Synthesis Essay 1

Synthesis Essay

            Nelson Mandela once said “It always seems impossible until it is done.” The story “Versabraille” by Bill Schermbrucker and the article “Blindly He Goes…Up” by Steve Rushin feature two men who don’t let their unseeing eyes stop them from achieving their dreams. Uncle Jim and Erik both share a number of qualities when facing their challenges. They both are very determined, optimistic and humorous. Jim has been actively living his life and had “thriving physiotherapy practice,” where Erik has successfully made the treacherous journey of many mountains including Mount Everest.

            Being blind hasn’t stopped either Erik or Jim from doing that they desire. Both of them are very determined to conquer their goals. Though becoming entirely blind at the ripe age of 13, Erik “is a skydiver, a paraglider and a marathon runner” along with climbing the Seven Summits. Jim who “cannot remember actually seeing things” had to go into town and find houses that he never knew existed, so that those people could receive physiotherapy. He also is a leader for the blind community, trying to help make them independent. To some people it seems that they had “managed all this without a complaint or apparent difficulty” but that isn’t true. Even people that can see perfectly fine could have a lot of trouble doing facing these challenges; it doesn’t mean that Erik and Jim didn’t, it means that they succeeded because they were determined too.

            Imagine everything a person does in a day, and then imagine doing that without the ability to see. It could get very frustrating. Both Erik and Jim don’t let the fact that their blind stop them from having a positive look on life. Uncle Jim didn’t let his disability stop him; instead he used it to stand up for what he believes in. He wanted the blind to stop using guide dogs because once that dog dies “it’s not easy to adapt to a new dog” and many people “homebound now” because of it. Instead of being bitter towards his blindness he used it to bring attention to a problem many people face. Erik who also faces the same challenge hasn’t let the fact that he is blind stop him from “[scaling] the rock face of Yosemite’s el Captain, the icefall of polar Circus,” and many more dangerous and challenging adventures. They both could have let their blindness stop them from doing what they desired, and now they both continue to be optimistic about life.

            Erik and Jim still have a great sense of humor, which embraces their blindness. Jim’s siblings became very jealous of him because when they were told to stop reading and go to sleep. They could hear Jim “chucking away to himself” because he “could just go on reading.” Being a teacher Erik snatched a note from a student and threatened to read it. “The kids knew [he] was blind” but still were scared because they thought that he would find out a way to read it.

The Assasination of John Lennon

John Lennon is still remembered today as the great musician he was. His murder was a shock to everyone around the world. On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was coming back from the Record Planet Studio where he and his wife, Yoko Ono, finished recording there mix song “Walking on Thin Ice”. Yoko Ono walked on ahead of him to enter the building they lived in, The Dakota in New York City. Lennon was shot four times by Mark David Chapman, a security guard from Hawaii, who had been waiting patiently for their arrival. Employees of the hotel rushed to help the wounded star, and called the police. Officers immediately carried John into their car and urgently rushed to Roosevelt Hospital. When they arrived John didn’t have a pulse and was not breathing. For the next twenty minutes the doctors attempted to manually restore circulation, but did not succeed. John Lennon was pronounced dead at 11:15pm.

Hours before murdering John Lennon, Mark David Chapman waited outside the apartment building. He waited along with a crowd of fans wanting an autograph or just to say hi. Chapman handed Lennon a copy of Double Fantasy, he signed it and continued with his day. After shooting John Lennon, Mark had his gun kicked away from him by an employee and he proceeded to remove his coat and hat and waited patiently for the police on the curb. Officers found him sitting there with a copy of “The Catcher in the Rye”. In court he pleaded guilty against the wishes of his lawyers who wanted to file an insanity plea. He was sentenced to a life sentence becoming eligible for parole after 20 years. He still remains in Wende Correctional Facility, and has been denied parole since then.

My University Application

Dear Sir,

You will be missing an immense opportunity if you do not deem me worthy of your post secondary institution. How many professors do you know that have educated a student that has fed over 1000 million starving mouths, that has given both her kidney’s and that has gotten such an outstanding report card that her parents put in on the fridge? Don’t be fooled by the “straight A students,” they have not experienced life changing situations like I have. They are ordinary. Anyone can bribe the teachers at their local high school. Just last night, I saved a middle aged woman from taking the plunge that ends her life. Last month, I performed an exquisite dance in middle of the super bowl. Last year, I survived the brutal conditions of driving in the winter season in Canada! Attending this university would benefit you more than it would benefit me. You need me. If it wasn't for me there wouldn't be vaccines for various conditions, there wouldn’t be pyramids in Egypt, and there wouldn't be electricity in your very expensive office. I changed the world. When I was one I started walking. When I was six I won the Nobel Prize. When I was twelve I created a cure for depression. Some call me enchanting; some call me optimistic, others call me extraordinary. Sometimes I’m funny. I would enjoy my time attending this university, but more importantly you could brag about having me as a student in front of Harvard and Yale. So, I am looking forward to your reply. 

