Letter to a Place

Dear parking lot,
            We have had some good times and great times, along with our share of bad times. I am graduating soon, so these are going to be the last few times that i will see you. Well actually it is the last time you will see any of my class. Don't worry, a new class of drivers will replace us next year. The thing i will miss most of all are all the kids and their parents not knowing how to drive in a parking lot. On top of that everyone thinks they don't have to follow rules and that they are right even when they are in the wrong.
            My favorite example of this was last week when some guy got mad because there was a long line at the stop sign by the basketball courts. You know the one, in the center of you by the gate. Well on this particular day the security didnt open the top gate... again. Consequently, the stop signs were jammed up. this guy in a big lifted truck, thanks to his small man syndrum, desides to drive on the left side of the road right when im about to turn onto it. He didn't realize it was me in the car. Big mistake! So I jam myself right in front of him to the point where neither of us could move. Despite that he knows he is on the wrong side of the road, he honks at me and gives me a retarded look. This is when I take the high road, because of security even though they ended up not doing anything about this, and sarcastically tell the guy that "There is a right side and a worng side of the road. And you're on the wrong side." so he waits about 2 minutes and then manages to shmeagle his way back into the right lane. Idiotic Drivers: 0  Me: 1 
             Well we have had countless experiences together, and they will always be remembered.
Sincerly,
               Luc

Rachel's Ending

Throughout the novel, Rachel always seemed like the most materialistic, shallow girl. She despised her situation in Kilanga, and wished for a normal American sixteen year old girl's life. However, at the end, she is very satisfied with her life in Africa and reflects upon her ability to stay balanced. She was able to remain stable and balanced because she ignored the rest- what she didn't want in her life. All the other characters involved themselves deeply in Kilanga, whether it be in efforts to fix it or to embrace it. Rachel hated Kilanga, and thus she did not allow her emotions to become involved with it. At the end that saved her from becoming like the others.

-Susan Y.

Brother Fowles vs. Reverend Price

Brother Fowles:
-preaches the importance of kidness to wives
-protection of women
-worships the untamed nature

Reverend Price:
-wife abuser
-does not leave an impact on Kilanga
-degrades wives (females in general, including his own daughters)
-tries to work the land, forceful
-manipulative

Brother Fowles is a spiritual figure for the Price females, who lose hope in their husband/father.

-Susan Y.

EVERYONE COMMENT ON THIS ONE!!!

Wow we are almost there. WOW. I feel like i want to do another post, one last one before we all end and after overwhelmingly positive feedback on the last post (thank you to all it really did touch) I want to do one more. But what to talk about? I really do not want to do graduation or college or senior year. There are already so many of those  I have begun to ignore them. =P.
So let's do something fun!
In our Calculuse class we have a board that all the students sign with their thoughts on the year or a note to the teacher or just notes to friends or inside jokes or anything. ( If you want to see go to Mrs. Mendez's classroom) So let's recreate that here. These blogs are something that we have done all year let's have fun with them and see how far we can go with this.
Derek B

Inspired by Mrs. Elliot

After reviewing my eating habits, and looking at the foods I was putting into my body, and expecting to keep a nice figure, I realized it was time for a change. This change will be a test of not only self determination, but also discipline. Will I have the strength to walk away from junk food during lunch, that soda or Starbucks when I am out and about. Will I be able to drink the 2.4 Liters of water daily and eat vegetables and ugh fruit. (Just an FYI, I hate fruit.) I am going to try, from now until May 25, 2011, I will be a vegetarian, I will cut back on sweets and Carbohydrates I will not drink anything but water, and 100% Fruit smoothies. 

I am doing this to see if I have enough self discipline to be able to change my eating habits. Thankfully, I am not doing this alone. I have my wonderful boyfriend doing this with me. I was inspired to created this blog to document my thoughts, feelings and to share recipes who knows, maybe if someone reads this, what I have to say might help them, if it does, then this who thing was worth it. :) I will be documenting daily on how I feel, what I think, what foods I crave and what foods seem repulsive, in the end, I hope that this will help create healthy eating habits that will last a life time. 

 

My inspiration to create this blog came from my English Teacher, she has a blog, and she asked her students to create team blogs, I have experienced that these team blogs are a good way to vent and share your thoughts with people. Thank You Mrs. Elliot. So I decided to post and blog my experience in the hopes that some where some how some one benefits by it. 

If you want to follow me, I will be updating daily.
The website is http://www.veggieheads18.blogspot.com/

Mariah

I Really Just Want Feedback- Derek B.

Ok so I wrote this a while ago just to get some of my thoughts on paper, and I realized that it is slightly deep/controversial so I wanted to post it on here to get your guys' feedback. I guess if I had to justify posting this, it does share some of my philosophy on life which ties to what we were doing in class. I also incorporated my OLW into it: pain. PS before I get started, this was inspired by the movie "A Cinderella Story" with Hilary Duff. Yeah, don't judge =P.

So here goes:

It seems that everyone's life sucks. Everyone has their drama or their conflict or their impossible desires. It seems that everyone wants their storybook ending. And there is nothing stopping them but them. I one read that writing history is easy; you simply record the facts. But writing fiction is so difficult because you have to make it believable. Anything can happen in real life; only a few things can happen in fiction. I have held this to be one of the truest quotes ever. No matter what fantasies we come up with, they are based on real life and do not even come close to the emotion and feel of reality. If you think about it that way, real life is the greatest story ever written. All things are possible in reality. Where/how else can you find the ups and downs, friendships and betrayals and rejections that happen in reality? We watch so many movies that we sometimes wish or expect our lifes to go that way. We take a normal situatiom ad turn it into a move and wait for our happily-ever-after. But it never comes.

