Part A:
Vocab
-"blanket party": when a recruit who has been falling behind in training is wrapped in a blanket and beaten with soap bars that have been stuffed inside socks by his fellow comrades. (168)
-"A Line" firing: advanced rifle training which includes shooting at moving targets, firing with a gas mask on, firing in low light conditions, and fire M60 machine guns.
Quote
-"During those days I realized what it felt like to not be part of the platoon. So I thought about being like everybody else. I wasn't fighting it anymore. I wasn't scared anymore. I all of a sudden got the drive I needed, that some guys had the whole time" (170). This quote stood out to me because of its character. Here is a recruit that hasn't really been fitting in or doing well in any of the exercises, but he doesn't lack spirit. He has an encounter with himself and decides to bust his ass for the rest of boot camp and actually ends up graduating in the top 10 of his class.
Part B:
For this part, I am choosing to relate this to my life. I want to actually relate to the quote and its meaning that I listed above. The amount of commitment that Recruit Buijis has and that is exemplified through that quote is incredible and that's why I want to relate it to my life.
I believe that this amount of dedication and perseverance can be helpful to me right now as I am going through ski tryouts. I am a great skier, but I have never raced in my life so this experience is something totally new to me. Originally going into tryouts I thought that it would be a piece of cake and it was until our first day skiing a race course. Number one, I don't have the proper equipment yet to ski the course efficiently, but I;m not going to use this as an excuse. Mainly, I am just not familiar with racing technique. The first run down the course was a disaster. I couldn't complete it without going out of the course and this occurred repeatedly for many more times. I became very frustrated with myself and was beginning to doubt my ability to make the team. I just thought that racing wasn't for me and I should give up. I came across this portion of my book the night I got home and had a realization. By Buijis's example, I decided to keep trying and improving, and it worked! I went to ski practice the next day and tried as hard as I could on every drill and that night he announced who had made the team and I did! I am going to continue hustling and working hard, but I credit my success to Recruit Buijis and his
perfect example of commitment and courage. Thanks Buijis.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Debate Paper
Affirmative Speech
For years, homosexuals have been trying to gain the legal right of marriage. But their efforts have been near useless because of the local, state, and federal authorities. The authorities on all levels simply ignore the complaints of gays, hoping they’ll be pushed aside and forgotten. But, in the past three decades, gays have been thrusting forward toward their right to marry. So therefore, I believe that Minnesota should establish laws that allow gays to marry and laws that ensure equality for all.
Contention I. Sheer Numbers
Gay marriage cannot be ignored. The numbers of gays and gay activists will continue to grow until Minnesota has no choice but to allow the legal marriage between same sexes. According to a recent survey done by the Washington Times, about 57.6 million U.S. citizens are affected by or related to a gay family member. Now those numbers are only going to grow. Just because the state doesn’t allow gay marriage, that doesn’t mean there are no gays. Gayness will continue to spread, just like it is inside many high schools. Time magazine stated in one of their articles that the average gay now comes out of the closet at around graduation year of high school! Now look, homophobia has spread down to the high school level! At this rate, there will be so many gays that no state will be able to ignore their cries for freedom.
Contention II. Betterment of Society
Back to our previous contention, think of those 57.6 million people affected by homophobia. Imagine that they were able to live their life without persecution or live together as a happy gay couple. Those 57.6 million people would benefit our state economy in such a way that we would have wished that we legalized gay marriage a long time ago. The Washington Times states, “It [the legalization of gay marriage] will reduce the number of divorces caused by fraudulent marriages, ensure that more orphaned children grow up in stable and loving homes, raise the standard of living for children with gay parents, make neighborhoods safer for families and boost the economies of struggling communities.”
For years, homosexuals have been trying to gain the legal right of marriage. But their efforts have been near useless because of the local, state, and federal authorities. The authorities on all levels simply ignore the complaints of gays, hoping they’ll be pushed aside and forgotten. But, in the past three decades, gays have been thrusting forward toward their right to marry. So therefore, I believe that Minnesota should establish laws that allow gays to marry and laws that ensure equality for all.
Contention I. Sheer Numbers
Gay marriage cannot be ignored. The numbers of gays and gay activists will continue to grow until Minnesota has no choice but to allow the legal marriage between same sexes. According to a recent survey done by the Washington Times, about 57.6 million U.S. citizens are affected by or related to a gay family member. Now those numbers are only going to grow. Just because the state doesn’t allow gay marriage, that doesn’t mean there are no gays. Gayness will continue to spread, just like it is inside many high schools. Time magazine stated in one of their articles that the average gay now comes out of the closet at around graduation year of high school! Now look, homophobia has spread down to the high school level! At this rate, there will be so many gays that no state will be able to ignore their cries for freedom.
