That's The Way The Cookie Crumbles..🍪

 Here's a little bts action.:) I mentioned to my aunt about bringing cookies to class tomorrow and if I can use her family famous recipe. We actually ended up making the cookies together and I got a bunch of flashbacks to when I was younger. We would make this recipe all the time and have a tradition of snacking on extra chocolate chips while waiting for the cookies to bake. cx It felt like old times and it was so fun. My sister even helped and contributed to our random conversation. I'd like to start doing this more often again. It took my mind of finals and had a nice conversation with my aunt and nonna. Anyways I thought it'd be nice to share this moment. I hope everyone likes them!🍪:)

Changing My Big Question (again)

Yup, I'm changing it again. This would probably be the third time I have been changing it and I think that is because I keep becoming curious about a lot of things but this question is sort of different.

Its stemmed from when we were learning about Emerson and Self Reliance. The first few sentences of the last paragraph were, "So use all that is called fortune. Most men gamble with her, and gain all, and loose all, as her wheel rolls."

I've always briefly thought about the idea of luck or fortune but now I wonder, does luck exist? Is there such thing as fortune? Are the odds more in the favor for some people than others?

T.I.P.

I was looking through my stuff from this semester and found this:



That got me thinking about how this week is full of things to do and it's going to be stressful. So maybe if I start making some kind of schedule like this one again, I might be more sufficient in managing my time. :)

WOW, THAT WAS QUICK!!!!

This semester just flew by! Yet I've still managed to learn a lot of new things. It feels like it was just yesterday when it was August and we got to choose to do coursework on our blogs. I remember how not used to it I was the first few times, but now I look foward to posting on my blog and try to every chance I get. Not only it's a place for posting about topics from class, but it's also a platform where we can express ourselves and have fun with our work! Learning doesn't have to be the traditional textbook and long lectures all the time and that was proved this semester. I think doing things the "non traditional"way made us feel like we weren't doing things just for a grade because a lot of us have intrinsic motivation when it comes to blogging. I learned so much from this class this semester. From memorizing Dr. Seuss, reading articles about eating babies, and taking risks with trying to become more self reliant, I think we all leared many things from what we read and from everyone in the class. This semester was different..... but a great different!! I can't wait to see what's in store for the future.:)

Reviewing/Notes

Posting my notes from yesterday(:
Ethos, Logos, & Pathos
Ethos- Establishes the credibility of the speaker
  ex. speaking style, how they dress, etc
Pathos- Passion or emotion a person is speaking with
Logos- Logic. Using text/rhetoric in the conversation.
The Right to Your Opinion
Argumentation=The search for truth
Euphemisms-making something that seems distasteful, tasteful.
Euphemisms does not help the search for truth in an argument/not an honest conversation.
Entitlement= Obligation
Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic
Extrinsic- Motivation from the outside. Motivation because of a reward or threat.
Intrinsic- Motivation from the inside. Motivation that makes sense to you.
Satire
The use of irony, sarcasm, humor, and exaggeration to expose stupidity and vices of a social condition.
Logical Fallacies
Ad Hominem- (personal attack) attacking the person instead of arguing
  (sound familiar?)
Straw man- misrepresents a position to make it seem weaker than it is.
Red Herring- A distraction of what's truly important
Post Hoc Ergo Proper Hoc- After this, therefore results from this..
Slippery Slope- An action is rejected because the person thinks it would lead to chain reaction that will not reach an end.
 Ex. Person 1: Can I have a piece of candy?
       Person 2: If I give you a piece, he's going to want a piece too. Then his friend will want a piece,          and her friend, and everyone else here would want one too.
Denotation vs. Connotation
Denotation- the literal meaning of the word.
  Ex. It's cool outside
Connotation- emotional or socially popular meaning of the word.
  Ex. You're so cool!
Taboo Language- words or phrases that are believed to be not acceptable in society.
Can be used to shock people out of their normal way of thinking.
  Ex. "bad words"
Catharsis- the process of releasing emotions
Syllogism- A simple form of logic: finding truth or validity.
Things we read in class:
"The Laughing Heart", "The Right To Your Opinion", "A Modest Proposal", "Conscience of A Hacker, "Politics and The English Language", "On Self Reliance", "A Sound of Thunder", and "Immigrants In Our Own Land".

SOMETHING INTERESTING

Enough with the politics. Yeah, I get it. I feel the same way but it still manages to pop up in our daily lives somehow. I reallly liked Bernie and was originally hoping he would win. So something interesting I saw on the news today was that Trump's spokespeople said that if Hillary made Bernie the vice president, she would have won. That makes sense beacause all the Bernie or bust people would've voted for her. Anyways that didn't happen, unfortunately, so I hope all the election stuff can finally calm down and we can all move on with our lives.

