What a Tangled Web We Weave

The article Learning to Lie on New York News and Features makes some really compelling points in research about reasons why kids are drawn to lying, and examples that they are actually following to develop these habits.

The article goes over the basic childhood time line of lying. The child starts out young, and avoids punishment by lying about their actions, then it progresses to white-lies, which the article points out were actually initiated through parent's examples and encouragement. When a parent tells a child to put on a happy face and act like they love a present at Christmas that they really hate, that is lying. Yes, the lie may make someone feel better, but it is still a lie.

When parents encourage children to lie, they are setting them up for a life of dishonesty. The question that must be answered is: where does the line need to be drawn? Obviously we don't want kids getting gifts and screaming their outrage and hate over them, but at the same time, we don't want them lying about bigger things, like matters of safety and morality.

So the question posed by the article is: Where do children get hooked on lying? Well, lying is a stage that most children go through at some point in childhood, but they usually grow out of it through socialization. However, if they find lying works for them, or that they see others around them doing it, and succeeding, they will continue. Telling a telemarketer you don't speak English is lying. Cheating on taxes is lying. Lying is lying, plain and simple. Don't try to sugar coat something that is plain and simple as day. Children learn by example, and while things aren't always the parents fault, there is the possibility that detrimental behaviors learned by children didn't just pop out of nowhere, they started closer to home than we may think.

I Had a Great Fall

I got on my bike, my mind prepared for the task at hand, my fingers clenched around the handlebars, my teeth clenched, my body totally ready. I was ready to peddle my bike; I had to make it over the ramp; I had to get to the other side. My task, getting over the ramp, seemed simple enough. I had to get up the ramp, over the top, down the side, and back to the ground, safely in one piece. I began the to pedal my bike over to the ramp. Simple enough...right? As I climbed further up the ramp and as I began to reach the top I began to become scared as I began to fall. My fall was terrible in appearance, yet the pain was little. On my hand, blood I saw spreading. Why did I feel no pain? I began to walk inside, and walked, and tripped, and found, and spoke to, my mom. Her view of my wound and her awe at the grotesqueness and my lack of panic, moved her to slowly but surely clean and bandage my wound, patting me on the back for my bravery.

Why Do We Find Joy in Pain?

We have all seen America's Funniest Videos or watched funny videos of people doing stupid things, and ending up hurting themselves, sometimes very seriously. The very sentence I just wrote conveys my point exactly. We find these videos funny. Why?

In this video, "Scarlet Takes a Tumble," we see a woman, who decides to climb up onto a structurally unsound table, and proceed to dance and move her body in motions that do not equally distribute her weight along all support structures of the table. Scarlet proceeds to dance, proceeds to sing, proceeds to fall, as the table flies out from under her when she unfortunately walks too far forward, thereby unevenly distributing her weight to the front part of the table, causing said tumble.

Just while typing this description of this video, I am struggling to contain my laughter. But why? Why do we laugh at the pain of others? Why does the pain of others seem to amuse us to no end? When we see others, such as Scarlet, in unfortunate situations of unexpected pain and trauma, a number of things go through our minds. First off, humans have the innate, and not always becoming trait of finding cruel humor amusing. Secondly, and primarily, we have the urge to laugh at others pain because when we see someone else in an unfortunate situation, we have the "funny feeling" of relief that we are not in that situation. We are looking at Scarlet take her "tumble" and we say to ourselves "Wow... Glad that wasn't me." We then proceed to laugh because we know that she is alright, or the video wouldn't be online, and also because we have something that we are able to look at and be grateful we aren't in that persons shoes.

Three Books I would like to Read

I would like to read 19 Minutes, because Natasha and others have recommended this book to me and I heard it was really well written. I would also like to read The Red Tent, recommended to me by Ms. Weygandt, about Joseph's sister who was little mentioned in the Bible. Lastly, I want to read Among the Hidden, also recommended to me by Ms. Weygandt. I trust her recommendations because she has recommended me some very good books to read in the past.

