Finding the Heart-Shaped Shells in Life.

                         

There are big things to be thankful for. I am grateful that I am alive. I am grateful that I have a place to sleep tonight. I am grateful that I have a family that cares about me, and wants the best for me. I am grateful for my best friends, my friends, and God. I am grateful for a school and teachers that want me to do well, and to be successful and achieve great things. All these things are great, but when you look past them, there's the smaller, subtle things that in some way, manage to surpass them all. I am grateful for the chair that I am sitting on right now. I am grateful for the fact that flowers are colourful, that grass grows, and that it rains for these things to be true. I am grateful that I have celebrated Christmas every year of my life, as well as my birthday, New Year's, and Easter. Sixteen things just of the top of my head, and yet I complain about my life immense amounts, along with the other 7 billion people on this planet. So why can't we slow down and be thankful? Someone by the name of Hailey Bartholemew is way ahead of me.


Like you, like me, Hailey was once in a state where she felt as if she had everything she needed, yet didn't appreciate it. She was a normal, middle class mother and wife from Australia, and was fed up with her life. It was then when she started to take counselling lessons from a nun, and discovered through her that the key to true happiness in life was reflection and gratitude. She started to slow down, and appreciate the smaller things in life. It was then that Hailey started the 365 grateful project. Everyday, no matter how crammed her schedule was, she would take a picture of one of the small, more subtle things that usually she wouldn't notice. In doing this project, as well as benefiting her whole life, it benefited her in three major ways. She feels like she now appreciates and is more connected with her husband, her children, and nature. After this project, Hailey strongly believes in being thankful, and fights for others to be thankful as well by starting her campaign, '365 grateful.'


First, Hailey felt as if her and her husband benefited as a couple. "He's a great man, and a great husband, but he was just never very romantic! And, I had kind of labelled him as that. Doing this project, I started to see things I otherwise would have missed." Before, as mentioned in the quote, she had undermined him to be unromantic. On the list of things that she was building up in her head that she wasn't happy with, he was one of them. Their relationship was suffering because of this, because she didn't appreciate all the things that he did for her daily. Kind, romantic things that she wouldn't have noticed otherwise. When she started the 365 project, she started to notice everything that he did for her. Some of these included a foot rub to wake her up in the morning, or a heart of rose petals on her bed at night. Once, he even brought her ice-cream on a really hot day during work! Once she started noticing these things, her whole view of him changed. "There were some beautiful moments, and things he was doing, that I, in the business of the day, wouldn't have even seen!" This project that she so eagerly fights for, helped her relationship with her husband.


Through the 365 grateful project, Hailey also thought that she became closer to her children, appreciated them, and when she slowed down her life, had more time to spend with them.  She recorded in her photo diary when she was completing the project: 'A small hand. I lifted her up to the top step and she turned around and offered her hand. Warms my soul!' Small things like this, seemingly usual things would have provoked little happiness, but with the project, she felt as if she slowed down and relaxed, focused on the smaller things. "Otherwise, I would have been rushing past and going, "Oh cute, yeah..", but doing this project pulled me right into the moment." Doing this project really helped Hailey to stop and reflect, and that benefited her life in huge amounts.


Finally, she started to feel more in touch with nature. "I noticed was how connected I felt to nature. These little beautiful bits of nature, that I otherwise would have rushed past." By taking pictures of the things she really truly appreciated in nature, she started to notice things like a beetle landing close to her, or the collection of heart-shaped shells you could find on the beach. She stopped to appreciate things that usually would have passed by her. She took a break from the business of life. Instead of just rushing past something, she learned to be aware of her surroundings. "I should watch where I'm stepping, I should honour the earth that I'm on, I'm so grateful to be here!" By stopping to appreciate nature, she started to be thankful of where she was, and what was around her.


By reflecting and being thankful, Hailey’s life has been benefited. She now wants to share this discovery of hers with others, so they can benefit as well. Ever since her project has been getting some publicity, she realized her chance to share this with others, and is fighting for that chance. She has appeared in two different magazines with her project, and several TV shows have had segments about her work. Seizing this opportunity, she started to create smaller projects for others to do, like '30 day gratitude challenge', and workshops for people to participate in to learn all about it. Hailey is focusing completely on the project now, and the 365 grateful project is on its way to touching all ends of the globe. Because Hailey tried out this project, and because she is so grateful for the effect it made on her relationship with her husband, her children, and nature, she is now fighting to get that message across to the 7 billion other people in this world that need to recognize what they have.

Hailey is making a documentary about 365 grateful, you can follow it here.
Hailey’s blog is here.
The pictures at the top are from her original 365 grateful project.

Don't Lose Who You Are.

Today we live in a world where you are constricted. The way you act, the way you dress, the way you talk or look, has to be in the lines. Few have the courage is to step out.  And often, those few give up and are forced to follow the crowd. This all is too much for us to handle. It changes us. Our minds adapt to the restrictions. In the end, it is important to overcome this conformity and fight for our individuality.

