Hope. Rest. Love

Hopeless. Helpless. Restless. Weary. Unloved. Brokenhearted. Children are starving. People are dying. Families don't have homes. Sometimes, I just want to close my eyes; act like everything's alright, when I know it's not. Well forgive me if I'm wrong, but this looks like more than I can do on my own. I know I'm not strong enough to be everything that I'm supposed to be. Hands of mercy, won't you cover me? Lord, right now I'm asking you to be strong enough for both of us. I close my eyes, and I can see a better day. I close my eyes and pray, 'cause I know there's sunshine behind that rain and I know there's good times behind that pain. When the waves are taking you under, hold on just a bit longer. This is gonna make you stronger. The pain isn't gonna last forever, and things can only get better. There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary, and love for the brokenhearted.

Raymond

This is based on a boy named "Raymond" from the short story Raymonds Run

People act as if they understand my situation, but in all reality they don't. Nobody actually knows what I go through on a daily basis. I have to overcome many challenges that most others do not experience during their life time. I don't learn properly and because of that, I can't speak well, read well, and I don't comprehend materials well. People treat me different because of my appearance. Whether its the people that stare at me blankly as if I'm some freak of nature or the people that treat as if I'm five, I just don't get treated the same as most others. Sometimes I wonder why I had to be born with this incurable diagnosis, and it gets me very upset, but quickly after I realize that I only have one life, and if I spend it constantly angry at the world, I would be wasting my life away. Long ago I accepted the fact that I am different, long ago I came to the realization that I am unique, and long ago I started to love the person that God made me to be.

Romance within "The Hundredth Dove"

Perfection; it’s almost never achieved. For something or someone to be without a single flaw seems almost impossible actually. Everything and everybody has faults. If our world followed the story plot of a romance however, perfection would be attained quite easily. We would be living in a flawless world with flawless people and flawless things. Happiness would be pumping throughout our bodies as if it were our blood. In the short story “The Hundredth Dove,” by Jane Yolen, our dream of perfection, is their reality. In preparation for the King and Lady Columbia’s magnificent wedding, the fowler is ordered to hunt one hundred doves for the ceremony, but when one white dove keeps the fowler wondering, things start to get a bit unrealistic. This story is undoubtedly a romance.    

When reading a romantic story, what’s the first sign that gives the plot away? The prancing unicorns, talking rabbits, or the sickening perfection of their world? Looking into the mode of literature of a story isn’t always the easiest thing to accomplish, but starting with symbolism can give some good clues. In “The Hundredth Dove,” there was endless symbolism. From silken swift unicorns to a gryphon flying by likes it’s no big deal, the story was puking out unrealistic romance. One major symbol of the story was a specific dove. She was “slim, elegant, and white as milk,” as the story had described her. Day after day, as she was being captured, she would spontaneously slip free of the fowlers silken net that had not one snag, snarl, or weakened thread. On the day before the wedding however, the fowler managed to capture the beautiful bird. As he wrapped his hands around her, she spoke to him. Frightened, she offered the man gold and silver, fame and fortune, and the true love of Lady Columbia in return of letting her free. Nothing worked. The dedicated fowler did not allow any of these offers to get in the way of his moto “Servo,” which means I serve. All of this seems pretty impractical. Is this story screaming romance at you yet?

   

Figuring out the mode of literature is not always the simplest of activities to carry out, but taking a good look at the symbolism of the story can really give you a decent clue. As Jane Yolen wrote “The Hundredth Dove,” she had wonderful intentions of creating a romantic piece for the reader to escape the reality of their defective world and enter the perfection of another.

Albert

Once upon a time, there was a very lonely dragon named Albert. For years, he had been living in a locked up room the King had stuffed him in. After multiple failed attempts of trying to escape the locked up area, he discovered it wasn't as easy as he thought to break free and he would have to spend a lot of time making up a very clever plan. Trying to make the best out of everything until it was Albert's time to escape, the dragon would spend much of his time talking with the mice that would stop in on a daily basis.

"Hey, how do you get in and out of this room so easily," he whispered to a Martin, the eldest mouse one afternoon.

