Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be the greatest basketball player of all time? In the story called “The Rise Of A Star” by David Lee Morgan, LeBron James can feel that way. This book is based on LeBron James one of the greatest players to ever step on the basketball court, in many people’s opinions the best. He was just a poor little ghetto kid that had nothing until June 26, of 2003.
Can you imagine what it would be like to have to move almost 7 times a year? That’s how it was for LeBron James. He had to move a lot due to money problems and shelter. LeBron James had a very scary and hard childhood. One good thing that happened for him is he met three guys and those four guys all together were so close that they called each other the “Fab 4.” They were so close that nothing would ever tear them down or bring them apart. Later another guy moved to their town and they let him become part of their gang so they called themselves the “Fab 5.” Which was also the starting 5 of their varsity basketball line up. All of the “Fab 5” were so close they were like family. Nothing will ever tear their friendship apart.
Currently today they all stay in contact and they all talk to each other. LeBron moved on straight to the NBA from high school, Sion Cotton went to college, Willie McGee went and played football at Ohio State, and Romeo Travis and Dru Joyce attended the University of Akron and now currently play on a European league team together. These 5 guys are individuals are all men that all kids can look up to. They grow up with just about nothing and now are successful and they are known to be one of the greatest starting 5 in high school basketball history.
Talking about history, LeBron in many people’s opinions is the greatest player ever to play basketball. There is stuff that he can do that no other player ever could, or ever will be able to do. The cool thing is, he is young, and strong, and smart so he easily dominates the league and everyone in it. Not only is he a great player, but also a great man. He is always going back to his home town to help kids and families so they don’t have to go through what he had to. He is always going to charities and donating moneys to help all kinds of causes of America. The world will never be perfect but specific individuals like LeBron is willing to help to try and make it a better place.
In conclusion this book was great! It was a great story and would give everyone incredible entertainment and a great story for them to read about. They can realize why LeBron is the person he is today, because what he had to go through. It seems like the people who grow up living a hard life are nicer in the future and the people who grow up living a nice life are selfish and not as nice. Wouldn’t you think it would be the other way around? Like for instance Michael Oher, he grew up in a terrible area and had no family. He is one of the nicest athletes today, and will always treat people good because he knows what life should be like, nice, and not terrible like him or LeBron had to go through.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Drugs
Have you ever gotten pressured into doing drugs? That is called peer pressure. Say someone offers it to you and you say no, but then people around you call you a wimp because you are scared to do them. That’s peer pressure. You should never give in to peer pressure. I can tell you that I have never done drugs, or have gotten pressured into doing drugs. You will not have to worry about things like alcohol, or drugs as long as you hang around the right people who are worried about themselves, their reputations, and the law.
Most drugs in the U.S.A are illegal because everyone knows how bad they can be for you. Drugs like, marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine are all illegal drugs here in the United States Of America. Although, these drugs can be prescribed by a doctor for medical reasons and purposes and that’s the only way that they can be legal. Drugs can be found or bought practically anywhere. There is a kind of drug called inhalants which is illegal but there is almost no way to get rid of inhalants. Things like sharpies or spray cans give off toxic fumes and when exhaled it makes your brain not function correctly or as we would call it get high. It kills brain cells and harms your body. Since you can’t function correctly you could even be risking your life! It is unhealthy to do any type of drug, and you should for sure not have them unless you want things like bad breath, bad body odor, chance of cancer, age faster, and be judged tremendously by the people around you. Why would anyone want that? The people I feel bad for are the ones that got sucked into it and are addicted and can’t stop smoking or snorting these different types of drugs. Or the people who inhaled second hand smoke from other that smoke around them. People get sick from second hand smoke and die all the time from various cancers and diseases. Why would you want to do that to other people? And most importantly why would you want to do that to yourself?
In conclusion, I think the world needs to end smoking. It is doing nothing but harming our country and the people in it. It is ridiculous. The smoking does nothing but damage our ground by littering, and smoking can cause more car accidents because people worry about getting their smoke more than worrying about driving, the butts of the cigarettes that people throw on the ground can cause fires, all these different problems from smoking. The main question is why do people smoke? Do they look cool? Do they feel cool? Why do they do it?
Most drugs in the U.S.A are illegal because everyone knows how bad they can be for you. Drugs like, marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine are all illegal drugs here in the United States Of America. Although, these drugs can be prescribed by a doctor for medical reasons and purposes and that’s the only way that they can be legal. Drugs can be found or bought practically anywhere. There is a kind of drug called inhalants which is illegal but there is almost no way to get rid of inhalants. Things like sharpies or spray cans give off toxic fumes and when exhaled it makes your brain not function correctly or as we would call it get high. It kills brain cells and harms your body. Since you can’t function correctly you could even be risking your life! It is unhealthy to do any type of drug, and you should for sure not have them unless you want things like bad breath, bad body odor, chance of cancer, age faster, and be judged tremendously by the people around you. Why would anyone want that? The people I feel bad for are the ones that got sucked into it and are addicted and can’t stop smoking or snorting these different types of drugs. Or the people who inhaled second hand smoke from other that smoke around them. People get sick from second hand smoke and die all the time from various cancers and diseases. Why would you want to do that to other people? And most importantly why would you want to do that to yourself?
In conclusion, I think the world needs to end smoking. It is doing nothing but harming our country and the people in it. It is ridiculous. The smoking does nothing but damage our ground by littering, and smoking can cause more car accidents because people worry about getting their smoke more than worrying about driving, the butts of the cigarettes that people throw on the ground can cause fires, all these different problems from smoking. The main question is why do people smoke? Do they look cool? Do they feel cool? Why do they do it?
