¡Chicos, les tengo una sorpresa! Hoy ustedes van a aprender sobre un tema muy importante, les apuesto que ninguno de ustedes puede adivinar que es. ¿Alguien quiere tratar de adivinar?

“Es esto. Con todo lo que pasa en sus vidas – trabajos, deportes, clubes, tareas – muchas veces no tienen tiempo de detenerse a pensar lo que es importante para ustedes, lo que más valoran, lo que aprecian, que ideales atesoran muy adentro de su corazón . . . o no se toman el tiempo para felicitarse a si mismos por aquella cosas que están haciendo bien. ¿Acaso no necesitamos todos un tiempo para reflexionar sobre lo que realmente es importante en nuestras vidas?”

“Entonces ¿cómo van a descifrar lo que son valores, lo que importa a ustedes?”

“¿Alguna vez han tenido un diario? Si lo han tenido, ustedes saben la valiosa herramienta que es y que nos puede ayudar a reflexionar sobre lo que es significativo para nosotros. Nos ayuda a descubrir quienes somos. ”

“Todos ustedes han escrito ensayos en algún momento, pero este ensayo es una oportunidad para escribir sobre lo que USTEDES piensan que es importante en la vida. El ensayo será enviado a un concurso. La buena noticia es que estos serán juzgados mas por lo que ustedes tienen que decir en vez de la forma como lo dicen. ¡Esto es lo que hace de este concurso, único!”

“El ensayo que ustedes van a escribir se llama ensayo sobre las leyes de la vida.”

Bien, les diré de que se trata esto. Las leyes de la vida personales son aquellos principios e ideales que les indican como vivir sus vidas . . . como por ejemplo ser honestos . . . o poner lo mejor de uno mismo en todo lo que se hace. Piensen en la gente y las experiencias que les han ayudado a crear estas reglas. ¿Cuántos de ustedes en los tres últimos días le ha dicho a alguien a quien aprecian que él o ella es importante para ustedes? Sus ensayos pueden ser sobre el papel que esa persona juega en ayudarlos a la formación de sus valores.

“QUIERO ALENTARLOS A QUE ESCRIBAN DESDE EL CORAZÓN. Sé que todos tienen mucho que decir. ¡Esta es la oportunidad de ser escuchados!”

A Mother's Life Lesson
Autor:   Pablo Villarreal

Six months ago I had an experience that would change my perspective towards viewing life.

Once I had a family where there were no problems and all things we did were full of happiness. Suddenly my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. This was a great hit for all of us since it took us by surprise. When we received the horrible news, my life took a drastic change, things got a lot more complicated and difficult. The worst part , problems began and my family members began to fall in to a stage of desperation. Honestly I never though this would happen to me, but we have to accept life the way it is no matter how many rocks are thrown in the way.

After awhile we though my mother was cured and everything would go back to normal but we were wrong. Things actually got worse; she fell back into the problem. When that happened I just felt that life had pulled me back to earth again. At first I couldn't believe it but after my mother went through some exams the truth struck me. She had caner in the bone marrow.

At first I did not want to accept the truth, but suddenly I became aware that it had become my reality. My mom was suffering in such a way that she even mentioned it would be better that she did not live anymore. In that moment my heart could not let my mom give in such way and I said a phrase that would mark her way of viewing life and crossed her heart. I said. :Mom grab life by the horns and don't let yourself fall.”

As time passed the situation got worse and my mom could not hold on because of all her pain. She was taking loads of pills a day and I saw with my own eyes how the pain was killing her.

After awhile doctors told my father that my mother had about three months of life left. So the only thing we could do was to make her last days the best of her life. We made those days so wonderful that her willingness to live was so strong that she actually endured more time than the one expected. Unfortunately the day of her death came and I just don't have the words to explain it.

