Today in Class

Today we played games! About five or so of us got together yesterday and had the idea to play fun games that we play in leadership class. We played The Big Squeeze, Birdie on a Perch, and Splat! Judith filmed the Big Squeeze.

QOTD #1

When you love someone, you love the person as they are, and not as you'd like them to be. Leo Tolstoy

     I stumbled upon this quote today. Loving another person really didn't cross my mind, initially. I read it and thought of loving yourself.
     You have to love the person who you are. Treat yourself how you would want others to treat you or how you treat others. Know that who you are isn't who you will always be. Don't act like something you're not and don't think that you're that future adult version of you just yet. The second's a gradual process and you're most likely not going to wake up one day being everything that you've grown up picturing yourself as. Sure, we've all got dreams of being an amazingly attractive twenty-something-year-old college student or a hard-working and successful thirty-something-year-old starting the rest of your life. If not, this is a bit awkward. But, what I'm trying to say is that we should't get ahead of ourselves and we should try to live in the moment, even though it might really suck right now. You never know if you won't make it to twenty-something or even two days from now. I think that we should always make the best of what we have and know not to deprive ourselves of as much joy and happiness as possible by putting ourselves down or imagining something of ourselves that might not come.
     Loving yourself was a topic that seemed to reoccur throughout my day as a friend was being really hard on herself. We have the main goals for ourselves to push ourselves and always be the best- get the A's, do everything that we've put on our plates, and do it better than anyone else would've done. Yes, it's kind of impossible to do every little thing, and I think I do a good job of accepting that some things just aren't going to happen the way that I want to and that's okay. I will do the best I can and whatever my best gets me, I will be happy with.
     I've come to learn to take this philosophy with me and hold it close during finals. I've had at least 5 finals throughout high school that have literally depended on me scoring an A to get and A in the class. I've wanted to give up but I never did and always put my time and effort into studying. At these crunch times I had surpassed the freaking out stage and went straight to work. I'm at a point in one class, the same as her, where we're in the same boat- a sinking boat. I am more calm and accepting of what is happening right now and understand that there is so much time before finals. There is always hope and I know that it's not the end of the world. The situation will get better, and if it doesn't, there is so much more good in my life to celebrate than to dwell about this one class. I can't tell myself that there is no other option than an A, that my life can end (unfortunately in a serious and literal sense, as well) if I fail the class. I'm really okay with a C on my transcript if that was the best I was capable of producing. My personal view on this situation is that she shouldn't have her mind set on just the A and only the A, but rather the journey to the end with a rewarding grade reflecting her personal progress and development in this foreign subject. It really isn't that big of a deal to be stressing out about on the third week of school. Nobody's life goes how they planned it would be, and that's what makes it exciting and full of ups and downs, failures and triumphs, sadness and joy. This is life, and don't forget to love yourself no matter what happens, because nobody goes through what you do but you.

Aug. 21, 23, and 27 of 2013

     Last August 21st I took my driving test and got my license. The 23rd I had all four wisdom teeth removed. Then the 27th was picture day.
     That was a crazy few days. The day I got my license I had a meltdown and slept in the car all the way to Lompoc. I had ten minutes of driving practice once we parked. Let me inform you that I was driving my dad's new car that I never had driven before (and one year later, still haven't driven since that day). I thought I failed the test because I thought I had ran a red light. Fortunately, Big Rosa was nice to me because I offered to keep the AC on during the test. (Haley Stowe had gone the same morning for her test and didn't have the same luck with Rosa.)
     Then two days later I got my wisdom teeth out! I was going to be awake and conscious for this, so I drove there and they said that I could drive back. During the first two teeth I was fine, listening to music with my headphones in and loud. The second two teeth I remember shaking and crying, but keeping it together enough to get it done with. I drove my mom and myself from past the mall all the way home with four less teeth than before. Looking back on that, it seems like a pretty crazy thing, but I only had my mouth numbed.
     Since my cheeks were puffy still four days later, I was going to goof my school picture and then have retakes. Those people who take pictures are very unsupported of that stuff and wouldn't let me do anything other than smile. (They were lame again this year and wouldn't let me cheese it.) So in my Junior yearbook picture I had had my wisdom teeth taken out the Friday before and had my license for less than a week.
     Just a little recap of the events from last year at this time.
   

