Giving

Many people say that giving is better than receiving.  I believe this is true.  Not only do you get a good feeling by doing so, but you are also doing the right thing by helping someone else that may be in need.  In Deuteronomy 15:10, it is written, “Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to." (Bible Gateway)  This statement points out that giving because one feel like he has to is wrong.  Any amount given should be with joy.  A person should be grateful for the things he is given and thus willingly give to others.  This does not mean, however, that one should have to give excessively.  Again, Deuteronomy states, "Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you." (Bible Gateway)  In other words, give according to what you have.  It would not be right for a poor man to give away all of his possessions to another; he would need means to support himself.  Giving is not limited to money or items.  Helping others by performing acts of service is also an example.  Anyone, whether rich or poor, can serve others.  This could be anything from moving a lawn to holding the door or helping an elderly person cross the street.  Time is a very important asset and it reveals a lot about one’s character if he is willing to put aside what he was planning on doing to help someone else.  In addition to being the right thing to do, giving items (or especially your time) can be rather fun.  One simply needs to find an area that he is gifted at and use that skill or passion to benefit the lives of others.  If someone loves to cook, then he could volunteer at the local food pantry.  A vocalist could visit nursing homes around Christmas time to sing carol.  There are countless possibilities, but each one is special and essential to improving society step by step.

 "Bible Gateway." Bible Gateway. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. 

Studying for Finals

I have a lot that I need to do to prepare for final exams this semester.  One thing I plan on doing is skimming through the chapters and notes for each class and take notes of information that I feel is important.  If I run into any topics which I could use some improvement, then I will quiz myself and review those subjects the most.  For the classes in which I have received a study guide, I will make flash cards for the information listed.  I think that flashcards are an effective method for studying because if I miss a question on a card, then I can put that card to the side and spend the most time reviewing the answers I am less confident about.  Most of the textbooks have chapter reviews, so that definitely seems like a good choice on how to prepare.   Another possibility is to invite a friend over to my house so that we could help each other study.  There are several ways in which friends can study together.   One way is to make flashcards and quiz each other.   Another option is to read through chapters together and afterwards discuss what the main ideas were.  A fun alternative is to review by playing a game.  I have a friend who created a game in the likeness of Sorry! to study for a math test.  In the game, the different positions and cards would have equations or other sorts of problems that would need to be solved in order to advance further into the game.  I was impressed by my friend’s creativity in creating that game, but since I am running short on time before finals begin this may not be the best option for me.  In all likelihood, I will probably resort to making flashcards, reading through the chapters again, looking through graded homework assignments, and looking at any study guides and notes.  With finals coming up next week, I will definitely be busy.

Journal 21

Quote from "Self-Reliance" by Emerson

"There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till."

In this passage, Emerson is saying that every person is unique and has his or her own gifts and talents to contribute to society.  That person has to work for himself to get where he needs to be in life.  Whatever is accomplished is a result of how much effort is applied to the work.  To Emerson, doing your own work and being yourself is of the utmost importance.  Say, for example, there is a girl named Alyssa who feels like she is a loser because she does not have the fanciest clothes and is not a great athlete.  Emerson would tell her that she should not be discouraged because everyone is different.  Not everyone has the same talents and will end up with the same occupation.  Alyssa should not be jealous of the other kids who that have nice clothes or are natural athletes because she has a special gift and purpose for her life that none of the others have.  It may be easy to want to be like others in order to “fit in” and be accepted, but by doing so it is much more difficult to develop skills that were actually meant for that person.  In another example, there are two friends.  One wants to become a lawyer and the other wants to become an accountant.  The two friends, however, wanted to work together so the friend that wanted to become a lawyer convinced the other to go to law school so they could start a firm together someday.  Law, however, is not what the other friend’s talent was in and she did not enjoy that occupation.  She would have been more successful and content if she had received a degree in accounting.  Apart from being unique, Emerson states that whatever profits a person will make have to come from that person’s own work.  While there are many people in the world who are willing to help others, each person must find a way to support himself.

Journal #20

Helen was a bright and lively girl growing up.  She had stone cold grey eyes and brunet hair.  She was the type of person who always had to be around other people.  When she was younger, she would get scared and start to cry if she was alone for an extended period of time.  As Helen became older, however, being by herself became less frightening, but it still made her feel really down.  Later, after she became an adult, she decided to adopt a young child.  She had always wanted to adopt a baby girl and doing so would give her company and fill her life with joy and energy.  The baby’s name was Elsie and she was only 5 months old at the time of adoption.  Elsie grew up fast and she and Helen and Elsie did not only have a mother-daughter relationship but they also became close friends.  As Helen soon discovered, like herself when she was younger, Elsie was terrified of being isolated from other people.  This was not usually an issue, though, because Helen was constantly with her.  Elsie also loved nature.  She would spend countless hours staring at the multitude of birds, the racing of a river, and most of all the forests of trees.  There were no trees on the property that she and Helen lived at, so she spent much of her time at the park admiring all of the tall and branched trees.  One day, Helen surprised Elsie by bring home a small tree which they would plant in the spacious backyard.  Elsie really enjoyed having that tree in the yard where she could see it from her bedroom window.  Every day, she would go outside and nurse the tree by giving it vitamin plant food and water.  If there were any weeds growing beside it she would pull those as well.  One spring afternoon, a terrible storm struck the town and the high winds uprooted the young tree.  Elsie was very sad but somewhat relieved when Helen said that they could plant a new tree in its place.  That’s what they did and eventually, the tree became huge and grew many branches.  Helen and Elsie spent much of their time together and were very grateful for one another.  Then, on a dark and dreadsome winter night, Helen was involved in a serious car accident after a car skidded on the slippery ice right into the front side of her car.  She was taken to the hospital for critical care and when it was apparent that she would not last much longer, she asked to see Elsie.  She told Elsie that she would have to go away for a long while but that she will see her again someday.  Elsie, who did not fully understand what was happening, told Helen that she was scared and begged her not to go and leave her behind.  Helen told Elsie that, like the tree that was devastated in the storm, her time has come to go but, like the strong new tree, Elsie is there to take her place.  “Do not be afraid”, she said.  “Someday I will get to see your bright smile again and I will always be with you in your heart.”

