Ele’s Blog

What is a hero. Ask any child and they will likely say some super hero or their mother of father. Ask any adult and they will say their parents or grandparents or the common people for their contribution to America and the world. The elderly will say their hero is life or their spouse.

I am the oddball. I am my own hero. I believe that I am the only one that can motivate me. A hero to me is someone who will motivate you to be the best person you can be and to give you strength and courage when you need it most. Who else can do that but you. Someone can give you words of wisdom but in end, its you who takes from those words what you need to be better. No one can make you do anything, it’s your choice to be who you want.

That’s why I am my own hero. Only I can make myself be better. Only I can be my own motivation for my life. I can take strength from those around me and can get help and support from the ones who care, but only I can stand up and move forward. Only I can be the one to do that.

The wolf is the king of the forest. A master in the art of stealth and full of pride. Yet when you go to a local zoo or wildlife preserve, you see these animals caged and confined to a much smaller space than their wild home.

When I think of a wolf, I think of a powerful beast racing through the woods after some squirrel. I see a caring mother guide her cubs along the river away from the dangers that follow them. What I don’t see is them confined to a much smaller space than their natural habitat. I don’t see wolves so tame and defenceless that they are used to the human smell.

I will admit that by caging them, you save them from poaching and extinction. But don’t you also take away their home and their way of life to turn them into show dogs. It just doesn’t seem right to me. The wolf is good for our ecosystem. It has been scientifically proven that the wolf only kills what they need and helps keep the habitats equal and prevent one species from over populating. It does not help that we are taking the wolves away from their home and the environment.

Here is the link to a video with some pictures and clips of wolves in their real home, the wild. Please read the info the the right of the page about the Gray Wolf. It is good information and gives better facts than I can. The Wolves

Earth Day is a time to celebrate the earth and its so very long life. Its a special day when everyone does there part to try and make her better and take care of her.

However, the main question than comes to mind is why do we only try to be courteous to our planet on this one day? Why not everyday? I mean. are we not constantly complaining that we need to take care of our planet because of global warming? In my mind this does not make sense. Why would you only set aside one day. Why not encourage it throughout the year and make a great celebration on Earth Day. Wouldn’t that make more sense?

Everyone one can make an impact over the whole year just through simple things. My family has decided that we will pay more attention to what we are recycling and hopefully recycle more. We also are careful of the waste we create and try to use car pooling as much as possible in order to decrease our carbon footprint.

Any family can make small changes in their lives throughout the year to create a better Earth. It’s just up to you to start them. What’s your choice?

Green is the color of clean. Its the color of trees when you run through the forest as a child. Green is the color of the dewy grass in the morning as you wake up to the bright sun.

Green is the color of the mist as it floats through the trees on a early morning.

Green is the color of a waterfall in the middle of the forest where no one thinks to look.

Yesterday I bought my first car. To many teenagers, this is a momentous event. One for great celebration. To me, it was even greater because I bought it with my own hard earned money.

My car is an ‘88 Toyota 4Runner. I bought it off of my cousin for only $300 dollars. I love it to pieces even though it pretty much is in pieces.I have a lot of work to do still on it but I’m very proud of it.

I got to drive it for the very first time yesterday. I was surprised that I could drive it so well. It honestly felt like I was in tune with the car. I love it and I’m proud to call it my own.

“Montana Sky” By Nora Roberts

Writing keeps me calm. It expresses all my inner thoughts without the actual showing of my emotions. I enjoy writing on the computer more than on paper because you can more easily change it on the computer and you waste nothing. It’s a release.

Now relate this back to you. How do you release your positive or negative thoughts and energy when you don’t want to post them to all your friends? It’s the easiest way really. You can literally talk to a piece of paper and all the thinking behind your words is already done so the need to vent to your nearest buddy has simply evaporated. I have two blogs I use for such things. One on my Myspace for things I only would want my friends reading if they so chose to read, or this one where I ramble to no end about whatever I am assigned or simply just want to write. You decide which would be more important.

Now I would like you to think about what you would write about. Many think writing is very hard, but in fact, it’s very simple. Start with your topic. Think of something you would like to write. It could be an event in your life or even a story you want people to read. Think of a title; something simple that pulls you topic together in a few simple words. Then play off your topic. If it’s a story, then write what comes to mind when you think of your title. If it is a true event, then depict your story in chronological order with vivid detail to give your reader something to envision as you would.

The length of your piece has no effect on the writing unless it’s for a school project or a contest. The length should be enough to get your topic across but don’t over do it. You want to leave a kind of comic strip in their head so that they can paste it together to make their own video that plays when they think of your writing. Leave them guessing slightly. It allows for more enjoyment in the reading.

The final stage of any piece of writing is the end. It should wrap the entire piece together and either leave room for a sequel, or come to an end with some room for guessing as to what the characters in your story did after so the writing may be worth reading again.

