Blog Feed

Overview: This independent reading review project consisted of us reading a book that interested us and righting a review on it. In the review, personal opinions were accounted for as well as if we would recommend this book to another person. The main purpose was to talk about the book, but mixing up some spices without adding in the entire flavor before the meet starts to cook.
In other words keeping the reader entertained was the main purpose as well as making the book sound interesting without giving away all the details. This is now my edited version of the assignment, since slight adjustments had to be made.

 

Book Review

Jason and Kyra is a book that has been written by Dana Davidson. The book was published in December 2005 and has reached a sales rank of about 31,000 books. Jason and Kyra won a couple awards, which are the Virginia’s choice award, National book award, and the Michael L. Prints award.

In Jason and Kyra the main characters are Jason and Kyra, hence the name of the book. In the story they seem to live in totally separate worlds, although they are both seniors at Cross High School. Jason being the totally popular jock that everyone wants and Kyra being the quiet girl that just doesn’t seem to stand out to many.

Their worlds seem to collide when they are both assigned to be partners for a project, of course Kyra didn’t seem too excited since she didn’t expect that Jason was smart. On the other side Jason looked forward to working with Kyra. As time goes by Kyra realizes that Jason is truly smart and has such potential when it comes to being in the classroom. They both start to gain a small connection for each other and Jason tells Kyra things that he isn’t even comfortable telling to his best friend.

Sooner than later, Kyra and Jason began to bond and end up becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. Only there is one problem, since Jason was known to be and jock and the popular one and Kyra was the silent girl that was mainly into the books, Jason’s ex girlfriend would do anything in her power to see them apart. Like Jason’s ex many people didn’t want them together asking them why they were together and on top of that Jason’s ex was trying to get him back, which many could say was hard. But Jason and Kyra found in each other beauty, confidence, and with that they learned to love one another and get past societies thoughts.

Throughout this story Jason was my favorite character. He was able to live above what others thought about his relationship and smarts, and decided that being himself was the best thing to do in his situation. Also, another reason that Jason was my favorite character was because he was able to thrive in his path to success and what was on him mind usually became the prize.

With that in mind, I believe that readers will be able to take away a lot from this book. Many can learn that confidence can lead a good path and that sometimes other people’s negative opinions don’t matter. Also, some people will take out of this book that in life you have to learn to be willing to surpass those little things in life that wont better your well being. Lastly, this book teaches you to chase after your dreams because your dreams surely wont chase after you.

Personally, from this book I am able to relate to Jason and Kyra because they were both confident when it came to getting what they wanted and they seemed to be the outcast of the school, which isn’t always bad. Of course they were known as outcasts because not many people wanted them to be together, but the fact that they fought through it is what made their love stronger for each other. Like Jason I wasn’t always able to speak to the people that I thought were close to me, so that is probably what made me enjoy the book even more.

The book to me was well written and I surely enjoyed the way that the author portrayed the character’s feelings throughout the story, which made me attracted to the book as a reader. Although, I feel as though the book could have talked more about Jason’s ex girlfriend and her feelings toward Kyra. Also, the author could have possibly written more about Jason’s ex girlfriend and let her speak throughout the book; therefore I found that portion too be a weakness of the piece. Even though, this book had its weakness’ like any other book, I would definitely recommend this to other people because it teaches others the benefits of confidence, unconditional love, and inner & outer beauty.

Overview- Everyday during English class there was a prompt or it said “free write” on the board. In these 15-20 minutes of class everyone was able to have a moment where they could write about anything they wanted whether it was something amazing or tragic. These 6 entries that will be showcased are the work that have been written on my part whether well done or poorly written. These entries just show my growth in general.

Journal 1- There has been moments throughout my life where there are things that were difficult to get. The struggle was to find in which manner would be best to go about pursuing what it was that was difficult to get

 This often happens to me and from personal experience, although it is difficult it is best to pursue it directly rather than indirectly. For ex. when my friends invite me to places and there is no doubt throughout my mind that the idea is amazing but the problem is asking. When I really want something though, there is no doubt in my mind that I will strive for that certain something until I get it.

Journal 2- To fit in isn’t much important from my personal perspective. Fitting in is bland, boring and the same old stuff. When being yourself there is room for you be who you are; unique, creative and most importantly you. Putting yourself in a position where you act like something you’re not, is mainly glib.

Journal 3-A time where I have felt where I could drop my racial, cultural, or gender identity is when people feel the need to judge me. They feel as though just because I look a certain way I’m expected to be “ghetto” or not be as educated as I have been so far. With that in mind, another time I wish that I could drop my culture is when I’m beyond hungry and my best friend asks me for some of when I’m eating.

 It picks a nerve because I want to say when people ask me for food but sometimes the words don’t come out and even if I say no I still give in and give her some. Its all because I can imagine my mother saying “Katherine no se le niega la comida a nadie”. In other words my mother is saying its not good to deny others food. I mean I’m not a greedy person, but when it comes to sharing and im starving that’s when it becomes a problem.

 When people look at me they automatically think I am of African American descent, but they thought wrong because I am not black I am Dominican and Puerto Rican. When people ask me what race I am proudly I can say “I’m Dominican and Puerto Rican”.

Journal 4- There hasn’t even been a moment in my life where there has been an impossible task. Although time get rough, in my mind there isn’t a situation that as a human that is impossible to surpass. Considering that the easy way out isn’t always the best thing to, so when doing things that are difficult it really helps to learn more. With this characteristics that end up defining myself are hardworking and determined.

Journal 5- Your environment shapes who you are and who you become because you usually are influenced by your experiences. This behavior can be influence people in a negative or positive manner. When seeing terrible things you can either flow with it or live above the influence. When seeing things on a daily basis, you can assume that it isn’t terrible if you haven’t had background information on the concept.

Journal 6- When encountering the word “nigger” there was a pause throughout the reading. It seemed to be insolent behavior on Rufus’ part (he’s from the book). In this time he is a child and his father was using this word as well as many other people in his surroundings. Therefore, from his perspective the word “nigger” was okay to say.

Rufus didn’t seem to understand the power behind the word “nigger” . He didn’t understand how much hatred, agony and hurt lies beneath it. Therefore, I wondered if Rufus ever encountered his father whipping the slaves and hear their brutal screams the way that Dana had to.

 

 

 

December 9^th, 2010

 

 

I can’t remember anyone exceeding my expectations. This kind of upsets me, because I think most of my childhood I spent dreaming about fairies, being a princess, and stuffed animals being real. I was a dreamer, and I guess nothing can live up to those expectations. Wait. I just remembered one… When I used to go down to my grandpa/great aunt’s house I had these neighbors. I don’t remember them that well, but I remember they had a son. Their son and I would always play in the neighborhood. He taught me how to boogie board and we would play detective looking for interesting things with his “detective dog” in our backyards.

I remember one morning I woke up really early and went to knock on his door, I didn’t think that he’d be awake but his mom opened the door for me and smiled. “Wait right here” she said letting me in to sit down at their breakfast table, she ran up the stairs and woke him up. She had been making pancakes and invited me to stay for breakfast. I guess because I don’t remember spending much time with both of my parents and brother, it felt very homey and nice. They asked me about myself, and only having known me for 2 weeks or so; they invited me into their home life. It felt so nice. That boy and I spent what was left of my time there at the beach on boogie boards, or playing with his and my grandfather’s dog Winston. It’s such a fond memory because every time I think about it I remember the beach, laughter, people caring about me, and happiness.

 As for me I don’t really feel like I’m exceeding anyone’s expectations often. I go out of my way to make certain people happy sometimes, and they act grateful and happy but I just do it to see them smile. Also, I don’t know what anyone’s expectations are for me, and I think it’s more important to live up to my own. Sometimes I exceed my own, but my parents’ praise seems so paper-thin. I just think I don’t live up to what they expect, my mom’s very loving and stuff, and my dad always wants us to do well in school. I feel as if I haven’t really exceeded their expectations, and I used to mind it a lot but now I think it’s more important to live up to my own goals. On the other hand, My little brother makes me feel like I exceed his expectations all the time. I like the feeling of having him look up to me, and he always seems more genuinely impressed when I do something I’m proud of than my parents do. I guess I love him more than I realize…. my cousins are that way too. Not that I don’t love my parents. They just don’t ever seem as genuinely impressed as I’d hope for, but they still praise me.

