Eboo Patel

Eboo Patel is an Indian man who grew up in America through his childhood. As a kid he refused to have anything to do with the Indian culture, language, food , and tradition. One day when he went to the gym their were 3 basketball games going on. He noticed that the games were separated by nationality, there was an asian, black and white game. This made him realize that his whole life he's played on the white team, he had almost become part of the American race. He realized that he had lost a very important part of him, his Indian nationality, he had lost a part of his identity.

Patel created an organization called Interfaith Youth Core Organization which helps bring together and connect all different kids from different parts of the world.

Thxa Soe

Thxa Soe is a Burmese hip-hop group. They use traditional Burmese music and tie in some hip hop. Through using music they express how they feel and pour tons of emotions and feelings into their songs. Some of the songs were about unfairness towards the Burmese people from the government. They believed that having a voice and expressing how you feel is always the right thing to do. The authorities found some of their songs disrespectful and directly aimed at them. They banned Thxa Soe from playing their music, They refused to leave Burma because they wanted to stand up in what they believe in. Although the government stopped them from completing their music to the best, they still had a voice and stood up for what was right which I think is the more important then anything else. Aung Sang Suu Kyi was also in the same situation as Thxa Soe, she had a voice and all because she stood up for what she believed in she was sent to house arrest. Aung Sang Suu Kyi and Thxa Soe both had a voice and because of that they were punished. Do you think that fair?

I chose this painting because I thought that all the colors represent all the different feelings being put into there music. Also the piano repersented music

Picasso

The painting Guernica by Picasso is a painting that sums up everything that was going on when Germany bombed Guernica. In this painting people are lying on the ground and screaming, everything is very crowded and busy, The color consists of only grey white and black which I think expresses the mood and emotion going on. Something that really stands out to me in this painting is a big light towards the top left corner. I think Picasso was trying to show how the spotlight was shining on the bombing of Guernica and also that the German bombers wanted the whole world know what was going on, and what was happening. Something else that stands out to me is this person is looking out their window with a candle in there hand. The person looks scared and horrified and confused at whats going on. This painting really shows a disaster and chaos.

Everything Makes a Differnece

Everything makes a difference, even the smallest things that we think dont matter. But really, everything makes an impact on someones life. In Jesus Colons situation, he was at the subway, and it was late, really late. He came across a lady who had her hands full, she had 3 kids and a big luggage. It was clear that she needed help. But Jesus Colon wasn't sure if he should offer his help or not, he was black, but being Puerto Rican his people strongly believe in curtisy and helping one another. The women could take it the wrong way and think that he was trying to kidnapp her kids or steal her belongings. and did he really want to risk that? In the end Jesus Colon didn't help, he walked right passed her, as if he didn't even notice her. Later this was one of his biggest regrets, thinking back to this moment, he will never know if he could've helped this women in need.

I chose this painting because it represents all these puzzle pieces and you have to stick by what you feel is right and what you believe in. You have to complete the puzzle to find yourself and who you are.

No Man is an Island

The poem No Man is an Island by Donne is a poem full of emotions. The island is symbolizing someone being isolated and detached from all the rest. They feel like they are all alone and part of nothing. Donne is saying that everyone is connected in a way and everyone makes a difference in the world. Mankind should stand as one, as a whole. Everyone is important and everyone counts. The quote "Every mans death diminishes me," makes me think that even with only one man's death it slowly breaks him down. The word obligation comes from the Latin root meaning 'ligare', it bind together. Donne suggests that we are all tied together, and connected as a whole.

Mankind is no island by Jason Van Genderen has the same idea as No man is an Island by Donne, It's saying that there are many people in the world who aren't noticed and are lonely and feel isolated from everyone else. In the video there were homeless people who needed help, no one glanced at them. Or even took the time to smile. No one cared. I think if people were more caring and thoughtful to the people around them, the world would be a better place.

I chose this picture because it represents a busy crowd of people who don't notice anything around them and are just focused on their lives. Then you can see one person smiling and that's all it takes to cheer up one person, like a homeless person, is it really that hard just to take the time to smile or say hello?

Forgive but not Forget

Famire's childhood has really shaped her as a person. She has learned to let go, forgive, but not forget.

During the Kosovo war Fatmire was only a young girl. She had to leave her village and hide at a dump for months so the soilders wouldn't find her and her family. She lost her brother and sister and still to this day she hasn't heard anything from them. When the war was over and she came back to her village, everything was wrecked, destroyed and burnt down. She thought she would never forgive the people who wrecked her village for what they had done. She hated them. But then shortly after that she met a man, she learned about peace and forgiveness, the things some people still haven't learned today. They shortly started a program called Kids for Peace Club. She taught kids around the world all about peace and shared her story as a young girl.

Fatmire hasn't forgot about the war, her village, her sister and brother, but she has learned to forgive, not forget.

Aung Sang Suu Kyi

Aung Sang Suu Kyi is a pro-democracy leader of Burma. She is a women who stands up for what she believes in, for what is right. She is a strong and powerful person who made many sacrifices for her country.

