I’ve always known that I was different. I like poetry, I think that everyone is a good person, and I’m highly sensitive. I also knew that I was unique, an individual. But I didn’t know that everyone else was so different from me.

Like my dramatic start? No, I’m not some kind of alien or weirdo. But today, during my language arts class, I did notice how different I was from my class and friends. We’re studying the Holocaust, and we were looking at this photo. It is now very famous, and someone wrote a poem about it. This is how the poem goes:

I would like to be an artist
So I could make a Painting of you
Little Polish Boy

Standing with your Little hat on your head
The Star of David on your coat
Standing in the ghetto with your arms up as many Nazi machine guns pointing at you

I would make a monument of you and the world who said nothing

I would like to be a composer so I could write a concerto of you
Little Polish Boy

Standing with your Little hat on your head
The Star of David on your coat Standing in the ghetto with your arms up as many Nazi machine guns pointing at you

I would write a concerto of you and the world who said nothing

I am not an artist
But my mind had painted
a painting of you

Ten Million Miles High is the Painting
so the whole universe can see you Now
Little Polish Boy

Standing with your Little hat
on your head
The Star of David
on your coat
Standing in the ghetto with your arms up as many Nazi machine guns pointing at you

And the World who said nothing

I’ll make this painting so bright
that it will blind the eyes
of the world who saw nothing

Ten billion miles high will be the monument
so the whole universe can remember of you
Little Polish Boy

Standing with your Little hat
on your head
The Star of David
on your coat

Standing in the ghetto
with your arms up
as many Nazi machine guns pointing at you

And the monument will tremble so the blind world
Now will know

What fear is in the darkness

The world
Who said nothing

I am not a composer
but I will write a composition
for five trillion trumpets
so it will blast the ear drums
of this world

The world’s
Who heard nothing

I
am
Sorry
that
It was you
and
Not me.

Everyone in my class said the same thing. When asked what the little boy was feeling, everyone said fear. They all said that he was being completely victimized. I saw differently. Although I did agree with their thoughts, I took it a step further. I thought that the little boy was acting heroic, that he ran away from the crowd of Jewish people, purposely surrendered in front of the Nazis, and silently begged for their mercy. I believed that he was trying to prove how innocent he was, and how he wasn’t harmful at all. I thought that instead of fully consumed by fear, that he also had hope, and was trying to prove that there is good in everyone. I didn’t think that he was just randomly pulled from the crowd and had a gun pointed at him, I thought that he ran from the crowd, and showed bravery and heroism. I thought that that’s what the author of the poem thought as well.

I wish I was there, I wish I knew the story behind that little Polish boy…

Posted: May 14th, 2008 under Uncategorized.
Comments: 1

Here are some songs that I <3, but you’ve most likely never heard of.

Dear Maria, Count Me In - All Time Low

This song ROCKS. All Time Low is kind of like a Boys Like Girls type band, so of course I love ‘em! Also check out Six Feet Under the Stars.

Listen?

First Time - Lifehouse

Lifehouse is a pretty popular band, so maybe you’ve heard of this. I’m really the only one at my school though. Also check out You and Me.

Listen?

Bigger Than Love - My Favorite Highway

I just recently found out about this song and band. This song isn’t even sold on iTunes! Also check out You’re Making it Come Alive.

Listen?

If Everyone Cared - Nickelback

I love Nickelback, and I totally get this song’s message. Watch the video below, it’s really cool. Also check out Rockstar.

Listen?

Let Go - Boys Like Girls

Boys Like Girls is a waaaaaaaay popular band, but mostly people only know The Great Escape. This song was “resung” by them, and it’s a lot slower. Also check out Hero/Heroine.

Listen?

I don’t know… I just feel really special when I have a song I really like that no one else knows about. But now, you all know about these songs!

Posted: May 5th, 2008 under Opinions, Personal, Random.
Comments: none

My math class isn’t like other math classes. Yes, we do math problems. And yes, it’s accelerated. But it’s pretty much everyone’s favorite class of the day.

On a typical day, when the bell rings, my class sits down. We eagerly await the arrival of the math teacher, Mr. Hollis. As soon as he enters the room, we all clap and cheer loudly, as he bows and says things like “what can I say?” and “thank you, thank you.” When he sits down, usually one student compliments him (jokingly of course!) and tells him “I like your shirt Mr. Hollis!” Mr. Hollis replies by saying something along the lines of “who wouldn’t”? He then proceeds to tell us a story about how he was chased by the paparazzi since math teachers are “oh so cool” and how they wanted to put him on a reality TV show. More jokes, of course. And then we get…. a little more serious.

Mr. Hollis tells us to take out our “beautiful homefun.” At the beginning of the year, he explained to us that math wasn’t “work,” it was “fun.” Hence the name “homefun.” Anyway, we take out the assignment from the previous night. He goes through all the answers, then asks for any “beautiful questions.” Everyone asks their questions, and then he asks “any other beautifulness?” There’s no response. Then he says, in an Italian accent, “Okay for you?” And we respond, also in Italian accents, “Okay for us!”

But that’s not even the fun part. When he gets to teaching us, he never uses the book’s way. He teaches us little short cuts and names them things like “The Hollis Method,” “The Hollis Checklist,” etc. Some other shortcuts, the more interesting ones, involve singing. Yes, we sing in class. One song is about algebraic equations, and about doing the opposite.

“When it says add, you subtract.

When it says subtract, you add.

When it says multishply, you divide, and

When it says divide you, multishply!”

(My teacher pronounces “multiply” “multishply” by the way.) Another one is about factor trees and prime factorizations.

“Oh factor tree, oh factor tree,

How you bring factors home to me.”

In our lessons, he also improvises, and teaches us the lessons in story. In one lesson, astronauts discovered the rare and valuable mineral, Hollisidium. In another, a brave princess fought off a dragon using a jelly donut. The stories vary.

He also has nicknames for everything and everyone. When ever we mention problem #8, he adds on to it “8 skate and a donate!” With problem #76, it’s “76 trombones in the big parade!” My nickname is “Abby Gee!” But there are several others like “Sydney Australia,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Jacob Hanky,” “Little John,” “Niki of the Atal,” and “Danny Rizzzzzzzzzzzk.”

We also name our homework. It’s stuff like “Home Joy” and “Home Extraterrific.” But it’s also stuff that we joked about that day, like “Home Hollisidium” or “Home CSI*Name of My School.*” The bonus questions on quizzes are called “Extra Joy,” “Extra Happiness,” and “Word Happiness.”

Another fun thing worth mentioning in that class is the “Big Board.” It has the top ten students in the accelerated algebra class. It also has the two worst scorers. These people with bad grades are people like “Betty Don’t” and “Bill Bored.”(Say them out loud, you’ll catch on!)

So there you have it! Our math class. But what else can you expect coming from a teacher who has a paperweight that says “Math = Love” on his desk?

What’s your favorite class? Do you have any classes where you do something unusual?

Posted: April 23rd, 2008 under Personal, Random.
Comments: 5