Hero

Christopher Reeve said it best when he said: 'A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.' The late actor was known mostly for his role as the iconic Superman, who is, in many people's opinions, the ultimate and most famous hero who has ever been in popular culture. People look up to Superman's example as self-sacrificing, courageous, helpful, and inspiring. Reeve would know more about persevering and enduring than most people, as he was thrown from a horse and suffered several severe injuries, leaving him a quadriplegic: he had to use a wheelchair and a breathing apparatus for the rest of his life. He even contemplated suicide during his long recovery from the accident, but with the help of his loved ones, especially his wife, he managed to persevere through this shocking turn of events, and he eventually became a vocal activist for victims of spinal-cord injuries. In my opinion, Christopher Reeve became more of a hero than the superhero he played in several movies. He was an ordinary man who endured the most traumatic experience of his life and decided to use his situation to help others. With all the media attention, Reeve found a great way to reach out to others who were going through what he went through.

I believe that he is a very good example of what a hero is, but Jesus Christ is the hero that we all should look up to and aspire to be like. Born under very humble circumstances, Christ became the hero that forever changed the future of humanity through his perfect life, his ultimate sacrifice, and his eventual resurrection. His life was the perfect example of what a hero really is and how one should act.

The Qualities of an Epic

After learning about the different characteristics that make up epic stories such as Homer's the Odyssey and the Iliad, and Beowulf, the question that was posed was: what qualities make up a good epic/adventure movie? To understand what makes a story epic, one must look at the definition of the word 'epic' itself which means heroic, majestic, and impressively great. Each of these stories and poems have many of the same characteristics that cause each of them to be considered epic stories.
In my opinion, the first and most important thing that an epic movie must have is a good original story in and of itself that captures the mind of the viewer and takes them to places they have never seen or imagined before. The general plot of the film must be intricate, with many plot twists and unpredictable events in order to keep the viewer guessing about what will happen next. The storyline must also be "smart," which I think means it shouldn't rely on having to spell everything out to the people watching it, but instead trusts that people who are forced to think will be able to understand what is going on in the long run, even if at the moment things occurring in the plot seem confusing. However, in order to balance this, there must also be a good amount of action that is going on at the same time.
Another vital ingredient in making an epic movie is the characters. The Odyssey and Beowulf each have an epic hero who is larger than life, does extraordinary things, and overcomes huge odds in order to defeat their enemies and triumph in the end. Although I do not believe the hero in these stories must be larger than life, they must have certain qualities that set them apart from others, such as courage, strength, loyalty, honor, intelligence, and an ability to be a strong leader. In the course of the plot, the hero encounters a challenge, must find a way to overcome it, and at the end eventually comes out on top. In most stories, the hero also has the help of a few supporting characters who each play a vital part in the story. Character arcs also help keep the plot interesting as some characters change during the events of the story, either by becoming better people by the end, or by becoming the villain.
I think some films today that perfectly describe these types of movies are The Dark Knight, Inception, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Saving Private Ryan, the Patriot, the original Star Wars trilogy, and although it's not a movie, the television show Lost. Each one of these movies has a compelling story, such as one of the most overlooked, unimportant people in the world charged with a quest to destroy an evil dark lord, or the rise and struggles of a vigilante who takes on the mob and the psychopathic killer the Joker, or the vast character arcs and storylines revealed during each episode of Lost that provides more insight into each individual as they struggle to survive after a plane crash on what they think is a deserted island. As a movie person, I thoroughly enjoyed these films, as they are some of my favorites. I think most people would include epic movies in the films that they most enjoyed, even if their list looked different from mine. These epic movies not only serve as entertainment, but valuable lessons can also be discerned by those who look carefully.

What I'm Most Looking Forward To

As another year has gone by, I get the feeling that 2011 will be a much different year than the previous one. For one thing, this is finally the year that I'll be graduating from high school and moving on to college. 2011 promises to be a year full of change for me and all the other seniors that are graduating. As I prepare to move on to the next phase of my life and as I think about graduating in a few short months, there are many things that I can look forward to. The thing that I'm anticipating the most is a change of scenery. I realize that I'm going to miss the friends and family that I've grown up with my entire life, but I'm also going to meet new friends, go to a new school, and it seems like things are starting fresh once I graduate. I'm looking forward to all the changes in my life that I'll be going through soon. It will be an exciting period in my life. I'm not looking forward to going through some difficult times in the future after I graduate, but I know I'm also going to have some of the best moments in my life, and I can't wait to have this new experience.