My environment has shaped me. I didn’t want my environment to ever affect me but it has as I’ve grown older. I can’t change that because I didn’t plan it but it’s just the truth. Many of my friends do bad things and I thought they’d never change. I know everyone and everything from 15 year olds on acid and speed, kids who’ve done cocaine, kids who have piercings all over their bodies, kids who have sex like it’s a hobby, kids who cut, throw up, kleptos, drinkers, smokers. Everything. And I never thought I’d ever even associate with it. I thought I was better than those people, that I’d never even be their friend. I hate society for not finding a better way to teach us about reality because it’s a lot scarier than anybody ever warned me. When it hit me that drugs and violence, and people throwing their lives away were everywhere around me I just felt overwhelmed. Because of this I just sort of get frustrated with the way people deal with things. Everyone’s gotten MORE immature due to these things if you ask me. I just get upset with how people deal with things, and that makes me a hypocrite because I don’t always deal with things in the best possible way either. When people are hurt, or upset they do horrible things to themselves to self medicate, and make themselves feel better. It’s something that everyone is going to see at some point in their life, and some people will get trapped by it. I think that even so? What really matters is that I try. What hurts me the most about seeing my friends fall into these dirty, dark, habits is that they begin to forget everything that ever mattered to them. And even scarier they begin to forget themselves. That’s what separates me from them, is that no matter what happens in my life and no matter how hard or painful it is? I won’t let it affect me negatively. I’ll only keep getting stronger, better at dealing with these situations.  I would never purposefully hurt myself in any of the ways that my friends do. I just couldn’t let something consume my life before I’ve had my full chance at becoming everything I can.

            

​Isabela Aznar

Book review

Red stream English

Mrs. Dunn

                                                            Mitch Albom

                 The Five People You Meet in Heaven

 

The book The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a very interesting book about life and death and the possibilities of afterlife. The Five People You Meet in Heaven opens your eyes up to a whole new level of things that could possibly happen when you die. This book was on the New York Times best seller list for 95 weeks straight in 2003 when it was released. The novel was also turned into a movie in 2004, staring John Voight.

The book starts out with the main character Eddie (an old man) who has worked at Ruby Pier the amusement park for almost his whole life. He dies trying to stop one of the rides at the park from falling and killing the passengers inside, but once the passengers are safe, the carts of the ride fall and Eddie gets killed.

When he arrives at heaven, he notices that the sky changes rich, beautiful, colors and he feels his youth come back even though he is still inside his old worn looking body. He meets one person at a time in his or her own heaven and they explain to him certain events in his life, how it affected them, and why his life had purpose. When he is done in the first heaven, the sky begins to change beautiful colors again, and he arrives in his second person’s heaven. He feels his body growing older every time he reaches a new heaven as the people explain their relevance to his life. When he is done meeting all five of the people, he gets to choose his heaven, and then the book ends.

            The main character in the story is Eddie, but some of the other characters that played big roles in his life where is wife Marguerite, his father,  a little girl named Tala, Ruby, the Blue Man, and the Captain. Marguerite is Eddie’s first and only love in the story. He comes home one day and tells his brother that he met the girl he is going to marry. And one day, he does. His father played a big role in his life because his father was hard on him, and pushed him to follow in his exact footsteps, working at Ruby Pier. This is something that Eddie regrets and resents his whole life, as it is the life he wishes he had escaped. The little girl named Tala, Ruby, the Blue Man, the Captain, and his wife Marguerite are the five people that Eddie meets in heaven, all of which somehow played an important role in his life, weather he knew it, or met them, or not.

            This story has many conflicts, because it focuses on Eddie’s life as a whole, and throughout his life there are many things that weren’t right like his relationship with his abusive father, and the way that when he came home from the war he was a broken man.

My favorite character in this book was the Blue Man, because I leaned about the way silver nitrate was used as medicine long, long ago and how this man drank so much silver nitrate to help ease his tension and his jumpy behavior that he turned blue. After he turned blue, he had to change his name to “The Blue Man” and his father never spoke to him again because he saw him as an embarrassment, so he went and joined Ruby Pier’s freak show. He is my favorite character because I think his story was the most interesting one, and he seemed very relaxed, and okay with himself the way he was.

            The most important thing to take away from this book is the fact that life isn’t something that we can label or define, we can’t fully understand everything that’s happened in our lives until they are over, and we really don’t know what comes next, if anything. An important theme in this book is that we don’t know what happens when we die, and the form of life after death in this book makes you really think about the fact that when you die, anything is possible. Regardless of what you believe in.

I could relate to Marguerite (Eddie’s wife) in the story because she was the type of woman who was always happy with what she had. She loved children, and when problems like being infertile came up, she thought of alternate options without feeling upset or depressed for very long. I am similar in the sense that I try and make the best out of every situation as well.

            Eddie always felt like he could never live up to his father’s expectations. Nothing he ever did was enough for his dad. When I was younger, I remember wanting so much to live up to the rest of the world’s expectations. I think back to it now, and I’m glad that the only expectations that I live up to now are the ones I want to live up to, and my own. I don’t think it’s good to live doing what someone else wants you to do your whole life. Living up to a stereotype or doing things that influence your life to please someone else isn’t smart, and it won’t make you happy although completely understand what that feels like.

My opinion on this book is that it is really keeps you interested. I liked it a lot because it was a different style of writing than the kind I am used to, and because it had a lot of valuable lessons worded perfectly. One of the strongest things about this book is that it was very well composed, and Mitch Albom is great at setting scenery in your mind. Another thing that I think Mitch Albom did very well is that he created connections to everything in the story, and in the heaven he created he decided that everything important in your life would get explained. This book was very well written, and I honestly don’t think that there were any weaknesses. If I could change anything in the book I’d change the ending to find out what Eddie’s heaven looks like, but at the same time I think that might be hard to do since it was a great book.

I would very much recommend this book to people because it really gets you wondering about how things work. We don’t know how many things are going to happen and when they’re going to happen, so it’s nice to have that subtle reminded to keep our minds open to the many possibilities.

Me Magazine!!

Introduction
I chose 6 journal entrees, that was from the middle and beginning of the school year. They are mainly form the book Freedom writers, that was my favorite book this year. These journal entrees are true and very expressive, I think you all would enjoy these.

Journal 1

I write because writing is am addiction. I’m addicted to the way the pen makes music too the paper. The way it balances between two lines. The way my soul and thoughts just fall out of the pen. It tells all of your inner thoughts, the intertwine between the paper, pen, and your soul is a match made in heaven. I fein for the way the pen races across the line paper, it never gets tired. I don’t write because a teacher told me or because it is an assignment. I do writing freely, just the way my small chocolate hand grabs a pen and my soul just opens up though the pen. It’s almost like I’m conversing with someone. I don’t need a clinic or hospital, but with out writing I would be sick. I love my addiction.

 

Journal 2

They say I’m cocky, I will never be anything. Coming from the deep dirty streets of south Philly, I’m just another black girl. Trouble only come from girls like me, well at least that’s what they think. Their looks cut me; I can hear their thoughts screaming so loud. She going be pregnant by the age of 16, she going be addicted to boys. Only if you really knew me, no question is do you really know me? I’m the girl who had to grow up to help her mother. I’m the girl who smiles to make others happy. I work my fingers to the bone to have a great education and to try to satisfy my insatiable appetite to learn. I’m the girl who’s scared to step her foot out side her door, or to even watch a movie with shooting in it. I’m that girl you people think so bad of that helps her sick dad. The girl who doesn’t believe she is conceited but confidant enough to walk with her head held high, never looking down. That same girl who loves her family. Yes, I’m a black girl and from south Philadelphia, but also this girl if not a whore, and I’ll not be pregnant by 16. I’m glad you don’t know me, because frankly I do not want to know you.

 

Journal 3

I feel sorry for you. They spit in you face and treat you like dirt. They look at you like you’re a piece of dross. They look at you like you’re a piece of gum on the bottom of shoe. They spit on you when you’re down; you slice your arm and the red pain leak from your skin. You will have sex for attention. You are insecure and feel your self-esteem is at a low. Now you wear tight clothes, and show off the little you have on your body. Suicide won’t be the answer. Show people you are a human just like them. I never thought we would hate people for what they like. Race, creed, nationality yeah maybe, but not for what they like. You hide who you are for friend’s bullies, and families. You cry at night, because you don’t want to like what your heat like. Be proud of your self; be proud to be gay and who you are.

 

Journal 4

The S sounds funny when people say it; it rolls off there tongue in a stumble. They spell it so wrong; my family says it means something special. People joke about it all the time, but I still yet to see what’s so funny.  My name seems so sudden and scary, like the color grey. Grey is not to dark and not to bright, but dull and unfriendly.

            My name is a mixture of my aunt and grand mom name. My aunt name is Trina, my mother youngest sibling. My grand mom name is Sarah my mom’s mother. She feels I remind her of them in some way, but I don’t think so. My grandmother is so loud and rambunctious. Her attitude frightens people, and she has a problem with listening to stuff people has to say. My aunt on the other hand has attitude that people walks away from. She thinks she is still a young girl, and her character seems like it should be forbidden off this earth. She feels that she is better than every one; she doesn’t help with our family most of the time. She takes responsibility for stuff that’s her, but not others. She fun to be around and has the ability to relate teens.

