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Introduction:

            Our second big project was a Memoir Vignette. In the second Quarter the class read Freedom Writers and Funny and Farsi. These two books are memoir vignettes and we had to do one too. The students had to pick an event in their lives and write about it by using the elements we learned in class. Students had to incorporate a reflection without showing it was really a reflection.

Memoir Vignette:

                                                  Family is Always Better

            I was so excited for the next school dance[SA1] . The first one was so much fun. I felt free and like I was able to do anything. I also had a basketball game the same day. I was so excited to walk into that dance and tell the school about our amazing victory. But all that excitement went away when my mom finally mentioned that we were going to see our family on the 17^th of December. I thought to myself, “NOOOO!! That’s the day of the dance. I’m going to miss it.”[SA2]  But I just had to suck it up and deal.

            On the day we left I decided to go into the car with my parents instead of my grandmother. At first I thought it was a good idea. I’ll never make that mistake again. I was smashed up against the car door like a dead bug up against the windshield.[SA3]  During the drive my dad was being even more weird than usual. He kept saying the same thing in a loud obnoxious voice. “DANG YOU DANG WOODCHUCKS QUIT CHUCKIN’ MY WOOD!!!!” He saw it on a commercial and couldn’t stop saying it all weekend. We had to make a few stops to eat and use the bathroom. At those stops my parents started to embarrass me out of my mind. They started blurting out all of my personal information to the public. We were in the food court sitting down on the cold hard red chairs; we sat and started to eat our food that we just got.[SA4]  My dad started to say that annoying thing that he heard on the TV. I decided to ignore him and keep eating my cheese pizza and Coca-Cola. Then I had to ask my mom a very important question. It is way to personal to talk about. Any way they started to talk about it really loudly, I tried to quiet them down but it didn’t work. Eventually I decided to go and eat my pizza in the car where it was quiet. So far this was the worst trip ever, I though to myself “I’d rather be at the girls Basketball game or the dance.”[SA5]  Then it was back on the road.

            We thought that we were only two minutes away; well it turns out after five hours no one noticed that my mom put in the wrong address. So we drove around for another hour and a half trying to find where the hotel was.  Well it felt that way; it was only about five minutes.[SA6]  We made it to the hotel and pulled into a parking spot. I ran out the car to greet the family that I only see once a year. I run out and hug the first person I see, who was my Uncle Chris. I turn to hug the next person but there is no one else there. I end up waiting for my family to come. It didn’t take that long for them to show up.

            At the time only half of my cousins ended up coming. My cousin’s names are Kristen, Lauren and Stephanie. Stephanie the oldest brought her boyfriend along named Russel as a joke we called him Roger. My Uncle Chris’ wife is my Aunt Denis (we call her Aunt GG). I ran and hugged each of them, except for Russel, and helped them bring in their bags.

            After the family got all settled in we decided to watch the most amazing and funny Christmas movie ever, ELF!!! We all wanted to open our presents but we didn’t because our family was not there yet. It came to be about twelve o’clock and I was tired so I went to bed before my other cousins came. When I woke up I found out that my other cousins came a half a hour later, my mom took them to a dinner for breakfast/desert. I was jealous and kind of sad that they didn’t wake me up to take me with them.

            I woke up the next morning and greeted all the family I haven’t seen yet. My two younger cousins Emily and Jon Jon. I greeted my Aunt Leslie. Lastly I greeted my Uncle Rob. After I greeted everyone[SA7]  I went to the waffle maker and made a chocolate waffle with a mountain of whipped cream on top and a drizzle of chocolate syrup on top. It was the most amazing chocolate waffle ever.

            At this point I was still upset that I missed a basketball game and the dance. Some how I decided to get over it. I learned that we were going to see a whale hunting boat named The Charles W. Morgan. I was amazed that it had my name in it. I felt like a celebrity[SA8] , but no one really cared I could tell. We learned many things about how it was built, being rebuilt and lived in/used it. We also learned who worked in it, how it got its name and the captains that lived there. [SA9]  You could say it was like a class trip.[SA10] 

            After we finished the tour of the magnificent ship we went to the famous Mystic pizza. The pizza is said to be the best in Connecticut. And the romance movie Mystic Pizza was shot right there in that shop. Julia Roberts was in that movie and it was the jump-start of her career. I couldn’t believe that I was standing where Julia Roberts stood almost 30 years ago. I can honestly say that was some of the best pizza I have ever had. The flavors all-swirling in your mouth like a merry-go-round of delicious toppings cheese and sauce.[SA11]   Some went back to the hotel to take naps and swim, but I went back to see the ship. It was somewhat fun. I kind of wished I had my swim suit with me so I could swim with my little cousin but that was alright I had an amazing time.

            Soon enough it was present time. We started to each open our presents from each of the 3 families plus one from Grandma. In total we got 3 presents, except for my sister and myself. Since our grandmother lives with us we have to open ours at home. I got a 25 dollar itunes card from my aunt GG and a cute long-sleeved shirt-hoodie from American Eagle from my Aunt Leslie. I love the presents I got.

It is a tradition to play Monopoly after unwrapping all our presents. My dad always used to make up bogus rules. During the game we were all watching one of my favorite romance movies called The Titanic. This game was intense; I was winning then losing then winning then losing[SA12] . If you can’t tell this game went on forever. After a couple hours of playing I lost. My uncle Rob was the one who ended up controlling the whole entire board and winning. I was surprised I made it that far. The game ended at four A.M. Monopoly is always a good time.

            The next day came and it was the day to leave. Before we left my grandfather came over with his wife Mary. I didn’t stay, Jon Jon , Emily my sister and I ditched everyone and went to different buildings to play ding dong ditch on the residents. It was a rush, thrill anything awesome you can call it.[SA13]  Eventually it was time to go. I was sad to leave my family we had so much fun together. When everyone was all packed up and ready to leave we all said our good byes. We got into our designated cars and drove our separate ways. As I sat there in the car with my mom, dad and sister I was upset. I looked back on all the fun I had and was content. Family is way more important than any old basketball game or stupid school dance. I am happy now that I saw my family when I did , I can’t wait to see them again soon and I hope they feel the same way.[SA14] 

             

My favorite benchmark of the entire year was the first quarter benchmark where we had to go to the supermarkets. It was a group benchmark, and typically I don’t like group projects, however this one I made an exception for. I had three other group members who had the same ambitions as myself work ethic as I do. I had Ashley who was the organized and determined one, Evan who got his work done, and Marchella who understood the work, but had to push herself to actually do it.

Another reason why this was my favorite was because it was given to us back when everything was so easy and staright to the point. We had the basic: mean, media, mode, and range, Along with the quartiles, z-scores, and graphs like bar graphs and histograms. With the easy unit there was no wonder why I was able to so well on this benchmark. Thinking back now of course there are many things I would change. I hate that now I think about it because there is nothing I can do about now, but the opportunity may come up again if  I have something similar to this. Firstly I would chose a completely different supermarket with completely different items. The prices that I had before were either too close or the same price, and that didn’t give me much data to work with, challenging data anyway. Thinking back on it shows my reflection, wanting to change my store and items is my presentation, my group was my collaboration,  and the assignment was my inquiry and research. Oh look SLA’s core values.

Introduction:

            Our first big project was a character analysis on the book Macbeth. Each student had to pick a main character and map out how they changed over the course of the book. In this project the student had to create a thesis and link it throughout the project to support it.

