Sophie K.'s Blog

At the end of the day comes another morning!

Author: chickinator (Page 2 of 4)

3. Test: Carpe Diem

„We live for today and assume tomorrow will take care of itself”, a wise quotation with deep meaning. However, is it really the best to ignore that the future is constantly approaching and that its crucial difference is up to us?

No, we have a responsibility, a responsibility the quote misses to discern. Of course, no matter what we do, tomorrow will come. Somehow it will find its way through the paths we create today. It is up to us whether we dig holes or fill plains. Concerning global warming for instance, imagine we stopped burning fossil fuels and shifted to renewable energy sources instead. We might be able to prevent people in dry areas to starve as well as on the other hand rescue the ones that would be drowning in floods. If we just continue combusting everything we can find more greenhouse gases will be emitted until our species will extinct due to the lack of food sources, available water and overpopulation.

But now also think about the small scale consequences of not planning ahead, of not considering future at all. What would happen to you if you spent all the money you earn within days after having received the wage. You would have nothing for the oncoming weeks and might be starving by the end of the month. All that could have been prevented by planning only a little and by thinking about the approaching time at the beginning.

One has to be aware of the significance of our way of living today to ensure a bright future. Become clear what satisfies you as well as think whether you manage to limit yourself to the point your desires are saturated to be able to exhibit a sustainable lifestyle as we have the responsibility to pass on the world to our descendents as we were born into it. Understand that delight cannot be caused by money or anything tangible, it is about feelings. Make others be happy and you will sense the same – this is the satisfaction life is about.

So as tomorrow is about to arrive for you and me and for everybody else on this whole globe, let’s not destroy what has been given to us. Preserve it to know in the end that you have acted correctly.

Images: Carpe Diem CCO licence; Delight Quote certain rights reserved, changes in size and color

The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains

Part 1

3 Sentence Summary:

The story begins with a short flashback of what has happened to the narrator. Then it continues with that person looking for somebody named Calum MacInnes whom the narrator wants to be shown the way to a cave on the Misty Isle by. He expects a treasure of gold there, therefore both of them head towards west where Calum MacInnes guides them as he has already been to that cave.

 

First Person Narrator:

The first person narrator has a wife named Morag whose eyes are red-ringed as well as a daughter who brought dishonor over their family. After having done that she had disappeared for one year during which she was hated by her father who wanted to take revenge upon her. He is a small man often stealing and judging things by his own truth. He does not believe in accidents or anything alike even though he is devout and prays regularly.

 

Genre:

  • Legend: As I expect the story to display some abysses about the gold, a legend telling people to stop being greedy would make sense.
  • Fantasy Novel: The author Neil Gaiman has already written many fantastic novels, so it would fit his scheme as well as the story would fit into his scheme.
  • Thriller: The cave could be so mysterious, guarded by somebody, making the story turn into a thriller or after having found the gold, the whole plot could turn into a hunt where everybody wants to get the precious metal.

 

Part 2

Summary:

The second part of Neil Gaiman’s story “The Truth is a Cave in the Black Mountains” is about the journey of the first person narrator and his guide Calum MacInnes to the cave on the Misty Isle.

On the first day of ascending mountains neither of them says a word. When they continue the successive morning they initially meet a tinker with his donkey and then a woman who claimes to be able to read fortunes out of palms when being handed some money which the two men do. According to the lady, the narrator’s past as well as his future should only be about death, whereas Calum MacInnes’ fate is supposed to look completely different, no dying at all. Then both of them continue their journey for another day until they come past a small farm house which they enter. The woman living there offers them shelter, food and a place to sleep at night. When her husband arrives in the evening he is enraged, however, doesn’t say a word. The two travelers feel that they are unwelcomed, so after having had a little bit of sleep they sneak off and walk on, MacInnes explaining what the cost of the gold out of the cave was to him. Then they finally reach the shore where they get onto a ferry boat to be brought over to the Misty or also called Winged Isle.

As soon as they leave the craft, MacInnes suddenly starts sprinting questioning the narrator to keep up. However, a well-kept secret of his is the speed he can run at and the strength he has. Therefore, he outruns his companion to wait where they discussed to so on the boat. When also the second man arrives, they eat something and go to sleep. In the night the narrator then awakens, feeling cold steel pressed against his throat, MacInnes leaning over and claiming not to trust him. Nonetheless, he lets go of him when the threatened person persuades his partner that the journey is still too far to go alone.

