Football, Football, Football...

Prompt 2
I have made many connections with my book. Both he main character and I have played high school football and have been recruited to play at the next level. Though the character (Micheal) is going to play at a top D1 school while I will play at a D3 school the process is similar. Through out the book it discusses coaches meetings and visits. It also discusses tough practices and game film. The one experience that I most powerfully connected too was the scene where Micheal was visited by a coach and was so nervous he hardly spoke. I remember when I was first visited by a college coach I was also very nervous. I had the courage to t least act cool calm and collected but inside I was a wreck. I remember sweating and stuttering multiple times through out the interview. The is book is a very interesting read for me because of all the connections that can be made between the character and myself. I am excited to finish off the novel.

Importance of Life

I would write about laughter and happiness are the most important things in life. I would Also discuss how everyone needs to make room laughter everyday. Life is abut having fun and enjoying what you have. Money and objects are not the most important thing in the world, happiness is. NO matter what makes you happy the most important thing in life is being happy. Everyone is happy for different reasons and everyone should do what makes them happy. Laughter is said to be happiness being transfered between people, I agree with this.

WOW, Id give anything...

In the second section of my book the author discusses a meeting between himself (a professional football scout) and a player by the name of Oher. When asked questions the player had the nerve to not answer. This is selfish and made me mad when I read it. I would give anything to receive the attention Oher got and he just wasted his opportunity. I am jealous of Oher and what he was getting and he didn't appreciate it enough to even give himself a chance to succeed. People would die for the opportunity he had and he wasted it.

Ahmir's Atonement

The obvious answer is that Ahmir sat back and watched his freind Hassan get raped. Of course he seeks atonement for this but there are other things he also would like atoned. The one that stood out to me is in the beginnin gof the book when Ahmir is speaking about Hassan and his physical ability and athletic skill. Ahmir was jealous and felt that he should be the one with the talent, not Hassan.

Oops...

One mistake I have made more then once involves inappropriate jokes. I am one who loves to laugh and more so enjoys making others laugh, however, once in a while I make a joke that does the complete opposite of what I would like it to do. Sometimes I will make a reference that might offend people. Surely this is not my intention but non the less someones feelings get hurt. When this happens and I realize what I've done I feel bad. I apologize to the offended party and make sure to let them know that I was only joking and in no way meant to hurt them. It is a terrible feeling when I make a joke that hurts someones feelings and it makes me just want to get away...

the gorilla

INZANE!!!!


Sometimes the only thing people want is a bowl of fruity pebbles. Even if they think they don’t want it…they do. Whenever in doubt cookie crisp will provide you with a morning full of excellence. Either way, that first bowl of cereal in the morning is the most scrumptious of them all. Unfortunately I couldn’t afford milk so I ate my cereal with water instead. It cut down on the fat, and but also its taste.
I realized that at that point a breakfast without the proper ingredients was no breakfast at all so I stood up from my kitchen table, put on some shoes, and walked out to my car. As I passed the threshold into my garage I was shocked to see a thirteen-foot gorilla literally ripping away the far wall. I thought to myself, “Crap. I’m screwed.” He went back inside to find a suitable opponent for the gorilla—his four-year-old tarantula imported from South Africa will do. No, the tarantula was stomped and the gorilla. What could he do that tarantula was his only friend. Now he was a lonely soul all he could do was cry because his best friend was not here on earth any longer, the Gorilla was infuriated. Zane “the brain” (gorilla) came at him with all his power.

The Root of Evil...

I agree with the quote. Evil can not be done if someone stops it before it occurs. In the story the kite runner Ahmir watches his friend get raped and does nothing. If he had stood up and done something this could have been prevented. A real life example of this is what is currently happening in Darfur. Thousands are being murdered and no one does anything about it. If someone would have simple intervened lives could have been saved. The root of all evil is those who do nothing to stop it.

Making Decicsions...

