Superficial Happiness Starring Jerry Maguire

Some people seem like they have it all. They have the money, the fame, and overall the life that we strive to get. What a lot of people don’t know is that if all material things were stripped away it would reveal not much underneath. Jerry Maguire is one of those people. He struggled with the themes of materialism, loyalty, and happiness. Jerry is not happy in the first part of the book. Ali ibn Talib once said ,“Authority, power, and wealth do not change a man; they only reveal him.” I agree with that statement.

One day Jerry Meguire was at one of his players’ hospital room after the hockey player had suffered his fourth concussion. As he leaves the player’s son stops him and asks him if he has to keep playing, fearing for his father’s health. Jerry just laughs, ruffles the boy’s hair and continues on his way while the boy flips him off and runs away. After two slices of bad pizza a sleepless night, Jerry comes to the revelation that he isn’t doing things for the wellbeing of his clients; he is doing things for money. This is his first step towards making himself happier. 

In the same night Jerry writes a 27-page heartfelt mission statement to his boss and employees. It tells about how there should be less leints and that money shouldnt be the top priority, well being does. He goes out in the rain photocopies 103 copies of the statement, putting them in the workers cubbies that night. After putting his heart on his sleeve with the statement he is nervous the next day but goes into applause. Although it seems like a good situation, Jerry Continues to get fired the next day.

Jerry represents many wealthy people in our society, doing things for money and power. Left with one client and a breakup with his fiancee he is left with nothing. His client’s name is Rod Tidewell. Already being friends he decides to stay with Jerry and not to go to his former boss. Rod has a beautiful relationship with his wife, family and the community which he calls, the “Quan.” Quan represents family, the community, and happiness. 

At the beginning of the story Jerry has no “quan.” He can’t be alone, he doesn’t have a sense of community, and is so self absorbed and materialistic nobody really trusts him. This shows that he may seem like he has it all he really isn’t happy. Until he can realize that there are other more important things than money and fame. Towards the end of the movie he gets married to the girl who originally came with him when he was fired. He becomes incredibly devoted to her. Although they have their differences they become spiritually connected and he finally gets to experience deep happiness. Family and community are the Quan that we should all seek for in our lives and that is what he realizes by the end of the movie.  

Ali ibn Talib once said ,“Authority, power, and wealth do not change a man; they only reveal him.” I still stand firm with my opinion on that statement. You can see it in the character of Jerry Maguire and what happens to him in the film.

Love to Win or Hate to Lose?

Some people love to win. Others hate to lose. Which one are you?

I dislike losing more than I like winning, although it very much depends on the activity, situation, and company. Losing is something nobody likes to have to go through but as Joseph Duffy once said, ¨Losing isn’t the end, sometimes it becomes the beginning.¨

My legs burn as I cross the ball diagonally as a set play for my teammate. As she receives the ball the referee blows three sharp whistles signalling the game´s closure. I jog back to my team huddle where we give a half-hearted cheer and walk to the middle to shake the other team’s hand. Our coach told us to keep our head up and put on a smile; we fought hard. Holding back burning tears, I tell the other team ¨good job,¨ high-fiving them one at a time. 

The walk back to the car is a long one filled with regret and sadness. ¨If only I had done this,” I think to myself, ¨I could have done this play instead of that one.¨ It is very common for players to take all of the credit for losing upon themselves, me not excluded. I usually sitr. in the bathtub sulkily after a game pouting about how I could have done better if I could just go back in time. My emotions usually go back and forth between sadness about losing and anger towards myself and the other team. After I dry myself off and change into pajamas I look at my phone lighting up and dinging with messages from my teammates on our team group chat. We talk about unfairness, the referees, and the other team but mostly just try and console each other.

Soccer is not the only one time when I have to deal with losing, although I lose on a daily basis. Being the competitive person I am, I despise losing but when I am most angry I step out of the situation and think to myself, ¨In 3 years will I remember losing this game of Connect Four?¨ No, no I won’t. The certainty of forgetting lets me forgive myself and move on. 

 All the negative feelings I associate with losing are opposed when I win. The feeling is incredible after all of the stress and hard fought battles, you come out on top. My mood is great for the rest of the day and the group chat is constantly celebrating.  That losing is just as important as winning. You can’t just have one without the other.

This I Believe

I believe in summer. There are many different opinions on the best season but summer is one of my top ones. It is the time of sandy beaches, warm browning skin, icy tropical drinks, and summer romances. Bike riding with your friends on those sticking August evenings feels so otherworldly the fiery amber sunset in your wake. I believe in summer.

I stare down at the clear cerulean ocean lapping against the hot sand. As I hurriedly slather on sunscreen, someone calls to me from the shore,

“Are you coming?”

