RELEASE FROM FINALS AND PROJECTS

I finished my Essay in class but I feel as if I could have done better if I had more time. I started off by trying to do a pre-write and honestly that was the first time I had tried it and I feel like those minutes writing the pre-write were totally worth my time. I don't feel like I need to add to my Essay, I just feel like I could have written it better. So, I am writing this right now because I just finished my Press Conference and I was the actor so I feel like I need to write something to release my emotions and other things are going on so I am releasing my emotions in a positive way by writing. I am happy how the Press Conference ended because we got more information than what we needed. I was really really nervous! I'm honestly just happy that it is over, it was a great experience and I really stepped out of my comfort zone. I never believed that I would be able to do that but I did! I followed Emerson's advice and I was myself. For the first time in Forever I said to myself to stop worrying about how things will end up and just have some fun. It was hilarious because I really felt the pressure. HaHa, everyone was like MS.ADDAMS, MS.ADDAMS! It was an overall great experience. Now I want to release my emotions on something else. Honestly, I do not understand some people. I try so hard to let this person see how much I appreciate them, but every time I try I just get disappointed, over and over. Sadly, for some reason I keep on going back to them. Don't you ever get that feeling? That feeling that you feel like you need someone, their presence just makes you feel better and when they are there you don't think about all the problems. Who doesn't love that feeling? I feel like that's why I feel so attached to this person, Ughhhhh, what is wrong with me? LOL, its so funny how I'm feeling so many different types of ways. On another side note, I'm so excited for the soccer game that's going on today. SM vs PV. Rivalry! Is there anybody else who's as scared as I am for FINALS?! Life sucks sometimes but it can also be great if you let it be (: Well that's all I got for today, I feel 100000000x's better! (:

SOMETHING INTERESTING

Something very interesting that I just noticed today was the fact that I got to see life itself and the people who surround me. I realized that life is not only about repeating the things you do everyday. For example waking up, going to school, going home, doing homework, and falling asleep. Today I realized that other things also occur throughout the day that I don't notice. I am sitting here in the library writing this but before I started writing this I was having the time of my life. I was laughing uncontrollably and it was the best feeling. I was listening to music and I was really feeling it and I was singing to it and for the first time in so long I did not care about whoever was around. I realized that I need to pay attention to the little details of the best things that occur in a day that I never realize. Life is not about being boring, it's about making the best out of it even through the worst situations. That is something really interesting that just opened my eyes for some odd reason and i'm happy it did. <3

Immigrants In our Own Land by Jimmy Santiago Baca

What I really enjoyed today during class was the fact that we got to learn about a new author and one of his poems. I really found his life amazing. It was awesome where he came from and all the hard work and effort he put to be a better person. When I read his poem of," Immigrants In Our Own Land," I really got a good sense of actual reality. His experience of life was so on point that it really gave us the view of reality that I found really relate-able. I think that the most interesting thing that I found in this poem was the fact that you can see how much the author has grown and all the hard work he has put into improving who he is and reaching any goals, I found it amazing how you would never think that he was ever illiterate when reading his poems because that is how good and amazing his writing is. When I read the poem and thought about the theme, tone, mood, and devices I had the same thoughts as Jessica's blog post. I think that the theme in this poem would be expectations vs reality like Jessica said in her blog post. Some people come to this country to find better opportunities and live a better life but once they get here they realize that nothing is going to change and reality hits them, but sometimes I would say that there are those people who get lucky. In this poem I would say that the tone of the author would be a tone that changes throughout the poem. For example in the beginning the author starts with a calm tone but as the poem goes on the author becomes sad and depressed because he is realizing the reality of life and that we have to go through many hardships to realize that nothing much will change. As well as the author's mood at first it's hopeful and slowly we can hear how he is loosing hope little by little with the words he uses and how he describes what he feels. Some devices that we find in this poem would be Irony. We see the use of Irony because the poem mainly focuses on how people come to a new country for a better life but all they get is a prison. Another device that we can see in this poem would be the use of his Diction and Syntax. We can see all through out the poem that he helps us imagine and get an idea of how Immigrants live their life like prisons by comparing prisons to their lives. I really found this poem like a punch in the face of how life really is and that it can really suck sometimes. .-.

MY MAD DREAM OF AN ESSAY

Remember that time you ate that spicy branch 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 crazy 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 concert waiting to be sent to jail.  Everywhere you looked there were posters of president-elect Mac Donald-Berger, looking like a crazy lion who could eat a whole zoo.   

Suddenly, there was Ralph Waldo Emerson telling you, "Be Thyself."  You realized that you have something to contribute to the world so you decided to fight.  But it wasn't easy.  First you had to put on a fancy suit and get weapons and then you had make a time machine to go back in time to the concert so you could convince people to learn about the candidates and the sexism in this world.

But right there in the concert there was a giant mob and it started yelling at everyone.  People started to panic.  You grabbed a gun from a nearby store and yelled "YOU JUST MET YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE."  Everyone stopped and listened, so you kept going.

