Glimmering Hope

What would it be like to be on the road, hopeless, enraging… I would like to think that maybe just maybe on the road there is always a glimmer of hope, way off in the distance but still there. Why do the man and the boy keep going, keep walking? There has to be something driving them to continue despite no salvation in site. Maybe just maybe they think there is still a chance, something the man’s wife could not see, that glimmer of hope. I wish that at the end of the book the man could have seen his son saved before he died, then he would have been able to die peacefully knowing that what he had worked so hard to do had finally happened. It’s hard to think what I would be like on the road. Would I be able to see that hope or would I just give up? I wouldn’t know until I was on it. Maybe when at times nearly all their hope was lost they used each other to help keep on going, maybe a companion is what is needed to keep striving toward an uncertain goal. Whatever the reason is I liked the Road because the man and the boy never give up, they keep going with no foreseeable end in sight.

If people knew the story of their life how many would elect to live them?

I think that many would not and many would it all depends on that persons story and what that person is like. A courageous person with a horrible story might still decide to live and experience it while a person faint of heart might choose not to. If the life looks good many people will decide to live it out. One example of a life that a person would choose not to live is in the book when the man and the boy find the charred newborn on a stake over a fire. It’s only a guess but I don’t think I would have ever wanted to live if I were that newborn. Most lives today are lives worth living. In fact when you think about it most lives are worth living. It’s your one shot, no one knows what happens after death many people believe certain things but no one has ever come back from the dead to tell us what actually happens. Life might be your only chance to think, dance, play, smile, or well, live. The boy and the man in the book understand this somewhat and strive to survive when they could just as easily give up and die. They are a prime desire of humanity’s desire to live. I think that many people would choose to live, I would.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

If I were the last person on earth I believe I could go about surviving for some time at least as long as the world wasn’t completely destroyed and barren. I have a game plan. I would start by scavenging in old restaurants, buildings, and stores. As long as I found food and water in one of these places I would be able to survive for a little while. Another thing that would postpone judgment day is shelter. Although I would need to keep moving because of supplies some kind of shelter would keep me alive. After solving all of my basic needs (food, shelter) I think that the biggest problem would be loneliness. Loneliness would be a big problem because I believe with no one to convey my feelings to I would over time go crazy. To solve this conundrum I would look for other survivors as well as look for an animal of some sort to be my companion. One movie that inspired me greatly on what to do if I was the last person to my knowledge on earth is "I Am Legend". It is a story of a man in an after epidemic hit New York trying to make a vaccine for the disease. He solves the problem of loneliness by befriending a dog. These reasons are why I think that my game plan would allow me to survive after doomsday.

The Odyssey teaches us many life lessons.

The Odyssey is a book chalk full of important life lessons. These life lessons can be used in many instances throughout your life. One such life lesson is that if you work really hard in the end you will succeed. This lesson is shown in the Odyssey in many ways. One way this lesson is shown in the Odyssey is that Odysseus tries for many years to attain Ithaca. He goes through many tests and trials such as Scylla, the cattle of the sun god, Troy, Circe’s island and many others. He even has to go through much when he does attain Ithaca. He has to battle the suitors to earn his rightful position as king. Another example is the story of Odysseus’s dog and how it waits for him for 20 long years. After waiting this long period to see his master he finally achieves his goal. These examples show why this lesson of striving hard and in the end you will attain what you were striving for can be applied in many different areas. This lesson can be applied in school activities for grades, in sports to achieve your goals, even in a relationship to get it to a spot that you want it at.

Odysseus and the decisions that he has to make and why he is a good decision maker and why I think they are the right decision.

I personally believe that Odysseus is a very adept decision maker in all things that have to do with decisions. One decision that Odysseus has to make is when they are passing the island of the sirens he has to decide what to do. He, upon Circe’s council, decided to stop all of his shipmate’s ears with wax so they would not be able to hear the sirens enticing song. He himself decides to listen to the song. He orders his men to tie him as tight as they can around the main mast so that even if he hears he cannot leave and try to go to their island. Another important decision that Odysseus needs to make is which monster to face, Scylla or Charybdis, when he is passing through a straight. He decides upon Scylla and not to tell his shipmates because if he does he feels each crewmember will try to save himself and hide. He goes past Scylla and sure enough she eats 6 men. After I read this I felt that he had made a good decision because if had gone on Charybdis’ side they would have all died and if he had told his men they would have hid. These are 2 examples of why I think Odysseus is a great decision maker and a steadfast leader.

