Vocab Circle Map

8. Culture

I just got back from a great trip to New York that I took with some thespians from school. We went to four shows in three days. All of which were phenomonal. One of the shows that we saw was called "Billy Elliot". Billy Elliot is the story of a young boy who developes an amazing talent for dancing.In my opinion, it was the best musical we saw. For many people, culture means only things like religion and heritage. But according to my mom, culture can be what is important or who you are to anyone in particular. It can be heritage, food, family, music, traditions, pretty much anything. For Billy Elliot it was dancing. Dancing becomes apart of him. At one point, Billy sings a song about how dancing makes him feel. It is called "Electricity". The song talks about how dancing makes it feel and how it completes him. Dancing is Billy's culture, what is yours?

7.Change

Yesterday, I was babysitting a little girl, and for her bedtime story, I read her Peter Pan. Most know the story, so I won't tell it. However, there was one thing that really stuck with me. That second star to the right, Neverland, where nobody ever grows up. Sometimes I think it would be the best if I never had to grow, but the truth is, growing up is part of living. Change can be extremely hard, but it needs to happen at some point in our lives. Without change, new opportunities would be non-existant. In the book, Peter asks Wendy if she could stay in Neverland forever. She says no. I think that, as tempting as it was to have the chance to never grow up, she made the right choice. Wendy knew that things could not stay exactly the same forever. They would have to change.

6. Hope

I recently read a poem about hope that really stood out to me. Here it is:

What hope means
Hope is bright shining light which keeps darkness at the bay
Hope is gentle cold breeze on a hot summer day
Hope is to remain positive when going gets tough
Hope is seeking more when others think you had enough
What hope means
Hope is dreaming of tommorow
Hope is simmering under sorrow
Hope is sparkles when tears in our eyes
Hope is a beautiful thing & beutiful things never dies
What hope means
Hope is as light as a feather
Hope keeps all of us together
Hope is ubiquitous and free of cost
Hope is the last thing ever lost.....

-Vineet Bansal

My family and I are currently going through some struggles and hope is something that we can hold on to, no matter what happens. In my opinion, hope is everything, one cannot live without it. This poem shows how that is true. Hope is free of cost, and it is the last thing ever lost. As our class read "Nectar In A Sieve", we all know how important hope is. Despite everything lost, Rukmani does not give up, she still has hope. In my opinion, without hope, everyone would just give up at the slightest hint of trouble. Suicide would probably be alot more common if there was no hope. Think about how hope affects your everyday life. With problems about homework, social life, family and everything else, everyone is bound to lose some heart. So then what drives one to keep going? Hope. Hope to get good grades and to get into college. Hope to be happy and have friends. Hope for everything. In the end, hope IS everything and without it, all would be lost.

5. Religion

A few years ago, when I was in Colorado with my church, we went to this camp. There was another church there from Atlanta, Georgia. As it was a sunny, summer day, I decided to wear my beloved Harry Potter hat (after reading the books about 15 times each, I am a bit of a nut). Everyone was divided up into groups and told about an activity that they had to do. As soon as we started, the adult (from the other church) in our group turned top me and demanded that I remove my hat. Instinctivly, I asked why. I was extremely suprised by the answer. " Because witchcraft is the work of the DEVIL!!". I stared at him in disbelief, but took my hat off all the same. I was fine with him having his own opinions, but he should not have brought me into it. I would completly understand if I had been wearing something offensive, but really! Harry Potter? It was his belief that Harry Potter was the work of the devil, and I am certain there are thousands more people who believe the same thing. Thankfully, we all have different religions and beliefs. Religion makes us each unique and helps people cope with what goes on. But I think that one's religion should not keep someone else from wearing something that they like from a book.

4. Gender Roles

I babysit this little four year old girl, she loves Disney princesses, as alomost all four year old girls do. Anyway, whenever I babysit, I bring over something of my own to share. This time I brought over the Disney classic, "Sleeping Beauty". You all know the story with Princess Aurora who touches the spinning wheel and falls into a deep sleep. As I was sitting there, watching, I thought about how so many movies and books follow the same story line. Girl falls in love with guy, girl gets into mortal danger, guy saves her, they live happily ever after. Some might say that the reason that all these Disney movies have the same theme, is because they were made a long time ago, when women were viewed as weaker than men. But the truth is, movies and books today still have that theme. What will it take to have the women saving the men? I realize that there is the occasional flick that shows the girl saving the guy, but really, there is a definite need for more. I think that, subconsiously, people are getting the wrong idea about women, and that they need to be saved. Women are strong! And they can do anything men can!

3. Different Culture

As "Nectar In A Sieve" is written by an Indian woman and shows much of the Indian culture throughout the book, and because we are reading it in class, this is the perfect time to talk about the culture differences. For one, here, we usually don't pay dowry. One problem that arises during the story is the ability to afford a suitable dowry for the soon-to-be husband of the daughter. Another cultural difference is the fact that pretty much the one reason for having a wife, is to make children. This is shown when Ira is "returned" to her family. The only reason that she is is because she is infertile, and her family understands this. In my opinion, in America, people marry mostly for love. In India, the order is: get married, have kids, and THEN fall in love. Here, it is usually: fall in love, get married and THEN have kids. One other difference is that, in India, there was someone who chose who you were married to. In the end, there are ALOT of cultural differences between India and the United States.