Bucket List

Jenna's Bucket List :)

1. Go to Kansas with at least one other person besides me, then leave and say, "We're not in Kansas anymore!"
2. Ride an elephant
3. Bungee jump off a bridge
4. Zipline through Brazil
5. Get called to court for jury duty
6. Grow above 5'4"
7. Go on a cruise to Hawaii
8. Pet a dolphin
9. Move back to North Carolina
10. Be some type of teacher at some time
11. Take a hot air balloon ride
12. Fly in a helicopter
13. Go to the moon
14. Own a guinea pig
15. Visit California
16. Go scuba diving with sharks
17. Start a contemporary ensemble at my church
18. Meet Michelle Obama
19. Help with Cardio Kool Kids as an adult
20. Become some type of lawyer at some time
21. Go skydiving
22. Go hangliding
23. Own a farm
24. Go to Antartica
25. Be an elf at the mall
26. Drive a race car
27. Own a cow
28. Ride a horse in the Tennessee mountains again
29. Go bridge jumping
30. Waterskii
31. Help my mom meet Kenny Ortega
32. Eat at Zinos again
33. Go to a commedy show
34. Pet a lion
35. Go to Africa on a mission trip
36. Learn how to surf
37. Write a book
38. Write a script
39. Fly a plane
40. Invent something
41. Pass all of my classes on the first try every year in college
42. Take APUSH my junior year
43. Read the entire Bible before I graduate
44. Visit New Jersey and eat cake from the Cake Boss people
45. Crack open a coconut
46. Get fired from a cannon
47. Meet someone named Sasquatch
48. Become fluent in Spanish
49. Eat baked Alaska
50. Go inside the White House
51. Go on a safari in Africa
52. Go indoor skydiving
53. Learn how to play the piano at a higher level than I am at now
54. Get an A in all of my classes this semester
55. Be in marching band sophmore year
56. Play soccer at least one season per year until I graduate high school
57. Have kids
58. Go parasailing
59. Participate in a triathalon
60. Work as a chef at a restraunt before I graduate high school
61. Get at least a 3.8 GPA in high school
62. Become a better public speaker
63. Do something with singing
64. Run VBS at RFBC as an adult
65. Work with preschoolers as a side/volunteer job as an adult
66. Build a more stable bridge between my house and Grace's
67. Go to Spain and have a conversation in Spanish with a random person
68. Eat a Belguim waffle
69. Meet someone with the same birthday and name as me
70. Donate 1/3 of my life savings to some charity...preferably Red Bowl
71. Go to Italy
72. Ride a cammel through the Sahara desert
73. Make a fire from scratch
74. Have a garden
75. Build a legit sandcastle
76. Find a 4 leaf clover
77. Eat something made by a famous chef
78. Set foot in every continent
79. Meet the shortest person on Earth
80. Take a picture with the shortest person on Earth
81. Be on a T.V. show for at least one episode
82. Pick an apple from a tree and then eat it
83. Start a garden
84. Grow homegrown tomatoes
85. Meet Donald Trump
86. Write, create, edit, and produce a comercial
87. Solve a crime mystery
88. Own my own buisness
89. Learn how to do a split
90. Get an A in all of my AP classes in highschool
91. Give a speech at my church graduation
92. Perform a solo with my friend Sarah at church
93. Be in another play
94. Leave a legacy bigger than me
95. Be on Family Feud
96. Host a game show
97. Visit the Middle East
98. Do some type of mission work for like a year or two
99. Start a charity
100. Bake a cake completely from scratch

Friends are...

     Friends are essential in a person's life. Friends are the people who understand you and what you are going through because they are going through very similar experiences. Parents are there for you, they want to help, they love you no matter what, but they can't relate to you in the same way that your friends can. Friends can really help each other alleviate school, family, job, or any other stress. Friends are tough though. It is hard to find a really good friend. It's even harder to keep that person as your "really good friend" especially as you grow older and develop new interests and groups. I've lived in three states, so I know a lot about making friends. I have a pretty good idea as to what to look for in a friend. In North Carolina, I was pretty much everyone's friend. I lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone. It was annoying at times, but usually it was a lot of fun. There were many personalities in Lumberton. You had to get along with everyone and still be your own person and stick up for what you thought was right. By the first grade almost everyone had at least one enemy and one best friend. Strangely enough, the friendships would grow apart long before the enemies forgave each other... IF they forgave each other. It was kind of hard for me there because my family was very well known in the town, so everyone wanted to be my friend. That sounds like a good thing and it was, but it was hard for me to know who my true friends were. In kindergarten, I got into a fight with this girl....a fist fight (those weren't as uncommon in Lumberton as they are here). Well, from my end of it, it wasn't much of a fight because I didn't punch her back. My friend Jordan, with alacrity, stepped infront of me about 30 seconds into the fight. She continued the fight with the other girl for about 3 minutes (which is actually really short for a fight in elementary school in Lumberton) until the teacher came and gave us her edict to stop. That day I realized that Jordan was actually my friend, and she wasn't just hanging around me because I was "popular". Unlike the 10-15 kids who lolled around appalled at the fight take place, Jordan knew that I would never hit the other girl back, and so she risked both getting in trouble and getting beaten up to try to stop the other girl. The droll thing is, we had become friends just a few days before that incident. Before that, we were very dissonant. Our personalities at first seemed to be antitheses, so we were usually pretty bellicose. She helped me realize that your friends aren't just the people who you play with on the playground, invite to your parties, work on group projects with, or go see movies with on the weekends, but the people who you can count on. They are there for you when no one else is. However, you don't just get those friends. You have to be the friend you want to have. I never stepped infront of Jordan in a fight because I didn't have to, but I did hold her or someone else back from one. A friendship is two sided. You get what you dish out. You can't disparage your friends and then get mad when they do it to you. It's hard to elucidate what friends are because who your friends are really depends on who you are. In my opinion, true friends are magnanimous. They laud your accomplishments, but they don't ditch or rescind on you in your nondescript moments. Whether they are loquacious, phlegmatic, or vivacious, their personality is a good match for yours and they whet you, rather than put you down. They do not make anything mandatory because in friendships, respect is key. Friends are...essential. Friends are fun to be around. True friends are dependable.

