Yesterday, a brisk day indeed, found me walking through the woods with 2 of my 4 dogs faithfully traipsing beside me. Now, if it sounds mean that I only took 2 instead of all 4, well, that is simply because YOU never tried walking 4 dogs through the woods while maintaining sanity. No small feat, I assure you. Anyway, I took the other 2 later on that day, I swear.
So, in any case, there I am, walking with Josie and Jack when I see an opening in the woods that opens up to a trail, so immediately I want to explore it.
Which started me thinking and drawing parallels. For instance, the same thing happens when I open a notebook to a blank piece of paper--I immediately want to fill it with words, ideas, thoughts (some half-baked, some not) etc. Or when I stare out into the ocean and immediately feel the urge to sail to the ends of it to see where it stops. I am fascinated by the unknown and it is because of that fascination I became a teacher in the first place. Why? Because the unknown triggers a desire in me to KNOW, to learn. And I am so thankful for that because without it, I wouldn't be here, in room 204, typing out this blog.
And that, my pumpkin-sunshines, is what I want to focus on this week, especially in the spirit of my favorite holiday--Thanksgiving. Which, by the way was E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-T!! I am still half in a food coma.
So, tell me, what is it that you're thankful for? Now, please don't limit yourselves to the trite old cliches like "I'm thankful for my family" blah blah blah...Not that it isn't good to be thankful for your fam--of course it is. But what I want you to do here is go a little deeper. I am thankful for my desire to KNOW-for wanting to explore unknown trails, to add to the store of things I learn on a day-to-day basis. I explained why already--and I want you to do the same. It won't be enough to tell us what you are thankful for--you also need to include the WHY. Try to consider yourself--who you are, what you value and where you imagine yourself to be in the future.
Use the force.
(450-500 words/60pts)
Since this question is insanely difficult, I am going to dig deep and say that I am truly thankful to be able to pass as a Caucasian individual in this racist, prejudice world. My dad and I went hunting up in a town called Pittsgrove a few weeks back. When we went to the local gun shop, I looked around and there were approximately 30 Caucasian men with hillbilly accents. I was certainly ready to fight and I could say the same for my father. We looked past the "STAFF ONLY" sticker on the door, and there was a dark-skinned African American completely fitting in with the others with no problem. If I closed my eyes and never had seen him, I would've thought he was a Caucasian male also, by the way he spoke. I realized that I had nothing to worry about because my skin is light and I could pass as Sicilian. The reason my skin is light is probably because my mother is from Calabria, Italy. They are lighter skinned. I am thankful because I know that when I go out to an area where blacks are frowned upon, I can just pretend that I'm a dark Italian. It's ashame, but it works. I am thankful for many other things but since we had to think "deep" thoughts, I had no other choice than to put this. It is interesting though because many mixed people don't do what I do. Ex: Hunting. So a lot of people haven't experienced what I've experienced. My word of wisdom is, "Never tell strangers the truth if the truth, in the end, may hurt you."
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for the relationship i have with my brother adam. The relatioship is differnt then regular brothers because we do everything together and we never fight. He is like the best role model for me. He has kinda like same mind. We like same things fighting, hunting, etc. I am thankful for this because i know i will always one person in my life that will look out for me.
ReplyDeleteSince I’m not a pro in almost any sport I play I am certainly thankful for my ability to learn and comprehend information fairly quickly. It seems like in today’s modern age in order to be successful you need to have one of two things: you need to have a huge brain, or be the best athlete the world has ever seen. Since I have almost no shot at the second option I’ve decided to live my life in a way I can actually achieve something. For as long as I can remember it has always come easy to me for learning information, except spelling I am the world’s worst speller. I’ve never had to study for any test in my life all I normally due is pay attention to class lectures and I can remember ever word a teacher said and put it on the test. This talent of mine has made some people mad though just for the simple fact they could study hours more than me and I might get a better grade than them. However this talent does have its draw backs, due to my lack of studying my studying skills have suffered. Since I can’t study well shortly after a test I take most of the information I just learned and delete it. Not to mention when it comes to something I do need to study for I have no idea where to even start. It’s not just school work that this sponge of a brain I have comes in handy though. In sports I can quickly pick up the basics or the game rules which makes it nice if I get interested in it. I never do perfect any of those however, which is one of the reasons I’m not an amazing athlete. It helps me remember jokes so I can use them and put my own little twist on them for when the situation arises. My mind is one of my great assets in my life and without it I have no idea where I would be. It sometimes over thinks things, but it has all around served me well. I’m most thankful for my ability to soak up information it’s what really makes me stand out of a crowd of people because with this ability I can use it to make me different. I’m most thankful for this because I have based my entire life around my intelligence and it plays a big part in my life. If anything were to ever happen to affect that my life would be thrown into chaos.
