Jim Henson Contributions

Day to day, I can use this to encourage people to follow their dreams. You never know the impact you have on someone. It can be positive or negative, so I will try my best to make it a positive impact. I also have learned how much words can hurt. The things we say matter to someone else. Even if we do not think twice about what we said, someone else could give up on their dreams because of it. It is important for me to do this because everyone is human, it does not matter what your race is, your sexual orientation is, or your gender preference is everyone deserves the same love, care, and respect. No one is less of a human because of their race and

I will also inspire my children to dream and reach for those dreams just by telling them my experiences in my life. At the end of my life I would hope that I have taught my children what is the best decision which will go on for many generations.

Jim Henson’s career began early, when he was only sixteen years of age. Henson began to put his mind to the limit in 1952, when he auditioned for a spot on the local television. He got a spot and began using some home-made puppets—his most famous of the time being Longhorn, Shorthorn, and Pierre The French Rat. Even though he used puppets it wasn't until much later that he began to use his voice on television. In this first appearance of Henson’s puppets, it was just the puppets “mouthing” the words to popular songs at the time, wether it be La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf or Tenderly by Rosemary Clooney.

James Maury Henson was born September 24, 1936, in Greenville, Mississippi, the second son of Paul Ransom and Elizabeth Marcella Henson. He grew up in nearby Leland, where his father, an agronomist, worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His childhood was a happy one, as he explored both his artistic interests and the local countryside, whether alone or with friends. One of his childhood friends, Kermit, would later inspire the name of Henson's most celebrated creation. When he was in fifth grade, his family returned to Maryland. Henson's first television appearance occurred while he was still in high school, performing puppets on a local Washington, D.C., Saturday morning program on WTOP-TV. While a freshman at the University of

“Empowering individuals not only to see a brighter future but, to also see a light in themselves”.

Television has become an inseparable part of American culture; it has become a way to share cultural experiences across the world. Among the billions affected by television was Jim Henson. One of the main creative geniuses’ behind the Muppets, Jim Henson helped fascinate and educate people across the world. Being able to turn a piece of material with ping pong balls for eyes into something that seemed to have a mind of its own was something Jim excelled at. While he is known for his imaginative intellect, Jim obtained his inspiration from many different historical, cultural, and technological surroundings. There were many historical events that helped shape Jim, one of which being the invention of the television.

Jim Henson once said, “Follow your enthusiasm. It’s something I’ve always believed in. Find those parts of your life you enjoy the most. Do what you enjoy doing” (qtd. in Fionaurora). Jim did just that. He loved puppetry and made many others love it too. The creator and a performer of the Muppets, Henson is known worldwide for his creations, which include shows like Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, and characters such as Grover, Elmo, Big Bird, the Swedish Chef, Bert and Ernie, and Miss Piggy to name a few. Jim’s most famous character was Kermit the Frog. Kermit remains the Muppet with which Henson is most closely associated. Through television and feature films, Henson developed the art of puppetry to new heights

The festival director was Carol Spinney, who played Big Bird on the show Sesame Street, featuring Jim Henson’s Muppets (“History of American Puppetry). In 1977, the first Star Wars movie came out featuring the puppet named “Yoda.” The 1980’s were an important landmark for puppetry. The World Puppet Festival in Washington, DC, sponsored by Puppeteers of America and the Union Internationale de la Marionnette or the UNIMA-USA, gathered puppeteers from all over the world. The performance created an amazing experience for all. How inspirational, that the Puppeteers of America had the strength to continue during that difficult

We watched a video of Maya Angelou discussing how people have had an effect her life. She shares with us that as she has had difficulties in her life. She talks about how there have been people that have been “rainbows” in her clouds. The clouds being her difficulties, and the rainbows being the people that have helped her in some way. These rainbows stayed with her and helped her be her best rainbow for others. I was very moved by this video. Maya Angelou has obviously risen above the negativity and encourages everyone to do the same.

With that being said, there will definitely be mistakes made by me which I will not be able to fix, but I will be able to learn from them and improve myself. I plan to go to a good college, get a good education, and get a substantial job. Both my Oma and I hope that I will meet a girl (who my Oma insists must be jewish), and get married. Maybe have a few kids too. When all of that happens, I will pass on the story of my resilient Oma Ellen and how she was able to overcome almost every obstacle that faced her in

“ In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death. ”(Frank 263)

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive ;and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”. Maya Angelou once said this and I think that what she meant by it is that not only should you try to thrive so that you have a good life. You must also try to ensure that others around you, people you know and people you don’t, thrive along with you. You must have compassion towards those people to ensure that both you and others thrive. In Harper Lee’s

There are challenges too great for one person to overcome. There are other people who harm others around them through their willful ignorance. There are also those who have given up. But despite all of this, we should still try to be better. A good born from

We all have painted a picture (at least once). To paint one beautiful and meaningful picture, the artists had to have a very great and strong inspiration. An inspiration for an artist is the beginning; without a great inspiration, no matter how expensive the tools the artists is using is, the painting will not be as meaningful and as beautiful as it could be. In my perspective, this world, there’s many people, who born with poverty, who born to be a failure, many people who born with illness and or born to become ill. The only thing they have left from the beginning is hope.“Hope” That word seems so small, but it is a very big and meaningful thing for people. The world needs to be hopeful and not giving up easily.

I can decipher what constitutes a better tomorrow and the changes we need because I can see the areas that we need to improve. This notion of a better world sets the stage for hope because I know it is both necessary and a step in the right direction. In other words, it is my desire to see the world as a better place that allows me to hold on to hope.