Jeremy+Chen

=The Hero is in all of us. Its who makes the difference when the time comes..=


 * Chesley Burnett ** " ** Sully ** " ** Sullenberger is just a normal airline pilot. He is expected to lead a normal life as he retired from the navy and was employed by a US major airline- US Airways. Captain Sullenberger is just another normal person on the job to assist passengers travel safely, quickly, and effectively. However, fate did not wanted him to become another ordinary individual. Fate chose him to be a hero; Captain Sullenberger and his First Officer Jeff Skiles is about to become the most famous crew on the entire planet just by flying for 5 minutes. **




 * JANUARY 15, 2009 is a sunny but cold and miserable day at New York's LaGuardia Airport. Captain Sullenberger was pilot-in-command of US Airways 1549 departing from New York to Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. As the Airbus powered up the engines and coasted down the runway, nothing seemed abnormal. The flight climbed steadily towards 5000 feet and was immediately directed to a North-west bound course towards Charlotte. Just then when everything was working out smoothly F/O Skiles pointed urgently at the horizon, and yelled, "BIRDS!" **


 * It was too late. The airplane jolted as the engines rolled back to idle, choked by more than 100 pounds of flying meat and skeleton, and the airplane started to screech into a stop in the air. The passengers glanced around nervously as they realized the the jolt and the sudden deceleration were caused by a dual-engine failure. **


 * Captain Sulley immediately took full control and made the mayday call to the ground. LaGaurdia's control tower suggested either turning back to the airport or attempting to land in a nearby regional airport - New Jersey's Teterboro Airport. However, Sullenberger realized they were way too low to make into any of those airports. He trembled as he made his final decision and called to the tower, "We'll end up in the Hudson." **


 * As the Airbus glided closer and closer down towards the Hudson river, the aircraft disappeared off of the controller's radar. At that moment the controller thought the aircraft has crashed and everyone onboard was dead. **


 * Sulley trembled as he briefed his passengers, "Ladies and Gentlemen… brace for impact." After only 5 minutes in the air, US Airways 1549 splashes into the Hudson river. **


 * Water cascaded across the windshield. At that moment, passengers and the crew thought they were dead, since they thought they were going straight for the bottom of the river. However, the aircraft stayed afloat as it is intended to be, and the 100 million dollar Airbus became an unconventional boat bobbing along the waves. **


 * However, the makeshift vessel is not going to stay afloat forever. As the passengers evacuated and the flight crew did the shutdown checklist, water poured into the fuselage and the aircraft is sinking slowly. Sulley was the last off the airplane, taking with him the important documents and records. **


 * In a miracle, everyone was alive and did not sustain serious injury. The flight crew became instant heroes and was renowned for their effort in making their decision and doing their deed to save the lives of their fellow passenger. **

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesley_Sullenberger www.flightaware.com J
 * Sources: **

=The perfect world and perfect place does not exist. Our world is, unfortunately, filled with prejudice, hate, and misdemeanors. However, what if is does?=

Long since the creation of mankind have man sought the idyllic location where the constant battle for survival does not exist. No matter what culture, race, or gender, people sought peace, quietness relaxation, and escape from modern day's hard-pressed lifestyle for survival and welfare. People imagined a place without prejudice or hate, where people learned to respect others for their opinion and ways they execute things. People imagined a place where scarcity does not exist, where everyday is a new day to relax or doing something new, not another monotonous day to struggle in the same way. People created the "Golden Age" and "Garden of Eden" to remind us what the ideal place really is - place where there is no struggle to survive,. That is everyone's and my opinion.

=The gods, the elderly, and our superiority gives us valuable knowledge and gifts. However, can those gifts be beneficial and malevolent if used in a way?= Whoever our teacher are, whether it is a teacher, a parent, a guide, an instructor, or even a god, they gives us a valuable learning experience and usually present us with a valuable gift.

I have received multiple gifts from my elderly and my teachers.These gifts can be a knowledge, skill, an insight into the society, or a physical tool. However, these gifts can be beneficial to myself or others, or can be harmful.