Odysseus and the decisions/trials he faces

Scrubs

Scrubs is a modern show on doctors. It is kind of like the show just funnier and sometimes sadder. I think Scrubs is a great show because it teaches us great life lessons as well as making us laugh and cry as we follow the life of John Dorian, nicknamed J.D., as he works at Sacred Heart. Sacred Heart is a hospital with a sadistic, evil head of medicine, a fatherly, occasionally mean, alcoholic mentor, a suicidal lawyer, and friends to help you cope with it. One of the great life lessons that Scrubs teaches you is how to pluck up your courage and take the first step. Another life lesson that Scrubs teaches you is how to be compassionate to those around you. As Scrubs is a show that takes place in a hospital the show has lots of death. This element of death is tried usually to be shrugged off with humor but they frequently have scenes of intense feeling for the characters, especially when it is someone close who has died. One one character experiences death the other characters step up and try to help him through it. I believe that Scrubs is a great show because it teaches you life lessons, 2 of which I have shown you but there are more.

Hero

I believe that heroes are people we feel are role models and standard setters, people that exemplify the values that you believe in. These “heroes” are almost perfect in the eyes of their believers. I think that a clear modern day example of people worshipping heroes is this present presidential election. In this election people are supporting the candidate, be it Obama or McCain, that most closely represent their values and beliefs. For many of these supporters these candidates are heroes for them. I personally don’t think that the fictional characters that have special powers should be called heroes, something else should be used because the only reason they are heroes are their powers. Heroes should be called heroes if they distinguish themselves as being so without the use of super powers. Throughout my life I have had many heroes. They range from people I know to people I don’t. They have been my parents, friends, my parents’ friends, teachers, musicians, people I have seen on TV and so on. These heroes might only be in my life for a short time but they have a profound impact nonetheless. I think everyone should have a hero whether it is your dad, mom, or a candidate running for president.

Books are teachers

Everything I need to know I learned from books. Books are my favorite teachers because they teach you what you want to know and help you understand it. When you pick up a book you can read and learn at your own pace. Knowledge from these inanimate teachers range throughout every possible educational topic, off the top of my head I can come up with thousands like every language, the dinosaurs, the atomic theory, great stories, and so on. From books I have learned much. Not only have I learned many practical things like science, math, and French, but also stories that impact me in different ways. These stories can change my outlook on life, change the way I feel about certain things, or just make me laugh. I’ve read a variety of stories ranging from action to mystery, from Looking for Alaska to Eragon. Although I feel I read more than the average person I think the average person can pick up a book and learn what that book has inside it. Books should be used as guides and teachers as well as things to read a funny or moving story. This is why everything I learned I learned from books.

Movie

One of my favorite hobbies is watching movies. I don’t know what it is about them I just love watching them. Since around 8th grade I really started liking movies in general but a few stuck out as being so good I could watch them over and over. One such movie is Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The first time I saw this movie I wasn’t really paying attention enough to recognize how great of a movie it was. The second time I saw it, I was enraptured. I just loved the way each and every actor played their character. They really pulled off perfectly what each one was supposed to be like. They even got the high school teacher right. My favorite character in the movie is obviously Ferris, the meticulous and clever planner of skipping school. My favorite scene in the entire movie is the parade scene when Ferris rides atop a float singing. I just found it to be hilarious especially when his dad above him in the office building is taping his foot and humming along with his skipping school son just below him. Although Ferris is a great character I feel there are two others that deserve mentioning, Ferris’ friend Cameron and the principal Rooney. I liked the way Cameron was so melancholy and Rooney so malicious. These are the reasons why Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is my favorite movie.