My Independent Reading This Quarter

This quarter, I have established a regular habit of reading. I read every night now before I go to bed, even if it is just by Bible reading. I have had a few issues with keeping up with my reading earlier in the quarter, but now I am doing really good with it. I honestly probably wouldn't be reading 150 minutes a week if I didn't think I needed to do it just for the grade. Life right now is just so busy I don't always have that much time to read. I have a relatively balanced reading diet, some frill reads, along with some mroe serious reads, like Inexcusable. Reading this quarter has really been hard to squeeze in, but I think over the long run, I have learned how to make and keep some good habits that will stick with me for a long time.

Getting in my required number of books was hard. I read some really good books, but then my reading became kind of stagnant and boring for a while. I just need to be sure to stay in the swing of reading every day and finding good books to read that keep me thinking and entertained at the same time.

Socratic Seminar Reflection

The Socratic Seminars we took part in during class proved to be a very interesting and enlightening way to explore ideas and pick each other's minds on topics from Brave New World. In the seminars, my group and I spoke about the differing viewpoints of John the Savage and Mustapha Mond. I also spoke about John's use of Shakespearean quotes in his speech when he is talking to people in the "civilized world."

While preparing for the seminars, I was pleased to find in myself the ability to look at a text and actually interpret a deeper meaning than the impression given on the surface. I was proud of myself that I was actually able to exercise that extra level of critical thinking in a practical manner by taking notes and pondering ideas Huxley presented, for example, the differing viewpoints of Mond and John on the topic of having something more to believe in than just emotion.

I encountered many new and intriguing points of view from my peers during the seminars. For example, my peers pointed out how the words of Shakespeare could have been chosen by Huxley because Shakespearean literature is so timeless and appeals to every human emotion in the most simple, yet at the same time complex, ways. Therefore, John could have been quoting Shakespeare in times of trouble not only for comfort of tradition (my original viewpoint) but because he understood some surface meaning in the words of Shakespeare.

In participating in the seminars, I discovered that I am naturally inclined to initiate conversation with people, and ask lots of questions. I most enjoyed being able to talk to my peers in a smaller group without fear of interruption and hearing the views of some I don't normally have the opportunity to talk to.

The Socratic seminar was very challenging. I was really nervous about it, because I was afraid I would either monopolize the conversation or not speak at all. However, they went really well, I think we all did a great job in my group. The most difficult part for me in the seminar was being sure to pause and give others in my group time to speak and really hearing their ideas. Once I was able to open myself up and listen to the things everyone said, I really felt enlightened on the subjects we spoke about. It was quite interesting to discuss the ideas in "Brave New World" with my peers instead of the usual style of debate. If I had a do-over of the seminar, I would devote more time to listening to my peers and their ideas.

Pink's Purpose

Pink's sarcastic, grim observation of the shift in lifestyle in America, combined with his observation of the shift in thinking of Americans, aims to show our change of mindset and how we are taking our abundance for granted, possibly giving us cause to change. Staples is "a 20,000 square foot box selling 7,500 different school and office supplies." Pink is using this example of something we see every day to show us the massive nature of how we as a people seem to need a thousand different choices when over half of them do the exact same thing. He is bringing to light the fact that our forgetfulness of our abundance has led to a change in mindset. We have gone from I need this to survive, to I want this because I like it. When we can't store things, we just throw them away. Pink's frank statement of this visible fact shows the obvious American wasteful attitude and his effort to bring to light this change of mindset. Americans need to buy things we need, so therefore we won't have more stuff than space. We are drowning in our waste of our abundant resources, and Pink uses tactful sarcastic humor and straightforwardness to make us aware of our current state.

Use Rhetoric...invest in victory!

Everyone wants to help out Uncle Sam, right? This advertisement for Scotch tape from the 1940's uses Logos, Pathos, and Ethos to advertise their unique and new (at the time) brand of tape.

First and foremost, this ad obviously appeals to Logos, by showing readers the practical uses of their tape. For example, Scotch tape is being highlighted in this ad as a valuable tool in the war effort. The tape is used to hold together care packages for soldiers and hold together parts in factories producing wartime goods.

This ad also uses Ethos, giving it credibility, by telling of those same ways Scotch brand tape is helping Uncle Sam, and telling of the many places in which scotch brand tape can be found and used.