The Hundreth Dove
Imagine this, being bossed around and always being told what to do and when to do it. That is what life was like for the fowler named Hugh in the short story The Hundredth Dove written by Jane Yolen. The fowler is told to go out and get 100 doves for the king because the king was getting married. The fowler thought of how great he would look if he went out and brought back exactly 100 doves for the king. So, he worked as hard as he could to get those 100 doves and his work paid off because he caught those 100 doves and brought them to the king. The main point of this story is to always try your hardest and stay on task, so you can always attempt on doing the right thing.
Talking about the lesson of the story should make you think back to your past when you were assigned to do something and you did it no problem, or back to a time when you were battling to either do the right thing, or the wrong thing. It is always the best choice to do the right thing, even if it is something you don’t really want to do, you will feel way better afterwards. After you do something good you won’t ever want to do something bad again because the feeling from knowing you did something good makes you feel so great about yourself you will always want to have that feeling. Why would you want to do the bad thing if you will just feel scared, mad, and sad afterwards? When you could feel happy and great from doing the right thing. In the story Hugh chooses to do the right thing and brings the 100 birds to the king instead of letting the 100th bird go like it was trying to tell him. He took the right path and felt good after it because he knows what he did was right.
Along with the lesson comes a very good theme. The theme of the story is man vs. himself because the main character, Hugh has to decide whether he wants to let the bird go and get what he is promised from it, or take that bird back to the king with all the other 99 birds. He ends up choosing the right path and bringing back all the 100. His conscience was telling him to let that bird go because he could get stuff from the bird, but his mind was telling him you know the king told you to bring back 100 birds and this is your 100th bird so why would you let it go? He listened to his mind and brought the bird to the king and felt very good about himself because he knows what he did was right.
After hearing about the author’s lesson and theme from the story it was very hard not to focus on the author’s style of writing. The author really has a great writing style. She is very good at having a good lesson put into a good story which makes it very entertaining. If you read a good entertaining book that has a good lesson it is super hard not to learn from it. If you are ever debating on whether you want to do something think of the positives and negatives for each choice. It will help you choose which choice you should make, and it should help you approach to making the right decision and not the wrong one. If it is hard for you to decide what to do sometimes you can even ask a friend or a family member to help to see which they think is right so you can get some positive feedback. But, you should also know that if you would like to feel better in the end the right choice is always and always will be the right way to go.
So, in conclusion this was a great story that had a great lesson. One of the best. People need to always things through a couple of times before they do something. Think about the stuff that we could have if people always thought stuff through and always made the right decisions like even world peace? People would always be doing the right thing and nothing could go wrong. Although, we are human and we do make mistakes, but all people do is look at the mistakes we make and the accomplishments we have. Look at those first. But, what would life be like if we had world peace?
Talking about the lesson of the story should make you think back to your past when you were assigned to do something and you did it no problem, or back to a time when you were battling to either do the right thing, or the wrong thing. It is always the best choice to do the right thing, even if it is something you don’t really want to do, you will feel way better afterwards. After you do something good you won’t ever want to do something bad again because the feeling from knowing you did something good makes you feel so great about yourself you will always want to have that feeling. Why would you want to do the bad thing if you will just feel scared, mad, and sad afterwards? When you could feel happy and great from doing the right thing. In the story Hugh chooses to do the right thing and brings the 100 birds to the king instead of letting the 100th bird go like it was trying to tell him. He took the right path and felt good after it because he knows what he did was right.
Along with the lesson comes a very good theme. The theme of the story is man vs. himself because the main character, Hugh has to decide whether he wants to let the bird go and get what he is promised from it, or take that bird back to the king with all the other 99 birds. He ends up choosing the right path and bringing back all the 100. His conscience was telling him to let that bird go because he could get stuff from the bird, but his mind was telling him you know the king told you to bring back 100 birds and this is your 100th bird so why would you let it go? He listened to his mind and brought the bird to the king and felt very good about himself because he knows what he did was right.
After hearing about the author’s lesson and theme from the story it was very hard not to focus on the author’s style of writing. The author really has a great writing style. She is very good at having a good lesson put into a good story which makes it very entertaining. If you read a good entertaining book that has a good lesson it is super hard not to learn from it. If you are ever debating on whether you want to do something think of the positives and negatives for each choice. It will help you choose which choice you should make, and it should help you approach to making the right decision and not the wrong one. If it is hard for you to decide what to do sometimes you can even ask a friend or a family member to help to see which they think is right so you can get some positive feedback. But, you should also know that if you would like to feel better in the end the right choice is always and always will be the right way to go.
So, in conclusion this was a great story that had a great lesson. One of the best. People need to always things through a couple of times before they do something. Think about the stuff that we could have if people always thought stuff through and always made the right decisions like even world peace? People would always be doing the right thing and nothing could go wrong. Although, we are human and we do make mistakes, but all people do is look at the mistakes we make and the accomplishments we have. Look at those first. But, what would life be like if we had world peace?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Stolen Day
Have you ever lied about being sick or not feeling good so you could get out of something you didn’t want to do that day? I know that I have and I’m sure that other people have defiantly done that. In the short story called “The Stolen Day” by Sherwood Anderson, the main character lies about him having a disease that causes his muscles to ache. This disease is called inflammatory rheumatism. All the main character wanted to do was get out of going to school. He was actually jealous of the boy in his class, named Walter that had the disease because he got to miss school and go fishing and do fun things like that. The thing that was not smart is the main character only thought of the good things that Walter got to do, he never thought of the pain that he had to live through or all the sorrow he was put in because of his terrible disease. The main point of this story was to teach you not to lie because people will just find out and you will or could get in trouble.