PEOPLE, PLEASE LISTEN. VIOLENCE IS NOT THE SOLUTION WE SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR. OUR ACTIONS WILL ALWAYS LEAD TO CONSEQUENCES AND IF WE CHOOSE THE PATH OF VIOLENCE THIS WILL NOT END WELL. THINK OF THE CONSEQUENCES AND HOW OUR LIVES WILL CHANGE. WE DON'T NEED ANYMORE HATE THAN WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE! WE HAVE TO THINK BEFORE WE MAKE ANY CHOICES. THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE FOR THIS WORLD AND UPCOMING GENERATIONS. I ONCE CHOSE TO SHUT ALL THE PEOPLE OUT THAT I LOVED FROM MY LIFE. I CHOSE TO LIVE A LIFE OF DEPRESSION, WITHOUT LOVE. I WAS KEEPING ALL MY FEELINGS INSIDE OF ME AND I WASN'T LETTING ANYONE IN. I WASTED SO MUCH TIME FEELING SAD, HATING LIFE WHEN THE WORLD AND MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY HAD SO MUCH TO OFFER. JUST LIKE EMERSON ONCE SAID, DON'T FALL INTO THE CROWD OF OUR SOCIETY WHEN YOU KNOW YOURSELF BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE AND YOU KNOW THAT YOU WANT TO DO THE RIGHT THING. DON'T STEP ON THE BUTTERFLY, BE THE BUTTERFLY, BE THYSELF.

BREAK?

This week is just one of those weeks that I have to struggle through. So far I guess I've had a productive week? On Saturday I did some community service and helped FFA clean up our little section where we keep the chickens 🐔 and the turkeys 🦃 and the rabbits 🐰. On Sunday I kind of destressed myself and just went to church and hung out with friends after that. We ate at Red Robin's and then we had a movie night and played games. On Monday I woke up and cleaned my room, like the whole thing , I moved my bed and drawers and gave my room a whole new look 👀. After I was finished with that I showered and did some community service at Thrive. 😁 Today, Tuesday I got my Spanish project and homework done and I did some Physics homework which is great! I'm debating if I should do the extra credit for Spanish 🤔 I think I should 😂 So it's 12:00 and I should be sleeping but I think I'm used to staying up, I find myself writing this while I'm listening to Shawn Mendes ❤️🍑 And not going to sleep 😴. 

VIGNETTE

I sat still in a classroom. 10 to 30 kids were making their way to their desks , commencing conversations, pulling out notebooks from their backpacks. I sat still , motionless. I felt the shock all through my body and I stared straight into the wall. All that was heard was the rhythm of the music circulating through my body. People were talking so loud but I couldn't hear it. My mind tried so hard to forget but the more it tried to forget the more It remembered. That thought couldn't go away and I knew that it would never.

EMERSON'S CHILD

          Emerson really makes our humanity think twice about the kind of people we are. He makes us look at life in a perspective that we had never seen. Or we had seen it before, but we were afraid to recognize it. He tells us to live life being happy and ourselves, not what the society wants us to be. This is really the challenge that Emerson presents us with. Emerson once said," To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." What we learn from Emerson is really to be the kind of person that we ourselves want to be. Who are we when no one is looking or judging? How do we feel about all of this? How do we accomplish this inner happiness?

          Who are we when no one is looking? When no one is looking we seem to express ourselves and who we really are. Why is that? When no one is there to watch, no one is there too judge so we feel free. We don't have the society bombarding us with "perfection." We find ourselves a quite place. We meditate on life and that's when we find ourselves. When no one is watching. When no one is watching we find beauty. We find gentleness and fear, someone that we are afraid to show to the world because in a world like today everyone has to be "perfect," and "strong." Sometimes peace and quite is what someone needs. It helps you open your mind. You start getting inspired and that is when you see the beautiful things in life and you don't get captured into our society that can destroy you or prevent you from being happy with yourself. "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself." - Emerson.

          How do we feel? The hardest thing a human can possibly do is express their feelings. We hide our emotions because we don't want to show weakness. We don't wan't people to see our flaws because we are afraid that if they do they'll see us differently. We think that if we hide our emotions we won't feel them anymore but in reality we are just hurting ourselves even more. It's okay to cry. We as humans reach a point where we just need to release all the emotions that we have and the only way to do it is by crying. Life is not always going to be perfect. Sometimes I wonder, why should I be sad when there are other people who have been through worse? We as human's face many difficulties but these experiences are what molds us and make us the person who we are. You can either learn from them and move on or dwell on them for the rest of your life. Don't be afraid to show your true feelings and express your thoughts because that is where ideas are made and that is what makes us grow. Emerson gave us the best advice which was to," Speak your latent conviction....Else tomorrow 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."

          How do we really accomplish happiness and find our inner selves? Don't let the fear of society prevent you from being yourself. There will never be another you ever again. Take risks, live your life, be yourself, and find happiness. Enjoy every year that you get and accomplish your goals because soon that year will be over and you will never be the age that you once were.You are strong, beautiful, and independent. Life is too short to be worrying about what other people think of you. You know yourself better than anyone else and you know that happiness can only exist if you exit all the negativity and focus on who you really want to be. Emerson once said," Ne te quaesiveris extra." don't seek for things outside of yourself because these things are what kill who you are. Be the unique person that you are. You don't need other people to hold your hand through it all. The change starts in you. 

          Life is not perfect and it will never be. You just have to make the best out of it to be happy. Not everyone will like you but that is how life works. You will experience things that will make you suffer but that shouldn't stop you from living. Be free. Don't worry. Focus on what you want for yourself and not what others want from you. You are beautiful, don't let fear take the best out of you. You are stronger than what you think and you are loved. If Emerson were to see me I think he'd be proud. " Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson 

          

AN EARTH SHATTERING FART LOL

I really liked the story A sound of thunder because I found it very interesting. Especially how the story ended. I seemed to find a message in this story that really spoke to me. The message that I got from this story was that our actions are always going to lead to consequences. Either good consequences or bad ones. That is why we need to think about the things we do clearly. I believe that what he is also trying to tell us is that even the smallest actions lead to consequences. Sometimes one small action leads to huge consequences that you never thought could have happened. Once something is done it is done and there is no coming back to how it was before. That is why we need to think twice about what we do because sometimes you think it won't harm anyone but in reality it does. That is why I found this story really interesting. 