This ad is also more than an ad. It is a notice, telling faithful users of Scotch brand items that the reason their favorite products can not be found on shelves anymore is that they are helping out the country. An obvious appeal to Pathos, Scotch is spending their money to tell consumers of their efforts to aide in American Victory (notice the use of Victory, a positive description) and advising citizens to invest in war bonds, a completely non profit to Scotch action. Scotch is appealing to the hard ingrained emotions of patriotism within the hearts of Americans.

Another appeal to Pathos that this ad uses is the obvious display of an aesthetically pleasing woman in a bright red dress as an attention getter, drawing people in, particularly men, to read on in the advertisement and be delivered Scotch's intended message. Also notice that everyone in the picture is smiling and happy, showing readers that Scotch has a positive attitude and wants America to win the war.

Scotch's 1944 ad, or public announcement to be more accurate, uses at least a tidbit of every type of Rhetoric, to effectively draw readers attention, sell them on the product, and keep spirits up in America's time of trouble.

Are we becoming tweeting Twits?

How reliant have we as humans become on the use of technology for the everyday acts of communications? As shown in Mashable's article, "Twitter's official tweet button has arived,"referenced on CNN.com, twitter has come up with yet another way for users to tweet, keep track of other's tweets, forward tweets, and follow tweets, and just about any other action that uses the word tweet. Have we gone too far? Is the urge to be able to communicate with others 24/7 overtaking our lives?

Twitter's new button lets users keep track of how many "retweets" (reposts) they get on their own posts, and also lets other users "retweet" something that someone else has posted easily and with the push of a button. Am I the only one who is taken aback by this statement? Have we stooped to the point of being too lazy to type out our own responses? Going deeper, what ever happened to writing?

These questions may seem old fashioned and weird, but let me be the first to say, I love facebook. I am on that website more than the average person, and even the average person is on it more than necessary. I am just asking the questions to make us think. We as individuals and as a society must get out of our computer chairs and do something. If we let the lazy attitude that society has adopted start to overtake our lives, we will soon be sitting in the middle of a crumbling world.

Mashable's article illustrates just one of the many ways our society, already amazingly blessed with everything we have, is becoming more and more dependent on technology and more accustomed to instant gratification. This doesn't mean we should all throw our computers out on the sidewalk and only ever communicate through handwritten letters ever again. This does mean, however, that we need to take a step back and reevaluate where the line should be drawn between convenience, and laziness.

Are We Happy Plastic People?

The first line of the chorus of the song "Stained Glass Masquerade" by Casting Crowns asks the question that many of us wonder about our peers. And if we are not asking that question, maybe should we?

Popular culture and entertainment is abuzz with shows, movies, and literature telling us to look into ourselves and let our true personalities show, get help with issues we are dealing with, and to look at others with the idea that don't know everything that may be going on in their lives. But, when I look around our schools and communities today, nobody seems to be taking that message to heart. Why?

At first glance, the song "Stained Glass Masquerade" seems to be a contemporary Christian song telling listeners to look down and see if they are hiding themselves from God and other Christians who can help them deal with their problems. When looked at from a broader perspective, we see the song telling listeners, Christian or not, to realize that the people around us have open hearts and minds to hear our problems, and help us get through them. So that "maybe then we close the curtain, on this stained glass masquerade."

If there are so many different sources like "Stained Glass Masquerade" telling listeners they are not alone in their struggles, and encouraging them to let God and others help them through their problems, why do we still see suicides, murders, and depression resulting from unresolved issues? Why is society still filled with people who think they need to huddle under a blanket and put on the facade of happiness for the whole world to believe, or see through?

The answer to this question can be very simple, and for some, very complex. In my personal views and experiences, I know that life is easier, for me, by letting my peers and close confidants know my issues and being open to their help for me. More importantly however, for me personally, is the confidence in my faith and willingness to turn my problems over to God. For those who do not believe Christianity, to each his own. Just know that life is always easier when we share our burdens with those we trust, and take off our masks, to show the world who we truly are. And if you are still not convinced of this reader, I ask you the simple question, what do you have to loose?

