Final Reflection

1- What are the three most important things you learned this year?

     I've learned so many things this year, it's hard to pick three. I would have to say that the AOW's have taught me a lot throughout the year. Last year, I learned what I wanted to learn through the AOW's, but with the gallery walks I've learned what other people wanted to learn. This not only improved my knowledge of the world, but also in the people presenting it. They shared not only what the article was about, but their opinion. Which brings me to the butterfly project, we got to view people's opinions on different poems. I, personally, don't analyze poems very well, so it was interesting to see how other people did this. I was actually able to improve the way I analyze things, like poems and songs, through my peers. The socratic seminars also played an important role this year, even though we didn't have a lot of them. I feel it's important to share your thoughts on things, including books, so I think the socratic seminars were a great way to share each others opinions. 

2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

     I believe that the To Kill a Mockingbird feast is something that I won't forget. I was able to try many different types of foods that I would have never known existed. I feel like the feast was able to connect us with the characters in the book more than just discussing it. I also thought it was kind of funny how we put the tables together like a Thanksgiving feast (even though when we brought food in for Thanksgiving, we ate separately). To me, it felt like we were a family from different branches of life. Which, in a way, connects to the book, because Atticus accepted everyone's opinions even if they were from a different background. The one moment I will remember forever from the feast is the different faces people made after trying sardines. I will always replay Emily's cringeworthy face after she bit into a sardine. Priceless!

3- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

     Many people have been extremely nice to me this year, and if I don't thank you here, I want you to know that I do thank you. Anyway, some specific examples are people helping me with my homework or just helping me understand something I didn't understand. Maria has always been there for me, helping me understand certain things on my AOW's and blogs. Gustavo has also helped me out by proof-reading my essay. Abdiel has always helped me catch up on note/work when I was absent. This are just few of many that have helped me throughout the school year.

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

     I would like to think that I taught my peers to always have a good time and enjoy yourself. I've experienced a lot of stress this year and I've always tried to still have a good time. I don't know if my peers have caught on to this, but I always try to make people's days. I enjoy seeing people laugh and have a good time, because it makes me laugh and have a good time. I wanted to teach my peers that it's great to laugh and to help others laugh if they are having a bad day.

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

     I feel like I majorly improved in my writing skills. We did many essay which is probably want helped the most, but the blogs and AOW write-ups helped too. The frequent writing, in general, helped a lot, and even though I still can't spell every well, I am able to use correct grammar, which is probably one of the things I am proud of this year. Knowing that I can correct people's error makes feel happy on the inside, I guess. I also am proud of the To Kill a Mockingbird thematic essay that we work on for a while. I feel like I did really well on it, adding textual evidence when needed, and interpreting it extremely well. 

6- What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

     The most challenging part this year would have to be my hardships with procrastinating. Well, I guess they wouldn't be hardships, but I'll just call them that. Anyway, porcrastinating is something that is so easy to do, but kind of hard to say no to. There was this little devil on my shoulder that somehow always found a way to make me think it was fine to do this later, or that later. If I were to give advice to next year's kids, it'll have to be to not procrastinate. Many of us had trouble this year and I think that the incoming kids shouldn't listen to that little devil on thier shoulder. 

7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

     I believe that my best piece of writing this year would have to be the Blackfish/SeaWorld argumentative essay. We spent so much time on it; gathering information and then making sure we knew how to cite it correcting. The only problem with the essay were some framer errors that I'm trying to work on. Not only do I think this is my best essay, but I also learned a lot and know that I will maintain ths information for the rest of my life. 

8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

     My favorite book of the year would have to be Forget Me. I find it kind of funny that I would not have even known this book existed if I didn't get bored and decide to steal one of my sister's book. Anyway, I really liked this book because it had mystery and romance. I don't like a book when it's all about romance, but all mystery I'm all for it. Forget Me got me really engaged and I couldn't stop reading it. The end was kind of a twist and really shocked me. There were many good books this year, since I expanded my genres.

Aphorism Drawing

"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live." This was one of many famous aphorisms made by Morrie Schwartz. In Tuesdays with Morrie, Morrie tries to get Mitch to fully understand the meaning of this aphorism: "'I'm going to say it again,' he said. 'Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.' He smiled, and I realized what he was doing. He was making sure I absorbed this point, without embarrassing me by asking." Now, I think that this can be interpreted in many ways, but to me, I think it is talking about how we take many things for granted. I think that when you learn how to die, you start to realize the little things in life; making you learn how to live life to the fullest; taking risks every now and then. I believe that this was Morrie's main message from this aphorism. That people who haven't welcomed death, don't truly know how to not take things for granted.

