In honor of the first few snowfalls we have had here in Jersey thus far this winter, I have dedicated today’s blog to a special memory of mine. This specific memory is the product of a magical book titled “SNOW”. Although the book was not truly magical, it gave my siblings and me something to look forward to every winter. On the nights we read “SNOW”, we knew that the magical book would leave snow on the ground in the morning. As I said before, the book was magical; it never failed. Of course, in order to keep the magic of the book alive, my mom chose the days in which we could read the book. I never questioned her reasoning as to why we could only read it certain nights. After all, we couldn’t wear out the magic…

When I was finally old enough to figure out my mom’s secret behind the book’s magic, I smiled. Of course the magic behind the book was gone, but what made me smile was my mom’s enthusiasm and persistence with the book. Looking back on the entire experience now, it’s hard for me not to smile and be filled with childhood wonder and awe whenever I look back on the memory. Isn’t amazing how an object like a book can create such warm memories whenever we look back on them? Who would have ever thought that a story could have such an impact on our lives. Of course, much of this memory was influenced by my mom, but without the book itself, there would not even be a memory. I’m certain that everyone has had an experience such as this at least once in their life. Whether it be “The Night Before Christmas” or just your favorite childhood novel(s), there has to be a book that you can attach to a memory. So tell me, what’s your favorite “book memory?”

 

Is being yourself really being yourself? Aren't we just a combination of things that have affected us in our lives? Everyone always says to "be yourself because everyone else is taken." We are who we who we are because of our successors, people who affected us, and people who left their mark on us. The books we read, people we meet, and things we experience all shape us into the people we are today. Thus, language and literature play major roles in our development into individuals. Every student may read the same book for a class; however, the influence the book has on every person will be different. I guess you could say that books not only give us insight into life, but they also allow us to form our own opinions and reactions to many events in our lives as well.
 If you really think about each of us is like a math problem. We can all have the same numbers but also have a different answer at the same time. Take me for example. I love sports and let's say that sports is the number two. There are other people in the world like sports so there number would also be two but let's say my favorite sport was softball. Now I have 2+3. They might be 2+4 for sports and basketball. We both have the number 2 for sports but what makes us different is that we each like a different sport. So now, we have a different answer. An answer that makes us individuals with just enough in common to still be connected to one another.

Is snail mail the best kind of mail?

With all the technology we have today, you can write an email anytime, message someone on Facebook whenever, or even text a person in a flash. Don't get me wrong, these things are all great and come in handy when you need to send something to someone quickly. But what about the old-fashioned "snail mail?"

That's right. I said snail mail. Actual pieces of paper in envelopes put in a mailbox for you to retrieve later that day. I use to love getting mail for my birthday, Christmas, or just because. Actually, I still love getting mail. You see, there's something about seeing an envelope in the pile of mail you just lugged inside that makes the day just a little better. It sounds ridiculous, but it's true. The moment you get something hand writtten in the mail, whether it be a card, letter, or invitation, you immediately open it without hesitation. I guess what makes mail so great is that you don't really expect it. I can honestly say that I am constantly checking my emails for updates on meetings, practice, games, etc. Rarely is there ever something that makes me smile or enlightens my day. The reason being, I think, is that we expect to get these kinds of notifications. Mail, on the other hand, leaves us to be surprised everytime because we do not expect to get any most of the time. Being surprised by a letter and knowing that someone took the time to write it and make it perfect, now that's something technology can't give.

A Halloween Tradition

Ever since I can remember, during the time of Halloween, my mom would break out the scary story Cds, “Halloween party music”, and those with the random scary sounds on them. It might sound silly to may people but like I said before, we were always the house with the scary music playing while the fog machine was going off while treat-or-treaters were coming up to the door. I never thought much of it, but now I realize that all of these Halloween CDs are part of every Halloween memory I have. One CD in particular, the one with the “scary” stories narrated by one man trying to speak in different voices for all of the parts, recently had me thinking: What made stuff like this seem so scary to me years ago?

The answer is quite simple. Between the rise and falling of each voice and the occasional sounds effects, these digital stories swept me up and transported me into their creepy world. And isn’t that what makes stories so scary? If you can successfully adjust your voice to the mood and add in a few scary sound effects, you can easily scare anyone. I guess that’s way flashlights lightening up the storyteller’s face at a campfire while telling scary stories is so effective. When our minds hear certain words, tones of voice, or even certain sound effects, we are immediately pulled into the story being told. So if you happen to hear scary music, creepy voices, or frightfully intriguing stories this Halloween, pay attention to every element so you can see exactly how far you are drawn into the setting of that specific moment.



“There is something about words. In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts. Inside you they work their magic.”
Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

     Words. They are all around us. We use them day and night to share thoughts, feelings, instructions and knowledge. But just how powerful can words actually be? If used correctly, words can move mountains, break down barriers, and point out injustice. They can create want, determination, fear, and sadness just by how they are used and placed in sentences. The way syllables are pronounced and strung together also create the emotion behind the word. When we hear a speech, see a movie, or listen to a song, the words that create these things are what make them a complete success or a complete failure. Words that are merely thrown together without thought or feeling behind them hardly convey the emotion in which they are capable of. Sometimes the best speeches and pieces of writing use the simplest of words; however, often times, they convey the strongest emotion. The video below is a video that meshes together many incredible and emotion filled sports speeches from movies, many in which are true stories.