EMERSON PRESENTATIONS DAY 4

EMERSON PRESENTATIONS DAY 3

EMERSON PROJECT

SO I DECIDED TO MAKE A COLLAGE OF QUOTES THAT SPOKE TO ME JUST LIKE EMERSON'S ESSAY 💕
FINAL MESSAGE: IF I WERE TO TELL YOU ANYTHING IT WOULD BE TO NOT BE AFRAID OF BEING YOURSELF. I HAVE REALIZED THAT MY WHOLE LIFE I HAVE BEEN SCARED TO EXPRESS THE KIND OF PERSON I REALLY AM AND MY PERSONALITY. I AM A REALLY CRAZY PERSON AND I LOVE TO LAUGH AND I LOVE TO HANGOUT AND HAVE FUN BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY I PREVENT MYSELF FROM BEING SAD OVER ANYTHING. I'M THE KIND OF PERSON WHO REALLY WANT'S TO TALK TO YOU BUT THAT IS TOO AFRAID TO DO IT. I PROMISE THAT I AM A REALLY OUTGOING PERSON ONCE YOU GET TO KNOW ME. THAT IS WHY I AM TELLING YOU TO SPEAK UP. DON'T BE SHY. BEING YOURSELF IS WHAT BRINGS YOU GREAT FRIENDSHIPS AND MEMORIES. DON'T LET OUR SOCIETY MOLD YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE UNIQUE AND UNIQUENESS IS WHAT BRINGS CREATIVITY AND IDEAS INTO OUR WORLD. THAT IS HOW WE MAKE THE WORLD GREAT. BY BEING OURSELVES. I'M EVEN GOING TO FOLLOW MY OWN ADVICE. GUESS WHAT? I'M GOING TO BREAK OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE BECAUSE I VOLUNTEERED AS ACTOR FOR MY HISTORY CLASS. I'M CURRENTLY SCARED BUT I'M GOING TO GET RID OF THAT SHYNESS STEP BY STEP.!! .-. (:

EMERSON PRESENTATIONS DAY 2

EMERSON PRESENTATIONS DAY 1

ALL OF THE PRESENTATIONS WERE AWESOME!!! 👌🏽😎
NOTES:

EMERSON FOR THE YOUNG BUCK

Dear children of the world, 

            To begin with I would like to tell you that there was once a very wise man named Emerson who wrote and essay on Self- Reliance. To help you understand what Self- Reliance was all about I will like to make this short and sweet. What Emerson is telling us to do in this essay is to just be yourself.Don't be afraid kid. Don't be afraid to love the kind of person you are. Don't worry about what other people think of you. Life is too short for that, enjoy it while you can. Have fun, play with your friends, share wild memories and just put yourself out there. You are special in your own way. Everyone is different so don't be afraid to embrace who you really are. You are fabulous, don't ever change, just do you. Don't think about anything more than once. You are amazing, take risks, and life life at it's fullest. 

EMERSON SAID IT

OKAY. So today in class during our discussion I ended up having the same perspective and I still agree 100% with Emerson's idea and he has made me think of how I have been living my life and I realize that it is totally the incorrect way. In our class discussion there was a different perspective of how Emerson's ideas were viewed. Some people believed that Emerson is full of crap and that all he is doing is telling us to believe in ourselves in a cliche way and that at the end of the day we forget about what Emerson has to say to begin with. I totally disagree because when we say that society is always going to end up winning it is exactly what Emerson is telling us not to do and believe! He is telling us to stop believing that we can't do anything because we are the society! It only takes one person to make a difference. It all depends on a single person to make a difference, not just because everyone is doing it you should too. You need to step up and not be a prisoner of a fake personality and person because of "society." The first thing that needs to happen to achieve this is that you need to change and be yourself first and then you will be able to change the society, because if you are not at peace with yourself to begin with then you can't really make a difference in our society, that is why our society is how it is today. We can see this in all the quotes and messages that Emerson is trying to tell us. To begin with he starts off by saying, “ Ne te quaesiveris extra.” He is telling us that who we really are is inside of us. We have to be seeking our inner selves rather than our outer selves. Yes we hear this all the time but he isn’t just telling us to believe in ourselves, he is telling us to not conform to the person that everyone sees in a daily basis, or the person that acts like they are happy when in reality they aren’t. He is telling us to conform to the person inside of us, the real, pure, and true of us. He gives examples of our reality and he makes us realize why our society is how it is today. For example when he says,” We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents,” or when he says,” In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty.” These are examples of humanity’s reality. We are too afraid to speak what we know because we are in fear that we are wrong. We realize that we are right and we think of the fact that we never spoke up for the rest of the day. After giving us these examples he goes on to support us and and he tell us that it is not the end and that we have to make a difference to be happy with ourselves and who we are to begin with. He says,” Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” and, “ Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles.” YOU know yourself better than anyone else and you know that you can only obtain happiness by being yourself and not someone who acts just to fit in. YOU will know that you are doing the right thing when you finally reach peace. He tells us to be INDEPENDENT. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to change on your own. You do not need someone to hold your hand through it all. We are individuals who are capable of changing, you can either see the positive side of it and be inspired to make a change in yourself, or not. Focus on what you want to do and not on what others want you to do. That is what I caught from our discussion and my opinion. (:

