Inspiration can come to us in so many different ways in our lives. It’s like a pool filled with ideas. As Kathleen Duble said, you don’t have to go far for some. It can simply come while your walking through the park, or visiting your grandmother. Some of our best ideas can come from the least expected things, it’s not hard, you just have to look around. Simple ideas you can start searching for are ones like your mothers and fathers stories, personal experiences, other peoples experiences, books, vacation, where you live, or even your geneology.

Breaking Away Breaking Away is a piece which was based on the idea my mother had about growing up, it was even a story her mother told her. It started off with her explaining how a bird must take it’s first flight on it’s own, and learn just like us humans do. This idea simply came from a everyday conversation with my mom.

Walking In The Others Shoes This writing piece branched off the ideas that Dr. Michael Fowlin brought to our school one day in a assembly. The piece started off with the ideas of personal experiences Michael Fowlin had, then experiences he knew others had whic he passed down to us. It grew into a piece of looking into another person’s eyes, and seeing throug their hard times, and learning to accept everyone.

The 2nd Home This writing piece was about one of my favorite places in town, which reminds me of home. I had so many good times I could take away from that place, and ideas that could be created about what it meant to me. The peice ended up talking about personal stories from there, how much I loved going there, and what it really meant to me.

Burnt Cookies This writing piece is about one of my own personal experiences which I found funny, memorable, and a good thing I could write about.  The piece explained what had happened when I burn cookies one time with my friends, and how I wouldn’t ever do that again, which also creates a good idea.

That One Word The idea that came off of this writing piece was about one of my all time favorite books “Thirteen Reasons Why,” and the strong points and ideas that the book itself gets across. The ideas that were expressed in the book gave me ideas and my own thoughts about the theme, and meaning of what was going on.

Remembering Those Places This writing piece is an annotated list, but had turned into so many paragraphs and ideas about the places I’ve visited. Some were close, and some were far away but each were special to me. Each place had it’s own fun memories, differences, and exciting ideas which could be easily turned into a story.

Peace For the Streets This writing piece was based on the book we had been reading which was Romeo & Juliet. When reading this book a lot of my own opinions came out about the characters, plot, and what was going on which turned out to be a good writing piece, and idea for me to turn into a story.

Today, Kathleen Duble visited our school to discuss her books, writing, and main ideas she had discovered in her years of writing. “You don’t have to go far to find good ideas,” Duble said at the beginning of her talk. Over the time we listened to her speak I realized that some of the best ideas for writing almost come naturall. You can get one by just hearing a fascinating story. or finding out about something that you never thought you would know.

Kathleen Duble had multiple main points which were clearly discussed in her presentation. One of her main points was you could make a story out of one of your own wild, exciting, and personal experiences, or a simple one you’d just never forget. Also, you could be inspired by your friends or families personal stories which could go way back as if you were put in a time machine. Things around you, or places you visit  for a vacation or for fun could bring an idea to you. So many of the simplest things could be turned into a remarkable story.

Not only are these main points great, they can be helpful to students and writers. Often times people look for something so deep and complicated to write about, which is always a good path but not what you need to do. You can easily find a great idea for writing by doing one of the things Kathleen Duble said were possible. Students have so many simple things happen to them that they don’t realize could make a great story.  As a student, by just thinking about one of her main points you could easily find a great idea, and make an amazing story without having to get a headache from thinking so hard.

Every individual has their own traits which make them who they are, and guide the decisions they choose to make, and the things they decide to do. Traits are like ingredients to a recipe, they make a person up with all their different ways, and actions that they create. The decisions we make depend on who we are, and the thoughts we have about doing those things, like what would be the effect, or the future of doing that thing. In “The Chocolate War,” by Robert Cormier, Jerry is a character in which has many traits like any human that influence his decisions, and show what kind of person he is throughout the story.

Throughout the story, Jerry which is the character I chose is very defiant. Not only is he defiant, he is also stubborn. In the story, Jerry is assigned by a small group of kids who almost run the school called “The Vigils,” to against a huge school sale of chocolates, and not sell them for 10 days. This is where Jerry begans being defiant against the school and the soon to be headmaster Brother Leon. Then, after his 10 days up and he is supposed to begin to sell chocolates, Jerry still refuses to. This is where Jerry becomes even more defiant, going against The Vigils was something that had never happened. On page 161 when Archie asked Jerry why he still refuses to sell the chocolate he simply says “It’s personal,” giving it no rhyme or reason, and just defying what Archie wants.

