Book Review #1

     “For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.” This is a quote from the book "The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King" by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book inspired me with its courageous characters. 
     A theme of this book is that you should never give up, even when all things seem bleak. In the book, Legolas said "Oft hope is born when all is forlorn." What he meant by this is that a lot of the time people begin to be hopeful when things aren't going well. He said this to Gimli, and it made Gimli hopeful of the future. On page 232, the book says “And yet their wills did not yield, and they struggled on.” Frodo and Sam were at the last stage of their journey; to go to Mount Doom and destroy the one ring. By this point in the story, they were incredibly weary, and had no hope of returning home. But still they had hope that they would destroy the one ring, at least, and save Middle-earth. On page 195, when Sam is in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, feeling defeated because he still could not find Frodo, he sang 
“Above all shadows rides the Sun
and Stars for ever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
nor bid the Stars farewell.” 

These words suddenly came to him, and he felt new strength. This gave him hope. 
     The author makes me believe in the characters as people. I like the characters in the book. Liking the characters is one of the reasons I like the book so much. Liking them made me want to continue reading to see if they were going to make it to the end of the book, and it made me feel connected to them. Frodo, the ring-bearer, and Sam, his faithful companion, are determined hobbits. When Samwise asked Frodo if he could manage the rest of the journey, Frodo said "I can manage it. I must," and went on. As Frodo was sleeping, Sam thought to himself "So that was the job I felt I had to do when I started, to help Mr. Frodo to the last step and then die with him? Well, if that is the job then I must do it." Sam went with Frodo until the end of his journey. "...Sam struggled on as best he could, having no guidance but the will to climb as high as might be before his strength gave out and his will broke." Sam, always put Frodo ahead of himself. He knew that Frodo couldn't make it up Mount Doom himself, so  he carried him. Sam didn't care if they didn't survive the journey, as long as they accomplished what they set out to do: to destroy the ring of power.
     I recommend that you read this book, because it has a good message, an interesting plot, and it is written well.

     

Current Connection #2

     In a recent article by Reza Sayah titled "Curfew issued as death toll in Egyptian soccer riot rises to 38," Sayah informs readers of a curfew issued because of a  rise in the death toll of a soccer riot. 

     The article states "Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy imposed a 30-day curfew on the restive city of Port Said after dozens of people were killed in riots that followed death sentences for people involved in fatal clashes at a soccer match last year." Because of all this violence, the Egyptian President deemed it necessary to impose a curfew. If I were him, I probably would have done the same thing. Protecting the citizens from violent rioters is very important. 

     The article also states "By Sunday afternoon, the death toll in Port Said had climbed to 38 over the weekend, health officials said. More than 415 were injured." It's tragic that so many people died, and so many were hurt, but it could have been worse. The numbers could have been reversed; there could have been 38 injured and 415 killed. But violence like this should not be condoned. 

     Another thing the article states is "Egypt's general prosecutor charged 75 people with premeditated murder and attempted murder, while three Al-Masry officials and nine police officers were charged with 'assisting the murders.'" The things that people will do surprises me. I don't see how people can just murder others left and right without feeling guilty. There are some really bad people in the world. 

     As I was reading this article, I was reminded of my history class when we learned about the riots that happened because in Little Rock when they were trying to desegregate schools.

American Dream Essay

     Walt Disney tells us that "all our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." Everyone has dreams; some choose to pursue them and end up being happy, while others, for whatever reason, choose not to pursue them, and end up being unhappy. My American dream is to become a freelance photographer.
     Being a freelance photographer is my American dream because it would make me happy. I've always been creative when it came to visual arts; I always thought of neat ideas, but I could never put them in a tangible form. Until I picked up a camera, that is. I couldn't draw very well, I couldn't paint very well, I couldn't sculpt very well. What I could do was capture my ideas with a camera. From the moment I snapped my first photo, I was hooked. I love being able to capture moments in life and go back and relive them any time I want. It makes me happy.
     Hopefully, being a freelance photographer would mean getting paid well. When I get older, I want to have plenty of money. I want to be able to share my success with my family because family is everything. Instead of relying on others, I want to be able to support myself financially.
     I would be my own boss if I was a freelance photographer. If I was my own boss, I would be able to go on vacations for as long as I wanted, which would be nice. To be my own boss would be to set my own hours. Setting my own hours would be convenient because it would make my schedule very flexible.
     Dr. Martin Luther King once said "I have a dream." I am choosing to try and live my dream of becoming a freelance photographer; I don't want to spend my life wondering "what if?" I believe everyone should try and make their dreams come true. Will you?

CC#1: Guns, guards, and posses: Schools try new security strategy

     In a recent article by Jamie Gumbrecht, titled "Guns, guards, and posses: Schools try new security strategies," Gumbrecht explains to readers about some new ways that different schools are trying to protect their students.
     The article states "In Utah and Texas, some educators trained in shooting or self-defense." School shootings are tragic, and I think it's great that schools are finally trying to do something to prevent them. Educators training in shooting or self-defense seems to me like a great way for teachers to take a stand for their students.
     The article also states "Arizona's Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio put a 'posse' of armed volunteers around school perimeters." While I do believe that schools should do something to try and keep students safe, I'm not sure how I feel about just putting volunteers around school perimeters. Anyone could volunteer to do that, right? Anyone. To me this seems a bit too dangerous to be doing.
     This article also states "It's all in reaction to the December 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, where 20 children and six staffers were killed." I'm glad that schools are finally doing something, but it's sad that it had to happen after such a tragedy. If schools would have taken action before this, it could have been prevented.
     As I was reading this article, I was reminded of one of my classes in 9th grade when my teacher was telling the class about the Jonesboro shooting in 1998. There were two boys, Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden. One of them pulled the fire alarm so that everyone would go outside, and they started shooting at people as soon as they started filing out of the building, killing five people. I don't understand why anyone, especially kids, would so something so violent.