IM SELF-RELIANT

Okay, so as I am reading the last paragraphs of self-reliant I am capturing many ideas that Emerson is telling us.  So first I get the idea that he is telling us that we don't have to depend on anyone to do what we want because we can make our own decisions and have our own ideas. I believe he says that anyone who isn't capable to be themselves and think or do things by themselves are not capable of being individual or reaching individualism. If you rely on someone else you have no hope, you should have self trust and just go for it. He goes on to talk about how adults should be more like boys or teenagers because they like adventure, they are spontaneous, genuine, and they are never hesitant. He states that adults should be like them because adults are always thinking twice about their decisions, they base it on other people's opinion because he cares about what other people think. He also talks about being true to yourself than trying to conform to the society's demands. Other ideas that I saw were that we should act independently. For example if you did a good deed you should not wait until someone praises you, you should know that you did the right thing and proceed on with your daily things. Lastly what he talks about is that we shouldn't let society shape our ways of thinking and he goes back to saying that we shouldn't conform to it, because if we do no one will know who we are. Our individual natures are what bring out the best in us and who we really are. That is what I captured from the last paragraphs. 😁

AUTHOR IN PROGRESS

I don't have my grade back yet, but I am confident that I did a good job. I think what helped me in this test was the fact that I saw the questions before hand and I did a set up or an outline on how I was going to write my short answers. Another good thing that I think helped me was that I went back to the paragraphs that we had read and I read the parts that weren't clear to me. I believe that what I could have done better would have been to add more details to my writing,. Maybe I could have analyzed it more deeply and put more facts than opinions. That's how I currently feel about my short answer writing.

AUTHOR IN PROGRESS

I don't have my grade back yet, but I am confident that I did a good job. I think what helped me in this test was the fact that I saw the questions before hand and I did a set up or an outline on how I was going to write my short answers. Another good thing that I think helped me was that I went back to the paragraphs that we had read and I read the parts that weren't clear to me. I believe that what I could have done better would have been to add more details to my writing,. Maybe I could have analyzed it more deeply and put more facts than opinions. That's how I currently feel about my short answer writing.

MAPPING MY MIND

So far I have contributed a fair amount of work in the mind map. I have read all the paragraphs that we have been assigned so far and for each one I have put something in the mind map. To begin with I have put and added links to some of the main ideas of self-reliance. I believe that the links will help someone if they don't understand the main concepts. I also proceeded into writing some questions that have to do with what Emerson means. I believe that this will help because it will get us closer to the main ideas of Emerson, how he thinks, and what he feels when he is writing this. I also decided to write Big Questions. I decided to do this because I know that it is a big part of what we are focusing on in this course, that is why I feel like it was something needed to be added on. Another important reason for why we should have Big Questions is because it let's us think outside of the box. Right now I am just focusing on helping to organize the mind map and continuing to add after I have read each paragraph. (:

MAPPING MY MIND

So far I have contributed a fair amount of work in the mind map. I have read all the paragraphs that we have been assigned so far and for each one I have put something in the mind map. To begin with I have put and added links to some of the main ideas of self-reliance. I believe that the links will help someone if they don't understand the main concepts. I also proceeded into writing some questions that have to do with what Emerson means. I believe that this will help because it will get us closer to the main ideas of Emerson, how he thinks, and what he feels when he is writing this. I also decided to write Big Questions. I decided to do this because I know that it is a big part of what we are focusing on in this course, that is why I feel like it was something needed to be added on. Another important reason for why we should have Big Questions is because it let's us think outside of the box. Right now I am just focusing on helping to organize the mind map and continuing to add after I have read each paragraph. (:

SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT THE BOOK I AM READING

KILLING MR.GRIFFEN BY LOIS DUNCAN 

Something interesting about the book that I am currently reading right now is the fact that it has to do with school and an English teacher. I find it funny because I'm writing this for my English class. So far I have read about a group of kids who get to class and as days go by they realize that their English teacher is very strict because he doesn't accept late work, he gives too much homework, etc... These students are the popular students so they think that Mr. Griffen hates them for no reason so they start to not like Mr. Griffen as well. I seem to find this book interesting because these groups of students seem to have some of the same feelings that I have sometimes. Just like these characters who feel like they get too much work, I feel the same way for some of my classes. That is what I have read so far, I'll update you guys when I have read more. (: 

MY AMERICAN VOICE

          I strongly believe that everyone's voice is important but sometimes it is very hard to let your voice be heard if you are a shy person. That can sometimes and most of the time suck because shy people have ideas that we will never know because they are not willing to speak up. For example sometimes when teachers ask questions I answer them in my mind because I'm too scared that I will answer the question out loud and embarrass myself because it is wrong. The teacher or a student says the answer and that is the same answer that I was thinking of. It is very important to hear everybody's opinions and thoughts because they hide ideas that maybe someone else can't or doesn't think of. SPEAK OUT LOUD, WHAT'S THE WORSE THAT CAN HAPPEN?  

FALL VOCABULARY #6

1. Meme: an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation.

Sentence: Teenagers always come up with dumb and funny memes every once in a while that make me laugh. 

2. Virus: a piece of code that is capable of copying itself and typically has a detrimental effect, such as corrupting the system or destroying data

Sentence: My brothers computer had a virus and now every time he tries to charge his computer it won't charge.