The trait Jerry holds of being defiant leads to both of these important decisions, of defying Brother Leon and The Vigils. Without the courage, defiance, and strong willed traits Jerry holds he would not be able to go against such a huge thing. Brother Leon was somebody everyone was afraid of at The Trinity and nobody dared to anger, so it took a lot of guts for Jerry to be in his homeroom and easily say “no,” when he would ask each boy how many chocolate boxes he had sold. The Vigils, which was also a extremely powerful group in the school and holds a lot of influence was also defied by Jerry. The assignments The Vigils gave were always done right with order and fear, but Jerry completely the assignment then totally brought it into his own hands, making decisons for himself.

Some people are just mean, cold-hearted, and cruel but usually that’s not the case. People treat eachother poorly for all different reasons. Whether it’s when your in kindergarden teasing your crush just to talk to that little girl in the pink dress, or threatening someone on their facebook, people are mean for all different reasons. The drive behind mean-ness is usually unknown, and most people never truly know what causes them to be mean, even though it is usually intentional.

One thing in my opinion that drives someone to be intentionally mean is jealousy. So many people in the world today focus on what others can do instead of themselves, and how they are better.  Frequently, we all get jealous of eachother and want to do better than the other so you can play the game a little rough. But then again, jealousy is in our nature and it’s only human so we cannot help it. Although we can’t help it sometimes it’s not always the best to just be mean because of it. Trying not to be jealous is like only trying to only eat one chip, almost impossible.

Another thing that drives someone to be intentionally mean is if they don’t like a person. Not liking someone is also part of human nature pretty much, even though it’s the right thing to always give someone a chance, some people just don’t like eachother or get along. It could be because you’ve fought with them before and they’ve been mean to you or somethings happened between you two, or even they just can get on your nerves. All of these things cause us to be a little mean to people sometimes, and mostly in an intentional way.

With the way people are these days, you can never be fully sure that you actually “know,” somebody. Every person is different, like a snowflake almost. People hid things, they lie, they change, or just turn out to be the people you thought they were. It’s a disspoint to know this because a lot of people in life search for a deeper meaning in a person, and look for something that is undiscovered or new, but in reality people don’t work that way, and only you can fully know yourself.

In the story Star Food by Ethan Canin, a boy named Dade meets a theif which truly makes him realize that you may never completely, honestly, and really know a person. It seemed as if the women and him had some odd connection, they were both doing something similar to eachother, and it seemd that they knew how things were going to play out. Dade knew the women would steal from the store, and the women knew that Dade would do nothing about it, since he had already let it happen before. Dade at first thought he understood the women, and that there was a deeper meaning to why she was stealing, and why she would do it even if she knew Dade noticed but just didn’t care.

When Dade took her away after she stole again, he had realized that he had so many things to say, but just couldn’t say them to her. It’s almost like he thought he knew her, and thought she was a different person. Previously, on page 160 he asked himself “How did human beings understand each other across huge spaced except with the lowest of ideas.” When Dade asked that he began to come to his conclusion, as well as mine. You can have ideas of people, and think you know them but you never truly can know a person in this world.

Everyone depends on people through their lives, especially when they’re little, and at any age too. Usually, it’s on your parents when your little, I mean they teach you everything from your first words to how to ride a bike. They make decisions for us and we rely on them to make the right ones, and help us as we try to figure out this hard, risky life. People also depend on their friends, and so many other people but like the main role in a play, a parent is one of the most important parts of your life. But, there comes a point in life when you need to think for yourself, and decide what you want to do, and what paths you want to follow. Some parents can hold you back, causing you to be confused and making things way more difficult, and harder to move on. This is why in my opinion, teenagers need to defy their parents to grow up.

I don’t mean teenagers should go against their parents to make them mad, or just have a good time but theres a reason. When you’re young nothing really gets inplanted in your head until you try it out. It seems that your parents don’t want you to try anything , but really thats the oppisite of what should be happening. It’s easier to mess up and learn from your mistakes young so it’ll never happen again rather then later in life do something awful, and not be able to change it. We learn so many things when we’re young, and defying what our parents say can sometimes help us out a lot.

My mom and I once had a talk about this, and how that when you’re a teenager you sometimes want freedom to do things your not ready for. She told me that it’s like your a mother bird, pushing the bird off the nest for the first time. You might have to see the bird fall, and struggle. But in the end, that little baby bird learns from it’s previous mistakes, and will fly just like the mother thought it could. I believe this completely because sometimes you need to try these risks out no matter what your parents say, because your parents can’t figure out your life for you, you have to do it for yourself.