I found this aphorism to relate not really to a historical event, but rather a historical person; Martin Luther King Jr.. You see, this aphorism is mainly about taking risk and facing death, but also not taking things for granted, Martin Luther King Jr. does all of this. He preaches and protests even though he knew there was a target on his back. He knew that if he kept protesting, he would eventually die, but he took that risk to help others. I suppose you can say that he didn't take his own life for granted. He put others before himself and he died for others. He didn't just get killed in a robbery, he got assassinated for helping others. Martin Luther King Jr., to me, is one of the best examples for this aphorism.

I couldn't agree more with this aphorism. Well, I guess if I'm actually dying and I know how it feels to die, I would get this sort of "Ah, ha." moment; making me understand it even more. The point is that I do agree with what this aphorism is trying to say. I believed that no one could not take anything for granted, but that all changed after I read Tuesday with Morrie. Morrie made me see that when someone is dying, they truly view life as a gift, hence, "Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live." I honestly, don't know how someone could not agree with this aphorism. I don't know how someone could think that a person who only experienced life can know everything.

Tuesdays with Morrie: Week of 4/27/15

All six of the Tuesdays have had an impact on me, but I think the fifth Tuesday really got to me. You see, I'm not that involved with my family. I mean, I try my best to be connected with my family, but it just isn't easy for me. I see my mom probably five minutes a day when she's working, so I don't really get to talk with her besides the whole, "Hi, have a nice day, I love you." When she isn't working, I also seem to have things going on with school, whether it's homework or an activity. I see my dad on regular basis, so my relationship with him is much stronger. My sister is always at school or work so I don't see much of her either. We all love each other, but don't see much of each other. I'm just telling you this because I figured you needed background as to why this Tuesday impacted me the most.

Morrie had told Mitch, "This is part of what a family is about, not just love, but letting others know there's someone who is watching out for them." This is what made me really think about my life. Remember how earlier I said we all love each other, but don't see much of each other, well, it's kinda hard to think someone is watching out for you, when you don't see them. I mean, I know my family is watching out for me and I hope they know I'm doing the same, but it's nice to be reminded from time to time. I know, this might sound like I'm complaining, and in a way I am, but this chapter really made me think about my family life and I want to share what went on in my head. Sometimes, I'll think about my life, but I never really thought about my family before.

Morrie had a lot to say about family, perhaps it's because of his rough childhood or his own family, but the point is that he knows a lot. One of the things is said is, "If you don't have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don't have much at all." I tried to challenge this statement by thinking of other things that are as important as family. I thought and thought, but at the end I found nothing; family always came up on top. This whole blog post has been me complaining, but now that I'm rethinking about my family is pretty awesome. We may not see each other as often as I would like to, but we make an okay family. I mean, we don't show it every day, but we all know we love and support each other. Morrie has really opened my mind to many things. Hopefully throughout the other Tuesday's I can learn some more.

Tuesdays with Morrie: Week of 4/20/15

Tuesdays with Morrie has been an awesome book. I'm never really hyped when we start a new book, but I always come out loving it; this is exactly what's happening with Tuesdays with Morrie. I find sweet of Mitch to go back and visit Morrie after so long. Mitch could have continued with his life and not go visit Morrie, but that connection came back to him. At first, the connection wasn't very strong, but as Mitch goes to Morrie's every Tuesday, we see the connection start to rebuild. I like how the book tells the present and then explains some of the past. It shows how the bond between Morrie and Mitch has changed. Overall, I think I will really enjoy this book.

Almost everyone has this thing called a bucket list or things that they want to do before they die. I personally think that bucket lists are dumb. You write down things you think will be fun, and if you don't complete it then, oh well. I just don't think that bucket lists serve a purpose. I feel like people should live life and not just write things down. If you find something you want to do, then go out and do it. I don't really have a bucket list, and I don't really want to make one, but I guess I have to, so here it goes.

- Skydive
- Go to DisneyLand
- Go to England
- Go bungie jumping
- Hang glide
- Go scuba diving
- Ride in a helicopter
- Meet my favorite actors/actresses
- Meet my favorite youtubers
- Go to the Canada side of Niagara Falls
- Go dog sled
- Go to Hawaii
- Ride a Segway
- Attempt to ride a unicycle
- Go to the Kentucky Derby
- Go horseback riding on a beach
- Go skiing
- Go to LA
- Go to Hollywood
- Pet a Kangaroo
- Pet a Koala
- Have a camp fire on a beach
- Rope-swing into a lake/river
- Go paint balling
- Learn another language
- Bring Jenna Jr. back from the dead

Life is Beautiful Comparison: Week of 4/13/15

The book, Night, and the movie, Life is Beautiful, share many similarities. The main one, I believe, is the father and son bond that is shown throughout both sources. Even though these two things have this in common, they also differ in some ways. Night shows how the Holocaust can make someone lose that precious bond between father and son. When Elie's father dies he thinks, "Free at last!" (Wiesel). This shows that Wiesel saw his father as just another thing to worry about. On the other hand, Life is Beautiful, focuses more on the strength of a father and son bond. There is not one part that demonstrates this; it's the whole movie. Guido creates this lie just to make sure his son keeps his innocence. I say that's the father of the year, right there. 

