Truth vs.

Reality
Truth: The quality or state of being true Reality: The world or state of things as they actually exist Truth is what we need to know is right, reality, is what it is. For the truth factor, most people are right in believing that Jesus Christ is the son of god and that he died on the cross for our sins so that one day, we would have a chance to get to heaven by following the Ten commandments. For others, their truth might have Muhammad as their great profit or that the Jews believe there hasnt been one yet. And for the rest of the people that live in our world there are many different religions and some people that dont believe in any sort of religion at all. Now for reality. The reality that we live in now is filled with almost everything God didnt want. Everyone commits the seven deadly sins, every single day. So we live in a world filled with corruption, suffering, fear, and pain. But through it all there is little bits of shining hope from him. And thankfully, we will be forgiven for what we have done because of Jesus Christ. Others would like to disagree with my argument. Others think that there is no God, and that it is some sort of chemicals that were fused together that caused an explosion, that which created us. I know that isnt true because if you see a car, is it just going to work by itself? Is it just going to move forward and go without any assistance? Now, to answer your question. It needs to be started by someone; it has to be created by someone. If nobody is catching my drift, Im saying God. And facts have proven that pretty much everything that people have learned and figured out prove that Christianity is true. An example for Christianity being true is that in the Red sea, a group of Archeologists recently found a large group of chariots that had been broken apart by a large force. For the other religions, I dont know if they might be true or false, but from what Ive learned from experts, Christianity has been proven to be true. And there might be accusations on parts of other religions that I might not know about, but I believe Christianity is true. But what might truth be to someone else? The truth for one person might be that god created the world in seven days. Or to someone all of the way over in India, it might be the Buddha. And for someone all of the way in China it might be some sort of Hindu belief system

Modern Movies/ Video Games vs. Warfare

In our modern world, there are wars breaking out everywhere, people are being murdered by the thousands, and military weapons are being used against us right at this moment. But it turns out that has been happening to us for a really long time now, in video games. The question to me is, are these video games realistic? Some of the things that make these games so realistic are parts like, the graphics, the weapons, the men, and the things that happen in the games. First off, the graphics: The graphics in most modern games are extremely realistic because they show parts of the body, blood and all sorts of things, but graphics dont only incorporate into the violence, sometimes the actual people in the game look completely real. Secondly, the Weapons: This is something that I know a lot about, and from what Ive seen, all of the modern warfare games show all realistic weapons and weapon mounts. The men: I dont know if that is all true, but I cant say that for certain. Last off the missions: The missions I know are complete bogus. Seriously, first off in modern warfare 2, they wouldnt have a CIA operative go in, pretend to be a Russian terrorist, go into an airport and massacre thousands of people. And secondly, Russia wouldnt be able to invade the U.S. we are much more powerful and they wouldnt be able to last. Third, no general is going to kill off an elite squadron of great soldiers for no apparent reason. Every single day, people are trying to figure out a way to make video games as realistic as possible. And if they want to make as realistic as possible, send in a guy with a camera, and have him record everything he sees and does for the next few days. But this isnt only showing up in video games, it is shown in all sorts of movies that convey the stories of men on the battlefront. One of the great movies that depicted the story of a squadron going deep behind enemy lines to save a certain Private James Ryan. The movies name is, Saving Private Ryan. This movie had won many awards that had proven it is a great movie. But what made the whole movie so realistic, were the psychological affect and what all the group of soldiers had to go through. In the beginning was the invasion of Normandy scene. In that scene, you can see how everywhere, people are being shot at; parts are being blown off people. In that scene, I remember that the Sergeant (Tom Hanks) was at one second talking to a guy who was on the radio calling in airstrikes on the German posts, and then he looks over, and the radio man had his face literally torn inside out! So what I am trying to say in this journal is that we should really watch on what we are showing to our youth, all of these gut-wrenching movies can psychologically mess up a child for the rest of their lives.

Be The Change
Change: To make a difference in some particular. If I could start to make changes in the world that I live in, I would start small; say with making my bed, cleaning my room, and other chores. Helping my mom around the house, holding the door for people whenever I am walking into some sort of building, and then just helping others when they are in need. An example for me helping when they were in need was my dad and I were shopping at Randalls to go get groceries one night when we walked up too the front and saw a man lying on the floor having a seizure and at the same time he was bleeding from his head. At first my dad and I where completely shocked from the situation, but what we did was my dad had gone inside to see if someone in the store was a doctor or anyone that could help, while at the same time, I was sitting outside with the bleeding man. I was happy to know that I wasnt the only one there when I got there, there was a lady on her knees, helping out and caring for this poor man. So from what I had learned from my past years in boy scouts, I had to put that together and help this man. Next off I would help by helping out others at school that would acquire assistance, an example of that is I have a friend who is a freshman named Archer. He is partially crippled and dreams of being what he says Normal. He goes to school with us, he is supposed to be in our grade but his parents thought it would be safest if he stayed at Casis another year. For as long as I can remember, I remember being there for him, playing with him, befriending him, and just letting him feel like he is, what he likes to call Normal. But besides helping others, I would talk to others about doing the right thing and tell people to be more respectful to one another. For an example, in the locker room of our football team, a lot of times, we talk trash and cuss, (which is the same for every single football team out there) and I believe that that isnt the right thing to do. And thirdly, I would do small charitable organizations to help those in need. One thing that my older sister did was she had traveled to Peru this summer with our church. What they did was they went to Peru and built houses for the indigenous population, gave them plenty of food and supplies, and they played with the kids. I would like to something like that but in places like Haiti, or Vietnam. But stuff like that is expensive, so I would do small fundraisers to pay for the trips such as selling old video games, saving my allowance, and taking proceeds. My family has done small little charities also, like when I was a youngin, my sister Caroline and I, made a Charity to support our troops in Iraq. What we did was we painted large stones that we found and we sold them to raise money for the war in Iraq.

