Q4 Week 5 Comments

I commented on Hudson's blog.
https://huds0ngenglish.blogspot.com/2017/04/1-ambition-is-positive-desirable-trait.html?showComment=1493060272062#c1734166707419462374

I commented on Sarah's blog.
https://sarahcenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/04/2-if-you-are-in-position-of-power-you.html?showComment=1493060389334#c5642080115479595161

Hits and Misses

My hits in English would most likely be my blog posts and my Lord of the Flies literary analysis. All three of these assignments were fun to write and work on, and they didn't cause me much trouble. I'm not saying that it didn't take any effort because it definitely did, but I'm saying that working hard on these was beneficial to me. I feel like I grew most as a writer while making my literary analysis of Lord of the Flies. This analysis was difficult for me because I had never written this type of essay before, but I learned so much about this style of paper and I can use it to my advantage in the future. This lead to me feeling very proud of my successful paper. My blog posts were really fun to write because it gave me a chance to express myself in somewhat short paragraphs every week. The only blog posts that I wasn't completely proud of were my reading responses.

My first miss would have to be my reading response blogs. I felt like it was hard to recall the information that I had read the past week and draw a central point about it. Sometimes I wouldn't understand what was happening in the book or I would stop reading in the middle of a scene. This caused some difficulties for me. Another one of my misses would be poems. I liked how I could easily express myself, but it didn't come as easily to me as I thought it would. As I would write my poems, I wouldn't know what to write about and I wouldn't know exactly how to word it in a poetic type of writing. I also feel like I didn't learn as much from poems as I did with other projects because I didn't exactly know the guidelines of what I was supposed to write.

Anticipating the Next Book

I strongly disagree with the statement "If you are in a position of power, you are happy." There are many reasons that I don't believe this but a very prominent one is that it depends on the person. Some people would really like to be in a position of power with control over everything. In this case, I would agree with the statement. However, some people are too shy or afraid of this type of authority. They might want to work behind the scenes where they are happier. For example, I have a friend who absolutely hates being on stage. She likes to work behind the scene and help with the arrangements for the play. In a way, the actors have more power, but even if she has less power, she's happier. This statement makes it seem like power promises a certain emotion for everyone. I think this statement could be made more universal if it said that "If some people were in a position of power, they are happy."

I also highly disagree with the statement "Who we are--our essential character and temperament--is fixed and unchangeable." My reasoning for this is that our experiences can change who we are. We learn and grow as we age and it can be for better or worse. For example, when I was little I had a very shy personality. I didn't like to talk to lots of people or give presentations in front of the class. Now, I couldn't care less about having the fear of giving a presentation or talking to anyone. I think that maybe one or two things about ourselves is unchangeable like our kindness or rudeness, but most things aren't.

Comments Q4 Week 4

I commented on Sarah's blog.
https://sarahcenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/04/what-does-family-mean.html?showComment=1491849709703#c2603379002707031056

I commented on Hudson’s blog.

https://huds0ngenglish.blogspot.com/2017/04/writing-prompt-how-do-you-feel-about.html?showComment=1491849850928#c4812629030011796842

Purple Hibiscus

Throughout reading Purple Hibiscus, I have found that the material in the book is very challenging. However, it hasn't taken me a while to read this book. For example, I finished the book earlier than everyone else and it didn't take me much time. I think that this was a fast read for me for two reasons. For one, I didn't annotate the book like others did. I would make little notes in the book or underline significant events, which helped me comprehend the information better. The second reason being that I enjoyed reading this book and looked forward to having discussions about it. Even though I couldn't necessarily relate all that much to it, I found that I liked reading about this alternative lifestyle.

As I mentioned previously about how I make little notes while reading, I also stop at every page and make a mental note of what happened. I don't stay very long doing this or it would take forever to get through the chapter, but I take a couple seconds to process what event has just happened. I feel that this strategy has really helped me to not forget what is going on in this tough book. Also, whenever I begin to read after a couple of hours or days, I decide to reread the last page of the chapter I just finished. This also helps to keep me focused on exactly what is happening so that I follow how the family is dealing with life. Overall, I enjoy reading Purple Hibiscus and it hasn't been as challenging to read as I first thought.

Favorite Childhood Characters Barbie

When I was a child, I used to be obsessed with Barbies. Like most little girls or even some boys, I used to love dressing up the dolls or braiding their hair. I loved fashion and watching the same Barbie movies over and over again. However, there is more to this than just dressing up dolls for fun. This was my first look into feminism. In my early years, this was the first exposure I had into women working for her own money, women being able to be the stars of movies, and women being the heroes. For example, Barbie had so many jobs which teaches children that they can be whatever they want to be. Also, as I recall, in the Barbie films, the main character, and later hero was a girl, which is important for little girls to see.

