Being a part of N.O.V.A. has honestly made me feel like and be a better person.  I realized this when we learned about the three stages of maturity, anger management, and other things.  I saw that with maturity, I wasn’t always where I needed to be.  What helped me on my Path to Excellence was what some would call magic.  In N.O.V.A., we aren’t forced to do anything at all.  The opportunity is ours to take.  I didn’t know how to fix my problems, and once I started N.O.V.A., I found the tools I needed, which, after admitting to myself that I had a problem, gave me the opportunity to fix the way I was being.  I was interested in the N.O.V.A. program, involved, encouraged.  I actually made goals to be nicer, have stage three maturity, control my emotions, and have a hero paradigm way of thinking.  I feel like N.O.v.A. has helped me on my Path to Excellence by showing and giving me the tools I needed to fix what wasn’t getting fixed.  N.O.V.A. has helped me realize what I really and truly value.  Before N.O.V.A., I valued what most people do.  I valued friends, family, school, teachers, and many more.  I still value these things, but I have learned other things from N.O.V.A. that I value just a strongly.  An example might be the N.O.V.A. principles.  Another could be laws to protect us.  The list goes on.  If it hadn’t have been for N.O.V.A., I wouldn’t be who I am today, at this very moment and time.  I really do sincerely mean that.  I have been surprised with just how much N.O.V.A. has impacted my life, showing me that I can change.  I really am grateful for N.O.V.A. and the lessons that it teaches.  The N.O.V.A. principles will never be lost in my heart.  No, N.O.V.A. will reside within me, reminding me it’s never too early to become a N.O.V.A. Lone Wolf.

This year in the N.O.V.A. program I have had a lot of fun learning new ideas and ways that will help me have a better life.  By making good decisions now I will have many more choices later.  I do not want to smoke, drink, or take drugs.  I want my body and my brain to be alive and awake.  I want to enjoy life and not find myself in bad places.  I enjoy good movies, music, and learning about new things and how things are done.  If my mind is full of good thoughts and information I will be able to learn even more.  There are many great things for me still to learn as I go to college, work at something I love to do and someday become a mom that will help my children to enjoy a fun life too.  I have learned good friends help each other to be a better person.  It is important to me that everyone be kind to one another, help each other, and not make fun of people.  I don’t like for people to feel left out.  I like to get along with all of my friends and when all of my friends can get along together.  I enjoy being able to help others by giving service and helping them to be happier.  N.O.V.A. has taught me to be a stronger person and that it is good to say “No” or leave the situation when things do not feel right or when I know that it is not right.  Sometimes I am afraid that my friends may make fun of me or maybe not be my friend if I say “No.”  I need to remember to be my own best friend or I will not be able to help others like I want to.  If my friends do not make good choices then I am learning that I have other friends and family that will.  Making good decisions and remembering to be strong will keep me on my “Road map to the path of excellence.

NOVA has helped me to get on my path of excellence by teaching me right from wrong.  I look forward to NOVA each week because I know that I will learn something important and something that will help me in life.  In the future I want to take some opportunities that are, getting a good education so that i can get a good job to support a family.  Another opportunity I want to take advantage of is I want to get involved in a sport because sports like soccer and tennis are a fun way to get exercise and be healthy.  Some things I want to avoid are that I do not want to take drugs because I know that if I do it will ruin me and my life.  I will try to not listen to bad music because it can influence my actions and thoughts and can lead me off my path of excellence.  Important things in my life is my family, my family will help me through life and by following all the NOVA Principles it will help me and my family.  Another important thing in my life is school.  School is important because it will help me become the best me I can be by helping me go to college and get a good job.  NOVA has made everything so clear as to what I need to do and accomplish in life.  In NOVA we learned about some of the bad things in life and how to avoid them.  I enjoyed learning about how to be a nova lone wolf and getting on our path of excellence.

