Epic Speeches

Okay this first one I just found online when I was searching for RFL (relay for life) speeches and I love him. If you can get past the clearly ridiculous scene, the actual speech is pretty inspirational. (He's talking about the 12 hour relay against cancer they did in Phoenix.) So here's the vid:

Okay this second one is from a movie- I heard that was okay- but its clearly the most epic speech ever and I am in love with it :] The courage of men shall never fail us as long as Aragorn is there!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reIaKZSMHu8

Alert

Alert:  fully aware, attentive, agile, wide-awake
Part of Speech: adjective
Origin: (according to dictionary.com)

c.1600, from Fr. alerte  "vigilant," from phrase à l'erte  "on the watch," from It. all'erta  "to the height," from erta  "lookout, high tower," orig. fem. of erto,  pp. of ergere  "raise up," from L. erigere  "raise." The adv. is the oldest form in Eng.; the adj. is from 1712, the noun from 1803, and the verb from 1868

Synonmys:

1. Active-adjective; engaged in action; characterized by energetic work, participation, etc.; busy: an active life. Origin: 1300–50; < L āctīvus
2. Attentive-adjective; characterized by or giving attention; observant: an attentive audience. Origin: 1375–1425; late ME (Scots
3. Enthralled-adjective; to be held spell-bound. Origin: 1570–80; en + thrall
4. Awake-adjective; waking; not sleeping, alert. Origin: bef. 1000; ME awaken,
5. Aware-adjective; having knowledge; conscious; cognizant: aware of danger. Origin: 1100; ME, var. of iwar,  OE gewær  watchful
6. Interested-adjective; having the attention or curiosity engaged. Origin: 1225–75; (n.) ME < ML, L: it concerns, lit., it is between; r. interesse
7. Heedful-adjective; taking heed; attentive; mindful; thoughtful; careful.Origin: 1540–50; heed + full
8. Vigilant-adjective; ever awake and alert; sleeplessly watchful. Origin: 1470–80; < L vigilant-  (s. of vigilāns ), prp. of vigilāre  to be watchful.
9. Observant-adjective; quick to notice or perceive; alert. Origin: 1425–75; late ME < F, prp. of observer.
10. Watchful-adjective; vigilant or alert; closely observant. Origin: 1540–50; watch + full.

Paris

I've recently decided that after college I want to move to Paris. Which might be considered a little odd,  considering I've only been there once and don't speak French. However, I just realized I'm not a huge fan of our country. Especially Minnesota. There's nothing here that interests me anymore. And Paris, well, such a different story!

I went to Paris this past summer, during a tour of Europe I was on. We were only there for about four days, and I wish we could have stayed longer. The Louvre, which we spent several hours at, was gorgeous but surprisingly not one of my favorite things. The Eiffel tower, also, was gorgeous. The view from the top was spectacular, well worth all the steps we walked up to see it. My favorite thing about Paris, though, was the atmosphere.

I've always lived in suburbs, and as a little kid wanted to move to a ranch in the middle of Montana. Now, though, I can no more see myself living in the middle of the outdoors than I can see myself enjoying a hamburger. (As a vegetarian, thats a fair comparison). I want to live in the city. Paris in particular, at least during the summer days we were there, was gorgeous. The architecture was beautiful, and there were people everywhere, walking, chattering in French, riding their bikes to work or simply sitting on benches outside enjoying the day. I love the idea of being able to take a bike to work, of being able to walk where I want to go in the streets of Paris.

Now, its not just Paris that interests me. I also loved London, and since my family lives there moving there would be so much easier. In London though, if no one noticed, they speak English. The reason I perfered Paris was that the language was so different, so much prettier. Silly and material, but true. I like the adventure of moving somewhere with a limited knowledge of the language and culture and trying to make my way. I sound as though I'm quoting "Eat, Pray, Love", and maybe I am. Even though I found the movie just a little corny, the actual idea of what that character did excited me. I want to try it someday.

To Whom it May...Wildly Entertain :]

To those of you that understand this reference, well you're probably laughing as hard as I was when I saw this. To those that don't, explaining would take to long so I'm simply going to mention that you shoud broaden your entertainment choices. Anyway, I found this and I think its simply fantastic (not that the woman was injured of course) so I shared it with my friend (yep, citing you and everything KammyCakes (yep I did just use KammyCakes)) and we decided it was 100% blog worthy so vuala, here it is. :]

Two Million Minutes- Three Million Blogposts.

