I am thankful for many things this year, but here are the top three. One of these things is the health of my family. There have been some deaths this year, but thankfully my closer family has remained unharmed. I still see both sets of grandparents weekly and they are all in good health. They all have a great memory as well as decent mobility. Another thing I am thankful for is my new baby cousin, Dean. He was born on September 26, of this year. He is healthy and full of excitement. Up until now, I have only had one first cousin, so it is really exciting to finally get another. The last thing that I’m grateful for is the fact that my family is close by. I am quite lucky to have all of my grandparents, aunts, and uncles live nearby. None of them live more than a thirty minute drive away and we stay very close with one another.

If I could have three wishes, they would be these. My first wish would be for world peace. Countries could learn a lot from other cultures, and no more wars would save a lot of lives. The world would work together to expand exploration in space and the ocean to truly understand the universe. My second wish would be for animal care. This would mean that pets as well as wild animals would not be abused or tested on. We could still hunt for food, but people wouldn’t even think to over hunt. My last wish would be for no more littering. Littering not only harms animals, but it is also just gross to see trash everywhere. This would tremendously help the worlds oceans and seas by keeping animals from choking on plastic. If we helped clean up the mess society has already made, cities and towns would be a lot cleaner.

In October, I read the book The Martian by Andy Weir, but I only got to page 300. The Martian is a science fiction book about a guy named Mark Watney who gets stuck on Mars. As a large sandstorm sweeps in, the crew attempts to flee the planet. The whole crew makes it to the ship except Mark, who gets hit by an antenna from the falling communication dish leaving him separated from the group. As the rest of the crew escapes presuming him dead, Mark is stranded on Mars and he is forced to fight for survival. He grows plants and even makes water in a desperate attempt to live. Eventually, the rest of the world finds out that he is alive and everyone pitches in to bring him back home.

I loved this book because it always kept me on my toes. The plot was unlike anything that I have ever read before, and there were twists that kept the book exciting. It was difficult to understand at times due to the fact that it constantly changes the character that the story focuses on, but this helped the story stay interesting. It allowed the reader to see the situation from other characters point of views instead of just Mark Watney’s. The amazing storyline as well as a great sense of humor make this book absolutely incredible.

The humorous protagonist, Mark Watney, was my favorite character in the book because of his ingenuity. Mark was very resourceful which allowed him to use objects in clever ways to survive. The novel says, “So I collected ribbons of bark from local palm trees, then got a couple of sticks and rubbed them together to create enough friction to . . . No not really. I vented pure oxygen at the stick and gave it a spark. It lit up like a match.” This shows that Mark finds other uses for items in a way that benefits him. He didn’t have a match so he had to make one with the resources he did have.

My favorite quote from the book is on page 212 where the text states, “She knew right then no one’s mind would change. They were going to Mars.” I love this quote because it shows how loyal Mark’s crew really is. Instead of going back home, the crew disobeys their orders and decides to risk their lives to save Mark Watney.