Has becoming a writer messed with my mind?

Obviously. I would say that my new found writing skills have changed the way I read. I still like reading Harry Potter more than anything else in the world and science-ficition bores me so much that I'd rather clip my ear lobes off with trimming shears. Now, I do realize how the author switched up the sentence structure to make the reader feel really frantic. Or that the author used a verb that fit PERFECTLY with the situation. Or that the use of paragraph organization was as (or more) impactful than any other rhetorical device. Did becoming a writer change my view of the world? Ehh.. I mean, yeah I notice when billboards are grammatically incorrect and when a story in the newspaper is well written, but I don't go out and look at the trees differently because I can write. And I don't love my family more since I learned how to write. I think becoming a writer has given me a more advanced view of the simple things in life. I choose to talk with bigger adjectives because I sound smarter and I like when people don't fully understnad what I'm saying.

about the nom noms of life

  My theory is that you can't say you don't like a food unless you've tried it. Recently. When I say I had asparagus for dinner and people turn up their noses, it's ususally because they hated asparagus as a kid and they haven't even  tried it lately.
  But, I know there are foods that I haven't liked yet in my life and foods I know I will never like.

• tomatoes: when you eat one you literally get guts in your mouth. noooo thank youu
• squash: no one likes squash
• licorice: it tastes like I'm eating the smell of windex
• oranges/orange juice: I don't want that nasty pulp in my stomach... It tastes like I'm swallowing seaweed.
• pie: unless it's chocolate pie, don't bring it near me

I also know that there are going to be things that I used to hate and now LOVE.

• beets: they look gross, smell gross, but taste like heaven
• cottage cheese: I used to think you made cottage cheese by drinking a lot of milk and then running. And I thought cottage cheese was what the actors used back in the day as fake vomit.
• SUSHI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOM NOM NOM NOM

What I believe is that everyone's preferences change, picky eaters are missing out on a huge part of life, and being a cook would be the best job in the world. My problem is that I just burnt my Pizza Rolls and my Ramen boiled over and I don't have a single cooking gene in my entire body.

Why should we remove "literally" from the English language?

According to dictionary.com, the definition of literally is "actually; without exaggeration or inaccuracy." Literally, literally is an over used word that the majority of society uses in the wrong context. Literally's antonymn is figuratively, but literally no one says figuratively. Your pencil can't literally fly across the room. Your mom doesn't literally hate you. Taylor Lautner isn't literally a god (even though he could pass for one). Used in the correct time and place, I have nothing against the use of literally. Even in satirical essays when literally is used in the wrong place at the right time intentionally, I'm ok with it. What irks me is when people are telling stories about their car accident and their lives literally flashed in front of their eyes. Well hate to break it to ya chump, but I'm pretty sure it's been scientifically proven that that doesn't happen. My argument against the incorrect use of literally isn't backed by my impeccable use of the word, in fact I miss use it as much as the next, over-exaggerating teenager. It is just so annoying to listen to! I'm going to start saying "I figuratively am in love with him" or "I figuratively just failed that AP Comp quiz."

answers to my rhetorical modes

#1: definition
#2: argument/persausion
#3: example
#4: narration
#5: cause and effect
#6: description

rhetorical modes

#1: Jealous- feeling resentment against someone because of that person's rivalry, success, or advantages
#2: Personally, I think jealousy is pointless. I get jealous too, but I still think it is unreasonable. When I see someone with better clothes or better legs or nice hair, I feel a twinge of dislike towards him or her. My proposal isn't to forget about jealousy because I think that is impossible, but I propose that, when one feels jealous, he or she stops and thinks about everything in his/her life that is good. In doing so, I hope people will begin to be thankful for what they have rather than be jealous of others.


#3: Shakespeare's Othello is focused around jealousy. The jealousy of the characters is fueled by the actions of other characters. (In Othello, the hero succumbs to jealousy when Iago convinces him that Desdemona has been an unfaithful wife – in the end, Othello murders his wife and then kills himself.)There is jealousy used in many other plays, movies, books, and television shows because it grabs the viewers attention. Jealousy makes people do unreasonable things, such as kill their wives or steal.


