The Body Novel vs. Movie

     There are several differences between the movie and the novel of The Body. To name a few, first, only Chris died in the movie and the part about Ace and his friends were depicted in more details. There were two metafictions, the Stud City and the Pie-Eating Contest, but only the second one was shown in the film. Also, the director tried hard to show each character’s characteristics through their words and actions. For example, he showed Teddy and Vern walk in front of Chris and Gordie with two different conversations. People would have different views about whether the novel was better or not.


     I always believed that a movie cannot be better than the book it is based on because it cuts so many important parts and the actors might not exactly match the characters. However, this time I was wrong. After reading the book, I thought it was an okay story because there are many stories similar to this plot. On the other hand, when I finished watching the movie, I was fascinated. The young actors fit the imaginary characters inside my head perfectly and the little changes made by the director were actually better than the book. For instance, the dream that Gordie had in the night beside the fire was better chosen because it showed the emotional stresses Gordie received due to his brother’s death. Also, from the movie we see that Gordie and Dennis were closer to each other compared to the book and this helped people feel the sadness and pain. These subtle changes helped me become more interested in the story itself and the themes it was trying to show. I’m glad the producers didn’t stop filming this wonderful piece of work because of certain obstacles they faced.

15 years later

Creative Essay about where you’ll be in life in either 10, 15, or 20 years from now. Must be written in First Person narrative as if you are experiencing a particular day at that time.




I’m recording my daily life and this is a part of my day when I am 32 years old.

Click.

Knock, Knock. Five seconds later, another knock. At the third time, I heard the sound and called out to come in. I was concentrating on the documents for next week’s case and I guess I was too tired to notice the knocking because I didn’t sleep for two days.

“Ms. Yoon, Mr. Lee sent you another file and he wanted to make an appointment with you this weekend. Should I say yes?”

My secretary looked just as tired as I was. Her face was pale and her hair was tied up into a messy ponytail.

“Sure and tell him to come by my office around four. I think I’m going to arrive by then. Sohee nodded and turned around to leave when I said

“Sohee? You should get some sleep. You don’t look so good and I don’t want my secretary to become sick or anything because of this case. Okay?”

She smiled her small but warm smile.

“You are the one who needs the rest. Why did you take this case anyway? You know it’s hard to win.”

I slowly stood up from my armchair and headed for the window and stood in front of it. The sky of the dawn was always a beautiful thing to see.

“I knew it, of course, but that man was a victim of poverty and ignorance. How could I leave such a person behind just because this trial would worth nothing for me? I’m defending him because that’s my conviction.”

I put on a smile and turned to face Sohee.

“Now go along and take some rest. After it, you can organize the files for me, will you?”

She quietly nodded again and left the room with a soft thud sound of the door. I sipped my coffee and stared into the new document I received.

Mr. Lee was accused of stealing the latest technology from Soul, the largest enterprise in Korea. He was a cleaner in the company and one day a man visited his house and asked him a favor, handing him a hundred million won and a member’s card. He simply had to go inside a room with the card and do some clicking on the computer. Mr. Lee never had seen so much money in one place and he didn’t think a few clicking would hurt anyone so he did and succeeded. However, the problem was that he was caught on the CCTV and the security guards ran into the room and grabbed him but it was too late. The technology was already sent to another company. Soul charged him to pay for the new technology and all the other damages he caused. Mr. Lee and I both admit that he was guilty of the crime but I thought the fine penalty should be reduced. This was the reason I grabbed his hand when he called for me. It was definitely a tough case because already seven people from Soul visited me and tried to hand me a fortune to stop defending Mr. Lee. Every time I refused and sent them all back. I wanted to follow my conscience no matter what and this case was trying hard to bother my conviction.

I pulled back the chair and closed my eyes. A terrible headache was killing me for days since I started to defend this man. I hadn’t taken a rest in years since I became a lawyer but about 2 hours later I was going to Guam. How could I rest when I have a case? I don’t know so don’t ask me. After the years I worked on various cases I learned that I should also spend some time on myself and not just work. Actually, this trip was planned a year ago and I was looking forward to it so I guess nothing could stop me from boarding on the plane. The special thing about this 3 day vacation is that my parents are going with me. I couldn’t spend much time with them after I started working and I longed for a time to be with my family and relax like the good old days. Plus, it was my parent’s wedding anniversary and it was a special gift from their only daughter. They were extremely thrilled when I told them the news a week ago and my mom started packing from the day I called. I really thank them for raising me and bearing to live with me and I always wanted to take them on a trip and give them happy memories. Well, anyway I should start packing all the files to take on my trip.

Date. 2026/4/10. Click.

