Some people may think
that I’m a simple teenager
but in reality I’m a
Lion
A free roaming lion in the U.S.A.
Roaming free
Minding my own business
making decisions
with Instinct
Not thinking twice
The lion won’t give up
and neither will I
Because I am a Lion
watching out for my family
for that’s what I’m suppose to do
I’ll do my best
to please my family
I am a Lion
I will do what I think is best
and not think twice about it
To do what’s best
is all I want
to please my friends is what I strive to do
but then again
I’m a lion
Roaming free
Doing what
I want
for I am a lion in the
U.S.A.

In Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine and Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73, the writers both explain their own journey of “being alive” and finding out the importance of love and the want to be remembered when they leave the earth. In “Sonnet 73”, the poet expresses his desire to be remembered when he dies. He’s realizing that his youth is over and that his time to die is approaching rapidly. He has come to the understanding that his time has come, as does everybody’s, and with this epiphany his desire to be remembered grows rapidly like a wildfire ravaging through a forest. Similarly, in Bradbury’s novel he takes us through Doug’s experience of becoming “alive” and the devastating impact death can have on other’s lives. In the novel, like the sonnet, the writers have a hard time grasping the concept of time and death. When Bradbury first discovers that everyone dies, including themselves, it changes his entire outlook on life, and as a result that can’t be avoided, it removes his shield of innocence and feeling of invincibility. Throughout both pieces of literature both writers have to come to the life altering realization that their youth is over and that their time on earth is limited and can be taken very suddenly. The writers have come to an understanding that everyone must die including themselves, that their very own youth is its very own life of itself that they must let go of, and they both have a burning desire to not only be remembered by their loved ones and family but for their legacy to be carried on and live through their friends and family.
Both writers come to the inevitable realization that everyone including them must eventually die and leave this world. For example, in “Sonnet 73” the poet understands that he must die and that with this understanding comes his desire for him and others to love more because his days are limited,”This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong. To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.” The poet and his loved ones understand that his time of death is approaching. He wants his loved ones to love him more than before and he also loves them more now because of his realization that everyone dies and he wants to love because his particular time of death is nearing. Likewise in Dandelion Wine Bradbury also has an realization that everyone including himself must die. For example, when Doug is writing in his journal about people dying he realizes that if “Grandma can die. Who was supposed to live forever can die”, that even he can die,”I Douglass Spaulding some day….must….die….”. Doug realizes that everyone must die even if they thought they were invincible like grandma was. He thought that he could live for as long as he wanted and everyone else would just live forever too. Both writers had the same epiphany that people who were thought to be simply unable to die could just disappear and pass away including themselves.
The writer’s also realize that youth is its own life and once it’s gone it can never come back no matter how bad that person wants it too. An example of a person who simply won’t let go of their past is Mrs.Bentley in Dandelion Wine. She tries to relive her past experiences as much as she can because she thinks of those as her “best days”. For example, she tries with everything she has to convince the little children that she was once young,”But I was young, many years ago, a little girl just like you.” Mrs.Bentley tries to convince the girls that she was young and had a youth just like they are experiencing now. Only after a flashback with her late husband does she realize that she has been trying to live in the past for as long as she remembers. Mrs. Bentley realizes that a person must live in the “now” and not in the past. Similarly, in Sonnet 73, Shakespeare realizes that no matter how much he wishes he could go back to his youth and relive those moments he can’t. For example,”That on the ashes of his youth doth lay.” Shakespeare wants to go back and live those days again because,”In me thou seest the glowing of such fire.” Shakespeare sees his youth as his “prime” when he felt invincible and nothing could ever happen to him including his death. Both writers came to the realization that both of their youth’s are their own lives, a phase that no matter how hard they try they cannot relive. Both Shakespeare and Bradbury at first believe firmly that they can relive their youth when instead they should let go of it and live in the present.
Both writers also have a desperate desire to be not only remembered but to live on through their loved ones. They feel like to reconnect with their youth ,which they want, they need to live on after they die through family and friends. However, the main reason both writers want to be desired is because they don’t want to feel like their life was a waste. For example, In Shakespeare’s sonnet he is explaining that when he is on his death bed he will feel like his whole efforts he made to be remembered will be forgotten along with him,”As the death-bed whereon it must expire.” Shakespeare is saying that he has made all of these attempts to be remembered long after he died but he feels like when he dies the world, but more importantly his loved ones, will simply forget all he has done and simply just forget him. Likewise in Dandelion Wine Bradbury feels that once he dies people will just forget him. He wants more than anything to be remembered long after his death and wants his loved ones to remember him because of how much he loves them. For example,”The sea moved him back down the shore.” Bradbury is saying that once a person dies they just “float along” and people forget they ever existed. Bradbury wants the exact opposite of what he thinks happens to happen to him when it’s his time to die. Both writers have a yearning to be remembered long after their death. They both want to be remembered as great men and they also both want their friends and family to love them even when they’re dead. They love their family so much that they consider it their deepest fear to forgotten by them.