No not "never." Sometimes life sucks. That is a fact. Sometimes life really suck and you feel like there is no hope. But there will ALWAYS be a happy ending if we are willing to keeep fighting and put things in perspective. Some things are not changeable. Some things are. To find happiness we need to change the things we can for the right. Even if that is painful. And sometime shtuff (the pg version of another sh-t word)and it feels like there is no escape. But put it in perspective. Are you completely worthless now that you are in this situation? You may suffer, but this falls into the category of things you cannot change. But what you do about it can. Somebody may have a horrible disease or have died. That will not change. But what you do about it can. You can choose to wallow in self-pity, or you can make the world better. Not only their life, but your own and others'. Help them. Help yourself. Change something. If you are not happy, it is your own fault.

Hope is the most powerful of human emotions. More powerful than pain or the fear of pain. We are willing to fall in love, go to war, kill, for the hope of a better life. There are some things we cannot change. There will always be hate. There will always be pain. There will always be breakup of family, relationships, friends. There will always be that one thing or that one person that you always hope for, knowing that it will never happen; but you hope for it anyways. There are some things you cannot change. There are some things you can. Keep fighting to make the things you can better, and you will get your fairytale ending. Sometimes your fairytale ending is just being content with what you have. Not settling. Never settle. But be content if you can.
Notice that no one ever gets a fairytale ending who had an easy life. We have to work for it, to earn it. Everyone has a fairytale ending if only they would fight to get it.

Sorry this turned out so long. If you actually read the whole thing, put a  +P in your comment so I can give you a huge hug later. Thanks for any feedback you give.

What book has stuck with you?

A book series that I will always remember is Captain Underpants. It has been over 7 years since I read the first one. These books were the only ones that I actually enjoyed reading. I liked them so much because the story was about kids my age, who always played pranks, and a superhero. It had alot of comedy in it which kept me from getting bored. It truely was a great series.

-Luc

Invisible Man- his story is a cycle

Invisible-->Gradual Realization-->Visible only to himself, but not blind-->Invisible

The narrator's story seems like a cycle. In the beginning, he was naive and docile. He took his grandfather's words literally. He gradually realizes his naivety through the Brotherhood, and finds out that he is visible only to himself. However, he knows that he should not be blind (betrayal). At the end of the book, he comes back to being invisible again- this time, he is not naive, but knowledgeable.

-Susan Y.

Religion vs. Jane

Religion:
There are two extremes regarding religion in Jane Eyre.

-Mr. Brocklehurst: religious hypocrite. He preaches Christianity but is tainted with hypocrisy. An example is the passage we read in class about his lecture on the girls' hair and materialism. He elevates himself as a connection to God and lectures the girls on their sins while his own wife and daughters are covered in extravagant, materialistic luxuries.

-Helen Burns: true Christian. She does not preach the religion but rather, embraces it and acts accordingly.

Jane:
Jane is against both extremes; she does not fall in either category.

She hates the hypocrisy of Mr. Brocklehurst, but does not agree with Helen's tendency to stay subjective and passive. Because of her experiences with the Reed family, Jane does not feel that it is right to simply accept cruelty and to conform to religion.
Jane in a sense rejects religion of both extremes.

-Susan Y.

Inequitable Treatment By Mariah N

            Discrimination is just as alive and thriving today as it was in the 19^th Century when Jane Eyre was written. A few weeks ago our cheer squad was informed that there would no traveling during basketball season due to a multitude of reasons. The first reason in which traveling cheerleaders in no longer allowed is because of budget cuts. This is understandable because our state has been on a declining deficit for sometime. The second is because our school board does not think that our cheer squad is being equitable to all sports. Determined to prove them wrong, our squad wrote a letter to the school board explaining what our squad does to give back to our school, our sports teams and our community. Not only do we go to all football games and basketball games, we make it a priority to attend as many sporting events as possible, we make cards and goodie bags for the team members. We understand that being treated equally is important, but where is the equality for us?

            Much like Jane, our cheer squad is overlooked. Our feelings are not taken in for consideration; it was not until we stood up for our selves fighting for the same equality that our superintendent was viciously preaching at us to practice did we see a change. Unlike Jane, we were not abandoned; our cheer coach stood by us fighting along side us. What Jane Eyre has taught me is that people may try to steal your voice, say that you aren’t significant, and say that you can’t make a difference, but you can.

“Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.” (Eleanor Roosevelt) We as humans are quick to judge and say someone is at fault. I blamed our state government for the budget cuts, but then I realized I was participating in the same ludicrous acts that my school board had done with our cheer squad. Reading Jane Eyre I learned that sometimes unjust, unfair, inequitable things happen in our lives, and when they do they need to be handled in a way that is respectful towards everyone, otherwise I become an enemy to others place unfair judgment upon others. 

OLW Pain- Derek B.

My one little word to focus on in my life and in literature is pain. I do not mean this to be a negative or depressing idea rather a study on a primitive and strong human emotion that has a large impact on our lives. My focus is on the different types of pain and their effects on our lives. From emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical anguish, people have been subject to pain, often at the hand of another human, and have had to deal with it in different ways. People can accept the pain, avoid it, or try to advert or stop it. A major factor of the person's reaction is if the pain is sharp and short or dull and drawn out, or even growing over time to consume their life and their will. Although too often people succum to pain and break down, indulge in stimulants, or even take their lives, people can also triumph over pain to accomplish great things. Pain is interesting because although it is caused by outside sources, it is entirely in the subjects control of what to do. The strength of the will is just and important as the strength of the person when it comes to dealing with pain. In literature I hope to find how pain is introduced into the lives of people and how the cope with it. Then I can introduce those ideas into my life and the lives of the people around me.