A review on Ted, Keith Barry does brain magic

Manipulating the human mind

The human mind is such a wonderful and fascinating thing, so the title dragged me to click and watch it. The man conducted diverse and novel magic which were so provocative. At first, I was really skeptical about the ideas and actions of the man but later I found myself believing him. He actually showed the tricks in front of everyone which made it look more like an enigma.

At first, the man told an anecdote to make the audience interested then he made the audience follow him by doing a hand trick which simply showed how easily the human mind can be manipulated. I also followed and was candidly amazed. Secondly, he should a video he took with a woman he never saw before. The two of them rode a car while the man put on a blindfold and drove it. I was horrified and I could hear the screams from the woman and I could understand her feelings. It was a virulent task and when they made it safely, I was dizzy from being apprehensive. Later, the man explained what second sight was. It is a mind control by an expert who can see through somebody else’s eyes. Of course, everyone would be dubious, even I did. However, after hearing him articulate his lucid explanations and watching the video, many people fell into his words and thoughts. Another magic he showed was the voodoo experiment. He picked two guests who voluntarily came up to help him with the experiment and he told them to always be aware of the sensations. Many tricks were really amazing and I played it over and over again and scrutinized it to figure it out but I couldn’t. Just by imagining something or concentrating, a person can break a Coke bottle or sense different pressures. Everything was so fascinating.

Before watching the video, I didn’t believe in magic and only thought of mind tricks as something deceiving. However, my prejudice changed completely. The man’s fervor moved my ideas his innovative experiments were surprising too. They were an exemplary and I now advocate his concepts of manipulating the human mind. He was a benefactor to my dull and stressful life and the film itself was truly elaborate and the speech was amiable. I hope other students take the time to see this video and be amazed.

Innocence to Experience

Rating: ★★★★☆

To kill a mocking bird by Harper Lee

Innocence to Experience

     The tears of anger and fury fell down my cheeks while I was reading this book. Of course, everyone must have heard about racial discrimination or problems with poverty at least once and so did I. Surely, I was offended by the thoughts of distinctions, but it was such an abstract idea that it never came close to me. However, this wonderful book written by Harper Lee helped me feel the fury from deep inside and eventually provoked me enough to release my tears.

     The characters and plots are well established and the idea that a child, Jean Louise Scout, is the narrator helped people see the world filled with hypocrisy and lies with innocence. The three children, Scout, Jem, and Dill, believed that the world they lived in was filled with the truth but as they experience new events, they learn more and find the underlying evils. They learn what real courage is from the encounter with Mrs. Dubose and from Atticus, their father. Also they face the terrible prejudice of the people in Maycomb through the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man. Plus there are Gothic elements such as Boo Radley and the incidence with Bob Ewell which makes the story more interesting. Later in the end of the story, the author lets the readers’ hope rise in that the three kids could still keep their innocence and earn experience unlike the other characters in Maycomb.

     This story was based on a real event from Harper Lee’s childhood. The part about the trial was based on the one of nine young black men arrested in Scottsboro, Alabama, in 1931 after two white girls accused them of rape. Later one of the girls, retracted her testimony and most of the men were freed after several new trials. Tom Robinson, in the story, was convicted for raping a white girl, an Ewell. Atticus successfully showed the court how this was not true and the real truth lying beneath. However, due to social codes, the jury convicted him and later while trying to run away, Tom Robinson got shot and he died. I guess the fact that it was based on a real event evoked my disgust towards the trial more. I couldn’t believe how prejudiced people could be towards racial differences. This was a great book that helps readers take time in thinking about racial discrimination and about the innocence of children and the underlying truth of the world we live in today.

Three words about myself

The transparent glass seems so strong and mighty from a far distance but the closer one gets toward it, he can see hundreds and thousands of scratches and black marks covering it. When a baseball strikes the firm-looking glass, it shatters with a violent noise leaving nothing but the lonely frame. The white and clean snow feels so cold in one’s hand, freezing his fingers until they burn. When one holds the icy snow in his hand, at first it hurts him badly but later it melts. The coldness melts into nothing as if a baby stops crying after given a sweet candy and he doesn't remember the fact he even cried. The rubber band stretches to both sides infinitely like the string coming out of a silkworm. The never-ending rubber band shows my never stopping ambition, efforts, and dreams.   

The Body reading journal 1~30pg

The Body Reading Journal

The first 30 pages were mainly about the 4 boys’ lives, Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern, and the story written by Gordie. Gordie’s older brother Dennis died in April so his parents don’t look after Gordie because they are obsessed with their son’s sudden death. Chris’s dad has a mean streak, he drinks almost every day and doesn’t take care Chris either. Teddy’s dad burned Teddy’s both ears when he was young and Teddy is a little crazy. Lastly, Vern, who asked his friends to go look for a dead body with him, has an older brother, Billy who hurts Vern from time to time. Even from these simple descriptions we see that they all have bad family conditions and they are just young boys searching for adventure.

