Jake Slesk Interview

Have you ever really wanted one thing in life? I mean like you really wanted it. What would you have done to get this thing that you really wanted. This happens to many people throughout the story of the “Jake Reinvented”. All though there are many themes throughout this book, I think one of the very important or I guess main theme in this book is that some people will do anything to get what they want. They will even give up something that they really love or are good at. They will lose friends, get in trouble and even get sent to some other town to get what it is that they want.

I really made me think about my life, how I’ve got to where I am today and how the people in my life have influenced me both for better and for worse. It highlighted that you never know when a moment is going to be your last, so you have to take advantage of it while it’s there and work it to your advantage. I also connected with it on a much deeper level because I know people who have been tied up in drugs at points of their lives, so I understand how hard it would have been for Wes to just “get out”. It is very well written and jumping between the similar times of the two boys lives really helps build up and show the reader the moments that defined the futures of these two men and how external influences played such a large factor into the people they became. While Wes commited a horrible crime, the author Wes Moore was able to use it along with this own experiences to teach his reader many valuable lessons about life, fate and the choices we stumble upon, “…even the worst decisions we make don’t necessarily remove us from the circle of humanity (Moore,

Jake’s physical trauma has a significant impact on him because it makes him feel less superior and effeminate about his masculinity as he continues to encounter new relationships. Jake met a woman named Georgette off the streets and he invited her to dinner. When they were driving around in a taxi, she tried to touch Jake and he refused. He told her that he was sick and she said “ It’s a shame you’re sick. We get on well. What’s the matter with you anyway?” (Hemingway 24) Jake’s sickness is referred to his wound. Until Jake reveals that he was hurt in the war, Georgette believed that he was just sick. When Georgette says “ it’s a shame that you’re sick”, she is telling him that it is embarrassing and humiliating. It turns out that

At church, in addition to my participation in the worship services, I volunteered at our church’s soup kitchen, medical camps and elementary school for underprivileged children. These experiences opened my eyes to the deprivation of love and care in the world and a dire need of God’s grace for people at large so they could receive forgiveness, healing and restoration in their lives.

I choose this prompt because it looked as it was the best of the prompts fitting to me. I myself come from several different backgrounds, I also carry a lot of different talents. People like those are very unique and are very productive in diverse community, and they turn to be very productive and effective individuals in their community. The past autumn I applied to the University of Washington, which is one of the high ranking schools in the nation, so I applied to all of their 3 branches, Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma, hoping with my different unique talents and personality I will be accepted and be offered admission to one of the 3 branches. Several months later I am here talking to you, that optimism I had has become a reality, I’ve got accepted into University of Washington Tacoma and I am still hoping I will also get accept into the Bothell branch as well. Being born in Seattle, growing up here and at the same coming from both an African and Arab background is pretty unique, on the other hand being a Muslim and a practicing religious Muslim, was also something fascinating, living in America in this time, where Islamphobia was at its peak. In addition to that, being an individual who is deeply involved in the community, specifically youth affairs at a young age of 17 was very productive I can say. Summing all those qualities and talents, I told myself this will help me achieve a lot of things in the future, being a personally diverse individuals who is both academically and spiritually active and built, and in addition to the a productive young individual for the community was indeed something unique and attractive to schools and jobs in the future.

The church and leadership goals have kept his mind, body and soul healthy. And, surprisingly, over a year long relationship has helped Robert learn to stay connected. The long term friends that finally exist in his life have noted that over the last few years Robert Smith, both in lifestyle and future possibilities, has greatly

When Kevin sees his father almost dying, he begins to think of the fatherless children in the world. He extends grace towards fathers in general by thinking how important a role they play in a child’s life, regardless of the mistakes that they might make. After thinking about fathers in general, he then thinks about his own father and as Bailey puts it, “ The caring-the carefulness-which was the belief in holding on to something worth preserving and passing on. Love. Kevin felt the tide of emotion that had been at its lowest ebb flowing back into him again. He looked to his Dad”. (259-260). Instead of remaining angry at his Dad for previous conflicts or for accidentally shooting his brother, Kevin extends grace to his Dad when he chooses instead to think and remember about all the love and caring his father has ever shown him. When he begins to feel that love for his father, his emotions pick up and that gives him the grace to keep on going without emotionally breaking down.

