THE MEDAL OF HONOR

“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” As I read this quote I thought to myself well there wouldn’t be any heroes or someone to look upon to. Without courage we wouldn’t have anything interesting to talk. As I read the word courage I thought of people who should really be recognize for what they did. A good example would be the Congressional of Honor recipients. Not only did they risk their lives to help others but they acted without thinking about it twice. To me their considered a role model because they didn’t expect a reward for the acts they did. These people went beyond what their job is and have the highest honor which is the Medal of Honor.

For me the Medal of Honor is the highest award for an American. By winning the medal you earn others people’s respect. They know you did your job and must have worked really hard to be where you are at right now. These soldiers now become heroes to others. There are not many of us who think of others first instead of themselves. Once a soldier is about to get the medal, even the own president has to salute them because this means their higher than them. Getting a salute from a president must mean a lot and even more since you’re the person who gets it.

I won’t be easy earning the medal since you really have to act with courage no matter what. The soldiers that earn it risk their lives to save others. When it comes being in war is even more hard since you could either get killed or see another person getting killed. Many would just figure out a way to stay safe and save themselves. But to them it was like helping their own family. Having the medal means you didn’t thought of the dangers you would face but just acted without thinking of it. A lot of us think before we make a comment or do something. We either think if it’s going to be polite to say it or if it’s right or wrong doing it. For them it was like the easiest thing in the world and thanks to them we have those soldiers still alive.

“Sometimes I think it was easier winning the Congressional Medal of Honor than it is to wear it.” This quote comes from the very own soldiers who have won it. They weren’t expecting a reward for their actions. It’s like getting a surprise present when it’s not even your birthday. Wearing it can be a lot of responsibility and in a way wouldn’t let you be yourself. When you go out to places and people see you with the medal, they would think you’re a responsible person and wouldn’t do any mistakes. Nobody is perfect but just do right decisions.

When you see a person with the medal around their necks, you should consider them as your role model. These people have with them the highest award anyone can get. They had the courage to face of situations that were difficult. For those other soldiers must have been like their guardian angels. They helped others even if they were wounded and could barely walk. Having the medal should be people who deserve all your respect and should learn a lesson from them.

Giving Thanks

Dear Sergeant Peter C. Lemon,
You are one of those men that didn't gave up and helped other soldiers first and then thought of yourself. Not many people can have these qualities and still receive a Medal of Honor. I really admire the way you had the courage to fight your enemies even though your three closest friends died during that war. It's good to know we still have heroes like you that helped others without expecting anything in return. Men like you helped America and get talked about. Our history teachers teach us about war and the ones that helped. My wish to you is that people will remember the actions you did and don't forget but keep admiring you. Thank you for not only saving other soldiers life but for not giving up and kept fighting even though you were really injured.

Sincerely, Brenda Huerta

A Medal of Honor Role Model

Peter C. Lemon

Rank and Organization: Sgt. , U.S Army, Company E, 2d Batallion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Div Place and date: Tay Ninh province, Republic of Vietnam, 1 April 1970 Entered Service at : Tawas City, Mich. DOB: 5 June 1950, Toronto, Canada

Citation: Mr. Lemon is one of our most young living recipients that receive a Medal of Honor. When he was 19 years-old he was fighting against his enemies at a provinve in Vietnam. The battle lasted for about three hours. Lemon and his 18-men platoon thought they would get a goodnite sleep but they were wrong. That night about 400 enemy soldiers were in their territory and Lemon and his men fought with them. He was severly injured but he kept going and defend himself from that attack. He would fight with all of his fury and kept winning each group of enemies. By the third time trying to overthrow a group of enemies he was exasted but didn't give up. Wiht the energy he had left from fighting he found a working machine gun and got in it. He attacked them and kept going. Sgt. Lemon was very optimistic by going on with the battle even though he saw three of his friends die and helping a wounded slodier get help. Once he was getting help he never stopped thinking about his peers and ordered to get them to a hospital first instead of him. If this wish wasn't done Lemon woudln't let himself be evacuated either. When his war was over he returned to his homwtown in Michigan. He would live a better life and try to forget the bad moments he went through. When he was awarded the Medal of Honor, he felt like he didn't deserve it. He said that all the 18 soldiers that died in that war should have won that medal instead of him. But Lemon accepted the medal and hwe was actually the first Canadian man to get the Medal of Honor. He was with the same thought throughout the years. He said he didn't wear the medal because only three soldiers really deserved the medal which were his closest friends that died in the war.