Macbeth Character Analysis:

Lady Macbeth:

Thesis: Lady Macbeth is a controlling housewife and would go to any length to get what she wanted, but by the end of the play, she suffered from remorse and guilt.

Act 1:

 In Act 1 Scene 5 of Macbeth, Macbeth just came home from war and seeing witches. He gives Lady Macbeth the news of the promotion he just received to the Thane of Cawdor. He also tells Lady Macbeth about what the witches said, and she begins to hatch a plan to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it” (1.5.64-65). Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to look innocent but be evil and have a secret darkness underneath his innocence. She is thinking that if Macbeth is sweet and innocent, he will gain the King’s trust and maybe he can get the title of king easier. Then she can be queen faster. This reveals that Lady Macbeth is a sneaky woman and can convince somebody to do something that really benefits her, and not the person she is convincing.

Later in the same scene, Lady Macbeth is still telling Macbeth her plan in progress, but she is not telling him all the details yet. Lady Macbeth doesn’t want Macbeth to worry about anything. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth “Leave the rest to me” (1.5.72). She is saying that Macbeth doesn’t have to worry, and that she will plan and take care of everything. She wants to be in control of everything, and she wants to plan and be the mastermind. This shows that she is a controlling housewife that always has to be in charge of everything all the time.

In act 1 scene 7, King Duncan and the other thanes are at Macbeth’s house having dinner. Macbeth just finished his first soliloquy and doesn’t want to go through with killing Duncan, but Lady Macbeth Is trying to convince him to go through with the plan. She is convincing him by insulting him and using harsh insults. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth,  ”I would, as it were smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out.” (1.7.56-58). She is saying to Macbeth that she would do the most horrible thing to the one she loved and gave birth to if she promised him she would. She is trying awfully hard to make him want to kill the king. She tries everything till he finally cracks. This shows that she is definitely controlling housewife that will go to any length to convince someone to do something, or to get what she wanted.

Act 2:

            Macbeth has just killed Duncan. Lady Macbeth realizes that Macbeth still has the daggers when he was supposed to plant them on the passed out guards. So she takes the daggers and does it herself. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth, “Give me the daggers.” (2.2.56). She is frustrated with Macbeth for not following the plan. She panics and takes the daggers and finishes the job herself. This shows That Lady Macbeth is a do it herself kind of woman and is a controlling housewife. This also shows that everything must go according to her plan, which shows that she is a controlling housewife/woman.

Lady Macbeth Just took the daggers from Macbeth and planted them on the guards and smeared blood all over their faces. So she has blood all over her hands just like Macbeth. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth, “My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.”(2.2.67-68). She is saying that she has finished the rest of the plan and now she has blood all over her hands just like his, but she hates that she has a pure soul and ruined it. This shows That Lady Macbeth is a do it herself kind of woman and is a controlling housewife. This also shows that everything must go according to her plan, which shows that she is a controlling housewife/woman also.

Macduff just found King Duncan’s dead body and called everyone to wake up. Lady Macbeth is acting like she has no idea what is going on, when she finds out that Duncan is dead she acts like she is sad and can’t believe it and pretends to faint because of the “shock”. Lady Macbeth says to the men who are on stage, “Help me hence, ho.” 2.316. She is saying to the men “O my gosh, what a shock. Someone please help me”. She is faking it so no one will be suspicious of her and Macbeth This reveals that she is will do anything to get what she wanted such as pretending she knows nothing of what happened to protect herself and Macbeth.

Act 3:

Macbeth is king and Lady Macbeth is queen. Macbeth just hired 3 murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance. Macbeth is hosting a banquet for the Thanes and Lady Macbeth is getting ready for it. Lady Macbeth says to servant, “Where our desire is got without content.” (3.2.6). This shows that she is slowly feeling guilty about how she got to be queen. She says she is not happy even though this is what she wanted, but it’s not enough.

 

Macbeth is seeing Banquo’s ghost at the banquet and he is going crazy, Lady Macbeth is trying to protect Macbeth by telling all the thanes to leave so she can find out what is going on so she can help him. Lady Macbeth says to the Thanes, “At once, goodnight. Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once.”(3.4.119-121). She is saying for them to leave the banquet at once and to not worry about the manners of the way they leave. She wants them to leave at once because her husband is going crazy and she wants to protect him and see what is going on with him. Macbeth might be going crazy about him having so much guilt of him killing Duncan. This shows that she is willing to end a big banquet to protect their big secret.

Act 5:

Lady Macbeth is sleep walking and the Doctor is telling Macbeth what is going on with her before a big battle between Macbeth, Malcolm, Macduff and Seward’s army. She is talking about what happened to Duncan in her sleep. Doctor says to Macbeth, “Not so sick, my lord, as she is troubled with thick-coming fancies that keep her from her rest.” (5.3.39-41). The doctor is saying that Lady Macbeth is not sick just extremely guilty so she sleep walks at night and talks of what she shouldn’t. Macbeth is dreadfully worried about his wife, but he has bigger things to worry about like the battle he is about to go into. This shows that Lady Macbeth is going crazy from the remorse and the guilt of killing King Duncan. She is most definitely suffering from remorse and guilt.

Macduff has just killed Macbeth and Malcolm is making his acceptance speech for becoming king and Lady Macbeth is dead as well. Malcolm says in his acceptance speech, “Of his dead butcher and his fiendlike queen, who, as ‘tis thought, by self and violent hands took off her life.” (5.8.69-71). He is saying that Lady Macbeth killed herself because of her guilt; she couldn’t live with herself so she committed suicide. Lady Macbeth felt so terrible about killing King Duncan that she killed herself. This shows that she suffered from remorse and guilt, and she knew she couldn’t make it right. She couldn’t live with herself so she killed herself.

In conclusion Lady Macbeth was a controlling housewife that will do anything to get what she wanted, but by the end of the play, she suffered from remorse and guilt. She convinced her husband to kill the King just so she could be queen. But when she became queen she was unhappy and was slowly going insane with the guilt of having to do with the death of Duncan, so she killed herself. In the end Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both dead and Malcolm resumes his rightful place as king.

Oh god were gonna graduate soon. OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD 

Link to PDF

The thing I found most challenging about this project was categorizing and finding pictures for different sections. I don't know. I just feel like globalization can be represented by many things. The way I defined globalization in Philadelphia was if something from outside of Philly (like a culture or thing) impacted the people of Philadelphia as a whole. At first, I collected pictures from Chinatown, because they have their own Asian Bank and their own health buildings there. However as I went on I realized how all of those pictures were the same thing, of a culture migrating to Philadelphia and colonizing. My trade and technology picture is my favorite because those are all parts of a phone from the same company yet one is made in Korea and another is made in China. I don't know, I just find it amusing. I do believe that globalization is everywhere in Philadelphia, however, in places like New York I find it way more prevalent than Philly. New York is like a more cultured and busier Philadelphia with all of it's different culture based fashions and it's vast selections of food.

