Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Death of Osama Bin Laden

The death of Osama Bin Laden has had a huge impact on the United States, but most importantly the whole world. I was in my bed about to go to sleep, when I decided to check tweets like I do every time before I go to bed. And all of the sudden a bunch of tweets showed up saying things like, “Bin Laden’s dead!!!!” and “Peace out Osama, its Bin real. #AMERICA”. I was shocked and didn’t know if it was a joke or what was going on exactly. So about ten minutes later my mom walked in saying, “Osama Bin Laden is dead! Obama gave a speech about it and rumors are true.” After my mom told me, then I definitely believed it, but I didn’t really think of it as that big of a deal as I should have. Today though, I’ve realized how much of an impact it had made on so many lives. Mostly, I think it brought closure to many people that had lost family or friends in the 9/11 disaster, but also I think it relieved a lot of citizens because after ten years of not knowing where Osama was or what he was doing, the American Navy Seals were able to capture him and confirm that he was, in fact, Osama Bin Laden. Thankfully, this will be very reassuring to the public, as one could tell by the street riots of partying college kids or the many students rushing to the bars to enjoy their “justice” shots. I think that this is a very controversial topic though, because now that he is dead what will happen in other countries in the Middle East? What about those in Pakistan that were in favor of Osama? Many questions remain unanswered and it is very hard to tell what could happen next. When Saddam Hussein was captured the whole situation in the Middle East was the same and it did not stop the terrorism and bin laden’s death does not signify the end of this terrible war. The fact that all the Navy Seals were able to get through to where bin laden was staying and were able to remain unharmed is a gift from god. What sickens me is that bin laden was using his own wife to shield him from the seals and this is disgusting because it shows that they have little to no respect for women in that culture. What annoyed me most about this whole thing was Obama’s speech. Yes, it is fantastic that Osama was killed and the body was recovered, but honestly Obama, why did you act as though you were such a large part in this operation? His address was merely to highlight his personal role in the matter and that will not receive a political boost in my opinion. I personally had forgotten much about Osama and didn’t really pay attention to the news or anything of that matter. But once this happened it was a wake up call to the whole world and me. The United States is a lot more powerful than I give it credit for and my moms “it’s great to be an American” speech was truly her beliefs and I am too now a believer. I think that Osama’s death will have a huge impact on the future events, but I do not know what those will entail. I think that for now, people need to calm down and realize this is death; and maybe it should not be celebrated. I know that he was a terrible terrorist and did many things that are unbearable, but it just doesn’t seem right to treat a human being in an inhumane way—no matter how cruel they were. Moving on, so many people were impacted yesterday—one woman was interviewed about her son that was on the plane that was hijacked by the terrorists and explained how her son and a few other men were brave enough to try to gather up anything they could use as a weapon or defense against the terrorists and fight for their lives. They tried to enter the cock pit and get the plane back under control, but everyone on that plane was killed in the end. The fact that these men had so much bravery in such a devastating and indescribable fearful state, but were still able to come together with some sort of plan shows extreme heroism. I find it so amazing that such a thing could happen on such a significant day and how the United States responded to the death. I still can’t believe that I didn’t stay up to watch the whole presidential address to the country, but let’s be honest, it took them forever for that thing to get going and the screen kept saying “in two minutes…” but it really took about an hour. Anyways, the death has caused a great relief on the government of the united states, but has also added a high amount of stress due to the mysteries and unknown of the upcoming future events that could potentially be dangerous, but I still believe that this was needed to be done and it was only a matter of time. On a last note, Osama’s sea burial has had some growing controversy. Many Muslim clerics have stated that his sea burial was a violation of Islamic tradition and it may provoke calls for revenge in some nations. Along with this, some people still don’t believe that the rumors are true until they get full proof—like seeing a picture of the body. Some people have stated that they think he has been dead for several years and that the United States is just now telling people this to make them look heroic. I don’t believe these accusations and I strongly agree that a world famous “hide and seek” terrorist has finally been killed and we can now live with the fact that he will not have a lingering evil presence for us to bear any longer.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Poems

Limmericks

A: Snowflakes falling slowly from the sky
A: Winter arrives as autumn says "bye"
B: Blissful air fill sthe fresh cold air
B: Chilly winds creep through my tied up hair
A: Snowflakes falling slowly from the sky

A: Bright lights shining the nerves on my face
A: I hope I'm not a complete disgrace
B: Wondering how the crowd feels about my speech
B: My face turns from tomatoe to peach
A: As it comes to an end a smile sneaks on my face

All lines rhyme

Remember the day when we discovered the tree?
The freedom we found, so filled with glee?
I can recall on every detail right down to the T
Happiness flowing strongly through me
The air was cold and fresh as could be
How could I live if there wasn't a "we?"
I will never forget the first sight of the tree
Only because it was the start of you and me

Free Verse

High in the sky
Above the clouds
Fluffy and mesmorizing
Strikingly white
Drifting away
High in the sky

Freedom falling fiercly
Silly songbirds sing
Weightless watchful wonder
Lifting luscious lights
Cold corrupt cries

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Spring Break

All Christina was thinking about was how she needed a break from reality and to get a chance to clear her thoughts from the past few weeks. Her mom was surprising her for a fun getaway just for the two of them. Christina could barely hold her excitement and she couldn't wait to hear where she was going.

