#2 Seniors--Life is Beautiful
One of the themes expressed in Life is Beautiful is the ability of man to find hope and beauty even in the midst of the most trying of times. Certainly that notion is personified in the character of Guido Orifice, and more directly, in the person who is Roberto Benigni, the actor who portrayed Guido and who wrote the screenplay for this award winning film. With a Schopenhauer will of steel and a heart of Italian gold, Benigni's Guido is able to find hope in the most unlikely setting of the Nazi concentration camp.Here are your options for this journal assignment:
1. Describe a trying personal situation in which you were able to persevere. How did you keep thinking positively?
2. Relate a situation where you (or someone who know) was able to prevent a potentially troublesome situation from boiling over by using a good sense of humor.
3. Tell about a situation where someone (parent, sibling, friend, etc.) risked his own safety or reputation to protect you.
4. In your best imitation of a David Letterman Top Ten List, write a either a serious or mildly sarcastic (but NOT mean spirited) Top Ten Reasons Why Life is Beautiful at St. Mark's High School. .
posted by JTF @ 2:06 PM
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18 Comments:
Why Life Is Beautiful At St. Mark’s
1. Spicy Chicken.
2. Everyone knows exactly what 21-20 means.
3. No need to pick out clothes every morning.
4. Closet is full of an excessive amount of St. Mark’s t-shirts that you’ve collected from your freshman through senior year.
5. Father Greg
6. Get out of school whenever it snows, no matter how much.
7. Freshmen are known as weenies.
8. Pi day is like an actual holiday.
9. You have a free period everyday.
10. No other school gets as into their spirit week as we do.
The Top Ten reason why Life at St.Mark's is beautiful
Number 10:Teachers make sure we aren't distracted by silly things such as cell phones.
Number 9:We appreciate the sound of silence.
Number 8:All students make it a priority to get to class on time and not to waste class time
Number 7: Although sallies is our rivals we always talk about them with respect.
Number 6:Father Greg would never go around and slapping Julian during prayer service for the soccer team.
Number 5:Students never complain no matter how much homework they have.
Number 4:There are never any excuses when homework isn't handed in.
Number 3:On Sunday nights there is only one place students wanna be...in the halls of St. Mark's.
Number 2:Students are practically forced to leave the building at the end of the day.
And the number 1 reason why St. Mark's is a beautiful place is the SENIORS really let the freshman feel like they have a say in what happens in our school. And those are the top ten reason why St. Mark's is a beautiful place.
10 Reasons why Life is Beautiful at St.Marks
1. Pep Rally day is the best day of the year, espically when you are a senior and get to school at 5:30 AM.
2. St.Marks/ Sallies games are always anticipated with excitement.
3. Spicy chicken sandwich days are the best lunch that the cafeteria offers.
4. When you wake up in the morning you don't need to spend a lot of time picking out what to wear since we have so few choices.
5. By the time you are a senior you have heard every excuse for not handing a homework assignment in, and they can get pretty funny.
6. There are so many clubs & activites that every one can find something to participate in.
7. You check the weather on the internet to see how much snow is predicted for the next day, and if it is predicted for one inch or more, you know you will have atleast a delay the next morning.
8. The football game against Sallies when the score was 21-20 was one of the football games you have ever see and if you weren't there you missed out!
9. By the time you are a senior you realize that at the time of the magazine drive you don't really care about the pig races anymore, and you leave the magazine selling to the freshmen
10. By the time you are a senior, you have collected many St.Marks Tshirts: from the Senior Shirt, Spirit Week shirts, Go Green shirt, sports teams shirts and clubs shirts.