Song: Lean on Me by: Bill Withers

Family is...

     I live in a house with my mom, dad, and brother. I have grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that I am related to by blood. I also have grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that I am not related to by blood. These are all my "patent" family if you will. No one and nothing can make them not be my family because we are related. But they aren't the only people that make up my family. I'm not sure what the technical definition of family is because honestly, I don't really care. My family is made up of the people that i can be myself around, I feel close to, and those people that know me so well that sometimes they know me better than I know myself. There are times where I have antipathy towards them, and they have it twords me, but we always end up getting along in the end, and we even tend to be closer after moments of militating each other. Like all of these blog topics, family is different for everyone which, I'm guessing is why these are the topics Mr. Neumann wants us to write about. For some, the people they live with are not family to them. I am lucky to have a good family that supports each other and for the most part gets along really well. However, I know that some families are not like that, which is why I would say that family is not limited to the people who you share a home and common blood line with. Now, I will tell an applicable story. I work with elementary school kids every Wednesday after school. I help my mom teach a dance and fitness class called Cardio Kool Kids. There are two classes, one of primarily kindergarten through 3rd graders and the other of primarily 3rd and 4th graders. In the class of 3rd and 4th graders, everyone has taken Cardio Kool Kids for at least 2 years. They all know each other really well, so that class has a family like atmosphere to it. Each person in there is an asset to the group, but not everyone gets along. Some are exuberant, funny, stentorian people. Some are very sedated. Others always seem implacable. One day, I was talking with one of the implacable 3rd grade girls. I wanted to understand why she was still singing up for the class if she really didn't like it. As we were talking, I realized her attitude in the class actually had nothing to do with the class. She is constantly besetted at school by a group of girls (one who is also in our class). She also had lots of trouble at home. She has way more prowess than I do because I don't think I could handle what she's going through. The people who are supposed to support her and help her actually make her life harder. She didn't tell me all of this looking for compassion or trying to stipulate getting out of participating in class that day, she told me because she needed someone to be there for her. She also didn't make the conversation into some type of duress. The conversation was difficult to imbibe, but at the end of it I told her that I would make sure no one bullied her in the 3 hours that I was at Tritt during the week. However, as an ultimatum, she had to make sure she didn't let them push her around the rest of the week and she had to have decorum towards them. This past Wednesday was our last class at Tritt for this year. During the 8 weeks after that conversation, the girl and I have become very close. Her innocuous, yet negative comments stopped, and I think she realized that she isn't infinitesimal. See, in those eight weeks, I got to know her better than I know some of my cousins and she told me things she hasn't been able to tell her dad. She is now like a part of our family. My definition of family isn't a facsimile of a family tree. It's the people who care about you and who you care about. Family is... different for everyone. Family is... the most important group a person will ever be a part of.

Song: We are Family by: Sister Sledge

Life is...

