If I were an animal

If I were an animal, I think I'd be a lion. Lions are fierce, powerful leaders who are dominant in the animal kingdom. Not only are they intimidating creatures, they also have moments of grace and intelligence. Lions are very social animals who live in communities and rely on each other. They're very reliable animals. However, if things get rough a lion can care for itself and is smart and capable enough to keep itself safe.

"Why?" You may ask, is because I really like to be around people but other times I may prefer to be alone and distant from other people. When I'm alone it gives me a second to step back and just take a breath of fresh air and take a good look at everything that is happening. It's like when I'm alone I can deeply focus, free of interactions and interruptions from others. When I'm alone is when I'm when my  intelligence shines. This is my moment of grace.

Beginning and End

     What was your year like? Was it fun at the end? The beginning? Well I'm going to be talking about my experience in 8th grade. I'm going to explain the mindset of a fresh off the bus 8th grader, and a soon to be high schooler...

Beginning: When school first started, I was scared of the whole idea of being a year away from high school but I was also excited to be the school leaders. The beginning of the school year was very scary and half of the time I was lost between my classes and who my teachers were. The whole idea of fresh classes and new people teaching me is overwhelming, and it is every year because you have to learn to be comfortable with your new teachers so you can be cool with them and just be able to comprehend what kind of person they are.

End: By the end of the year, I knew all of my teachers on a personal level which was cool because I got along with most of them and was comfortable around them now that they weren't strangers to me anymore. I had the flow of an average day so school days were fast and simple to do and there was actually a lot less homework than I expected in the beginning. The hardest part of the end of the year is probably the point system because some teachers are stubborn and might not understand a situation so pin the blame on the first person they see. Other than that, this year was awesome and easier than I  ever could have comprehended. Thanks to all the teachers who helped me when things got hard, the year went by quickly and was fun.

Soundtrack to my life

Stardust- Frank Sinatra

Don't Be Cruel- Elvis Presley

Burning Love- Elvis Presley 

Billie Jean- Michael Jackson

Dear Mama- 2pac Shakur

Suicidal Thoughts- Notorious B.I.G

Growing up as a kid with my grandma was full of music. She would always play music and clean or sit in the sun relaxing. Whatever she did, she would be listening to music. My grandma loved Elvis and Michael, she'd never go a day without listening to their music and hum along to the melodies of the oldies. I grew up listening to artists like Frank Sinatra and the artists above. As time went on, I slowly drifted off and as my music taste developed, it became a mostly rap and hip hop dominated community with music. But there's times where I like to sit back and listen to some of my older favorites. When I listen to them, they take me back before my grandma passed. On summer days when we'd listen to music and do chores together. When life was simple.

Easter

On Easter I woke up and it was sunny and hot. Like spring just came out of nowhere. It was raining and cold the night before but when I woke up the air was fresh and warm with a slight breeze streaming in my window, hitting my body. Brisk, Cool air outside while the sun stays shining all through the day. I woke up and quickly got dressed hyper and excited to play a morning game of basketball in my yard like usual and after about half an hour my family had an Easter egg hunt and I sat waiting for it to be over so I can return to playing basketball and eating food. All of my aunts and uncles and grandmas and grandpas tried making me go hunt eggs but I felt it wasn't really worth a couple pieces of candy and a few dollars when I had already gotten enough money from my family members to buy all the candy I want even though I'm not much of a candy person, everyone always enjoys a sweet now and then. After all the Easter egg hunting was finished we had open small gifts and our candy baskets, trading with others to get rid of things we didn't like.

True Stories of Gangsters

     The book I read this week is called true stories of gangsters by Henry Brook. The book is about all of the most infamous kingpins and cartels around the world. The book retells about the criminal masterminds and of their heists that they had organized during their highest point in their criminal life's. one notorious kingpin I read about in the book was Al Capone.
     Al Capone stood out to me because he did most of his business in Chicago, being said to have owned so much, he had practically ruled the city. When he was incarcerated, he was sent to Alcatraz. A maximum security prison sitting atop an island off the Francisco bay. He was sent there for what could have been forever but was shortened to 5 years. Al Capone spent the last of his days in his LA home, he died on January 25, 1947.

Butterfly

Life is Beautiful

Life is beautiful is similar to the poetry we've read as a class because they both talk about the little moments of happiness that shine through dark times of people's lives. There is hope in their eyes in both Poem and movie. When people lose hope there were some who held on to their hope and kept pushing to survive through the camp. While the people were going through the holocaust they were afraid because they didn't know what they we in for. 

       The tone and characteristics of characters created suspense or humor because each character was unique and funny in their own way. The father knew how to make the most of his time and knew how to laugh so you were able to tell something was serious when he seemed worried. The way the son is and how he acts adds a lot of suspense because he seems very curious and that could've gotten him in trouble which was very suspenseful. Like the time he disappeared in the barracks but was just under the bed. There was funny parts of this movie that is about a serious topic and that's because the characters are funny and the movie portrays an image of how everyone was happy and had a normal lives before the rules started changing.

       Life is shown as beautiful throughout the movie in multiple ways but the most memorable was hope, love, and sacrifice. These are portrayed in many different ways.The father sacrifices a lot to make his son happy and pushes himself to make sure his son survives. He gives his son most of the food he earns and risks his life making sure his son doesn't get found out. The father cared more about his son and wife than himself and he did everything he did to keep them alive until his last second, it was all to ensure the safety of his famiy and that's pure sacrifice and love. He always encouraged the people around him and tried to give people hope that they can beat the game and survive the camp. He plays music for his wife and does everything he can to let her know that he's still there for her through the darkness and over the walls. He fed his son and lied to him to encourage him to stay strong and win what he wants in life.