Revision #2

There is neither happiness 

nor misery in the world;

there is only the comparison

of one state with another,

nothing more. He who

has felt the deepest grief

is best able to experience

supreme happiness.

~Edmond Dantes

I love all these quotes, so I thought I would do my second revision on a thorough explanation on why I love these quotes so much.

#1. I touched on this quote a bit in some of my other posts, so I will not talk about this quote a lot. We as humans are so full of mistakes. We hurt and we stress and we worry. But those who live such extravagant lives need more than that in order to be happy. If someone lives on the street, they would be overjoyed to be able to live the life that the person is living even if it's just for one day. The people that know how it truly is to suffer will be more joyous when they get out of that suffering state.

  #2. "The battle over flesh and blood cannot compare to the battle for the heart." I believe the author meant this in a religious way, but one does not have to look at it in that light. But as a Christian, what lies on the outside does not matter. What only matters is if our heart and soul is in the right place. Whatever people believe in, most believe that there is some kind of life after death. As for Christians, we believe that if we love God and follow him with all of our heart, we will go to heaven forever. If we don't, we will not go to heaven. So, no matter if we are beautiful or ugly, or wealthy or poor, that will not determine what our heart and soul can.

 #3. "A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities." To me, the world lives on hope. If there is not something greater for us in the future, why are we even living? It can be hope in an amazing vacation coming up or being reunited with a best friend. For a Christian, our hope is in a better life, in heaven. So to dream is to hope. When we dream, we dream of something better. Of a beautiful house, an amazing family, a dream vacation. We live off our dreams. We dream of a better future. That one dream is what life is made of. Without dreaming, the person (it seems like) is set on the bad stuff that is happening. The reality. "You want a job? I bet there is 200 people trying out for it. You have a .5% chance of getting that position." It just sounds so negative. That person shouldn't burst that person's dream bubble.

 #4. "Not to dare is to lose oneself." This quote is kind of hard to explain. The way I see it is one can't live a very interesting life without taking some kind of risk. That is not how this world works. If one wants to stand out in the world and be someone, they must take a risk. Some examples of this would be: applying for a job halfway across the country, going on a date with that one guy, saving a little extra money in hopes that one wont have to work over the summer so they can go on a vacation. If someone doesn't dare, they get lost in the chaos of the world, trying to live life in a recliner in a small house. 



 

Revised Piece #1

    The man, he hummed a quiet tune.

The world was young, the mountains green.

    No one around him to hear, just the moon. The moon at which no strain was lain until the stars above sat like a crown around the Earth. No words were brought from his mouth to the earth, but the humming continued all through the night.

    You see, that night was the last of his work. No business the old place had and no money, yet he was content with that in which he had achieved there in the past forty years.

    Dawn reached the earth so beautiful and rich with color that made the earth glow with pride and satisfaction. And it came with a new hum, more like a whistle. This one from the many glorious birds in the dense forest around.

    “Goodbye,” he said to the pumps and the store and the Pegasus. For a new journey in his life begun. An adventure. A spirit. A hope.

    With a satchel wrapped around his waist, he set off, into the forest and into the world. No place he needs to go, but everywhere he must.

    By light of sun and star and moon he walked, never daring to halt, never ceasing, and never looking back. And still, he hummed.

The world was fair, the mountains tall,

    And it was there he named the nameless hills and drank the untasted wells of deep, where he ventured far and wide and long. Not stopping until the Lord dare take him.

    Atop a hill, he peered in the great distance. The moon gleamed of red. And that morning came, in which dusk brought a red sunrise.

The blood of men was spilled that night.

    A shadow came upon the earth and lightning and thunder came with it, slashing through the sky above with a fierce and tempestuous attitude.  Fire and flame only started by a strike of lightning became its own person, causing anarchy in the forest.

    But still, the man hummed. He hummed with a new tone in his voice, those lyrics of hard and of dark powers that surrounded the earth in which people call home.

