John Singer Sargent

(A)People often associate having hopes and dreams with child's play; that only the young and naive would mess with something as foolish as that. (B)However, movies such as The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty, the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, and the documentary following three Acholi children in Northern Uganda, War Dance prove that not only children should have hopes and dreams, but everyone. (C) There are many different reasons of why we need hopes and dreams and goals in our lives,…

The book entitled “A Long Way Gone” written by Ishmael Beah shows the reader a lot about keys to survival. It is an autobiography about Ishmael’s life. Ishmael is the main character, a teenage boy who grew up amidst the Sierra Leonean war. He experiences horrible things that many of us in Canada could not begin to imagine, such as Ishmael’s many brushes with death as well as his experiences as a child soldier. This book can teach the reader a lot about what is required to survive in situations…

Innocence is the lack of corruption, it is purity. One of the things that come to mind when you think of innocence is children. Children are unaware of the horrors of the world and they are still pure in mind and spirit. As kids in America we were very lucky to be able to have our innocence for as long as we can. However, in countries like Sierra Leone they are not given a choice, they lose their innocence at a very young age. Children in Sierra Leone and other areas around the world can be…

Rock and Roll began with jazz, blues, folk, and gospel, and from there, it has morphed into the almost all-encompassing classification that we label the genre today. Throughout the history of Rock and Roll music, it has been an example of evolution, not just in the music industry, but in American culture. The history of Rock and Roll is intertwined with our nation’s history, oftentimes being a catalyst for our country's progress. Today, Rock and Roll exists as a beautiful collection of sounds…

A Long Way Gone (2007) is a true story of Ishmael Beah, who unwillingly is forced to become a child soldier when a civil war breaks out in Sierra Leone. The story starts with Beah only 12 years old, who is away to perform along with his brother and friends when rebels attack his village. During all this chaos, confusion and ambiguity of war, all of them are left to wander from village to village in search of food and shelter and along the way commit to acts they had never thought of doing so…

There is a charming story tilted Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae. In the story, the giraffe is sad because he can't dance like all the other animals. That’s when the cricket shattered his perspective with this jaw dropping quote. He said, “‘ Excuse me’” said a cricket “‘ but sometimes when you’re different you just need a different song’” “‘ Listen to the grass and listen to the trees’” (Andreae). The cricket puts the message of the whole story into one simple sentence. He is telling the…

“Blood was running down [the woman’s] dress and dripping behind her, making a trail. Her child had been shot dead as she ran for her life,” (Beah, 2007). Although graphic, traumatic events like this are common in some parts of the world and it’s the kids who witness and commit them daily. It’s natural to think that events like this should not be happening in 2015. Unfortunately, that’s not a reality. Because it is estimated that 250,000 children in 19 countries around the world are deprived of…

War is an eclipse - the darkness that veils prosperity. It has always been associated with negativity and instability. Death and destruction follow every path and the minds of people are thrown into disorder. At times like these, many cannot see any array of hope. However, behind the darkness of the eclipse lies the light of the corona. The corona of positivity that stays strong within adversity and uncertainty. The population most affected by war are the soldiers and the victims. They live,…

In his memoirs Ishmael Beah recounts his experiences of fighting a war as a boy soldier. Ishmael and his friends went on the run after their village was attacked by rebels. Not long after they were on the run from town to town, and eventually being caught and recruited by the army. The army was against what the rebels were doing, and how they were attacking the different villages and burning them to the ground. During the war ,Ishmael during the war is selected along with a group of his friends…

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, follows Amir, a boy from Kabul, Afghanistan, through his emotion-filled life. Throughout the novel, we witness Amir’s experiences with extreme guilt, unworthiness, selfishness, and selflessness. Majority of his relationships have one of these embedded into them. Including his relationships with Hassan, his family’s servant, and his dad, Baba. Hassan and his father, Ali, both serve Baba and Amir. Hassan is around Amir’s age, and because of that, they often…