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WINNERS CHOSEN IN ESSAY CONTESTS REVOLVING AROUND THE FIRST THIRTY
The First Thirty is based on the story of the first thirty years of Greg Forbes Siegman's life and the first thirty lessons learned from his setbacks and successes along the way. In a number of places around North America, like Connecticut, Minnesota, California, New York and Ontario, organizations have sponsored essay contests revolving around the book and its lessons. The sponsors and prize providers for the various contests have included professional sports teams like New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings, media outlets like Anoka County Union and College News, a variety of corporations and organizations like Peoples Bank of Commerce, Citizens Bank, Scotiabank, Green Tourism Association, Rockville Bank, MyTownHall.info and Lions Club, and restaurants like Maggiano's Little Italy and Campagnia.
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Below are a sample from some of the winning essays (along with the questions they were answering)...
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EXCERPTS OF THE WINNING ESSAYS: Note to media and other outlets. Feel free to quote portions of the selected excerpts from the winning essays without asking, but the excerpted essay in its entirety may not be duplicated or reprinted without permission. When quoting a portion below, please give proper credit ("Essay by STUDENT'S NAME, courtesy of TheFirstThirty.com") If you wish to inquire about quoting an excerpted essay in its entirety, send an email to EssayContest@TheFirstThirty.com along with your name, title and affiliation.
Essay Contest Winner: Katelyn, 7th-8th grade, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - Based on the lessons in The First Thirty and/or Greg's speech about changing the world outside your window (if you attended the speech), what can you do to make a difference?
Sure, I have tons of things outside my window, a tree here, a light bulb there and even a car or two. But out of all things outside my window I see garbage, lots of garbage!...We all know it's a problem so why don't we fix it? I plan to make at least one part of the world garbage free! It will start out quite simple. First I'll go...and pick up all the garbage I see. This will be great because that way none of the seagulls or crows will...choke on any of the plastic. After this, maybe [someone] will tell the Care Centre...That way they'll probably ask me to help out too. You see there's already something happening here! Yeah, I'd love to clean up everywhere but how's a girl with school...and other extra-curricular activities supposed to do it all? The truth is I couldn't. This is why I'd make posters and get help...The [kids who help] would tell their friends and their friends would tell more friends and a ripple effect would start. Now that I've got this started I have a choice: Do I stop here because I've cleaned up my area or do I make it even bigger and make a campaign out of it? I could spread it all over this side of town! Well, the answer's pretty obvious. I wanted to make a difference and the only way I'm going to do that is if I keep on going....Who knows by the time it's finished Thunder Bay could be the one city without one piece of garbage. People could go for a walk and wouldn't get one piece of gum on them. They could look out their window and see a beautiful site! Who knows, maybe some people from cities around us would hear about it and start their own campaign. Slowly and slowly there would be less and less garbage everywhere and this is all because one person picked up a few pieces of garbage each day. It all started from wanting to help and make a difference! You know what a great name for the whole campaign would be? One piece makes a difference!
Essay Contest Winner: Katie, 7th-8th grade, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - Based on the lessons in The First Thirty and/or Greg's speech about changing the world outside your window (if you attended), what can you do to make a difference?
Greg Forbes Siegman is an inspiration. He taught me not to take things for granted. [He asked the audience to] close our eyes and imagine what we see from our windows [and what we can do to improve those things]. What I see is a skating rink, grass, trees, bushes and a baseball area. What I could change about it would be the skating rink because instead of sitting in my living room watching men putting up the skating rink [while they are] all wet and cold, I could bring them some hot chocolate. If I did that, they would probably appreciate what I would do. Also with the trees and the bushes, I could take out the extra stuff in them like dead branches. The tree is a apple tree, so I could pick up all of the apples that fell on the ground. I really think I could do at least one thing and I would help. Just like the part [in The First Thirty, the book about Greg] -- how a man was smashing Greg's car with a brick and the man ran away and then the [other] man who was watching came over and said Greg should keep the brick because even though there is about a million bricks if everyone takes one then [off the street], then that's one less for someone to take to smash a car with. I think about that, and when my mom asks me to do something and she's worked all day on getting the house clean I will do that because it is one less thing my mom will have to do.
Essay Contest Winner: Alyssa, 7th-8th grade, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - Based on the lessons in The First Thirty and/or Greg's speech about changing the world outside your window (if you attended), what can you do to make a difference?