Here is my 4th quarter globalization benchmark

Writing two paragraphs for one picture was quite challenging for me at first. I had trouble knowing what to write for the second paragraph, but after some collaboration with my fellow students I figured it out. I also had some difficulties finding a picture for energy and security, yet after some hard thinking I thought of some images to use and ventured out to take pictures. Aside from selecting images for security and energy themes, all the other images came easily to me. In one day of class I brainstormed 8 images I could use for various themes. Going out and getting pictures wasn't hard either because the images I was going to use were all near my neighborhood and school. My favorite image is of Liberty Place. The photo I have makes the building look godly and epic. Also my other photos weren't of the best quality (due to camera phones and my crappy camera) and I thought the picture of Liberty Place was the best of the best.  My photos alone don't really capture the evidence of globalization, however my paragraphs do. Based on my findings I believe the evidence of globalization is quite prevalent in Philadelphia since there are various cultural neighborhoods all throughout the city. While Philadelphia is a very globalized city I think other large U.S cities are just as internationalized as Philadelphia, such as New York and Chicago. These cities are just as or even more globalized than Philadelphia because they are the main hubcaps of business in the United States and in order for business to flourish cities need have worldwide interactions. 

This year has had ups and downs as far as my work goes.. I put effort into a lot of my assignments but didn’t always follow up on the next one. I know I can do better, ad I will do better. Sophomore year is going to be a year a trials and tribulation, but also a time of great success. Freshman Year of English has showed me a lot about SLA and the work ethnic level here. I will have to put all of my attention into my work and worry about videogames later. I still did pretty well this year.

I made a serious mistake on this assignment. I uploaded the wrong file. I had two of them. One of then was a draft that needed a ton of work. And the other was one that was nearly perfect. That was my final draft and I got them mixed up. Then I didn’t realize it until almost a week later. By them it was to late and Ms. Dunn had already graded the assignment. I think that even though I uploaded the wrong file I did a good job on this assignment. In my improvements, I have the right file in this reflection portfolio I also looked at the file based off of what the feed back I got from the unfinished version.

            Lady Macbeth has a lot of character change in “The Tragedy of Macbeth”. In the beginning she is greedy and ruthless although she didn’t think everything through and did not know the full consequences of her crimes (physically and mentally). Lady Macbeth is greedy and ruthless but has a vast and intriguing conscience.

            Lady Macbeth has just read the letter that Macbeth has sent to he. In Act 1, 4 lines 15-18, Lady Macbeth says, “Yet do I fear thy nature is to full o’ th’ milk of human kindness.” Lady Macbeth thinks that Macbeth does not have the mental strength to kill Duncan. There is no way for her and Macbeth to obtain their ultimate goal. She wants nothing, but to achieve the ultimate goal and will help Macbeth accomplish this.

            In Act 1, 7 Macbeth has second thoughts about killing Duncan. Lady Macbeth wants him to stand up and act like he is a man. Then in lines 59-61 Lady Macbeth says, “But screw your courage to the sticking place”. If she wants Macbeth to get his courage to a greater level so that he will have the strength to kill King Duncan after he tells her that he is scared. She knows that the only way they will ever get to the throne is to kill King Duncan; she has a whole new plan in mind.

            In Act 2, 1 Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have just committed murder and Macbeth is sad and ashamed and can’t even look at his own hands with out showing signs of disgust. Then on line 19, Lady Macbeth says, “A foolish thought to say a sorry sight.” When she says this she refers to when Macbeth says, “A sorry sight” The blood on his hands made him thinks to say this. When Lady Macbeth says her line she means that you had know reason to say that and it’s not important. She finds it unimportant and decides to stay focused on her one goal of becoming queen.

In Act 2, 2 Macbeth ahs just killed Duncan and has the bloody daggers in his hand. He is so shook up that he can’t even put them back at the scene of the crime. Lady Macbeth needs him to focus or they will get caught. In lines 45-52, Lady Macbeth says, “…infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers, the sleeping and the dead are but as pictures.” She says this when Macbeth brings back the daggers from his killing of King Duncan. She believes that he is not focused and needs to stay focused if they are to succeed and not get caught in their scheme.

            In, Act 5, 1 Lady Macbeth is raving and has fits where she begins to act in her sleep. She also begins to give away secrets that Macbeth wanted to keep. In lines 36-40, Lady Macbeth says, “Out damned spot, out I say!” Lady Macbeth is driven mad. She continually seen images of blood on her hands that was washed off days ago. She thinks it is still there because she has been compromised by her conscience. She now has broken down now that she has become queen. Her conscience caught up with her.

            In Act 1, 6 Lady Macbeth is thinking more what is going to become of this prophecy, she realizes that the only way for Macbeth to become king (and more specifically, her as queen) she needs to have a stronger mind in order to do what she believes should be done for them to become the royal family. In lines 38-43 Lady Macbeth says, “Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts. Unsex me here.” Lady Macbeth needs to, not be a weak female, but act as that of a strong man and so she wishes that a supernatural force will allow her to become this. She needs this strength to help Macbeth get them into the royal family.

            In Act 1, 7 Macbeth has just had Banquo killed and does not take it well. He is about to break down over the matter. Lady Macbeth tries to continually persuade him on page 2, she says, “Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would.” Lady Macbeth is saying that he needs to not pull back and go forward with everything that was planed and not pull back because of weakness. Lady Macbeth knows that if Macbeth does not kill Duncan than this chance will never come again and they will never get to earn the crown.

            In Act 2, 2 Lady Macbeth goes to lay the daggers on the guards to frame them of the crime. Lady Macbeth feels stronger now and says, “That which have made them death have made me bold.” She is referring to the drunken guards; which have passed out because of an overdose of wine. With them knocked out, Lady Macbeth has a lot more courage. She only became strong because she can easily accomplish her goal now with the help of Macbeth.

            Near the end of the play in Act 5, 2 Lady Macbeth has just had another fit. She also gave away here secrets about how they got in the throne. After Lady Macbeth leaves in lines 70-71 the doctor says, “Foul whisp’rings are abroad. Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles.” The doctor knows that only these fits made her reveal these deeds and that she revealed these deeds because her conscience plagued her to do so. Lady Macbeth has broken down completely now because she already has exactly what she wants and has nothing other to think about.

            Lady Macbeth has gone from mean and greedy to soft. In the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth wants nothing but to get into the throne; but by the end of the play she wants nothing but to be rid of the guilt. Thesis: Lady Macbeth is greedy and ruthless but has a vast and intriguing conscience.

            This benchmark was a bit of a difficulty for me and in the beginning I was having trouble finding a topic. Once I found my topic, I wasn’t sure how I would go fourth with it. Once I was positive of where I was going to take this benchmark, I started to lose focus of my topic. I think that over all though, once I got past all of the complications, I turned in a product that didn’t need a ton of improvement. I did very well on this assignment. I had a solid opener and I included points of humor and sarcasm, important dialogue and vocabulary. My benchmark was also of proper length and didn’t run over. As part of my improvements, I improved the second paragraph by clarifying on some things that seemed a little abstract.

What a coincidence?

             I prayed to God one day last year (Opener).  I had just started to search for high schools, and I discovered Science Leadership Academy. I probably wouldn’t have found it, if I hadn’t looked through the entire high school book for 2010. I wouldn’t have looked through the entire book if my mom hadn’t told me to. Coincidence? I don’t think so! This happened for a reason. I am not at SLA because of a chance incident. Life is not full of things that just happen to happen until the height of your life. A greater force plans life out. Life just isn’t supposed to be for something spectacular to happen, but for something meaningful to occur.

