Holocaust

The Term Holocaust:

The Holocaust was the mass killing of all the Jews (and other minority groups) throughout Europe, better known today as genocide. It happened in Concentration Camps that were located in Nazi Germany, which was basically almost all of Europe. It happened because: The Nazis hated the Jews, just hated their existence, they claimed that the Jews were the reason for everything that was going wrong in Germany and the rest of the world, and they believed that they were not a part of the "perfect" Aryan race. So, they came up with a "Final Solution" to kill them all.

The Author; Elie Wiesel:

Elie Wiesel is a survivor of the Holocaust. Wiesel went through tremendious agony and horror at an early age, the Nazis offenders took the lives of many of his family members and friends. He is still alive and filled with the memories of the tragedy. The novel Night is a look into the life of Elie Wiesel, the readers get to expirience to a smaller proportion, what he felt and went through at the hands of the Nazis. I believe Mr. Wiesel wrote his novel so people would never forget the Holocaust. People will always remember the struggle that the Nazis put the Jewish people through.

Symbolism; Darkness:

Darkness in Night symbolize a world without God's presence. The Bible begins with God’s creation of the earth. When God first begins his creation, the earth is “without form, and void; and darkness is upon the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2, King James Version). God’s first act is to create light and dispel this darkness. Darkness and night therefore symbolize a world without God’s presence. In Night, Wiesel shows this allusion. Night always occurs when suffering is worst, and its presence reflects Eliezer’s belief that he lives in a world without God. The first time Eliezer mentions that “night fell” is when his father is interrupted while telling stories and informed about the deportation of Jews. Similarly, it is night when Eliezer first arrives at Birkenau/Auschwitz, and it is night—specifically “pitch darkness”—when the prisoners begin their horrible run from Buna.

PROM!!

I'm guessing prom was pretty fun! Too bad I didn't go!
Although I wasn't there, I still hung out with all of my friends afterwards. They told me about there night: dancing, eating, and having fun...

And I told them about my night: no dancing, still eating, and no fun. They were sad that I did not go but they made my night better by still dragging me along with them through their adventures of the night!

1920's

I think living in the 20's would be more than exciting. It just seems like life was easy and that everyone just went with the flow. Even since I first learned about the past, I have thought that it's where I belong.

I think that the drastic changes all around me all the time, would have been one of the best experiences. In this generation, stuff gets old. The people, technology, everything. But in the 20's eveything was new.

Therefore, I would say that I would very much enjoyed to have lived back then.

Dear John

In Savannah’s first "Dear John" letter, she writes, “If you come back, I’ll marry you. If you break your promise, you’ll break my heart.” Narrated by John, this is his story of loving Savannah.

John realizes that the army has changed his life for the better. After being raised by an unreceptive father he couldn’t relate to (except through coins), John barely graduated from high school. Following a string of jobs and girlfriends, John decides to enlist in the military and do something with his life. While home on leave, he meets Savannah. He does find her beautiful from the start, but he says “it had less to do with the way she looked than the way she was.” John’s leave goes by fast as they get to know each other. On their second date, Savannah meets John’s dad. In their first rainstorm together, John tells Savannah he loves her. On their last day together, he says he’s going to marry her one day. With promises to write and call, they say goodbye until John’s next army leave.

Holding onto his hopes for their future, John's days and nights pass. While counting down the days to his discharge, the date turns to September 11, 2001. The events of that infamous day changes John and Savannah’s life. After spending some time in combat, John receives another "Dear John" letter from Savannah.

Nicholas Sparks, the bestselling author of A Walk to Remember and The Notebook, writes about love that aches sometimes but that continues to exist. Each time John goes back to visit Savannah, he learns more about love - he sees love around him, he feels love, he wants love, and he ultimately gives love.

Nature's First Green Is Gold

When it's time for the season to change, it is also time for the colors to change outside. When spring first arrives and the trees start to bloom, you can see gold on the buds, like the beginning of life. You start out young and inncoent(gold) and as time goes by each day, it is time to change and grow. In Robert Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay," he talks about the same thing. That the first parts of life, can never stay the same. As time goes by, innocence is changed. The innocence is valuable and should be cherished, but we can't hold on to it forever. We should enjoy the time we have while we are still young and gold.