ReplyDeleteWell I can honestly say I am thankful for my athletic ability cause without that I would have nothing in my life. I am a very active person I’ve played basketball, football, and I ran track all my life since I was 6 to be exact. I use these sports to fill up my time cause I don’t hang out a lot with my friends and I need something to fill the time. Plus I use to be a little fat so I use sports to keep my weight in check and to keep my body looking sexy. There was a time were I tried to quiet playing football but I was so bored, I had nothing to do and it killed me so I went and played. Without my athletics I would be a bored fat kid who would nothing all day but sit on his butt and watch TV or play video games. I am also thankful for my funny personality because with that I was able to make friends with the people on my sports team. People always say I am funny and I make a lot of friends because I am so funny. I really don’t try to be funny I jus be myself and people say I am a really funny person. I also use my funny personality to get females cause all girls love a man who can make them laugh that’s 1 of the reasons why I have a girlfriend right now. Without this quality I probably wouldn’t have any friends or a girlfriend so I am very thankful for this. 1 last thing I would like to be thankful for is my kindness; I can be a very kind person to everyone. Whenever I am kind to someone I always feel good inside and it makes me very happy. Its also a great way to pick up girls cause when your kind to them they’re kind to you, just kidding but I do like being kind to other people.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for everyday I am able to wake up and live. I am thankful for this because every minute in America someone is losing there life that is crazy you know how many minutes are in a day? That’s a lot of people dead at the end of each day. I love life it is such a precocious gift. Just be able to get up and go to school every day, which I absolutely hate, but having the choice to do this is what I appreciate. When I look at other countries, it makes me proud to be an American. We have a lot of freedom to do what we want. Other children aren’t as lucky as me. They have to stay home and help support the family and they can’t go gets an education making it impossible to ever get ahead in life they are going to be doing the same thing their parents are and the trend is just going to keep going down the line. This question is really hard I don’t like it. I’m thankful for everything I am given in life because I know not everyone gets what I have.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Ms Bunje for this hard blog. I would have to say I am thankful for my strength. I went through a lot in my life and I'm still standing. Although when I thiknk back on things I often tend to get emotional but I'm not trying to ease my pain with drugs alcohol and sex. I don't think that is dealing with or easing the pain, it's making it worse. I believe that I have the strength to endure almost anything. With my firm belief in God, I believe that nothing can stop me and keep me down. Even if I get knocked down to my knees, I always gather up the strength to get back up again. Strength isn't always getting up it's also knowing when to stay down long enough so the same thing doesn't knock you down again. I believe that everything happens for a reason and i am thankful for the reasons that everything happened, the good, bad, ugly, and beautiful. I'm also thankful for my few but faithful friends. I know I can count on them whenever I am in trouble or just need a shoulder to lean on. Now a days there just aren't a lot of reliable friends but I found some of the reliable ones that were out there. I' thankful for everything in life its kind of hard to just pick out a few.
