Outside Reading

I spent my whole 150 minutes on articles for my Biology project throughout the whole week.

Dear Classmates

Dear classmates of English 1,

This year has gone by so fast, and we have learned so much. I think that we can all agree that as a class, we have had a few challenges. We have tried our best to overcome some weakness we've had like side conversations, staying on track, asking appropriate things at appropriate times, and not getting too wild. I think my best advice would be to stay on track and be engaged in the discussion or work that we were assigned. I think that using individual work and group work class time to my advantage is something that I wish I would have worked harder at.

Some more tips would be to absolutely work super hard on pre-writing before you write a paper. For my research paper, I worked really hard on my note cards and it worked so well to my advantage when I was writing my paper because I had everything organized and ready to go. Also, it's very good to edit your paper really well and make sure to do all the write formatting because you wouldn't want to get points off for something like that. Definitely annotate all your books because if you don't, you'll be caught up in annotating everything before it's due. Make sure to stay on task and on top of things and try to turn everything in on time.

Participation Evaluation

Over this year, I would give my participation a B. I usually always come to class prepared, even though one time I did forget to bring my outside reading book. I usually don't pack up before it's time to go unless aloud. I may have gone to the bathroom a little too much, maybe 3 times a week in English which it shouldn't be that much. I use appropriate email communication. I almost always participate in class discussions.
Some of my weakness are that sometimes I talked to the person sitting next to me during class. I usually don't talk that much, but sometimes I get off track. My individual group work is pretty good. I usually get things done during those times. Whenever we do peer work, I always try to give people really good suggestions. I think that my participation has grown because I have learned a lot and I'm able to use my knowledge and input more and more throughout the year.

The End of School

     This school year has gone by faster than any other school year. It's been my best year so far, and I can't believe it's coming to an end already. I'm proud of my work this year, but I know that towards the end I became really bad about doing my homework. I wish I could go back and not procrastinate as much as I did. I know I could have studied more, but I start slacking and I can't stop looking forward to summer.
      As for exams, I plan to very prepared. I want to study a lot more than I did last time. I'm going to use my guest room as a study room and I'm gonna lock out my cellphone and laptop. This time, I will study in hour long periods. I will do 5 hour long sessions on weekends and 3 or 4 on school nights. Another thing that will keep my on track and determined is that I can't eat anything until I'm done studying. I start studying next weekend, and I hope I stick to my plan, and that my studying pays off!

Outside Reading

        So this week I've been reading Gossip Girl. I finally finished the book on Saturday. Over all, I think that it was a good book and it definitley kept me reading. The only thing is that the book was a little too predictable. It was like any other chick flick. It was super dramatic, but I definitely wanted to know what happened next. For my next book, I want read something that's a lot different than Gossip Girl.
I think that I might read "Impossible" by Nancy Werlin, "13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher, or "Unwind" by Neil Shusterman. I'm especially interested in "Unwind" because I love futuristic books. The whole concept of it sounds very interesting, like nothing I've heard of before. Just the summary of the book is captivating to me, so hopefully I will like it. I'm looking forward to reading "Unwind."

Common Errors List

COMMON ERRORS LIST

1.      Missing commas
Ex. “I typed and typed as a little 3^rd grader and my ideas and creativity began to splatter on the pages.”

2.      Semi Colons needs to be followed by an independent clause.
Ex. “She had always loved my artwork; especially when I had worked so hard on it.”

3.      Unnecessary semi colons
Ex. “Having been so excited about my story; this was heartbreaking to me.”

4.      Indent dialouges

5.      Colons instead of semicolons
Ex. “This frightened Louie, so he ran away from his home, maybe even his city.”

6.      Work on transitions

7.      Connecting the other paragraphs to the opening one

8.      Analyze quotes

9.      Stay in one tense

10.  Formatting 

Essay- Writing Over the Year

          Ninth grade has given me a great opportunity to become a stronger writer, and I have tried my best to take that opportunity. With every writing assignment I’ve been given, I try my hardest to use the processes, tips, traits of good writing, and rubrics to deliver a quality of writing that is the best of my ability. Throughout the year, I definitely believe that my writing skills have improved greatly. The most useful thing I have learned this year is how to analyze literature and rhetorical situations in depth. Reviewing my pieces of writing through the year, I have noticed that the use of  good traits of writing are much bolder in my most recent work.