#4: The first time I remember getting jealous is in preschool. My crush, Adam, was a hunk. Even in preschool everyone wanted to date him. He was the teacher's favorite, the smartest in the class, and the best at making letters out of playdough. My best friend, Jessa, was also in our class. She was the greatest. And she had a pool so that made us even closer because I LOVE SWIMMING. Anyway, Jessa was playing in the cardboard kitchen that we had in the class room and I was coloring on the table. All was going well until Adam stood up, walked that cute butt over to the cardboard kitchen, and crouched behind it with Jessa. He had just chosen Jessa over me. I was furious. I started throwing crayon after crayon after crayon at them, but they were too infatuated with each other to notice. No more talking to Jessa, no more flirting with Adam... Does anyone want to be my new best friend??


#5: Being jealous would occur because of multiple reasons. Maybe you just saw your boyfriend getting snuggly with your best friend. Maybe your sister got the boots you wanted for Christmas. Maybe your next door neighbor can go through money like water and you can't... All of these are possible causes for jealousy.


#6: How to tell if someone is jealous.
    - He/she breathes VERY deeply through his/her nose whenever you walk past
    - He/she begins to dress like you and talk like you and smell like your perfume because he/she would kill to be you.
    - He/she would bad mouth you to anyone who would listen because she/he wants to boost his/her confidence by puting you down.
    - He/she might, just might, "accidentally" trip you on the stairs to make you embarrassed. No one is jealous of someone who falls on the stairs.

'Tis the Season

    My mom is a blabber. She tells us all of these stories about herself as a child that can range from being about her getting barbed wire up her butt or an April fools joke gone terribly wrong. There is one single story that I hear year after year. It's about St. Nick.
    She was raised Catholic and on the night of St. Nick, December 5th, it was rumored that St. Nick would come around to all houses and peak in the windows. My mom tells us that she and her 6 siblings wouldn't sleep that night for the entirety of their childhoods. She remembers the "rap rap rap" on her window and being too scared to see who was doing it. Her dad always happened to be out that night and her mom always played along. It wasn't until her late teens when her dad spilled the beans. She still had two younger siblings who believed that it was St. Nick tapping on their windows instead of their dad. Whenever Mom asked her dad about that night, he was secretive. Grandpa finally told Mom about his adventures as St. Nick. He said he would be running around tapping on all of the windows, slipping in the mud, running through branches, and giving those old cancer filled lungs a run for their money.
    Since my family is Christian, we don't celebrate that night, but I would love to experience that. The adrenaline rushing through my body as I creep up to the window would be amazing. I want to start a tradition like that in my family. Or maybe I'll go to the neighbors on December 5th, tap on every window, and then run back inside.

Visual Argument

Analysis using Burke's 5 components:
Agent: I searched and searched and searched for the artist of this piece, but I was unsuccessful. Whoever the artist is, he or she is the agent.
Act: This political cartoon's message is that there arent enough resources in the world to keep up with the ever increasing population.
Purpose: It is trying to bring to light the problematic ratio between resources and the population. I don't think the artist is fighting against birth, I think he is trying to create awareness of the problem in our current society.
Scene: Without being positive, I believe this cartoon was purely for Internet use. It was probably drawn because the artist realizes that the resources cannot provide for the entire population and he/she want's to make it universally known. The picture makes the viewers feel empathy because, even though the stork is carrying babies (which are cute and cuddley), the stork looks like he is in so much pain. Also, it makes the viewer feel guilty that we as the population haven't stopped to consider our impact on the resources of the world.
Agency: This is a solely visual piece and the fact that there is no audio nor graphics is an argument in itself. It allows a much more free interpretation of the piece becacuse there is no one telling the viewer what to think. The lables on the stork and on the the babies pin point the argument of the cartoon because, without them, the argument could be a vast number of things. The first thing to catch my eye was the expression on the stork's face. He looks as if he is struggling so bad and I feel sympathetic for him. Next was the little heads of the babies poking out of the "population" blankets. Using babies makes the viewer somewhat confused. He or she wants what is best for the babies and yet, bringing so many into the world just causes more problems. This was ingenious of the artist because the babies really reflect the growing population since they are the newest generation.
     My main question when looking at this picture is what does the artist want us to do about the growing population. We, as the human race, can't stop reproducing because that would lead to the extinction of our race. Neither can we create more resources because many of them are natural and at the Earth's expense. I feel that the message is that the resources won't be able to support the increasing population much longer, but I think it lacks a legitimate solution.
     Also, "population" is written in red. It looks like a warning. If it is, the message of the piece doesn't change drastically it just become more urgent. As if it is saying "Find a solution quickly otherwise we are going to run out of resources and that will be the end of humanity." Because if the stork cannot uphold any longer, it will fall and the "population" will fall as well.