Throughout the N.O.V.A. program, I have learned that I am a car that drives on different paths.  To fuel that car, I need to put in good fuel.  Positive fuel.  I know that is the only way to reach my goals and to get to my Path of Excellence.  The N.O.V.A. has changed my perspective on life itself.  It’s helped me discover who I truly can become with the right, positive, hero mindset.  It has helped me to know values, as I’ve never thought of them before.  With all of the lessons in N.O.V.A. it has truly changed my life.  I realized who I could be and how to be.  It helped me know my values.  It has made me so much happier.  With N.O.V.A., I was able to resolve many issues going on in my life.  I am much more confident with myself, and I have heard of others noticing a happier me.  All of the lessons in N.O.V.A. I will definitely take advantage of because to me, N.O.V.A. is an opportunity.  I will use the lessons, and I know without them, I can’t find my path to Excellence and I’ll be lost.  N.O.V.A. has made me so much happier.  I now know my life goals, my hopes, and my dreams of cruising on the successful Path of Excellence.  I’ve learned to avoid anything that makes me uncomfortable, or just doesn’t feel right, even tiny examples.  For instance, if it doesn’t feel right with a group of friends, I take a break and STS, study the situation.  When I stay away from that, I will be so much happier.  I am so very thankful for N.O.V.A. and without it, I can’t even imagine how miserable I could be.  I know that by putting good positive fuel in, I’ll get good positive outcomes in my car of life to riding on the Path of Excellence.

The N.O.V.A. program and principles have become “My roadmap to the path of excellence.”  Some things that the N.O.V.A. program has taught me to avoid are:  drugs, Stage One maturity, gangs, bad music, bad movies, bad video games, and lots more.  None of these things will put me on my path to excellence, so I want to make sure I stay clear from them.  The N.O.V.A. program has taught me to value many things such as, a good education, teachers, good and loyal friends, loving parents, and all other wonderful things in life.  Sometimes I take these blessings for granted, so I was very grateful when I was reminded of all my many gifts.  I am never going to stop being grateful, for these things because they are the things (and people) that help me find and stay on my path to excellence.  Many good lifestyles have been introduced to me through the N.O.V.A. program and I want to take good advantage of them.  One of these lifestyles is living a life of stage Three maturity.  Stage Three maturity is when you do the right things for the right reasons, your decisions are based on good values, you do service and good deeds to others, and forgive them if they wrong you.  When you have Stage Three maturity you have more control of your life because you are able to control your actions and behaviors.  I always want to have Stage Three maturity, and be that kind of person.  Over all, I know that if I just live up to the N.O.V.A. standards, I will become a great person, and maybe even a hero in someone else’s life.

My constitution for N.O.V.A. is that I will never use harmful or dangerous drugs, that I will listen to good music, watch good TV, and never play violent video games.  I will have stage three maturity and have an “I care” attitude.  I will stay away from dark alleys and not dress like a gang member.  Some opportunities that I want to take advantage of are going to college, getting a good job, helping others.  I will think of others feelings and try not to tease them mean spiritedly.  some values that I have are: Honesty, Respect, Accountability, Responsibility, and Optimism.  I will show these by always telling the truth and not stealing, respecting others, taking responsibility for my actions, following through with what I say I will do, and always giving others the benefit of the doubt.  To me, the most meaningful lesson in N.O.V.A. was about maturity.  It made me realize where I was, what I could become, and what I had to do to become that.  Thank you N.O.V.A. for showing me my roadmap to the path of excellence.

The N.O.V.A. program has helped me in such a positive way by teaching me not to do drugs and alcohol.  It has also taught me to value things like my family.  It has taught me on how to be mature and control anger.  Things I want to avoid are things like drugs, smoking, negative people, bad movies, music, and videos.  Drugs and all those negative things can really do horrible things to your body.  Next, I value my family and my friends.  I value them because if I didn’t have them in my life, I would have a super lonely and unhappy life.  I couldn’t imagine my life without them.  They are really nice to me and they are really valuable in my life.  I value them a lot and they are supposed to be valued by lots of people.  The N.O.V.A. program is really fun and I have learned so much from things to avoid to value stuff and being mature like controlling anger and being happy like valuing stuff from your life.  We also play some games that are super fun, but we learn a lot from the games.  Its really fun because we have a fun time when we play them because most of the time we play them wrong.  Our instructor is a really great teacher and tells us everything we need to know so we can remember the things we have learned in the future.  I think that the N.O.V.A. program is super helpful to sixth graders because you get do projects and activities and while you are doing that you can learn a bunch of super helpful things for the long-run when you are older.  You should really value the things you learn at the N.O.V.A. program because it really helps you in the future because you get to remember all the helpful things from N.O.V.A. so yo can be a successful person.