My grand mom appearance seems so young and sassy; her hair color is a shimmery gold. Moles on her face, and perfect square bright teeth. I love knowing my grandmother she is spontaneous and full character. My aunt dressy fun and sexy, her butt attracts much attention.

            I have a mixture of two names that has two personalities. That’s probably why I act the way I do, I don’t know weather to be shy or jus have outburst. Does my name say anything about me? Does it even mean anything special? These the questions I think of, like why did my mother think of this name? But I know the answer to that question it’s because I’m special to her, just like my grandmother and aunt.

            When I get home my real name is never said, its always Re or Re Re. At Home it’s like my name doesn’t exist, unless it’s a serious occasion. They throw Re around but its only two letters from my name, the two letters smack dab in the middle. I don’t love my name but I like my name sort of. Does it define me? Watch when I try to say it, Sarena the S rolled off my tongue in a stumble to.

 

Journal 5

I’m scared; I’m afraid, and petrified. They do it but not me; I got a mind of my own. When it comes to this one specific topic, my skin, and tummy, does a cartwheel. I’m on my own as I walk with a straight posture; they stare and can smell the virgin on me. Girls got gaps between their legs you can tell they been poked before. We are so young in high school, and me having the attitude I have. I know for a fact that Sex, won’t be for along time. I hope my scent lingers. But sometimes I wonder does my mature ways and strong personality cause me to be different. I hope the smell of my virginity makes them insecure and jealous.

 

Journal 6

I would gravel on the ground and eat dirt. I was in my own unknown world, fresh meat. I seen this one group, they were it. They seemed special, amazing, I would love to be part of that group. I realized being fresh meat, means you are not ready to be tenderized yet.

 

Overview- The purpose of the myth project was to research about a mythical God who we found to be very interesting. There was one catch though, in order to choose this God it was best to know the least information about this mythical character. It was best to learn information that was fresh to the mind, in order to ensure that new information was gained and doing the project wasn’t boring.

(For some reason the file wouldn't upload, so here is a link: 

https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B2LDaXKN0qv1NTcxZTE4MTMtYTk0Yy00MmY4​

 

I think that Odysseus and Max are very similar in the sense that they both take control in every situation. But at the same time, Max would rather die than let anyone in her flock be killed. Odysseus on the other hand is all about getting himself home safely and finishing his journey by himself.  Odysseus just wants to get through his challenges so that HE can get home to his wife and son. He doesn’t really care too much about the well being of his other shipmates who are just there for him, and trust him completely.

 

Max and Odysseus are fierce, strong, and confident leaders. They both are attacked with challenges and face them without fear. Both leaders are very strategic and unafraid of the frightful experiences they must face. Odysseus had to face the horridly beautiful Sirens which makes a point about how things never are what they seem. The Sirens are beautiful but awful creatures that if given the chance would kill any man they see. Odysseus barely escaped them. Max likewise has to get past the unknown sea creatures that have been formed by toxic waste in the depths of the oceans. The creatures lure them in with their mysterious shapes and sizes and leave them in awe, and almost destroy them. On the contrary though, Odysseus is lured in by the sirens’ beautiful voices, and Max and her flock are lured in by the mysterious sight of the unknown creatures in the sea.

 

              Max and Odysseus are both strong, confident leaders, but every leader has his/her flaws.  Max is impatient, and Odysseus is selfish. There are people constantly attacking and throwing challenges at both crews and they handle everything in similar ways. The only thing that isn’t similar about the crews is that max is selfless and does everything to protect the people she is with/that are backing her up. Whereas Odysseus just about lets all his men die and be killed by monsters he knew he couldn’t stand a chance against like Scylla. Odysseus is all about getting himself home safely and finishing his journey by himself while creating as much glory for himself along the way. Nevertheless Max is all about protecting her flock and trying NOT to draw attention to herself. There are people constantly attacking and throwing challenges at both crews and they handle everything in different ways, both portraying them in my mind as strong and confident leaders.

Another thing that is different about Max and Odysseus is that Max is a girl, and regardless of how tough she comes off as she still does have her breakdown moments where everything overwhelms her. Due to the fact that Odysseus is a good 30 years older than Max at the least, and the fact that he is a man I think it’s safe to say that when it comes to battling and staying strong and confident, it’s easier for him. Max has to leave her mother and her sister at home and take the flock of genetically mutated kids whom she cares very much for with her, and she worries about everyone of them every day. Odysseus hardly ever thinks about his men as people and sees them more as sidekicks who aren’t quite as important as anything else.

 

More than anything, I think Max and Odysseus have about as much in common as they don’t. By that I mean that they are very similar when it comes to their rough lifestyles, constantly traveling and not sure whom they can trust, and the tough challenges they have to live through. But at the same time, they are different because Odysseus is only thinking about himself and Max has a deeper bond where she is honest with the people that accompany her on her insane adventures and journjourneys.

 

 

http://englishbm.wikispaces.com/This is the link to me wiki I hope you guys enjoy ! :)

​Mischief Night

Isabela Aznar

Red stream

January 16^th, 2010

You know how people say great things happen when you least expect them? (Opener) Well that’s the way it all began between Nick and I. It all started on a Friday, (October 30^th, the day before Halloween to be exact) a day that I didn’t expect to be out of the ordinary. I had dressed up like a vampire to school for the costume competition, full with plastic fangs, chalky white makeup, and a cape.(Magic Three) Of course, I ended up being one of the only people who dressed up, but on the bright side, that never fails to make people laugh, right? My field hockey team had a very important game against a very good, prestigious team that day after school. We on the other hand just referred to them as “that snobby annoying school with a bigger field than us”. Some of the younger girls on my team decided that since it was the night before Halloween, we should try and “scare” the other team. I happily supplied white and black face paint,  (glad that some use came of it) painting every girl on my teams face white with black circles around their eyes. We were all laughing and making fun of each others bad makeup, and I guess our game plan to distract them worked, because even though we overheard them calling us freaks in the girls bathroom the victory was ours.

            My best friend is named Emmi. Emmi has long blonde curls, and fierce, deep blue eyes(Magic three). We do everything together and she had stayed to watch my game. I went downstairs and she waited with me while I washed off the messy face paint and changed out of my clothes, looking like I’d been tossed around in a tornado(Metaphor).We were going to a haunted house that night with my step brother, and his friend who I’d never met.

Emmi and I walked out of school, and over to love park where everyone hangs out after school when it’s warm. The cold hadn’t hit yet, and fall was at its warmest point. We went and met up with some of the kids we usually hung out with, skaters. Swoooosh, swiiiish, swoooooosh, their boards slid by us as they jumped around us doing skateboard tricks, and we laughed eating junk food from the Seven Eleven (repetition for effect).We didn’t feel like going to the haunted house anymore because we were having fun with our friends, and left in dismay when my dad called.

We hopped on the train and talked about school and field hockey, and how the other team looked when they lost. We trudged into my house expecting a quiet, dull and boring night and I had pretty much forgotten that Grace, Johnny (my step brother) and his friend were coming to the haunted house with us(Magic three).

Emmi and I were never pessimists, so I turned on music, and made both of us soup. We sat at my table laughing and  eating when suddenly the front door opened, and a boy walked into my house. I didn’t know him, but saw shortly after that Johnny was right behind him. The boy looked around my house and made small talk with Johnny while they walked up the stairs. I barely ever liked anyone at first sight, but when I saw him I immediately thought he was attractive. I turned to Emmi and cupped my hands around her ears  “he’s cute!” I whispered into her ear, she whispered back “I know!” they walked towards the table where we sat and I searched my mind for something to say. I ended up asking them the first thing that came to my head. “Want some crackers?” they laughed and looked at each other “no I’m okay” said the boy smiling. My step mom walked in through the door then and  the introductions were made, I analyzed the boy standing in front of me, he was tan with dark brown hair that flipped over his eyes. I signaled at Emmi and stood up from the table, “we’ll be right back” I said grabbing Emmi’s arm and pulling her into my room. We sat on my floor, my music was on as always and we brushed our hair and wiped the left over Halloween makeup from our faces. Just then there was a knock at the door. “Grace is here!” I said standing abruptly, Emmi right behind me. We opened the door and introduced her to Nick and Johnny. “Hi!” Grace’s freckle dabbled cheeks turned into a grin, and she hugged Emmi and I.