The next day they continue traversing another mountain. The paths are wet and slippery, so as they are passing a waterfall, MacInnes decides to secure themselves with a rope which he ties around his waist. Then first he, afterwards the narrator, walk past the waterfall when MacInnes looses hold and falls down into the abyss. His companion then pulls him back again, unwantedly demonstrating his strength. After that little shock they continue first talking about how the narrator outdistanced the Campbells, discussing their hatred to killing women and explaining some of their family backgrounds. Then they go to sleep.

At their last day of travelling they head towards the cave until they reach it. During that time of walking, they talk about their dreaming habits. Then they finally stand in front of their goal. It is already evening, therefore MacInnes recommends going into the cave only the following dawn. Before nighttime they once more speak of the consequences of stealing the gold, seeing only indifference in everything, and also what the narrator’s guide had done to a woman wanting to protect her cattle.

The following morning the narrator then enters the cave.

 

Story Sequel:

When the sun was up, I entered the cave. It seemed narrow and smaller towards the end, rugged rocks pointing out of every corner. The light inhere was dim and became even more scare with every step I made towards its interior. Yet, I continued walking, one hand up in front of my chest the other before my face to not bump into anything, as I saw nothing but dark black.

After what had felt like hours of wandering around I suddenly perceived faint rays of light which became more intense the further I strolled through the what would be the last turns of the path until I reached my aim.

Finally, I entered a large circular chamber illuminated by a fire right at the back of it. In front of that a large pile of gold coins was visible. I wondered whether there were any security establishments protecting the treasure, but as Calum MacInnes ensured that there were none I simply set one foot before the other and slowly approached the middle.

By now, I was close enough to reach for the gold and did so. However, only seconds after that I pulled my stretched-out arm back. A fiery pain went through my whole body, then I turned over my hand to gaze at my palm which ached most. It was burned and curled by the from the inferno given off heat warmed coins.

I wondered what Calum MacInnes had told me that day about his hand as did I start thinking about what else might not correspond to his descriptions…

 

Image: dark mountains CCO license

Preserve our Cinema Feeling!

Less people seem to value going to cinemas for watching the newest movies just when they are released anymore. They rather fancy seeing the specific film a few weeks later at online platforms as for instance Netflix. However, is that really a good decision?

At least one pro argument is the cost-factor. Cinemas are rather expensive. Of course also platforms like Netflix are needed to be paid for, yet, for the money you invest to see one film in a movie theatre you could also finance one month of Netflix.

However, at home usually the quality of the motion picture is way worse than the original which can be seen at a cinema where large screens and better loudspeakers than any television could have are available.

Last but not least the probably most important thing about a movie is only given when watching with other people – the cinema feeling. This is what you experience when people laugh at the same time as you do or when you’re able to sense the tension throughout the whole cinema hall. It is what makes up the pleasure of watching a film.

Altogether, despite the high cost something to prevent the loss of the cinema feeling has to be done!

Images: Netflix Logo certain rights reserved; cinema hall certain rights reserved

All alone out there?

In today’s world the question whether to live alone or with someone has become more and more significant than ever. Unmarried people not wanting to stay with their parents a whole lifetime face a hard decision even though the choice is actually not that intricate…

As it is hopefully not misunderstood, living collectively with someone doesn’t cost anybody’s independence. The partners are not stuck together; each of them can live their own life, simply under the same roof which brings many more other advantages with it.

An example would be the relief of high costs. When splitting up the bills, half the amount of money can be saved as for instance the lease for flat, electricity or heating. Hence it doesn’t only need less capital but also takes up not as much energy.

Furthermore, the probably most important aspect of not being alone has to be mentioned. Humans are group-living animals; so being together brightens up everyday life no matter if it is about laughing, helping each other or simply enjoying.

Altogether, living with somebody else aside you will not reduce your independence, but save money and bring welcomed social companionship to you. Always consider what it would be like to endure alone in this far, far world.

Image: goldfish

My Family

The friends you’re born into, the people you build onto as they believe in you or simply a marvelous community that will always hold together no matter which problems have to be faced – a family standing with you.

This is my family, maybe not as glorious as just mentioned, but still an adorable bunch of people:

I figure I should start with the youngest member at the age of 12 and the sometimes least lovable one, my brother Felix. He is our number 1 when it comes to mood swings. Within seconds the cute and funny boy can change his mind to become selfish and ignorant – which appears more than repelling to me. My sister Elisabeth, 17 years, is concerning these features completely different than him, she is calm (except when it comes to parking a car herself) and as long as she has some time she will always offer an open ear. Unfortunately, that only rarely is the case. She does everything everywhere and all the time, especially things having something to do with science. I guess she has some sort of super brain!

