This I Believe Responses

The Birthright of Human Dignity

In this essay, the author, Will Thomas, writes about his first hand account with racial discrimination. Will and his family decided they needed to move out of the south because they could no longer handle the hate they were receiving on a daily basis due to the color of their skin. I hope I'm speaking for the vast majority of people when I say that racial discrimination is an awful thing. What if people were prohibited from using certain restrooms because they had blonde hair or brown eyes? Racial discrimination is wrong, plain and simple. I did however, find that the way Will ended up handling his debacle was by moving to Vermont rather than breaking ties with his home country.  He found he was accepted in Vermont. His difficulties gave him a very narrow perspective. However when William and his family arrived in Vermont, he had time to think back upon on the struggles his family was presented with and he realized that it was all human error. Those people who were treating him poorly for being a negro had only known racism. I found it inspiring how he forgave all those people and proceeded on with his life. 

The Tense Middle

I read the 'The Tense Middle" written by Ronald Hoffman and I can not seem to recall every agreeing with one person more in my life. He explains that people can make decisions, whether they be good or bad. These decisions may make that person seem evil or their decision may make them seem good. The middle, right between good and evil, is the best place to be. I agree with this theory. If you stay in the middle you do not screwed over for being the nice guy and you do not get put down for being a bad person. Its a wonderful medium and it all is respective of the decisions you make in your own life. 

The Invitation to Name Our Beliefs

"The Invitation to Name Our Beliefs," written by Dr. Beth Boehm, is a recalling of Beth's childhood. Her father would constantly ask her to sit with him and read different articles and the question her opinion on the topic of the article(s). I personally think this is a very good thing for a parent to do to teach their child to open up their mind and think beyond themselves and their own situations. I personally do NOT want a close minded, self absorbed child. If this is the case I will as if I have failed my child and my job as a parent. Forcing someone into naming their beliefs is a good thing in my opinion. 

In God Alone

In this article written by Joe Reagan, the author explains that he went through a very hard time in his life in which he could not provide food for his family. He further explained that his family and friends began helping him feed his family because God's will was for them to help. I had to laugh at this article. If you can not provide for your family, sitting around praying will not change the situation. Instead get up, go out, and get what you need to get by any means necessary. Praying to an imaginative figure that society as a whole has ZERO proof of his existence seems foolish to me. I believe in self reliance. 

Pianist Blog A

Pianist Blog A

Elie Weisel is the main character in the novel "Night." "Night" is a  

story about the experience of a boy who is taken from his home and 

transported through a concentration camp. The novel recounts all the 

events that Elie encountered. Throughout "Night" Elie grows significantly

closer to his Father whom is with him throughout the story. 

Wladyslaw Szpilman is the main character in the movie "The Pianist." In the movie, Wladyslaw and his family are taken by the nazis and put into concentration camps. In the camps, Wladyslaw is forced to do strenuous manual labor for long periods of time and all of his families belongings are taken from them.

The stories are similar because Wladyslaw and Elie both are forced to leave behind the things the love because of the Nazi Regime. For example, Wladyslaw leaves behind music, which was his career and his passion. Wladyslaw is forced to sell his piano for money to feed his family because the Nazi's took all the families money. The nazis indirectly took away Wladyslaws piano and they took Elie's Gold crown on his tooth. Wladyslaw was not able to get anything close to what the piano was actually worth. He did not have a choice though because they had no food. In the book "Night", Elie leaves behind his mother and siblings when the soldiers came into Elie's town and forced everyone out. Elie was under the impression that the soldiers were friendly and were not going to harm his family. This is one way Wladyslaw and Elie are different. Wladyslaw knew of the Nazi's and the danger the presented. Elie, however, did not know that the soldiers were a threat to all of the Jewish people. . Wladyslaw and Elie were both forced into concentration camps and persecuted for their religion. They both had to do manual labor.

Pianist Blog C

Money is very tight now. We have only about 20$ to our family. We can not buy anything with 20$ The Nazi's came in our house and took all  our belongings and our money. My family and I were debating where to hide our money and valuables so the Nazi soldiers would not find them when they invaded our house. We hid our money in the violin and our necklace under a vase. I thought it was a clever idea. Sadly we ran out of money and we had to find a way to get money. And fast. We have been eating potatoes for awhile now. It's getting really boring and bland. We called over this man to buy my piano. Oh my beloved piano. I do not want to let my piano go. My piano is my job. I make music and play piano and in turn get money, so letting it go is difficult. The man offered us 2,000$ for it. It is worth much more than that. He mocked us by saying "My advice is take the offer, what will you do when you are hungry? Eat the Piano?" That infuriated us. However, we sold it for 2,000$ because we are so desperate for money for food. The man did not charge us for the removal of the piano either, which was a good thing for us. Hopefully everything works out in my families favor. This whole war makes no sense to me, yes we are Jews but what have we done wrong? Nothing.

