Blood is Thicker Than Water

"Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, they'll still be there." ~Amy Li. Your sister is there for you, sometimes to help you and sometimes to annoy you to the point of breaking something. The big sister is the best. She has so many talents, from being perfect, to being the best friend in the entire world.

Protection. What an older sister will do for her younger sister. The Hunger Games, there was a 1 in a thousand chance that Prim's name would be called but when it was called Katniss launched into full protection mode. Katniss won't let her sister be taken away to the Capitol to fight in the Games as entertainment. No, that would cause Prim to loose her life. Katniss protected Prim by volunteering to go fight to her death in the "amazing" Hunger Games. "I reach her just as she is about to mount the stage. With one sweep of my arm, I push her behind me. 'I volunteer!' I gasp. 'I volunteer as a tribute.'" Page 22 of The Hunger Games. With Katniss' younger sister means the world to herm and with her gone Katniss would not be the same, she wants her sister to grow up and live a happy life and she is willing to give up everything to give that chance to her precious baby sister. Once Katniss knows Prim is out of danger she can relax, she has done her job as a sister and protected the person who matters the most. The little sister.

Friendship. Sometimes when you don't need protection you need a friend. When Miriam's mom died and her father remarried, the last thing she wanted was a sister. Her new sister was perfect, pretty, lively, and natural. Miriam didn't like her new sister she was too perfect and nice. It didn't seem real. But one day when their mom and dad take the two girls on a road trip Ariele, Miriam's sister, shows Miriam what it's like to live life to it's fullest. And ever since that day the two girls have been best friends, even though they are sisters. They love and care for each other so much, no one could ever could ever tell that Miriam once hated the sister that loved her so much. (This story is from Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul 2)

Love. When you have had a bad day your sister is there to comfort you, well at lest mine is. My older sister may be obnoxious, crazy, and just plain weird but it makes her beautiful. She loves me like no one else and when I need her she is there to hold me. Her hands are strong and her words are reassuring, her eyes full of happiness and all of her filled with love. That is what I love the most about my sister, my Maddy. When someone makes fun of me or I have done something wrong, she doesn't scold me, she doesn't yell, she loves. She tells me everything will be alright and that I am perfect the way I am, no one can change me. My sister inspires me to stand up for my self, to make things the way I want them not the way someone else does. I know nothing can break this love that we share. Maddy and Me.

Love, Protection, Friendship.. just some of the qualities an older sister has to make her so amazing. The older sister is a gift, one that will always be there, in the midst of everything. Through thick and thin, because blood is thicker that water. "A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life." ~Isadora James

Painting is from: Heidi Malott

Fight for Life

Life can change in a second. One moment your laughing having fun and the next your in excruciating pain. Caitlin Beadles life changed exactly like that. She was at the lake hanging out and enjoying the weekend. Caitlin was on the Jet Ski with her friends when they capsized and they were thrown into the water. She was floating there when they boat came by pulling the canoe, Caitlin threw her head back and her legs got chopped up. The boat driver didn't notice, but Caitlin's friends did. Caitlin was rushed to the hospital, on the way she flat lined twice, but no one gave up on her.

This girl pushed through this terrible accident and made things work for her, she pushed and tried and never gave up. And what she fought for, was her life.

A flatline means your dead. Your heart stops and your dead. Caitlin had two. She 'died' twice. But because she was a fighter and the ones around her loved and cared for her she survived. Caitlin's first action in her fight for life was keeping her eyes open. She made sure that she kept her eyes open, if she closed them she would probably not be here today. Caitlin struggle was getting to the hospital in time to be treated, and saved. I believe that God helped her stay alive, all of her friends and family were praying, and I think God took control and saved her. But getting to the hospital wasn't the end of her fight.

Caitlin's next fight was the surgeries and being stuck in bed. She went into surgery and woke up during the middle of it, she couldn't be put back under because she would have a 99% chance of never waking up. "We are going to have to take her leg" was what Caitlin heard, but she couldn't say anything. After her surgery and having 6,000 stitches in ONE leg, she had to recover. Caitlin had a tube in her throat that would 'breathe' for her, so she couldn't talk. That was her biggest challenge, not being able to talk while your friends and family are visiting you. Caitlin got tired of her bed, so that lead her to her next challenge, learning to walk.