Contention II. Betterment of Society
Back to our previous contention, think of those 57.6 million people affected by homophobia. Imagine that they were able to live their life without persecution or live together as a happy gay couple. Those 57.6 million people would benefit our state economy in such a way that we would have wished that we legalized gay marriage a long time ago. The Washington Times states, “It [the legalization of gay marriage] will reduce the number of divorces caused by fraudulent marriages, ensure that more orphaned children grow up in stable and loving homes, raise the standard of living for children with gay parents, make neighborhoods safer for families and boost the economies of struggling communities.”
Outside Reading Q2 Week 3
Part A:
-" It was good for Prish, because it helped him realize the team concept- that he may be a little weaker, but he has the Marines behind him." I liked this quote because it symbolizes the bond that the soldiers are beginning to make with each other. They are forgetting their differences, like above, and backing each other. It's a good step forward for Platoon 3086. They are only three weeks away from graduation too.
- Team work has been an emerging theme in this section, as seen through the quote above.
Part B:
Dear Andrew Lee (Platoon 3086's top graduate),
Over the years, I've heard of a lot of men like you. Strong, courageous, kind, smart; a perfect soldier. But why is it that I seem to relate to you more? I think it is because I relate to you personally in "Making the Corps."
I'll start from the beginning. Your strength of character is shown right in the start of boot camp, right in the midst of chaos. After about 2 weeks of intense physical exercising and drills, the platoon nominates you as their leader. This must have felt great because it has happened to me too. I love the feeling of representing someone else because you know that you have more responsibility now and you need to pull through for the others you represent. Anyway, over the next couple of weeks, everyone gets acclimated with Parris Island. But then, you come across an angry and most likely drunk drill instructor in the halls. He asked you an absurd order, something like "Give me your qualification papers for Platoon 3086 son." But you knew something was different, so you took a stand and said no. I probably would have done the same thing. So what does the drill instructor do... he takes down a flag from the wall and bashes you across the leg, drawing blood. Why did you never report the incident? That was an act of misconduct for sure! So, over Warrior Week is when I really fall in love with the whole idea of "Making the Corps." It seems like it would be a hard road, but at least that week I would have fun. Night drills and fake night missions would bring me back to my middle school days of ding-dong ditching or night games.
In conclusion, I'm very proud of what you did during boot camp Andrew Lee. You led your platoon faithfully so far and I hope you continue to do so for the rest of Parris Island and into the real world.
Greatfully,
Tom Wooldridge
-" It was good for Prish, because it helped him realize the team concept- that he may be a little weaker, but he has the Marines behind him." I liked this quote because it symbolizes the bond that the soldiers are beginning to make with each other. They are forgetting their differences, like above, and backing each other. It's a good step forward for Platoon 3086. They are only three weeks away from graduation too.
- Team work has been an emerging theme in this section, as seen through the quote above.
Part B:
Dear Andrew Lee (Platoon 3086's top graduate),
Over the years, I've heard of a lot of men like you. Strong, courageous, kind, smart; a perfect soldier. But why is it that I seem to relate to you more? I think it is because I relate to you personally in "Making the Corps."
I'll start from the beginning. Your strength of character is shown right in the start of boot camp, right in the midst of chaos. After about 2 weeks of intense physical exercising and drills, the platoon nominates you as their leader. This must have felt great because it has happened to me too. I love the feeling of representing someone else because you know that you have more responsibility now and you need to pull through for the others you represent. Anyway, over the next couple of weeks, everyone gets acclimated with Parris Island. But then, you come across an angry and most likely drunk drill instructor in the halls. He asked you an absurd order, something like "Give me your qualification papers for Platoon 3086 son." But you knew something was different, so you took a stand and said no. I probably would have done the same thing. So what does the drill instructor do... he takes down a flag from the wall and bashes you across the leg, drawing blood. Why did you never report the incident? That was an act of misconduct for sure! So, over Warrior Week is when I really fall in love with the whole idea of "Making the Corps." It seems like it would be a hard road, but at least that week I would have fun. Night drills and fake night missions would bring me back to my middle school days of ding-dong ditching or night games.
In conclusion, I'm very proud of what you did during boot camp Andrew Lee. You led your platoon faithfully so far and I hope you continue to do so for the rest of Parris Island and into the real world.
Greatfully,
Tom Wooldridge
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