grammar police

i've never thought a class would actually change how i lived. i'm not talking about a class (cough cough ap comp) that takes up too much time or makes me so stressed that i want to pull my hair out, but i mean a class that makes me stand out. i'm talking about grammar. going into it, i figured i'd do well in it since the basketball coach is the teacher and i had decent grammar already. i did well on all of the quizzes, tests, and homework assignments. now that the term is coming to an end, i realize how much that particular class affected my life. i'm the grammar bitch to my friends who incessantly say "i did so good on that test!" or "anyways..." or "bob and me went too." it drives me up the wazzooo! i hadn't noticed before, but now that i have acquired a trained ear, they all sound like hicks. once, i was writing an essay for class and i paired everyone with he and she, just like i'm supposed to because they're both singular, and the person correcting said they didn't match! our world is disregarding grammar with escalating speed. what no one understands is that grammar will help him/her on college essays, the ACT and SAT, job interviews, doing well in school, and assuming an authoritative position. the message of this blog? don't talk like an uneducated bafoon. please.

p.s. notice that i used well instead of good, affect instead of effect, used quotation marks correctly, matched no one with him or her, and didn't mistake any contractions.

Nickel and Dimed Book Review

Thomas Randall, Allison Young, Emily Coon, Reilly Johnson

10/27/11

            Barbara Ehrenreich, a journalist, undergoes a social and economic experiment to evaluate the conditions and life styles of low wage workers around various locations in the United States. She goes under-cover as a low wage worker herself in order to gain information and inform her audience about how employees survive on low wage salaries. By the end of the book, Ehrenreich’s purpose extends to increasing awareness on the low wage work force and the rights they deserve. This started off as an assignment for her job, but turned into a personal challenge to survive.

            Ehrenreich’s book is primarily directed toward middle or upper-class working adults who are unaware of the conditions of low wage workers. It is apparent that this is her intended audience because she uses common jargon and colloquial terms so the majority of her audience can understand it. This audience is appealed to by Ehrenreich’s conversational tone and her authentic portrayal of her thoughts.

            She does a good job giving information to the audience about the logistics of low wage workers. It is clear and easy to understand and she also provides a good balance of personal experience and general trends so that it isn’t solely an opinion piece. She includes qualitative and quantitative observations that provide more information and a clear image. The clarity aided her in revealing information which was her original goal; to express the conditions of low wage workers.

            Although informative and eye opening, Ehrenreich’s disrespectful attitude and stereotyping distracted from the overall issue of the low wage workers conditions. She provided a clear depiction of the lower-class lifestyle but included unnecessary and rude comments along the way. These comments make the reader less compelled to empathize with her.

            We would recommend this book to working adults over teenagers and low wage workers. It will be informative and eye opening to working adults who haven’t been exposed to this kind of lifestyle.

Hallowweeeeennnn!