3. Viral: relating to or involving an image, video, piece of information, etc., that is circulated rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another

Sentence: A dance that has recently gone viral is the juju on that beat dance and song.

4. Blog: Web log 

Sentence: I post on my Ap English Blog daily to post assignments. 

5. Wiki:  a website that allows collaborative editing of its content and structure by its users

Sentence: Wikipedia is an example of a Wiki where anyone is able to edit the page. 

6. URL: Uniform Resource Locator: a protocol for specifying addresses on the Internet

Sentence: I sent my fiend the URL to the video that I wanted her to see.

Website: a location connected to the Internet that maintains one or more pages on the World Wide Web

Sentence: I use the ApushReview website to go over the main history concepts for each chapter.

8. WWW: The World Wide Web (WWW) is a network of online content that is formatted in HTML and accessed via HTTP.

Sentence: Everyone uses the World Wide Web to do their homework or for entertainment. 

9. Internet: The global communication network that allows almost all computers worldwide to connect and exchange information.

Sentence: Millions of people around the world use the internet on a daily basis.

10. 2.0: used to denote a superior or more advanced version of an original concept, product, service, etc.

Sentence: We use 2.0 when we go on big websites like Facebook or Twitter. 

11. Open source: denoting software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified

Sentence: Open source learning can sometime be more effective when wanting to learn. 

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

TODAY I'M A GOOD HUMAN

Today I am a good human. I am a good human because when I got to my AVID class I reminded one of my colleagues that we had a physics test. He wouldn't have remembered if I hadn't told him. I tested him during 4th period and we reviewed over it together. Today I am a good human because I went to go help a colleague during lunch to finish a poster when I could have ate some food or studied for my Spanish test that I was going to have next. Today I am a good human because I helped a kid understand piece wise functions for our quiz tomorrow and I made sure that he understood it clearly before I left home. Today I am a good human because I never gave up even though I really really wanted to give up! (: 

SPEACHLESS

Damn I don't know what to say. Comment what you think about this. I'm thinking about a million things.

I NEVER REALIZED

I was scrolling through my pictures and I was reviewing the vocabulary and I suddenly got a melancholy feeling when I saw this picture. I realized that I don't really stop anymore to admire the sky, the flowers, nature, or even the people around me which is really sad. I remember taking this picture when Ms. Ladd took the class out for a walk Sophmore year. 😁📚

MISSING HIM

I am currently missing summer 😭🤘🏼 I miss my baby and the days when stress did not exist. I miss going to the farm everyday and spending time with him ❤️ Although you were crazy sometimes our bond was like no other.  I miss the rush and the adrenaline before showing him at the fair 😭 R.I.P babes! You are truly missed 🤘🏼❤️ Can't wait to raise another lamb 🤓

The first day we met (:

When I was surprised after my baby cousin didn't cry!

When he tried to eat my hair!

Before Auctioning him 

Such an angel

When he let me try to make him go to sleep and it worked!

Just Chillen

My friend put this on her snapchat

The love ! #Models

MENTOR LETTER DRAFT 1

                                                                      October 5,2016

Dear Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,  
                    

          You are a great mentor for my Big Question because you are the reason why I ask myself this every day. How would the world be if we all had different and real stories of the people around us? I loved hearing your ted talk and your experience on the dangers of a single story. I know that you are and will be a great mentor for my question because you have experienced the tragedy of being seen as a certain person because of the way you look or because of your skin color. I also thought that you would be a great mentor because you are specifically focused on this question and I know that you are concerned for our humanity as well as I am. I would like to know if you have friends who have also gone through the same experiences that you did to see their stories and the way they were stereotyped. I would like to thank you for bringing this concern into our humanity and for making me wonder and want to analyze this question in a deep and meaningful way. Thank you for opening my mind to a different world because now I know that a single story can limit our experiences with people and different cultures.

                                               Sincerely, 

                                                   Stephania Mendez 

LITERATURE ANALYSIS NUMERO DOS (#2)

"The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan

THEME: The theme of this book is mostly about being brave, having determination, and never giving up. Half-bloods go through many obstacles to obtain the Golden Fleece. The Golden Fleece was important because the tree that was protecting the camp where the half-bloods live was dying and the only way to save it and make it come back to life was to obtain the Golden Fleece because it had the power to heal. They needed it or else monsters would come into the camp. These half-bloods know that their lives are in danger because outside of the camp there are monsters and they can smell half-bloods and hunt them down but these kids are willing to risk their lives to save everyone in the camp and throughout the book they are facing obstacles but they never seem to give up until they reach their destination and objective.

TONE: When I hear the author's voice the first thing I think of is of adventures and taking risks. I think of this because the author makes every situation seem so exciting. He is always ready for anything that is about to happen and he explains how he feels the rush of adrenaline in him. In some particular parts I also hear the author's tone of wonder and be wilderness.  The part that I see this the most is when the author finds out that he has a brother that he never knew about in his life. Since he did not have contact with his dad which was the God of the ocean and sea (Poseidon) he feels betrayed and he is now starting to wonder why he never got to be with his dad and his other brother did. He wondered if his dad like his brother better and he wondered how life would be if he actually new his dad and spent time with him.

PLOT: The plot of this book is about Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson going to look for the cyclops Polyphemus because he has the Golden Fleece which is the remedy to the poisoned tree and he also has their friend Grover captured and as a prisoner so they went to get him out of there as well.