Talking about the lesson should really make you think about how lucky you are. In the story the main character is so jealous of Walter because he doesn’t have to go to school and he gets to practically do whatever he wants to do in the main characters opinion. Too bad that’s not true because Walter doesn’t get to exercise or play sports like the main character got to do. He never thought about how lucky he was compared to Walter. So, the main lesson is no matter how bad you think or feel you got it there is always someone somewhere in the world that will have it worse than you. So if you think about it no matter what you say, you should consider yourself lucky.
Along with the lesson comes a very good theme. The theme is man vs. society. The reason it seems like man vs. society because the main character in the story, the person who is narrating the story doesn’t like school and doesn’t want to go to school, so he has to battle the society to get them to believe him that he has inflammatory rheumatism. If the main character would have been Walter than the theme would have been man vs. himself because Walter has to battle himself because his brain is saying stop your aching, you can’t go anymore but Walter just keeps pushing himself to keep going and going and going.
After hearing about the authors lesson, and theme from the story it was hard not to focus on the authors style of writing. The author really has a great writing form. He is very good at having a really good lesson in a story that will entertain you. If you read a book that is very entertaining but still has a good lesson you can defiantly learn from it. If you have something to do and you don’t want to do it just think about all the other people around the world, they didn’t want the natural disasters to come and demolish the land that they live on, they did not ask for people to take their own lives or for them to take family members lives. The lesson is to make you think about other people before yourself. Think about how lucky you are, and what can you do to help other people or make their lives better.
So, in conclusion this was a great story that has a very good lesson. One of the best. People need to stop being lazy and do things like go to school as much as possible because all it will do is help you in the future. Always give it everything you got. Look at Walter, you think it is hard to go to school or do chores, what do you think everyday life is like for Walter? To be in pain to walk, or even just sitting there. Not being able to run or play sports with all of his friends. Think about how lucky you are. Think about the stuff you have not the stuff you could have.
Talking about the lesson should really make you think about how lucky you are. In the story the main character is so jealous of Walter because he doesn’t have to go to school and he gets to practically do whatever he wants to do in the main characters opinion. Too bad that’s not true because Walter doesn’t get to exercise or play sports like the main character got to do. He never thought about how lucky he was compared to Walter. So, the main lesson is no matter how bad you think or feel you got it there is always someone somewhere in the world that will have it worse than you. So if you think about it no matter what you say, you should consider yourself lucky.
Along with the lesson comes a very good theme. The theme is man vs. society. The reason it seems like man vs. society because the main character in the story, the person who is narrating the story doesn’t like school and doesn’t want to go to school, so he has to battle the society to get them to believe him that he has inflammatory rheumatism. If the main character would have been Walter than the theme would have been man vs. himself because Walter has to battle himself because his brain is saying stop your aching, you can’t go anymore but Walter just keeps pushing himself to keep going and going and going.
After hearing about the authors lesson, and theme from the story it was hard not to focus on the authors style of writing. The author really has a great writing form. He is very good at having a really good lesson in a story that will entertain you. If you read a book that is very entertaining but still has a good lesson you can defiantly learn from it. If you have something to do and you don’t want to do it just think about all the other people around the world, they didn’t want the natural disasters to come and demolish the land that they live on, they did not ask for people to take their own lives or for them to take family members lives. The lesson is to make you think about other people before yourself. Think about how lucky you are, and what can you do to help other people or make their lives better.
So, in conclusion this was a great story that has a very good lesson. One of the best. People need to stop being lazy and do things like go to school as much as possible because all it will do is help you in the future. Always give it everything you got. Look at Walter, you think it is hard to go to school or do chores, what do you think everyday life is like for Walter? To be in pain to walk, or even just sitting there. Not being able to run or play sports with all of his friends. Think about how lucky you are. Think about the stuff you have not the stuff you could have.
Friday, March 5, 2010
The People Could Fly
The People Could Fly
Have you ever wondered what it was like to be able to fly or to have some kind of special power? Well in the story The People Could Fly written by Virginia Hamilton some of the slaves knew magic and they could fly. Slaves had very hard work back in the day. They would get bossed around and could not say anything back to their masters or they would be whipped or put into some kind of pain. I think that slaves back then had to have been the toughest people ever to live. To go out and work almost the whole day, and get little to drink and eat, that proves beyond toughness right there. No one now days would live through that kind of stuff. This is a great story that has a good meaning or lesson, good theme, and is made a great story through the characters.
There were a few main characters in this story. One of the main characters was Sarah and Sarah was one of the slaves who carried a baby on her back. Another one of the slaves was named Toby. He was a very nice man that helped Sarah out when she was getting whipped or hit by their masters. Those two are the main slaves and then the other main people are the masters or the owners of the slaves. They did not give names of the owners in the story though. Back then, the masters would whip the slaves and they would do anything to get them back to work no matter how hungry, thirsty or tired they were. The owners did not care about the slaves at all. They were just selfish people. The owners were so selfish that it should teach the readers of this story a very big lesson.
There is a great lesson that should be heard in this story. I feel that the lesson tells you not to be selfish and that you should care about the people surrounding you. Even if you don’t like them you should be nice to them and always treat them how you want to be treated, which is the golden rule. If you don’t want to be treated like crap than you should not treat people like crap either? Plus, why would you even want to make people feel bad or feel less of themselves? If you treat people like crap like the owners did to the slaves people will think less of you and it will wreck your reputation. All the owners did was think about themselves.
Talking about just thinking about yourself, relates to the theme which is man vs. himself. In the story the slaves had to battle against themselves. No matter if they were tired, hurt, or starving they had to keep going no matter what or it would just get worse for them. So, they had to battle against their minds, because when your hurt or when your hungry your brain and mind tells you to stop, feed me, or stop I am hurt or tired. Back then when you were a slave you had no choice but to go. So, they had to keep fighting and battling and they could not listen to their brains no matter what they said.
