Smashed Up

Germany, target practice, the summer of 2002. The day was humid, making my throat dry. I had to stop every three rounds in order to replenish my throat, with the thirst quenching Landapple juice. There were four different ranges for firing, at this particular shooting range. I went for my last round of bullets and I put the M1 Grand up to my shoulder took aim, then I hear someone shout out “Stop rechts”, which in german means stop right there. So I miss fire and turn to see who it is, but they were talking to some guy who had gone out into the range. As I turn to fire my next bullet, I set up and take aim, to my dismay I see no bullet mark in the target. I think to myself “Hey that’s strange, but I probably just got distracted and misfired.” I set the but of the rifle to my shoulder once more, and then I hear a strange rumbling to my side, I ignore it and assume someone to my left is having some problems and I simply shout “Ruhe nach drüben”, which means quiet down over there. Then the rumbling rises in sound, like an orchestra hitting a cresendo. I ignore and shoot my final bullet, it’s the last thing my hands felt in Germany. I wake up in the hospital, that smelled of disinfectants and medicine. I look around and I hear my stomach growling angrily at me. I see a burger and fries to my side, and I think “Typical American food”. Go to lift my hands to eat it but they are chained down, so I look around and see no one, and I go face first into the fries, the burger was tougher, getting only two bites in, but my stomach thanks me for answering its growls, and I try and figure out what on Earth I am doing in a hospital. I think to the last thing of the firing range, I remember firing the last bullet and keeping my form after the recoil of the rifle. After that everything was one big blur of screams and colors. A nurse walks in, her hair is a canvas, with different colors painted across. I think “What a freak”, but she is a nice nurse, and treats me well for the month I was in the hospital. Luckily she speaks English, a bit broken, but English none the less, and she begins to explain to me what happened from eye-witnesses who told the hospital what happened. It seems that the bullet that had misfired, had ricocheted and hit a overlooking rocky cliff, and somehow a boulder came tumbling down. It just so happens I was the left most person on the shooting range, which made me laugh when I thought someone to the left of me was making the noise, and I yelled at them. The boulder came tumbling down and bounced rite before hitting the floor and came straight down on my rifle and hands. My M1 grand, was broken and shattered, no longer possible for repair, the one gift my Grandpa gave me before he passed away. He had used it in WW2 and he taught me how to use it. Now I had no souvenir of my Grandpa, but memories, and I couldn’t use my hands. I spent the remainder of my vacation, rehabilitating and recovering from the accident. I still go to the range ever now and then, in New York, but I haven’t been to Germany since. Now if you touch the top of my hands, u can feel the bone right away, because no more flesh is left on my top part of my fingers, and there is very little left on my hands. I have some on the bottom part now, but that’s all that has come back since 2002, so in 7 years, maybe in like 14 years, I’ll have some on the top part of my hand. 

Zeena

I hate her, i fell like she uses Ethan. She cared for his mom, and they both knew Ethan wouldn't be able to take care of himself, so she took advantage of the situation. She becomes sickly when ever it pleases her, in order to ruin Ethan's hopes and dreams. If i was Ethan i would have just left her and followed my dreams. Who is she to hold someone back, with no gain of her own. She gains nothing in having a loveless marriage, and she is just sucking the life out of Ethan. Ethan is ruined because of Zeena, and his own stupidity for not leaving. He could have left and become an engineer at anytime he wished, it was not a marriage of love, it was just a lifeless living with another person.

Greek Drama

1. Of course, Al Coleman always use to tell the soccer team "If you ain't cheating you ain't trying." Cheating is the simple use of resources, that you made, and applying them to defeat a stupid grading system

2. You tell your friend you don't like them, but you will try and get along with them the best you can.

3. Let them go, drinking age is defined my maturity in my opinion, the fact that the drinking age is 21 is stupid, why is it that ever other country has it lowered, because other countries aren't stupid about it, they are more mature. Ever time i go to portugal i drink, but im not stupid about it.

4.No, if there was a chance i could get away with it i would, but if your gone for a whole weekend then there is no  way u can get away with it.

5. I cut them a break, times are hard at this point in time, and if the people are trying their hardest then there's no reason i shouldn't

6. Yes, reputation has no meaning on life, if he is affecting me negatively then no i wouldn't be his friend, but if i don't do dumb stuff, and he is nice, then we can be friends

7. Join one, ill get use to it eventually, and grow to like it

8. Of course, family is family no matter what problem they have, if we try and don't let him drink thats even better, but if he does, then hopefully we can bring him home safefully

9. Yes

10. Yes, once again grading system is dumb, and if he is a hard worker then he should pass

1984

Winston went through dehumanization, he lost all of his thoughts as a human, especially with the cage of rats, how he wanted to throw Julia in the cage instead of himself. Once he was finally broken he was released, he went to the Cafe, where he had seen other people, or he thinks he did, and in the end he is a complete party member, obedient and loving of big brother

Terrible ending in my opinion, what a waste of my time, just to see some guy fight back to be put back into his place, without being able to do anything. Sure he did some individual things, but he changes nothing in the Party, absolutly nothing, his life as a human ended with him not being able to do anything, and now he is broken and will live life dehumanized.

Socratic Seminar

I thought it was stupid, i felt like i couldn't say anything i wanted to. whenever i was going to say something someone else would cut me off, and half the things they said was stupid and made no sense. Miller comparing a monarchy, when people get killed if they go against what the king says,  to how we live today was one of the most ignorant comments i ever heard, but yet i felt i couldn't say anything about it, cause it would be like a debate, and someone cut me off again. I felt like the intelligence level was not there to be able to get anything out of the circle. I said a lot less, but my comments were a lot more intelligent. Brian H. said a lot of things, but most of it was just repeating what other people had said, or they would babble aimlessly, i feel the only two people who said anything worth while, and were able to participate, was Brian Thorwarth, and Mike Funstch because they were able to talk, and said something worthwhile. Olivia, and Brian H. a leader.... no.

Quote

 "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty or security." (Benjamin Franklin).

Terrible quote, although it makes fine logic, historically very very bad quote. Benjamin Franklin was known as a partyer so he must have been drunk when he stated this quote. Throughout history personal freedoms have been taken away from people in order to protect the security of the nation. Alien and Sedition acts in the second world war. Also, in the first world war, people weren't allowed to express themselves so America would stay neutral, if you did you ended up going in jail. Even in the Revolution people were not allowed to express themselves, if they did then the English would them them in jail.

Links

The following link is about teen drinking, and about suicide, and how they coincide with each other http://www.questiaschool.com/read/112946530?title=Teens%20and%20Suicide, how substance abuse can lead to mental depression, and finally suicide

http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/suicide.html, is also a link about suicide and how it affects everyone around them, how when someone takes there own life