If I follow the nine N.O.V.A. principles I will live a better life.  The boiling frog analogy teaches me that if my body gets used to something bad it will not want to stop doing it.  “Which Wolf are you feeding” comparison shows me if I feed the good Wolf in me it will make me a good person, and people will want to be around me.  If I feed the bad Wolf in me it will make me be a bad person and people won’t want to be around me.  I should always study the situation before I act so I can make better choices.  The phrase “Garbage in garbage out” means negative surroundings lead to wrong decisions.  The more I know the better my future will be and knowledge is power.  Remember, what I do now will affect me later.  I will always be positive and have a Hero Paradigm.  I should always show my ture colors by being myself.  I need to make positive decisions and keep making them throughout my lifetime.  If I follow the N.O.V.A. principles it will lead me down the path of excellence.

What my future is going to be like.  In my future I want to be drug free, crime free, and gang free.  In the future I want kids like me to be drug free.  N.O.V.A. is making my future easy.  N.O.V.A. is teaching me to make wise decisions in my lifetime so I have a perfect lifetime.  N.O.V.A. is going to help me make my dream come true about becoming a pilot for the U.S. Air Force.  N.O.V.A. has given me great values.  With these great values you gave me I shall make a perfect lifetime.  I will have a great life.  N.O.V.A. has taught me to be a lone Wolf.  A lone Wolf means when someone is doing something bad you stick out of the group and leave.  N.O.V.A. also taught me S.T.S. which means study the situation.  Thank you N.O.V.A. for the great values you give kids like me…  N.O.V.A. will guide me in the future.

At age twelve, we are very vulnerable to many things.  One wrong step can ruin the rest of our lives.  Entering middle school, we get to choose who we hang out with and which path we take.  To help us with our decisions, we have a program called N.O.V.A.  It stand for nurturing, opportunities, values and accountability.  It has helped “Baby Proof” me from bad things.  Also, it has given me knowledge of what to beware and what opportunities to take advantage of.  I definitely want to watch out for drugs and alcohol.  They can take over your life and be a money-sucker.  Your life can be so much easier if you just don’t do it.  Gangs also can never be good news.  They only lead to trouble, trouble, and more trouble.  Negative friends can be one of the most convincing influences.  It is completely up to you what kind of friends you choose.  I will avoid all these things because I have opportunities and goals I want to reach.  I want to go to college.  It is one of my goals… I want to have a good job and be happy about it.  I want to grow up to be a dentist.  I will start today to help my future self.  You can never go wrong with service.  It helps out the whole world.  Positive friends can help push me to be a better person.  I hope to always have good friends.  I want to have these opportunities because of certain things I value.  I value education.  It always leads to the path of excellence.  I hope we are all obedient and respectful to everyone including ourselves.  So much can be earned with hard work.  We should never be lazy because nothing comes out.  Integrity needs to shine forth from everyone in all they do.  When no one’s watching is the most important time to do what you know is right.  I hope all these things help keep me on my path to excellence.

My N.O.V.A. Constitution is important to me for various reasons.  I have the understanding that every decision I make will have a great influence on my future.  These decisions will illuminate my path to excellence.  I have clearly learned in my personal life that making the more difficult decisions, which require self discipline today, will make my future that much better and easier in the long run.  I must guard my priorities and study the situations that come my way to determine if they are good and will help me or if they have the potential to be harmful and wrong.  In my personal life, that means my priorities must be in order.  I know I have to get the right amount of sleep and exercise and eat healthy to feel my best and function at my full potential.  This could mean I have to leave a social gathering early or decline to attend.  I have learned how making the wrong decision will rob me of my potential due to lack of sleep and time to do those things I know I must to prosper.  There is a definite cause and effect to all my decisions.  I have also learned I must protect my time with my children.  They need and deserve my attention.  When I do not make this a priority, my children do not function at their full potential.  My goal for my life is to raise children that are mature, independent and successful adults.  Lastly, I clearly understand how my choices and decisions affect my career as a police officer.  I need to function at my fullest, mentally, physically and emotionally.  This requires regular physical fitness training, healthy eating and healthy thinking so I can function at my full potential on the street and serve my community.  My constitution to myself is to order my life in such a way that my path is straight and my decisions do not waiver, knowing clearly what decisions will set me on the path to excellence and what decisions will take me off the straight and narrow path.

