I think that A Single Shard and A Homeless Bird are very a like. First, Koly and Tree-ear both try to do the right thing and are cautious about people’s feelings. Tree-ear is very nice and polite to Min and his wife and always thinks before saying something.  Koly has a big conscience and keeps thinking of the little, hungry kid that was eying her food while she sat on the steps and didn’t give him any. Also, She is very nice polite and tries not to disobey. Next, Koly and Tree-ear always try their hardest in their work and are very determined. When Koly makes the quilts she works very hard on it and shows much determination when trying to find her mother in law and learning to read and write. Tree-ear always gives 100% for Min and is determined to reach Songdo and show Kim Min’s work. Finally, they both can be kind of sneaky. Tree-ear watches the rice man and his leaking jiggeh and wonders if he should tell him or wait and get the fallen rice. He decides to wait until the man rounds the corner and then run up and tell him. The man in thanks lets him have the rice already on the ground. Also, Tree-ear molds a flower petal and sneaks it on to Min’s piece before firing. Koly ask Ma Kamala if she could go to Mala’s party and she says no. She sneaks out anyway and goes to her party and gets tricked by an artist. These are just a few similarities between A Single Shard and A Homeless Bird.

I believe that if you are determined than you can accomplish anything.  If you believe in yourself and keep trying than anything is possible. A couple months ago I went to a fundraiser at my friend’s gym. It was for a level 9 gymnast who had fallen in her bar routine and is now paralyzed. I arrived at the gym knowing I was going to have an awesome time. Sophie, Emily, and I sprinted onto the spring floor right as the party started. We tried out every piece of equipment and did all sorts of different tricks. All of us were determined to learn something new that night.  I wanted to get my aerial (a cartwheel with no hands).  I went over to the really bouncy tumble trak and started to warm up some aerials.  I tried to really focus on whipping my body over and getting up very high. The coaches gave me lots of helpful tips to help with the trick.

After wards, I went to the floor and remembered everything the coaches had said. I took a few steps and went into my aerial. After a few seconds my hands went to the floor and I fell on my butt. “Ouch”, I whispered. “Try to keep your arms in and really whip over your body.” Sophie offered.  Again, I kept putting my hands down like it was a reflex. I knew I couldn’t give up though, I was determined. I thought about how the level 9 gymnast ,now paralyzed, didn’t give up even though her legs now were unable to move and how she is still trying to make the best of what she has. I knew I was going to be determined like her. This time I took a powerful run and swung myself over. I hugged my hands in tight and landed on my feet. “Yay, I did it!” I yelled with joy. I felt so happy and proud that I had just done an aerial. Sophie and I were so excited! I realized that I persevered and kept trying until I did the trick. I believe that if you are determined than you can do anything.  Nothing is impossible, This I believe. 

My favorite people  in A Single Shard  are Min’s wife and Tree-ear. Min’s wife is a loving women who takes care of Tree-ear while he works for Min. Everyday she leaves out a bowl of rice with sometimes vegetables or meat in it. After Tree-ear eats the rice for lunch she fills up the bowl again to the top so he can share the food with Crane-man. Tree-ear describes her as a kind lady with a gentle and nice smile.  She has bright and soft eyes, set in a small face netted with fine wrinkles. Tree-ear is a Chinese orphan who lives under a bridge with his guardian Crane-man. When he was a baby he got dropped of under the bridge with Crane-man to take care off him. Later when his family came to get him, he refused to let go of Crane-man and they decided to let him stay. Tree-ear is very nice and has very good manners.Every time before he says or does something he thinks about the outcome and if it is the right thing to do. These are a few reasons why I like these characters.

I am so excited about getting a MacBook Air next year at Westminster! I think it will be good to have a laptop so I don’t have to always force my family to get off the computer so I can do homework and other stuff.  Also, I am very happy because we will have Macs instead of having the annoying P.Cs that take FOREVER to load! The Macs will help us not waste time in class by going to the carts and fighting over computers if there are not enough. Now we can just pull out our laptops and get on so much quicker than waiting for the P.Cs. Also, it will affect our learning a lot so we can take notes during class or look up homework on Westminster websites. We Another reason I think that the MacBooks will be helpful is that some kids may not have a good computer at home to work on. These are some of the reasons that I am very happy about getting Macs next year!  

