Sar+C.

 "Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing." -Ben Franklin For the Ben Franklin virtue assignment, I chose frugality. Ben Franklin defines frugality as: make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing. I chose this virtue because it is something I struggle with everyday. My boyfriend constantly reminds me to turn the lights off when I leave a room or to only run the water when I’m really using it. It’s not that I would like to be a wasteful person, I just take advantage of all the things I am blessed with. I don’t really think about how other people do not have electricity or clean running water. I also feel the need to spend money as soon as I recieve it. Not only do I waste material things, I also know how to waste time. Time cannot be recycled and therefore I must learn to not be so wasteful. Frugality to me also deals with how you treat people. What I do today will affect my children and grandchildren in the years to come. In all honesty, frugality is something I really must work on.

 To perfect Ben Franklin's virtue of frugality I plan to be more aware of my waste. Not only do I plan to be more aware of it, I plan to make less and recycle more. This week a recycling bin was placed in the cafeteria for students to dispose of their drink bottles. I have used the bin this past week more than once and plan to keep on using it. Instead of leaving all my appliances on when I leave a room, I will turn off all lights, music, etc. When I brush my teeth I will only have the faucet on when I am using it. Instead of throwing away any cardboard, I will set it aside for recycling. As well as any glass bottle, aluminum cans and anything else that could possibly be recycled. Once I recieve any money I plan to set some aside for savings and keep some for important daily things. I am also going to make the most of my time with everything I do.

media type="custom" key="3663949" While truly focusing on frugality I have become more resourceful and kind to the world. One success was just this morning when I remembered to turn off all lights before I left for school. I also made sure to eat all my breakfast and only run the water when I was using it. Along with not being wasteful, frugality deals with the way you treat other people. I am rather upfront with most people and it usually comes off as rude or inconsiderate. I don't want to be portrayed as that but I do feel the need to defend myself or others from time to time. Another success of mine would be today in class, when ConRoy and I held a rather pleasant conversation without any attitude. I can honestly say that's a first for this year! I don't know why I have such a smart attitude and tend to be defensive towards people. I would say it is just my personality but, according to Ben Franklin that is not such a good characteristic to have. Although I have made a small improvement on my attitude, I still have challenges. Since I have acted this way for such a long period of time it is hard to contorl my attitude in every conversation. When people are rude or disrespectful, I will usually stand up for myself or the person who is being disrespected. I still need to work on that. I could also work on my smart alike remarks. I feel that is going to be the hardest to correct because honestly, I like my smart alike remarks. I feel I get my point across best that way. Although I have made some improvements on being more frugal, I still have a ways to go. || Sara, I am really impressed by your wiki so far! You have gone above and beyond in many ways. I love this quote from your paragraph: "Time cannot be recycled." I think Ben Franklin would agree. It is really important to appreciate every day and make the most of time. I am impresesd with your sincerity in this project and willingness to share your progress. Great work! -Mrs. V So far I have been improving strictly on the wasteful part of frugality. Since my first update I have tried to work on how I treat other people and so far so good. With everything that happened this past Color Day I felt everyone in the Junior class really bonded together and beat the seniors in the games! That was really cool to see. I also try to be nicer to my mother and try to show her how much I appreciate her. I tend to take out my anger on my parents and people close to me. I really don't mean to and I would really like to work on that. I don't want my parents to think I treat them and only them with disrespect. I don't want to treat anyone with disrespect. When it comes down to it I love them the most and I don't like the fact that I take out my anger on the people closest to me. I also have been struggling with my attitiude at my cheerleading gym. I will try and focus more on that this week. Along with all of that I am trying to save money along the way to have enough for college and to eventually be able to start my own life! ||
 * Updated Progress #1:
 * "Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship"- Benjamin Franklin ||
 * Updated Progress #2

"A penny saved is a penny earned." -Ben Franklin Sara, You are doing such admirable work on this project. I am happy to see you tying in frugality in your daily life, even in your interactions with others. Mrs.V

I have been doing very well with not being so wasteful. I make sure I recycle as much as I can and I try to make sure I only get what I need. However, I am struggling with the other part of frugality. The "do good to others" part. With everything that has been happening in the school I find it very hard to keep my cool. With Sarah Hurley's funeral this past week, there has been so much drama and tension. I don't see where people get the idea that they can decide who goes to a funeral and who doesn't. Funerals are a very personal thing and with someone our age dead, it is especially personal. I chose not to go because I don't handle funerals very well and I made that decision on my own. I paid my respects in my own prayers but I feel that I don't need to explain myself to anyone. Yes, some were closer to her than others but I believe her death has affected everyone in the entire school. It's scary to see something like this happening to someone our age. I hear a lot of gossip about "Why is she crying?" or "She wasn't even close to Sarah". This makes me so angry, I can barely stand it. I have gotten in some arguments with people about this because I don't believe anyone has the right to decide who was close to Sarah or who can cry. It all just makes me sick. All of our attention should be towards Sarah and her family, not who is crying the most at school, or who is going to the funeral. I wonder how Ben Franklin would have handled himself in my situation... ||
 * Updated Progress #3

"Well done is better than well said." - Ben Franklin

It seems lately that my attitude has been getting the best of me. A part of frugality is the way you treat other people. I have been doing better with my attitude at cheerleading but it seems that school is still a struggle. I tend to lash out at people when I am annoyed or disturbed. I hate drama. I used to be involved in every little thing that went on and lately I haven't been in any! Last year I had a "falling out" with most of the people I was best friends with for about 3 years. In my opinion a lot of the problem had to do with my boyfriend. He wasn't part of the crowd I hung out with so it seemed almost forbidden for me to look outside of our group for a relationship. With all of that in mind, I decided to start a relationship with Alex. Since leaving that "inner circle" I have found comfort in other people and friends. I have learned a lot along the way. When Alex and I first started dating, he always said how he never thought that **I** would date **HIM**. I was surprised when he said this because why wouldn't I date him. After asking him, he told me that when I hung out with the "popular" crowd I was looked upon as rude, snobby, preppy, rich, standoffish, etc. He even said that I acted like I thought I was better than everyone else. That really hit home with me because I don't think that nor do I want people to think that of me. In all honesty I don't think any of my friends wants to be known as that. I think Ben Franklin's virtue of frugality deals with this because part of the virtue is to do good to others. Acting like I'm better than everyone else is not frugal. Alex and I are still dating and in him I have found my best friend. He tells me like it is and helps me with my attitude. With his help, I'm sure I can be more frugal. || Just because we are done with this assignment does not mean I am going to stop practicing frugality. I chose to perfect the virtue frugality because I felt I could really improve on this in my life. I did so by reducing my waste, recycling the waste I made, saving money, controlling my attitude and really just being more frugal! After doing so I have found that it is a more healthy lifestyle. I know I'll never be perfect but I can still keep trying. I'm sure Ben Franklin would be proud! ||
 * Updated Progress #4
 * Waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. - Ben Franklin ||
 * Update Progress #5