            On the car ride over, I made small talk with Nick and Johnny, and Grace and Emmi stayed moderately quiet. I found out that Nick played ice hockey, one of my favorite sports. He lived in New Jersey, and according to him he “never got scared”. We teased him, hoping that the pennententary would scare him the way it always scared us. We got out of the car and signed our wavers, walking through the long line of people and listening to the screams coming from the inside of the haunted jail. People dressed as monsters crawled on the floor and ran around, screaming and cackling with gouged eyes, rotten teeth and bloody wounds, but I was more interested in the boy named Nick (Magic three). Him and I decided to exchange numbers, solely for the slight chances that one of us got lost, of course. As we walked in, there were foggy lights and sirens going off. The jail looked like something straight out of a horror movie and every five minutes an actor that looked like he’d fallen into a bucket of toxic waste, would jump out from behind us or beg us to let it out of it’s jail cell (metaphor). Nick started squinting and saying he couldn’t see because of the strobe light, he kept walking into things so I grabbed his arm and he walked with me. Johnny, Emmi, and Grace were all in front of us and every now and again we could hear Johnny shrieking like a child at the doctor’s office(Metaphor). Every little while I’d check in to make sure Nick was ok, and he just kept blinking as if he were blind. Emmi, grace and Johnny went ahead and Nick and I were walking slowly. Everytime I got scared I’d jump and  he’d occasionally ask if I was ok. Eventually we reached one of those bridges where the walls spin around you in circles with creepy patterns on them. More actors were standing underneath the bridge scraping the metal walkway with their fingernails. I got really dizzy and couldn’t keep walking so Nick grabbed my hand and put his arm on my back, helping me out of the tunnel. When we got out of the tunnel, we didn’t let go of each other’s hands. I stood still for a second, (I’m known to get dizzy very easily) “are you good?” he asked me, I nodded my head and smiled. I was still holding his hand we braced the rest of the haunted house. My heart felt full and  I felt comfortable with him. I remember thinking to myself  “I don’t even know this guy…why do I feel so comfortable with him? Why am I holding his hand?” but I never said anything. Eventually we got out, and if it were up to me I would have made the haunted house a LOT longer. We saw Emmi Grace and John, and awkwardly let go of each others hands mutually feeling as though Johnny would not be happy if he saw. When Anne (my stepmom) and my dad arrived, we took some pictures in front of the prison, and piled into the car.

            Back at my house, I felt a sinking feeling in my chest as if an anchor were weighing it down, knowing that I would probably never see the boy named Nick again (Metaphor). We played with a football in my house, ate some chips, and then asked if we could walk around the neighborhood with the boys. By then it was like 11:30 but my dad said sure. We walked them to Market Street, and everyone was quiet except for Nick and I. We were making jokes and having silly arguments. We all eventually sat and talked trying to figure out who was taller, about school, how Johnny didn’t like the kids where he was from, Emmi and I teased them about being from Jersey, and Grace joined in every once in a while. Eventually we had to go back home and I felt my heart sink even more. We hugged them goodbye and I watched them close the door with brief smiles. Grace got picked up shortly after, and Emmi was sleeping over so that the next day (Halloween) we could go trick or treating together. We layed on my couch and watched Chuckie, when all of the sudden I got a text that said “Hey it’s Nick :P” my heart skipped a beat, and I showed my phone to Emmi. I remember staying up until 2AM texting him. Eventually we became closer and closer, and he asked me out. He was literally the boy version of me, and it still amazes me how when your not looking, you find some of the most important things in your life. Nick has now been my boyfriend for a year and five months, and he’s like my best friend. This story isn’t supposed to be one of those lovey stories, but it’s supposed to show that things happen when you least expect and that’s the greatest suprize. That night will now forever be special to me, even if Nick and me don’t stay together, he’ll still be special to me. 

​Voces Inocentes: Sophia, Maya, Beth, Brett, Cody
El Norte: James, Katherine, Deja, Rumman
La Boca del Lobo: Julia, Ashley, Andre, Carolina, Desiree
Romero: Amber, Taylor, Oliver, Ozzie, Nailah

Introduction: this is my compare and contras benchmark for my third quarter. This was about comparing big Dan from the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? And the

Cyclops is from the book odyssey. All this is about is how both of them are alike.

 

Thesis: Even though Big Dan and Cyclops have some of the same characteristics, they are portrayed differently in the stories.

 

Body Paragraphs:

#1. Point of Comparison—Big Dan and Cyclops the same

                                   Specific examples: Both have 1 eye

                                                                       Both big and strong

                                                                      They greedy

                                                                      Stick

 

#2. Point of Contrast—Big Dan and Cyclops different (tricking)

 

Specific examples: Big Dan tricking Everett and taking all his money

Cyclops he got tricked by Odysseus when he gave him wine that made him drunk then he fell asleep. Odysseus stabs him in they eye and blind him.

 

 

 

#3. Point of Contrast—Big Dan and Cyclops different (Big Dan is smarter than Cyclops)

Specific examples: Big Dan did not lose his eye, didn’t get        tricked. Cyclops falls for Odysseus’ trick.

                                       Big Dan was more prepared. He expected Everett to come. Cyclops didn’t know that Odysseus was going to come.

 

 

Conclusion: Restate your thesis. Your conclusion is that while both men have physical similarities, they are portrayed differently in how they handle situations.  Big Dan seems to be smarter than the Cyclops because he is prepared for Everett and doesn’t fall for his tricks.

 

 

​
Introduction/ Reflection

I have enjoyed myself in English class for my freshman year. I have learned a lot and have grown a lot. In portfolio, you can see that I have grown a lot, the more recent my work get. My project tells that I am not a person that gets my emotions out all the time and like to get it out on paper. Also, from my projects you can tell I try my best in everything I attempt.

Even though I have grown being in this class for the last past couple of  months, I still have things I need to work on. One big weakness that I have and need to work on is to stop procrastinating. My work is not as good if I do it the night before and most likely, I won’t complete my work on time. I do think a strength is connecting my emotions to my piece of writing or to a book. Making this portfolio was really interesting. It almost seemed to me like an evolution. It was fun looking through all my work. It was easy to edit because I had all of my papers right in front of me. I am most proud of my book review. My book review was one of the best papers I have ever written in my life. My grammar was perfect and I scored really high on it. Maybe the highest I have ever scored on a piece of writing.

 

  

Quarter one Benchmark was my first benchmark ever for English. This was a project based around a Shakespeare’s play called Macbeth. I was walking into this project naive and a little nervous. This was a project I wasn’t used to because we had to create a thesis and I had to create a essay on a Shakespeare play.

 

 

Thesis- In the beginning of the play, Macbeth was a beast on the battlefield and a very loyal friend, but by the end he had a frozen heart and would do anything to get to the top.

 

In Act 1, Scene 3 of Macbeth, King Duncan has sent Angus and Ross to go pronounce the title Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth. King Duncan gave this title to Macbeth because he heard of the incident on the battlefield and felt that he deserved it. Also, the previous King of Cawdor was not trustworthy and sneaky. So, King Duncan sent someone to kill him and sent Angus and Ross to pronounce the title to Macbeth. Macbeth and Banquo had just got their prophesies from the weird sisters. Macbeth’s prophecy stated that he would be pronounced Thane of Cawdor, and later would be pronounced King.  Angus and Ross surprised Macbeth and Banquo to pronounce Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor. After this, aside Macbeth says, “Two truths are told, as happy prologues to the swelling act of the imperial theme” (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 128-129). Macbeth is in shock right at this minute. He really can’t believe all this just came true because he didn’t believe the weird sisters. Macbeth was saying that part of his prophecy came true and he can’t believe it. He has all these different emotions stirring up inside.

 

In Act 1, Scene 7, Macbeth started to think of what the murder of King Duncan would do to his reputation. Also he felt that he didn’t have the guts to do it. King Duncan was very good to Macbeth and trusted him. Macbeth just felt that he couldn’t betray King Duncan’s trust and loyalty. In a result of this, Macbeth went to Lady Macbeth and says, “We will proceed no further in this business” (Act 1, Scene 7, lines 31). What Macbeth means is that Lady Macbeth and himself will not go through with the plan of murdering King Duncan. He can’t cough up the courage to do something that cruel. He seemed to be very upset and stern with this statement. Lady Macbeth was enraged with this decision that Macbeth has made. She feels that he is being a wuss and needs to man up. She tries to convince him in a very sexy and sneaky way to be back in tune with the plan.

 

In Act 1, Scene 7, Lady Macbeth is trying to convince Macbeth to go through with the plan. However, Macbeth was being kind of stubborn and strict with his decision not to murder King Duncan. Then Lady Macbeth started to become convincing and Macbeth started to become very gullible. Macbeth started to kick back in gear with the plan and started listening to Lady Macbeth. Macbeth was feeling uneasy with the plan so he asked Lady Macbeth “If we should fail?” (Act 1, Scene 7, line 59). Macbeth asks Lady Macbeth this he wanted to know if she knew what they were going to do if they did fail. However, Lady Macbeth came back with a very confident answer. Basically, she told him to man up and don’t think about that type of stuff and that they were not going to lose.