     So, my last post for this class was "Death is..." Now this one is Life is... Because life and death aren't exactly tangible things, so it's hard to write two 600 word papers about them. When I talked about death, my paper was very positive, so since death is the opposite of life this one should be negative right? WRONG! In my last blog, I stated that death isn't the opposite of life, it's the abscence of it. So, what is life? Life is the most complicated thing, in my opinion, that we will ever go through. It's easy to die, but living takes strength and courage. I'm not trying to abjure the importance of life, it's just that life is difficult to comprehend. We didn't exist, then one day we did and from then on we would exist kind of forever. Our lives can completely change the world. Life is rough, exciting, difficult, and august. Life is a conflagration. It is full of compunction. It is also elated. Considering most of these are antonyms, I realize I probably sond like I am contradicting myself, but honestly, life is complicated. It is nothing but everything at the same time. I could ruminate about life all day, but I would never be able to come up with a trenchant meaning. Life is taken for granted. A lot. But it shouldn't be. Our parents knew, roughly, when we will be born. A cancer patient knows when they have "two weeks to live", but no one actually knows when they will die. When my grandmother got cancer, her doctors told her she had about three months to live. After two months, she started getting better. She went from being quiescent, to being more lively. She was able to walk around and go to church. She believed that you had to do what you wanted to do when you wanted to do it because no one was promised a tomorrow. She was a strong Christian. When she started to get better, she went to church, and she loved to sing and play the piano. We had a Christmas at her house where my cousin, brother, and I put on a very short Christmas play composed mostly of singing, since it was her favorite. It was the most lively she had been since all of the treatment. Who would have thought that just months later she would die? One of the last places she went in her life was to my church. Against doctors orders, she went to my church to see me get baptised. Weeks later, she died. Some could say that if she had not gone all the way from Elizabeth City, North Carolina to Lumberton, North Carolina she might have lived longer. However, I know that, while the drive was hard on her, and she might not have been so worn out if she didn't come, she would have felt like she missed out on something in her life. Her doctors orders were irrelevant at that point because my baptism was indelible for her, and it was something that no one, not even the doctors would take away from her. She would have rather lived just a few more days and been at my baptism than lived another few months, callous from not being able to be there. I think my grandmother understood the clandestine that is life. Life isn't about quantity. It's not about how long or short you live. Life is about what you do with it. Living a long, acrid, tacit life for me, would not be as good as living a short, but exciting and memorable life. Some might find it a platitude to say life is what you make it, but I think that is a perfect quote. I can and have been typing this paper for a few hours on what "Life is", but I will never be able to tell you what YOUR life is. Some lead an indulgent life. We like to refer to them as the "followers". Some constantly quell others or themselves. Some are depressed and nocturnal. Some are active and jubilant. Some live inveterate lives, while others live short lives and die meaningful deaths. Life is the most complicated thing we will ever go through. it has great power and great importance. Life is different for everyone, yet in some ways it's the same. Some live lives that are too short. Others live lives that are too long. If you do it right though, your time will be just right.

Song: It's my life by: Bon Jovi

The Discovery of a Sleeping Traveler

    September 21, 1960 

Dear Diary,

     So..... I am visiting Asia for my Study Abroad. I was in China for five days and didn't get much sleep. Late on the fifth day, I got on a train to Nepal. It is a 2 hour drive from Bejing, China to Kathmandu, Nepal. It was late at night so I decided to sleep for the two hour drive. I was so exhausted from the little sleep I had gotten the past few days, the time difference, and the pain medication that I take for my headaches, that I ended up not only missing the stop in Kathmandu, but I slept for 10 hours until the stop in New Delhi, India! I am currently in New Delhi and it's pretty cool here so I guess.... I will just stay... yeah that's what I'm going to do. I guess it was fate that I fell asleep on the train.

September 22, 1960

Dear Diary,

  

          It's my first full day in India. I am staying in New Delhi. It is the capitol of India and it's very nice here. I visited the Lotus Temple today. People kept talking about something called Indoism. My guess is that it is a political party that most people associate themselves with in this part of India because I think, if I heard correct, someone say that they are Induo. So I'm guessing it's like if someone said I am republican. I am planning on researching it later today. Now, I need to get something to eat.... How about McDonalds? Idk.. I kinda feel like a  burger, but here even McDonalds doesn't have beef! Ugh! I don't understand why they can't just sell beef, if you don't like it, you don't have to eat it! Jeez!

September 23, 1960

Dear Diary,

     I just woke up. Today I will be doing some research on the Indoism thing that I kept hearing about yesterday and then I will go to the Ganges River! I hear it's kind of gross and I shouldn't get into it... but I wonder... why do most people who visit it get into it if it has all kinds of sewage and ashes in it? Doesn't seem smart to me. I think it might have something to do with Indoism though... I'll keep you posted. I will have to take another train to go to the Ganges river.... wish me better luck on this one!

(Still) September 23, 1960

Dear Diary,

     So I researched Indoism... turns out it doesn't exist. The word I kept hearing was Hinduism or Hindu. It is not a political party and it does not just affect this part of India. Infact, many people all over the world have heard of it... who knew? Hinduism is a religion. Which means that apparently instead of being like republicans, they're like Christians, only it's a whole different religion entirely. I guess I will start explaining what I learned by talking about my trip to the Ganges River. First off... yes... I did get on and off the train at the right spots! Woohoo! Acomplishment! Anyway... when I got to the Ganges, I saw what you would expect... that was a lot of people completely bathing themselves in the filthy water. Disguisted at first, I turned to go sit somewhere else. I sat on the steps by a rather old man. He quickly picked up on the fact that I had no clue what was going on. You know... the typical tourist. Here's how our conversation went:

Old guy: Hey son. What's wrong?

Me: How can all these people put themselves and their children into this filth bath.

Old guy: You ever heard of Hinduism?

Me: Funny you should ask... I heard the word yesterday and I looked it up today so... I guess you could say I'm a little naive.

Old guy: Well, to these people, this isn't a 'filth bath'. This is a sacred place.

Me: How is a sewage dump a sacred place?

Old guy: To us, it is not a sewage dump. It is the home to the Hindu goddess Ganga.

Me: So just because one of the goddesses lived here means you have to bathe yourself in it?

Old guy: No, no, no! And to be clear, it's not something we as Hindus are required to do, it's something we want to do.

Me: But why do you want to?

Old guy: We believe that bathing in it purifies us by washing away our sins. It gives us better karma to spread our ashes in here after our death.

Me: Doesn't it seem odd that by bathing in filthy water, you are cleansed?