The mood in Night, and Life is Beautiful differ from each other substantial way. Night focuses on the many of the negative things on the Holocaust like the deaths and dangers. I'm not saying that there's a positive side of the Holocaust, but Life is Beautiful, focuses more on the father and son bond than anything else. With Guido's personality the movie was actually funny. This was interesting because funny and the Holocaust isn't something that should be used in the same sentence. I thought it was a interesting take on the holocaust. I never thought anything was funny in Night, so I feel like this is a major difference. 

I believe that you could say life was beautiful thoughtout most of the movie. At the beginning, life was gorgeous; it couldn't have been better. In fact, the first 30 - 40 minutes was just a sappy love story. When the main characters were sent to the concentration camp, life began to become more gloomy for most. I say most because I believe Joshua still viewed life as beautiful. I only think this because he did not know the truth about things. At the end, life became beautiful once again. Even though Guido died, he succeed with his goal of having his son keep his innocence. Plus, when Joshua and Dora reunit, life couldn't have been better. 

Night: Week of 3/30/15

Night focuses on a lot of father and son bonds; expressed through Elie, and many other character. The main bond is that of Elie and his father, but the others play an important role in the story line. The story starts off explaining Elie’s bond with his father before the he is taken to the camps: “He rarely displayed his feelings, not even within his family, and was more involved with the welfare of others than with that of his own kin” (Wiesel 4). This shows that Elie’s father was not very close to Elie, not anyone in the family, actually. This is also shown when Elie’s cousin approaches his father while they are in Birkenau: “My father had not recognized him. He must have barely known him, always being up to his neck in communal affairs and not knowledgeable in family matter. He was always elsewhere, lost in thought” (Wiesel 43). This shows that not only did Elie’s father not share his feelings with his family, but he didn’t socialize with other relatives.

Even though Elie’s relationship with his father wasn’t very solid, it held up when they were being separated from the women of the family. All Elie could think about was not losing his father in a time like this: “My head was buzzing; the same thought surfacing over and over: not to be separated from my father” (Wiesel 35). This was from the first time Elie stepped inside a concentration camp, but this behavior repeats throughout the story. In section five when Elie could barely walk with his injured foot, he didn’t want to be separated from his father: “As for me, I was thinking not about death but about not wanting to be separated from my father” (Wiesel 82). In section six when Elie’s father was chosen as weak, he wouldn’t accept it: “My father was sent to the left. I ran after him” (Wiesel 96). Lastly, in section eight when the same thing that happened at Elie's first time in a concentration camp occurred again, the old fear still remained: “I tightened my grip on my father’s hand. The old, familiar fear: not to lose him” (Wiesel 104). All of these are examples of Elie wanted to stay close to his father during their stay at the different concentration camps. At the beginning, staying with his father was an instinct, but at the end, it was a routine.

Elie wants to be close to his father, but that doesn’t stop him from feeling angry towards him. Elie feels a lot of anger when he is in Auschwitz, even towards those who don’t deserve it: “I had watched it all happening without moving. I kept silent. In fact, I thought of stealing away in order not to suffer the blows. What’s more, if I felt anger at that moment, it was not directed at the Kapo but at my father” (Wiesel 54). Elie’s father was being beat up and Elie watched in silence; not feeling anger toward the guard, (who also beat him) but towards the victim, his father. Elie isn’t the only one that felt anger towards their father. A pipel got anger at his father for simply not making his bed right: “In Buna, the pipel were hated; they often displayed greater cruelty than their elders. I once saw one of them, a boy of thirteen, beat his father for not making his bed properly.” (Wiesel 63). This young boy probably never did this before he arrived at the camps. This  shows that the concentration camps turn people into beasts, for example, “Meir, my little Meir! Don’t you recognize me… You’re killing your father...I have bread... for you too...for you too…” (Wiesel 101). This is a the words spoken from an old man whose son killed him for a little piece of bread. This shows that the concentration camps starve people and those people become desperate. The sad news, the son didn’t even get the bread, he was killed by the other men…He killed his own father for nothing.

