Fellowship
- meeting and getting to know more people in my community. -
Fellowship means more than just friendships and acquaintances. To me, fellowship is more like getting to know someone on a more personnel level, going through eachothers trials and tribulations together; fellowship is more like an eternal friendship.
I chose fellowship as my word to describe 2012 for me because this year I really want to work on stepping out of my comfort zone. So often I get too comfortable and caught up in my life and friends that I forget there is more to all of this. Lately, I have been in my own little world and have not been open to new things. I am hoping that this year I will be able to hear people's stories about their lives and struggles, that I might be inspired by them, and may also be inspire them.
This year, I will have a semester of my Junior year and a semester of my Senior year. I almost just have a year of school left. I am runing short on time to get to know my classmates better. I am running out of time to impact the lives of the people around me and to be impacted by them. Most of these people I may never get to see again in my lifetime. I want to know that I did not just fly through Highschool.
When I leave BHS, I do not want to have any regrets. I do not want to be the person who no one remembers; I hope that if I am remembered, it is for being a good friend, someone that they could count on. No one can change the world, but everyone has the oppertunity to change a life.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Commentary on Frankenstein
In my English class, we have been preparing to read the novel Frankenstein. I find it amazing that the author was a woman and was at the age of 19! This is mainly because the book is about a monster, which normally when I think of the creators of a monsters, I picture a man. Although that might be biased, its always my initial thought. The fact that she was published in her time period though, proves that Frankenstein is a very well written novel.
In the book, Frankenstein, a man attempts to create life by using his knowledge in science. I think that with the knowledge and equipment that we have today, creating life could be very possible. Even with this amazing knowledge, I do not think that we should try to create life unnaturally because then you would look at this living thing like an object, and something living, I think, should not be looked at in that way.
I do not believe in the sorcerer's stone or immortality on this earth. I do not believe that a stone, of all things, can make it impossible for you to die. I believe that once you die, then you will have eternal life where ever you might end up, whether it be Heaven or Hell... But life on this earth is just too fragile for something as profound as immortality to exist.
Monsters can be found anywhere. Whether it be an animal, person, or problems within a person. A lion over killing an animal, that is somewhat monstrous; an everyday, seemingly normal person can become a monstrous serial killer; and a person can struggle with some kind of an addiction, allowing it to be a monster of their life. Everyone faces a monster nearly everyday of their life because no one goes through life with out some kind of trouble or mistake haunting them. These kind of monsters can only be dealt with by facing them, no matter how difficult it may seem.
In the book, Frankenstein, a man attempts to create life by using his knowledge in science. I think that with the knowledge and equipment that we have today, creating life could be very possible. Even with this amazing knowledge, I do not think that we should try to create life unnaturally because then you would look at this living thing like an object, and something living, I think, should not be looked at in that way.
I do not believe in the sorcerer's stone or immortality on this earth. I do not believe that a stone, of all things, can make it impossible for you to die. I believe that once you die, then you will have eternal life where ever you might end up, whether it be Heaven or Hell... But life on this earth is just too fragile for something as profound as immortality to exist.
Monsters can be found anywhere. Whether it be an animal, person, or problems within a person. A lion over killing an animal, that is somewhat monstrous; an everyday, seemingly normal person can become a monstrous serial killer; and a person can struggle with some kind of an addiction, allowing it to be a monster of their life. Everyone faces a monster nearly everyday of their life because no one goes through life with out some kind of trouble or mistake haunting them. These kind of monsters can only be dealt with by facing them, no matter how difficult it may seem.
Friday, December 16, 2011
My Antonia and the Twists of its Uniqueness
Willa Cather in her novel My Antonia offers her view of life during the pioneer time. It told of trials and tribulations of many different people during that time period.
Through out the story, Jim told his stories of his friends and love for the towns people of his past. My Antonia would be completely different if the story were to be told by Antonia, herself. First off, I doubt that the book would still be called My Antonia because even though Antonia would be the one telling the story, her perspective on everything that she and her friends went through would be different than Jim's. Many of the stories told by Jim wouldn't even exist because Antonia wasn't there during them. Then again, the stories of her heart break and family would be much more in depth. Thus, the story would have completely changed had she been the one telling her side.