In the end, this was a very good story. It helped teach me how life was like back in slavery time. I would have never thought it was actually that bad till I read this story. Can you even imagine being whipped in the back? That would be one of the most painful things that will ever happen to you. The reason they would get whipped is because they had nothing left or they felt like they had nothing but to sit there and give up, or lay there and die. But, we should just be happy times are no longer like that and the world is a better place.
Have you ever wondered what it was like to be able to fly or to have some kind of special power? Well in the story The People Could Fly written by Virginia Hamilton some of the slaves knew magic and they could fly. Slaves had very hard work back in the day. They would get bossed around and could not say anything back to their masters or they would be whipped or put into some kind of pain. I think that slaves back then had to have been the toughest people ever to live. To go out and work almost the whole day, and get little to drink and eat, that proves beyond toughness right there. No one now days would live through that kind of stuff. This is a great story that has a good meaning or lesson, good theme, and is made a great story through the characters.
There were a few main characters in this story. One of the main characters was Sarah and Sarah was one of the slaves who carried a baby on her back. Another one of the slaves was named Toby. He was a very nice man that helped Sarah out when she was getting whipped or hit by their masters. Those two are the main slaves and then the other main people are the masters or the owners of the slaves. They did not give names of the owners in the story though. Back then, the masters would whip the slaves and they would do anything to get them back to work no matter how hungry, thirsty or tired they were. The owners did not care about the slaves at all. They were just selfish people. The owners were so selfish that it should teach the readers of this story a very big lesson.
There is a great lesson that should be heard in this story. I feel that the lesson tells you not to be selfish and that you should care about the people surrounding you. Even if you don’t like them you should be nice to them and always treat them how you want to be treated, which is the golden rule. If you don’t want to be treated like crap than you should not treat people like crap either? Plus, why would you even want to make people feel bad or feel less of themselves? If you treat people like crap like the owners did to the slaves people will think less of you and it will wreck your reputation. All the owners did was think about themselves.
Talking about just thinking about yourself, relates to the theme which is man vs. himself. In the story the slaves had to battle against themselves. No matter if they were tired, hurt, or starving they had to keep going no matter what or it would just get worse for them. So, they had to battle against their minds, because when your hurt or when your hungry your brain and mind tells you to stop, feed me, or stop I am hurt or tired. Back then when you were a slave you had no choice but to go. So, they had to keep fighting and battling and they could not listen to their brains no matter what they said.
In the end, this was a very good story. It helped teach me how life was like back in slavery time. I would have never thought it was actually that bad till I read this story. Can you even imagine being whipped in the back? That would be one of the most painful things that will ever happen to you. The reason they would get whipped is because they had nothing left or they felt like they had nothing but to sit there and give up, or lay there and die. But, we should just be happy times are no longer like that and the world is a better place.
The Lie
The Lie
Have you ever lied about something and it came back and got you? I know that I have. I think every single human in the whole world has. Every single person has lied before in their past and will for sure in their future. Lying is one of the worst things you can possibly do because you feel nothing but pure guilt, and because lying hurts yourself, and could possibly hurt the person you lied to. In this story called The Lie by Kurt Vonnegut, Eli digs himself a very big whole. He lies to his family about making a school that is very known in his past family tree. This is a great story that teaches you a great lesson, has a good theme, and is put together perfectly by the way the characters act within the words of the story.
In this story, there are a few main characters. The main characters are Eli, and his father Dr. Remenzel. Eli’s father really wants him to go to a school call Whitehall because for the last several generations their family has gone to that school. So, he doesn’t want his son to wreck the streak that they have going for them. It means the world to his father for him to go there, and he knows it. So, Eli ends up getting a letter in the mail saying that he doesn’t make it to that school. He feels so bad about it that he lies to his own father and mother telling them that he made it to the school because he didn’t want them to be disappointed and mad at him. Eli was very scared of what his parents reaction was going to be. He is so scared that he lies to them so he doesn’t have to deal with their reactions. As the hours and days went on Eli felt very bad and very guilty for lying to them. He was scared that his mom and dad were going to find out and be even more mad then they would have been if he would have told them in the beginning. No matter what though, lying is never the right thing to do.
This story has one of the greatest lessons I have ever heard! This is a lesson that everyone in the world needs to know about. The lessons is not to lie because all it will do is hurt yourself, other people, and your reputation. Also, you will have to live through guilt until the lie is discovered or until you forget about the lie. It will hurt yourself because it will make you look bad, and it will wreck your reputation because people will think that you are a liar and no one will ever believe you. It could hurt someone else because if they found out you lied to them they might not think that you trusted them because you did lie to them. One thing you really want and definitely should have is a good reputation. You don’t want to be known as a liar or something bad like that. You want to be known as the always honest person. This lesson teaches you how to battle against yourself, and your sometimes evil conscience.
This stories theme is man vs. himself. The reason it is man vs. himself is because even though you knew lying is the wrong thing, your conscience will tell you differently. Most people think before they act and before they speak. In the story Eli probably thought to himself I should tell the truth because it is the right thing to do, but I shouldn’t tell the truth because the truth will hurt my parents a lot and it will also make me look bad to my family and to other people. No matter what people might think less of me. When you think to yourself like that, you shouldn’t even have to think twice and the only thing that should be in your mind is tell the truth. One thing you will learn is to always do the right thing and to always tell the truth, because believe it or not you will always have the better outcome.
In conclusion, this was a great story that has one of the greatest meanings. I don’t there is a lesson that could be better than this one or told better than this one was in the story. It was very fun to read and defiantly made me think about just how bad lying is. I learned that I am always better off telling the truth no matter what, and to keep battling my conscience and always, I mean always try and do the right thing.