The world is grey, the mountains old

The forge’s fire is ashen-cold

And darkness dwells upon the earth.

    There comes a time when one has to end his journey upon the earth and begin a new one. Everyone reaches this point, including he. He lay on the mountain tall and closed his eyes for the last time and hummed.

But still the sunken stars appear 

Till I awake no more from sleep.

Found inspiration from Edward Hoppers painting 

And from JRR Tolkien's song, The Song of Durin

There he sat. The man.

The gas station man.

He sat on a hill

A green luscious hill that overlooked a city. The city with golden lights and shining walls. And in the center lay the Tower of The King.

This was his final destination.

The gas station man had reached his final destination.

A new adventure lay on the horizon surrounding the sparkling city.

He was ready.

This was the adventure he had been waiting his whole life for. Everything boiled down to this.

His hands grazed the grass as he stood up. With one foot gliding in front of the other, he made his way down to the city.

All around the birds whistled like he never heard before. Every pitch sang was so beautiful.

Going home, Going home,

I am going home

The man sang loud and clear for anyone with ears to hear and skipped to the city.

It’s not far, just close by

Through an open door

Work all done, care laid by,

Never fear no more

The gate was wide open, so in he walked.

It was not only the city that sparkled and shined, but his skin. It glowed with the power held within the walls.

But as he walked through the city, no people he did see.

As he made his way to the center, there lay before him the Tower of the King.

“Jack Lewis,” the city echoed with the voice brought from the tower.

“Yes?” The gas station man yelled his question.

“I see you have accomplished your journey, finished your adventure.”

“Yes. I have and was laid to rest peacefully.”

“And that you were. Though your adventure was finished for yourself, you must go back and finish the journey I have laid out for you, Jack Lewis.”

“What? I don’t understand. I had nothing left to do. I was old and frail. I did not have a job and the world around me was crumbling.”

“You see the physical side of humanity, of earth. But if you look with your soul instead of your eyes, you will see differently. I will see you again, Jack Lewis.”

“I don’t want to leave.”

With every blink of his eyes, the city dimmed. With every turn of his head, greenery appeared. The light was gone and the moon appeared.

And the gas station man hummed once more.

Roads Go Ever On and On… 

Thanksgiving feast!

I am going to describe what my dream thanksgiving would consist of (I am going off the idea that we did in class where we invited 11 people and had any food we wanted).
The table would be large and rectangle. I would want to sit at the head of the table so I am able to see everybody. The person who would sit at the other end of the table is Jesus. I would invite him because I have so many questions about the world and how stuff works that everybody debates and no body fully understands. I would ask him those questions so that I would know what really happened so long ago like on the beginning of the world and space. I hate not being able to know something. Now, I would be able to find out all those unsolved questions. The person that would sit to my right would be my mom. I would never forget my mom! The person who would sit across from my mom would be JRR Tolkien. I also have so many questions to ask him about Middle Earth and how the world ended up collapsing and on pretty much everything. He would be very cool to talk to. Sitting to Tolkien's left would be my dad. I could never forget him either. He is also a big fan of Tolkiens so of course I would place them beside each other. Sitting across from my dad would be Mr. Tumnus from The Lion and the Witch and the Wardrobe. I would invite him because of his friendly personality. He would also keep us entertained with his amazing music skills.
Sitting to the right of Mr. Tumnus would be Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings. He is one of my favorite characters in those movies. Aragorn is very wise and good with words and has an amazing son he could hook me up with. :) Across fron him would be My great grandpa James Harvey. He would be sitting by my dad just because before he died, my dad and him were very close. He also is an amazing story teller. I would to have loved meeting him and listening to his story about being a soldier in WWII. He was in Pearl Harbor and New Guinea and lots of other places. He would be a very cool person to talk to. Sitting on his left side would be William Wallace. I think he did so much for Scotland and is need of a good meal to make up for how much pain he suffered before he died.Sitting in front of him is Frank Hopkins. There is a movie about his life titled Hidalgo, but it is based on a true story. I love him so much. Where he is sitting, he is by Aragorn. Both characters in the movies are played by the same man, Viggo Mortenson. Viggo Mortenson is the definition of a Renaissance man. He is a painter, composer, photographer, actor, director, and a poet. So maybe I'll just have to invite him too! He'll sit on the other side of Frank. I dont know, He may have to fight Ted Dekker for that. Across from Viggo (or Dekker) would be my sister, Rachel. I could never forget her.
All I like is a traditional thanksgiving meal. I want a big turkey, green bean casserole, chunky mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, pies of all sorts, and some salad, cornbread, honey rolls, and maybe even some Lembas Bread.
This is my dream thanksgiving. And no one can forget my little schnauzer begging at peoples feet!

