Are there times when it is easier to live "safely" rather than take risks? Give an example of a time in your life when you chose one or the other. What happened?
What is at stake if you live too safely? Explain.
In Lois Lowry's Newbury Acceptance Speech (1994), she describes the ways in which she found herself living a "safe" life, which helped her to gain inspiration for The Giver.
Are there times when it is easier to live "safely" rather than take risks? Give an example of a time in your life when you chose one or the other. What happened? What is at stake if you live too safely? Explain.
36 Comments
Elise R
10/6/2015 11:45:42 am
I think that at times, it is easier to live safely rather than take risks. one time I had the option to watch tv or to study. I figured that I would study to keep my grades up but at the same time I wanted to relax. I decided to study and the next day when I took the test, I did great and I got 100. If I didn't study, I would have gotten a worse grade.
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Bella H
10/6/2015 11:59:24 am
I think that it is sometimes easier to oive safely and sometimes easier to take risks. If you're with people who like to play it safe then you will probably play it safe but if you're with people who take risks you'll take risks also. One time I had the choice to either try a really scary ride at Canobie Lake Park or just stick to the ones I already knew I liked. I decided to go on the ride, because my friend was also curious about what it did. I am very glad that I went on it because it is now my favorite ride.
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Pran T
10/6/2015 12:05:13 pm
Most of the times, it good not to take risks. For example, when I had finish up my summer reading. I had the decision to finish up my past paragraph or wait to do it at tst. Of course, I didn't take the risk of waiting. If I didn't do it then, I would be poor quality and I would get a awful grade
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Gaeb B.
10/6/2015 12:10:36 pm
I think a safe life is not to always trust your gut because you might want to go off a big ski jump or take a dangerous selfie but your body doesn't want you to because it is unsafe and can seriously hurt you. Or like Elise said if you want to keep your grades up and you had the opportunity to watch tv you might watch tv thats taking a risk because if you don't study then there is a good chance you don't get a good grade but if you do study you have a good chance at getting a 100 and feeling good about yourself because you got a 100 and you didn't take a risk and got rewarded for it.
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Ainsley O
10/6/2015 12:12:23 pm
I think that there are sometimes when you should take risks and there are other times when you shouldn't. When taking risks you'll learn from your mistakes (if there were any) and take the knowledge to turn into something better. Although there are certain circumstances you really shouldn't take risks, like Elise's example you should take the risk of getting bad grades. The times you can take risks is when you have to make a decision like, should I go on this huge rollercoaster?, should I jump the bridge? you shouldn't take risks when it affects your future, but you can when it'll make a great story.
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Dana m
10/6/2015 12:12:52 pm
I agree with Bella, it depends on the people that you are with because when they start to do something you are going to feel inclined to do the same and make the same choices.a time that I had to chose one or another is when I got to chose wether or not I wanted to go to my grandparents house, I would be the only one going so I would have to fly alone. I decided to go because I went through the pros and cons and it seemed like something that I would regret if I didn't go.
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Lilla K
10/6/2015 12:13:29 pm
A lot if times, it is much better to live a safe life, where other times it's necessary to take risks. For example, I had to play in a violin competition and I was super nervous. However, I still took the risk of competing and I got 4th place! If I took the "safe way" , then I would have quit the competition and would have not achieved anything.
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faye B
10/6/2015 12:20:02 pm
I think a safe life is not taking risks.I think it depends on the situation. Sometimes its good to take risks and sometimes its bad.If you dont take risks your life wont be as fun as those who do take risks. I remember one time i had to choose between going into a haunted house or staying out. My friends and i decided to go in. It was very fun. sometimes taking risks pay off.
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Devin M
10/6/2015 12:48:28 pm
I think that you should play it safe but also that risks every now and then to have some fun. For example when I was skiing I tried the boxes and loved it but I also tried the big jump and yard sailed but it was still fun. Now I like to do both of them even though I wipe out a lot but it is fun to take risks
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Devin
10/6/2015 01:15:14 pm
Sometimes, for your own comfort you live safely to soothe yourself about your worries or just simply pretend it's not happening. But if you always play it safe you will live your life in fear. Later you will be looking back and thinking what exciting things you did and you probably won't have many exciting events. Sometimes it's great to play it safe, but also in other circumstances you should take a chance. We all only have one life to live, and if we waste all of our time being scared you won't have as much fun. You will miss out on key parts of life. Once this summer when I went to six flags with my friends, we all went to the water park and saw a gigantic vertical tube slide that had twists and turns called the bonsai pipelines. It looked really scary because the floor would drop out beneath you. We all talked about it together and decided to go on. After the slide I was glad I went on, I didn't really like the ride but if I never went on it I never would have known if I liked it or not.