A poacher’s snare cost this little six-month tiger its font right leg. The leg was amputated after the cub was caught for three days in Aceh Province, Indonesia. The tiger, now unable to hunt or live on its own, lives in a zoo in Java. The photographer probably took this picture to show people that even though poaching is very illegal it is sill going on.  Today there are more tigers in captivity than in the wild.  Scientist predict that there are less than 20,000 left.  It makes me sad to think that tigers may be extinct one day because of habitat loss and hunters poaching them and their prey.

http://news.mongabay.com/2011/1205-tigers_natgeo.html

A poacher’s snare cost this six-month-old cub its right front leg — and its freedom. The limb was amputated after the tiger had been enmeshed for three days in a snare in Aceh Province, Indonesia. Unable to hunt, the tiger now lives in a zoo on Java. ©Steve Winter/National Geographic

Is Cheerleading a Sport?

I think it is wrong and unfair that cheerleading is not considered a sport. Cheerleading is one of the most dangerous and hardest activities. A cheerleader practices almost every day and works very hard to perform new tricks, including double fulls, punch fronts, and x-outs. They go to competitions and compete against many different teams. The cheerleaders and coaches work very hard to complete an about two- minute and 30 second routine that includes tumbling, stunts, jumps, a cheer, and dance. Even though cheerleaders are some of the best athletes, people still do not understand that cheerleading is definitely a sport.

Some people do not understand the difficulty of cheerleading and may call the athletes flirts in skirts. People may say this because in movies or TV shows they are represented as popular and mean. I think that movie and TV producers should stop being stereotypical and show how hard they train they really train. Others may say this because they think cheerleaders just shake pom-poms and yell cheers. Actual cheerleaders go to competitions and compete. I think that people who disagree and say cheerleading is not a sport do not understand how amazing cheerleading is and may underestimate it.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107521/Nicole-Graham-Astro-Mother-stayed-horses-3-hours-getting-trapped.html

Who: A women and her horse

What: A woman and her daughter went horseback riding and the horse got trapped in quagmire

Where: Geelong

Why do we care: Many horses around the world will get trapped in quicksand or quagmire. This lady was brave and stood by her horse to make sure it was safe. She shows you that if you remain calm and are brave than everything will be ok.

My buddy at Campbell stone retirement home is Mrs. Sylvia Mason. She grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana and moved to Atlanta just a few years ago. Mrs. Mason is a surviver of Hurricane Katrina but suffered a horrible injury. When she lived in Louisiana she made friends with a little girl who lived across the street. Her name was Carolyn. Mrs. Mason and her would gather leftovers from dinner and eat them under their houses. A popular game that Mrs. Mason played with her was hop scotch and hide and seek. “I think that it is so cool that hide and seek and other games like skipping rope are enjoyed by children today when I used to do the same activities when I was a child!”, Mrs. Mason told us. Other activities she participated in was volley ball and basket ball. Now she enjoys watching football and her favorite team is the Saints. She likes the Saints because it is where her daughter went to college. Mrs. Sylvia Mason had two children, a girl and a boy. Her son got shot and killed and her daughter now has two children. Mrs. Sylvia’s grandkid’s names are Lisa and Cadera and they are 15 and 13.

 She is a so nice and  is very funny.  My favorite thing about her  is that she talks a lot and has amazing stories.

Like all the women in her family, Koly learns how to embroider saris and quilts. Koly’s saris and quilts really reflect her life and therefore are unique. “That is what I want. It is not just a heron; it is your heron. It has flown right out of your head and, more important, out of your heart,” Mr. Das say after she embroiders the beautiful heron she keeps encountering by the river with Raji. Mr. Das, the man Koly works for, loves her work because of the uniqueness. Koly would sit and think about her life and what to put on the sari. Each sari would be different and individual. Sometimes there would be the river where Koly and Chandra bathed, or, the silver hoops her mother gave her, or the marigolds in honor of Hari. She would stitch her thoughts and what ever came to mind in the saris. Her life reflected in the embroidery and made all the saris and quilts one of a kind and beautiful.