           

If you followed that entire first paragraph then I am proud of you (humor). See most people don’t see things that way. A lot of people don’t want it to seem like someone is messing with their life and screwing things up for them to show them a truth they don’t want to see. Take one day in my science class in my 7^th grade year. I was planning today to ask my science teacher to write a letter for a recommendation for me. I am well behaved in her class and since science is my favorite subject and I thought it would be a good idea to get her recommendation because she is a science teacher and could help me get into a science based school (sarcasm); but “what a coincidence”. I got into trouble for telling the student next to me the agenda because he couldn’t see it. I guess it just wasn’t a good day for her. So I waited until the end of class for her to cool down then I gave her the envelope and she smirked and said, “After how you acted today? You come and ask me for a recommendation?” I stared at her then said, “Yes” (dialogue) She laughed and acted like the entire recommendation will be based off of one day. So I asked her with a shrewd (vocabulary) look on my face, “What is so funny? I know that with your level of intelligence that you will not base the entire recommendation off of one day.”

She stopped laughing.

            “Have a good day Ms. Peddle,” I told her then walked away.

            By doing that not only did I increase the positive things that she would put it into the recommendation, but I also helped change her conscientious (vocabulary) view of the rest of the class. All of this occurred because I changed her point of view. For the rest of the year, things were a lot easier to deal with in her class as far as relationships with students and teachers in that class.

Now I’m not going to get real deep by telling you that there are some mystical forces out there. It’s pretty simple actually. Life has been planned out. Not every detail but small goals and plots that are here specifically to show you something meaningful that you may never have known otherwise. All you have to do is fulfill it. It teaches many people valuable lessons. It will help you to grow and mature inot an adult, and even after that.

So it is near the end of 7^th grade year and we are all ready to leave. We have about 6 days left and some people decided that it would be smart to bring some knives to school and sell them between classes. They got busted before lunch.

They apparently wanted to try their luck and decided to show off the knives while we were walking up the steps to our next class. They didn’t act very wary (vocabulary) about it either. All three of them were suspended and later afterwards two of them were expelled. What’s the point; that had a sad ending? Now one of them is at SLA with me and is even in my advisory class. The other goes to a private school called LaSalle. They both made off better by leaving Overbrook Educational Center (OEC) for a year. Another coincidence? Yeah right! They both have told me that if they hadn’t done that that they would have never been where they are today. All of this is because of a mistake they decided to make. Coincidence? I don’t think so! It happened for a reason.

Life may not have an ultimate plan but there is always cause and effect. There is always some small plot to teach a lesson. In fact I would not be telling you my story if I didn’t have this assignment. I wouldn’t have had this assignment if I hadn’t gotten into this school; and I wouldn’t have gotten into this school if I hadn’t seen it listed in my search. That wouldn’t have happened if my mom hadn’t told me about this school. So thanks mom for allowing me to tell this story.

            This is probably my best work of the year. I put the most effort possible into this assignment. I worked on it even after I was already done and enriched it multiple times. In this assignment I had to compare The Odyssey to some thing modern. I compared it to some thing that used to be one of my obsessions. Star Wars! I loved watching Star Wars reading and listening to it. When we got this assignment it came easy and I did a ton of work on it. The problem was, I did too much work on it. I had too much information and my thesis wasn’t very focused. I actually felt kind of upset over this assignment. I believe that I did a good job on this assignment. I decided that I would mainly focus on focusing my thesis and narrowing it down. That was my goal in my improvements.

“The Star Wars Saga” (By George Lucas) and “The Odyssey” (By Homer) are both great stories to be told. They both have interesting plots that show a lot of determination. The stories of “The Odyssey” and “Star Wars Saga” are very similar; they are built off of each other. They have different plots that are meant to get specific ideas across. Obi-Wan and Athena both act as mentors but also have some differences. Anakin and Odysseus both have similar goals to accomplish, but have limits to how far they will go to accomplish them. Luke and Telemachus are confused about their very existence and who their father is, but want different things out of their life.

 

Obi-Wan and Athena both act as mentors to Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Odysseus and Telemachus. When Odysseus was getting through the war, he had assistance from Athena that helped him plan battle after battle. When Anakin Skywalker was using bad judgment on battle strategies to take down the Separatists Leaders, Obi-Wan showed him the errors of his ways and guided him in making the right decisions. Obi-Wan guided Anakin even after Anakin betrayed him, he helped his son, (Luke Skywalker) later to help bring Anakin back from the dark side after he had already died and then figured out a way to come back. In the Odyssey, Athena helped Odysseus win many battles over his enemies even when he began to lie and think dishonest thoughts. She also helped Telemachus bring his father back home and get him prepared for when it was time to rid the house of the suitors, without him even knowing that she was there. Where Obi-Wan was a good friend and Master to Anakin Skywalker, and also a positive mentor to Luke S., Athena was a mentor to Odysseus when he struggled in battle and then Telemachus when he didn’t know what to do with his life.

Now even though Obi-Wan and Athena are a lot alike, they still have many differences. Obi-Wan had his life threatened by Anakin and was only able to return from the netherworld for short periods of time, whereas Athena is immortal and cannot die. Athena also never actually fought along side Odysseus because she would get to involved with mortals whereas Obi-Wan battled along side Anakin many times and even saved each other’s lives. When it came to life and death situations, Athena only gave Odysseus hints instead of just bluntly doing it for him. Obi-Wan also had his life saved by Anakin many times and Athena rarely asked for assistance from Odysseus. Athena and Obi-Wan are both wise and powerful characters that play a great role in the Star Wars Saga and The Odyssey.

 

While Anakin Skywalker and Odysseus are extremely similar in their conquests for power and justice and also their cockiness, they also have differences that make each of them unique. Every mission Anakin went on, he took unnecessary risks to prove a point to himself. In II, Anakin flew straight threw a set of power couplings, (which could kill anyone connected to machinery if they were to get hit. When Odysseus defeated the Great Cyclops Polyphemus, he risked his entire group and his own life just so that he could get glory and feel good inside. Almost immediately after him and his crew left the island Odysseus yelled back in triumph, “If anyone asks you who gouged out your eye, which stripped you of sight, it was I, Odysseus, Raider of Cities, who did it.” There is no real reason for Odysseus to do this; he was simply being cocky and dangerous. Anakin also has many great interests in obtaining as much power as possible. In II Anakin stated that, “I will become the most powerful Jedi ever… I will even be able to keep people from dying.” Anakin was so power hungry that he wanted to do the impermissible. A while before he had said this he had slaughtered an entire tribe of SandPeople. He was mad because a few of them had just killed his mother. In the Odyssey, Odysseus slaughtered everyone in the house because he had been away from his family for so long.

While these two characters are very similar, they are also very different. Anakin killed his wife because he believed that she was working with his enemies. Odysseus would never kill his wife no matter what. Anakin had also gone so far into his evil that he eventually joined “The Dark-Side.” Prophecies were made about both Anakin Skywalker and Odysseus. Anakin was “The Chosen One” and was supposed to bring balance to the Force by ridding the galaxy of “The Sith.” Odysseus had several prophecies made about him. There was one where Ithaca would not be able to destroy Troy without his assistance. Another prophecy stated that he would not be able to return home except for under specific circumstances. Anakin and Odysseus did many great works and in the end they both lived for what is right.

 

Luke Skywalker and Telemachus are both cunning characters who want justice and to (in Luke’s case) avenge their father, or (in Telemachus’ case) to find their father. Both of these characters are very skilled in many different things. Luke can build or fix almost anything. Telemachus was a great warrior. They both were relentless in finding or avenging their father that they never knew. While Luke and Telemachus are both good at many things they were also clouded from information that meant a lot to them. Luke fought his father (IV) unknowingly and at the end of the battle Luke still wouldn’t believe. It wasn’t until later when Obi-Wan showed him the truth did he believes.  Telemachus was housing his father-in-disguise in his own house and didn’t know.

