“This I Believe”
1. Go to the “This I Believe” website - http://thisibelieve.org/. This may be easiest in another window by copying and pasting it.
2. Click on “explore”.
3. Click on “essay search”
4. Search for essays by theme or age. If theme or age does not interest you, you can repeat step #2 and click on “featured essays” or “1950s essays”.
5. Locate and read TWO essays that you find interesting.
6. Post a blog response
a. Title and Author
b. What is the author’s message?
c. What supporting details get the author’s message across?
d. Why did you select this essay?
I read a story called " I am not good at forgiveness but i still believe it in"- by MElissa. When I read this it touched my heart because it was about a person who went door to door collecting money for rape victims. They told a story about meeting a woman who was raped infront of her 4 year old son and yet to this day she forgave the man. She said she wasnt the victim he son was. She forgave the man so she can move on with her live and hes not the cause for her tears and sobs. I selected this essay becaue I think its true its not easy to forgive people even if they do horrable things but forgiving them is better because you git it out of your life and things dont linger. Forgiveness isnt the easyest thing to do but its really out there for everyone to do.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Grim
ReplyDeleteThere is no blame, There is only love
by: Ann Karasinski
This essay is about the authors stuggle with her daughters addiction to heroin. Ann had been blaming herself for years that her daughters addiction was her fault. she kept thinking if she would have been a better parents her daughter would have never started using drugs. She put all the blame on herself. Her daughter had gotton out of rehab for the 2nd time and relapes shortly afterwards. Ann had finally realized that blaming herself wouldnt help her daughter but just being loving towards her would be more helpful then ever.
Title: Finding the Flexibility to Survivie
ReplyDeleteBy: Brighton Earley
Message: I think the message of this essay is to be thankful for what you have.
Supporting Details: She told of how she gets ashamed of shopping at a gas station, but when she does she thinks of other people that can't even afford to do that.
Selected Because: I thought the title looked interesting.
Comment Posted By: Sam
The Cards Will Hear You- Eric from Waukesha WI
ReplyDeleteThe message is basically to live life and be grateful for what you have. Details like telling like telling a story about being young playing cards with his family and now playing cards with his own children. My favorite thing was when he said "Cathedrals and castles are built, charities are funded, victories are won, conflicts are resolved, lives are lived and cards are played, if done well, not out of fear, dread or frustration, but out of hope and joy and an unwavering belief in success." I selected this essay because I wanted to know what the title really meant. --Bobbi
Thirty Things I Believe by Tarak McLain form Austin Texas
ReplyDeleteThis article is listening all the things that he was taught to believe in or naturally believes in them. Some of the things he listened was God is good, War should never start and death is good if it’s natural. I just really thought that this article was interesting because I think that people in this day should really believe in a lot of thing that we know we should but don’t. One of the main things that got me and was first on his list was “Every person is equal”. This believe I think we should all have but we don’t, there is always someone that we look down to just because of personal reasons. I thought this was a really good way to show people that even at a small age you can learn the right things.
A. Joy Cometh in the morning by Africana - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
ReplyDeleteB. even tho your life could be really bad now, in the end it could all get so much better. and there is always someone there who cares about you and thinking about you.
C. - his landlord saved him
- he was so blessed to come out of something so hurtful without one scar.
- all the love and care that he has in the end.
- he thanks god for getting him out of the house
- even though eh cryed alot in the begining, now he is verry happy with his life.
D. i selected this essay because it was a story from milwaukee wisconsin. and the title seemed kind of intresting.
The Beatles Live On- Macklin Levine
ReplyDeleteB. Her message is that even though the Beatles aren’t together anymore, they still live on.
C. supporting details: her dog runs away, explains how blasting the Beatles in the car with her family connected them
D. I selected this essay because I love the Beatles, and music is my life.
Music Makes Me Come Alive- Joan Tower
B. her message is all about how music is her life; her drug; and it makes her come alive
C. supporting details: boys and sex used to be her “drug” but now music is, she finds excuses to compose, and she couldn’t live without music
D. I selected this essay because once again, music is my life, and I couldn’t live without it. I would go completely crazy.
I read my second essay and it was called " The Importance of sports in my life"- by Daniel. When I read this story it stuck to me because the message was about a guy when he grew up he learned life lessons from his sports coach not even knowing untill he got older. The coach wasnt preparing them for the sport but for their future. I think with this essay i I seclected it because sports are such a big part of my life they not only keep you out of trouble but they teach you if things get tought that you can't just give up. Sports are a great part of life for people.
ReplyDeleteTarran Sippel
ReplyDeleteWe’re All Different in Our Own Ways
by: Joshua Yuchasz
This essay is about how the author continued to speak his mind about his beliefs. He beliefs that everyone is different and shouldn't be made fun of because of what they like or belief in. He talks about how, as a child he had an obsession on reptiles and was made fun of because of it. He was bullied after everyone had found out, but he didn't stop believing or liking the things he did. He also had told him mother the information which she found useable in the Jeopardy game on TV. He sometimes wishes he were like everyone else, but not always. He thinks that everyone should be respected for being different.
One essay i read was " Thirty Things I Believe," this essay was written by a 7 year old boy for his kindergarden class. His mom had helped a little but the words are all his. Tarak McLain is the 7 year old boy and he wrote about saving animals, war and peace, and behaving to your brother and sisters and respecting your parents. A little boy caring bout all these big things in life is what makes this essay so interesting. I picked this essay to read and to comment about because I wanted to know the different beliefs of other people.