Imagine having to learn to walk all over again, the pain and effort it would take. Well that nightmare became a reality for Caitlin. With most of the nerves getting cut up in her leg, she had little feeling so learning to walk was a great big challenge. Taking one step with a walker was a challenge, but Caitlin was determined to walk again. Little by little, with God and sweat, Caitlin could walk once again. Caitlin overcame the challenge of walking. She worked her butt off to regain what she had lost. Caitlin fought for her life.

Caitlin is the ultimate example of a fighter, a believer, and a survivor. She pushed through obstacles and got what she wanted, a second shot. She started new, with sweat and perseverance. Caitlin started with God. Caitlin fought and fought for the most important thing, LIFE.

Caitlin's story.

Photo

Looking Beneath the Skin

Is it acceptable to exclude someone because they aren’t good enough?

Exclude: to deny access from a group. Inferior: Not a high rank.

But isn’t everyone the same?

Discrimination: the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people. Prejudicial: harmful to someone.

Martin Luther King Jr. was on my side, he thought it was never acceptable to exclude anyone. The black people were discriminated because they were a different color, “a different type of person.” Was it true that they were different? No, it wasn’t, they are people just the same, the only difference was they weren’t treated like it. They were treated like the dirt on the bottom of someone's shoes. They had to drink from different water fountains, eat in different sections, and they had to give up their seats on the bus if a white person wanted it.

Rosa Parks stood her ground when a white lady wanted her seat, she said no, and look what happened, she inspired the black people. Rosa Parks bravely stood her ground to the white lady. Even thought she was arrested and fined, she still believed in what she did. Rosa Parks ignited the fire with a spark of hope for the black race. After Rosa Parks arrest many black people wanted to start standing up for themselves, they saw what Rosa was doing and the race for freedom was on. The person who led this protest was an amazing hero, Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr, born on January 12 1929, was one of the world greatest leaders. He was a leader ever since he was elected class president for a predominately white senior class, in college. After He graduated from 2 different colleges he met his wife in Boston and they went on to have 2 sons and 2 daughters. In 1954, Martin became pastor of his Baptist Church in Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr. strongly believed that God did not care what color you were, that every single person was equal under the eyes of the one who mattered the most, God. Martin Luther King Jr. was always a strong worker for civil rights, for the people of colored skin. Martin Luther King Jr. was a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the leading organization of it's kind. Then in 1955 he was ready to accept the leadership of the first great Negro nonviolent prostest in the United States. The bus boycott lasted 382 days.

The Civil Right Movement was not about fighting, it was about showing the white people what was going on, and why it was wrong. The protests were not done with guns, but with posters and words. The most famous form of the protest was Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream speech. The speech moved people to side with the black people, to make them rethink the way they were treating the colored people. Martin Luther King Jr. continued to fight for the freedom of the black race. With the great conclusion to his speech, he once again reminded the white race that they were all the same under the eyes of God.

"And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."

That was how Martin Luther King Jr. ended his nonviolent protest, with the words that speak the truth. No matter what color you are what race you are God will always love and cherish you.

Everyday I see the discrimination of people. At school people are discriminated because they are black, white, and Asian, I think it’s horrible. Everyday someone says something to make another feel bad, but they say “Oh it was just a joke.” Was it? Did they mean it as a joke? Well, that is undetermined but it seems an after thought to say it was a joke. It doesn’t mean that I am perfect, it doesn’t make any of us perfect, we have all discriminated, and have been discriminated. But what we don’t realize is we are all fabulous people with wonderful ideas, and if people can’t accept it, it is their loss. You need to just make new friends, who accept you for who you are. Just because you are not a high enough rank doesn’t mean you can’t do good in life. Just because you are different it doesn’t make you bad, It makes you unique, something everyone has to learn to accept. God loves you no matter what color you are, no matter what you look like, no matter what personality you have. God is the one person who will love yo no matter what.

