Mia Weathers-Fowler Public Feed

Insanity Defense

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Science And Society - Best - E on

The insanity defense is an excuse defense used in criminal trials. It means that the defendant was not or could not be responsible for their actions either during the time of the crime or permanently. One of the first cases of pleading insanity was in Auburn, New York. William Freeman was wrongfully accused of committing a theft. When they found the right man he still implicated Freeman in the theft and so Freeman fled jail. He was convicted of theft and escape and at the age of 16 he was sentenced to five years of labor at the state prison. After continuously insisting upon his innocence he was beaten in the head with a piece of wood by a guard. This left him mentally impaired. Shortly after Freeman was released a farmer and his family were murdered. Freeman was able to get a lawyer who was willing to make a case for insanity because he believed the mental state of the defendant should be taken into account. The court found him guilty saying that he was perfectly sane. Freeman died in his cell and an autopsy showed definite brain deterioration so the insanity case actually should have been sufficient.


The first viewpoint is that the insanity defense does not hold water. It is extremely difficult to figure out whether or not someone should be held responsible for their actions. It was pretty clear in the case above because after the autopsy it was definitely shown that there was brain deterioration. But in modern day cases, especially because the insanity defense is more widely known, it is hard to tell whether the claim should excuse the crime. For example, there have been cases of pedophilic behavior being the side effect of a brain tumor. Is that person then responsible for their actions or was it solely the tumor? There is significant neuroscience to back up the fact that the mental stability of the defendant often can remove a level of responsibility. There is a part in the brain called the orbiofrontal cortex which controls things like reasoning, impulse control, social integration, morals, etc. So when that area of the brain is damaged the result can be sociopathic behavior. So the science does support the insanity defense.


On the other hand, the science isn’t always perfect and there are still a lot of unknowns. In the case of a man who had a brain tumor and started watching child pornography when he was at home, the question was raised as to how much he could control his impulses. After all, he wasn’t watching it at work. Also, he didn’t tell anyone which raised further questions; maybe this is something he had already felt and the tumor brought it out. It becomes very subjective. The other societal issue is, even though it may have been out of their control at the time the damage was still done. The man supported the child porn industry. So what is the best way to handle an insanity defense? Should it take away the responsibility and punishment?


Mia Weathers-Fowler Capstone

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Capstone - Kamal - Wed on
Since the end of junior year I have been really intrigued by the way that high school and teenagers are portrayed in media, especially in movies with teens as the target audience. Last year when I saw DUFF, a teen movie about the Designated Ugly Fat Friend, I decided to make my capstone about the realities of high school, specifically for senior year. In the beginning I set out to make a documentary style film. That idea has since changed to a scripted short film, but the core ideas are still the same. I wanted to explore the key themes of senior year that never get talked about in the movies; stress, relationships, friendships, and saying goodbye. Senior year is hard. In real life friendships sometimes fall apart, relationships have to come to an end as we all part for college, and the immense stress to get into college and start living your own life is almost crippling. I have attached a collection of the videos and interviews I originally collected for the documentary as they will still appear in the final product. I also attached the screenplay of the short film (I'm still putting the final editing touches on it). This year I had the pleasure of working with Philly filmmakers and actors to try to make my vision come true. Hopefully my film can paint a brief picture of some of the real hurdles and joys students will face during senior year!

Annotated Bibliography: 

Screenplay: 


Sleep Paralysis

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Science And Society - Best - E on
​"The evil twin of lucid dreaming."

