Nicole's Notions

The Last Song

The Last Song by Nicholas sparks was one filled with love, betrayal, and truth. Sparks writing ehibits the true hardships felt when faced with tough situations. His decription of emotion allows the reader to really captivate the message that he is trying to get across while allowing us to feel what the characters are feeling. I enjoyed this sense of emotion and how I was intrigued by the feelings of happiness, sadness, and love that this book allowed me to feel.

The book begins by introducing the character Ronnie and her younger brother Jonah. The description of Ronnie character however does not reflect her personality in anyway. She has a tough exterior, she wears black, and has her hair died purple, however within Ronnie is the capacity to love, which is an emotion that she didn’t think would ever surface. Jonah her brother, is very young and innocent. He lives for life, and can’t wait to learn and experience. The story opens with an account of Ronnies parents divorce. She feels isolated and alone but most of all she feels hatred towards her father for leaving her family. During the summer Ronnie and her little brother Jonah are sent to their fathers house. Ronnie does not want to have anything do to with her father however once she gets there. She is still bitter over the divorce and can’t poissibly see how living with him for a summer could fix everything that had been destroyed. However as the summer progresses Ronnie descovers a whole new realtionship with her father, and descovers the secrets behind the summer trip and descovers a love for her father she thought she would never feel again.

The summer trip for Ronnie was not just about re establishing her relationship with her father it was also about finding herself, and while she began to learn who she was she met a boy named Will who aided in this self discovery. During the summer she discovered a new sense of love. She had fallen in love for the first time in her life. She was confused yet astounded by this new discovery and this was really the turning point in the book where Ronnie let down her tough exterior to finally show her true self. She was no longer afraid to show her father her anger, and love, and she was no longer afraid to show Will her inner being. She no longer cared how others perceived her, she let her guard down, and in doing so made her mysterious summer trip worth while.

In Sparks writing in the Last song I was surprised to find the how differently the various types of love were distinguished. There is the love of a parent towards his children. I found this love to be truly magical. Ronnies father was willing to do anything for her. He even built a room around his piano when she said she didn’t want to hear it anymore. He was patient and listened to every problem she had, offering advice when he could. There was also sibling love. Ronnies younger brother though he annoyed her, was someone she couldn’t live without. She loved him in a way no body else ever would. Even though they fought, she felt protective over him. The third kind of love in this book display is love in it purest form. Ronnie fell in love with Will. Sparks described there young love, as being beautiful and innocent. However love takes on a whole new meaning when tragedy strikes the family and everyone must come together as one to comfort each other. The Last song is a book filled with excitement and feeling. It shows the life lessons and love that must be felt when divorce happens or when family tragedy strikes.

Lurlene Mcdaniels “I want to live” also exemplifies tragedy and how others must come together to when disasters arise. I know that if Dawn and Ronnie were to meet they would find they have much in common. I could relate these two characters together because of the way that even in tragedy they were able to find love even when it doesn’t seem possible. Both girls were compassionate towards others, and also towards life in general. As both grew up they become more aware of others, and also of how precious life can be. The two books shared the emotions of love, hate, and confusion and all three of these emotions I was able to feel from reading the books.

Tags: betrayal, happiness sadness, love, nicholas sparks, parents, personality, realtionship, relationship, self discovery

Where do we find our happiness?

Happiness is what I strive for everyday of my life. I want fulfillment when trying to discover what the meaning of life is and what will truly make me happy. A romanticist is a person who is in tune with their emotions and truly experience the feeling that art conveys. They believe in individual creativity and self-expression through art and they find happiness in being able to feel what others can feel. A differing opinion comes from a group of neoclassicals. They believe in a more logical approach when it comes to the expression of art and feeling within the arts. They are more forward in their approach of art, they don’t believe in reason or feeling. Their findings of happiness come from outside findings such as symmetry in art and the surroundings of the art.