Interact Club Email Address and Blog

     I'm treasurer of the Interact Club here at Righetti, we are a community service based club that works with the Santa Maria Rotary Club and we volunteer around our community. Check it out! Meetings are Tuesdays in Mrs. Branch's classroom, 134.
     I made a website (blog) today for this upcoming year where I will be posting pictures of our events and keeping everyone updated about upcoming ones. This is the site: http://rhsinteract15.blogspot.com/ and our email address is now rhsinteract15@gmail.com.
     Don't be shy and come by on Tuesday!

Happy (Belated) Birthday John Green :)

I MISSED IT BY ONE FLIPPIN' DAY. It was yesterday, the 24th. I feel very disappointed in myself for not figuring this out sooner. Anyways, Happy Birthday John Green!
          When It All Began...
     I first saw/heard about John Green (the author) when Greeley showed us Crash Course videos in WHAP and I loved them so much. I was, and still am, that kid who laughs way too hard at the references and jokes being made. I can't help it if I think they're hilarious. We watched some more in APUSH and in early May of this year Imanie lent me Looking For Alaska. (There's more to that story, but we'll save that for another day.) I had it for a week before reading (I wanted to lessen the distractions before AP tests) and I read it in like three days, ignoring all homework. I finished it on a Friday and the end had a few pages of The Fault In Our Stars. The next morning I bought tfios and read. The second night it was late and I had reached the sad parts. I was sobbing so hard that I woke up my mom who was fast asleep, and she's not a light sleeper. She was genuinely concerned about why I was crying so hard. I just inserted in between sobs, "the book is just so sad!" I ended up finishing the last ten pages in the morning. I love the way he writes, it really makes you feel something.
     The back of the books had a page advertising vlogbrothers on YouTube, the channel in which John and his brother Hank make videos. I checked it out and fell in love with what they did. It started out in 2007 (there is a lot to say and I'd rather not write out the embarrassingly huge amount of stuff I've learned since May/June) and has grown into something great. John and Hank each make one video a week, on Tuesday and on Friday, about anything and everything. I committed myself to watching 2011 through present day's videos which is probably more than a hundred hours, each video being a limit of 4 minutes. I finished around the start of July, I think.Topics literally cover any subject possible. I've truly grown as a person since watching them and my sense of humor has become greater, too. They are two of the smartest people I have ever seen or heard and I've learned so much, I cannot fathom it. Back in May I bought all of John's books. Walmart is the bestest. I must seem a bit obsessed/crazy/really weird, but they're so great (I only read Paper Towns this summer)!
     And, I really don't care if you're judging me right now while reading this. After reading Pride and Prejudice I watched "The Lizzie Bennett Diaries" which is a project that Hank produced that won him an Emmy. They work to decrease world suck, literally, with other projects. John and Hank are the creators of VidCon which brings youtubers together at the Anaheim Convention Center and it's amazing, I plan on attending next summer. I honestly could go on for hours, and probably days, talking about John and Hank Green. If you've made it this far in reading my post, CONGRATULATIONS! Click on my NerdFighter gang sign on the right of the page and it'll take you to the vlogbrother youtube channel, dive on in! Also, check out his books! The other three are An Abundance of Katherines; Will Grayson, Will Grayson; and Let It Snow (I think is the name of the last one, it's the only one I don't own.) I really don't even want to stop this blog post, but I cant regurgitate all of the information that I have acquired from them in one silly sitting.
     Okay, well here is the post that I've been wanting to write for a while. It is very jumbled, but I couldn't stop writing what came into my mind. There's so much to say and not enough time or space to write!

My University

     So today's short class period was consumed with distractions while attempting to answer the journal. I really wish that the class went High School Musical status and broke out in song and dance, but not even a collective hum came. I was writing and couldn't help but overhear the table next to me with Alyssa, Melissa, and Imanie. The conversation went to birthdays and texting a person happy birthday at the exact time they were born rather than at midnight. It was a rather funny thing. I learned that Melissa was born at 4:20am or 4:21 and Alyssa at 4 in the afternoon. I brought up the fun fact that I was born at the time 7:13 (pm) on the date 7/13. I've always loved this fact about me. Imanie has some tough decision making about summer travels, but she has a great idea for selling tshirts to fund for Africa- I'll be sure to buy one! I'm proud of Imanie and sharing her other blog with Preston, I've been following it since the end of April. She's a big inspiration to me and catalyst for the person who I've grown into since the start of May. She started my obsession with John Green. So I'll end this with a great piece of advice she gave me today on the way to AP physics: when walking through the halls and especially from one end of the quad to another, don't move out of the way for anyone, make them move for you. Check out her blog(s) http://emoneypatel.blogspot.com/

This Life is Your Life...