Many things effect my personal decision making. The most important people in my life are the biggest part of my decisions. My family, my friends, and my girlfriend greatly influence the way I live my life. If they would be unhappy of a decision I was making then I would be forced to re think what I had done and perhaps change it. Money is also a part of my decision making process in some situations. When buying things I do not need or that are expensive I really have to decide if it is worth paying for. If so then I buy it and enjoy but if not or if I can not simple afford it comfortably at the time I will wait to buy it later or perhaps never buy it. Another big part of my decision making process is morals. I like to thing everything I do is the right thing to do. It is important to me that I do not make bad decisions and perhaps end up hurting myself or anyone else in the process. I guess you could relate the morals with religion which is the basis for people believe in what is right and wrong. I am however not very strongly tie to religion, none the less I am aware that millions of people in the world fall back on their own religion to help them make decisions. I also like to think about my future and how even small decisions I make today can potentially effect me ears from now. For example I have recently made the decision to attend college at Ursinus University in Collegeville PA. This decision took me a long time to think about. I thought about my future and how it would be effected, I also thought about my family and friends and how my relationship would change with them. There was no moral issue with attending school anywhere so that was not in the equation. I also thought about money. The school gave me a great offer to go there and the money was right. I have always taken pride in my decision making process and very rarely do I make a bad decision so lets hope the biggest one of my life so far (college choice) is a good one as well.

A pinch of Afghanistan

-90 years of independence
-2 official languages
-about 33,000,000 people
-stir in a couple large mountain ranges and a good amount of earthquakes
-1 cup each of:
Asian culture,
European influence,
Russian influence
-a large bag of religious conflict
-don't forget a large bowl of war
-sprinkle in some hidden terrorists
-but do not add any weapons of mass destruction
-blend abut 10 major ethnic groups
-and also add a struggling economy
-last but not least 1 cup each of:
amazing architecture
and natural beauty

Blend all together well before serving and you will have AFGHANISTAN...

Spring Break... *RIP Harry Kalas*

Over this spring break I had a good time. I got to hangout with a lot of friends and family. For the first time in my life I celebrated Passover. I did this with the family of my girl friend who is half Jewish. Everyone I know complains about passover but I didn't think it was so bad. I also celebrated Easter with my family and it was nice to see everybody.
As good as my break was on my first day back I was welcomed with bad news. The legendary sports announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies Harry Kalas died today 4/13/09. Harry Kalas has announced every game since I have been in this world and he will truly be missed by all fans of the world champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Tolarence... "Ch. 12/Prompt 16"

All year in class we have spoken about tolerance of all cultures and respecting each other as human beings who are all equal. In this book tolerance is a problem. Mexican relate to Mexicans while they constantly fight with the whites. there is very little tolerance in the book and this climaxes in Chapter 12 when Jesse gets beat up by a gang of white boys. Tolerance is a key part to peace in this world and the people in this story do not understand that.

A Spring Trip "Ch. 10/ Prompt 7"

Earlier I predicted that Abel would travel. My prediction was half current. Abel did travel but, Jesse went with him. They decided to travel for spring break and they planned on visiting Pismo Beach by way of hitchhiking. I predicted Abel would leave but I thought he would go alone not with Jesse. I was right in believing Abel would leave but I did not have the right circumstances.

JESSE... "Prompt 18"

The title of my book is Jesse. This is a simple and easy title. The story is about the life of a man names Jesse. He is the main character so the title makes good sense. If I were to change the title of the book I might call it, "Nuevo Familia" This means new family is Spanish. I would call it this because of the vast changes that Jesse family has. He goes from living with is mom and step dad to living with his brother and even adding girls into their lives.