The first chimney sweeper poem gives us a glimpse of the hardships, and feelings of sadness and rejection that the very poor feel on a daily basis. The poem exemplifies how this boy had to live and what he had to go through. He lives a lonely life because his mother had died and his father sold him into being a chimneysweeper. This young boys struggle through his life at such a young age is aggravating, and in this poem he seems to be waiting to find a way out.  His feelings of confusion and waiting are apparent throughout the stanzas. “And by came an angel who had a bright key, And he opened the coffins and set them all free, Then down a green plain leaping, laughing, they run, And wash in a river, and shine in the sun” shows that the boy knows that better is yet to come for him and he is just waiting for his time when he will be free. Even in the conditions that this boy is living in he still can find happiness and relief in knowing that there is more to his life.  A romanticist would find both sorrow and hope in this poem. They would feel the feelings of rejection and sorrow, while also believing that there is more for the boy and that one day he will find his relief in the afterlife.

The second version of this poem shows a completely different side of the chimney sweeper. The second poem does not show any hope for the boy. It shows his anguish and grief. He doesn’t understand why his parents have abandoned him to live like this, and he is confused and very alone. He doesn’t believe that there is anything more to his life but simply being a chimney sweeper. “And are gone to praise God and his priest and king, who make up a heaven of our misery” shows that he doesn’t believe in the beyond. He believes if anything that it is gods fault that he is living like this. Heaven to him is place of misery because life on earth is misery.  A neoclassical would agree with this  stanza because they to do not believe in the beyond. They would support the writings of this poem more than the first because there is not as much emotional detail as there are physical descriptions of the characters surroundings. They would see the beauty in the characters surroundings that were described.

The first poem entitled songs of innocence creates a vision of the characters self. Blake shows the emotional state of the character and his feelings of looking to the beyond and knowing that there is more meant for his life. The young boy truly believes that his suffering at the present time will one day be rewarded which I think is the true beauty in this poem. The songs of experience poem is just the opposite. The character does not believe that there is more to his life but suffering. His life will always be suffering until he is gone. His parents are gone to pray to the lord but he doesn’t believe that heaven exists. The child believes he is simply here and nothing more can come for his life. The author’s use of color in the second poem such as the line “the little black thing in the snow” more concretely displays the sadness that the boy is feeling.

Though I can’t relate specifically to being a child slave, after learning about Rwanda and Africa in social I have a much greater appreciation for the family, friends, and even my school that I take for granted. These are countries where famine and sticken, war, genocide, and poverty have torn them apart. Researching and actually seeing pictures of these such conditions, gives me a greater understanding of the chimmney sweeper poem. I feel sadness for the young boy in both poems who is obviously hurting both phycially and emotionally.

A romantic would find happiness in knowing that there is more to life then life on earth. They believe in the after life and the beyond. A neoclassical would find happiness in the more physical knowing of what is here on earth and not in the beyond. Blake’s description of the boy and emotions in both poems accurately displays the ideals of both a romantic and a neoclassic. The fusion of these two expressions through art together, display where Blake is able to find his inner happiness.

How much support is too much support

With one semester left until I begin my solo adventure of the big city, I have been caused to think about what next year will bring and how my life will be changed. Leaving home is a big step that will begin the rest of my life, but I cannot truly go down this path alone. Next year I will be relying on my parents support. Not only their emotional support but majorly their finacial support to help me through university.

Last summer my parents left me home alone for a weekend for the first time. I thought it would be great I had all the freedom in the world, and I got a parking spot in the garage. The night began and I was ready to leave my house and begin my solo adventures of Vermilion. However as I was leaving the house my night began to go downhill. As I pulled out of the garage the door got caught on its way down. My first instincts told me to run inside and tell my dad that he needed to fix the door however as I ran back into the house there was nothing but silence. I suddenly remembered that I was alone, and I began to panic. My dad is the one that I constantly rely on to fix what I break but this time he was not here. After sitting on the ground for a while I looked up and seen the emergency release pull and hoped that this was the answer to my garage door problems. Sure enough after pulling the release the door was easily pulled down. I had survived problem number one, lost my garage space, but at least I had relied on myself to fix this problem.