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for myself. I am thankful for my intelligence. I am thankful for my personality. I am thankful for my interests. I am thankful for how I was raised and the individual that I’ve become. I am thankful for my choices in life and life’s choices for me. I’m thankful for parents who cared for me and taught me manners. I’m thankful for my teachers and my neighbors. In essence, I’m thankful for everything that has made me who I am today. I can’t imagine myself as being anybody else. I am me, and I’m proud to be me. I could’ve become a genius hacker, but I lack in resources. I could’ve become a jock, but I lack in interest. I could’ve become a ‘player’, but I lack in courage. I could’ve been a straight A student, but I lack in motivation. I could’ve become a fighter, but I lack in strength. I could’ve become popular, but I lack in beauty. Everything has a part in shaping who you are, from your parents to your friends to even your belongings. There are an infinite number of possible lifestyles an individual can achieve, but it all comes down to the choices of yourself and others. (Geek-out moment approaching) In episode 26 of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Simon and his crew were trapped in a trance because of the ‘infinite maze’, where each person lives through every possible life in his/her mind. It was one of my favorite episodes because it gives you an idea about how your life can really change from the smallest things. One of the characters, Viral, was a beastman [shares both human and animal genes] who used to be a main villain and was a captain in an army fighting a meaningless war. He also had multiple experiments done on his body to make him able to survive without vital organs, should he be shot in battle. In one of his dreams, he was in a meadow of flowers playing with a girl hinted to be his daughter. There was also a woman smiling on the side, who is supposedly his wife. Kamina wakes them from the trance, but it was especially sad for viral because he had to leave behind his ‘family’ to go back to the life he never wanted. For me, life is a gamble. I think that everything is up to chance. This doesn’t mean that I throw meaning into the wind, though. However, that is a discussion for another day. Back to the topic at hand, I am very happy about the way my life turned out. In the future I can see myself as either some kind of scientist or a video-game designer. Either way, I’ll have a good chance of living a semi-normal life. I also see myself with children. I love kids, but I don’t know about how I’m going to get a wife. However, there is always a chance.
ReplyDelete“Nothing is hopeless in this world! The possibility exists!”
-Fuura Kafuka
DARN! I can't be thankful for my parents!?
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll be thankful for everything they had put into me, to make me the person I am today. I am thankful for my mental strength, yearn for knowledge, self respect, non materialistic persona, and my passionate persona.
Growing up I was told to never give up, that if I truly believe in something after I studied it from all other perspectives, then I should never bow to any other ideology. I was told, but I'm thankful that I followed. I believe that that strength, even if it might become the death of me, is a beautiful weapon in life. It makes you live undoubtable about your core beliefs, values, ethics, and faith. I think that that's the best thing to have even if the majority is against you, because then you are reminded that you are stronger that you didn't give in. I was always made fun of that my passion and that stubborn personality to never give in will be the death of me and though it's a sad thing, I think I'd rather die as I lived then die as a liar.
I also am thankful for my self respect. I look around and I see many guys and girls put themselves out there with no self respect or dignity at all. This is a big issue with me, I like to be preserved and almost unique in a way that makes me more special because I'm not as easily acquired, nor one to be giving in. This would be one of the biggest strengths I have. I don't let sweet words, and feelings mind boggle me into slipping out of my set of life rules. I'm not uptight, but I like to be in power of my own actions and the outcomes from my actions. I'm also one of the few people that I know that aren't very attached to materialistic life styles. I prefer to have the "happiness" and emotional part out of life. Sadly though money is very tempting and could make life so much easier, I still believe that it can't fix people, nor can it create feelings and what we as humans are capable of with out feelings and actions. This brings me to my passionate personality. When I put my all in something, I get fully involved, I try to do everything with heart. I try to be fully engulfed or not be involved half baked. I believe that life is so much more sincere, and powerful that way. It might not all be sweet, but even sad advocation and fighting for the right thing, I try to do it because I grow to love it. People always notice that about me, the fact that I'm here to help, listen, and be there full heartedly for them. I don't want the credit, and as cheesy as it sounds I do it because it feels good to be needed.
Sometimes I find it hard to be thankful for things but I appreciate everything. I'm not sure if appreciation and being thankful are the same thing so I'm not really going to go into that. I do however appreciate my best friend Justice & my oldest sister Brooklyn because I feel like their the people I'm closetest to. If nobody else understands me then I'm sure one them does & they're always there for me. I also appreciate the handful of real people I have on my life. The one thing that just bothered me more than anything is when people are pretending to be something they're not, like nice. I think it's stupid to not say how you really feel cause you don't wanna seem mean. The people I associate myself with don't try to fit in any where and always keep it 100, they don't care about what other people think & I'm confident that they always have my back. The thing I might appreciate the most is other peoples creativity, especially when it comes to music. I love how artist can put together words and metaphors that make you sit back and think about it. The word play used is clever and it's not always so easy to understand at first but that's the fun part of it. I love how artist can convey a message to fans or make them feel a certain emotion and not just anybody can do that, I admire the skill and dedication they put into their job. I find it amazing that even after they die people will still be able to listen to them because they'll live through their music. It inspires me and somewhat keeps me sane. I just appreciate everything I have in general & don't really complain because I know there are tons of people that are worse off than me
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