Inspirational Tuesday

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Prompt:Based on the 6 Tuesdays you have read about in Tuesdays with Morrie, choose which topic (The World, Feeling Sorry For Yourself, Regrets, Death, Family, or Emotions) that has had the most impact on you or inspired you. On your blog discuss the importance of this topic with your own opinions, including textual evidence (direct quotes) from the book. 

Throughout the book Tuesday's with Morrie one of the most inspirational "Tuesday's" so far has been the one about feeling sorry for yourself. This is one of the most inspirational Tuesday's so far mainly because throughout the chapter they talk about how it's natural to feel bad for yourself, it doesn't necessarily make you egotistical. I think that I tend to feel bad for myself mainly because it's only me and my mom. I know it's natural but sometimes I say wow I hate my life but do I really, yes/no. I think that sometimes we say these things just to help compensate for the things you lost but in the long run life moves on.

Another reason why this Tuesday has inspired me so much is because in the book it says "I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life." (P.57). This quote to me really inspires me because instead of always focusing on the negatives we should focus on the positives. There are so many negative things in life that we begin to focus on them only when there are so many things we should be happy about. 

One more reason why I think that this quote is really inspiring is because if you focus on negatives more you start to become a negative person. Once you hit that people wont really like you because no one likes negative vibes. I think that the more kind and positive you are the better and happier your life will be. However I think that it can be hard to be a positive person at times because sometimes life is hard but it is up to you to try and make it better.

Tuesday's with Morrie

What are your initial reactions to what you have read in Tuesdays with Morrie thus far? One of the main themes developing in Tuesdays with Morrie is not to take your life for granted. Based on this premise, what is on your Bucketlist? You can write a paragraph leading up to a bulleted list of what you would like to do/accomplish in your life.

In the book "Tuesday's with Morrie" the main character, Mitch, visits his old teacher Morrie who has ALS. Morrie throughout the book so far seems to be very calm and seems to not care that he has ALS. Morrie does it like to think of the negatives so in the book he is trying to make the best of the time that he has left. Morrie seems like a very happy guy which surprised me because if I had ALS I think I would be very sad because not only do I know that I'm going to die but I will be leaving people behind. In the novel Morrie has lost total control of his lower body so he is reliant on people to take care of
 him. Something that I really liked was how Morrie likes to teach his about life. In the book on page 31 Morrie says, "You can play all the lovely parts of life that I'm to old for now." To me thus quote really shows how Morrie likes to help others and how he likes to stay positive. 

Morrie in the books seems to not like to take things for granted because of his disease so he try's to make the best out of his life with the time that he has. Morrie was said to be a very happy person prior to him being diagnosed and he loved to dance. Something that really shocked me was how close his relationship is to Mitch. This really inspires me to one day hopefully have a really good friendship with someone. Another things that shocked me was how laid-back Morrie is. In the book when Morrie was being interviewed he swore and was completely honest which I really liked. I really liked this because Morrie wasn't acting fake or putting tons of makeup on as if he was trying to disguise himself.

Reading about Morrie trying to live his life to the fullest really inspired me to try and live mine to the fullest. The following things are goals I wish to accomplish in my life.

Education Goals:
Graduate High school in the top of my class
Graduate College with a bachelor's degree in Musical Theater
Get a masters degree for Musical Theater
Attend NYU

Life Goals:
Make it on Broadway
Become famous
WIN A TONY AWARD
Perform on the Gershwin theater stage
Live in a apartment near the city of New York
Have kids (2)
Get Married
Have an organized closest

FUN GOALS!
Become and organized person
Go to Coachella
Go to Lollapalooza
Go to see Halsey
Go to see Lana De lRey
Go to see Melanie Martinez
Go to see Marina And The Diamonds
^ I know I'm such a fangirl!

3rd Quarter Reflection

3rd Quarter Reflection

4/8/16

I think that one of the biggest improvements I have made this quarter is reading a lot more and being more proactive. I think that this is one of my biggest improvements because I have read four books this quarter versus last quarter two books. I think that this is very beneficial for the future because I have been understanding books more and looking for things such as theme. This will definitely benefit me in the future because I am getting a head start on future things that I will be doing in high school.

The books that I have read this quarter include, "Girls Drums and Dangerous Pie", "Oliver", "After Ever After" , and "The Green Glass Sea". The book "The Green Glass Sea" I read at the library in one day so I'm pretty proud to say I finished that book because it's a decent sized book.

Something that I have accomplished that I am proud of is reading 20 books this year. I am really proud of this because it's means I'm half way to accomplishing the 40 book challenge. I think that this goes to show that if you want to accomplish something you just have to put your mind to it. Throughout the process of reading 20 books I have started to find new writing techniques, and I have expanded my horizons because believe me if I could only read John Green books I would. However instead of doing this I found new books and started reading different genres and finding new authors that I really enjoy reading from.