The Worst Problem in the World

The world we live in today is just covered and inundated with all types of problems. This is a direct result of the sin that humans have brought into the world. God never meant for the world He created, Earth, to be the dangerous, uncertain place it is today. I believe that all, or at least, most, of the problems in today's world can be traced back to one shortcoming common in almost every single human being: selfishness. How many crimes are committed because a person wants something for themselves and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it? How many wars have been started throughout history because of selfishness and greed on the part of world leaders? I do not think this problem will go away any time soon; we are stuck with it until Jesus comes back and sets up His Kingdom on Earth. But if leaders today chose to act selflessly more often and not working for their own gain, many of the things that are wrong with this world would disappear. Wherever people start caring for others, sin has no place. And without sin, many problems would be eliminated. But in order for this change to take place, we must pray to God to get rid of our selfishness so we can act in a way that is pleasing to Him

Life

One of our journal questions asked us to finish this quote: "Life is like a..." To me, life is like a Japanese game show, you never know what's going to happen. Despite the slightly inappropriate nature of this quote, I think it is completely right. In my experience, life can change in a heartbeat. This doesn't just apply to my observations at school or at home, but in every area of life. In this broken world that we live in, one day people can love you, and the next they'll hate you. We will experience problems and troubles in our lives, but we will also have those great, incredible moments that we'll share with the special people we love and are closest to us. While life is full of uncertainty about the future, the one thing that is constant and remains the same is Jesus Christ. He is the rock we can depend on when everything else is shaking apart. While we may not know what will happen in life, God knows, and that's good enough for me.

Static/Dynamic Character

One of our journal questions in the past week or so posed this simple statement: If my life was a book or a movie, would I be a static character or a dynamic one? What do these words even mean? A static character is one who, over the course of the entire story, remains relatively unchanged from the events that take place. A dynamic character is one that does become changed as a result of everything he or she experiences. This character may learn something that affects their life, in a good way or a bad one. If I were in a movie or a book, I would consider myself a dynamic character.
I would hope that I have changed somewhat since I was a baby or a toddler, when I didn't know anything else other than to be selfish. My parents played a huge role in teaching me to be kind, to be compassionate, to care about others, even as a little kid, and their strong faith in Christ was the driving force behind this. As Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
After growing up a little bit, I started to find things out on my own, not just take whatever my parents said as fact. This included mundane things like choosing how late to stay up each night or when to do my homework. But the biggest thing that I wanted to decide on my own was whether or not I really believed in everything my parents, my pastor, and my school said about Jesus Christ and Christianity. I didn't really pay attention to making this decision until junior high, and I experienced Spiritual Emphasis Week for the first time. I began to wonder if there actually was something to this, and although I didn't make my final decision to follow Christ until much later, this started me on my lifelong walk with God. If this was a novel, I would consider the main character, me, as a very dynamic character. These are just a few examples of how I've changed, learned valuable lessons, matured, and grown throughout my life. I know that the book of my life isn't over yet, and there are still plenty of chapters left for this character to grow, experience new things, and mature even more.

1st Day of Senior Year

My first day of 12th grade left me with mixed emotions. I was mostly happy to be able to see all of my friends again that I hadn't been able to see over the summer, and the fact that we knew it was the beginning of our last year in high school made it very exciting. On the other hand, I knew it would be a pain to get back in the flow of things with the everyday grind of school, and it made me sad to think that this was the last year I would get to spend in school together with the friends that I had known since kindergarten.
In spite of all this, my thoughts were mostly positive coming into this year. I figured I should make the most of every single day, not taking a single moment for granted, since I know that by graduation day, I will look back at this year and be amazed at how quickly it flew by. I have high hopes for this year, and I can't wait for what new memory every school day will bring.