Today, redemption is spelled: A-M-I-R

In the book The Kite Runner, the character, Amir, lives extravagantly with his dad in Afghanistan. They have servants, one who grew up with Amir's dad, and the other a good friend of Amir. The servants a very much a part of the family. But when Hassan, the younger servant, gets raped and Amir witnesses it without doing anything, Amir feels awful. Amir can't live with himself and every time he sees Hassan, he remembers what he saw. So, he does the selfish thing; he frames Hassan for stealing in order to rid the servants of the household. Amir and his father flee to America after the Russians invade Afghanistan. In America, Amir erases the thought of Hassan from his memory. Years later, a friend of his father called and asked him to return to Afghanistan. He told him he could be good again. He tells Amir he has to rescue Hassan's son. He must because Hassan was Amir's half-brother, therefore Sohrab (Hassan's son) is his nephew. He rescues Sohrab, but not without trouble. He gets beaten within an inch of death by the man who has Sohrab. He then adopts Sohrab and takes him to America. The author is arguing that anyone can be redeemed. He described Amir's conflict and how he was tearing himself apart after not helping Hassan. Amir had the chance to save Hassan andpossible get beaten to a pulp But in his adulthood, he is redeemed by saving Sohrab and getting beaten.

Hippies

To the average person, a hippie is a dirty, smelly tree-hugger. People see them walking, and they get on the other side of the street to avoid them. You see them sitting on park benches and think they are homeless. But, they are truly thoughtful people. The reason they don't take showers is to conserve water, the reason they dress weird is because they make their own clothes, and the reason they have long hair is to show their non-conformity to society. In reality, hippies are the ultimate "green" people; they're saving our world one shower (or lack there of) at a time.

Box Man or Better?

In my group, we discussed whether or not the Box man chose his loneliness, and if he did would he want it any other way? As in the story, the Box man was satisfied with his aloneness and didn't want it any other way. But, if he had had the chance to be successful, would he take it? I don't think he would. He was of an outcast from society and therefore he chose to be homeless. Unlike the old woman who would gladly accept a letter from an old friend or something of the sort. But the Box man doesn't take handouts from the mayor or people who feel like giving, he is content with himself and his boxes.

Dolphins!!!!

When one thinks of dolphins, they normal don't think, "they're just like humans, they're mammals and have normal babies." No, they think of very smart fish that can do flips and stuff. At first glimpse, dolphins and humans and very, very different. But, when we take a closer look, the only thing separating us from dolphins is the water (and flippers and blow-holes, but who's counting.) We are very closely related to dolphins in that we are both mammals.

The Kite Runner

This was an amazing book. The storyline was impeccable, every time I sat down I couldn't stop reading. From the first chapter I was hooked to Hassan's tragic story, from not being loved to betraying his friends. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a good book.

Nonfiction

I only know of 2 nonfiction books I have read: Anne Franke and All But My Life. In both of these literary works, the writers were put through many hardships and they overcame their hardships in different ways. I believe that a philosophy in these two books is that no matter how hard your situation is, always have a positive attitude. I would emulate into my entire life.

My name is...

My name is Travis. I lived in Utah until i was five, then my family moved out here to California. In Utah I was introduced to skiing. When we moved to California, I brought skiing with me. I go up skiing a lot every winter at my family's cabin. I have gotten progressively better over the years and hope it will take me somewhere.