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift… Pain is temporary, quitting lasts a lifetime… Livestrong… Be honest, just and true and no road will be too long or difficult for you.  – Various Leaders-

These are just a few motto’s that inspire me and are words that I live by.  Excellence can be achieved in many avenues of life.  Art, music, education, and athletics.  However, to be on top, you must be determined, dedicated and be confident in your abilities.  If you can’t believe in yourself, how can others believe in you.  Through your journey in life, one will endure many obstacles (or failures) along the way, but if you keep things in perspective and never lose hope, your dreams will come true.  Set coals, work hard daily, educate yourself and having that “Never Give Up” attitude will lead you to a path of excellence.  These attributes listed above are great tools to succeed in life.  However, you must also center yourself around others that have the same beliefs and outlook in life in order to have a strong support group.  I believe that success comes easier with these members who can inspire and challenge you on a daily basis.  Strength in numbers.  Finally, and most importantly, I believe one needs to have faith.  Without it, the finish line is many miles away… Success is not measured by what one drives or wears, but by those that he has touched and inspired.

My start on the path of excellence started years ago as I was influenced by my wonderful parents who represented everything that was good in life.  They set such a good example for me to follow by the way they lived their lives.  I married a wonderful wife who has been a great companion and support to me.  My wife and I have been blessed with four wonderful children that married ideal companions that together have given us eight sweet little grandchildren.  Our lives have always been centered on family.  These family members have always been a good reminder to me of why I need to strive for success in my personal and professional life.  I have a great opportunity to work in a beautiful area and with wonderful people… I truly feel the support of these people in helping me grow and become successful at my job.  I feel accountable to these people and want to make sure that my choices and actions meet up to their highest expectations.  I certainly want to stay away from anything that is harmful or bad and would cause those that have trusted in me to lose their confidence and be disappointed in me.  The things that I value most in this life are my family, my religious beliefs and my service to others in my law enforcement carrier.  The N.O.V.A. program this week has increased my awareness for the need to improve in my own health, to be more mindful of people who are struggling with various problems and to increase my willingness to reach out and render service to others.  I have also learned that I need to prioritize my time better by watching less T.V., and spending more of my time doing constructive things that will help me grow and benefit.

I am a good student.  I have been blessed to learn easily and to do well on school assignments.  I can take advantage of these abilities by doing my best in school.  I can take classes that challenge my abilities.  I can also look for opportunities that will help me grow.  I will use my time in school wisely so that I can one day attend a college of my choice and enjoy the opportunities that come from being a college graduate.  I also enjoy sports and hope to play on my high school teams.  In order for me to accomplish these goals I will need to avoid bad influences such as drugs and gangs.  I will need to choose good friends and make good use of my time.  I will have to dedicate myself to doing my homework and taking good care of my body through good nutrition and exercise.  If I make these the guideline for my life I will be able to find success in my education and in sports.  These things along with my family and religion are the things that have the most value in my life.  I believe with my hard work and support from my family and friends nothing is out of my reach.  The N.O.V.A. program has helped me on my path to excellence by giving me tools to use in real life situations, such as staying away from the harmful effects of drugs and other bad influences that will keep me from reaching my goals.  It has also taught me to study the situation, to take time to act and not react so that I can take the time to make the best choices possible.  This is my N.O.V.A. constitution.  If I live by these standards that I have set for myself I will have success in my life.

This year in N.O.V.A. I learned that in order to illuminate my path to excellence I must follow the N.O.V.A. principles.  Since I have learned these principles I have an opportunity to get better grades, be careful with the internet, stay away from drugs, ets..  I want to saty away from things like gangs, pornography, fights, and all the things that will lead me away from my path to excellence.  N.O.V.A. has helped me with a better understanding of harmful (physically and mentally) things.  Such as, computer predators, music, movie, and video game safety;  However, it has helped me with good things like how to find good music, movies, and video games.  Also, it taught me how to become successful in school, home, and eventually work and jobs.  I value all of the great things I have learned in N.O.V.A. and I want to stay away from the bad things that I need to stay away from that will help me in my life.

