Snow?

I am semi happy that this winter has been warm so far. But Christmas has already came and went, New Years is just around the corner and STILL Minn-SNOW-ta doesn't have snow. It is just wrong. 

The end of the December is the time when people want snow! No one is dreaming of a brown Christmas. We WANT snow. But apparently Mother Nature hasn't gotten the memo. She will probably get it a little to late and we will have a ton of snow in March and April, when we don't want it anymore! 

I guess my Grandma was right, "We can't always get what we want." 

I am hoping though we will get some snow in time for New Years. Wouldn't be the perfect way to celebrate starting a new page in life? 

Books: 1, Kindle: 0

Dear Kindle,

Guess what doesn't die during class when you need it the most?

Sincerely, books.

Risk

Every day is a risk. When you get out of bed in the morning you are risking being awake for an awful day. You are risking getting in a crash when you step into your car. Going to school means you are risking listening to dumb, annoying comments from obnoxious kids in class. By going out on the weekend means you might miss Jake Gyllenhaal when he stops by your house.

Well maybe that last one was a stretch, but you're paying attention again aren't you? 

Every thing a person does is a risk. When the positive aspects out weigh the negative, you know risk is worth taking. 

Though you day could be awful it could be the best day ever. You could go on an amazing adventure. You could meet someone who despises the obnoxious kids as much as you and now you have someone to laugh at them, along with a new friend. You could have the most fun you have had in ages. 

There is a phrase that seems to be following me around all year and it applies to this topic as well. "This too shall pass..." Even if you take a risk and it ends up being a bad idea the negative consequences will pass (unless you are really dumb...). And if you are just on a streak of good luck when all your risks are paying off, you will run into a risk that takes a turn for the worse, so don't get to cocky. 

For the most part risks are a good thing and even if you take a risk you shouldn't have you are able to learn from them. Most risks, even if they don't turn out well, aren't life or death. Taking risks is a part of life. They help people grow. 

If you are unsure of something, go for it. 

If you are really really really unsure, it isn't worth it. 

Part of life is learning what risks are good and which are not. But sometimes to learn that you need to make some bad decisions first. 

A Little Taste of Humor

Sooooo I couldn't find the video on youtube so I just to have to put the link here and you have nooo idea what the video is until you click on it. Evil, I know.

A Lost Art

The most under appreciated art form is definitely car dancing. 

Now let's not confuse car dancing from "dancing" dancing, because they are two very different things. "Dancing" dancing requires a certain amount rhythm in the lower half of your body. While with car dancing you are only allowed to use your top half of your body (because the bottom half is seat belted in and, if you are the driver, controlling the speed of the car). 

If you want to be the best car dancer in town take note of these tips: 

1) Get into the music. 

2) This is no Sara Bareilles hour (even though she is amazing), unless you are prepared to belt it out. Get some pumped up music.

3) No matter what song you are listening to singing out LOUD is encouraged. Especially if you don't know the words. 

4) When in doubt flail your arms. 

5) Car dancing is an all or nothing kind of dancing. If you are not all into it you will look like a fool.

If for some reason you are having trouble going all out try car dancing at night. One of the most common reasons people have a hard time with car dancing is because they are embarrassed of other people seeing them. But with the cover of darkness you don't have to worry about it! And you can dance your heart with out the fear of judging eyes. 

Hopefully now you are educated on car dancing and can help promote this dying art. With your help we can raise awareness and make sure that car dancing never becomes a forgotten art. So get in your car, turn up the radio, and dance your heart out. 

On Compassion.