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Connie C.
10/6/2015 01:53:14 pm
A safe life is a familiar life with a familiar routine. There are times when it is easier. But just because its easier doesn't mean its better. Lowery could have made new friends in 'Elsewhere' or different kind of friend in collage as a freshman. I chose to take a risk when i fell off my board at surfing. there was a 4 footer coming, ( i couldn't surf those then) and i was pulled down by the under tow only to come up and find my board landing smack on my head. i had to go in after that ( thank goodness because it hurt so bad) but after 10-15 minutes i was back in the water even though there was more huge waves coming. Not my best idea but i took a risk.
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abby l
10/7/2015 04:23:59 pm
connie i agree
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Mackenzie o
10/7/2015 04:38:39 pm
Abby I agree with ur agreement
will g
10/6/2015 03:35:23 pm
I think life is full of a lot of decisions and you should take advantage of them. Being safe is good and sometimes you should be safe, but I think for the most part you should take risks. Taking risks is good because it gets your blood pumping and adds excitement to your day. also you may try something and love it, like Bella said with her rollercoaster experience and will give you story to remember like Ainsley said. for example a few years ago I was in Block Island surfing and way out there was a huge wave and I was still new to surfing so I didn't know if I should catch it or not. I decided to catch it because I didn't want to miss the opportunity and I ended up riding it all the way to shore and had a great time. I also got more confidence for surfing. overall you should take risks because you can add excitement to your day, learn something new, and a have a story to tell.
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Kira J
10/6/2015 04:28:05 pm
I believe that when u are safe u have a familiar feeling, we take risks to abandon that feeling.Being safe is a good thing l,but if you are safe to much life becomes boring and dull.
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Emma H
10/7/2015 12:55:20 pm
I agree with Kira
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Kevin K.
10/6/2015 04:50:48 pm
Yes, there are times in life where it's easier to live life safely, because sometimes it isn't necessary to take a risk.But if you live life too safely, you will miss out on lots of cool and fun experiences that you will end up regretting not doing. I regret not trying as hard as I should've in school last year. I didn't try very hard in school last year, and I therefor didn't have a great academic year.
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erin t
10/6/2015 05:03:10 pm
a safe life is a life with no risks or problems so you wouldn't have to decide on anything. One day my mom said that I had a choice between babysitting and studying. I finally chose that I should study so that my grades can become higher and if I had babysat that night I would have a bad grade in that class. So, I asked my sister if she would babysit for me and she got the money for it and I was happier without the money
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Jimmy Grech
10/6/2015 05:04:50 pm
I think that it is good to live a safe and risky life. it is good to play it safe because you wont make mistakes or get injured. But if you take risk you can learn from your mistakes. when I was little I was riding a scooter without a helmet. this resulted in my falling and losing my two front teeth. I probly should have played it safe for my safety but if I did I wouldn't have learned and still ride scooter and bikes without helmets which could now result in a more serious injury (hit by car) but wouldn't be as bad if you were wearing a helmet.
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Zach D
10/6/2015 06:18:02 pm
I think that it is good to live a safe and risky life. Living a safe life can have benefits because you might not get hurt or make any mistakes, but if you live life to safely you will miss out on many opportunities that could make your life more exciting. One time I was up in Vermont and I was scared to jump off a rock from high up, but I took the leap and I ended up having a blast and doing it several more times. I would have missed out on a lot of fun if I hadn't taken that risk. So I think it is good to live a safe and risky life.