Sites:

Rosa Parks: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/par0bio-1
Martin Luther King Jr.: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm , http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html

Paintings: http://sagecollective.blogspot.com/2011/01/tributes-fit-for-king.html

Invisible Words

Popularity by: Anne W.

Tragic corruption comes from others
Their words like whips cracking on your back
They scar you until you are invisible
Infected with the love of others, they see no harm
They do what they do without uncertainty
Attaching themselves to others with fake affection
They call it popularity
No longer should you hide under the shadows
Speak with authority and stand up for yourself
Call down the monsters in their lies
Declare to the world, exhort them to join you
Challenge the ones with sharp words
Speak with conviction
Under the weight, they will crumble
And you will no longer be
INVISIBLE.

What is worth fighting for? Standing up for yourself is definitely something worth fighting for. My poem is about this, someone standing up to the people who hurt them and ruin their life. Standing up for yourself is worth fighting for because it's your life, do what YOU want with it. I would stand up for myself and get other people to help me. This relates to my poem because it is about someone who is being bullied and then they get other people to help them stand up for what is right. Life is too short to waste it hiding under the shadows, its time that you go and stand up for your right to say and be what you want. Standing up is a way to fight for what you believe. What is worth fighting for?

Escaping the Clutches of Death

“Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.” (Omar Bradley) That’s what Jerzy Bielecki did to save the one he loved. Jerzi fought for the girl he loved, and he fought to out run death. He escaped out of Auschwitz, every moment expecting to be shot down. He was Catholic and was on the first train from Poland to Auschwitz. Jerzy, born in 1923, met his love, in Auschwitz, working at a grain farm. He decided to rescue his love, a Jewish Cyla Cybulska, from the death camp. Jerzy formed a plan, he stole a SS uniform, went to her cabin, and took her for “questioning” where they then escaped to freedom, when he was only 17.

Jerzy showed us how saving one person can make a difference. He did what he thought was right, he helped Cyla to freedom by sneaking her out of Auschwitz and taking her to one of his relative’s homes. He motivated Cyla to escape because she was the only one in her family left, her mother, father, sister, and 2 brothers, were all dead from the gas chambers or from intense labor in the concentration camp. As prisoners on the run, their food supplies soon ran out, and they lacked many resources. They were hungry, tired and dehydrated. Cyla couldn't take the hardship anymore. She was exhausted. Cyla begged for Jerzy to leave her behind, but he would never, keeping her moving by telling her they were close. Most of the time when she was tired he carried her, across rivers, up and down hills, and on flat ground. Jerzy was determined that Cyla should survive which shows his selflessness by only doing what was best for his love. All he cared about was keeping her alive and safe. He even gave up on his own safety to keep her safe, he did everything stealing food, clothes, water, risking his life to keep her’s alive.

Jerzy went beyond his breaking point to get to freedom with Cyla. Jerzy knew he couldn’t save everyone in Auschwitz but he knew he would make a difference to one if he saved their life. He did make a difference to Cyla. He looked death in the eye and said “You won’t take her away from me,” and he took her away from death. After they escaped they were separated, he went to met her but found the building, that they were supposed to met at, burnt down. They both survived not knowing if the other made it. Jerzy's story soon spread, and when Cyla heard it she immediately knew it was her Jerzy.

Fighting for what you believe in can be a hard thing, especially when you are trying to escape from a concentration camp. Jerzy accomplished it, he did what he believed in. He kept the one thing that mattered the most, Cyla, alive. Jerzy did one the hardest things to do at a concentration camp, but yet he did. Jerzy escaped the clutches of death.

Painting: The Great Escape by: Natalie Green

Joining Hands Around a New World

Help. In every country, there is someone seeking aid. There are families constantly losing loved ones, people they care about. There are many countries that need aid. I think that with a few joined hands, they can live in a better community with fresh, clean water and enough food to fill their stomachs. Right now they are getting diseases and this is just because they don’t have clean water to drink or proper food to eat. Many countries are suffering from AIDS/HIV that can easily be treated, but without the money there is no treatment. Think about what the world would be like if there was no more poverty and were no more people dying of diseases that could have been prevented.