I want to thank you Sgt. Lemon because there's only a few soldier men like you that think of other people first instead of themselves. If it weren't for your help the rest of the wounded soldiers would have probably died instanly or not gotten help at all.

SCRATCH OFF # 10 & 12

It seems impossible to be able to complete 15 goals doesn’t it? Luckily time passes by without even noticing it. October just finished and I have now completed two more goals!

GETTING TO CLASSES ON TIME

I was confused at the beginning of the year just like everyone else and couldn’t find my classes or walked in circles and at the end the class was around the corner. Now that I’m a sophomore I have classes on “the other side” too. Going from class to class wasn’t easy for me since I had to come from far away and sometimes all the way from the forth floor! Teachers always complain that “That’s not a good excuse miss” but it was hard at the beginning but then I found shortcuts. :)

PASS A GEOMETRY TEST

Ever since I could remember Math is one subject that I’ve always passed and seems easy for me. I guess is just the fact that I like working with numbers and similar problems like that. But passing this geometry test was kind of hard since I had to memorize some formulas of shapes but I did pass the test. Now I just hope not to fall behind.

Listen to My Dream

“I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

People agreed with this quote from the speech “I Have a Dream” because back then there used to be too much discrimination and segregation towards the African Americans. They just wanted for everyone to be united and live as one whole family. All of them wanted to work together and share ideas.
This quote is important to me because everyone is the same and no one has more power over the other person. We are all humans just have different backgrounds and physical looks. By working as a team we can be able to accomplish our goals and share each others ideas. The African Americans felt very discriminated and were left alone when it came to issues like school, what area to live in, and where to sit. It’s not like they had a virus or an infection that they could pass to the white people by getting close to them.

A Dream Deferred
By Langston Hughes

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?


Pausing a Dream
by Brenda Huerta

Does it die
like a flower in winter?
Or does it decay
like an old building?
Does it smell like burned paper?
Or smile
like kids in summer time?

Maybe it holds you down
like going uphill.
Or does it pop like a fire cracker?

This poem describes how a person stops dreaming and doesn’t keep trying to finish it. It's like when your sad and get depressed that you don't feel like doing work and you don't care about what happens in the world anymore. Or when someone gets your hopes down that you don't see the point in doing what you believe in anymore. There's always a reason why you don't go on with your goals. But no matter what happens we should never give up and keep trying to accomplish for what we really want and at the end feel like a ton was just lifted off you.

MOM'S AMERICAN DREAM

I couldn’t interview my dad since he was working but I did get to interview my Mom Maria L. Huerta. At first she couldn’t give me specific answers but as I asked more questions she went into more details. She told me about her American dream and how she planned to accomplish and what she did in order to reach it.

What was your American dream when you got to the United States?
My dream was to earn a lot of money and get a job.

Did you have a specific job that you wanted to work on?
Sewing was what I really liked and still do but if I couldn’t get a job that involved sewing, then I would work on any job that was available.

Did you think that by coming to the U.S you would make your dreams come true?
Actually I didn’t plan to come to the U.S.


Then how did you end setting foot in the U.S?
Your uncle was going to cross the border but didn’t have anybody to come with so he decided to take me.

How did you two manage to get here?
Your uncle and I got to Tijuana and then arrived at San Diego, California. From there we took a plane here to Chicago, Illinois.


When you got here what did you plan to do next as a goal?
I wanted to learn how to speak English.

Did you learn the English language?
Unfortunately I didn’t learn the language because I didn’t had time to study because I was too tired after I got home from work.

What was your first job?
Your uncle got the job for him and me at a factory where we made parts of cars like the windows, rear mirrors, etc.

Besides having a lot of money and having a job, what was another American dream?
I always dreamed of having my own family living in my own house. But not just any house, I wanted to have a residential house in a suburb.

Do you have your own house, job, and money now?
Well you know we’re ok with money now and your dad and I have a job (thank god) but we still don’t have our own house. We could have gotten our house back then because it was easier to get one and cheaper, but your dad didn’t want to and now look at us paying rent!

