COURAGE

The story that Norman tells to many people in "Speaking of Courage" is a very courageous story. I think that Norman was a very courageous man but not because of what happened in the story , I think that he has courage because he tells the story. Being in the Vietnam war was probably the hardest times in his life. He suffered and lost so much, he was probably pushed to his limits during this time bit physically and emotionally, he might have even done some things that he's not proud of, things that will never be spoken of. He endured all those hardships in Vietnam and came back home only to be mistreated, despised, and alone. Many people would have probably given up in he war.The pain, fear, stress alone would have killed them but Norman lived through it which took more courage than we can ever understand because we were not there and we are not him. I find norman to be one extraordinary person because not only did he live through it, he told people about it too. He told people about one of the hardest times in hs life and possibly one of the toughest moments if that time. Could you do that? Could you openly talk about how you weren't able to save a man that you had right in your had, could you talk about the time your best friend died? I know I couldn't. This reminds me of Lemon in the Dentist when he went back to go get his teeth pulled to show that he wasn't afraid. I think thats what Norman is doing whenever he tells this story, he facing the thing that almost killed him. I think that is the type of courage that O'Brien is conveying through out the book. The type of courage thats hard to do and may not seem courageous or acceptable, but you do it anyway because its what you think is the right thing.

Strawberry Jam

I love this person’s memoir. It is such a sweet story, maybe that why I like it so much, I've always been a sucker for a tears jerker. This person tells her story very well. I really felt like I was getting to know her and her family, for a few brief moments I was a part of it.  Her story was very believable and understandable especially the parts where she describes her grandmothers nagging. It’s also not hard for you to  relate to the feeling she had her grandmother, I mean after a while you get tired of somebody’s nagging and with her father obviously disliking and disrespecting her grandmother it’s easy for her to do the same. I like that she took us into such a personal matter without candy coating anything and without shame. She didn’t try to make herself seem like the victim or the bad guy; she was completely honest from what I could tell. She told us what was really happening and how she felt about her, she let us into her head even when her thought weren’t very kind or appealing. Anyone could tell us what happens but very few people tell us about how they feel about what happens

Tom Buchanan

Ugh I can’t believe Daisy is making me go to this party obliviously nothing important happens because if it did then I would have heard about it by now and come over here myself, invited of course. But at least by being here I get to get some info about this Gatsby character. How does he know my Daisy? The woman has too much freedom if you ask me but it doesn’t matter because I’d give all the freedom in the universe to keep a beauty like her.

            Here comes this Gatsby guy again always talking, always so mysterious, that’s something g I really admire about him.

Blah he’s rambling about all the Famous people here so I look around non challantly. There are a lot of actors, actresses ,and directors people that you only get to see in the movies but you always hope you’d run into them by chance in real life. I was absolutely amazed but I couldn’t let it show that would make me seem weak “We don’t go around much in fact I was thinking I don’t know a soul here. Gatsby showed us this beautiful player Blah Blah then he called me the polo player which I wasn’t so I said “oh no, not me” but for some reason throughout the whole night he kept calling me the polo player. I think he was trying to embarrass or or BELITTLE me. Just because he’s rich, handsome, and well spoken doesn’t mean he’s better than me. Doesn’t he know who I am; I am Thomas Buchanan I used to crush people like him back in my college days. I’m not small man I’m a big man I’m the best man, he’s the nobody, he’s the nothing , but me I’m control everything, that’s how it was in college and that’s how it’s going to stay.

The American Dream

The article I read said that one of the key points in the American Dream is the quest for money and I totally agreed. The American Dream has completely changed it used to be about family and financial security and some may argue that it still is, but it really isn’t. It used to be thought that anyone could obtain the American Dream through hard work and sacrifice but that certainly isn’t the case anymore. The article I read pointed out that to get the American Dream today many people you get rich quick schemes, television shows, the lottery, and lawsuits. People would rather have the American Dream given to them than to have to actually work for it. The American Dream today is has become a warped version of what it used to be. The American Dream used to be that through hard work and sacrifice you could have everything you needed the American Dream use to be modest now it’s just greedy. The new American idea of success is “whoever dies with the most toys wins” my article pointed this out to me and I completely agree this mentality is something that our society has thrived on ever since the deterioration of the American dream, slowly replacing it as time went by. The things that really matter like family, love and honor aren’t included in today’s American dream; unfortunately values aren’t valued at all. We can even see this in the Great Gatsby when Tom talks about the city of ashes, he call it a horrible place, but is it really? The city of ashes to poor yes but that doesn’t make it horrible. The people there are just as good as the people who live in the Eggs and probably love each other a whole lot more. The people in the Valley probably know that they will never be ever to live in the Eggs so they focus on the more important things people, each other. The burden of being rich is not theirs to bear because being rich isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The Valley people aren’t in a fog the people in the Eggs and they can see that money, houses, and cars aren’t everything. They figured out a long time ago that the more you get the more you want and that’s just how we are today. The American Dream is no matter what you have you can always get more, so get more by any means necessary

Chasing Rubies

Chasing Rubies & Left Alone

I really love both of these songs and i loves the artists who make them it took me a while to figure out which one I would do but in the end CHASING RUBIES won the battle. Chasing Rubies is such a good song. It's about a boy who has only known this girl for a short period of time but he likes her a lot and doesn't want to loose her. Unlike other songs with general it isn't cheesy or super generic, like all HarryandAlfie songs its really original. It doesn't have any auto-tune or that ripply thing that makes the person say the same thing over and over again. Its lyrics are really well thought out and understandable my favorite line might be the one where he's starting to wonder about the girl's felling and says "what if she doesn't like me, what I'm being naive"I mean really haven't we all thought this before. The only instrument they use in the song is a guitar which I really like a lot because 1. It looks cool 2. It sounds cool and 3. It gives the song a really genuine, homey feeling. Harry rarely sings solos in their song but he does have an amazing voice and if you really listen hard you can hear the uniqueness of it when he sings back up in Chasing Rubies. I love HarryandAlfie and I love this song, it might me a really good song or I could be blinded by the fact that they are IRISH and Alfie is super duper cute. You decide.

Winter's poem

I don't like you winter
You take away my long days and short shorts and leave me in the dark with heavy coats
You take away my popsicles and freedom and give me bitterness and a jail cell instead
Really winter and you wonder why I don't like you.
Do you want to know the worst thing about you winter?
I mean do you really want to know?
It's not that you slap with your harsh wind when ever I go outside, or that you freeze my bones with just one thought of you.
It's not even that you beat me with your iron fists everyday
It's that no matter how much I scream at you and tell you to leave  you come back EVERY YEAR like clockwork
And every year you outstay your welcome
But boy are you beautiful, what a body you have
Even though you're a dungeon you drop heaven almost everyday
Even though you're cold hearted I swear you can be the nicest thing ever
You let me skate on your glassy eyes
Play in your thick white hair and brush it any way I want it.
You wrap the most beautiful city in your arms and somehow make it magic.
You breathe your cold breath on it and fog it with sweetness
I don't like you Winter.
I love you :)