The Same Thing In Different Format

Authors note: This piece explains and analyzes how a text differs from a film, specifically Hunger Games and how the text version is better. I wrote this piece to score high on text analysis.

Haven’t we all seen things we wish we could see in a different way? We as humans like to see things in a variety of ways simply to see if they live up the hype. Take the book Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for example. Everybody had read the book and once they announced a movie was coming out, fans were going berserk! Many fans were disappointed as they expected more from the movie, and I am going to prove how a book version is better than film and how it differs.

First of all, When we read a text, our mind has no barriers and we can think the unthinkable about how a certain character or scene looks. Imagining and creating the scenes and characters is all part of the fun that comes with reading. When we watch a film, we are given things a certain way and have no control over how things look. Once we see a character in a film, when we go back to reading the text, that character will be stuck in our head and transfer into our reading! This takes me to my next topic.

Detail is very important when it comes to anything, and that is something films lack. A great example of this is the connection between Katniss, the brave volunteer in place of her young sister  from District 12, and Rue, the young girl from District 11. In the book, It explains that Katniss felt connection and acted as her protector because she reminded her of her sister. The book really takes time to develop their relationship throughout the book. The film quickly suggests that they are friends, they help each other out for a bit, and then Rue is killed.

Last of all, the movie always changes the original scene or adds scenes. Many times, a book has a very difficult scene that cannot be reenacted to be put in movie so they water it down a lot. This makes the film a bit less enjoyable. We read such an exciting scene only to see a completely different scene in its place. An example of this is when Peeta hurt his leg towards the end, he ended up having it amputated. In the movie he was perfectly fine after some ointment.

All in all, the way a text differs into a film is pretty dreadful. Nobody likes the watered down version of something. We expect the same excitement and suspense that we got when we were reading the book! There are plenty more ways that a move differs from a  book, but these are the top three reasons. Although many people continue to enjoy the book just as much as the movie, the film version still gives us a good time when watched.

The Trickiness of Words

Author’s Note: This essay is analyzing the text of a poem and showing the real meaning of phrases throughout the poem.

Climb 'Til Your Dream Comes True

By: Helen Steiner Rice


Often your tasks will be many,
And more than you think you can do. 
Often the road will be rugged
And the hills insurmountable, too.
But always remember,
The hills ahead are never as steep as they seem.
And with faith in your heart
Start upward.
And climb 'till you reach your dream.. 
For nothing in life that is worthy
Is ever too hard to achieve
If you have the courage to try it, 
And you have the faith to believe. 
For faith is a force that is greater
Than knowledge or power or skill, 
And many defeats turn to triumph
If you trust in God's wisdom and will. 
For faith is a mover of mountains, 
There's nothing that God cannot do, 
So, start out today with faith in your heart, 
And climb 'til your dream comes true!

Messages are everywhere around you and can be mistaken for what they’re not.  When you first read  the poem you will see “Often the road will be rugged”. It is not actually speaking of a road that is bumpy.  This metaphor  is trying to say  that there is going to be bumps in life when reaching for your goal. Don’t expect a nice and easy ride when doing something big. The tone of this peace is ambition which makes the reader feel encouraged.  Nobody said it would be easy but it is always worth it. Don’t stop reaching for your goal even if the ride is bumpy, which leads me to my next paragraph.

“The hills ahead are never as steep as they seem” is saying that even though it seems like a long way to get where you want to be, if you start now and go little by little, that a lot becomes into something simple. Don’t judge on where you are, but on how far you have come since you started. Everything will look harder than is really is, but you have to start doing it if you want to achieve for it to be accomplished.

“For faith is a mover of mountains”. This is a very powerful metaphor that really has a spiritual meaning. If you have faith in yourself and in what you are doing, knowledge, power and skill don’t matter. In your mind you are so set into thinking you can that nothing can stop you. Many defeats turn into triumph because you refused to give up and had faith that you could. Knowledge, power,  and skill are traits you could have, but if you think you can’t, then you can’t.

We are all taught to never give up on our dreams. All the pro athletes always say a line that we all think is cliché, and that line is “If you work hard you can do anything”. In the end everything is mental. If you have a strong mind you can do the impossible. If you are the most athletic person in the world, but don’t believe you can do something, you can’t! This is why I think the last line is the most defiant part of this poem, which says “so, start out today with faith in your heart, And climb 'til your dreams come true!"

                                

Two For The Price Of One

Author's Note: I wrote this piece about fitness and how it not only has physical advantages but a lot of mental advantages too. I tried to capitalize and improve in my word choice for this piece so it is makes it a little bit more complex and fun to read.

