Sunday, March 6, 2011

She Said Yes by Misty Bernall

This book tells the story of a 17-year-old, average teenage girl named Cassie Bernall. This book is written by her mother and shows everyone the decision Cassie had made on April 20, 1999. Cassie Bernall attended Columbine High School, which is the school that had the largest school shooting ever in history. Her mom tells the story of her daughter and how she was a very passionate girl about her faith in Jesus Christ. On the day of the shooting, Cassie had handed her friend Amanda a note saying that she wanted to live for Christ alone and even though it's scary, she wanted to live life fully for the will of God. When she was in the library working on her English project, the librarian had yelled to everyone that there were kids with guns in the hallway and everyone to get under the desks. Everyone thought it was just a senior prank, but when the shooters, which happened to be her classmates, walked into the library yelling, everyone knew this was no joke. All students in the library got under the tables as soon as possible, just hoping that their lives would be spared.
Among these students was Cassie Bernall. She was praying and praying that the students would just leave and do no harm. As they walked around, shooting kids, Cassie was still praying her life would be spared. Unfortunately, one of the shooters slammed on the desk right above Cassie. He bent down in front of her and said, "Do you believe in God?" Cassie, although nervous as can be, said, "Yes." The shooter just looked at her and said, "Why?" But before Cassie could even explain, the shooter shot and killed her immediately. Cassie was a strong girl and willing to stand up for her beliefs. She trusted God and had so much faith that she was willing to give up her life for the sake of God's will. The story of Cassie Bernall is a very unfortunate story. Although very sad and unfortunate, it amazes me how much faith she had as a seventeen year old girl and how much she was willing to stand up for what she believed in, no matter what the cost.

1) What do you think that Cassie Bernall was thinking as the gunman asked her if she believed in God?

2) To what extent do you think you would be willing to stand up for what you believe in?

10 comments:

Natesa W. 7-8 said...

1. She probably had many thought going through her head at once, like most people in danger do. She probably thought of a few scenarios when she lied or answered truthfully. But in the end, she answered "yes", because she was brave enough and didn't want to have to lie.

2. It depends on what the situation was. For some things, I would go until death to stand up. I would like to think that I would go all the way to death for my religious faith, but I honestly do not know if I would.

Millie W. 7/8 said...

1. I think she was thinking of how everyone has to go through trials on earth. God is there even in the most scary hard parts of our lives. Some people say that God doesn't exist because of all the bad things that happen in our life. However everything we go through helps us grow as a person.

Millie W. 7/8 said...

2. I believe If you truly beleive in something you would die for it before forsaking it. I believe I would rather die first.

Nicole H. 7-8 said...

I think if I was fighting for something I believed for I would give my all in it.

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

Tesa- I think there were many thoughts going on in her head too. She probably did think of all of the possible scenarios but in the end she decided to stand up for her faith and go all the way through with her it, even though it did unfortunatly mean death in the case of Cassie Bernall.

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

Millie-I also think that God was with her even through this terrible situation. I would also like to think that I would stand up for what I believe in, but a person never knows what they would truly do in a situation as terrible as the situtaion she went through.

Sara D. 7-8 said...

2)I agree with everyone, if I really had faith in something, I would stand up for it no matter what the circumstances are.

Abby M. 1-2 said...

1. Honestly I wonder if Cassie thought of anything as the gunman asked her the question. From the summary it sounds like she was very connected with her faith so saying yes to what was a simple question for her was probably a no-brainer. It seems to me that Cassie didn't even debate what to say, she simply answered what she believed.

2. I hope that I would have the courage in such a terrifying situation to stand up for my beliefs.

Ashlyn W. 7-8 said...

I agree with you Abby. She was scared, but also, she knew what the answer was and was going to say Yes no matter what the consequences were.

Hannah K. 1-2 said...

1. she was probably very scared, and not thinking clearly. However, because of her strong faith, she was probably heavily focused on praying.
2. I do not think that deaths such as Cassie's prove a point or improve the object of their devotion, so I think, if it were possible (which it probably wasn't in her situation) it would be better to lie, and then continue to live and help what you believe in.