            My first piece of writing was my literacy narrative entitled “The Lost Story.” I remember thinking that I got lucky when I heard what my assignment was because I had such a great story to tell. This piece of writing is actually my 2^nd favorite paper out of my collection. Although, I know that if I could go back now and edit the paper, I would definitely improve it. A lot of the issues in this paper have to do with conventions such as missing commas, which I still struggle with, but I have gained a better understanding of these errors throughout the year.  The lowest score I got on the paper was sentence fluency, which has been a problem of mine throughout all of my school years. Looking at my last paper, I think I did much better with my sentence fluency.

            The next paper I wrote was my Profile called “Katie Michael.” The biggest strength in this paper was definitely my introduction paragraph. I described Katie riding her horse in descriptive detail. I learned how to do this in depth by reading many interpretive characterizations in class. I was able to use descriptive details to convey characteristics about Katie. The main problem I had in this essay was connecting the other paragraphs in the paper to the first one. If I could edit it now, I would relate the determined person she is to the determination I characterized in the first paragraph when she was jumping on her horse.  Also, my transitions were quite shaky. The transitions in my global issues paper were pretty strong, so I have improved with them. I now know that smooth transitions must be done by somehow using the topic of the current paragraph and briefly relating it to the upcoming paragraph.

            My literary analysis called “Tales of a Sidhi-kur Analysis” was the most difficult paper for me to write this year. I think the biggest reason that it was so difficult was because of the story I chose. It was very hard for me to come up with a thesis for this story because it has many stories within it. I realize now that I needed to figure out the author’s purpose for creating many stories within, how they connected, and how they affect reader’s interpretations of the story. I didn’t fully conceptualize the type of paper I was supposed to write using this story, and it ended up pretty messy. I also didn’t analyze my quotes in enough depth, which I did much better in my global issues paper.

            My global issues paper is the best paper that I wrote this year.  I scored an A in everything except the citation format. Overall, this paper shows how I’ve strengthened as a writer. I had trouble with my thesis and connecting my ideas to the thesis in my literary analysis, but I really got the idea of how to do that in my global analysis paper. I actually did well in my sentence fluency even though it’s been one of my weaknesses in the past. From my literacy narrative to my global issues paper, I’ve improved in all the good traits of writing. I’ve definitely applied things I learned in class to my writing.

            One of the most valuable things I have learned during my writing experience this year is that the process to a final paper is extremely important. Outlining, writing many drafts, thoroughly editing, peer editing, and reviewing the rubric is necessary for a final product that is the best of my abilities. Another important thing I have learned this year is to support my thesis and to provide a foundation for the purpose I’m trying to convey in the paper. Over and over again, we have learned how to give supporting details throughout a paper that demonstrate qualities that make a strong argument. Supporting details also help show readers why a certain quote is important, why an author might have written something a certain way, and how descriptions of a person can exhibit certain characteristics. Reviewing all of my papers from this year has made me realize how much I have improved as a writer, and that I’ve been able display those improvements and what I’ve learned. 

1 hour and a half- Gossip Girl
1 hour- Biology textbook
1 hour- History textbook

Outside Reading - Magazines

This spring break was different for outside reading. I actually didn't read any books this time, but rather magazine articles. The reason I read magazines is because I went to the beach (Sandestin.) Whenever I go to the beach, I love to lay out on my beach chair or towel and read magazines. I brought 4 magazines and got 2 more at a store in Sandestin. The magazines I brought or bought were any of 17 Magazine, Teen Vogue, and People.

