Napoleon Theme Park

On the 18th of February, 2014, a Napoleon Theme Park will open in France. The idea of making a Napoleon Theme Park wouldn't have happened without the help of the government, tourism officials, and the Bonaparte family. This theme park will be a very fun place to go to if you love history and if you love learning about a very heroic man.

If I was given the choice to visit this theme park, I would definitely go. In Social Studies class, we learned a lot about Napoleon, and we even did a project about him. Because I learned a lot, I want to experience how life was during the time he ruled France, as an Emperor. By going to a Napoleon Theme Park, I can learn more about him, in a fun way. Also, I'm sure there will be a lot of shows that symbolize Napoleon's heroic victories. I expect to see parades of soldiers marching down the street. Also, it would be nice and thrilling to see a dramatic play on the war between Napoleon's army and Russia's army.

In my opinion, I think this theme park will make it fun for young people to learn about Napoleon. The idea of learning from a theme park will be effective because firstly, they will learn about Napoleon's life, and secondly, they can experience what kind of life it was back then, by using a theme park. There will be fun rides for young people to ride on, which will be educational and fun at the same time. Overall, I think that building a Napoleon Theme Park will be a good idea because it allows the young generation to understand more about Napoleon Bonaparte.

Having Courage

Courage is a very strong and powerful characteristic that a person can have. The meaning of courage is bravery; the quality of mind and spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, and pain without fear.

In my opinion, courage is something that needs to be developed in a person. A person wouldn't be able to have courage without experience, for they don't know what they're capable of and what's coming up for them. When you're born, you are being raised and taught to be courageous. Having courage shows that a person is strong-willed, and most of the time, independent. For example, the first time I went for a music recital, I was scared to death because I wasn't courageous enough to play in front of a large audience. As I grew older, I had adequate experience to have the courage to play in front of an audience, without being too nervous and scared. Through my experience, I have learned that developing courage is done with patience and time.

To conclude, courage is something a person needs to develop and improve. A person simply cannot be born with courage because they haven't been taught how to. With patience and experience, anyone can be courageous at anything if they just try and do their best.

Community Service

Last Friday, the whole 8th grade went on a field trip to do community service. We needed to do community service because the Thai Ministry of Education required us to interact with the Thai culture. The students were able to chose to go to either the day care center, the school for the blind, or farming and painting. I chose to go to the school for the blind because I wanted to face my fears. 

There were a lot of blind people in the school for the blind. I noticed that some of their eyes were grayish-white, including the pupil. When we arrived, one of the teachers at the blind school played a video for us about their students. From the video, I learned that some of the students were abandoned and were orphans. At the end of the video, six blind students went up on the stage and played traditional Thai music with a Thai flute, a Thai drum, and a Thai xylophone. I was amazed because I didn't know that the blind could play an instrument. The first activity that we did, was to talk to the blind by introducing ourselves. I got to know two blind girls named May and Cake, and they were really kind. I also got to know a blind boy, and his name was Aomsin. 

We played fun games with them, such as copying their dance and playing a hand game, which required five to six people. At the end of the game session, we went up to play soccer with the blind. When I arrived in what they call a field, there was no grass. It was an indoor field, with three goals at each end. The coach said that there needed to be one person in front of each of the goals. The players needed to try to roll the ball and shoot it in the net. Because they were blind, there had to be lines on the ground, in which they could feel to know where their position was in the game. I was so amazed because even though they couldn't see the ball, they were able to catch it. I learned that the blind has a very good sense of hearing. Three of the students from my school went up to try to play soccer with the blind. Unfortunately, we didn't do as well as the blind, because we never tried it before. At the end of playing soccer, we were able to walk around the school and explore the place. 

Because of this trip, I have learned a lot of things about the blind. I've learned that the blind can play instruments, have a good sense of hearing, and that they can play sports, such as soccer. Also, in this trip, I was able to face my fears. Before, I was terrified of blind children, but now, I find them as kind and caring people. I totally underestimated them, and I shouldn't have. This trip was fun and educational.

Patriots or Terrorists?

In the American Revolution, there were groups of people called patriots and loyalists. The patriots were a large group of people who fought for the colonies to become a new country, and the loyalists were people who were loyal to the British monarchy. I have heard that some people call the patriots terrorists. In my opinion, I would never use the term terrorists for the patriots. I believe that the people, who call them terrorists, are the people who support the British monarchy very much. Because I’m not a very big supporter for the British monarchy, I wouldn’t call the patriots terrorists. I think it was the right thing to do, when the patriots fought for their liberty. The reason for that is because, it was wrong of the British to only allow the colonists to trade with the them. In 1773, the patriots were brave enough to go onto the British ships to throw out the tea, so that the colonists would boycott from buying goods from the British. If they hadn’t done what they did in 1773, I think it would affect what America would be like today. Now, America is an independent, developed, strong, and civilized country because of the patriots and the colonists. In conclusion, I wouldn’t call the patriots terrorists because of the fact that they did the right thing for the colonies.