While Luke and Telemachus are very much alike, they also have some differences. Luke wanted to kill his own father even after he realized whom it was he was battling. Telemachus would help his Father to the very end. Luke is more careful than Telemachus. When Luke first realized that his father was Darth Vader he wouldn’t believe it, and it took a lot more time for him to trust what his father had said. Telemachus believed that a homeless guy in rags was his father without a second thought. Telemachus and Luke both have many skills that often come in handy.

 In conclusion, the plots of Star Wars and The Odyssey are similar in plot and also were built off of each other. The stories are not exactly alike but the stories seem to be a slightly distorted reflection of each other. Anakin was brought back from the dark side despite what he believed just like Odysseus was able to get back home. Luke wanted more than anything to avenge his father just as Telemachus wanted nothing more than to find the father he never knew.

            This assignment worked out pretty well for me. I explained Lady Macbeth well and had an interesting way of showing it. When we did this assignment I wasn’t keen on grading other peoples work. I personally believe that I deserved a better grade than what I got. I graded people on the effort it looked like it took then to do the assignment. I think that I was graded on if they liked it or not. I also think that it may have been repetitive. Part of my improvements have been to put a little more rhythm into the song and also to use less repeats so that the song fades out at the end.

            The book I read for this assignment was awesome. When I wrote this assignment I knew what I was going to say and exactly how I would say it. I pulled threw with a large amount of effort and I think I got a great grade on the assignment even though I didn’t see what I got for the assignment yet. In my improvements I elaborated on some points I made that were unclear.

            The second book in a new series by Rick Riordan “The Throne of Fire”  is a fast paced book based off of Egyptian Mythology. Two children have the blood of the Pharaoh within them. This makes them extremely powerful and also extremely dangerous. These children control the fate of the world.

            A couple millennia ago, The Egyptian Gods would come to earth from a place called the Duat. The Duat is where the gods could roam freely. It is also the place where mortal souls go after they die. Two kids named Sadie Kane and Carter Kane. Two gods of Egyptian Mythology once possessed them. Isis, a goddess of magic possessed Sadie Kane and gave her awesome powers that no other magician could do. Horus, the Falcon Warrior god, possessed Carter. Carter was able to be anyone with his combat magic. Towards the end of the first book they gave up the power of gods and now have to train a lot harder to do the simplest spells. Later, they sent out a beacon of magic to help other magicians find them and get help.

            Now they are back in Book #2. Carter and Sadie want to summon an ancient diet of Egyptian Mythology. They want to summon Ra, God of the Sun. According to ancient Egyptian Mythology, Ra went up into the heavens permanently after Isis used Ra’s secret name (which is like a magical social security card number) and forced him into doing what she wanted. They wish to re-summon Ra so that he can become King of the Gods once again. They have to go on a quest threw the Duat and find all three parts of him.  In the morning, he is Khepri, god of the rising sun to symbolize birth and creation. In the middle of the day he is Ra. Then at the end of the day he is Atum, God of the sunset. Carter and Sadie also have some opposition. The House of Magic (Egyptian’s underground society) doesn’t think they are doing a good thing. They try and stop them multiple times. Carter almost died at least twice. Sadie was about be suffer from a curse that would leave her with out a will of her own. Eventually they get all three parts of Ra, but he isn’t exactly himself. Ra acts like someone who is 6 years old. He is brainwashed and doesn’t remember a thing. The Head of the House of Magic also has been killed in the efforts to stop them from awaking Ra. Their uncle Amos Kane now takes over the job since he is the most powerful magician in the world.

Horus believes that Carter is a fool for putting Ra back on the throne. Many of the other Gods agree that it might have been a mistake. Now Carter and Sadie have sent out another magical signal for more people to come. They want to become strong and take down the Lord of Chaos, Apophis. They will still need Ra’s help. But how can they when he barely understands the simplest things.

            Sadie and Carter are also both experiencing mixed feelings about other people. Sadie is stuck between Anubis (God of Funerals) and a guy named Walt who is suffering from the disease that killed King Tut. Carter found the girl of his dreams then found out she wasn’t really there with them. Now he has found her again and she isn’t sure if she likes him like he like her.

I can’t wait until the third book comes out. “The Throne of Fire” and “The Red Pyramid” have been great books and I love the level of action that hey present. The suspense is killing me though. I want to know if Ra gets better and if Zia (who Carter has a crush on) begins to remember the past that Carter and her shared when Zia was a Shabti. Rick Riordan, a great book writer of mythology and action. He has a great imagination.

The journal entrees are simple assignments that we do every once in a while to clear our head. The topics are very simple things even though they are extremely important things, some of them. The four I chose were “Fitting In”, “Expectations”, “Adulthood” and “Heroes”

​It is important not to fit in, but to feel accepted. The term, “fitting in” has a loose definition. It pretty much means that others like you. Some people think that fitting in means that you go with the popular group. It is only popular if everyone around lets it be popular. I personally would prefer that I was liked by people instead of hated or disliked. I wouldn’t go extremely far to do it though, because if you have to change too much to make people like you then they don’t like the true you. I am positive that people who change too much just so that they are liked end up not knowing who they are themselves. Then that could lead to depression or worst. Just be yourself, don’t try to change for others and don’t try to “fit in”. Fitting in doesn’t really exist. It just means being part of something that you believe is cool.

Heroes

A hero is someone who simply did the right thing. They didn’t go with what people around them said and they have a large sense of what justice is. Heroes can be the most hated people in the world sometimes. Some people just don’t have a good sense of what justice is, so they antagonize those of us who do. I think that any one who does the right thing against what is known to be wrong. Of course there are other definitions of a hero for me. I believe that fire fighters and police officers are heroes because they do things that show acts of courage. I am not against them, but all they do is step outside of their comfort zone. Anyone who has the courage to go way outside their comfort zone is courageous to me and therefore is a hero in my book.

 Adulthood

An adult is when you reach a level of maturity that makes the world seem different. A “child” sees the world as a place to have fun and be carefree. An adult sees it as an opportunity to prosper. I personally believe that an adult can be any age. Legally though, adults are 18 and until then you are not allowed special previleges.

People expected me to go to college at 15. I was expected to keep watch over my sisters and help my parents in their old age. I am also expected to have a ton of kids. This is because I am the only Spencer male left. Every one of my family members who live on the West Coast expect me to do something great because I am the only Spencer left of my generation that is male. I think that it is natural for people to expect things of you. Even though none of it is guaranteed. I have also made expectations of myself. I have always expected my self to run a company call “SpencerTech” Industries. I think that when you set expectations for yourself that you tend to find them easier to fulfill. No one should know you better then you unless they are stalking you and recording your every movement, which would be weird. If you set the expectation for yourself then it shouldn’t be really difficult unless you want to challenge yourself. When other people set expectations for you, it is usually what they want, and not you.

This assignment was rushed for me because my character didn't have a lot of information in it. I was about to change when links finally started to come up. I choose this character because he was powerful and the single biggest threat that the Olympian Gods ever faced. By the way, I drew that depiction Porphyrion myself.

This is my globalization benchmark about how America and Philadelphia has been globalized. Here is the link to my BM presentation.

The most challenging thing about this benchmark was connected globalization to Philadelphia. I knew things that I wanted to put up but I didn't know how to write how it did connect to Philadelphia. The easiest part for me was obtaining the images. Most of my images had me in it and others were easy to get since the places wasn't that far from my house. Out of all my pictures, my favorite has to be the one on the society slide. It's a picture of my family(1/8 of them) and I, in the temple praying together as a family. 