In a new world all of those things wouldn't be happening. Everyone would be friendly and helpful to their neighbors. If everyone helped each other then there would be no such thing as poverty, everyone would have a roof over their head, food to eat, and an education. That would connect everyone and keep everyone from suffering. It would prevent chain reactions such as war. Young artists for Haiti Wavin' Flag describe this perfectly. All these young Canadian singers came together and recorded a song to raise money to help Haiti when the earthquake hit them. They wanted to help the people struggling and they reached out a helping hand to change the fact that the people were hungry and they didnt have a roof over their head.Think about what the world would be like if there was no more poverty and were no more people dying of diseases that could have been prevented. In a new world it's possible. Help.

Painting: "A Helping Hand"By: Jeanine Malaney

Tears of Shattered Glass

As terror broke through the Jewish "race" the Nazi's were enjoying themselves. The fire was everywhere, glass broke all around there were screams of pain, that was not all. The synagogue was in flames, everything in the building was burnt.

Kristallnacht, 1933, was the night when tears were shed. Propaganda was to blame. Little by little the Jews were being looked at badly, and things started to get worse. People saw signs saying everything was over, things were getting better. The Nazis still looked like the good guys with their fancy programs and statements. Hitler started to target the Jews, therefore he burnt down their temples of prayer. He completely brainwashed everyone into thinking the Jews were evil freaks. Hitler even got children, ages 10-14, to join the Hitler Youth. Was this the right thing? No, kids shouldn't have to do this! After the buildings were burnt the Nazi's rounded up 30,000 Jewish men and put them into concentration camps.

Not all German's were bad. Andre, a young German-Jew, decided not to be part of the Hitler Youth and throw rocks at the Jewish people. So he went, with his mother and father, to another country. Not all people were strong enough to leave the Fatherland, but they didn't agree with throwing rocks and burning the Jewish race. So these people were just bystanders. But being a bystander is just as bad as throwing rocks. I think that the best thing to do would be to leave Germany. Today in school I see people making fun of teachers and students, not that it will ever become as bad as what happened in Germany, and it makes me feel like I should say something. I don't like what happened in Germany, today one of my good friends is Jewish, and to imagine what went on is even harder for. That's why I choose this painting, I think it shows the confusion of the people, and how they don't seem to know whats going on.

Painted By: Hieronymus Bosch. Temptation of St. Anthony

Site: http://scarriet.wordpress.com/2010/04/11/the-adoration-of-anything-you-think-you-own-is-fire/

Through the Eyes of a Double P

Double P? What is that? That was my first question. Then I read about it and found out more. In Humanities Mr. Whiting and Ms. Narsiman came in and we took a series of tests to see what kind of learner we are. My learning profile in PP. That means many things...

When I am learning, I learn best trough movement and actions. I really need to fidget and move to keep my brain active, if I don't I will lose focus. When I do MAP testing I lose my focus and start to get bored. But on the flip side, I enjoy physical activities like sports, dancing, P.E., and drama, because I am able to learn trough movement, and that helps the information stick in my brain. During class I can't sit still so I will need to get up and move, tap my foot, or bounce my knee. I feel when I am learning it is best for me to move my hands and/or perform a skit to help me remember.

Being a PP learner means I have to move around, also I am a Kinesthetic learner which also means I learn best through activities, and I am right brained, or Gestalt. When I am explaining things I feel the need to move my hands around to express what I am saying. Under stress my Visual, Auditory and Movement is limitted, my eyes, ears, and legs, but I am still able to use my hands when I am stressed out. I need to be able to jump around and be active or I won't soak up any information, so in the class after P.E. I remember a lot more of what I just learnt.

Things that would help me learn better in class are, acting out what I just learnt, getting up and taking a jog, playing with something, tapping my foot, and so on. Also I can do lazy 8's, when you take your thumb and make an eight, making sure the middle crosses the center of your head, and thinking caps, when you cross your arms and rub your ears. Both of these exercises force both sides of you brain to work together.