When I was little, about second grade, I went through the most terrifying event of my life. My family and I were on our way home from picking up my sister and her friend from basketball practice when we were struck head on by a drunk driver in another car. I can still vaguely remember the accident. I could hear my mom screaming for me since I was all the way in the backseat, and my sister and her friend crying. Since I hit my head on the seat in front of me, I had a small concussion and I kept blacking out. The next thing I knew I was in an ambulance, surrounded by strange faces of people I didn’t know. I was scared and I didn’t know what was happening or where the rest of my family was. I blacked out again to the feeling of cold scissors cutting through my warm clothes. When I woke up the third time I was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to a bunch of tubes and wires. I didn’t see my family anywhere. I was alone and frightened. I managed to hope and make the best out of the situation. I remained quiet and still until I saw a nurse rolling my mom in on another bed. Once I talked to her and could see she was ok and everyone else in the car was fine as well, I felt a lot better. I was still upset at the fact of knowing how badly my mom was hurt, and about what exactly happened to me. Once she had to go back to her room, I just remained quiet and still until one of the many relatives who stayed with me arrived. A few days later, I got very sick. I couldn’t keep anything in my stomach, not even water. This lasted for a long time and I overheard one of the nurses discussing this problem with a doctor. Hearing what they had to say about my condition made me realize that I may need more tests and operations possibly done on me. I was determined to get better. There was no way I was going to go through all that. I pushed myself and told myself to not give up and to get through this. Soon enough, I was able to keep food down, with no more operations or difficult tests. As soon as I saw what my determination could lead to, my next step was to get out of that hospital as soon as possible. I began to walk and get out of bed on my own and do things at a faster rate. I never got depressed or upset about my situation because I was just so happy and thankful to be alive and to have my whole family and some friends visit me. The day I heard the doctor tell me I could go home was one of the happiest days of my life. I was so shocked and ecstatic about how I managed to pull through this and work hard to get better. I was the last one who arrived home. When I came through the door and saw my mom, dad, and sister all standing in the kitchen I was so grateful that everyone was doing just fine. This moment is one that I can never forget, but I kept thinking positively and got through it the best I could.
Top Ten Reasons Why Life is Beautiful at St. Mark's High School:
1. Guaranteed to leave the school parking lot traffic-free.
2. Spicy chicken day is a holiday.
3. We never have shortened periods because of mass, early dissmissals, teacher meetings, magazine drive, etc.
4. We devote more than a week to sell magazines.
5. You get a lot for your dollar at the cafeteria.
6. The cafeteria is filled with a wide variety of healthy food.
7. It’s impossible to graduate St. Mark’s after four years without buying at least one piece of Spartan apparel.
8. Winter pep rally is awesome, you’ll never see students have as much spirit than this time!
9. We have lunch ladies named Angel and Cookie.
10. Finally, two words: Father Greg.
One time my mom, my sisters, and I were coming home from King of Prussia Mall, when we ran out of gas. My mom had meant to stop to fill up before we got on the highway, but because of the rush of shopping she forgot. Of course, the car stopped on an uphill, on a bridge. We thought it would be dangerous to leave the car stopped on a bridge so we decided we needed to push it off. My sister steered, while the rest of us pushed. Luckily the car was very small and surprisingly not heavy at all! We were able to push it uphill and get it off the bridge. It was probably the funniest sight in the world; three girls (in skirts) pushing a car uphill. We were all irritated, but were able to be sarcastic and it ended up being quite funny. Just as we were calling our dad to bring us gas, the nicest people stopped and offered to bring us some. As we waited for them, we all joked about how funny the whole situation was, and how embarrassing we must have looked. The nice couple brought us enough gas to get us to a gas station, and wouldn’t allow us to pay them any money. We were so thankful. We went and filled up the tank, and headed home. The whole situation could have been a disaster, but we were able to stay positive and laugh about the whole thing. Our sense of humor saved us from making it a miserable day.
1) We get out at 2:41 (emphasis on the 1!!!)
2) Father Greg
3) Never ever, ever, ever have a full month of school, ever
4) Extravagant signs for each and every birthday on the longest fence ever
5) As soon as the first flurry hits the ground we have off of school
6) Dismissal looks like the start of a horse race
7) The best $1.00 cookies are available everyday at every lunch this year
8) You can always buy tater-tots, cake, and every other good side with out buying A-line especially when you have first lunch!
9) Every excuse is way more extravagant and clever then the classic and over used, “My dog ate my homework.”