As well as feminism, Barbie also incorporates diversity. I used to love how some of the Barbies had brown hair just like me and I would imagine that I was the Barbie. This may sound silly or irrelevant, but this shows that Barbie taught girls not to discriminate against any feature on the human body. For example, I owned any race of Barbie with any color hair, eyes, or skin. It didn't matter to me which Barbie I would play with because I liked the differences that they all had. However, as I am now looking back on the good inclusive qualities that Barbie introduced, I am realizing that there wasn't a diverse perspective on weight. All Barbies seemed to be the same small-waisted, chiseled-faced perfect reflection of how a girl's body should look. I hope that in the present day this will be fixed because it is important for girls to know that weight doesn't define who you are or how you should look.

Q4 Week 2 Comments

I commented on Sarah's blog.
https://sarahcenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/03/political-post-human-trafficking.html?showComment=1490707794707#c557969705611706961

I commented on Kaelyn's blog.
https://ksenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/03/political-article-gun-control.html?showComment=1490708014855#c3240965408146631651

Political Post

In this article, it shows how Trump is proposing that private schools should be given part of the governmental funds for its tuition. This being said, public schools will not have much attention anymore considering the funds. However, this article states that even if some of the tuition is paid for, the amount would not be significant enough to completely pay for the tuition of any private school. For example, it says that this amount would come out to around $1,800 for each person compared to the overall price of private school tuition being more than $11,000. Also mentioned in this article is the lack of funds that the less wealthy, public school children would receive. These children wouldn't get as much, if any, of the money they used to get that helped with their school careers. Also, this proposal is being depicted even worse in this article when it shows how kids receiving these funds to go to private school are not doing as well academically as they were in the public school system.

The focus of this article seemed very negative towards this proposal by Trump, and I would have to agree. I think that this choice to help the school system is a good idea, but it doesn't seem like it would be helping the entire school system. Most of the kids attending public school don't have enough of the funds to attend a private school, so why would we take away more of their funds so that they can't attend public school? The only kids that this is affecting for the better are the private school kids. This is a twisted idea of giving more money to the people who at least already have enough funds to pay for its tuition. This is the reason I chose this article. As I was looking through news articles, I came across this article on US News by Neil Campbell. It really intrigued me how Trump could think of taking more of the funds from the less wealthy and giving it to the somewhat or decently wealthy. Even though Trump might be trying to benefit the school system and its funds, it would hurt so much more of the population to carry out this proposal.

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-09-09/donald-trumps-education-plan-boosts-private-schools-hurts-kids

Q4 Week 1 Comments

I commented on Sarah's blog.
https://sarahcenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/03/learning-reflection.html?showComment=1490017112152#c8495355370967553200

I commented on Hudson's blog.
https://huds0ngenglish.blogspot.com/2017/03/free-post-beauty-and-beast.html?showComment=1490017224664#c4984171847632438690

Daily routine after school

When I get home from school at 4:00, I am usually very worn out and tired. Although I might want to take a nap or watch tv, I have to grab a snack and do my homework before I have to go somewhere. Whether it be going to tennis or just walking the dog around the neighborhood, I usually do it around 5:30. So, this leaves me around an hour and a half to quickly do as much homework as I can and hopefully finish. After I get home from my activity anywhere from 6:15-7:15, I have to eat dinner with my family. This will usually last for around an hour and it's a good time to talk with my family and relieve stress. After, I shower for around a half hour. Finally, the last activity of the night is to finish any of my homework so that I have more time to watch tv or relax.

This routine is usually very successful, but I have some things I would want to change about it. For example, when I get home from school, I would like to have more tie just to sit down and reenergize before I have to work again. Also, I have a little issue with dinner time. Even though I mentioned that I usually relieve stress during dinner, this isn't always the case. Sometimes dinner can linger on and I'll get stressed because I think I'm wasting time. Even though I might not be wasting time when talking with my family, if I have a big test the next day I think that I should be studying for that test all night. The best part of my schedule is the last part. If my routine doesn't start to slow down then I usually have some free time at the end of the night.