Religion: The World and I

For myself, my spiritual journey started when I was at about the age of 5 days old when I was baptized, but that didnt really count. But my spiritual walk all started when I was in the 5th grade and I went to a Christian camp called Kanakuk. Kanakuk is a large Christian camp that has multiple camps, located in different cities, states, and countries. Kanakuk is very well known for inspiring young children of the world to come closer to God. The first time I ever went, I came to God and learned how I should live my life, and thats through his name. And ever since that moment, I have been going there to keep my faith strong. I would have to say that my main passions in my religion are to serve the father, follow the Ten Commandments, and to not commit any of the seven deadly sins. And if I am able to serve god in a way that in which I please him, I will hopefully go to heaven. Religion has taken up pretty much all of history, all the way from the beginning to the end, from Abraham to Jesus, From Mohammad to Buddha. Religion has affected more peoples choices than anything else in this world. For an example, Muslim extremists in the Middle East scream Allah before they explode. Hitler killed over 6 million Jews. Jesus Christ taught others what he knows and without him, Paul wouldnt have been able to continue what he started. And religion is an important part of history because it shows peoples cultures, and it also has had major roles in history over the past hundreds of thousands of years. Without religion, a lot of things would be different. For example, if there werent any of the Ten Commandments, then the world would be filled with murder, sex, and drugs. (I already is but people wouldnt feel any sort of guilt) And the argument to take out world studies religions can result in two different ways. One: It turning out really well so there wont be as many arguments in schools and even fights. Secondly: It could go really badly, offending people by not talking about religion could cause arguments amongst elders (parents). My opinion on the matter is that you shouldnt take religion out of world history because it is a great thing to learn about other religions because it is a really large part of everyones past. I would say that both points are correct on the thought that religion has had good and bad influence. Examples for good are the Buddha enlightening others and bringing them to peace. Another example is Jesus Christ sacrificing himself on the cross for our sins. Examples of bad things happening are the Muslim suicide bombers. But the best example would have to be Hitler slaughtering 6 million Jews in Europe.

Stories of Heroes
Why do we people keep telling all of these stories and fantasies of great heroes and princess? Well, when you are a child, do you want to grow up only learning? You wouldnt like to hear all of the awful things that go on in this world at such a young age, no. You would like to be raised to know stories like Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, and Shrek. Also, it is just what we would like to aspire to be when we are kids. Like pretty much every single child in America wishes that they could be a fairytale princess, or find their one true love. I also believe that we need to tell stories because it is a great way to express yourself and what your feeling. For an example, all of those hippy people at coffee shops that say poetry. That is telling a story and expressing your feelings. But stories are also there to tell others about your past, and other peoples pasts. And if we dont have a good story, all of our brains will be turned into mush. Things that I have noticed that are repeated in stories are the very end climatic scenes, like I knew in the Batman, that they were going switch the two people, its inevitable. Also the classic denial of a quest or adventure of some sort. Like in Your Highness, he literally denies a quest because the main character wants to get high the entire movie. Well, stories that have impacted my life the most are probably the entire Star Wars Saga. Since I was a little chap, I remember spending days looking up Star Wars pictures, postures, games, and knowledge about it. I had seen every single movie at least ten times, had collected most of the toys they came out with. And lastly I still love Star Wars with a burning passion. Another story that I grew loving isnt really a story of happiness. Its a story of Valor and sacrifice the highest extreme: Saving Private Ryan. Since I was little, besides loving Star Wars, I have always loved World War II history. So when my parents sat me down, and said that I was old enough to watch it. I fell in love with it instantly.

Chemistry Journal
Fireworks where first started by the Italians around the 1830s, when a group of Italian scientists put together black powder with potassium chlorate, the compound helped oxidize the mixture which then created a reaction that made the powder burn hotter and brighter. The strong exothermic (heat-giving) had additional reactions involving other compounds possible. And that creates the great color effects you always see in fireworks. Fireworks have been shown throughout history, in remembrance, for celebration, and triumph. In the course of history, fireworks have been around for a long time. It wasnt fireworks that just popped up out of nowhere; it was all started with the invention of black powder. Over 1000 years ago in China, the Chinese alchemists concocted a thick, gooey mixture that contained saltpeter (potassium nitrate, which was commonly used to cure meats), and honey. They hoped that eating the sticky stuff would give them eternal life. Instead, it nearly killed them. The mixture exploded and destroyed the alchemists' hut. Ancient Chinese manuscripts urged readers not to try to duplicate these pyrotechnic misadventures at home. Bu the Chinese were able to take this goo and turn it into a great weapon. Using it on the battlefield but also was used at home to keep evil spirits away, and also used for entertainment. Now over 900 years later, the Italians where able to take the black powder, and fuse it together with other chemicals to create different heats that would make different looking colors. If I where to be a firework, I would definitely be one that is very large, has multiple colors, large spins, and explosions, but I would also make some of the coolest noises you have ever heard. To explain myself in my wonderful color scheme, I would be a wonderful looking red, with a large splash of blue that just will pop out and show everyone my personality. My large spins will show my energetic self and how crazy I am. And it will have the coolest noises because I am exciting and LOUD!