Reading and books in general

I like reading. I’ve grown up without any kind of game system and with TV allowed only occasionally. I had to find something to spend time doing and tumbled into reading. Reading provided an answer to boredom. I just loved being able to see the story at my own pace. I also liked the fact that I could imagine all the characters as I wished. Another thing I like about books is the fact that you can tell how close you are to the end and how much you’ve got left. One of the things that helped me get really interested in reading was that I stay up really late every night and I started to need something to do. Over the years I’ve gathered books on top of my bookshelves. Some of the books I’ve read more than once. Over the years I’ve amassed a mental list of my favorite books. These include Looking for Alaska, the Eragon series, the Artemis Fowl series, The Supernaturalist , the Harry Potter series, the Alex Rider series, ½ of Into Thin Air which I have yet to finish, and much, much more. Reading has been a way for me to escape this world and enter others as I please be it Hogwarts, or Middle Earth. This is why I love to read.

I could be a great inanimate object

I think their are several inanimate objects that I could be but one stands out from the rest, a vine. Im not sure if you can call a vine inatimate because I believe it moves and goes about life just at an extroardinarily slow pace, although compared to most plants its moving at the speed of light. One of the qualities that vines have is that they will accomplish a goal if slowly. A couple of years ago I saw a house that had been eaten away by vines. It might have taken the vine untold years to take this house apart but it did it in the end. The vine slowly split through the solid walls and tore at the foundations until it collapsed. This house to me signified a goal with large and difficult challenges. It took on these challenges with ditermination and accomplished the goal. I belive, but others might disagree - my mom, that if I put my mind to it these are the qualities I have when trying to accomplish a goal. Another point is that in the past when vines have grown in my backyard me and my dad have tried to exterminate them but to no avail. They just come back time after time. This quality to not give up and to keep coming back is another quality I would like to say I have when trying to accompkish a goal. These are the reasons that I think I would make a great vine.

Challenge

In my life I would like to overcome some physical and mental challenges. One of these challenges that I would like to overcome would be self imposed. I would like to go off into the Rocky Mountains and live off the land for three weeks with only the bare minimum. That "bare minimum" would consist of a knife, a backpack, a lighter, clothes, raingear, maps, and books on what is ok to eat. I go about overcoming this challenge by first erecting a shelter than searching for food and such. Every day I would collect wood for a fire, food, and improve on my shelter. The food I expect I would be gathering is berries, fish and if I could catch any squirrels or even rabbits. I would cook my food over the fire on perhaps a flat rock. My shelter would most likely be a cave or a lean too of sticks. This challenge although hard would I think is easier for me than for some because I have gone many times just not to this extent. This experience consists of a variety of backpacking and canoe trips with my parents or with a camp. I know that this challenge is a difficult one but I am determined to overcome it.

A journey I intend to take

A physical journey I intend to take will go all over the world and will take about a year. The first place I will go is to Brazil and hang out there for a while. After that I will head to Europe and spend a month in Venice Italy, France, and Germany. Later I will go to Japan and spend three months there than another three months in Australia. I want to go to Africa sometime for about a month and than finish it all up with a stay in the Bahamas, heck I might just settle down and live there, why not. While I am on this trip I will be taking a spiritual journey too as I am going to probably encounter several different religions.

blog expectations

My name is Charlie Andre. This is my super cool blog, which I will personalize and make my own (but not post pics of myself on or use my last name on). I will always use appropriate language on my school blog and follow conventions of the English language.
The expectation for this assignment is that I post on my blog once a week for the remainder of the school year. I am expected to comment on texts that I am viewing in the world around me. These might include, but are not limited to: books, magazines, movies, internet articles, television shows, trips to the museums, ect.
Each post should be at least 200 words. Each weekly post is due by 8 am Wednesday. Therefore, Q1 due dates are 9/17, 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, and 10/29. That makes a total of 7 posts this first quarter. I understand that blogs are worth 100 points per quarter and are graded holistically (That means there will be no specific grading rubric). I also understand that blogging is a significant component of my quarter grade. By the way, what I have just typed is only 196 words! Now it is 200!