Have you ever lied about something and it came back and got you? I know that I have. I think every single human in the whole world has. Every single person has lied before in their past and will for sure in their future. Lying is one of the worst things you can possibly do because you feel nothing but pure guilt, and because lying hurts yourself, and could possibly hurt the person you lied to. In this story called The Lie by Kurt Vonnegut, Eli digs himself a very big whole. He lies to his family about making a school that is very known in his past family tree. This is a great story that teaches you a great lesson, has a good theme, and is put together perfectly by the way the characters act within the words of the story.
In this story, there are a few main characters. The main characters are Eli, and his father Dr. Remenzel. Eli’s father really wants him to go to a school call Whitehall because for the last several generations their family has gone to that school. So, he doesn’t want his son to wreck the streak that they have going for them. It means the world to his father for him to go there, and he knows it. So, Eli ends up getting a letter in the mail saying that he doesn’t make it to that school. He feels so bad about it that he lies to his own father and mother telling them that he made it to the school because he didn’t want them to be disappointed and mad at him. Eli was very scared of what his parents reaction was going to be. He is so scared that he lies to them so he doesn’t have to deal with their reactions. As the hours and days went on Eli felt very bad and very guilty for lying to them. He was scared that his mom and dad were going to find out and be even more mad then they would have been if he would have told them in the beginning. No matter what though, lying is never the right thing to do.
This story has one of the greatest lessons I have ever heard! This is a lesson that everyone in the world needs to know about. The lessons is not to lie because all it will do is hurt yourself, other people, and your reputation. Also, you will have to live through guilt until the lie is discovered or until you forget about the lie. It will hurt yourself because it will make you look bad, and it will wreck your reputation because people will think that you are a liar and no one will ever believe you. It could hurt someone else because if they found out you lied to them they might not think that you trusted them because you did lie to them. One thing you really want and definitely should have is a good reputation. You don’t want to be known as a liar or something bad like that. You want to be known as the always honest person. This lesson teaches you how to battle against yourself, and your sometimes evil conscience.
This stories theme is man vs. himself. The reason it is man vs. himself is because even though you knew lying is the wrong thing, your conscience will tell you differently. Most people think before they act and before they speak. In the story Eli probably thought to himself I should tell the truth because it is the right thing to do, but I shouldn’t tell the truth because the truth will hurt my parents a lot and it will also make me look bad to my family and to other people. No matter what people might think less of me. When you think to yourself like that, you shouldn’t even have to think twice and the only thing that should be in your mind is tell the truth. One thing you will learn is to always do the right thing and to always tell the truth, because believe it or not you will always have the better outcome.
In conclusion, this was a great story that has one of the greatest meanings. I don’t there is a lesson that could be better than this one or told better than this one was in the story. It was very fun to read and defiantly made me think about just how bad lying is. I learned that I am always better off telling the truth no matter what, and to keep battling my conscience and always, I mean always try and do the right thing.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Speak
Speak
Imagine this, it’s your first day of high school, and you have no friends, and you’re the schools laughing stock. That would be a very bad thing, especially if you are going from having a lot of friends and being a very popular person. Even worse, you end up having no friends and being the schools laughing stock for something you didn’t even do. And even after it being something she didn’t do she still feels really guilty and she blames herself for it when really it wasn’t her fault at all. This is what happens to Melinda, in the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Melinda is just a depressed girl who gets made fun of and laughed at all because she got sexually assaulted by some freak named Andy.
For most people, the most important part of just about all books is knowing all the characters. The main character is Melinda Sordino. She is a sophomore girl who goes through her freshman year feeling really guilty and bad about herself all because she got raped. Another important character is Andy Evans. He is the guy who raped Melinda and gets away with it and never has one word said to him about it. Then there is Mr. Freeman, he is the art teacher. Art is Melinda’s favorite subject and also is the only subject she is good at starting off the book, but in the end she gets better at school and improves her grades. But talking more about Melinda, she is just an average girl who growing up had plenty of friends, and was very popular. She was at a party with illegal alcohol, and that is also where she got raped. She ended up calling the cops, but all of her friends and students from the school think she only called the cops because of the illegal alcohol. Nobody knew about what actually happened to her that night besides her, and the idiot Andy Evans. What he did was wrong, and either worse he got away with it without even a slap on the wrist.
Has it ever happened to you that you are so popular at one point, you have so many friends, and it seems like everyone loves you, but then one thing happens and it seems like they all turned on you? Well that’s what happens to Melinda in the book, but she didn’t even do anything. If she would have came out and told the cops that she got assaulted then she would have probably lived a totally different life. Andy would have gotten in trouble, but people might have given her so much more crap, and people would call her names. So, either way she would get crap from people. She probably would have been better telling the cops though because that way Andy would have got caught and would have got in trouble.
After getting raped, and getting made fun of and getting crap from people like Melinda did in the book she starts going through depression. One thing that also didn’t help is she doesn’t have much of a family or any great friends. So, she doesn’t really have anyone to talk to about her problems. It is always good to let your problems out because you feel like there is someone there that cares and is there to help you. It also helps, because it feels good to get it off your chest. Since Melinda has no one she can’t tell anyone about what happened so she feels so bad, and so guilty inside when really she did nothing. It is always good to have someone you can trust and someone you can tell anything and everything to. That’s what Melinda’s problem is, because she doesn’t have someone she can talk to like that.
