Simran+Jasnani

Memoir

**__Sunrise on the Cruise __** “Dad! Dad! I see it! I see it!” my brother shouted. My family and I were in the car and the humongous Carnival Pride was in sight. We were in Baltimore on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It was our first seven day cruise to the Bahamas, and butterflies were fluttering in my stomach. My mind was churning with tons of questions as the car sped towards this gigantic craft. Would I be able to accomplish all the activities the cruise ship had to offer? Would I get lost because of my excitement? How are the beaches going to be like? Would we all end up being sea sick? There was only one way to find out; follow my instincts and take each day with a stride.
 * Cruise Ship in Sight **

My dad quickly found a parking spot and my brother and I jumped out of the car, eager to board our Carnival cruise liner. We climbed up the stairway on the zigzag path. On the top, at the entrance of the Lido deck, the ninth deck, we finally made it.
 * Entering the Ship **

People were everywhere! Some wondering when their luggage would arrive, some just standing, gazing at all the places they could go. Checking in, I saw something interesting. Every crew member was from a different country. On one side I would someone from Germany, on the other, one from Japan. ‘I wonder what I could learn from them!’ I thought.
 * New People **

 Ahh. We made it to our room. It seemed small at first, but it was nice. My brother and I promptly chose our beds. He got the top bunk, and I got the bottom. Both my parents went to go view the balcony. Taking in the fresh, salty air of the vast Atlantic Ocean, we wondered how this trip would be. My perfect dream vacation was coming to reality. About two hours later, I was sitting alone on the balcony, enjoying the unparalleled grace and beauty of nature I was getting see. Wondering what activities I wanted to take part in, I made a to-do list. There were the usual wishes like swimming, licking the soft serve ice cream every day, and of course, shopping for souvenirs. But, there was one wish, a special one. I wanted to see an ocean sunrise.
 * The Room **
 * To-Do List **

 Mornings passed and I was losing my chances. Realizing that every day the sun rose at least twenty minutes later than the day before, my hope grew. This was going to be one goal I was destined to accomplish. My chance finally came on the fourth day of the cruise.
 * Losing Chances **

I turned around on my bottom bunk, sensing something bright on my eyes. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw a gleam of light sneaking in through the curtains. Realizing this could be my chance, I quietly walked over, hoping I wasn’t too late. Little by little, I opened the curtains, careful so my parents wouldn’t notice. There it was. The sun was coming up to greet the travelers “good morning”. I sat there, in the corner, and just watched.
 * This is It! **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The ship was rocking back and forth through the calm waters. Hues of bright yellow, orange, and red appeared right in the center of the majestic Atlantic Ocean. Arising faster and faster as if it was and eager child waiting to open their birthday presents. Waves crashed against the ship singing a lullaby while the wind’s breeze felt fresh on my face. Hypnotized by the sun, I soon became blinded by its powerful rays. Up, and up, and up it came but the moment wouldn’t last much longer. I noticed something wrong.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">Calm Waters **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Looking over at my parent’s bed hoping they were still asleep didn’t work. It started off as only a shift, but my mom was soon awake. She got out of the bed not noticing me there in the corner. Walking sideways in between the bed and balcony door, she glanced at my empty bunk. Before she walked any further, I gently patted her leg.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">Something Wrong **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Astonished, she angrily whispered, “What are you doing here? Get back to bed!”. I only made one motion and that explained everything. Pointing outside, she gazed and the sunrise and gasped. The sunrise had overlapped her anger.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">Anger or Astonishment? **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> “Oh my gosh! It’s beautiful!” she called over to my dad who was also now awake, “Get the camera! Get the camera!” <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Annoyingly my dad replied, “Get back to bed!”. Unfortunately, he wasn’t one to be convinced.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">Back to Bed **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Happily, I cuddled up in my blankets. My wish was fulfilled. I got the experience the sun’s beauty and now it’s locked in my memory forever. Just another one of nature’s wonders. Its beauty is so intense it’s hard to stop gazing at it. It bothers me that many of these wonders are being ignored in our hectic life style. We should take pride in these moments for we are the lucky ones who can keep these scenes in our minds for all our lives. It surely was a priceless moment… one even a camera couldn’t capture.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">Nature’s Wonders **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Eventually, just like every beginning has an end, my dream vacation was coming to an end as well. The excursions to Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Freeport, came and went each one special in its own way. I collected all the memoirs, souvenirs, and gifts one could fathom. Most of all, the beauty, unparalleled memories are now enclosed in my small heart to cherish all my life.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">Memories **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 16px;">Every day is full of new experiences, sights and sounds. During my childhood years, my parents would always point out these wonders of nature to me. They were little things, like a flock of bird flying in the letter ‘v’ to the giant, golden moon that would appear every once in a while. These moments are hard to forget because of the beauty they hold. One of the reasons I wanted to experience and ocean sunrise was because it would be the pixel-perfect moment to add to my list. The beauty, the serenity, it was mind blowing! It was unforgettable. I feel lucky and proud to have these moments held tightly in my brain… forever.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 21.3333px;">Author’s Note **

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; vertical-align: baseline;">__The Outsiders__ **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 24px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Critical Review **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Prejudice against one person or a group of people is a common injustice in the world that is still going on today. The book and movie, The Outsiders, stresses this problem in society between two groups, the Greasers and the Socs. In both, they show the main character Ponyboy, a Greaser, struggle in his daily life and just wish there was a place without this border. As fights go on between the upper (Socs) and lower (Greasers) class, a plot forms showing that both sides have their own struggle. As always the book and movie have their differences, but the book has a better flow of events, with more details in every passing chapter, and stronger relationships between the characters.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> From the beginning you can tell the movie will have some of it’s own scenes or skip some scenes from the book. The book starts with a scene of Ponyboy being jumped or mugged by a group of Socs. This scene is not portrayed in the movie as well as a couple others. The movie has its own beginning and it doesn’t really shadow the book until parts from the third chapter are shown. The ending also missed a big chunk from book. Ponyboy was supposed to go to the hospital sometime after the rumble between the Greasers and the Socs. This never happened and neither did the hearing, which was mentioned in the movie, to determine if Ponyboy and his brothers could stay together or move to a boy’s home. Missing scenes like these never give the audience complete satisfaction from the movie.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Most of the time, movies that are based on a book don’t have a good flow of the scenes. If there’s no flow then it’s hard to make sense of what’s going on. I’m not saying that the movie jumped from scene to scene. It just didn’t flow smoothly at times. For example, when Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally were rushed to the hospital, Ponyboy was reunited with his two older brothers. After that, they just went home(Ponyboy didn’t have any major injuries). They would’ve at least asked the doctor about the condition of Johnny and Dally. This left the audience clueless(if they hadn’t read the book) of what state the two were in. Movies can’t be too long, it’s understandable, but if it’s based on a book, it needs to give the viewer a good sense of the original plot.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The characters are one of the main elements of a story. Without them there wouldn’t be a story. In the book, I felt that the characters were very detailed and well developed. Their emotions changed and conflicts arose. This isn’t shown as clearly in the movie. For example, in the book Ponyboy and his older brother Sodapop have a very deep and strong relationship. Sodapop can always keep Ponyboy calm and happy. This relationship isn’t really shown in the movie because the actor who plays Sodapop doesn’t have many dialogues. These relationships aren’t shown as well in the movie as they are in the book.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> As you can see, I prefer the book more than the movie. They both have their good and bad qualities and overall the plot is the same. For me I like the details and flow of the book. It brings the plot together and makes it even better. The Outsiders has a good plot, theme, characters, and everything a good story needs.