“On my way” I yell back.

I raced back down to the seaside and fling myself into the water. I can hear my teammates muffled laughter from above me. I hear splashes around me bubbles surrounding me. I swim up to the surface and gaze at my environment. Palm trees encircle the tranquil cove soccer team and I have discovered. I splash around for about two and a half hours and by the time I emerge dripping from the water my skin is multiple shades darker and my hair is much lighter. I think to myself, “Summer really is one of the best times of the year.”

Summer has always been so important to me. It is a time that almost every student idolizes, mostly because of the absence of school and free time that follows. My most recent summer was probably the best summer I’ve ever had. I went to several places including Honolulu, Hawaii, Tucson, Arizona, and a religious sleep away camp with my cousin. Activities and camps are some of the most anticipated parts of summer. Junior lifeguards, sleep away, and soccer camps are some of the most frequented camps I attend during the summer. I am very lucky in the sense that my parents are teachers, making their breaks the same length as mine.

Although summer is the time to be productive and go out on adventures, sometimes summer isn’t all just sunny days at the beach. It is also a time of rest where you can just relax, no impending assignments or reading that you need to finish. Summer really is the part of life where your troubles are left behind and you can escape into the world of sunscreen and cocoa butter. I believe in summer.

This Is What I Know

People say that having good friends are some of the biggest deciding factors in your life. Friends have always been a very big part of my life. Through thick and thin; I have always found a way to make good friends. I know what it is like to make good friends.

It is a Thursday afternoon and I am sitting uncomfortably on a metal stool in the stuffy art room of B-4 at DeAnza Middle School. The smell reminds me faintly of old cheese. Being a sixth grader at a new school, I had no friends and almost everyone in the class was a seventh grader. I was sitting next to a pretty red haired girl with freckles sprinkled through her face. I found out her name was Lily when we did table group introductions. The other two people at the table were a girl named Bella and another boy. As i was sketching something on my paper the girl, Bella, said to me, “You are really pretty”, I looked  up at her and I sensed no hint of sarcasm in her voice. “Thank you”, I replied blushing.What a sweet thing to say! After the class was over I caught up with lily and Bella in the hallway and we sat down together to eat. As I pulled out my bag of grapes I spotted someone strangely familiar. I walked up to her and after some brief introduction I realized that It was one of my classmates and good friends from elementary school, Taylor. I invited her to come sit with us and eat. Hence, my middle school friends group emerged The Squad. 

Funny how everywhere I go I somehow make friends, and good ones at that. I’ve spent countless hours on the floor cutting and gluing personalized gifts for each birthday and holiday. Last Valentines Day, out of a deck of cards I made them each ten things I love about them and many other goodies that took days to make such as elaborate cards, tea bags in the shape of hearts, and a homemade pillow. 

I believe that nurturing and keeping friendships strong is incredibly important. I have learned, however, that sometimes no matter how much effort and love you put in it is not returned. Sometimes friends forget about you; they make their inside jokes while you watch from a distance forcing a smile. And whenever they ask you how you are, you say that you are fine. But to a point it gets too much to take. Your anger and sadness will have built up and you  just are bursting to tell someone. After you say that, for me at least, you go back to being great friends again. 

That cycle can be almost never ending for some people. Two or three people break off leaving the stranglers behind. Until they speak up and those people are pulled back into the group. But some people don’t want to come back. They find a new friend group and no matter how sad you are, life goes on. You realize then that friends will always have shifting loyalties and relationships so do what you can to try and keep the ones you have. 

This is what I know.

New Life: Day 1

When school’s closure was announced I was happy, as any kid would be. 

The first few days I would marvel at the idea of no more assignments, grades, or tests. I would just sit around and do as I pleased. But now seeing that school will be closed — not for 4 weeks, but the whole year –I realize that I don’t want this valuable learning time to go to waste. 

So here I am, writing on a computer as an assignment from my parents, and now temporary teachers. Shortly after this, I am going to eat lunch then do math. This is my first day of “school” and I’m not sure how I feel about it. Time seems to creep by ever so slowly. I also have mixed feelings about school being closed. There are some teachers that I am happy to not see such as Mrs T. and Castro. but there are some I will miss, like Mr. Wulff, Ms. Lukins, and Ms.Marquez. Also, not being able to see my friends is really devastating for me. Family members are losing jobs, people are dying, the economy is almost non-existent with no one working, and yet, in the grand scheme of things my problems are trivial. So here I am writing about my day on the floor. It is quite surreal. 

As there are only 5 more minutes of class; this is where my journal will end. I am anxious to see what the future will bring and am ready for lunch. Bye!