Then there also are my parents. My father Alexander and my mother Barbara. Both of them work hard and a lot, but as my dad really loves what he’s doing I assume that’s fine. My mum though can’t handle the stress that well, she often is a little unkind and easily irritated, so I try to take as much tasks off of her as I can. Luckily, that usually changes on weekends as well as at days off, this is when my mother takes care of the garden or goes golfing with me, and when my father then usually joins us or continues fixing some technical stuff that’s gone broken during the week.

However, also if one as an external can probably only hardly imagine how all these features (in unison with many others of course) are able to go together in harmony, I can assure all of you: they do!

Images: family at sunset; family quote

Ode to Summer

As my sister asked me to write a text for the student blogging challenge I decided to write about my favourite season – summer.

Summer is one of the four seasons in the year and it´s definitely my favourite. There are so many things to do when the sun shines mostly every day.

What I probably like the most in summer is the lake, to be outside and doing things with friends. I find it a pity that so many people just sit in their rooms and play computer games or anything else while the sun is shining outside because in the nine weeks of summer holidays they get bored. My favourite free time activity in summer is definitely waterskiing…It is so much fun and an exhausting sport too.

But I also like cycling, sailing or just sunbathing. Summer is also a good time for grilling.

I think that many people like the summer and I hope they enjoy it.

Image: paddleboat

Obligatory Year Abroad – A Breakthrough

As our modern world is more connected than ever, beginning to go abroad, getting to know new cultures and other languages early is crucially significant. This is why studying a year in a foreign school or college should definitely be compulsory.

To be named first would without doubt have to be the learning advantage as you don’t only learn the stuff you are being taught at school, but also the language. Of course, you might miss several things in classes at home, however, this is worth it.

Furthermore, travelling somewhere alone helps students become independent as well as being self-organized. Those are skills which can only be acquired by experiencing new situations to deal with yourself.

In addition, one also has to take the new social connections being made into account. Strangers become friends. This is an event every student should be able to live through. It is about the feeling of being welcome which is then brought back home.

All in all, learning about other people’s ways of living, becoming independent as well as making new friends all over the world are too important to be left out. To ensure that that doesn’t happen making going to school abroad compulsory is essential.

Image: wisdom earth

Chapter 5: 19th June

Read the first 4 stunning chapters:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

I was woken up by a loud, distracting noise. I felt tired and as I wanted to know what time it was I looked up into the sky to find the sun, however I couldn’t detect a single ray; everything was covered in dark grey clouds. The noise must have come from some sort of helicopter. Its rotor blades were cutting through the air, stopping everybody from sleeping as I recognized when I got up. Casemiro and Lyanna had also just been roused. All the memories of what had happened were gone for a second, they were pushed away by what others would call hope for civilization, in my case it was more the fear of failing, a distraction, not very convenient for me after all. I still had to fulfill what I promised short after our arrival at this island.

“We need to give a sign, so that they know we survived”, Casemiro said when he also realized that civilization was close. That meant no good for me, that was clear, but what options did I have? Tell them that they only imagined the noise even though we all know it was there and make them suspicious or do what is needed to gain attention and hope that you can lead them onto some sort of a wrong way? I am capable of influencing them especially Casemiro, however Lyanna would never completely follow me. She already knew too much, I saw her last night in the church and she saw me. Definitely she would try to explain all her experiences to him. Casemiro is not the brightest, but at some point, he would understand what was going on, so making him skeptical by not accepting his proposal would be counterproductive.

“How about creating a fire, the smoke would also be visible from further away.” Both of them agreed as besides the being recognized the heat would be useful for cooking, too. All of us were hungry. In addition to roasting some roots we also decided to eat the last few protein bars which we had saved from the plane together with a whole bag filled with a few useful object like those bars, duct tape and a knife. When I realized that we were going to look for that bag, my heart speeded up pounding and sweat broke out of every pore. I knew that the knife would be missing; therefore I only hoped that nobody had taken a closer look at the bag on our first day.

Casemiro went to get the bag. He turned it upside down in front of our feet, so we could pick out all the bars more easily, when a few seconds later Lyanna started gesturing wildly and intense. She made him understand that the knife had been removed, however, I told Casemiro that it was not of any great importance to us and that we should rather spend our time on collecting more wood for our fire than focusing on that object. “But…” he said whilst one could observe his brain working, “…the knife would be the only tool the murderer of Jeff and Catlynn could have cut out their hearts with!” “I guess you’re right with that, still, looking for it would take ages. We can’t waste our time now, not when aid is that close. Come on, let’s set up our fire!”