     The part where I got shocked is Gordie’s story. At first, I thought this story was written by Gordie at a young age but later learned that the author had actually wrote this story when he was in university. Still, the impact didn't disappear. The story was similar to Gordie's own life in the part that the main character's brother died and thus Gordie could have written the story with his own feelings and thoughts brought into the story. For me, the Stud City was an unpleasant piece of writing to read because the story itself was too showy and harsh. Plus I didn't like it because it stopped me from figuring out what happened to the four kids for a few pages.

     This was the second time reading this story but by reading it again, I realized some minor parts that I missed and learned new thoughts. I’m looking forward to finishing the story with the same amazement I had on my first try.  

A peculiar secret

[Laughter Addiction]

     I moved into a new dormitory room and after getting things organized I found a diary on the shelves. It had no name on it so I opened it to see if there was a sign of who the owner was. Then I encountered a story about a girl who was very peculiar. This is her diary below.

While many people believe that addiction is a harmful thing, I’m addicted to laughter which is good for you. During middle school, I didn’t smile often even at times when others thought something was hilarious. However after coming to KMLA and meeting many people, I became addicted. I can’t understand how I can laugh more in a place and time when I’m receiving more stress. I tend to laugh out loud at trivial things and sometimes I can’t stop laughing for 10 minutes and start crying of a stomachache.

After reading the first page, I realized that this girl was similar to me. I mean, only the first part. I didn’t enjoy living in middle school but after coming to this school, I changed into a brighter child. However, she seemed to be a little crazy. How could anybody possibly get addicted to laughing? I couldn’t understand. Still, something inside me made me turn the page over.

      However, I did not laugh a lot when I first came to KMLA. Most of all, I was worried about the issue of fitting in, even before my first day of high school. My worries proved not to be true on my 1^st day of school. Even though I had come from the countryside, everyone welcomed me and I got to laugh a lot.

Okay. I learned that she was from the countryside, which makes it a lot easier to find the owner. Are there any more clues?

      But to tell you the real truth, the reason why I smiled a lot was because of a boy. I didn’t even know his name, but I first saw him in the elevator. He was tall, skinny, and overall had a big smile on his face. I was sick and was on my way to get some medicine from the school nurse. When I was getting off the elevator, suddenly I felt dizzy. It was like I had stepped out of one of those washing machines on the B1 floor of the dormitory. I couldn’t get a grip of myself. I stumbled out of the dormitory and headed towards the nurses office, but I was confused and ended up in the gym. Of course I couldn’t stop laughing throughout the entire time of this mistake.

This girl was extremely weird. Is she mentally sick? I wondered who the boy was. I had so many questions but no answers. I kept on searching for a sign of the owner.

      It wasn’t long before I fainted because I laughed too much when I was so sick. When I opened my eyes I was in the nurse’s office and many people were surrounding me. I glanced at the people and found the boy at the back row. He was looking at me with a worried face. I wondered who he was and the nurse told me that he was the one who brought me here from the gym. I thanked him and secretly began to have a crush on him. This is today’s diary, I wonder if I can get closer to him tomorrow.

This was something new to me and it made me smile warmly. Even though she seemed really strange and even crazy, the feeling of love was so sweet that I couldn’t stop smiling. I better find out who the owner is because I know she would be looking everywhere for it, or maybe she was interested in the boy that she didn't even realize her diary disappeared yet. Still, I wonder who it is. Is she someone I know?

After closing the diary I left my room and headed for the dorm parent's room. The owner could come by and get it if she noticed that it disappeared. As I was still searching for the name, I bumped into someone. "Ouch" Rubbing my forehead, I looked up and saw my Spanish teacher looking worried.

"Hola, profesora. Why are you in  a hurry?"
"I lost something very important to me. I think I left it in the cafeteria after eating dinner yesterday. I bet someone took it to find the owner. The problem is everyone is too busy today moving their stuff. How am I ever going to find it!"

She talked faster than usual but I understood her and told her she should go to the dorm parent's room and ask them first. We decided to go together.
Knock Knock
The dorm parent opened the door for us and I handed her the pink diary.

"I found this in my new dorm room and I was hoping you could keep it until someone drops by to..."
"Oh, my! That's mine!"

When I wasn't even finished talking, my spanish teacher grabbed the diary and hugged it tight as if it was a treasure.