The most challenging part of 3rd quarter for me would probably be time management. Time management was a huge problem for me because at times I would want to read for battle of the books however I had to go to practice etc. In the end I was able to read my books however I did this in a bit of a hurry. Sometimes I would say "Oh I will do this tomorrow and hold it off for a week. This was really bad because I held back my team a bit however I broke out of the habit because I realized I was only making it worse for myself because I'm building up stress the more I hold it off. My goal for next quarter is to be more persistent with my reading and to not procrastinate which is hard to do but with some dedication I think that I will be able to overcome this challenge.

Blog for week 3/10/16 After Ever After

Prompt: what you are reading is going to be made into a movie. Create the movie poster.

          On my photo one of the things I added in was a guy and a girl holding hands. The reason why I decided to add this was because of the crush that Jeffery has on a girl named Lindsey. Both of them so far in the book seem to be getting along quite well and so far she is one of the only nice people in the class. Jeffery seems to have a really huge crush on her and she seem s to be a bit interested as well. In the book it says, "'By the way' she said, 'there are two thing you really ought to know. First of all, classroom windows are very reflective. If you're not careful someone siting from you might be able to look at them and read your computer screen.' Oh, geez 'what's the other thing?' 'You're cute when you blush."(P.24). This quite shows how she not only likes teasing him but finds him cute and I find that really cute.

          Something else that I added in was a laboratory flask. The reason why I added this was because this was the class where Jeffery not only struggles in but also sits right by Lindsey his crush. In this class the teacher is very mean and expects a lot from Jeffery however Jeffery doesn't pick up material as quick as some of the other students. Above the photo I have the words perfection and the reason why I added this was to show how the Science teacher expected perfection.

           Another thing that I added was a pile of journals on the right side to represent how in Ms. Palmas's class he had to write journals. This is very interesting because his older brother had her as a teacher when Jeffery had Cancer. Jeffery's older brother would write in his journal on how he feels neglected and how his world was now flipped upside down. Just like his older brother, Jeffery has a tendency of derailing from the topic and venting about his life problems.

After Ever After Blog 2-6-16

Prompt: Why did you chose this to read? Give at least three reasons why.

          One of the reasons why I chose to read After Ever After was because of the author of the book who is Jordan Sonnenblick. Jordan Sonnenblick has wrote other books that I personally really like such as, Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie, and, Notes from The Midnight Driver. I really like his books because they are very realistic and tackle things that are relatable like trying to fit in and making huge mistakes. I think that we can all in someway relate to characters in his books because they are all realistic books and some of the things you might be going through or maybe you know someone going through the same things that the character is going through.

Spoiler...

          In the book Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie the main character Steven has to deal with his younger brother Jeffery and his whole life being changed. The reason why I am brining this up is because I didn't at first notice that After Ever After is the next book and that in this book Jeffery no longer has cancer and now he is trying to live a normal life. The similarities between both his older and younger brother are noticeable however they do differ a bit. The reason why I wanted to read this book was to find connections and see how his life ends up because the thought of having cancer is very sad and I want to see if he would get it back or not and if he would truly live happily ever after.

Everything is good...

          The final reason why I chose to read this book was because my cousin recommended it to me and gave me a speech on how it was very inspirational. My cousin told me how the book would help you learn to appreciate the things you have and to live day by day. I find myself to have a lot of anxiety at times due to the fact of trying to be perfect, and I would stress myself out on trying so hard that I would grow anxiety. This book helped teach me in a way that it's okay to just be you and don't try to be something that you aren't because then you would be missing out on yourself. In the end you are who you are and you shouldn't change for anyone or anything and no mater what happens you have to keep on moving forward.

Life is Beautiful

Prompt: Based on the holocaust literature and poetry we have read, what connections can be made between "Life is Beautiful" and our reading? What events, scenes, or situations are similar or different about the mood or tone of the pieces? Analyze how differences in points of view of characters create suspense or humor.

How is life shown as beautiful throughout the film. Pull at least two examples from different parts of film and explain your rationale.

*Four Paragraphs Minimum.

          In the movie "Life is Beautiful" and in the book Night the characters are sent to concentration camps and throughout everything both Elie and Giousué were able to get through it. Both of these people were cared for dearly by their parents. In the movie "Life is Beautiful" and in the book Night both Elie's father and Guido cared for their sun and were with them almost the whole entire time and sadly in both cases both of the fathers die and give up their life for their son's life. In both the movie and book the characters try to show hope and in the book Night Elie starts to lose faith however goes back to it. In the movie Guido tries to make not only his son but wife hopeful. The father tries to tell them that things will get better. When he plays the music and also tells his son that everything happening was a game he shows how he cares for them very much.

