Writing in Strokes

The term "Holocaust"

2010-05-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

Holocaust - To me, holocaust is a dreadful thing that harms people, any kind of people. The fact that most people know the holocaust and some have experienced it proves the devastation and the emotional rollercoaster ride they went through just to survive.

The term Holocaust - Click here for look at the Holocaust.

Author - Elie Wiesel is an amazing work of art to me. He survived the war, overcame death when it was staring him straight in the face. Now he is a fellow citizen of the U.S. and has devoted his time to help those in need everywhere. With many awards given to him, including the Nobel Peace Prize, Elie is a legend and a symbol of humanity at it's best.

Symbolism - In the book, Night, Elie Wiesel is a Jew in a concentration camp during WWII. One day he spots the overseer of the camp with a polish girl and is caught. The next day he is punished by getting lashes from a whip. the picture up above symbolizes that and portrays darkness to the book.

Taking It Easy

2010-05-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

My Bama, (grandma) is an amazing person who does good for others even though is not well herself. The past few years she has had to get two knee replacements and have surgery on her head. She's a trooper though! She always smiles and has something nice to say about someone. Even in her seventies, she helps neighbors around her with small jobs like helping in the garden or home decor.

She goes through life now knowing she can take it easy. She has all kinds of wisdom and love to spread around. She is the one person I can talk to about anything or anyone. She has everything and nothing at the same time, in which I mean everything she owns now is not as important to her as the essentials she had when starting her family. I love my grandma and everything that she stands for.

PROM IS HERE!!!

2010-04-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

The day for girls to look their best and the guys to wear formal and appealing suits is here. Yes, prom is a day for juniors and seniors (mostly seniors) to enjoy the night and shake their tail feathers! To me, it's a night to try something new. My first prom is only a few days away and I feel nervous and excited at the same time. Everyone is going to look amazing and the atmosphere will be just right. I hope to enjoy my time there and hope to see some familiar faces as well.

St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T06:45:00.001-07:00

It's St. Patty's Day folks and you know what that means; you wear green you're home free, and if you don't then expect the leprechauns to pinch you when you're not looking! Hahaha. But, all in all, St. Patrick's Day to me is just another day that I am alive and that I progress further in my lifetime goals. The whole pinching tale is just a bunch of laughs and meant to be harmless. I consider this day another average day for me.

The True Life to the American Soldier.

2010-03-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

"What is it like to be in a different country, fighting a war that seems to never end due to global terrorism?" Have you ever wondered that? It's hard to imagine everthing that goes on in Afghanistan or Iraq where you could be fine and dandy one minute and the next minute you're under pressure when the Taliban has sent a suicide bomber to your humvee, or your base, or even your best bud who keeps you sane. A movie called " The Hurt Locker" came out recently to win six oscars. SIX!!! The movie explains the life of a soldier willing to put all that he has out in the open to disarm bombs and to relieve stress caused by the Taliban. Here is a site that shows clips of the movie and what goes on.

The Kite Runner

2010-03-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

Always be kind to others and they will show kindness back. "The Kite Runner" expresses that vividly throughout the story when two kids growing up in a small village in Afghanistan encounter changes and challenges in life. The author details every sentence with emotions and imagination to the climax and goes beyond, ending with sorrow, happiness, a little confusion, and finally some imagination to help conclude what might happen at the end.

In " The Kite Runner", Amir, a young son of a wealthy and well respected man in the village befriends his servant, Hassan, a Hazaar who is loyal to his master and best friend to the very end. While competing in the annual kite tournament, Amir and Hassan encounter challenge that only one overcomes and one brushes it away to hit him later in life even harder than it did to begin with. Soon after Amir and Hassan lose their friendship and part ways when Amir and his father flee Afghanistan to America to live a better life. There, in America Amir faces his destiny and must relive everything he left behind.

The style of this read is a variety of different sentences and complex imagination. One who reads " The Kite Runner" will feel every emotion thrown out by the author and will have sympathy for what those who live their daily lives in Afghanistan. The theme expresses commitment to being a friend and to hold up to that status.

To conclude, "The Kite Runner" is an amazing book that shows what goes on in third - world countries and how things are delt with over there. I highly advise anyone to read this book to understand if the priorities in their lives are worth any good meaning to them.

Give a Boy a Gun

2010-03-15T06:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted something to happen so bad, you risk your life and others to make sure it occurs? In the book "Give a Boy a Gun", two boys who are picked on for their appearance, their personality, and their decisions take drastic measures to prove a point. During their tenth grade year at a school dance, they take over with guns in hands and bullets blazing. Their names are Brendan and Gary.

The author of "Give a Boy a Gun" expressed every detail and put total commitment to this story by gathering information on friends, family, teachers, and students about the two troubled teenagers and what went down that night at the school dance. Each chapter grows more and more in suspense and questions when they will crack. Right down to the very end, the theme is quite out there in which bullying is prohibited and saying that you should always be kind to others, otherwise you will recieve the same treatment later in life whether it be while you're still alive or in the afterlife.

In resolution, "Give a Boy a Gun" is spiritually and emotionally uplifting in how we should deal with kids who are troubled and how to stop school shootings before they ever start. Anyone who reads this book, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and pass it on to spread the word.

