Sam

5/24/11

English

Mr. Salsich

My Spirit:

An Essay about Strength of Spirit

Dear Reader,

I am writing to you today to inform you of something tremendous, something strong, something amazing. The strength of spirit will not let me quit. The strength of spirit will make me persevere. When I have a passion for something I will give it my all. I feel my whole life I have been someone who does not give up, someone who will not give into pain, someone who will keep pushing, someone who will hit the wall over and over. The strength of spirit is truly amazing. It is what keeps you pushing through pain; it’s that little voice inside of you that tells you not to give in. If you have a strong spirit you can’t be broken; you are invincible. Nobody can bring you down. I write to you today to explain this amazing strength called spirit.

-Sam

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Book Summery (Lone Survivor)

Marcus Luttrell is a born and raised Texan. It was understood in his family that if you wanted to live in this great country of The United States, you had to serve your country. At the age of fourteen, Marcus and his brother decided to become Navy Seals. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into.

Marcus and his seal team, Michael Murphy, Danny Deets and Mat Axleson, were given a mission called Operation Redwing. Their job was to kill a high ranking Taliban leader with anywhere from 80 to 200 Taliban warriors in the area. They took position on a mountainside where they watched the town for days. When surveying the village, two goat herders came upon them, giving away their position. The seal team made the gut wrenching decision to release the men. The team relocated to a different spot when all of a sudden 200 Taliban warriors surrounded them from all sides. Without a doubt, the gun fight started. These four Navy Seals were severely outnumbered by 200 Taliban warriors. The team was taking huge amounts of AK47 and RPG gunfire and suffering from gunshot wounds. Despite being shot in the head, having fingers blown off, and having RPGs whizzing by their heads, the men did not give in. They had too much spirit to give in. They would not give in until the very last breath they took. After hours of battle, Marcus was the only one left. He found refuge in a village where he was healed and sheltered from the Taliban. Marcus and his teammates sprit was too strong to surrender.

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Recipe for Spirit Cake

In order to make this cake you will have to have a lot of strength and determination. The more effort you put into making the cake the better it will be. You will need a strong mind, bravery, self confidence, passion, determination, anger, and lots of spirit.

- Mix some bravery and self confidence into a bowl, and mix until you don’t care what other people think.

-Then add just a stick of passion and a cup of determination.

-By now you should be feeling stronger

-Then add just a touch of anger to add some boldness.

-Finally bake for about thirty minutes.

Enjoy your Spirit Cake!

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In my own life, the novel A Tale of Two Cities, and the play Julius Caesar, there is one reoccurring theme: Strength of Spirit. In A Tale of Two Cities there is one character that clearly demonstrates Strength of Spirit the most. Sydney Carton is who I believe shows his strength of spirit in a few ways. First, he does not care what people think of him. People think he is like an old worthless piece of furniture, but Carton does not let them get to him, his spirit is too strong to let their words hurt him. He does not give up trying to marry Lucie. He keeps trying and failing, but he will not give up until he sacrifices his own life to free Lucie’s husband in order for her to be happy. In Julius Caesar, Brutus is a great character who shows his strength of spirit in one very bold way. Caesar is and unfair leader that does not treat his people well. Brutus plans to kill Caesar in order to help his people; even if it means killing an old friend. Lastly, I believe I too show some strength of spirit. I am the type of person that does not give up. For example, coming to Pine Point was no easy task, however I did not give up, I kept pushing, and now I am excelling.

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Journal Entry

Dear Journal

I can’t believe I am about to write these words down, but with Pine Point coming to an end I am truly sad. It’s hard for me to believe it was just two short years ago I was biting my lips on the car ride to Pine Point overwhelmed in pure anger with my parents. At the time, I could not believe the guts they had to make me change schools. I felt like they were ripping me out of my home and taking me to a foreign land. However, with each day I started to settle in, feeling progressively happier with my move. I soon met two amazing people: Morgan and Joseph. And with time I became friends with many others, learning how truly funny and interesting everybody is. Also, I met some really amazing teachers, always surprised by how passionate and caring they are. At the end of my eighth grade year I really felt like I had accomplished something amazing. However, my Pine Point journey was not over yet. I still had my last and best year to look forward to. My ninth grade year has truly been one to remember. I have grown so close to everybody in my grade that I feel like a family.

Now the days are becoming limited, and I know my time at Pine Point will run out, and this amazing journey will end. But with Pine Point ending comes a new beginning at Kent. It feels like I just got settled in at Pine Point, and now I must restart all over again. I feel if it wasn’t for my strength of spirit I wouldn’t be able to handle everything. Because of my strength of spirit I was able to move to Pine Point, and it’s because of my strength of spirit that I will be able to leave . I wish I could go back to my first day and relive these fantastic two years. I feel like I blinked and just like that Pine Point is over.