I think the evidence of globalization in Philadelphia isn't that hard to see if you live in a certain neighborhood. I live in the Khmer community of South Philadelphia, so it was easy to see where my family and my culture has globalized Philadelphia. I can't tell if it's more or less than other countries but I think it's less because my family in California says their Khmer community is bigger than the one here and that people would go all out during News Years.

Done with benchmarks this quarter.

And for good. :D

GRADUATION!!!! <3

Oh gosh, three more days of actual classes. I can do this. I feel like the little train who could. I keep on telling myself I think I can finish this work, I think I can finish this work, I think I can finish this work, I think I can finish this work, I think I can finish this work, and surprisingly enough I do.

My Benchmark

Reflection:
    The most challenging thing about this project was finding the 10 topics, and finding something in the city that would relate to them without being redundant. For example with Security and terrorism, even though I only did security, if i was going to do them both there was a challenge of how i could differ the two. So the way I went about collecting the photos that I did take was discussing, and brainstorming with my peers at my table. We saw what we all had in mind, the differences, similarities and if it was the same how we could make them different. WIth our collaboration is made things a lot less difficult.
    Among all of the images that I took I think it may be the photo of the Comcast center. I used it for the topic of energy since the building is "green". However in it you can see the second tallest building in the city, a building if I'm not mistaken also just went "green". With that being just one of the images I found it that Philadelphia has a lot of evidence of globalization, everyone is just blind, I was one of them before this project. A lot things in Philadelphia is from Philadelphia, and also benifets the rest of the world.

Here i my Benchmark
 1. What did you find most challenging about this project?

The most challenging part about this project was the part with writing how the image dealt with globalization and how it affected our daily life. I mean for most of them it was easy, but for certain parts like politics was harder than science and technology. 

2. How did you go about collecting the images or selecting the images?
I went about how the benchmark description went, you would research the topics then think about topics in Philadelphia and I would take pictures for example, I remember researching security and terrorism and I thought about some very important places in Philadelphia and what would need the most security and why and I thought of 30th street and how much security they might need in case of a terrorist attack.

3. Which image is your favorite? Why? Elaborate.
I think I enjoyed the Culture picture for my picture. It was the stereotypical things, but I was looking around my room noticing a lot of the name brand things I own and how well I tried to fit into societies expectations and how I am in a statistic in a globalization topic without really thinking about it. 

4. How prevalent is the evidence of globalization in Philadelphia? Do you think it is more or less so (evident) than in other large cities in the US? Why Why not?
I feel like in today's society it is big and head on. If I had no idea what globalization was then I wouldn't notice it. I don't think that it would be any different then any other city because we all face the same crisis. I do think that it is hidden in Philadelphia then compared to New York, but it's still present. 

Slideshow

The most challenging component of this project was capturing photos of things that properly represent themes of globalization in Philadelphia. This is actually the primary task of the project. The next challenging part was to explain the global impact of the organization, object, etc. I found it difficult to write two solid paragraphs that made sense. The preliminary work, determining what type of photos to capture, was time consuming and I was left with little time to thoroughly complete the other tasks.

I walked around with the globalization topics that we discussed in mind. I snapped pictures of any object that might have any relation to any of the topics. Then, I reviewed all of the pictures and assigned globalization topics to each. Next, I researched the essentiality, purpose of the thing(s) that were in the picture. For instance, I took a picture of the freight train that passes my building of residence daily. I proceeded to research the importance of railroads…

My favorite picture, regardless of its quality, might be the one of the freight train. The picture relates to the global economy theme. The picture might be my most unique as well.

The evidence of globalization in Philadelphia is substantial. I think that there is more evidence than what I found or acknowledged. I can’t say that there is more or less evidence of globalization in other cities versus the city of Philadelphia. My perspective while completing this assignment may have been limited. In order to answer his question, I would have to investigate…

In the future, I would anticipate the difficulties that I might encounter while completing this assignment. I did not expect the photo-taking process to be difficult, nor did I expect to have a hard time assigning global themes to them.

Benchmark Reflection

What did you find most challenging about this project?
- The hardest part was following the topics, because it was hard to find pictures for things like security and terrorism here in Philly. Of course things like culture is easy because it is all around us, but many things aren't.
How did you go about collecting the images or selecting the images?
- I found out what topics I was going to choose, and then took pictures according to that. So basically I thought of the connections first before I took the picture.
Which image is your favorite? Why? Elaborate.
- My favorite picture would be the one of my debate class from FACTs. I absolutely love my class and the kids that I teach, so when I was able to incorporate them into the project I was happy.
How prevalent is the evidence of globalization in Philadelphia? Do you think it is more or less so (evident) than in other large cities in the US? Why Why not?
- I think that Globalization is pretty prevalent in Philly mainly because we are a big, major city. Many different cultures are likely to flock to bigger areas, thus allowing for their customs and beliefs to merge with our own. As for smaller towns it would be a lot harder to find evidence of Globalization.
Link to PDF
Link to Sources

                                                             Short Reflection On The Year

Through out Freshman year I have improve tremendously. When I mean tremendously I mean tremendously. When I first came to English class in September I thought that it was going to be a nightmere. I thought that I would do so bad because I thought that my  english teacher Mrs. Dunn was going to be very very stict. In the begining of the year she had told the class that she was a writer for vogue magazine, and that scared me because I assumed she would be so strict knowing that she is such an awesome reader and writer.  Later on in the year I noticed that she wasn’t that bad. 

She was very layed back and she aloud you to have do fun things but you had to make sure that you did your work. However there were many challenging things for me in english class this year. It took me a while to adjust to the teaching of the new teacher and environment. I thought that this was the most challenging thing of all. Till this day I have to adjust to certain things knowing that this is my first year of high school. I’m not yet familiar with alot of things yet but I do know that I have accomplished many things that I needed to accomplish. 

I know that I have alot of things that I need to get better at but I also know that not everyone is perfect. However I will work harder next year in english class to accomplish what ever I didn’t accomplish in this years english class. There were also some relatively easy parts that I had accomplished in english class this year. This year I had did a better job with communication skills and I asked for help when ever I needed it. I got very good grades in english this year and I am really proud of that. I am truly blessed to have been apart of englsih 1 this year and I will truly miss the class itself and my teacher Mrs. Dunn.

I thought that she did a great job teaching us the english material and also putting her best foot forward in helping the students better understand english related stuff. The one thing I learned about this class other than english is that students should never beat themselves up and stress out about a letter grade. Always try your best in what ever you do and know that you are more than a conquerer through jesus christ. That’s all folks.                                                                                

                                                  Macbeth Character Analysis
For this project each student had to create a piece that demonstrated one characters developement and growth throughout Macbeth. We had to use quotes from the play to illustrate the transformation of Macbeth or Lady Macbeth. This project had to have a thesis statement, character quotes and a crafted conclusion that ties it all together. For this project I chose Macbeth. Below basically shows the whole process of the project and what it entailed. 

                                                                    

                                                                    Macbeth Character Analysis

                                                              Quarter 1

 

    Thesis:  At the start of the play, Macbeth is apprehensive about being aggressive to become King, but by the end, he turns into a strictly vile man. 

In (Act 1 scene 4), Macbeth say’s  “Star’s hide your fears; let not light see my black and deep desires.” Macbeth in this scene is very upset that Malcolm was named prince of Cumberland. Macbeth felt upset inside but he didn’t want to show anyone he was upset. So instead Macbeth dealt with it and he moved on.  