Jessie J and I have several beliefs in common, but one stands out far in front of the others. We believe in respect of the individual, and we fight for this daily. We believe that if an individual wants to do something that others don’t with the caveat that they will not cause harm to another, then they should be respected and should be dealt with fairly. She addresses this with her song 'Who You Are'. This song is about being yourself, and being individual even if it is not easy to do so. In Jessie's song 'Who You Are', she makes obvious three main points under the heading of individuality that she supports: Trying to fit in to somewhere you never will, accepting your imperfections, and finally, being down to earth and real.

Let's talk about the blunt truth for a moment here. Being in middle school, I take part in this, and witness this everyday--trying to be someone your not. For example, Jessie J fights against this by singing "I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Why am I doing this to myself? Losing my mind on a tiny error. I nearly left the real me on the shelf." With these lines, she is saying that don't try to be someone fake. Don't try to "fit the mould", like she later sings in her song. I agree with Jessie J completely. I believe in being yourself, and being the same person all the time, whoever you are around. Be individual. Be yourself. No "fake shows", like she mentions. Jessie J is also a very good example of this. In her song "Who's Laughing Now", she tells the story of when she was a kid, even though all the other girls wore pretty pink dresses and made fun of her because she was different, she didn't try to be someone she's not. And this is the is the message she is fighting to get across to everyone. 

Imperfections are something everyone has. Even the prettiest girl in the world has insecurities. But you shouldn't let them get you down. People do not understand that if you just ignore it and have fun, most probably no one will even notice the reason your insecure. People spend hours trying to perfect themselves. As Jessie J suggests when she sings "Brushing my hair, do I look perfect." But often, by doing this, they get so self involved that in the end, "The more I (they) try the less its working." With these lines in her song, you can tell that she wants nothing more than for this not to happen. She gives all she has, she fights, or rather sings to her last breath trying to get this message across. And being a receiver of this message, I understand how much it is needed. Like all middle-school girls, I am extremely self conscious. Nothing ever seems to be right. My hair, my weight, my leg shape, the size of my feet, all the way down to my eyelash length. So yeah, you could say that I needed this message Jessie J teaches. It is fine to be imperfect. Without imperfections, you wouldn't be a real person.

Last, but not at all in the least, is the message she gives off about being down to earth. It is slightly silihouetted throughout the whole song, but comes apparent in the last bridge. "Yes, no's, egos, fake shows, like WHOA! Just go, and leave me alone! Real talk, real life good love, goodnight." So many people try so hard to be cool, that they lose sight of whats important,  and Jessie J fights hard to bring it back into view. You have to be real, you cannot put on a big front and then not live up to it. Being a superstar, Jessie J lives in Hollywood, and you can only imagine how many people she meets that are completely fake. And this comes through in her music. In "Whose Laughing Now", the song I mentioned earlier, she goes into great detail imitating the fake people she meets daily, and how she reacts to them. She fights hard to promote not being fake in her media life, and her personal life as well, in doing this, she even more important role-model in this subject.

Jessie J fights for individuality. No matter who you are, where you are, or what you look like, you can hear Jessie's message loud and clear.  Jessie J teaches us to be ourselves, to step out of the boundaries too clearly set out for us daily. Jessie J fights for awareness of individuality, which is important to her. Jessie J fights for awareness of individuality, which is important to me. Jessie J fights for awareness of individuality, which at the end of the day, important to everyone.


Picture:

I chose this because even though not one flower is exactly the same, they are all individual, and it makes something beautiful.

Inarticulate- Give Me the Root, Morphemes, and Definition.

In case you hadn't noticed,

it has somehow become uncool

to sound like you know what you're talking about?
Or believe strongly in what you're saying?
Invisible question marks and parenthetical (you know?)'s
have been attaching themselves to the ends of our sentences?
Even when those sentences aren't, like, questions? You know?

Declarative sentences - so-called
because they used to, like, DECLARE things to be true
as opposed to other things which were, like, not -
have been infected by a totally hip
and tragically cool interrogative tone? You know?
Like, don't think I'm uncool just because I've noticed this;
this is just like the word on the street, you know?
It's like what I've heard?
I have nothing personally invested in my own opinions, okay?
I'm just inviting you to join me in my uncertainty?

What has happened to our conviction?
Where are the limbs out on which we once walked?
Have they been, like, chopped down
with the rest of the rain forest?
Or do we have, like, nothing to say?
Has society become so, like, totally . . .
I mean absolutely . . . You know?
That we've just gotten to the point where it's just, like . . .
whatever!

And so actually our disarticulation . . . ness
is just a clever sort of . . . thing
to disguise the fact that we've become
the most aggressively inarticulate generation
to come along since . . .
you know, a long, long time ago!

I entreat you, I implore you, I exhort you,
I challenge you: To speak with conviction.
To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks
the determination with which you believe it.
Because contrary to the wisdom of the bumper sticker,
it is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY.
You have to speak with it, too.

Taylor Mali's Poem- Totally, Like, Whatever

Talking Lips by Ricky Gagnon.

Presently in the world right now, there is a pandemonium that has been left unrecognized for too long. This was one of the biggest problems in history, this is one of the biggest problems now, and it will be in the future. The majority of teenagers are inarticulate, and do not have the ability to express themselves. One of the few people that have identified this is Taylor Mali, and he voices his opinion is the poem, 'Like, Totally, Whatever.' His poem encourages us to be articulate by explaining to us what is happening, warning us with the severity of it all, and then showing us how to fix it. Mali shows us that over Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, speaking with conviction and articulacy is worth fighting for.