Science

Sleep paralysis is a semi common sleep disorder. It either affects people when they are in hypnagogic sleep or hypnapompic sleep which is when you are going to sleep or waking up. When you are falling asleep your body releases chemicals to paralyze you during REM sleep. This is natural and is done so that you don’t physically move during your dreams, it is a protective measure. When you fall into SOREM (Sudden Onset REM) these chemicals are released at a different rate and can cause more malfunctions in brain activity. There are a lot of different theories as to why sleep paralysis happens. A lot of them are spiritual and religious, but scientifically there is still not a definite answer. One theory is that when you sleep on your back, some of your airways can become blocked. So your brain will wake your body just enough for you to roll over or snort to get more oxygen. If your body wakes you without shutting the valve that releases the chemicals you are "awake", but paralyzed. As your mind becomes more alert the amygdala is triggered, which activates the body’s fight or flight system. But since you can’t do either of those things you panic. This is where the unexplainable hallucinations begin. It is like an extension of the dream while you are “awake.” The hallucinations fall into two categories. Hyper realistic multi sensory hallucinations or vestibular-motor hallucinations. HRM hallucinations involve visual and auditory hallucinations while VM hallucinations involve body movement like floating. 


Society

There have been recorded medical cases of sleep paralysis going back 300 years. It has existed in art for perhaps even longer. 20-50 percent of adults have experienced some form of sleep paralysis with only 5% experiencing the hallucinations. One of the most fascinating things is the similarity between the accounts from all over the world. The most common visions are the shadow man, the old hag, and the succubus. There is a Netflix documentary called the Nightmare that follows the stories of people with recurring sleep paralysis. They delve further into the spiritual and religious reasons behind sleep paralysis. They believe it is a communion with the spirit realm or with the devil. There’s also a lot of people who believe they’ve been abducted by aliens. There have also been some deaths that are thought to be caused by sleep paralysis--fear induced heart attacks. 


Self

When I first learned about this it interested me because of all the weird things your brain and body can create. Also I was fascinated by the fact that people who suffer from sleep paralysis have similar visions. It could be that we all have similar fears, or that there is a supernatural explanation that is beyond science. P.S. They say that it’s contagious. So if you learn too much about it, you’ll have it. Hehe. 


References


McCarthy Unabridged: The Road, Page 251

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Being Human - Giknis - B on
​​The passage below is what I have imagined was cut from the top of page 251 in Cormac McCarthy's, The Road. It begins after the sentence, "He fell into a dreamless sleep."

While the man slept motionless the boy remained suffering under a fitful spate of fever dreams. The man was carrying him, stumbling and stopping to cough every twenty counted steps until he finally succumbed to exhaustion dropping to his knees. The boy fell to the ground. The low hung fog compressed them into the earth until the boy was choking on ashes. Stiff and silent. A movement just to the left of him caught the boys and he was instantly blinded by a white unseen before. A dove rustled in the wet cinder and the boy watched rapturous as white wings stretched into the unyielding slate sky. Too soon obsidian spliced the rising light. The mans hand encircled the avian neck wrenching it to earth before the sobbing boy. Eat youre starving the man said shoving the shadowblackened bird into the boys mouth. 

The boys eyes shot open to ashen sky. He laid there listening to his ragged breaths climb up and down the ladder of protruding ribs. Nothing moved in the birdless sky. Dull waves broke against the shore in the distance. The boys lips were cracked from dehydration but the rain had stopped, not that it would provide respite. He focused his gaze on his sleeping father waiting for him to wake.
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Below is a rationale to explain the creative choices I took in creating my "lost" passage. 

I decided to write a dream, because they’re a prevalent motif throughout the book. The relationship between the man and the boy changes towards the end of the book as the man takes more drastic actions to keep the boy safe and alive. I chose to place my creative writing when the boy has a fever. After he wakes up he talks about how he had weird dreams (fever dreams), but he doesn’t want to disclose them. When reading that page, I was curious as to what he dreamt about and if it had anything to do with his father being a good guy or a bad guy.

“Good guys and bad guys” is the theme that connects to the first essential question: Can good people do bad things and still be good? The man has walked this line a few times. He won’t share food which can be considered a bad thing, but it is for the longevity of his son’s life. In the dream I wrote, the man kills a bird, but it’s because his son is starving. The bird motif was important for me to address because it has symbolized freedom and innocence. The man in the dream sacrifices that to keep his son alive, which is a comment on another essential question: Is there a time to stop surviving and die? The boy would never sacrifice something as pure and rare as a bird just to stay alive a little while longer.