My teacher's should know that movement is the key to really getting me to know what they're teaching better. During classes they should try to incorporate some sort of physical activity in what we are learning. My teacher shouldn't put step by step schedules on the board because I can't focus on reading them.

For all those PP learners just remember what is good for you. The picture at the top is what my profile is. My Domi-know. Now you know what a double P is.

We Are Who We Are

Are actions is what shapes who we are. We control what we do. We can make the wrong decisions. There are things we can do that give us the things that feel good. Helping a homeless person, donating to charity, that can make us a better person. We shape our identities from what people see of us.

The book, The Island by Arman Greder shows that because the towns people treated the strange man so harshly, he was interpreted badly. They thought he was a bad person. They thought he was evil. They thought he was a murderer. But never once did they stop to ask the man what he was. I think we should take that to mind and remember other people have an influence of what is thought about you. We need to spread the message that we are good people.

Jesus Colon was man who worked late, he took to subway home and decided not to help the woman who would have a hard time getting off the train. He blew right past her and didn't stop. He lost his pride. What he had earned. All because of a little moment. He still feels the pain of that day. His identity was shaped by the way he didn't stop to ask the lady if she needed help. But people's identities can also be shaped by the rumors spread around schools, soon everyone hears and people are wondering "who would do that?" YOU never did! Everything you do has an impact on the big picture, if you mess up somewhere then your final product is messed up. There is nothing you can do to change that. The picture,painted by Pat Mansen, fits in with the idea of impacts. The one pink spot leaves an impact on the whole painting, either good or bad.

Site: http://fineartamerica.com/featured/blue-impact-pat-mansen.html

The Fear of a Hero

"It's not power that corrupts but fear" spoken from the lips of a true hero Aung San Suu Kyi. She stands up for what she believes in. She has spent the last 15 years of her life in house arrest, because the fact she dislikes the Burmese government. She wants her people to be free from the tortures of the government. She realizes what a hero she is to her people and wants to help them.

Aung San Suu Kyi spent around 15 years living with her two maids (mother and daughter) and learning how to fix electrical problems. Aung has learned how to fix the plumbing and lights around her house, when natural disasters decided to strike. She was the handy man of the house.

Now that Aung San Suu Kyi has been released she still continues to fight for the freedom of her people. I think Aung San Suu Kyi is like Martin Luther King Jr. because she fights for the rights of her people no matter what the cost. They have made many public speeches and stood up against the government. They believed in what they thought and took it to new levels.

Around the school today, I see people standing up for what they believe, bullying, AIDS, peace, and being eco, but there are always some people who just don't agree. They think they are cool by not joining in, but it's their loss, a sense of pride comes with the right thing.

The picture, Freedom painted my "Freedom"~Lisa Moore, I chose reminds me there is always a choice. You can stand up for what you believe and be free, or you can still down and let the world tumble. The world is placed in your hands. Do with it what you please but be careful, you never know what might happen.

Site: http://oliviahumanitiesgreen.blogspot.com/

No Man is an Island

By: John Donne,

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.

And the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrDxe9gK8Gk&feature=player_embedded

Are both connected and different.

I think that they are the same because they are both saying that together we are strong and if one of us dies it affects everyone. In the poem John is saying that everyone depends on another to survive, and if one perishes it makes him weaker because he is involved in this big thing, and never knows who death calls for because it always calls for me. In the video the person is trying to tell us that we need to look out for each other, help one another, there are homeless people with no one to turn to for support, their own families have abandoned them. They are both trying to say that we need to help each other and be connected.

The video and the poem are different because one is talking about homeless people and one is talking about everyone together. They are very different yet similar, but both have a big impact. The video is talking about how Sydney, Australia and New York City, New York are faced with the same problems, people loving the place they live not the people living in it, that is why there are many homeless people living on the streets with no one to care for them, because NO ONE REALLY CARES! The poem is saying that we all need to work together and not stand alone, because that will make us weaker, as a individual and as a whole. We need to make sure that we do not leave out one person because they are black, yellow, white, or brown, we are all people regardless of the color on the outside, we still are a part of this world. So why can't people accept the fact we are different on the outside? That is because they think you will make them weaker, but everyone knows 2 heads are better than 1, so forget the outside, think about the inside.