Being Healthy and active is a necessity for everybody. So many benefits come from being active at least an hour a day, and it makes you feel superior.  I go to boxing 4-5 days a week and it feels remarkable to be in shape and see your progress throughout the months. Boxing has developed my cardiovascular strength and has made me physically and mentally stronger. I have developed better work ethic and have dedicated most nights to lifting at home after boxing. If you work hard you can achieve any physical condition you can dream of.

First of all, being active improves your physique. Who doesn’t want that sculpted figure that not only looks great, but highers your self-assurance. Feeling comfortable in your own skin is a great thing because it gives you mental stableness which allows you to concentrate on other things such as school work. This leads me to my next topic.

Being active not only improves you physically, but it enhances your mental capacity for learning and concentrating. According to WebMD, exercise enlarges your brains basal ganglia which is the part that helps you pay attention. Studies show that a 30 minute walk on the treadmill can improve your problem skills by 10%! It also helps relax more which leads to more sleep meaning more refurbishing! This leads me to my final topic.

Working out will just make you seem happier and more ambitious. It is an unexplainable feeling, but you get to see all the hard work you put in throughout the months and how well it paid off. Feeling happy knowing that you pushed your limits, and met your goals. If you look past the soreness an sacrifice you put in the gym, your whole vision on certain situation might change, because you learned that having perseverance and working hard can get you in a improved spot.

All in all, you get a enhanced over all life with fitness. It helps you physically and mentally so it is a 2 in 1 package! It helps you in school so why wouldn’t you want to go for it. Knowing you were able to do such a difficult task is really a humbling thing. Put in as much time being active the same amount of time you sit on the couch watching T.V, and you will see how drastically your health level and learning capacity. It’s helped a lot of people, so why not try it yourself.

Movie Enhancements

Authors Note: This piece is about the difference between video films and books. Even though they are the same thing, the film enhances the way the viewer sees it.

Reading the short story of A Clean, Well-Lighted Place can really make you think differently about certain occasions. It has a deeper meaning than just an old man in a well lit café drinking some Brandy.  If you have read the story, and found it a little confusing, the short film will clear things out for you. The short film really enhances the viewers point of view with the lighting, music, and character use.

In the beginning of the short film, some very slow unsettling music starts playing which kind of has a sad tone to it. This is used to show the night time and the feeling surfacing in the café. The lighting shows that, even though it is a well lit café, he likes to sit in the shadows which he feels safe in. He feels as if he’s invisible in the shadows but still likes the presence of the waiters.  Lastly, the characters they use in the film really help define what type of person they are and it’s easier to see their actions 

Rivalry Of  The Fight Game

Authors note: This writing piece is about the rivalry that boxing and UFC have had for a couple of years and I say why boxing has the winning edge.

UFC is better and more challenging than boxing? That is a question many people have on their mind, yet don’t know the answer. Some people say it’s a totally different sport, and it is, but at the same time it is very similar. Does rolling on the ground count as action fighting? There’s many questions you could ask about each sport but, I’m going to tell you why boxing requires more talent and is the better sport.

First off, boxing has a way better history than UFC does. Boxing has been around since the beginning of time and still continues to grow, while on the other hand, UFC is relatively new and is now barely starting to get more recognition. Some of the Fighters that boxing has had is just incredible starting from Muhammad Ali, who was very outspoken and made a lot of people love him. He is known as the best boxer to ever live to many boxing fanatics. The great  “Sugar” Ray Leonard is admired for his great footwork and natural ability to dodge punches. Lastly,  Roy Jones Jr, who had cat like reflexes that took him to the top. As for UFC,  Jon Jones and Anderson Silva are the most recognized in the cage fight sport and yet nobody really knows who they are. I do believe they are talented in their own way, but come on now, you have to admit the sport still has a lot of growing to do. Speaking about present time now, The boxing community had Floyd Mayweather, “Canelo” Alvarez ,  and Adrian Broner, who are the biggest names in boxing today. Right now, in UFC, The most knowledgeable  fighter is Jon Jones Who is Currently the champ. Naming the skills the fighters had leads me to my next topic.

Boxing requires a lot more talent. In boxing, all you have is your  hands, and you better use them well.  That’s is all the weapons you have which takes true skill, years of training and motivation to master. In UFC, It is basically a free for all, besides cheap shots of course. If you are not good with your fists,  you can take your opponent down and beat him on the ground or vice versa. All these guys you see in the cage get hit by a great right hand and the fight is over, in a boxing match you are taking punches to the face all night and you are to deal with it. The fights are longer, it’s all stand up and always great action: attributes you don’t see in UFC. All this leads me to my next topic.

