Before Hurricane Katrina I was a junior at Cabrini High School. My family and I had been living in New Orleans east since I was about 5 years old. Usually when the city is threatened with a hurricane, my family and I always “Ride it Out.” But with all the hype about Katrina we decided it would be best to leave. Lucky for us we made the right choice, because our area was one of the worst hit. We evacuated to New Iberia, which is about two hours away from New Orleans. Most of my family lived in New Iberia so we usually spent the holidays there. I packed about two outfits and I actually brought books to do my homework, little did I know I would never return to my school again. The morning of Katrina my grandmother woke me up in tears to watch the news. New Orleans looked like a place I had never seen before. My uncle was a fire fighter so he was forced to stay in the city and help those who needed it. I was so afraid for his life that nothing else really mattered. The fact that my family and I had no home to return to meant nothing as long as he was safe. The first time we returned to New Orleans was very emotional. My family and I could not believe that everything we had worked so hard for was gone. The news had previously reported about six feet of water to be in our area, but seeing it was still very shocking. Katrina took a lot of things from me but somehow brought my family closer together. A week after the storm I was enrolled in New Iberia Senior High School. As much as I missed Cabrini I enjoyed having my family there to help me get through the transition. . Although I left a lot of friends behind making new ones made up for the pain. The people I met in New Iberia were very generous and kind to the Katrina victims. The people I met turned into long lasting friends that I wouldn’t trade in for the world. The biggest change I experienced was going from living in the city to living in a small town. It was hard to adjust but everyday it got a little easier to deal with. Eventually New Orleans was no longer my home and New Iberia was. I often wonder how my life would have been if Katrina would have shifted a few miles west, but when I look at my life I am satisfied with the turn out.

So far I am actually enjoying this class more that I thought I would. The class discussions are very interesting as well as the information we are learning. I went to catholic school almost my entire educational career so religion is engraved in my brain. However I am very interested to view this subject in a more intellectual way. I feel very strongly about faith so I look forward to the future discussion we will have.

My expectations from this class is to understand the Bible in a historical way. I want to be able to truly believe that the scriptures in the bible are based on facts. I am a strong believer in the Holy Bible so this class should actually reinforce my beliefs.

I enrolled in this course because it is required for my major. However even if it wasn’t I think I would still want to take this class. The Bible to me Is a reinforcement of the Christian faith. It gives us something to fall back on when doubts begin to form. Biblical studies is very important to religion. It is needed to show that actual thought and hard work goes into religion. It proves that it isn’t just based on made up stories and old legends.

My background I have had from the bible is mostly from catholic religion classes. However I am not catholic! My religion is Baptist. The catholic church and the Baptist religion are very similar but there are a few differences. I am happy my family introduced me to both religions, and gave me the opportunity to make my own decision. As far as the bible goes I have never really came in conflict with the two teachings.

My career goals are very specific. I plan on graduating from Xavier in the spring of 2011. From there I want to attend the University of Houston College of Optometry. I plan on graduating from there in the spring of 2015, and beginning my life as an Optometrist. I am not sure how this class is going to contribute to my future goals but I am almost 100% sure that it will. As far as the course commitments go I have read them and promise to do my best to follow all the rules required for this class.

586 B.C.E is a key event in the Bible because it was when the Babylonians took over Jerusalem. The King at the time was Nebuchadnezzar II, he exiled the Jews and destroyed their Temple. In Lamentations God uses a natural disaster as a sign to show that he was in control. This could be compared to Hurricane Katrina because a natural disaster occurred in New Orleans and changed many lives. Some people believe that Katrina was a punishment from God for all the sin committed in the city.

The Merneptah Stele is a stone slab with the military victories of Merneptah engraved on it. The Merneptah Stele is important to this coarse because it is the first reference to the nation of Israel. Because of this it is also known as the Israel Stele.

The purpose of the Babe Ruth clip was to show how minor changes can be made to make stories more interesting. The movie clips we watched in class proved that more detail can make a story more interesting. It also shows that adding a backgrounds to the characters can make an audience more attentive. The Babe Ruth story relates to this course because, it shows how it is possible that the Bible also has minor changes to make it sound more interesting.

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