PechaKucha: Superior Skydiving

I read the PechaKucha about skydiving. The narrator, Lyn Langlais, was explaining why her passion is skydiving and the trials she went through to achieve her dream.

Polish: The narrator paused a lot and used the words "uh" and "um" throughout her presentation. This showed me that she was having a hard time coming up with what to say next. The presentation could have flowed more smoothly.

Praise: The narrator did keep my interest and I found what she was talking about fascinating. She described what she was talking about in a way that I could understand and I enjoyed hearing about her experiences.

Overall I enjoyed the PechaKucha and am excited to finish my own to see how it turns out; Although, I am nervous to see if I will have enough to talk about on each slide!

What are the in's and out's of Reincarnation?

    While reading the autobiography written by Daisy, my correspondent, she said something that caught my eye and piqued my interest. She was talking about her close relationship with her best friend when she said,  "In my opinion, it is possible that we had met each other in our last life." I have heard the word reincarnation thrown around a lot, but never thought to research it and dive into what it is really about.

    Reincarnation is the religious or philosophical concept that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins a new life in a new body. The 'Spirit World' is said to be the real home of the soul and earth is just the place the soul visits for a period of time to gain spiritual training. On average the soul reincarnates once every 300-400 years. When a soul reincarnates on earth it looses all memories, so it is able to acquire a new personality that is not persuaded by a past life. People that were unkind/selfish on earth and die will then go to hell to for self-reflection.

    Souls are only reincarnated from heaven because they can not be born from hell. If spirits were able to be born from hell then the earth would turn into hell because it would be filled with hell spirits. Every one that does live on Earth was reincarnated from Heaven.  Hell spirits will only be able to be reincarnated after they have reflected on their sins.

    Even after reading all about reincarnation I personally do not believe in it. It goes against my personal religious beliefs, but that does not mean that I didn't have fun researching and learning more about reincarnation and how the spirit world works. I kept my mind open while researching this topic and found that it is truly fascinating and I can definitely see the allure in believing that once you die you can start over again and that you have multiple chances to change your life.

 

My Sources:

"Eternal Life and Reincarnation." Happy Science North America. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.

 

      Daisy (Zhao). "Daily Life". Letter to Katy Melton. October 27, 2014. Qingdao, China.







Face to Face

While listening to everyone's  stories it makes you take a step back and realize how us "white people" have it pretty easy; it is rare that we come across racism. Its interesting to hear all the different point of views from everyone else. The people who talked about 9/11 and Pearl Harbor all had similar experiences with racism after the events. While talking about fear, Sayema Hameed said, "I felt fear for the first time in my life." She was terrified of how others were treating her for something she didn't even do just because she had the same color of skin as them. Some people like, Satsuki Ina experienced troubles with identity. She states that, "They changed my name from Satsuki to Sandy." She also said that she would refuse to speak the Japanese language when her mom tried to teach her and her siblings after the war. This is sad to me because no one should have to change who they are just so they aren't tormented about other peoples actions.

Book Response #4: The Fault In Our Stars

 In my last book blog I was at the part, in The Fault In Our Stars, where Hazel and Augustus were just beginning their friendship. Now, I have just finished the book and even though the ending is sad it's also filled with hope. Hazel and Augustus are able to take a trip to Amsterdam to visit Hazels favorite author and even though the trip isn't all what she expected they are still able to experience life together and to do things they wouldn't normally be able to do. The type of love that Hazel and Augustus has shown through throughout the entire story. The emotions I experienced while reading this book was from sad to happy to anxious to mournful. I felt as if I was experiencing this story with them and they were taking me on an emotional roller coaster.

 I chose this picture because in the story Augustus says, "It's a metaphor, see: You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do its killing." Through out the entire book Augustus has a cigarette between his teeth to prove that even though cigarettes are bad its the people that give them the power to do harm in the first place.

If I were to compare John Green to an author now, it would have to be Nicholas Sparks because the story is so amazingly written and  has an incredible love story just like anything else Sparks has ever wrote.

 “But it is the nature of stars to cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he has Cassius note, ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.”

 

Reading Response #3: The Fault In Our Stars

The book that I started to read this past week was The Fault In Our Stars. I decided to read this book because the movie was so good and even though I'm no where near finishing the book yet I can already tell that it is going to be very good! As most people know this book is about a girl named, Hazel, who has thyroid cancer and the cancer has now spread to her lungs. Hazel has always kept everyone around her at a distance to prevent them from getting hurt, that is until she meets Augustus Waters at Cancer Kid Support Group. This group is Hazel's mothers way of pushing her to make some friends, which is exactly what happens. Augustus Waters is exactly what Hazel needs in her life; someone fun and adventurous.