                                                                                                       Sincerely, 

                                                                                                       Simran Toor

Waiting Rooms

I was tired, but then again so was everyone else. my limbs were aching, heavy and unwilling to move. The overpowering stench of disinfecting sanitizer was permanently set into my lungs. By now my whole family had made a home out of the uncomfortable waiting room. When the doctor came into the room for the first time after having my grandpa arrive in the ambulance, we all held our breath. Anticipation had my heart pumping like a basketball pounding against the floor; the constant thump-thump was what filled my ears. I remember the intimidating doctor towering over my fragile dad, because he was the only one brave enough to confront the news. I watched my dad’s forehead crinkle more and more as the doctor kept talking. The doctor patted my dad on the back and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him. We embraced ourselves. It was all up to my dad, he was either going to relieve the burden that weighed on our minds or he was going to trample our optimism. I was wondering how my dad felt at that very second. How would it feel to hold your whole family’s hopes? The respect for my father bloomed. As he opened his mouth to speak I had the urge to cover my ears and dash out of the room. 

“He had a severe stroke.”

 The thought of my grandpa, who was always so strong and full of life, lying limply on a cold, stiff hospital bed rushed to my mind. 

“He won’t remember most of us, or most of his life.”

I clearly remember the broken look on my grandmother’s tear streaked face. Even though the hospital was buzzing with activity, I could only hear the heart wrenching sobs of my family. Tears continued to roll down their red, splotchy cheeks. My mind was a hurricane, brimming with thoughts, memories, and voices of my grandpa who would never be the same again. It changed our lives. 

Spoken Word Poetry

POEM 1

1. Shane Koyczan

2.  To This Day

3. Shane Koyczan's poem "To This Day" is about bullying. He doesn't just tell the audience about his own battles, but also the battles the people around him had to fight and their lasting effects. as the poem end he proudly declared "we made it," assuring others they can too.

4. Koyczan has weaved many ballads into one creating the master piece "To This Day". Little stories exaggerating that too many people have to suffer from bullying. There was a innocent girl that has "a birthmark that takes up a little less than half of her face" and a boy who "had a personality made up of tests and pills" who get bullied for things that are out of their control. They are suffering the consequences of someone else's mistake. He also used many metaphors to express the pain that they suffered through to help the audience understand better.

5. My favorite line in this was "she's raising two kids whose definition of beauty begins with the word mom because they see her heart before they see her skin." Sometimes children end up on top because of their innocence. It shows that no matter what she looks like, this woman is a great person who is raising two kids that will hopefully be different as they won't see the world same as others. The way Shane Koyczan worded it was also very powerful.


POEM 2

1. Sarah Kay

2. B (If I Should Have A Daughter...)

3. B, Sarah Kay refers to herself as Point B for her daughter, so "she could find her way back to [Sarah]." This is poem where Kay expresses what she would do if she should have a daughter. It consists of Sarah describing how she's going to prepare her daughter to face the world, and if that fails then how she is going to be there for her daughter.

4. Sarah Kay used many poetic terms that made this poem clever but still portrayed her feelings. I really enjoyed how some of the lines had a rhyme scheme, but not all. If all the lines rhymed I think it wouldn't sound so real and meaningful. The meter in the song also made it flow alot more flawlessly.

5. "Getting the wind knocked out of you, is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air" is my favourite line in "B". It makes you realize that if bad situations didn't occur in life, then you wouldn't appreciate the good ones. It makes the good times sweeter.


POEM 3

1. Marshall Davis Jones

2. Touchscreen

3. Jones through this poem expresses his concern about the world becoming to dependant on technology to do everything for us.

4. As the poem progresses, Jones uses a variety of poetic techniques to construct his opinion including alliteration, repetition, and internal rhymes. The main technique that I noticed was that he used hyperbole. Humans are not the way that he describes but are well on the road to becoming similar. The way Jones performed "Touchscreen" made the biggest change. Acting like a robot addicted to all things digital really exaggerated his point.

5. One of my favourite lines in this poem was "maybe one day...out technology [will be] advanced enough to make us human again." It plants the seed in your mind and makes you think if we aren't able to fix this problem ourselves, is there going to be a break through of technology that can do it for us? People rely so much on technonlgy that they are becoming detached and some have realized that they don't want to live this way.

I Didn't Do My Homework Because...