"Mom, just tell me where we're going!" I said, barely containing the butterflies in my stomach.

"No Bean, you have to wait, but I just know you're going to love it," said my mom.

Christina kept bagering her about the trip, but then decided to give up knowing that she would soon find out and all of her curiousity would be answered. She would constantly day dream about the possible adventures she could soon be taking and how much fun it will be to spend time with her mom.

They arrived at the airport early the next morning after getting their regular fixing of Starbucks and a bagel from Einstein's. They went through customs because she needed her passport and that made her even more excited knowing she was going out of the country. After they got through security and checked their bags, they were on their way to the gate where they would be taking off to the mystery location.

"Now once we get to the gate, you can't look at the sign and we are going to sit away from it so that it can remain a surprise," said her mom.

Now this kind of bummed Christina out because she thought she was going to be able to see where they were going once they got to the gate and now she had to wait even longer!

"Okay fine, but when are you going to tell me? Do I have to wait until we get there?" Christina said anxiously.

"I'll tell you on the plane!" Christina's mom said strikingly, attempting to end the conversation and talk about something else.

Christina knew her mom didn't want to talk about it anymore so she let it go. As the hour painfully went by, they were finally boarding the plane at about 10:30 AM. Once they got to their seats Christina could barely contain her excitement as she asked her mom to tell her where they were going, for the last time.

Then finally, her mom replied with smile, "Ixtapa, Mexico."

Friday, March 11, 2011

Secret Hallway

In this secret hallway, there is not a lot going on. It is secluded and quiet, no one is roaming around or making any sort of noises and the walls are a creamy light brown, with hints of green here or there. It is peaceful; a nice haven for the people who would like to get away from the chaos of the bigger and noisier hallways. As I approached one of the rooms, I was cautious and almost tip-toed my way inside. It had a very nice layout: a cubical looking place for a teacher, a TV, a white board, and desks fitted perfectly in four rows. I wish I could take class in the secret hallway.

Secret Hallway

In this secret hallway it is very quiet you could hear a pin drop. There is a creamy light brown color on the walls, with hints of green here or there. There isn't much going on, but as I peak in the classrooms they look like they keep them nice and well organized. As I approach one room at the end of the hallway, I am cautiously standing on my tip-toes opening the door ever so slighty. I walk inside and see a cubical like station where a teacher would be seated, a TV, a white board freshly erased, and four rows of desks lined out neatly. It looks very clean and nice, making me wish I could have class in one of the secret hallway classrooms.

Wake Me Up

Perfect Day- Hoku
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHybxGEcbZY&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

What The Hell- Avril Lavigne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQmEd_UeeIk&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

American Honey- Lady Antebellum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzzr7RbzUTs&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

A soundtrack to my life

Brown Eyed Girl- Van Morrison
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG8Ect3Xn7w&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

Meaningful Lyrics:
Laughin' and a-runnin', hey hey
Skippin' and a-jumpin'
In the misty mornin' fog
With our, our hearts a-thumpin'

And you, my brown eyed girl
You my brown eyed girl

Association 1: This was my dad's favorite song and these 60's songs quickly became known as "Rob's Tunes," which consisted of many songs by Van Morrison as well as The McCoys, Blues Traveler, Brooks and Dunn, etc. He loved to listen to these songs and soon enough my sisters and I started to love them too. We would listen to them all the time and my dad would always be jamming out to them. He loved to dance and so did my mom so they would always be dancing to these songs and it just got me really interested in music as a whole.

Association 2: It is a tradition in our family to listen to 106.7 wjjy on the way to our cabin in Crosslake and these kinds of songs would always be playing. "Rob's Tunes" is a huge hit to all of our family and friends and at our cabin we always have them playing on our surround sound. This just reminds me of how important it is to incorporate music into one's life.

