#8: 50 words on me subject

To start out, I'm analyzing John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address. Kennedy's speech is very pro freedom and has many throwbacks to the pledge of allegiance. It also has many christian beliefs in it. An example is that he wishes to convert "good words into good deeds, for a new allegiance."

#7: Letter from Birmingham Jail

"Letter from Birmingham Jail" was very powerful. Martin Luther King Jr. uses a palpable amount of ethos in his argument, using such examples as comparing the black situation for children to that of white children. It's all very heart wrenching and definitely evokes a response of deep thought and re-prioritization. It is difficult to forget and definitely gets his argument through.

#6: What Christians Believe in

In "What Christians Believe in" C.S. Lewis brings to light the ultimate discussion of humanity: is there a God?
The first issue is why a God would create such a "cruel and unjust." The two views are that of most religions and Pantheism. I for one thought the idea of Pantheism was very interesting, that God created this universe like we create books, or art, or any number of creative pieces. Despite that, I still believe that the God that created this universe is an active God who cares for us like a father to his children: letting them learn lessons themselves, but helping them when they are in over their heads.

Blog #5: Veil of Fears

I thought Veil of Fears was a very interesting piece. I never really had an opinion or very much knowledge of veils, but it is interesting to know that there is quite a controversy over them. I believe that women should be allowed to make their own choice, be it to continue wearing a burka or to don more westernized apparel. The battle between feminists and multiculturalists should really become a non-factor. After all the ultimate decision comes down to each woman.

The Meance of Majesty

For those who weren't able to read my personal narrative, here it is!

Friday the thirteenth, that has to be the reason behind this, I thought as I hugged the cliff. It was that fateful day in January when five of my friends and I ventured up Squaw for the second time (we hiked up part of it the week before). My friends and I piled into the Astro van and took off towards Rock Canyon. Once there we decided to forego any paths and create our own way up the mountain. We clambered up the slope until we reached a wall, and then climbed up that as well. It was all very fun, but it was about to get…difficult.

            Soren was leading us up the path, or rather his invisible pathfinder system. We essentially created our own trail up the mountain. The first obstacle we encountered was a steep trail with very loose footing. We climbed up the path till he led us off to the right, where trees were thicker. We clambered through the trees, slipping on the melting snow, only being saved by the foliage that surrounded us. As we traveled through the miniature forest Soren and I got ahead of the group. We made it through the trees and found that two paths lay ahead of us: more gravely slopes to the left or a path of snow that was next to a cliff. Soren claimed that going up through the steep gravel was the correct way, but I was adamant that the path next to the cliff was right. We decided to split up and see whose route was faster.

            Our group was splintered: Soren went one way while I went to the right, and the rest of our friends scrambled up the steep, gravely slope that was even further to the left than where Soren was. As I walked up the slope I was confident that I went the right way. Then I hit a dead end. I could not go further to the right or left, and I dared not descend through the slick snow. I decided to climb the cliff instead. I began ascending the cliff, grasping branches while I struggled to find secure footholds. The combination of melting snow and slick gravel made it problematic but I fought my way to the top of the cliff, only to find that the only way to go was through a tree peppered path to my left.

            I cautiously made my way up the track, looking for an easier way to go. My confidence was waning, but my pride kept me from calling for the others. At the end of the path I could either go back or up another cliff, a taller one this time. Yeah, that figures, I thought, I bet Squaw mountain is laughing at my stupidity right now. I shook my head and faced the precipice. I gripped the cliff with all the might I could muster and cautiously made my way up. I’m glad there are so many trees, otherwise I’d have fallen already, I thought as I grabbed another pine branch. After struggling to the top of the cliff I was dismayed to find that another cliff stared down at me with troll eyes. I swore to myself that I would no longer scale walls and opted to hike up the marble-filled rise to my left.

            I struggled up the grit, trying to not slide down the slope. Every rock was loose and the majority gave way when I put weight on them. I looked up to find that the path continued for a long way and below me was what seemed to be an endless, perilous slide. Man, I thought, if I were to fall then I. I quickly shook away those thoughts and continued scrambling up the mountain. My feet slid out from under me many times, but I kept moving, thinking that as long as I did not have much weight on any one spot for long I would be fine. I was wrong. I put all of my weight on a large rock that seemed stable, but it gave way and began sliding down the mountain with me on it.