Response to Two Million Minutes:

"Asian" has become more than an adjective in our culture. It has become a common "fact" that those of an Asian or Indian decent are flat out smarter than those steriotypical Americans. Though this is probably not true, it has become a steriotype of its own. If you are Asian in our school you are assumed to be smart. You are assumed to be getting strait A's, doing well on the SAT's, and taking difficult classes with the aim of getting into prestigious colleges. The same goes for those who are Indian.

This isn't to say that Americans are thought by everyone else to be stupid. No one I have met thinks any less of us because of the comparison to other cultures. Nor do I feel that this steriotype reflects at all on our school system. There is nothing the school could do to encourage white Americans to live up to Asian or Indian expectations. Because that is the main difference between our cultures: expectations. Because we were not raised the same way, at least in most cases, we were taught different values. Those raised by "typical" Asian or Indian families were taught that studies and academic achivements were of the uptmost importance. That doing perfectly in school and getting into an acceptable university is all that really matters at this point in our lives. And really, I can see the truth in that. However, families like mine didn't bring me up thinking that way. I was taught that yes, of course I should do well in school and of course I should try my best in all areas of my academics. However, I was also taught to value the social aspect of my highschool and college years. I was taught to have fun, to enjoy the journey while I could. For this reason, I will willingly admit that I probably do not place as much stock in academics as some from Indian or Asian scholars. I probably do not study as hard, and for that reason I know I do not do quite as well.

I do not, as I said before, think there is anything a school could do to change this steriotype. I also do not believe that schools could change the distribution of our grades in relation to our cultural backgrounds. Schools already encourage us to do as well as we can, to try our best, and to study our hardest. For reasons prior mentioned, some of us tend to do better than others. Unless we were to go all the way back to our childhood, to rewire the way we think and to have our parents reteach us the values we have learned, the way we do things cannot be changed now. There is nothing to be done in the American school system.

So how do we solve the "problems" arising about Asians and Indiand beating out Americans for spots in ivy league American schools? On one hand, there is no problem. They clearly deserve the spots, more so than all the Americans they beat out. If they deserve the spots more, whose to say they shouldn't get them? On the other hand, people have argued that since it is "American" tax dollars going toward the American education, we deserve spots as well. Though I do not personally think I agree with this, it is a fair point. For this reason, I have no answer to the question I posed. America could certainly try as a whole to work harder, to have more of our scholars end up in the rigorous ivy league programs. However, I doubt that anything would happen even if we tried. The cycle, it seems, will keep the way it has been going until a better solution is proposed.

Key

1 Argument
2 Division of analysis
3 Classification
4 Example
5 Process Analysis
6 Definition
7 Narration
8 Cause and Effect
9 Compare Contrast
10 Description

Modes of Friendship

1) Everyone needs friends. To have a friend is to have someone to confide in, to pour your feelings out to. A friend can be an emotional outlet, and that is something everyone needs. If we do not have people with whom we can confide, our thoughts and feelings will be bottled up inside. Psychology shows that the sharing of emotions is good; it can relieve stress and help the individual better manage the various aspects of their lives. Also, when you have no one to talk to, you have no one to get advice from. Everyone needs someone to ask their important or personal questions. Having friends gives you this. For this reason, everyone needs to have friends in their lives.

2) There are many aspects to friendship. The two (or more) people in question, and both of their feelings. Their simply chemical compatibility, their willingness to be open and honest with each other. It involves their brains, and the chemicals that make them recognize each other as people they like. It also involves their minds, and what they think about each other. Their hearts, and their willingness to put up with each other’s bad traits in order to be there for the good ones. Friendship can be a complicated ordeal, but it is worth it for everyone to experience.

3) When we think of friendship, we usually classify it as a bond between people. Friends would be people who care for each other and enjoy spending time with each other; people who talk on the phone and text constantly, especially people who tell each other their secrets. Friendship as the dictionary defines it is a friendly feeling of relation or intimacy. However, people usually regard this type of friendship as between two individuals who are not related and are of the same gender. People don’t often consider females who have male friends, or vice versa. People often skip over family relationships, though friends can be found in your parents or siblings. People even more scarcely consider romantic relationships. They seem to have been taken to a whole new level outside of friendship, but really most lovers are in fact best friends as well. Friendship can exist in many ways, these I have named are only a few.