Old guy: (pondered it a minute then began to laugh) I do see your point. For us, it is more of a mental thing. We are not actually physically being cleansed. We are probably physically getting more dirty like you said, and we know that, but our hearts and our minds are what are being cleansed.

Me: Ok, I can see where you are coming from... so it's sort of like Baptism in the Christian religion.

Old guy: Yes, kind of. The full meaning is different, but in both you are doing it for internal cleansing, not external.

Me: Hmmm... I understand. So earlier you said something about karma... what is that?

Old guy: Karma is most easily thought of as... what goes around comes around. If I am fair to you, then sometime in this life or my next I will be rewarded for it. If I cheat you, then I will surely pay the consequences.

Me: This life or the next? So you believe in Heaven?

Old guy: No, actually, we don't believe in Heaven. We believe in reincarnation.

Me: What?

Old guy: The belief that you live, die, and come back to life as someone or something else based on the deeds you did in your past life.

Me: Got it! I better go so I don't get home too late, but thanks for filling me in on your religion!

Old guy: Anytime!

So, that was my day in a nutshell. I learned a lot about the Ganges, but I forgot to ask him my most important question of all..... why doesn't McDonalds (or any other place for that matter) sell beef??? Where's the beef?!?!?! Oh well... I wonder who I will meet tomorrow!

September 24, 1960

Dear Diary,

     I woke up today and was craving (again!) a beef sausage buscuit like the ones I used to eat back home, so I went to what I thought was a McDonald's, but the sign looked different.  It didnt have an "M", it had a wierd heart with out the tip, but it had the same colors, so I walked in and told the cashier that I was a tourist and was wondering if this was a McDonalds.  She said yes and that the sign was written in sanskrit which is the historical Indo-Aryan language and is a part of Hinduism. Upon hearing the word "Hinduism" I realized there was alot more I still have to learn, but I decided I would research that when I got back to the hotel while eating my sausage biscuit. When I ordered my sausage biscuit and made sure that I said beef, the cashier said that they didn't serve any cow products. What happened next may have been a little uncalled for. I was so mad that nobody serves beef that I began to throw a bit of a hissy fit... "What do you mean you don't sell cow products?!?! I just want a beef sasusage biscuit! Is that too much to ask? You do realize the chicken isn't the only edible meat on the planet don't you??" After a few seconds, the cashier began telling me that the cow is very sacred in hinduism.  The cow's four legs correspond to the four pillars of dharma. To which I responded(now more calmly), "What is dharma?" The cashier said dharma is the divine path that humans are called to follow; in other words the universal balance of life.  Realizing I was holding up the line and had caused a pretty big scene, I thanked her for enlightening me and ordered a chicken biscuit and left so I could go research more on hinduism. 

May 12, 2008

     Dear Diary,

     It's been a while! I was digging through some old boxes, throwing stuff out, putting stuff in boxes to give to my grandchildren, rearranging some shelves, ect. when I saw this. I read the previous five entries and couldn't help but laugh. That was an experience! I was so young and naive. I can't belive I didn't offend all of the people I met there. I said in the first enrty, "I guess it was fate that I fell asleep on the train." That may have been the one intelligent thing I said back then! I'm much older now. I not only have kids, but I have grandkids. after my study abroad I came back to America and I researched Hinduism more. The religion absolutely fascinated me. Now, I am not Hindu, but their ideas like Karma and reincarnation are really interesting to me. For years after my visit to India, I read books on Hinduism, talked to people who were Hindu, and I even went to their temples a few times. When I was 61 I went back to New Delhi. I revisited all of the places I had visited when I was 21, but I had a much bigger appreciation of everything. I went and sat on the steps where I had met that man so many years ago. He was so patient with me. My words could have really offended him, but he didn't get offended at all! As I was sitting there, a young girl came up to me and sat down looking kind of disguisted. Our conversation went like this:

Me: Hey, what's wrong?

Girl: How can all of these people put themselves and their children into such gross water?

Me: Have you ever heard of Hinduism?

.......

I think you know how it went from there... I've learned a lot about Hinduism over the past few years. Now I'm passing you off to my granddaughter. She is 9 and she's learning about India in her class. Maybe she can share some of my adventures from this. Who knows, maybe she will go to India one day. Hopefully she will know more about Hinduism than I did!

Death is....