That is the basis to writing. If you simply think about what you read, you can get how you would need to write. Even following the outline of your favorite book or story can get you started on writing. It does not need to be great or a masterpiece. It only has to be your own words with the very best effort behind it. Take my advice and write. Or even write a story in your mind. It’s an amazing release and it’s nice for others to read as well.

A Wind In The Door

I have never read this book nor have I read the book before it either. But thanks to this podcast, I just might read one if not both of them. In her podcast, she uses plays on sound and voice to entice you and make you want to listen and hear the words. There is a sing-song melody playing in the background, causing you to feel like you in a dreamland. It’s soothing and very interesting. The actual script is amazing as well. The words play away and you are immediately drawn in to the story and wan to know more as soon as it ends.

I had written this paper for a contest and had won post but only came in second in district, the second level in four to win the grand prize. I thought I would post it and get some feed back for when I enter again next year. I encourage you all to enter as it is a very high honor to win considering you compete against the entire U.S. There are four levels: post, where your essay is competing against others likely from your town; district, where you compete against other post winners from that VFW district; state, where you essay is graded against all the district winners in your state; anf finally nationals, where there is one winner from each state. The Grand Prize is a $50,000 scholarship. If you make it as far as nationals, you can get at least a $5,000 scholarship. All the while winning money for each level. It’s well worth it. Contact your local Veterans of Foriegn Wars Post for more info. Well here was my entry. Please leave comments as it does help for future entries, not only mine.

A man wakes up in the morning. He looks to his wife still sound asleep. They are high school sweethearts and he loves her very dearly. He gets up to check on his kids as well. His daughter, newly 11, is awake playing with some new toy given to her by a friend for her birthday, while his twin boys sleep the morning away. He takes a shower and proceeds to the kitchen to start some coffee for him and his wife. He has plans for the day, a full day of work and then some shopping for his sons. Their birthday is near and he wants to take advantage of the summer sales ending soon. It’s just another typical day in his life.

            Freedom. A free man lives his day with no hindrance as to what the cost of his freedom is. What is this cost? Life. In order for one to live with so many choices, another must choose to fight for them. How many of us stop and really look at what it takes to have the choice of which game to buy or where to go for the best clothes? How many of us stop to look at who fought for it? Or why they did it? They fight for us; to give us the many choices we have every single day of our lives.

            This man is a nurse for his local army base clinic. Day in and day out he takes care of many people hurt over seas that are checking in for therapy or are hurt in training exercises near the base. Some days he even takes care of many war veterans in need of healthcare. He hears so many stories about their experiences and memories, both good and bad. He hears accounts about the My Lai massacre or hearing from loved ones in times of crisis that helped them through tough times. He hears about being there during the Tet Offensive or watching their comrades die in combat alongside them. The man takes pride in his work and has the satisfaction of helping the men who fight for us. He goes to work everyday hopeful to here more and leaves knowing his kids and kids all over America have a better life because of them.

            Thousands of lives have been lost to give our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren a future. To give them the hundreds of choices they have everyday, to give them the freedom to choose. The freedom to go to public school or private school or even be home schooled; freedom to choose any food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner; freedom to choose any class as this semesters elective. The freedom to be who they want and grow up to achieve what they want; to make a better America for our future generations as they have.

            The man gets home late today after his late night shopping. He is confident his boys will love the gifts he bought. He checks in on his kids to notice they are sound asleep. The daughter has lost her interest in her previous toy and so sleeps with a new stuffed animal while the boys take pride in their Spiderman and Batman pajamas in their merry dreams of Kindergarten the following day. His wife has long since fallen asleep so he slips in to bed next to her and waits for morning when he can return to his job. He awaits more stories, knowing what he is doing helps our soldiers and, in turn, helps his children and our youth sleep fearlessly at night and have the freedom to choose what happens when they wake up and choose everything for the rest of their lives.

As I walk in the door to my home, I notice the smell of something baking in the oven. I walk into the kitchen to not only smell, but see some variety of cookie cooling on a rack. I snag one without my mother seeing and continue on to the living room to claim a controller to or PS3.

I had no more than turned the game on and loaded the fantasy land of Laura Croft’s latest adventures when my step dad walked in all high and mighty as he often does, and tried to kick me off. He usually calls the PS3 a “family toy” but he plays it more than anyone, with my mom at a close second only because no one fights her when she claims her game. It’s major taboo in my home. My brother plays with my step dad more than I so for me to play is a treasure I am sure to keep.

As he takes the controller and tries to kill the Lady Croft, I yell and yank it out of his hands complaining loudly that I have little time left before I must leave for work and he can have it soon. My mom is near by and turns to see what today’s verdict will be in case she has to make a rescue. We look at each other for a while, seeming to fight in our own heads whether to give in or let the other fight. He soon walks away complaining but leaves me alone. At least mostly anyway. I have won this one, but what will happen next time? Time can only tell…