1/25/12
I am son, brother, friend
I am ocean, calm, peaceful, but full of life
I am yellow, like the sun, warm and cheerful
I am happiness, curiosity, and imagination
I am Chow Mein, hold the sprouts
I am blond hair, blue eyes
I am hats, jeans, and T-shirts
I am smiles and laughter
I am a child of God who loves Him.
If I was being watched by people who were deciding what my job would be, like Jonas in The Giver, it would have to do with inventing equipment for medical purposes. From a young age, I have always been interested in inventing gadgets that make tasks easier for me and others. Once, when I was asked to rake up all of the leaves in our backyard, I tied the rake to my bike and rode back and forth until all of the leaves were in a pile. When I was younger I also used to build inventions with “Tinker Toys” and electricity sets that I got for my birthday or Christmas.
Another thing that I was always fascinated about was my dad’s work, being a Head and Neck Surgeon. He told me about intricate surgeries he performed and the surgical instruments he used, like scalpels and special threads. He showed me the difference between needles. He also told me about amazing instruments that other Medical Specialties used like a laser scalpel. My dad told me how certain things worked to calm me down if I was getting blood work done or getting an injection. All of this information made me think about how some of the operations or instruments could be improved.
The last thing that boosted my imagination was Science-Fiction shows, because in all of them they have incredible medical gadgets that could heal broken bones in a matter of minutes, or lasers that cut through skin and seal it back up as if nothing ever happened.
This would be the perfect job for me because it would combine my medical knowledge that my dad shared with me and using my imagination and love for inventing for the benefit of others. I would invent equipment that would help physicians performing surgeries, and patients that were being operated on. The inventions would help the patient’s recovery like a waterproof cast or a special insole that would take stress of off a hurt foot. For the physicians, I would invent reusable medical instruments because that is a major problem in the medical industry. I would love to do this because it would put my love for inventing to good use.
1/18/12
Under the Blood Red Sun
For my Second Trimester Book Report, I am reading Under the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury. I was in search of a book to read one time and I saw this book on the shelf. I ended up not reading it, but then it came time to choose a book for our book report and I could not find a book on World War II. Then I remembered Under the Blood-Red Sun.
Under the Blood-Red Sun is about a boy named Tomi and his Japanese family living in Hawaii during World War II. Pearl Harbor strikes and most of the Japanese immigrants are arrested. Then Tomi’s grandfather and father are arrested. Through this hard time, Tomi finds that his true friends are his baseball team mates, the Rats.
I did not know much about the book, except for the summary. As I have been reading though, I have been finding out that it is much more than the summary says. I highly recommend this book if you like historical fiction. Graham Salisbury does an excellent of describing events and making you feel the same way the character does.
1/18/12
Graham Salisbury
Graham Salisbury, the author of “Under the Blood Red Sun,” was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 11, 1944. He spent most of his childhood though, on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii, where he had family roots. His father was a navy pilot who survived the Pearl harbor attack. Sadly, he died on Graham’s first birthday, a few years later, when he got shot down in his plane. Graham Salisbury graduated from California State University, Northridge. He has written many books, which all have boys as the main characters, who are trying to find who they are as they grow into manhood. Besides writing, he likes boating, biking, running, and fishing. Graham Salisbury is currently living in Portland, Oregon.
The Perfect Community
We are about to begin reading “The Giver”, by Lois Lowry. The Giver is a book that explores the thought of “the perfect community.” We were assigned to write about what would be included in our own perfect communities. This got me thinking about, and made me realize, what I am grateful for in my life and what I could live without.
In my perfect community, the people would be genuinely nice, good spirited, and welcoming. Music would always be playing everywhere, such as in the parks and stores. And laughter would be ringing throughout the community at all times. Every child would have parents, because our parents do so much for us and help, encourage and love us so much. The people themselves would act as one. Such as if someone needed help, the rest of the people would all try to help that person. The people would display trust, loyalty, humility, compassion, and love towards each other. They would also not judge people by their appearance. The people would have common sense. Also in my perfect community everyone would have faith God and show His love to others.
The community would be clean and a pleasant place to live in. There would be less hustle and bustle to get to places. There would be the usual shops and schools. It would have a government, currency, and fair taxes. There would be more job opportunities. Cell phones would not be allowed in certain places such as cafes and bookstores. Not all problems would be resolved because I think that problems test our faith and coping skills. This is what life would be like in my perfect community.
11/28/11
My Shakespeare Journal
Our sixth grade class has recently finished a movie of Shakespeare’s play, “Much Ado About Nothing.” We all had two jobs, a speaking role and a crew job. I portrayed the role of Prince Don Pedro. Throughout the duration of the production we all kept journals and had to write about different prompts. One of them was to write a character description, this is what I wrote.
Don Pedro, to me, is a noble and humble prince. I imagine him to have brown hair and be well built. He would have a smile and wear nice clothes. Not fancy clothes, but not dirty or ragged clothes. I think he would talk with a calm, soothing voice. He would not be serious, yet not goofy, he would act normal. Don Pedro is the voice of reason and prevents conflicts. People would respect him, but not always agree with him. I think some people, like Don John, Borachio, or maybe even Hero and Leonota might think that he thinks he is perfect or always has to be right.
In real life, I probably act a little like Don Pedro, in both good and bad ways. I think sometimes I do feel like I have to be right, and other times I try to be the voice of reason and prevent fights. In our movie of “Much Ado About Nothing,” I try to be more like what I think Don Pedro is, and try to stay calm and try to always have a happy attitude. What I think of Don Pedro may be the complete opposite of what Shakespeare meant for him to be.