The Lyon Queen! 11/6/09
The first movie I ever saw in theatres was "The Lion King", I don't remember seeing it but I was about three years old. My mom wasn't sure how I would behave because I was so young. But I was quiet the whole time, mom said I looked up at the screen in awe, quiet as a mouse. She couldn't believe how behaved I was.
After I saw that movie I became a lion king fanatic, even at three or four years old I was an obsessed fan. I had lion king pajamas, toys, sippy cup, everything, you name it I probably had it. My whole family knew about my pagen worship of this Disney movie.
Do you remember the iconic scene where Rafiki lifts baby Simba above his head and shows him to the whole pride? Well, whenever I saw Rafiki do it, I would do it. Right on que too. I didn't even have to be in the same room, when I heard the music, i knew it was time to lift my simba doll over my head too.
Yeah, that movie brings me back to some of my favorite memories. Even when I watch it today it reminds me of the times I spent watching it at my Grandpas house and I start to sing along to all the songs. I still remember almost all the words. My love of that movie is the same today as it was fifteen years ago.
The Nuremburg Trials of 1945 11/20/09
On this day in history, the infamous Nuremburg trials took place.The main trial indictments were war crimes, crimes against humanity, participating in conspiracy and waging wars against aggression. There were 24 people accussed for these crimes. Most of these people were either sentenced to death or given life in prison.
In the sixties, there was a movie made based on these trials. It's actually one of my favorites.
I write about this because the Holocaust is a subject I'm very interested in. I don't know if that sounds weird or not, but there is something about it that just sucks me in. I've read the books; Night, Diary of Anne Frank, the Pianist, etc. I've seen the movies: Schindler's List, Life is Beautiful, etc, and I still can't get enough. Maybe the reason I'm so interested is because I admire the survivors so much.
When I was in the 8th grade, there was a speaker that came to my school. Her name is Lillian Judd and I'll never forget her. She was a survivor from the Auschwitz and she came to tell her story. She lost her family there, except for one of her sisters. The things she told us were horriffic,like the stuff nightmares are made of but for her, the nightmare was real. Her father didn't even make it to the camp, just outside of the cattle car where a prison guard beat him to death. I don't remember what happened to her mother, I think she was gassed with some of her sisters. I couldn't imagine losing my mom, let alone like that. After the assembly, you could go down to the floor and look at pictures and newspapers she brought. Me and a couple of my friends went up to her after and told her how brave she was and she gave each of us a hug. I'll never forget that moment, what a sweet lady.
PUSH or "Precious" as it's now called 11/8/09
Yesterday I read "Push" by Sapphire. Maybe you've heard of it, it's being made into a movie. Anyway to me is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's short, not even two- hundred pages but difficult to read at times because the narrator is an illiterate sixteen-year old. The story is being told by Precious Jones and like I just said she can't read or write. Precious has been through way more than a sixteen-year old should. Instead of having friends and doing the things normal teens take for granted, she gets abused everyday by her mom. Her mother verbally, mentally and physically abuses her nearly everyday. And her father, who hasn't been seen for months, sexually abused her on a regular basis as a child. She already had a baby by her daddy at age twelve and it was born with severe down-syndrome and now four years later she gonna have another baby by him too. And her mother has the nerve to say that Precious stole her man. Her mom even beat her while she was going into labor on the kitchen floor.
Precious got kicked out of school for being pregnant, so her principal tells her to go to an alternative school. She goes and there she meets other women who are like her, she also meets Ms. Rain, her pre G.E.D. teacher. Precious learns how to read and write and inbetween that she has her second child and leaves her mother's house and moves to a half way house.She always had it tough but hopefully things will get better. Throughout the book she always had to push herself.
I can't imagine going through all that. I can't believe she went through life not knowing how to read or write. My mom read to me every single night until I was like ten years old. Life would be hard if I couldn't read or write, I don't know what I would do.
Aids Epidemic, Africa
11/20/09
Did you know that an estimated 4,100 men, women and children die everyday in sub- Sarahan Africa- people living with HIV and Aids who cannot afford to buy the medicine they need to stay alive. In Africa Aids is the leading cause of death. All they need is 2 pills a day to help fight this disease and they can't afford it.
It terrible because so many people die everyday from this treatable disease. When I think about it it saddens me, not just the men and women but the kids. Young kids die from this.My brothers are 4 and 13 and to think of them being affected by this disease and dying from it, I couldn't imagine. The reason why I am interested in this is because it might be a future career I would like to be involved in. Going to Africa and helping people who have HIV and AIDS. Helping kids who have had parents die or just making sure they have food and to look out for them. Or raising awareness and getting others to help out too. I want to help people because nobody should have to do without and everybody should have a chance at life.
