discover the values that will guide them through life. you are only as good as your word. The laws of life are the core values that we take with us wherever we go and whatever we do. The laws of life essay contest challenges young people of all ages to discover for themselves the values that will guide them throughout life.

from lawsoflife.org by writing about the laws or values by which they live their lives, students further their knowledge of and conviction to good character. Participating in a writing contest furthers both academic goals and character development. The contest structure also builds in participation of the wider community, encouraging business and community members to aid schools and parents in helping youth develop good character.

The better business bureau center for character ethics has joined forces with the john templeton foundation to promote this enriching essay contest for youth. The b laws of life essay contest is one of the b center 39 s premier future workforce programs aimed at developing the character of today 39 s students so they become the ethical, responsible and trustworthy employees and citizens of tomorrow. The b center for character ethics mission is to provide exemplary programming that the 122 better business bureaus around the us and canada can adopt in their areas. Some bs have already adopted the contest and sponsor regional contests for winners of local laws of life contests in their service area. The purpose of the regional contests is to encourage schools and communities to sponsor the local contests that create the character rich dialogues and inspirational writing experiences for the youth in their area.

Laws of life essay winners apr 25, 2007, 1 so what are your laws of life? 39,0 9 12th grade students gave their answer in essays submitted to the georgia laws of life essay contest. The contest is for students to understand what their core values are and how these values carry us through life. Bhs received 28 honorable mentions, the highest of any school in georgia stated jeanine halada, bhs coordinator. The top writers for each grade shared their essays at rotary club, a sponsor of the statewide contest, on tuesday. The stories were all about true experiences that had changed each of the students. Through their stories, these students were able to communicate their laws of life. the bainbridge high school winner and 12th grade winner is chase alexander his essay my childhood when i sit to reflect on my childhood, i constantly find my mind wandering to the same collection of memories.

These are memories of a man that was once in my life who was a very compassionate person that loved everyone around him with an extraordinarily selfless love. This man was a dependable man that i could confide in with my biggest dilemmas and know that he would always be there to comfort me have a solution to my problem. He was one in a million, and there will probably never be another man like him to walk the earth again. I always reflect on these recollections to help me through the most difficult problems that life throws my way. When i was young i can remember how i used to enjoy spending quality father and son time with my dad, whether we were going out into the yard to play ball or just lounging around on the couch eating ice cream and watching cartoons on saturday mornings. It really did not matter to me what my dad and i did, as long as i could be with him and we do things together.

You see, when i was about ten or eleven years old, my father got injured at his job when a loosely secured beam fell and hit him in his upper back and neck. This resulted with him having moderate to severe nerve damage in his neck and back. He now has limited range of motion and frequent pain in his neck from the metal discs that were surgically implanted in the left side of his neck. Ever since this accident occurred, the man i once knew as my dad vanished and a stranger took his place. It is hard for my dad and me to get along it is hard for anyone in my family to get along with my dad because he has developed into such a completely opposite person from the rest of us. There is one thing that has helped me focus on the good that i know still exists deep down in my father's heart of stone, past the rocky exterior that he uses to shield his true feelings and personality from us and the rest of the world, and that is a saying that i once heard on television.

This is what i guess could be called a maxim it was a saying that i heard while watching a scene from the sitcom brothers and sisters. In this scene, a man was talking to one of the main female characters who had the same relationship with her father as i have with mine. He said to her, we don't love them for what they do we love them because they are. At first, that saying did not make any sense to me, but the more i sat there and contemplated over it, the more it started to make sense. We do not love the people that are close to us because of the way they act or the way we think they should act, we love them because of who they are to us. Love is not something that we can just pick and choose who we think deserve to receive it love is something that we have no control over who receives it and who does not. That is why i still love my father, because i am a part of him by blood, and i grew up with a love for him as my father in my heart and i just can't stop that love because i want to.

Unconditional love means that you love the person no matter what and that is how i love my father. 11th grade winner chelsea sanders her essay it's better to give than to receive when i was a little girl, my mother passed away. When i turned eight years old, i was taken from my dad who was a drug and alcohol abuser. It was always cold in the homes we lived in because there was never any gas to run the heater.

My sister, brother, and i went to live with my aunt and uncle where we have been since this time. The money we received from the death of our mother had already been spent by our father on everything except our needs. Our aunt was upset because she did not know if she would be able to provide us with gifts from santa claus. On december the twenty fourth christmas eve , a woman, my family and i had never seen before and have not seen since, pulled into our drive way in a brand new mini van she asked my aunt if we lived at this address. Instead of spending money on frivolous gifts for each other, they decided to help a family in need.

The lady that brought the gifts to us from marianna told us that she could never out give god. His blessings would always outweigh her attempts of giving back just a little of what he had given her. I have never forgotten the kindness of this wonderful person who lived by this motto. When i was working in a grocery store, a lady came in who had a small child in a wheelchair.

When her total was twenty dollars more than she had in her purse, she started to put the groceries back. She was so thankful and told me she would bring the money back to me as soon as she could. I told her not to worry about it because god had blessed me and i in return was sharing the blessings. You see just that day i had won an in store contest with the prize being a cash reward.