I Believe

Allentown, New Jersey was where my life started. This is the place where all of my memories and friends were. This was my Home! The years 2004 to 2008 were the best times of my life. In kindergarten, I met my two best friends, Joey and Kevin. I did everything with them; vacation, sports, and sleepovers. I can remember the stupidest things we did together. My life was great, not to mention that they lived right behind me. We hung out after school and during summer break. I pretty much didn’t do anything without them. The three of us started soccer in first grade. We hung out a lot at practice and made more friends. Soccer wasn’t a big for us until about the third grade. We started traveling to different parts of New Jersey. This was a lot of fun traveling with my friends in the car. In the fourth grade we went down to the beach to do a beach soccer tournament. This was insanely fun. We would play soccer for a couple of hours and then we would go play in the water park. Once again this was the best time of my life. In the fourth grade I started playing lacrosse. Lacrosse is my absolute favorite sport. I got both of my best friends into it and we played a lot in Joey’s back yard. Nothing changed between the three of us, until the fifth grade. I found out I was moving.

Moving to Malaysia was devastating for me. I didn’t know what to do. I’ve never had to leave my friends before and now I was just supposed to forget them. We got to Kuala Lumpur around July and I had no friends. I started the sixth grade and as time went by I started making new friends. I started going to their house’s or them coming to mine. My friends and I would go to the malls, do school traveling trips, and even go on vacation together. I even have stupid memories with these friends, such as making up a new game of tag. We would go to play paintball or watch movies almost every weekend. If not we would just have sleepovers. Life for me was great again, but it didn’t last long. Once again I got the horrible news. I was moving again, but this time, to Abu Dhabi.

When I first heard the news I was really upset. Once again I would be leaving my friends behind. What I have learned in KL is that it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, what language they speak, or what they look like, I can have a friendship like I had in Allentown. Now that I’m moving to Abu Dhabi, of course I’m scared, but I believe that with a good attitude and open mind, I can find friends that will last me a lifetime.

Battle of Hastings 1066

The two games we played were about the Battle of Hastings 1066. The first game was a choice game. We had to choose between two sayings. Each one created a different ending, either Duke William's death or King Harold's death. This game was boring, but I learned from it. I learned that whatever choice you take effects the ending of the battle. Whoever makes the decisions is in charge. The battle relies on them. The second game we played was a strategy role playing game.We got to choose which team to move and if they should attack. You can choose your archers, knights, King, and just your men. You have to aim with your archers and shoot just right. If you shoot too long or short it could hurt your team. I learned that if you do one thing wrong you can ruin your fight. In 1066 King Harold ruled England after King Edward died. Many people did not agree with this, such as, Duke William and King Harald. This conflict led into the Battle of Hastings. The battle was between England against Normandy and England against Norway. These two countries both wanted the power of England. What we know today is that King Harald was killed in battle with his men and the fleeing men left with less than half of the boats they came in. When it came down to England against Normandy the english had the advantage. They were placed at the top of a hill and could kill all of the men running uphill, but the Normans were smart they pretended to flee. The English ran after them and then the Normans turned around and killed them all. It is told that King Harold was shot in the eye and died. Duke of William turned into the King of England, King William of England. This is a valuble learning experiance because it is fun and you learn. There are not many games that are about history and are fun. This game teaches you more about the battle and you get to FIGHT!

Battle for The Crown- In plain English (part 1)

Boy in Striped Pajamas Response

The books “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” and “Rose Blanche” take place in the same time period, the Holocaust. The thematic concepts of “Rose Blanche” are courage, curiosity, and innocence. You need courage to stand up for what is wrong and to correct the wrong. These themes are very similar to the ones in “The Boy in Striped Pajamas”, but are also very different. Bruno has a different courage in him. Bruno has courage to go in to the camp and help his friend Shmuel, but didn’t have the courage to stand up for him. Rose too for Rose Blanche helps many people, but doesn’t enter the camp. The protagonists in these two books are very similar. They are innocent, curious, and left out of what is happening. They don’t really understand what is happening around them, just what they’ve been told. The ends of the books both culminate in death, both children die with the Jews, both have relationships with them.

