Caleb was not my best friend. He was the cute new boy on the bus for a little while. He was the one who always cracked jokes and wore funny hairstyles. He was the one with the deep dimples and contagious smile. Although we lived in Laurel, Maryland, we attended Kenmoor Middle School in Landover, Maryland for the Talented and Gifted all-day program, so getting to school every day consumed about an hour. Since we all spent so much time together on our journey to and from school, we developed a close bond. Here, I got to know Caleb as a friend, a comforter, and a comedian. Although I often found myself annoyed with his middle-school-boy mindset, I knew I had a pal. On a day as normal as any other, Caleb decided to inform our clique that his family planned on moving to Virginia.
My memories of his last day are obscure. There were tears and hugs and goodbye waves from a school bus window. And I never saw Caleb again. We texted and messaged each other on social networks every now and then, not nearly enough. I hadn’t heard from him nor him from me in about a year. Contacting him was always on my “To Do Eventually” list. I did eventually cross it off of my list after seeing his photo on Instagram, I reminded myself of my promise to keep in touch. Then I read the photo caption: it was a cyber-eulogy.
I will never forget – though I have succeeded in temporarily suppressing the memory of - the day I heard about Caleb being shot to death in his neighbor’s house. It was one of those stories that seemed to always be on the news, but never actually happened in real life. To this day, I find that if my subconscious is not reminded of his absence, I still consider it a possibility to contact my old friend. A Freudian might call it motivated forge...
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...o protect their being. My job is to love.
If rather than plastering names on groups with different opinions, this country would focus on increasing the love and trust between neighbors, friends, and especially strangers, fear would grow too insignificant to cause death through guns, wars, fights, baseball bats, and anything else. Marianne Williamson wrote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us,” We ask ourselves who am I to love beyond measure, unconditionally? Who am I to slowly smother the darkness in the world with my light? Who am I not to let the distrust of the world turn me bitter? Who am I to forgive the past? Who are we to not fight back? Who are we to be examples? We should be, America should be, the world should be, I should be love.
...here’s no hatred, no intolerance of anyone else or their beliefs, no one treats anyone else differently because of their skin color or ethnic background, and this is the way it should be around the world; peaceful, calming, no drama, no worries and no violence which causes children to want to pick up a gun and kill all of those around them.
At Ridgemont High School an average student knows at least three people. First, everyone knows Mr. Heckles, the principle. He is known for his morning announcements that always go a little like “Good morning students, yesterday 13 people died”. Second, Frankie Coppelman’s name goes around quite a lot. He is that kid who peed himself in eighth grade while running to the bathroom. These two are known merely for infamous reasons. However, when the last student’s name is heard, it seems like a flower grows a petal. Vicky Frame is this name. Vicky Frame is also the name that goes next to “Why can’t you be more like… ?”. She is that girl that wins every award and everyone goes “AGAIN?”. She isn’t, however, exclusive to one stereotype. She is that girl who everyone wants to be friends with. Every time she walks past all the boys sigh and all the girls say hi. She is the girl that comes back from Europe with five math medals and also five possible boyfriends. She basically seems like the perfect everything. However, this perfect student, daughter, friend, girlfriend is not so perfect as a sibling.
Everyone must be willing to accept other people or their opinions that are different from theirs. After viewing the texts “Texas vs Johnson”by William Brennan “American Flag Stands For Tolerance” by Ronald J.Allen and also viewed a trailer called “My So Called Enemy”. They revealed how different people should be accepted. People should be accepted for who they are and for what they believed.
“…The dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all of their scintillating beauty” (7).
“With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”-Martin Luther King. Jr. People have been separated and treated differently for the color on the outside, but not their real culture on the birth certificate if they weren't white. But that didn't stop anyone or anybody to fight for their civil rights. People saw the political figures as is, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X, but they don't see the
In “People Like Us”, the writer talks about tolerance and diversity in the United States. America has for a long time been cited as one of the most diverse countries. Upon investigation of that statement, one will find that it is a fact, for the country is filled with millions of individuals from different ethnic extractions, political affiliations, religion, socioeconomic status, personalities, interests, etc. However, according to “People Like Us”, instead of the population of the country uniting in its diversity and using that as a strength, individuals are trying really hard to distance themselves from others who are not like themselves, and to band themselves together with those who are like them. David
I knew the day was coming; the day where I would finally meet him. I had already planned and rehearsed what I would say, how I would say it, and how I would try to handle myself around him, but truthfully, I had no idea what to expect. Timmy, an autistic 8th grader would become my assistant drum major in the high school band. I hadn’t realized it yet but he would also become my inspiration.
