"Thank you Veterans"

Thank you veterans for giving us our freedom
You will forever be in my debt
To me, you are America’s greatest asset
Unlike some people, when they think of Veterans, they tend to forget

I apologize for your comrades that were given a horrible and tragic fate
In my heart, they are and should still be considered great
I can’t show how much I appreciate
If I were god in heaven, for you all of you I would open the gate

Thank you for our peace and for our freedom
Because of you, this world is rid of some of its evil
You showed our country that we can be strong
You showed that terrorism and fear in this country doesn't belong

You put yourself through great torture and sacrifice
Your great service to this country can never be put at a price
What you do in battle will be forever honorable
For whatever our enemies do to you out of spite will  forever be dishonored

What you do out there matters to some of us
The conversations I have in school on Veterans Day are important to discuss
It's hard to think that you can fight for people who may consider you someone random
But you know that it's not only you, but it's us you fight for

Thank you veterans for giving us the peace, freedom, and joy that most countries simply can't get from their veterans
You matter to the world and especially me

What's Going on With Morton

Have you ever seen a Morton lawn sign anywhere around Berwyn before? Only one sign has been seen which isn’t ordinarily seen here in Berwyn. On October 21 2016, two blocks down from Wisconsin Avenue, there was a lawn sign that read “Morton West Tennis” on some unknown families lawn. The reason they have the sign up is unknown. The sighting was very peculiar to see in this part of Berwyn. On the whole street and the street across were no signs that related to Morton West at all. Signs supporting Morton don’t usually come up in the neighborhood. Now all of a sudden someone puts up a lawn sign just now.

Lawn signs showing anything related to Morton weren’t and haven’t been seen customarily around this area of Berwyn for an unknown reason. Why wouldn’t there be signs that show other people where their kids go to school? Could this indicate not a lot of teenagers attend Morton in the Wisconsin avenue area? What could the reason be for them not wanting or being able to attend a school so convenient for them? Hopefully, there can be some answers to these questions.

First Quarter Refelction Blogs

My blogs have been progressing quite well since August and 7th grade. Last year I did write a lot in my blogs, but I mainly kept them to their minimum which was three paragraphs. Now I've really been starting to write a lot more then I usually did last year. Instead of three paragraphs per blog, they have been increasing it's size into four paragraphs per blog. Right at the start of the year I kept saying to myself I can do better and that my previous work can be much better. Me trying to perservere really showed when my blogs started looking a whole lot nicer compared to a blog I wrote last year.

A strategy I have learned in this class has and always will benefit me is the TIQA format. It has always been a great organization stradegy to use when writing some of my paragraphs for my work. It keeps things in good cronilogical order and smoothly introduces quotes well without making things awkward. It especially helps me when I am doing an objective summary or trying to answer in essay question that is in need of a quote. This will salads be a skill I am going to use not only in this class, but in high school as well. Organization is key when starting high school and if I can learn early how too organize sentences in parghraphs, I'll do fine next year.

I have been doing well in my 10 book challenge. Last year I really wasn't looking to read 40 books during the whole year. I didn't have the stamina or the motivation to try and attempt to do that. For some reason, things have changed this year, I don't feel this same way as I did with reading anymore. I'm now starting to like books and have been reading them faster. I have read so far Lincoln's Grave Robbers, The Walking Dead Road to Woodbury, The Giver, Never Fall Down, The Nazi Hunters. I'm now in the middle of new book I just signed out and hope I can read more then 10 books this year. 

Some things Iearned about the world is that anything can happen other then negative stuff. In news today, it's really focused on finding the bad in the world and trying to highlight the trade gives a lot when there are other good things happening in the world today. For instance, for our second AoW we annotated an article about a 64 year old women who successfully efully swam all the way from Cuba to Florida. That shows that some people in the world aren't trying to do bad things and that they can do good things. Like accomplishing a goal like that sounds amazing and shows that hard work pays off when trying to reach a goal. Also for our first AoW we learned about how there was a new gene found to cure a diasese. That doesn't associate with anything bad, that is good information. Information like that should be told in news more often then what goes bad in the world.