Already said it after class the first Friday, but it was fun to say it again this morning :)
The Laughing Heart- Charles Bukowski

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge: What It Is

 
     If you're not familiar with the #icebucketchallenge you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks. Basically, a person is nominated by a friend to have a bucket of ice water poured on him/her (mine really did have ice, but it melted) and must either accept the challenge within 24 hours or donate money to alsa.org for research- or both! As a person accepts the challenge, he/she nominates three more people and the chain continues on. This phenom has swept the country and helped to spread awareness about ALS like never before.
     I thought that this ice bucket challenge was a dumb thing at first, but after I saw more and more of them on Instagram and Twitter from distant friends along with the likes of Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and plenty other professional athletes and celebrities, I wanted to know just what it was about. I hadn't been familiar with Lou Gehrig's Disease before and decided to look ALS up. The alsa.org site is really something. It had information about the challenge, what ALS is, the research, and how to donate and get involved!
If you don't already know,
     "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed." (alsa.org)
     The closest and soonest event walks are in the first weekend of October, the Kern County Walk October 4, 2014 Bakersfield, CA and Ventura/Santa Barbara County Walk Oct. 5 in Ventura. You can make a team to walk and raise money. Maybe we can come together to make a team!
     I highly suggest going to the website, just checking it out and becoming aware of what affects so many people can change your perspective if you think it's just a stupid challenge. That's the point of it anyway, letting others know what it is and how they can help.
 
    [I was nominated by Michael Hall and nominated Whitney Houg and my cousins Shailynn Joseph and Jeff Snyder!]

Some of the ones I've seen
     Bill Gates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS6ysDFTbLU
     David Beckham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRHOk5r7BQE
     Ansel Elgort: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g42Ulr3kZAI
     Emma Stone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xWx5y1H6C4
     Michael Jordan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo1tZ4Bjnno
     Taylor Swift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS8PHyZoah4
     Ashton Kutcher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_YChPGQels
     Funny Fail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8kjhmIM9JM

Beowulf (textbook 31-60) and Online Modern Text (Prologue-Chapter X) notes Collaboration

TEXTBOOK INTRO & BEOWULF

Judith:

from Tristia Ovid, Translated by L. R. Lind: Book 10
 -Tristia had moved from her mother country, Dardanian Troy, when it was attacked by the Grecian Army.
   -Now in the Pontus, feels like the days go by like years
 -Despises the common theme of death races (referring to gladiator games and/or the continuous war between the Romans and their enemies)
 -Feels like a barbarian not being able to communicate with people of the new land, had to use body language
 -Was exiled from Rome
 -"Injured the power of Caesar the god," in result was sent to assimilate with the Scythian race as a punishment
   -Believes she deserved to be exiled but not to such a city

Far Corners of Earth by Tu Fu translated by David Hinton
 Describes a shift from the Chiang-han mountains where clouds begin to hover over to "a new waste of highway." Gradual decline in mood.

from Beowulf
 -portrays the Anglo-Saxon culture of eighth century Britain
 -Beowulf: sword-wielding slayer of monsters, upholder of the right, warrior-chieftain
 -Takes place in sixth century Scandinavia, speaks Old English
 -Beowulf seeks to help the Danish King Hrothgar in fighting the swampland monster, Grendel.
   -first of the three mortal battles
 -Scops often told long narrative poems by mouth in Anglo-Saxon England which resulted in it's change and growth
   -finally written down in eleventh century
 -main themes: bravery, loyalty, heroism
 -The Electronic Beowulf Project revived the burnt original manuscripts of Beowulf.

Epic: a long narrative poem, sometimes developed orally, that celebrates the deeds of a legendary or heroic figure
  -hero battles for the order of his world
  -story told in serious matter with sophisticated language
Legendary hero: a larger than life character whose accomplishments are celebrated in traditional tales

Important words/vocab (pg. 37)
Kenning
Caesura
Reparation
Solace
Purge
Writhing
Massive
Loathsome

textbook notes p.2-14

From Legend to History A.D. 449-1485

• English- mixture, coming together through conflict
• zeitgeist= the spirit of the time

English Historical Background, Literature of the Period, Beginnings of English >

GRADUATION COUNTDOWN

I'm IN LOVE with my blog! I put a countdown to graduation at the very bottom of the page (it was too tiny for the side) so scroll down and check it out whenever you're wondering how many more days left until we're out!