10) The lunch staff is never stingy about the number of Chicken Cesar Wraps they put out for each lunch
Top Ten Reasons Why St. Mark's is Beautiful
10) There is a fish hallway in the school, and everyone knows what your talking about
9) Everyone knows which teachers to avoid when they feel the sudden urge to text, wear illegal pants, or chew gum
8)During Christmas, Calculus classes come caroling around talking about things barely anyone knows
7)Dances in the cafeteria, with the lights on, are always the highlights of the year
6)More teachers are called by their highschool nick names or first names, then mr. or mrs.
5)No matter what, there will always be someone out of uniform, no matter how many times they tell us not to hem our skirts
4) Previous seniors dismantled a fence, made a house out of it, poured maple syrup on it, then 40 minutes later everything was back to normal
3)Spicy chicken day is a holy day
2) You always stop in Father Greg's for candy, or to share some good gossip
1)You anticipate staying up all night and getting to school at 5 in the morning as a senior for the pep rally, then screaming your lungs out on the drive, to get honked at.
Why is life beautiful at St. Marks?
1. Spicy chicken(I bet you didn't see that coming. xD)
2. Concert Choir
3. Fio's English class. (I'm not kissing up, I swear...)
4. The pool on the fourth floor.
5. Listening to the sound of marbles hitting the floor above while trying to pay attention in AP Bio.
6. Listening to Johnny impersonate Sarah Palin at lunch.
7. Transmitting morse code messages with our cell phones during blackouts.
8. The definition of a snow day is "There's a .5% chance of snow flurries today..."
9. Being the only school off on said snow days,
10. The fact that there are a ton of amazing people at St. Marks. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!
1. No matter where you are in St. Mark’s during the school day, you will always be able to spot a familiar face.
2. You will never have to deal with the feeling of being alone; someone will always be there, and willing to help you.
3. When you show respect, you are respected.
4. There is never school when it snows.
5. St. Mark’s is a community, a family, and a support system that is always caring, loving and compassionate.
6. There is never a dreary day. There is always so much excitement and enthusiasm in many of the students.
7. You never stop meeting people and learning new things about people.
8. You never have to worry about what to wear.
9. There are so many different groups but for the most part they all mesh together.
10. There are so many opportunities between clubs and sports that you could try something new every season!
2. Relate a situation where you (or someone who know) was able to prevent a potentially troublesome situation from boiling over by using a good sense of humor.
A friend of mine was involved in a really bad car accident about a year ago. Fortunately, he survived but he suffered a broken neck and had to be hospitalized for five months to undergo intensive rehabilitation. Most other people may have felt defeated or hopeless laying in a hospital bed for five months but not my friend Jon. He found things to do inside his room to keep him amused. He would love to have people come visit him and never let anyone feel sorry for him. Jon would try to cajole doctors into making bets with him on sports games and even tried to convince his nurses to play strip poker with him. He had a great sense of humor and optimism throughout his whole stay and is certain he made such a speedy recovery because if it.
Why Life is Beautiful at St. Mark's
10. Running across the lawn getting yelled at but you could really careless because all you're trying to do is make it to homeroom on time.
9. Beating Sallies 21-20
8. Texting your friend from across the room talking about the latest gossip you heard in the class before
7. The teachers who could really careless about dress code, cell phones, etc.
6. And the teachers who care way too much (you know who I am talking about).
5. Getting off the day before because there might be a potential snow storm.
4. Having 26 periods in a day??
3. Having a priest who can actually make sense of things.
2. The last 5 minutes of the day are spent starring at the clock with keys and cell phone in hand, ready to race out to your car so you can beat the traffic.
1. The Simplest things make your day, for example finding out the period before that spicy chicken is for lunch.
Top Ten Reason Life is Beautiful at St. Mark’s High School:
1) There is a fish hallway that is always filled with gossip.. Almost made for a gossip hallway
2) Secrets do not exist here especially if someone was there from smh
3) Other schools are envious of our spirit week/ pep rally.