When I watched this video and read the it reminded me of Fatmire Feka, she wasn't alone in the fight of survival in Kosova. She stood connected with the kids, Albanian and Kosovan, with the thoughts of the war and bombing clear in their heads. The painting above shows the kids standing together reaching out to make the one in the middle feel connected, not an island anymore. The kids all feel like they have to be the ones to connect the Albanian and the Kosovan people together and not the adults that made the mess.

Picture: Original water color painting "Because No Man Is An Island" copyright © 1997 Debbie Turner Chavers

Site: http://visionsofhisword.blogspot.com/2009/12/because-no-man-is-island.html

Hero Song

October 1st: A HERO COULD SAVE US

This song is about someone who wants to be a hero. The lyrics are saying that people were saying that LOVE or a HERO would come and save them, but there was no hero. During the beginning "I am so high, I can hear heaven, Oh but heaven, no heaven don't hear me" is saying that he wants to be a hero but god isn't listening to his cry. "Now that the world isnt ending, its love that Im sending to you. It isn't the love of a hero, and thats why I fear it wont do." This man wants to be a hero to save his lover from whatever the problem is.

I think that a hero is a person who wants to save the people they love. They need a villain too be a hero, or they need something to save the loved ones from, a natural disaster, a villain, etc. A hero is someone who helps people with payment, and usually they got bit by a spider or something like that to make them a hero. The song Hero by Nickelback is saying that he wants to be a hero to save the one that he loves but heaven is not hearing his cries about being a hero.

Elgin Marbles

I think that the Elgin marbles should be returned to the Parthenon because what is the point of having art work if you can only enjoy part of it. It you can only enjoy a foot or a head or a body, then what is the point? The elgin marbles are meant to tell a story and there is no way we can understand that story if we are missing some important scenes. In ancient Greece there is a lot to understand, and the Elgin marbles help us to unravel some important parts in the ancient world. If all the marbles are torn off their place and shipped to museums no one will truly know what the Elgin marbles may have to tell us.

(not finished I left the newspaper article at school)

4 letter story

The howl of a wolf rang in the dark. The howl was sad. The wolf was near it's end. A gun shot rang out. A soft cry rang in the air. Then there was only the mist to keep me warm. That was it. I was on my own.

The run with the pack was never the same.m That pain, it hurt to even think of him. "NO!" I said "DON'T GO!" but it did not work he was gone, gone with the wind. I woke up with a start. He was not at camp. So it was true, he was gone.

Then it cam. The rain. Not from the sky , but from the guns. The bang rang in my ears and into my head. This day was the as the one when I lost him. It was dark and cool with mist and fog. We ran, me and the pack, deep into the woods, the men came too. They cry of a wolf in pain made me turn and help. I went to her and sat as her eyes went from blue to a cold, steal gray. She was gone. I ran back to the pack. We were safe, for now. Our pack lost 5 guys and 1 girl. Our pack was too tiny. Now we had to fight. All in the dark, we came up with a plan. Ruin the cars, so they had no way to reach and find us. Next the guns. We took them and put them in the lake. Now they had no way to hurt us. We were even. Part of the plan was to run them out of here. We got one male bear and one girl bear and they got more and more wild cats. Soon we had an army. Then the time came. "1, 2, 3! GO!" We ran and the mean began to flee, out of our town and into their' s. We had won, us! As for me. Me, one wolf, is here to tell the tale.

Pheonix

I think that the author chose the name Pheonix because it a bird that "never dies" and that probably means when "Pheonix goes into the game" he won't die. The pheoix (bird) is said to have gone up in flames once it's baby has been born. There can only be one pheonix at a time. On the third day the pheonix rises from the ashes, or flames, and the baby gathers the ashes and takes them to the altar of the sun god, Re.