Both Sonnet 72 and Dandelion Wine stress the same values in life. Both writers have a want to go back in time to their youth and relive it all again. However, They finally learn to let it go and move on with their lives instead of trying to live in the past life. They both also struggle with the idea of death. They felt like they were on top of the world and nothing bad could happen to them. But when people started dying that were supposed to live forever, and started noticing that more and more people dying they realized that even they had to die. With this much needed realization comes the inevitable desire of wanting desperately to be remembered. They want their loved ones to remember all of their accomplishments and loving memories which brings a paradox into their loved ones lives. The paradox is that both writers realize that they can’t and shouldn’t live in the past and shouldn’t relive memories with now late friends. However, now that they know they are going to die they want more than anything to be remembered long after they have passed away. The writers are entrenched in a mental war between wanting their loved ones to do what the writers disagreed with or not wanting their friends to carry on their legacy and being forgotten forever.

I’ve often thought about what my career will be when I finish school. After much consideration I have come to the conclusion that I would most like to pursue becoming either a sports agent, physical therapist, or orthopedic surgeon.
After extensively researching all three careers I focused mainly on money, opportunities for advancement, flexibility of schedule, education requirements, and benefits of each job, I have decided that I would most like to become an orthopedic surgeon. One of the many reasons I would enjoy being an orthopedic surgeon would be because I would love helping athletes get back to a competitive performance level.

Sports Agent
Physical Therapist
Orthopedic Surgeon
Money: Vast difference average from $96,000-$12,000,000(Scott Boras)
Money:$78,000-$150,000
Money:Starting off is $519,000. Can earn millions
Opportunities for advancement:You can move up the ranks very quickly. It depends on your agency
Opportunities for advancement:It will take at least ten years to make at least $100,000
Opportunities for advancement:Slow. You have to build up an excellent reputation and have years of experience to work with professional athletes.
Flexibility of Schedule: Work your own hours but need to work long days and every day to make money and get big time athletes
Flexibility of Schedule:4 days a week and 7 or 8 till 3-5. Lots of versatility.
Flexibility of Schedule:Start off at 60-80 hours a week to build up reputation and then you work your own hours.
Education: 4 years of college then I would go to law school.
Education:4 years of college then therapy school
Education:4 years of pre med then 4 years of med then 5 year residency
Benefits:Get to know world class athletes and make lots of money
Benefits:Money potentially and get to help athletes back to competition
Benefits: Money and get to help athletes get back to competition and get to know world famous athletes

One of the careers I looked into was a sports agent. The sports agent industry has a huge amount of potential. Some examples of successful sports agents are Scott Boras who makes over ten million dollars a year just with baseball players and Shawn Carter, also known as Jay-Z, who has famous athletes from every major sport like Boras. However many sports agents don’t come close to that type of success and fail miserably. One of the many benefits I could get to work with some of the best athletes in the entire world. I could also eventually work myself and get millions of dollars a year which is a huge deal for me.
Another career I considered was becoming a physical therapist. Because I’ve been in rehab since two Januarys ago for numerous arm injuries I’ve become very familiar with the therapy world and think I would enjoy it. One of the reasons I would enjoy it would be because I would be rehabbing athletes back into their sport. I could eventually make a decent amount of money doing what I love.
Even though I’m certain I would enjoy being both a sports agent or a physical therapist, I’m sure I would most enjoy being an orthopedic surgeon.
I would enjoy this career most because I would be saving athlete’s careers. I know how appreciative my patients would be because I had surgery and know how devastated I would have been if I wouldn’t have been able to get it. I would also meet star athletes from all over the world like my doctor who is rated as the best Tommy John surgeon in the world right beside James Andrews. They both trained under Frank Jobe who invented Tommy John surgery.
One of the numerous positives to this job is a salary starting off at $519,000 guaranteed. I can eventually earn up to millions like Conway (my doctor),Andrews, and Yecum. One of the only downsides to this career is the education requirements. I would have four years of pre-med, four years of medical school, and five years of residency. If everything went according to plan, I would start my job at age thirty-two which is the worst thing about this job.