In the end, people find out that Melinda really did get raped, and everyone starts liking her again. Which means she has friends again, so now she can carry on with her normal life. So, she doesn’t need to think about her terrible past. Since she is so young, she doesn’t need to be thinking about her terrible past. She should only think about the good things, and what she has ahead of her in the future. The point of this book, in my opinion is to teach people not to think about bad things that have happened to themselves, because there is someone in the world that has had worse. So, you can feel bad for yourself but then you should think about other people to. Also, you should think about the future you have ahead of you, because you cannot get to the future if you don’t let go of the past.
Imagine this, it’s your first day of high school, and you have no friends, and you’re the schools laughing stock. That would be a very bad thing, especially if you are going from having a lot of friends and being a very popular person. Even worse, you end up having no friends and being the schools laughing stock for something you didn’t even do. And even after it being something she didn’t do she still feels really guilty and she blames herself for it when really it wasn’t her fault at all. This is what happens to Melinda, in the book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Melinda is just a depressed girl who gets made fun of and laughed at all because she got sexually assaulted by some freak named Andy.
For most people, the most important part of just about all books is knowing all the characters. The main character is Melinda Sordino. She is a sophomore girl who goes through her freshman year feeling really guilty and bad about herself all because she got raped. Another important character is Andy Evans. He is the guy who raped Melinda and gets away with it and never has one word said to him about it. Then there is Mr. Freeman, he is the art teacher. Art is Melinda’s favorite subject and also is the only subject she is good at starting off the book, but in the end she gets better at school and improves her grades. But talking more about Melinda, she is just an average girl who growing up had plenty of friends, and was very popular. She was at a party with illegal alcohol, and that is also where she got raped. She ended up calling the cops, but all of her friends and students from the school think she only called the cops because of the illegal alcohol. Nobody knew about what actually happened to her that night besides her, and the idiot Andy Evans. What he did was wrong, and either worse he got away with it without even a slap on the wrist.
Has it ever happened to you that you are so popular at one point, you have so many friends, and it seems like everyone loves you, but then one thing happens and it seems like they all turned on you? Well that’s what happens to Melinda in the book, but she didn’t even do anything. If she would have came out and told the cops that she got assaulted then she would have probably lived a totally different life. Andy would have gotten in trouble, but people might have given her so much more crap, and people would call her names. So, either way she would get crap from people. She probably would have been better telling the cops though because that way Andy would have got caught and would have got in trouble.
After getting raped, and getting made fun of and getting crap from people like Melinda did in the book she starts going through depression. One thing that also didn’t help is she doesn’t have much of a family or any great friends. So, she doesn’t really have anyone to talk to about her problems. It is always good to let your problems out because you feel like there is someone there that cares and is there to help you. It also helps, because it feels good to get it off your chest. Since Melinda has no one she can’t tell anyone about what happened so she feels so bad, and so guilty inside when really she did nothing. It is always good to have someone you can trust and someone you can tell anything and everything to. That’s what Melinda’s problem is, because she doesn’t have someone she can talk to like that.
In the end, people find out that Melinda really did get raped, and everyone starts liking her again. Which means she has friends again, so now she can carry on with her normal life. So, she doesn’t need to think about her terrible past. Since she is so young, she doesn’t need to be thinking about her terrible past. She should only think about the good things, and what she has ahead of her in the future. The point of this book, in my opinion is to teach people not to think about bad things that have happened to themselves, because there is someone in the world that has had worse. So, you can feel bad for yourself but then you should think about other people to. Also, you should think about the future you have ahead of you, because you cannot get to the future if you don’t let go of the past.
Art Museum
Art Museum
When going to the art museum, I had many of different works of art to talk about. The one that I thought was the coolest and most interesting was called “Untitled.” This work of art was made by Robert Gober in 1997. This work of art can represent many different things. In my opinion I think it means a bad thing then a good thing.
I think that the suitcase called “Untitled.” In my opinion I think it means that a father died and got sent to heaven, because in heaven it’s supposed to be a perfect life, and maybe that mans idea was a perfect life was him with his little kid. In the work of art you see a man sitting with his feet in a pond and his little kid on his lap. Possibly this man was divorced and never got into another relationship so maybe all he had was his son. Family is practically the most important thing because without family your lonely and have no one to talk to or tell everything to.
So, in the end, this one of the best works of art I have ever seen. It was so creative and I have never pictured anything like that. When you were walking around all you saw was a suit case on the ground and everyone was like, “How is that so good?” and then you got closer and looked in it and it was the coolest and weirdest thing I have ever seen. It was very creative and whoever thought that deserves a lot of credit for a work of art like that.
When going to the art museum, I had many of different works of art to talk about. The one that I thought was the coolest and most interesting was called “Untitled.” This work of art was made by Robert Gober in 1997. This work of art can represent many different things. In my opinion I think it means a bad thing then a good thing.
I think that the suitcase called “Untitled.” In my opinion I think it means that a father died and got sent to heaven, because in heaven it’s supposed to be a perfect life, and maybe that mans idea was a perfect life was him with his little kid. In the work of art you see a man sitting with his feet in a pond and his little kid on his lap. Possibly this man was divorced and never got into another relationship so maybe all he had was his son. Family is practically the most important thing because without family your lonely and have no one to talk to or tell everything to.
So, in the end, this one of the best works of art I have ever seen. It was so creative and I have never pictured anything like that. When you were walking around all you saw was a suit case on the ground and everyone was like, “How is that so good?” and then you got closer and looked in it and it was the coolest and weirdest thing I have ever seen. It was very creative and whoever thought that deserves a lot of credit for a work of art like that.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Ugly Duckling
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have practically no friends? Which means you have no one to talk to, no one to hang out with or have fun being with. That’s how it was for the duckling in the story The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson. The duckling didn’t have any friends because of one little and one very stupid thing. The other ducks thought that the duckling was ugly. How pathetic. I am going to tell you about the theme, the lesson, and also another story that could be compared to this one.