I read a lot of good articles from these magazines. My favorite articles from 17 Magazine was one about Jennifer Lawrence, one that talked about embarrassing moments from random teenagers, and one that was about fun things to do in the summer. The articles I liked from Teen Vogue was one about popular clothes of 2012 and also one about the new movies of 2012 that teens might like. My favorite article from People Magazine was an article about the 10 best celebrity quotes of the week because some of the quotes were pretty funny. My favorite magazine out of these has to be 17 Magazine because they have tons of fashion, make-up, and hair pictures, tips, and facts.

~1 hour and a half of magazine articles on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
~1 hour of reading poems and the song

Paradise by Coldplay

For my poetry assignment, I'm analyzing the song "Paradise" by Coldplay. ( Lyrics - http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/coldplay/paradise_20980626.html ) The first few lines of this song talks about a girl who wants to be in a better place. She wants her own paradise but she can't have it. So the song says that she "ran away in her sleep," meaning that she's going to dream of a better world. The second verse is all about how reality is hitting her about how life is hard and violent. It says that "she expected the world" but "bullets catch in her teeth." It seems that she is a girl growing up and realizing that life isn't a world full of happiness and dreams coming true. "Bullets" makes me think of reality hitting her sharp and fast.

It then says "life goes on, it gets so heavy" and "the wheel breaks the butterfly." I had to think hard about what "the wheel breaks the butterfly" meant. I'm pretty sure its a metaphor and it's using a butterfly as a symbol of a little girl's innocence and unawareness of the world around her. And then the wheel breaks the butterfly, symbolizing the brick wall she hit when she realized that life isn't what she thought. Then the song says, "in the stormy night away she'd fly." She'd fly as if she was the butterfly that would fly into a peaceful place. She escapes reality in her dreams, going to a world of paradise. The rest of the song is mainly singing the word "paradise" showing the flow of her dreams as she's in her paradise. It makes me think of a little girl running in a field of flowers and butterflies.

"The Whipping" by Robert Hayden

"The Whipping" by Robert Hayden
The old woman across the way
is whipping the boy again
and shouting to the neighborhood
her goodness and his wrongs.

Wildly he crashes through elephant ears,
pleads in dusty zinnias,
while she in spite of crippling fat
pursues and corners him.

She strikes and strikes the shrilly circling
boy till the stick breaks
in her hand. His tears are rainy weather
to woundlike memories:

My head gripped in bony vise
of knees, the writhing struggle
to wrench free, the blows, the fear
worse than blows that hateful

Words could bring, the face that I
no longer knew or loved . . .
Well, it is over now, it is over,
and the boy sobs in his room,

And the woman leans muttering against
a tree, exhausted, purged--
avenged in part for lifelong hidings
she has had to bear.

The first feeling I get from this poem is darkness. It has a really depressing feel to it; which you could predict by just reading the title. This poem describes the perspective of a person watching a boy get beat with a stick by a women which has happened not just once, since it says "whipping the boy again." I'm predicting that the narrator is a child, because he/she seems helpless. They're watching a boy get whipped and describing it in detail as if they were disturbed and can't do anything about it.The author first uses the phrase "crashes through elephant ears" to give the readers a sense and image of how loud the boy was screaming. The boy is also helpless, because he is begging her not to hurt him while he stands in "dusty zinnias." It makes me think of flowers that are supposed to be pretty, but are made evil as they are dirty and the boy must be whipped in them. 

In the third stanza, it starts with, "She strikes and strikes the shrilly circling boy." The author repeats the word strike to make us imagine a women repeatedly beating the boy. The poem even says that the stick breaks, which gives us an idea of how hard she was hitting him. She also uses a metaphor, describing the boys tears like rainy weather. It makes me think of the scene as dark and stormy, as well as a mass flow of tears running down his face. The next scene is about his struggle. The poem says that he trys to break free, but the fear is seen in his face. This makes me imagine the boy with a red face, scared eyes, and falling to his knees trying to escape.