"And if the invitation's open,
To every heart that has been broken,
Maybe then we close the curtain,
On this Stained Glass Masquerade."

-Casting Crowns

Shall we cover, or Correct?

Bad breath is a nightmare, a menace, a plague that frequently strikes down some of the best and brightest of all generations. This daily strip of Zits illustrates this problem that many of us come across at the most inconvenient times. "Oh no, I have bad breath... Lets get a mint... Oh no, now my bad breath is minty!" Trying to cover up issues doesn't solve any problems. The only product that results from covering up a issue is this: a covered up issue.

Looking at the strip of Zits on the surface I see an average teenager, confronted with the common problem of bad breath, and like any other human being would do, he tries to drown his bad breath with the more strong scent of mint. Sadly however, Jeremy (this "he" I have been speaking of) realizes that all swallowing a whole box of mints got him was minty smelling bad breath. The simple conclusion one can draw from this comic strip is this: Mints don't fix bad breath. Brush your teeth.

Little do readers realize, the conclusion drawn from that one situation can not only (and most definitely should be) applied to cases of bad breath, it is the extremely simple solution to some of the most major problems humans face as individuals, and a society as a whole. Compare the situation shown in this strip of Zits to life. Any problem we attempt to cover up with lies, or quick fixes, may seem "fixed," but underneath is never truly solved.

The decision is left up to the individual of course, but I know that a clean mouth is happy mouth and (all humor aside) living a clean life and showing everyone I encounter who I truly am is better and more fruitful than leading a sham of a life in a bucket of stink with a nice little bow on top. So the choice is yours: Shall we cover, or Correct?

My Photo Story

A picture is worth a thousand words. Here's just a few to share my life with you. Click to learn more!

Analysis of "Of Mice and Men"

Analysis of Detail
"Runs deep and green'' represent the fact that the river has more than what is just on the surface, and is full of life, represented by the adjective green. The whole sentence, "The Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green," describes how the river, being Lennie and George's path, has depth, like George, with his deep calculating below the surface, and Lennie, full of life and simple childlike joy.

"Curve up the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains," shows how the river, which is deep and green, curves up the mountains, which are strong, and yet rocky at the same time. In other words, the mountain path taken by the river is defined, yet difficult. The juxtaposition of these terms, "curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains," shows that the path taken by George and Lennie, the river, will be definite, but also with possible struggles and trials.

"Deep and so crisp" indicates how the leaves are thick, and tangled on top of each other, not easily gone through, and crisp as in how quickly they might break and send the whole pile down. "Under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp." Lennie and George, based on this sentence, are going to be far under, "deep", in problematic situations, where one wrong move could send them over the edge.

"A path beaten hard by boys coming down...beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down" shows how the path "beaten hard" has been traveled frequently by people of many different backgrounds. The path that Lennie and George will take "to swim in the deep pool," has been taken by others, so they are not alone in their perilous situations to come.

"The limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it," shows how the limb that many men come to rest on in the end, is the same limb which has supported many men before them. Lennie and George will come to a solution to all of their problems, "the limb," could possibly mean that solution may be unorthodox, yet a solution others have tried before.


Analysis of Tone
The third-person objective point of view solidifies the solitary lives these men lead and gives readers the opportunity to see inside the minds of more than one character.

The quote, "Crooks did not see him...on raising his eyes...a scowl came on his face," taken literally, this shows readers the actions of Crooks, in response to Lennie coming into his room. Zooming out however, we are able to see clearly the emotional reaction of Crooks to this unwanted entry to his room, enforcing the fact that Crooks has lived a very solitary life. Crooks is black. Crooks is a cripple, and Crooks works with the horses. He is not used to having men from the bunkhouse enter his room in the stables, because in the day and age of this book, whites and blacks were treated equally by any means. Possibly Crooks doesn't like the intrusion by Lennie, because he is so used to being alone in his life, thus, he does not like the change of scenery.

