Wood represents my faith, my belief in God. Nails represent the small pieces of knowledge and intellect I acquire from all walks of life. The hammer represents in me a strength that allows me to form my own opinions. I must use the chisel to chip away at any obstacles that may be in my way. Like the screwdriver, I, too, can turn. I can change. I, like the level, must maintain a balance in my life.”
Cody Teman was 17 when he won the sixth annual Lima, Ohio Laws of Life Essay Contest. One of the contractors rebuilding the Pentagon after the Sept. 11 attacks saw the essay and distributed it to the construction crews. Cody’s name now appears on the limestone marker on the front of the Pentagon.
|  | “Oftentimes, students in at-risk districts have lost their way. We wanted to help kids to think about how they are living their life, to set their beliefs down on paper, to share them, to ‘own’ them and, ultimately, to live their positive Laws of Life,” says Maurice Elias, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University who brought the contest to Plainfield.
Goals like these lead to what Peggy Veljkovic, director of the Laws of Life Essay Contest, calls the Aha! moment — the realization young people have when writing the essay. Often, they come to realize that they have a lot to say about life’s greatest lessons.
Veljkovic has heard many stories from teachers and students that demonstrate how writing a Laws of Life essay can cause a transformation in how young people think about themselves and the importance of living a life of values. “Through the power of their essays and the public recognition they receive, these young people realize, many for the first time, that they have something important to say, and that their voice matters,” Veljkovic says.
The contest’s goal is “to provide young people with the opportunity to reflect and write about their own Laws of Life.” In other words, kids are challenged to discover for themselves the core values and principles that will guide them, whatever they do and wherever they go. They are encouraged to think about the people and experiences that have helped shape these values and asked to take a stand for what they believe in. They are rewarded, with prizes, awards ceremonies, and honor and praise from their parents, teachers, school administrators and the community.
“It’s the only essay contest of its kind that enables young people to respond on their own terms and write about what they think matters most in life,” says Veljkovic. “As Sir John has said, the central focus of this program is not on telling young people what to think; it’s asking them to share from their own well of personal experience. The hope is that by publicly honoring and recognizing the young people who have taken the time to reflect and write, that this reinforcement will fortify their thinking, and ultimately they’ll want to live by their values.”
Last year, more than 100,000 students wrote a Laws of Life essay, which means more than 100,000 students reflected on the lessons they had learned, thought about what mattered most to them and then wrote from the heart. Teen Ink: What Matters, published by Health Communications (publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series), is the latest anthology of Laws of Life essays, featuring the work of young writers from contests all over the world, including China, Russia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Uganda and New Zealand.
The hallmark of the Laws of Life program is its flexibility. The essay contest is adaptable to all age levels, and each community sponsors its own contest. All of the decisions for the program — judges, prizes, ceremonies, even the name of the program itself — are made by local organizers.
“It’s really a grassroots program and is immediately identifiable as a local initiative,” says Veljkovic. Beyond the benefits of the program to young people, the contest enables citizens and educators to partner together on an uplifting activity that will ultimately benefit the entire community.
Rotarian Sandy McDonnell, Chairman Emeritus of McDonnell Douglas who launched the contest in Clayton, Missouri, says, “We want people coming into our communities who know the good, desire the good, and do the good. By helping young people reflect on the Laws of Life that mean the most, we know they are more likely to live by those principles and ideals throughout their lives.”
Still, while each and every contest is unique, and contestants come from different cultures, nationalities, backgrounds and age groups, Veljkovic says, “Young people are writing about the same core values, which really reinforces what Sir John says about the Laws of Life, that these are principles that unite us all. The locations of the contests may be different, but the lesson is a universal one.”
For more information please visit: www.lawsoflife.org |