DICTION/ SYNTAX: The way the author uses and puts words and phrases in the book is amazing. It is amazing because his use of words create a lot of suspense. It creates so much suspense that it is hard to put the book down and all you want to do is keep on reading because you want to know what is going to happen next in the story. It makes you want to be there too and you end up having the same goals as the main character.

CHARACTERS: The main character of the book is Percy Jackson the son of Poseidon. He is the protagonist of the book and he always worries about others and is curious about everything. Other characters are Annabeth and Grover which are Percy's friends and Tyson his cyclops brother. Some other characters that come out in the book would be Chiron the Activities Director of Camp Half-Blood and Percy's half-blood enemy Luke.

VOCABULARY:FALL LIST #5

A HUG IS NEARLY A GUN SPELLED BACKWARDS

 Prompt: Agree or disagree with E.M. Forster's view that personal relations are more important than causes or patriotism.   

               There are many reasons for agreeing and disagreeing with E.M. Forster's opinion, and I would like to share why I agree with him. Personal relations are close connections between people, that are formed by emotional bonds and interactions. Meanwhile, patriotism is an emotional attachment to a nation which an individual recognizes as their homeland. I agree with Forster that personal relations are more important than patriotism because if someone ever looses their attachment from a nation due to a chaotic event that happened, people can loose hope, but your personal relations with a friend or a person will always be there. They will be there to remind you about the importance of relationships. When your at the edge of giving up friends, company, connections, and support are the essential things that lift your spirit and encourage you to never give up and continue living life one step at a time. 

                Some people may argue that patriotism is what keeps our nation together and unified, however many people are quick to judge when they feel a situation is not being handled correctly. Many argue that they are so patriotic, but they are the ones who end up breaking rules and not following orders by doing the simplest things like throwing trash on the ground or jaywalking. People get the sense that patriotism is more important than personal relations because every single patriotic person can relate to each other. They all feel like they can relate in the sense that they have national pride in their ethnic, culture, and historical aspects but everyone is quick to judge each others backgrounds and point out what each race is doing wrong. Patriotism can be lost and can be seen through fake emotions because someone claims to love their nation but it is all a load of emotions and not actions that are being done. Personal relations will last forever and they create real feelings and emotions that patriotism can't give you.

                Some people may also argue that personal relations are not important and that the emotions you feel through it is a bunch of crap, but I will love to explain why I strongly disagree. Truly having a bond with someone and connecting with them is an amazing experience like no other. Yeah, some friendships don't last forever but new friends always come around and the feeling and experience you get from each relationship is unexplained and different every single time. It is a deep connection that just happens. You start off as total strangers with someone and as time goes by you get to know that person more and more each day and you really connect with them. You connect with them so much that you trust them with your life and you know that you can tell them how you feel and they will be there to listen. You can be having the crappiest day of your life but they will know how to cheer you up and they will experience the same exact things that you are going through and that will never fade away. Personal relations are such an impact on anyone's life that sometimes you find yourself smiling randomly because you feel emotions coming back to you. Even the simplest things like a hug or a I love you can make someones day when they are just not feeling it. 

                These are the reasons why I feel that personal relations are more important than Patriotism. Patriotism can be lost meanwhile relationships stay in your heart forever. You should never let the connections that you have with other people fade away because that is where you experience happiness, joy and it is also where you gain experiences that you had never thought of before in your entire life until that special someone appeared. " The greatest relationships are the ones that where in front of you the whole time, but they were still unexpected." 

WHEN LOGIC FAILS

1. Argumentum Ad Hominem

Example: "You didn't even go to High School, how could you possibly know what that means!"

2. Argumentum Ad Ignorantiam

Example: " Since no one has proven that aliens do not exist, then they must exist."

3. Argumentum Ad Nauseam

Example: " There is no evidence that I ran over that dog, there is no evidence that it happened, there is no evidence."

4. Argumentum Ad Numerum

Example: " At least 90% of the worlds population is made up of nice and respectful people."

5. Argumentum Ad Populum

Example: " More than half of the class agrees that the lunch the school gives us is horrible."

6. Argumentum Ad Verecundium

Example: " I gave my idea and it was similar to what the President of the club said, so I must be correct."

7. Dicto Simpliciter

Example: " Women are more vulnerable than men, therefore they have trouble when enlisting in the military or army."

8. Non Sequitur

Example: " This week has been a very hot week, therefore we should all shower with warm water."

9. Red Herring

Example: " A lot of people are dying everyday, -- How are we suppose to help the poor? "

10. Tu Quoque (you too)

Example: " She accused her of bulling, but she did it too."

MISTAKES FOR PRESIDENT

LOGICAL FALLACIES

Ad hominem:

Donald J Trump used a lot of Ad hominems throughout this debate and these are a few quotes on the things he said to Hillary Clinton.

- "You have been doing this for 30 years, and you haven't made anything better, you should've been doing this 30 years ago."
- "Is it president Obamas fault."
- "Hillary will not be a good leader because she needs stamina."
- "She will tell you to go to her website and learn how to defeat Isis, but she will not do anything herself."
- "She definitely has experience, bad experience."

Hillary also uses a few Ad hominems.

- "You were givin 14 million dollars from your father, my father had to work hard."
- "My husband did a good job on the 1990's, and that is a fact."
- "Donald, you live in your own reality"
- "Your plans are proven to loose jobs and mine are proven to create them"

I also noticed that Hillary uses the word "you" a lot, what kind of effect will that bring to the audience? Here are a few quotes.

- "I want to invest in you, what you want to see, fair, equal pay for women, childcare, etc.."
- "This election is about you and your future, not us."

