RAFT Writing: Civil War

For this week, I've been given a selection of things to write involving the Civil War. I have chosen to write my thoughts on the Civil War from a Black Union Soldier's perspective writing to his family.

I hope you enjoy!

My dear family,

I haven't much time, so I'll write as quick as I can. Life's been rough in the war. Many have perished. The state is working us hard, more than the whites. We fight all day and get a short amount of sleep. I can't stop thinking of going home, but my fear is I'll never be back. I think of you all the time. Although its rough on me, I'm very happy that you aren't here. It's bloody, it's gruesome, heck, they aren't even being human!

The people who have been hit go to a hospital which is run by women. Most people have to have limbs amputated, and don't make it. The nurses say it's because the wound was too deep, but I have my thoughts.

Like I mentioned before, I don't have much time. They're calling me back. Tell everyone I love them.

Yours truly,
Jebidiah


I hope that you enjoyed this blog post! I'll see you next week!

Justice

The question I have been asked today is what two factors aid justice and what two factors impede justice. Basically, what helps justice grow, and what gets in the way of justice.

In our English class, we are currently reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. 

Justice is when someone has rights. For example, a black man in the book is being accused for something he didn't do (yes, I did just spoil a portion of the book). This is a perfect example of something not being just.

However, another character in the book, Atticus, stands up and says that he'll help the man get through the case. Although the entire town is telling Atticus' family that he is a disgrace to the town, he continues with the case. This is a perfect example of something related to justice. 

A picture from the movie To Kill a Mockingbird

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is, justice is when you do the right thing; and the way justice is in our world today, is by people like you, the reader.

Being a Witness

Recently, our class visited the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles to learn about the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, many people watched these terrible things happen and did nothing about it. The question I've been asked this week is what does it mean to be a witness.

To me, a witness is somebody who watches something happen. They don't do anything about it no matter what the situation is. If somebody you know is being bullied and you don't do anything about it, that would make you a witness. It's up to you on what to do.

Another question I've been asked is how I've been transformed after visiting the museum. 

The museum was a fascinating experience that I would definitely visit again. We went through an exciting visual experience which included viewing Nazi uniforms, what the Jews wore, going into a fake gas chamber, and much more.

Since I'm Jewish, I already knew a lot about the Holocaust, however I hadn't done anything like this. It gave me a new appreciation for the people who had to go through this.

I couldn't imagine going through this.

I'll leave you with that to ponder with.

I hope all you readers enjoyed this article, and I'll see you next time!

Time Capsules

For this week I've been asked a tough question:

if you could only pick four things to represent your family, heritage, accomplishments and put them in a time capsule, what would they be?

Tough question, but here's my answer.

Family/ Childhood
I've lived my whole life in California, so I would have to include the California flag.

To represent my family, there isn't much that I can do, so I would probably make a small family with my grandparents, parents, and myself. I would also include a family photo with that

Culture/ Heritage
To represent my culture/heritage, I would put a Jewish star or a Jewish flag. It's a big part of my life. I'm not sure what where I would be without it

Accomplishments/ Achievements
To talk about the accomplishments and achievements in my life, the first thing that pops into my head was my Bar Mitzvah. It took a little over a year to prepare for it, and it was totally worth it.

Legacy

Since I'm still young, I'm not sure what legacy I want to be left behind. But I do know I want to be remembered by my friends and family

Until next time! Let me know what you think!

What would you put in a time capsule?

Identity and Symbols

This week the question I have been asked to answer one motif that I can relate to in "The Glory Field. A motif is a repeating concept, term, item, symbol, or allusion that deepens the message of the story.

In this story, the family gets together to have large family reunions and eat. I can relate to this because when I have a very big family gathering, we always have a large meal.

Nobody leaves with an empty stomach. This might not be the same situations with the characters in this book, but one motif in my life can definitely be food.

Until next time!

A Child of The West

The question I have been asked this week is one that I'm not sure how to answer:

Are you  child of the west?

This is a question that can be very vague. Our teacher, Mrs. Alldredge, told us to interpret this question however we want to. It could be California, all of North America. For this question, I'm going to say that it's the west coast, California.

I've lived in the west coast for my entire life. That's all I know.

One other reason that I would consider my being a "child of the west" is that like I said before, all I've lived here my entire life. All my family and friends live in the west coast. I've never lived in any other place.

I've always lived by the beach in the sun. And yes, I'm your stereotypical Californian where 60 degrees is too cold

So I'm not really sure what else to say, so I think I'm going to end it here. I know that this a short post, but thanks for reading!

Coming of Age

In English class, we are reading The Glory Field (1994) by Walter Dean Myers. In the story, one of the characters, Elijah, has a few key moments where he has a "coming of age" moment and feels like a man.

One key moment that I believe that I had a "coming of age" moment is when I had a Bar Mitzvah. If you don't know what that is, it is when Jewish children are brought into the adult Jewish community when you turn 13.

It was a very exciting time in my life and it for sure felt like a coming of age moment.