He states that we have to care about one another. We cannot just be steamed up at someone because they are a different race which falls into our central idea of the passage. While this speech winds down, he explains that we all need each other. Violence, anger, or hatred cannot stand between us if we want to continue what Dr. King did. In this section the author used pathos, and sentence structure. I noticed he used pathos when he said, ‘What we need in the United States is not division,” because he wanted to find the soft part in all of our hearts so we could be awakened to do the right thing and not become angry at one group of people. The he also used sentence structure when he said, “What we need in the United Statesis not hatred,” and, “What we need in the UNited Sates is not violence and lawlessness, but love and wisdom towards one another,” because when the sentence is short like this he is trying to make a statement about what he is saying. While this was the second main idea the helped build up the central idea, I'm going to talk about the third and final main
As the decades have gone by, the equality among different people has become more and more prevalent. In the early 1900’s, for example, the racial discrimination between blacks and whites was at its peak, as was between different religions, ethnicities and life choices. With new enactments to provide people with better lives, the different groups combined to create the society that we currently know. The different texts discussed show that, “We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different than ourselves,” Three texts that explain the quotation are, “The Lottery,” “My So-Called Enemy,” and, “American Flag Stands for Tolerance,”, but in extremely different ways.
It is striking to me that in our time racism and prejudice is still such a prevalent issue in this country and across the globe. Can’t we all just get along? Ethnic and religious conflict permeates the news headlines round every day. The late reverend Dr. King quoted—“We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.” We are living in a sci-fi. The future that many of us grew up contemplating on television shows and in comic books is upon us. Atom...
Williams. Not only as Americans but as humans we talk about how this subject, or issue is tearing the world apart, but its really us. We hate. And because we hate it has changed my entire perspective on the world. Families turn against each other, neighbors are at war, and children are making fun of one another because they heard their parents talking. People never forget what is said to them, even if it is the smallest pea size remarks, like disliking a favorite book or song can make an boulder size impact. The world is a diverse place with billions of different people in it. And not all seven billion people are going to go out of their way to be kind to others, but just imagine if some did. Imagine If you make a person’s awful day or even week better by one simple statement. Hate is never going to disappear, it is the unfortunate staple that our community requires in order to see the good in others. However if we come together one by one, fighting hate with kindness and love we could slowly start solving the problems hate has
The sun gleamed vibrantly on August 5, 2008, but I did not sense the warmth as my thoughts were elsewhere. I was only six years old at the time and preparing to begin first grade in less than one month. As I crossed the threshold into the home of my best friend, I had a sensation everything would change. At such a young age, I was having to tell my best friend goodbye. Blake Basgall had leukemia and would not be around when I returned from vacation, according to my mom. That day, I had spent hours coloring a picture in his favorite color, blue, so I could give it to him prior to heading to my grandma’s for the week. Blake was my first real friend. He had a thoughtful and daring heart through all of his surgeries and medication treatments. Blake Lee Basgall would become an inspiration
...our differences, or view them as causes for separation and suspicion” but use them to unite us together to make a change.
Butterflies. Daydreaming. Embarrassment. Stumbling of words. Excitement. Sweaty hands. Shyness. Thrill. Confusing signs. Giggles. Blushing. Crush.
It was the second semester of fourth grade year. My parents had recently bought a new house in a nice quite neighborhood. I was ecstatic I always wanted to move to a new house. I was tired of my old home since I had already explored every corner, nook, and cranny. The moment I realized I would have to leave my old friends behind was one of the most devastating moments of my life. I didn’t want to switch schools and make new friends. Yet at the same time was an interesting new experience.