We are on our way to the store, our daily trip. Baby Cynthia is sitting comfortably in her stroller. Her blond hair is rustled by the wind. I admire her beauty as I stop at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. I notice everyone else waiting simultaneously averts their eyes. I look to see what they are avoiding. A man in tattered clothes, hair in dreadlocks has stopped a few feet away from us. Out of instinct I tighten my grip on the stroller. He peers down at Cynthia. He look down at my baby, no shame, no embarrassment from staring. His look is so intense, almost loving. Maybe it isn't even almost, it is loving or at least caring. There is something about the way he looked at her that makes me look at him. What do I see? A man, who for whatever reason has practically nothing. His clothes look like they have been attacked by scissors, thrown away and then the man found them and pulled them out of the trash. What did he do to deserve this? Did he commit a terrible crime? Turn to drugs and alcohol? Or could it be that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Forced into a set of unfortunate circumstances due to no fault of his own? By the way he is looking at my daughter it is hard for me to believe that he is a bad man. Without another thought I reach down into my purse. No I don't want lipstick, that is a handkerchief, address book. Oh my I need to organize my purse better. Ah there we are. I thrust my hand out to the man, this money should be his not mine. He hesitates, not accepting the dollar I have offered to him. Cynthia is goofing around in the stroller pulling the blanket over her head. He continues to look at her, still not reaching for the money. For an instant I am regretful of my action, have I offend him? No, it doesn't matter now, he needs this money more than me, he should take it. The light has turned and he still isn't taking it. I push the stroller slightly, to show my impatience, and reach out farther to him, showing him to take it. With a look of caution on he his face he reaches out and takes it from me. An unexpected rush goes through my body. I know I did the right thing.

Luck.

1. (Definition) Luck is a force that causes either good or bad things to happen in someones life. It's a combination of circumstances and events that together bring good or ill fortune to someone. The idea of luck is occasionally scoffed at. It goes with ideas like superstitions, not everyone is a believer. But whether or not luck exists there are some occasions that can't be described anything less than lucky.

2. (Narration) It was dust as my mom and I exited Cost World Market, and interesting store filled with unique knick knacks. I was lagging behind my mom as we walked to the car. I noticed something on the ground, flapping in the wind. My mom walked right past it but I stopped to see what it was. Two twenty dollar bills had been dropped on the ground. I picked them up and marveled at my find. Filled with glee, I skipped to the car to show of my treasure to my mom. It was my lucky day.

3. (Classification/Division) There is good luck and then there is bad luck. Good luck is finding five dollars on the ground. Bad luck is finding five dollars on the ground and then discovering that same bill was used to pick up dog poop. Everyone has moments of good luck along with moments of bad. A good quote to remember is "This to shall pass..." In the moments of good luck it keeps us humble and when you are beginning to think the day couldn't get any worse it reminds us that there are better days to come.

Do you know what movie this is from? In this movie someone definitely finds money with dog poop in it... Am I completely original? No. I steal ideas from great movies with Lindsay Lohan in them :) 

4. (Description) Perfect ringlets hang from her heart shaped head. She jumps in to the taxi that was stopped right outside her door. Even though she ends up getting to work 30 minutes late she doesn't get in trouble because as it happened her boss is running behind 45 minutes. Unfortunately she forgot her co workers birthday but just happened to have the perfect gift in her desk that she was able to give instead. Nothing could stop her today.

5. (Comparison/Contrast) Luck and karma are both concepts that not everyone believes in and both have mystery behind them but they aren't exactly the same thing. Karma is the idea that if you do good things good thing will happen to you. But if you do bad thing than bad things will happen to you. With luck if you have good luck it doesn't necessarily mean you did anything good to deserve it and vice versa with bad luck. Karma is, in some ways, a more comforting idea. Because with karma you are able to have more control  of what happens to you while with luck you are just stuck with whatever comes your way.

6. (Example) J.K. Rowling examines the idea of luck by creating a potion called "Felix felicis" that is introduced during the six Harry Potter book. When someone takes a sip of potion they will have good luck until the affects where off.  When Harry is under the affects of the potion he knows just where to go and what to say to get what he wants. During the battle at Hogwarts Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the rest of the gang that take a sip miraculously miss all of the curses that are being targeted at them.

Well I thought I was using the color "aqua" which I was happy about since it sounds cool but I am not. This is just blue. And it turns out aqua is a really light color and I don't really want to use it anyway. But congrats you all did great at guessing, I am proud of you all (not saying I didn't think you were smart enough to get them right just that I don't know if I would get them all right...). 

My Afternoon.

The air was crisp and fresh. I put my North Face fleece on, wrapped a scarf around my neck, pulled on my red mittens, and went out side to go for a walk. I had only walked a couple blocks when I spotted something. I couldn't tell what is was at first but when I looked closer I discovered it was a puppy. The most adorable puppy I had ever seen in my life in fact. Its drool was rainbows and its poop was sugar cubes and gumballs. It was as cute as

and

All combined. And then doubled. It was the sweetest little thing. When I was arms length away, it perked up and bounded over to me giving me a big slobbery kiss. The kiss was delivered with such love I couldn't help but smile. I wanted nothing more then to take it home with me but I have been bugging my mom to get a kitten and her answer is always no without a hesitation. I wanted to savor my time with the cutie pie so I decided to have him accompany me on the rest of my walk. 