When "Lennie smiled helplessly in an attempt to make friends," we obviously see that Lennie is lonley, if we take the sentence at face value. Looking at the big picture however, we see that Lennie is reaching out to make friends, because his life has been solitary, his only friend being George. Lennie has the mental capacity of a child, thus the only person who has really taken care of him is George, for reasons not quite understood completley by readers. Lennie is drawn to the barn because he sees that Crooks is there, and having the mind of a child, Lennie doesn't judge Crooks based on his skin color or occupation, the way the other men do. Lennie sees Crooks as a human, a possible friend waiting to be made.

These two quotes also show how the author uses the third person point of view to give readers insight into the minds of multiple characters in the book.

Analysis of Tone

The tones of commitment and hope in Steinbeck's passage reflect his view of the situation that George and Lennie, showing how they are devoted to each other as friends, and that they have hope for a better tomorrow.

"I want you to stay with me, Lennie," are the words of George, who is committed to stay with Lennie until the end, not matter how much trouble he may cause for George. George's quote completely supports the tone of commitment that Steinbeck's work is eminating in this book. Once George had committed to taking care of Lennie, he was going to take care of him. No matter what.

"An we'll live off da fatta da lan," shows how George and Lennie have the constant hope that even though times are tough, and things look bleak after they are run out of Weed. This message clearly shows Steinbeck's tone to be one of hope amongst struggles, even in the hardest of times. Especially in Of Mice and Men, which takes place in the era of the great depression, where everything and everyone was overcome with hardships and strife. This book shows us that there can be hope, and even if things don't turn out the way people always want, there can always be some sliver of hope forthe American dream to survive.

Theme

The theme of Of Mice and Men is that we are all our brother's keeper.

In Steinbeck's work, George is the keeper of Lennie, he always takes care of him, like when they were run out of Weed, he stuck with Lennie. No matter what happens with Lennie and George, George is always there because that is his duty.

All readers can learn from Of Mice and Men, because this work shows us how, we are, to a point, responsible for the actions of our brothers, and also responsible to take care of them.

The tone of Steinbeck's work supports the theme of being our brother's keeper. George says, "I want you to stay with me Lennie," and this shows readers that George is committed to Lennie, and has a hope for them having a better tomorrow.

These passages all reflect the hopefulness and sense of duty shown in Of Mice and Men that all of us as humans have a responsibility to take care of our brothers. Brother's being mankind.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Dorothea Lange's series of photographs of a family during the great depression, speaks thousands of words about life and the changes people had to accept, and deal with during the depression.

The family which Dorothea photographed was living in a makeshift tent, with their few belongings that had not been sold to survive. The mother had recently sold the wheels to their car, the main means of transportation, so the family was recently restricted to travel by foot.

This mother, her face solemn and sad, had given up all she had to protect her family. She did, however, keep her wedding ring, which is seen in the pictures, prominent on her left ring finger. This mother, who was struck in one of the worst ways by the depression, lost everything. She and her children were living on the street, just barely surviving.

Dorothea Lange's photos of this family show without words, but with raw emotion and power, the poverty thrown onto the average family during this horrid time. But, they also show the willpower and perseverance to survive and persist through the troubling times our nation and many others in the world faced.

Orwell's Effective Use of Animals as Characters

Orwell used animals instead of humans in the book Animal Farm for a variety of reasons. One reason possibly could be that the use of animals would be more easily taken by the greater population of the world. If Orwell had used humans in the story, people might have taken the story as a personal insult to humanity.

Orwell effectively used animals as characters in that by the end of the book, we were all very into the story, and we viewed the animals almost as humans. The animals became characters in our minds, completely and effectively personified in situations parallel to those of the Russian Revolution.

Orwell might have also decided to use animals in his book rather than people because that would make the story more like a fairy tale, thus making the story a fable. If the story had been told with humans instead of animals. Animal Farm would have been just a story about what actually happened during the Russian revolution, thus making the book more of a historical fiction, rather than a work of fantasy. Animal Farm, being fantasy, appeals to a wider audience than a straightforward historical fiction work.

The Message of the Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry has the obvious message that, in her opinion, a Utopian socety can't exist if the population is aware of what they are missing by having total equality.