What Donald J Trump states.

"I will make America great again"

SOMETIMES MY MIND...

Sometimes I wonder if all this hard work and all this trying your best in school thing is worth it? Will everything that we are currently doing matter in 10, 20, 30 years? I also wonder what University will be like? Will it be 10x harder? I freak out about all of this sometimes because I don't want to leave my family. How will the first day of college be like? Will I survive? What will my future job be? Will it be something that I love and that I will enjoy? I worry about this because I am not ready. I am not ready for the future and for what is yet to come but I am slowly getting there and I can't wait to make my parents proud and I know that so will all of you! All the stress is worth it guys...lol

DEVASTATING NEWS

I just found out about a very sad and tragic event that happened in Santa Maria just yesterday on September 24,2016. A man jumped of the Santa Maria Mall parking lot and committed suicide. I did not know this man but when I hear news like this I always ask myself why? I don't understand why people do this and I know that life must have been very tough for this man. I know that depression is a part of these tragedies and I just want to state my opinion and share a message to those who are struggling through depression. I know that everyone has problems in their lives and since I consider you guys my internet family I want to share my story. My family was not always a happy family, my parents would constantly be fighting all the time since I was a little girl. My dad would always drink a lot and he would often get aggressive when he would drink. I saw him fight with my mom all the time and we were never a happy family. I would struggle with depression because I always asked myself why God let this happen? I would lock myself in the bathroom and cry because I had no one to talk to and that was the only way I new how to release everything that I was feeling. Life just seemed to get worse and worse everyday. This got to the point where my parents wanted a divorce and later on my dad was kidnapped and my world ended. The only way I slept was by crying myself to sleep. My mom started looking for help and that was when I met God and my life changed dramatically. I started praying for my dad and I found faith and hope. That was all that I had left and I never let go of it. My dad was let go after giving money for his release and I thanked God that my dad was still alive after all that he suffered through. I thought maybe God did this to show my dad how valuable his family was and that he was never going to find a wife and children who loved him like we did. We started to go to church and look for help and soon enough my dad ask my mom to forgive him and life got better day by day. Until today I no longer suffer from depression and I couldn't have asked for a better family. Although it took many years to find peace, I still thank God until this day and until the day I die for giving my family a second chance. My point is that life is not always going to be fine and dandy but you can fight through your problems. You fight for yourself and never loose hope, no matter what you believe in. You are worth living, don't give up on yourself because there is a light at the end of the tunnel. YOU ARE WORTH LIVING AND YOU WERE BROUGHT TO THIS WORLD FOR A REASON!!!
(I feel so good letting this out, thank you, never give up you'll see that life will get better & I am here if you need someone to talk too <3)

MY YODA

I think that my ideal mentor would be humanity for my big question. Humanity and everyone would be great mentors because everyone in the world thinks differently. Some people get right to the point and others see the big picture, which is great both ways. I believe that having the opinions of others is a great thing because it opens your mind up to topics that you might have never thought about before until someone mentioned it. It opens doors to different perspectives and different ways of thinking which is amazing. That is why I choose my mentor as our humanity for my big question because I know that I will discover great opinions and perspectives on my question.

2nd BOOK

I am currently reading The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁❤️🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

BIG QUESTION DISCIPLINE/S

So my big question is, How would the world be if we all had different stories of the people around us? For example instead of thinking that the first Mexican we see is a dirty immigrant, why don't we think of them as who they actually are and see their real story, not just the stereotypical story?

Fields or disciplines that are used or can be used in this question are: 

- the history on racism 

- how our mind automatically thinks 

- how we think of the worst possibilities or answers first  

- how to change our perspective on life
- stereotypes 

* comment if you can think of others * 

FALL VOCABULARY #4

IM HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE

Honestly, I am not having the time of my life right now. I find myself  stressing out because of everything that I have to get done. I have tests that I need to study for and I can't find the time to do it . I also feel overwhelmed because we are taking a group test for math but I am basically taking an individual test since my group is not helpful. So I have the responsibility to know everything and get it done. This week is just another one of those bad weeks but I know that I'll get through it. I totally plan to do something fun during the weekend. I need peace.🤘🏼✌🏼️

VOCABULARY LIST #3

IM READING BIG BROTHER

BAD WORDS

The only time a word is bad is when a bad person uses it for bad intentions. We are the ones who make words sound bad by the way we choose to use them. Words can be so powerful that they can hurt and scar us forever. I believe that bad words are very important depending where you are and with who you are with. For example when you are by yourself and you are just tired of life and you deeply feel that the only way to get relief is by saying bad words, you should do it because other words will just not cut it. There is no such thing as a bad word but we make it a bad word by using it in a offensive way. We change and make words seem like bigger things when they have a small meaning. We also always seem to use euphemism which means that we change words to make them sound less offensive and we trick ourselves into thinking that just because we changed the word it is less harmful. We use soft language but the only thing that it does is take out the life in the meaning of words. For example we are afraid to call someone retarded because we have come up with different forms of using that word. We might call someone retarded because they are dumb and lack common sense but when there is a kid that is retarded because of a condition we are afraid to use that word so instead we use the word special. The only reason why we are afraid of using retarded is because we found a different way of using it which is the negative way. This is what I have learned and understood so far about bad words and the use of euphemism.