I think I would be an excellent match for this career because I sincerely want to help people. I know what it feels like to sit out due to injury and it crushed me. I want to limit those cases as much as possible. I’ve been around the best in the world and honestly think I can get to that level if I work hard and hold on to my moral principles.

“No I can’t handle this”, has been said many times when people are dealing with extreme emotions. Many people have difficulty dealing with extreme emotions and don’t know how to react to them in a positive way. The importance of dealing with extreme emotions is that it can have a positive impact on others and can cause you to have a better school performance.
By dealing with extreme emotions such as stress, nervousness, or depression one can be an example to others going through the same extreme emotions. For example, if a person is going through a terminal illness,which many people struggle dealing with in a postive manner,and that person acts in an uplifting way it can inspire others who are going through the same diffucult challenge. Even though the sick person is struggling with extreme emotions such as anger, sadness,and stress from dealing with the sickness, if they handle it the right way it can prove to others that no matter how challenging the illness is that it is possible to overcome. In addition, a person dealing with the loss of a loved one is often a very rough path filled with many extreme emotions where one might feel like a volcano ready to erupt. The person could feel like they don’t have a clue and feel like they’re lost at sea. However, after a person goes through this dreadful period of time they may be able to counsel others in a positive way for others navigating a similar situation and having the same extreme emotions which can help them have positive outcomes.
School performance may also be affected by dealing with extreme emotions the right way. If a student can deal with their extreme emotions such as frustration and nervousness, they will be able to release stress, better their study skills, and improve taking tests. For example a student might have put off studying and the next day have five tests that they haven’t studied for. This student will feel so stressed out that they feel like they should just give up and take the failing grade. However, if that student takes a deep breath and realizes what they have to do they might have a better understanding of the situation and make up for lost studying time, and instead of taking the failing grade they can make a exemplary grade. By identifying extreme emotions and using relaxation techniques such as exercise and rest a student may reduce their anger level related to their school work and performance. For instance, if a student gets a grade lower than passing after studying for hours upon hours they might feel anger boiling up inside of them. However, if that student tries to relax and count to ten they might feel less angry instead of a few seconds before where they felt like they were about to blow a gasket. Then the next time a test comes up they might study earlier and in a much more relaxed oasis like environment. A student’s study habits and test taking ability can be improved when they face extreme emotions of nervousness and frustration when they handle it the right way. When extreme emotions are handled the correct way in a positive manner a student can be more determined and goal oriented for studying and more relaxed for tests.
Thus, by addressing extreme emotions directly and in a positive and relaxed manner, a person can have a positive impact on others as well as for students who handle their extreme emotions of tests and studying the right way can have a better school performance.

“The Unknown Citizen” and “Richard Corey” are both powerful poems with meaningful messages of public perception. Robinson’s poem speaks generally about a man who is perceived to be a “king” and superior to the people on the pavement and has everything one must want to be happy. However, Richard Corey’s life to the public is perceived to be perfect while instead he is broken and flawed which causes him to commit suicide. In Auden’s poem it speaks generally about a man who has done everything socially correct in his life such as “held the proper opinions for the time of year” and has everything a person needs, “ phonograph, a radio, a car, and a frigidaire”. However even though he was socially correct nobody knows if he was “happy” or “free” as the question of if he was seems absurd because “ had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.” While both poems have the same issue of society not realizing that just because someone has “everything necessary to the Modern Man” doesn’t mean that on the inside they are not broken or flawed. The importance of appearance is challenged by the deaths of Richard Corey and the Unknown Citizen because of society’s perception, social rank, and characterization.