In The Giver the society is completely controlled, everyone has the same birthday, their jobs are assigned to them, and nobody sees color. There is no pain, no sorrow, in fact, no real emotions. The theme of this novel is the fact that no matter how perfect a Utopian society may appear to the world, the society can never be truly perfect in human standards.

Humans are born with the natural instinct to want to achieve, to succeed, and to dream. So, the only way the society in The Giver could work perfectly, with all the citizens having the same jobs, income, number of children, and birthday would be for the citizens to not know what they were missing. Thus, the giver was introduced. He recieved ALL of the memories that were not part of the mass that the citizens were supposed to know, good and bad. So, there was only one citizen who had to live with the horrors of hunger, thirst and disease.

The message of The Giver is obviously that although life may be hard and difficult at times, the human mind and body won't be satisfied with just the minimum, we will always strive to achieve and do better.

Cross-Examination

On what would you be cross-examined? That was the question posed to our class this afternoon on the blog. I must admit this was something I had to give quite a bit of thought to, because I always strive to be who I am, everywhere I am, and not put on different masks to satisfy the different people I encounter.

After pondering this topic for some time, I have concluded that if someone were to examine my life, something that might puzzle them, and give them cause for cross-examination would be my closet.

My closet is in a constant state of dissaray. There are clothes everywhere, hangers strewn across the floor, and the closet that once was walk in, has been transformed into a walk-in-if-you-dare closet. You may wonder why I think I would be cross-examined on this part of my life, a messy closet, what's the big deal? My life and personality is together, not scattered, I have things under control. The fact that my closet is so out of control might cause someone to wonder why, and if that means the rest of my life is out of control also.

The answer to this question, I am happy to say, is no. My life is together, my closet is just a mess. Simply put, I don't have time to sort out that junk. My messy closet is a part of me, it's where my crazy disorganized side can roam free.

Smile

Celebrate

I wake up in the morning
And open up my eyes.
I'm alive and breathing;
From my bed free to rise.

I am blessed to be alive
And have freedom to learn.
For basic needs of life,
I do not have to yearn

When I look at my life
I know that this is true.
I have cause to be thankful.
So I celebrate
Will you?

No Mask I Wear
Crist Blackwell


As you go through life
and you see
myself,
I,
there being me,
What you see is what you get;
my voice is my own.
No mask I wear;
my true colors are shown.

My life with lies,
I do not defile.
My personality
is true.
I greet you with a smile.

So when you see me
don't expect me to change!
Becuase no mask I wear,
who cares if I'm strange.

St. Patrick and Me

All St. Patrick's day has really ever been to me is a fun holiday. However, I do not like when I get pinched for not wearing green. For the past two years I have, by chance not been wearing green, but thankfully, this year, I did wear green, although I did not pinch anyone. Why do something to someone that you would not want to be done to you?

One time when I was in elementary school, in first grade I believe, at lunch time on St. Patrick's day we had green bread, green hot dogs, green chips, green everything. The lunch tasted fine, although eating all the green things was somewhat weird. Now, in hindsight I wonder, were the food items died green? Or was that the school's was of getting rid of the spoiled food?!

I personally think St. Patrick's day is a fun holiday, but some people do take the holiday a bit too far. There is one easy way to avoid the trauma of being pinched though, just remember to wear green!

Call of the Wild Review

Have you ever wondered what the life of a sled dog is like? If so, then look no further because Jack London's Call of the Wild takes readers on a wild ride through the life of Buck, a domesticated dog who is thrown into the world of mushing in gold rush era North America.

The book is set all throughout North America during the time of the gold rush. Buck originally is from Southland, in the US. He is sold by the family garderner to pay for his gambling habit and thrown into a world of dog trading, and by a twisted chain of events, into the world of mushing. Most of the book takes place in the northern parts of North America, partly in the snow covered lands of Alaska.

Buck develops greatly throughout this book. The story begins when he is a household pet, completely domesticated, thinking he is the master of the world. When the gardener sells him for extra cash, Buck is introduced to the real world, seeing how dogs are treated by some people. He learns that man is his master. When Buck is taken out to do sled work, he slowly starts to realize his true wild nature. He must rely on his instincts to survive in this harsh world. Most of the characters in this book are Static, and only stay connected to the story for a short period of time. However, Bucks character is dynamic, developing greatly from where he is at the beginning of the story to the end of the book.