          A few things were different between the movie and the book. One of the things that was different was how right off the bat you knew that Night was much more serious and in the movie it was very funny. In the book Night one of the saddest things was how at the end Elie had no one but himself, he had lost his whole family and it was a very morbid book. In the movie "life is beautiful" its starts off showing how this man really loves this woman and it mentions in some areas on how Hitler is coming to power and they vandalized the horse calling it a jew horse however the beginning wasn't focused on that it was focusing on his love for this woman. The man himself is a very funny character and he does some outrageous things that make him seem funny however it isn't until the end where it gets serious because even then the man is still kind of funny. Another big difference was how in the book Night it really focused in on religion and how to keep it when in "life is Beautiful" it never truly focus's in on religion.

          The tone in Night was very melancholy and morbid because it focused a lot on losing faith and death etc however it seemed like a more honest version because he wasn't sugar coding anything he was giving us some honest information. The tone in "Life is Beautiful" is defiantly a lot more happy and hopeful and this was because he had a young son who was probably five so he told him how everything was a game and not to worry because I  doubt you would go up to your kid and say how were all going to die no matter what so your done because that is pretty harsh for a five year old to take in. However in Night his father never really said anything about were all going to die and he didn't sugarcoat anything he just let Elie find out himself.

          I think that one point of view that was really funny to watch was in the movie "life is beautiful" when the little kid was hitting himself in the head with a spoon because it shows how he was innocent and was bored and how he was just trying to entertain himself. This created humor because it shows how he didn't know right from wrong and how he was really bored. another point of view that was really funny was when  that main Character Guido was trying to impress the girl by walking around her with a pillow on a stick and he used this as an umbrella. This was funny because it shows how this guy is really awkward and funny and the girl was kind of like what is he doing. A point of view that I found very serious was when in Night Ellie Wisel would step out and say how he didn't know that this would be the last time that he ever saw Tizpora and his mother which was very sad because he is telling a story and goes into present time and talks about how he feels or what he didn't know.

          Life in the movie is shown as beautiful in multiple ways. One way that life is shown as beautiful is when we switch views and see the mother going through a pile of clothes that belonged to the people who were just gassed and when she is about to break down because she wonders if one of the clothes belonged to her son she hears over the loudspeaker her husband and son speaking and saying "buongiorno principessa". This gives the wife a ton of faith because now she knows that her husband is with their kid and that they are still both alive. Another way that life is shown as beautiful is when the husband (Guido) and the son are in a house serving food and luckily the son is sitting down eating with everyone else however they don't know that he is Jewish. What happens is when Guido is walking by a record player he notices a record and it is from the opera that he went to see and ironically his now wife was there and he played the song that they first heard when they looked into each-others eyes out of the window. Soon she heard it that night and she was reminded of the wonderful times she had with her husband and is reminded to not lose faith.


       

Night 2-24-16

Prompt: How do Elie's experiences during the Holocaust  change him as a person.

          The Holocaust changed Elie's life completely in many ways, one is when Elie and his religion. In the beginning of the book Elie is very religious and then in the middle of the book he starts to question if god's even real and begins to lose faith. At the end of the book Elie soon comes back to his religion for that is the only thing that he has.

          In the beginning of the book Elie Wiesel is very religious, in the book on page 3 (new edition) it says "By day I studied Talmud and by night I would run to the synagogues to weep over the destruction of the Temple.". Right away you cant tell that he is highly pious man. Later in the book we are introduced to Moshe who is also very religious and plays almost like a mentor for Elie. In the book on page five it says "And Moshie the Beadle, the poorest of the poor of Sighet, spoke to me for hours on end about the Kabbalah's revelations and its mysteries."to me this quote shows how Elie was very devout in his religion and was very passionate in his religion.

          Later on in the book Ellie starts to question god's existence and this really does change Elie's attitude. In the book on page 33 when Elie is marching he begins to hear people pray and he then says "For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why would I want to sanctify his name? The almighty the terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent." .A little bit later in the book on page 34 where it says "Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams into ashes. Never shall I forget those things, ever were I condemned to live as long as God himself. Never." This quote shows how Ellie himself and his Views on God is starting to change and  soon starts to lose himself.

          Towards the end to the book Elie starts to get back into religion because of what the Rabi's son has done. Near the end of the book the Rabi started to run quick intentionally to get aways from his father because he believe the he would only slow him down and so what Elie does is pray that he will never end up like the Rabi's son because he doesn't want to end up like him and abandon his father. In the book on page 91 he says "It was good that I had forgotten all that. And I was glad that Rabbi Eliahu continued to search for his beloved son. And in spite of myself, a prayer formed inside me, a prayer to this God in whom I no longer believed. 'Oh god, Master of the Universe, give me the strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahu's son had done". This quote shows me on how no matter what Elie still has that faith because he hopes to never do something that bad to his father because at that moment that the only person he has.

          After reading this book I have learned on how the Holocaust had a huge impact on not only Elie's life but other peoples lives. Elie has gone from worshiping to not liking god and his experience must have been very traumatic. Elie has lost his mother, seen babies burn, watch his father die, to many other things however he continuously kept on moving in life and that's honestly very inspirational. I feel like I myself take things for granted and this book has taught me to cherish the things that I have while I still have them because, you never know when they may be taken from you.