All the World's a Stage, and I'm Center Stage

I am from barbies, trees and swings. From pucks balls, and scrums. I am from The Wanted and Justin Bieber. I am from Dinosaurs, Weeping Angels, Ogres, donkeys, mammoths and sloths. I am from sizzling, from icy, from parched, from wet. I’m from sandy to grassy, from deserts to forests. From smooth and moist, to sharp and dry. I’m from small, quick, dense, loud but quiet, and very oddly mysterious. I’m from my amazing mom and dad, my aunts and uncles, my cousins, and my siblings. I’m from the most wonderful girl the in the world. I love you. I’m from the most cheerful, bright, smart homeroom teacher anyone could ask for. I’m from flawless boy bands, and perfect Canadian pop singers. I’m from twizzlers, nerds, sweet tarts, Scooby snacks, and gushers. I’m from pasta, but some make me gag. I’m from curries, pad thai, and pizza. I’m from faith, love, and broken hearts. I’m from friends, idols, and family. I’m from depression, power, cheer. I’m from a cat viciously attacking a brown bear during a family camp trip. I’m from whiteboards, competition, bright lights, English, and kids kids kids! I’m from “You could use improvement” and “You’ll go far” I’m from going to see my idols in a concert, and fishing with my brother I’m from all kinds of aspects from life, sometimes the fit, sometimes they don’t but I’m from making lemonade with the lemons life gives me.

Understandings

To maintain control, you must have power. Most people would disagree with that statement, but I'm not one of those people. I believe that to change or control a society, you need to have some form of power to influence and maintain a kingdom/ country. For example, in the Medieval times the King had so much power that he could force England to do anything he wanted them too. He knew that the peasants and serfs couldn't do anything to him because they had no power. So he kept raising taxes. But in modern day, it's not all bad. Most well functioning countries have a main source of power. Whether it's a president, a Prime-Minister,  or a King. But countries with a government that has a bad handle of their people, it affects their power. Take Syria for example, the people want to chose their ruler. But the government won't let them. Denying the rights to chose the leader has sparked violent protests, hense losing the power of the government.

The Events of 1066:Harold Godwinson

In the year of 1066, there were three powerful leaders fighting for the crown of England. All three men had a strong claim to the throne, but Harold Godwinson stood out amongst them all. Since Kind Edward didn't have any children to take over the thrown, he chose his successor Harold Godwinson. The reason being is that Godwinson is from England and he is the Earl of Wessex, making him experienced in leadership. Also, Harold's sister was married to Kind Edward. No one was surprised King Edward made a decision on Harold Godwinson, everyone agreed with him including the nobles. Godwinson was a strong leader who promised that the nobles could remain powerful. These are the reasons why Harold Godwinson had the strongest claim to the throne of England.

Schindler's List

Was Schindler a hero? A bystander? Or was he doing it for his own selfish reasons? Well, I simply believe it's all of them. Confusing I know but when you think about it, Schindler never stopped the cause or stood up to it, he never said that it was wrong or took a stand. But he also kept thousands of Jews from going off to those awful camps and getting killed, instead, he gave them a purpose in life, and some money. But was he doing that to make his life easier? Probably, but when those Jewish women were accidentally taken away to Auschwitz, he did pay a fortune to get them back. He certainly did think what was going on was wrong, you could tell when he was on the hill looking down at the blood being spilled in the drains. But he didn't try to prevent anything from happening, he just reduced it. I think Schindler was a hero, for doing what he can and saving thousands of lives but at the same time having them work for him.

Sonia Weitz- Victory

I chose the poem Victory by Sonia Weitz, a very touching poem about Sonia and her father having one last dance together before he was sent away to be killed. This was a very moving poem especially for me because I love my dad so much, and thinking of me and him together knowing I will never see him again, just breaks my heart. The part where it says "My lovely father (once big and strong)" was touching because it was saying that the concentration camps or death camps, make great strong people into small weak beings that don't have a purpose in life anymore. Also how Sonia was so hungry and so scared but when she was with him, none of that mattered and in fact almost went away. That's what really pulled at my heart, because when you love someone so much that they can make you feel safe even though your destined to die and that person is just taken away from you because of your religious beliefs, it must be the toughest thing anyone has ever had to endure. This made me extremely sad, it's even making me teary eyed. I think that it's so unfair just to separate this little girl and her father because of what they believe in.

What Caused the Holocaust?

Back a long long time ago when World War 1 ended, there was quite a massive downfall in the German society due to the Treaty of Versailles. The economy plummeted which lead to hyperinflation. Hyperinflation was a serious event in Germany. What happened was that economy wasn't doing well, so they printed money to see if that helped. Well it didn't. What happened is when you print money, you have to print it carefully because you need to make sure that you don't print too much and have it lose it's value. Well that's what happened. Germany was weak, looking for a leader. They wanted somebody to blame. Adolf Hitler saw it as an opportunity and tried to take over. The first time didn't work, but then the leader died, and he was appointed Chancellor. He made it very clear that the reason they lost the war was because of the Jews. He wanted an ideal German (blonde with blue eyes and non-jewish). And since the people wanted somebody to blame and Hitler was such a convincing speaker, they bought it. So, it was basically a series of lucky events for Hitler. And that is how he came about.

The Nuremberg Race Laws

Now, a Jew wouldn't be defined as someone who has relatives that are Jews. Nowadays, a Jewish person would be defined as a individual with different beliefs. Aryanizing mean that all businesses run by Jews were dismissed or called off, and/or taken over by non-Jewish businessmen. Professional Jews such as doctors weren't allowed to treat non-jewish patients. Also, jewish lawyers weren't allowed to practice law. "The for the Protection of the Hereditary Health of the German People"was a law that all Germans had to obey. Basically you had to get a certificate from the official health authorities of Germany if you wanted to get married. But you weren't given a certificate if you had a hereditary disease or illness.