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
Monday, January 18, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
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
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
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