                                          I Didn’t Do My Homework Because…              Simran Toor

     "As I shuffled into the classroom, I knew that Mr. Van Camp would never believe me. I looked at my scuffed shoes and mumbled, “My homework is not done, Sir. I do have a good excuse though."

     "This is not the first time your homework has not been completed. Perhaps," Mr. Van Camp suggested, "it's time to speak with your parents."

     "Please, you have no idea what will happen to me if you phone my home. My parents will kill me for sure," I moaned.

     "Well, let's hear your excuse. It better be good."

     “As you can tell I look a bit tousled up, but you should see the other guy,” I reported.

     “What you got into a fight?” exclaimed Mr. Van Camp, “but that still doesn’t explain why your homework is not in my hand.”

     “Yes but just wait until you hear why.”

     “Well I am waiting; you know I do have to mark the homework that was handed in,” sighed Mr. Van Camp.

     “I won’t mention the student’s name, but I over heard one of the kids say that you weren’t the best teacher at the school,” I exclaimed, “so being your favorite student I had to come to your defense!”

     Mr. Van Camp raged, “What who was this? Was it Smedly?”

     “Come on Mr. Van Camp it’s not important who said it,” I reasoned. “The main focus is that the pupil doesn’t think that way anymore.”

     “I really appreciate what you have done for me, but where is the homework?” 

     I explained, “The homework was in my hand as I went to land a punch, so unfortunately it got destroyed.”

     “Well where is it now?” questioned Mr. Van Camp.

     “To my dismay it is lying with the rotting fruit in a garbage can,” I confessed.

     “Well what should I do now?” uttered Mr. Van Camp.

     “I can promise you that it will be here by 9am tomorrow morning,” I persuaded, “so there’s no reason to call my parents.” 

     “I guess that will have to do,” agreed Mr. Van Camp. 

     As I was leaving Mr. Van Camp called out, “I knew there was a reason that you were my favorite student.”

    

    

    

Save Me

Simran Toor

2653 South Main St.

Penticton, B.C.

V2A 5J4

February 22, 2013

Captain Van Camp

Commander

HMS Princess Margaret

O Captain, My Captain:

Why should she survive? Why is she so important you ask? Well let me tell you one thing I am more special than what meets the eye. What would you answer when my family asks you why you killed their child? Oh she wasn’t special enough? My family cherishes me because things wouldn’t be the same without me there. My dad wouldn’t be able to tell anyone to be quiet because I am one of the loudest people at my house. At school I feel like I can only be myself around certain people, so only a select few know who the real Simran Toor is. To save myself I will tell you who I really am.

At first I seem like an ordinary girl who is quiet and focused in school. As you really get to know me you learn that I love to help people. I have volunteered at many different organizations in the past and I plan to continue and hopefully increase my volunteer work in the future. Many people say that they want to change the world, but most aren’t willing to do much. After I have finished my schooling and have spent time working to save money I plan to visit India. I have visited many times, so the grave conditions aren’t something new to me but every time I go there it really humbles me, so I want to make a difference there. I hope to be able to help reduce the poverty in India. As you walk down the street you will see a lot of dirty bags of skin and bones that resemble living people. Many say that I have a big heart but it’s too soft, but when I see people who look like that how can I not want to help them. This is just one of the many things I hope to do. So you can’t just eliminate such a girl. How could you live with yourself? If you decide to kill me you will never know what kind of change I could have brought to this world. Can you live with knowing that you killed someone who not only wanted to live for herself but she also wanted to help other people live the life they dream of?

Sincerely,  

Simran Toor  

Never Forget Who You Are

                                                        Never Forget Who You Are  

                                                                 By: Simran Toor 

Someone once said, “Live in such a way that if anyone should speak badly of you no one would believe it.” Simran has always tried to live by this quote. She is a very conservative young girl at first, but once befriended she breaks out of her shell and becomes vibrant and fearless. Some may even describe her as psychotic. One of her many passions is swimming. She loves how during a swim she can lay on her back and just block out the world, diminished noise just leaves her with her thoughts. It’s like a bird flying high above the earth who can see everything yet not be apart of it. Another activity she is really enthusiastic about is a traditional dance called Bhangra. The feeling of the beat pulsing through her body is the most indescribable feeling. Her friends and family characterize her as a trustworthy, naive and very humorous person. Her complex personality is a Rubik’s cube. She has many different sides and is very hard to solve but is truly worth the time. Simran loves and cherishes her massive and sometimes dysfunctional family. Her ancestors come from a really quiet, humble village in India, where poverty is a grave issue. It taught her to really appreciate every little thing she has. An extensive lesson her parents always taught her is if she never gives up and always works towards her goals there is nothing that can stop her from succeeding.