It seems like everyone I talk to has these monumental memories of Halloweens of his or her childhood. Was I deprived a childhood? Is my view of fun distorted? You may ask why I am asking myself these questions and my answer would be this; I don't like Halloween. My memories purely consist of jealousy over other costumes and arguments over candy. I've never understood why people are so in love with a holiday that is simply about disguising yourself and running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Nothing about that is appealing to me. I used to LOVE Halloween. L.O.V.E. And it's not like there has been some scarring moment that I have witnessed or experienced. I just don't like it anymore. And plus. Lets be honest. We gain like 100,000 pounds a year. So, for my loving halloween memory, it's non-existent. Sorry to be a downer but... on the bright side... 55 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!

things that push my buttons

1. unorganized dishes in the dishwasher. honest to god it's not that hard to put the plates in order by size. big plate big plate big plate big plate big plate and next row little plate little plate little plate little plate.
2. my sister stealing my underwear.
3. non-mechanical pencils
4. hair on someone's back
5. people saying "that awkward moment when..." if it's that awkward, you don't need to say that we'll figure it out on our own.
6. someone breathing on my neck. ew
7. when my bottom sheet doesn't match the first one
8. leggings with a shirt that doesn't cover your ass
9. people who think i'm weird because i don't like fruit flavored things (juice, fruit snacks, fruit roll ups, popsicles, jolly ranchers, pie... etc.)
10. ugly hand writing. if it's ugly, never ask to trade papers
11. people who try to change the radio station in my car. MY CAR
12. my brother because all my friends think he's sooooo dreammyyyy
13. the marker holding ledge on white boards
14. lipstick. no one can rock it
15. heels at school unless you're a teacher you just look like a prostitute

American Reputations

No, I didn't get a chance to watch all of 2 Million Minutes, and I didn't read "For Once, Blame It On The Students." No, I'm not a telepathic genius which, therefor, means I don't know what is expected from me in this post. No, I'm not trying to be quiet while my brother, Max, is sleeping on the other end of the couch. Yes, I do need to be right back because I'm going to grab some food. NUM NUM. And yes, I do think America needs to understand its reputation. Allow me to explain. In 2 Million Minutes (I watched it last year in World History) Americans are compared to students in India and China. I feel that the video is a stab at American culture. Maybe in China and India, being extremely smart is the norm and having school dominate social life is expected but, America is different. The colleges that students are dying to get in to are the colleges that not only require borderline perfect grades but also a flawless community service record and abundant extracurriculars. How are we supposed to study and do homework as much as the other countries do when our requirements aren't purely school inclusive? I don't think that we, the citizens of the U.S.A, see ourselves as slacking or lazy but, I don't doubt that that is how we are perceived by those in other countries such as China or India. We don't recognized the difference because that is all we've ever known. In "I Just Wanna Be Average," there are more examples of how America has accepted and conformed to being mediocre. No one should want to be average; one should have enough confidence to believe that he/she can be better than average. At the school Mike Rose attends, he is placed in the lower of two curriculums. The fact that there even are two curriculums shows that America has lowered its standards. We are saying "it's ok to not try hard, we've got an app for that." By no means is this saying that I'm ashamed of America. Not at all. I just feel that we don't understand how we are perceived by others.

facebook>homework

Homework is the closest thing to impossible that I have ever attempted. Even without distractions it takes months and months. And for our generation, facebook is the definition of distraction. The sad thing is that I still wonder why my grades are faltering even though I have no doubt that Facebook is the cause. Who am I kidding? It's my addiction to Facebook that's the cause. I'd be embarrassed except I know that the vast majority of people my age are going through the exact same dilemma. At any given time in the night when I log on, there are 89+ "friends" on setting their statuses, picture stalking the prettiest girls in the grade, or trying to decide whether or not to poke their crush.

I go through hour after hour clicking through pictures and my newsfeed almost every night no matter school night or weekend night. I find myself, mid homework, logging on to my 5th grade AIM email facebook account to make sure no one is having more fun than I am. Andddd not only do I look at every single status while trying to figure out one to write for myself that will get the maximum "likes" and comments. Social image in this day and age is much more important than how well we do on homework.