For the Gold

2010-02-28T08:17:00.000-08:00

Everyone in their life wants the best for themselves and for their close ones whether it would be family, a girlfriend, maybe even a husband or a wife. Do you have one too? Of course you do, and it's your job to secure and make that dream a reality. My dream is to become one of the best physical therapists out there. I want to treat my patients with the up most respect and care. I'll do anything just like my dad has to keep his kids safe and worry free.

Civil Wars

2010-02-10T19:35:00.000-08:00

Almost everyone, male or female, black or white, have conflicts! It is in the nature of human beings to carry flaws such as fighting over who gets to go first in line or trying to raise taxes on a country. We take them for granted, dropping them carelessly into wind, never to be seen again until someone stirs up trouble.

"To Bully "or not "to Bully"

2009-12-01T06:24:00.000-08:00

As children get into elementary school, kids begin to change in their attitudes. Some turn to be great and nice when it comes to dealing with others. Then, there are other children who pick on others just to get a grin or a laugh every once and awhile. Bullying is wrong and should be taken care of where it usually starts. Even to this day, kids in high school pick on other students because of how they look or who they hang out with. To me, those kids are immature and do not deserve to have people to care for them since they do not care for others. All they think about is themselves and how they act. When they finally realize what they do is a horrible thing to do, then it's the time to accept them and care for them as well. Do what you would unto others as you would yourself.

Reasons for the Season

2009-11-24T06:46:00.000-08:00

1. Family time
2. You get to eat a lot!
3. Peace between early colonial pilgrims and Native Americans
4. Fun holiday
5. Keeps everyone inside
6. Spend time with relatives
7. Tell stories of life between relatives
8. Give thanks to the Lord
9. Giving thanks to people outside your family
10. Making people happy

Speak book review

2009-11-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

IT was ruining her life. There was nothing she could do about it, until she found hope. Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak showed me what it was like to to suffer through a traumatic ordeal. Every year, there are countless teenagers who are raped, but they usually never tell about it to authorities or their parents. Many of the cases never reach higher than a whisper in the victim's head. In contrast, there are a few that "speak" their mind and confront their darkest enemy.

In the book, Speak, Melinda Sordino is the average school girl entering high school. Inside she has a dark secret she couldnt tell anyone. Before entering Merrywether High, there was an awesome end-of-summer party. The outcome of it was cops infiltrating the place and crashed it all because of Melinda. Of course, everyone knows who crashed the party, its what happened before that no one but Melinda knows. All throughout the year, she is trashed and humiliated because of what she did. Her old friends hate her now, and she is left with a new girl who desperately wants to fit in, Heather.

Considering the style of Laurie Halse Anderson, she developed a real life experiance that was made into a fiction. I like the book itself for only a few reasons; it shows what can happen to teenage girls who are victims of rape, and it shows how strong a person can become if they overcome their greatest fear. Speak is a great book in how it shows the emotions of a teenager and what they can go through during their high school years.

In conclusion, this book, Speak is a book I would recommend to others to read. Everyone should get a chance to read this book. Boy or girl, both could learn something from this book as I have and share it with someone who is close to them so they could understand how fragile a teen's life can become.

2009-10-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what it was like to be a spy? Have you wanted to hold a device that looked like a pen but actually fires a sleeping dart? Well, there is one lucky/unlucky boy at the age of fourteen that is able to experiance that thrill. His name is Alex Rider. Anthony Horowitz's Stormbreaker with its creativity and its fast paced on-the-go action stlyle.

Settled in England, Alex Rider is another average school who lost his parents in a plane crash. He lives with his uncle until something horrible goes wrong. His uncle is killed in a car accident. But, Alex knew it was more than just an accident when he sees the bullet holes in his uncle's car. All his family is gone except for his friend and housekeeper. Once again, Alex finds more dirt on his uncle when he finds out that he was a MI6 agent! From there on, Alex dedicates his life to becoming a spy and finding any information on his beloved uncle.

In the setting, it's the beginning of school for Alex. Just like him, it was the beginning of school for me. Expressed so vividly, Anthony Horowitz showed scenery. He makes you feel like you are a part of the book by using clear adjectives.

The style for this book like many, it shows a pioneer striving to make a difference and changing the world. It shows what most soldiers do in their every day life. Also. it combines the humor and drama that we see or read about in most books.

With everything as it is, Stormbreaker is one of the best books I've read that has caught my interest. everything about it makes me want to read the rest of the Alex Rider series. In the end. I give this book a four-star rating and hope that everyone that likes that secret agent books as much as me will like this one as well.

"Varsity Blues"

2009-09-10T06:50:00.000-07:00

When the team has been grouped together in the locker for prayer, I can hear the crowd outside
cheering and jeering. That sensation brings excitement to me knowing that I'm a pioneer. The pride of wearing that orange and black brings the adrenaline on in me. Sadly it does not last forever.

When the season's over, the chill in the air rises on the back of my neck. I feel satisfied about the season, yet I want more out of it. From then on until August 1st I have to wait until that "sensation" comes back. I yearn it. Between the season before and the season to come, I work up to making that feeling come back and get me pumped up for everything ahead to come.