In the Last Song Ronnie to is forced to grow up very abruptly. Her life is perfect until her dad suddenly becomes violently ill and is forced to stay in the hospital. She to was used to having her father there to answer any of her questions. She felt very alone when he was gone, but she still had her younger brother to take care of so she to had to rely on her own instincts to solve the problems that arouse. I could definatly relate more to this book after living the weekend by myself. I could relate to her feelings a loneliness, fear, and confusion.

I know that this was an important life lesson for me to learn. I needed to know that I can rely on myself because I had never felt that I needed to before. According to research annalyst Dr. Cohan when children are able to cope with stress at an early age, it may significantly increase there chances of being a more resilient adult as well as strengthen their ability to regulate their emotions. I agree with this statement because if  child is sheltered all their life and given everything they need, when they need it, they will not be able to adhere to change. I can relate to this in the fact that I am very lucky that I have two parents that are willing to do anything for me however I know that always accepting their help with every problem will not teach me how to be self sufficient.

A parents support is to be cherished. When treating others we need to learn respect and trust but I know that I am the one that needs to learn the appropriate way to do this. A parent should be able trust their child when they have moved away. Trust that they will learn to solve problems themselves, learn to treat people fairly, and learn to be self reliant.

Tags: emergency release, emotional support, finacial support, freedom in the world, garage door, garage space, instincts, rest of my life, solo adventure, solo adventures, vermilion

Lifes Potential

As Catholics we are called to do unto others as we would do upon ourselves. We are told to respect the environment that God has created, and share with the less fortunate.  I think our true calling is more than that. I think as Catholics our most important role is preserving and living our gift of life. The sancity and dignity of human life is very important because without the gift of life none of us would be here today.

God gave me the gift of life for a reason, he could have chosen someone else but he chose me. I want to use the life he gave me and make something of myself.  Human life is so precious to me and I think worst way to show appreciationis giving away someone elses, or not using yours to your full potential.  I disagree with the concept of abortion, and killing others. I dont believe someone can live as fully as they once did if they know that they have taken away someones chance to live. It is wrong to take life away from someone. It is not your decision it should be Gods, and I find it really frustrating that others don”t think this way. There are other ways of dealing with problems, or unforseen obstacles, and we must be mature enough to handle them.

Respecting other lives, means respecting the person no matter what they look like. If we respects our lives and try to live to our fullest potenial we should respects others lives. I find it really demeening seeing people who are judged based on there skin color or ethnicity especially in Canada. Canadian society is the basis of multiculturalism and pluralism, and it doesn’t make sense to me when people judge others because they know they are living here and they arn’t going anywhere. Respecting others the way they are is a really important part of life to me, and ties in with respecting your own life. If a person respects themselves they shouldn’t have to put others down. Every human life living on this earth has the right to dignity and ethical treatment.

Living and living the life we have is all we can do while we are on the earth. We are only given one chance to live and we never know when we are going to stop living it. I wish that I could be sure to live until I was old, but I cant, so I have to use my time I have here wisely and be sure that I can fit everything into my life. Every accomplishment that I make only makes me want to live longer. Every bad situation, will only make me stronger and learn more about what it means to truly live a successful life.

 Being a Catholic has taught me about how important my life is, and how important respecting others lives are. I have learned to respect others cultures and not discriminate against others beliefs and values. I have learned that fighting and war will not solve anything but will create more problems and sadness. Taking others lives is not in my control and never should be. Living on this earth is my privelage and I should treat it this way. God created me, so that I could do something with my life, and I plan on creating a purposeful life for myself.

Jesus Vs The Pharisees

Jesus didn’t judge anyone. He cared for others and loved them no matter what there situation was. I can definitely see how there would be conflict between the Pharisees and Jesus. There beliefs were almost completely opposite, and when beliefs are opposite they tend to clash.

The Pharisees were a group who didn’t care who you were outside. They judged the sinners, prostitutes, lepers,poor, and the mentally ill, just because of that they did or how they were. They didnt care if they were actually nice people or if they couldn’t help the way they were, and they definatly did not reach out to help them. They simply called them worthless, and  ignored the problems that they had.