     I was on facebook last night you know just kind of scrolling through the newsfeed, avoiding homework, chores, ect. when I saw a pictue that my friend had liked. I clicked on it and read a story about a guy in his physics class talking arguing with his teacher about God. I'm pretty sure the story was fake, but there was a quote in it that I really liked. I think many people misconstrue death. This quote explains kind of where my outlook on death is. He said, "Death isn't the opposite of life, it's the absence of it." To explain this theory, he used the potent exaxmple of cold and heat. Heat is an energy. You can create it. Cold is not an energy. You can't create it. It is simply the absence of heat. Death can't happen without life. Life is a thing, we can create it. A person can't die unless they have been born. It is a result of life. Some people allude to death. Some people can't fathom it. In movies, books, paintings, and other creative works, death is almost always captured as a sad sorrowful time. It is rainging outside, everyone is wearing black, sad music is playing, clairvoyant people are trying to console sad mothers with news from their lost loved ones, ect. However, life and youth are usually captured as exciting, eventful, it is a beautiful day in the summer. Everyone is at the pool, wearing bright yellow and orange, fast, lively music is playing, funny, obnoxious teens are pranking each other. However, for me, death isn't this dark, terrible thing. I am extremely religious, so my outlook on death from that perspective is that it's something that we should be excited about because everything on Earth that bothers us, hurts us, makes us sick, ect. will be gone and we will be in the presence of our perfect creator. It will be a perfect, placid place. However, I know that people all have different thoughts on the afterlife and I want this to be a blog post, not a sermon, and I don't want this to be an endemic paper, so I will try to keep it more my overall opinion on death than my religious opinion. Death is certainly unfathomable because our knowledge is very superficial. We have all not existed at a certain time, but in my opinion that isn't how death is. Death is much bigger and more complex than that. Death could be thought of in the litteral tense. You know... when someone stops breathing, their brain doesn't work, their heart doesn't pump blood, ect. Death could be thought of as conclusive, the end all. But I don't think of it that way. I don't think this perspective is disreputable, I just have a different opinion than I believe a lot of people do. I think that death is an adjective. It describes someone. Death is also a state of being. It is a condition. It is very possible to be dead while your heart is pumping blood, and you're breathing, and your brain is working. In the same way, you can be alive when you aren't breathing, your heart isn't pumping blood, and your brain isn't working. What am I talking about??? Here's a story... My friend, Keegan, died this summer. When I say this I mean the way you think of death not the crazy stuff I was just talking about. She crashed into a telephone pole that was protruding from the ground... well I guess all of them do... anyway, she wasn't wearing her seatbelt and flew through the sunroof. So yes, she died, but is that it? This girl who was known to be an exemplary person with high integrity just doesn't exist anymore? Of course not. Actually, she is still alive. She is still influencing people. Her brother, her parents, her step-sisters, her friends, her aunts, uncles, cousins, and everyone else who knew her well are being affected by her daily. Her brother, parents, adn friends think of her every day. She influences a lot of decisions that they make. She has affected many many people with such a tragic death and will continue to. So, even though she isn't alive, she isn't gone either. Famous people like Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and others come to mind when using this example because they too did not die. Their legacy could live on forever. When you think about it, everyone, whether it's Michael Jackson or Keegan Ward, has affected others and when they are gone, the lives of those they have touched will be forever changed. However, like I said earlier, you can also be dead while still living. I think of those who are depressed. So depressed that they talk to no one. Now unlike those who are physically dead, these people are unconnected with the world. Whether their depression is for a pretext or a truely sad, harsh circumstance, they're lives are not the same as a dead or living person. Their loved ones don't really miss them because they are still here, but it's like a vegetable in a human body. It's hard to connect to them on any level. They are affecting those around them, but not in a positive way or in a way that makes people talk about them and remember them. It is as if they aren't here. However, if they died, they would be missed, talked about, remembered, moms would write books, dads would give speeches, ect. But while they are alive, they are more dead. I also believe that sometimes death is more powerful than life. When I say this, the one thing that always comes to mind (besides Christian martyrs) is bully victims. If a person is bullied and there is a news report interviewing them, people say, "How terrible.", "Those bullies should be stopped", or even "Well they are just looking for attention. They are being guile." However, when someone commits suicide like Phoebe Prince or any others, people want to take action. Things like Rachel's Challenge get started. Death brings on things that life never could. Death isn't just an itinerary. It is something that I belive placates all of us in a way life never could. Death is not black and white. Death is... starkly unclear. Death is... the absence of life, not the opposite of it.
FWI: none of this was plagiarism. (sorry couldn't think of another way to fit this in!)


song: If I Die Young by: The Band Perry

TRUST FALL

Truth is.....

Like my status for a TBH, Truth Is, Let's Be Real, ect. These are common posts on facebook, but how truthful are they...infact...what really is truth? "Truth is... you're super sweet and really cool to be around. I love you soo much! We gotta hang soon! ILY!" This was a post from one of my friends onto the facebook page of a girl she told me the day before she didn't like because the girl was contentious. So to who was she telling the truth and how do we know? How and why do we believe anyone? I was born in a small town with not much nearby. My family was very well respected. My mom was known as a very garrulous person. My dad was the pastor of a big chuch there. Often during his sermons, which I considered my thirthy minute respite, he would tell a blithe story on the subject of what he was preaching about. Well obviously... anyway, during the story or at the very end of it my friends would almost always ask me, "Is that a true story?" "Yeah" I would say. But I would think... why would they doubt him? Who would get up there and lie? His job was to be the Bible's exponent. Why did they not automatically acquiesce what he says? Now as I am older, I realize that people do things for selfish reasons.People will be allured to lie or will will lie in order to make people covet their belongings, make someone crestfallen, or even to be lamentable. So how do we know who is lying and who is telling the truth? Whe you say, "Excuse me, do you know where Walnut Street is?" and I say, "Yes, you have to turn on the sinuous Fayettville Road and go about three miles until you see 7th Street, then turn right onto Walnut." How do you know I am not a crazy killer trying to lead you into a death trap? Truth is... you don't. Until you drive down those roads and find the first right on 7th street, you don't know if what I'm saying is accurate. In court, lawyers and witnesses are sworn in to tell the truth. When a witness gets up to profess what happened, they are swear on the Bible to tell "the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help them God." What's to stop a prosecuting witness from lying because they feel the "wastrel" defender deserves a retribution. In the movie A Few Good Men, there is a trial for a man who was killed in his room at a millitary camp. The general had asked two of the guys who were vanguards to kill him, but he has lied to everyone about it. The general was a pretty well respected, sonorous man. Most people probably thought of him as insuperable. However, his life was completely disheveled. At the end of the movie, many people looked at him in an askew manner. Truth is... we have all lied once or twice in our lives. I think trust is a misnomer because it implies you believe the person is telling you the truth and rarely do people tell the full truth especially when questioned. It may even be unintentional. I think faith is a better word because it implies that you don't know they are telling the truth but you believe they have good intentions and are not trying to decieve you. So... truth is... I still have like 30 more words to go and I'm not sure what to talk about... I guess I will explain the first few stories at the beginning of this paper. Truth is... most of that was not the truth. I did grow up in a small town where my family was highly respected, but I was not born there. That post was not from my friend and there was no contntious girl. I'm sure it happened some day somewhere, but not to anyone I know. Now, obviously, I did that on purpose, but what about the writers that do it for personal glory like Stephen Glass? Can we trust what we read, see on t.v., or hear? Probably not, but we hae to make our own decisions on what to think, believe, and be extremely careful about what we say. Truth is... a very simple thing that can become very complicated.