“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” and “Rose Blanche” are both set in the far past. The past can happen again and that is why learning about this topic is very important. Things that happened in the holocaust are terrifying and disgusting. We have to learn that 6 million Jews died from people not speaking out. Speaking out is very dangerous, but it can save lives. People didn’t speak out during that time, so the 6 million Jews had little chance of staying alive. I understand why no one stood up and worry that I too may not have the courage to speak, but I’d like to believe I could. After reading about Le Chambon, White Rose, and Boy in Striped I have convinced myself that I would try my best to help anyone in need. That is why if this ever happens again people will be more educated about what will happen if we don’t speak out. That is why the Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a book everyone should read. People at Le Chambon are heroes. They risked their life to save 5,000 Jews. Those 5,000 Jews went on to live a great life after the war was over. Although speaking out can save lives, the sentence can be death or prison. It is a very big decision what to do. Either bystand or take action. Both have consequences, death or life. That is why not many people speak out.

Void (black box)

1) What would you call this story? Why?
I would call this story the black dot because that is what the story is about. We don't know what the black dot is until the end.

2) What did you think was going to happen? What clues in the text led you to believe this?
I thought that someone was going to die. I could sense it from he beginning when the kids ran and got rocks and when they pulled the slips of paper it was quiet.

3) How did you feel when the end of the story was not given to you?
When the end of the story wasn't given to me i was so angry. They told us the whole story and then just said go. I wanted to know the end for the whole day. I kept thinking what was going to happen. In class and at home I was anxious to open the end.

4) How did you feel when you were handed the mystery paper? What did you think was in it? Did you follow the instructions? Why/why not?

When i received the mystery paper i wondered what it was. Then after thinking about it i realized it was the end of the story. I followed the instructions as much as I could, but some people told me what it was. I didn't open it until 5 though.

5) How did you feel about the black box and the black spot/blank paper? Explain.
When they had the black box i wondered what it was for, because in the story the black box is bad. So i wondered if this black box was bad. When I got the paper, mine had a spot on it and no one in my group did. I wondered what it was for. In other groups only 1 person had a spot as well. I thought maybe we had to do something differently then the others.

6) How did you feel when you read the end of the story? Explain.
When I read the end of the story i was confused. I didn't think they would stone the lady to death. It frightened me when I tried to picture it in my head. I didn't get why they picked twice out of the box. When they were all silent it felt as if the atmosphere in the story was weary. It was almost as if everyone was watching each other. I was frightened how the kids would stone the lady as well. They killed her and didn't even care. The town killed one of their own.

7) Were your predictions correct? How did you feel about that?
I was correct that someone would die. The story was foreshadowing a lot. Also the author kept the story weary and creepy. I thought that someone would have been hung because it said there was a stage where they all stood on and in the old times people would be hung on stages. I was wrong, but also right.

8) What would have helped you to make a better prediction?
If they had told more about the stones and why they did this every year. If the had said, 'the stones were ready to be thrown' or 'every year the town grows larger and that is why one must go,' then i would have had a better prediction. I was mostly right anyway.

9) Why did the author leave these voids in the story?

The autor left these voids to create tension. Tension pulls the reader into the story and it pulled me in. Also the voids create thinking, making you think about what will happen and why. This way the reader gets to imagine the story for him/herself. Creating the story for yourself pulls you in and then you can't put the book down. This is how people get attached to books.

Steve McCurry Photo Response

Steve McCurry, born in Philadelphia and graduated from the Pennsylvania State University for Arts and Architecture, travels extensively mostly in Asia to places such as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Philippines. He photographs many different things, from people to piles of concrete. In many of McCurry’s photos we see him mostly focusing on the human consequences of war, not only showing what war impresses on the landscape, but, rather, on the human face. “Maybe one definition of hell is that it is the place where more effort produces fewer results.”

There are 2 of Steve McCurry’s photos that really touch me. One photo in particular is of a small boy wearing an orange sleeveless button up t-shirt with a brown hoodie over the top of his head coming down his back. Also this small boy is holding a pistol pointing it to the air. There is nothing in the background and he is the main focus. I think McCurry is trying to emphasize that there are many child soldiers in the world. From babies to grandparents there are soldiers. These people really do not have a choice if they do or don’t want to fight. Most kids don’t know what is right. They want to do what everyone else is doing so they join just to be like everyone else. If they are at war then they cannot go to school. If they have no education the rest of their lives are being ruined. Every child and adult has the right to get an education. No child should be involved directly in armed combat. The UN made rights for children, but these countries are where rights are denied. I look at my life and the young boy’s, the subject of the photo, life and just try to take it in. I go to a private school with a great education and activities to join while this boy fights to live with no education and no time to play. He is only a kid and he needs to play. He looks like a kid I would play soccer with at the park, but when I look at the gun it scares me. He could have killed families and seen death before his eyes. To be in his situation is just terrifying.

