ars heroica

by Corporal Nicholas

I love life. I believe that everyone should enjoy their life, and whatever else it is that they put their hands into. I believe that I should do everything with my whole heart passionately, or else there is not really a benefit to doing it. Nothing in the world is accomplished without passion, and great thoughts come from the heart. As Dale Carnagie said, “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”

I want to live my life in accordance to my belief in morals and the 12 virtues. I think that anyone who is amoral or lacking in morals is missing out on a part of life that gives meaning to it all. I think the reward of a thing done well is to have done it. And we should all do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.

I want to constantly beat my fears and challenges into submission. I think one of the greatest pleasures in life is doing what others say you cannot do. So, I do one thing that scares me everyday, as Eleanor Roosevelt suggested, and I try to live by Souza’s phrase, “Dance as though no one is watching. Love as though you have never been hurt before. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though heaven is on earth.” I don’t ask for a light load, instead I ask for the strength to bear it all.

I want to free myself to be what I am once again. I am a dreamer by nature. It is what I do best. Then, I tried to live my dreams every day. My nightmares come on the winds of change, and my pleasant dreams linger for weeks. My goals are not physical goals, but rather dreams that I hope will come true. Woodrow Wilson said: “We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter’s evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through the bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.” I believe and try to live that 100 percent.

I believe that impossible things are only things that haven’t been done yet. Nothing is impossible. Humans are remarkable creatures in the fact that we put boundaries on ourselves, yet break those boundaries every day. It’s as if we have to test ourselves to make sure we are alive. I am back to testing things. I need to know again that I am very much alive.

I want to be the spark that lights someone else’s fire. I believe that everyone has a spark of greatness in them, but not all of them get the breath it takes to turn them into a blazing fire of greatness. I believe that we should all try and fan the flames in everyone we meet. Then, we would have a great world.

I want to truly be willing to die for something again. I believe anything worth fighting for is worth dying for, and if I am not willing to stake my life on it, it is not worth fighting for. There is not as much in my life worth fighting for as there used to be.

I want to always feel like part of a family. I believe that family is essential to everyone. My family is an integral part of my life. Without them I would be nothing, and I would have nothing. They deserve respect and admiration, but I also work to deserve it in return.

I want to constantly push myself to work harder. I believe in hard work. Nothing that is worth working for is going to be easy. If it is, it needs to be questioned and examined to see if it was really worth that much.

I want to always show my belief in determination. No dream was ever realized when a person said “I can’t”. It’s when people started saying “I can’t….YET” that dreams started to become realities.

I want to be closer to the one I love more frequently. I believe, all in all, in love. Love drives us to better ourselves, to make others better, and it shows us rewards for our hard work. Everyone loves something or someone. If that love can just be open and honest, then people would be a lot happier. I’m not talking about lust, or sexual pleasures. I am talking about a true, deep love of something or someone so that when that thing is with you, you feel as though you are invincible and can conquer the world with a glance. Without love, you can’t have passion, or dreams, or the determination to work hard. Even if you only love working hard, you still love something. That is what I believe.

I am a determined hard-worker. I am a warrior and a family man, a true lover of life. I have morals and values, and I will not forsake them to get ahead. I am a firestarter. I am the realizer of the impossible. That is who I am.