We came to a street. I paused for a moment to look both ways but the puppy was too excited to wait, he ran ahead.

OH MY GOODNESS. 

The puppy was no more. Oops...

Now to lighten the mood. 

A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?” 

The operator, in a calm soothing voice says: “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard. 

The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: “OK, now what?"

Didn't work? hmmmmmm. 

A man and a friend are playing golf one day at their local golf course. One of the guys is about to chip onto the green when he sees a long funeral procession on the road next to the course. He stops in mid-swing, takes off his golf cap, closes his eyes, and bows down in prayer. 

His friend says: “Wow, that is the most thoughtful and touching thing I have ever seen. You truly are a kind man.” 

The man then replies: “Yeah, well we were married 35 years.” 

You got to to admit that one was funny.

Which day of the week do fish hate?.......

Fry-Day  Especially in Wisconsin. They LOVE their fish fries on Friday! and their beer...  And if you have nooo funny bone and haven't even cracked a smile maybe this will do it :)  I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather.  Not screaming in terror like his passengers.   If you still haven't laughed lets just go for a new classic.  Knock knock?  Who's there? I ate mop You finish it. Laughing? I am.  Now hopefully you have laughed, cried, and been joyous and angry while reading. :)  (and enjoyed my interpretation of what a puppy killed by a car looks like....;))

Mass Media and Mass Taste (p. 119)

My mother is what you would call overprotective. When I am watching "How I Met Your Mother" (which is SUCH a funny and great show) and they make a reference to sex or something else my mother deems to be "inappropriate" she insists that I either turn off the TV or change the channel. A request that I believe is stupid since I am almost 18 (in 5 months I will be :)) and it actually isn't inappropriate, but I guess behavior like this is why I call her overprotective. 


But let's, for the sake for this blog, cut her some slack. Media has changed some of it's focus. Now there are shows such as Jersey Shore, which glorifies getting drunk and sleeping with random people. The cast goes out and parties almost every night and acts like fools promoting behavior parents wouldn't necessarily want their kids to partake in. Kids movies now have more sexual and drug references in them too. Most of the references are subtle and I feel like they are in there to help entertain the parents during the movie but they are still in there. 


Now a days kids are getting involved with more inappropriate things sooner. Much of these shifts in morality and values are most likely due to the images media is portraying. If media is the cause of relaxed morals than maybe parents should monitor what their kids are watching. Because media, especially TV and movies, have wiggled its way into most peoples life and has a way of manipulating facts and images it has a major effect on peoples perception. 


But the question is whether societies values evolved changing media or was it media that chanced values? If society wasn't ready for Marilyn Monroe to come out with naked photos they wouldn't have accepted her and she wouldn't have gone on to be successful. I think the values portrayed in media probably comes before societies outward acceptance of the changing value. But the media isn't portraying values that society isn't ready to accept. 


Sorry I posted late. I feel asleep while reading the packet and then once I woke up I had to finish the reading and then it was dinner and then I posted. :) Sorry... 

THE BEST.

I am a big texture person; I value soft things. If you ever go shopping with me you will notice, as I look through the racks of clothing, that I run my fingers over all the different fabrics. When I come across something that feels pleasing, it automatically becomes a candidate to join my wardrobe.

Because of my love for how things feel, I LOVE flannel sheets. They are honestly one of my favorite things. When my mom asks, "Ready to switch to flannel sheets?" I am all, "YESSSSSSSS PLEASEEEEEEEEE." It is THE BEST. I think it is one of the reasons I love fall so much... It is just so much more pleasant to sleep in a bed that has flannel sheets. You can just snuggle up against them and loose yourself in the wonderfulness that is now your bed. 

The one downfall of flannel sheets is it make it a lot harder to get out of bed in the morning. The alarm goes off and you can't help but think to yourself, Ahhh, time to get up. But I am SOOO comfortable... I don't want to get up. Okay, just 2 more minutes. And you end up waking up 15 minutes later. Darn you flannel sheets, I am going to be late... It's okay, you are worth it, I'll just get ready faster. But now I should really get up. So you wrap your self up in those deliciously soft flannel sheets for one last time before you throw them off you and crawl out of bed into the cold harsh world. (And yes, the proper word to describe them is delicious. Get over it. Dictionary.com it, it actually makes sense. Though I would have used it even if it didn't...)