A father and son have been together for three years in many different concentration camps. When they were forced to run, the old father couldn’t keep up and fell behind, what did the son do, he kept going: “But then I remembered something else: his son had seen him losing ground, sliding back to the rear of the column. He had seen him. And he had continued to run in front, letting the distance between them become greater” (Wiesel 91). This shows that this son either got tired of caring for his dad or he wanted to survive so he forgot about him; both happens to Elie. When the soldiers say run, Elie ran, even if it meant leaving his dieting father behind: “During the alert, I had followed the mob, not taking care of him. I knew he was running out of strength close to death, and yet I had abandoned him” (Wiesel 106) This is the start of Elie realizing that he needs to care for himself, and not his father in order to survive. Later, his father dies. Elie doens’t cry, but thought that he no longer needed to worry about someone else: “And deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!” (Wiesel 112). A few days later Elie only thought of himself: “I spent my days in total idleness. With only one desire: to eat. I no longer thought of my father, or my mother” (Wiesel 113). This shows that after a  few days of not worrying about his father, Elie simply forgets about him to protect himself. This shows that there really weren't any family or friends during the Holocaust; there was only survival.

Night also has many people begin to question God's ways. Night starts off introducing Elie faith, just like his bond with his father. Elie put life in religion studying and praying throughout the day: “By day I studied Talmud and by night I would run to the synagogue to weep over the destruction of the Temple” (Wiesel 3). This shows that Elie was devoted to God. Of course, this was before he was sent to Auschwitz.

When Elie arrives at Birkenau, he doesn't have doubt in his faith. When he is separated from his mother and sisters, he doesn't doubt his faith. When he sees innocent babies being thrown into fire is when Elie really starts questioning God's ways. Elie writes about his first night in a concentration camp, “Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes” (Wiesel 34). This was his first night and he already lost faith. Still near the beginning of his long stay at concentration camps, he no longer prays: “As for me, I has ceased to pray…I was not denying His existence, but I doubted His absolute justice” (Wiesel 45). This shows that Elie's faith just cracked under pressure. Further in the book, Elie questions why people are still praying to God when he has killed your loved ones: “But look at these men whom You have betrayed, allowing them to be tortured, slaughtered, gassed, and burned, what do they do? They pray before You! They praise Your name!” (Wiesel 68). This is one of the last times Elie mentions God within the book. This seems to be the last straw for Elie. Elie watched as men fasted for God, but in return, those men most likely died.

Elie was not the only one in the book who lost faith overtime. Akiba Drumer kept faith in the beginning, maybe even helped other keep their faith: “God is testing us…And if He punishes us mercilessly, it is a sign that He loves us that much more” (Wiesel 45). This shows that Akiba might question God's ways, but he still has faith that God will protect them. A while later a selection occurs. Akiba has grown weaker and doesn't have faith anymore: “But as soon as he felt the fist chinks in his faith, he lost all incentive to fight and opened the door to death” (Wiesel 77). This shows that Akiba was only living because of his faith, that's all he had. Another character, a Rabbi from Poland prayed all the time in the beginning, but fell off the wheel when he became weak as well: “He was always praying, in the block, at work, in the ranks…One day, he said to me: ‘It’s over. God’s is no longer with us’” (Wiesel 76). This shows that some people in the camps just gave up hope, which caused them to lose their faith. For some, faith was just something they had, but for others, faith was what kept them going.

"Forgotten" Butterfly Project

Comments: Autumn, Isabelle, and Gustavo.

Night: Week of 3/23/15

Pages Read: 0 - 47
Prompt: Describe some of the characters. Give your opinion on the characters.


The book, Night, is really interesting. I knew I was going to like it from the start. I don't know about you, but I love books about the Holocaust. Whether they are told from a survivors point of view or an another makes up a story of their own. I love the amount of detail each book goes into; sharing their experiences with the world. Elie Wiesel has much to share with the world. I can't wait to read more.

One of the main characters of Night is, obviously, Elie Wiesel (this guy to the right). He was the one who wrote the book. So far, he seems like a scared little boy; he just wants to be by his father. I think that as he continues to tell his story, he will grow up a little more; realize that his father won't always be there with him. Now this leads to Wiesel's father. He a very religious man, who keeps his faith and hopes for the best. This can be a great characteristics in normal life, but I'm not too sure it's the best when you live in a concentration camp. Yes, keep your faith and have hope, these are two out of the top three things a person needs to stay sane during that time. The other would be family. In my opinion, Wiesel's father is strong enough to handle anything he can think of. I just don't think he thought of what is going on within the walls of the concentration camp.

Moishe the Beadle seemed like a main character at the beginning of the book, but now his character, kind of, disappeared. He isn't mentioned anymore, but I don't think we saw the last of him. I believe that Elie will come across Moishe during his time at different concentration camps. Moishe was a role model, or more like a mentor, to Elie and I think Moishe while do the same in the concentration camps. I felt bad for Moishe when no one listened to his story. I think that some, like the book said, thought he just wanted pity, and some thought he was mad. I think that some thought he was right, but were too scared to admit. They didn't want to believe him so they dismissed everything he said.

