#10 Marc's Story

I think Marc's story is more inspiring than Craig's. He could've chosen to have the rich life on Wall Street but instead decided to change the lives of others. He made a better life for people who are less fortunate instead of putting himself first. He's a great guy for doing that. He treats everyone as though they are equal and truly cares about others. Craig said it was Marc who made him want to help the world by starting Free The Children. He's inspired so many people and will continue to do so.

#9 Craig's Story

I think Craig is a true hero. He took something so little, like a newspaper article and turned it into something big. He stood up for what he believed in which many of us don't do. If more people made a change in the world by taking action like he did then the world would be a much better place. 

#8 If you really knew me

I've watched 'If You Really Knew Me' a few times and I think this episode got through to me a lot more than the others. The kids on the show had tougher stories than the other episodes. These kids were leaders. After doing challenge day it showed how they wanted to make a difference and what they did to do so. They were there for each other just like everyone in a school community should be. They also helped so many other students after challenge day by teaching them not to judge just by simply eating lunch with them.
This school is similar because everyone out there has a story, no one has it perfect. We have similar cliques and I'm not sure about the other students but I know if our class did challenge day that we would want to make a difference at IDCI just like the other school did. The only differences are that some people from our school might not want to do challenge day. They might think they'll get judged for doing it because its 'not cool' to share your feelings and emotions even though it can really help some people.
I think that challenge day can really help our school to not be so quick to judge people. You can't judge someone by appearance before getting to really know them. I think a lot of people at our school have problems that they're to afraid to talk about. Our school has a lot of cliques and if we bonded with people that weren't in our clique then maybe people would actually want to come to school because they'd feel accepted by more people and could be themselves for whomever they may be.
I think it'd be a great opportunity to be a part of challenge day. I'm a pretty accepting person because I've been through a lot myself so I realize where people are coming from. I think it'd be nice to hear other people's stories so I know I'm not the only one. I'd also like to be one of the ones to help make a difference in the school. I want people to know that they're not alone when they go through tough time and that just because they may look different then someone else I won't judge them on that.
IDCI is doing challenge day so that everyone can feel accepted at our school. Everyone goes through stuff and we're doing challenge day so that people have more people to talk to when they need someone there for them. I think Mr. Cook and some of the teachers genuinely care about the students and that's why they're doing this.
I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO DO CHALLENGE DAY!:)

#7 Important Talk

Today we learned that if we're going to be a class and do fun things together then we all need to come together, get everyone involved and participate. We learned that we always try and bring everyone together so the whole school feels included but sometimes we're so focused on them that we forget to include everyone in our own class..we need to work together, EVERY single one of us if we want to make a difference. Some people aren't including everyone because they're afraid to get to know and work with people that aren't their good friends. The class could be so much better if we all got to know each other and could be happy working with anyone.
If teachers wanted us to work with only our friends then they would put us in groups with our friends. We have classes full of all different types of people to learn how to communicate with others that aren't necessarily like you. You may not be comfortable at first working with someone that's not in 'your group' but that's why we do warm ups to get to know each other.
I think we need to keep on doing our energizers to get more comfortable around each other as well as get pumped up. That will make us comfortable around each other but to make friends you have to 'cross the line' and open up to people which gains each others trust. I think if we knew a bit more about each other then we wouldn't be so quick to judge. Class mates would be able to put themselves into someone else's shoes which would lead to a better understanding of each other.