Celebration and Appreciation

Here is my pre-flection on the arts of celebration and appreciation. First of all, the definition of celebration and appreciation as the arts of democracy is to express joy and appreciation for what we learn as well as what we achieve as a person or as a society. There are many things a person can celebrate. From annual events like birthdays and holidays to once in a lifetime occasions like graduations and weddings ,we all celebrate. There are also many ways to celebrate. Some people just celebrate simply by congratulations, and hugs or kisses. I like to take a ride along the coast or near the ocean on my birthdays. It's just a way to remind myself that I'm still so small beside the timeless and massive thing called the ocean, and there's still plenty of learning left to do. In contrast, some people went all out to make a big deal about whatever they are celebrating, and there's nothing wrong with any of it. There are many things in life that one can appreciate. From big, obvious things like moneys and a job to intangible things like a life that worth living, love and support from family... We often taken things in our lives for granted and forget to appreciate for what we have. However, on the other hand, it's hard to appreciate something unless we recognize how valueable it is and that's often happened once that valuable something was gone. I think when it comes to celebration and appreciation, appreciation comes first and then comes celebrate. We started with appreciation for certain things, and to show that appreciation, we celebrate. Here is my article on appreciation and celebration:
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MzImZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTcwOTM1NDMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3
This is an article about celebration of St. Patrick Day and it's about appreciation for culture and traditions.

Here is the reflection on the arts of celebration and appreciation.
Celebration and appreciation are good for democracy since they allow the people to:
-Appreciate achievements
-Have fun
-Make people want to do good thing
-Motivates us
-Encourage us to do better in the future
However, we shouldn't just celebrate and appreciate whatever or whenever. Questions to ask for
CELEBRATION:
Do you have a reason to celebrate?
What is important about the reason you have to celebrate ?
Is it the right time to celebrate?
How often should we celebrate?
APPRECIATION:
What deserves appreciation?
What are the good and the bad of what we appreciate?
Consequences of appreciation?
Are we showing appreciation in the right way?
Class activity:
I appreciate: -my family for loving me unconditionally
- PSEC for providing me a wonderful learning environment
- our community
- individualism in cohorts 2 & 3
I celebrate: - having a life that worth living
- Luna's New Year
- Christmas
- Birthdays

Application: Three years ago, my uncle was diagnosed with cancer. Five months and a half after, he died. It was happening so fast that no one in our family was really able to absorb the situation or keep it together. It was such a difficult time for us to look for the good things in life. All we could do was cry. Almost three years later, as we're looking back, we realize that despite of all the grief we felt, there are still so many thing for us to appreciate and celebrate. We should celebrate the wonderful life my uncle had, and how much fun we all had when we spent time with him. We should appreciate the fact that God had at least given us a chance to be with him in the first place, even though he was gone all too soon.