Book Vs Movie

A scene from the movie that was way different from the book was the part in both the movie and book where we see how Jonas is feeling after expirincing the memory of war. In the movie, Jonas like the book experienced the memory of war. He was scared after living through seeing someone who he doesn't even kniwnkilled right in front of him. In the movie, Jonas walks through the courtyard where the kids are playing. What was different was that the kids weren't playing any war game at all. Also Asher wasn't a director or anything like that, he's a pilot in the movie.

Compared to what happened in the movie, what happens was very different from the movie. According to the book, "Then they were all silent, standing awkwardly, and the only sound was The of Jonas's shuddering breaths. He was struggling not to cry" (134). Jonas reacted very differently compared to the movie. I should also mention on this same page, Jonas abruptly tells Asher to stop playing the game and they get in an argument. They are probobly different because that would be a long scene in the movie. The bad thing about the movie is that it leaves important events and details the book thankfully provides for the reader. Maybe that scene would extend the time of the movie and effect the scene for the rest of the movie.

A thing I noticed in the movie was the age of the actor that played Jonas (Brenton Thwaities). He does not look like how I portrayed him in my head as I was reading the book. The reason why I believe the director chose an older actor was to try to bring the book to life as well as possible. In the book it states, "When I was eleven," his father said now, "as you are Jonas..." (13). The book specifically states Jonas is an eleven before the ceremony and doesn't show him aging rapidly in the Giver. The time span of the plot was not very long a sit was in the movie. Back to what I was saying, I think bringing in an older actor would connect more with the person watching the film. It wouldn't be realistic having a 12 year old boy and 12 year old Asher and Fiona would backfire on trying to liven the book to a movie.

To be honest, I would have to say the book impacted my understanding of the whole story for me. The reason I mainly choose movies over books is that it brings what you imagine while you read a book to life. You can finally see what the charters look like and listen instead of read dialogue between characters. I also rarely ever like when movies bring new ideas to the table and try to use them to maybe further the plot. The Giver kind of satisfied me, but not fully. In the end, I would prefer watching the movie rather then reading the book.

Giver Theme Blog

Jonas is a dynamic character, because he developed and changed in the end. According to The Giver, “Though he had been reassured by the talk with his parents, he hadn't the slightest idea what Assignment the Elders would be selecting for his future, or how he might feel about it when the day came” (19). Jonas at first had no thought and consideration for other people. He was a bit selfish in the beginning because all he cared about was what job he was going to get by the Elders and nothing more. There weren't any times where he cared for any other person but himself.

On the other hand, once Jonas was given these memories for a whole year, he started to development and change because of these memories. He started to become selfless and care for other people. According to The Giver, “He wept because he was afraid now that he could not save Gabriel. He no longer cared for himself” (174). This shows he changed from being selfish to selfless. In this moment, he cares and is concerned for Gabriel's well being. All he wants is to keep him alive and nothing more, his number one priority is Gabriel.

One of the themes of The Giver was the importance of memories. The importance of memories relates a lot on how the characters develop. According to the book, “Although he had through the memories learned about the pain of loss and loneliness, now he gained, too, an understanding of solitude and its joy” (122). This proves that he learned from all these memories he has lived through. That not all memories are happy and joyful, some are painful and nerve wrecking. He came to the realization that pain is a terrible feeling compared to joy and that developed his character.

This same theme ties into the setting as well as the characters. According to the book, “it’s true it has been this way for what seems forever. But the memories tell us that it has not always been” (154). This tells us that this “utopia” isn't what it seems. It doesn't give people the freedom and will our society gives us. It keeps people in the dark and affects the setting because what the “government” does to its citizens forms them into robots basically. They have nothing that makes a person an actual person. They have been forced to live the same lives as the rest of the population and has been this same cycle for what I think to be as long as this community has lasted.

This same theme also ties into the plot of the book. According to the book, “The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared” (154). This was the mean struggle the book had Jonas face. To stand up to this so called “government” and keep their fire end in the light instead of the dark. They have no right to keep the memories of the past to only selected people because you need to right the wrongs of the past to fix the future. To end the conflict, Jonas left hoping these memories can be released to the public.