One of the biggest reasons why teens are not preventing themselves from becoming inarticulate is because they do not know what it means to be inarticulate. Most 'normal' teenagers wouldn't even know what the word inarticulate means! Taylor Mali explains this for them in his first two paragraphs, but mainly in this line, 'In case you hadn't noticed, it has somehow become uncool to sound like you know what you're talking about? Or believe strongly in what your saying?' and 'What has happened to our conviction?'--Have you ever called someone a nerd? Just because they went more in-depth within a subject, or knew something when someone else didn't? That should be celebrated! Since when has being ahead put you behind? This is what that line means. In this line Taylor Mali shows us what is really happening, and brings our attention to the subject at hand. When teens know what is happening, they have a better chance of understanding, that speaking with articulacy and conviction is worth fighting for.

An even bigger reason teenagers of this generation are not speaking with conviction or articulation is because they do not care about it, they do not know how this could truly damage their future. Right now, to them, their life might be amazing, but soon, after high school, reality breaks. No one cares if you have the most friends on Facebook, no one cares if you're the hottest guy or the prettiest girl. For the 'real' world, you need 'real' speaking skills, which Mali highlights in the line 'It is not enough these days to simply QUESTION AUTHORITY, you have to speak with it too.' He is saying you have to have communication skills, so be careful. Don't get sucked into the internet and its addictions, stay true to the things that matter, and are worth fighting for, like articulation and speaking with conviction.

The final reason teenagers do not speak with conviction is because they have already fallen into the trap of inarticulation, and do not know how to get themselves out. A usual teenager spends 31 hours a week online, according to TechCrunch, and whether that includes school work or not, is still much more time than needed. Taylor Mali addresses how to get out of this sticky situation sayins this:'I entreat you, I implore, I exhort you. I challenge you: Speak with conviction. To say what you believe in a manner that bespeaks the determination with which you believe it.' That is his advice. It may be hard, but it is worth fighting for-- so fight for it.

Speaking with conviction is one of the most important things that someone can aim for, and as a teenager I see people abuse the right to learn to do so all the time. I have always been interested in Humanities, and I love to share my beliefs and opinions with others, but many people find it 'uncool' to be smart, like I mentioned before, and that is where the problem lies. I think that Taylor Mali's poem 'Like, Totally, Whatever' is a really good insight into how bad these problems really are, and I think it will be used in some place to end this never ending pandemonium we call inarticulation.


The Painting.

To represent this blogpost, I showed a simple mouth, but with a variation.-The mouth in the middle. Just like we can talk and talk and talk like everyone else, but very few actually speak with conviction. It also shows how important the mouth really is, and the words that come from it, as there is nothing else in the painting.- Its worth fighting for.

Reality Checks.

Generation Z By: Zarina Angell

Have you taken a reality check lately?

Well, in case you haven't noticed, it is uncool to...

Think.

So you don't.

You don't and you don't until you can't.

Why be illiterate when you can be literate?

Why be unsuccessful in life when you can be successful?

Enough with the interrogative tones!

Enough with the disarticulation!

Enough with the like, totally, whatever's!

Stop contradicting yourself every time you speak!

What is wrong with our generation?

Don't you want people to know what you believe in?

Haven't you ever been personally invested in your own opinions?

I have.

And its worth a try.

Generation Z is the group of people born from the late 1990's to the 2000's. This is what age group I belong to, and being part of it, I have noticed a really big problem arising. No one fights to be successful in school anymore. In fact, if you are, you are typecasted as a nerd. We do not fight for the best possible outcome for ourselves, we satisfy for second to last, or last. We think we are to cool for school, and this is what my poem is about. We have stopped fighting for our right to an education, and when we are so lucky to be having one, it should not be abused, we should be making the most of it. It is worth fighting for an education, because it will take you farther in life than fighting for your beauty or anything else. I want my poem to encourage our generation to fight for their education, so that we can keep this world going and live up to all we can be.

Taking Good Intentions Too Far~ Aldof Hitler.

Is being a leader that creates jobs, instills pride, and in the end rebuilds a community worth brutally and violently fighting for? Aldof Hitler thought so. So, by killing nearly six million Jews, and creating a bad reputation for Germany all over the globe, he achieved this. Hitler showed us almost unnecessarily that by doing these three things, there can be a lot of consequences. But, he also showed us that if a leader can add these as additional goals, than that is what you would want to aim for. We just have to live with the hope that other leaders do not have the same ways of thinking like Hitler did.

Hitler fought violently, and this led to creating jobs. He achieved this to great lengths. In the course of World War 2, Hitler had close to 12.5 million people working for him, and even more supporting him. World War 2 started in the midst of a financial problem for Germany. The economy was going down, and had no hope of coming back up anytime soon. The country of Germany was in a time where it was cheaper for them to burn their own savings (money) to keep themselves warm, than to buy firewood. Hitler provided Germany with jobs when they most needed it, and who wouldn't say no to that? If Hitler had approached this with a more humane motive, this could have been respectable.