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Abby l
10/7/2015 12:16:15 pm
I think both of them make life easier in differnt situations. Like Elise I once had the choise to watch tv and study I choose to study and I did very well on the test which I wouldn't have if I didn't study. One time I was rock climbing and their were differnt heights you could go to. I was not a great rock climber so I wanted to go on the lower level, but all my friends wanted to go on the higher level. I ended up going with them and at first I was petrified but once I started I ended up loving it! Living life risky can introduce you to new things, although sometimes living life safely is the right choise also.
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abby l
10/7/2015 04:18:10 pm
i agree abby
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Emma H
10/7/2015 12:52:40 pm
I could go either way. I mean, yes, in life you should be adventurous and have fun, but also you shouldn't do something that might kill you. Over the summer, I was jumping off the diving board for the first time cause I was always too scared to do it before. But, I did it. I took risk that I was willing to take and I finally accomplished my fear. On the other hand, one time, I was at The Great Escape during this thing called "Fright Fest" that was celebrating halloween. There was this haunted house. And in front of it, there was a guy dressed like a zombie and he had a really creepy voice that really freaked me out. So, I decided to not go in and play it safe.
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Sean T.
10/7/2015 01:50:46 pm
Was this the previous super lunar eclipse?
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Sean T.
10/7/2015 01:48:34 pm
There are both times that which it could go both ways. One time I was given the option to ether do my home work now or during tst the period before it was due. I decided to do it now to ovoid the chance. If you live too safely you can miss out on how fun life can be.
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Mackenzie o
10/7/2015 04:37:12 pm
Life is better when u take risks because living on the edge can introduce you to new topics and ideas. Although taking risks may be dangerous it teaches people valuable lessons in life from experience to not make the bad dangerous decision but to have fun in a safe way. one time I was at the beach and I really wanted to go swim out and touch the buoy but I knew I could have drown. I went for it anyway and touched the buoy and swam back and was out of breath and couldn't swim anylonger but it was worth the experience.
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abby l
10/7/2015 04:49:03 pm
good example!!!!!
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Mackenzie o
10/7/2015 04:53:46 pm
Thanks but I think I drowned but I don't really remember because I might have blacked out so maybe I should learn how to swim or know that I can't before I hurt myself agian
abby l
10/7/2015 04:54:52 pm
same!
Mackenzie o
10/7/2015 05:01:07 pm
Yay maybe we can take swimming lessons together, I know this lady in Marshfeild and she taught me how to not drown but I'm doing a lot better now all the kids still make fun of me though
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abby l
10/7/2015 05:02:28 pm
ya but i am only a level 1 because i almost drowned i did it in weymouth . i played it safe nd only did lesson 1
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Mackenzie o
10/7/2015 05:04:34 pm
Well my mother said I was good so I thought I was too and I started in level 8/9 and all the kids were swimming back and forth and I was just at the bottom of the deepend and i think the teacher forgot I was in the class
Lucy C
10/12/2015 03:53:59 pm
I think that it is sometimes easier to play it safe. One time when I had to chose between playing it safe and taking a risk is when I was in the Bahamas when I was preparing to take a test last year. I decided to go do something else besides study instead of preparing to take the test. I did this because I thought that I knew the content well but I didn't. I got a bad grade which affected my grade. What is at stake when you take risks is that you may not know how it can effect your future. But at the same time you might learn from your mistakes if you take a risk.
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caitlin durkin
10/12/2015 05:15:51 pm
I think life is better taking risks. I think this because you will never know how it could have turned out taking that one risk, your whole life you will wonder what might have happened if you took that risk. for example I was at 6 flags new England I was waiting in line for sky screamer or scraper and was sooooo scared but once I went on it I thought it was the best ride in the world. this is why I prefer and recommend taking risks.
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Gunnar
10/13/2015 05:54:56 am
I think living a safe life is easier than living an unsafe life. If you live a safe life, you do not need to change the way you live. If you lived in another county for example, you would have to change the way you lived to fit in. The authors family got around this when they lived in Japan when they lived in an American community. On the other hand, living unsafely can have rewards. If the authors family had lived outside of the community, they could have learnede about Japanese culture. I think it is worth living an unsafe life for the rewards.
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olivia.a
10/14/2015 01:14:24 pm
I think a safe life would be living in a life with no crime,pain,or suffuring. sometimes when people try to create a safe life it will go wrong and it could become a dystopya.
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