Life and Death

A question that I have is, "Are people taking life for granted?" In my opinion people are taking life for granted. We don't take time to cherish the little moments in life. We think that we will live forever. But the truth is that we might not be here tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that. I believe that instead of wasting precious time we should, "Live every moment like it is our last." This is because we don't know if it really is our last. Also, I know from a personal experience that we shouldn't believe that our loved ones will be with us forever. My experience was that my uncle whom I loved dearly died in a tragic accident. What happened is to remain unstated. When this happened I was about nine years old. I deeply and truly loved my uncle but my mother and I lived in Florida at the time. Hence,we very rarely saw him. When this tragedy occurred it opened my eyes and I realized that I had taken him for granted. The thought of him leaving us never crossed my mind, but now this experience has taught me that we have to try to spend as much time with our family as possible. I am bringing up this story because it is an example of a real life story in which a person has taken some body's life for granted.

“One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it. Time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday's time is gone forever, and will never come back. Time is always in short supply. There is no substitute for time. Everything requires time. All work takes place in, and uses up time. Yet most people take for granted this unique, irreplaceable and necessary resource.”Peter F. Drucker quotes (American Educator and Writer, b.1909)

This quote relates to the topic "Are we taking life for granted". Mr. Drucker explains how time is something we cannot get back. This relates to the topic because time like death is irreplaceable. We may not realize this but often we are blinded by our surroundings and we do not notice that instead of going on the computer and IMing we could be spending time with someone we love and do not pay enough attention to.
Last, we do not notice how we take ourselves for granted. Quickly think about when was the last time you told yourself " Life is short so I should enjoy it, take risks, and follow my heart." You probably though back to many months or years ago. Well this is our mistake. We don't think about the present, we are always focusing on the future. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it is not always a good thing. In my opinion we should live in the spur of the moment so that we can live life to the fullest. Life is unpredictable, and you will never know exactly when yours will stop. Perhaps my opinion differs from yours but I truly believe that we are taking life for granted.

~Stacy Fernandez 705

Quotes

"we only have one life, and one opportunity to live it. We should embrace it so that later in life we don't have any regrets."
~Stacy Fernandez
“When something does not insist on being noticed, when we aren't grabbed by the collar or struck on the skull by a presence or an event, we take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude”Cynthia Ozick quotes
“To think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted.”George Kneller quotes

Does a person's decision affect his or her fate?

I found this question interesting because it is a question I ask myself often. In my experience, it is quite clear that our decisions affect our fates. In fact, as George Elliot said, "The strongest principle of growth lies in human choices."All the choices a person makes will affect his or her life sooner or later, in ways great and small. Some choices might be life changing, while others are ordinary day-to-day decisions. For example, in the book, "The Fighting Ground," Jonathan decides to go to war. His moment of decision is captured in the following passage (page 10):
"And even as he stood there, unsure what to do, the bell resumed its vibrant call. He could go home or to the tavern...'Do it!' he told himself. 'Go and fight.' "
I think that this is a life changing decision for Jonathan, and I predict that his opinions about war and life will be changed forever because of the choice he has made. Although our own choices are rarely as dramatic as the example shown above, they may still affect our fates in dramatic ways.
~Diana 705

Does Ones Surroundings Influence Them to Go To War?

Does ones surroundings influence them to go to war? I think that ones surroudings does influence them on war. Lets use Johnathan as an example. In the story Johnathan heard the bell and this made him think even more about going to war. "Even as he stood there, the bell resumed its call."(page 10) Another reason why I think that ones surrounds affect them is because Johnathan had his father, cousin, and brother recently in war and his brother and cousin are still in war. This made him think that why should'nt I join? He was only thirteen and knew how to hold a gun. In school im in the a/t class. In New York people don't think of war as a good thing. I learned about war and all the deaths in war and i think that i would never want to be a soldier. This is due to my surroundings. Im influenced to be a wealthy careful person. I think That ones surroundings truly influences them to go to war.

Luan Kaliqani

Is War Worth Fighting For?

Is war worth fighting for? For me, it is not worth it. Some people agree or disagree with me. In the book, The Fighting Ground, the protagonist named Jonathan decides to go to war even though his father tells him to not to. On page 10, he tells himself, Go, go and fight. If I were him I wouldn't have gone to the war. Even his dad told him not to. Also what about if you end up being killed, you wouldn't see your family again. Truly, you have to think about the consequences before you do the thing that you want to.



Cesar Cruz 705

WHAT IS LIFE?

What is life? Does this sound like a strange question to you? Of course we all know what is meant by the word "life", but how would you define it? Do all living things move? Do they all eat and breathe? Even though we all seem to know what is meant by saying something is "alive", it's not very easy to describe what "life" is. It's almost as hard as descriebing where life came from. Even the biologists have a tough time describing what life is! But after many years of studying living things, from the mold on your old tuna sandwich to monkeys in the rainforest, biologists have determined that all living things do share some things in common: 1 is Living things need to take in energy 2 is Living things get rid of waste3 is Living things grow and develop4 is Living things respond to their environment5 is Living things reproduce and pass their traits onto their offspring6 is Over time, living things evolve in response to their environment.

CAN ONE SIMPLE CHOICE CHANGE YOUR LIFE?

Can one simple choice change your life? Of cource one simple choice can change your life. Everyone makes choices and mostly all of them are life changing. For instance, if you choose to study on a test you will most of the time do well. If you choose not to study for that test you will do poorly. You will either end up with a bad grade or a good grade. It also shows that choices can change your life in the book, The Fighting Ground. This was stated on pg 9 where Jonathan said, "Do it" he told himself "Go and fight". This is when Jonathan chose to go to war. This will definetly change his life. He could even die from that little choice that he made. This is a simple choice can truly change your life.

KISHAN THAKURDIN

Would one risk their life for his/her country?

Think about it. There are many consequences. You should value every second you live. It would be great to fight for your country, but greater to be alive. When Jonathon said: "Go and fight"(pg.10)he did not think of the risks he was taking. He was not thinking about what might happen. He was thinking about the uniforms, the fame and the glory. Not once did he ask himself:"What if I never see my family again?" If I was Jonathon, I would listen to my dad and stay out of trouble...

Elise Helou 705