The author then takes a small turn, saying that the fear seen in the boy is even worse than seeing the boy being beaten, The most disturbing part is not that he is being whipped, but it is that he has lost his identity. All that is left is for the boy is to cry alone. The poem ends saying that the women is even tired from beating him, suggesting how much physical abuse it was. I imagine her against the tree, flushed with anger, knowing what she's doing is terrible but she must keep it a secret. She pretends like she really is a good person.  Even though, her reason to whip him is that he did wrong.

Outside Reading

This past week I started reading the book "Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters" by Natalie Staniford. So far, the book kind of reminds me of the Clique books. It's about a very rich family with very snobby girls who have their own tight cliques. All the girls are really pretty too and they have a really big house. Even the front cover reminds me of the clique because it shows the 3 sisters wearing girly outfits and in the clique one of the covers shows the 3 girls wearing really girly outfits. Also, the book starts off with drama immediately just as the Clique.

In this book, I'm predicting that each of the sisters are going to fall in love with the guy that will help them stay happy.  And I think that the Dad might get a better job so that they can start getting the money that they lost after their grandma told them that she is going to die. I think that it is going to turn out to be a good book. I really hope that it has a happy ending.
1 hour Sullivan Sisters Wed. & Thurs
30 minutes of poem Sunday
1 hour history textbook Tues and Wed
10 minutes "Adrienne Rich: Resolution Amid The 'Turbulence'" Sunday
20 minutes Bilogy textbook Monday

Outside Reading

This week I have ready a variety of things. I have ready 30 minutes (25 pages on Tuesday) of my book called "This Lullaby," by Sarah Sarah Dessen, 30 minutes of my history text book (Friday), and hour of my Biology text book (Wed), and 30 minutes of Hunger Games articles (Sunday). I also read 10 minutes towards the poem we had to read for homework (Sunday). The reason that I didn't read much of my book is because I'm not really getting into it. I really did think it was a going to be a good book, and it's not bad, but I like a book that has my full attention. Maybe I will read a survival book, mystery book, futuristic, or action book.

My mom got me a book from the library that is a chick flick. It looks pretty good. It's about the confessions of these high class sisters. I might read that, I just hope it's not boring and that it's engaging. One of "The Hunger Games" articles I read was called "Secrets of the Hunger Games." It was in People magazine and it talked about each of the main characters and how they got their parts. I LOVE all of the characters; Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, and Josh Hutcherson. I'm kind of in love with Josh because I love the character he plays and apparently he really relates to that character. He's cute and has a good personality. Anyways, I hope I find a book that I like.

The Hunger Games Movie Premiere

On Thursday Night/ Friday morning, I was at the Hunger Games premiere! First, my sister, her friend, Katie, Sicily, and I all went out to eat at Kona Grill at about 8:30 at Perkins Rowe. After we ate our delicious food, we walk over to the line. The line was extremely long and we weren't planning on the length of the line. My sister spotted her friend in the front of the line, so we slipped in with her. You had to get a stamp when you got in the line, which we didn't have. The doors of the theater were finaly opened, and they asked to see everyone's stamp.  I just hid my hand and got in. I had to save seats for Sicily, Katie, and Katie's mom and her friends. Sicily was waiting for Katie's mom to bring her her ticket. I was tired of waiting so I just took my sister's ticket stub and went out the theater, handed it to Sicily, and we went in without them noticing.

It seemed like forever until the movie started. Sicily, Katie, and I just talked and listened to music until the moment finally came. When the movie started, we were all unbelievably excited. We sat through the movie, enjoying every second of it. The movie was much better than I could ever wish for. They depicted a futuristic world perfectly. The acting was perfect and the characters were EXECELLENT. The actual hunger games was so perfect. It felt like everything I had imagined in my head while reading those books were being played on a screen, excect better. It was an amazingly awesome movie and I can't until the next movie comes out.