Immigrants in Our Own Land by Jimmy Santiago Baca

The devices that I found......
Theme: Throughout the whole poem, like how Jessica stated in her blog, the narrator compares what immigrants, like himself, expected this "new land" would be like verses how it is actually like.
Tone and mood: The start of the poem is very hopeful and wishful. He goes on by saying, "We start of with dreams in our hearts, looking for better days ahead." At the end of the poem, however, the tone is disappointing and depressing because at the beginning of the poem they were about to go chase their dreams and setting high expectations but at the end, they were let down and their dreams were shattered. As a reader, the vibes I got from the poem was being able to understand/relate to what the narrator was going through because I know family members and friends who have gone/are going through the same things. The author also uses similes and metaphors to paint an image for the readers. For example, "they used common sense like scholars."
What I thought about the poem.......
I think learning about the authors backstory gave me a better perspective or had enhanced my mood of the poem even more. The first thing I noticed was not being able to tell if he knew how to read or write before this. It just shows that if you are really determined, you will achieve your goals. It was amazing to see how he improved and grew as a person throughout all the hardships. He writes about how other people come to this country with high hopes but then one they arrive, their expectations weren't met. Life really sucks at times. Most people get discouraged with life and breath just because. They don't do anything amazing with their lives. Other people can get discouraged at first but they take what life gives them as fuel for motivation to achieve their goals and dreams. Feeling sorry for yourself gets you no where. Being determined will get you out of bad situations and it is extremely helpful to look at life with a positive perspective. It was truly inspiring to see that the author completely changed his life around. In conclusion, I really enjoyed the poem. Usually I dread SOME poetry because in my opinion, it can be boring. Usually the typical older poetry about swans or nature really bores me but this poem is about REAL things. Things that many people, like me, can actually relate to.

MY MAD DREAM OF AN ESSAY

Remember that time you ate that spicy [potato] just before you went to bed on the night before the big [concert]?  Oh, that weird dream you had about the 2016 presidential election.  When you woke up you couldn't quite remember the [mad] details, but after reading "On Self-Reliance" and "A Sound of Thunder" it's all coming back to you now.

The dream started badly.  You were in line with your family at a [parking lot] waiting to be sent to [the Dentist].  Everywhere you looked there were posters of president-elect [Mr.Oooopsies], looking like a crazy [niffler] who could eat a whole [block of gold].   

Suddenly, there was Ralph Waldo Emerson telling you, "[What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think]." You realized that you have something to contribute to the world so you decided to [scream].  But it wasn't easy.  First you had to put on a fancy [band tee] and [purple hair] and then you had make a [time turner] to go back in time to the [public place] so you could convince people to learn about the candidates and the [political issue you care about most].

But right there in the [concert venue] there was a giant [Acromantula] and it started [yell] ing at everyone.  People started to [panic].  You grabbed a [microphone] from a nearby [dinosaur egg shop] and yelled [HEY LOSERS, LISTEN UP!!!!].  Everyone stopped and listened, so you kept going.

My speech:

Just think about how every little choice we make impacts us and our future in a great way. If you think your vote doesn't matter, you thought wrong. EVERY vote counts. If you decide to use your vote stupidly and vote for Harambe or not even vote at all, there would be one less vote for the candidate you have the least problem with! Then imagine all of the other people who think the same as you: "my vote doesn't matter." Then we would have a ton of people not voting and they still complain about the results. We all cause chain reactions. From deciding when to leave your house or to even staying home. If you left your house, you would probably come across several people and exchange some words which would cause either positive or negative impact. You could've made someone's day good or bad. Or if you decided to stay home that day you might have not been able to bump into someone who would have eventually become your best friend. You all probably still think this is a bunch of bolonga, but it's not! If I didn't get the history class I am in now, then I wouldn't have met my new friend, Carly. If I didn't wake up early every day for two years to go to school in a different city, I wouldn't have met my best friend. For example in a story I read called A Sound of Thunder, the main character, Eckles, travels back in time to hunt dinosaurs. He was supposed to stay on the path but he ended up stepping on a butterfly. What's the big deal of him killing a butterfly, you ask? When he went back to the future the election results were different. A tyrant won and in our case, it would be Mr.Oooopsies. Now I'm not sure if the reality we're in is "the original" one or not, but in any reality we're in, we all have choices to make that will impact society. Ralph Waldo Emerson was a genius. He wrote, "What I must do is all that concerns me, not what others think." and "Envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide". Society now a days look the same, wear the same things, listen to the same music, and even act the same. Even conforming to society can cause chain reactions. If you're not yourself, then you would probably not meet some genuine people who like you for you or even meet someone that you'll become close to. I aspire to become a nonconformist. I don't listen to much mainstream music/music that is currently popular unless I actually like it, I wear band tees/hoodies, I have fan accounts,  and I "obsess" over certain celebrities. That might be embarrassing to admit but, I'm really tired of caring.  Let me tell you about something that recently happened. I used to have really long hair my entire life. If I wore it in a ponytail, my hair would still be past my waist. For some reason this whole year I wanted to dye half of it purple. Okay I know this is long, but hear me out! I bleached and dyed half of my hair in June. I was SO happy!! However, whenever I went to a store or a public place, I would worry that all eyes were on me and thought I was getting judged. At the end of July, I started thinking about how everyone at school would think about my hair. It gotten so bad that i decided to cut it. My hair became the shortest it has ever been. I was so unhappy because I missed my long and now purple hair. When I got to school this year, I noticed everyone started dying their hair as well. I realized what I did was because of caring about what people think and now I'm regretful. Once my hair grows back, I do plan to dye it again and wear it proudly! Anyways to end this long rant, please consider voting. You'll probably think I'm mad but, I'm from the future. Before you think I'm more insane then I'm actually am, trust me when I say the Tyrant won! It's all  because all of you people who think your vote doesn't count! Everything we do causes a chain reaction. From each step you take or what you pick for dinner. Everything creates an impact. Let that sink in.  I'm going back to the future before you guys place me in looneyvill or this time turner stops. Thanks for listening! 

