Life as we Knew it

 

 

 

Life as we Knew it by Susan Beth Pfefer

 

          Everything was normal until the moon was knocked out of orbit...

          Asteroids hit the moon all the time, but the one scheduled to hit at 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 18 is one of the largest ones yet. To Miranda, the asteroid can only mean one thing: more homework. More homework on top of her best friends fighting, her dad's newly pregnant wife, and the fight with her mother over whether or not she can return to ice skating after a serious injury.  This asteroid however creates worldwide disasters.
       
         The moon controls many of the environmental factors on Earth, and when the moon's orbit is changed, so is the environment. Tidal waves destroy cities and states along the coast, killing millions of people. These coastal cities can not be seen anymore because all of it is under-water. Thunderstorms knock out the electricity in Miranda's school and everywhere across the country. None of it seems real to Miranda, until her mom picks her up from school early, soaking wet.  Her mother sends Miranda, her brother, and Mrs. Nesbitt, a family friend, on a grocery run to buy all the canned soup, aspirin, vitamin pills and toilet paper they possibly can.  The stores are jam packed and have people running around, screaming at the top of their lungs and trying to load everything they can into their shopping carts.  It sort of seems like war to Miranda's family.  It was a very good idea to pick up Miranda early, because if her mom didn't, their family probably would have starved to death.

“What about desserts?" I asked. "If the world comes to an end, I'm going to want cookies."
"We're all going to want cookies if the world comes to an end," Mrs. Nesbitt agreed. "And chips and pretzels. If the world is coming to an end, why should I care about my blood pressure?"
"Okay, we'll die fat," Mom said.”

 

        I will write more once I finish reading the book. I am very excited and nervous to find out how Miranda's family decides to cope with this dangerous and horrible situation.





Rockets

The first time true rockets were used was by the Chinese in 1232 AD.  At this time the Chinese and the Mongols were at war with each other.  The Chinese had manufactured “arrows of flying fire” to use as weapons to fight the Mongols.  These simple rockets were really a tube, capped at one end that contained gunpowder.  The other end was left open and the tube was attached to a long stick.  When the gunpowder was lit, the powder produced fire, smoke, and gas that escaped out the open end and created the thrust that launched the rocket.  The stick kept the rocket headed in one general direction as it flew through the air.    

          Understanding gravity and mass is critical to the study of rocketry.  Every time you jump, you experience gravity. Gravity pulls you back down to the ground.  Without gravity, you'd float off into the atmosphere, thus pulling you out into space.  You see gravity at work any time you drop a book, or toss a ball up into the air. The fact that these objects fall to the ground rather than float in the air is the product of gravity. 

The definition of gravity is “the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth or toward any other physical body having mass”.  Even in space, gravity keeps the moon in orbit.  We know that objects with a greater mass have a higher gravitational force, but we simply don’t know why gravity exists. 

            As far as mass is concerned, it is easy to understand that moving objects with a larger mass is harder than moving smaller objects. For example, in the playground it is harder to get a bigger person moving on the swings than a smaller person.  This has an effect on the mass of a rocket as well.  In a more literal way, when a rocket is lighter, it flies farther because there is less mass, and mass brings objects to the ground.  In this situation gravity cannot control the rocket from dropping to the ground.   If objects with a greater mass have a higher gravitational force, then changing the dependent variables, length of the rocket and nose cone, will result in different distances that the rocket will travel. Smaller mass rocket components will result in longer distances travelled. 

Wonders of Poetry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moon

Oh moon,

Shining in the night

Oh moon

Are you listening?

Oh moon,

Silvery and bright,

Come again tomorrow night.

Daylight is coming soon.

Where will you go

Oh moon?

Over a cloud,

Under a hill,

See you tomorrow night.

I will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see life

I look around me as I grow,

I’d like to tell you all I know.

I see life

With all its energy.

The city streets,

The rush of time,

This is my world,

It’s where I ought to be.

So much to do,

So much to say.

Can you see it?

I sometimes sit and feel the sun

Its warmth is there for everyone.

I see life

With all its energy.

The joy of waking

Everyday.

This is my world,

It’s where I’d like to be

So much to feel,

So much to find.

Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi

Jacob Sutton 708    

Hurricane Song

by Paul Volponi

          In Hurricane Song by Paul Volponi, the reader is given an inside look into what it was like taking shelter in the Superdome in New Orleans during  Hurricane Katrina.  The story centers around the distant relationship between Miles and his father, a jazz musician, who often pays more attention to his music than to his son. Miles has been living with his father for a few months in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hits. Miles, his dad and his uncle try to leave before the storm, but their car breaks down and they are forced to head to the Superdome. They spend the length of the storm there, in unbearable heat, among crowds of people, with broken toilet facilities, little food and water and violent conditions. As the situation in the Superdome gets worse, Miles and his father are challenged in ways that they never imagined and their relationship takes an unexpected turn.

At the beginning of the story, Miles, a high school sophomore, wonders if he had made the right choice in coming to live with his father in New Orleans.  He has lived with his mother in Chicago ever since his parents divorced when he was small, but his mother recently remarried and Miles no longer felt that this was where he wanted to be.  Now that he is in New Orleans, he is confronted with the reality of his relationship with his dad, or lack of it, and the differences between them.  In an obvious way, his father loves to play on his trumpet all day, while Miles is a football player. Miles’ father thinks that instead of football, he should be focusing on music. And Miles thinks that his father’s music playing is taking away from their relationship together. At this point in the story, Miles and his dad do not know how to communicate with each other.

Together, Miles and his dad experience some of the worst possible conditions imaginable.  Soon after they enter the Superdome, groups of thugs, some of whom Miles knew from school, demand money, food and clothing and terrorize innocent victims of this disaster.  Miles and his father come together to try to stop some of the violence around them.  In the end, as they survive these horrible conditions, they realize what is really important and their relationship gets much stronger.

Though the conditions in the Superdome were somewhat unique, I believe this connects to humanity as difficult experiences often bring people closer together.  I can remember feeling much closer to my dad after we spent time in a homeless shelter and witnessed some of the appalling living conditions there.  On a broader level, I imagine that people who go through disasters together (as did Miles and his dad) and share those experiences, realize the important things in life and leave behind all those superficial things that do not really matter in the end.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I have just finished reading the book “Perks of Being a Wallflower’’ by Stephen Chbosky. This book is very powerful and talks about life in High School. The book is told from Charlie, the main character’s perspective. While he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Charlie is shy, and socially awkward.  Charlie is also smarter than he thinks he is.  He is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

        While Charlie does not speak much and usually prefers to be a “wallflower” he is a keen observer. He has a very hard life though. Starting his first year of High School, Charlie is attempting to find his way through the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all he needs is that perfect song on the radio to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. There comes a time to see what it looks like in the middle, “from the dance floor”. In the book, Charlie writes:

      “It's much easier to not know things sometimes. Things change and friends leave. And life doesn't stop for anybody. I wanted to laugh. Or maybe get mad. Or maybe shrug at how strange everybody was, especially me. I think the idea is that every person has to live for his or her own life and than make the choice to share it with other people. You can't just sit their and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love. You just can't. You have to do things. I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm going to be who I really am. And I'm going to figure out what that is. And we could all sit around and wonder and feel bad about each other and blame a lot of people for what they did or didn't do or what they didn't know. I don't know. I guess there could always be someone to blame. It's just different. Maybe it's good to put things in perspective, but sometimes, I think that the only perspective is to really be there. Because it's okay to feel things. I was really there. And that was enough to make me feel infinite. I feel infinite.”

I thought “Perks of Being a Wallflower” was an excellent    book. It talks about a teenage life of a socially awkward kid and how he gets through it. This book has been one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. 

My Name

 

 

                My name is Jacob Henry Sutton and I was born in the year 2000, the year of the Golden Dragon. I would like to share the story of my name and how I came to be. My parents first met in high school, where they tell me they had a one day romance.  They did not actually start dating until they met up again here in Park Slope over seventeen years later, when they were in their thirties.  After dating for a few years, they decided to get married and have only one child (my brother Ben would be surprised to hear that).  A year after they got married, my mom became pregnant with me.  My parents decided to find out my sex before I was born. Once they learned that I was going to be a boy, they were able to focus on my name.