BIG BROTHER'S FIRST IMPRESSION

In my opinion, I believe that George Orwell is really educated in language and he definitely knows what he is talking about. I believe that what he is trying to tell us is that many educated people have made it hard for a person who is not as educated or that is not experienced in higher academic language hard to understand any piece of writing that we see in the internet or in books so we gain nothing from these writings because we do not understand them. For example if I am reading a book with very sophisticated academic language I will not understand it so there will be no point in reading it. Writings like these are now useless for us. When we read these types of writing we are not capable of imagining what the author means and we loose the option of painting a picture in our heads. Another bad thing about this type of academic writing is that there is never precision and we never get to know what the main point of the author was. I believe that this is the message that George Orwell is trying to tell us.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Literature Analysis #1

1. The main plot of this book is in the town called Crestmont. This books plot also takes place in the school, houses, rooms, and hangout spots of Hannah Baker's classmates.

2. The theme of this book is basically about a girl named Hannah Baker who committed suicide. What Hannah does before she dies is make thirteen tapes to send to the classmates that were the reasons of her death or why she killed herself. After her death the tapes are sent out to the first kid and if this kid does not hand the tapes to the next person in the list of the people who were the reasons of her death she says that she will have a way to leak all the tapes out to the town and everyone will know what they did.

 3. When I hear the author's tone i think of sadness. I can imagine and visualize that the first thing she does when she wakes up is immediately think to herself why she is alive. I can imagine her not eating and always trying to look her best because she cares about what other people think of her. Excerpts that make me imagine this are, " I know what you are all thinking Hannah Baker is a slut, I heard so many stories that I don't know which one is the most popular, but I do know which is the least popular, the truth," also when she says, " I needed a change, just like they said so i changed my appearance, the only thing I still had control over," and lastly i think that she does these things because she says, " suicide it's something I've been thinking about, not too seriously but I have been thinking about it."

 4. These are 5 Literary Techniques that I found with excerpts:

 Personification:
1. " My stomach squeezes in on itself"
2. " I tear the blades of grass out of the gutter and stand up to leave"
3. " Warm air rushes out to grab me"

 Simile:
1. " The spot of paint flakes off like a scab"
2. " My breath stopped like I've been sucker punched in the stomach"
3. " I felt my head continue to nod as if it was attached to a heavy spring"

 Imagery:
1. " I scrambled for the stereo, hitting several buttons all at once"
2. " A line of hot sweat rises along my hairline, Alex Standoll it's your turn, a single bead of sweat slides down my temple and I wipe it away"
3. " That tiny scar you've all seen above my eyebrow, that's the shape of Jessica's fingernail... which i plucked out myself"

 Hyperbole:
1. " The world around me tilts and spins"
2. " It sounded like something she'd said a million times before"
3. " But if I was right, their eyes would glaze over, like they were a million miles away"

 Onomatopoeia:
1. " Cha-ching! went the register"
2. " Tap, Tap, Knock, Knock Tyler, I hear it, she taps on the window twice"

VOCABULARY #2

Satire Project "Recycling, is it worth it?"

(Do not proceed with this reading if you are a person who gets easily offended)

Dear Human Species, 

          For some odd reason I only like using things once because that one thing will always be special for me. How dare you reuse your plastic cups and bottles! I totally love keeping trash that I don't need in my backyard in a huge pile because it is a very clean and healthy form of a art. Is recycling worth it? Throwing our trash away is honestly a waste of time! I mean who cares about pollution and diseases that can be attracted. We're all eventually going to die right? We're not killing animals they are the ones who are killing us with there infectious illnesses and diseases! Nature is definitely the problem here! We as humans should be able to enjoy the places we go to like the beach. We shouldn't have to worry about picking after ourselves. I have a great idea! Seagulls can clean up our mess, who cares if they die. Who cares if the fishes and sea creatures die. We'll wake up one morning and they'll be dead laying on the shore, we would just have to go pick some up and cook them, so easy! We will be able to enjoy the beach now, if there's parts left of it.😏 You know what's a better idea than that? We should just wait until someone dies from the pollution in the world and for every person that someone finds dead we can sell them so their disposals can be useful for other things. People who haven't died could be paid for each person they find and they will benefit greatly from it! Remember ladies and gentlemen we are totally not the problem here, we are definitely not polluting the world by throwing our trash on the ground. I can already see the world becoming a better place, keep it up! This will totally not bring the end of human or animal species! We might as well create another planet and destroy that one too!

           

                    Sincerely, a girl with a satire project 

VOCABULARY #1

https://plus.google.com/117331484793872206328/posts/K1Qrnvp3oS6

I CAN READ ?!

I tried my best !!! I believe my time was 4:55 and I found 9 mistakes 😂 

Conscience of a Hacker

I believe that this teenager is trying to say that he is tired of adults and teachers teaching him the same old things or teaching him stuff that they want a teenager to know when they grow up but it is not precisely what they need to know. Teenagers want to explore what they have but the minute they do it they are being judged. Adults think that every teenager is a trouble maker or that they don't know what's right for them but in reality some teenagers just want the best for themselves and they are open to new things in the world like technology. Teenagers should be judged by what they do not by what they look like!

A Modest Proposal ‼️

We can see satire in "The Modest Proposal," when Swift says that the children from Irish familys should be fed so they can get fat and sent to a meat market to be sold . He also continues to say that if Irish parents did this then it would profit the family because they would get money from it and they wouldn't have to worry about children anymore. The use of his words are crazy but he is doing this to help us see how bad poverty is for all these families. The tone of his voice for me would be commitment because it sounds like he has studied what he is talking about and feels serious about it even though we see satire being used.