Holocaust AOW Impressions

I learned many things this week from the gallery walk, things that I didn't even know a little about. One thing I learned was that a former Nazi soldier is being arrested for the killing of the millions of Jews and others. He joined the Nazi party in 1930 and worked at death camps and medical experiments. He is now 90 years old. I totally disagree with the government arresting this man. I realize he did help with the murder of million of people, but he's 90 years old. If he didn't help then he wouldn't have lived through the Holocaust. I believe that instead of arresting him, we should get his side of the story. The world can benefit from this, but instead we're arresting him. If we are arresting him should we arrest very elder German person in the U.S., since they most likely help the Nazi party. The world should stop looking at what happened in the past, but look at the present. This man is 90-years-old and we are arresting him; thinking about putting him in death row. Talk about respecting your elders.

Along with the arrest of former Nazi member, I also learned about a survivor of the Holocaust. This survivor is a very special one, she walked to a gas chamber, about to die, but then she didn't. She said that the "shower" wasn't working at the time so she left. On her way out of the gas chamber, she saw many bodies from the other chambers. I think that this is amazing. For someone to walk in and out of a gas chamber is practically impossible. I do have one question though. How? How did she just walk away without a solider seeing her? I imagine there were many guards that were watching the gas chambers, so how did she just walk out. It seems impossible, but I'm glad this survivor did the impossible. 

Comments: Gabe, Athziry, Nadrian

Berlin Memorial Activity

In general, I learned that there were many laws that prohibited Jews to do many things. At first, the stuff that we take advantage was taken away from them, but soon their needs like food, and health, were taken away. Some years had few to none laws made in them. This interested me because even though the Jews had pretty much even thing taken fron them, they still had family. Eventually, the Germans took that away too, but looking at how many laws were passed in the first year, I would have expected it come faster. I think that this monument was built to remind people of the hardships that Jews had to go through and to be reminded of their bravery. 

I believe that out of all the restrictions, I would have the hardest time with the Germans taking away my pets. You see, my pets are my life. If you take them away, you take my life away. I would fight for my dogs as if they were my sisters. Honestly, if someone took my dog away, I would probably kill myself. I don't know how I would live on with my life. I would be lonely and have nothing to get me up in the morning. Another restriction I would have a hard time with is not being able to go to school. I honestly like school. It gets me out of the house for a few hours. People, including me, take school for granted even if they aren't meaning too. School has became apart of our everyday life and we sometimes forget that some people don't or can't go to school.

Comments: Steven, Jesus, and Gustavo

3rd Quarter Reflection

I believe that this quarter was one of my best and worst quarters ever. I've learned a lot from our lessons in class. I can tell right now that my grammar has improved the most this quarter. I am now more aware of run-on-sentences in my writing. Though I have improved a lot this quarter, I also lacked time management. At the beginning of the quarter I pretty much fell apart. I never turned in my blogs and AOWs in on time. For that I would  a moment to apologize to Mrs. Larson. I'm sorry. Anyway, my time management got out of control. I was two then three blogs behind. They seemed to just be piling up. I knew they weren't hard to do and they didn't take up that much time. I just didn't want to do them.

With maybe three or four weeks left in the quarter, I stepped up my game; catching up and continuing to do my schoolwork. That's probably one of the main things Im really happy about improving. I look back on it and realized that I wouldn't make it far in life. Time management is a huge part of everyday life, as a kid and an adult. I'm just glad that I sorted everything out in eight grade and not in high school. Also, this was one of the most challenging things for me this quarter, so when I got back on track I was proud of myself. Hopefully, fourth quarter won't be as bad for me as third quarter was.

Comments: Jesus, Steven, and Autumn

Bio-Poem for Marley and Me: Week of 3/9

Marley

Playful, courageous, destructive, hungry.

A character in John Grogan's story.

Lover of running on the beach, chasing sticks, and eating.

Who notices when his owners are feeling down.

Who feels pain, love, and loyalty.

Who learns how to behave, how to care and how to love.

Who says "Woof."

Who use to think it was okay to pull when taking a walk but now knows to heel.

Major character in Marley and Me.

A book that tells the story of dog being man's best friend.

Comments: Isabella, Gustavo, and Maria

AOW Impressions 3/6

During the gallery walk on Friday, I saw many interesting articles. Athziry's interested me the most; talking about the use of social media and suicide. I never thought about teenagers posting their suicide note online for the world to see. I also never thought about the impact that could have on the viewers. Apparently, teenagers see other teenagers suicide note online, and some will eventually end up committing suicide. My personal thoughts on the topic are pretty much why. Why do teenagers post their suicide note online? Most importantly, why do the kids who see the suicide notes online feel they need to commit suicide?

