Wednesday, February 29, 2012

A Hero From The Shadows

Author’s Note: Every Day someone is dying somewhere around the world. In this short story by Lynn Rosellini, a man saves his co-workers who were trapped underground that were nearly drowning. What you are going to be reading about is not a tragedy but a delightful story in the end.
Four men, a tunnel, and a lot of water. Doesn’t nearly sound as fun as some people may think. In the short story No Escape, four men were working underground just like any other work day. Then one of the workers heard an unfamiliar sound, sort of like a whoosh of air and a clatter of rocks and debris. A second later out of nowhere came all this water pouring into the tunnel. One of the workers tried to get a hold of someone by using his radio on his tool belt but then it suddenly died.  At that very moment what was going through all of their minds was we are going to die. After a while of being stuck down in the tunnel and the water rising at 10,000 gallons per minute, one of the workers who were working above ground, Mike Salvador came to their rescue when he heard someone yelling for help. The workers were finally saved from drowning. To me this short story was trying to make a point, and the point I thought it was trying to make was that anyone can be a hero, no matter what anyone says about you.
On a positive note, if things start out poorly that doesn’t mean they will necessarily end up bad. For instance if you start the first half of a basketball game with multiple turnovers, you can still end the game with no turnovers and a bunch of points in the second half. After all, not everything in life turns out bad in the end.
I feel like I can relate to this story because when I was younger my grandma had a pool and my brother was supposed to be watching me when my grandma called for lunch and my brother left me. Of course this was when I didn’t know how to swim and I started drowning. My mom was the one who noticed me and came to my rescue. I guess what I am trying to say is, that I could relate to the almost death experience.
Many people can’t relate to having almost death experiences, but being a hero is something everyone can relate to. Being a hero isn’t just putting on an act it’s about how you treat people and how you make the best of every situation.  I am trying to make a point that it doesn’t matter if you are short or tall or young or old it doesn’t matter, anyone can be a hero. For example if someone was drowning at a swim at your own risk lake/pool anyone can help save the life of that person. By doing that they can become a hero.
Everyone gets a chance to be a hero. I think that is something that many people don’t take advantage of. In my perspective I think that being a hero can be life changing. Say someone is choking on a piece of food and you know how to do CPR, this could be your chance to show the world that you are a hero. Anyone and everyone has the chance to be a hero and save someone’s life.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Rain Rain Go Away


Author’s Note: Seven years; thousands upon thousands of days it has been raining nonstop. Every minute of every day it rains on planet Venus. A girl named Margot moved from Earth to Venus and she has lived on Venus for 5 years and still all these kids make fun of her, because she thinks that it will stop raining for a couple hours and then it will continue to rain for another couple years.
BOOM! ... BANG! The lightning struck as the class jumped from their seats. “Take your seats children class is about to start.” Said the teacher. It was a normal day at school for Margot sitting in the back of the room not talking to anyone. “Margot, it is your turn to read your poem.” Said the teacher. Margot began to read her poem, “I think the sun is a flower; that blooms for just one hour.” Then one of the boys yelled out Aw, you didn’t write that! “I did” yelled Margot from the back of the room. “William!” Said the teacher. This is just how the story begins.
In this book Margot has got a big situation; she has to move from Earth to Venus. I can relate to that because I have moved many many times in my life. In fact I just moved this summer and I am still kind of getting over the big change. Of course her move was bigger, but I can share my feelings with her. Having to get used to everything so fast and having to settle down in a place that you don’t want to be. Trust me, I’ve been there and many times. If I were in her position I would be doing the exact same thing that she is doing.
New school, new teachers, new friends, new everything. One day before the teacher came in the class room the class thought since they didn’t like Margot that it would be funny to lock her in a hall closet. Why? Because she said that today it was going to stop raining and they thought she was lying so the class locked her in the closet also because they thought it would be funny. Then suddenly something happened, just as the kids got back to the class room they didn’t hear anything. Which for them was very unusual, it actually stopped raining.  The class rain out into the fresh air and were so excited they started running around like it was the very first time they ever saw no rain. It wasn’t long though, before the rain came back and everyone had to resume their regular lives inside. Then they realized that Margot was telling the truth about it not raining and went to unlock the closet and set her free. Their lives would still remain the same though, not liking her and making fun of her.
Life in another world is not easy, I don’t know that for a fact but I do know that moving from your home planet to a planet that you thought didn’t even have life on, is ruff. On Venus it never stops raining, but on earth it doesn’t rain 24/7. That is something that Margot most definitely had to adjust to. Since Margot isn’t as tan as the other kids she always gets picked on because of how her skin is as white as snow and how she looks so pale. Life as the new kid isn’t as easy as you may think!
If you think about it Margot doesn’t live an easy life. Moving from one planet to another, always getting picked on for the color of her skin, and many more things. If you were living her life how would you deal with a situation like that? To me I wouldn’t want to go to school, I wouldn’t want to go to school because of all the nagging and being picked on every day for something that you believe in. Honestly to me I feel bad for Margot because she has a complex life.