I, Joseph …, in order to get to my path of excellence, will obtain as much education as possible and will do my best to get good grades.  I will get a job, work hard, and provide for my family.  I will do my best to give service to my family, friends, community and country.  I will listen to and do what my N.O.V.A. officer tells me.  I will have good friends and will be a good friend.  I will be a good example and positive influence on others.  I will exercise and keep my body physically fit.  I will be involved in church and school activities.  I will be a law-abiding citizen.  I will be the best I can be in everything I say and do.  I will have a positive attitude about life, even when bad things may happen to me.  I will avoid cigarettes, tobacco, beer, alcohol, and marijuana.  I will also avoid gangs, criminal activity, and negative friends.  I will avoid using swear words or crude and vulgar language.  I will avoid violent, bad, and obscene TV shows, movies, and video games.   I will avoid bad and obscene music.  I will avoid pornography.  I will avoid having a negative attitude when things in my life go wrong.  I value my family and friends. I value my home, food, clean water, and all the others things that I have.  I value my religion and my education.  I value my country and my freedom and my rights.  I value my health. I value too many things to even be able to list them all, but these are a few.  The N.O.V.A. program has affected me in a very positive way.  It has helped me realize that I need to be more mature.  It has reminded me that life is not just about fun, but it is about hard work and responsibility, too.  And when I put in that work, my life will be better and I will be happier.  What I make out of my life is my choice.  I can’t blame anyone else for my problems or my unhappiness.  I must choose to be happy for myself, and making good choices will lead to my happiness.

I, Justin …, pledge to always try my best to live a life that is free from harmful substances, a life where I am respectful to others and myself, a life where I use my talents and abilities to make the world a better place.  I value my freedom; I will not make other people miserable by joining gangs and bullying them.  I will not take away others freedom of choice.  I will do what I can to honor those men and women that fight for my freedom.  I will always look for ways to serve others and make them feel welcome.  I value my family; I will always be kind and helpful to them.  I will uplift my brothers and continue to obey my parents.  I will make my home a place where I and those around me can feel safe.  I will speak kindly to my friends and family members.  I value my body; I will not put drugs, alcohol, and other harmful substances in my body.  I will treat my body with respect and live in a way that will be healthy.  I will choose good food and play sports to help my body grow properly.  I value education; I will study hard, stay in school and do my best so that when I get older I can get a job and be an asset to my community, my family and the world.  I will take all opportunities that come my way to better my life and increase my knowledge about the world in which we live.  I will do everything that is in MY power to change ME!!  The N.O.V.A. program has taught me the importance of not doing harmful things to myself or others.  The N.O.V.A. program has also taught me to do my best in school and the importance of getting a job when I grow up and to always do stuff that uplifts me.  I will follow all these things and remember the N.O.V.A. principles.  As I do these things, I will be able to live a strong, safe and healthy life.  And good things will come my way!!

My parents and other people have taught me many things.  One is to always to try my hardest, even if I don’t get the best grades it is ok because I did my best.  N.O.V.A. has also taught me many great things like that.  I want to take the opportunity t0 try hard in school, go to college and get a good job.  I will try and be a leader and influence others to do good.  I will make good lifetime decisions.  I will try to stay in stage three maturity so I can make most of my decisions in life.  I will be nice to people that have been put down.  I will use all my N.O.V.A. principles.  I will try to have a good attitude about everything.  I will make good choices so I can have more opportunities.  In N.O.V.A. I have learned a lot of things we need to avoid and how to avoid them.  Something’s I will not do or will try to avoid are I will not take drugs because drugs are dangerous and if you take them they will have a bad cause and effect.  I will not become a gang member or dress like one.  I’ll try not to become a boiled frog.  I’ll try not to listen or watch bad things.  I will try not to do mean spirited teasing and I won’t bully others.  I will avoid having low self-esteem.  I’ll try not to have “The Victim Paradigm”.  The things I value the most are my family, friends, school, N.O.V.A., my family because they help me a lot, my friends because they cheer me up if I am feeling sad, school because it is fun and because I meet all my great friends there and N.O.V.A. because it has taught me many valuable things that will help me to reach my path of excellence.  Now whenever I need to make a hard choice I will study the situation and think to myself will this lead me to my path of excellence?  N.O.V.A. has taught me to never take drugs and not to become a gang member.  They also have taught me the good and bad sides of media.  Once N.O.V.A. is over I will miss it.  I will always remember N.O.V.A.

First, as I work my way up to my future, I need to learn talents.  Opportunities are great ways to help me learn talents.  Some of the opportunities I am already working on are piano, art, and swim team.  There are also things that I don’t want to take advantage of like drugs, gangs, the negative sides of media, stuff like that.  These are things that we should avoid.  Things I value are family, friends, school, N.O.V.A., and my dream that gives me something to look forward to in life.  I have always wanted to be a marine biologist.  N.O.V.A. has helped me in many ways like teaching me to feel good about myself, giving me many tools to use in life to help me get to my path of excellence, and teaching me to appreciate life and everything and everyone in it.  Sometimes we all get a little discouraged about some stuff that everyone has a problem with and since we all have had that happen, we all can help.  I have learned a lot this year and now know that with the help and support of my friends, family, and teachers, I can make it through and get to where I want to be when I grow up.