"Huh?"
"Oh, thanks Yoon Jee. Thank you so much for finding my diary!"
"Huh?! It's yours?"

I was still stunned. Words didn't seem to come out of my mouth. The elevator, the gym, the boy! It was hers?

"Yes, I was looking all over for this! Anyway thanks sweetie. Muchas gracias!"
"Um.. De nada, Okay.."

She turned away from me and walked gracefully out the door. Then she came in again and asked,

"Jee? Did you read it?"
"Oh, no.. I didn't."

I lied to her because she looked really worried and it was asecret just the two of us. I smiled at her and she nodded and went out. I could hear her calling someone on the phone.

"Hey, yeah. I found it. I think nobody saw it. Yes, of course it's a treasure to me because it is filled with things about you! Yes, I miss you too. See you in an hour. Yes, I love you too!"

Oh, my God. I bet that was the boy! I wanted to chase out and ask but I kept quiet, smiling gentely.

Hope Springs Eternal

Hope Springs Eternal, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption

     When I first finished reading this entire book containing four different stories, I thought the first one which is Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption was the least horrifying but still contained various concepts and I enjoying learning about the prison world. This story was the first long prison story I read and thus made me focus more and learn new things about a world that is isolated from the outside world. I had many questions while reading this story and tried to figure out the answers while thinking and guessing.

    

     This first part of the book has another title, Hope Springs Eternal. I wondered why the author related hope with this story and this was one of the questions that I could find the answer easily. Throughout the story, the author keeps on emphasizing the power of hope. Andy showed how hope helps prisoners live in such an isolated place. He dug into the concrete cell wall for nearly 28 years and everyday when he was digging that hole, he felt hope and this emotion helped him to control himself and not go insane. Also, in the part when Tommy Williams told Andy he could prove Andy’s innocence, the tiger called hope was released from the cage in Andy’s mind. If prisoners didn’t have hope, they could possibly not live in the dark and gloomy place for years. Andy always had hope and this strong feeling helped him escape in the end. That is why the author put Hope Springs Eternal for this story, Andy’s hope lasted forever.

    

     Does this story have credibility? Can we believe every word Red tells us? No, and Red admits it as well. This story was written in first person narrative which made the story seem more realistic but it had its limits. Red cannot remember every fact about the life in Shawshank and he cannot know exactly the thoughts of individuals. In the story, Red agrees that the things that he tells can be a mixture of rumors and plus, Red had an admiration of Andy which made the story look like it was justifying Andy’s escape. Readers need to be unbiased while reading it.

    

     There was another factor that contributed to the justification of Andy’s escape, the corruption of Shawshank. The prison didn’t mind the prisoners’ lives and rehabilitation and instead prisoners learned survival techniques and even Andy did money laundering. Red showed all the terrible sides of Shawshank which leads the readers to think Andy should not have stayed in the prison any longer and it was perfectly right to escape. However, the world does not look at jail breakers with an affirmative eye and this shows how the story tends to support Andy’s actions.

    

     The last question I had was, is Andy a hero? People usually think of a hero as someone with a very good image and someone who saves lives of others, not a prison breaker. However, I believe Andy is a hero because other people benefited from him and I thought simply helping others can be seen as a hero. Andy gave his rocks to other inmates which is a symbol of transferring inner light and also Red faced his fears and accepted the outside world after seeing Andy’s hope help reach his goal. Andy isn’t a superhero, but he is indeed a hero for some people.

Let’s revolutionize for our kids

Let’s revolutionize for our kids

 

     Education! When you look at this strong word what comes to mind first? Is it utility or benefits? Or is it dull and forced? Adults usually think of the first two things while children and teenagers, the very people who are going through the process of education right this moment, will think of the last two words. How could this be the result for most people? That’s because today’s education systems are wrong for this generation and they need to be changed. To simply look at the current system, it emphasizes standardized testing and college. It seems like the final destination for all people should be college but actually it definitely does not have to be like that. Also it bundles kids according to their age which seems like the only important thing is the year of their manufacture. The current system helps the talented ones to succeed while leaving other children behind. These are only a part of our education system’s characteristics.