Another major topic that many people picked was about ISIS. Gianna's article was talking about how ISIS released 19 Christian hostages. They did this because they follow the Sharia laws. In other words, believe it or not, they follow a certain moral code. Bela's article discussed how teenage girls think they will have a better live with ISIS. They cross the border and join the terrorist group, no one has been able to contact them since. Citalli's article also talked about teenagers joining ISIS, this time they are from Scotland. An ISIS teenager is recruiting teenagers from Scotland. I don't know what's going on in these teenagers mind; joining ISIS and killing people. How can these teenager, who could of have a good life, just get up one morning and decide to join ISIS? Do they think it's cool? Do they think that they are making the right decision?

Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie: Week of 2/23/15

Pages Read: 0 - 70
Prompt: How does the format affect the book? What would you do if you experienced the same things as the main character?

The book is a diary of a 13-year-old girl, Hattie Campbell, during her trip on the Oregon Trail. The book starts off with her in Tennessee, her home town. It's actually kind of funny how the whole journey started in the first place. You see, her uncle died and his coffin fell in a river, where a steamboat rolled over it. The captain offered them a free trip anywhere they wanted. Her father jumped at the opportunity, though Hattie and her mom weren't very fond of it. I thought it was kind of ironic how this happened. A life was taken and another one was just about to begin.

The format of the book is, obviously, a diary. This allows the book to progress much faster than a normal book would. It can skip through the unimportant days and go straight to the action. I enjoy reading this type of format because you can really see who the narrator is. You can see what the narrator thinks and feels just by simple reading the book. I also find it interesting to read because the main character is the same age as me. It gives me a deep insight on what children my age thought. The book also has direct quotes from other characters, which allows the reader to see the thoughts of the other characters.

I'm not sure if I could handle all of the things Hattie has been through. She walks for about six hours a day, so I'm not sure I could do that. Maybe for a day or two, but definitely not for a few months.  She also experiences many deaths on her way, and she handles them extremely well. I could maybe handle one or two, considering that it happens. I'm not half way through the book yet and there were six or seven deaths, so I don't think I could handle all of that. I just think that traveling along the Oregon Trail would just be too difficult for me. Maybe, just maybe, I could last for a month tops. Other than that, I would not make it.

Comments: Carlos, Leanna, and Maria

AOW Impressions: 2/20/15

There was talk about many different topics that happened around the world. Many leaned towards ISIS beheaded Egyptian Christians and Egypt's retaliation. I was informed about the same thing many times, but I guess that made it stick in my head. What many people took away was that ISIS is growing and spreading. ISIS had killed 21 Egyptian Christians and recorded killing almost a dozen of them. Egypt has sent out one airstrike in order to make sure ISIS knows they're position in all of this. It was interesting to see how many people chose an article about ISIS. Having many people choose the same topic proves that it is really important for the world to hear. 

Even though many people chose an article about ISIS, there are some who thought about different topics the world should hear. For example, Gianna chose an article about how global warming is killing the environment. Her article stated how in 2050 the midwest will become dry. There would be no water, which means no crops, which means no food. Sarai chose an article based on the secrets of the CIA. That was important to hear because people should know that the government does keep secrets, not just the CIA.

Passion Project Update

I think I have got a lot done for my passion project. I found some pictures about animal abuse and have been adding them of my blog every once in a while, making the blog look more presentable. I have written a free verse poem that you have view here. I'm very proud of it and I'm planning to write  another one soon. The first poem shows an innocent dog begin adopted by an abusive owner. The second will show how the owner changes the dog from a innocent puppy to a vicious fighting dog.

Currently, I'm gathering facts and statistics for a informational iMovie I will be posting on my blog. I haven't gotten very far into it yet, but plan on making a dent in it this week. I'm waiting to almost finish my iMovie before I try to advertise my blog on Twitter and Facebook. This way when someone views it there will be a few posts and not just some pictures and a poem. To advertise my blog I plan on tweeting the link and asking some youtubers to help me. I plan on doing the same thing for Facebook. This time, I will be reaching out to some animal lovers in my family. I will also be reaching out to the ASPCA on both Twitter and Facebook.

Seriously...I'm Kidding: Week of 2/16/15

Pages Read: Finished
Prompt: What did you learn from the book that'll help you in future years?

The entire book was a bunch of nonsense, but the last chapter Ellen wanted the reader to actually take away something serious from her book. She includes many things that can impact anyone who reads the book. The one thing she said that I think would impact people's lives the most was, "Find out you are and what you believe in. Even if it's different from what your neighbors believe in and different from what your parents believe in." I feel that this advice is given a lot, but no one really listens to it. I know that I tune out when people are trying to give me cheesy advice like this, but I think that's because I'm just in a bad mood when someone is telling it. When I'm reading, I'm never in a bad mood, so I actually listen to the advice and decided that it is some good advice. When you find out who you are, you become your own person. You figure out what you have to do in life and I feel that being in eight grade this advice is extremely important. You're moving on to a new school, with new friends, and new teachers. I believe that you have to find out who you are before this transition happens.