Are your hopes for completing your dreams still on track or are you giving up on them?
Yes, I still have the idea that one day we will have our dream house and your sister and you have the career you wanted to finally be independent.

Should Undocumented Immigrants Be Allowed To Stay In America?

Not only do immigrants come to have a better future but also to be someone in life. There are artists, singers, politicians, etc. that came here as an immigrants and now are people's role models or want to have a carrer like them. If it weren't for Jerry Yang the most visited website woudln't even exist which today is known as Yahoo! He immigrated from Taiwan and now he ranks to be among The World's Richest People. Other people think immigrants come here to take over their country but in reality they just come here to have a career that will make them earn a good anount of money.
Deporting all of the immigrnats in America will cost about $94 billion. That's not a small amount of money to begin with. The transportations won't be any cheaper either since there are about 12 million immigrants and its $1000 per person. Congress will then be in need to cut back on other program's budget to cover the transportations. If this happens, it will worsen the economy especially since the country is going through a crisis. Immigrants also pay taxes and if they leave they will leave a huge amount of money to be replaced.
In my point of view immigrants should be allowed to stay because they risk their lives trying to cross the border to come here and have a better life and give their children the opportunity to have a career. But now families are being seperated and children are growing up without their parents or their siblings. Not only is this affecting them emotionally but also mentally since they can't concentrate in school. Children are too worried about not seeing their parents again once they get home because their afraid they might get deported. Sure in some cases there is an older brother or sister or relative that can take care of them but what will happen if the olny relatives the kids had were their parents?

Immigration and kids

Not only is the immigrants' deportation affecting the U.S but also its affecting the children. They can't even concentrate at school because they're too scared they won't be able to see their parents once they get home. Why make the prblem of immigration worse than it already is?

AlMoSt tHeRe........

ACCOMPLISHED WITH :

8. buy a printer

11. buy straightener

13. call grandparent to wish a Happy Birthday

15. buy new shoes

My goals may not sound that cool but the one that really got to me was calling my grandma to whish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! This might sound mean or forgetful but at first as I wrote down the goal i didnt know when her bday really was. :P Turns out my mom told me my grandma's bday was on September too just like me! I mean come on im sure you forget too and even don't know when your own parents bday is right? Anyways :) ...... even better her bday is on Sep. 16 on MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE DAY! I was like wow even though it was from far away I still whised she had a good time and my family and I send her money and a bouquet of roses. Can you believe after all these years my mom and her brothers never came to the idea to send my grandma some roses up until now?! That's why I say this must have been her best bday.Well i guess it got even because my granda didnt know when my bday was either soo she enede up calling on that same day and was surprised. I talked to her and got bday whises from her.

I think these are simple goals but funny is that i got through with each of them in one day. It was on a weekend and we went shopping and the first thing i bought were the shoes which i kind of don' tlike no more :) I was determine to star paying for my own stuff when i go shopping but my dad won me this time and payed for the straightener. Next thing i know he payed everything and didnt let me be independent for atleast one minute :) but now that i have money im going to be on my own.

Now the printer i REALLY needed that especially for Ms. Diaz class. I can tell she's going to make the class and homework challenging but i hope to pass them and do better at them as time goes by. Its funny though because now that i have it she doesn't ask for papers being printed or pictures or something.

Words from a Slave

Amanda Hickem

Interviewed at Austin, Texas

Age when Interviewed: 88

Excuse me but I won't really remember every detail from back then, but one things for sure no slave ever forgets his or her struggles. My name is Amanda Hickem and had 3 brothers and 4 sisters who were raised without a fatheR. Mamma never told us what happened to him but I always prayed for his life if he wuz still alive. We were just too many of us in the house not even a pin could fit anymore. I dont regret how i lived but just wished we all were together with our father. Then came that day back in 1845 when we got seperated during a slave trade. I soon realized i wasn't goin to see my family again. Being by myself at age 12 seemed like i wasnt goin to survive. I was taken to a farm where i saw other slaves work in the cotton fields in Austin, Texas. I knew my life wasn't going to be easy from now on.