In the Shadow of the Minotaur I think Alan Gibbon named his main character Pheonix because maybe he is follow in his parents or relatives footsteps. The bird rises from the dead. Maybe Pheonix is the "rise from the dead" of his uncle.

Me in 10 Objects

Me in 10 Objects

• Rabby, my stuffed animal
• Swimming Medal
• Picture of My Cat Reuben
• 2 pictures of my family
• Charm Bracelet
• 2 pig statues
• First Holy Communion necklace
• And my James Avery ring

Rabby, my stuffed bunny

I put in Rabby, because it has been my stuffed animal since I was a baby. My mom told me a story that when she found out that Rabby was my favorite stuffed animal she stocked up on them. Every time I ruined Rabby he would “go in the washing machine” and come out clean...and brand new. I love this bunny, even though it wasn't the original. Rabby's velvet touch helped me sleep at night.

A swimming medal

This medal is special because I won it at my first swim meet since I moved to KL, Malaysia. When I won this medal I was so happy because it was the first 1st place medal I had won in a while. I remember every detail from the time I dove in the water until the time I touched the wall at the end of the race. It was the 100 freestyle. Every time I swim in a race my mind goes blank as I push myself through the icy water. I was the only girl in that event to I had to take first. I love swimming because I have made so many good friends at swim meets and on the swim team. I love water, ever since I was a little girl I have been around water. Swimming on the swim team, to going to the ocean every summer.

A picture of my dead cat, Reuben

This picture brings back many memories, memories of me and my cat. This picture was one of the few pictures of Reuben we ever took. The reason we couldn’t take many pictures is because he moved to fast for us to catch him in a photo. But the reason we could get this photo of him was because he was very old and didn’t like to move around much. A few months later we had to put him down before we moved to Malaysia. This photo is a happy one because it reminds my of all the happy times I got to spend with Reuben. Reuben was like a brother to me, my parent's had him before they even had children. His snow white fur reminds me of were he was from, the Canadian snow.

Two pictures of my family

One of these pictures is of my family in Shanghai, China. That picture is on the Great Wall of China, My mom and I thought the steps were to steep to climb so we just sat at a little cafe and ate ice cream with the tour guide's daughter who didn’t want to climb either. When we had finished our ice cream we went and explored little places. When the people came down from climbing they were all panting and “dying” while we just perfectly fine sitting on a bench.

The other picture is from our beach house in Destin, Florida. The beach is like my home, because I always went there when I was younger, and this picture brings back memories of it. I am quite young in that picture and my sister and I are riding on my parent's shoulders. This picture means a lot to me because it is one of the only photos that I have of me and my family when I was younger. Every where I am there is water, I am a water person. I love the water and I have always been around it. I will always be around the water.

My charm bracelet

This charm bracelet was given to me by my grandma. I remember when I first got it I hated it, I thought it was ugly. I thought it was ugly until when we went to Disneyland my mom told to pick out two charms whichever ones I wanted to put on that charm bracelet. Then I wore that charm bracelet all the time, especially to church. That charm bracelet was my favorite thing. Then I started wearing it less and less. But I still wore to church. Over the years I have collected more and more charms to put on that bracelet. Each charm on that bracelet is a different memory and all of those memories jangle and clink around on my wrist.

Two pig statues

The first pig statue my sister gave to me for my birthday. We were at the mall with some friends for my birthday party and my parents said go off and look in stores but meet us at the movie theater in 30 min, so we went off. As we made it to the movie theater level we saw a cool looking store, so we went inside and I found that pig. That pig really spoke to me, it was a flying pig with a little heart on the side. Later on we were walking to the theater when my slippery shoes slipped and I went down on the ground. Luckily I didn’t break the glass pig, and from then on I have been really careful with that pig.

The second pig, the Christmas pig with a flower in his mouth, I got from my dad. As my dad and I were walking through Pavillion I saw a little stand that was selling those kind of pigs. I stopped and asked my dad if I could have one, and of course he said no. But I pleaded and pleaded, saying but Madeline got something why can’t I, until he gave in. That is the power of whining. I got this pig and then my dad and I ate lunch. This pig symbolizes the time that I spend with my dad, and that 3 hours that we got to do whatever we wanted.