"Well, Albert, it's actually quite easy. There are holes in the walls throughout the castle that allow us to access any room at any time. We just have to be careful not to be seen by any of the people," replied Martin.

"Do you think I could fit through those holes to break free of this miserable room? Although you mice are very loyal friends to me, I do want to move on with my life an eventually have a family of my own," the dragon said to his buddies.

"I hate to break it to you, but you are much too large," said Martin.

After the group of the mice had made their way out of his room, Albert sat and considered his options for a while. What he had failed to remember was that he was magical. He hadn't needed his powers for such a long time that he couldn't even consider what they did or how to use them. So again, he thought. Albert thought back to the times when his parents were still alive and teaching him his abilities. He got it! Albert would just use his breathing fire ability to burn a big enough hole for him to fit through in the wall.

The next day, when his mice friends showed up to visit him, he told them his plan. As he expected, the mice were very sad. Most were crying and hugging Albert goodbye, but one mouse, Frankie, was actually very happy for the dragon. Although he would miss his friend greatly, he was thrilled that Albert could soon move on and live the happy life that he deserved.

Everybody said farewell for the finial time and that evening Albert broke free of the miserable room that he had wasted so much of his life in. He was soon on his way to the land of dragons, to find himself a wife to settle down with.

Later that night when Frankie, the mouse that was excited for Albert to start his new life, saw the rest of his mouse family gloomy, he put a constellation of Albert in the night sky so they would never forget their magnificent pal. All they would have to do it look up into the dark sky and their dragon friend would be there for them just like they were always there for him.

Power.

Power: it's something that everybody longs to have in this world, but not all people can claim. As everyone tries to gain their own share of power, they forget about the more important aspects of life, and eventually the focal point of their life is the concept of gaining power. Not only are they ruining themselves and their morals, but they are also negatively effecting others around them. What happens when the world becomes so absorbed with greedy individuals that the generations yet to come won't experience the comfort of true love surrounding them? Families will become separated. Friends will become enemies. Countries will become rivals. The world will become scandalous.. unless there is change. We all know that the people of the world should change, but whether or not the change will take place, nobody knows. When the power of love becomes greater than the love of power, the world will know peace.

Texting and Driving Don't Mix

Texting while driving: It's a major risk that many teens have been taking lately. Driving is an activity that takes full concentration, so when you are distracting yourself from the road to compose, read, or send a text message, you're setting yourself up for disaster. Just like most other teens, Alex Brown -- a 17 year old girl -- was guilty of texting and driving, until one day it ended her life. It turns out, approximately 50% of teens have actually admitted to texting while driving. Not only is texting while driving putting yourself at risk, but it is also putting other drivers at risk of injury or in worse cases, death. Texting and driving don't mix.

Most people tend to think that a "texting and driving" accident could never happen to them or their family, but as we all know, life is full of unexpected surprises. Alex Brown was one of those individuals. November 10th started off as any other day would. As Alex drove herself to school that morning, she received a text message. Although she knew better, she went against the warnings that had been spoken to her about the dangers of texting while driving and took her concentration off the road to compose a text message. While sending the text to her friend, Alex's truck flipped and she was viciously thrown onto the cold hard ground. By the time her family had found her,  Alex Brown had passed away.

After the death of their daughter, the Brown family was traumatized. Never did they want to go through this situation again  nor did they wish for any other family to have to experience this, so they took action. Within the past year or so, the Brown family has created an organization called B.U.S.T (Buckle Up and Stop Texting) that has spread nationwide. The goal is for high school students to sign a pledge, promising to buckle up and stop texting, which in return should eliminate distraction and keep their focus on the road. As of today, February 3, 2011, almost 21,000 high school students have signed the pledge. This family is really making a positive impact on our country.

The Brown family is truly an inspiration. Any family who can take a traumatizing incident and turn it into a life long lesson for not only themselves but also for others around them, are genuinely wonderful people. If you stay clear of teaxting while driving, your chances for accident reduce greatly. It's simply not worth it for an accident to occur because of a text message. Texting and driving don't mix.