Another piece of advice that Ellen gave that stuck in my brain was, "Stay true to yourself. Have your own opinion. Don't worry about what people say about you or think about you." In my opinion, (see what I did there) this is also important to know when you move on to high school because let's face it, people are going to think badly of you. They are not going to see you for who you really are, but as what you do and I say let them. They are entitled to their opinion and that shouldn't matter to you. It doesn't matter what other people think of you, only what you think of yourself. If you think that sweats and t-shirts are cool, then they are. You can't let other people's opinions get in the way of who you are because then you would just be a fake (and no one likes a fake, so if you think it's cool to be a fake, then you should really rethink your opinion.) What I'm really trying to say is be yourself, it's hard to do sometimes, but it is possible, just stay true to yourself.

As Ellen says many important things in this book, there is one more that I would like to share with you, "Contribute to the world. Help people. Help one person...Just help. Make an impact. Show someone you care." This is not only important to know for high school, but for your whole life. Most people already do this, so it's not a huge problem, but I still feel that I should bring it up. I try to help at least one person a day, even if it's something small like picking something up for them, and I encourage you to do the same. Helping people isn't something that you can ignore, you have to help people whether you like it or not, but it helps to have a positive attitude when you help someone. In high school, you are going to have to contribute a lot of time and effort and I feel that you should know this because if you're not prepared to contribute anything to your high school, then you're not gonna get far in life. You are going to have an interview for a job and they will ask you, "What did you do when you were in high school?" If you say nothing, the interview will end right there. To sum it up, just help people and contribute to the world. Easier said then done, but I believe in you.

Comments: Carlos, Steven, and Gustavo

Book Talk for Wild Life

Written Transcript:

One of my all time favorite books is Wild Life by Cynthia DeFelice. The genre of the book is realistic fiction. The main character, Erik, gets sent off to North Dakota to live with his grandparents for a few months. There, Erik finds a dog and grows attached to her, naming her Quill. When he has to return the dog, he panics knowing he will have to give away his one true friend out in the middle of nowhere. To solve the problem, he runs away, thinking that he can handle the wild all by himself with Quill, but when he runs out of supplies he knows he is in trouble. 

Throughout the book, the mood changes a lot. The mood starts off gloomy, but then changes to a cheerful mood. When Erik runs out of supplies and can't find food, the mood becomes stressful and serious. I believe the theme of the book is that you can't run away from your problems. The author portrays this by having Erik, literally, run away from his problems.

I like Wild Life because the book has tons of adventure and suspense. It also shows a fantastic example of dog being man's best friend. That's one of the main reasons I really like this book. You see, I'm a huge dog-person so I enjoy books that portray the relationship between dogs and humans as well as this one did. The part I remember most is when Erik first found Quill. It introduced her in a suspenseful way, but when Erik saw it was just a dog, he approached her, connecting to her instantly. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys adventure and risk taking because Erik takes so many risks just to keep Quill and have the time of his life. I feel like anyone who is watching this, should read this book. It sends the reader on an emotional roller coaster that impacted my life a lot and I think it will for you, too.

AOW Impressions

I learned so much new information about world events during the gallery walk. I learned recent information about Ebola, the terrorist group, ISIS, and how 2014 was the warmest year ever. I also learned about some things I didn't ever know was happening, like the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Yemen water crisis, and new rape laws in the U.K.. I truly liked the gallery walk in allowed me to learn about the world without having to watch the boring news channel. I think that we should continue on with the gallery walk every week because it allowed me to engage with my learning. Not only that, but I got to work on my summarizing and speech skills too.

One thing that I knew happened, but didn't really know much about was 2014 being the warmest year. I pretty much only knew that 2014 was the warmest year in the past decade because of global warming. That is what I mainly heard during the gallery walk, but I also learned some interesting facts, that some people might not know. For example, Stanley told me that some places are trying to fix global warming with cloud whitening. Cloud whitening helps prevent solar radiation, which adds to global warming. I learned from Julia that if we don't try to stop global warming, we won't be able to live on planet Earth. This I sort of knew, but didn't really think it was true.

Even though I loved the gallery walk, I think it can be improved a little. For example, I stop by many people who had the same topic as me and I pretty much knew everything they were telling me. I think that next time when we have a gallery walk, instead of random groups presenting, the groups should be organized based off of topic. This way people would be able to learn much more about the world. I also think there should be stations so that the viewers get to see everyone. This way not only does the viewer learn more, but the presenter will be able to talk about their topic more freely.

Seriously...I'm Kidding: Week of 1/26/15

Pages Read: 213-241
Prompt: What is the most interesting thing in the book?