Learning Reflection

So far, I have learned a bunch about myself this freshman year. As a student, I have especially learned some key learning techniques like not procrastinating and working ahead. In middle school and all of the grades below, I used to procrastinate and wait until the last possible minute to do an assignment or study. Now, however, I usually work ahead by at least a day or two so that I don't get too stressed out close to the deadline. As a reader, one thing that I have found out through this year is that I have progressed in my reading time. I used to be a really slow reader and it would stress me out when it came time to take a standardized test. Now, since I started to read more as a freshman than I did in middle school, the time that it takes me to finish a book has decreased. Another thing that could be helping my reading time is that I have started to find books that I really enjoy reading, rather than having to fight to finish the book.

As a writer, I have learned a lot as well, but one thing that I didn't know about writing for me is that I like to learn about poetry. When we used to study poetry in past years, I didn't mind it, but it wasn't my favorite either. This year, I actually liked learning about it and having the freedom to write whatever type of poem we wanted. Even if Dr. D gave us a topic to write about, it was usually broad or well chosen. I felt like I always had a lot to write about when she gave us these topics. Using this information about how I have progressed, I will better know how to get assignments done fastest, how to take standardized tests faster, and what types of writing I like best. For example, I will look forward to more units about poetry in the future and I will maybe even get more ahead on assignments. 

Q3 Week 7 Comments

I commented on Kaelyn's blog.
https://ksenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/03/free-post-service-project.html?showComment=1488921401705#c2437964309682016831

I commented on Sarah's blog.
https://sarahcenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/03/free-post-poem.html?showComment=1488921495134#c5002249513367762676

Umbrella

In the song "Umbrella," Rihanna continually uses assonances of "ar" in the middle of words to link the lyrics together. This creates a rhyme that is easy to follow along to. Rihanna also uses metaphors to describe her devotion to the person mentioned in the song. For example, Rihanna says, "you'll still be my star." This directly states that this person who is mentioned is "her star." Rihanna also uses a hyperbole when she states, "here for infinity." She is implying that this person will be here forever but obviously exaggerating.

Not only does Rihanna use poetry in her lyrics, but Jay-Z as well when he features in this song in a rap. Jay-Z also uses assonances in his lyrics like when he sings words after one another like "hydroplane" and "fame". This makes his raps flow more smoothly and easier to say faster. Rihanna uses anaphoras to show the future in her lyrics. For example, she sings "when" at the beginning of two lines to show how her devotion to him lasts beyond the present. Lastly, Jay-Z uses an oxymoron when he states "come" and "gone" in the same line.


http://www.metrolyrics.com/umbrella-lyrics-rihanna.html

Mardi Gras Break

Every year for Mardi Gras break, my family and I go skiing. It's one of my favorite times of the year because not only do I get to escape the hot Louisiana weather, but I get to spend time with my friends and family. This year, and for the past 3 years, my family has gone to Snowmass to ski. This is one of my favorite places ever to go. It's not too cold or hot, there's always music playing somewhere, and all of my friends go. This year, at least 5 of my friends are going and everyone knows how to ski well so this will be a really fun opportunity to spend time with my friends doing something we usually don't do.

Another thing I love about Mardi Gras break is that Colorado doesn't normally celebrate Mardi Gras. Occasionally, people there will know it's Mardi Gras or maybe some will pass out beads. My family always brings a bunch of beads to pass out to anyone. We even give out multiple to the ski lift workers so that they can pass out the beads to people going up or down the ski slope. Another holiday that this trip usually falls on is Valentine's Day. Sadly, this year Valentine's Day has already passed.

Comments Q3 Week 6

I commented on Sarah's blog.
https://sarahcenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/02/poem.html?showComment=1487786825941#c2845230213461726456

I commented on Hudson's blog.
https://huds0ngenglish.blogspot.com/2017/02/poem.html?showComment=1487786945654#c5245287788290687246

Friends Poem

Friends are there through it all
When I'm with them I have a ball
Even Through The Thick and Thin
We always feel like we win
Even when I mess up badly
They love me unconditionally
They are like the light
They keep me shining bright
I can always trust them to have my back
Especially when someone tries to attack
I wouldn't trade them for anything
But if they did trade me, that would really sting

Consonance
Rhyme Scheme
Simile

Animal Shelters

Confined- being in captivity
Deplore- express strong disapproval of
Grapple- come to terms with

Animal shelters have always interested me. I love getting the chance to volunteer in the shelters or just visit. When I was a little kid I used to always go with my parents when there were charity events. This is why I can't grapple the idea of some of the shelters treating animals wrong. I hate when I come across a story about these animals being forced to into being confined in a tiny space when minimal food. I know that a lot of shelters treat their animals the right way but a lot don't. I strongly deplore when workers hurt or abuse the animals in these shelters as well.