So all the three of us searched for material to burn and lightened it. We had all continued collecting wood when Casemiro as well as me were both just carrying a large pile of it and bumped into each other. I tripped over some of the sticks he had been transporting to land on my chest. The missing knife slipped out of my pocket. It was all covered in blood and immediately captured the attention of them both. To my advantage the disturbing sound of the helicopter from this morning had just returned before Casemiro had the possibility to through himself onto me. For a moment his complete attention was drawn onto the landing helicopter. I used the chance, reached for the knife and took a step back nearly bumping into the wincing Lyanna. The noise of crinkling leaves reduced its volume a little, as the rotor blades stopped moving, but winds and the thunder still were impressively loud. A storm was about to turn up, no doubt.

Two men in uniforms, probably the coast guard, appeared behind the opening helicopter door. When they saw the bloody knife they immediately pulled out their guns, wanted me to drop the cutting tool and to raise my arms, but that was the last option I thought about. “I had promised something, keep that in mind!” I told myself, therefore I took back another step and set the knife at Lyanna’s throat. The men didn’t seem to be sure about what to do now. Winds had become so strong that standing straight took a whole lot of energy. They probably wondered about how long they could still stay here without risking not being able to leave this island again, therefore they called over Casemiro. He was getting into the helicopter while Lyanna and I were advancing back into the dense forest. I could only perceive parts of what they said in all the noise. It was something about having to leave before their flight vehicle would not be strong enough to defy the gusts of wind as well as not having time to search for us. So they launched into their direction, we into ours.

When the dense forest had enclosed us, Lyanna held close by me with the knife still threatening to end her life any second, I started thinking about what I had done: I had let myself attract by that book lying in the church. It had been closed when I arrived and empty when I opened it; still its pages had somehow filled as I wanted to see what they truly were telling. They had persuaded me that I was the chosen one selected by the great master himself, him, whom we’re used to call Satan. I had been offered a trade: four murders, four hearts for my old life, for the standard I was used to. Terrible that this only was about cash and gold, but what was even more concerning were the set terms, if I admitted and failed my soul would be what I’d have to pay. And I agreed. Now I need to live with the consequences, need to fulfill what I started.

After a time which felt like hours, we finally reached the doomed village.

Fast, we crossed the open space in front of the church and entered having the wind smash the door shut behind us with a loud bang. I lowered the knife and pushed Lyanna in hard, making her fall to hit the cold stone floor badly. The light inhere was dim letting me only see contours as well as faint shadows. I knew what had to come now, the last innocent victim was about to be sacrificed. I set myself right above her forcing her to lay there, motionless. I was glad that she couldn’t cry out in that moment as I simply had already heard too many of those screams giving me the most horrible nightmares one could imagine. I closed my eyes so that I didn’t have to see her face contorting in pain and let my knife sink into her chest. I detached the heart from all the vessels it was connected to and seized it. I got up quickly dashing through the church to reach the altar where I positioned it right next to the other two hearts. I was pleased that I didn’t still have to hold on to it.

Then I took a step back, dignified, looking at what I had done; four lives for tons of gold, three lives for one soul. “How will all of this end? Becoming Satan’s instrument of harm or fulfill the task and rest in peace.” I asked myself even though I subconsciously already knew the answer. I let one final gaze glance over the altar, seeing the shadow of Lyanna’s heart still jittering. Then I laid myself onto the table and accomplished what would become one of my last breaths.

I raised my arm holding onto the knife in it tightly and let the blade dive under my skin. I pushed it in, hard. Blood spilled out of my now cut open aorta. It slowly ran down my arm until it reached the grip of the knife which had already become wet and sticky. The first bolt of pain hit me, but I knew that that only was the beginning. My vision blurred, nevertheless I only thought that I had to do it; it was too late to return now. My hand was quivering and I could nearly not hold onto the knife anymore, however, I still somehow made the blade cut around my heart. Every incision brought more pain; sometimes I could feel it, then it went gone again and returned a few seconds later striking me even worse. But that was the last I had to sacrifice; I had to accomplish it. With all of my remaining power I grabbed my own heart and set it next to the other three onto the altar.

The deal with the devil was completed.

I slowly closed my eyes and the last thing I felt was satisfaction.

Worst Case Scenario

One week ago our class was divided into several groups all of which were supposed to create one whole story set in one worst case scenario which we had to draw. Every member of each team should write one chapter out of their character’s perspective. My group consisting of Nici, Ida, Florian, Pia and me had to deal with living on a desert island after a plane crash.

In case you’re interested follow this link to get an overview of all of our class’ work.

My group’s work:

Lost on an Island

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Hochosterwitz Castle

To find out further information about the named castle click here. Have fun solving the puzzle!

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