This dream is foreshadowing the scene with the thief that is about to take place and is reflective of the way their relationship has evolved. In the next scene the man is brutal to the thief and essentially condemns him to death because he threatened the life of his son. In that moment he is a bad guy. Light and dark are also important motifs because often McCarthy indicates that the man lives in the grey space in between. In the dream, he kills the bird to save the boy even though the boy protests. The father forces the boy to live even if it goes against the boy’s own moral code. 

My McCarthy-esque word could either be spate, rapturous, or shadowblackened. Spate is just a very uncommon word and I feel like that is something McCarthy has mastered. Rapturous is another uncommon word and it has a biblical connotation. It is also a surprisingly aggressive word even though it means extreme joy. And shadowblackened is not a “real” word, which we have seen McCarthy do before. It could mean that shadow and dark are permanent, which is the effect the man had on the bird. He already ruined it just by touching it. 

Q1 Benchmark - Contemporary Kafkaesque

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Being Human - Giknis - B on
Mia Weathers-Fowler & Deja Johnson

The theoretical piece of work we chose was a short story. We focused on a couple themes. One was the way that we are so drawn in by our technology that we forget to look at the people around us. The second is that all of the information we have access to often isolates us instead of connects us further. As the authors we created a fake blog with our Press Release (book cover, summary), Author Bios, Audience Response (podcast), and Cultural Fabric (buzzed article). Link

Shakespeare In Stepford

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in English 3 - Pahomov - C on

Shakespeare in Stepford

Comparing The Taming of the Shrew to The Stepford Wives


The Taming of the Shrew is, as most Shakespearean works have proven themselves to be, a play with many themes that are still applicable to modern stories. In Shrew, the prideful and slightly insane Petruchio insists upon marrying the eldest daughter of Baptista, Katherine. She is known by everyone as the incorrigible woman that nobody wants to marry. She is in stark contrast with her younger sister Bianca, who is pure and sweet and desirable. Petruchio, though taunted by his fellow suitors, is undaunted and aggressively starts his ploy to “tame” Katherine and make her his wife. In the 2004 movie, The Stepford Wives, we are introduced to Joanna Eberhart and her loving husband Walter. She is the epitome of the career woman as the CEO of a television network in Manhattan. But after being fired she suffers a nervous breakdown, and the family decides to move to the wealthy and pleasant town Stepford, Connecticut. Though the situations are very different in that no one is actively trying to court anyone else (all the couples in The Stepford Wives are married), there is still the objective of taming one’s partner. The same traits sought after in the women of Shrew are the ones sought after in Stepford Wives. The texts illustrate that though women have more opportunity than they once did, there is still an archetype that society wants them to fill, and to be outside of it means very negative criticisms. The act of taming has taken a different form but it is still as ingrained into relationships as it was in the days of Shrew.  


"I shall be seven ere I go to horse.

Look what I speak, or do, or think to do,

You are still crossing it. Sirs, let’t alone.

I will not go today, and, ere I do,

It shall be what clock I say it is. "

(Act 4, Scene 4, 198-202)


At this point in Shrew Petruchio has succeeded in making Katherine his wife. However, he has not yet been able to tame her to his satisfaction. In order to do so he tries a new tactic. He states things that are clearly false and if Katherine does not agree then he punishes her by not allowing the journey to see her father continue. He is doing this because Katherine is not yet compliant as women are supposed to be. Even though he is doing something viciously manipulative, she is the one who is criticized by the other people in the play. In Stepford Wives, the men take a more radical approach to taming their women.




The men in the movie have created a machine that the husbands can coerce their wives into. The machine then, “We take a gloomy dissatisfied...Finally, we enhance her to fit the ideal Stepford Wife specifications.” The Female Improvement System allows for the men to dictate exactly what they want their wives to be like. It is again a harsh approach to completely change their partner, and yet they are not the ones being criticized. It is instead the faults of the women for not being (their twisted idea of) perfect. In the movie the women that end up as Stepford Wives are former CEO’s, judges, and other high ranking officials. But instead of praising them about their jobs or intelligence, the husbands call it “domineering,” or as Walter calls Joanna, a “Manhattan, castrating career b****.” It is just like in Shrew when Katherine is repulsive to everyone else because she’s outspoken and doesn’t want to be forced into things she doesn’t like. Though the women in Shrew and Stepford Wives are different in their social status, they still are not appreciated and others go to great lengths to change them.