If Willa Cather would have been a man, instead of a woman, writing from the view point of Jim, then the story would not have been as nearly full of his feelings, but more about his actions and thoughts. Reading the book, I was connected to the idea of Jim telling his story, like Jim truly sounded like a man though out all of it even though Cather was a woman trying to speak through him. Cather, in a way, did an effective job at telling from the view point of Jim.
Jim changed the title from Antonia to My Antonia because the book was full of stories of Jim and Antonia. Even when Antonia was not even mentioned in a story, some how that story effected Jim and Antonia's story together. Thus, Antonia was not just someone who was randomly placed in Jim's life, she was his Antonia. Through everything that they went through, their relationship always ended more powerfully than before. Their lives were some how linked together. She was not just his, but Jim was Antonia's as well.
There are so many different twists that could have been taken just by the author and the narrator. My Antonia is an extremely unique book with stories that can not help but be related to by the reader. This book is a strong portrayal of how much people's settings can effect the character in life. Antonia and Jim would have never of become who they became with out each other in their lives.
Through out the story, Jim told his stories of his friends and love for the towns people of his past. My Antonia would be completely different if the story were to be told by Antonia, herself. First off, I doubt that the book would still be called My Antonia because even though Antonia would be the one telling the story, her perspective on everything that she and her friends went through would be different than Jim's. Many of the stories told by Jim wouldn't even exist because Antonia wasn't there during them. Then again, the stories of her heart break and family would be much more in depth. Thus, the story would have completely changed had she been the one telling her side.
If Willa Cather would have been a man, instead of a woman, writing from the view point of Jim, then the story would not have been as nearly full of his feelings, but more about his actions and thoughts. Reading the book, I was connected to the idea of Jim telling his story, like Jim truly sounded like a man though out all of it even though Cather was a woman trying to speak through him. Cather, in a way, did an effective job at telling from the view point of Jim.
Jim changed the title from Antonia to My Antonia because the book was full of stories of Jim and Antonia. Even when Antonia was not even mentioned in a story, some how that story effected Jim and Antonia's story together. Thus, Antonia was not just someone who was randomly placed in Jim's life, she was his Antonia. Through everything that they went through, their relationship always ended more powerfully than before. Their lives were some how linked together. She was not just his, but Jim was Antonia's as well.
There are so many different twists that could have been taken just by the author and the narrator. My Antonia is an extremely unique book with stories that can not help but be related to by the reader. This book is a strong portrayal of how much people's settings can effect the character in life. Antonia and Jim would have never of become who they became with out each other in their lives.
New Orleans
After I have loved on kids for a week,
While I played games, sang, and danced,
When the end comes near,
Because nothing lasts forever,
I know that I must soon say goodbye.
If I only had more time,
Although the end has sadly come,
When I have said the last goodbye,
Before I arrive home once again,
I remember all the memories from the past week of New Orleans.
While I played games, sang, and danced,
When the end comes near,
Because nothing lasts forever,
I know that I must soon say goodbye.
If I only had more time,
Although the end has sadly come,
When I have said the last goodbye,
Before I arrive home once again,
I remember all the memories from the past week of New Orleans.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Eating Disorders Affect Our Society
Argument: Eating Disorders Affect Our Society
Assertion/Claim (Topic Sentence) = Main Idea
- Eating disorders show our society's problems with image and could maybe be prevented if everyone treated eachother with respect.
- Three main types of eating disorders that are causing pain in our world: Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia Nervosa, and Binge Eating; Many different disorders are mixes of these. But out of all of these most 'arise from a combination of long-standing behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors.'
- Commentary 1: All of these disorders seem to be caused by things that have tragically scared them. The way we treat people can serously effect their lives. You could make a joke even about them and it could scar them.
- Commentary 2: If people in life would treat eachother with respect, our world would change drastically! Less people would do things to hurt themselves in because they would feel more loved. They would find purpose!
