To Write Love on Her Arms: A Fighting Chance
What is To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA)?:
TWLOHA is a movement created with the vision that spreading love could end pain and suffering. This movement was founded by Jamie Tworkowski, only six years ago, when he met a young lady by the name of Renee that inspired him to write a story about her. Renee suffered with addiction, self-injury and attempted suicide, but after being immersed in love, she found her way to recovery. Jamie shows us that we can make a difference by showing love to others, instead of just waiting around for God to show up.
If you Could Write Love on the World’s arms what Would you Write?:
TWLOHA is a very successful non-profit organization, all because one person who shared their idea of how to bring healing to many people. Which leaves one to wonder, “How would I choose to make a difference? What would I write on the world’s arms?” If I could write anything on the world’s arms, I would write “Hope may not give you a second chance to fight, but hope will always give you a fighting chance.” Think about it; in times of obscurity what keeps you going? If everyone chose to dwell on the negative and believe that things would never get better, then the world would be stagnant. If not for hope that things will somehow get better, what would we have?
Teenage Rebellion is only Temporary:
I look back on many of my previous struggles and I am able to see that hope has gotten me past those struggles, hope has brought me to where I am today. The summer before I went into the ninth grade is when I first began to struggle with self-injury. It was a cry for attention, wishing that someone would hear me and see that I was hurting. My cry went unnoticed and I began to act out in every way imaginable. I did everything from getting expelled from school to getting arrested. I think that’s when my parents finally opened their eyes and saw that I wasn’t just acting out for the sake of it. That’s when they began to see that what I was going through was bigger than plain, old teenage rebellion.
The Power of hope and love is Limitless:
My parents decided to send me away for eighteen months for school and intense therapy. Adjusting to my new environment was a struggle as my peers faced a variety of problems including, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and addiction. Some of us struggled with the same issues and others of us had different ones but we all had a few things in common.
1. We all experience rough patches in our lives.
2. We had a hard time facing everything that had ever hurt us.
However, when we came to terms with everything and were ready to face our problems, we began to have hope. Hope helped us to see that things could get better for us and that we could become better people. We never knew for a fact that everything would be okay but hope wouldn’t let us give up on life, or ourselves.
A New Beginning:
At the end of the program some students receive awards for various positive attributes. I was given the award for fortitude, which is strength in the midst of a difficult or painful situation. I would not have been able to have such strength if I did not hope that things would get better. There are some people who wake up in the morning and refuse to get out of bed but with this reminder to hope maybe they could find the strength to go about their day. Maybe those people who want to end their own lives could look at their arms and find the strength to go on with life. There are always people who give up in times of challenge. However, if the world had a constant reminder on their arms to have hope then maybe we would be better off.
Name: Danielle Rryan A. Mortimer
Age: 20
From: Nassau, Bahamas
Occupation: Student — At Palm Beach Atlantic University
Major/Minor: Psychology/ Business Admin.
Fun Fact: I don’t really write as much as I used to but even as a little kid I remember enjoying it, I even tried to write a book once. :)
Surviving the 13th Grade: Life as a Community College Student
Okay so we received our acceptance letters, graduated from high school, and now what? Well sometimes plans change with regards to practicality, pricing, and comfort. Not all hope is lost when your original plan of going to NYU and paying $65K a year is clearly out of the question. The next best option is city and state universities (CUNY & SUNY). Just about everyone in NY always applies to them along with the other schools. For the graduates of my high school, the closest and most economical college is Queens Borough Community College, which we consider the “13th Grade”. Although QCC is a community college, it is actually one of the best community colleges in the five boroughs and is just 10 minutes away from Long Island. I am a student here because QCC has one of the best nursing programs in the city, and I chose not to settle for anything less than the best possible option for every given situation. So yes, I am a community college student. I live at home with my parents, but SO WHAT? At least I’m saving money and time. I have the opportunity to form even stronger relationships with my family and can even use my “would be” dorm money on things I want, like a new car. So considering this, below are some simple steps to survive life at QCC that can be generalized to pretty much any other community college.
Tips on Surviving Life as a Community College Student:
Tip 1: Go in to the first day of the semester with an open mind and happy to be taking the first step towards becoming an adult. This is just the beginning so being mad about it now will definitely not help you get anywhere. Optimism and contentment are essential in life.
Tip 2: If your friends from high school attend the same college, try and meet up with them or call to see if you have similar schedules. Even if you don’t have a class together, you can always meet up between breaks and will help make the transition to college easier.
Tip 3: Meet as many new people as possible. Let’s face it, college is all about networking and furthering your career, so new friends will help make this end goal simpler. Plus, textbooks are expensive and sharing is caring, so make new friends in your classes to share books, form study groups, and most importantly open your mind to an array of people.
Tip 4: Make sure to organize and prioritize your schedule, time management becomes one of your best friends from college on. This will help ensure you have time to study, work, and party without feeling overloaded.
Tip 5: Though there are no longer any rules forcing you to do anything in college, it is recommended that you attend all class sessions and actually put some effort towards your courses as these are the foundation of your future career. Ensuring you succeed in college will make it that much simpler in the future to find a job.
Tip 6: HAVE FUN!! This is college, no more strict rules about stupid things like the length of your skirt (though most decent people do care about that), but seriously this is the time to live it up before becoming an adult. Considering that this is even COMMUNITY College, this is not that bad and can let you keep some childhood friends.
About this Author: When Jen is not studying nursing she enjoys exploring all New York has to offer, working out, shopping, and spending time with her boyfriend of 3 years. You can look foward to future articles from Jen about what life is like as a community college student, exploring New York as a local and for free, relationships, health and beauty.
Interested in Having Your Work Published?: This website is constantly growing and it will only get better with your participation! Comment and reblog articles, like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter, or if you prefer email me directly at CollegeLivingNS@Gmail.com. Your opinion matters and I want to hear from each and everyone of you! If you or any of your friends are high school seniors, current college students, grad students, or post-grad and are interested in having your writing published on College Living, email CollegeLivingNS@Gmail.com with the subject “College Living Article.”