The other that could easily be compared to this one is the book Speak. In the book Speak there is that girl named Melinda. Melinda starts of having lots of friends and being a very popular girl. Then one night, she went to a party and got raped there by some idiot guy and she called the cops about it and the cops came to the house and stopped the party but she did not say what happened because she was scared and embarrassed. That would be very weird and embarrassing for that to happen. But, nothing like that happens to the duckling. The thing that relates the two is that the duckling has no friends because they all think that he is ugly. Melinda has no friends because of how she called the cops so everyone thought she did it to get everyone at the party in trouble.
This story had a really good lesson that does compare to the everyday human life. We as humans walk around and laugh, or judge people based on their appearance. Life I know that when I play basketball and when we play against a guy with a ton of arm bands and stuff like that I think they are cocky. Really, you should not judge people like that. In The Ugly Duckling the other ducks judged him and they all thought of him based as how he looked. You should not think of someone based on their appearance. You should think of someone based on who they are on the inside.
Now I will talk about the theme. The theme for this story is man vs. society. The reason it is man vs. society is because the duckling is battling the other ducks around him. He is trying to make friends and he is trying to get the other ducks to stop calling him ugly. When you are called ugly it makes you lose self confidence and it also makes you very self conscience. Being called ugly really makes you feel bad. The sad thing is that when you get called ugly that means people are judging you. Normally when or if you are called ugly the person doesn’t really know you because if the person really knew you they wouldn’t want to hurt you. Since they don’t know you they don’t know what kind of person you are on the inside.
In conclusion this was overall a very good story. I feel that the most important part of this story was the lesson. The lesson was incredible. The golden rule. Treat people how you want to be treated. Before you judge someone put yourself in their shoes, think how you would feel if people were talking crap about you, talking behind your back, and judging you based on your appearance not who you really are. The main thing everyone needs to do is think twice before you say something or do something.
The other that could easily be compared to this one is the book Speak. In the book Speak there is that girl named Melinda. Melinda starts of having lots of friends and being a very popular girl. Then one night, she went to a party and got raped there by some idiot guy and she called the cops about it and the cops came to the house and stopped the party but she did not say what happened because she was scared and embarrassed. That would be very weird and embarrassing for that to happen. But, nothing like that happens to the duckling. The thing that relates the two is that the duckling has no friends because they all think that he is ugly. Melinda has no friends because of how she called the cops so everyone thought she did it to get everyone at the party in trouble.
This story had a really good lesson that does compare to the everyday human life. We as humans walk around and laugh, or judge people based on their appearance. Life I know that when I play basketball and when we play against a guy with a ton of arm bands and stuff like that I think they are cocky. Really, you should not judge people like that. In The Ugly Duckling the other ducks judged him and they all thought of him based as how he looked. You should not think of someone based on their appearance. You should think of someone based on who they are on the inside.
Now I will talk about the theme. The theme for this story is man vs. society. The reason it is man vs. society is because the duckling is battling the other ducks around him. He is trying to make friends and he is trying to get the other ducks to stop calling him ugly. When you are called ugly it makes you lose self confidence and it also makes you very self conscience. Being called ugly really makes you feel bad. The sad thing is that when you get called ugly that means people are judging you. Normally when or if you are called ugly the person doesn’t really know you because if the person really knew you they wouldn’t want to hurt you. Since they don’t know you they don’t know what kind of person you are on the inside.
In conclusion this was overall a very good story. I feel that the most important part of this story was the lesson. The lesson was incredible. The golden rule. Treat people how you want to be treated. Before you judge someone put yourself in their shoes, think how you would feel if people were talking crap about you, talking behind your back, and judging you based on your appearance not who you really are. The main thing everyone needs to do is think twice before you say something or do something.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Journal On Black History Month
One of the people I admire most from black history month has got to be Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was born on January 31st, 1919 in Cairo, Georgia. The thing that is so special about Jackie is that he was the first african american man to play in the MLB (Major League Baseball). Before he played in the MLB he played in the Negro League which is a baseball league that is for all african american baseball players. He made an MLB debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers. While he played for the Dodgers he was a 6 time all star, 1947 MLB rookie of the year, 1947 NL(national league) MVP, and he also won the world series in 1955. Not only was Jackie a great ball player, but he was also a great man. Without Jackie Robinson there might be no african american people playing in the MLB today. Can you even imagine what the world would be like without all of Martin Luther King Jr.'s work? There would be a bathroom and water fountains for white and for the colored. The world would not be anything close to what it is today. With all the hatrid our world would have it would be nothing but chaos. The world would be a painful place to live in and a painful place to look around at. These people are so great there is a month just to honor them. All of these people deserve something more than just a month of honoring them. I'm sure Martin Luther King Jr. would love to see what he made the life like today but sadly he didn't live a very long life because of his assasination. I'm sure he would be pleased and very proud of what his work and effort made the world like today.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Lit. Circle
Summer
Have you ever had an amazing summer? I’ll tell you my last summer was amazing. I got to stay up late, hang out with friends, go to parties, eat lots of food, off of school and all that fun stuff. Last summer my greatest memory has to be just hanging out with my friends. Friends are a very important part of my life and I’m sure they are in everyone else’s lives too. If you don’t have friends you have no one to talk to, no one to hang out with, and no one to share memories with. Some of the friends I share good memories with are Trevor Greene, Alex Zabel, Jordan Hass, Riley Sheahan and John Conroy. I have been friends with all of these guys for a while. They always look out for me and are always fun to hang out with. Everyone needs a friend no matter what age you are.