MY OPINION ISN'T (A) RIGHT

• Useless information stinks, good things that come with conditions are a hassle and pointless
• Where is the line drawn to doing whatever you want with your own body? When it can harm others? Drugs, selling your body?
• So we do not have legal rights to our opinions
• Fallacy= mistaken belief
• Preemptively= take an action in order to prevent from happening
• Saying "I have the right to my opinion" is a subject change in itself to discussing rights we have and do not
• It's just like stating the obvious- like duh you can have your opinion, but what about it/ so what
• nobody can win an argument if a person ends on their "right to an opinion"
• Epistemic= of or relating to knowledge or to the degree of its validation
• you can only use it as a point in the argument if there's well-supporting evidence. Entitlement. That's when it's okay, but it's almost always used because everyone thinks that having an opinion means it's a valid truth 
• this opinion "right" has no duties entailed/imposed on others, therefore not a right because it doesn't say that anyone else has to do something because you have an opinion
• people are so concerned w/being right all of the time (pride, vanity, etc.) that they'll end an argument on a note where they don't lose; they're wrong but won't admit it
• opinions are good and they belong to you, but you can't force them to be true/correct

VOCABULARY #1

adumbrate	verb give to understand; describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of	I will adumbrate the meeting you missed last week.
apotheosis	noun the elevation of a person (as to the status of a god); model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal	She was the apotheosis of her class, surpassing all the others
ascetic	adj. practicing great self-denial; pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline; noun someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline	The ascetic was determined not to give into worldly pleasures.
bauble	noun a mock scepter carried by a court jester; cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing	That bauble she was wearing to the party let everyone know how desperate she was.
beguile	verb attract; cause to be enamored; influence by slyness	The young bachelor’s hobbies included beguiling beautiful women.
burgeon	verb grow and flourish	This thought will burgeon into a grand plan.
complement	noun something added to complete or make perfect; either of two parts that mutually complete each other; a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction; number needed to make up a whole force; a complete number or quantity; one of a series of enzymes in the blood serum that are part of the immune response;verb make complete or perfect; supply what is wanting or form the complement to	The couple was meant to be, he was her compliment in every way.
contumacious	adj. wilfully obstinate; stubbornly disobedient	The boy was contumacious in eating his vegetables.
curmudgeon	noun a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas	At times my grandfather can be a curmudgeon, but I still love him anyways.
didactic	adj. instructive (especially excessively)	The driving instructor was didactic in the new driver’s first lesson.
disingenuous	adj. not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness	I asked a sincere question and got back a disingenuous reply.
exculpate	verb pronounce not guilty of criminal charges	Of course the innocent man was going to exculpate in court.
Faux pas	An embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation	What a faux pas, I totally stuck my foot in my mouth, how was I supposed to know his grandmother died?
unconscionable	adj. greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; lacking a conscience	He’s made some unconscionable choices that have lead to harsh disciplinary actions.
fulminate	noun a salt or ester of fulminic acid; verb cause to explode violently and with loud noise; come on suddenly and intensely; criticize severely	It is one thing to discuss her mistake privately, but to fulminate her about it in front of the team was cruel.
fustian	noun a strong cotton and linen fabric with a slight nap; pompous or pretentious talk or writing	After being awarded the MVP award, he was joking around with fustian.
hauteur	noun overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors	I hate people who are full of hauteur.
inhibit	verb limit the range or extent of; to put down by force or authority	The rules inhibit me from eating during class, but water is acceptable.
jeremiad	noun a long and mournful complaint	Enough of this jeremiad, just finish your homework!
opportunist	adj. taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit; noun a person who places expediency above principle	The opportunist didn’t blink an eye when he backstabbed his best friend to get ahead.

REFLECTIONS ON WEEK 1

1. Factors affecting my experience could be that I'm not sure whether I will have a desktop available, but I always will have my phone. This just makes everything take much longer. Also, my packed schedule for the year (sports, clubs, and other classes) is going to be challenging to finish all assignments I have.