Where do u REALLY want to go? " Ch.9/ Prompt 10"

In the story Jesse often asked where people want to go, but he is not interested about that moment he asks them where they want to go if they could go anywhere. His brother Abel first said the forest and in chapter nine he answered the amazon. I have a friend that often asks the same question as Jesse. "If you could go anywhere in the world, Where would you go?" His name is Rj and one of our hobbies is to just drive around until we fidn something that interests us. Almost everytime we do this he brings up the question of our altimate destination and the one place that we would most like to go.

BORING!!! "Ch. 8/ Prompt 1"

In chapter 8 almost nothing happened. The only significant thing that happened was that the brothers ahad a yard sale and made an extra 27 dollars for the week. Also Jesse found out that the girl he likes has a boy friends so he is kinda stuck in a tough situation now. I found this chapter very boring which suprised me beacuse this is the one chapter n the book where I felt this way. So far the story has been quite entertaining but chapter 8 was a disapointment for me.

Not Mexican??!!?? "Ch. 7' Prompt 4"

During this chapter Abel and Glenda hung out a bit more and even had a, "date" to the movies. When Abel returned home Jesse asked about the movie and asked also if Abel had been having feelings for Glenda. To this Abel replied, " she has a baby, and she is not Mexican." This greatly surprised me. Never before in this book had race been an issue. there was injustice but not due to race and never had any racism been spoken about. Suddenly Abel is not allowed to like a girl unless she is Mexican, when Jesse asked why Abel said, "it's just not right." It feels like another story of forbidden love.

Espanol..."Ch. 6/ Prompt 11"

The author often uses Spanish in his writing. In the story Jesse and his brother refer to their grandmother as, "abuelo" and often speak of the movement led by Chavez as, "la causa." This use of spanish brings the reader closer to the story. It allows yuo to connect further wiht the characters in the book. The spanish is used in a way that even with no knowledge of the language you could figure out the meaning of the words. This allows anyone reading to have to same connection with the characters. This connection very much increases the enjoyment of the book.

Time to Travel "Ch.5/ Prompt 6"

In Chapter 5 Jesse's brother Abel announces that he would at one point love to leave Fresno and travel to a great forest and live there for an extended period of time. This discussion sparks when a visitor stops by for dinner with the brothers and they all discuss school. Abel tells Jesse and the guest that he is studying forestry and plans to major in it so he can live in the forest when he grows old enough.
I predict that one point in the story Abel will leave for his journey and Jesse will be left alone. Support is found in the way Abel and Jesse discuss the matter. Jesse is surprised that Abel would do such a thing and Abel doesn't really seem to care what Jesse thinks of his plan. He is going to do what he wants regardless of Jesse.

VAMANOS!!! "Ch.3-4/ Prompt 13"

During this section of the book Jesse is often pressured to go to the rally down own for higher wages for people working in farms. These rallies are organized by the famous Chavez who is very well known for such rallies. Many of Jesse's freinds are going to the rally but Jesse is stuck in a sticky situation. He needs the money from work and can not afford to skip a day for the rally, yet he wants to support the cause and continue to be stuck inthe situatoin he is currently found. Finally Jesse makes his decison and decides to attand the rally. He discussed this with his brother Abel and his brother is quite mad. They will have a tough time the week of the rally because of the shortage of money.
I would have reccomended that Jesse stay at work. One person wont change anything at the rally the point will still get across, the family is haveingn hard times and family is the most important thing in the world. Fo rthe families sake Jesse should have worked.

JESUS IS DEAD!!??!! "Ch 1-2/ Prompt 5"

In chapter one Jesse's step father and her had a brief discussion about god. They are discussing Jesse's long hair and Jesse says, "Jesus had long hair," to which her step father replied, "Jesus is dead." He shows his believes by shutting down Jesse's. Jesse responds back arguing that Jesus is alive inside everyone, to this the step father says, "I don't see or hear him."

This is a moving statement for me because it shows the lack of faith Jesse's step father has. I have a strong faith and I am touched in a bad way that the stepfather doesn't. I believe a relationship with god is very important to everyone's life and I feel bad for people that lack such a relationship.