President Obama's Back to School Speech Analysis

• Started with a class of 2012 student as the one to introduce him. Immediately this makes the audience comfortable because, since the speech was directed at students, we could relate to her.
• She spoke of "painful dilemmas," "minorities," "self-determination," and "it's up to me" which showed that it's possible to make it through the troubles to become successful.
• When Obama walks in, he is dressed formally but his walk is casual and calm. He even hops up a step a little bit, waves, hugs the student, and says "Hey" as the first word of his speech.
• Credits the principle, the mayor of D.C, Arnie Duncan (Sec. of Edu.) and their school which makes him seem modest because he's a bigger deal than any of them. The thought is nice though.
• Welcomed "ALL" students; not just the ones who are there but, students all around the world so that we know that he is addressing us all.
• Says that he understands the strain of sports, band, church, extracurriculars, facebook/twitter, jobs and the economy which develops trust between the students and him since we know that he has a sense of what we're going through.
• "You're this country's future; you are young leaders." and the nation will depend on us. That also makes us more likely to take action because he is putting a responsibility on our shoulders and he trusts us to uphold it.
• Repeats "you have to..." multiple times for emphasis
• Pauses after most sentences throughout the entire speech to let the audience chew on what he said and to understand it.
• He let's us in on a "secret" that he wasn't the best student. Lets the listeners relate to him but, almost undermines him because he is admitting that he hasn't always been as smart or as put together as he is now.
• Doesn't change his hand gestures much except to point to the audience when addressing them directly.
• "Diverse nation" was smart to include because the students in the school he was speaking at were of all ethnicities so, they didn't feel discluded
• +60% of jobs in the next decade will require more than a high school diploma (logos)
• We were 1st in the world with the highest portion of students graduation high school and now we rank 16th.
• leaves time for the reaction: audience member whistles
• Again gives us the responsibliity or upholding our nations future
• Continuing education will lead to "better jobs, more fufilling lives, and greater opportunities for our children" is a good motivator for us because that is what we all want in the future.
• "RIGHT NOW" calling us to action
• He speaks of the parents who love us to death which creates pathos and ethos because he is speaking from experience.
• Tells us that all levels of government are working very hard to give us the best possible education which is pathos because it's almost a guilt trip by saying that these people are working their hardest to ensure you a good life and you can't just throw it all away.
• Seems to know ALOT about teachers and their feelings toward students which I found to be very clever because he includes them also since they are working very hard and long hours to provide for us.
• Doesn't look down at paper at all when speaking of the amazing students who have done a lot of work so we know he is being genuine.
• Pauses in clever places; for laughs, impact... ect
• "Your country is depending on you" (responsiblility again)
• Ends by saying "Lets get to work" so it lets us know that it will be a group effort to do well all around the nation in education.
• "Thank you, God bless you, God bless America." I was surprised when he said God bless because I feel that will all the diversity, that could be taken in a wrong way but, he still got a standing ovation to which he waved and smiled.
• Throughout the entire speech, he seemed calm and cool and collected and that put the audience at ease also.

Jim Crow Laws

But these laws! They are crazy!

                For the nursing law, how do the people in charge know that the white men aren’t as or more dangerous then the black men! They probably have the same number of hormones! And how do we even know that black men are interested in white women? I doubt they are…

                Restaurant law, it is so unreasonable. If I were in the restaurant, I would grab my wall-scaling equipment and climb that thing so I could eat with my black friends.

                Intermarriage: THEY CAN’T TELL THEM WHO TO MARRY! WHAT IF THEY’RE IN LOVE?

                The burial law is my favorite. Why does it matter who they bury you next to? It’s not like you’re going to be chatting it up with them because you’re both already dead. And no one is going to see you lying next to each other so don’t even worry about your reputation.

                In the prisons, I think they should force the different races to room together. Since they’re so against it, it would be an even better form of punishment. And they’re all murderers anyway so what does it really matter?