My few months in N.O.V.A. have taught me many important things that I didn’t know to help me through my life.  I loved the lessons.  The stories and games were so fun and funny; I adored them.  The lessons also taught me to avoid bad things such as: drugs, violence, gangs, negative media, and more.  These things I want to avoid because they will prevent me from progressing in my life, could put me in jail, and do not give my joy.  I especially remember all the stuff about negative media; I need to avoid pornography, bad music, and bad internet sites.  Someday I want to be a scientist.  I need to be educated to do this and not be taking drugs or doing things that will get me kicked out of school.  I value my family, my things, and my life.  I will do the things N.O.V.A. has taught me so that I can follow my path to excellence.

The N.O.V.A. program has helped lead me to my path of excellence by letting me know what things I should avoid, and what things I should look for.  I like that all the games we play have lessons to them, and that we can learn from them.  One of the lessons that I really remember is the one with the frisbees, called True Colors.  Our officer told us to try to convince the people who were outside to say they the wrong color.  He tried to show us what is right is right and what’s wrong is wrong.  Some things I really want to avoid are bad music, pornography, drugs, violence, and gangs.  I want to stay away from bad music because it can change the way I act and think.  I want to avoid pornography and drugs because they are addicting; drugs can ruin my health.  I don’t want to get into violence because it can lead to jail.  And gangs can lead to all the things I want to avoid.  A goal I have is to stay in school.  Education is very important; I cannot be a lot of things if I don’t go to college.  When I am older, I want to be a person who has nothing to do with anything bad.  I want to have a job and to be responsible for my actions.  I want to have stage three maturity and to have confidence in myself.  I want to live a gang-free, bad music-free, pornography-free, drug-free, violence-free life!

My parents and other leaders have taught me from an early age to be the best at whatever I am doing.  I have learned that if I always try my hardest and give my best effort in all that I do, that I will always feel like a success.  The N.O.V.A. program completely reinforced these principles in my life.  Sometimes, I tend to rush through my homework without checking it twice or rush through practicing the piano.  N.O.V.A. has helped me to understand that I really need to take advantage of the opportunities to learn and grow and to not let these opportunities pass by without giving a maximum effort.  I have also learned the importance of being busy doing good things.  Because, when we are not, we have a tendency to do things that we probably shouldn’t be doing.  I have learned the dangers of drugs and experimenting with other harmful things.  I will avoid these at all costs as with all things, experimenting with drugs has a cause and effect.  Because when you do or don’t do something, something happens.  This principle taught me a lot.  N.O.V.A. has taught me the value of hard work.  Like I mentioned above, I could work harder in developing my talents.  If I don’t, I will not reap as great as a reward as I could have.  I will work harder in all I do from now on.  I also value the concept of “There is no excuse: what’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong.”  This has taught me to not play in the “gray” areas of life.  N.O.V.A. has helped me realize that when creating “My roadmap to the path of excellence” that all of my choices matter.  I will think of the cause and effect of all that I do and am determined to do my best in everything in life.  I know that if I will follow these principles that my road to excellence will not be as bumpy as if I had not made these resolutions.

The first step I will take to get closer to my path of excellence will be to identify my values or in other words my standards and things that are important to me.  Some of these things are my family, my religion, and my talents or hobbies.  These things are important to me because they describe what kind of a person I am and also what I want to become.  I plan to pursue my talents and use them in my everyday life, to create standards that not only I will be proud of but will also be a good example to others, and to always refer to my values when I am faced with a hard decision or choice.  My next step in getting closer to my path of excellence will be to avoid things that might be harmful, dangerous, or wrong.  Some of these things are drugs, alcohol, pornography, and crude language.  I plan to avoid these things by striving to be positive, productive, and also a good example to my friends and family.  This attitude will help me to stay away from these harmful, dangerous, and wrong things and help me to strive to be a better person.  I also want to take advantage of good opportunities like service and charity.  I have found that I feel much better serving others then when I’m doing things for myself.  So with my values, positive attitude, and good opportunities I will start on my roadmap to the path of excellence.

