Rwandan Genocide Debate

I had already had some opinions on what each group did during the genocide and I thought I knew what they were going to say. AS the debate went on I learned that I was wrong about knowing what they were going to say, and I also learned that I had made some pretty false accusations of who was to blame.
I thought that the Rwandan Armed Forces had been good the whole time, because they pretty much stayed out of it. At the beginning of all this, I thought that the Tutsies were the ones that rebelled and were killing everyone, but little did I know, it was the Hutus. The RPF and the Interhamwe were the real culprits. I learned some other things that changed my mind on groups. I thought the UN had no idea what so ever about what was going on. They obviously had some clue, and the just didn’t want another Somalia situation to happen again. Some of my opinions stayed the same though. Paul Kigame and the President that got shot down are examples of groups that I had a consistant opinion on.
This debate helped me better understand the Rwandan Genocide, and I’m glad we had it, cause if we didn’t, I’d probably not understand a lot of things and still have false information in my mind.

Christmas

Okay, I lied. Now that its Christmas time, I’m realizing that this is actually my favorite time of year. Not autumn. Although I do love that season, the weather and the feeling, Christmas is my favorite time of year, and my favorite holiday. Next year around October I’ll probably feel like Halloween and autumn are the best, but for now I’m all Christmas.
Although I absolutely despise snow, I’m overjoyed to say that it’s almost Christmas. This is the first year I didn’t have a Christmas list that was at least a page long. First it’s because I got a lot pickier this year, and second it’s not as fun now that I know the truth about Santa. I sometimes wish that I had a little brother or sister that still believed in Santa Clause so I could go along with the whole idea. But don’t doubt that I still absolutely love Christmas, Santa or not.
What I truly love about this time of year is the atmosphere, the music, the story behind it, the presents (of course), and being with my family. I like coming home on the last day of school before break, drinking hot chocolate, waking up on Christmas morning, sleeping in, and eating as many candy canes as possible. Although I can’t stand walking through the cold snow and having it seep into my shoes and pants, it is good for at least one thing. Sledding. And I can’t lie, the snow is actually really pretty and it does add the Christmas feeling. Snow days are good too. I don’t like being cold very much either, but it’s the price you have to pay for such a good holiday season. Sitting by a fire, wrapped in a blanket, watching ABC Family’s Countdown to 25 Days of Christmas has to be the best thing I’ve ever experienced. Getting presents is good too, but what I really like is going out and getting presents for my family and friends. I think it’s fun to go and pick out a different ceramic cow for my sister (this year it was a wizard cow) and going to pick out incense for my friend Bridget.
It might come as a surprise but I don’t really like Christmas day. I think the anticipation for it all is more fun than getting it over with. I enjoy the day, don’t get me wrong, I just hate knowing that this is it. After that, Christmas is over. No more Christmas movies, no more candy canes, the Christmas tree is taken down, the ornaments and lights are put away and it’s over, but for now, I can’t wait.

The American Scholar

Emerson’s argument in “The American Scholar” about American society still holds true today.
One reason Emerson’s argument still holds true today is that the people in America are all doing their own thing and when we come together, we fail to understand other people’s opinions because we cannot see from their point of view. If we as a country had to make a decision on an important issue, we would never in a million years be able to agree on one way to go about it. A soldier and a priest may not see eye to eye. A farmer and a mechanic might not agree on anything. It proves that we cannot see from another point of view because we are not diverse in our skills. We see it from our own point of view and that’s it.
Emerson’s says “It is one of those fables which out of an unknown antiquity convey an unlooked for wisdom, that the gods, in the beginning, divided man into men, that he might be more helpful to himself; just as the hand was divided into fingers, the better to answer its end.” What I think of when I hear that makes me think that it’s a good thing to have some diversity and for there to be different jobs and what not but the fact that there is diversity should help us all come together and get different opinions and points of view. Similar to how a hand and its many fingers help it to grasp something, our different skills should help us grasp ideas and conclusions. But what’s happening is that people are so involved in their jobs and how it makes them who they are, they can’t see how other people feel and they don’t have the skills to be more than just the one thing. It prevents us from coming together and helping each other out with our diverse skills and being a stronger country.

Halloween

The best things about Halloween are scary movies, dressing up, and candy. The feel of all the decorations and pumpkins and all the leaves is good too but only candy can last for months after autumn is over.

I’m not one to get excited about having to watch a scary movie but once I start watching it I cannot stop. I get scared so easily it’s unbelievable. In the eighth grade I watched the sixth sense and I had to sleep in my mom’s room with her for a month. The last movie I watched (the exorcist) wasn’t as scary as I thought but I had to sleep in my mother’s room again, just for one night though. What I like about Halloween is that these kinds of movies are always on television. I’ve already got pre-set recordings for the Halloween movies with Mike Myers, and The Shining. The best series of movies, by far, are the child’s play movies 1, 2, and 3. And their sequels Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky. It’s not just that these movies go with the theme of Halloween, but they give Halloween the feel that it has. Without scary movies, I wouldn’t go out at night on Halloween, scared to death with all my friends. And that would obviously be no fun at all.

Dressing up for Halloween is probably the most fun part of the whole thing. I love going through ideas and talking it over with my friends about what I or we are going to be this year. I think I’ve had quite a history of costumes: a clown, Barney, Tweetie Bird, Buzz Lightyear, Mulan, Cinderella, a cat, a mouse, a Spice girl, and this year I will be a cowgirl. There is quite a lot of diversity in my past costumes and I hope to keep it that way for future Halloweens.