song: Winnie the Pooh's- Trust In Me

Final draft

Jenna Head
9 March 2012
Mr. Neumann
4th period


     Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous of Shakespeare's plays. Although the old English was difficult for me to understand, I think there is a lot you can learn from this book. It is a classic that people can relate to today and that they related to hundreds of years ago. Shakespeare's plays have had an impact on both our culture's history and the enhancement of our language. Like I said before, the old English was difficult, but for the most part this play was easy to understand. I didn't have a hard time keeping up with the story. I think that Romeo and Juliet should be taught in schools because it's relatable, it is important for people to read Shakespeare's plays, and it is one of the easiest plays to understand.
     For starters, Romeo and Juliet stands as one of the most relatable of Shakespeare's plays. I think that youth can easily relate to it because of the young characters who play the main roles in the story. If people relate to a story, then they tend to have a much easier time understanding it. The characters in the story go through some of the same feelings that youth years ago went through, as well as youth today and youth years in the future. "'When this dance is over, I’ll see where she stands, and then I’ll touch her hand with my rough and ugly one. Did my heart ever love anyone before this moment? My eyes were liars, then, because I never saw true beauty before tonight.'"-ROMEO (Crowther 1.5.49-51). The animosity that many teenagers feel towards history and history class comes from their attitude that they cannot relate to it. Romeo and Juliet has relatable topics and feelings and should be read in schools.
     In addition, the importance of reading plays by Shakespeare should never become overlooked by our schools. Shakespeare's plays involve not only historical references and teachings, but also provide difficult readings. In addition, they help us to look at things from different perspectives. "We need not in our own outlook be fatalistic to appreciate tragedies of fate; but, it seems, we must be imaginatively willing to look at the world in this way as we are responding to this type of play."- D. Douglas Walters. The ability to read Old English requires a certain skill similar to that of reading something in a foreign language. Reading Shakespeare's plays provides a challenge to most teens that they may not get from other books. It requires the ability to interpret what a person reads which remains a very important skill in today's world of law documents, contracts, and applications. Difficult readings stand prominant in our world today and should not gradually become pushed aside.
     On the contrary, most people would not argue the importance of reading a Shakespeare play, but they would probably wonder why it has to be Romeo and Juliet. "It has been seen that in several of Shakespeare's plays there is an enveloping political plot. The pelicularity of Romeo and Juliet is that the political plot does not merely form the background to the main action, but is one of its intergral eleents."- Fredrick S. Boas I believe that Romeo and Juliet is the most applicable to teenagers' lives today because it pretains to us. People typically enjoy readings that apply to themselves. I don't think Romeo and Juliet holds as the only choice, but I do think Romeo and Juliet remains as one of the best choices. Some people would also say that Romeo and Juliet teaches bad morals about what to do as a young person in love. For example,

"'Oh, noise? Then I’ll be quick. Oh, good, a knife!

My body will be your sheath.

Rust inside my body and let me die.'

(she stabs herself with ROMEO’s dagger and dies)" -JULIET(Crowther 5.3.182-185). I will admit that it does contain some content that one could consider inappropriate, however, it shows that actions have consequences. I do not feel that the story has content too inappropriate for a high school student to read, and infact I would encourage them to read it.

      In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet should be read by all high school students because it is relatable, it is important for people to read Shakespeare's plays, and it is one of the easiest plays to understand. Although it contains some inappropriate content and isn't the only easy Shakespeare play to read, the content would be appropriate for most mature high school students. Also, it is one of the most relatable plays for teenagers. I enjoyed reading this book, and I think others would too. This book contains historical references and also many variations of literary techniques. Shakespeare made a big impact on our language, and that is something that can't be disputed or ignored. I believe that all high schoolers should read Romeo and Juliet.

Works Cited:

Boas, Fredrick. "Fredrick S. Boas on Political Elements in Romeo and Juliet." Blooms Notes: A Contemporary Literary. Ed. Bloom. Broomall: Chelsea House, 1896. 201-203. Print

Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Romeo and Juliet.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005.Web. 9 Mar. 2012.