Hitler was very proud of his German bloodline, and wanted to ensure that after the humiliation of the Versailles Treaty and World War 1, his fellow Germans felt the same way. When a group of people are going through extremely hard times, it is easiest to look for someone to blame it on, and, Hitler chose the Jews. Desperate for an explanation to their troubles, people looked to Hitler. He wanted to raise his country up, to show them that they could proudly show the German flag again. Being patriotic is definitely not a crime, but in trying to create pride in Germany, he went overboard.

Hitler was proud of his German roots, and fought to the extreme for them. He constantly brought forward the message of unity in his country. Any leader that does this is usually on the right track. He claimed to always be fighting for the benefits of Germany, and that everything he did was for the his people. Hitler attempted to rebuild this crumbling nation, and in doing this, he rebuilt his community.

Because he fought for these things, people respected Hitler. And with the power these supporters gave him, he abused it. Sos, is it really worth fighting for to create jobs, instill pride and in the end rebuild your community even if there is no short of six million murders along the way? Hitler thought so, and he fought for his beliefs till the very end. These three things that Hitler somewhat accomplished highlights that because Hitler fought for the right things violently, we can learn from these unfortunate events, and make sure that we are not fighting for these things in the same way.

**Germany as a country is talked about in a whole here, but during World War 2, there were large amounts of Germans that aided the Jews. Some more famous names are Corrie ten Boom, Oskar Shindler, and Irena Sendler.

Doing it Your Way.~ My Utopia.

Today we live in a world where you are constricted. The way you act, the way you dress, the way you talk or look, has to be in the lines. Few have the courage is to step out. And often, those few give up and are suppressed back into ‘shape’. This all is too much for us to handle. We shouldn't have to deal with this.

My utopia would have no judgement, and in doing this, everyone would be allowed individuality. Individuality that would allow them to express themselves however they wanted with nothing holding them back to do so. If this happens, this place would result in kindness and equality.

In Jessie J's song, 'Price-Tag', she highlights one of the main points I would want my utopia to have-- no currency. 'Nothing to kill or die for', as John Lennon's 'Imagine' says. If there was no money, what would set apart the rich from the poor? Or the celebrities to that kid that lives down the block? Nothing. And everyone could just get along and be their true self.

Just take a moment to understand. Some people LOVE to sing. Thats their true self. And some people LOVE to play with mathematical equations or economy. And thats their true self. Which one will do better in life? Even if they try as equally hard as one another, there is a much less chance of the singer making it big than the student becoming a business man. My utopia would have none of this. There is enough on this earth to share, and we can all have equal money, food, and shelter. There is no reason for superstars, or for politics. People can make their own decisions. An entire group should agree to something before it moves forward. No one should be outcast for their decisions. And that takes me back to individuality. No one is better than one another, but we should not be all the same.

In my utopia, every single person would be different. But if someone did not agree on the way that they dressed, talked, or believed in, they would keep it to themselves. Middle School would be completely different. There would be no grades, so no one could compare their scores and put others down. There would be no cliques, no popular people and no nerds. Everyone would be accepted.

Why are we living the way we are when we can live like this? We should be doing it our way.

The artwork was painted by a woman named Thaneeya McArdle. It is one of her abstract pieces and shows how a bunch of different and individual things can come together and make something beautiful.

"Make sure it never happens again"~Kristallnacht.

The quote above is from a lady named Susan (Strauss) Taube. She and her father who escaped from Germany were survivors of the Holocaust. She retells her story of Kristallnacht, which sums up how most German-Jews felt. She woke up on the morning of November 10th, and got ready to go to school, but was stopped and told to go back to her house. While she was out, she saw the nearest synagogue smashed down, with smoke still coming from where it had burned the night before. After she returned home, Nazis came into her house and destroyed everything, from books all the way to cutlery.

This event was the turning point for all that was to happen in Germany. There was no turning back now. As many as an estimated 1668 synagogues were destroyed and and 91 Jews killed. Although, the Nazis said there was 275 synagogues destroyed and 100 Jews killed. Kristallnacht was a huge part of the escalation of persecution of Jews. The worst part about this was that at this point, no one reacted. Sure, it was too late for an individual to stand up, but what about the countries? Where were France, Spain, Italy, or the US? Surely they had heard about it? We don't know why no countries stood up by that point, but how come individuals hadn't before? How had everyone fallen so quickly under Hitler's spell?

One of the reasons was the Nazi's Propaganda. Propaganda is, according to the dictionary,'information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation,...' One of the things the Nazis did really well was persuading people with their propaganda. The reason that Germans accepted the way the Nazis were treating the Jews was because everywhere they turned it was drilled into them- that Jews are bad. Are they actually? No. They were just picking on the minority. Joesph Goebbels (the leader of propaganda for the Nazis,) once said that "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

That Weird Kid.

Yes, once again, I have messed something up. Since Mr. Whiting and Mrs. Narsiman came to help us take the test about what type of learner we are, I have thought that I was left-ear dominant. I wasn't sure about it, but then again, it couldn't have mattered that much, could it? Wrong. I learned today that it made a huge difference in my learning profile. So what is this learner profile thing? It's a few short test you do to determine what type of learner you are, so that in the future, you know what to do if you are stressed or there is a huge frustration going on.