The theme of this book is overcoming circumstances and finding the will to survive. Buck will die if he doesn't change his ways and learn the ways of the wild. He has to get in touch with the long forgotten instincts of his ancestors to prevail. Call of the Wild shows readers that not everybody and every place is the same. Things are done differently in other places, and we must either adapt, or be crushed.

Call of the Wild was an interesting read. I did not pick the book out myself, nor would I have probably read this work if not assigned to do so. However, after reading this book, I have become more open minded to the animal-type genera of books. I would recommend this book to all readers, however, at times the book's language has a few moments some readers might find offensive.

Being a True Winner

Being a winner is all in the eyes of the beholder. Sometimes people always look at winning as something that MUST be done. Something that they will do anything to achieve.

Being a winner does not always mean that you actually win whatever you are doing. Being a winner, in my eyes, is knowing that you have learned something from the situation, and will not make the same mistakes you did that time, the next time. True, actually winning the competition may make you an actual winner, but does that make you a true winner?

People will go to extremes to win at competitions, some people even resort to cheating. Even if that person does win the competition, are they a true winner? Yes, I know this all sounds cliche, but the truth is the truth.

I am most proud of winning my life for Christ. Everyday is a constant struggle with sin, for all of us. But, knowing that I have made the decision to give my life to Christ, and am firm and stick to my beliefs, I know I have won, better yet, Christ has won me and I know I have eternal life in him.

Commitment Like an Olympian

With the Winter Olympics underway, although now finished, I have been reflecting on the commitment and determination required to be successful in such a grand competition.

The competitors in the Olympics have all trained for months, even years of their lives in preparation for this competition. The amount of commitment and perseverance that goes into their daily practice routines is of a level very hard to match in any other area. These individuals sacrifice their time, money, and other hobbies and have committed to train and attempt to bring glory and gold home to their countries.

While nothing may seem as grand as competing in the Olympics, there are things that other people have given utmost devotion to in their lives, much like the Olympians. For example, musicians must commit time to practice if they expect to improve in their field. Like the athletes in the Olympics, the musicians sacrifice their time and devote themselves to the furthering of their chosen path.

I lean more towards the commitment of a musician. I strive to improve my musical ability in my guitar playing, trumpet playing, and singing daily. I always try to tie music into every aspect of my life.

The rewards of being committed like an Olympian are great indeed. For the competitors in the Olympics, the reward may be coming home with a gold medal and forever being remembered as bringing honor to their nation, and for the musician, the pride of a job well done, knowing that they have played their heart out and given the audience a great performance.

Persuasion

Persuasion is a tactic which I, and everybody else I know, uses everyday, sometimes without even knowing that they are. People do not always notice, but just day to day living requires the use of persuasion at some point.

I use persuasion constantly in my life, however I also do try to pick my battles. There are always times where I do not agree with people, and their opinions, but I do my best to choose the right times to voice my opinion and try and persuade people to see the situation my way.

When I do decide to try to persuade someone to do/believe something, one of the main tactics which I use is Logos, the use of logic, numbers, facts, and data to support my argument. When something is presented to me in a logical, orderly, and factual way, I am more inclined to sway towards agreeing as opposed to being presented something in a manner which I have to practically run in circles to understand.

The Necessity of Sleep

We've stayed up all night before, either for lack of time to do a project for school, the novelty of staying up all night, or to watch that late night show. However, like many of us have been told, sleep is the last thing people need to give up when having to get something done in a short amount of time. Sleep is our body's natural time to restore itself, and for us teenagers, to grow. And sorry to disappoint readers, but sleep is not a luxury, sleep is a necessity! When was the last time you sacrificed sleep so you could do something else which seemed more important to you at the time?

When we stay up late, for example, not going to sleep at all one night, our entire sleep cycles can be thrown off completely. Our bodies crave sleep, even though we might not necessarily feel tired. So when we don't sleep an entire night, our body gets confused, and our sleep cycles are thrown out of whack. There are many symptoms of sleep deprivation, and as we look over them, we see that these symptoms are appearing in more and more teenagers every day.