       

            In (Act 2 scene 1) Macbeth has just talked to Lady Macbeth about the witches prophecy.  Lady Macbeth tries to force Macbeth to kill the king but Macbeth doesn’t want to. Macbeth ask’s “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?” Macbeth meant that he see’s a dagger and he wants use it on something but he complains that he right know has fatal vision, so he is becomes a little demonic. 

           In (Act 2 scene 3)(p. 29) Macbeth say’s that “ I am afraid to think what I have done” . Macbeth is very upset about the fact that he had killed King Duncan because right before King Duncan was killed, King Duncan gave him a promotion to be the Thane of Glamis. His wife Lady Macbeth pressured him to kill Duncan. In this case, because of this, he was named the next King of Cawdor. In Macbeth’s mind he would have thought that he didn’t have to be picked to become the Thane of Glamis, but because of his and Lady Macbeth’s greed he tried his best to 

get everything he wanted and that was to kill King Duncan so that Macbeth could become king. 

        (Act 2 scene 3)(p.35) say’s “O, yet I do repent me of my furry that I did kill them”. This Quote mean’s that Macbeth regret’s and he is very afraid to admit that he killed those who were in the chamber. The guards were the victims who were killed and their hands and faces were covered with blood and so were the daggers. Lenox had brought the news that they were dead.  “We hear our bloody cousins are best owed in England and Ireland, not confessing 

parricide.” (Act 3 scene 1)(p. 40) Macbeth means that he hears the people in Ireland and England and talking about the parricide and what happening about the killing and how dreadful he is. 

         When the ghost of Banquo shows up at dinner and sit’s in Macbeth’s seat Macbeth say’s             

“ Blood hath been shed ere now, I” th” olden time, Ere humane statute purged the gentle 

weal.” (Act 3 scene 4)(p. 53). This means that, blood has been shed and now the compassion has 

gotten rid of his patient’s for this ghost. No one see’s this ghost but Macbeth. Macbeth wants 

to prove that he see’s the ghost. Macbeth then goes crazy because the ghost of Banquo is sitting 

at the dinner table and the people at the table thinks he’s lot’s his mind.

         In (Act 5 scene 1)(p.68) the quote states that Macbeth say’s “Infected be the air whereon they ride, and damned all those that trust them!” means that when the Macduff’s men travel to Birnam wood the air should be toxic and the men should die from the air, and for those who 

trust Macduff’s plans, be damned (cursed). Macduff is going to try and get Siward, the Earl of 

Northumberland’s 10 thousand men together so that they can defeat Macbeth together. 

Everyone’s hope’s are very high now because they really want Macbeth to be defeated so that 

there could be another king of Cawdor.  

In (Act 4 scene 1)(p. 68) say’s, “ The very Firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand.” This means that Macbeth has a lot of thoughts about his title as king and let them come true. In this scene Macbeth say‘s “to crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done.           

           (Act 5 scene 3)(p.88)  say’s “Go prick thy fear, Thou lily-livered boy.” Macbeth meant to get over what ever you were thinking and talking about. Suck it up and take it like a man. Stop your sulking and get over your fears. The servant, Satin complained about the 10 thousand men who were coming and he had fears. Macbeth didn’t want him to talk about it because it would bring him down.  In (Act 5 scene 7)(p. 94) it say’s “But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, brandished by man that’s of a woman born.” This meant that Macbeth’s weapons used in battle made him feel elated because Macbeth truly believe’s in violence and the weapons are 

apart of violence. In this scene was during the war and how the weapons all motivated Macbeth 

to do better fighting.

In conclusion the quotes showed Macbeth’s aggression. Through out the play Macbeth became more and more angry because of the witches prophesy. These quote’s basically go along with the certain changes that Macbeth is going through. In the quotes they show how Macbeth start’s out being calm but when the witches prophecy’s kick’s in, he goes completely crazy. 

                                                                  
                                                 


                                                        


                                                        Memoir Vignette
For this project we had to craft a memoir vignette of our own and utilize stylistic devices to make our personal piece of non-fiction interesting for an audience. The writing process for our vignette had to have full in depth brainstorming, outlining, rough drafting, final drafting and peer review. This vignette had to be powerful, compact and makes an impact with stylistic devices and other interesting aspects of storytelling. Below basically shows the whole process of the project and what it entailed. 

                                                   -“Portland Covered Under The White Blanket”-

                                                                                   Quarter 2

          

“Hello Travelers I have very bad news, all Flights will be cancelled due to the snow storm, Thank you” (Dialogue). I spent 5 treacherous hours stuck at the busy airport of Minneapolis due to a snow storm (Opener). The end of December is always a bad time to travel to certain places. Flight Delays were every where. People were talking loudly, sleeping on the floors and devouring all the food they could possibly eat at the fast food restaurants. You would have thought that the world was coming to an end with a fleet of so many people screaming and panicking. Many swarms of airport security men patrolled the airport in search for unaccompanied minors. Rolling wheels of suite cases make the annoying roar sounds. 

          I felt like saying, THIS IS TORTURE, Beeee Quuiiet to all those crazy people!!!! My grandmother and I had to escape before the people ate us alive (Hyperbole).  We decided to go to the Mall of Americas, the worlds largest mall. As we cruised down the escalator to the metro train, the loudness became completely silent like when a person turns the volume dial slowly on a radio (Simile). We took the quiet, empty train to the Mall Of America’s so that we could kill at least a little bit of time before our next exhausting red eye flight to Portland Oregon.

         After boarding the narrow locomotive we sat down in the red fabric seats and went for a bumpy, uncomfortable ride to the mall. Finally, we got off the Metro and entered the gates of heaven (Metaphor). As I walked in the warm air hit my face. I was amazed at the large doors and the enormous mall.There was red carpet, expensive stores, an Aquarium, a mini Theme Park and a big fat man wearing red with a white beard called Santa Claus on a large poster (Humor). This was a place were I wanted to be. 

           I felt like I won 1 million dollars. The shoppers were so calm. There were no rolling wheels, no food devouring people and no people sleeping on the floors (Repetition For Effect).   This was a place to chill out and shop. Thank god!!! For five hours I went on a mini spending spree, visiting many of the stores. Nike Factory, Best buy, H&M and Hollister were all in the same walking distance. The walking distance was shorter than the yellow brick road itself (Metaphor). 

            Time had easily eluded from us and we needed to head back to the airport quick, fast and in a hurry . So we did. Sadly I had to say my farewells to my beloved shopping mall. After a short period of time we arrived at the Minneapolis airport and everyone was just so peaceful. That was because half of the travelers from earlier were all gone. Then there came a great noise. “All Passengers traveling to Portland, Oregon please board the plane at Gate C7 right know.” 

              Without hesitation my grandmother and I ran to the jetty so fast I thought I saw fire behind us. “ Excuse me mam and Sir, may I have your tickets (Dialogue). We kindly gave the man our tickets and boarded the aircraft. I searched high and low for seat 9 and found it. “Aaaahhh yes, right next to the window” I said (Dialogue). As soon as everyone was seated the airplane pushed off from the gate and went straight onto the runway.  