Jesus however was kind towards those who needed the most help. He reached out a hand to the mentally ill, the sick, the poor and the sinners. All of the people that the Pharisees ignored and put down were the ones that jesus helped raise back up. Jesus’ policy was to help everyone the deserving and the undeserving, everyone was equal in his eyes. 

The pharisees and Jesus’ ways were so different. There would have been much conflict and tensions between the two groups because there view points on people and life were so different. Even in our world today conflicting views result in the violence that we see around the world today. If we all had a more Jesus policy on how to treat others there would be a lot less conflict in our world today. However the majority of the world has a Pharisee viewpoint and often forget those whom we believe are lower than us.

What is God Really Thinking?

The readings Jeremiah 1:4-8 and 2Corinthians 5: 17-18 tell us that God has always known us. He knew us even before we knew ourselves. He created us, and knows all of our individual interests, strengths, weaknesses and abilities. I think that in my life it is my goal to find all of my strengths, abilities, use my interests to guide my life and fix the weaknesses that I possess.

I have many interests that are the determining factors in the decisions that I make. In the future I hope that I can one day become a Nurse or have a job in the health field because my interests lie in helping those around me. I am also interested in being a part of a team, having a goal to work towards, being active and living a healthy lifestyle that is why I choose to play sports year round. My interests also lie in doing well in school. I enjoy being academic, so that in the future I have a wide choice in jobs available to me. My interests include activities that will have benefits to my life.

I hope that as I grow and learn more about myself I hope to discover hidden abilities that I possess and have not yet discovered. I have however discovered some abilities that I do posses such as to play sports. I don’t think that there are a limited number of abilities one can posses, and I also think that some abilities can be learn while others are god given talents, that we are meant to find without ourselves. I think that it is really sad when someone has ability and they waste it by not trying to use it to help them develop to their potential.

Weaknesses are what bring us down; I have many weaknesses that I hope to change, as I grow older. One of my weaknesses is judging people before I get to know them. I hope that I will become a more mature person who does no judge others and I hope to build friendships with many different. Another weakness that I have is making fun of others. I hope that I can grow away from this and begin to become person and have a more mature attitude in situations I am faced with.

God knows all of our interests, abilities, and weaknesses. He created us all with different abilities, to share with each other and to benefit others as well as ourselves. I believe that we are all designed differently because we each have something to share. It is our destiny in life to find new abilities, discover our interests, and fix our weaknesses.

Becoming me

I want to become a person of many aspects. Becoming that person is a goal that I have set for myself. I want to be different than others and not conform myself to being like everyone else. I want to have my own individual thoughts and ideas, and be able to express them as I feel necessary. I wasn’t to be an individual and a leader for others to follow.

I want to be a person that will be remember. I really admire those people who have created a name for themselves, from doing something great. I want to be a person who makes a difference in our world. I want to have the courage to pursue my ideas, and be a leader to follow. I want to be someone who is not afraid to express opinions or ideas even if they get rejected. I want to like who I am and not feel scared to show my true self. In high school everyone is so careful to hide who they really are because they are scared to fit in. There have been many times when I have be to scared to share my ideas but I hope as I grow older i will become a more assertive person and not hide what I am feeling. 

I want to become a person who doesn’t judge others based on appearances. Im really bad for judging people based on how they look or on first impressions. I really hope I can grow into a person who looks for what’s on the inside of a person before judging how they appear on the outside. I want to not be scared of having new friends and getting to know different personalities. For me its not hard to make friends but very hard to make new close friends. I want to become a person who is open to new relationships with others, and also become a person that people want to be friends with. ”There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.” 

“There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”  Acts, 20:35. I want to become  a person who helps others not because I have to but because I want to. I want to become a person who will be willing to stop and help someone in need without thinking twice. I want to be caring, and helpful and willing to share what I have. I know that I can be selfish, and put myself before others, but I want to become someone who puts others first. I don’t want to become someone who is selfish or greedy.

I am on my way to being the person I picture myself to one day be. I want to be  a person who is admired for having a helpful attitude, a leader, a person who doesn’t judge others, someone who shares, and is willing to help those in need. I want to be open to life and all it has to offer me.  I am growing up, and as I learn and grow as an individual, I will become the person that I am destined to be.

