It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Many years and film adaptations have passed since the publishing of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s roaring twenties masterpiece, The Great Gatsby. Director Jack Clayton brought the novel to the big screen in 1974 with Robert Redford playing the title character, while in 2013 Director Baz Luhrmann brought his vision to life, casting Leonardo DiCaprio as the much coveted ‘Gatsby.’ Although fans will find much to appreciate in both directors’ adaptations, Luhrmann’s film will likely be judged by most…

The movie, Bella, features two main characters: Jose and Nina. Jose is a man who grew up living a pretty much awesome life. As a child, he lived with his two very loving parents and his adopted brother Manny. His home life was great and he was a wonderful soccer player, which eventually landed him a contract with a sum of somewhere over 2 million dollars. Jose’s life, however, was turned upside down after a horrific accident and now he works in a restaurant owned by his brother, Manny. Manny is…

There are many secret meanings to words and things all throughout The Secret Life of Bees. In this novel, the title relates to the book in a way that might take the readers by surprise. The bees have a secret life outside of making honey, it’s a life humans just don’t understand. A bee hive represents people working together. The hive is overseen by the queen, which acts as a mother to the bees. When the queen bee dies she can be replaced, even though all the bees are lost without her. If…

birth certificate, I was born eighteen years ago on May 9th, 1997. While that statement is true, I would like to think that my life truly began only sixteen years ago in August. Generally, the month of August is not very happily anticipated due to the fact that school is quickly approaching and the calm, relaxing days spent outside are coming to an end. However, one particular August in 1999 turned out to be one of the beginnings for some of the best times of my life. Why is that? I give all the…

learning assignment I thought I knew what to expect. I knew most of the people I was working with, many of the children, and how things operated. When the church went through its recent merge however the nursery got turned topsy turvy and I found myself learning a lot more than I thought I would. When combining new people and new ideas there are bound to be hiccups along the way. I thought I would be a pro because I had done it for years (6 years to be exact). A few things that were different…

Free puppies There is no such thing as a free puppy. My husband passed twelve years ago and my sister talked me into adopting a puppy. At the time, I was unable to make myself stay at home, the house was too empty, so I decided to adopt two pups. I didn’t want them to be lonely while I was gone. They were brothers, chiweenies, half weenie dog and half Chihuahua. I named them Tigger and Riley. I took them home with me and soon discovered when I took them out to pee, they would run, and I…

very iconic song sung by Judy Garland in the late 1930s. This song was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz that is most likely where it gained most of its popularity and praise. The song has also had a very unique cover done by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole in 1993. This cover of the popular ballad was and is loved by many. This cover also includes a verse from the song What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong. Although songs that are covered have mostly the same lyrics, and somewhat similar chord…

incoming high schoolers got to know. Mr. Bachman was passionate about his country, his teaching and most importantly his students. His go to saying “Peace, Love and Happy Thoughts” will remain in the memories of the high school hallways and his students for a long time coming. It was the middle of junior year when I found out that Mr. Bachman was taking a medical leave for an unknown amount of time. A week later I found out he was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and was starting…

losing a family member, or having to wear skin wraps due to a fire. All of us will have an obstacle whether it’s big or small during our time on this planet. My obstacle was not permanent, but it was a course that lasted 3 long years. The most challenging obstacle I have had in my entire life was my time in a back brace. It all started in 5th grade. The school nurse called us down one at a time to check our backs for signs of Scoliosis. Scoliosis is a bone disease that makes the spine rotated…

perhaps. For this is one of the most beautiful lands in the continent- and, whether you are travelling or touring, a satisfyingly exiting and relatively easy place to travel. The kodachrome hype may not take account of the country`s less salubrious images-its share of post colonial poverty- nor of any more diverse or contradictory reality, but it is true enough on its way. Which is not to say that treating Kenya as a succession of tourist sights is the best or even the most enjoyable way of…