Journal entry 1-4

Journal 1
The Things I Carry: This journal will reflect on the different things we carry with us on a daily basis…both the tangible and intangible things. There are questions below to get you thinking and writing, but let the questions inspire commentary and questioning about the things we carry and the things that weigh most heavily on us.
Consider what you carry with you on a daily basis. What is in your backpack or school bag? Approximately how much does it all weigh? What are the items that you must carry with you at all times? Does their weight correlate with their importance? What intangible things do you ‘carry’ with you (for example parental pressures, responsibility, etc.)? What weighs more heavily on you: the tangible or intangible things?

I carry many things on a daily basis. I always carry my backpack and have the same things inside of it. I always have: my laptop, in its case, my laptop charger, pens, pencils, calculator, a folder for health, and one binder. I carry the least amount of things that I will need. I would say that my backpack weighs about 10 lbs. in total. Along with my backpack, I always carry my wallet, my keys, my chap-stick, and my cell phone. I also always wear a hat, and my necklace. I never take my necklace off. My necklace probably weighs the most out of everything based on importance, because it was given to me by my mom.
Along with the tangible things, I also carry many intangible things. Two main intangible things that I always carry with me is the worry about my mom. My mother is handicapped and bound to a wheelchair. I always worry about her falling out and not being able to get back up. Also, if she does fall, there is no way of her getting help. This is the biggest intangible thing that I carry. Another big intangible thing that I carry is I am always thinking of my grandmother. She is basically taking care of my mom and myself. We moved in with her, when we found out that my mom was sick. She now works two part time jobs to provide for us. She is an amazing woman, and if anything happens to her, I really truly wont know what will happen with my family. She is the one person that holds us together.
In my opinion the intangibles definitely weigh more on me everyday then do the tangibles. The intangibles are more important to me then anything, because it involves my mom, grandmother, and the feelings I have.

Journal 2:
First, watch the documentary, “Return to Vietnam: Healing on the Hill.” If you missed the viewing in class, you may watch the video from my Data Exchange folder. In your journal, discuss one or two of the reasons did the veterans gave for returning to "Hill 376" (closure, to make peace, etc.). Make a personal connection: Is there a place that you feel the need to return for a similar reason? If you have trouble making a personal connection, think about why people visit places like Ground Zero or similar memorials every day? Why do people visit graves?

There are two main reasons why the veterans and their families returned to “Hill 376”. One reason is to say goodbye to their fallen brothers who lost their lives on that hill. Another reason they went to the hill is to “go back and get them”.
The needed to say goodbye to their fallen brothers to close up those open wounds that were left. They needed closure and to say their goodbyes to those who lost their lives.
They also went back to the hill to “get them back”, The veterans said they needed to go get them back because they left them behind and had to go get them back. They had to make sure that those who have died know that they came back to get them and that they weren’t alone.
I actually go back to a place where everything means so much. I will never forget this, it was a Monday night and we had a Jr. Police Academy meeting in our gym. I had a lot of friends in this program, but I didn’t know it would be the last time I would see one of them. It was Monday, November 3, 2003. It was a typical meeting, and I was with my friend Joey Buldo-Licciardi. When it was time to leave we said our goodbye’s and our see you tomorrow, but the only thing is, is that Joey died sometime the next morning, which was November 4, 2003. I go back to the gym every so often and just remember that night, and play that night threw my head. I just go there to remember him, and to show him that I do still think of him.
People go and visit graves for many reasons. One reason is to remember the times they shared and to say they goodbyes, or even the “see you later’s”. Some people go just to talk with that person, to let them know that people still think of them, and still care about them. There are many reasons why people go to visit gravesites, it just depends on the person.

Journal 3:
“Love” and “Spin” (pp. 27-38)
Re-read the last paragraph of “Spin” that begins, “Forty three years old and the war occurred…” In this paragraph, O’Brien reflects on the function of “the story” and memories. He says, “And sometimes remembering will lead to a story, which makes it forever. That’s what stories are for. Stories are for joining the past to the future.”
Your assignment is to recall a memory or an event that you would like to make forever (you will make it forever by writing it into history). Is there an event in your life or an experience that was so vivid, powerful or memorable that you would like to write it down so you never forget it? It could be a childhood memory or a recent one…but your goal is to write a vignette (short story) to give it life. Be as specific as possible and recall with detail and specificity.

If I could write down an event so I would never forget it, it would be when I moved into River Vale and started going to the River Vale schools. This is a day when my life changed. I didn’t no my life would be so affected at such a young age.
Growing up I was originally from Bergenfield. As the years went on, Bergenfield started getting worse and worse, there were more crimes and just all around bad neighborhood. I remember walking towards the high school, which was only 2 blocks away, and I saw a teenager get jumped and beat up. It was in broad daylight and right in the middle of the street. I ran home and told my mom, because I didn’t know what else to go. This is when my mom realized how bad Bergenfield was getting.
A Couple of months later was summer, and we moved to River Vale to live with my Grandmother. We moved for several reasons. One reason was because my mom was sick and she needed help. However, other reasons were because Bergenfield was getting worse and my parents didn’t want me growing up there. Also, so I could attend school in River Vale because they are so much better then the school in Bergenfield.
This was one of the best choices my family has ever made in my opinion. It was totally worth the move and being a new student and everything. I will always love Bergenfield because I grew up there and had a lot of great memories. But, River Vale is my home now, and it was worth everything. River Vale is a better, better surroundings and people.
If I had to choose to stay in Bergenfield, or Move to River Vale, I would definitely move to River Vale again because it benefits me so much.

Journal 4:
“On the Rainy River” (pp. 39-61)
Complete Parts 1 and 2 of this task:
Part 1: Reflecting on O’Brien…
O’Brien calls himself a coward for going to war. Why does he consider himself a coward? Do you think he was cowardly or brave in deciding to go to war? Explain. What do you think you would have done?
Part 2: Connecting it to now…
The war in Iraq has often been referred to as the “new Vietnam,” so much so, it has been suggested that a draft might have been implemented. In addition, the refusal of the government to release military personal (after their service time is up) from duty has been called a “reverse draft.” What are your feelings on these issues? Do you think we could ever find ourselves in another Vietnam? If put in O’Brien’s shoes (if a draft were implemented in the US now), what would you do and why?

O’Brien calls himself a coward because he was considering to flee and not go to war. I feel that O’Brien started out as being a coward because he began to flee the country. He actually started to make his way towards Canada, and then he thought otherwise. However, I feel that O’Brien became brave when he accepted his responsibility of going to war and changed his mind. He was so close to getting away with fleeing the country, but he decided to do what was right and go to war. This was very brave his O’Brien.
I feel that if this war keeps continuing it may just become the “new Vietnam”. As far as the reverse draft, I don’t think that it should be implemented. They should be asked if they would like to stay in the military and ask if they would like to continue. But, I don’t think that they should be forced to stay. They paid their dues to the country by volunteering to fight when others wouldn’t. Now, the government will not release them when the time is up. That is not right, and if that is the case, there will be many upset people in our country.
As far as the draft goes, if I was in O’Brien shoes, I would go to war. I would not even think about fleeing. If the war was so bad and so long, that our country thought it was very necessary to implement a draft, I would go. It would be the right thing to do, because there will be thousands of others who are in the same situation and they don’t want to go to war just as bad as I wouldn’t. But, I feel that its not fair to them if I flee and skip out after I was drafted. They were drafted and they are going to fight, so I feel like I should do the same and not be treated any differently.