Quotes

1. "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Abraham Lincoln. I believe this quote is really something that could be said and interpreted by Santiago. He says that though he is old, he is still striving to reach his goal to catch this fish. His determination puts a lot of life in all the years he lived. I think Santiago believes that no matter how old you are, you can still have so much life. Though he is old, he thinks that young people can still put at LEAST the same amount of life he has, for example the little boy he takes fishing with him. Age and how much you act and live your age are 2 very different things and Santiago strives to live by putting as much life into his long lived life as he can.

2. One night I dreamed a dream: I walked along the beach with Jesus.
Across the sky flashed scenes from my life, and in each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand:one belonging to myself, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand, and noticed that at times, along the path of life, there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that the single set of prints happened at my lowest times in life.
So, I questioned the Lord:
Jesus, when I chose to belief in you, you promised to walk beside me. But I noticed that during my most trying times, there is only one set of footprints in the sand. Why would you leave me, when I needed you most?
The Lord replied:
"My precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During those times of trial and suffering, when you saw only one set of footprints in the sand, those were the times . . . I carried you." This is a long, yet really effecting quote I live by every day but mostly when I am down in the dumps. For example, in the hardest times in my life I always believe that if I loose strength that God will still be there carrying me through life. It's so true to me in so many ways and I believe in this quote. I think everyone should have a little faith in their life and this is one way to look at it.

Thematic Ideas

1. Originality is a concept from our A-Z chart that i personally value. I have to come to value this concept because being original is really important to me in my everyday life. Whenever I do something i always base the decision on what I want to do instead of of other's people opinions and thoughts. For example, when I make a cake or cookies i rarely follow the direct recipe and add things I like or leave out things I don't like, therefore making them original and my own. Sometimes when i feel really unoriginal i so something that has never been done before and no one can repeat in all of history, and then I feel original again!

2. Two thematic ideas that I've seen developing in The Old Man and The Sea are journey and conflict. Journey has been presented to me because Santiago has a mission and a goal to complete and he is on a journey to do so. He is really determined and makes no exception while on this journey in the middle of the ocean. Santiago also faces a lot of problems, causing conflict. Without this conflict there would be no plot and no thrive for adventure. Both these ideas are very essential in this book and are presented very clearly.

Greatness

1. Something I am great at is gymnastics. I've become great at it because I have been taking classes for the past 4 years at Thompson Academy of Gymnastics and I am really engaged in it. Every time I go to tumbling class I give myself a new goal and I don't give up until i achieve it.

2. I really enjoy doing gymnastics because I like being active and engaging in my tumbling classes gets me on my feet a lot. It adds to my life because my instructor asked me to become a beginners class allowing me with a job for this summer. I love my job too because when i work and spot the little kids they look up to me as a role model and it really makes me feel good about myself in addition to helping them make their dreams of doing gymnastic come true.

3. I have been most proud of my self when I landed my round-off back hand spring with no spotting. I had been preparing for this since the day I started gymnastics and I always wanted to land it with all the precision that I could, and when i finally did I was really proud myself. I was proud of myself because I had finally ac hived my goal that I had been striving for for years.