I cant find pictures of any of my relatives.
Here, Have some Lembas bread.

My Cousins and I

There will always be people
who pass in and out of our lives,
but family never leave.
There I was,
surrounded by people whom I love.
My two cousins, Christian and Samantha.
This is how I wish it was all the time.
79 degrees,
few clouds,
and trees everywhere.
We were happy.
They were teenagers,
I was twelve,
They knew what they wanted to do in life,
I had no clue.
Samantha would go on to work with children,
teaching and playing with little kids,
But Christian was gone two months later
fighting his way through Iraq.
Leaving his family for the first time,
Protecting me and our family and our country.
I was young,
but I was old enough to realize that he may not return.

Millinium Photo

This photo is of a Marine who witnessed the breaking and the pulling down of a statue of Iraq’s president. I really like this photo. Some people around the United States disagree with America going into Iraq and fighting. But they killed many of us when they brought down the world trade towers. They killed innocent people. After, George W. Bush led us into Iraq. We fought and some died. We made gradual gains and had bases in the Middle East. We were making grounds. But then, President Obama came in and brought our troops out of the Middle East. For the families with loved ones across seas, they were now home and overjoyed. But we just pulled out. Many of our bases that men and women fought and died for were overtaken by our enemy. So does that mean they just died for nothing? They shed their blood for the enemy just to come in and take them again. This is absurd, especially since the Middle Eastern countries still despise America. And now America gave our enemy material for a nuclear bomb. First of all, why would the US dare to give the very people that kind of stuff if they almost WANT a war with us? My cousin was stationed in the Middle East and he is not happy at all. So that statue that we tore down in Iraq was for nothing. When I see this photo, I am overjoyed that we did this because it had so many good purposes. It HAD. Now, this has no purpose. Most of the photos on the website were of people helping other people. This photo definitely qualified, but now, the photo represents all the horror we put our protectors through for no reason.

Photo Stories

    William Beley was born on June 15, 1879 in Austria-Hungary along with his wife, Dora who was born on November 29, 1882. William's parents were not very successful. They tried to provide for him, but raising William with six other children was very hard. William married Dora in 1898 and in 1899, Dora gave birth to Walker Beley. William tried to support his newly founded family. But because he was starting from nothing, it was very hard. He finally got a job working for the newspaper company. That job did not suffice. He was looked down upon because of his class. William got into a fight with another worker when they called him some nasty names and got himself fired. Without a job, William and Dora, who was pregnant with their second child, had no other choice but to immigrate to the Land of the Free and find hope in America. They did so in the spring of 1903. Right as their boat docked, William was offered a job as a news editor for the newspaper. He made enough money to support his family and even had enough free time to play with Walker. He was even able to help Dora take care of their baby son, Glen. The family was very well built on hard work and determination. They loved each other and cared for each other. Dora even felt that she was able to take care of another child and gave birth to a girl named Leolie in December of 1906. In 1907, William Beley made a humongous step in his life, to become an official American citizen. The family’s first family picture was taken at this time, the day he became a citizen. But in the months that followed, only grief came. Dora passed away after falling ill. William struggled greatly to take care of his two boys and their newborn. He finally made a heart wrenching decision to give the baby up for adoption. Oh, how this journey had taken a U-turn for the worst. The boys now spent most of their time at an all boys school, catching up on their studies until they moved out to support families of their own. And William grew up, old and alone till he died in August on the thirteenth of 1958.   