They are marvelous.

The other day I learned that my friend didn't have any flannel sheets. It made me sad, everyone should experience the joy of flannel sheets. Actually.

I also love my fleece blanket. It is big and glorious and soft and has alligators and skateboard on it. :) 

Flannel sheets are what makes people live in Minnesota. You can't have flannel sheets (or nice big fleece blankets) in Hawaii, it would be way to hot.

Writing Process

I spent a lot of time and effort editing and trying to make my paper the best it could be. My work space was not what I call neat... Papers were strewn all over my computer desk. I had past drafts out along with all the resources posted on the website. Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com were permanently open on my computer. I wanted to make sure I understood every word used in the article, so that is why I needed Dictionary.com. And as a general rule I know writers aren't supposed to use Thesauruses but I have the constant problem of not being able to remember the perfect word for a situation. Using Thesaurus.com helps me think of the words I want to use. Because of my short attention spanned I ended up taking a lot of breaks, ESPECIALLY when I was having writers block... Generally these breaks consisted of going to the bathroom, looking in the fridge, going through my internet tabs, playing a quick game of brick breaker, or just staring out the window. At night you can see right into my neighbors house from the computer, if there is lights on. You can often see my neighbor working away on their computer as well. Sometimes I stare over at them or I will just look out into the yard, watching the occasional squirrel run across the fence.

Even after hours of editing, revising and changing the essay it is still hard to be completely happy with an essay that is worth so many points. I understand it isn't the end of the world to get a C in a class, but it is extremely frustrating. So even though I did really like my essay I was not content with the draft I turned it... But I guess you can always make writing better, maybe an essay or a story is never actually done.

Scarcity.

When I came home from school today I REALLY wanted an apple. So I opened the fridge and looked in the fruit drawer. NO APPLES.

With dinner, I wanted to drink some milk with my frozen pizza, the necessary beverage for the meal (SO GOOD!). So I looked in the fridge. NO MILK.

About 5 minutes ago I really wanted some orange juice. Perfect drink to help analytical juices flow right? So I went to the fridge, opened it, peered up at the top shelve where the orange juice goes and. NO. FLIPPING. ORANGE. JUICE.

Leave it to my fridge to be lacking ALL the foods I have been craving today...

Guess I will have to compromise for now and be satisfied with my caramel apple sucker. But I am not sure if it is as good in promoting thoughtful analysis as orange juice... So if I don't do as well on the rhetorical analysis as I would like, lets make the fact my system was lacking in orange juice be the scapegoat... Our generation doesn't like to take responsibility for ourselves right? But yeah! At least this way I am not blaming the teacher :) I think that is our societies problem. Placing blame on the wrong people. It isn't the students fault , obviously we're perfect... It isn't the teachers fault, they work hard and try their best to teach students who don't always want to learn. It is in reality the fault of lacking orange juice. Problem solved. Blamed placed.

But I digress, not what I intended/intend this blog post be about. Going back to my original point. I want some apple, milk, and orange juice... Maybe it shouldn't be a big deal, the fact that I find  this a big deal (because I do! why else would I write about it?) is probably due to the fact that I only got 2 hours of sleep last night (combination of mo pro and AP comp is... not fun... what happened to senior slacking? I am starting to think it is a myth...) and now everything seems like the end of the world.

I just hope my caramel apple sucker does the job my orange juice would have and I am able to focus and create a BOMB essay for tomorrow :)

If I Had a Twitter

Wow left my rhetorical analysis rubric AND annotated article at school... Brilliant. #freakingout #gametime #letswriteanexcellentpaper #withoutmakingsureitmeetstherequirementsbecauseidonthavethestupidRUBRIC #stillfreakingout #idiot



That is how many hashtags most tweets have, right? #accurate? #mocking

Bed Time Soon?

I am sooooo tired. I just want to go to bed. I bet I could fall asleep right now, sitting up, at my computer, if I let myself. Which is sort of weird since it is only 10 which isn't THAT late. But for some reason I am EXHAUSTED!