Patriotic Poem

On that cold and dark December night
All was silent that was in sight
Lo and behold there is Washington's men
Without decent food and clothing again
Freezing and starving was their condition
Many had died from lack of medicine and nutrition
Also a burden, their service would expire
Leaving the general with no longer an empire
But when it seemed that all would be lost
He would not give up whatever the cost
With thriftful silence which one cannot compare
The army finally crossed the Deleware
Paddling through the ice with each wooden oar
They finally reached the other shore
Where Hessians and British were unexpecting
Washington had succeeded at being undetecting
It was the morning of Christmas and all was sound
Drunk were much of the enemies all around
The Americans with their muskets opened fire
Bringing panic to alarm of a defense dire
Before to long the battle was won
The rebels had captured the enemy by the ton
Someday thanks to Washington's skilled hand
America may finally become a free land

Descriptive Writing #2

As I pondered the multitude of eyes beaming at me from the magnificent creature, I proceeded to present my research paper.  The bright lights were gleaming upon my anxious façade and every last person was staring into my soul and anticipating any mistakes I might make.  I took one last look around the crowded classroom.  Then I began.  “As president of the United States, Andrew Jackson had both his successes as well as his downfalls.  He was the one responsible for killing the federal bank and forcing the Native Americans across the far-off Mississippi River.  During his terms was the only time in United States history in which this broad and populous country has been completely debt free.”  I began to stutter over the simplest of words, my palms were sweating as if it were July when it was still only winter.  I continued on reading the rest of my long and dry paper to the uninterested class, some of whom had already fallen asleep before I finished reading the second paragraph.  Finally, it was over.  I looked up at the bored class and realized that they had all sprung back to life upon the end of my conclusion.  As I began to walk back towards my seat, everyone, and I mean everyone, began to throw rotten tomatoes, slimy banana peels, and other random objects at me.  One student even pulled out a paintball gun and shot me with the colors orange, green, and blue.  I shouted confusedly for them to stop, explaining that I was wearing a brand-new outfit that day and that my mom would hang me at dawn for getting it dirty.  This only seemed to increase the barbarous actions.  Everyone went crazy throwing whatever item they could find at me.  Even the teacher threw an apple with “F-x10^23”  written in black sharpie on the midline of the apple, which ended up smacking me right on the jaw.  I tried to run out of the battle zone, but I tripped on a moist and slippery banana peel.  Apparently, I was knocked out for about an hour before I awoke in front of the same obnoxious and outlandish class.  The cruel teacher began to give a lecture on the next chapter before I finally asked when everyone else would present their splendid papers.  It was then that it was explained to me that the attack which had knocked me unconscious was the entire class’s result from their research paper.  They descriptively explained how randomly pelting someone with objects is likely to scare and confuse him or her, or in my case, knock that person out for an extended period of time.  I spent the rest of the seemingly endless class period thinking of creative ways to convince my parents to let me be homeschooled.  

Descriptive Writing

As the light blue fuzz feathered through the warm current of air purring from the heating vent, I looked deep into the far-away distance and saw that my two cats, Rascal and Blackie, were in the middle of a very intense fight. I put down my history book and I sprung up out of my seat and darted with every last ounce of strength I had towards the scene of the brooding commotion.  Lo and behold, when I had arrived, the fight was over and both cats had gone their separate ways.  I, exhausted from my penetrating sprint, suddenly collapsed onto the cool green grass.  While unconscious, my tired mind went ramped visualizing the ferocious fight between audacious Rascal and the cunning Blackie.  My crazed mind imagined Blackie was dressed as Thomas Jefferson and Rascal was in the appearance of Alexander Hamilton.  They blindly charged at one another and commenced a fierce combat.  Rascal grabbed Blackie’s furry neck and screamed, “What this country needs is a strong central government”.  Blackie dauntlessly punched Rascal on his black wet nose and shouted back, “Never!  A strong central government would do much more damage than good for the deserving people of this the United States of America.  States rule!!” “Not on my nonexistent red watch.”  Rascal did a ten-fold cartwheel before spinning in the breezy air and undertaking a five-star on the unsuspecting Blackie.  “We need a national bank to be better able to pay off the immense debts which are owed from the Revolutionary War”, he said.  Blackie kicked Rascal and punched him in the gut while shouting, “You idiot!!  That would benefit the states that have not yet paid their due taxes and further burden the prudent states who already have!  Banks belong to the states!!”  They glared at one another heatedly.  “Strong military”, snarled Rascal.  “Small military” responded the nonnegotiable Blackie.  At that worrisome moment I was woken up by the gentle yet tingling sensation of the two cats licking my ice cold face to wake me from my comatose state.  Then I remember that I have yet another quiz in history in the following morning.  I had spent the entire night and day diligently reading and studying the endless chapter until my poor mind felt that it would explode into a thousand bit size pieces upon as much as glancing at another word.  I brought the two exhausted cats with me inside the warm and calming house and we all fell sound asleep.