Water, D. Douglas. "D. Douglas Waters on Catharsis in Romeo and Juliet." Blooms Notes: A Contemporary Literary. Ed. Bloom. Broomall: Chelsea House, 1996. 68-69. Print

Works Cited

Boas, Fredrick. "Fredrick S. Boas on Political Elements in Romeo and Juliet." Blooms Notes: A Contemporary Literary. Ed. Bloom. Broomall: Chelsea House, 1896. 201-203. Print

Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Romeo and Juliet.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005.Web. 9 Mar. 2012.

Water, D. Douglas. "D. Douglas Waters on Catharsis in Romeo and Juliet." Blooms Notes: A Contemporary Literary. Ed. Bloom. Broomall: Chelsea House, 1996. 68-69. Print

First Draft

      Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous of Shakespeare's plays. Although the old English was difficult for me to understand, I think there is a lot you can learn from this book. It is a classic that people can relate to today and that they related to hundreds of years ago. Shakespeare's plays have had an impact on both our culture's history and the enhancement of our language. Like I said before, the old English was difficult, but for the most part this play was easy to understand. I didn't have a hard time keeping up with the story. I think that Romeo and Juliet should be taught in schools because it's relatable, it is important for people to read and Shakespeare's plays, and it is one of the easiest plays to understand.
     For starters, Romeo and Juliet stands as one of the most relatable of Shakespeare's plays. I think that youth can easily relate to it because of the young characters who play the main roles in the story. If people relate to a story, then they tend to have a much easier time understanding it. The characters in the story go through some of the same feelings that youth years ago went through, as well as youth today and youth years in the future. "'When this dance is over, I’ll see where she stands, and then I’ll touch her hand with my rough and ugly one. Did my heart ever love anyone before this moment? My eyes were liars, then, because I never saw true beauty before tonight.'"-ROMEO. The animosity that many teenagers feel towards history and history class comes from their attitude that they cannot relate to it. Romeo and Juliet has relatable topics and feelings and should be read in schools.
     In addition, the importance of reading plays by Shakespeare should never become overlooked by our schools. Shakespeare's plays involve not only historical references and teachings, but also provide difficult readings. In addition, they help us to look at things from different perspectives. "We need not in our own outlook be fatalistic to appreciate tragedies of fate; but, it seems, we must be imaginatively willing to look at the world in this way as we are responding to this type of play."- D. Douglas Walters. The ability to read Old English requires a certain skill similar to that of reading something in a foreign language. Reading Shakespeare's plays provides a challenge to most teens that they may not get from other books. It requires the ability to interpret what a person reads which remains a very important skill in today's world of law documents, contracts, and applications. Difficult readings stand prominant in our world today and should not gradually become pushed aside.
     On the contrary, most people would not argue the importance of reading a Shakespeare play, but they would probably wonder why it has to be Romeo and Juliet. "It has been seen that in several of Shakespeare's plays there is an enveloping political plot. The pelicularity of Romeo and Juliet is that the political plot does not merely form the background to the main action, but is one of its intergral eleents."- Fredrick S. Boas I believe that Romeo and Juliet is the most applicable to teenagers' lives today because it pretains to us. People typically enjoy readings that apply to themselves. I don't think Romeo and Juliet holds as the only choice, but I do think Romeo and Juliet remains as one of the best choices. Some people would also say that Romeo and Juliet teaches bad morals about what to do as a young person in love. For example,

"'Oh, noise? Then I’ll be quick. Oh, good, a knife!

My body will be your sheath.

Rust inside my body and let me die.'

(she stabs herself with ROMEO’s dagger and dies)" -JULIET I will admit that it does contain some content that one could consider inappropriate, however, it shows that actions have consequences. I do not feel that the story has content too inappropriate for a high school student to read, and infact I would encourage them to read it.

      In conclusion, Romeo and Juliet should be read by all high school students because it is relatable, it is important for people to read Shakespeare's plays, and it is one of the easiest plays to understand. Although it contains some inappropriate content and isn't the only easy Shakespeare play to read, the content would be appropriate for most mature high school students. Also, it is one of the most relatable plays for teenagers. I enjoyed reading this book, and I think others would too. This book contains historical references and also many variations of literary techniques. Shakespeare made a big impact on our language, and that is something that can't be disputed or ignored. I believe that all high schoolers should read Romeo and Juliet.

Conclusion

     Romeo and Juliet should be read by all high school students because it is relatable, it is important for people to read Shakespeare's plays, and it is one of the easiest plays to understand. Although it contains some inappropriate content and isn't the only easy Shakespeare play to read, the content would be appropriate for most mature high school students. Also it is one of the most relatable plays for teenagers. I enjoyed reading this book, and I think others would too. This book contains historical references and also many variations of literary techniques. Shakespeare made a big impact on our language, and that is something that can't be disputed or ignored. I believe that all high schoolers should read Romeo and Juliet.