     If this video does not stir some amount of emotion in you, then I don’t know what will. Personally, these speeches make me want to go on the field, play my hardest, and win. Win not only for myself, but for my team, coach, and school. This is exactly what words can do when they are backed by emotion. They ignite the emotions in us that we couldn’t do ourselves. Speeches like these are what cause people to achieve greatness.

     For me personally, the way someone speaks and writes is what makes or breaks their ability to influence others. I have listened to amazing stories told by war veterans, Holocaust survivors and their families, and many, many sports speeches in my life. All of which have influenced me in one way or another due to the various emotions in which they conveyed. If it were not for such strong emotion behind these words, I would have not been as influenced as I was at the end of each speech.

Sports Jargon

      Okay, so it’s Super Bowl Sunday and you were just invited to one of the biggest parties in the neighborhood. You can’t wait for the endless bowls of chips and dip, the spicy taco dip, the grilled burgers and hotdogs, and the cookie cake decorated with the colors and logos of the teams competing in this year’s game on it. You have your game day attire on: your worn-out jersey, your lucky socks that you haven’t washed all season, and your lucky underwear that nobody knows about. Not to mention, you get there early to claim your spot for the day. The game starts and all you hear is that one person in the room asking everything from “What’s that yellow thing the ref’s throwing” to “What’s a QB?” Eventually, you get so annoyed by this person’s lack of understanding of the game that you grab the taco dip and run to the nearest department store’s TV section to the watch the rest of the game.

      Obviously the whole department store scenario is a little extreme, but I’m not going to judge… As it turns out, the person who ruined your entire game-day experience was not up to par on the football jargon. But let’s take a step back for a moment shall we… Jargon is the use of certain words and phrases by a specific group of people that only that group knows and understands. So obviously this certain person at the party did not get any of the jargon used by every football fan in the room. This happens all the time when it comes to sports and even life. Fans of one sport may or may not have any idea of what the terms of another sport mean and vice-versa. This can lead to confusion, misunderstanding, and not to mention embarrassment. By taking the time to observe and learn the language or jargon of another group, we can not only expand our knowledge and vocabulary, but also prevent the embarrassment of being that one annoying football “fan.” A good example of jargon can be found in this video showing the views of typical British teenagers’ knowledge about American football and the NFL.

(Skip to about 2:45 for the main point)
 

  

     Anyway, the entire point of the video was to show how the terminology in the game known as American Football is almost only known in America. It’s pretty obvious that our football is entirely different then what the British understand as football (aka soccer). Just by watching the video, the jargon used in the game of American football is not understood by those who do not watch the game. This video illustrates perfectly how people react to terms in which they have no idea what they mean. Just from this video, you can see just how important keeping an open mind to the jargon of other groups is in terms of becoming more knowledgeable about that group and its “language.”

    This next two videos are my personal favorites and show how knowing the jargon of a sport is crucial to being a fan of that sport…or a coach for that matter. Do not end up like this guy…
 

 

        The book Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is a literary masterpiece that illustrates the idea of nature vs. nurture. Throughout the entire story, the reader sees how humans base their behavior on their own nature or the nurture they received from the time of their birth. When it comes to the idea of nature vs. nurture; however, nurture tends to play a much bigger role in our lives than nature.

       The story Lord of the Flies revolves around a group of private school boys who are stranded on an island when their plane crashes. Soon after the boys all find each other, they begin setting up their own “mini society.” This “mini society” contains rules to provide fairness, equality, leadership, and job distribution to ensure their survival. Furthermore, there is no doubt that the children did not come up with these aspects of society on their own. In the words of one of the main characters, Piggy, "How can you expect to be rescued if you don’t put first things first and act proper?"
This is where the idea of nurture comes into play. Further examination of the boys would suggest that they were the product of at least middle-class parents with a private school education. With this in mind, it can be said that the boys had utilized the insight of their parents, teachers, and environment at home in order to come up with their own society on the island. Without the knowledge and views provided through the boy’s parents and education, it can be inferred that they would not be able to come up with the working society that they did. In fact, without nurture, would the boys even be able to survive?

       The answer to this question can be argued either way. It is possible that human nature could have kicked into high gear and turned the boys into savages and primitive beings (which it did by the end of the novel) or the boys could have suffered from a lack of knowledge and died much quicker and earlier in the novel. Furthermore, without the main characters, there would be no story. Thus, nurture is very important in our lives. Nurture is what causes us to be who we are as human beings and guides us to be the individuals that we eventually become. As far as writing goes, where would we be without the guidance of our teachers or the brilliant works of those before us? I know that my writing is a combination of every teacher and book I have read throughout my life. Although the idea of nurture is sometimes believed to be conforming, it is the pieces of knowledge that we choose to live by that make us individuals. We choose what we, as our own person, how we want to live through the nurture we receive. Thus, we choose who or what influences us the most in order to choose what we believe, think, and create in lives.