Beliefs.

I believe in love at first sight, miracles, happiness, friendship. I believe that hard work and dedication can get you where you want. I believe that practice makes perfect, and that mistakes will help you learn. I believe my mother is one of the greatest people, and that she is one of the strongest women I've come to know. I believe that there is a higher power, which I look to for guidance. My belief system has been challenged every single day. It doesn't have to to be just my religious belief system, it is all of them put together. Especially during the election my beliefs as a republican are challenged by my peers constantly. I believe that I fell in love with my boyfriend the second I saw him. Some people think it is a ludacris thought, but it's true. The way I handle being criticized is not taking offense to what other people are saying, listen to their ideas, and revaluate my thoughts and see if I still feel the same way. You need to listen to others to be able to really stand up for what you believe in. My mother has been the sculpter of my belief system. She never tells me what to think, but will always listen with an open mind. If my mom disagrees with me then she will say so, and give a valid reason. She's one of the most honest people but knows how to express her opinion in a generous way. In Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit there is a strong Christian belief system in the family. The mother will pray for 2 hours a day, everything they do is devoted to God, is something happens to anyone in the family it is Gods doing. When Jeanette went deaf her mother said she was in a state of rapture, and the Lord would get her through it. A time when Jeanettes beliefs were challenged were when she went to school for the first time and had to write a paper on what she did that summer. Jeanette started to tell the class about Bible study and all these stories of God and holyness. The teacher became upset with Jeanette and then asked her why she spoke of God so much. Later on Jeanette is in a hard position because her whole life she's been told that God is the way, sex is a sin, and anything done with out God in mind is wrong and unholy.