Rebuttle

     Most people would not argue the importance of reading a Shakespeare play, but they would probably wonder why it has to be Romeo and Juliet. (insert quote here) I believe that Romeo and Juliet is the most applicable to teenagers' lives today because it pretains to us. People typically enjoy readings that apply to themselves. I don't think Romeo and Juliet is the only choice, but I do think Romeo and Juliet remains as one of the best choices. Some people would also say that Romeo and Juliet teaches bad morals about what to do as a young person in love. (insert quote here) I will admit that it does contain some content that one could consider inappropriate, however, it shows that actions have consequences. I do not feel that the story has content too inappropriate for a high school student to read, and infact I would encourage them to read it.

Body paragraph (two)

     The importance of reading plays by Shakespeare should never become overlooked by our schools. (Insert quote here) Shakespeare's plays involve not only historical references and teachings, but also provide difficult readings. The ability to read Old English requires a certain skill similar to that of reading something in a foreign language. Reading Shakespeare's plays provides a challenge to most teens that they may not get from other books. It requires the ability to interpret what a person reads which remains a very important skill in today's world of law documents, contracts, and applications. Difficult readings are prominant in our world today and should not gradually become pushed aside.

Body Paragraph

     Romeo and Juliet stands as one of the most relatable of Shakespeare's plays. I think that youth can easily relate to it because of the young characters who play the main roles in the story. If people relate to a story, then they tend to have a much easier time understanding it. The characters in the story go through some of the same feelings that youth twenty years ago went through, as well as youth today and youth twenty years in the future. (Insert quote here) The animosity that many teenagers feel towards history and history class comes from their attitude that they cannot relate to it. Romeo and Juliet has relatable topics and feelings and should be read in schools.

Intro paragraph

     Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous of Shakespeare's plays. Although the old English was difficult for me to understand, I think there is a lot you can learn from this book. It is a classic that people can relate to today and that they related to hundreds of years ago. Shakespeare's plays had an impact on both our culture's history and the enhancement of our language. Like I said before, the old English was difficult, but for the most part this play was easy to understand. I didn't have a hard time keeping up with the story. I think that Romeo and Juliet should be taught in schools because it's relatable, it is important for people to read and Shakespeare's plays, and it is one of the easiest plays to understand.

Thesis

     Romeo and Juliet should be taught in schools because it is relatable, it is important for people to read Shakespeare's plays and it is one of the easiest of Shakespeare's plays to understand.

Romeo and Juliet

     I just finished watching William Shakespeare's: Romeo and Juliet. Romeo Montague was played by Leonardo Dicaprio, Juliet Capulet was played by Claire Danes. Instead of Verona, Italy in the 1500's, the movie took place in basically what was Verona Beach, California in like the 1990's or so, basically it was more modern day. The film was a romantic drama and the literature work was a play.
     Basically what happens is Romeo falls in love with a girl who doesn't feel the same about him. In an effort to make him feel less depressed, Romeo's best friend Mercutio goes with him to the Capulet's party. Now, back up a second. Romeo is a Montague. The Capulets and the Montagues are major rivals. There are many problems for the city of Verona because of these two families. Ok now back to the party. Mercutio and Romeo and Benvolio, who is one of the Montague boys, disguise themselves to go to the Capulet party. At the party, Romeo meets Juliet. It was love at first sight. Neither of them knew that the other was their family's enemy. As the drama continues, Romeo and Juliet find ways to be together and then decide to get married. Romeo goes to Friar Lawerence who is basically the priest and asks him to marry him (Romeo) and Juliet. The Friar agrees thinking that this might be a way for the rivalry between the two families to end. So, Romeo and Juliet are married. Well then there is a turn in mood when Tyblat (Juliet's cousin) calls for Romeo to fight him. Romeo does not want to fight Tyblat because they are kind of relatives now that Romeo is married to Juliet. Mercutio gets into a fight with Tybalt instead. What ends up happening is Tybalt kills Mercutio and, out of rage, Romeo kills Tybalt. Romeo is banished from verona and it looks like he and Juliet will never be together because now, on top of all of this, Capulet is going to force Juliet to marry Paris. When Juliet refuses her father's, what is pretty much a command, to marry Paris, he gets mad and yells at her. Juliet goes to the Nurse for comfort, but instead the Nurse tells her to just marry Paris and forget about Romeo. As her last resort, Juliet goes to Friar Lawerence and asks him to help her or else she will kill herself. Friar Lawerence gives her a potion that will make her appear dead while she is really only asleep. The plan is that all of her family will think she is dead and she will get out of marrying Paris. Then, before they bury her, Romeo will come and get her and they will live "happily ever after" together. In an effort to not give away the ending, I will stop summarizing now... so yeah.
     One thing that was very similar from the story to the film was Friar Lawerence's attitude and perspective. He is consistantly supportive of Romeo and Juliet and is always trying to help them no matter the cost. He is aware of the consequences but, for some reason, he never seems to care.
     There were lots of differences between the play and the movie. I think the biggest difference was the ending. Though I am not going to give away the ending I will tell you how it was different. At the end of the movie there is a huge twist. Baz Luhrmann (the director of the movie) did a great job by surprising the audience while not drastically changing the resolution of the play. It was surprising, suspensful, and extremely unpredictable. I think he made a great decision by taking that route.
     I thought the film was great. I actually liked it more than the story just because it was easier to relate to since it was more modernized. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a classic movie with a twist. Although I liked the movie more, the book was very good too, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a romantic drama with occasional humor.