Another touching photo is of a bunch of children playing on an anti-aircraft gun. There are many bombshells near the front and the kids are swinging and hanging on the barrel. The boys and girls are having fun playing on it like a jungle Jim. The background is a far away city that is made of sand. They are far away from their home, but they are out of the violence. I think McCurry is showing everyone that kids will use their imagination in danger or not. That is what they do. They play and play and play, in school, on the street, or on a useable gun. Kids take all danger out and put in happiness. I look at these kids and think to myself “are they crazy?” They are jumping on what was, or possibly still is, a super dangerous gun. Then I realized that they are raised in a world of guns and terror and this is not as dangerous as playing in the city. They play and to them this huge gun, terrifying to me, is part of their everyday life, it’s just like a jungle gym and that’s the shock. Now that they are away from the city, they are free to play and jump and go crazy, just like us. This shows that all kids play, no matter what they are given they will play with it.

Learning about Steve McCurry has taught me a lot about photography. McCurry doesn’t try to take amazing photos, but takes photos of people living their normal lives. Just a simple picture of the Afghan Girl has won him many awards. All of his pictures are simple and precise. He focuses on normal people doing normal things. His pictures also show how people don’t have rights like we do. People in 3^rd world countries don't have the choices like we do. A photo will last a lifetime if it shows a story. Most of McCurry’s photos tell a story or make you think of your own story. To read a photo you look at all the detail. Everything is important, even the little bombshells. They all tell stories. Every photo has many journeys within them. Real war, real suffering, and real joy are all shown in photos, and it it’s the realness that connects the viewer to the situation more than the words. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The problem is that intentions which are based on faulty assumptions are doomed to failure”

Afghan Girl

Steve McCurry has traveled to many places in the world, but mostly focusing on Asia and 3^rd world countries. He photographs all sorts of tings like animals, fires, and even death. All of his photos tell their own story. One of his photos that is most known is the Afghan girl. McCurry found her at the Nasir Bagh refugee camp in Pakistan. When he saw her he just had to take the photo. Now it is one of the most known photos in the world. 17 years after the photo was taken Sharbat Gula was finally found. Many people were looking for her, but she was never found. National Geographic went back to her camp, Nasir Bagh where she was not there. They asked many contacts if they knew this girl. The team went through villages and villages until someone recognized her. The team was taken to the girls’ brother who had the same eyes as the Afghan girl. "The second I saw the color of her brother's eyes, I knew we had the right family," (Matson) The brother showed the team where she lived but because Sharbat Gula lives a traditional Muslim life behind the veil, she was not allowed to meet men outside her family, but the Geographic team was given permission to send a female associate producer to meet Sharbat and photograph her face. To make sure this was the same girl who was photographed 17 years earlier the team obtained verification through iris-scanning technology and face-recognition techniques used by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. The family gave permission for Steve McCurry to meet Sharbat Gula once again. When Sharbat agreed to have her picture taken for the second time in her life, she came out from the secrecy of her veil to tell her story. She wanted the people around the world who knew her face to know that she survived the refugee camp in Pakistan. She married and had four daughters, one of whom died in infancy. She lives in obscurity, according to the customs and traditions of her culture and religion. A member of the Pashtun ethnic group in Afghanistan, Sharbat said she fared relatively well under Taliban rule, which, she feels, provided a measure of stability after the chaos and terror of the Soviet war. She will not give another media interview and she wishes not to be contacted. Her family has relocated to a different village in a remote part of Afghanistan, where she will continue to live her life in purdah.

When I look at the photo of the Afghan girl I am astonished. This is a very beautiful girl living in a not so beautiful country. To be born with those green eyes is just luck. Her eyes are 1 in a million. This makes you think if more people around the world just like Sharbat are as beautiful as her. When you really stare into her eyes you feel scared yet happy. The eyes show terror within them but also show happiness. I think it has become one of the 100 most influential photos because it influences people to travel. It influences people to get out of their daily lives and go find someone like this, to travel and witness things that will blow your mind. It might influence people to help people in Afghanistan or just visit and help kids at refugee camps. This picture is one of the greatest photos ever taken and it will last for centuries.