Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

This radical sermon sparked lots of controversy and was hard to believe for some to comprehend.  Jonathan Edwards came out with this piece to try to prove to all that he wasn't just crazy, but that his beliefs were true.  He believed in the Puritan way and was totally into the whole idea that if you didn't do as the bible said word for word that you weren't going to heaven.  He, along with many others, believed that the only way to make it into heaven was to obey the laws of God throughout your entire life with out missing a beat.  This was borderline insanity for some to comprehend.

For some it was to much and they found the Puritans different as in a bad way.  Most people in England didn't find the Puritans as good company and demised them.  Because the English had booted them with their bad reputation, they looked for refuge in the 13 colonies.  Even the Natives found this type of religion to be a little strange.  However, the main reason people didn't understand them is that they new what was outside of the society, where as the Puritans only new the Puritan way.  The craziness that the Puritans put forth as reason quickly made people turn away as they saw no logic in Jonathan Edward's speeches and sermons.  The majority of the English found them to be weird and saw the Puritans as an unfitting group so they let them go to the New America.

All in all the Puritans were a misunderstood group.  Kind of like today's Amish people.  We may find them a bit strange because they are stuck in the past but we have outside views on them, where as they only know what is within the group.  The biggest part into understanding a different culture or social group is to make sure you have the right perspective on things.  For example, if you automatically assume the Amish are weird then you aren't fully understanding them.  However if you take the right angle and you see that they know nothing but the Amish way you would understand and not criticize.  Things appear differently with perspective, but in order to see them the right way you have to look at them with the right perspective.

There goes the neighborhood

In my neighborhood there are a clash of generations.  My parents generation all live in the same area and/or the same house in some cases.  There is an increasing number of newer families coming into the neighborhood and some of them disagree with what the older parents have.  My parents did not come from Chicago so they aren't really part of it but even so some of the newer parents put them with the older generation.  I've noticed this not as much on my block but more the old school and parish I attended, Queen of Angels Elementary School and Parish.

I started to notice this as I got older and it was because a lot of newer families started to move in. They came in and started to "take over" control in a lot of the committees at school.  In the neighborhood as well they started to change a lot of things that had stayed the same for many years, some for the best.  Within the school the "older families" that had been in the neighborhood for many years didn't like the change and began to complain.  Things started to change in the grades below me, but things stayed the same for my class. Things were changing and people didn't like it.

Overall, the newer families were doing what they thought best for their kids.  But, the older families didn't like the change and gave them a hard time and it was like a civil war with in the school.  The events ran their course and people are still not getting along unfortunately.  So for the time being it will be Young vs. Old.  Neither side will adopt the changes and with that will come controversy over anything that happens with in the school.  This is happening all over and it shouldn't happen because everyone should try to compromise and move on with life.

Introduction

Hi, my name is Ryan Brown.  I am half Chinese and the rest Irish, German, and a little Welsh.  Fortunately,  I've lived in the same house my whole life and made many good friends with the people that live around me.  Growing up I've learned to try new things thanks to my parents.  They allowed me the opportunities to try new things and through these I've fallen in love with a few things.

From a young age I my parents helped me through school and to stay focused.  As I got older I realized why they had pushed me to do well in school, to do well you have to have the drive to succeed.  It hit me the hardest in 7th grade when my grades determined my academic future.  With the knowledge my parents had instilled in me I was able to well in 7th grade.  My parents were a big part of my motivation to do well in school when I lacked it. I thank them for that as that is how I got to where I am now.

I've been an active kid all my life.  I never was the one that liked to sit around, I had to be doing something.  I've played sports since I was young and the two I still play are baseball (the longest)and football which I've played for a couple years (one which was played at Whitney Young).  One of my favorite things to do is ski.  I started skiing when I was about 5 and kept it up ever since.  I tried snowboarding when I was younger but it wasn't the same (I was pretty bad at it).  Over the years I've improved and now some hills are a piece of cake that I would've never done in years past.  The first time I went skiing in Colorado was one of the best times of my life.  Until then I had only skied the Midwest and after awhile the double black diamonds (highest difficulty) get pretty boring. So Colorado was a big change and I loved it.  If I could live out there all winter I would.

Overall, I am an outgoing energetic person.  I am very friendly although I am sometimes shy at first. I am open to try a lot of new things from foods to challenges.  I love my parents no matter what even though they make me mad at times because they helped me get to where I am today.  I am proud of my heritage and like to learn about my ancestors.  I like the outdoors, skiing, and sports and I hope I can continue them forever.  In the future I hope to be an electrical engineer that works with robots. In conclusion, I try to live life to the fullest and accomplish all my goals big and small.