"Why, sir, I trust I may have leave to speak,

And speak I will. I am no child, no babe.

Your betters have endured me say my mind,

And if you cannot, best you stop your ears.

My tongue will tell the anger of my heart,

Or else my heart, concealing it, will break,

And, rather than it shall, I will be free

Even to the uttermost, as I please, in words. "

(Act 4, Scene 3, 78-85)


This is one of the many arguments that Katherine and Petruchio have as husband and wife. While she is dressing she chooses to wear a cap that he doesn’t like. He then demands that she take it off without hesitation. This, of course does not go over well with Katherine. She is telling him that she will not be treated as a child and will speak her mind whenever she thinks it necessary. In that time period is was not considered a virtue to assert yourself as an independent thinker. This is Katherine’s core personality and everyone, her father, her sister, and her husband included want to completely change her. In Stepford Wives, the woman who most resembles Katherine, especially in the beginning is, Bette Midler’s character Bobbi Markowitz.




Bobbi is a writer and she is completely outspoken. In the movie she makes all the Stepford women uncomfortable and makes her husband frequently embarrassed. However, it’s what makes her unique and interesting and human. When Bobbi is turned into a Stepford wife all of that is gone. She becomes another perfect cardboard cutout just like the other women.  She is unnaturally jovial, docile, sexualized, and most of all quiet, unless spoken to. Shrew and Stepford Wives are centuries apart but they have one the same theme: women who need to be “fixed.”


"Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper,

Thy head, thy sovereign, one that cares for thee,

And for thy maintenance commits his body

To painful labor both by sea and land,

To watch night in storms, the day in cold,

Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe,

And craves no other tribute at thy hand

But love, fair looks, and true obedience--"

(Act 5, Scene 2, 162-169)


This is the very end of the play, where Katherine has been tamed for all intents and purposes. She goes into this long speech about the importance of being the right type of woman and honoring your husband because he is your sole protector and asks nothing more than to be the right type of woman. The interesting part of the speech is that it is coming from Katherine. Though she has been the driving force for female independence throughout the play, she has changed. It is also the first time of the play that we hear a woman advocating for all of the traits that previously only the men have voiced. In Stepford Wives, Claire Danes has a complete breakdown at the end and admits that she is the one who created Stepford and the program for the robotic wives.




At the end of the movie it is revealed that Mike, who was thought to be the leader of Stepford and the one to make all the women robots, is actually a robot himself. (His head is knocked off by a candlestick) Claire, his wife goes into a long speech about how all she wanted was to create a perfect world. She was a premier brain surgeon and used her intelligence to make Stepford and the Female Improvement System. But she needed someone the men could rally behind and the women could admire, so she made Mike. Stepford was a haven to her, a place where men could be men (aggressive and dominating) and women could return to former perfection, before there were stressful jobs, and the pressures of being more than a homemaker. In both societies, as much as it is very run by men, it is also the women who contribute to the taming of women. These scenes just prove that society hasn’t changed. There are still expectations of women and in relationships that are paralyzing.


These texts prove that although women have gained independence in other facets of society, relationship expectations are more or less the same as they’ve always been. This, of course, is not limited to women. In the movie Walter is expected to control Joanna, while she is expected to be easily controlled. There are expectations both ways. In Shrew, Petruchio is never challenged by anyone (except Katherine) because he is fulfilling his role as alpha male. Only Katherine is rebuked for not doing what is expected of her. Taming is so accepted in society, that it will continue to live on unless a massive relationship overhaul happens.


Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. Taming of the Shrew. N.p.: Folger Shakespeare Library, n.d. Print.