 

In Act 2, Scene 2, King Duncan is a guest at Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s home. They decide to go through with the plan. They were going to get the guards drunk and wait till Duncan was asleep and murder him with daggers. After that, they were going to plant the bloody daggers on the guards. Macbeth noticed that King Duncan was asleep and wanted to get the deed over with. He had murdered Duncan and walked in the room. Lady Macbeth was in the room and stated to Lady Macbeth “I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?” (Act 2, Scene 2, line 15). He said this in a very shaken up tone. Macbeth was terrified and paranoid. He couldn’t believe he just did what he did and swore someone was going to find. He was so shaken up, that he brought back the bloody daggers. Lady Macbeth noticed that he had them and told him to go plant them on the guards while they were still out of it. He was so paranoid that he couldn’t do that.

 

In Act 3, Scene 2, Macbeth has decided to kill Banquo because he is getting to suspicious about the murder of Duncan. Macbeth hires three murderers to kill Banquo. This was going to take place while Macbeth and the lords were at dinner. Banquo was suppose to attend this dinner, but this was all Macbeth’s plan so he could kill him. However, Lady Macbeth wanted to know what was going on with this plan and wanted to know what it was about. Macbeth wanted this plan to stay a secret and on the “down low”. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed” (Act 3, Scene 2, lines 46-47). What Macbeth was saying was that he was not going to tell Lady Macbeth until his plan was accomplished. He wasn’t going to tell anyone about this because he didn’t want it to get out to anyone. He also wanted to think of this on his own and didn’t want anyone to change his mind or manipulate his plan. He even went through lying to his wife to successfully accomplish his plan.

 

In Act 3, Scene 4, Macbeth was at the dinner with the lord and Lady Macbeth. Banquo was suppose to be there, but Macbeth sent out hit men to kill Banquo. The murderers came back and told Macbeth that the deed was done and Banquo was no longer alive. The murderers then started to explain what they did to him. They told Macbeth that Banquo’s throat was cut. Then Macbeth states “Thou the best of the cut throats” (Act 3, Scene 4, line 19). This is when Macbeths really starts getting mean and cruel. What he means by this is that he is glad that Banquo is out of the picture and in an indirect way, he is saying good job to the murderers. Macbeth starts to get hardhearted at this point.

 

            In Act 4, Scene 1, “The Weird Sisters” had came back. There were also three Apparitions, which are ghost like images of people. These Apparitions were telling Macbeth to be aware of Macduff and his family. Macbeth took this in to great consideration when they had told him this. Macbeth then starts to think and wonder why should I fear of thee. Macbeth says “But yet I will make assurance double sure and take a bond of fate” (Act 4, Scene 1, lines 105-106). What Macbeth means is that he will make sure that Macduff and his family is out of the way. In other words, Macbeth is going to kill Macduff and his family. He goes about doing it the same way he kills Banquo. He sends murderers to Macduff’s home and only his family was there, there was no Macduff. The murderer ends up killing Macduff’s family.

In Act 5, Scene 5, Macbeth has just found out that Lady Macbeth has died from her mind disease. Lady Macbeth had went in sane because she was guilty about the murder of King Duncan and that was haunting her. Seyton has informed him about this tragic news. However, there was also a very important war going on right now, so Macbeth states to Seyton “She should have died hereafter” (Act 5, Scene 5, line 17). What Macbeth is trying to say is that there is nothing he could have done about her dying or keep her from dying. However, he is kind of glad that she has died because that is one less thing he has to worry about while he fighting a war.

In Act 5, Scene 8, Macbeth and Macduff are in the battlefield. “The Weird Sisters” had told Macbeth in a Act before that Macbeth could not be harmed “none of woman born”. Because of this Macbeth did not fear the English army. Then Macduff and Macbeth start to fight and Macduff reveals to Macbeth that he was born form his mother’s womb untimely ripped. Macbeth starts to get frightened by the situation now. However, Macbeth is to stubborn to even back down. He says to Macduff “I will not yield, to kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet and to be baited with rabble’s curse” (Act 5, Scene 8, lines 28-29). What Macbeth is trying to say is he is not backing down. He is not going to apologize for what he has done because it is already done. He is not going to back down to Malcolm basically.

In the play Macbeth, Macbeth started out as a very loyal and caring friend. However as the play went on, Macbeth started to get very greedy, stubborn, and in some way evil. My quotes support my thesis very well. In the beginning you could see that Macbeth was just not one to betray his friends and cared about them. He also cared about what people would think about him. However, by the end of the play, Macbeth would do anything to get what he want and didn’t care about what a soul thought about him. He also became very careless about people’s feelings. Shakespeare’s lesson or message to the readers could have been don’t let anything take away your self-respect, no matter how much it means to you to get it because it can do you dirty at the end.

Quarter two Benchmark was one of my favorite Benchmarks this year. It was a personal vignette. This vignette let me get a lot of feelings out on paper and softened up hard feelings. I had multiple connections to this benchmark and was very surprised that I didn’t mind sharing this story with my teacher.

 

​Only If…

 

Lexus Forman

 

This day was a beautiful day. Walking out of school, the sun was shining, kids laughing, and my mom outside waiting to pick me up as usual (Opener-Magic Three). When I got in the car all I could feel was negative energy. I knew something was up when she didn’t say the usual, “What did you learn today, Lexus?” (Dialogue). I thought maybe someone had said something to her that got under her skin, or she got a dent in her car, you know, just a bad day. So, I asked if we could go get something to eat. We went to KFC and as I was “grubbing” on my food she sprung some devastating news on me out of nowhere. It was “Lexus… Grand mom is in the hospital because she is in a diabetic coma”. I dropped the greasy chicken, popped mouth wide open, and automatically started thinking the worst! (Magic Three). “Is she dying? Am I never going to see her again?”

We pulled up to hospital and I saw a swarm of people in front of the emergency room. I knew that was my family because we have always hated to be waiting in the emergency room with a whole bunch of angry sick people, who have been waiting to hear their names called so they can be relieved from their sickness and that room full of germs! I knew grand mom wasn’t doing to well when all five of her children were at the hospital, all her grandchildren were there except for AJ who lived in Atlanta, and a few people from the church too. By this time everyone had been in to see her but me. I hate hospitals! I tried every excuse in the book to keep me from going in there to see her. However obviously I did not win, so I sucked it up and went in there. When I walked in her room I could not believe what I saw. She was connected to so many tubes and needles. I knew that couldn’t be comfortable at all. I felt so bad because I knew I couldn’t do anything to help. I needed to get out that room; I just couldn’t bear the pain.

As I went outside looking for some comfort, I walked outside to a bunch of arguing. I knew I had a dysfunctional family, but right know, were they serious? I needed to get away, and plus I had to use the bathroom. So, I went into the lobby and used the bathroom. I was so overwhelmed and upset at the whole situation that I broke down into tears. At the time when we need each other the most, they wanted to argue. The only sane ones there at the time were my three-year-old niece and me. I was thinking maybe they could learn something from us.

By the weekend grand mom wasn’t doing any better. There was no progress made. By this time, I kind of knew that she was not going to make it. However, I stilled kept my faith and still kept my conversation with the man upstairs to pull grandmom through this. I woke up one morning and went down to the hospital to spend time with my grand mom. As walked in to my grand mom’s room there was a surprise… My cousin AJ! It was an awesome moment that we shared when he hugged me because I hadn’t seen him in two years because he lived in Atlanta. He gave me a little joy. He was the only one that could really make me laugh and anyone else for that matter. He didn’t only bring his luggage from Atlanta; he brought his joy and bandages to fix the family. When he was there was no arguing because every time he would feel a heated argument coming on, he would tell a joke. I think the family started to notice that this is not the time to argue, this is the time to come together because we all needed each other.

I woke up for school this one morning and the hospital called my mother and told her they wanted to speak to the family. I had the option to go to the hospital or to go to school. I choose to go to school because from watching soap operas, anytime a doctor wanted to speak to the family the sound effect “duh duh duhhhh” (onomatapeia) came on. Surprisingly, I hardly thought about the situation all day in school. When I walked out of school, I saw my mom standing outside her car, my sister and cousin in another car, and my uncle and aunt in the other. (Repetion for Effect). They all had on sunglasses, although the sun was beaming that day I knew for a fact that was not the case. I got down to the car, and my mom gave me the biggest hug in the world. I could feel her pain trickling down my back. I pushed her off of me and jumped in the car. I hate for people to see me cry because I think I’m going to be viewed as a weak person.

