By Stephanie Dweck When one doesn’t take risks, one loses out on so many different aspects of life. They become so afraid and paranoid that they forget to live life. They miss out on everything that life has to offer. Fear created followers instead of leaders. We pass through life without becoming our own…
By Nikki Wolf I always wanted to be a singer but my voice cracked once and I felt like giving up. All this happened in 1st grade. I was too embarrassed to sing, so I sang at the house. I stopped singing completely by 3rd grade. I gave it another try in 5th grade….
By Bert Dweck One day, I decided to run a marathon and tried to be the winner. I never ran more than 2 miles in my life. I started training every day for 45 minutes and it was going fine. Then I ran a 10 mile marathon after training 45 minutes a day for…
By Maurice Djmal A few boys were going out to eat at a non-kosher restaurant. One boy was scared to ask them to eat at a kosher restaurant instead. So, he went along with them and didn’t say anything. A month later, he was with the same friends again and they were going to a…
By Reanie Ades I once played kickball. I got three outs for my team. I kicked two inches away. The next week I got to be captain for my team. Nobody wanted to be on my team. We were playing basketball. Whoever I chose, was upset. I got all the points for my team and…
By Victor Fteha Perseverance can prove useful during childhood in several ways. For example, I once received an unusual grade in Jewish History. It was the lowest mark I got my whole life. Instead of pondering about it uselessly, I pledged upon myself that I would study hard for my upcoming tests particularly Jewish History,…
By Estelle Botton Sophia wanted to be a singer. She practiced and practiced. She was very nervous. When she tried out, everyone laughed at her. She was so sad. The next week there were tryouts for a solo in the school play. When she went to tryout, everyone laughed. But when she sang, she sounded…
By Vivian Elias A girl was very scared of many things. The one fear that held her back was her fear of making new friends. When she moved to a new school, she lost her old friends and was too scared to make new ones. She was scared to be rejected. They wanted to be…
By Joelle Cohen Once upon a time, I was on the debate team. It was fun and everyone thought I would win. Above all, I was passionate about the debate’s subject being it was animal testing. When the debate started, I was surprised at the intelligence of the kids on the other team. They showed…
By Lillie Galapo I was in camp two years ago and I tried out for the play Annie. I was hoping to be the lead, but I sang and acted so badly. I ended up being an extra. I was crying for two weeks. I didn’t want to be in the play. But I was…
By Sondra Bukobza There once was a basketball player who always played offense because that’s what he played since he was little. One day, the coach asked him to play defense because the starting defense was injured. He took the risk and played defense instead of the usual offense. He continued playing defense and, three…
By Rachel Serouya If something got messed up, start all over. Just keep on going, never give up. Let’s say you are trying to make a new friend. Don’t give up. If your first day went bad, it’s ok. There is always another day. Never tell yourself, “I can’t do it,” because then you are…
By Cookie Sutton There once was a girl whose dream was to be a professional gymnast. She tried to do handstands, but she kept on falling on her face. But, she didn’t give up. She kept on getting better and better. At fifth time, she was so happy that she got so good at…
By Alexis Menahem Once I was helping my mother. I was putting a glass plate away. I dropped the plate. My mom said, “It’s ok. But next time be more careful.” I said, “Ok” and left. The next week she asked me to help her again. I was scared but, I did it anyway. She…
By Allegra Timsit In one of my classes, homework is worth 35% of my grade. I did everything. Then, at the last question I got stock. I couldn’t figure out the answer to the question. I tried and tried over and over more than 20 times. I didn’t want to give up an lose 35%…
By Elliot Beyda My goal as a high school student is to reach my potential as a student. I know that I can do much better in school. But, one of the reasons I am not doing as well as I should is because I am lazy. One of the goals I set for myself…
By Sari Alfaks Fear can prevent you from reaching your life goals and dreams. If it’s your dream to be a lawyer, you should push yourself to get there and enjoy doing it. If you have a job interview and you get very nervous about it, you won’t succeed. An opportunity like this comes once…
By Allan Bailey I am in a candy shop. There are hundreds of candies to choose from. If I buy the same candy every time, I won’t be able to experience a new flavor combination. That would be the safe way. However, if I have a mindset to take a risk and buy a new…
By Sabrina Abrahim Have you ever known an answer to a questions in class but was too afraid to raise your hand? This is a common fear among students around the world. And it’s affecting different aspects of life along the way. A shy girl, let’s call her Samantha, wouldn’t dare to raise her…
By Rebecca Sutton Fear is something that always stays unless you’re able to overcome. For example, doing something different than your friends may sound scary but, once you do it, if they’re true friends, they will support you and accept you. Not doing it, letting fear take over, will make you be always scared and…