2. A learning experience that I will never forget was sophomore year in Byrne's class when we were reading Waiting for Godot. We had reached a point where I just wanted to know the meaning of the book and what I'm supposed to get out of it. I asked Mrs. Byrne during a class discussion and her response was that there is not one true meaning and that everyone is going to get something different from reading it. I responded with something about why they teach books if there isn't a straight forward answer and at some point right after that that I kind of started to cry out if fruatration in the class, just sitting there in front of everyone. It turned into a laugh/cry. It was a bit embarrassing because people heard about it all day, but it was a learning experience. I then realized that not everyone sees the same piece in the same way. I learned that there isn't always one answer to things and to be open and not so narrowminded. English isn't like math where there will always be an answer. 

3. I'm most excited about learning about what I can do this year. I know that there is going to be so much to do and I want to end the year looking back on that I accomplished in this class. I'm also excited to try new things, like OSL- I'm already really liking keeping my own blog. I wish that I could've had one for my English classes in the previous years. Wouldn't that be cool if all our high school English was on one blog? I'm concerned  about not get if everything done on time. I'm awful with time management and balancing my full load. Hopefully I can figure it out soon. I really am just looking forward to learning everything. I want to know stuff! From Shakespeare to the reason why ants can carry so much more than their own body weight. I know that I'll learn so much about the real world in here. I think it'll make a practical difference in my life by giving me tools that I can use later on. If I learn one thing now, I can apply it in the future. Also, since technology is so big and growing, using OSL is preparing us for college and possibly future careers. 

Montaigne/Austen Essay

     "What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant," wrote David Foster Wallace in "Good Old Neon." This has been a notion supported by Montaigne's techniques and topics in his essays in which a window is provided into his thinking through a stream of consciousness style of writing. This loosely structured style greatly contrasts with Jane Austen's in Pride and Prejudice since she is extremely meticulous in what she writes. Montaigne's style is as personal to him as each author's is unique.

     Montaigne supports David Foster Wallace's statement in several ways hitting the major points. What's going on is too fast. This is reflected by the way Montaigne writes as he thinks and doesn't have the time to plan out everything he will put onto paper. The vast amount of thoughts that go on inside are so huge and interconnected that Montaigne leaves a different topic to be discussed in over one hundred "essays." Many of these essays contain the same names, such as Caesar, but are talked about in entirely different ways, such as waging war or his comparison to Alexander the Great. The reader only sees a small portion of what he really thought about these topics since he couldn't write about them every time they came to mind and when he did sit and write, his mind took him elsewhere. From these moments that he did write, a window is being open in which we can look through to see and experience his process of writing firsthand. The stream of consciousness technique welcomes the reader to what's being created.

     Austen's early nineteenth century fiction against Montaigne's late sixteenth century nonfiction provide us with a deeply contrasting pair of literary styles. Austen has a story set up with all of the elements of a plot- exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. He has tens of short topics which he usually strays from and ends up talking about something completely different, as in "On the resemblance of children to their fathers," where he is obsessed with doctors and medicine. This is very different than Austen's precise word placement and careful consideration of what will go next in her novel.  His run on sentences are a common trademark of stream of consciousness, especially the description of Alexander the Great in "On the most excellent of men." Austen's syntax and diction are always proper English. Her use of dialogue to move the story along from Elizabeth and Darcy, are very different than Montaigne adding Latin phrases or anecdotes and short stories to add depth to his own opinions. His style has no true consistency and one chapter could have several stories such as "The three good wives," or one in "On a monster-child." Montaigne likes to add history in his essays and makes a number of allusions. Several people and nations are reoccurring, including Caesar, Seneca, philosophers, Romans, and the Greeks. Whereas Pride and Prejudice takes place in a setting that only goes as far back as the first page of the novel with no other outside information than city names. 

     Montaigne wrote his essays in a way to provide a window into his train of thought. There, a reader can see how much information cannot possibly be written onto paper. With so much interconnecting information going on inside a man's head, Montaigne's style reflected the lack of organization of his own thoughts. Jane Austen's style was quite different in the fact that she wrote a story and was entirely focused on the perfection of this piece. Her mind did not have, and was not allowed, distractions from her work. Each of them possessed opposing styles for contrasting writing purposes. 