I understand that some shelters might not have enough money to feed the animals enough or provide better shelter or space. Some shelters don't even have enough room for the amount of dogs that get dropped off or abandoned there, much less food. This is why if I ever come by a chance to support or donate to the shelters I do. I think that animal shelters are an amazing cause to support and probably a cause that should be supported more. I feel that this awareness isn't brought up as much as it should be. In the future, I would like to volunteer or even get a job that promotes supporting these animals.

Q3 Week 4 Comments

I commented on Kaelyn's blog.
https://ksenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/02/research.html?showComment=1486057773180#c4497754646099799035

I commented on Ricky's blog.
https://rickyenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/02/reading-response.html?showComment=1486057835203#c5862079930857666661

Reading Response through page 101

In Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I have realized the struggles that Junior has to go through. For example, on Halloween, he dressed up as a homeless person. However, he didn't even need to dress up to look like one. Also, Junior described how his parents can't always drive him to school so he has to sometimes walk 22 miles or hitchhike. This is horrible for anyone to go through, especially someone who is only 14. I can't imagine having to hitchhike to school every morning. I guess in present day most people are so used to having a ride to school every day that they forget some people can't always depend on this. 

I think it's really sweet how Junior's sister writes to him even though she moved away. Junior could be feeling abandoned but it's nice how she is still looking out for him. One thing I don't like about this book so far is the way Junior keeps getting treated. Even the teachers don't have faith in him because of the color of his skin. For example, Junior is trying to make friends and he thinks that he has one but his friend is very standoffish. His friend's name is Gordy, but it doesn't seem like Junior will ever find a friend as close as Rowdy again. 

Research Q3 Week 4

Throughout this research project, I have learned more about research tools. For example, at first, I didn't know that the online Aldrich library had so many databases to find sources. These databases provided me with accurate information that I could use in my essay. It also helped me find correct citations with one click. I also learned how to cite better. I knew how to cite in MLA format with the author's last name in parenthesis at the end of the sentence, but this was a good refresher. I have also learned that I like working on a project in two classes because you have more time to work on your report during class.

One thing that I still don't feel completely comfortable with is NoodleTools. I understand the basics of it like how to make a notecard or how to create a new project, but I don't really know how to do it in depth. When I was working in NoodleTools, I felt like I was doing the notecards incorrectly. Even though my notecards turned out to be correct, I had trouble creating them. For example, I didn't know if I was putting too much information or not enough. I also didn't know if I had to include quotations in them or if I had to cite them. Overall, it got easier when I asked for help from my friends and teachers who knew exactly how they were supposed to be created.

Q3 Week 3 Comments

I commented on Ricky's blog.
https://rickyenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/01/free-post-disney-world-parks.html?showComment=1485809881347#c2669634979326662011

I commented on Kaelyn's blog.
https://ksenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/01/reading-response.html?showComment=1485810020353#c5484436612726549509

Summer 2017

This school year has gone by so fast and I can't believe it is already two days away from February. It seems like summer was just a month ago, but it turns out we only have a few months until the upcoming summer. My parents have been talking about what we're going to be doing and seeing this summer, so I have gotten very excited already. Most of my June and July will be spent away from home. We're planning on going to Greece, Ireland, Spain, Dubai, and maybe Morrocco or London all in the short span of two months. We'll spend around a week to two weeks in each place.

It's been a goal of mine for a while now to visit as many countries as I can before I get too old. I also want to go to all seven continents. My dad and I love to travel more than anything and we strive to accomplish these goals. Now, I'll be able to cross off at least four or five more this summer. I'm most excited for Greece because of the beautiful white buildings and crystal blue oceans. I'm also thrilled because my parents have friends that live in Greece so they can show us local and fun places to go to. Overall, I think this summer will be one to remember and it can't come soon enough.

Reading Response to Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian through page 53

So far, Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is an interesting book on a 14-year-old boy's life on the Indian reservation. He is determined to go to a better school than the one on the reservation because a teacher had told him he was better than this school. This happens to be the same teacher that had his nose broken by this boy. This boy doesn't realize how under average his life is until this teacher shows him how old the textbooks are, how undetermined his parents are, and how all of the others on the rez don't have any perseverance. He decides to go to a school called Reardon 22 miles away. The problem is that his family is extremely poor, it's an all-white school, and his best friend Rowdy won't go with him.