 "The Stepford Wives." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327162/>.

Self and the Changing World Benchmark

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in English 3 - Pahomov - C on
Analytical Essay

Each day decisions are made, and whether a person chooses right or left, there are always consequences. In a rapidly changing world, decisions become harder to make, especially when it comes to the question of adaptation. A changing world expels the individual from their comfort zone, often completely alienating them from the people or things they are used to. That alienation only  allows for two decisions: adaption or a refusal to accept the change. Either way decisive action must be taken, but a resistance to adapt often results in poor actions.

Towards the middle of the book O’Brien writes the story of how his character was shot. The platoon was taking on heavy fire and Tim was shot in his backside. The medic on call was a new soldier and he didn’t know how to handle treating a bullet wound while under fire just yet. So, he accidentally let Tim slip into shock. Tim was sent to a sort of base camp, far from the action, where he recovered. The first time that he sees his former comrades, he has this to say, “In a way I envied him--all of them. Their deep bush tans, the sores and blisters, the stories, the in-togetherness. I felt close to them, yes, but I also felt a new sense of separation...You become a civilian. You forfeit membership in the family, the blood fraternity, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t pretend to be part of it. That’s how I felt--like a civilian--and it made me sad. These guys had been my brothers. We’d loved on another.”(pg.194) This is the first time O’Brien has been with his fellow soldiers since he was discharged with his injury. His world has changed dramatically because he isn’t an active soldier anymore. However, he did not expect to feel so outside and outcast from the people that he describes as his “blood brothers.” This sends him into a small sort of depression. All the times that they are together he still feels outside of the group. Because of the change in his world he still feels lonely even in a room full of his former brothers. People crave consistency in others. O’Brien thought that these men would stand by him always, under any given circumstances. Their new camaraderie with the medic that so drastically changed his world sends O’Brien into a tailspin. Instead of accepting that Bobby Jorgenson (medic) was now a part of the group and that he was not, he lashed out violently against Jorgenson. He can’t accept his new world, so he fights it. This only further shows the difference between him and the other soldiers, as Jorgenson is now one of them and they treat him like a “blood brother.” Tim does not get back on the inside and he fractures the relationships more than they were in the first place.

O’Brien writes a story close to his own in the book about the summer when he got drafted. As a smart college kid, destined to go to Harvard on a full scholarship, he didn’t deal with the draft notice well. “I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn’t happen I was above it...The emotions went from outrage to terror to bewilderment to guilt to sorrow and then back again to outrage. I felt a sickness inside me. Real disease.” (pg.41 & 46) This summer was the biggest change of his life, even bigger than actually being in the war, because it was a waiting game with himself to see what he would do. In this chapter of the book he talks about how he ran away to a river in the north with the thought of escaping to Canada. There, he met a man and stayed at his inn, and contemplates the future ahead of him. He couldn’t allow himself to run away and eventually returned home for fear of being shamed in the community if he didn’t go to war. The real change he fought against in this scenario was not whether or not to fight in war, but how the people of his community would view him. In his heart, he knew that he  should have stayed and dealt with how the people of his town would view him. It would have meant a better life for him. But in fighting that change he accepted his draft and went to Vietnam. O’Brien writes, “I was a coward. I went to the war.” On the Rainy River was of course just an exaggeration of his own story. When O’Brien was actually drafted he said, “I went to my room and started pounding on the typewriter...It was the most the most terrible summer of my life, worse than being in the war. My conscience kept telling me not to go, but my whole upbringing told me I had to.” (The Shock of Being Drafted) The change to be accepted was within his own community and family, but he refused to accept that change and so the action he took was to go to war.