There are many interesting things in this book, so it's really hard to pick just a few. I have to say that one of the most interesting things so far was "The Longest Chapter." Basically, it is a character that talks about how long it is. For about four pages, it talked about if you wanted to put the book down and come back it later or if you just wanted to skip ahead. About the fifth page it started talking about little facts that no one knew about her, but the main thing she wanted to say was what changed her life. What changed her life was the Swifter. I found this chapter interesting because I was actually on the edge of my sit the entire chapter. I mean, I was a little disappointed when I found out what I had been waiting for, but that's life. It was also funny because the next chapter was a "tweet" chapter. You know how in a tweet you can only use 140 character, well, that was how long the chapter was.

One chapter towards the end of the book talks about some ways that help you fall asleep faster. I knew all of the ways Ellen talked about, but it was still interesting to read. One way to fall asleep faster was to read a boring book and the way Ellen gives an example is hilarious. She talks about a mom getting out of bed and tripping over a lamp cord, making the lamp fall and its glass to shatter. A piece of glass gets stuck in her foot and her son comes in and asks if she is okay. At the end of all of this, the mom and son get into a fight and the mom had not reached her goal; getting a boring book. To summarize why I found this interesting is that I enjoyed her rambling on. Most of the time I don't like people who ramble on, but her ramble makes sense.

In the same chapter, Ellen also talks about the stop watch method of falling asleep. She wrote, "Stare straight ahead. You're getting very sleeeeeeepy. Verrrrrryyyyy sleeeeeepyyyyyyyyy. Verrrrryyyyyy--wait! WAKE UP!" After this she explains that she didn't want anyone telling their friends that they fell asleep reading her book, making it seem boring. I found this interesting mainly because I didn't see it coming. I thought she was going to end with the whole sleepy thing, so when I read "wait! WAKE UP!" I was momentarily confused. You see, all her chapters have jokes that the reader can connect to, so when I saw this chapter coming to a close, I thought there wasn't going to be any joke, but I guess I was wrong.

Comments: Maria, Isabella J., and Gustavo

Seriously...I'm Kidding: Week of 1/19/15

Pages Read: 129 - 241
Prompt: How is the book? and Pros and Cons of Book

I'm going to start off by saying how much I love Ellen Degeneres. She is one of my favorite people in the world. I love how she is hilarious, even in her book. By the way, just incase you didn't know. Seriously...I'm Kidding is a autobiography written by Ellen. She writes the book as if she is talking to the reader. I really enjoyed that because it makes me want to continue reading. In one chapter, Ellen lists pro and cons, of making a pro and con list, so I figured I should do that for her book.

There are many pros about Seriously...I'm Kidding. One would be that the book is hysterical. There are many funny stories that Ellen tells throughout the book. Along with the funny stories, she is completing truthful. She doesn't hold anything back. This is one of the reasons that I like anyone who reads the book, can connect to it. There is advice for everyday life that people can listen to and improve. It is also written by Ellen Degeneres, and who doesn't like her.

Thinking of some cons for this book is going to be hard. I guess it takes time and effort to read, that's always a downside. Since it's an autobiography, if you don't like Ellen you won't like the book. Even if you don't like her, I still suggest reading it. Plus, it does cost money to buy the book, but if you have a friend to let you borrow it's not a downside. I can't think of any more cons to reading this book. It's Ellen Degeneres, why wouldn't you read the book. I mean seriously, look at her.

TKAM Comparison: Week of 1/12/15

What do you think are the three most important difference between the written and filmed version?

I feel like one of the major differences between the movie and novel is the role of Aunt Alexandra. In the novel, Aunt Alexandra comes into Scout's life and sort of takes over the mother role in her life. She tells Scout that she needs to act more like a lady, in a harsh manner, but the message gets through to Scout. In the movie, Aunt Alexandra isn't even introduced. Scout just one day puts on a dress to go to school. She's ashamed of it, but you don't get to see her argue with anyone. Having Scout be dressed up and attending the little tea parties in the book was important when it came to Scout growing up. Without Aunt Alexandra you don't see the progress as Scout grows up; taking away the theme coming of age.

Miss Maudie is an important role in Scout's childhood throughout the book. She is there when Scout was ditch by Jem and Dill. She was there to help ease the pain of hearing Tom Robinson had died. She never talked down to Scout, and always treated her like an adult. In the movie, you see very little of Miss Maudie. She's just some ordinary neighbor, who Scout and Jem see walking to school. I feel that Miss Maudie should of had more of a role in the movie. She doesn't really teach Scout anything and you don't get this warm feeling that you do when you're reading the book.

One of the main themes in the book is courage, which is shown through Mrs. Dubose. The way she recognizes she has a flaw and tries to fix it, shows true courage. The goal she made allowed her to die without any morphine in her system. This showed Jem an important element of growing up. In the movie, Mrs. Dubose is only showed for one scene. In that scene all you see her do is be mean to Scout. I believe that Mrs. Dubose played an important role in the book and should of played just as an important role in the movie.

Comments: Amelia, Autumn, and Nadrian