Bishop Jakes is proud of his program and the graduates. "It touched me in a deep way that we kept the program alive, sometimes literally be a thread and that it was worth it. That we were able to touch lives in a powerful way," he

A tough life like Jake’s would bitter anyone, but instead he got bravery out of all his adversities. One of the bravest things any adult can do is forgive and make amends with an abusive parent. “ I love you Pa, I love you Pa.’’ where the only words whispered by Jake in an emotional hug after not seeing his father for 10 years due to past resentments from his childhood. So no amount of anger or rage that had been built up over the years could surpass the bravery it took to find forgiveness in his heart that day.

Learning to fight for your life was easier than this. Though the life was difficult in itself nothing came close to the difficulty of watching someone you love walk away, it seemed to only get harder even if it was your fault in the end. Pushing people away was a specialty of his and when it actually worked it was earth shattering. The silence pointed out the flaws that he’d managed to go without noticing with her by his side but now they screamed at him yet again. He was back to the self-destructive, sacrificial, self-loathing creature he always was. Though he always knew his family was broken it wasn’t even close to this damaged. He wasn’t the only one that felt the loss, his brother had lost someone as well. It was a feeling in the air

The first speaker started off by talking about her childhood and how certain events and her personality had eventually led to her downfall. It made me realize how everyone goes through obstacles that can be hard to overcome and sometimes we are not able to conquer those obstacles. I felt the vulnerability and intense emotions being communicated through the story. I was able to understand her emotions and what she was going through when she began to feel trapped and wanted an escape. I also realized many people find different ways to escape reality so they can feel better. Some people choose alcohol because it’s available to them or

Profound in the love shared between the father and son, their sense of unity kept them pushing through the pain for “each the other’s world entire” (6). In a society painted by shades of grey, one cannot help but at times feel the desire to fade into the world full of suffering. In the father’s perspective “there were few nights lying in the dark that he did not envy the dead ” (230). However, the man is fortunate because he has a spark in his life that motivates him to keep going- the boy. Many others before the man took their own life in an attempt to rescue themselves from the doomed life ahead. However for the father, “the boy was all that stood between him and death” (29). The father possess such love for the boy that no matter what the situation is he will never take the easy route out. He will never put his own needs over the boy’s. He will never leave him to try to fend for his own. Furthermore, if the boy were to ever depart life before him he “would want to die too” (11), thus proving that the boy is the father’s incentive to carry on. With the love for his son in mind, the father is enabled to carry on with his life. During a difficult situation, love encourages one to see it to the

Tim wants his reader to know that stories can help us heal from wounds that life has delivered. Paul Berlin started to try to move on from Billy’s death but that was hard to do. When the helicopter came to pick Billy’s body up he couldn’t stop laughing. He didn’t know why he was laughing at a time like that, but he

Out of all volunteers, the one who relates to Chen the most was Michael Starsiak. In his interview he says that he wasn’t ready for the Morgue Volunteer because the smell, touch, sound, and taste were things he wasn’t prepared for. Chen was also not ready handle death of patients and she had hard time getting over it. During human dissection, she had a difficult time dealing with the smell of formaldehyde. However, Michael’s case was far more extreme than Chen’s because 911 is a day that everyone remembers and something that can’t be forgotten. Chen said, “she needed to begin to detach herself emotionally from the experience” (Chen, 2007, 9) and Michael said, “you detach, you dehumanize” (Starsiak, 2013) to get through it. This shows that

Mayfield starts to take time as a college as student to prepare for her future mission endeavors. After one of her first experiences with a group of Somali Bantu refugees , it drove Mayfield to be more determined to pursue missions during her college career. Her experience led her to excitement and dreams of how adventurous it will be to show these people Jesus. She spends countless hours reading and studying how to work with these people groups. In the eyes of education, Mayfield has all the right formulas to be a