ReplyDeleteThe second essay I read was called, "Peace Begins With One Person," the author is Ivory Harlow. The message that Harlow's trying to get across is the world needs more love, and peace, and trust. Harlow gave a poor lady with rotten teeth and tired eyes a pancake she said she had make wrong. The lady asked Harlow if she'd borrow her money for the bus and 3 weeks later the lady had found a job and returned Harlow's 2 bucks and found a breakfast buddy. I selected this essay because I agree with Ivory Harlow, this world definently needs caring, kind, sharing, peaceful people.
A Public Man by Harry Truman
ReplyDeleteI think his message was to try to justify dropping the bombs on Japan. He talked about the greater good and whats best for the general population. "If the facts justify the decision at the time it is made, it will always be right." I selected this essay spcifically for the reason that I was wondering if he would try to justify those two decisions.
David Huibregtse MoC
This I Believe- Amy from Norwalk, California
ReplyDeleteThe message is that good and evil are marbled in people and that right and wrong actions don’t make us what we are or as she said, “one way to learn life lessons is by positive example. Another way is by experiencing what shouldn’t be, so you’re forced to realize what should.” In her writing she gave detail about how her father’s struggling alcohol addiction made her family fall apart and had her grow up faster than she was supposed to. I selected this essay because there are a lot of family’s suffering from an addiction in the family, and it was a good read. --Bobbi
"This I Believe"
ReplyDeleteby: Sarah
When you see homeless people on the streets and they're asking for spare change, you might wanna reconsider giving them for hard earned money. The essay i just read was about two children. Their mother used to love them to death and do anything for them, until one day she started smoking crack. One of the kids would always wake up and find her mother passed out on the floor with drugs all around. It had gone to far so the two young children decided to try to scare there mother out of addiction and have the government threaten her about taking away her kids. They didnt just warn her, they did take away her kids and it went even more down hill from there. With her addiction getting worse, the mother didnt even try to get her kids back, she just sold everything she had for crack. So now he kids see her on the streets like a homeless person begging for money just to get high. I selected this essay cause it caught my eye and it shows what bad things come from addictions.
Adam Kollmann
ReplyDeleteNever Give up By Mary
The message is never give up trying
“You just can’t. You can’t ever give up. No matter how hard it gets. No matter how it hurts.”
I picked this essay beacuse i try to never give up on anything i do. If you just give up you will end up noware in life.
Title: My Opinions Matter
ReplyDeleteBy: Nora Lupi
Message: People should listen to teen's opinions because sooner or later we will be the ones running the country.
Supporting Details: She talks of how when she voices her opinion on controversial topics she is often told to shut up.
Selected Because: I liked the title, and the summary.
Tarran Sippel
ReplyDeleteWhen Ordinary People Achieve Extraordinary Things
by: Jody Williams
The Author of this essay wanted to write it because people who do things to help others are the hero's even if they are just protesting. Jody never thought she would be an activist, but helping her deaf brother helped her realise that she could do something to help others. She started a landmine campaign to stop landmines for being produced and used. She was and individual working with other individuals to help the other people and stop the eaths caused my landmines. She believes that ordinary people can do extrodinary things. I chose this essay and the one before because they both have true meanings. Anyone in the workd can do something that will help others and everyone is different and can do things others cant because they are different.
William Wissemann- Hasting on Hunson, New York
ReplyDeleteWilliam is dyslexic and he had a very hard time learning how to read and write. This teenager spent about 4 years of his life trying to learn and write. Learning Strategies and tricks to understand words. Well the thing that helped him accomplish his goal was a Rubik’s Cube. He carries it around because it’s a symbol that he can solve any problem if I try hard enough.
I know how to solve a Rubik’s cube myself, but I have never found it very hard to solve. Having dyslexic is also very challenging so I’m very impressed about him learning.
Accomplishing Big Things in Small Pieces
ReplyDeleteby William Wissemann - Hastings on Hudson, New York
it was about not letting the little thing get you down and you might have to take a few steps back to jump forward like; william had dyslexia but he use a Rubik’s Cube to understand take little steps to complete big things
_-Kevin Karas-_
ReplyDeleteThe Happiness of Memories
Fei - Qingdao, China
The eassy is about how memories bring happyness. She said how she
remember her grandma. How she did Qigong with her and old people. Then
her grandma got old and died, but she still remembers her grandma from
her memories.
Using Love to Forgive
Rachel - Bloomington, Illinois
The eassy is about how someone killed her grandparents. She was very
scared for half her life. She found out that the person that kill her grandparents was her grandparents son. She relized that killers are humans too. She used love to forgive.
Adam Kollmann
ReplyDeleteThis i Belive I belive in the power of sleep By Anne
The story is about how sleep affects your life when you get no sleep or very little you feel like you want to go back to bed and your mother functions are slow and you are less aware of what you are doing and you are just pushing yourself to do what you got to do. But if you get a good night sleep you feel refurbished and like your on top of the world.
I feel that this applys to me because I alwayse dont get a good night sleep and sometimes mad in the morning and dont want to do any thing untill i wake up a little. If i get a good night i wake up and im more aware on what i do and what i doing later. i think more and i can do more.
Free Hearts and Minds at work by Jackie Robinson
ReplyDeleteHe obviously supported his reason to "fight" for blacks rights to play in MLB. A reoccuring theme was to take imperfections out of society but that it is a worthless battle because perfection is impossible. The important thing is to try.