Emotional Strength

1. Even if everything seems like its never going to get better, you can still try to be strong.

1.1. Sam Temple had a bunch of kids who lost their parents looking up to him for advice. He didn't know it, but those kids sensed he was a leader and that they could trust him to help them out in the rough times they were going to. He didn't want to be a leader, but he had to be strong in spite of the kids.

1.2. In The Testing, the main character Cia had to be strong when she was dropped in the middle of nowhere to try and survive. She had to stay strong and do what she had to do to complete the task.

1.3. Sometimes, you have to be strong for someone else. They might be a little kid, or a grown up, and you might still have to be strong even in hard times and even if you don't want to. You might not want people to look up to you but they still might so you have to be strong for them.

2. Tragedy can strike any person at anytime, but its okay to be afraid.

2.1. In The Testing, Malencia is afraid when she gets dropped in the middle of nowhere, but she knows its okay to be afraid in scary times. Everyone gets scared at some point in their lives. Its human nature.

2.2. In Gone, everyone in a little town loses their parents and siblings over 15. They all suddenly and randomly disappear. Sam Temple and all of the kids are afraid they'll disappear too. Sam is about to turn 15, and he is afraid he'll have to leave everyone who looks up to him. He doesn't like to be afraid but he later figures out that it's okay to be afraid.

2.3. When something bad happens, like someone gets hurt and you don't know if they'll be okay, its okay if you feel scared for them. If you don't what will happen, its okay if you're really afraid.

3. Sometimes you have emotional strength, even when you think you're being weak. It's all in perception.

3.1. In the book Gone, Lana, one of the other main characters was severely injured by a car wreck. She was stranded on the side of the road, nearly dying, and she thought she was weak for crying, but she had so much strength for not giving up immediately.

3.2. In the Testing, Malencia was torn away from her family in hopes to go to the university to live a better life. She thought she was weak for tearing up at the thought of her parents but she was stronger than her original roommate who a few days into the testing, hung herself. This shows Malencia had a huge amount of emotional strength

3.3. At times if you're feeling weak, just remember that your idea of weak could be someone else's idea of strength. Never underestimate your own strength.

4. Some people gain emotional strength when they don't even know they're gaining it.

4.1. In the testing, Cia had no idea she could survive the testing. I mean, watching her friends die? But, Cia didn't know leaving her best friend Daileen, leaving her family, seeing cities destroyed, and all the knowledge tests were all preparing her and building up her strength. When the time for the survival test came, she was able to survive not just because she was smart, but because she had also been building up her emotional strength by leaving friends/family, and seeing things that tore her apart.

4.2. In Gone, Sam and many others had been building up their emotional strength every day. Lana had to go through actual pain and the pain of being alone in the middle of nowhere. Astrid had to go through the struggle of taking care of a little kid who was autistic. And every day, her supply of food and water was running lower. Sam had the weight of everyone on his shoulders, and of everyone at Coates, Everyone believed in him, and the whole time 20 people with powers and whip hands were after him. Everyone had to live without their parents, and with seeing terrible things happen to people. The whole time, they were building up emotional strength.

4.3. In real life, sometimes it takes a hard time to prepare you for another hard time. Like for example, it's like you get a cramp. You keep running, and it goes away and doesn't hurt as much the next time. It's like emotional strength. If you go through a hard time, the next time something sad happens you can get through it better than the first time.

5. Emotional strength is really important if you're going through a hard time. If you don't have it, it will be harder for you.

5.1. In real life, when someone dies it's terrible. My grandma died when I was 6, and it was hard for me back then, but now that I'm older and have learned to deal with death and such, it's still sad but it's easier to think about.

5.2. In the Testing, Cia hadn't ever had a family member leave her, or her leave her family. When she went to test, she had to leave her family wondering if she'd ever see them again. In the end, Cia couldn't go back to her family. She had to leave it all behind in order to stay at the university.

5.3. In real life, professional and just really dedicated athletes have to spend time practicing instead of their families. They have to have emotional strength to deal with it because its hard to stay away from your own family, even if they come to watch you, or are cheering you on. Not being with your family is hard, just think about you having to go to a practice all day and night. It would be hard for you too, but emotional strength can, and will help you deal with it.

6. Having emotional strength is not only important, but its a part of being mature.

6.1. Sam Temple was an important role model for the younger kids in his town who were not sure what to do in that time of distress. That meant if he stood up and became a role model for the younger kids, he was becoming a mature adult because he is standing up for everyone when no one else would. That is the mature thing to do.

6.2. In the testing, Cia had to be strong for everyone because no one else was being very strong. That showed signs that she was a good role model for everyone else. She had to show everyone she was capable of being a strong person.

6.3. In real life, people will have to sacrifice things in order to feel happy again. They might have to do stuff they thought they would never have to do in order to get through those hard times.

7. Grow from your mistakes and become stronger from them.

7.1. In Gone, Sam made many mistakes. He tried to save a girl from a fire, but almost died instead, he went to the power plant to save Little Pete but then the Bullies took over, and he got into a huge fight with his twin brother. But, he also got stronger. He learned from his mistakes, for the greater good of the children.

7.2. In the Testing, Malencia's mistakes could cost her her life. She made a few mistakes, including her choice of friends, but in the long run, she became stronger, and survived the testing.

7.3. In life, you're bound to make mistakes. But, dwelling on those mistakes and moving on from them is the difference that could keep you alive.

8. Never underestimate someone for their size. The smallest person could be the strongest.

8.1. In Gone, Lana's dog Patrick is what really kept her going, and is who motivated her to stay alive. He was small, and not very smart, but his strength gave Lana strength of her own.

8.2. In the Testing, Malencia Vale was said to be quite short in stature. Although she wasn't the biggest of her group, she had so much emotional strength, that she made it through the testing.

8.3. The smallest people in the world can be the most inspiring. They have to overcome the most in life, and have so much emotional strength.

9. Sometimes life throws curve balls at you at the worst times, but it takes emotional strength to get through those times.

9.1. Sam Temple, one of the main character's in the book Gone, was thrown into an insane situation and had to work through it.

9.2. In the Testing, Malencia Vale, the main character was thrown an impossible situation when she was dropped in the middle of nowhere. She had to use emotional strength and wits to survive.

9.3. Sometimes life can be smooth sailing and nice, everything seems "perfect". But tragedy and misery can ruin the best of days. Having emotional strength can get you through those times.

10. Being different is okay. It's better to be yourself than to pretend you're somebody you're not.

10.1. In the book Gone, Sam (the main character) and many others had powers. Most people had called them freaks. But, in the end, the 'freaks' actually were the reason why things went back to normal and the reason why right was proved from wrong.

10.2. Sometimes, you might have a different answer then the rest of the class. You might be the only one with A, while everyone else chose B. But if you just chose your answer, you may be right. Or, you might be wrong, but who cares, it's only one wrong answer.

10.3. In the Testing, Cia tried to pretend to be dumber then she really was to hide the advantage she had growing up around another testing candidate. She wanted to fit in with all the others. Cia eventually realized that it was better to use all of her knowledge, and that's why she survived certain parts of the testing.