Outside Reading

I just started reading a book called "This Lullaby" by Sarah Dessen.  I'm not far enough in the book to be making many predictions and judgements. I've read other book by Sarah Dessen, which were really good books, so I'm thinking that this book with be pretty good. I love Sarah Dessen's book because all of them relate to teenagers. Many of her books are love stories, which I love. I never get bored reading her books.

So far, I know that the main girl in the book is a control freak and she's not like other girls. She seems unique because she isn't easily pleased and she tells people what's on her mind. I love strong and different characters. Last week, I read 1 and a half hours of "This Lullaby" Wednesday and Thursday. I also read an hour of my history text book and biology text book (a little bit every night of the week.)

My Weekend!

I had a really fun weekend! It started with Taylor's surprise party Friday night. I went home with Mallory to get ready with her. When we were ready, we arrived at CCL. Everyone talked and hung around until Taylor came. When she walked in, we all yelled SURPRISE and music blasted. She was really surprised. They played good music and everyone had fun dancing. It was a fun party.
The next day was the St. Patrick's Day parade. When Mallory and I got to the parade, it was actually just ending. So we met up with Anna, Victoria, Julia, Mallory B, and Mary Michael at a party right down the street from the parade. It was a fun day. Today I went to the play "Into the Woods" put on by St. Josephs and Catholic High. It was an amazing play and the actors were so talented! It was a great weekend.

In 5 years...

Lately I've been thinking a lot about my future, what I want to do when I grow up, and where I see myself in a few years. When I graduate, I want to go to the University of Central Florida. I visited the college when I went to Universal Studios, and I fell in love with the college. It's so perfect for me. The campus and college live is amazing, the location is awesome (right next to disney and universal and close to the beach), and they offer almost every major. I also love the dorms and facilities. I really want to I go to UCF!

I'm still deciding what I want to do for my major. Right now, I'm considering either Neonatal Nursing or crime scene investigations. I like neonatal nursing because I would love to take care of babies right after they're born. Also, nursing is a very good profession because there is always jobs available. I really like crime scene investigation because every since I was a little kid, I've loved everything about mysteries and crime shows. I've watched thousands of them. I really hope that I end up with one of those jobs in my future.

Nervous Conditions

I just finished reading "Nervous Conditions." In my opinion, it was a pretty good book. It was a challening book, because there is a lot of strong vocabulary words in there. Also, you have to pay attention to whats happening or you might get confused or lost. I like the characters in the book. I like Nyasha, Tambu, and Maiguru the best. They are all strong and independent women trying to find out who they are. It was so difficult to be a female in there culture at that time, so I really respect them for standing up for themselves. I like the way that Nyasha and Tambu's relationship as cousins in the story grew. They are such different people, but it was nice seeing them become so close to eachother.

The book was good, but it was depressing at times. Each of the characters in the book had to go through a hard time. Tambu's parents had to go through the loss of their son and the mother had to go through depression. Maiguru had to go through leaving her husband and being trapped underneath Babamukuru. Nyasha had to go through an eating disorder and also being trapped under Babamukuru. Tambu had to go through her brother's death (which didn't phase her much), leaving her family, living in a whole new place, dealing with Nyasha's eating disorder, and being bossed around by Babamukuru. Each of the characters has a certain uneasy and nervous condition that they are in.

I reading 150 minutes of this book. Monday-Thursday and Sunday.

Spring Break Planz

     I am so excited for spring break! My friends and I are going to Destin! We've been waiting for this week for months now. We all need the beach so much. The beach is my favorite place ever, and it's so soothing. I love everything about it. I can't wait to swim in the ocean, tan, and feel the sand on my feet! We are staying there for almost a week with Sicily's Aunt Shelly. She has a house on the beach, so we get to go on  the beach whenever we want!