---------
In case anyone is wondering what a Niffler or a time turner is:

   

Thanksgiving Break 2016

I'd say my week was pretty productive. Appointments, Chores, and errands galore.










I also visited my Nonna as much as possible. Thanksgiving wasn't the same without her home but I'm thankful that she's getting better. I barley had time for myself which resulted in me staying up late to text friends but I'm a night owl anyways. cx I did meet up with a friend of mine since middle school. I see her about once a year because she lives in Lompoc but we still text each other everyday. We both LOVE the Harry Potter series and we've been looking forward to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Them for a whole year.








I was squealing when the Warner Bros. Logo came on screen because I was so excited for the movie to start.😅 I can go on rambling about how good the movie was but this post would be VERY long haha. It was so good that I might see it again. Can't wait for the next movie in 2018!!!! I've also been doing homework whenever I get the chance. There was so much to do this week that it went by so fast! Needless to say, this break was well needed. My room is all organized now and doesn't look like I'm a hoarder, appointments are done, the Thanksgiving chaos is over, and homework/studying is a work in progress. It was nice to spend extra time with family and be reunited with old friends. Hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend!(:

Literature Analysis #3

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain
(*May contain spoilers*)

1.What drew me to this book was that my dad kept telling me that I should read it because he enjoyed reading it. He knew I loved "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee and said it kind of relates to that novel. I was a little hesitant at first because I would rather read things that I have on my reading list so I expected it to be an average book. What I expected wrong. I ended up loving it.

2. What got me going through the first 10 pages was the main character, Tom Sawyer. The story starts off with him being mischievous and quite funny. His personality was really interesting and I think that contributed to why I didn't put the book down.

3. I finished the book pretty fast. Everytime I had free time(even if it was just for a few minutes), I would grab the book and start reading. Like when I got to a class early or finished an assignment early.

1. Tom sawyer is a mischievous boy who lives with his half brother, Sid, and his aunt Polly. Tom gets into trouble ALL THE TIME. As punishment his aunt would make him do work like whitewashing the fence. Instead of doing the work, he would trick his friends into doing it for him. Kind of like reverse psychology. If Sid did something wrong, Aunt Polly would still get Tom introuble because sje just asumed he did it. Tom goes out with a new kid named Becky and they are together until Becky finds out Tom liked another girl before her so they break up. One thing that happend was Tom and his friend, Huckleberry, were at a graveyard and they saw someone kill Dr. Robinson. As they run away beacause they were frightened, the whole town thought that they too were dead. He ends up going to his funeral and testifies against the murderer in court but the murderer escaped the courthouse. Tom tries to get back together with Becky. Tom and Huckleberry find the murderer, Injun Joe, who is trying to bury treasure. Tom and Becky get lost in a cave for days after a school picnic. Then the story ends with Tom and Huckleberry finding the treasure.

2. I don't think there is just one theme to this book. Adventure is a really big theme in the book because Tom seems to be always sneaking out at night or exploring somewhere with Huckleberry. Another theme could be rebellion because he always breaks the rules everywhere from home, school, Sunday School, etc. Friendship is an important theme aswell because Tom and Huckleberry become really close and a reason why is they feel like sort of outcasts of their families so they relate to each other and go on lots of adventures.

3. I think the tome of the novel is nostalgic. The way the author wrote every single detail of Tom is like that he had many things in common with Tom when he was a kid. The author is looking back at his childhood and remembered  how he is like and the memories he has.

4. Diction/Syntax: This novel was published in 1876 so the diction and syntax is really true to that time frame. That means that no one speaks that way anymore so it can be hard to understand what is happening sometimes.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed everything about the book. I like how the boys have a great sence of imagination. I would recomended this novel to anyone who doesn't know what to read next. I know it's old and it may come across as boring, but a least give it a chance. It's a classic. :)

About Yesterday's Discussion.......

Yesterday's descussion was truly mindblowing that I'm still thinking about it now. The fact that there is multiple realities until we observe something is hard to wrap my brain around. Like how the Cat is both dead and alive when they are placed in a box with a food pill and a posion pill. It's crazy to think that my backyard isn't there until I open the door. For a while now, whenever I let my mind wonder, I think about how this reality isn't the only reality. Like there are multiple realities where the world is completely different in each of them. Have you ever thought to yourself while looking at your reflection in a mirror that your reflection could be from an alternate universe? Kind of the same concept. Think about it, each of us would be doing something completely different in each of those "realities" and be living in a different kind of world. What if there are infinite realities? Why do we have to think that the reality that we're living in is the only one? What if Eckles "reality" was already warped a few times? We don't know because we weren't given that information so we automatically thought the reality he was living in was the "original" one. Yesterday we also brought up the topic of time travel. Recently I've been very interested in something called Mandela Effects. The definition is: a collective misremembering of a fact or event. I found out about them because of a person that I'm subscribed to on youtube. Some Mandela Effects are:
people remember Kit-Kat not Kit Kat or Chic-Fil-A not Chick-fil-a.
Have you heard of a kid's book about bears? Others(like me) remember it asThe Berestein Bears. Now it's known as The Berestain Bears.