4) Snow days/ delays = a dusting on the ground
5) Teachers are always on high alert for dress code violators, even on dress down days
6) Sometimes teachers let you cheat and get on the elevator with them (wink wink)
7) At the 2:41 dismissal you would think there was a tornado coming- watching everyone sprint to their cars or else it takes 40 minutes to clear out
8) People live for the spicy chicken sandwich days
9) our month of December has 16 teaching days in it!
10) By senior year, all you end up wearing on lazy days are St. Mark’s apparel that has accumulated through the years.
Top 10 reasons why life is beautiful at St. Mark’s High School:
10.) We are the biggest high school in the Diocese.
9.) Spicy Chicken Day is a recognized holiday.
8.) You can always tell who is a freshman because of their giant book bags.
7.) Who else has a fish hallway? Think about it…
6.) Our alma mater was written by one of the members of the Allman Brothers Band.
5.) You start out every class by praying.
4.) When we gather for mass it is amazing how quiet it is when Father Greg gets on the microphone.
3.) It isn’t unusual to see a teacher doing a cartwheel.
2.) We have one of the biggest rivalries in the state with Salesianum.
And the number one reason why life is beautiful at St. Mark’s High school is…
1.) There is an actual dodge ball game between faculty and students.
top 10...
1. Were seniors
2. NOBODY really cares about school anymore
3. We get out every other friday or monday and have an hour early on wednesday.
4. 26 periods, ending at :11, :41, and :56.
5. The extreme overrated-ness of spicy chicken.
6. The girls basketball team could take on the guys.
7. Nevermind. Ignore number 6.
8. 21-20...
9. One single person, you might not know his name, is the first team all state quarter back, runningback, wide reciever, kicker, returner and player of the year. I forget his name...
10. Did anyone mention spicy chicken?
Why Life is Beautiful at St. Mark's
1.) You never have to worry about what to wear
2.) Spicy chicken day
3.) Random teacher in-service days
4.) Mr. Shaft taking others cell-phones away
5.) .5 inches of snow deemed too hazardous to come into school
6.) A helpful librarian that you can understand
7.) Getting an extra day off for others selling magazines when you didn't sell any
8.) Free periods
9.) We recycle
10.) Parking lot is a healthy walk away from the school
Recently my grandfather was re-diagnosed with melanoma. It at spread to his shoulder, back, and neck and was not getting any better. The doctors believed that they had caught it in time and the surgery is scheduled in 2 weeks. My little cousin was a little unsure of the situation and did not quite understand why or what was happening. She is 12 in sixth grade at St. Elizabeth. I went to visit my pop pop a few days ago and she happened to be there as well. She was not sure if she could talk about it with my grandfather and came to me with her questions and her concerns about it. I am the youngest in the family, so I am not used to one looking up to me for advice. I was a little caught off guard by it but nonetheless I answered her in the best way I could. I explained pop pop would be ok. He wasn’t in pain and to look at him. He looked like no man that was suffered. I called him a trooper and reassured her that pop pop was too strong to let anything bring him down. She looked over at him as he laughed in his chair and smiled. She felt much better about everything and it was good to see her laugh and smile about such an upsetting situation.
Recently my grandfather was re-diagnosed with melanoma. It at spread to his shoulder, back, and neck and was not getting any better. The doctors believed that they had caught it in time and the surgery is scheduled in 2 weeks. My little cousin was a little unsure of the situation and did not quite understand why or what was happening. She is 12 in sixth grade at St. Elizabeth. I went to visit my pop pop a few days ago and she happened to be there as well. She was not sure if she could talk about it with my grandfather and came to me with her questions and her concerns about it. I am the youngest in the family, so I am not used to one looking up to me for advice. I was a little caught off guard by it but nonetheless I answered her in the best way I could. I explained pop pop would be ok. He wasn’t in pain and to look at him. He looked like no man that was suffered. I called him a trooper and reassured her that pop pop was too strong to let anything bring him down. She looked over at him as he laughed in his chair and smiled. She felt much better about everything and it was good to see her laugh and smile about such an upsetting situation.
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