To many, Aung Sang Suu Kyi is a hero. To others, she disobeyed the law and should have kept her mouth shut in the first place. For standing up for her country and people she was sent to 15 to 21 years of house arrest and was just recently released. After being locked in her house for 15 years Aung Snag Suu Kyi hasn't complained at all, she considers herself lucky that she wasn't thrown in jail, as some others were.

Aung Sang Suu Kyi had to make a life changing decision of either her country or people, or her husband and two kids. In her situation she chose her country, she took a risked and she followed her fathers foot steps and fought against democracy. In the end she never got to say good bye to her husband as he dyed of cancer, she also wasn't able to see her children and watch them grow, but what she did do, was become a stronger person, she became a hero.

Sophia

My name is Sophia Christine Donnelly. Sophia comes from the Greek origin meaning wisdom. My parents decided to name me Sophia because at the time they were living in Ferrol, Spain. The queens name was Sophia Magaret Victoria Frederic. They named me after her, and my middle name is Christine because that is my moms first name. I've always liked my name, it's easy to spell, not too long, not too short and I think it suits me well. The way that my parents came up with my name I think is really cool! I never really had any nicknames, but all my best friends in the U.S call me Soph. Alot of people get confused and call me Sophie, I like being called Sophia the best though. I love my name!

10 Items

My dog, my piano, my laptop, a soccer ball, a sunset photo, a running shoe, sushi, shells from the beach, my charm bracelet and a Boston Red Sox Shirt. This is me in 10 items. I chose these because I feel like these items best sum up who I am.

I have been playing piano for 2 years now and I really enjoy it. At one point I was going to quit because it was too hard and each time I tried so hard I just couldn't get it right, I was really disappointed. But I kept on trying and trying, then I improved more and more, and in the end it I was really proud of myself.

The shells symbolize the beach, I love the beach, especially Jericho Beach in my hometown Scituate Massachusetts. My family just bought a summer house on the beach, it's really nice to live on the water, I love when we all eat dinner outside on the deck, and there's a nice breeze, and the water is always so beautiful, I really look forward to even the littlest things like that when I go back to Scituate in the summer.

I love watching sunsets, since I live on the beach its so cool to watch the sun slowly go down and shine against the water and see the sky change to all these beautiful colors.

The shoe shows that I am very athletic and I do lots of sports. I play tennis, soccer, basketball and I also do swimming. I love to do Track and Field because I love running and competing against others.

The soccer ball shows that my favorite sport is soccer, I just started playing last year and this year I signed up for U-15 soccer. I really enjoy the sport and I keep on improving and improving.

The charm bracelet is extra special to me, all the charms symbolize different things about me, my mom gave it to me when I got home from my first Malaysia Week at ISKL.

Sushi is my favorite thing to eat! I first tried it when I moved to Singapore, because in the U.S I never ate it. My favorite kind of sushi is cucumber with soy sauce, whick is called Kapa, YUM!

I chose my laptop because I like going on Facebook and Skyping my friends, I got my own laptop for my birthday this year in the U.S. I really wanted to get a Apple computer because there are so many different and cool things you can do on it.

Last I chose a Boston Red Sox shirt because I love the Boston Red Sox! I'm from Massachusetts and I go there every summer and winter break. I went to my first game this summer, it was so much fun! Even though they lost it was a awesome experience! And to just see the game up close was amazing! We had unbelievable seats too. This is me in 1o items!

The quote I chose was "Life is how you make it, always has been, always will be." I chose this because you choose how you want your life to be, if you have a good attitude about something then things will work out good, if u have a bad attitude about something then things will be bad, You have the power to control your life, you can make the wrong decisions or the right ones. And sometimes you mess up along the way but as long as you learn from the mistakes, that's the important thing. I think this quote is extremely important and it has a lot of meaning to me.

I think a life is similar to a road, there are sometimes bumps when things don't go exactly as planned, and that it's a journey of experiences, memory's, and even really good times and really sad times.

Compliment Guy

Everyone wants to be complimented. It makes you feel good, it brightens up your day. Its very sad but nowadays people are just dying to have something nice said about them, and if people just stopped and took one second of their day to do that, I think the world would be a better place. The world today seems so cruel at times and I wonder if everyone just started to be kinder to each other, how it could change the world. I can only imagine if just a simple compliment made those people feel so good then why don't people do it more often. It's so easy to just say something nice about someone, and the best part is that not only does it make the person feel good, it makes you feel good too.

I really love this painting above because to me it represents compliments. I think that because of all the unique colors and lines and how crazy it is. It makes me think that everyone has something special that they can be complimented in, even if it's the littlest thing like their hat or purse.

Matt Harding

I couldn't stop smiling throughout this video of Matt Harding dancing around the world. It left such a good feeling inside, and it made me realize that it doesn't matter what nationality you are, or where you live in this world everyone wants to let loose and have fun. But sadly today I think people are forgetting how to enjoy life. I was amazed at how much happiness Matt brought to people by just simply dancing. It brought people together, it made people feel good. I think people have to start realizing the similarities instead of the differences, and if people open their eyes wide enough to do that, this world would be a better place.

I think this paintings shows that all of us are one family under the same sky, and that it doesn't matter where your from or anything like that, its that we are all similar in ways then we are different