1987 AP EXAM

prompt #1 old leisure lost/gone, place in new society, author's views on and stylistic devices (George Eliot)

• new leisure created by machines meaning there's time free from manual labor
• leisure now is too fast paced and everyone always has to be doing something of importance
• old leisure is calm, peaceful, content with not knowing everything
• Old Leisure is personified into a man
• she admires Old Leisure
• scoffs at her time's "leisure" activities
• metaphors
• tone- easy&reminiscent w/old and frantic&upset w/new

prompt #2 attitudes/traditions author wanted to modify, analyze techniques used to influence audience's views (Grapes of Wrath)

• judging what you don't know; fear of the unknown
• the Joad family received a lot of criticism and was treated poorly for just being outsiders when they did nothing wrong
• humans can tend to push away others in need because they don't want to be responsible
• the constant struggle of the Joads leads to sympathy from the reader- feeling, pathos
•  protagonist gets the short end of the stick, a perspective where nothing is sugarcoated

continue for multiple choice answers and notes

I CAN READ!

I wasn't even close to Dr. Preston's time or mistake count, at all. It was my first take and I had many hesitations, and I was reading off of my phone. My brother was even worse than me.

• Preston took about 4 minutes and 30 seconds to read the book. I counted less than 10 mistakes, 7.
• I took about 5 minutes and 55 seconds to read the book I counted 21 mistakes.
• I had my brother read it, too. He's a 15-year-old sophomore who thinks that he is better than me at everything. It took him about 6 minutes and 5 seconds. I counted 43 mistakes. He wasn't too thrilled that I kicked his butt.

reflection on today's activity

So today when we had to match the secret fact with the person who wrote it I had found all of the names before many other classmates. I then went around helping my fellow students with who went where. I wanted to make sure we all had the correct information. I don't know if I had forgotten or just didn't listen to the part of the activity where the fist person to complete the task won. I don't mean to be selfish or pompous, but I was done a while before a winner was announced. I don't care about that, but what I do reflect on now is how I didn't go to sit down after I was done and had mine filled out correctly. I wanted to stay and lend a hand to my peers, some of which I don't even know or talk to. I don't want to sound like I'm something great but it interests me why I made that choice to keep going on with the activity even when I was done. Why do we help each other on little trivial things like this activity? Why don't we lend a hand when a person really does need it? To which extent do we sacrifice, or are wiling to, for other people?

The Poisonwood Bible Notes

MY BIG QUESTION

Hmm...

Why is it so difficult to be vulnerable?

How many books can I read in my lifetime?

What will this generation grow up to be like? 

Will I ever know what I want to do in life or will it all just happen as I go?

What I commented on Preston's Big Question blog post 9/11/14:
I had a question and as I read all of the other amazing questions ones in comments I had forgotten mine. Shit. I thought it was good, I don't really have anything super fantastic, but let me try to think of something intellectual...
-Why can't we revisit the exact thoughts in our head that we have at one moment that tend to come and go?
I always have so much on my mind am never able to remember everything that I wanted to. I also have conversations with myself that will never be finished. Why can't they be saved or bookmarked or something because I know that I've thought of some great stuff over the years
-What characteristics of music unite and bring people together?
-What happens to dreams and memories inside of our minds before and after they're forgotten?
-Why do I stress myself out so much?!
-Why do we fear the unknown, rejection, being insufficient, less than someone else, or different even though these are the things that we're told to explore and be in order to be ourselves?
-How does confidence, or lack of, affect our lives every day and in the long run?

POETRY #1

1. "The Laughing Heart" by Charles Bukowski

2. It's ironic that a corporation is using this poem because it begins with the first sentence saying not to submit, but that is exactly what commercials are made for , for people to submit into buying the product. 

3. From what I read, I learned that he wrote about and was influenced by LA and all that it encompassed. The poem doesn't really seem about Los Angeles, though. I saw it more as a reflection on his childhood where he had an abusive father, was teased, and had self esteem issues. He is trying to get through it all and sees that he has to keep moving forward to survive. 

4. For #1 I went onto YouTube and looked up the exact video so I could switch tabs while looking at the blog still. I assumed that somewhere in the comments the author would be so I scrolled until I found a comment with the whole poem and the author's name. I looked him up on google with the words "your life is your life" and found the title and the picture above. 

For #3 I read through the Wikipedia page of Charles Bukowski. Then I clicked the Goodreads link of him which emphasized LA. 

