“If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme!”
~Jiminy Cricket


Faith and determination are what makes an individual successful when conquering great feats. Despite the volume of a challenge, it can be completed given certain circumstances. Declaring, “If your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme!” Jiminy cricket is striving to explain that when one is truly inspired to fulfill a task they can do anything and take it anywhere. Even if this mission seems to be nearly impossible at first, there is no way that first impression is entirely true if it is put into the hands of a dedicated person.

Week by week, class-by-class, assignment-by-assignment, this motto proved true through my actions as a student. I persevered and did not put my pen down for a second while trying to determine what the best way to approach a writing piece was. I continuously scribbled thoughts on a paper or typed them into my laptop. Of course, I became frustrated and at times had to start from a clean slate, but this was what made me succeed. The more I failed, the more I was swallowed by writer’s block, the more I wanted to move on, the more I wanted to find the answer, the true purpose of the assignment. Will and diligence came from deep within my heart and soul leading me to apply myself and overtake the obstacles in front of me.

“If your heart is in your dream.” Advancing to my last year of middle school, I knew that I would have to grasp more information than ever and complete tasks in a challenging curriculum. My first major assignment was to compose a poem encompassing all of the ways I express myself. This poem, Why I Write, required me to reach out of my comfort zone and anticipate how I would act in the future, along with my current and past actions. Of course, I was slightly overwhelmed at first, but I knew what needed to be done. I took it step-by–step and began with what I know best—how I express myself now. I proceeded to compose a section about my past, and then I had to climb the mountain of examining my future. I attempted to contemplate how I would share my thoughts via social networking or in person. Quickly, I ran out of thoughts for that area, I knew I had to think “outside of the box” to accomplish what I wanted most—getting a decent grade. I took into consideration that I will most likely have a family, so I could discuss how I may communicate with them. In a new frame of mind—based on my will to do whatever it took to perform on a high enough level to earn the mark I longed for—I realized that I would have to put my all into every assignment to come in order to have a successful year.

“No request is too extreme.” As I continued my journey as an eighth grade writer, I was persistent with applying myself and dedicating large sums of time to making my compositions their absolute best. After a few assignments, I had mastered this technique and soon after that came the most involved piece yet, the Frederick Douglass Ethics Memorial Project. This truly tested my ability to devote myself to doing my best because of its overwhelming value and amount of parts. At this point in the year, it was time for me to develop a new work ethic—glancing at an assignment to find that despite my first impression, I am capable of completing it. This applied here due my uncertainty that I would produce an idea to solely represent either Empowerment, Remembrance, or Awareness then write an expository essay correlating it with a quote form Frederick Douglass and the novel we had previously read in English class—The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. I had to have faith and realize that if “my heart was in my dream [to earn a decent grade],” I could pull through and eventually have a product that I was proud of. After much brainstorming, restarting, editing, and finalizing, I had created broken chains representing how even though there may be a breakthrough in one’ life, they still are hindered from doing whatever they want in some way. This came from the piece of Douglass’s life where he learned to read, but he was then able to see how much he was missing out on as a slave. One of my occurrences that I portrayed by social networking logos was that some individuals have the opportunity to share thoughts with friends, but then he or she is also a candidate to be a victim of cyber-bullying. I would never have been able to drive myself to find that idea in my head without Jiminy Cricket leading me to believe that I could accomplish anything.

Following Jiminy Cricket’s words of wisdom, I believed in myself and encouraged myself to be persistent and complete all tasks to the best of my ability. I started off with a struggle, but from that obstacle, I learned how to be more efficient and direct with my work by finding immediate courage. As the curtain closes on a successful year, I can take a bow thanks to my new ethics and writing method.