NIGHT: BLOG 2

PART 1: Elie and his father share a very strong bond. They do everything they can to avoid separation and stay together. After Elie gets his foot operated on, he and his father must make the decision to be evacuated with others from the camp or to stay in the hospital at the camp. They chose to stay together regardless of where they go. Elie was terrified to lose his father when he was "thinking not about death but about not wanting to be separated from his father." Elie goes on to say, "We had already suffered so much, endured so much together. This was not the moment to separate."

PART 2: The concentration camp "

Buna" was located in Auschwitz, Nazi Germany. Buna was Auschwitz largest sub-camp, "home" to 7,000 Nazi/German Soldiers and almost 14,000 Jews. The conditions were terrible; Buna was a killing camp so there were multiple gas chambers. The Jews were forced into labor, eating very little to no food at all, and to live in close quarters which caused a plethora of diseases.

After Tonight- Justin Nozuka Meaning

There's something in your eyes
Is everything all right?
You look up to the sky
You long for something more, Darlin'
Give me your right hand
I think I understand, follow me
And you will never have to wish again
I know that after tonight
You don't have to look up 
At the stars no no no no
And I know by the end of tonight
You don't have to look up at the stars
And I know if the love is alright
You don't have to look up
At the stars no no no no
I know by the end of tonight 
You don't have to look up at the stars
No no no no no no no no no

Tell me how you feel
And if I'm getting near
I'll tell you where to steer
You tell me where to steer, D-D-D-Darlin' 
Way above the clouds
And high above the stars
Through the unknown black holes
Noone knows where we are
But we'll return to earth
And do it all over again

Cause I know that after tonight
You don't have to look up 
At the stars no no no no
And I know by the end of tonight
You don't have to look up at the stars
And I know if the love is alright
You don't have to look up
At the stars no no no no
I know by the end of tonight 
You don't have to look up at the stars

Now come away with me
Come fly away with me
Just for one night 
Noone will ever know
No no no, Darlin'
I will leave you satisfied
Forever past time
You don't have to hide
You're free to fly

I know that after tonight
You don't have to look up 
At the stars no no no no
And I know by the end of tonight
You don't have to look up at the stars
And I know if the love is alright
You don't have to look up
At the stars no no no no
I know by the end of tonight 
You don't have to look up at the stars
Said I know that after tonight
You don't have to look up 
At the stars no no no no
And I know by the end of tonight
You don't have to look up at the stars
And I know if the love is alright
You don't have to look up
At the stars no no no no
I know by the end of tonight 
You'll be looking down upon them 
From heaven yeah yeah
Oh no no, oh na na na na na na
Yeah yeah ooh na na na-oh

SOURCE: azlyrics.com

After Tonight by Justin Nozuka is a song about the singer hoping to help a girl who is troubled with thoughts. Lets break "After Tonight" down by sections. 

VERSE 1:

In stanza 1, the artist notices the girl is troubled by the look in her eyes. She is staring at the stars thinking about how unhappy she is. The artist notices this and offers to help ease her worries. 

CHORUS:

In the Chorus, the singer is telling the girl that after she lets him take care of her, she will have no worries. The girl staring into the sky symbolizes her pain and suffering. The singer promises she will "wont have to look up at the stars," meaning she wont be hurting after she takes his hand.

VERSE 2:  

In the second verse, the singer is explaining how their "love" has them feeling like they are flying sky high. He says "Through the unknown black holes, no-one knows where we are," meaning that their love for each other is so strong that they do not even notice the outer world because they are caught up in each other.

BRIDGE:

In the bridge of the song, the singer reassures the girl that everything will be okay if she's takes his hands and lets him take care of her.

1. What are your plans for next year? Are you applying to college/universities /technical schools? If so, which ones?
I want to go to kent state for business.
2. What are the application deadlines for the universities in which you are applying?
The Deadline for Kent is shortly before the term you wish to attend the school for.
3. Do these universities require the Common Application? Do they require any additional applications?
They require a common application.
4. Do you need letters of recommendation?
Letters of recommendation are used at kent state to increase scholarship or admission chances.
5. Is an essay required? If so, what is the prompt and other requirements?
Yes, there are several prompts to choose from.
6.If you arent planning on applying to college, then what steps do you need to take next for your future?
I am applying to college so this does not apply to me.

          If you could look at a map of your life it would look exactly like a map. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of decisions that every individual must make in their lifetime. Each decision made is a new road on the map of your life. Some of these "roads" are less traveled than others; I pursued one of these less traveled roads!

          My family is a family that has always had roots in the medical field. As one may imagine, my family has always pushed me towards becoming a doctor. I always did what was needed to be sure I'd reach the exclusive road of being a doctor. As soon as I became old enough to think for myself rationally, I realized music was what I really wanted to do for the rest of my life. At first my family had the same reaction as everyone else, "You won't make it." Obviously, this slightly saddened me but I was determined to prove them wrong. I have been pursuing a music career for nearly a year and my family is now behind me 100%. After they saw my first live performance they were instantly certain I could make a career out of music! I have a long ways to go but hopefully, with the mentoring of my current connection Phil Vassar, I can get to where i want to be.
       Im very glad i have taken this road because it has made me so happy.