‘This I Believe’ Lessons to learn about self-reliance
Winners of the semiannual “This I Believe” contest are in, and first place goes to Samantha Nothnagel. The second-place winner is Maggie Jones, and the third-place winner is David Villegas.
For the past several years, Stockbridge High School and the Stockbridge Friends of the Library have collaborated to offer an essay-writing contest in order to engage Stockbridge High School students in an exploration of the core beliefs that guide their daily lives. Held twice a year, the contest is based on NPR’s four-year-running and now defunct “This I Believe” program.
SCN is pleased to publish third-place winner Villegas’ essay in its entirety below as SCN’s monthly student-written column. Stay tuned for the first and second-place winners in SCN’s September and October editions.
by David Villegas
I started my first garden, a small herb garden located in a former sandpit, containing thyme, sage, rosemary, and mint. I planted at least four different types of mint; chocolate mint, strawberry mint, peppermint, and a variety from Mexico.
I was proud of this garden. I would go out to pull a few weeds, water, and fertilize as well as just admire my efforts. Last Spring or the second year of my herb garden, I was extremely excited to see how my garden was emerging from the cold depths of winter. However, I was soon devastated. I was sure my efforts the previous year were wasted.
The mint had battled and the chocolate variety was the victor. It had taken out all the other types of mints as well as the herbs. I thought my future as a gardener was gone. So I decided to stop working on my herb garden and help my mother with the vegetable garden.
A vegetable garden does not offer the annual repetition of delicious goods. On the other hand, we know when we place the tiny plants or seeds in the soil, they will die. They also require tons of effort, weeding, watering, and fertilizing in that short time span. Furthermore, the process begins again the next season or in worst-case scenarios, a few weeks later if the seeds don’t sprout. But, I stuck with it. I hoed, dragged hoses from one end of the garden to the next, and stuck with it. That summer I enjoyed homegrown tomatoes, peas, and corn. I made myself pico de gallo with onions, tomatoes, and peppers. I felt self-reliant. This food was a result of my dedication to the gardening process, my efforts, and my ability to ignore any possible failures.
So I decided to return in 2020 to my little herb garden with my new gardening knowledge. The first thing that I did was to rototill the garden and start over. This time giving a container that will stop the mint from taking over. I had Fennel, and sage, and lemon balm, and chives, and basil, and dill, and some more plants in my new garden. My garden is a process from start to finish and even then my garden probably isn’t finished. The point is that self-reliance is a process and a process that could prosper, never be finished, but should always be attempted and pursued with full effort. You should decide when the process is over for you.
I believe continued self-reliance or the ability to depend on one’s own efforts and abilities is a process that needs to be tended to much like a garden needs to be cared for on a daily, seasonal or annual basis. Two years ago I made my first attempt at gardening. Gardening is a dream; gardening is a hobby; gardening a academic quest. It is like many pursuits, its challenges require hard work, self-reliance, and potentially promises a risk of failure. When gardening, a bad harvest can ruin your confidence but you should remember that some things are out of control and you control what you can.
Gardening can be easy other times it feels like a darn chore. The one thing that is true for gardening is that it is a process. Self-reliance is like an over-grown road; Sure there are some tools to help you but it is up to you to travel the road. You have to make your own way and there are multiple ways to do it. Many people back in the early days of the pandemic thought that they can become self-reliant. Many learn that it is a process that can be hard. So I may not be fully self-reliant but I am working on it and maybe one day I will realize that I have reached the stage where I am providing my own goods.
David Villegas, third-place winner
