The End

Yes, I am a butterfly.
Courtesy of reflectonthis.com

I can’t believe that I was able to make it through my first year of high school. This year has been a rollercoaster, but now the ride is coming to an end. One of the biggest parts of my school years was this blog. My English teacher gave me this assignment at the very beginning of the year, and at first, I had no clue what to write about, I still don’t really know what I write about. Looking back at all of my posts, I’ve noticed a constant theme. I wrote about things that are meaningful to me. Most of my posts are about my friends, family, and, of course, dance. So when I say my blog is about my life, it really is. My life basically consists of those three things.

Our final blog assignment is to kind of review our year and our blogs. Going back and reading my first post, I noticed that my writing was kind of awkward and all over the place. I was a pretty awkward kid at the beginning of the year, but now, I’ve met new people, made new friends, and even lost some. If you haven’t read my blog before, you have a LOT catching up to do, but if you’ve read it, you know that one of my best friends, Lucie, is moving away, so is my other friend, Aysia. I’m not exactly losing them, but it’s pretty hard to keep in touch when you live on the other side of the world.

Over the course of the year, I was able to improve my writing and, as you can tell by my last post, talk about subjects that I wouldn’t normally talk about on a day to day basis. I’m now better at expressing my feelings through writing, without being an awkward little potato. This blog has been a way for me to take a break from my crazy life in order to write about it. I’m glad I chose my life to be the theme of my blog because it allows my to look back on the important moments of my year and remember the good and bad times.

Today, I’m just thinking about the future. I still want to write, just not all of the time. This blog was a lot of work and it’s definitely not what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’ve thought about going to medical school and getting my surgical residency done with, then maybe join the army, but that’s just an option. I want to be able to do something great, like that, in my lifetime. I want to help a bunch of people and leave my mark on the world.

This is my last blog post. My school year ends in a little less than three weeks and this blog will be ending with it. I’m glad I was able to do something new like this that I can add to my list of experiences. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.” - Robert Frost

Until next time…

~Rachael

Never Again

Memorial at Dachau Concentration Camp
Courtesy or wikimedia.org

Okay, it’s time to get serious. By the time that I post this, it will probably be Thursday. Thursday, May 5, 2016 is a Jewish holiday. But really, when is it not a Jewish holiday? This holiday, however, is more recent, even though it was created half a century ago. Although it isn’t as well known in the non-Jewish community as Hanukkah or Passover, it is probably one of the most important holidays there is. Yom HaShoah translates to Holocaust Remembrance Day. Like Jews all over the world, this day means so much to me. 

On Friday, last week, I went to see the high school’s spring play. Coincidentally, the play was The Diary of Anne Frank. I originally went to support my friends who were in it, but it ended up reminding me what my people went through. I really loved the show, but at the end, I was bawling. What happened was so terrible and the fact that anyone would every think about hurting a person (let alone six million people) in that way is sickening. I know that the Holocaust is a very touchy subject for a lot of people, but the survivors are a dying generation that soon won't be able to tell their stories.

Several years ago, my family went to Washington D.C. for a conference that my dad had to go to. One of the days, we ended up visiting the National Holocaust Museum. Seeing all of the items that were recovered from the concentration camps and listening to those stories of the survivors really brought the whole ordeal into perspective for me. WWII and the Holocaust were massive parts of my family history and shaping who I am today.

It seems kind of ironic, but I probably wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for World War II. My grandpa is German, but he was born in England after his family fled Germany. Everyday, nearby cities were bombed and destroyed, but he and his family survived. He lived in England until he was three, when they were given the chance to leave. My grandpa, his mom, and sister all packed their things to go to America, but my great-grandpa had to stay and defend England. There were thirteen refugee ships that left England, but only two made it to America. My grandpa died two years ago, but I was lucky enough to hear that story.

Courtesy of wvu.edu

Like I said, the Holocaust is a very sensitive subject, but it is very important to be taught about it. I am a firm believer of the idea that those who don’t learn about history are doomed to repeat it. Genocide is something that I do not want to happen again, that is why, when talking about the Holocaust, you say, “Never again.”

Thank you for bearing with me through this post. I cant express enough how much this topic hits home to me. Just remember no matter your race, religion, or gender, we are all people. Six million people should never again lose their lives just because one person thinks they are different.

Until next time…

~Rachael