                Finally, for the textbook law, the solution is just to not write your name in the front of the book. I’m an 11^th grader and I figured that one out. I mean seriously.

It's Called Life

To say the least, yesterday could've been better. It was my birthday. My golden birthday to be exact. But it was not golden it was more rust colored. Or like pea soup colored. I'll give you a recap starting with Friday morning.
5:45 wake up, shower, eat a healthy breakfast (I had a race after school)
6:45 leave for school
7:00 arrive at school 29 minutes too early for a junior
7:00-7:30 chat with the amigos
7:30 nhs meeting that was supposed to last all of first block in which I had a test that I didn't study for seeing as I would be missing it.
8:00 meeting is over and I'm taking the grammar test. And by taking I mean failing
9:03-1:40 the rest of an average school day.
2:00 load the bus for the cross country race
3:00 get to the race
5:35 is racetime! Except go figure I race terribly due to my low iron and so then I'm in an awful mood.
7:00 get back in time for the game except I smell like elephant poop mixed with sweat so who wants to stand by me?
9:30 or 10 games over and I go to a friends house where we fall asleep at 12.
NEXT MORNING
7:00 wake up for cross country practice, drive home to pick up sister, parents forget it's my birthday, out of gas
8:00 practice, could barely survive a 4 mile run #pathetic
10:00-3:00 work the concession stand for the soccer games ON MY BIRTHDAY and probably died of boredom 12 times
3:15-5 do homework because my parents are hard asses
5:30 Nat and her BF come over so I end up wheelin' until
7:00 birthday party kind of... more like just hanging out with a bunch of friends which actually wasn't too bad at all
7:30-10:00am was fun.

My birthday summary. But hey, looking on the bright side... I can go to R rated movies legally!!!!

Superman and Me

Much like Sherman Alexie, I was brought up with books surrounding me. I was introduced to authors early on in childhood due to my parents passion toward well written literature and the intriguing content contained inside the compelling covers. I was neither required to read nor discouraged to so but, the encouragement of my older brother, parents, and teachers persuaded me to become a vigorous reader. Not once does Alexie mention his siblings' influence on his academic life, which I find surprising. Max, my older brother, began reading the Hardy Boys series around 3rd grade. The jealous kindergarderer that I was, I immidiatly began looking through books as often as possible. Not reading them but, flipping the pages becoming more and more memorized each paragraph. It astounded me that someone could write all of that much less read it. To be honest, I was aching to be able to read. I started with Dr. Seuss' classics and worked my way up to the Magic Tree House series over the course of a few years. I developed a love for reading that I doubt will ever diminish

why I write

From reading both Orwell’s and Didion’s pieces on why they write, it really made me take perspective on myself and what I am doing in an AP writing class. To be honest, I initially looked at the class because I know for a fact that having multiple AP classes on a college resume is a good thing. Soon after walking into the class room I realized that this wasn’t going to be an easy experience but, I didn’t drop the class. I stuck with it because I miss writing a lot. I haven’t written for leisure for who knows how long but, I remember when I used to I loved it and do it daily. Writing helped me escape my everyday problems and go into a world of important diction and syntax and imagery that could make your senses tingle. Why do I write? That is a very loaded question that has too many answers to ever document. Mainly, I think it is because I love to read. This may sound contradictory because the question doesn’t ask anything about reading but here is my reasoning: I love reading well-written literature. Poems that have to be dissected or books that bring tears to my eyes. And I want to write something that has that effect on whoever might read it. I would kill to write a poem like this:
Beautiful Woman
A.R. Ammons
The spring
in

her step
has

turned to
fall
               It is such a wonderful poem that has infinite meanings; a different one to each reader. I write because I want someone to get goose-bumps when they read my piece and I want them to blog about how much they love it. I write for others because I want them to enjoy reading it. And I want them to have their own take on whatever message I am trying to send and interpret it however it helps them.


and here is the one i'm following: http://livewithgratitude.blogspot.com/?expref=next-blog