John Green is able to capture his readers attention with his character Hazel. She is snarky and very witty; she keeps me on my toes while reading and I'm always waiting for what she is going to say next. This story is a work of fiction and is all about romance and reality. The romance in the story is between Hazel and Augustus. The reality in the story and in life is that everyone dies eventually, whether you have a long life or a short one. This story reminded me of the book My Sisters Keeper; in this book the main character's sister has cancer and throughout the book you see how much of a struggle it is to have to watch someone you love dying and not being able to do anything about it. In The Fault In Our Stars, Hazels parents have the same issue, they cant seem to be able to accept the fact that their daughter has a terminal illness.

The picture that I chose is of the famous quotes within the book and it shows the thinking of Hazel and Augustus.

Reading Response #2: Divergent

    Divergent by Veronica Roth was written in a futuristic world where everyone is separated into factions based on five different virtues: Abnegation, Candor, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. The main character Beatrice is originally from Abnegation, but feels like she doesn't really fit in. Each year all the sixteen-year-olds take an aptitude test to determine which faction they would best fit into. After they find out the results to the test, they can choose which faction they want to be in. However, if they choose one that is different than the one they were originally from, they can no longer communicate with their family and friends from that faction. Beatrice finds herself struggling to make the decision that is best for her family or best for herself.

"Tomorrow at the Choosing Ceremony, I will decide on a faction; I will decide the rest of my life; I will decide to stay with my family or abandon them."(pg. 2)

    




 Divergent was made into a movie this past March and after I went to see it (because everyone was raving about the book) I didn't understand what all the fuss was about. So I decided to read the book instead and see if it was any better; I was shocked that throughout the entire book it kept my attention and I couldn't put it down. Veronica Roth's writing style was easy to follow and the plot was gripping. There was never a time when I found myself bored, or ready to call it quits. This book is a quick read that won't let you down; it has everything from romance to action to sci-fi to suspense.

"Human reason can excuse any evil; that is why it’s so important that we don’t rely on it." (pg. 102)

"The Dauntless guards close the gate and lock it behind them.  The lock is on the outside.  I bite my lip.  Why would they lock the gate from the outside and not the inside?  It almost seems like they don’t want to keep something out; they want to keep us in." (pg. 128)

"...it’s when you’re acting selflessly that you are at your bravest." (pg. 311)

Reading Response

Reading Response: Revived

    Revived by Cat Patrick is a work of fiction that is a mix between action, sci-fi, and romance. It takes place in a futuristic world where there is a secret drug, called Revive, that can bring humans back to life. The main character Daisy Appleby is one of the "lucky" kids who gets to test out the drug. Her parents, aka government workers, Mason and Cassie take care of Daisy and make sure there are no problems with the drug. After dying for the fifth time Daisy moves to Omaha, Nebraska where she meets Matt and Audrey McKean who soon become her first real friends. Daisy soon realizes that its easier to keep your secrets when you have no one to share them with.

                                            

                            "She's not suppose to be alive.

He's not suppose to know her secrets."

     

    When I first checked out this book I thought it would keep my attention throughout and would be a good quick read... After wasting my time reading 336 pages of this book I came to the same conclusion that I did half way through... The characters seemed dull and the book was completely predictable. Girl isn't suppose to tell anyone her secret. Girl falls helplessly in love with guy after knowing him for a week (who has no flaws). Girl spills all secrets to guy and all chaos ensues.

"Matt there's something I need to tell you," I begin. "It's about me. About my life... I'm not sure where to start... I died when I was four years old. The drug brought me back to life."

And what's Matts response???

"That's... Are you messing with me?" Matt asks.

Really Matt your girlfriend just told you she was dead, but came back to life with a drug and your response is that?!?!

So, as you can see where there could have been some hmph in the book or some dramatic responses there was nothing. Zilch. Nada. There was nothing that caught my attention or made me ready to turn the page.









15 Things About Me

1. My favorite food is sushi
2. I hate the color orange
3. I dont like cake or cupcakes
4. Netflix is my best friend
5. My favorite tv show is Parenthood
6. I would like to travel to Australia some day 
7. I want to be a labor & delivery nurse
8. The thought of picking a College makes me feel like I'm going to brake out in hives
9. My favorite movie is Bridesmaids
10. My favorite actress is Melissa McCarthy
11. I'm a terrible driver
12. I talk to my dog in a baby voice
13. I'm very uncoordinated and not at all athletic
14. I hate any kind of physical exercise
15. I have played the viola for 8 years, but only to please my parents (I actually hate it)