ESSAY #1

 I did spend an extra half hour finishing the essay beyond the forty minutes allotted. I didn't plan out what I would say and that was my consequence. 

    Although she is exiled away from her homeland in Georgia, Adah Price is, and has been, alone in her thoughts already because of her disorder. Ada has grown knowing that she can never be like any of them and accepts that. She is not only exiled, but exiles herself from her family, as Leah mentions several times.  

     In the Congo, Adah has come to realize how alone she really is. She and her twin, Leah, secretly resent one another and keep a constant battle between themselves. When Leah leaves her- one of several times while walking- she was almost eaten by a lion. Her mother had to choose who to save when the deadly ants came to the village, Ruth May or Adah, and left Adah there to fend for herself even though Ruth May was perfectly capable of holding her own while Ada could hardly walk. She wonders about her self worth and how important she is to the family since making sure she was okay was not important to them . She is not only exiled from her home, but can now see the alienation from her family. 

    Adah does learn that things are not what they seem. The many definitions of one word give her a kick. The jungle shows her things that she couldn't have known before. There was a point when her exile and alienation were resolved on the outside, but still could never be mended completely. When her mother spoke of how from the "last to first" mothers cared for their children and how she was next in line so naturally Orleanna was to save Ada from the jungle. Good can come from bad. In the states, Ada speaks and learns how to walk without a limp. She improves herself physically after being damaged emotionally. 

     The juxtaposition of two strong characteristics, alienating and enriching, show how a person has the capacity to lose and gain at the same time. Although she loses her life back home, she gains a new one in which she can be truthful in how she presents herself and in her relationships. Each Price woman goes through a  similar transition from being something once but ending anew.  The book has a way of gradually transitioning from what one once knew, to what one knows now.

Essays of Michel de Montaigne Notes

*collaborated with Taylor Williams (p.1-120); Haley Stowe (p.121-241); Haley Kestler (p.242-354); Megan Stevens (p.355-488); Imanie Patel (p.489-683); Elizabeth Smith (p.684-783); Judith Lee (p.891-1016); Shailynn Joseph (p.1017-1133); Sierra Sanchez (p.1134-1206); Hannah Hurd (p.1207-1269)

Book II: 26-37

I:26 On thumbs

• anecdote- story of barbarian kings making treaties by pressing right thumbs together, pricking, then sucking each other's blood.
• thumb=master finger according to doctors
• French word=pouce from Latin verb pollere=to excel in strength; Greek=anticheir- "another hand"
• Rome- sign of approval to turn and twist thumbs downward; dissaproval to extend and raise upward
• Romans didnt have to serve in army if they had an injured thumb (couldn't hold weapons)
• Augustus took away property of Roman knight who cut off his sons' thumbs so ...^
• Cauis V cut off L thumb to not fight and punnished to life imrisonment
• General cut off thumbs of defeated enemies
• Athenians cut off Aeginan men's thumbs to deprive of "naval superiority"
• schoolmaster punnished by biting thumbs

Pride and Prejudice Notes

 Pride and Prejudice Notes
Pretty much my train of thought as i was reading, excuse the lack of structure and bad spelling at times
•pov is third person knowing?
•mr. And mrs. Bennet start off with dialogue to introduce characters but direct characterization at end of chapter
•5 daughters, Lizzy= mr. Bennett's fave(quickness, second to oldest, 21), jane(oldest, 23, and pretty), Lydia (youngest), Mary(middle, likes to read), Catherine(Kitty, next to Lydia)
•mr. Bingley- new guy in town, rich, mrs. Bennet wants her girls to marry him
•mrs. Bennet insisted mr. To visit Bingley
•*the characters seem to be know-it-alls
•Bingley came to longbourn to see daughters
•Bingley went to London to pick up two sisters, one brotherinlaw, one friend.
•direct char of Bingley
•direct char of mr. Darcy: fine, tall, handsomer than Bingley, money; proud, unable to be compared to Bingley
•at the ball he didn't think any of the girls were worth his time. Lizzy didn't care and he danced with Jane twice

first thoughts for the year, and it hasn't even started yet

This is the mindset I have right now after seeing other people's blogs. Yay for starting the semester off already comparing myself to everyone. I really wanted to post this first to eventually see my personal progress over the year and to see if my thoughts have changed from this. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who feels this way- speak up (or favorite) if you do, too. It helps not to feel so alone.