     I'm not sure if I'm going to be home for Easter, but if I am, my Mom has some plans for our family. We are going to go to brunch in a plantation like we did last year. Every Easter, John False is at the plantation and he makes all the food for everyone. The food is literally the best food I've ever had, especially the strawberry short cake and gumbo. I really love the plantation, it's so gorgeous and it has tuns of gardens. I'm so pumped for Spring Break, because I really need a break from school and I NEED the beach!!

Nervous Conditions

During this break I read Nervous Conditions chapters 6 and 7. I understand the book more after getting this far. I found that having this much time to reading the chapters really helped me. Whenever I have 2 days, I usually have so much homework and I end up reading the whole chapter the 2nd day and it's very stressful. I end up rushing through the chapter and not doing good annotations.
I was suprised by the 7th chapter when Tambu arrived back at the homestead. Things changed a lot. Her mother seemed to be really down and not well. I was thinking that part of it could be that Tambu left. She now has 2 kids gone and she is falling apart. Also, she might be jealous that Tambu is getting the education that she never got. I'm wondering if her mother is going to end up dying too or if she will become well again and be happy with the new changes in her life.
I'm not sure if I'm supposed to log my reading but I ready chapter 6 on Wed. and Thurs. and chapter 7 sat. and sun.

Mardi Gras Break

So far, I've had a really fun and relaxing Mardi Gras break. I didn't go out of state, but I did go to New Orleans. It all started on Friday when I got off school. I had a sleepover with my friends Katie and Sicily. The next morning, we woke up and we decided that we needed something fun to do. We decided to get manicures. We all got french tips. We had another sleepover that night and then we went to New Orleans the next day. We got donuts before we left and then we were on our way. When we got there, we met up with Sicily's friends and we all walked around and went to different parades. On the way home, we went to Zia's. When I got to my house, I was exhausted.
Monday was a really big day for me. It was the day I got my driver's permit. I slept till just before lunch, got ready, and arrived at the DMV. I waited for a few hours and then I got to take the test. I passed and they took my picture and gave me my permit. I was so excited! In the few days, I've been driving all around Baton Rouge. I've driven to many appointments for hair cuts, doctors, and dentists. I've driven to the grocery store, yoga class, and restaurants. I'm getting really good at driving and as for now, I love it. I went shopping yesterday and today and it's been a fun week. I'm sad it's coming to an end.

Outside Reading

This week, I have been reading Nervous Conditions. So far, I still can't tell if I like the book. I know that in the chapter I'm reading, Tambu stops talking about the past and it becomes the present. Hopefully that means that there will be some action coming up in the book. I like learning about the culture of their country, because before I never knew about all the sexism.
I'm still trying to predict what the nervous condition that they are in is about. I'm thinking that it might be about Tambu's way of looking at their society as sexist and unfair. Based off of the beginning of the book, I think that it's about her story of showing that girls can be successful. She's getting an education now, and I think that she is going to do something good with her life so that she can prove her father and society wrong.
Monday-Thursday I read 30 minutes a night of Nervous Conditions
Today I read 30 minutes of Biology

The Hunger Games

I am beyond excited about The Hunger Games movie coming out March 23! I starting reading the series at the beginning of 8th grade and then finished them towards the end of the school year. They are my favorite books ever. I love the first and the last book the best. I can't wait to see the movies put into action. I'm hoping they don't change too much about the books, because everything in them is important.

The characters of the movies are perfect. The really fit there roles. I pictured Katniss to be just like Jennifer Lawrence. The way she talks and looks is just how I pictured Katniss. In the book, they described her as naturally beautiful but not in a girly way and thats how Jennifer Lawrence is in the movie. Also, Josh Hutchinson is really perfect for Peeta. He's sweet looking and not too masculine, yet he's really handsome which is how they described him in the book. I'm going to the midnight premiere of this movie and I can't wait! The trailer is really good, so I'm hoping the movie is amazing like the books.