Grandma, I need you! Please come back. I don’t know how to make it without you! You were my rock, my soul, and my sanity. (Magic 3). I promise I will do anything you would like to do. You want to play cards? We can even watch those western cowboy shows you loved so much. I can say I am a pretty strong human being and some people even say I hardly have emotions, however I knew for this one I needed strength. After the news of my grand mother’s death, I knew I needed to go home, grope my bible, and pray till no end. (Magic 3). After I had done this I had no emotions. I didn’t cry at all, I just thought. This tragedy could not be amputated from my brain. When thinking about this, all I could think about is how I didn’t make her the brownies I had promised for millions of years, and how I never came over to help water the plants like I had promised. The thing that gets me is my grandma lived right across the driveway. I couldn’t do this for her anymore. Basically, I lied to my grandma! I wish there was a postman for heaven, so he can come pick up the diabetic brownies I made and deliver it to her mansion in heaven.

I was drowning in my guilt. The anguish had captivated my body and soul. All I wanted to do is sit in the bed and let the guilt suffocate me. I tried to convince myself that what I had to do was so much more important than watering plants and baking brownies. I was sure that going over friend’s houses and going to the park was more important. Then I came to realize that those were only excuses grand mom used to get me to come over and chill with her for a while. I never knew how much I would miss my grand mom once she was gone. I would give anything up to see my grand mom for just three minutes. Never will I take another human for granted like I did my grand mom again. I treat my mom like the queen she is now because I can wake up tomorrow and she can be gone! I would just love to be able to hug my grand mom right now and if you have the opportunity to, then don’t take any moment for granted.

 

Quarter three Benchmark was a little challenging because I had to compare a novel and a movie (“The Odyssey” and O, Brother Where Art Thou) that had some comparison to each other. However, you really had to understand both the movie and the novel to see the comparison.

 

Lexus Forman

Q3 BM Dunn

 

Sometimes there is a time to be big- headed and a time to just be chilled and modest. The main character in The Odyssey, named Odysseus had different ways of leading than the main character in “O, Brother Where Art Thou,” Everett. However, a leader should be modest because when people are calm and are giving the right type of direction then the plan goes smoothly. Although Everett and Odysseus have some similarities, Everett’s characteristics such as him being open-minded and modest helps to get what he wants when Odysseus can’t.

 

In book nine of The Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew went to the Cyclops’ Island. During their journey at the island Odysseus stabs the Cyclops in the eye and destroys it. Being that Odysseus is very prideful, he tells the Cyclops in Book 9, lines 558-559 “Cyclops if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so- say Odysseus”. Odysseus was not thinking of course because the Cyclops is Poseidon’s son. Poseidon is the god of the ocean and Odysseus was traveling in the, ocean. Even though Poseidon didn’t cause any damage to Odysseus and his crew it could have been a huge possibility. However, Everett is a different story. Even though, Odysseus and Everett both want their props for their accomplishments, Everett remains modest allowing the crew to be safe. When Everett recorded his song in the studio, the “producer” liked it a lot. He liked it so much that he was willing to pay money for it. The producer was blind, so Everett came up with a clever idea to make the producer pay for six people when it was really only four. Everett didn’t brag about this mischievous thing that he did because he was smart about it. Just imagine if he got caught; he was already in enough trouble as it was.

 

In the Cyclops cave, Odysseus needed a disguise to get out the cave all in one piece. He came up with a sneaky idea for him and his crewmembers to hide under the sheep from Cyclops cave. Because this was Cyclops Island and the Cyclops only had one eye, the Cyclops is kind of limited or has a disadvantage on seeing some things. Odysseus knowing this straps his crewmembers to the sheep and Odysseus and his crewmembers make it out in one piece. In book 9, lines 380-381 “Then he hoisted the huge slab of to block the door and squatted to milk his sheep and bleating goats, each in order, putting a suckling underneath each dam. Everett and his “crew” Delmar and Pete met an African American man while driving down a road. This African American man’s name was Tommy. They had lost Tommy for a little while and found him again, but spotted him in a horrible place. Everett and his “crew” spotted him at a KKK chant and were in trouble. As a result of that, the crew disguised their selves as KKK members and was in the act of trying to save him. They almost got caught, however Everett being the smart guy he is wiggled his way out of that problem and rescued him.

In “Brother Where Art Thou”, Everett is the leader of their crew. Right after the whole incident with the KKK and rescuing Tommy, they were headed to the candidate’s pep riley. Something in Delmar’s and Pete’s head clicked and they wanted to know why Everett had to be the boss of everything and take charge. Even though Everett knew he wanted to be leader because it is just an awesome title to have because you have a say in what everyone does, he explained to the crew that he needed them. He also explains that he doesn’t think that they would have made it that far without them two on the journey with them. In the Odyssey, Odysseus was also the leader of his crew. However, he didn’t have three crewmembers, he had hundreds of them. Therefore, he is not able to care for his crewmembers like Everett is able to. For example in book 12, lines 280-282, Odysseus says “Of all the pitiful things I’ve witnessed, suffering, searching out the pathways of the sea, the wrenched my heart the most”. He was saying he needed his men but couldn’t really sit there and pity too much because he had other things to worry about.

Everett and Odysseus have similarities, but their differences ended up not helping Odysseus in the end. During their journey at the island Odysseus stabs the Cyclops in the eye and destroys it. Odysseus being prideful causes him to say something that wasn’t smart, when Everett does something sneaky and manages to keep his mouth shut. Also, Odysseus and Everett disguise their selves to get them out of trouble. Finally, Everett cares about his men and lets them know that and Odysseus does also, however he has too many men to really show it. This shows you that Odysseus and Everett has different ways of leading and Everett’s way pays off in the end.

 

 

 

 

The Macbeth creative was a keynote that I enjoyed doing. My keynote was basically a collage of pictures that explained the scene that was appropriate.

​

The book I read for my Independent Reading assignment was “A Child Called It” By Dave Pelzer. This book is an awesome book and as a result of this the book review was a cool project to complete.

 

My Book Review

 

By: Lexus Forman

 

This book “A Child Called It”, written by Dave Pelzer is spectacular. This book is an autobiography about a child with a very unstable and abusive home. This little helpless boy was brutally abused by his mother, Catherine Roerva. His child abuse case was one of the most severe cases in California history. “A Child Called It” was mentioned in hard rock band Buckcherry’s songs “Rescue Me” and “A Child Called It”. These songs were on the album “Black Butterfly”. I have to believe that I am not the only person who enjoyed this book because this book was on New York’s bestsellers list for 6 years straight; that’s really remarkable.

This autobiography is about a man, Dave Pelzer who was abused as a child by his alcoholic mother. His mother had something against him. She didn’t treat her four other sons anything like she treated Dave. She tortured Dave. She did things to Dave like stuff his face into his brother’s soiled diaper and tried to make eat the feces, or force ammonia down Dave’s throat. Dave has come to a lot of near death experiences from his mother. The crazy thing is, that is mother wasn’t always an evil woman. She was actually a very caring and nurturing mother before she became an alcoholic mother.

             The characters in this memoir are Dave, Dave’s mother Catherine Roerva, Dave’s father Stephan Joseph Pelzer, and Dave’s brothers Stan, Ron, Russell, and Kevin. In this book the main conflict is between Dave and his mother, Catherine Rovera. However, there are minor conflicts in the book with Dave’s father and Dave. Dave’s father feels that he is too tired and stressed out to help Dave with the abuse problem because he is a firefighter and works almost a 24-hour shift everyday. I would have to say that Dave is a very strong and genuine person, and that is why Dave is my favorite character. Dave made it through that bumpy road in his life, and made it to be a very successful person despite the tragedy he went through as a child. Also, even though Dave’s mother is so evil and cruel, Dave doesn’t hate her. He actually loves her to death and cares deeply for her.

This book is a powerful memoir that really makes you think. It made me think of all the times I said “I hate my mother!” or “She gets on my nerves!” Dave would have probably killed for a mother like mine. I just believe that this book teaches people how to be grateful for the good things that you have in your life even though you might think that they are not the best because other people are going through so much more and would die for something that you have.

This book is a great book. It is an awesome book. I don’t think that this book needs any changes or has any weaknesses. This book kept me entertained from beginning to end. The drama never stopped and this might sound a little weird, but this book kept me yearning for more. This book to me was like a drug and I can’t wait to read the one that follows this book, “The Lost Boy”.