Saint Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's day is celebrated on March 17, on the day of St. Patrick's death. In Ireland this day has been celebrated for thousands of years. On St. Patrick's day in Ireland families go to church in the morning and have a big feast and dance and party all day. The first St. Patrick's day parade first took place in the United States in 1762. Irish soldiers serving in the U.S. army marched in the streets of New York City. In years after the first parade more parade took place including bagpipes and drums. In 1845 the potato famine hit Ireland and a lot of poor Irish immigrants started coming into the U.S. in the early 1900s. St. Patrick's day is celebrated all around the world today even in Japan, Singapore and Russia.

For me, this holiday means to wear green! And it always reminds me of Leprechauns. Leprechauns are little make-believe fairies from Ireland. They are the little old men who are shoemakers for the faires. They usually stand about 2 feet tall. Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's hammer. The legend is that if you catch one yu can force him to tell you where he hides his gold! I don't know about you but I would sure love to find one!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Don't forget to wear green!

Spring Break '10

During this Spring Break, I plan to do many things. But the one that I am most excited about is Spring River. I have never been since I just moved here a few months ago. But when I got invited to go, everyone seemed to be very very excited about it. Everyone said that there is canoeing, kayaking, rafting and fishing. I'm very excited and can't wait till thursday!!

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

This novel delivers several stories that tie to one anther nicelt. It somewhat reminds me of his novel A Walk To Remember, an all-time favorite of mine. This book has the story of Ronnie coming of age, discovering her true self, and falling in love for the first time. This book also has the story of a family that finds a way to heal, forgive one another, and band together in the face of adversity. Like most of Nicholas Sparks other books, it exudes the warmth and compassion that this reader loves! He also writes in a Christian thread into this stroy, which I appreciated and enjoyed.

A prevalent dynamic in the book was the relationship between father and daughter. In this story, Ronnie formed opinions of her dad that were solely based on her assumptions. She blamed him for so much that was wrong with the divorce and within their family life. She put up a wall in between them. Although Steve wasn't the perfect father, he was a good, loving, and patient one. Like all parents, there was room for improvement, however he did have the ability to see the bigger picture where his daughter was concerned, Steve held the wisdom to exhibit patience and allow Ronnie to discover the truth of her own. Hiss approach to parenting his nearly 18-year-old daughter with problems, paid off the right dividends because it brought them closer together.

Olympic Size Commitment.

Olympic athletes spend much of their time training, training, and training. They are honored athletes, and they make one of the biggest commitments you could imagine. As for me, well, I couldn't say my commitment is as big as theirs but it is a pretty big one. I make a commitment to myslef to go to college. College is a very important thing to me in which I do have to prepare for just like the athletes prepare for the olympics. It takes a good twelve years of grade school before you can even attend college, and as for the athletes, I'm sure all of them have had at least 12 years of experience before they go to the olympics.

The Kite Runner.

On one level, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is the story of two boys inAfghanistan and Afghan immigrants in America. It is a story set in a culture that has become of increasing interest to Americans since the Sept. 11 attacks. On this level, it provides a good way for people to learn more about Afghan history and culture in the context of story.

Looking at The Kite Runner as a story about culture, however, missed what the book is really about. This is a novel about humanity. This is a story about friendship, loyalty, cruelty, longing for acceptance, redemption and survival. The core story could be set in any culture because it deals with issues that are universal.

The Kite Runner looks at how the main character, Amir, deals with a secret in his past and how that secret shaped who he became. It tells of Amir's childhood friendship with Hassan, his relationship with his father and growing up in a privileged place in society. I was drawn in by AMir's voice. I sympathized with him, cheered for him and felt angry with him at different points. Similarly, I became attached to Hassan and his father. The characters became real to me, and it was difficult for me to put the book down and leave their world.

Civil Wars.

Civil wars come in many forms. Whether it be between family and friends, amongst political parties, or within yourself.

Lately one has been within myself. I seem to beat my self up over the smallest and it brings nothing but destruction towards me.

Fighting a war within yourself is a tiring process and can get very old. I can still see myself, getting mad over little things I did, being paranoid about everything, constantly trying to be perfect.

One thing I can say is that a civil wart within yourself isn't worth it.