            A single thought penetrated my shock, Stupid worst case scenarios. I jumped off the rock immediately, but still continued sliding down the sheer slant. I dug my feet and hands into the gravel to stop myself but I kept tumbling down the mountain. Stop, stop, STOP!  My mind begged, but no good. I looked behind me and saw a boulder, my final hope of survival. I skidded my way towards it and planted my feet on the massive stone. I lay on the boulder, breathless. That could’ve been worse, I thought. My hands were scored and my eyes stung with sweat, but I was alive. My next decision was to pray to God to help reunite me with my friends and to prevent me from having anymore close encounters with death. After calming down my pounding heart I got up and continued climbing up the stony path, but being more careful this round. I eventually made it up the trail and found that either way I went was a dead end. I sat down, and looked out over the valley, wondering if I would ever get down to the bottom and how everyone else was fairing in their hike to the top.

            “Ian! Is that you?” a familiar voice called from a grove of trees below me.

            “Soren? Yeah, it’s Ian,” I yelled back, “do you know where the others are?”

            “They went up a different way than either of us, and I’ve reached a dead end.”

            “So have I.”

            “Really? Well, I’m going to head back down. You’re welcome to come along.”

            “That’d be awesome, just wait there while I come down.”

            I headed to my right, sliding from tree to tree. As I traveled to where Soren was I thanked Heavenly Father for helping me through the challenges that the mountain presented me. I eventually made it to Soren and called the others to see what their plans were. They were still planning on hiking to Squaw peak. We told them that it could be hazardous to hike back down in the dark, and also that it would be getting a lot colder. The other four remained vigilant and wished to continue. We wished them luck and began to head down the mountain. Soren and I backtracked to where the entire group last was and carefully treaded through the woods. We eventually made it back down to the halfway point and decided to give the others a call. They said that they had just started hiking down from the peak. We told them to be careful and continued our journey down to earth. The sun had set by then and we staggered through the darkness and growing cold. I could only imagine how cold it was higher up.

            After making it down to the Astro van I sat on the stairs and said a silent prayer of thanks. I was not sure I would make it through that adventure, and was grateful I did. I also prayed that the others would make it down safely. Soren and I waited for another hour, but the other group still had not made it down the slope. Upon calling them we found out that they were taking round-a-bout way down the mountain. They told us to get a ride back home since it would take them another hour at least to get down. Before calling for someone to pick us up we attempted to find them on the mountain. We knew they had one flashlight, but no matter how hard we looked we could not find them. What if someone got injured or fell off a cliff or, I cut my train of thought, telling myself that they would be fine. We traveled along the trail, still searching for the others before we got a ride back. Upon arriving I tossed my stuff on the ground and stumbled onto my bed, exhausted.

            About an hour later the others arrived. Luckily the only injuries people suffered were minor cuts and scratches. We celebrated our victory over Squaw Peak after dressing our wounds. After the party I sat on my bed, going over my adventure on Squaw Mountain. There were moments when I was not sure whether I would live or die, or even if I would be forced to spend the night in the mountains. Both the majesty and menace of the mountains must be reckoned with, but it is difficult to find a balance between the two. And even though I will go hiking in the future I refuse to go on Friday the thirteenth, and I think the mountains would have it that way too.

#4 The Menace of Majesty response

It's kind of ironic that I had the experience of falling down a mountain only a few days before being assigned to write a personal narrative. Even though the timing was perfect I would have preferred not experiencing it : / Writing about it was fun though. Describing the scenery and my thoughts and attitude really made it a personal piece. I liked how it turned out for the most part, but I wish I had more time to fine tune it. One more thing: I'd recommend that everyone go on the hike. It's fun and safe (more or less) as long as you stay as a group. That reminds me, when I was on the mountain i remembered about the "buddy system" that had always been pounded into my head by my scout leaders. Now I know why it's so important. The fact of the matter is:

stupid/crazy decisions = great stories