Association 3: My dad would also sing these songs all the time. He would (attempt to) sing these songs to my sisters and I, but replace the "brown eyed girl" with "blue eyed girl" because we all have blue eyes. This made us feel really special and it is just a great memory to have of my dad and every time I listen to the song I always say "blue eyed girl" instead of "browned eyed girl" and my dad would also say this to my mom, so it is just a significant and memorable moment that I will always remember.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Basketball Video Response

That video was very decieving. I think that it relates to creativity because it is trying to make you see every aspect- mainly focusing on the gorilla and the people in white shirts passing the ball- while having to deal with the destractions of the people in the black shirts. This requires a wide range of abstract thinking and being aware of your surroundings.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Character Sketch

Sketch I
I walk up to the back of the classroom steady and certain. I am ready to present. My nerves rush away and I have excitement flowing through my bones. I quickly form myself into a comfortable position-leaning against the wall with my legs crossed and hands behind my back. I look up for reassurance from the crowd; bewildering at the smiling faces gleaming against the bright, flourescent light. My presentation is quick, but heartfelt. I introduce a small necklace laced with pearls that was given to me from my grandma on a very special occassion. I stretch my hands out to show the audience my meaningful gift and twirl it slightly around my fingers before returning to my desk.

Explaination I
Descriptive language-flowing through my bones, smiling faces, twirl it slightly around my fingers
action-leaning against the wall, legs crossed, hands behind my back, stretch my hands out
verbs-"leaning," "gleaming," "flowing"

Sketch II
Bonet walked up to the front of the room, quickly halted, and stood in a comfortable spot. She seemed a little nervous, admitting she was shakey and scared to present her personal life in front of the class. You could see the glimpse of sadness spread across her face as she began her troubling story about being diagnosed with Tuberculosis and how she overcame the disease, showing strength in her words. This presented a reflective feeling to her talk, symbolizing her life of sickness and her childhood as a whole. Bonet was fearful of her classmates' thoughts, but she was calm and collected, giving everyone a change to process the information. She then concluded her speech and left the audience in a curious stare.

Explaination II
sense words-nervous, shakey, scared, fearful, calm, collected
imagery-quickly halted, showing strength, symboling her life of sickness, curious stare

Sketch III
Devin walked up to the front of the classroom in a confident demeanor. He slowly swayed from side to side, using his hands as an easy tool to talk. He seemed dazed; wandering off into his own thoughts about the sport of football, maybe thinking of the great memories locked in his mind. He picked up the special football, being sure to tell the class that this had, in fact, been his first time touching it, showing his sense of respect and possessiveness to the object. As his speech came to an end, he left the class wide-eyed and wondering, as if the only thing to do was to stare and "clap" our hands gently.

Explaination II
Alliteration- wide-eyed and wondering
imagery- confident demeanor, slowly swayed, used his hands to talk, touched the football
symbolism-football represented how important it is in his life

Monday, February 21, 2011

Accidental Lessons

Part I
1. Sleepover
2. Cross Country/Running
3. 7th Grade Band
4. Lord of the Rings
5. Dad
6. 6th Grade Talent Show
7. Vacation
8. My 3 Sisters
9. Singing/Choir
10. Pets

A. Everything happens for a reason/became thankful for all that I have.
B. Do things that make you happy.
C. Be yourself; don't fall into the status quo.
D. Don't take things for granted.
E. Don't let anyone get in the way of what you want to do.
F. Treasure what means the most to you.
G. Grow up and stop being immature.
H. I love reading fiction.
I. I still rely strongly on my mom.
J. It is a great stress reliever.

Answers: 1. G 2. J 3. E 4. H 5. A 6. C 7. D 8. F 9. B 10. I

Part II
Don't take things for granted-When I was little, I always acted like I never got enough. I never had enough material things and I wasn't cool enough. Now that I'm older, I realize that I have SO much and I never realized how much my mom does for me. I am extremely fortunate for a loving family and caring mom, and I now know that I have a lot more than most people do growing up.

Learn to appreciate the small things-My mom has always been the backbone of our family and always thinks of others before herself. Everyone thinks of my mom as the "nice" mom because of her always-happy personality and kind nature. She has done so many little things for me that add up in the end, like buying me breakfast, going out of her way to pick me up from school, taking me on trips, etc.

Love your life and have fun-My mom's motto in life is to "live it up, but be safe" and I truely live by that. Whenever I'm down in the dumps, I always look to my mom or my sisters for advice and they always cheer me up and remind me what a great life I really have.

Be who you want to be and create your own life-When I was in middle school, I always gave into my peers and went along with what they did. Now that I'm older and more mature, I've realized that I can't follow in other peoples' footsteps. I am my own person now and I do what I want to do; whether that applys to the public or not.