Outside Reading and Paper

This week, I have been reading "Nervous Conditions" and working on my Global Analysis paper. Chapter one of Nervous Conditions took me about 30 minutes to read. I thought that the first chapter was okay. It wasn't too interesting, but I tend to judge books by how they first start and I'm trying not to do that. I know that the book is going to get more exciting. I think that the book might be about them escaping somewhere or hiding because I'm thinking about the title. I think the nervous condition that they are is going to be a stressful or fearful situation.

So today I finished my global analysis paper draft. I'm pretty confident about the turn out of it. I wrote my conclusion, which is always one of the hardest things for me to do. I'm always not sure how the perfect way to end it is. I think I chose the right way to end it. I talked about possible solutions to my issue in the conclusion and I tried not to summarize. I hope to do good editing this coming week!
Monday-30 minutes on paper
Wednesday- 30 minutes of reading
Thursday-30 minutes on paper
Saturday- reading environmental literacy for biology
Sunday- 30 minutes on paper

The Superbowl!,

I just finished watched the Superbowl, and the Giants won! I really wanted to Giants to win and I thought they were going to from the beginning. I'm not a huge fan of the Patriots or the Giants, but I definitely choose the Giants over the Patriots. I like them better because the Patriots are a little too aggressive. When they played the Saints, every time they made a good play they would brag. They kept dancing and taunting the Saints and they showed unsportsmanlike conduct. We almost beat them, but we left them too much time on the clock at the end up the game when we go a touchdown, so they went and scored.
I think that the Saints could have beat both the Giants and the Patriots. They are both good teams, but the Saints offence is too good. I'm glad the Giants won, though. If the Saints didn't win, my second choice would have been the Green Bay Packers. My Mom's side of the family loves the Packers along with the Saints. My Grandmother was from Wisconsin, and so my Mom started liking them, and then I did. Anyways, the Superbowl was a pretty exciting game and I had fun watching it with my family.

Thinking About SUMMER

     I cannot wait for summer. I think about summer every day. I love everything about summer. I think about the barbecues, the pool parties, the sunsets, tanning, Forth of July, camp, snow-cones, lemonade, swim suits, sunglasses, sandals, sleeping in, water parks, bike rides, lakes, hats, hammocks, the ocean, sand, picnics, and so much more! I love summer because it's beyond relaxing. I don't have to worry about tests or homework or school in general. I don't have any school drama either. I just get to sleep in and hang out with my friends.
     I'm most excited for the beach and camp. Those are my 2 favorite places in the entire world. I love everything about the beach: the water, the sunset, the sand, the heat, the tanning, the beach condo, the shopping, the pool, and the swimsuits. The beach is the most soothing place and I always have way too much fun there. The other place is camp, which is like my second home. Camp is where some of my best friends are. I go to Camp Hardtner every summer and it's extremely fun. I love all the counselors and all the activities we do. It's such a special place to me. I just cannot wait for summer, I'm counting down the days! 

Global Issues Paper

        For the past week, I have been working on my Global Issue Analysis paper. So far, it has been coming along great. The issue I am writing about is the One Child Policy in China. I'm so glad that I chose this issue because it really works for writing an analysis. My thesis is about how the policy was originally meant to benefit the people but it has actually had a severely negative impact on so many people's lives in China.
        It also really works for all the topics my History teacher wanted me to address in my note cards. There is organizations taking action for this issue, there is a possible solution, there is historical roots of when it was put into action, and it relates to other issues in a few ways. So far, I'm on the 3rd page of my paper and I think that it should be 4 or 4 and a half pages. I'm really glad I worked hard on my note cards because now I realize that it's so beneficial to writing this draft.
Last week i worked on my paper for 30 minutes on Wednesday, 30 minutes Thursday, 30 minutes Friday, 30 minutes Saturday, and 30 minutes today.

TV Shows!