I know. It sounds... different. Like, why would we need to know that? And most of all, who cares? That's what I thought when I heard about it as well. But I dealt with it, and after figuring out my true profile, I found out some things that will really be able to help me.

So. What did I figure out about myself? I learn best when I am able to move around, and when I am not stressed I am good at retaining information from things I have learned in the past. But, once I get stressed, its all over. Total shut down. So, to help these things, there are a bunch of exercises I can do, and to remember to keep balanced in movement things as well as 'cognitive endeavors' like math and language. Keep balanced? That's all good, I mean you can't ever get me off the stage, and I have always enjoyed you humanities, but math? Yeah right. Good luck with trying to get me to do that. But then I thought, and figured, you know what, I bet even my usual math homework helps. So no more to say about that. I'll keep working on it.**

To help me in the classroom? Movement. I am a Gestalt, and if I can remember something from moving, doing it and reading it, but only if I am not stressed. If I am stressed, and like I said, this is really bad for me, everything shuts down. I can read a whole paragraphs sometimes and have to reread them several times just to get the message to me. If I calm down though, then things come easily to me, so if I am calm and comfortable with my surroundings in a classroom, then I will learn quite a lot.

Teachers? I think that the main thing that's important is to know that if I am getting introduced to a new subject, especially in Math, it will not come easily until I am calmed down and even possibly on my own, trying to piece everything together. So I need time, I need to be calm to take in new ideas. I need the time to question.

So that's me. That weird kid. And my profile. The typical Drama Geek's profile, where movement and action appeal and totally engage me.

Jesus Colon~ Looking Back at the Past

What Shapes our Identity?- The Past.

The past shapes our personality. Take an example from Jesus Colon, a Puerto Rican journalist. One day, many years ago, he made a mistake. He did not help a person in need of help. It wasn't completely his fault, I doubt many would have helped, but he didn't. Ever since then, this memory has been haunting him. Every time he turns around, something is there reminding him of what he should have done. How does this shape his personality? Only he really knows. But we can take a guess at if and why he has changed. After all, we aren't going to meet him anytime soon.

My view is that this event diminished his confidence. He walked into that subway probably feeling relatively good, or maybe just average, and left drained almost completely of his confidence. What did he do that was so bad?


One night, Jesus Colon was taking the subway home from work. It was early Memorial Day morning, and he had just finished working on the news paper for the special day. On his way home, he spotted a white lady with a baby and two small children. He pondered all the way to his stop whether or not to help, and after awhile, decided not to, only because he thought the lady might be prejudiced and get the wrong idea.

That's what he did. Was it that bad? That's for you to decide. But for him, it was enough to practically hate himself. Confidence diminished.

The Art: This man in this painting is sitting all on his own in a hole, without a way to get back out. This is the way I think Jesus Colon must have felt and maybe still feels towards this event.

Artwork From: http://www.nufcblog.org/2010/08/newcastle-must-make-sure-they-dont-get-stick-in-a-rut/

Medea and Aeson~ Two Voices of Jason and The Golden Fleece

Mankind Is No Island~ Its a Continent

This is John Donne's poem. The message was effective: that no matter what the differences are, if you push them all aside, you can still care about others. I think we all need to do that a bit more.

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

These words by John Donne from the 1624 Meditation 17,
from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions

The poem says this: "if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less" This line meant a lot to me. The meaning of clod is a little piece of earth, extremely replaceable and not worth of notice. The poem says that if one clod is washed away from a continent, the whole continent is affected by this one 'thing' going away. This is how it should be. In the poem before this, it says that the continent is one, and each island cannot live on its own, and need the continent to survive.

Black Eyed Peas - Where Is The Love?

Where is the Love?

When we think about a hero, or heroic ideas, do we ever think about them in song?

Here, the Black Eyed Peas portray the idea of being a hero by making people aware of what is happening in the world.

This song has a strong message~ A world without kindness is not a world worth living in.

"People killing people dying
Children hurtin' you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?"~Black Eyed Peas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc&ob=av2e

Eye Spy With My Little Eye...

A Turtle/Teddy, a Dress, a Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr Script, a Best Friends Forever Photo Album, a pink i-Pod, a Phone Number, a special bag, a Roxy Wallet, Two pairs of Earrings, and a Bible Story Book.

My turtle that I call my Teddy, isn’t exactly mine. I have never had one of those babyhood toys, not one that I have had since I was a baby, like everyone else. Over the years I have switched from Teddy to Teddy. But right before school started, my Auntie Lynn came to visit. She is the person I look up to the most, after my mom. When she left, and I did this every time she leaves, I went and took the pillows she slept on and took them to my room so that if I missed her or needed her badly I could stuff my head into them and cry. When we went to Singapore to visit her once, her and my little sister, Micah, made a Build-A-Bear. It was a turtle. When I realized Micah wasn’t going to use it anymore, I took it to my room and kept it there so that Auntie was with me. Now every night, the Teddy reminds me and I pray for her and her life in Singapore as I go to sleep.

A dress with a meaning... This shocking royal blue dress I got from TopShop, with my friend, Rah Aleman. Ever since last year, where she was my first friend at ISKL and we were the Weasley Twins in Harry Potter the school play, we have physically been like sisters. When it was the Semi MS Party last year, and Rah’s last ever MS Party at ISKL, we decided to buy matching dresses and wear them. Out of all my dresses this is definitely the one I would take if I was running out of the house if there was a fire. I love Rah a lot and that is my best memory of her.