4) I know someone who thinks friendship is measured by the number of times you have been to that person’s house, or the number of sleepover parties you have had. The number of gifts you have given each other, or the number of secrets you share. She thinks friendship is quantifiable by these material measurements, and therefore doesn’t classify us as close. Maybe she is right. I certainly don’t tell her everything, but that isn’t because I don’t have enough secrets of hers, of haven’t been to her house enough times. Maybe it is. I guess I can’t judge. If that is how she chooses to measure friendship, I’ll leave her and her small number of friends to do just that.

5) Becoming friends can be cut down into a very precise process. Firstly, you meet. How, where, and why are irrelevant, all that matters is somewhere and somehow you make contact, you learn each other’s names, probably you will remember each other’s faces. The second step is harder to distinguish. You must see each other again, under some uncertain circumstances, and you must talk. You may laugh, you may smile at each other. In this stage, depending on how close your friendship will end up being, you may or may not make definite plans to see each other again. Step three: you start to enjoy each other’s company. You plan on spending time together, and you try your best to see each other again. You start to confide in each other, and to look to each other for comfort. Somewhere in this process you move on to the fourth and final step and can be classified as truly friends. You share everything with each other, you turn to each other with your questions and you value each other’s input. This is when you know you are truly friends.

6) Friendship is something to be achieved, something everyone has, and something everyone loves. To be friends with someone can be defined in many ways. How much you respect them, how often you spend time with them, how much you share with them. The possibilities are endless. The dictionary defines friendship as: being friends, sharing feelings of compassion and respect. It is hard to put a specific label on friendship, because it means different things to different people. Overall, friendship is a bond between people, usually with non romantic feelings of love and compassion, and an aspect of respect.

7) When I was in third grade, I met my first “best” friend. I was on the swings with some of the girls from my class, and someone I knew walked up to me, followed by someone I didn’t quite recognize. The girl pushed the shyer, lesser known child towards me and told me in frank words, especially coming from a third grader, that we were to be friends. I took this to heart, and it seemed she did as well. Since then I have shared everything with this girl. I have met more people, accumulated more “best” friends. My relationships have become more numerous and less labeled. I share details about my life to more than just her now. But through the ten years I have known her, she has been my friend through thick and thin, and will, I believe, remain so for quite some time.

8) Friendship is a result of chemicals in the brain reacting to form a pleasant feeling when around the “friend”. Friendship is also the result of two people meeting and deciding to spend time together. In a more abstract way, friendship happens when two people share similar qualities and find themselves enjoying the company of the others.

9) Friends, enemies. They’re so different, and yet there is such a fine line marking the difference. In fact, it’s so fine a line that a word has been invented to describe those who are both: “frienemies”. Friends are those who you confide in, those that you tell your secrets to; those that you like to talk to and who you enjoy spending time with. Enemies however, aren’t defined clearly. Could they be those who you have a quarrel with, or those who you simply dislike? In fact, enemies could easily have been your friends, people with whom you have argued and who now aren’t considered to be among your confidants. For these reasons, friends and enemies can in fact be one and the same. No one can clearly define an enemy, or a friend, for either could easily become the other. We hate to admit it but it is true. How many marriages end in messy divorce? Your husband or wife is supposed to be one of your closest friends, and so often you end up splitting ways hoping never to see one another again. Friends and enemies are terribly different, and yet they are the same.

10) The swings moved together, side by side, paired in their motion. The sweet, sticky perfume of sweat and popsicles lingered in the air as the two girls swung. Their laughter echoed through the empty park, the sound bouncing back to the ears. As the wind picked up, the first of the fallen leaves blew up into the girl’s faces as they swung, and this only increased the volume of their laughter. They looked at each other, still laughing and smiling, and in their teenage faces saw younger girls, swinging together as children as they were now, nearing adulthood. The best friends continued to swing, talking and laughing, as the light faded and darkness crept over the park. The temperature dropped and the girls jumped laughing into the air in beautiful arcs. Picking up their things off the sweet end-of-summer grass, their hands clasped. They walked, arms swinging between them, out of the park and into the warm summer night.