I remembered this show as Looney Toons NOT Looney Tunes! I remember thinking looney toons like cartoons. Chuck E. Cheese not Chuck E. Cheese's.
Anyways long story short:there is a theory that these misrememberings exist is become Time traveling exists in the future. Every time people go back in time and mess even a little thing up, there is gling to be a ripple effect and some things change. This is why Eckles could only stay on the path and why when he steped on the butterfly, everything changed when he went back to the future or maybe why if you kill dinosaurs there would be no chickens. Just something to think about.(:

My Vignette In Time

I remember when I got my dog. I was 10 years old and so eager to finally be getting my first puppy. My parents and I walked into the place were we could choose which dog to take home with us. There were many puppies that were the same breed:shih tzu. I was content at the sight of how many puppies there were. There was about 10 not including the mom and dad. When I first steped into the room, a puppy came up to me and gestured me to hold her. She was different from the other dogs who ignored us. I choose her. Sometimes I wonder if I still would've picked her regardless if she walked up to me or  not. A lot of things would have changed if that didn't happen and I'm really glad it did.
I feel kind of weird that I'm writing about when I first got my dog but it's a special day in my time line. The saying "Dogs are a man's best friend" applies to me. :)

AN EARTH SHATTERING FART

When I read that there was dinosaurs in this article I got a bit excited. I also liked the idea of time travel because I find that really interesting especially the part where they said if the election didn't go as planned they would use the time machine. I wish I had a time machine so I could change the election somehow. I don't like how hunters go back in time to shoot dinosaurs but that's because I really love animals. The butterfly that caused them to stay in the time period was really interesting and the author seems to be very creative and imaginative. His writing showed lots of imagery. The end where Eckles got shot was very unexpected though and a sad way to end the story.

EMERSON'S CHILD

          TRUMP WON THE ELECTION AND THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT. That sentence is enough to provoke the following emotions: Anger, fear, and disappointment or excitement and content. I'm just going to put this out there that I was one of those in denial and upset people. Mostly everyone who opposes Trump can just sit down alone and have a pity party but that won't change a thing. Trump still won and unfortunately, there is nothing we can do a bout it. Then I realized that Emerson wouldn't just want us here being upset we could speak up about it and learn about this experience. He would also think we're stupid for reacting this way and we're obviously far from self reliance and the whole election was just a big mess.

         Most of the people who are reading this are upset with the election results, and believe me I am as well. However, being upset doesn't really change a thing. Lets look at the qualities Donald Trump possesses. We despise him for blurting out his outrages opinions, how he spoke out of his turn, how he treats other humans or talks about them, how racist he is, how rude he is, etc. I can write so many reasons why I don't like him but essentially all of the things we hate him for caused him to win. He used Emerson's recipe for success. He spoke his mind without filter or thinking of the consequences, he most definitely was himself, and did not even listen to what society/the world said about him this past year. Like Emerson said, "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members". To be successful we must do the same. What we can learn is to be successful in life, we must do the same thing Trump did: become self reliant and follow Emerson's advice.

        Emerson would look at us(the non Trump supporters) and think we're reacting stupidly to the results of the election! Everyone is acting as if Trump is causing the end of the world. A lot of our reactions are because of society. Admit it, we had a political meme overload all throughout the social media platforms and there was no escaping it. Society wants us all to believe what they want us to believe. Emerson would like that we branch away from society, form our own opinions, and be independent. "Society is a wave". I think we can agree with what other people has to stay but it's important to not go with the flow. Emerson thinks we each have something unique to say so we should speak up. "Else, to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another." Most people don't want Trump as our next president and part of the mistake that was made was just thinking about not wanting him but not doing much about it. A lot of people kept that to themselves and didn't speak up about it. A lot of people who are able to vote didn't even vote or promote the other candidate but they are one of the biggest complainers right now. They waited for something else to happen in order to start speaking up and I can just feel Emerson frowning at us right now. 

         Emerson would want us all to move on and make big changes for the better. That means self-reliance. This election is proof that you have to be self reliant in order to get what you want in life. He would like individuals to speak up without hesitation and say what they truly believe. We didn't so now we have someone we don't think is fit to become president is becoming president.  "Do not think the youth has no force". In that quote he is talking about infants and such but I think it applies in this topic to people who aren't old enough to vote yet. We all have a voice and just because we can't vote doesn't mean we can't influence the election in any way. If you wanted Hillary, I think we could of all promoted her more by starting friendly conversations and spreading the word any where we can. As a country, he would like us to not do crazy things, set aside our political differences and unite but still have freedom to believe different things and to not conform to society. What I'm saying is he would just want us to move on and give Trump a chance because life goes on and there's nothing we could do about it but we can make changes as individuals. If everyone makes changes s individuals(become self reliant), then society will change as well.
       
        Overall, I think we can all learn something from the election and the candidates involved. We learned what we can do better in the future and we can truly do whatever we want in life if we just trust ourselves and become self reliant. What we can take away from this was if you are self reliant you get anything you want in life either that is achieving a goal, getting a job, or even participating some way in the election and I think that is what Emerson wants us all to do. 