A script. This year I auditioned for our school production of Thoroughly Modern Millie and got in. I play the character Rita, a Priscilla Girl. Rita lives in the Service Apartment called Hotel Priscilla. During the audition process, 70 Girls auditioned for the 25 spots or around that amount there were to fill. It was very stressful but I tried my best. This script also has my name and my character’s name so if people were looking at my bag in 100 years they could tell who I was.

A photo album??? My photo album here says Best Friends Forever. It was given to me by Sophia Woody, my best friend when I was smaller, was the nicest and still is the most beautiful girl I know. (In a different way then all my friends at ISKL) when I was going into grade four, so I was nine and a half years old, she moved back to America. We lost touch completely. All I had was this book she made for me with beautiful pictures and notes all over. Just lately, I found her on Facebook and we have been messaging back and forth. We liked ALL the same stuff when I knew her well, and it turns out that we still like almost like EXACTLY the same stuff! This is still very important to me and helps me remember her.

The iPod. My pink iPod is playing on my matching pink speakers in my pink room non-stop. It plays Jason Derulo, Mostly Justin Beiber, the Radio (hitz.fm JJ and Ean) and even though I guess this isn’t exactly my iPod doing the work it is still plugged in and gets switched to whenever I didn’t like the song on the radio!

Whose number is that? The green sticky note in the shape of an arrow on my script has April’s number on it. April Getz is one of my best friends at ISKL. I lost my phone not so long ago so I have Zelma, April, and Clarissa’s numbers stored somewhere so that I can call them with my little sister’s phone. I have these numbers so if there are ever any problems or I just need to talk to one of my friends I can easily get a hold of them.

Pink iPod, pink speakers, pink bag, are you catching on to something? ... I love pink! Everything on mine is pink! Including my bag. This was given to me last year for my birthday by Sihame. I love it not only because it is pink but also because it holds pictures in the little clear slots on the outside so I can put in pictures of me and my friends and experiences.

Money Money Money... Everyone carries money, so what should we carry it with? A wallet, of course. My wallet has kind of a funny story behind it. I was walking in Bunbury, WA Australia and had just gone to Supre (It has the an accent on the ‘e’) and bought to many clothes, as usual, when I realized that one of millions of surf shops was having a sale! (Well, if I didn’t notice, it would have gotten yelled loudly in my ear anyways.) I went out and checked out the Roxy and brands like that and found two wallets... Both the same price, same size, how was I supposed to chose one? After minute/hours of pondering I bought the one I have now and have been very extremely happy with it.

Earring, Earring on the... Ear? These two earrings are my two favourite earrings. One are a pair of black ‘Z’ ‘s that I am wearing right now, and the gold ones on top of the dress are the ones I bought with Rah when I bought the dress. They are also very special to me.

Pink Devotional Book! This is my bible story book, and apart from making bible lessons easier and fun to read, its pink! The colour motivates me a lot. But, as I said, it is as interesting as reading a book and sometimes I will read a few more than I expected to!

These are my top ten items, and now you know why each of them are so special to me.

Not a Hero, A Survivor

I'm no hero. Heroes don't come back. Survivors return home. Heroes never come home. If anyone thinks I'm a hero, I'm not.~Bob Feller

In this quote, I think that Bob Feller, the very famous baseball player, thinks that he would not like people to think of him as a Hero, because hero's don't come back home. Survivors do.

I think this is true. Yes, there are lots of heroes that return, but an example of Heroes not returning is a war. The people that get remembered are the people that died trying. The Survivors are the people that come back.

I think that Bob Feller has made a very clear point. If you go on a journey or a quest, and return, then you are a survivor, not necessarily a hero. A survivor, always returns.


The Painting
I chose this painting because of its bold strokes, because if you are a hero/survivor you are bold and not afraid. The person in the painting also looks very brave. The artist is Francoise Nielly.

MatT hArDiNg AnD HiS BeLieFs

Where the heck is Matt? Every time I see Matt in a new country, I think primarily about how much work has gone to filming every 10-20 second clip of footage in all the Countries.

Matt Harding states in the very first line of his This I Believe Essay that he believes that globalization is forcing our brains to evolve. If his brain hadn't improved from the Stone Age brains where they beat their food to death, he wouldn't have had an idea to video himself dancing as he traveling the world. Stride Gum saw this video, and then sponsored him to continue dancing around the world. A non developed brain would not have had the capacity to think about owning a company, let alone making money from sponsoring a guy dancing around the world.
That is what I thought of his remark-'Globalization is forcing our brains to evolve.'

What I thought of the video? I thought it was a great way of bringing the world together by dancing. I reminds me of a Digital Photography Photo Story I did. When I was looking around for a story, I did not have in mind at all what I was going to use. Animals? People? Then, when I got to the Library, I found the HUGE dictionary propped up on a special ledge. There were some words on the front that caught my attention. "ASK LIBRARY DESK FOR MAGNIFYING GLASS" I thought to myself, what could I do with this? And this is how I did it.