In THE FIRST THIRTY, there is one life lesson that stands out to me the most; "Treat everyone that you meet like they came into your life for a reason." This lesson stands out to me because to me it means don´t assume that everyone in your life is always going to be there, so while they´re here, show them that you can make a difference. Almost two years ago, my best friend and I sold The Canadian Cancer Society wristbands to raise money for the fight against cancer. We raised a lot for just two kids. My friend [who did the wristband project with me] had cancer. This determined him even more to work extra hard...because he knew how the proceeds could help other cancer victims. Later on that year, we came up with more fun ideas to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society and make Thunder Bay an active participant in the cure for this dreadful disease. My best friend never got a chance to fulfill those ideas. He passed away last year. Though he didn´t live to the age he would have imagined, I know he made a difference not only in my life, but also in the lives of others who have the same type of cancer...My goal is to raise more money for The Canadian Cancer Society, so I can make a difference, just like [in THE FIRST THIRTY] when Greg raised money for scholarships. And it doesn´t matter how much money or how big or small of a difference you make, it´s whether or not you try.
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Essay Contest Winner: Beth, 7th-8th grade, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - Based on the lessons in The First Thirty and/or Greg's speech about changing the world outside your window (if you attended the speech), what can you do to make a difference?
A cloud. One simple object. An inanimate object. To some, a cloud is just a way to find shapes on a cool summer's afternoon. To others, it may just be a waste of
blue sky. But to someone else, someone like me, a cloud is much more that a waste of sky; it showed me one of the most important lessons in my life.
As I was requested and intrigued to do, I sat by my bedroom window and gazed upon the small world I had the ability to change, setting my goals to make the space a better one. I saw nothing more than a roof, one white house, a quiet street and trees. But what stood out the most, was the sky. Grey-blue and crisp as the sun had vanished behind the trees. I noticed a cloud. One lonely cloud standing out above the pines. It was nothing much, no bigger than a penny at ams length from where I was watching it from, but how it was coloured was what taught me my lesson, and got me thinking about what I can do to help out. The cloud was half-white, half-gray. After gazing at the cloud for what seemed at least to be an hour, it fully hit me. A lesson in the sky. What if the white represented 'good', and the gray represented 'bad'?...Then I came to thinking, what if you could 'clean' the bad away?...I watched a bit of trash flutter past as it bounced gently down the street. I grabbed my coat and headed outside to pick it up....I realized if enough hands pick a small bit of gray away, the white will show right through it all, full potential and beauty gleaming in the sunlight.
I came back inside after tossing a small Safeway bag of litter in the trash can, suddenly having a bit of an idea. I grabbed a piece of paper and a gray pencil crayon, colouring one full side gray and leaving the other side white. I tore a very small bit off the corner and flipped it over; a speck of white on a 'cloud' of gray. A speck for every time I pick up a bit of trash, I thought. Slowly turning the small bit of the world I live in into a beaming, clear, soft cloud. At first, one little bit of paper, about the size of the tip of a pencil eraser, didn't seem like much at all...but after two days, there was already three pieces flipped over.
If I learned anything from Greg's speech and the biography about him (The First Thirty), it's that everthing adds up, no matter how small, or how big.
Time adds up. Bricks add up. Help adds up. And so do little pieces of paper...
Essay Contest Winner: Chelsi, Senior in College, Fresno, California - Based on the lessons in The First Thirty, what can you do to make a difference in the world outside your window? Excerpt of winning essay...
...The way I plan to improve community morale is by asking people....to help me raise money for Break the Barriers, an organization which bridges the gap between disabled kids and "regular kids" through competition and performance...I am inspired by Jarrett [one of the characters in The First Thirty]. [Jarrett is] the boy battling Cancer who spends time encouraging others to feel good about their lives (The First Thirty, 57). This selfless attitude permits "ordinary, every day people [to] make an extraordinary difference" (The First Thirty, 57).
The problem with most ideas is that a person tries to accomplish a huge goal that is initially unattainable. Rather than giving up when Greg was unable to raise enough money to fund scholarships, he made a "smaller but immediate difference to help his local community" (The First Thirty, 46)....Likewise, I [set out to start small]...Although I was told the idea was crazy, I proceeded to walk door to door asking neighbors for money to benefit Break the Barriers. I didn't have more than an hour to spare, but at the end of that hour, I had acquired $21.00. While this dollar figure is small, it is a start in the right direction. The best part is that I convinced ordinary people to contribute back to the Fresno Community. How amazing!...I realized that by adding a personal touch to my proposal (by knocking on doors rather than sending letters), people were usually willing to donate money...By knocking on doors, I had proven Siegman's point: "Despite the odds against [me], they always improve if you show up" (The First Thirty, 28)...
...Once I gain an adequate basis of support, I will encourage individuals to step into employment positions that benefit the Fresno community. Although
this will be a long process, The First Thirty taught me that if you: "Stick with a dream long enough, it just might come true" (The First Thirty 92) despite negative stereotypes working against you.