- The media is sometimes associated with eating disorders because its images can 'help to create cultural definitions of beauty and attractiveness.'
- Commentary 1: Sometimes when people go through tramatic events, their image is what holds them together. When they see what the media calls 'beautiful', they think that they need to be that way.
- Commentary 2: This can lead to difficulties and they may feel they need to be skinnier or need to change themselves just so they can have that one security... But sadly they don't realize that the status of this beauty is impossible to get and they may never reach that goal. This sometimes leads to damaging their body.
Opposing Claims/They Say:
- Some may just be mental and need help in the first place, why blame the media for someone's thoughts and perspectives of their 'goals' that they must 'reach'?
- They shouldn't just think they need to change to be beautiful, because not everyone looks like a movie star. They should learn that they should become happy the way they are.
- Although I agree that they should learn to be 'happy the way they are', how can they possibly do that when the media is always showing ways to be beautiful? To them it may seem like the media is rubbing it in their face. So they may think they need to change so that they may be what the world calls beautiful, and it is really hard to change some one's perspective on the world.
My Paragraph
Eating disorders show our society's problems with image and could maybe be prevented if everyone treated eachother with respect. Three main types of eating disorders are causing pain in our world: Bulimia Nervosa, Anorexia Nervosa, and Binge Eating; Many different disorders are mixes of these disorders. Out of all of these, most 'arise from a combination of long-standing behavioral, biological, emotional, psychological, interpersonal, and social factors.' All of these disorders seem to be caused by things that have tragically scared them. The way we treat people can serously effect their lives. You could make a joke about them and it could scar them. If people in life would treat eachother with respect, our world would change drastically! Less people would do things to hurt themselves because they would feel more loved. They would find purpose! But sadly, the everyday people in our lives are not the only influence towards these disorders. The media is sometimes associated with eating disorders because its images can 'help to create cultural definitions of beauty and attractiveness.' Sometimes when people go through tramatic events, their image is what holds them together. When they see what the media calls 'beautiful', they think that they need to be that way. This can lead to difficulties and they may feel they need to be skinnier or need to change themselves just so they can have that one security... But sadly they don't realize that the status of this beauty is impossible to get and they may never reach that goal. This sometimes leads to damaging their body. Of course there have been questioning on these people's outlooks, like what if they had mental problems before they got disorder and that these people should not feel they need to change because the movie star look is hard to achieve. Although I agree that they should learn to be happy the way they are, how can they possibly do that when the media is always showing ways to be beautiful? To them it may seem like the media is rubbing it in their face. So they may think they need to change so that they may be what the world calls beautiful, and to change their perspective on the world's outlook may be extremely hard. Thus, we could most likely help prevent this disorder by changing the way we treat eachother and treasure true beauty instead of the fake movie star look.
My Thinking:
This paragraph is mostly inductive thinking because its more of a theory than a confirmation.
Source:
The Effects On Setting
Chunk #1:
Mr. Shamerda, in his old country, was a happy man who played instruments and danced all the time with his neighbors and friends. When he was forced to leave the only place he had every called home, he couldn't take it... So his new surroundings slowly led him to depression. His new setting changed him completely. He could never seem to have fun any more, and he never had the urge to play his music because of his sadness for missing his home land. The country land that they lived on, took him to so much sadness that he ended his life. Setting plays a huge part in his life because of his drastic change in personality and how he reacted to the move.
Chunk #2:
Every year during the holidays, my family and I always head to my grandmother's house. I love going to her house during the holidays because it always welcomes me in with soothing words that I always recognize. I can't help but feel loved by that house, mainly because its the only house that has always been in my life. With my family having problems staying in a place for too long, this house has always been a place of security. It is like that blanket that you sleep with at night, you always can count on it to keep you warm and happy even in the worst conditions. It is probly the one place that I consider my home.