But I can't go to bed. I need to finish my rhetorical analysis essay. But I don't get it! I have no idea what I am supposed to be writing... Or my mind just doesn't know what to write. It is a blank slate, and empty slate, filled with nothingness. I have read the assignments sheet a lot. Like at least 5 times in a row this evening. And that was in one sitting I maybe have read it around 15 times today in total... I have re-read my text many times today. But I am still stumped. 

Maybe it is just writers block. But I wish it wasn't coming now... I just want to go to bed. 

Lucky though, I think I get read for bed in like 5 minutes tonight (compared to my normal 30ish) because I don't need to shower and I am wore my (new) glasses today so I don't need to take out my contacts. All I need to do is brush my teeth, wash my face, get in my pjs and jump in my bed! I am excited... 

Now I have watched some youtube videos. Hopefully my writers block has gone away a little at I can write something... 

Wish me luck?

Well so much for not procrastinating... 

I really needed this four day weekend! It was great. Even though I managed to leave my mountain of homework until today. DUMB. But whatever I can talk about my stupidity in another post I am not writing about it today. 

On Friday and Saturday I helped build houses through Habitat for Humanity. Doesn't that sound neat "I build houses"? Well I guess "build" is sort of exaggeration what I did. But it makes me sound more productive!

On Friday we (we refers to the group of kids who did Habitat for Humanity through Club Y.E.S) went to a house in New Hope. I sanded some walls in the downstairs bathroom. Then I cut off some dry wall and figured out that wasn't what I was supposed to do... Oops! So I had to fix my mistake... Then I helped cut some holes in a piece of sheet rock, that would soon make up part of  the wall in the bathroom, so some pipes could come through it. I also did some sweeping. I feel like I didn't do much... But hopefully I played at least a small role in building/fixing the house. :) 

Saturday we were in Columbia Heights. At this house we had to pick up the yard, put away scaffolding, bag leaves and twigs, etc. Then we working on painting the outside of the house. But we ran out of paint.... So we didn't get to finish. Once the top of the garage was painted (it got finished before we ran out of paint) we had to take down the scaffolding. We had done it earlier in the day too but oh my goodness, it is sort of a drag to take it down. There are planks that go across the scaffolding so people can walk on them and we had to move all of them into the garage since apparently they were valuable and people could steal them and sell the scraps... But it a pain. I working on doing this once the stakes were already pretty high and I had to wedge myself between the stacks and some wood and it just was not pleasant... 

I think habitat is a good program so I was glad I got to help out. But the consequences of doing it is now I am sore in the oddest places... Who knew building houses worked your armpit muscle? 

Comp is EVERYWHERE

Someone posted this video on Facebook and I could not help but notice some of the techniques it used to make it's argument. Logos, pathos and ethos jumped out at me in every direction! I thought it went along with some of the stuff we are learning in class so I decide to post it on my blog :) 

enjoy? though if you watch it you will know that that is the wrong thing to say about it...

Education

How do you gauge success? By how you feel? How much you learn? Your grade? How well the people around you do? Everyone looks at success in a different way. 


In India and China they strive to do well. They put in a lot of time and effort into their schoolwork in hopes of getting into the university of their choice. Hours upon hours are spent in school and then out of school learning everything they can. The problem is everyone is doing this. Because everyone is putting is so much effort it raises the bar of expectation. This makes it so if you don't put in a ton of work into school, like everyone else, you will not seem as smart in comparison. This is why even the really smart people did not get into their first choice of college, since almost everyone is really smart. 


This can all be related back to "I Just Wanna Be Average". Mike Rose talks about needing to set higher expectations. When he was in the vocational track he had low expectations so he met them. But when he was in the normal program, with higher expectations, he had to work hard but he was able to succeed. The exceptions in America are lower than in that of other countries so american kids do less school work than the kids in foreign countries. American kids also have the expectations to do extracurricular activities and other things outside of school. Because kids are expected to have other commitments than school american's can't possibly be expected to but in as much time in school work as the kids from India or China. 