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Located in Fresno? You can get The First Thirty (ISBN: 0975879405) at Borders in Fresno, Kennel Bookstore and Fresno City College Bookstore
You can get A Place To Sit, workbook based on The First Thirty, (ISBN: 0975879448) at Kennel Bookstore and Fresno City College Bookstore
Or - you can just click on Shopping Cart and get it here online
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Essay Contest Winner: Gabe W, Grade 7, Minnesota - Based on the lessons in The First Thirty, what can you do to make a difference in the world outside your window? Excerpt of winning essay...
As I looked out my window the other day, I saw the neighbors hanging up their clothes to dry. Then I thought to myself, I'm lucky that I even have clothes that fit. That would be a horrible thing not to have clothes to wear. So my idea is to collect clothes that other people don't want/need and give them to the Salvation Army. Who knows if I would collect lots of clothes or not so many? As long as I would change one person's life, the project would be a success.
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Located in Minnesota? You can get The First Thirty (ISBN: 0975879405) at Borders in St. Paul or Coon Rapids, or College of St. Catherine Bookstore
Or - you can just click on Shopping Cart and get it here online
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Essay Contest Winner: Shoually Y, Grade 7, Minnesota - How has The First Thirty changed the way you see success? Excerpt ....
I've read many books that deal with issues like diversity and discrimination. Out of all those books, The First Thirty (a book written by Jillip Naysinthe Paxson as told to him by Greg Forbes Siegman) is the only one that has changed my way of thinking about the word, success...Before reading this book, I understood success to mean quite simply: victory...The First Thirty showed me that sometimes success can be found in losing.
One part of the book that helped me really understand this concept was when Greg first met Galloway. Even though Galloway could have gone to an Ivy League school, she chose to go to a school in Louisiana. This was different from Greg, who wanted nothing more than to attend an Ivy League school. Obviously success to Galloway meant a whole different thing than it did to Greg at that time. To Galloway, success meant to be where you wanted to be and where you feel best suits you. Greg saw acceptance into an Ivy League as validation that he has succeeded. In meeting Galloway, Greg was able to see a difference in the ways people want, the goals they have for themselves, and their definitions of success in life...The way The First Thirty came to be written also helped clarify the meaning of success to me. The collaboration of the work, the ways in which Jillip finished writing the book and Greg finished sharing
it with him was an amazing feat of teamwork, a sharing of success and an exploration of it. To me, watching something that you've done be passed on and appreciated by others can be the greatest success of all...
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Located in Minnesota? You can get The First Thirty (ISBN: 0975879405) at Borders in St. Paul or Coon Rapids, or College of St. Catherine Bookstore
Or - you can just click on Shopping Cart and get it here online
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Essay Contest Winner: Robyn S, College-bound Graduate of Suffield High School, Connecticut - Based on the lessons of The First Thirty, what can you do to make the most of your freshman year of college? Excerpt...
After digesting the thirty lessons delineated in the book by Jillip Naysinthe Paxson, The First Thirty, the advice that hit me most personally was lesson number three: "Approach everyone you meet like they came into your life for a reason." In fact, I should approach every circumstance in my life like I am there for a reason. I must appreciate all things because I often learn the greatest lessons the times that events do not go the way I had planned.
Like Greg (the main character in The First Thirty), I had set my sights on the Ivy Leagues since elementary school. Then, last January I was able to go on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, and I realized that I wanted to have a career in missions work and learn about different cultures. As much as I've always wanted to go to the Ivy Leagues, I felt a school in Pennsylvania called Messiah College was a better fit for what I wanted to study. I felt disillusioned, finding that the goal I had persistently pursued was no longer what I was looking for. Even though Messiah College has a unique program in global ministries, it was still difficult to give up the 'Ivy' dream.
It was a bittersweet feeling the day I got my rejection letter from Harvard. My dreams of going to this university had officially been squelched, yet now I could be excited about going to my perfect fit, Messiah College, without feeling like I was voluntarily giving up a coveted opportunity. Yes, this did happen for a reason, and I learned that giving up one goal to reach for a better one is difficult, yet important for growth.
So now I begin to redefine my goals for the year to come. I want to use my slot to learn about different cultures and the ways they can connect. Keeping this goal in mind while registering for classes, I have enrolled in a Contemporary Mexico course that includes a three-week visit to that country during the January term....
Lastly...my goal is to join two clubs in my first semester that will allow me to interact with different kinds of people. If I see all my interactions as learning experiences, I can appreciate the value of everyone that I meet and know that they are in my life for a reason.
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Located in Minnesota? You can get The First Thirty (ISBN: 0975879405) and/or A Place To Sit (the workbook based on The First Thirty) - ISBN: 0975879448 at Barnes & Noble in Enfield, Connecticut. You can also get The First Thirty at Borders in Simsbury, CT.
