The Old Man and the Sea

The story of a mans journey of catching the Marlin of his dreams

“But man is not made for defeat," 
~ Ernest Hemingway 

The book, The Old Man and the Sea, is a very enjoyable book to read. It is not the longest book, but it is dense with great description, plot and it is very well written. I am currently just finishing day three and it is starting to get very exiting. 

 We don’t all get the chance to follow in someone else’s footsteps. Or get the change to follow a path that someone has already been through. I have that chance. Throughout my life my dad and my mom have been mentors and the base of my life. I had always followed in their footprints with my own and tried to leave a trail that will make them proud. 

When you have three kids it is hard to deal with the stress and responsibility it takes to handle them, and as a little kid it is hard to know what your parent are going through and how you can help them go through it. As you grow you come to realize that they have done more for you than anyone has ever done in your lives and you never can pay back that kindness and relationship your parents have given you, but you can try. Wisdom comes with age and with that wisdom you are able to realize what you have put your parents through. Some may never have the strength of being a parent that loves and cares for a kid, but if you do it is a large and loving commitment. 

When I was a kid, I was the kind that would run off when parents weren’t looking and I would scream and shout at anyone and anything at any time. And my parents didn’t only have to deal with me but also had to deal with two other brothers similar. One time I went to an aquarium with my whole family when I was really little, about 4 years old. My parents said that I saw a really cool fish at the aquarium and when they weren’t looking I ran to go and find that fish. I eventually got lost form my family. My parent then searched all over the aquarium and ask many people if they had seen me. They eventually found me and we left right after because I was crying so much because I was scared. 

Loving parents do what is necessary for keeping you safe and protected from whatever hits. They will protect you at any means necessary. Being a parent is one of the hardest things someone can do and even though I have never been a parent I can see the responsibility and love it takes in order to be a good one. 

Not everyone has parents that take care of them and love them as much as mine. I am lucky to have been put in a situation that I can thrive and be protected and supported by people that love me. 

Now that I am older I see that parent do so much more than take care of you. They show you a path that leads to success and they help you trough that path no matter what it takes. 

Community Improvement

What Needs to Be done

“No matter how much experience you have, there’s always something new you can learn and room for improvement.”

~ Roy T. Bennett

    In life there is always improvements that can be done to different things in order to make them better. I am currently a ninth grader at The Fenn School in Concord MA and there are improvement that can be done by the students and faculty to make the school and the community better. The Fenn school is a wonderful place that has lost it’s freedom, and countability.  

    True Power 

How can you get power?

“Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupt power.”

~ William Gaddis

    In books you can find that the themes and concepts in that read can relate to your life. In the book, The Lord of the Flies,  there are themes present in the book that to real life. The first theme is the weak and the strong, [page 10] “He was old enough, twelve year and a few months.” The weak and the strong in the book show each characters power over the group. Ralph and Jack who are older and stronger are the ones leading the people even if what they are doing is not right. “We are on an island. We have been on the mountaintop and seen water all around. We saw no houses, no smoke, no footprints, no boats, no people. We are on an uninhabited island with no other people on it.  " [Lord of the Flies, Chapter 2, Page 38] Ralph takes the charge and spits facts to the people. The weak and the strong in the book relates to the rich and the poor in modern day life. The rich people have more power because they are more pronounced in society. You don’t ever hear new about a person in poverty that makes a difference. It is not because lower class people cant make a difference, it is that other people don’t believe they can.  It may be hard but you can be strong. 

While being quarantined in my house there is not much that you can do. The only boundaries are your house, you cant go anywhere else to do anything unless get essential stuff or else you will be at risk. When you have only a small space to do things you find things that you can to.

Behind My house i have a small shed that I keep all of my thing that I use for fishing. It is not very neat or clean in there so I decided to clean it up and add some things that would make it more neat. 

I took some old wood that we had from previous year building a hockey rink in the winter and I cut some up to make shelves for all of the bikes where I kept my lures. I also nailed some nails into the wall so that I could hang my fishing rods horizontally. I put a small table that was abandoned in our garage and I put some tools and other things. And then lastly I took and old broken rod and nailed it to the wall to make holders for my fishing line. 

Even though it does not seem like it, there is many things to do that can make you occupied throughout the day, it is just a matter of finding them. 

Sometimes times alone are the best times you have. During the quarantine before school started, I was basically nocturnal. I would wake up really late during the day and go to bed late at night. I like doing this because at night it is just me. There is no one around me talking, complaining and arguing about things, just me. And the silence of the night.

Before I had all this time I never really realized why I liked staying up at night. Sure I liked staying up with friends during a sleepover or in town because we aren’t  supposed to, but it is different by yourself. It is like you are in a different world, where you can’t see or hear any of the imperfections of life. You are in a bubble of your thoughts and are in silence and freedom. There is no one telling you what to — as long as you are quiet. 

It is hard being able to find that feeling of separation between you and the distractions and manipulation of the world. But if you are able to it is a time that changes you. 

How to succeed at Fenn

”Cross the bridge to success” 

~ John Sexsmith

Step 1: Give a damn. I see my classmates all the time leaving their work until the last minute to do or doing something that’s not academic during a study hall. Time management is hard to do when there is so many other things that you can do that isn’t academic. At Fenn, teachers want you to learn and do well in their classes, so if you try hard on all of your assignments and what to learn your teachers will guide you to success. 

Step 2: Ask for help. At my time at Fenn I have had the opportunity to ask meet with teachers outside of class. In 6th grade my advisor and math teacher was Mr. Sanborn. When I was having trouble in the class I would go in early and ask him about the homework or to review for the next test and he would happily give me help. This encouraged me to do it with my other classes and now in ninth grade I still do it. 

Step 3: have a good time. It is hard to do well and enjoy one thing if you hate it. You are surrounded my kind student and teachers at Fenn so enjoy it. When you like what you do you will put in more of an effort. For example if you like a certain sport you are going to have fun and want to get better, but if you not like the sport you aren’t going to keep on playing it. Make school fun by being involved in school life and you will have success.

Community, Place, Stewardship 

What makes a place special

“A place is only as good as the people in it.”                       ~ Pittacus Lore  

The World is so big yet there are few places where you can call home. It is hard to feel like your thoughts, feelings and emotions can be comfortably brought out from the inside and be comforted by the kind words and support of special people. Few people have the opportunity to go to a place where there is a true kind and supportive community, and where you feel free to accept yourself.

Before the Coronavirus spread so widely around the US I had a plan that during march break I was going to fix up a boat that I would go fishing in. There was a small 14 foot Jon boat that my dad used to use when he was a kid in Maine. We have a house in Maine and by our house this boat jus lays upside down in the dirt, it hasn’t been touched in years. Before break I found out that I had mono. I wasn’t allowed to do anything, which meant I couldn’t work on the boat. Now, that my mono is almost over I am able to build the boat, but now the corona virus has taken over, not allowing me to travel. Although I cant work on it, currently I am looking at better ways that I can fix it up. I have done research and now I believe that I can make it much better. Now, I plan on framing the boat with aluminum and then putting a deck on top, which is basically a bass boat but I get to build it and it is way less expensive.