Treat others how you would treat yourself-I sometimes forget to think of how I myself would like to be treated, and go ahead and treat others poorly. I am a pretty generous person and tend to try to do more for others than myself, but if it's a bad day, I sometimes get caught up in my own world and forget that I am being rude or mean to someone. I don't mean any harm, but I learned the hard way that you always have to be kind to others because karma truely does come back around.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Conversation With Sister

A few weeks ago my sister and I had a long two hour phone conversation about our lives and college. It was great to talk to her; I hadn't heard from her in about two weeks, which is a long time for us. My sister has always been a great role model and I envy her confidence and maturity.
“Hey!” I said with enthusiasm.
“He bean what's up!” My sister Katharine said.
“Nothing, I just have been really stressed out and busy lately...you?” I answered.
“Ya same. I think I just failed my final and now I have to do a project with my friends later that I am REALLY not in the mood to do...” She said, trailing off into her own thoughts.
“Oh, that sucks. Well school is just the same old. Nothing interesting or fun I just want to go to college already,” I said.
Then my sister began with what I thought would be meaningless gossip…“You will have SO much fun Christina, like I absolutely love it. You just have to make sure you don't get involved in the wrong crowd. Of course you want to have fun and enjoy life, but it's about much more than that. As a freshman I didn't really know what to expect; I was clueless and vulnerable. Despite this, as I've being growing up, I've been growing in my faith as well. I know it sounds stupid and you may think I'm a jesus-freak, but going on mission trips and being involved with the church has really brought me closer to God and helped me become a better person,” Kath said in a very sympathetic and confident way.
This really made me think. My sister used to be this very intense and her-way-or-the-highway type of person. For her to give me advice like this was a big step and it gave me a lot to re-evaluate in my life.
“No I'm not judging at all. I think that's really important and I'm happy that you are doing that. I go to church every Monday and Wednesday, but I don't really do anything besides that. I think I should start becoming more engaged,” I said, completely meaning every word. I knew that she was trying to be there for me, and for the first time I felt like she really cared.
“Ya it really helps, especially when you're struggling with something. But back to college, I know you'll be happy wherever you end up, but remember to weigh the pros and cons and visit all of the schools you get into,” she said.
I knew she was right. I needed to find a school that I could picture myself attending. “I will don't worry! I'm so glad I have you to talk with because mom always stresses me out and annoys me about it all the time,” I said.
“Ya mom can be really annoying...just base it off of where you think you belong and everything will fall into place,” she said, making me feel excited for the experience of college.
“Yes you're right! Thanks for all of the great advice,” I said. I really meant it, she was very helpful and didn’t stress me out at all.
“No problem, I'm always here for you!” She said lovingly.
“Love you! I have to go eat dinner now, so I'll call you tomorrow!” I stated.
“K love you too! Bye,” she said.
“Bye!” I concluded. I’m so happy and thankful for a sister like Katharine; I am proud of all my sisters and happy that we are so close and united.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Pre-Writing Assignment

Marlin: Hey Christina!
Me: Hi Marlin how's it going?
Marlin: Pretty good. Now I remember there was something you wanted to ask me. What was it again?
Me: Hmm....oh yeah! I wanted to ask you if you had any advice, helpful hints, or ideas for a dialogue I could write between a family member and I?
Marlin: Yes, of course. There are some conversations between you and your mom that I am fond of. You could write about that one time when you were sitting by the fire and your mom told you about her past; her many boyfriends, her college life, how she became who she is today, etc. What about that?
Me: That's a great idea! Except I think I need some more to think about.
Marlin: There are so many conversations you've had with your sisters. For starters, remember that time when Mary "accidentally" pushed you in the lake with all of your clothes on?
Me: Yes! That was terrible.
Marlin: Or just recently when you were having a tough time and Katharine was there for you conforting you, giving you great advice, and you two were having a deep converstaion about life?
Me: Yes, I remember that too. Well, thank you so much Marlin now I have a lot of ideas to choose from!
Marlin: No problem.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Creative Me

I. If a movie were made of my life, the big scene would be when I fell through the ice with my family on our snowmobiles at our cabin.
II. Hayden Panetierre would play be in a movie.
III. The title of the movie would be Unexpected.
IV. If I were an animal, I would be a dolphin because I could swim endlessly in the ocean.
V. If I were forced to perform in a talent show, singing would be my talent.
VI. If I had to choose a psuedonym, my new name would be beanstar.
VII. The song currently stuck in my head is American Honey.
VIII. If a modern, abstract artist painted me, she would symbolize me as a sun.
IX. If I would have dinner with a fictional character or famous person, living or dead, it would be Jake Gyllenhaal.
X. If my favorite childhood toy came to life and got interviewed by Oprah it would say the following about me: Christina is a very happy, energetic, little girl that loves to play with barbies and watch barney. She also likes to go to the park, play with the neighborhood kids, and swim at the pool.