An obituary to Martin Luther King Jr (aka my history homework)

Hello everyone! First of all, I want to say a BIG thank you for getting me 100 views on this blog! Yay!!!

Lately I feel like all I've been doing on here is moan- and to be fair, I needed to let it out one way or another; but probably not quite to the extent I did take it :3 So today I think will just be a thank you, and I want to everyone I know that I appreciate them, simply because I do! (cheesy, but oh well)

It's been very hectic lately so sadly I haven't been posting, but if I'm honest I can only post on here when I find time as school work gets in the way! In history class currently we're studying black segregation, and for tonight's homework I had to write an obituary dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. Here it is:

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who endured racial segregation, several bombings at his home, fourteen arrests, and multiple other attacks- yet he still pulled through for his campaign of desegregation for America.

Like the majority of black citizens living in 1950s America, segregation from whites played a massive role in King's life- the one thing he dedicated his life to getting rid of.

After completing his PhD at Boston University's School of Theology in 1954, he became a civil rights leader during the bus boycott after Rosa Parks' actions against inequality. This was King's first step towards civil rights- but far from his last.

His organisation of the civil rights movement led to multiple public speeches to both black and white audiences, a boycott in protest to the Vietnam war, and marches in order to stop the actions that were going against everything he believed in.

On April 4th, 1968, King was standing on the balcony of his motel room when he was assassinated by a white man. He was so highly opinionated across the world that in 1986, the third Monday of January every year was made into a federal holiday in the United States for his actions that changed everything.

Please let me know if anything needs changing in that, as I have never written an obituary before! Thanks again for reading, and I'll post again soon!
-Charlotte :)




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Catch up

Hello all! So sorry I've barely posted these last few days- I started back at school and I'm unbelievably busy!

So let's have a catch up, shall we? If I'm honest, Year Eleven is exactly as I imagined it would be; studying until late pretty much every night, counting down the weeks until I finish, and feeling like I really don't fit into Year Eleven- I just want to be back with the Year Sevens! Now, I know I shouldn't really be moaning about my school work as much as I am, simply for the fact that my sister is struggling through Year Thirteen; but still! For some reason, that my current self simply cannot understand, I decided to pick art for a GCSE. Big mistake- not only am I not particularly skilled when it comes to art on the scale that I'm doing for a GCSE, but the amount of work I am expected to do for just a B grade is overwhelming! I'm sure if enjoyed art as much as I thought I would it would be better, and I'm not saying anything against anyone that does enjoy art, but it really just is not my thing anymore. I'm just hoping against hope that I can get my target grade!

So that concludes my daily moan! I'm sure that once I get used to my workload I'll be more cheerful- and I'll try to post as often as I can in the meantime. Thanks for reading!

Charlotte :)

Anxiety

When you meet a new person, are you automatically nice? Or are you one of those ones that just suffers with the burden of not having anything to say, and just ignore them? Obviously the latter of people never have to think about those who get anxiety at meeting new people, especially those their own age, as they seem to have no problem just with the rudeness of their ignorance. Or maybe that's just how I see it.

Today I played in the Junior Open golf match at my golf club, and let's just say it wasn't the most enjoyable event for me. Now, this isn't going to be some sob story about how no one wants to be my friend, or how I think spiteful people should shove their spite up their bum (I am a polite person sometimes), but I just want to release my thoughts without the knowledge that I'm being judged.

I had to play golf with two people who I'd never met before, this in itself being a difficult enough task for me as firstly I'm not that good at golf, try as I might, and these two players were extremely good- the girl had played for England Under 15's girls whereas I play for Leicestershire. Secondly, I get extremely anxious knowing that I'm going to have to spend at least four hours playing golf with these two skilled players, a terrifying prospect for me. As it turned out, I didn't have to worry about the boy I was golfing with as he didn't utter A. Single. Word. To me throughout the whole round. Charming. The girl, however, seemed nice enough and did talk to me briefly in between holes. Still not what I'm used- my average round of golf is spent laughing, chatting, making the tough competition fun and leaving me with a smile on my face. It's not everyday that I reach hole seven of eighteen nearly in tears.

So, eventually, we completed the game and walked into the clubhouse where the boys, some of whom I know and feel comfortable talking to, were sitting at a seemingly strictly-boys-only table and the girls likewise. I had never met any of these girls, but the girl I played with did, so I sat next to her at the end of the table. A few minutes later she moved to a spare seat where the girls were and leaving me alone, empty seats around me, while I heard them chattering away happily. Now, fair enough that they all knew each other and had plenty to talk about; but they didn't even look at me, let alone try to talk to me. I had to wait alone for my dad to pick me up with the lovely organisers occasionally starting up brief chats with me, not hiding the look of pity on their faces for the fifteen year old girl who had no friends.

