RESPECT

To choose just one person that I respect is a difficult task, but if I have to choose one I would definitely say my dad. He is one of the most important people in my life and I owe very much to him. My family has suffered some hard times in the past few years and he has been the stable one that we could all count on. I respect him for so many reasons. He has worked very hard throughout his whole life in order to support his family. His dedication allowed my sister and me to have an amazing childhood and experience many things that not all parents can afford to give their children. As I grow up I realize more and more the sacrifices he has made for me and the amount of love that comes with it. I respect him as a person, as a father and as a friend. My dad is a kind hearted person who only wants the best for everyone. He is a respected man who has influenced my life and shaped me into the person I am today, and for that I am infinitely grateful.

Respect

It took me a really long time to decide who I wanted to write this about. I finally decided that the person I respect the most is Quentin Tarantino. I know it sounds a little cliché, like “yeah every film student idolizes Tarantino”, but it’s honestly the only person I could think of that I respect the most. I’m extremely passionate about my career in the film industry, so I try to embody every aspect of it. I feel as if Tarantino has done the same with his life. I have been fortunate enough to work with many people that have worked on films with him, and there is never anything but praise and admiration from these people. That’s exactly what I hope to accomplish with my work as a filmmaker. I want people to know me for my hard work and talent. It’s refreshing to see someone who doesn’t change his style of art for anyone. He does what he wants in a business that’s full of people who just make nonsensical and mass appeal films for money.

Also, he just seems like a plain cool guy. I try not to take myself too seriously, and it’s nice to see someone in my chosen field that has that same kind of look on life. He is someone I can respect not only on a professional level, but also a personal one.

Respect

I can think of a few people to write this about, but the one that calls out to me the most is my best friend.

She comes from a very different background than me (She's from a family of eight who have moved more times than I know, her most current home being a cabin 40 minutes out of town with an outhouse and no electricity. I, on the other hand, lived in a regular house in town.) and we have some very different interests (She would rather bake a cake than get drunk.), yet we are united by one binding force. Our extraordinary weirdness.

In our small town, if you wanted to have fun, you needed to get creative. We've gotten pulled over for disturbing the peace and kicked out of the grocery store more times than I can count, and have spent many a night cruising around on top of her Jeep. She lived with me for almost my entire senior year, and every time I go back home.

Her life has been an extremely chaotic one, and things have happened to her that would surely cripple anyone else. While she is aware of this, she prefers just to laugh at all of it, an occasional ladylike snort thrown in. We don't often talk about the rough stuff, but when we do, it always amazes me how strong and optimistic she is. Without knowing it, she's taught me that no matter what, someone has it worse than you, and not to care what people think. Before I met her, I never thought of myself as someone who based their lives on what other people would think, yet after all the strange stuff we've accomplished, I can confidently say I am very rarely embarrassed. 

My President

I know it is usually custom to say that the person you respect most, is from your family. Well though we may not be directly family, but the person who has really affected my life is presedent Obama. He is number two on my respect list next to God. I dont think there was or ever will be someone who can match what he has done. He started off just like anyone of us. Going through school and getting the best grades he could. But his personality and his love for his fellow man got him mto the ultimate seat of power, President. Fifty, or so, years ago blacks couldnt even ride in the front of the bus and a hundred years before that they were slaves. and for this man to surpass that opression to the point where he runs the country is nothig sort of a miricle. He makes me feel like i can be anything that comes to mind. He's my inspration, he's my hope, he's my President.

Respect

This is hard. I respect so many people and to choose one is difficult. But I would have to say Mrs. Mellas. She is one of my friends moms but my best friend. She has helped me through so many times and I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her. We met through girl scouts, she was my girl scout leader in 1st grade and I am also friends with her daughter. We just have a really special bond as she calls it and I love knowing that I have someone just a phone call away that doesn't have to care but she truly does. She is just amazing, it's hard to describe everything that she is to me but she always makes me smile and I am grateful to have such a wonferful person in my life.

Respect

Having to pick just one person to respect in my life is hard. There are many different family members and friends in my life that I look at with a respect and admiration. However, if you look at who has influenced me the most in my life, I would not hesitate to say that it would be my grandmother. She has always been there for me and that has always meant a lot to me because I knew that if i ever had a problem, she was the one person I could always go to. She was a Special Needs teacher at a local college in my home town for many years and I would spend summer afternoons in her office watching her work and making friends with some of her students. By doing this and getting to know these people, I learned social skills many kids my age didn't know. I also learned communication skills, and that you really cant judge a book by its cover. Growing up, I learned so many lessons from my grandma. She was someone I could always talk to when something was wrong or I needed help because of a divided family. She was neutral, safe, understanding and wise. She is a mother of three and has been through enough in her time to be able to help me in any way she can, even though she had never been through what I had. Whether anyone in my family realizes it or not, she pretty much is the glue that holds us all together. I will forever look up to her and her life and I will always have the urge to help people and make a difference in as many peoples lives, because that is what she did and still does, even if she doesn't realize it.

- Erin Wood

Respect

I Respect my younger brother Rick. He is 22 right now and on his third tour of service in Afghanistan. My Brother joined the National Guard when he was 17. At first I didn't understand why he was so into this. He joined after 9/11. I am against this war that is going on but I never was against our troops. I not only have respect for my brother, but all of those men and woman over there. I now understand that my brother is doing something that he believes in and he never backed down. For that I respect him. 

                                    -davE

Blog Post #1

In our first unit we take a look at our selves and our influences. For this post I am going to ask you about someone you respect. This can be someone famous, a friend, a family member, whoever you respect and have learned from and been shaped by. In 150 or more words, tell everyone about the person you chose and why you chose them. This is due before class on Tuesday.

My person would probably be Gary Snyder. He is a Pulitzer Prize winning poet, but I think I respect him more for the way he lives his life. I know a little of how he lives because he writes a lot of essays and those are my favorites. He is a Zen Buddhist and lives a life of simplicity and contemplation. He tries to live in balance with his community and the land. I strive for a similar kind of life. Snyder works at building communities. He is a strong believer in sustainability, not taking any more energy than you give. I know I do not always live up to this, but I hope to, and strive to. Often who we are is who we have been taught to be. We learn from our family, friends, and a myriad of others. Snyder is someone I would like to emulate both in his writing and his life. Here is a poem by him that I particularly enjoy.

Riprap

Lay down these words
Before your mind like rocks.
placed solid, by hands
In choice of place, set
Before the body of the mind
in space and time:
Solidity of bark, leaf, or wall
riprap of things:
Cobble of milky way.
straying planets,
These poems, people,
lost ponies with
Dragging saddles --
and rocky sure-foot trails.
The worlds like an endless
four-dimensional
Game of Go.
ants and pebbles
In the thin loam, each rock a word
a creek-washed stone
Granite: ingrained
with torment of fire and weight
Crystal and sediment linked hot
all change, in thoughts,
As well as things.