I think that it's a bold move for him to leave everything his has at home to go to a different school so far away, especially since it's all-white. It seems like so far the Indians are way poorer than the white people and most of them aren't as smart because they don't get a good education. For example, they use their parents' textbooks. I'm not sure how he will get to school every day though because his parents can't always drive him there because of money and he can't just walk 22 miles. I also think this is a bold move considering the reaction he received from Rowdy. Rowdy will never forgive him for abandoning him but I don't understand why he didn't just go with him. They could've both gotten the education they needed if they went together.

Q3 Week 2 Comments

I commented on Sarah's blog.
https://sarahcenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/01/last-semester.html?showComment=1485180204497#c2056501854777546995

I commented on Anna's blog.
https://annakweb.blogspot.com/2017/01/last-semester-i-learned-about-time.html?showComment=1485180321035#c833223597571529635

Hagia Sophia

How has the Hagia Sophia changed in looks, religion, and purpose over time? The Hagia Sophia is a church found in the Byzantine empire or modern day Turkey. This church is different from a lot of churches because of the way it has changed. The Hagia Sophia has had to be rebuilt three times with a bunch of renovations over the years. The final time it was built it was made by Justinian. Justinian is a famous ruler who made this church to be Christian. This changed because later the Hagia Sophia was made into a mosque. The final product of this church is now a museum. Although it is a museum in present day, there are possibilities of it becoming a mosque once again.

This church has served many purposes. For example, it was the main church for Christianity in the Byzantine empire until the fourth crusade where it was made into a mosque. This church also has rays of light that look like it came solely from the church. Justinian and others thought this was a sign that it was heavenly. Another purpose for the Hagia Sophia was a symbol of gratitude for the Persians. Justinian built this church, along with others, to give to Persia. This is significant because this was a cause to the Byzantine empire becoming Muslim.

Stress

I've learned that in high school stress can come very easily and out of nowhere. One minute you might be perfectly fine and happy. Then the next minute you can be close to tears and overwhelmed. Not only is there school/homework, but there is after school activities, social life, and time for yourself to rest. Some days there just isn't enough time to spend on all of these categories. The problem is that all of these things should have some effect on your day. For example, if you don't get rest you'll do worse on school/homework.

The way I try to handle this is working ahead. Most people want to procrastinate and wait until the last minute. I'm not going to lie, I do this too. Although it seems easier to do it later, it feels way better to get your homework done sooner so you can play sports or talk to friends without the worry of more work later. I know that some days this isn't a possibility to work ahead so I take a power nap. I'll get home from school and take a nap for only 15-20 minutes. I know this seems like a short time, but it's all you need. Power naps really help me because when I wake back up, I feel a lot more energized and this helps the rest of my afternoon.

Comments Q3 Week 1

I commented on Jack's blog.
https://jackcenglish1blog.blogspot.com/2017/01/looking-back-on-2016.html?showComment=1484754124796#c172541385421689578

I commented on Sarah's blog.
https://sarahcenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/01/mlk.html?showComment=1484754157083#c2124802256082000940

MLK Day Service

I agree with the idea of Martin Luther King Jr. day being a work day. I don't mean work as in homework or schoolwork. I mean work as in helping the community in any way possible. I used to always help my mom on MLK day with projects like painting classrooms or planting gardens. I loved going to help even though I didn't really know the purpose of it. Since then my family has become a lot busier and we started to do less over the years on this holiday.

This year, I got excited that there would be possibilities to help on MLK day that the school has provided. I immediately knew that I wanted to help with one of these activities. Not only does this help the community but students actually get service hours for completing this work. My friends and I are going to help plant trees this weekend and beautify the city. I'm glad that the school has given us this chance to really help in our community and give back, especially on this important holiday.

Research Update

So far my research has gone pretty well. I have a topic that I am very interested in and that I'm excited to write about. There are some downsides to my research so far though. For example, I had a hard time finding sources with different ideas from the last source. It seemed like every source was covering the ground information like looks and not the deeper information like purpose. I had to really dig into the sources and find more evidence. This problem also led to having a hard time coming up with a research question.

I also had a lot of problem with citations. I am not very good at citing my sources by myself or even identifying what type of source it is. I needed help on this so I asked my friends and teachers to help and I feel pretty confident with my result. At the beginning of this project I felt worried that I wouldn't have enough to write about but now I think I have enough research to develop a strong paper. I have made a good research question that I can answer thoroughly through my paper.