Justin's Mission
“I believe how I have lived and what I have learned might help other people.”
- Justin Bodhi
Do not judge a life by its length, judge it by how much light it brought.
Excerpts from the Autobiography of Justin Bodhi
Education
I have very fond memories of my years at Montessori school. I met all my closest friends there. I met my best friend Ryan when I was just three years old… I remember being on the playground for hours with Ryan and my other friends. We played for hours in the fresh air and sunshine. I loved Montessori. It was a small school where everyone’s parents knew each other. Our families did a lot of things together. I felt safe. I feel very fortunate to have attended Montessori until I was 10 years old. They were the best years of my life.
After just three months in public school, I had become depressed and angry, so my parents pulled me out over the Christmas holiday break. We weren’t sure where I was going to go to school, we just knew that public school was not right for me. There is a big difference between homeschooling and public school. Public school does not give you a lot of freedom. You have to sit at a desk for long periods of time, which I think is unnatural.
Workspace was a very special place that helped me recover from my stressful time in public school. It helped me figure out what I really liked and wanted to learn. It made learning fun again. I got to play and socialize. I felt safe being surrounded by all the families and I liked that the parents all knew one another and supported their children in their learning experiences. I’ve been homeschooled for five years now and I have never considered changing anything.
Taekwondo
Discipline - Strength - Spirit
I think the most important factor in leadership is character, meaning who you are and how you treat people.
Other important factors are: Your ability, knowledge and intuition, your past experiences and success, people skills, planning and strategic thinking, a vision, and getting results.
Taekwondo has given me mental and physical strength. I feel confident, mentally strong, and focused, physically fit, and flexible. To me, the dojang is not just a school, it is a community of friends and instructors who I know support me. They have become family to me, and that brings meaning into my life. This year, I am very grateful for joining the staff at WS Jeung. I am humble and proud to be a part of a respectable team of instructors who are passionate about Taekwondo. It brings me joy to support others’ growth and share the teachings of discipline, strength, and spirit.
The Spirit of Taekwondo
1. Loyalty to your country.
2. Obedience to parents.
3. Respect your elders.
4. Faithfulness in friends.
5. Courteous in all situations.
6. Consider all the alternatives before killing any living thing.
7. Never give up. Always finish what you started.
Wilderness
In Spring of 2018, my family became part of the Tracker School and attended the Children of the Earth Foundation (COTEF) program. They teach primitive living and wilderness survival skills. The Tracker School was founded in 1978 by Tom Brown, Jr., America's most renowned tracker and wilderness survival expert. The school is founded on the teachings of Stalking Wolf, an Apache elder from whom Tom Brown Jr. learned his skills when he was just seven years old. The Tracker School has expanded to include over 75 classes, divided into eight course tracks.
My first experience with the Tracker School was with the COTEF in 2018 when I was nine years old. Then COTEF closed and Four Elements Earth Education (4EEE), founded by Rick Berry, provided all the children and family programs. The 4EEE programs teach us how to live in harmony with the Earth and become caretakers of the Earth. Being a part of the Tracker School, COTEF and 4E for the last 8 years has taught me a lot about survival and gives me confidence.
Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts teaches me modern survival skills like fire starting, shelter building, first aid, shooting, and much more. Boy Scouts is different from Tracker School in many ways. Boy Scouts teaches more modern ways of survival, where Tracker School teaches primitive skills. I love being in Boy Scouts, especially with my Montessori friends.
My father has taught me how to make wooden bows, bowls, spoons, and identify plants that can be used for medicine. My mom has taught me about plants, organic gardening, food and seeds, herbs, supplements, homeopathy, meditation, and energy healing. Between Tracker School, Boy Scouts, Taekwondo, and my parents’ teachings, I feel safe and confident.
Boy Scout Oath
On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty, to God and my country, to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Scout Law
A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
Scout Motto
Be prepared.
Health
Holistic medicine means, you take care of your mind, body, and spirit. You can take care of your mind by thinking positively and meditating. You take care of your body by eating healthy, exercising often, and being in nature. You can take care of your spirit by doing what really makes you happy. You can also take care of your spirit by spending time in nature.
Dr. Marizelle Arce, my doctor and friend, taught us about the Terrain Model. The Terrain Model focuses on keeping the balance of what goes into your body and around you in your environment. For this book, I interviewed Dr. Marizelle Arce and asked her to explain the Terrain Model for someone my age.
Art
This summer I will be going to Georgia to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design’s (SCAD) summer program, where I will be studying graphic design.
SCAD was my first college experience and I enjoyed it a lot. I love meeting new friends and exploring new places. I took four college courses including animation, sneaker design, graphic design, and architecture.
Family & Friends
I was born and raised by a very Earth-conscious, spiritual family. Both my parents have trained in holistic health, nutrition, energy medicine, Buddhist meditation, indigenous philosophies, primitive living, and survival. My parents are self-employed and home with me all of the time. We cook our meals at home together and we rarely eat out. I grew up with chores, helping around the house, cooking meals, doing dishes, vacuuming, changing bed sheets, taking out garbage and recycling. I do organic gardening and help my father with building things for the house. We have a strong sense of family and I feel safe.
Our family is not perfect all the time, sometimes we get grumpy, but we all understand that it’s part of being human. When a real issue comes up, anyone in the family can call a family meeting and we sit together in the living room and share our concerns and discuss what is needed to change. My voice matters in my home.
I believe how I have lived and what I have learned might help other people. My goal is to simply share my personal story through the eyes of a young person who was raised in such a way, and who became a teenager during a time of global crisis. There seems to be a lot of fear and division in the world, and it is my hope to help in whatever way I can. If my story inspires just one person or one family, then I feel complete.
