Hunter Hogan
English 101 Composition
Mrs. Anthony
October 5, 2015
This I Believe

I determine who I am, who I am going to be, and who I have been in the past. A blank canvas and I hold the brush. From day to day I paint my picture, from day to day my skill changes, and from day to day I add to my gallery. Each stroke of the brush determines accomplishments, disappointments, and experiences through my life. Each dip of a different color represents feelings, just like the fruits of the spirit, things such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. With these colors I can paint a beautiful picture each day of my life, and God never stops supplying me with these colors. I make it my purpose to paint a better picture today than yesterday, and improve each skill each day. My motivation comes through relationships. Relations with friends, relations with family, and relations with people from day to day. Sometimes I have no control of how the picture looks at the end of the day, but that does not keep me from staying with it the next. I paint each picture as if it were my last, and make every stroke count as I go. Maybe someday this art will influence others in the right direction.
Through my whole life, as long as I could remember, I have never enjoyed or even liked art. I never understood why people got such a kick out of spending hours upon hours putting effort into something that you can’t even use for anything when you are done, just look at it. I have always been the type to put my time into something that is useful.
But, when I was asked to make a credo, the best thing I could think of was painting a picture of my outlook on life. Starting new everyday and making the day into what you want it to be; or just how it turns out.
One very important asset of my life is my faith. God provided for us and sent His son for us, the least we could do is serve him and at least make mention of Him. He is the center of my life, and gives me what I need and my credo is through His word
On another subject, my whole life I have lived on a farm in the Ozarks; three different ones as a matter of fact. One of them we raised horses, mules, cattle, and did a hay crop. The other two we sold the cattle and started doing some row crops. But no matter what you are doing with a farm, there is one consistent factor. Hard work. Spending hours upon hours putting into something so you can watch it grow, whether it is a horse colt, a newborn calf, or a field of crops. It all takes determination and effort. It is one of the best feelings when you put this effort into something and can watch it succeed.
Hard work is an important thing to me. The harder you work, the more you will get from what you are pouring into, and the more respectable you become to others. This is true for farming, your workplace, sports, relationships, and anything else you can work hard at. It makes for great success and accomplishment. Even if you cannot see a good outcome, if you try your best, something good will come out of it. Try your best and God will take care of the rest
People who do not work hard at anything end up failing at everything; simple cause and effect. If for nothing else, try for yourself. People have so much opportunity in America during this age and time, all they have to do is reach out and grab it; unfortunately, some choose not to.
What I am working up to here is things that make a person respectable. The last factor in this is honesty. Honesty is probably the most important, the reason is that if honesty is the only thing you have, and nothing else, at least you have something to hold some credibility to your name. I once saw a quote that said, “ Honesty is appreciated, respect is earned, trust is gained, and loyalty is returned.” That has to be the best quote I have ever read, you can’t put it any simpler than that. Mix a little hard work into that, and you can’t go wrong. That is my best idea for a credo