This book was not relatable at all. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters. Well maybe just one thing, however it is a minor thing. I can relate to Dave with his dad situation. Dave never sees his dad because he works a 24-hour shift and Dave’s dad knows what it is going on in the house, but to a certain extent he doesn’t know how serious it is. My dad doesn’t live with me and I barely see my dad. I can be going through hell right now (even though I am not) and he wouldn’t know a thing because he doesn’t see me at all. Dave’s dad could have saved him from his mother. He wasn’t scared of Dave’s mother; he fought fires for a living!

I would recommend this book to the world! This book is just a stellar example of a memoir. This is a remarkable book to read if you do not love you life so much right now. I wouldn’t recommend this book to the younger audience because the things in this book are too severe for a 10-year-old to be walking around reading. However, this book would be great for teens to read. I say this because being a teen; I know that we take our lives for granted almost every single day, wishing we had the glamour and all the money. We never say I am so blessed and thankful for this in our lives and this book will make you stop and ponder on that.

I have had multiple journal entries to complete over the past few months in English class. I have chosen my favorite to show case. I enjoy getting my feelings out on a piece of paper and that’s what journals allow me to do.

​-A Hero

A hero is a person that I can look up to. A person that I can count on to make good decisions and have respect for their selves. I’m not saying a hero can’t make mistakes because in the movie “The Incredibles”, Mr. Incredible made a mistake that almost ruined his whole hero career. However, a hero doesn’t always have to be fictional, it can be someone right in your own home like your mother, father, or even your dog. A hero like this is never going to be perfect because they are only human. I really appreciate when a person or better yet, a hero can be real and acknowledge their mistakes and learn from them. That shows real character and gratitude.-----

-¿Secrets?

Hmm… If I got away with a really good trick would I tell? That’s a good question. However, no I wouldn’t! I would keep my big mouth shut! I’m not saying it wouldn’t be hard because who wouldn’t want someone to know what you did. You know that feeling when you feel like you have to tell someone so you write it down, or in my case yell it into my pillow. That might sound weird but it works, you should definitely try it. You can’t trust some people these days because when you tell someone something, and you say “promise you won’t tell a soul” knowing god darn well there going to tell Sarah, Annie, and everyone’s grand mom. Therefore it’s good to keep you’re secrets to yourself.

 

 -All Alone

There have been plenty of times when I felt like I was alone and had no one to turn to. However, recently I had an occurrence with that. This was in the beginning of 9^th grade, when we all got our assignments for first quarter. It seemed as if they were never going to stop piling on. I was not used to benchmarks, nor not having test. Also, at my middle school I really didn’t have to try, the work was just really easy. All I had to do was show up in class and listen. The work was really easy and I completed a test like a pro.

I just wasn’t used to the work. The work was very complicated and came all in one bulk. It seemed as though this school was trying to set me up for failure instead of doing their best to help me. When report cards came, I could almost die. I got a C on my report card. C’s looked like the most ugliest letter at the time. I hadn’t gotten a C on my report since the fourth grade. In fourth grade, I made a promise to myself that I would never get another on my report card ever in my life. I felt like I had let myself down. All my peers around me had great report card and I felt alone. I almost wanted to crawl in a cardboard box.

 

-Am I Perfect?

            How do people expect you to be perfect, knowing that they aren’t perfect their selves? I believe that’s how high a lot of the adults I know expectations of me are. I have always been a “goodie two shoes” and now that I am a teenager, things are bound to change. You know how people always say act your age, not your shoe size. Well that’s what I believe I am doing. I am maturing with my age. However, I believe with maturing, comes with making mistakes; with making mistakes, you have to be mature enough to learn from them.

One thing I hate to do is disappoint people. I especially hate to disappoint the people I love the most, like my mom, dad, and close relatives. Their oppions is what matters the most and impacts my behavior. I know for a fact I don’t act the way I do at home in public and that is not something I am proud of. I think that if my family knew how I acted outside of my home sometimes, they would have a cow. Therefore, I try my hardest not to act like a teenager, and act like a mature teenager that I know my family would be proud of.

 

In the beginning of the year, Ms.Dunn assigned us the project of creating a "Me Magazine”. The magazine contains articles, pictures, and facts about your life. In my magazine, I put three articles that are written on my inspiration for music, passion for the Twilight Saga , and Christmas that my family attends each year. A reason for creating this project was so we could reflect on our work at the end of the year. After reviewing my magizine in May, I seen how much I improve on my academic life. 

Isabela Aznar

English

 

 

In my essay I try to explain the process in which Macbeth begins to go insane. The majority of the quotes I use are his and his wife’s. I explain each quote, and then talk about what is happening in each act underneath.

 

 

 

 

In Act 1 scene 4 line 149-155 Macbeth says “give me your favor. My dull brain wrought with things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, your pains are registered where every day I turn the leaf to read them. Let us toward the king. Think upon what hath chanced, and at more time, our interim having weighed it, let us speak our free hearts to each other.” He is basically stating that he wants to help his kind friends if they ever need it,  and that he wants to be able to speak with them freely, with them doing so in return. He is declaring his loyalty to the king and these men, and acting as though they are his main priorities.

 

 

In Act 1 scene 5 line 64-68 Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth “Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t. He that’s coming must be provided for; and you shall put this night’s great business into my dispatch, which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.” Lady Macbeth is hinting to Macbeth that he should kill Duncan. She’s pushing forward with this idea that his death will bring them power and happiness, and that what more could they ask for than an opportunity for leadership.

 

 

In Act 1 scene 7  line 12-16, and line 25-28 Macbeth says “He’s here in double trust: first, as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself…I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on the’ other-“ Macbeth is debating weather or not he should kill Duncan. He feels as though the deed is malicious and two faced, but at the same time he is being driven by his great ambition to get what he (thinks he) deserves. He ends his speech on a self-ambitious note, but is interrupted. To  me it seems like he is slowly leaning towards doing the deed.

 

In Act 2 scene 2, 47-53 Lady Macbeth says “Why worth thane, do you undend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things. Go get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hand. Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there: go carry them and smear the sleepy grooms with blood.”

Lady Macbeth is a little annoyed with Macbeth’s lack of confidence. He’s acting weird, and not doing things according to plan. This worries lady Macbeth, and she tells Macbeth to go back and do things right, he is too scared though because he doesn’t want to have any part in what he’s done…he is too traumatized.

 

 

In Act 2 scene 2  line 61-66 Lady Macbeth says: “Whence is that knocking? How is’t that with me when every noise appalls me? What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.” In this scene, Macbeth begins to say weird things. Lady Macbeth is confused, and he is acting completely freaked out. Macbeth begins to say things that don’t make sense, and begins to show fear and remorse for his actions. He has just heard a knock, and begins to talk about how he’s spooked, and he is talking about how no amount of water could ever clean the blood off of his hands. The deed he did was forever, and he cannot take it back.

 

 

 

In Act 2 scene 3 line 89-94 Macbeth says “Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time; for from this instant there’s nothing serious in mortality: All is but toys. Renown and grace is dead, the wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees is left this vault to brag of.” Macbeth is covering himself. He is pretending that he is upset and distressed by the murder of Duncan. He wonders who it could be, and why anyone would do such a thing to their worthy wonderful king but in reality, he is just pretending and hiding behind his own words, for Macbeth is the killer.

 

 

In act 3 scene 2 line 7-10 Lady Macbeth says “Nought’s had, all’s spent, Where our desire is got without content: Tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy” Lady Macbeth feels like they’ve done enough harm. In this quote she is saying that which they desired didn’t make them feel any happier. She is also implying that she would rather pretend nothing ever happened than to keep trying to find meaningless happiness, and she hopes Macbeth calms down back into the man he used to be. She is implying that Macbeth’s mind is starting to change.

 

In act 3 scene 4 line Macbeth says to the first murdered “Thou art the best o’ the cut-throats: yet he’s good that did the like for Fleance: if thou didst it, Thou art the nonpareil” What Macbeth is doing here is he is bringing his trickery and bribery to a new level. He is trying to make the murderer feel good about himself for doing his dirty deeds, when in reality the only person he is fooling is himself. Lady Macbeth’s worries about Macbeth only become realer and realer.

 

 

 

In act 4 scene 1 Macbeth says “how now, you secret, black, and midnight hags! What is’t you do” Macbeth is beginning to loose his mind to the point where he resorts to talking to the witches who brought him his prophecies and problems in the past. Macbeth later continues on to yell at the witches because he doesn’t want them to keep ruining his life.

 

In act 5 scene 3 line 3-9 Macbeth says “Bring me no more reports; let them fly all: Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane, I cannot taint with fear. What’s the boy Malcolm? Was he not born of woman? The spirits that know all mortal consequences have pronounced me thus: ‘fear not, Macbeth; no man that’s born of woman Shall e’er have power upon thee’. Then fly, false thanes, And mingle with the English epicures: The mind I sway by and then the heart I bear shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear.  In this quote he is starting to panic because there is chance of someone else taking his spot on the throne. Macbeth is shaken, and has forgotten completely who he was. Macbeth is officially insane.

