03-19-2013, 18:06
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#1
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 3,045
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You don't get anything free in life
He gets it.
Quote:
Think you have a lousy commute? Don't complain to Santiago Munoz.
The New York City 14-year-old spent five hours a day on subways and buses to get to his elite high school, earning him recognition in a United Nations exhibition about the world's longest school commutes.
His days of waking up at 5 a.m. are over, though. Last week, the freshman moved to a new public-housing complex that's closer to the prestigious Bronx High School of Science, and now it only takes him an hour and 10 minutes to get to class.
"I used to take two buses and two trains," Munoz said Tuesday. "It was two and a half hours each way."
He said "some people thought I was crazy" to make the long journey from the Far Rockaway section of Queens to the Bronx when he could have gone to a high school closer to home, but he put education over convenience.
"Bronx Science is a great school and has a great reputation and I just wanted to push myself forward," said Munoz, who hopes to become a doctor.
Munoz's daily odyssey was featured in a United Nations exhibit that also highlighted a Kenyan girl who walked two hours to school, Brazilian children who ride mules, and a Thai girl who walks 40 minutes to board a crowded rickshaw.
The math whiz said that after housing officials saw a New York Post story about his plight, they offered his family a transfer.
A spokeswoman for the New York City Housing Authority said that since his previous apartment was affected by super storm Sandy, Munoz was eligible for a move.
Now that he's in north Brooklyn, he said, "I'm getting more sleep and I'm more productive."
A member of the math team, he hopes he can play some sports and hang out with friends more with all that extra time on his hand.
While he's thrilled to be traveling less, he said he would have continued to endure the longer trek for the chance to graduate from a school that counts eight Nobel Prize winners among its alumni.
"You don't get anything free in life," he said.
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Story
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Kyobanim is offline
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03-19-2013, 18:36
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#2
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyobanim
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Quote:
...Last week, the freshman moved to a new public-housing complex....
"You don't get anything free in life," he said."
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Hmm.
TR
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"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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The Reaper is offline
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03-19-2013, 18:55
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#3
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Location: State of Confusion
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reaper
Hmm.
TR
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Priceless
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Opinions stated in this post are solely those of the author, and in no way reflect the opinions or policies of The Department of Defense, The United States Army, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, The Screen Actors Guild, The Boy Scouts, The Good, The Bad, or The Ugly. These opinions are provided purely as overly sarcastic social commentary and are not meant to be used for mission planning or navigation.
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Box is offline
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03-19-2013, 19:14
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#4
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Area Commander
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Midwest
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reaper
Hmm.
TR
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I guess at 14 he cannot see the forest for the trees, if he will just grow up to be a productive contributing member of society I will be happy. You know pay it back.
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cbtengr is offline
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03-19-2013, 19:17
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#5
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Moderator
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Location: Central Florida
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Well, he's 14 and doesn't make the living decisions. I'd say good on him for making the trek 5 hours a day to try to make something of himself.
__________________
"Are you listening or just waiting to talk?"
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
"Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing."
Optimus Prime
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Kyobanim is offline
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03-19-2013, 20:09
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#6
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TANSTAAFL - What a novel concept. Since he appears to understand the principle and is willing to sacrifice to incorporate it into his own life (and eventually reap the rewards), I wish him luck in his endeavors.
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A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men. He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.
~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (42B.C)
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Peregrino is offline
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03-19-2013, 20:39
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#7
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Area Commander
Join Date: Aug 2007
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This guy seems to "get it" because he is receiving help and multiplying the result through additional efforts.
This is entirely different than someone who receives and then uses it to scale back their efforts.
He is an example of someone who is truly being "helped".
Unfortunately, most take the other path and are being "enabled".
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Waiting for the perfect moment is a fruitless endeavor.
Make a decision, and then make it the right one through your actions.
"Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap." -Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NIV)
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GratefulCitizen is offline
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03-20-2013, 04:20
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#8
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Location: State of Confusion
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Good on the kid for going to school instead of selling crack and robbing his neighbors...
...but that "moved into free housing" followed by the "nothing is free" quote is still a pretty damn definable snapshot at the current state of what our culture does/does not see as "free". Not to mention the free/not free angle completely overshadowed the "work hard everyday and it will pay off in the long run" angle.
...also, the idea that a kid is being praised as a hero for going to school is a pretty good snapshot of our nations expectations of our youth.
But yes, I concur: Santiago Munoz is well on his way to being a productive adult and should be used as an example for his peers to follow.
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Opinions stated in this post are solely those of the author, and in no way reflect the opinions or policies of The Department of Defense, The United States Army, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, The Screen Actors Guild, The Boy Scouts, The Good, The Bad, or The Ugly. These opinions are provided purely as overly sarcastic social commentary and are not meant to be used for mission planning or navigation.
"Make sure your own mask is secure before assisting others"
-Airplane Safety Briefing
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Box is offline
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03-21-2013, 14:27
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#9
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 534
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TANSTAAFL indeed.
I too hope he goes on to be a productive citizen and hopefully even remembers to help out another person someday.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peregrino
TANSTAAFL - What a novel concept. Since he appears to understand the principle and is willing to sacrifice to incorporate it into his own life (and eventually reap the rewards), I wish him luck in his endeavors.
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cat in the hat is offline
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03-21-2013, 18:23
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#10
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Quiet Professional
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Michigan/Florida
Posts: 176
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Excellent..
Quote:
Originally Posted by GratefulCitizen
This guy seems to "get it" because he is receiving help and multiplying the result through additional efforts.
This is entirely different than someone who receives and then uses it to scale back their efforts.
He is an example of someone who is truly being "helped".
Unfortunately, most take the other path and are being "enabled".
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