While I was reading the secret today, I was reminded of my High School teacher Mr. Wong. He was always positive and grateful for what life has given him and he made it his mission to teach is as well. One of his lessons that has always stuck with me was a paper he passed out on the topic of maturity:
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Maturity is many things. First it is the ability to base judgment on the Big Picture—the Long Hauli. It means being able to pass up the fun-for-the-minute and select the course of action that will pay off later. One of the characteristics of infancy is the I-want-it-NOW approach. Grown up people are able to wait.

Maturity is the ability to stick with a project or a situation until it is finished. The person who is constantly changing jobs, changing friends, and changing mates is immature. Everything seems to turn sour after awhile.

Maturity is the ability to face unpleasantness, frustration, discomfort, and defeat without complain or collapse. The mature person knows he can’t have everything his own way. Nobody wins ‘em all. He is able to defer to circumstances, to other people—and to time.

Maturity means doing what is expected of you, and this means being dependable. It means keeping your word. Bound in with dependability is personal integrity. Do you mean what you say—and say what you mean?

The world is filled with people who can’t be counted on. They are never around in a crisis. They break promises and substitute alibis for performance. They show up late—or not at all. They are confused and disorganized. Their lives are a maze of unfinished business. Such behavior suggests a lack of self-discipline—which is a large part of maturity.

Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stick with it, riding out the storms that may follow. This requires clear thinking. And the courage to stand by your position once you’ve taken it.

Immature people spend a lifetime exploring possibilities and then doing nothing. Action requires courage. And courage means maturity.

Maturity is the ability to harness your abilities and your energies to do more than is expected. The mature person refuses to settle for mediocrity. He would rather aim high and miss the mark than aim low—and make it.
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Even after a year, this lesson still hits me. I have a lot to learn because in many cases I am still immature. Like promised in my last post, I was going to talk about creeper #2. Instead of going off and ranting about my encounter with him, I am going to take a page of advice from the book and from Mr. Wong and list out the good things that I am grateful for from meeting him.

He is a sweet 16 year old who was the first person that I was grateful to see on my second day of class. He was my first conversation and talking to him opened many doors for me in the class to meet and interact with others. Though he is slow at learning and has problems articulating his thoughts, helping him in class helped me understand the material better. Because of him, I was able to talk to the handsome student sitting right beside him, even though it was just for a few moments. When I say handsome, I mean that he was intelligent, gave off that bad boy vibe, was buff had a deep voice and a humorous personality.

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