Lia's+Work

=**__Opened Ended__**= =**__Pay It Forward: Cal High teacher goes from gang to greatness__**=

__O.E. Question: "Do you think it's possible to turn negative things that are directed at you into positive motivation? Explain.__
English teacher Mike Hernandez, always tells his students, "[you] can turn everything negative directed at [you] into motivation." I agree with this statement and believe that it is //definitely// possible. Negative comments can actually encourage people to work harder and strive to get to and past the point others claimed they couldn't reach. In Mr. Hernandez's case, negativity wasn't as simple as words being said about him. But, he demonstrates how an individual can turn a deathly situation into positive motivation; from the transition of gang member, to prosperous college graduate, and now English school teacher. After almost being killed by a former member of his gang, reality clicked and he knew he had to change his ways. Focusing on school work and leaving the gang would get him to where he needed to be, and he was able to do that by looking at what he could //learn// from his predicament. "'I realized that night: This is not fun anymore... I wanted to be a good father and I knew that wasn't going to happen if I was running around with a gang,'" Hernandez states, referring to how learned he had to change his life. The difference with Hernandez and his former gang members, is that they never were motivated enough to go to college and lead a better life. Mike Hernandez mentions, "'I was the guy who wasn't just talking about it,' he said. 'I was the guy who was actually doing it,'" instead of pitying himself and not doing anything to change.

I try to put these words of inspiration into my daily life and stand by the statement that everything has a positive, depending on how you look at the situation and what you can learn from it. When something or someone tries to stand in my way, I push myself to overcome it. I don't do it just to prove people wrong, I do it for myself. Keeping positive can be the difference between dwelling and feeling sorry for myself over something and finding the strength to keep going. I say if you can find at least one good thing in bad situation, that's great. "'Mr. Hernandez encourages me to do well... He doesn't judge anyone, despite mistakes they have made. He always makes you feel like you can turn it around. I see how he has gone above and beyond, and it inspires me to do the same,'" one of Mr. Hernandez's students states. This proves how Mr. Hernandez agrees positivity can keep you going and succeed, by enforcing it with his students. It can also turn one of the worst things into one of the best things that could happen to you, as demonstrated in his life.

In conclusion, Mike Hernandez demonstrated how with a little help, he was able to take the negativity of the night he was almost killed, and turn it into a positive motivation to get his life on track. This school teacher is just one of the many individuals who use positivity to get them through tough times. If they can do it and even I can, why can't anyone else?