nothing was as it once was

A moth brushed his face, but it was a peach blossom. A peach blosssom filcked him but it was a moth. Nothing stayed put. Nothing had a name. Nothing was as it once was. 

Ray Bradbury says that nothing will stay the same. the Civil War has changed everything. it has also changed Joby as well. Because "In the Drummer Boy of Shiloh" Bradbury says "nothing stays put" he means that nothing stays the same. Not even us. As we grow up and mature we see things differently than we would as kids. 

when I was a kid I would always think that the world is good. That the bad guys will always be put away. that is how innocent we are. we think the world is good and it will stay that way. It doesn't. The good people will sometimes be put away while the bad guys sometimes get away free. People will always suffer one way or another. 

the world is constantly changing and so is the land and people on it. we don't stay the same. As we change our views and ideas change with us. When Bradbury says a peach blossom can be moth or vice versa I think he's referring to how nothing has a name. anything can be anything. It's kinda like if you drop your books and someone helps you pick them up do you really remember their face or remember them at all. they're just a face in the crowd. they could be anyone.

the author then says "nothing was as it once  was" he could be referring to anything. people, ideas, thoughts, points of view. they don't always stay the same. In the beginning Joby felt scared, alone, and thought he was lower than everyone.  After the general talked with him his attitude changed. he changed a little. just like he changed we change to. everyday something happens that makes us change our ideas a little. 

nothing ever really stays in one place. we go from one idea to another. one thought to another. I am constantly going from one idea to another. so we all will change. maybe not now but who knows when. 

cross my heart and hope to spy

"the trustees and I felt it was important that Gallagher Girls learn how to communicate with, and trust the men you'll have to work with someday"
Trust. We stake our lives on it, but it's a subject that not even the Gallagher Academy can teach. When do you let your guard down?Who do you let in? And I knew at the moment, as i sat beside my mother, bathing in the warm spring light, that those where the questions a good spy never stops asking.

the dictionary definition for trust is reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence. My definition of trust would be to know you can always count on and believe someone. in the book though Cammie says that those are the questions a good spy never stops asking. she knows she can trust her friends Macey, Bex, and Liz and her mom. 

trust is different for everyone. some people can easily trust others. while others depending on how they grew up don't trust as easily. they are suspicious and prabley only trust those they know well. they must have went through a lot. so only those they know well they trust. ic an never imagine what they went through. all the peole i  know i can trust. so cammie living as a spy must be difficult.

reading response to twelfth grade kills

Vlad's father Tomas is alive after Vlad thought he was dead for eight years. when his father comes back he feels angry, betrayed, and guilt for feeling angry. his mother is still dead. after a while Vlad and his Guardian Nelly (his mother's closest friend) are both able to forgive him for all the pain he caused them. his uncle Otis however can't. Vlad's father being alive was a shock when everyone thought he was dead. Tomas told them that he was only trying to protect Vlad from the people who wanted to kill him (Tomas).things aren't always what they seem and often the people you think you know aren't who they seem either.

Vlad's father wasn't who Vlad thought he was. he only wanted Vlad's power so he made his mother his slave so that he could have Vlad. Vlad's friend Vikas turned out to be with Tomas the whole time. Tomas killed his mother Mellina when he found out that she was planning to take Vlad away turn him in to Elysia for his crimes. he also killed the vampire she cantacted to help her. Vlad thought that his father loved him. he didn't.  in the end Vlad killed his father after he killed Nelly. he (Vlad) said that he prabley saved the rest of humanity when he killed his father but that still left him feeling guilty. 

in the end make sure you know the people around you. they're often the ones you think you know but you don't. in Vlad's case his father was a power hungry man who just had him so that he could kill him and take his powers. it's like John from i don't want to kill you. his father was a violent man who never loved him or his mother and sister. even though he beat them he still loved his father because he was "dad". he hated him but still loved him too. the same thing with Vlad. he still loved his father because he was his "dad" even though his father didn't love him in the end.