One of the saddest stories in the book is the story of Norman Bowker. The action he took was finite and even if he wanted to, he couldn’t take it back. Norman Bowker lived in guilt after he left the war for not saving his friend Kiowa. O’Brien received a letter from Bowker before he killed himself, “...Norman Bowker, who three years later hanged himself in the locker room of a YMCA in his hometown in central Iowa...I received a long, disjointed letter in which Bowker described the problem of finding meaningful use for his life after the war...At one point he had enrolled in the junior college in his hometown, but the coursework, he said, seemed too abstract, too distant, with nothing real or tangible at stake, certainly not the stakes of a war.” (pg. 155) Norman found that adapting to the change of being in war was much easier than adapting to the change of being a civilian. He goes on in the letter to say that every job he worked felt meaningless. He felt isolated in his town by his experiences. He didn’t have anyone to talk to about his story because nobody really wanted to know. He could not move on from the war and even through trying to adapt he found the new change was too much for him. His refusal to adapt led to such a drastic and poor action.

Tim O’Brien talks a lot about his process for writing The Things They Carried. One of the biggest tools he uses is imagination. Imagining how his characters would react in certain situations and imagining what would happen if things were different is crucial to telling war stories. When asked in an interview about why he chooses to continually write war stories he answered, “After each of my books about the war has appeared, I thought it might be the last, but I've stopped saying that to myself. There are just too many stories left to tell -in fact, more all the time. I suppose that for the sake of my career, I ought to turn in another direction. And the novel I am working on now is about life in the north country of Minnesota. But I know more war stories will come out. They have to.” The way he has adapted to the change of going to war and then the additional change of going home is to write about it. He doesn’t limit himself because this is his way of getting all of his stories to the public. Just as Norman Bowker craved an audience to listen to what he’d been through, O’Brien has found his. Not everyone can use this method of adaptation. Imagination is helpful because it allows people to continue to live in their “new world” while still imagining the life they used to lead. In the case of O’Brien, he has adapted to being a civilian and is a functional and successful member of society. However, his imagination allows him to escape back into the world he was once used to.  

Adaptation to a rapidly changing world is necessary. Refusal to grow with a new world leads to decisions that are harmful. Some can be short term, and others even permanent. In the case of O’Brien he went to a war he didn’t belong in where he could’ve gotten killed. For Norman Bowker, the refusal to adapt meant ending his life.


Works Cited

Bruckner, D.J. "A Storyteller For the War That Won't End." New York Times Online. The New York Times. April 3, 1990. Web. October 20, 2009.


O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction. New York: Broadway, 1998. Print.


Sawyer, Scott. "In the Name of Love: An Interview With Tim O'Brien." Mars Hill Review. LeaderU.com (Links to an external site.). Winter/Spring 1996. Web. October 20 2009.



Narrative Essay

Flying has always been a cathartic endeavor for me. I’ve always enjoyed soaring into a blue sky surrounded by sunny splendor. It’s peaceful, to watch clouds below you for once. There has only been one instance that flying did not signify adventuring to a new place. When I was forced to move to Philadelphia, the plane ride was horrible. With each passing minute I felt myself being further ripped from all the things I knew and loved. Kentucky had been my home for 13 years and when my mother told me we’d be moving to Philadelphia I was crushed. I tried to beg, borrow, and steal to stay. I made powerpoints and pleaded just to finish out middle school with all of my friends. I was denied, and so I found myself on a plane that I desperately did not want to be on.

We moved to a tiny one bedroom apartment right next to South street so that I could attend Meredith Elementary School (which was K-8). My bed was situated in the living room, just a few steps away from the kitchen. My mom took the bedroom. The only place I could escape for privacy was the bathroom and when that was needed, the closet. It was dimly lit and had an undertone of dissatisfaction. I’d never expected to be here. I was used to my little house, with an open backyard with a deck, my own wonderful room. All these things were missing and to fill the gap, all I had was a bed. A new school proved to be an even more difficult transition. Coming in as a new student in eighth grade with kids who have been together since Kindergarten is no easy task. I rose early, eager to make a solid first impression.

