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Making a Difference One Life at a Time

Below you will find our initiative partners!  Click on each picture to view interviews and learn more about each couple's part in our mission!

Its almost time again!  Parents are looking forward to it and students are dreading it...school is back in session on Thursday, August 19 for Conway ISD.  Choosing to Excel is back in the swing with everyone else!  Be on the look out for club start ups and Excel activities in your school and check back with us for upcoming events!

Starting Over:  Be Yourself

It seems like everybody is trying to tell us who to be:  the TV, our friends, and sometimes even our parents. Not knowing who you are or not liking who you are can cause you to make poor choices. It could cause you to make choices just to fit in.

Activity: This exercise will give you a chance to discover who you are. The more you know about yourself, the better equipped you are to make healthy choices when people or situations come into your life that are opposite of who you are and what you stand for.

Ask yourself-

Ø  What do I like about me?

Ø  What are my strengths?

Ø  What are my weaknesses?

Ø  What do I enjoy doing?

Ø  What do I hate doing?

Ø  What are some things that I won’t do- I won’t do drugs, have sex before I’m married, lie for friends etc. ( if you already know what you won’t do, then you are less likely to do them if the opportunity arises)

Ø  What do I value- I value honesty, positive support from friends, integrity etc. (when you know what you value, you will be able to surround yourself with people who value the same thing as you do and choose not to be around those who don’t.)

Take a stand for who you are and what you believe and let your good choices reflect that.

Making a Difference One Life at a Time

When communicating with someone (and especially your teen), it is important to be very clear. It is not uncommon for the teen lawyer to appear and debate everything you’ve said, look for loopholes, and even find witnesses to testify against you. So being clear in your communication is very important. Remember these few steps when communicating

• Be very clear. If you want them to be home at 10:00 PM, then be specific. Don’t use words like around, maybe or perhaps. Those words are not clear or definite. Use phrases that are specific such as:  I expect you home by 10:00 PM. Please be in the house and check in with me to let me know you are home no later than 10:00 PM. If your situation is dealing with time, make sure your watches or cell phones have the same time.
• When making your requests, make sure they are reasonable and attainable
• Have them give you their interpretation of what you said.
• Clarify any misinterpretations.
• Repeat instructions again to make sure everything is clear. Some teens remember details better if instructions are written down. Write down your expectations if that will help clear lines of communication.
• You can even have them repeat it to you again.

This may sound like a lot of work but learning to be clear and concise in your communication could eliminate confusion, tension and arguments.  So remember to say what you mean and mean what you say.

Activity- practice these two steps this week and write down the results of clear communication.

ü  Practice being clear when you communicate

ü  Practice clarifying

Making a Difference One Life at a Time

 LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!

Here is your C2E Tip for the day:  Don’t play leap frog with a unicorn!  Ok…it’s a little silly, but hey, being silly is ok. When things get tough, we have a tendency to become serious and grumpy. We can suck the fun out of everything. There is no denying that life can be challenging and with the current economic times, stress and anxiety can be at an all time high. Unfortunately, families going through challenging times can distance themselves from each other. Allowing your family to see you handle stressful times with a good attitude will relieve stress in the whole family. Teaching your family how to handle stress in a less toxic manner brings unity and helps build stronger family relationships.

 It’s a proven fact that laughing relieves stress. So come on! Have a little fun, Do something fun and silly on a regular basis. Buy a deck of cards from the dollar store, play charades, have a joke night where everyone tells a joke or makes one up. Take a walk around the block and have a walking race. Burst into song when the radio isn’t on! The possibilities are endless. Even if your family is not going through tough times, your family will grow stronger and have fun too!

Activity:

Ø  Try to laugh at least 5-10 times a day. That may not seem like a lot but when times are tough; we need the healing that laughter provides.

Ø  Pick one fun thing that you will commit to do this week. You are not limited to one thing but start with at least one.

Ø  Make a commitment to do something fun once a week with your family.

Have fun and watch out for unicorns!