The next day i began working in the ctton field. OHH my lord you couldn't even imagine the humidity or hottness of the day. I hadn't eaten very well and wasn't that strong to begin working. Just as long as the master, Phillips, didn't send his men after one of us to get whipped i was up to do the work. I t was bout mid day when i was pickin the cotton when i felt like the people were goin round and round me and so did the sky. I fell but i could still hear the other people's voice thing is I couldn't open my eyes and couldn't move. Next thing i know when I opened my eyes i was in Mary's matress, the master's wife. The one who helped my was Peter and his mom. I thought they was cruel and careless for us slaves like the master, but turned out they watched out for the children.Peter who was 13, made conversation with and didn't treat me as bad as his father or workers i didn't know if i should trust him at first but as i got to know him did watched out for the children and so did his mamma.

Phillip wanted the cotton baskets to be full by the end of the day and if we didn't his theory was that we were distrated or didn't want to do the work. He would send his men after the ones who didn't finish and whipped them really hard plus wole them up extra early to finish up and finish an extra basket of cotton . We couldn't even take a brake for personal use because if we did we wouldn't eat and be let working until the master said to STOP.

Time went by and Mary was going to have a baby and needed someone to take care of the baby. By then i was already 15 and was in charged of the new born. It was as if i was the mom and my god i didn't get some sleep at all. Taking care of the baby and cooking for the master and workers wasnt goin as easy. There came a point were i was going to escape that farm and go FAR away but one of Phillip's nephew's caught me and they whopped me not after they spread lime over the wounds and made me plead them to stop and apologize for trying to leave. Once again my duty was to watch the baby. During the winter colds came and so did fevers. I couldn't escape them and while sick word came to me that the new born got a really high fever and couldn't resist it and died. Mary blamed me and had me cut a finger to feel the pains she did with the lost of her boy. At that moment i knew she wasn't the person she tended to be and my guess was the son didin't either.

All does daily duties payed for nothing now since i couldn't and had no reason to work. I had to deal with the wound and the pieces of dry blood would hurt if a did any duties or wash the clothes of the master. Every night i felt like i should just die and finally rest in peace. Whatis the whole point of me living if im not happy and life is too cruel to me. Then again only god knows why i still live and what im here for. All those events that made me mad were soon going to get punished for. Mary would beworried bout er face and kept it lookin good. I made a special lotion that would mark her face with black spots and would itch until she bleeded herself out. Now Phillip had money that could buy him an entire army. On that day i grab whatever my hands could get and ran away being smart and careful not get caught. Turned out that day us slaves were declared free and finally could live without no one giving us orders.

M0st importAnt VaLue

Trust is so valuable to me since there is only a number of people that get to have your confidence. Like in friends you look out who you can trust and who is their for you. I could tell my secrets and personal stuff to my friends that I trust and who really are my friends. When your true friends see you in trouble, they will give you advice and that is what I am realy looking for. Knowing I can go up to one of them makes me feel safe and get my thoughts out.

Having your family's trust is also important to me. Family trust is what I value too. There's no point in having the family's support if you don't tell them what is going on with you. That is what family is for; to be with you in the bad times and the good ones too. Trust in family makes everything easier since they know you better than any other person. For example I tell them my problems and we migth get together and talk about the situation as in a reunion. As it is in my case sometimes my little sister tells me her problems instead of my parents. She feels more confidence in me than my own parents and that is something I really value alot.

I trust my mother since she knows me better than anyone else. When I try to hide something from her, she catches me and advices me on how to solve it or make the situation better. I'll always have a shoulder to lean on with my mother by my side. We both cry and express ourselves but that is what a mom is there for.

Get to Know Me!!

What have you done that one else has??
One thing I have done that no one else has is gone to San Antonio, TX because of a hurricane.

Three adjectives that describe myself are:
nosy
impatient
short

Brief history on your name
Brenda comes in six different origins but what caught my attention is that in English it means sword and in Irish it means Little Raven.

My Fifteen Goals to Accomplish are:

1) make more friends
2) go to six flags with cousins
3) actually save money to buy what I want
4) organize a party for one of my friends birthday
5) clean my room
6) speak out in classes
7) sleep earlier
8) buy a new printer
9) learn how to play the xylophone
10) get to all my classes on time
11) buy a new straightener
12) pass a geometry test
13) call grandparents to wish them a Happy Birthday
14) look up information on a college I want to go to
15) buy new shoes