I took at picture of the word Malaysian. Then Canadian. Then American. And about 5 other nationalities. Then I took a picture of the ISKL logo.

That is what I believe ISKL is, and the world will eventually be. Connected. No matter how you look, where your from, what color you are, ISKL will accept you and my hope is that eventually the world will be like that as well.

This is what I feel Matt Harding was aiming towards in his video.

Thanks to:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102423050
http://kalokohan.com/page/37/?wscr

tHe CoMpLiMeNt GuY's ReSpOnSe

I believe in compliments. What would would the world be without compliments?

If anyone is going to cheer up America, why can't it be them? A first, when I looked at them, they look quite spooky, like after they compliment me they are going to ask for money but then after I finished the video, I simply realized they were just guys wanting to make someones day!

To put you in the receiver of the compliments position, imagine that you walking to work in clothes you feel have no style, forgot to brush your teeth and are late. As you are rushing past these two teenagers with a sign that says "Free Compliments", you automatically think that it is a scam of some sort, and quickly start to walk your way. But then, just as you are walking past them, they yell out something to you, but you can't really make out what they said. They repeat it. They yell, "I love your shoes, are they new?" And even though they are your favorite, most worn out shoes in you closest you are still pleased that someone noticed them. And guess what? Through out the whole day you are thinking about how that nice person commented on your shoes on the way to work. And it feels great.

My personal experience of compliments that make your day are from today, The Ninth of August 2010. And I have them ringing around in my head as I write this. I was at Musical Auditions for Thoroughly Modern Millie, and even when the compliments weren't directed at me, I was very happy for the person that received them. Some examples were when someone stumbled across the song, we would clap extra enthusiastically, or when someone needed a bit of encouragement, we cheered. But the compliments that really stood out the most today were the 1 on 1 "You were great" kind of compliments. Even though they usually came from your friends, it still makes you able you to think of yourself as having done a good job.

And this is why I believe in compliments.

Thanks to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWBbXA58PKI&feature=player_embedded

Beth Budesheim~ This painting of Beth's made me feel happy, because it is like the sun is smiling down on me. Maybe it was after she had received a compliment! The bright colors and sunny looking figure definitely have a joyful impact on me.

hApPy MoThErS dAy!

WE ALL KNOW WE LOVE OUR MOMS SO PLEASE GIVE YOUR MOM A BIG HUG AND A KISS THIS MOTHERS DAY!!!

wOuLd YOU wAnT YOUR fUtUrE tO bE DeCiDeD bY oThErS?

In Lois Lowry's novel, Jonas and his family live in the "perfect society", it could be described as a Utopian Society: , life is safe, orderly, and predictable. Rules are strictly adhered to; every aspect of a person's life is carefully planned. People rarely make choices on their own; everything is decided for them by the community.






Would you want your future to be decided by others ? Why or Why not?






Well? Would you? I know I wouldn't! Why should THEY make MY choices? What if I got assigned to be a Fish Feeder? What if I had to marry a mean guy? And then got assigned a kid that I didn't want? Whats that? You think I am thinking to much about ME? Well, if you aren't considered that it would be horrible living with your future decided for you, then think of this:




You wake up. Only to think of how you will go share your dreams with your family whether you like it or not.




Then, you go to school, thinking of how you will do endless volunteer hours until you drop. Probably not even THEN will you be able to stop...




Later, you go home, only to be fed and be bid goodnight by your FAKE parents.




NOW do you know what I mean? Good. Now. Why? Because, everyone deserves the right to make their own decisions, whether its who they marry or what their job is or even that they just get real parents. Whether that is actually a right, (and I am pretty sure it is), or even if it isn't, that is why I think I think people should decide for themselves. Because they DESERVE to. If it's YOUR life, YOU should make your own decisions even if you mess up your life. Then you learn from your mistakes. Now, while you decide your whole life, there are still 2 people that I know of that have been put on this earth with you for a reason. Your parents. Even though YOU make your decisions, they guide you along the path to adulthood.








Picture: http://www.google.com.my/imglanding?q=parents%20and%20their%20children&imgurl=http://preventchildabusehabersham.org/images/superstock_1166r-3866.medium.jpg&imgrefurl=http://preventchildabusehabersham.org/Parents_as_Teachers.html&usg=__91AReP1WDrpDiKSk49OM19-3vhw=&h=300&w=448&sz=113&hl=en&itbs=1&tbnid=jUhxyPC6djl7AM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dparents%2Band%2Btheir%2Bchildren%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&gbv=2&tbs=isch:1&start=0#tbnid=jUhxyPC6djl7AM&start=3

tHe EnD (DUH DUH DUH DUHHHHHH...)

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Eloise,

I write to tell you the tripods have been destroyed. Today, in 2010, we are free of the horrible curse of the tripods. Although we are free, some horribly-minded people think we may face a similar situation in 2012... What baloney.

How did it feel when I took the cap off your head? In case you didn't notice,once my people killed all the tripods I was assigned 'pick up duty' as we call it to the tripod city, that WRETCHED place you used to call home. It was HORRIBLE. All those tripod controlled people, walking around muttering "What's my name??? Where do I live? Where's my master?" But I have to say you were the worst. Screaming, kicking your feet, you yelled "NOOOOO! PUT ME BACK WHERE I BELONG!"