I'm not trying to moan, and I'm not begging for sympathy; I just want respect. I mean, I guess I could have tried to talk- but where would I have ended up then? Would they have replied, or would they have blanked me? I was too scared even to look at them, of course making me look even worse. It just makes me wish people would understand what it's like to feel unable to make new friends.

From books to films

Everyone says
That books can't be real
The characters can't be real
The plot can't be real
So they think the next best thing
Is to make a film
Pretend it's real
Pretend those events happened
Bring the story to life

But what happened to the good old imagination?
Why does everything have to be made into existence?
The author writes a book
Knowing the reader will interpret that
Into the way their imagination makes it
Because then
The book will be real
The characters will be real
The plot will be real.

So why would anyone want to set it the same for everyone?

Pick up a book

So here begins the ever-dreaded few days before school starts again. Currently I am hastily writing up some notes on To Kill A Mockingbird, which I am delighted to be studying this term in English! I might post the notes separately as they will help with revision if someone is studying the same book. Of course, writing these notes before I begin studying the book was obviously optional, as my teacher could barely get anyone in my class to even touch the book let alone write notes on it. It makes me wonder- where did everyone get this strange idea that reading books is only for the geeks, outcasts, and anyone who isn't 'popular'? Since when has it become 'abnormal' to enjoy a good read? When my English teacher began to pass round the copies of TKAM, I simply needed to look around to find to kind of people that I would love to hang out with- the people who pick up the book, flick through it, thank the teacher for choosing such an excellent story for us to study, rather than pushing it to the other end of the table, having a go at the teacher for 'forcing us to read over our six-week break' and moaning even when she suggested they could buy the audiobook if moving their eyes over a page was too much bother. Where are the Scout's of our era? Where are the people who want to read and write before they are made to, and enjoy it when they do? I can only hope that future generations will keep some shred of normalcy and pick up a book to read, rather than pick up a book to bin.

-Charlotte


A.N. Thanks for reading my blog everyone- it was a surprise to discover there are people from the USA and the Netherlands reading this! If anyone is interested, my friend (also named Charlotte) and I will be running a blog dedicated to books, of which I will post the link to once we have properly started :)

The world needs feminism.

On a general not I rarely make any proper use of my time, in the sense that I never go out for a nice stroll through the woods that are at the back of my garden, or do some baking, or even just doing some work that could get me ahead for school. I guess most of the time I pinpoint that down to my extreme laziness and general I-can't-be-bothered-so-I-won't attitude, but currently I'm wondering if it's something more than that. Rather than just not wanting to go outside like my mum keeps asking me to, is it also a feeling much deeper than that? Is the reason I don't want to go for a walk in the woods really simply that I just can't seem to find the effort to get up and move, or is it something else? In these past few years events of rape, acid attacks, and other horrific incidents have been happening to poor, innocent young women, which is a cause of fear for any young woman. People say that these things only happen because 'their skirt was too short' or 'they let it happen' but that is never going to be the case. Women are constantly seen as just an object for men to make use of, or a target for their well-aimed acid; surely that is enough for a young woman to feel like they'd rather stay inside than risk being raped or have something of that sort to happen to them? No person should ever feel like rape or other has happened to them for a reason, yet that is what society these days is trying to say. Where are all the real people in this world? And why do these stereotypes of 'weak' women exist? Something must be done. Women should never live in fear purely because of something out of their control, something as simple as their gender.

When was the last time you saw a man walking around nervously of who might jump out of the bushes?

Hello ^.^

Today is the day of my new blog (fingers crossed I don't abandon it)! I'll tell you a little bit about myself;

-I'm fifteen years old, so in Year 11 at school
-I live in England, somewhere in the Midlands
-Please don't ever expect me to know geography
-I absolutely adore reading and books in varying genres, from Young Adult to Classics and occasionally Manga
-I'm completely OCD when it comes to grammar and spelling (I swear I have like a photographic memory when it comes to spelling so believe me when I say I'll hunt you down and make you correct your errors)
-My current dream is to become a book editor or something of that sort
-I may seem evil and/or far too sarcastic for my own good but don't worry, you'll get used to it ;)
-Any suggestions on where to go from here would be greatly appreciated!

Lets hope this turns out well!!

Charlotte x