Emerson Presentations Day 4

Here are my notes from Thursday:

Emerson Presentations Day 3

Here are my notes from today. I'd also like to give recognition to everyone who has presented the past few days. Everyone is so creative and I've been enjoying being apart of the audience.(:

Emerson Presentations Day 2

 Here are my notes from earlier today :

Emerson Presentations Day 1

Here are my notes from this morning(:

MY EMERSON

What I'm doing for my project is making a CD using a playlist I'm creating that includes songs that have to do with some of Emerson's main ideas. I'm also going to decorate some kind of cover for the CD using a photo shop app that shows an artistic vibe I got from Emerson. I think the cover art is going to go along with the quote "Man is his own star"⭐️.

Hope everyone's having a good weekend.(:

EMERSON FOR THE YOUNG BUCK

How I would explain Emerson to a 10 year old:
Emerson is a guy who believed that adults are cowards, and kids like you are geniuses. This is because you guys say what's on your mind without hesitation or filter. Don't change that. That's how you're going to get what you want in life. Adults think too much, fear of getting judged by others so they keep their ideas to themselves, and don't say anything sometimes which results in not getting what you want. Now teenagers are classified in that sad category Emerson calls adults.  Also be yourself, I know you hear this many times but actually be yourself. If you like bows, keep wearing bows even if people tell you you're too old. If people tell you dress a certain way, don't dress the way they tell you to, Dress how you think expresses yourself or makes you happy. After all, you can only find happiness and peace within yourself and no one(or anything can bring you peace but yourself. That new toy or iPad would bring you happiness, but that happiness is temporary. New things come out everyday and it's never enough- you're going to want more and it would never bring you that internal happiness and peace us humans crave and desire. What you want to do in life is no one's business but yours. Do what you want in life. You're the only person who wakes up with you everyday and goes to bed with you everyday at night. What I mean is you're the only person that is with yourself 100% of the time so you can't depend on people to make you happy or you do things/help to make them happy all the time. It's not selfish to do the right thing for yourself. You have to because it's your life and no one else's To sum this all up: Speak your mind, ignore society's pressures, and look for happiness within yourself. This will attain you self reliance and even confidence. Don't loose your "I don't care what people think attitude" because that's what is going to  get you far in life. So basically stay the same. (:

EMERSON SAID IT

One thing about myself is I tend to be negative. I rated Emerson's ideas 10/10. They are really great ideas and the world would be so amazing everyone applied these ideas to our lives. However, I feel that for everyone to do so would only happen in an utopian world. So here are a few quotes and ideas ,from today's discussion, that I agreed with full heartedly and some that I just thought were cliche and kind of a "been there heard that" type of thing.

1."Nothing can bring you peace but yourself"
When I read this quote on Sunday, it immediately captured my attention. It made me stop thinking about my weekly routine or whatever responsibilities I have at this point in my life and tried to remember the last time I was at peace with myself. I couldn't. "Once I graduate, I can be peaceful and happy with myself" "once I loose this amount of pounds, I'd be at peace with myself" "once I get this, then I can be peaceful". Why wait later to be peaceful and for these things or events to bring you peace when you can be peaceful all by yourself now? Life brings obstacles after obstacles and new materialistic items are brought up each day. Once you get what you want, you're going to want more. Once you overcome something, life is going to throw something else in your face again. It doesn't stop. So might as well be peaceful with yourself and your life. Yes, this is a great  idea but it sounds like something that comes across of a motivational poster. It's hard to be at peace with yourself especially since we're deep into the flow of society now, that it's hard to search for peace outside of yourself.

2. "What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think"
Someone's point this morning went something like "you can't depend on anything or anyone to be there for you all the time. You're with yourself all the time." When I heard that, I remembered a quote that a singer named infinite Weaver said around last year. It popped in my head this morning because I remembered pausing the video when I watched it and wrote what she said on my phone's notes. "It's not selfish to make the right move for yourself. So that in the future, you live a long and happy life and you don't drag people around along for the ride." This whole concept really just spoke to me and actually gives me a bit of motivation. It's your life and in the end you have to make yourself happy and sometimes being selfish is a necessity. Yeah, helping another person and being there for someone is wonderful and all but again, it's your life. You have to choose between living it for yourself, doing what you want and die as a happy person or living your life for everyone else and die ending up not doing what you wanted to do to make you happy and feel like you lived a good or successful life. (Here's the link to the video I was talking about incase anyone was wondering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_zzdN5WQ5I )

3. "Man is his own star".
It can be reassuring that everyone isn't just a tiny spec in this huge universe and is an actual star but this is just another cliche quote to me. Where's the proof? There are billions of people on this planet yet the universe is such a humongous and diverse place. What kind of impact do we have on this infinate universe?

4."It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other. It undergoes continual changes; it is barbarous, it is civilized, it is christianized, it is rich, it is scientific; but this change is not amelioration" 
Yesterday in class, there was a discussion on what the word amelioration meant. Everyone seemed to have a different definition and they said it in terms of religion. I found a different definition when reading this on Sunday: the act of making something better or improving it. After finding the definition, what Emerson said in this quote kind of made sense to me. What I think he is saying is all men and women have an idea of improving society but no one does anything about it I agree with this idea because it's true. We have ideas on improving society(aka ourselves) and not going with the flow but we don't change anything because we have gotten so used to the way things are now that it's almost like we don't know how to change them.

5. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.
He's saying that when we see something genius, we see our own thoughts that were rejected. I feel like Emerson in this quote is giving everyone too much credit or trying to give us more motivation (here I am being a Negative Nancy again haha). What I mean is the reason why I disagree with this quote is because I think some people come up with some ideas that you and I would never come up with in our life. I also feel that everyone comes up with different ideas that no one has ever heard of in their life. This is because every single one of us thinks differently and have our own perspective of things. Yes, I think sometimes this quote can be true but it isn't correct all the time. 

Another thing that stuck out at me in class today was when we were talking about fortune. It was thinking about it and I have agreed with this concept for a while. It was something about how if we do something truly amazing and someone does the same exact thing and they get rewarded but we don't, then we kind of feel that life is unfair. I feel that all of this is true, this is just my opinion, but it seems to be that some people are just extremely lucky and that the cards are always in their favor and then there's people like me who feel absolutely unlucky and feel that we are never going to be rewarded in life because life is just simply unfair. That's just me being pessimistic as usual but that's what I thought during the time.

I'M SELF-RELIANT

My notes from the last paragraphs from "On Self-Reliance"

-be true to yourself

-change is constant and there is always room for improvement and growth

-If you rely on someone else, you loose who you truly are as an individual 

-all men(and women) have an idea of improving society but no one does anything about it

-society goes through changes but it does not improve

-Adults should acts like young boys beacause they aren't hesitant or think twice before deciding something. They speak their minds and never base what they want to say(or care) on what other people's opinions will be. 

-Society shapes peoples' way of thinking;we shouldn't let it

-We would not find out who we truly were if we conformed to society's ways

-We have to learn how to be independent. After all, you are in charge of your own life. 

-People's self esteem is measured on what each other has, not what each other is

-A well educated person would be ashamed of what he has out of their newly found respect for nature.

-we can not find peace in anything like a rise of events, propetry, materialistic things, or even other people

-nothing can bring you peace but yourself

AUTHOR IN PROGRESS

What I think helped me on the test was going over the mind map and rereading the paragraphs over again to see what I didn't understand. Another thing that helped me was that I saw the questions beforehand so I had an idea in my mind of what to write about and I also wrote down a few points that I for sure wanted to include so I can remember the next day. I still think I could've done a better job. Right in the middle of the test, I was thinking "gosh I should've done a definently" but the reason why I didn't was because I thought I wouldn't have enough time but I found that I kept repeating myself and getting off track. I think doing a prewrite would've helped me so much and I definitely will in the future.

Mapping My Mind

My additions to the mind map......
I added quotes to our class' mind map that really spoke to me or I think are some highlights from what we had read so far. I also gave my opinion on those quotes and a few other ideas to share how I had interpreted them and that can hopefully give people a new perspective.

Ps. Hope everyone is having(or had) a good weekend!(:

Something Interesting About The Book I'm Reading

I'm reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
It is about a little boy named Tom Sawyer who is extremely mischievous and gets away with mostly everything. He lives with his Aunt Polly, who is always suspicious of him misbehaving(which he is) and he likes to pick fights with people. For example, a new kid moved into the neighborhood and Tom just went up to him and started fighting with him.

My American Voice

Most people would describe the way I speak as kind and others would say I don't speak at all. People close to me would describe the way I speak as being frank, truthful, loud, sarcastic, and honest. Almost like a 2.0 version of my self unleashes with people I am close to. My voice is something I don't use a lot of. I consider myself as the shiest person in the world, I mean I barley speak up for myself. However, I do tend to speak up for others. I can't stand seeing people getting taken advantage of or getting hurt. I get the urge to speak up and help them. Usually when I speak, I think before I say anything but when I do speak up for people, I do not think before I speak at all. This is because I'm more focused on resolving the conflict rather than being poise. I consider speaking up as a responsibility because everyone should help each other and have each other's back. I'm sure everyone would be happy if someone spoke up for them when needed. To anyone reading this, feel free to muse along with me and agree or disagree. I also think speaking up for yourself is very important, we all have a voice or things to say and it's important to learn how to make ourselves be heard so we do not get taken advantage of.

Vocab #6

Meme-current elements from culture or system of behavior passed from someone to someone else by imitation or other non-genetic means. Some popular and current memes are pictures of Pepe the frog and Spongebob characters being confused.  
virus-an infective agent that interrupts the system.
My laptop has gotten a virus before. 
viral-Something that has spread rapidly through the internet and got popular.
The meme of Mr. Krabs from Spongebob being confused has gone viral on all social media platforms.  
Blog- an online journal.
Tumblr is known as a website for blogs.

wiki- a website that allows its users to edit or make changes to a website

Wikipedia is a wiki website which means anyone can make edits to it.
URL- A websites' adress.

To find a website, type the URL in the search box.
website- A site of a page in the World Wide Web.

Twitter.com is my favorite website.
www- an abrivation for the World Wide Web.

WWW appears in front of the URL because it helps find websites in the World Wide Web.
Internet- A network that allows computer to exchange information with each other.