Photos in My Life

In my family, I take most of the photos. I have a good digital camera, which is better than my mom's camera and my dad's smartphone camera. I also really enjoy it.
In most of my family's photos, I am missing. I do not like to have my photo taken, so I try to avoid it as much as possible. Also, it appears that I am absent from a lot of group photos that I should be in. I don't know why I am not there, I just wasn't. I am in some pictures, though. My mom has a camera and sometimes she will take photos, but they are never good ones of me because I am not looking at the camera.
My family organizes our photos in a photo album. We have one for each year. My house is pretty spacious, but downstairs, we have one hallway that connects to my kitchen, dining room, living room, and parent's room. At the end of the hallway, there is a little table and on that table, sits the album opened up to any page. I like it, because our guests can look at it freely and it brings me wonderful memories of my family's happy moments. In our house, we do not have a lot of photos hung up on the walls or in picture frames accept maybe in the dining room. In my room, I have a mini photo album where I keep my favorite photos from my past. Like when me and my sister were little.
Photos are very important to me. I don't exactly know why, but there like stories. Each one tells a story. And I am able to see how I was as a little girl. I'm able to look at pictures of my family members that live halfway across the country or that have passed away. Photos keep me connected to what I am not able to see with my own two eyes in real life. They are my past. Without the pictures, I could never know how my family was in the Ozarks in the early 1900's. I love them. That's why, I guess.
I can not really think of a funny one of my family. Me and my dad are pretty serious people, so there are not really any of us, besides when my dad was in the car and he tried to fall asleep with a panda bear mask on. Someone took a picture of that and that always makes me smile. I do not have any other ones I can remember. That's kind of sad.
I also cannot think of a photo I want to have. Photos are everywhere in my life, so there really is not an amazing memory that I haven't captured. One of the best moments of my life was when I went to fine arts. Most of the people that went just took photos on their phone, so they did not turn out very well. I guess I wish I had more good photos of that that I am actually in.

**The photo is of my grandpa sitting on a big rock on property that is still owned by my family. My family actually has a facebook page titled "Famous Rock Photos" that consists of every known photo that was ever taken on or by that rock. I'm in some.

Photo Hunt

Every single time I see my friend Erin, she makes me laugh and smilt because of how friendly and optimistic. #thehallerin

My dad has taught me so much over the years. He has helped me with every problem I have ever had and supported me in my decisions. #mydadisbetterthanyours

This is the book I am reading right now. I absolutely love the cover with all the quotes from the book. #sherlockdoesdrugs

The thing that I chose that was round is a picture of a planet. I just think its cool I guess. #therearenosuchthingsasaliens

An interesting angle would be from the top of  the new stairs. I think its cool because instead of showing Kickapoo Cheifs, it says Poochies. #poochiesmoochies

I did my pumpkin for something handwritten. It took me a long time to paint those words on that surface and I think it looks good. #switchfootquote

The face is actually an elephant face. I just thought it looked almost exactly like it and it intrigued me. #lovetheelephant

GUMMY WORMS!! Who doesn't like gummy worms? I don't know. Kids love food, so they will definitely notice the snack machine. #gummywormsmakefeiends

I did the stage and the american flag for my important memory just because it reminds me of being in Mr broaddus's class and talking about history and the debates. #proudtobeanamerican

Something that irritates me is this Cub's thing. I really don't like the cubs one bit but I have tons of friends who do. #completlyuselessbeforeseptember

I think this picture of the Indian is really beautiful. I love art and the history that comes with it. #nanation

Here I another picture of an Indian. I love these and it'll always remind me of being a KHS student. #khshome