Throughout the years, and throughout all of time, people have been something that isn’t exactly “good.” Sometimes it’s like everyone lives in their own world, and it’s like they’re trapped in a box sealed with tape with no one but themselves. Some have become so selfish, arrogant, and careless for anyone but themselves. In the story, the Griffin realizes that the people of the town that the Minor Canon lived in were just like this. They sent a man into the wild for the sake of themselves, not even thinking about all the good things he did for them and how much he has helped their town.

In my opinion, the Griffin is totally right for a few different reasons. One is because the way they acted towards a person who was completely unselfish. The Minor Canon did so much for the town he lived in and didn’t deserve to be treated the way he was, which is the main reason I agree with the Griffin. The Minor Canon did things that should be greatly appreciated like helping out the most troubled teenagers in town, taking care of the sick, helping the poor, and holding church services even if no one went. But instead of being appreciated, the people of his town were so concerned about themselves, and their well-being they sent him off to the wild to live by himself thinking the Griffin would follow him, even though he didn’t.

I also agree with the Griffin because they showed him how selfless, and unkind they were. They judged the Griffin automatically by his size, and appearance and instead of getting to know him even though he seemed scary, they hated him and blamed him for things he hadn’t done yet. The people still didn’t appreciate the Griffin after he began to take the Minor Canon’s place with helping out everyone in the town, and helping the poor, they still assumed he was just going to eat him and their children because they were hungry. People these days continue to be selfless and judgemental, which makes the Griffin’s opinion completely right to me.

Every person in the world has their own “duty,”  whether it’s taking out the trash, giving your dog a bath, or working at a nursing home. Sometimes, people do a duty like a job almost, not for them but because it’s what they’re told to do for a job, or it’s required for their position in something. Other people, have a different look at what a duty is.  Some do it for themselves, not because it’s neccesary, but more for themself, and to help the needs of other people. Both the Griffin and The Minor Canon had the same view on their duties and were alike in what they believed they should do for others out of kindness, caring, and helpfulness.

The Minor Canon was one who felt the need to do things for others, and not be selfish. His duties were for the good of others, and not himself but would make him happy.  The Minor Canon would hold services at the church in town even though only 3 or a very low number amount of people would go, because he was just providing for others. Also, the Minor Canon taught school for the most troubled and difficult kids in town no matter how hard it became, or how much trouble was caused. When the Griffin came to town, no matter how afraid the Minor Canon was he felt that it was his duty to protect the town, and face the Griffin. After caring for and becoming very close to the Griffin for the good of his town, when the townspeople needed him to leave for the Griffin to follow once again he was good enough to do it. “The more he thought, the more clear it became to his mind that it was his duty to go away and thus free the town from the presence of the Griffin.”  This passage shows how much the Minor Canon feels his duty is to satisfy everyone else, and be a good person for his town.

Like the Minor Canon, the Griffin feels his duty is to do good for the town, therefore replacing the Minor Canon’s spot when he was sent off. The Griffin took over all the positions that the Minor Canon used to hold, and started to run the town like a part of the goverment.  He began teaching the troubled kids, putting them into line, he started going around helping sick with herbs and roots, and even offered many new jobs so that there would be no more poor jobless people around town. The Griffin felt it was his duty to fufill the positions the Minor Canon had because he had so much respect for his kindness, and efforts to do good for others and his town instead on himself.

Everybody in their life has troubles that seem to go un-noticed, and uncared for. But in my opinion, thats not the truth, somebody always cares. It may be difficult, hard, and painful to get through some of lifes troubles but it’s something we all deal with every now and then. Some bigger then others, like the problems of the African Americans during the Harlem Renaissance.  It seems for these people that the goals they have are hundreds of miles away, and the one person who they think was always there for them was not, and that was god.

 It’s like the line “I doubt not God is good, well-meaning, kind And did he stoop to quibble could tell why,” is speaking to me saying that the African-Americans think god has seemed kind, but hasn’t noticed their problems, or helped them which they really need. When the author Countee Cullen states this, it became clear as a glass of water that God hadn’t come down to their level, where they were living and realized that they have been mistreated, broken into pieces, and had their dreams shattered a number of times.

The poem also brings other thoughts into my mind about how the African-Americans dreams have been treated. Their dreams have almost been invisible for years, and uncared for. The drive and motivation of these people is the only thing keeping those dreams alive. And now, at this point it seems like not even God is helping them, and the only people they have are themselves which is extremely difficult. But it doesn’t matter to this poet, he can do what he likes, and love that he can write his own poems, and be proud of what his dreams are becoming.