When I was born I didn’t know any better.  I never knew what was right or what was wrong.  Growing up I learned that I could make choices.  The road to excellence or failure in my life would depend on the good or bad choices I make.  As I go along, many, many temptations will come my way that could lead me off the path of excellence and on to the road to failure.  I want to keep to the right path that will guide me where I want to go.  In life I want to take the opportunity to go to college and take classes in high school so I may become a sign language translator.  In fifth grade, Miss Evans started teaching my class sign language.  Ever since then I’ve wanted to excel in signing.  I want to help other people in life to understand the world.  Another opportunity I want to take is to become an athlete.  To make that opportunity happen I need to eat healthy things like fruits and vegetables.  I need to practice to become better at the sports I want to do.  There are numerous other opportunities I want to take.  There aren’t just opportunities in the world but there are things that can harm me and start leading me down the path to failure.  Those types of things in the world are what I want to avoid.  Drugs are one of those things that could damage my health and I could risk the opportunity of becoming an athlete.  They do not only damage my health but they can make it so I can’t get a job.  It’s not worth it to me to even try a drug.  It can become an addiction and I won’t know until it’s too late if its damaged me.  Not only can drugs become an addiction but pornography can too.  These are not the only things that can harm me mentally or physically.  There are many things in the world that can harm us.  I’m making a choice now that I will avoid these types of dangerous things in the world before it becomes too late.  In the N.O.V.A. program I have learned so many things.  It has taught me no matter what stand up for what I believe in.  Also it has taught me some quotes like Opportunities which means “good things that come your way”.  Garbage in/Garbage out stands for, “what you put in is what you get out”.  These quotes have helped me understand a little bit more and it has opened up my eyes to the world around me.  The N.O.V.A. program educated me on more things than I could imagine.  It has taught me about music influences, positive and negative sides to media, cause and effect, and to study the situation.  It has taught me to be a N.O.V.A. lone wolf.  This is not everything the N.O.V.A. program has taught me because there are several things that I want to remember forever.  N.O.V.A. has prepared me even more for things I need to avoid or opportunities I want to take.   I have a road map that I want to follow and stick to my road map to my path to excellence.  Each choice I make I’m going to ask myself will this help me to stay on my path of excellence.  We each can choose our own road map that we can decide where it will lead us in our each and individual lives.

When I ponder upon the things that I cherish most, my mind wanders to my beautiful wife and wonderful son.  I think of my religion and faith, as well as the blessings that I receive from working with my students.  The thought of losing these treasures because of terrible decisions to take drugs, alcohol, or view pornography, frightens me beyond words.  It’s these thoughts and others that motivate me to follow my path of excellence.  There is such joy that can be found in following the teaching that NOVA spells out.  Responsibility, accountability, morality, and healthy lifestyle habits are taught through this program.  As a young husband and father, I’ve found NOVA to be a wonderful source of guidance in my attempts to raise a happy, loving family.  Years ago as a young teenager I personally witnessed a loved one of mine lose his life to the lure and addictions of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs.  I know then as I know now that health and happiness can only be found by making positive decisions.  Filling my life with goals and purpose has helped me to stay on my path of excellence.  Seeking to excel in school, scouts, music and sports allowed me to escape the depressing world of hopelessness, that is found within drug addiction and abuse.  And yet as I look to the future this day, I know that my journey of living by the principles set forth by NOVA is not over.   It is a lifetime commitment to keeping oneself clean and productive.  I pledge now to follow my NOVA constitution and to help others live by theirs.

By following my roadmap to the path of excellence, I can avoid many problems and bad situations that cause problems for young people today.  My roadmap includes taking advantage of opportunities that will come my way if I keep my mind and body free of bad influences.  These opportunities will include having good friends with similar standards as mine.  Also I will be able to make good decisions because my mind will be clear.  I will be able to use the internet because I will use it wisely.  I will have opportunities to be a leader because people will recognize good wholesome characteristics in me that they will find inspiring and attractive.  My roadmap will steer me away from unhealthy problems like using alcohol and drugs.  It will take me away from violence, teasing, and bullying, and lead me towards kindness, love, and being helpful to others.  My map will help me recognize unhealthy internet websites, and lead me towards sites that build character, self-esteem, and challenge my imagination.  I value people who make right decisions whether they are popular or not.  I value clean thoughts and actions that come from an uncluttered mind free of internet garbage.  The NOVA program has helped me create my roadmap by teaching me how to handle situations before they come up.  I can decide now how I will act so that I will not be pressured when the time comes into making a poor decision.  The NOVA program helps me stay on my roadmap and gives me the chance to be the best perosn I can possible be.