    
     As you can see from above, the current system has many problems. First, it is made for a different age but is still used for us. The generation before us could have benefited from it because the system focused on the intellectual culture of the enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution which are what actually happened when they were students. However, the world has changed rapidly from then and the education system should follow the change as well. Second, it is like a factory and the students are treated as products. From Another Brick in the Wall by Pink Floyd, children are scolded from writing poems and not focusing in class. They enter school in straight lines and follow everything the teacher says. It was somewhat exaggerated but still today’s schools are mostly like that. They give the children stiff information that they call knowledge and don’t care if they fully understood them by heart or not because their only duty is to get them to college. This is why most people cannot benefit from the system and merely a few will live well. Plus, this kind of organization makes kids become anesthetic meaning they are falling asleep in their mental work and creativity. When some children are too excited to stand the boring and dull concepts school teaches them, they are called to have ADHD and people make them take drugs which are dangerous to the youngsters. Finally, everything is about linearity and conformity. Nothing new or creative can be branched out the current system and everyone should follow what the society had planned for them.

    
     What can we do about this issue? We need to change the paradigm. A revolution in education and innovation is required. There are two things Ken Robinson told in his speech that are important for the transformation, divergent thinking and collaboration. Divergent thinking helps people to become creative and collaboration is followed by growth. Ken Robinson has said “We have to move to a model that is based more on principles of agriculture.” For instance, Finland has one of the best education systems in the world and this can be a good model for other countries as well. In Finland, schools try hard to help students find out what are the best things they can do. They teach them based on various fields because they do not know which field could be a child’s talent. Also, they do not leave behind anyone and give them extra help to catch up with the others. Their education is part homemade because until seven, all children learn from their parents and parents are the ones who help them to want to go to school and learn more about diverse subjects. These are only a few reasons why Finland teaches for the least hours and has the best results. Our school systems should be transformed into organizations like Finland and help children find their own talents and interests.

    
     At first, I thought the school systems definitely helped me find my talents and helped me to step closer to a happier life in the future. However, now I look back at it, I believe I only found talents that are in the fields of what the society prefers. I never really had a time of my own to search for my own talents and I feel sorry for myself for following everything schools wanted me to do and thinking that they were doing it for me. In middle school, I was educated and thus the thoughts and wonders I had in elementary school had disappeared because I was nearly hypnotized by the education system believing I will live a better life if I follow the trend in studying. Nevertheless, when I entered KMLA I realized today’s school system was wrong. In this school, I found many friends with beautiful talents of their own and the school tried hard to develop their talents. KMLA did not only make the students study and stack up knowledge but also wanted them to keep their own talents as they study along. I believe the current system should be changed. I understand it will be a difficult task at first because nothing is easy when it’s innovative. However, this change is not only for our benefits but also for our children’s. We need to make a society for everyone not only the well-educated.

    
     Now we came up with the conclusion that it is necessary for us to transform the current system of education but how? People need to think of original and novel ways of studying but for the basic parts, schools need to teach various fields and assist children to find their own talent by trying different things from a young age. We need to help them live in a world that they can live together.

About my writing

     I have learned to write since I was young and I usually enjoyed writing down my thoughts. When I entered middle school, I learned that there were a lot more types of writing and started to write research papers, editorials, poems, and even bed-time stories for my cousins. After experiencing diverse methods of writing, I figured out that my style was writing short and brief points and sentences. Also, I preferred to use simple words because when I write with high-level vocabulary, I make mistakes from time to time and my readers have more difficulty understanding them. Nowadays, I’m trying hard to make my sentences longer with more details and try to use difficult words to improve my vocabulary skills.

     Everyone has their own strength and weaknesses in writing, but until I took Mr. Johnson’s class, I only knew what my weak points were and sometimes I even thought I didn’t have any strength. Mr. Johnson told me that my contents and organization was great and I was stunned by what he said. However, after hearing his comments, I gained some confidence and liked writing even more. Also, I can come up with various examples for my works, whether they are first-hand experiences or factual ones. My weaknesses were grammar and word choice. As I mentioned above, I have problems with grammar because I didn’t learn them but just became used to it by listening to others speaking English. I try hard to use sophisticated words but sometimes I use words that make the sentence sound weird. I hope I can fix these problems while I’m listening to Mr. Garrioch’s class.

     I would like to write without making limitations by myself. I know that if I work a little bit harder than usual, I can improve my writing skills. Yet, I stop in the middle and make limits, but I’m going to change and do my best to break my boundaries. Plus, I’m hoping I could develop my grammar and be happy about writing, not stressful because it’s homework.

     In this term, I don’t want to write long essays and reports like the one I did last term. That took too long and I received a lot of stress while doing it. On the other hand, I would really like to write about myself and imaginary stories. I know myself the best and I couldn’t get time to think over myself recently, so it would be such a valuable time for me. Also, I want to come up with stories and activate my imagination. While preparing for KMLA and after living for a term, I realized that I lived a desolate life and I want to change this. I don’t want to be carried away by school work but I would like to really enjoy the things I’m doing and this kind of writing will help me return to the times when I was young and creative. I wish this class will be fun!