Upon arrival I found it to be so different than my old school. We all had to gather in the cafeteria and wait to be escorted to our first class. I sat in the cafeteria by myself and felt the eyes on me. The points and whispers, “Who’s the new girl.” A few people came up and introduced themselves and asked me what my name was. There were also a few who didn’t hide their disdain for my presence in their school. There was only one class switch, when I was used to having six classes in a day. That promoted a sense of restlessness. I would gaze out the window, familiarizing myself with my new surroundings and wishing that I could be back home. I remember those first few months passing in a melancholy blur. Without many friends (except a very friendly Lindsey Jones) I read almost constantly. When I would call home and hear about all the fun things my friends were doing in Kentucky I sank into a depression that sort of morphed into an outrage. I hated my mother for making me move and I vowed to spend everyday hating Philadelphia and Meredith and my little one bedroom apartment. I consciously would not call it “home.” It was always, “I’m going to the apartment later.” As if by distancing myself from it, I wouldn’t actually have to live there. By doing all of these things I became more miserable. My relationship with my mom deteriorated because of our constant fighting and my incessant jabs at her for making me move. Everything was awful, and that’s when I started making different choices.

It started with just a peaked curiosity when I went home to Kentucky for winter break. My friends had just entered the typical “curious teen” stage, almost all of them had experimented with alcohol. I had always been considered the Debbie Downer of the group, but not this time. This time I had something to prove. I was back with the people I loved and I wanted to do something outlandish before I had to return to my Philadelphian hell. So, on my birthday, when all my friends begged to steal some of the basement stash, I obliged. Nothing got crazy, it was a myriad of 14 year old girl giggles and over-dramatic gestures of inebriation. After that point things went a little more downhill. When I returned to Philadelphia I was even more upset. Now I knew what I was missing. My friends were growing and changing and becoming closer without me. I was stuck in a school where very few people liked me and I didn’t fit in with most. I became closer friends with a girl that wasn’t on the same path as I was. As I continued to refuse the move, I continued to make bad decisions.

Towards the end of the year I was told that I was to be valedictorian that year. I was honestly a little upset with the decision at first because I had not wanted any special recognition. I already had problems with the other students and I didn’t want to make myself a target. I also didn’t want to be doing well in Philadelphia. I wanted my mom to feel like her decision was wrong for me and that we should have moved back home. Of course, all of these feelings were subconscious at the time, I just knew I felt a little uncomfortable even while I was still proud of myself. In my refusal to adapt to the new world I lived in I made a very stupid choice. The same girl I had started hanging out with brought a four loko in a Propel bottle to school. When she offered me a taste I accepted. I thought I was being cool and showing that I was going to rebel and do what I wanted if we continued to live in this new place. All I did was jeopardize my chances at valedictorian, lose my mother’s trust in me, and out myself about my winter party.

My anger at my new situation got me into a few bad spots my eighth grade year. There were plenty of times that I made decisions just fueled by an unnecessary hatred. It took me a that whole year to get used to where I was. I just had to accept that it would be an adjustment. After I did that I came to love Philadelphia and opportunities started opening up to me that I never would have had in Kentucky. If I had continued to fight this life I would have done more harm to myself than good. Moving was difficult and I still miss my friends and family everyday, but I have learned to make the most of the situation and now I am a happy person. I have amazing friends and have created a whole new branch of people I can love and will support me. Sometimes the seemingly catastrophic events are the ones you can benefit most from, if you accept that they are happening and grow with your new changing world.