I believe that this could change my entire out look on life.  If I want to become the best person I can become I want to take advantage of great opportunities such as not doing drugs, good jobs, good friends, and last but not least, good grades so I can go to college so I can become a doctor.  Things I want to avoid are drugs, foul people, and bad jobs.  I’m lucky to have great friends, this has given me a head start on my path of excellence and good parents and family to help me out when I am in need of help.  N.O.V.A. has given me the keys to my goals in life and I intend to use every single thing I learned in N.O.V.A. to help me go to college, avoid drugs, and to listen, watch, and do the right things.  This is my N.O.V.A. Constitution.

Since I’m now stepping into a world filled with good and bad things, I’m going to try my best to avoid all the bad things in life.  There are things that I want like, going to college, and having a good life.  I’m not going to get to these things if I start taking drugs, stealing, and doing other things that are harmful to me.  In my future and now I want to avoid all the things that will destroy my life.  Drugs will make me fall right off my path of excellence and maybe even cause death.  The same thing with violence, stealing and all the other horrible things you can think of.  I don’t want to do any of those things.  What I want is a wonderful life.  Not the kind where only good things happen to you, I know bad things happen in life, but I’m going to try to avoid them.  Starting now I want to take good opportunities.  I want to have good friends, be around my family, and go to school.  Those are the things I want, and need.  They are part of my life.  They’re on my path of excellence waiting for me.  And that’s where I want to be, not on the path of failure.  There are things that mean a lot to me, like my family and friends.  Without them, my life would be a lot harder.  Their guidance makes my life a lot easier.  My home and my belongings are also very special to me.  My home gives me shelter in any weather.  My belongings give me something to do besides watching television.  Those are the tools I need to get on my path of excellence.  NOVA gave me other tools to use.  One of the main tools is, saying “no” to all of the things that are harmful to me.  My roadmap to excellence has school, a job, family, and good friends.  I want and will fly down my path of excellence.

There are many opportunities I would like to take advantage of.  One opportunity I want to take advantage of while I’m young is try out for a Olympic soccer program.  I’m going to take advantage of my education given to me, so I may get into a good college.  I would like to take advantage of NOVA also.  A big thing I want to avoid is drugs.  They would totally lead me off of my path to excellence.  It would be like losing your map and getting lost.  Another thing I would like to avoid is bad friends.  I would not like to be in a car, having your “friends” lead you off the path, or give you the wrong directions.  I would also like to avoid bad media.  Bad media meaning depressing music, video games, and T.V..  Avoiding bad music will make me happier, and function better too.  Avoiding these things will affect me in a better way, and I will accept that.  I have many things I value in life.  One that I value the most is my family.  They are always there for me.  Another thing I value is education.  I’m grateful for my knowledge I’ve learned in school, so it can help me in life.  NOVA is definitely “My roadmap to the path of excellence.”  It has helped me to see things I didn’t before.  It has showed me to look out for bad things, and how to watch for them.  In some ways it has made me more mature.  The tips given to me will lead me through the hard times in life.  NOVA will guide me to the path of excellence.

Understanding the power of making life time decisions can help me achieve my path of excellence.  Knowing what I want and setting goals to lead me to success and positive opportunities has made my life easier.  I have a goal to continue my own education by preparing for graduate school where I want to study to receive a master’s degree in mathematics education.  I also have a goal to go to Korea to perhaps teach English there for a summer.  I had the opportunity to live in Korea for about a year and a half and would really like to go back again.  Each of these opportunities will help me gain more knowledge that I can use to help others and find success in my work and personal life.  These goals are important to me because education is something that I value.  If you don’t know something you are missing knowledge that can help you solve problems or avoid trouble.  Education opens more doors of opportunity.  Another thing that is very important to me is family.  I want to have knowledge that can help my family.  I also want to share the things we learn in N.O.V.A. with them so that they can do well on their path to excellence.  Teaching is also something I love and is very important to me.  The things that I learn in N.O.V.A. can help me help my students.  N.O.V.A. principles teach us to avoid gangs, drugs, low self esteem, and media that is vulgar or destructive.  These things can stop us from achieving our goals and prevent us from helping others.  I will use my knowledge to avoid trouble and to achieve my goals.