Wounded Warrior Project

     I feel that the Wounded Warrior Project is a very honorable organization.  It helps to build the confidence of the people that are part of the program and helps them feel loved.  Many people who have been wounded in war come back and have PTSD and in turn, that can lead to them feeling depressed and unappreciated.  WWP can help veterans realize that they are not being forgotten and that they did in fact make a difference. To me, this is one of the greatest aspects of the program.  Not only does it help the people in the program, but it helps raise awareness in the general population too.  It seems that some people believe that soldiers go off to war, fight, come back, and everything is all hunky-dory. WWP shows them that the people who died serving our country are not the only ones who sacrificed their whole lives. The survivors have given up a major part of themselves also because they will never be the same. They are forced to live with the memories of what they saw and experienced and nothing will ever be able to completely make that go away.  After all, there are things that a person can't unsee that are utterly life-changing.  The Wounded Warrior Project is an amazing organization that benefits not only our admirable and intrepid soldiers, but also ordinary civilians.  What the WWP is doing is showing everyone the sacrifices made and giving honor to those who deserve it.  I would like to say a big THANK YOU to whoever thought of and created this idea for what they have done, are doing, and will do in the future. :)

War Is...

War is pointless, destroying the free
War is baneful, making innocents flee
War is reckless, heeding nobody's pleas
War is bloody, achieving no peace
War is desperate, uncaring of the fallout
War is  murder, deadly to all who are called out
War is betrayal, turning our backs on the once faithful
War is disaster, turning days, once peaceful, fatal
War is monstrous, making small children cry
War is hopeless, making all people die

Book Review: Uglies

     Scott Westerfeld's futuristic novel Uglies was kind of interesting to me but at the same time, left much to be desired. It is written in third person limited point of view, only showing the point to view of one character; Tally. I enjoyed the basic storyline that was expressed in the book. It was not near as fast-paced as I prefer, but it was still pretty good. There was even a little 'side story' type of plot added in there; a little love triangle-esque relationship between Shay, David, and Tally. I read the book at more of a relaxed pace due to slight lack of interest at points but a lot of people would probably find it more interesting than I did. I have my own specific, odd taste in book types and this just wasn't one ot them for me.  Though I liked the overall plot of the book but also got a little confused at times due to the fact that there really was not any explanation as to what things were.  They would start using equipment and I had no idea what it was, such as the interface ring, and hoverboards.  I could definitely infer what the general use of them was but had no clue at all when the book started talking about how to use them.  On the bright side, Westerfeld writing style was very clear and easy to understand and  if I am not mistaken, I think I even caught on to a moral.  The story seemed to me to be subtly hinting at the fact that people are not perfect and we should not expect perfection from somebody.  We, as humans, tend to subconsiously hold everything up to an unwritten, idealistic standard that nobody will ever truly be able to meet.  Tally lives in a world where eveyone at the age of 16 get major reconstructive surgery in order to become perfect, or "pretty." She is extremely excited for her birthday but when she meets Shay, who does not seem to want to become pretty, she may start to see things differently.  Ultimately, she get put in a position where she must choose her friends or her dreams.  Though some aspects of the book kind of confused and sometimes frustrated me, I would definitely recommend it for someone else to read.  I would probably say that teenage girls would get the most enjoyment out of this book but I believe that guys might would like to read it too.

Remembering 9/11

People all over the U.S. were traumatized by what happened to the World Trade Centers on 9/11.  Everyone was affected, whether personally or secondhand.  After that day, nobody who was old enough to understand what was happening will ever be able to forget what we all had the misfortune of experiencing.

On September 11th, Al Qaeda operatives hijacked 4 passenger jets. Two hit the twin towers; One hit the Pentagon; One crashed in a field. Approximately 3000 people died as a result of their actions.  Thinking of a loss of life at that magnitude makes me sick. It was, in my opinion, one of the most horrific and tragic days in history.