Have you ever had an amazing summer? I’ll tell you my last summer was amazing. I got to stay up late, hang out with friends, go to parties, eat lots of food, off of school and all that fun stuff. Last summer my greatest memory has to be just hanging out with my friends. Friends are a very important part of my life and I’m sure they are in everyone else’s lives too. If you don’t have friends you have no one to talk to, no one to hang out with, and no one to share memories with. Some of the friends I share good memories with are Trevor Greene, Alex Zabel, Jordan Hass, Riley Sheahan and John Conroy. I have been friends with all of these guys for a while. They always look out for me and are always fun to hang out with. Everyone needs a friend no matter what age you are.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
To Build A Fire
How To Build A Fire
Can you imagine what it is like to live in -50 degree weather? The weather would be so cold that you would not be able to move! Plus, not only was he freezing cold, he was starving hungry. So, since he was so cold he was shaking, and then since he was so hungry he was shaking. In the story How To Build A Fire by Jack London, very tragic and scary things happen to the characters.
In this story the suspense and the words that kept you on the edge of your seat were amazing. During this story I was always at the end of my chair wondering what was going to happen next. This story was man vs. nature because the man in the story battled nature the whole time. When he was out in the cold, he had to battle nature to make his way back alive. He would build fires to keep him warm, and take pieces of grass and tie them around his fingers and toes to cut off his circulation. So, like I said he had to battle nature and win against nature in order for him to make it home alive.
When thinking of suspense stories, or films, there is always lots of adventure in the suspense stories. In this story it was a big adventure for the man, because he had to find his way out of the cold climate or he would die. He ended up being so cold that he died. Some of the time he was positive thinking and saying to himself I’m going to make it, but at other times he was saying I’m going to die. You should always be positive even if it something that is so bad. There is always a positive side to everything.
Not only did this story have suspense, it had plenty of horror to it also. It was very terrifying when the man was starving and freezing. I was not sure if the man was going to die or if the man was going to live. At first, I thought he was going to live because that is how a lot of stories are, sad then in the end it is happy. Not in this story. The man ends up dying. So, it starts with sad, and ends with the saddest possible, death.
Although you make think there is someone so strong and so buff in this world, nature will always win. Nature will always be stronger than man. There is no way found out yet that humans have stopped things like earthquakes, tornadoes, or hurricanes. Take Haiti for an example. There is nothing left there, almost everyone there has died. The whole place is wiped out. Nature is stronger than man and there is nothing we could do about it yet.
Can you imagine what it is like to live in -50 degree weather? The weather would be so cold that you would not be able to move! Plus, not only was he freezing cold, he was starving hungry. So, since he was so cold he was shaking, and then since he was so hungry he was shaking. In the story How To Build A Fire by Jack London, very tragic and scary things happen to the characters.
In this story the suspense and the words that kept you on the edge of your seat were amazing. During this story I was always at the end of my chair wondering what was going to happen next. This story was man vs. nature because the man in the story battled nature the whole time. When he was out in the cold, he had to battle nature to make his way back alive. He would build fires to keep him warm, and take pieces of grass and tie them around his fingers and toes to cut off his circulation. So, like I said he had to battle nature and win against nature in order for him to make it home alive.
When thinking of suspense stories, or films, there is always lots of adventure in the suspense stories. In this story it was a big adventure for the man, because he had to find his way out of the cold climate or he would die. He ended up being so cold that he died. Some of the time he was positive thinking and saying to himself I’m going to make it, but at other times he was saying I’m going to die. You should always be positive even if it something that is so bad. There is always a positive side to everything.
Not only did this story have suspense, it had plenty of horror to it also. It was very terrifying when the man was starving and freezing. I was not sure if the man was going to die or if the man was going to live. At first, I thought he was going to live because that is how a lot of stories are, sad then in the end it is happy. Not in this story. The man ends up dying. So, it starts with sad, and ends with the saddest possible, death.
Although you make think there is someone so strong and so buff in this world, nature will always win. Nature will always be stronger than man. There is no way found out yet that humans have stopped things like earthquakes, tornadoes, or hurricanes. Take Haiti for an example. There is nothing left there, almost everyone there has died. The whole place is wiped out. Nature is stronger than man and there is nothing we could do about it yet.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Journal 1-19-2010
For our journal today we have to write about which story was man vs. himself. The short story that was man vs. himself was the movie we watched and the stroy we read which was the necklace. In that story a woman borrows a necklace she got from a friend and ends up losing it. She feels so terrible and embarrased that she lost it she went and had it replaced. She thought it was real diamonds so she went out and bought a real diamond necklace. Later she talks to the woman and tells her that she has been living a hard life since she had to buy that necklace. The woman tells her that the necklace was fake and was barely worth anything. The reason this story is man vs. himself is because she lost the necklace and has to do whatever she can to replace it. Its not man vs. nature because nature has really nothing to do with it. It also is not man vs. society.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Writing Goals
Writing Goals-
1. Have people read my writing when I am done
2. Include a good thesis
3. Review my story myself
4. Use more voice in my story
1. Have people read my writing when I am done
2. Include a good thesis
3. Review my story myself
4. Use more voice in my story
Journal 1-18-2010
The story that is man vs. nature is to build a fire. In this story a man is trapped outside in -50 degree weather. He was so cold he could barely move so it was like his body was frozen. Can you imagine being outside when it is that cold? It would be scary and insanely cold. The man tried building fires to get warm, and he also would cut up animals and get inside of them for warmth. In the story the man was told by an older man not to go outside because it was so cold and you would not make it back alive. He did not listen and still went. Since it was so cold the man ended up dying. If its that cold outside there really isn't anything you can do. This stroy teaches you that you should almost always listen to your elders unless it does not make sense, or unless you know they are wrong.
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