“Richard Corey” challenges the importance of appearance by using society’s perception of Richard Corey to just because everyone looks up to you and thinks you’re a king doesn’t mean that you are perfect on the inside. Richard Corey was thought of as someone who was almost “not human”. He was perfect,”rich- yes richer than a king, and admirably schooled in every grace”. However, even though society looked up to him and thought he had everything someone could ever wish for he was actually broken. As an example of how society’s perception was wrong about Richard Corey and that he was indeed broken,”one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet through his head.” Richard Corey was envied as he had everything he wanted yet still, even though society perceived him to be a “king”, he ended up committing suicide. Similarly, in “The Unknown Citizen” society perceives the citizen to have everything one must need or want in life,”And had everything necessary to the Modern Man, A phonograph, a radio, a car and a frigidaire.” The citizen, like Richard Corey, is also well liked with the people who knew him,”he was popular with his mates and liked a drink.” The citizen was also thought to have the right ideas, views, and actions society wanted the perfect citizen to have just like Richard Corey did. For example, “That, in the modern sense of an old-fashioned word, he was a saint, For in everything he did he served the Greater Community.” The unknown citizen, like Corey, did what society thought was right. However, also like Corey, the was thought to be happy and have no issues,”Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.” Thus, in both poems the importance of appearance is challenged by society’s perspective because in “Richard Corey”, as in “The Unknown Citizen”, society perceives both Corey and the citizen as people who had everything materialistically but on the inside were lacking happiness, as self evident in Corey’s suicide. Society holds the money, materialistic items, and the way people thought of them, which both men have, over the self-value, confidence, and lack of happiness, which both men also struggle with. Importance of appearance is challenged by society’s perspective by both poems because of the way both men lacked happiness and freedom on the inside.
“The Unknown Citizen” challenges the importance of appearance by using the social rank of the citizen. People automatically assume that because of his position at work, family life, and having all of his wants and needs covered that he is happy and lives a joyful life without even knowing him. The citizen served in the War and then after kept the same job till he died. People assume that since he had the same job his whole life that he must’ve been content with it, for if the pay was bad, or he simply didn’t enjoy it then he would have certainly left at least once before he died. The citizen’s employers certainly feel that he was content with life,”Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard.” The citizen with his social rank also appears to be very successful. Especially with all of his and his family’s needs taken care of,”and had everything necessary to the Modern Man”. The citizen certainly had the correct social views for the time period,”When there was peace, he was for peace; when there was war, he went. He was married and added five children to the population, Which our Eugenist says was the right number.” His social rank must’ve been high if everyone says he did the right thing. Similarly, in “Richard Corey”, Richard Corey is looked up too, does the right deeds, and is envied for everything he has. Corey’s social rank is extremely high because of these traits and he is a “king”. For example,”In fine, we thought that he was everything.” the people on the pavement look up to him like he is a “god”. They are worshipping Corey so much in fact that they are saying that he is everything to them. Richard Corey’s social rank was also so high that the people envied him immensely,”make us wish we were in his place.” The people want nothing more than to switch places with Corey and to have his high social rank. However, like the unknown citizen, Corey’s social rank doesn’t equal happiness, as both leave question marks as no one knows if the citizen was happy nor do they truly care and in the case of Corey in which he commits suicide. As in the above examples the importance of appearance is challenged by social rank because in the end both men were unhappy,broken,and ended up with many flaws.
Both poems challenge the importance of appearance by the use of characterization in both characters, Richard Corey and the unknown citizen. In “Richard Corey”, the use of characterization challenges the importance of appearance because he is made to seem like a “god” and a “king”, but in the end commits suicide. For example, when Corey simply talked to other people they would act as if their live’s were changed,”But still he fluttered pulses when he said, “Good Morning,” and he glittered when he walked.” The simple act of saying “good morning” makes the people “ooh” and “ahh” at Corey as he “glitters” when he walks away from them. This characterization of Richard Corey makes him seem immortal and un-human like. With the way the people on the pavement look up to Corey and characterize him make him seem like an eternal king who the people strive to impress. With these feelings towards Corey they feel like he is everything to them,”we thought that he was everything,” and what also comes with these feelings is the sense that Corey is their number one idol. Also what the people don’t think about is Corey’s death, they simply can’t believe that he can die much else commit suicide. However, in “The Unknown Citizen”, the way they characterize the unknown citizen is that he is an ordinary man who had all of his needs and wants taken care of. However, as you continue reading “The Unknown Citizen”, and more specifically the characterizations made about the citizen is that he had everything he wanted, such as a great family, a great job, and all of life’s luxuries. For example, “HE was married and had five children”,”And had everything necessary to the modern man”,and ,”He worked in a factory and never got fired But satisfied his employers.” The unknown citizen was characterized as someone who had everything they could ever want or desire.
Overall, both poems are very powerful and convey and very strong message about public perception. Both main characters are perceived to have everything they want, and in the case of Corey are even idolized and worshiped by other people. However no one knows or cares about how they are on the inside. While both poems have the same issue of society not realizing that just because someone has “everything necessary to the Modern Man” doesn’t mean that on the inside they are not broken or flawed. The importance of appearance is challenged by the deaths of Richard Corey and the Unknown Citizen because of society’s perception, social rank, and characterization.