By Joseph Sultan You’re playing a sport and your friends are counting on you because you’re the best on the team. Never feel pressured because when you’re pressured it is more likely to fail. So, just be yourself, take a deep breath and go play. This story was published in the Bar Mitzvah Magazine
By Jakey Tawil One time, I was playing basketball. There was 2 seconds left and we were down by one point. I had the ball wide open under the basket. I missed it and lost the game for my team. I felt really bad. I wanted to give up. But, I didn’t. The next…
By Aura Pinhas There is a boy named Abie. He wanted to be on the school’s football team. He was practicing with his friends and with a crowd watching. He missed a final goal by far. His friends told him, “You’ll never make the team. You can’t even do something as simple as kick…
By Robyn Chalme Marielle’s goal is to dance. All her life she has been dancing in competitions and recitals. She entered a dance competition and she messed up. Marielle feels like she let her team down. In 2 weeks she has another one. She has to decide 2 things: 1) if she should stop dancing…
By Chen Menashe Chances! If we don’t take them where would we be? Sarah studied all night until midnight for a history test. In the morning, her mother asked her the questions again. Sarah knew everything. She went to school to take the test. Sarah was shaking and sweating. The teacher gave her the test…
By Raphael Ammar Sam wants to be some kind of sports player. Sometimes he makes mistakes, like falling or hurting someone. He ends up getting a comment like “you suck”. The other kids always make him feel like he is not good enough to play that sport. That ends up changing his whole life. Just…
By Sarah Louziah A few months ago, I lost my best friend that I’ve known since I was born. She was my cousin, too. We were so close and a couple of months ago things started to change. I couldn’t imagine losing her. I was so scared of letting her go. I know everything about…
By Mimi Levy It is extremely important to take chances. You have one life to live and it’s extremely important to live it to its fullest potential. Sometimes, it might be scary. But, if you don’t step out of your comfort zone, you can regret it for the rest of your life. For example, you…
By Stephanie Franco When I tried to commit to do well in 3rd grade, I kept failing. But, I kept on trying and trying till my grades went up and today I got in to honor rolls. I am glad that I didn’t let this experience of failing shut me down. I succeeded and got…
By Batya Kairey I was in Great Adventure in the summer. My friends all wanted to go on a Kingda Ka, but I was scared. I was not scared that I would die, but that I was afraid of the heights. My friends tried to convince me to go on a Kingda Ka, but I…
Pamela Franco I have a goal to do well in school. There was big test that I studied so hard for. When I got it back I saw that I didn’t do as well as I thought I would. The next time I had a big test I just wanted to give up. My…
By Irwin Sutton A lot of times when I was in 1-5th grades the teachers would give out tickets to win prizes of extra points on a quiz if I just raised my hand to answer questions. I could’ve gotten so many extra points or tickets for prizes. I was just so nervous that…
By Nathan Matut There is a boy at school and he is afraid that noone will like his shoes so he never wears them, he regrets it. The next day he wore them to school and everyone liked them.
By Laurie Haber Sarah wanted to be an interior designer. She worked so hard to prepare for her first client. All through her first appointment, Sarah was so excited she didn’t let her client say what he wanted. Sarah kept on rambling on and on about how she wanted the house and what she imagined…
By Joseph Torkieh Let’s say the teacher wants to know how good you are in class, so he makes a grade. If you never raise your hand, because you are scared that you are going to get the answer wrong, you lose point off the grade. If you get the answer wrong, nothing will happen….
By Terri Elmann From your first step inside your new summer camp, you know your doubtful feelings that finding friends will be hard. From your high ponytail to your twitching feet, everything about your appearance is unwelcomed. At your assigned group, kids are wearing crop top shirts, their hair down and flowing, laughing and gossiping…
By Sion Dweck One day, Ikey went to his friend. His friend was popular and everybody was kind of forced to follow him. Ikey was different from everybody. Every morning, he would wake up very early and pray, put money in sedaka. When he went to his friend’s house, he was told he had to…
By Ezra Dweck When I was in the Dominican Republic, my dad was playing volleyball. After one guy left, they needed one more person to play. I was sitting on the side watching the game and, all of a sudden, my dad asked me if I wanted to play. At first I said no, but…
By Max Setton We all aspire to accomplish goals in our lives. It’s up to us to decide whether those goals will be accomplished. My mother always repeats the same thing to me, “Whether you say you can or you can’t, you right either way.” This is a very powerful line because it’s telling…
By Raymond Cohen When Bill was in 9th grade his whole life changed. He was that class clown who always fooled around in elementary school. It was his first year in high school and he wanted to change his act and start doing well in school. His goal was to get into honors and…