Class Crossword

Sophia Had It All

Narrator- There once was a little town, in a little lane, that lived a little girl, with a huge house. 

Sophia- But daddy I want another pony. 

Daddy- But darling I bought you one last week. 

Sophia- but Dadddyyyyy

Daddy- Alright Darling

Narrator- So little Sophie grew up spoiled as a rotton tomato, given her every whim. 

Scene 2

Sophie- Daddy I want another Island, the one we have is infested with peasants and commoners. 

Daddy- But darling those peasants are starving and we only visit the island one week a year. 

Sophie- DADDY I WISH FOR AN ISLAND. 

Daddy- Be careful what you wish for love. 

Scene 3

Narrator- And so a year passed on and Sophie had everything anyone could imagine, but that was all about to change. 

Sophie- Daddy oh Daddy where are you. 

Daddy- “Sniffle” Sit down darling there is something you should know

Sophie- So should I wait to ask for my limo then. 

Daddy- Darling the companies gone down the tubes. We must move to the island and become commoners

Sophie- NNNNNNOOOOOOOOO

Scene 4

Narrator- And so they packed their bags and headed to the island. Little did Sophie know that her fathers company was indeed stronger than ever, he just decided it was time for a reality check. 

Sophie- Daddy this bus is positively disgusting!

Daddy- Well darling you better get used to it.

Scene 5

Narrator- A week after arriving on the island little Sophie begins to sob and sob, crying out

Sophie- Oh why oh why was I such a brat. I had everything I needed at home. Food, shelter, love. I can’t live this way, no one should have to live this way “sob, sob”

Daddy- Oh Sophie, I am glad you have learned your lesson darling. Its time to go home now. 

Sophie- What “sob” you mean …. your company is still ok. 

Daddy- Yes

Sophie- Oh Daddy I am sorry I was so horrid. I can be better, I swear.

Daddy- I know you can darling. 

Narrater- And so Sophie and her father went home and as soon as Sophie got through the door she ran to her room and began packing up boxes of toys to send to the poor islands’ children. Sophie had learned her lesson, and she never took anything for granted again.

Affirmation

The song Affirmation by savage garden illustrates life’s lessons. This song stood out to me because I could relate to every line of the lyrics. There were three lines of this song that stood out to me the most however, they were I believe we place our happiness in other peoples hands, I believe that family is worth more than money or gold, and I believe you don’t know what you’ve got until you say goodbye.

I believe we place our happiness in others peoples hands. There have been times when I have struggled to be my own independent person. I find it really difficult to carve my own path for myself when my friends are not supporting me. I find it really difficult because I am afraid to completely be myself for fear of rejection. I know that I tend to hold my happiness in others hands, instead of my own.  I also know that I will never truly be happy until I can place happiness back into my own hands. I hope that as I grow older and discover more about myself I will be able to find the strength to not let other affect me so much.

I believe that family is worth more than money or gold.  My family is really important to me. I feel really sorry for those who do not have a family to back them up. I know that my family will be there always, even when my friends are not. I think that true self is revealed when you are with your family, I find it easier to be myself because I know that they cant reject me no matter the dumb decisions I make, or the way that I act. Families are a constant support system, and one that I could not live without.

I believe you don’t know what you’ve got until you say goodbye. I know that I take the good things in life for granted. I am so lucky to have a caring mom, dad and sister, to have a house, a bed, running water, enough food, clothes, and access to education. I feel so sorry for people who are living in poor countries. They don’t even have time to worry about their future, when they are worrying about if they will have food that day, or how they will get water. There main goal is survival.  I feel bad for taking my life for granted, but it is what I am used to, and what I have been living like for all my life. However if one day all that I had disappear I know that I would miss everything that I have. 

My sister was the one that showed me this song when we were younger. We used to sing and dance to this song but I never really thought about the lyrics until this assignment. This song has great significance to me, not just the important message it sends but for the memories with my sister that I have associated with this music.