My Holy Communion Necklace

This necklace reminds me of when I was doing my first holy communion I got this necklace from my dad, It is special for me because that was a very important day in my life. It was also a very funny one. When I was doing my communion my sister wrapped a shawl around her head and said look I’m the Virgin Mary and everyone around her started laughing, right when one of the kids was giving their speech. It was embarrassing but also very funny.

And my James Avery ring

This ring reminds me of Camp Hardtner. After camp this summer, when we were in the car driving back to Alabama, my mom drove us the James Avery store in Louisiana. We stopped and went in the store to find a certain ring. This ring that we were looking for was a heart with the cross inside, our camp sign. Finally my mom found it. My sister and I each got one, and it reminded us of camp. I loved camp, this year it was so much fun.

From a stuffed animal to jewelry and pigs, these all explain a little thing about me.

No Hero is mortal until he dies. W H Auden

- I chose this quote because I like how they are saying that a hero

is an immortal person until the day that he dies, then he has

become a mortal person.

- I chose this picture because those guys look like nothing can hurt them almost like they are immortal. I love how these boys don't care that they are poor they just like their sport, Grassroots Soccer.

Matt Harding

I think that Matt Harding got to connect with many countries in ways that we cannot remake. But we can make up our own ways to connect with many people. Matt Harding went around the world on a backpacking trip and danced in places in that country. He made a video of all the people coming together just to dance on his video. It seems silly for people just to come together for some guy who dances horribly. But it's not silly, it connected all those people together. People were dancing with people they didn't know, and it brought them together. We can do the same, we can visit different countries and stand on the street and give compliments or we can call up some people we know in that country and tell them to bring friends so then we can all come together as one big "family."

Matt says "My brain was designed to inhabit a fairly small social network of maybe a few dozen other primates—a tribe. Beyond that size, I start to get overwhelmed." Yes that is true. But if that is what our brain's our designed to do then why are we living in a world of 6 BILLION PEOPLE?! It is because we are also designed to connect with those people.

Matt Harding is an ordinary guy who did something for fun, that turned out to change the world.

--I like the picture because I like how Matt went to different countries even if he didn't know this place before. I chose this picture because I like how even though I haven't been there I feel like I've seen it before. By: Yann Arthus Bertrand

Compliment Guys

I think that the compliment guys were very creative coming up with the idea of giving compliments to every on that walked by them. The fact that they couldn't count the amount of compliments in one minute is amazing. It is amazing that they gave so many compliment that people lost track trying to count them all. These guys are very nice spending 2 hours of their time complimenting random people walking by the science wing of the university. I'm surprised that nobody else has joined them.

I'm glad they are doing this because it really makes someone's day hearing a compliment even if it is something simple like "I like you backpack." That still makes someone's day. I remember getting compliments from people and how good that made me feel inside. So imagine if every Wednesday you walked by the science wing and you got a compliment from someone you may not really know that well. How would that make you feel?? I know that it would make me feel really good inside.

-- I chose this photo because I think that the picture really compliments how beautiful the bird is. It reminds me of something the Compliment Guys would say to the bird if they saw the picture. Photo by: Tambako the Jaguar

Final White Mountains

I am choosing how Will has changed. Everyone in the story has changed but I'd like to focus on Will. Will changed the most and he was also the main character. Henry and Beanpole changed him, and the journey itself.

In the beginning Will was this jerk who didn't care about anyone but himself and a little bit Jack. When Henry decided to come with Will, Will was not happy he was very mad at Henry. Will was self-centered! Once he realized what happened to Jack after the capping Will was willing to make the journey to the White Mountains not knowing how it was going to change him.

The journey changed Will in more than one way. One, he learned to depend on Henry and later on Beanpole for resources. Will also learned about love and he also became un-self-centered. He learned about the Tripods and how to deal with pain. Will was much more confident in himself after he made the journey to the White Mountains. He learned that the journey wasn't all fun and games, it was tough!

~GO WHITE MOUNTAINS!