The SoapBox

Luck

by Charlie, age 11

I don't believe in luck, I believe in talent: what you are good at and what you are not good at.

Tricks of the Mind

by Heather Rose, age 13

Some people appear to have a lot of good luck or a lot of bad luck, but that's usually based on their personality: their character traits, their work ethic, their willingness to experience new situations, and things like that. You might thing that someone is really lucky, but it's more likely that they're just getting a reward for hard work that you aren't aware of. It's all based on perspective. Think of placebos: sugar pills. They don't contain any drugs. The only reason people heal when they take placebos is because they believe that the placebo is helping them. It's the same way with lucky charms: people believe they work, so they do. It's all in your mind.

Luck

by Lola, age 11

You only have luck if you believe in yourself. That's the only way you will get luck.

Life's

by Cookie, age 12

I don't really believe in luck. I believe that you can control what happens in your life and that life is what you make it. I don't have anything lucky. Id o have a bear which my mum and dad got me for my birthday. I like it because it reminds me of them and if I am sad, it cheers me up. Also, my mum and dad always tell me how proud they are of me and that my best is all that I can do. This bear reminds me of that, and that gets me through any tough times. I work very, very hard in school and in everything else, and I love knowing that if I keep doing what I am doing, I will end up with a good job and a happy life.

Confidence = Good Luck

by Allysia, age 15

I don't really believe in luck deep inside. I still tell people to break a leg, and I have a "lucky" pen that I use on tests. I think having these reassurances and private items builds confidence, making yourself believe that you can really do it. I do truly believe in karma, though. That's why mean people always have no real friends. Plus, practicing and working hard just gives natural luck and confidence. For things like bingo and lottery, well, it's just a game!

Luck, Luck, Luck

by Coocers, age 12

Luck is always here! It depends on who you ask, of course, though. I think I am semi-lucky. I hate Type I diabetes, and I moved away from my best friends in the whole world in 5th grade, and now I'm in 7th, but I have parents that love me, along with cousins, grandparents, and aunts and uncles who love me, too. We are really lucky that neither of my parents got laid off in this big fat stupid economy. And I have friends that will love me today, tomorrow, and forever. Also, diabetes isn't toooo bad. It's a pain, but it's not cancer or deadly. So I guess that I am the ultimate optimist! Ohh, and I think that in 10 years, the economy will be back on track; and the fattest country in the world thing? No more! Yeah, I'm the ultimate optimist.

I really don't have anything lucky that I take to competitions, since I'm not SUPER athletic. I think luck is everything, and I believe in God, but I think that everything has a chance, but with luck, anything can change! Life is like one big road trip. You just have to choose where you are going, who is coming with you, and who is driving the car. Even if you're lucky, you never know how life will work out!

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by Ruth, age 12

I don't think there is actually such a thing as bad or good luck.

Fate?

by Han, age 16

To believe in luck, good or bad, is paramount to believing in a higher power than ourselves. It is the belief that something out there is capable of controlling out lives, the belief that there are set guidelines for human beings. Therefore, believes in fate and lady luck believe there is a higher power which is outside of human life.

This fact is directly in contradiction to the fact that most Americans are more or less atheist, no matter what they tell you. They might be agnostic--for how many of us can know for sure?--but they most definitely hold the belief in their practical everyday lives that there is no higher, invisible being which looks down upon their everyday activities.

Therefore, the belefe in fate is another example of doctrine that has been embedded into the fabric of our society by ignorance and idleness. The neglect of the use of our brains for many years has left us with many, many false beliefs which in trun are now responsible for many of society's failures (the loss of value in the family, living to buy products and to make money to buy more, every person living for themselves, etc.).

Another point worth making is that if there were, hypothetically, something which had already determined our fate and would make sure that we arrived at this fate, regardless of whatever we did, what would be the point about anything at all? We are capable of changing our fate every millisecond, every moment. We have a chance to make a small or a large change in our lives, in others' lives, in the condition of the world. It is the freedom to do whatever we want that makes us human.