Journal # 8

Think of something that represents you. A rose, a song, an animal, what is it? Why does it represent you?

I'm represented by my power animal, the bald head eagle. Swift and courageous, delicate but powerful, majestic and beautiful. I am the symbol of all things righteous and true. I am the Bald Head Eagle!

I hope you didn't take any of that seriously, I couldn't help but say something a little silly cause I find the topic a little campy and corny, no offense. I'll try my best to answer the question though to the best of my abilities. I can't think of an animal or an inanimate object that best represents me personally but maybe I'll take this time to talk about a song that I can definitely identify with.

If I was vibration, and could not be seen, only heard. I would be the song Sowing Season by the band Brand New. There's a couple lines that strike a cord with me and its a little negative but maybe it means something to me because of the things i've been through in life. The lyrics are.

Do you miss the blend?

Color she left in your black and white field.

Do you feel condemned, just being there?

I'm not your friend.

I'm just a man who knows how to feel.

I'm not your friend

I'm not your lover

I'm not your family

Yeah.

Its pretty powerful, especially when you listen to the song, I hope you will.

Journal # 7

The grass is always greener on the other side.

I've heard this quote many times growing up. I think when I was younger I took it literally and really thought on the other-side of the world maybe the grass really is a bit greener. Now, years later, I'm pretty sure there is just a lot of deserts on the other side of the world and i've seen some mighty fine grass around my neighborhood.

What does the quote seem to mean to me now? I think whoever came up with it meant that its easy to think everything looks better outside of where you are and you've been drawn the short straw. When In reality most people are thinking the same things as you, no ones grass is actually any greener then yours.

I think everyone has a little unhappiness in life. You can't have the good with out the bad, its only fair. The best years of my life were the ones that seemed terrible and unhappy at the time, its the only times in my life that I actually learnt anything about myself. They helped me become the person I am today.

Journal # 6

Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows. If you could retain one childhood characteristic, what would it be and why?

If I could keep one characteristic of myself from my childhood it would be how painfully ignorant I was to the world around me. When crossing the street and hanging out at the connivence store was considered traveling. When it didn't matter what I did, I was never afraid, nothing could hurt me. Now a days I feel like my mind is polluted with thing I've read and stuff i've experienced and seen.

The world can be a fun place, don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful to be alive. I just can't take all the miserable things that happen everyday. As I get older I feel like the fun times blend together and the worst times of my life stick out like a sore thumb. I was sitting on my couch the other day, flipping through channels, and I came across a infomercial for Sick Kids. Despite my better judgement I sat and watched the whole thing and couldn't help but feel disgusted that I live in a world where such terrible things as childhood cancer is possible. I'd rather not know, I'd rather have my childhood ignorance and carry on blissfully unaware of what's going on, perfectly content with the world around me.

Journal # 5

A wrongfully accused man is always vilified by the ignorant masses. Such a man should fire at will, he is bound to hit something. What do you think the speaker of the quote means? Is a person who is acquitted of a crime, that they were wrongfully accused of, ever really seen as innocent again by their peers? what would you do if you or someone close to you was wrongfully accused of a crime?

What I believe the speaker of the quote means is that no matter what, someone who has been charged of committing a crime will always have that bad stigma with society, no matter what he does. There will always be a group of people who still thinks he committed the crime or won't trust him because of the image he once held. The only thing he can do is keep pleading his innocence and maybe one day he can change peoples minds or strike a cord with at least someone.

I think if you are acquitted and beyond a doubt proven innocent of a crime you were charged for, then there is no way your peers can't think your innocent. There definitely will be some guilt from the people that without a doubt thought you did it, but, your real friends and family will have already known the truth and they are ones that really matter.

If I was wrongfully accused of a crime I would do the only thing you can do, continue to plead my innocence and hope for the best. Or I'd pull a Shawshank Redemption, bust out of jail and live the rest of my days on the beach with Morgan Freeman.

Journal # 4

When a child kills, does he instantly become an adult? or does he maintain some trappings of childhood, despite the gravity of his actions? In stances of crime, does a child ever stop being a child? and if yes, when?