Dressing up and watching scary movies are fun, but the absolute best part of the after Halloween is the candy. There are so many different kinds, so many different sizes and colors, it’s unbelievable. Evan after all the leaves have fallen off the tress and been raked up, I’ll still have my old Halloween candy that I had gotten possibly months ago, to enjoy. No matter how old it would get, or how many gross Almond Joys I would get, I’d still have the memories and best of all, the sugar from that Halloween.

My Family

My family is very important to me. When I think about other people’s families I can’t imagine that there as close as they are to theirs as I am to mine, but I know they probably are. My family is my life. I know that without them I’d be nothing. They love me and I love them. We wouldn’t be the same if we were missing a single member. We’re all different but we’re all the same. We like different things but when it comes down to it, we’re all suckers for each other.
My parents. They’re the ones that take care of me. They’re there to drive me around, and they were there to come clean me up after I wet my bed when I was little. I see them now caring for me and my sisters through tough times and I know that when I’m as old as my sisters, they’ll still be there for me. Sometimes we get in arguments and sometimes I resent them but I know that no matter what, we’ll always be there for each other.
My sisters. They make me who I am right now. They’ve done everything they can to help me through things and care for me when I need them. Although I’m the youngest and some of them are a lot older than I am, I know that they’re there to guide me through the tough times and help me when I need them. My sisters Nikkiy, Liz, and Emily will always love me and I’ll always love them. We get along so well and I know it will stay that way. They’re me best friends and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ava , Abbie, Max, and soon to be Ella. My nieces and nephew. They’re absolutely wonderful. They are probably the cutest kids I’ve ever laid my eyes on. All kids get a little on the annoying side when they’re little. I mean, they cry and sometimes don’t cooperate but I live to babysit them. Even when they don’t want to sit down and eat or they don’t want to stay with me, I have the best time. I know that when they grow up, they’ll be just as close to us all as we all are now.
I’m extremely close to all my cousins and aunts and uncles, especially my grandma. I was really close to my grandpa too. They’re all so understanding of each other and they’re so fun to be around. My family is really what makes me happiest and I don’t know where I’d be without them. And besides no one else understands just how good my grandmother’s cooking really is.

Terrorism

Terrorism is a world issue that needs to stop. Terrorism is, in my opinion, the biggest problem in the world right now. I understand the point of war because we can’t always talk things out, but scaring people and fighting unfairly to get what you want is just horrible. We’re in a recession I guess but I believe that our lives and our country are more important than money. This problem should be our first priority and we should be working towards a solution for this world issue.

My father always tells me stories about terrorists and the things they do. Sometimes I think it’s too scare me a little bit into watching out for myself and being careful. But I know there’s truth behind these stories. The things terrorists do are really awful. Being tortured and bombed is far worse than not being able to buy a few nice things you want. Recessions are temporary and easier to solve if we work together. Terrorism is not as simple. If we all band together and had one goal, we could stop a recession, but there are two different goals here, the terrorists, and ours. It’s not even a situation where we can compromise. Obama should be doing something to stop this. We’re already in wars, recessions, and a lot of other problems are going on, we can’t handle terrorism right now.

I had never even heard of terrorism until the first or second grade when 9/11 happened, and even then I didn’t understand what it was. I knew that it was something serious and I knew that it scared me to think about but I didn’t get what was happening. Now that I do understand though, it still scares me. I get that it’s not something to joke about and that it is a truly terrible thing. I know that it can happen anywhere and at anytime. What I don’t understand is the reasons people resort to terrorism, when really negotiation and talking things over is a more effective way to get what you want.

Terrorism is something that really needs to be stopped. There are so many things people can do to terrorize people, there are so many ways that people can be hurt and devastated. Terrorism is a really big problem and I think the sooner we enable ourselves do get rid this terrible thing that is ruining people’s lives, the better.

Autumn

Fall is my absolute favorite season. It’s the best time of the year other than Christmas time. The only reason winter isn’t my favorite season is because its far too cold. Other than that’s its ok, I mean how can anyone not like hot chocolate or christmas lights and trees. I like fall for multiple reasons. I like the fact that Halloween and Thanksgiving are celebrated in the fall. I like the temperatures, how its not hot but its not freezing. I like the clothes I get to wear. I like the colors outside and I like the feeling around my house.
Halloween and Thanksgiving in my opinion are 2 of the greatest holidays ever. I love Halloween because I get to go out at night with my friends and get candy. I’d think a kid was abnormal if he didn’t enjoy that. I like it because you get to dress up as whatever you want. When I was little I used to look forward to picking out my costume all year. I’d plan out and brainstorm ideas of what I wanted to be and when I finally got down to one idea, I was ecstatic. Although it starts getting a little chillier outside by the end of October, I still love going out at night into the cold, thick air and walking around for hours will a pillow case full of candy hanging over my shoulder. Thanksgiving plays a great factor to my love for the fall. I mostly like it because if you’ve read my other blogs, you know that I really like to eat. I like it because since before I was born, me and my family get together at my grandma’s and spend hours just eating everything. My family and I are very close to each other and I love Thanksgiving because it brings me and m family closer. I like it because when we pull up into my grandmas driveway and I get out, walk right up to the door and i breath in the smell of wonderful food that has been wating for me all day and I can still feel the burning of the cold November air in my nose. I’ll walk in and feel the rush of warmth that I know is caused by the oven.
Autumn is my favorite season because of all this and other reasons. I like it because it brings me good feelings and a sense of my family and friends.