After that, I cried for many days. I loved you Eloise, but you fell in love with HIM. I hate HIM. He still lives with us here in the White Mountains, and annoys the heck out of me EVERY DAY! I have wanted to push him down the Mountain many times, but have refrained because you loved him. If you write me back, and allow me permission to push him off, he will have splatted to the death valleys before I read anymore of that lovely letter.

I have one question. Why? Why did you get capped in the first place? Was it because you didn't know what brainwashing was to lie before? You make me sob, dearest Eloise...

Do you remember Henry? Well, he died. Fatal really. Died doing what he did best, and what he was trained in, fighting the tripods. I wish I could send you the obituary, but is to fragile to send. May he rest in peace.

I forgot to mention! Jean- Paul has had a break through! Such a scientist, that man! He has found a cure for that horrible disease you had! Remember? When you touched nuts you used to be very sick? Well, it's now called anaphylactic and Jean-Paul found the cure!!! It's called an epi-pen. One of the men I work with in the New Plans and Strategies Department uses it quite regularly... I like nuts.


This may not get to you because you're... dead.

Love you always,

Will <3

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

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When I first started reading White Mountains, I didn't like it. Often, if someone would start talking about it I would groan, "Oh! I hate that book! I wish we didn't have to read it!" When I pushed my negativity out of the picture, I realized the teachers wouldn't make us read it if it was a brain-frizzling book. I mean really, they care at least that much for us, don't they??? I hope. I opened my eyes WIIIIDE open instead of the half open they were (metaphorically), and read. At the end of the second chapter, I liked it! It surprised me like crazy. In other people's blogs, some are going to go on and on and on about how they apparently LOVED the book and blah, blah, blah. I'm not. I liked it. It was so-so. No, I didn't love it. When I started reading with my eyes WIIIIIDE open (metaphorically), and steered away from all the peer pressure about it sucking, I liked it!

But hey, I didn't HATE it!

fReEdOm... WhO nEeDs It... I DO!!!

This blog entry is in two parts. The first part is a little narrative, and the second one is an interview. This blog post is all made up and none of what the person is saying is true. (It’s all made up by me)

"Hmmmmmm" John Christopher sighed one day. He was on page 121 of his soon to be hit children’s sci-fi book ‘The White Mountains’ and he was stuck. No, not the stuck in the mud type stuck, the, I don’t know what to write stuck. “My first reaction to what the Comtesse had said was of being flattered, but not impressed.” What to write next? You know, being a writer, they never tell you what to write. Those lucky preschoolers, they get told what to write. “Now an A, B, C, good job! Who’s your card for? Oh it’s for mom is it? Okay, M-o-m” See how easy that is??? But for writers NO help at ALL.

Then it hit him. Freedom! He had agreed with his mom that this book would be about freedom! He had started the book with it in mind, but had forgotten!

And so he wrote this sentence: “Was I to abandon my hope of freedom, surrender the mastery of my mind, for the sake of wearing jewel leather and having other men touch their caps to me?”

Welcome to the Angell’s View Radio Station!

Yes, personally, as Zarina Angell, I would. But Will, who had worked for his freedom for so long? I am not sure. Luckily, today we have Will Parker in the studio with us.

So, Will, how does it feel done with the book?

Thanks Zarina, actually, it feels amazing. After I went through all that drama, I am definitely thankful to be out.

Let’s get down to business Will. When, in your latest adventure in ‘The White Mountains’, did you fight for freedom the most?

For sure The Castle of the Red Tower. With all the temptation to stay and get capped for my one true love Eloise, was unbearable. “What had happened was not Eloise’s fault.”- Page 137 we were just never meant to be. In addition, I didn’t want to give up everything I had worked so hard for, just to be special, or to be treated specially. “Was I to abandon my hope of freedom, surrender the mastery of my mind, for the sake of wearing jewel leather and having other men touch their caps to me?”

What does this passage mean to you: “Loyalty to Whom? The men of the White Mountains did not even know of my existence – to Ozymandias and Captain Curtis I had been just another boy to be sent south, one of the dozens. And Henry and Beanpole? Did they want me with them, anyway?”

This passage means a lot to me. It is me questioning my freedom. If no one that had helped me along this path cared about me, then why should I have gone on? Why shouldn’t I have just gotten capped? But now that I gotten to the White Mountains, and gotten here, I am glad I did not leave my freedom behind and get capped. I learnt how freedom is important and in the future, if I am ever in a situation of such again, I will pick freedom.

Building off what you said, can you explain why freedom is so important to you?

Freedom is important to me because it means you are not under anyone’s control, no one can tell you what to do, or when to do it. You can feel the way you want. Kids, think of it this way. Your teacher gives you homework, but you don’t have to do it. Or your mom says do you’re chores, you don’t do them, and she doesn’t care. Wouldn’t that be good? Those examples are in very small scales. My reasons were bigger scale. I was fighting for who I was living for. My cause wasn’t whether I wanted to take out the trash or not, my cause was whether I ever wanted my own opinions again.

Thanks again Will Parker, for coming to talk to us today. And thanks for you guys, out there, for listening.

Tune in next time on Angell.fm for more fun!