In High School and Alone in a Homeless Shelter

The main character of this article is Thakane Masondo. The author takes a point in the begining to describe a normal school life filled with activities. This is sharply contrasted with her difficult life outside school. She is homeless, has familly troubles, and few friends. Dispite her difficult circumstances, she still desires to be a pilot and is willing to put in the work to get there. She is willing to spend the little money she has in order to take the SAT. Ms. Masondo also appears to be studious. She stays up late and does her home work in the dark. All of these demonstrate to me that she is a very determined person.

I think this article was published because the person has a great story to tell. Thakane Masondo is such a determined person who wants to succeed that her difficult home life cannot impede her.

If I was interviewing her, I would like to know more about her grades. She seems to work really hard and is studious, but the article never says whether her hard work is paying off. I also would like to know in general what she thought of her family and if she thought she would be as determined as she is if her situation was different.

Against all Odds, A Beautiful Life

Who is the main subject of this article?

Maurice Mannion-Vanover

What details, anecdotes and accounts from other people illustrate the subject’s personality?

The fact that his parents got him an expensive horse. The stories of how Maurice loved his horse as well as particularly the reverend at the end demonstrate that Maurice was a caring person. Also the fact he went to Africa, Central America, and Europe to help others.

What overall impression do you have of Maurice Mannion-Vanover from the article? What gives you that impression?

He seems like he was a child who although he was sickly was full of life. He deeply cared about his horse and family as well as his church and everyone in general. Also, he seems to have been dedicated to anything he did. He received a black belt, which could not have been easy based on his illnesses.

Why do you think this article was published in The New York Times?

It sums up this boys entire life, which was an extremely challenging one, and does so by portraying him as a great person. Although he did not do any one amazing thing, he helped others throughout his short life eventhough he was deathly ill.

If you were to write a more in-depth profile or obituary for Maurice Mannion-Vanover, which details from this article would you include? What additional information would you need to find out? Which people do you think you would interview to get this information? 

I would like to know more about his heart condition, his difficulties in tae kwon do, and his job as a teachers aid as well as the other details that are already included. I would really just need the details for each of these three items, and would probably be able to get the details from his parents, doctors, or teachers. If there was anything else I wanted to know, I would ask other people who were close to him and knew him well.

The Object of Life

My Pownal Fire Department hat tells much of my recent life story. I am a Junior firefighter for Pownal, and I wear my hat during maintenance, and meetings as well as other occasions at the fire department. This hat however represents much more then firefighting. I also wear a hat almost every time I play my banjo at various gigs. Before my PFD hat, it was my Lego Land hat, but they show the same idea. Also, I like to wear a hat when ever I go running. These three things all help represent me and my Highschool life.

Using an object to discribe history can have advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that many parts of history can be compressed into a small amount of space and represent multile things. The disadvantage is that the object might be very abstract and difficult to understand.

New iOS release

With the new iOS a release and all the problems, many people have been wondering if Apple will still be known for its quality. This article discusses it: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/ios-8-bugs-and-bendgate-show-that-apple-s-magic-has-run-out-1267040