "Getting Thematic" I'd like to discuss my third theme that I have selected from I Know What You Did Last Summer; the capability of a short moment of weakness to cause a massive downfall in one's life. This theme ties into the designated driver's accidental vehicular manslaughter of the strange man in the road. Had the driver been paying more attention, something of that magnitude would have been easily avoided. Because the driver was in a state of mental and physical disillusionment, being drunk and thinking about other things, he hit the man and may have drastically altered the lives of himself and his three friends. Such a small amount of time may have changed his entire life in an ineffable way. This goes for everyone. Everyone has done something stupid in their life, and some have been affected by this stupid action or decision. Before the fact, we all feel invincible. We go by a crash site on the highway and we say "that sucks for him, but what are the chances of that happening to me?" Well, technically, the chances are the same for everyone without putting drugs, alcohol, or disabilities in the picture. This is how Rodney Thompson died, in fact. He was looking down at his phone and he crashed. The slightest moment of weakness took Rodney's life and caused an emotional breakdown throughout the groups of his family and friends. In I Know What You Did Last Summer, the driver's bad choice in drinking too much at the party and getting caught up in the spirit of the late night car ride led to an event that has the potential of destroying the lives of four striving human beings.