Or - you can just click on Shopping Cart and get it here online
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Essay Contest Winner: Linda R, NY GEAR UP High School Student Workshop - Based on the lessons of The First Thirty, what are three qualities that will help you succeed in college and beyond? Excerpt...
The book, The First Thirty, consisted of many different lessons that [the main character] Greg learned throughout his life. To me, all the lessons added up to three main qualities to help you not only get to college but to help you succeed: Self-esteem, Hardships, and Failure...Self-esteem is having confidence in your own merit as an individual...Having confidence in yourself gives you the power to overcome anything you wish...If you have a low self-esteem, you never get far. You always get out as much as you put in...
Hardships are the second most important quality, because you need to know that not everything will just fall on your lap. Hardships are the difficulty or suffering caused by a lack of something...I feel hardships are tests to see how bad you really want something. You may not have the money to go to the school you want to but if you work while attending school part-time you just might be able to pull off a miracle. Hardships help you get closer to friends whom help build up your self-esteem and make you feel like you can take on the world. Hardships should tell you that nothing is easy and if you want something bad enough you should find a way to get through it, and nothing should stop you. If you want to succeed in college, then you must believe in yourself whether things step in front of you or not...
Failure is my last quality. I chose this to be my last quality because you wouldn’t enjoy your success if you didn’t have bumps on the road along the way. Failure is the lack of success in something. One of the first quotes in the book The First Thirty is from Greg’s Grandma - “If life was nothing but straight lines, it wouldn’t be worth living.”...In the book, Greg was rejected from all the Ivy League schools he wanted to attend. I see failure as a way that did not work/something didn’t fit. It is like putting together a puzzle. If the first piece does not fit, keep trying different ones and eventually you will get the whole picture...
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Essay Contest Winner: Clement G, Yonkers, NY GEAR UP High School Student Workshop - Based on the lessons of The First Thirty, what are three qualities that will help you succeed in college and beyond? Excerpt....
Sometimes, reading a book will instantly impact your life in a way that you never thought was possible. This was apparent in my life when I read The First Thirty, as told to Jillip Naysinthe Paxson by Greg Forbes Siegman. This book illustrated all the obstacles Greg faced as a teenager growing up and how he overcame them through perseverance, humbleness (being humble-d) and charity...I know that these same qualities would help me get to and succeed in college.
In The First Thirty, Greg showed how perseverance is the key to succeeding. Greg almost failed in whatever he did as a child and that did not get him down. He kept trying to make his dream come true. In the book's Eighth lesson, he said, “Never let failure keep you from trying again.” He showed how at one point, you are bound to fail [along the way] in whatever you do. However, you are the one who is supposed to persevere through your failure in order to succeed. No matter how many times you fail, perseverance is the key. I believe that if I am able to persevere, and not give up, I will succeed in college. College would be a whole new challenge to me, a whole new course and the only way to succeed is if I work hard, do not give up and persevere through my failures to make it a success.
Also, in The First Thirty, Greg showed how humbleness is the quality that a man needs the most. In his story, at one point, he was feeling so good about his accomplishments that he thought he could do almost anything. Then one day, he...wanted to take a picture and decided to act as the photographer for the day. But he could not get the camera to work, and would not let [his friend, a professional photographer named] Guy help him because he thought he could do it himself. When he finally gave up, Guy took the camera and fixed it. That was when Greg realized his 25th lesson which was, “Life is a challenge, but it is not an exam. It is okay to ask for help from someone who knows more than you.” I know that I do not know everything, and I would be lying if I said I did. Being humble would also benefit me greatly in college. It will open new doors for me. I will be able to learn new things from new people and broaden my horizon in the process.
One last lesson which I believe would help me greatly in college involves charity. Greg did a lot of charity in his day...he organized the brunches which helped kids and also benefited the adults who participated because it gave them ideas about who they were and showed them to be tolerant to each other. In college, doing charity work would benefit me greatly because I will be helping my community, and it would help me build my communication skills, which would not only help me in college but throughout my life.
Lessons in The First Thirty will help me get to college and succeed in it. This is because Greg faced a lot of similar obstacles and he got through them, showing how I can also succeed if I work hard using perseverance, humbleness and charity.
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Want to get The First Thirty (ISBN: 0975879405) or A Place To Sit (ISBN: 0975879448)?
Just click on Shopping Cart and get it here online
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Want to get a copy of the book? Email us at Books@IdeaListEnterprises.com and we'll tell you what store near you carries the book -- or just click on Shopping Cart and get it here online.
Want to order them for your colleagues, your friends, your staff or your students? Whether it's 1000 books, 100 or just 10, just email us at: Books@IdeaListEnterprises.com
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