From example, when I received my first laptop as a; it was a great convenience to do classwork, homework, and review on a digital device. However, doing massive amounts of assignments by typing and not actually writing down homework can reduce my ability to write and reduce my handwriting skills. I want to be considered a teacher...not an elderly!

=**There comes a moment when everyone's childhood ends. It might be early; it might be late. It might come fast; it might come slow. However, there come a moment where we have to walk out of our childhood and our past into the future and the adult world.**=

=**There comes a time when it seems hopeless. There is a time we know that our time has come and we will disappear into the dark eternity. However, those moments before are note describing and savoring.**=


 * Plummeting** **from 35,000 feet**


 * Into the dead of night,**
 * Through storm, through rain, over the vast Atlantic,**
 * The panels we trust glows in the darkness,**
 * Guiding the craft through the never-ending black film.**


 * But when those panel fail,**
 * When we fall hopelessly out of the night sky,**
 * When we battled in the confusion and chaos,**
 * The best ending seemed to be the welcome of the ocean below.**



=Changes occur. Some can be a reward. Some can be a punishment.= We live in the world where interaction with others is not avoidable. Through those interactions, we change or are forced to adapt to the new ways.

Midas foolishly asked for the Golden touch as an reward to his hospitality to one of the gods. However, he discovered that his gift creates more harm than good. He realized that he could not eat, could not drink, and everything he loved and he admired immediately turned into solid gold as he touched them. He eventually had to beg the god who gave him the power of the golden touch to remove it. After he bathed in the magical river, his power is completely wiped away. However, through his great folly, he was still conceited. He then insults Apollo and suggested that his music was "inferior." Apollo punished him by transforming his ears to donkey ears.

Midas was forced to were a red turban to cover his ears. However, his hair eventually grew too long and Midas had to call in the royal barber. Midas told the barber that if he told anyone about his ears; he will do horrible things to him. Eventually, the barber got extremely nervous and he could not hold in the secret anymore. He went to a riverside bank, dug a hold, yelled the secret into the hole, and covered it up.

Later cattails grew from the hole whispering the secret the barber could not hold in anymore.

=We live in a modern world of rapid development. Ten years seem like a lifetime. Yet in those 10 years the city I grew up in changed completely.= =Even more so after I left Shanghai to come to the United States.=

Shanghai 2000 Shanghai 2010 Shanghai 2014

I have left the city of Shanghai about 4 years ago to come to the United States to live and study.

I did not realize how much the city have changed...

Several buildings are added to the skyline, 10 additional metro lines were constructed, making Shanghai the city with the longest metro system in the world, More over, the culture, Shanghai became an International city and tourist destination...

=Summer reflects the Golden Age. Summer brings out the best of all of us and of all of nature.= Summer (no doubt in my opinion), is the Golden Age we all looked for and desired. Everything of nature is at its finest- plant and animals flourish in the warmth. Great weather is expected (and usually occurs) everyday. With the enormous quantity of free time we have on our hands during summer, we usually get opportunities to travel and see things. For me, as a pilot I usually have to opportunity to fly a lot more during the summer since the weather is usually good. I see a lot more activities on the ground as I fly.

Summer is just a wonderful season where we can enjoy the warmth, the time we have, and the weather nature provides.

=After so long, our adventure in the mythology unit comes slowly into an end. However, through these stories what did we REALLY learn?= Humans are curious and demanding creatures. We seek answers. We seek truth. We seek things that protect us and defend us against the threat of everyday living. Through those seeking and wanting, we sometimes pay a terrible price. Those terrible prices motivated us to create tales that inspire future generation. We blend in our colorful imagination and thinking and create gods, goddesses, and mythical creatures that helps us explain what is going on and what should go on. These tales warn the future generation the terrible price they might pay when they seek for the answer to their questions.

So what did we learn through reading these stories? Well, we know that humans are social creatures. We know that we bond together in order to survive and gain a more advanced understanding of the world. We know through that, we have to change, adapt, and most importantly, grow up and break through our innocence. We have to work terribly hard for survival and understanding from others.

IT IS NOT FAIR. That is the lesson.