When she passed away I was aware that we should appreciate the things we have and not wait to recognize this when we have already lost them. I also understood how it is really like to truly love somebody. I remember all the things my mother said, “Pablo grab the bull by the horns, don't quit.” From that moment on I realized that people should be valued by what they are not by their appearance. With this experience, I became stronger in such way that my perspective of life change for the better

Not Going the Easy Way

Autor:   Paulina Saberon

She was born on April 30th 1967. She used to pose for pictures whenever her father brought the camera. Smiling was one of her favorite things. She would spend hours in front of the mirror dancing and singing to a hairbrush. Although she had 4 other siblings she never felt less loved or less important. She was happy and still is. Gracia Zavala Taylor is her name. Gracia Zavala Taylor is the person I admire the most, my mom.

Some people say that I was mistake: that it was such a shame that this had to happen to Gracia. There has never been a moment in my life in which I have felt I was a mistake. My mom became pregnant when she was just 18 years old. There was so much a head of her and now her life was about to change dramatically. But she held on to life. I've never met anyone that has as much will and determination as her. She was now living in a society in which single moms were rarely seen. That did not matter to her. She was about to give birth to a little person that would become the most important thing in her life.

I admire my mom's braveness. Most people when facing a hard decision go the easy way. My mother could have easily gotten an abortion, but decided to take on responsibility for her actions. I think that it is a persons wanting to be better that makes him or her a human being with integrity. My mom wanted to be better and she wouldn't let anything stop her. She studied her career on business management. She also got a job to support our small family. She would go to work in the morning and study in the afternoons. She made sure I had everything I needed.

Thanks to her hard work and huge heart, I was able to study in one of the best schools in Querelaro. My mother has not only given me a good education and plenty of food; that in the end is not important…. My mom has given me the tools to make myself a better person everyday. She is the strongest person know. I go to her whenever I need advice. I go to her whenever I need a hug. I go to her whenever I need help. She is always there for me.

I'm talking about Gracia Zavala, a girl who became a woman too quickly. A person that does everything to fulfill her objectives. I am talking about a mother, that is not just a mother but a best friend. I am talking about my Mom, the best human being on earth. A person that through example has shown me how to be a good person, a person that follows The Laws of Life. My Mother's Laws of Life should be an example for society.

Teamwork - Winning Essay
Autor:   Ana Gabriela Loyola De Bastiani

Courage, passion, wanting to do things well, to fight for our company to be the best of all, there are many things we need to be successful on it. But I have learned that we can't do everything by ourselves, it does not matter how much we want to, we just cannot handle it alone. We have to work as a team, I have learned, that a good team is where we all work together to reach a common dream, something that we all want. If we are talking about business, we have to work to make our company grow and be the best of the best companies in the world.

A team is, a group full of leaders, where we all turn over our best effort to make things work the way they should. Most of the time it is not easy to find what we are looking for, but I think that is what makes it interesting. The way we get organized, the way we face the problems and the way we enjoy each moment within the team. Every moments happiness and sadness, those are the things that we have to learn to share, those are the things that will make us grow as a team and as persons. Each thing, even the most insignificant detail, will give us knowledge that will stay with us during all our life. And this is what will give us experience, which we need to run correctly any business, experience that will make of us the best employers.

Talking about employers, I have to say this is one of the most valuable and important things that I have learned in my life, how to treat workers and what they need. That even though I am a worker or an employer I have to treat workers and be treated with heart, because we all have feelings, feeling that directly effect our development at work and as members of our families. Many times workers are treated as a piece of a factory out we don't realized that those pieces need a special upkeep they need motivation, so that they can do their best, and in that way the company can reach the best development. If we want to be good leaders we have to take into account that our followers, or workers, they want to learn from us but we have to show them how to do things, we cannot just be giving instructions if we do not know how to do it ourselves. We have to start and do things with them, get to know them well, we have to be with them in each step so that if somebody fails we can help him and show him that he can do better that that. This is the way he is going to be motivated. A good leader is the one that never feels he is the boss, and treats everybody the same way. This is what I think will make the difference in this world, they way we treat the people that we deal with.