Because of the internet, people can communicate with each other globally.
2.0- an advanced or improved version of something

Touch screen phones are the 2.0 version of the original cell phone.
open source- A software where the source code is open to the public so they can modify things.

Team Vocab

This presidential election has transformed into a battle, with venomous attacks from both aggravating parties. Hillary has remained stolid, and I personally wanna punch Trump in the proboscis. His supporters have slowly dissolved and the ones who have remained are hypnotized into believing America will be great again. This is a melancholy moment in American history because soon one of these candidates will be president. I earnestly believe that neither candidate should be eligible for office.

Literature Analysis #2

"Looking For Alaska" by John Green

(*spoilers*)

1. What drew me to this book was that it was the same author of a novel that I've read before and liked called, "The Fault In Our Stars".
I expected it to maybe have something tragic happening and have deep thoughts that causes me to think about life differently.
2. What kept me reading past the first ten pages was that once Miles arrives to his new school, he meets friends who are incredibly smart and deep for teenagers and they also like to be pranksters.
3. My reading habits are reading whenever I have time. If I like the book enough, I cannot put down the book and don't want to do anything else but read, which was the case with this novel.
----------------

1. Miles Halter was one of those awkward teenagers who didn't have any close friends and he liked memorizing the last words of famous people. That changed when he left Florida and his family to go to a boarding school in Alabama in search of "The Great Perhaps". There he meets hiss room mate, Chip who is called the colonel, and he introduces him to his best friend, Alaska. In the first half of the book they broke rules, had deep conversations, pulled pranks, and were rebellious. Alaska was always a mystery to Miles, who is nicknamed Pudge by the colonel. After Alaska's death, Miles becomes obsessed with figuring out if she did it on purpose or not and can't help but feel guilty for her passing. In the end, he forgives Alaska for dying because he knows she'll forgive him for moving on in life.

Theme: Death is one of the biggest themes in the book.  Miles had an obsession with memorizing the last words of famous people. Alaska felt guilty for her mother's death because when she was little she saw her mom laying and shaking on the ground but Alaska was too paralyzed with fear to call 911 and she blamed herself for it and allowed  her emotions to drive her decisions.  Some other themes are about life after death, "searching for a great perhaps"or new adventure, and how everybody is battling their own rebellious of suffering.

Tone: There isn't really a constant tone throughout the whole book. Especially since John Green divided the first half the book and called it before from the last part of the book which is called after. One of the main tone is tragedy because a huge tragedy took place in the middle of the book and it affects everyone. Miles had a hard time dealing with Alaska's death, “I picked up a blue chair and threw it against the concrete wall, and the clang of plastic on concrete echoed beneath the bridge as the chair fell limply on its side, and then I lay on my back with my knees hanging over the precipice and screamed'(pg.171). Alaska Young was mysterious and a tone Green used was unhappiness. A quote from Alaska was, "Y'all smoked to enjoy it. I smoke to die". Sometimes the tone is sarcastic and fun like when the gang is hanging out with each other. For example when the gang was having a prank night, Alaska asked Takumi:
4. Literary elements:
   1. Dynamic character- Alaska young left the characters with a mystery: if she crashed her car on purpose or on accident. "She loved mysteries so much, that she became one."
   2. Internal conflict- Miles was in love with the version he created of Alaska. "Do you even remember the person she actually was? Do you remember how she could be a selfish bitch? That was apart of her, and you used to know it. It's like now you only care about the Alaska you made up."(pg.165)
   3.Takumi Hikohitoska- flat character. He was Miles, Alaska and Chip's friend but wan't that close to them. "I'm tired of all this secret shit. She was my friend, too."(pg.177)
  4. Suspence-"And then we heard footsteps outside. Footsteps. We'd waited till 1:00 to turn on the lights, figuring everyone would be long asleep."
5.Resolution- "So I know she forgives me , just as I forgive he. Thomas Edison's last words were: "It's very beautiful over there." I don't know where there is, but I believe it is somewhere, and I hope it's beautiful." (pg.221)

Mentor Letter Draft 1

Dear J.K. Rowling,
   
  You are my ideal mentor for my big question. How do we get over people telling us our dream or goal is impossible and even our fear of rejection? I've read that you have been rejected a few times before the Harry Potter books were published. Did you fear rejection? What motivated you to continue trying? How did you get over the people in your life telling you that it's never going to happen? I know that people have told you it wasn't going to happen and I would like some advice to how that and the fear of being rejected didn't stop you from being trying and reaching success . I feel that people doubting you can lead to self doubt aswell and it is very hard to do something and reach a huge goal because you're constantly doubting yourself. You're the perfect mentor for my question because you did something people told you couldn't and went through rejection which resulted in you punlishing my favourite, and many others',  book serie. Thanks for bringing imagination and a whole new world , that I use as an escape, through your writing.

Sincerely,

Linda Inverso

My Actual Big Question

My original big question was something I grown uninterested in because I feel like I already have an answer to it and just chose it because I had nothing else. I hadn't found a question that applies to me until recently when I was looking through an old journal of mine. So my inquiry is, "How do we get over people telling us we can't do something in life because we're "not good enough or it's impossible" and rejection or fear of rejection?" Will things truly work out even of you work for it?Like adults told us when we were younger that we can do or study anything we want to in life, impossible is nothing, and follow your dreams but once we get older, they kind of force us to do what they want us to do" To me it is so fustrating when my mom asks me what do I want to do or study but then answers with  I can't, it's a waste of time, or is impossible. "I should use my time to study to be a nurse or dentist and not waste my time." Why are (most) adults so supportive and encouraging when we were younger but suddenly change their opinion? Almost as if they were lying to us and are trying to run our life. This may not be a philosophical question or anything of that sort but it is just a question that's been getting under my skin lately.