Mike Rose also touched on an other interesting point. The other day Mrs. Cardona posed an interesting question, is it the teachers responsibility to put in extra effort with kids who's passed teachers didn't prepare them for the current class? Now if a majority of the class does not know how to do something or know something that should have been taught previous then I do think it is the teachers responsibility to go over the topic and teach it to the students. But what if you have a situation like Rose's? Being in the vocational program he didn't learn everything he should have to have him be prepared when he entered the normal program again, is it the teachers responsibility to take out class time to work with that one student? As of now, my thought is no, the teacher does not have to take out class time to help the one student. However, the teacher MUST have opportunities outside of class, maybe before or after school, for the student to come in and get additional help. The student should be able to ask for help and try to understand everything and the teacher than in turn should help the student figure out a way for he/she to learn and do well in the class. It should be a team effort, where both sides are putting in a bit of extra effort, but they don't need to take class time. 


I think what we have been talking about has been extremely interesting and has brought up a lot of interesting questions. 

Going to be bald soon...

Why is life so stressful? Why does EVERYTHING happen at the same time? Why do teachers find joy in assigning a bunch of homework?

I am currently SOOO stressed. Liking freaking out on the inside and outside stressed. I am having a physical reaction because I am so overwhelmed. My brow is sweaty, stomach tossing is circles and am more than a little irritable.

The funny thing is I should have had a bunch of time to work on homework and get all the things I needed to get done this weekend. I didn't hang out with friends once this weekend (I did see friends but in none of the circumstances would I categorize it as "hanging out"). So basically I have no life and should not be stressed! But I am.

Now lets break it down why.

On Friday Yom Kippur started at sundown so I ate a nice family dinner before hand. Yom Kippur is the most important Jewish holiday of the year. It is also know as the Day of Atonement and it is when you ask forgiveness for all your sins and forgive those who hurt you. To celebrate the day you fast. So it was a very religious weekend since Yom Kippur was going on. To get an idea of HOW Jewish my week was... I spend a total of almost 13.5 hours at my synagogue (7 hours Sunday and 6.5 Saturday). On Saturday I attended two services, a total of 4.5 hours, listening to the same sermon twice since no one goes to both, I was one of the exceptions... Now I did have a legitimate reason for going to both services, a friend and I gave a speech during it so I sort of had to be there, but it was a lot of services. Then I went to family to break the fast, meals are always better when you haven't eaten in basically 24 hours. Sunday morning I helped out in a Pre-K class then I needed to get stuff ready for a youth group meeting, make the agenda, print some fliers etc. Then I actually had my youth group meeting... And because of Yom Kippur and all my time at temple I have barely had any time to my homework and college apps etc. I did work on some homework on Friday and Saturday but both days I had to do other work for my temple so I couldn't spend that much time on school work.

So basically the rest of my Sunday is NOT going to be fun.... Since I still have a pile of homework AND I really need to apply to Madison like TODAY. Ughhhhh. If you havn't picked up already I am stressed.

It is times like these that you just need to watch a really good youtube video. Now I was shown this one a while ago and I just think it is soooooo funny. But I do have to warn you that there is some profanity, so don't watch if you have virgin ears. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jib7aQBpcAM

Hope you like it :) And are less stressed than me...

Obama's Speech

Obama starts off the speech by complimenting the hosting school. This shows ethos, it at least builds credibility with the people at the school, because he must have good taste in what is a good school. He goes on to sympathize with the students, he acknowledges that he knows all the students have a lot on their plate. Also in this part of the speech he also says the word "twitter" with a different inflection that adds to the comedic effect and lightens the mood. He uses the phrase "old folks like me" to help remove himself from the argument and emphasis his age, that he won't be here in the future and it is the younger generation that will grow up to be the people in our society that make the decisions. 


He owns up to his own flaws which shows ethos, it makes him seem more reasonable and trustworthy, he is being honest with his audience. He also says "don’t give [your parents] a hard time when they ask you to turn off the video games and the television, and sit down to help you with your homework" and adds onto that with saying he has to do that with his daughters. So he is following his own advise. 


Obama uses logos in his reasoning on why it is important for kids to be educated and succeed. "So that’s a big part of your responsibility: Testing things out.  Taking risks.  Working hard.  Engaging with the world around you.  Those are the things that will make school more fun.  And down the road, those are the traits that will help you succeed – the traits that will lead you to invent a device that makes the iPad look like a stone tablet.  Or figure out a way to use the sun and wind to power a city.  Or write the next great American novel." You need to work hard so you can do well when you are older. 