So, as we continue on with our lives of schedules, homework, relaxing, fun, and boredom. We must remember that sleep is not our enemy. Sleep is our friend, and when we start to cut our time spent sleeping, the effects may be positive for a time, but when our bodies catch up to us, the effects can be devastating.

Someone I Admire, Taking a Stand.

There is always someone, someone who nobody likes, everybody talks bad about, and doesn't have many friends. The person I admire for taking a stand is one of my friends who said one day, I'm not going to go with the crowd, I'm going to reach out to this person and be the kind of friend I would want to have in this situation.

I am not going to share the real name of my friend, or the person they were helping, because that is not the point of this story. But for the sake of not overusing pronouns, let's call my friend Jim, and the outcast Bob. The point is that we all follow too closely in the crowd, afraid to stand up and be different. Too many times do we sit back and watch someone fall, and not do a thing, thankful we are not in their shoes.

Bob was new to the school at the time, was always upset about something, and everyone thought he was annoying, and just went on with their lives not doing a thing. But one day, Bob was almost at his breaking point, and Jim approached him and offered up his story about life, and how he understood where Bob was coming from. Jim told Bob that he was not alone, and that he would be there for him if Bob ever needed someone. Jim also told Bob that even when people are not there for you, God will always be. Jim did what I wanted to do, but had been afraid to do at the time.

I will always admire Jim for what he did, and he truly took the stand that all of us are afraid to take. Reaching out, without fear of ridicule, to help a someone in need.


"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." ~William Shakespeare

The Time I took a Stand

Taking a stand can be difficult to do, especially when everyone around you is doing something, and you're the one to say no, I will not do this. I took a stand on cursing. I am not the type of person to beat someone over the head with a Bible for cursing, however I request that people around me do not use that kind of language. I, like everyone else, make mistakes and a word slips once in a blue moon, but I make it one of my personal standards to not use bad language.

When I was in the eighth grade, I had friends who cursed, a lot. And I, at one time, fell into the habit as well, which I am not proud of. However, one day I realized that I was going with the crowd and giving in to peer pressure. I was not standing up for what I believed in, and I was being hypocritical. So one day I said to my friends, I am not going to speak like that anymore, and I'd appreciate it if around me you tried to tone down that kind of language as well. My friends were very understanding and respected how I felt. I was scared to say anything because I didn't know what they would say, or if they might make fun of me for thinking differently. But in the end, I felt better because I broke a bad habit and stood up for my beliefs, even when I was afraid to do so.

The fact that someone says a curse word in itself is not as much a problem. The problem is that by saying curse words, you are offending someone else. People need to have the respect for others to watch their language so that, even if they don't see a problem with cursing, they will be respecting the people they are around.

Water for Elephants Book Review

Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants threw me into a world of spectacular shows, and crazy conflicts. This book kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end, and had me wishing for more as I turned the final pages of this work of literature.

The main character of this book, Jacob Jankowski, is either 90 or 93, he can't quite remember. He is in a nursing home, and goes back and forth between flashbacks of his life as a young man and real time. Most of the book takes place in the earlier parts of Jacob's life, when he finds out his parents are dead, and runs away from the world, walking out on his final exams to become a liscenced vetrinarian. He jumps onto a train-car for the Benzini Brother's Most Spectacular Show on Earth, and unwittingly, jumps into the twisted world of a circus in depression-era US.

There is no single theme of the book Water for Elephants. Among the many themes of this book is taking a stand. Jacob is in love with Marlena, the menagerie worker at a circus he travels with. However, Marlena is married to August, a man who is bipolar, and abuses Marlena. Jacob knows he has to stand up against August, to defend Marlena, but he has yet to know all the problems he will encounter along the way, with this traveling circus.

I would recommend this book to most readers readers, however young children, and people easily offended by some risque moments might not want to read Water for Elephants. Sara Gruen has succeeded in creating the vivid image of a circus in depression-era United States. However, in doing so, she did capture the unsavory parts of life, as well as the sweet parts.

331 Pages 2 Books