I think when a child commits murder they still retain all of their innocence, at least for the moment. There isn't some on and off switch that is triggered when you kill someone that makes you an adult instantly. Usually when a child kills someone i guarantee it was an accident or they didn't understand the gravity of their actions. If it wasn't on accident and they knew what they were doing, then I think that has more to do with the way they were brought up and they may be sadly robbed of their childhood innocence already.

I think what really makes a child an adult is life. The highs and the lows. The good times and the bad, love and loss. Some people mature faster then others, I think this is because they have experienced more things in life. This is why I don't think the child would instantly become an adult once the crime was committed. The after effect of their crime though would definitely make their road to adulthood much shorter.

Journal # 3

Bullying is a crime worse then murder, and it deserves harsher penalties. Agree or disagree? Give 5 ways you think we can prevent bulling in high schools.

Do I think bullying is a crime worse then murder? I definitely think it can seem that way to a person. It can totally be categorized as a form of mental torture. I think murder is in a league of its own though. While bullying effects one person individually (unless of course they commit suicide). Murder effects everyone that was close that individual that was killed. It's the act of taking someone's life away, never letting them see their loved ones again and do the things they love. Murder is definitely its own beast, but that doesn't mean bullying should be taken lightly.

I think we should enact harsher laws to try and prevent bullying from happening. From the article I read it seems like things are starting to go in the right direction, but, I wouldn't be opposed to jail time being a valid option, especially is suicide does indeed happen because of it. These kids just think they can get away with anything, just to look cool in front of their friends, but I don think they realize what kind of impact they are having on the individual getting bullied, that or they don't care. I'm not going to pretend like i have all the answers to stop bullying form happening, but I can do my best to give a few ideas that I think would help the problem.

1. Better Education - I think a lot of bullying has to do with plain old ignorance. People like to dismiss things they don't understand, even hate because of it. If society starts putting emphasis on teaching about the differences of others early on, it could help to prevent bullying.

2. Harsher Penalties - I talked about this previously, but obviously if jail time was a valid possibility I think a lot of people would cool it down in fear of getting in trouble.

3. School Uniforms - This one is kind of simple, but sometimes kids at school begin to get made fun of because of the clothes they wear. School uniforms ensure everyone is wearing the same thing so it kind of counter acts that.

4. Speaking up - If more people spoke up to bullies when someone was getting teased I think it would stop the bully in his tracks. People need to be a bit more courageous, and its for me to say, but I really think if everyone spoke up when they saw it happening, it would end it once and for all.

5. Better Observation - Teachers need to be more observant to bullying and know what to look for to help stop it, this includes parents as well.

Wow, I wrote a lot haha

Journal # 2

A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others have thrown at them. How have the obstacles you have faced helped you to become the person that you are today? If someone asked you to describe yourself in two words, what would you say?

I'm going to take the cop out answer here and say that I think everything in life makes you the person you are today. I wouldn't be who I am today without the good and the bad. I think how you react to obstacles is a better way of defining who you are. I could have easily said "screw it, I failed at high school, I'm just a failure". Instead I'm here now, determined to reach my dreams and become the person I want to be. What does that say about me? I'm the best person to answer that question but I'll let time decide.

The two words that define me are Sexy and Cute... Just kidding. I don't think I can answer that question either! My friends would say I'm funny because I make them laugh, but I like to think I'm serious when I need to be, and creative when I want to be. So the easiest way to describe my self in two words (which might be considered cliche) would be, I'm me.

Journal # 1

What does success mean to you? How do you know when you are personally successful? What steps are necessary to get you there? what obstacles might you have to over come?

Personal success for myself means a couple things. For starters, it means being financially stable and independent from my family. I want to own my own house and be able to provide for a future family (if I ever have one). It also means achieving my dreams. I want to either direct, produce or write for motion pictures. I'm unsure about which one I want to do as my future career and its possible it'll be a combination of the three. Truthfully I just want to be apart of a movie that someone loves as much as the movies I love, even if its just one person. I can be content with that.

Currently I'm 3 credits short of my diploma and I'm embarrassed by this. So much so that I've been avoiding the idea of school for awhile, distracting myself with partying, women and alcohol. Recently I've decided I'm sick of living this way and have begun night school courses at the learning to center to get my remaining credits. Hopefully I'll be in film school by next fall. I'm determined to do the best that I can and not fall prey to my habits of the past. My laziness and partying will not effect my school work, my future.