He uses hand gestures throughout the speech to help amplify his message and keep the speech moving forward. He also didn't look down all that often so he was able to keep a good amount of eye contact with his audience. I though parts of it was delivered sort of awkwardly but on a whole it was a good speech. 

Jim Crow Laws

Reading the Jim Crow Laws gives a glimpse at some of the unreasonable restrictions there were to keep segregation in place. The thing that stand out to me the most about the laws is they all seem to be the same idea; whites and blacks can't use the same: parks, restaurants, playing fields, schools, etc. All the laws are very similar, all working toward the over all goal of keeping whites and blacks apart. For what purpose? To waste money on more parks, restaurants, playing fields and schools? Since we need more to make sure no whites and blacks come in contact. The Jim Crow Laws were just stupid. People were so close minded back then (not that all people are open minded now but we are making progress). 

I am very glad we are done with segregation now. I would have to be one of those teenagers attending all the protest and marches, and then when would I have time to do my Comp homework? :)

These stories were cute and fun to read. 


William Kennedy's was interesting... I know he said "The only mystery about 'Eggs' is why I didn't know it was awful." But really HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW that a story about a man ordering eggs is NOT the next bestseller? I guess that fact that he didn't know it was bad, and that he wrote it is what made it a good story to share.


Brendan Gill also had a really cute story. It seems that a lot of writers do not like math, and it holds true in he case. He makes a good point about how weird words are, they really are something. One weird thing about this essay is I totally thought the author was a girl, the whole time. I didn't even think otherwise until I started this blog post but when I was about to say her I thought I better check to make sure I don't make a fool of myself. So I read his name and it seemed like a boy's name but I just really felt like it was a girls voice telling the story. I googled "Brendan Gill" and it told me it was a boy, but I would have never guessed! I think the main thing that made me think he was a girl was his reference to a tea party, but I guess I was just being stereotypical!

As a whole, I enjoyed these stories, some were a little more light and enjoyable then others, but I still liked them all. These were probably the most enjoyable stories we have read so far in this class. :)

I was looking around Mrs. Cardona's blog and I found this link to a really neat website. It is called dear photograph (http://dearphotograph.com/) and it these pictures of people basically re living when the photo was taken by taking a picture of a picture where the original picture was taken (which sounds really confusing but check out the website and you will understand what I mean). All the pictures have cute little caption and it is really cool! It is just a really fun cute website :)  

Why I Write

I started writing when I was a little kid. New ideas came to my head almost every day. I have started to write so many books in my lifetime, though started is the key word. None of the stories I have started, unless written for school, have been finished yet... I love starting books but then I get distracted or bored or come up with a new idea and the old one is left behind. 


Writing is such a good way to get your thoughts out there in the word. It is a creative outlet for those of us who are art class impaired (i.e. myself). Something I love about writing is the ease of editing. One thing you will notice about me is often when I am trying to get my point across speaking it takes me a while to find the word I am looking for (or just put my thoughts into words in general). With writing you have all the time in the world to think of that perfect word. And there is no better feeling than finding that perfect word. The feeling of satisfaction is so rewarding and makes the journey worth while. 


I write because I want to be heard. 
I write because the reward of reading a good book is great; I can't even imagine what it is like to finish writing one. 
I write because I enjoy it. 


I write for many reason and I am sure after I have been writing for a longer time I will have many more reasons to write. I hope to continue to develop my writing skills and one day share all my hard work with everyone.  

The truth.

What to know why Dear blank, please blank. is such a good website? Here is why:

Dear parents with screaming kids in public,

Silence is golden, duct tape is silver.

Sincerely, muzzle your children.

Dear mom questioning my Nutella use,

Why use toast when I have a spoon?

Sincerely, OM NOM NOM.

The First Post

First times are always the hardest. Your first step, first time riding a bike without training wheels, first time having homework, first time going to high school. It is hard to know where to begin. That is where I am at right now. 

MY FIRST BLOG POST. 

Now what to say? 

I think one of the most important things you need to do when trying something new is just going for it. All you need to do is stand up and take that first step, push down on the petal, start reading the assignment, keep your head up and walk into the school. I need to type until my hands are numb and I have said every word I possible can (well not really... It is just a small post). But just get a thought down on the screen and publish it. It doesn't matter what is said just as long as it is something. Because once you start, it only gets easier. :) 

And if you don't like it, there is always the edit button.