 

 

 

 

My Project

My reflection:
This project was a challenging project, It sounded easy at first, but then when I went out to take pictures I had trouble trying to find good ones that represent Globalization. I struggled to take pictures, and put it off for a while, working on the pictures I already had. The part of this project I did enjoy was the little bits of research here and there that I had to do. for example I never knew that solar panels were made by a french men. I was surprised as to how hard it was to find evidence of globalization, its everywhere, but at the same time it is hiding. I took a picture of the solar trash compactor on a hunch, before I even did the research. I'm curious as to what else is a hidden sign of globalization, and what other cities have a lot of globalization evidence. I'm guessing New York has the most, but I'm not sure.

​This blog is mainly about my growth as a 9th grade student over the year. I feel like this portfolio shows how much I have matured. This will show my fellow readers that I have struggled , but i have tried to do my work. 

My stregnths in english are that when i put my mind to do the work and i try , that i succed , but my weaknesses are that i do not try and i do not push myself like i should, which ruined my grades most of the time. I want to work on trying harder and working more and not doing everything late.

My expirences while make this portfolio where okay. I did not try a lot nor did i act like i cared about doing work , which i would consider an issue of mine. I barely tried to resolve them, but from what i could do , i tried. I wasn't as proud of going back on my work because i can honestly say i did not try this year. Years before i came to high school i was always an A student, but just recently i didnt seem to care. 

The piece of work that i am proud of the most has to be my Me Mag. I have to say this because that potrayed who i was at that moment in time and it helps me see how i have changed. I loved doing that project the most.

VIGNETTE

                                                                                     Zaria Fortson-Linton

 

Wake Me Up When September Comes Again

 

I hate the feeling were you’re losing someone who once use to be so close to you. It’s as if you feel so alone and tend to blame yourself for what happened. You ponder on the fact that you might have been the reason why, like you changed, when all in all it’s not just your fault.

My previous best friend and I met in September. It’s funny how we became friends actually. I had food and he asked for some and we shared it together. Our love for good food brought us together I guess. We connected on a similar level. Realizing that we can understand each either made us befriend each other even more. We later found out that we had all the same classes and advisory. We were soon to be inseparable, which I was very excited about.

One point in time, a lot of our friends thought we were in a relationship. Such rumors like this I think made our friendship go bad. Honestly, these rumors and thoughts made me think of him in that manner. The true feelings I had for him soon came to the light, but for him it was a whole different story. His smile was something that once meaned nothing to me, actually brightened my day. His eyes, which I never noticed soon, became something I loved to gaze into. I was smitten by his charm, his looks, his everything. I felt like I was in love.

When I told him how I felt about that topic, he didn’t respond to it. It was as if he didn’t want to here it. I felt ignored, and soon that became the case.  I began to notice that he became closer with other people. He would never answer my text or IM messages. We stopped talking as best friends for about two months. We would only talk to each other when we were placed next to each other. The conversations changed from being non-stop all day everyday, to innocent hellos and goodbyes. Then I was told that he and my other friend (who is also in our advisory) had a “thing” going on, which not only angered me because of how I felt about him, but also because no matter what he would always come to me with important information like this. I was hurt and crushed. Words could not describe how upset and forgotten I felt.  I didn’t want anything else to do with him.

Ever since this has happened, my attempts to try and gain our friendship back have died down. Yes, I miss how close we once were but I was tired of being the only one trying to rebuild our friendship when he didn’t want to help.

Also, this made me wish that I held back the feelings I had about him. The trust I had for him.  The love that I had for him. I wish we could have had a new start. Like September would come back, to bring back that one memory we will always cherish, remember and miss.

 

ODYESS COMPARE AND CONTRAST

 

Thesis Benchmark

 

Macbeth and the Odyssey are both remarkable stories.  In these stories they both revolve around peoples actions and changes. The main female characters go by the names of Lady Macbeth and Penelope. These women are both sent on emotional rollercoaster and eventually change from the beginning to end of these books. Even though Lady Macbeth and Penelope both change in the story, they both change opposite from each other.

 

In Macbeth and The Odyssey both the leading ladies, Lady Macbeth and Penelope, are married to strong men. Odysseus whom was married to Penelope was king of Ithaca, thus making him powerful. Lady Macbeth’s powerful mate was Macbeth who was a thane of Cawdor.  The ladies also change attitude wise and during that change, they were both strong at some point. In the beginning of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth was tricky and confident. She knew what she wanted and she wasn’t going to let anyone stand in her way, including the King.  Towards the end however, she became so crazy and paranoid due to her and Macbeth killing the king. Lady Macbeth felt remorse and guilt, but as for Penelope, she started out as being weak and timid. She became this way due to the suitors taking over her house. She didn’t act as brave as she should have when she was in the process of trying to get them to leave. Towards the end of the story, she became more powerful. She proved this when Odysseus disguised himself as a beggar and claimed to have known Odysseus. When Penelope found that out, she persistently asked him how did he know him, what does he look like, etc.

 

Although they both change, Lady Macbeth’s change was opposite to Penelope’s. In the Odyssey, Penelope goes from being quiet to fearless. She was quiet and scared from when the suitors took over her house. She didn’t act as brave as she should have when kicking them out. Penelope near the end of the story became brave when asking Odysseus (who was then in disguise) how he knew her mate. As for Lady Macbeth, she goes from being strong in the beginning to becoming crazy towards the end. She was strong in start when she knew she wanted to kill the King. She knew what she wanted and even pushed the then un sure Macbeth to go through it. But towards the end, she became swarmed with guilt and it soon sent her insane.

 These women have changed due to the paths in which they choose to fight for what they wanted. Their husbands careers is also the main cause for why the changed. Ultimately, all that matters is that they have changed from the start and ending of each book and that they were both dramatic.

ME MAG

 

 This is my me mag. This magazine showcased many things about myself that my peers did not know. We made these in September which help us get to know one another.

Independent Reading Project

My Book Report

Zaria Fortson-Linton

 

Introduction:

The name of this book is called “I Like Him, He Likes Her” by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. I found out that this book is part of a series titled “Alice Alone; Simply Alice; Patiently Alice. It follows the love life of a young girl named Alice who is struggling with school , love, and life in general.

 

This story is based on the life of a girl named Alice McKinley, who is a freshman, but so far her first year in high school isn’t going well. Her boyfriend of a year named Patrick breaks up with her for the new girl Penny, her father is getting married to her old middle school teacher and high school work is so much pressure on her. The main conflict in the story is her verses her feelings. Mainly because she’s learning how to deal with her personal feelings. Her learning how to grow up makes her my favorite character in this story. I think that readers will learn not only being single can be a bad thing turned into a good thing, but also life can be hard for young teenagers. What I mean by this is that most people make being single & not having a bond with someone may be bad at first , but then there are times in which being single can be a good thing. I also think that life is hard for young teenagers because us just starting high school isn’t easy. We have to adjust to new changes , getting older, meeting people , new school work and becoming a young adult. It’s very stressful.

 

I can relate to the main character Alice. I say this because I have been in this same predicament where the “love of my life” has left me for “something better” and I’m just left there alone. . . sad, not knowing what to do.

 

This book is a first person narrative which I love. The strengths of this book are it’s very easy to relate to and very understandable from Alice’s point of view. It is also very entertaining. The weaknesses of this book is that it seems to take to long to get to the point. Like it may take 2 chapters to understand what is going on. In order to understand where the main conflict will come from you’ll have to read into the story through the first 3 chapters.

 

I honestly would recommend this to young readers. I say this because it is very relatable and it is very entertaining.

JOURNAL ENTRIES

The first time i was judge was when i went to the mall with my mom. We went to a high priced store and the lady told us that this wasn't "our type" of clothing. That they do not sell Baby Phat clothing which is mostly worn by african americans. We felt angry because it was really rude.

If i were to have a fresh start on my past i would change the way my first year of high school started. I am not liked because of the choices i made in the beginning of the year. A bunch of 11th graders were calling me names, so i made a video and called them all out and they hated me ever since.

It really isn't that much important for me to fit it , only because i like standing out, i like being my own person and i like being different. Im proud to say i do not fit in and i always try to encourage others to do the same.

I think people write to express themselves. To have a place to be free. ALso to show others who they are. To have a way to reveal to the world who they are. It is an expressive and safe way to be themselves.

I feel as though an adult is someone who will take responsibility on what they are right or wrong about. Someone who will help others be mature and are mature themselves.  

My mother expects me to do good in school and to make sure im always on task. She knows that school is important and she feels as though school must be my number one priority.