The cleanup at the site of the World Trade Centers, dubbed Ground Zero, was completed in May 2002. Memorials have been and are still being constructed, such as the One World Trade Center, which is estimated for completion sometime in 2013. However, there is much controversey as to whether or not it is right to build a new Trade Center. I, personally, believe that creating something new at the site is a good thing. It shows that we can move on from what has happened but at the same time not forget it. To me, it is a great thing to be able to show to the terrorist groups that we are not weak and that whatever they throw at us, we can handle.

After that day, many things changed in the U.S. Our economy rapidly fell. Billions of dollars had to be used to aid in the recovery of New York, stock values plummeted, and over 18,000 small businesses were destroyed or displaced. Also, the government came up with much stricter guidlines in airport passage and in terrorism policies. Even other places, such as Germany, Canada, Great Britian, and New Zealand put into effect new anti-terrorism safety acts.

Though we should never forget 9/11 and the people who lost their lives that day, I think that we should stand up, dust ourselves off, and show the world that we will not be taken advantage of.  We need to move on and just make sure that nothing like this happens again. I'm not saying we should forget those brave souls that were taken that day, I just think that we could honor them the most by preventing others from having to go through the same thing.

My Inspired Poem :)

I did my job and now i'm gone
And i'll never see another dawn
I did my job for liberty
Gave it all so you could be free

Don't be sad; what's done is done
And it's your job to replace me, son
So take up arms and join the fight
Go out there and do what's right

Fight to protect your family and friends
Without you, boy, they'd meet their ends
So go out there and take your knives
And give them all long, happy, lives

***inspired by John McCrae's "In Flander's Fields"***

My Lovely Poem :)

What happens to an unrequited love?

Does it fade over time
Like a book left in the hot sun?
Or does it wither
Like a rose with no water
And then slowly fall apart?
Does it shatter and splinter like a a crystal glass being dropped
Or like a window pane in a long forgotton house?

Maybe it just floats away
Like a boat left untethered

Or does its power amplify a thousand times?

Character Analysis: Ismene

     Sophocle's tragic play, Antigone, was set in ancient Greece, where women were thought to be below men. They were expected to obey those above them in status and not express any personal opinions. They were taught not to argue with what they were told. Although Ismene seems to be just a stereotypical woman at the beginning of the play, toward the end her strengths begin to show and she really begins to stand out as her own person.
     At the start, Ismene's weaknesses are really the only noticable thing about her personality. She comes across as weak and timid because she refuses to help Antigone bury their brother against the orders of Creon. She is "witless of the way" to "break [her] country's law." She is portrayed as a prissy little girl with no backbone and no desire to stand up for herself and what she knows is right. That thought is backed up when she says, "not to attempt the impossible is best."
     However, in all actuality, her flaws are not as bad as they seem. While she is standing there talking to Antigone, her strong-willed, not-afraid-of-anything sister, the audience cannot help but to compare the two. Because Ismene is being compared  to Antigone, where Antigone seems strong, Ismene appears frail and weak. In the reader's mind, Ismene is the exact opposite of Antigone and is the one that falls short when the two sisters are looked at side by side.
     As fearful as she is at first though, she later makes up for it and shows everybody that she is not afraid "to make [herself] companion of [Antigone's] fate. The audience sees a whole new side of Ismene that they never would have guessed existed when she stands boldly up to Creon and offers to die alongside her sister. At that point her strengths shine through the weaknesses and her loyalty and courage become apparent. It took a little while for her to realize it but she would do anything for her family, even if it means death. She comes through for her Antigone and offers her her blood as "an offering to the dead."
     Ismene is often thought of as a minor character in the play; a scaredy-cat who is inferior to her sister because she refused when Antigone, the protagonist of the play, asked for her help. This highlighted her weaknesses and made her seem stereotypical. However, when her sister got arrested and sentence to death, she broke away from the mold and her strengths came forward. The size of her role in the play does not matter as much as the amazing change in character that occurs throughout the course of the story.