              In the Jewish religion, it is a tradition to name a child for someone in your family who has died.  When my parents had only been dating for two months, my mom’s step brother, who she loved very much, my Uncle Harvey, died very suddenly.  My mom wanted to name me Henry after Harvey, but my dad and my Grandpa had bad memories of a guy named Henry in their family.  Henry had a “close” relationship with my dad’s aunt when she was still married to my great uncle.  She ran off with him.  So given this issue, my mom had to compromise and my parents decided to use Henry as my middle name.  My Uncle Harvey’s Hebrew name is my Hebrew name, which is Chaim.  I am told that in Judaism, it is a great way to honor the memory of someone you love.

               You might be wondering where the name Jacob came from.  First of all, my parents liked the name Jacob.  Second of all, my parents only originally wanted to have one child.  If they were only going to have one child, my dad felt that this child should be named after his dad, my grandfather Joseph.  Even though my grandfather was alive when I was born, my dad felt like he wanted his father’s name to live on after he was gone.  So they named me Jacob.

My mom tells me that in some important ways, I am like my Uncle Harvey- kind and generous.  I am glad that I am able to know my family’s history through my name.

 

                                I am like the ocean,

                                And swimming in the pool

                                My name is the lion roaring              

                                 For if I was a lion

                                 I would say

                                “Now that’s good singing”

                                I love the color blue

                                I think my name sounds like it too.

                                Like fishes in the sea

                                Calling out my name

                                Shy, but always full of soul

                                My name is Jacob.                                  

 

I often feel as though I am one with the ocean.  When I am immersed in water, I feel free, light, and unburdened.  The rush of the waves makes my spirit soar.  Similarly, the cool, crisp, water in a swimming pool heightens my awareness of my body and makes me feel  like I am a fish in the sea.  I am like a lion as I love to roar, though my roar is more like a song.  My songs help me to express who I am, as I am otherwise more cautious and shy. I think these things identify who I am.

I am Jacob.

 

My Name Essay

This I Believe:  Follow Your Passion

By Jacob Sutton  708

            All summer long, I struggled and agonized over my decision of whether or not to sing in the senior division of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus.  After all, it was a huge time commitment – two afternoons a week where I would come home after 7:00pm.  My parents wanted me to consider my other commitments during the week such as Bar Mitzvah tutoring, Hebrew school, math tutoring, soccer practice and two other choruses, to name a few.  They were wondering that if I took on these additional two afternoons, how would I have time for my school work.   And I was feeling the pressure of keeping my grades up in the all-important 7^th grade year.  Trust me, if it was only my decision, I would simplify my life with only school and chorus.  Still, what was very clear was that somewhere in my heart, I knew that singing had to be a part of my life as it lifts my spirits and my confidence.  Singing is my greatest passion…and I believe that it is important to pursue your passions, no matter the obstacles.

            When I was four years old, I started singing, not seriously, but I started singing.  I committed to memorizing the lyrics from the musicals The Lion King, Mary Poppins and The Music Man, to name a few.  I can remember performing for my parents as I imagined myself to be “Curly” as he sang to Laurie his love interest from Oklahoma, or Macavity, as I imagined myself to be the master criminal and mystery cat from Cats.

            My parents watched as I matured into a more serious singer.  In third grade, I decided that I needed a place to formally explore my passion.  I auditioned for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and at that time, I was placed in their junior division.  It was there that I started to think differently about genres of music and singing in general.

            Pursuing your passion as a student sometimes comes with conflict and difficult decisions.  In 6^th grade, I had an incredible opportunity to take on the role of Kurt Von Trapp in a one night gala performance of The Sound of Music at Carnegie Hall where I performed with famous Broadway stars.  It seemed obvious that I would follow this dream until I learned that the performance was scheduled for the evening before the first day of the New York State math test.  If I performed, I would need to miss the first day of the test and then I would need to take a makeup.  In the end, I convinced my mother that I should accept the offer, that this could be the chance of a lifetime to do what I love most.

            Now that I’ve had a chance to look back on my experiences, I realize that though pursuing my passion was complicated, these experiences were unique and enriched my life in significant and meaningful ways.  I imagine that there are many kids like me who struggle with similar decisions in pursuing their passions.  I hope that they are able to find the balance that allows them to follow their heart.  If you follow your heart and give it your all, you can never regret not exploring your dreams to the fullest.