 No matter who you are,  you are going to want a lot of money, especially if you are getting beat for a living. In the past few years, boxing has been getting a lot into the business side instead of the boxing which is a good and bad thing. Bad thing is, back in the day you just signed papers, came to agreement on money and get ready to rumble. Now a days, some fights are fixed and are not what they used to be. Floyd Mayweather, one of the biggest draws in boxing has racked up 83 million dollars in his past two fights, not including endorsements,  and could approximately make 530 million in three years. That’s some serious money that can take care of him family and many generations to come. In UFC the highest paid fighter is 710 thousand dollars a year, which is Anderson Silva.  Jon Jones coming in at second with a salary of 400,000 dollars. Obviously there is a big jump in numbers between boxing and UFC.  Boxing is just better at promoting their fights with GBP (Golden Boy Promotions)  and TMT (The Money Team)  Promotions, Bob Arum is also big in the sport with Top Rank Promotions.

All in all, boxing is by far the more extravagant sport. The money, publicity, and the skill you acquire while doing boxing is quite breath taking. It will take you years to fully condition your body to reach full potential in boxing but it is completely worth it. Hard work pays off in any sport, but if you want to push yourself to the limit and make millions in one night, boxing would be the right sport to take. Although UFC is a great growing sport, it does not beat boxing in any attributes.

Julio Cesar Chavez

Author's note: This is a research paper on the life of the legendary boxer Julio Cesar Chavez. His life was a really a movie like feeling that deserves to be told. 

Born into a warrior family, Julio was born in 1962 in Obregon, Mexico, a small town with not much population. He was born into a family of 5 sister and 4 brothers and restricted by poverty with not much to live with. His father worked at the railroad tracks, which is where Julio lived a part of his life, in an abandoned railroad car. As he grew up, he was a very active kid playing volleyball and soccer right after school.

Around age 15 he started noticing that his family was not doing very well at all and desperate to buy his mother a new house, he decided to start amateur boxing. People noticed he had potential and heart and with that he turned pro at age 16. His Pro – Debut, he knocked out his opponent in the last seconds of the  1^st round and the ref called it an illegal punch stating it had been after the bell. He had been disqualified and considered his first loss. Immediately, Ramon Felix, his manager and the  boxing commission reviewed it and gave the win to Chavez; That was the start of an amazing career.

His First title shot was September 13, 1984 against a hard hitting Mario “Azabache” Martinez.  Martinez was the favored fighter, but with relentless punches Chavez knocked out the ex- champ.  As he moved up in weight class, he continued to dominate with an undefeated streak. On March 17, 1990, one of the biggest fights in boxing happened which finished in a very controversial ending.  Julio had been losing all rounds against the prime Meldrick Taylor, but he was wearing him out. In the last two seconds of the match Chavez knocked him down and Taylor got up but the fight was stopped with two seconds due to no response after he had been asked if he was O.K.  This win made Chavez a superstar everywhere, especially in his home town of Mexico.

Julio had been on an amazing, rare win streak of (87-0-1) when the unexpected had occurred. When he faced Frankie Randall, it was supposed to be an easy fight, but from the get go Frankie meant business. He knocked down Chavez for the first time in his career. He went on to lose and that perfect undefeated record left his grasp. Although Chavez had been helping out the community a lot by supplying food for the needed and donating to charity, he also had his downfall. He had started doing cocaine and became an addict. These actions projected through his fights, as he had not been performing at his peak. He felt very depressed and did not want to continue, but as all great champions do, he got on his feet and kept pushing forward.

His legacy had been built and it was time for him to retire, with a beautiful record of 107 wins 6 losses and 2 draws. The Chavez name however would not end there,  He had two leeches who never left his side and followed in his footsteps. His two sons Omar & Julio Cesar Chavez Jr seek to further the Chavez name and make their father proud. Although they have big shoes to fill, they show great potential with Julio having a 41-1 record at 26 years old. After all the blood, sweat, and tears put into the sport, Julio was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame on December 7^th, 2010 and his legacy was sealed for eternity.

This Is Just To Say Parody

Authors Note: This piece is a parody of the poem "This is Just To Say". The Influence behind my parody is the book "The Chief" in which Sonny, A talented boxer, falls into the deep sea of the celebrity life.

I have failed

The people

That had my back

Throughout my journey

You were

Probably expecting me

To be champion

And stay champ

Forgive me

For I have fallen

Into this cold

And bitter life.