On one of my favorite TV channels, Teen Nick, they have recently been placing TV shows from the 90s. The shows are The Amanda Show, All That, and Keenan and Kel. I used to watch these shows everyday when I was a little kid. They were my favorite programs to watch, and it bring back memories watching them now, All of the shows are really funny and they are way different from the shows nowadays. All of the shows include weird, funny, and random sketches. My favorite was the Amanda Show, and I just love the "Girls Room" sketch.
Now, a lot of shows are not entertaining or funny at all. Nickelodeon and Disney have put out some really dumb shows now like Big Time Rush and Suite Life on Deck which are my least favorite shows. I really miss shows like The Amanda Show because the acting was supposed to be silly and they had new skits everyday and different lines for every sketch. Now, kids shows are so unoriginal and exaggerated. I really miss the shows from my childhood and I'm glad they are airing them again.

Reading Response

This response is a little late because it would not let me get onto my blog and I figured out I was entering the wrong password. Last week, all my reading came from school work. I read 1 hour of  the Biology  textbook. We are learning about DNA, and it's pretty difficult material to understand all the information. Not to mention I have a test tomorrow, so I've been reading the chapter. I also read 30 minutes of the Norton Field Guide. Most of my reading is from my social studies research. I put more than an hour of time in reading articles that have to do with the one child policy.
The whole week, I've been researching for History. Tuesday and Wednesday I've been reading for Biology. I have been reading the book called "Never Let Me Go" but not too often because I've been really busy with school work. Last week was probably the most homework-filled week I've ever had. I always find myself not having much time to read during the week and I usually do the most reading during the weekend. When I do read during the week, though, I like to read before I go to sleep.
Whole Week- One Child Policy research articles 1 hour
Tuesday and Wednesday- Bioloy Text Book 30 minutes
Thursday- Norton Field Guide 30 minutes

My Weekend!

This weekend was one of the funnest weekends I've had in a long time. On Thursday morning, I got on a plane and flew to Orlando. Once we arrived in Orlando, we went out to eat at Carraba's. We then arrived at our hotel and went sleep before our long day of college visiting. We arrived at University of Central Florida in the morning and stayed all day, touring the whole campus. The campus was amazing and I discovered that I really want to go to UCF!
The next day, we went to Universal Studios. My sister and I went on every single rollar coaster in Islands of Adventure which was the first park we went to. My favorite part was Harry Potter World, it was absolutely amazing! The next day, we went to the Universal Studios part of the theme park. We also went on every single roller coaster and my favorite was the mummy. After the fun day, we went to Hard Rock Cafe and had a very delicious meal. The last we, had to get up very early and catch a flight home. The trip was very fun.

Never Let Me Go

I just began reading a book called Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's a made-up world that is supposed that have happened in the past. It's about a system where communities of people are raised to be donors to people of the main community so their will be no one that is sick and diseased in the main community. It's for everyone in the main community have peace and happiness while sacrificing people's lives in the donors' community. It begins with a girl named Kathy who is taking care of the donors going through surgery before she becomes a donor. I'm predicting that the book is about her rebelling against the system and refuses to be a donor.

New Semester

        Last Semester was the first semester of 4 high school years. Academically, I think that in the first quarter, I tried pretty hard to make A's and B's. I think it's common for everyone that they do their best the first quarter of the year and they make better grades than the other quarters. Although, people may make better grades in the 1st quarter because the material is probably easier than the rest of the year. 2nd quarter, I had to try harder and study more, and I can't say I didn't slack off a little. I could have done better with being more prepared in tests. All together, I think the 1st semester was pretty successful and I am happy with my grades.

       This semester, I hope to prepare myself better with tests and quizzes and make sure that I do all of my homework. I want to get more help from my teachers because that is something that I don't do often. In my past years, 3rd quarter is where my grades were the lowest from the other quarters. I don't want to keep that up, so I am going to try hard this semester. I really hope that I can achieve my goal of all A's and B's for the whole year, get help from my teachers, and be more prepared for tests in this semester.