Mr. Shamerda, in his old country, was a happy man who played instruments and danced all the time with his neighbors and friends. When he was forced to leave the only place he had every called home, he couldn't take it... So his new surroundings slowly led him to depression. His new setting changed him completely. He could never seem to have fun any more, and he never had the urge to play his music because of his sadness for missing his home land. The country land that they lived on, took him to so much sadness that he ended his life. Setting plays a huge part in his life because of his drastic change in personality and how he reacted to the move.
Chunk #2:
Every year during the holidays, my family and I always head to my grandmother's house. I love going to her house during the holidays because it always welcomes me in with soothing words that I always recognize. I can't help but feel loved by that house, mainly because its the only house that has always been in my life. With my family having problems staying in a place for too long, this house has always been a place of security. It is like that blanket that you sleep with at night, you always can count on it to keep you warm and happy even in the worst conditions. It is probly the one place that I consider my home.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Book Review : their eyes were watching god
Life is a strange strand of circumstances, you never know what each day is going to bring. In the book, their eyes were watching god, Janie constantly learns through her many journeys, three husbands, and constant changes that some things that seem to appear perfect can change within the snap of the fingers... The author, Zora Neale Hurston, amazed me with her style of writing, the characters she used, and her brilliant way of using the background of everything to put you in Janie's shoes.
Hurston, throughout the whole book, amazed me with her ability to make you feel like you were there with Janie through every area of her life. Hurston uses a lot of dialogue to tell the story. But what makes her writing style so great is she writes these dialogues exactly how the people of that time would talk. She also does an amazing job at putting the perfect feelings of each person through what they say to help you better understand each character more clearly.
In some books, authors make the mistake of making characters too perfect, like they could never possibly exhist.. In this book though, Janie is seen as a strong willed, young, and beautiful woman who can't ever seem to be able to make up her mind.. Along her journey she meets three men who alter her life forever. Logan Killick, her first husband, treated her with no respect as woman. She soon ran into Jody who seemed perfect and ran away with him to get married and moved to one of the first black communities. After a while, he started abusing her mentally by the way he talked to her. Then Tea Cake came along and once again seemed perfect. That is until he went crazy after being bitten by a mad dog. In the end, she goes home in rememberance of her past endeavors, ready to move forward in her life.
The book was set in Southern Florida after slavery had been outlawed. African Americans are just starting to make their mark on history by building their own communities and becoming their own people. Hurston does an amazing job of showing this setting through the places Janie goes and the way the people talk to each other. Through the whole story, Hurston portrayed this time period very well.
There are many other reasons why this book was so brilliantly put together, but these are the main reasons. From the author's brilliant style, to the characters in the book, to finally the setting of the book, this book is extremely jam packed with an interesting tale if you're in the mood for something kind of tragic, yet inspiring!
Hurston, throughout the whole book, amazed me with her ability to make you feel like you were there with Janie through every area of her life. Hurston uses a lot of dialogue to tell the story. But what makes her writing style so great is she writes these dialogues exactly how the people of that time would talk. She also does an amazing job at putting the perfect feelings of each person through what they say to help you better understand each character more clearly.
In some books, authors make the mistake of making characters too perfect, like they could never possibly exhist.. In this book though, Janie is seen as a strong willed, young, and beautiful woman who can't ever seem to be able to make up her mind.. Along her journey she meets three men who alter her life forever. Logan Killick, her first husband, treated her with no respect as woman. She soon ran into Jody who seemed perfect and ran away with him to get married and moved to one of the first black communities. After a while, he started abusing her mentally by the way he talked to her. Then Tea Cake came along and once again seemed perfect. That is until he went crazy after being bitten by a mad dog. In the end, she goes home in rememberance of her past endeavors, ready to move forward in her life.
The book was set in Southern Florida after slavery had been outlawed. African Americans are just starting to make their mark on history by building their own communities and becoming their own people. Hurston does an amazing job of showing this setting through the places Janie goes and the way the people talk to each other. Through the whole story, Hurston portrayed this time period very well.
There are many other reasons why this book was so brilliantly put together, but these are the main reasons. From the author's brilliant style, to the characters in the book, to finally the setting of the book, this book is extremely jam packed with an interesting tale if you're in the mood for something kind of tragic, yet inspiring!
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