Essay 1 Revised

-After  reading my colleagues' work and sharing ideas, I realized I could improve my first essay by organizing my essay so it would be easier to read which means better diction and syntax. I'm proud of the result. Hope you enjoy reading it!

If you think about it, humans just took over the land on this Earth and claimed it as their own. That’s pretty much what countries are- land that was taken over by humans who created ways to control the people who live there.  Human relations were needed for all that and it is essential for our survival. I agree with E.M. Foster's view that personal relations are more important than patriotism. Patriotism doesn't help when it comes down to when you having a problem, personal relations do. 

Patriotism is all about having a strong love for your country, but can your love for you country help you with human needs? The government's job is to help citizens but people have personal problems and may want opinions and advice from other people. A nation can't help you with a problem like that, unless you have a huge group of people to back you up and they still won’t treat you with the same kind of care as a friend would. First world problems is something the government doesn't have time for or have sympathy for you. For example, trying to ask the government what you should wear on the weekend is something that they cant help you with and only people you are close to and talk to on a daily basis can.

Patriotism unifies people as a nation but that doesn’t mean it unifies the people. A person can be patriotic and love their country dearly but they can still be antisocial at the same time. This is because they aren’t united with a group of people who bonds with them. So if there wasn't any human relations, people would have a lonely life, and have no one to share the benefits of this country and the joys of life with. That can lead to damaging your mental health. For example, If you are lonely and spend all your time alone, you can put yourself in a dangerous place of thinking thoughts that could affect your mental health. Yeah you could have a deep love for your country, but patriotism doesn’t give you that kind of love and care humans crave and need.

In conclusion, human relations are more valuable than having a pride in your homeland. Without human relations, then everyone and their parents (and so on) wouldn’t have been born and we would not be here right now. Having a good life has to do with sharing amazing and fun experiences with the people you know and love which is something patriotism cannot grant you.

Vocabulary #5

1. venomous- extremely poisonous or harmful. Everyone was scared from the loose venomous snake
2. stolid-revealing little emotion. There was a stolid look on his face.
3. hypnotized-caption the whole attention of someone as if they were in a transe or a spell. The girl acted as if she was hypnotized. 
4. suspended- temporarily put a stop to something from continuing. The kids got into major trouble so they got suspended from school.
5. transformed-making a dramatic change in appearence or personality. The proffesor used his magic to transform the bratty student into a ferret.
6. accused-A group or an individual who were charged with a crime or with a wrongdoing. The teen was accused of stealing from the store.
7. anticipate- to look ahead with excitement about something happening in the future. The little girl anticipated for her birthday. 
8. fringe- A border of loose threads or formed onto tassels. The blanket had fringe on the outer edges of the fabric.
9. melancholy-A gloomy state of mind. No one noticed that the gorl had melancholic thoughts.
10. earnestly-serious in intent or purpose. The boy was earnest and ambitious.
11. dissolve-to break or loosen something up. The salt dissolved in the water.
12. aggravate-To make worse or annoy. My sister likes to aggravate me while I'm doing homework.
13. illuminate-light up. The moonlight illuminated the room through the blinds at night.
14. capillary-smallest blood vessels. We learned about capillaries in biology.
15. proboscis-the trunk of an elephant. The elephant used their proboscis to get water.

A Hug is Nearly a Gun Spelled Backwards...

If you think about it, humans just took over the land on this Earth and claimed it as their own. That’s pretty much what countries are- land that was taken over by humans who created ways to control the people who live there.  Human relations were needed for all that and it is essential for our survival.  There isn’t anything wrong with patriotism, in fact I think it’s great and it unites people but when it comes down to when you have a problem, it’s better to have a personal connection with people. The government can’t solve all your problems or have sympathy for you.

The government is supposed to help citizens but people have personal problems and may want opinions and advice from other people. A country won’t care about a problem like that, unless you have a huge group of people to back you up and they still won’t treat you with the same kind of care as a friend would.  Trying to ask the government what you should wear on the weekend is something that they cant help you with and only people you are close to and talk to on a daily basis can.

Patriotism unifies a nation but that doesn’t mean it unifies the people. A person can be patriotic and love their country dearly but they can still be antisocial at the same time. This is because they aren’t united with a group of people who bonds with them.  They would just have a lonely life, and have no one to share the benefits of this country and the joys of life with.  Having a personal relationship with people benefits our mental health. If you are lonely and spend all your time alone, you can put yourself in a dangerous place of thinking thoughts that could affect your mental health. Yeah you could have a deep love for your country, but patriotism doesn’t give you that kind of love and care humans crave and need.

In conclusion, human relations are more valuable than having a pride in your homeland.  Without human relations, then everyone and their parents (and so on) wouldn’t have been born and we would not be here right now. Having a good life has to do with sharing amazing and fun experiences with the people you know and love which is something patriotism cannot grant you.