             5,4,3,2,1 we blasted into the dark cloudy sky. I tried to stay awake but really couldn’t. My eyes closed, opened, closed, opened and closed (Repetition For Effect) . I fell asleep. AAAHHH!!!!, I woke up to the loud announcement on the PA system. “We are landing at the Portland Airport in 3 minutes. Thank you for riding with us on US Airways.” Looking towards my left I saw the sweet twinkling city lights of Portland Oregon covered in a white blanket of snow. I then quietly whispered to myself, “I am so happy I finally got away from that disaster and I can finally call this place home for a few weeks.” 

                                    The Odyssey Compare/Contrast Essay

For this project we had to craft an essay comparing a character or event in The Odyssey to another work of art. We had to examine how other artist can use and change the archetypes from The Odyssey to explain a human theme, feeling, or experience. The process of this project envolved brainstorming, collecting evidence (quotations), crafting a thesis, outlining, analyzing quotations, rough drafting, peer review and writing a final draft. For this project i chose Everett the main character in O Brother Were Art Thou. Below basically shows the whole process of the project and what it entailed. 

                                        “The Tales of Everett & Odysseus”

                                                            Quarter 3                   

              Although Everett and Odysseus loved their wives, one wife showed more compassion for her partner. The other wife had an interest in his money instead of their relationship. In the movie, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, Penny’s marriage is driven by Everett’s money. In order for her to get the money she must divorce him. All of Penny’s actions are driven by her lust for money. Penny needs the money to support their kids.

              Odysseus was an extremely strong, brave and courageous man when it came to handling big tasks. However, when his wife Penelope came near him he became more gentle and loving. On the other hand, Everett was a very silly and slick person when it came to getting his men out of trouble, but when his wife Penny was near him he showed a positive and serious connection to her. Penny didn’t show the positive connection to him.

             While suffering the long tragic trails Everett seemed to be determined to provide for his wife and children. He thought that he could get back with his wife and kids, but when he gets to his wife Penny, Penny denies him of being a true husband and father to his 6 young children. “ By saying, ”I don’t love you anymore Everett. I’m getting married to Vernon T. Waldrip”.  Even though Everett tries to become a better father and husband by changing the wrong things that he has done in his life and tries not to repeat the mistakes that he has done before; Penny’s anger and love for Vernon T. Waldrip overpowers the marriage. This shows that love can be a driving force in a relationship.

             When he visits his wife Penny, Everett tries to work his problems out but has a difficult time trying to make Penny forgive him. Everett say’s “Penny I don’t do the things I used to do anymore. Please forgive me for all of the things I have done. We can be a family.” So at the end of the movie Everett wants to get back with Penny and he says he would give Penny the ring from when they got married. Everett then noticed that the ring was 10,000 ft in the lake. Penny had said to Everett “ In order to marry me you must go and get that ring in the lake”.

           In, The Odyssey, Odysseus has trouble trying not to reminisce about his wife Penelope and his children. Knowing that he is separated from his family, Penelope has many doubt’s that Odysseus would come back to see her and the kids. Driven by love, Odysseus comes back to Ithaca and finds his wife but he comes back with a surprise. Penelope decides to set up targets in the hallway and she wants the suitors and Odysseus to shoot arrows at the targets. Who ever shot the arrows in the targets marries Penelope. The reason why Penelope did this was because she wanted to try to intimidate Odysseus and the suitors. She knew that Odysseus was a great shooter and that he would shoot all of the arrows.  While Odysseus was gone he really had to push himself to go back to the land of Ithica. He had to be there with his wife Penelope and his children. He couldn’t give up on his children and his wife. So that basically pushed Odysseus to come back to Ithica.

                   In Conclusion both couples get through their hardships, but different things motivate them. Penelope really loves Odysseus not just because of his material things but also because of his personality. However, Everett might struggle with his relationship because his wife Penny uses him to get his money and other material things. In both of these cases the main characters reveal that they have strong compassion for their partners and that they have different ways in which they handle their relationships. 

For the creative project we had to take all the information we learned about macbeth's aggression in the story and put it into a visual project. We had to include a thesis statement, quotes and a powerful conclusion. I chose to do a Slideshow for a visual. Below shows everything that the project entailed.
Macbeth Creative Project (Below)



For this project we had to do a brief project describing a book that we read on our own. This project had to include a summary and the books background information. You could have done this project on a slideshow, movie, podcast song or anything else creative. For this project I had chose to do a slideshow. Below shows everything that the project entailed.
Independent Reading Project (Below)

Four Top Journal Entries:

Define Hero and who is a hero in you life?

I believe a hero is a person who saves you from danger. I have many heros

in my life. One of my important hero's are my parents. My parents

demonstrate great parenting and also great success. They teach me

how to be a hard worker and when I get older and have children be

be a great provider for them. They show me how to handle my

different obstacles and they are teachers about life. Without them I

would not have any success in doing things. I am so thankful to have

a hero because I wouldn't know were I would be.

Was there a time when you wanted to switch your identity?

There are sometimes when I feel like changing my race to another.

Sometimes people discriminate againts black people and it is kind of

hard to take that in especially if you are black. Sometimes some black

people don't know how to act and they get in trouble and I some times

get upset because my race acts up. Seeing a lot of African Americans on

the news for murder is just so embarrassing. It seems as if some African

Americans don't care about their lives or the lives of others. We are known

to be lazy at times. Not all but I would say a hand full of them but I have to

say that I am very proud to be black because we are concuerers and we came

a long way. I believe that my ancestors were true hero's and i would want to

follow in there foot steps.

Does A Lot Of People Depend On You For Anything?
A lot of people depend on me for a lot of things because I am a very mature person and I have a lot of goals for my life. My parents have a lot of expectations for me because I am very organized and I have great communication skills. My parents know that I am going to be very successful in life because I have a lot of plans for my life and I am very serious about it. I have a lot of expectations for myself also. I am a very strict person and when I want something I would go out and get it. I am very hard on myself about school work and other things because I know that when you are hard on your self about things you get a lot of things done. You sometimes come out stronger. The expectations that I have for myself and the expectations other people have about me are very similar. However I believe that my expectations for myself are more harsher. However I believe that if you put your mind and soul towards things you will get it done.   

If You Really Knew Me?

If you really knew me, you would know that I am courages serious and faithful. If you really knew me, you would know that I am competitive and sociable. If you really knew me, you would know that I am old spirited and mature. One important thing you would know about me is that I am gods child.

                          

For this project each student had to pick a character from the book The Odyssey and had to research that person and pick quotes from that character. The student also had to include a powerful thesis statement. We had to make this project look visual. For this project I had picked Prometheus. Below shows what the project entailed.
Myth Project (Below)

What I decided to do is make two didgeridoos and play them together to make kind of a slide thing. One of the didgeridoos on the outside and a smaller one on the inside so I could change pitch as it's needed in our song. 

The easiest and most efficient way to make a didgeridoo is by using PVC pipes and finding the appropriate size and design and then making it look pretty. :) 

For this project, I am planning on making a xylophone to play in our band.

How is it played? Well it's not a string, or wind instrument which means that you don't have to use your mouth or pluck your fingers. It's actually quite easy to play, all you need to do is hit the metal slates with some kind of mallet.

How do you change a note? Well there's different metal slates for each note. Some are bigger, some or smaller, depending on which note it's making.

How is it shaped? The xylophone is usually set up so that the pieces of metal are lying next to each other in a row from tallest to shortest.

How can I change sound? The different sizes of the metal make different noises, so the pitch depends on the size.

I don't like cold weather
I don't like hot weather
If it were right in the middle at 75
I'd be one happy camper


P.S - I'll admit this is super cheesy. I take full responsibility.