Negative Externalities: Marijuana v. Alcohol

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in English 3 - Pahomov - C on
​ The marijuana versus alcohol debate is one that almost everyone has participated in. The statistics on which is more detrimental to the body have been broadcast in every news report and Buzzfeed blog. However, it is not how these drugs negatively affect one person that is the most important issue. The cost to the public is far more telling of which is worse than the cost to one’s personal health. People will do whatever they desire behind closed doors, it is when the effects spill onto society that there are serious consequences. The negative externalities of alcohol far exceed those of marijuana, making alcohol the worse drug for society. 
Money obviously affects society greatly. The cost of the police force and prison upkeep comes directly from people because it comes from state and federal taxes. Therefore it is considered a burden on the public to have excessive expenses in policing and imprisoning people for alcohol and marijuana. One would think that because marijuana is illegal the cost of policing it would be much higher. However, that is not the case. In England for example, “the cost of policing cannabis use was only £500 million a year, mainly for issuing possession warning notices, compared with the £6 billion a year bill for policing the use of alcohol, including dealing with people who were drunk and disorderly.” It took about 12x the money to police marijuana to police alcohol. The crimes associated with marijuana are normally ones that only affect the criminals. For example distribution and possession are the main crimes people are arrested for in conjunction with marijuana. Those crimes only affect the person who is committing the crime. By contrast, crimes associated with alcohol impact multiple people. Examples are: DUIs, drunk and disorderlies, sexual or physical assault, and even manslaughter or murder. All of these affect people who have nothing to do with alcohol. 27% of aggravated assaults had alcohol involved and 37% of rapes and sexual assaults had alcohol involved. Roughly half of all homicides in the U.S were related to alcohol consumption. Overall 5.3 million or 36% of people in prison were drinking or under the influence of alcohol at the time of the convicted crime. There is no statistically credible evidence of marijuana being linked to violence. Of course, this may be due to the fact that there is a smaller pool of users to pull data from. (A poll showed that 41% of the American population have tried marijuana. Whereas, 51% of Americans (18 or older) are regular alcohol drinkers.) Alcohol is a much greater cost to society not only financially but with violence against people. Marijuana is rarely linked to violent crimes, and if it were to be legalized the cost of arresting people for possession and distribution would no longer be a factor.

Death and injury also have a large social cost, because of the fees that come with them.  Especially injury because then the injured person has to go to the hospital. Healthcare fees are also taken from public taxes. In 2010, 2,669,987 people were hospitalized in the US for either Alcohol Dependence Syndrome (1,013,634), Non-dependent abuse of alcohol (774,177), Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis (852,354), or Alcohol Poisoning (29,822). Any one or combination of these health emergencies could kill a person. So there is the cost to the individual, but there is also cost to the hospital, which means a higher price for the public. These people must be treated and sometimes have life saving surgeries (a liver transplant for example). There is little credible data on marijuana induced hospitalizations. The most reliable of data is a study of hospitalizations from 1961 to 1969 in Los Angeles. The study showed that of the 701,057 patients admitted, nine were admitted regarding marijuana use. Three patients had the mild effects that marijuana induces on everyone, dizziness or euphoria, one patient was diagnosed with schizophrenia, but his was a pre-existing condition. The others presented symptoms of simply ingesting too much, such as vomiting, fever, and chills. Though the data is older, it still stands that there are hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations due to alcohol, while there are hundreds (at most) due to marijuana. And of those marijuana induced hospitalizations, the “injuries” were only to the individual. Whereas with alcohol injuries other people can be hurt, like someone killed because they were hit by a drunk driver. Alcohol creates a greater risk for injury to the individual and others.

When asked, most people might say that because marijuana is more of a "drug" in the traditional sense of the word, it is worse for society. But upon closer inspection, alcohol has a greater cost to society and therefore is the more harmful drug. Marijuana has a negative connotation because the general public considers it to be a drug and not alcohol. They are both drugs, yet one has more positive uses than just recreational use. Marijuana, or more specifically the cannabis plant can be used for medicine, food, clothes, paper, and many other things. Alcohol is only a recreational drug, sterilizing agent, and sometimes used as fuel. There are more uses for alcohol other than recreation, but there are far more positive uses for the cannabis plant. Alcohol has more negative externalities and fewer positive uses. Therefore, in terms of societal cost, alcohol is the more detrimental drug.

G10 Science Mini-Capstone

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Bio-Chem 10 - Sherif - B on
My most intriguing project was my Science Fair Project this year. 
Inquiry: The question we explored was; how do fireworks work, and how do we make them brightest?
Research: We mostly looked on the internet for information on combustion and flame tests. 
Collaboration: I collaborated a lot with Kara because she was my partner. Also our project included a lot of other people because we needed them to help. 
Presentation: Our presentation had minimal words so that we could interact with the people we were presenting with. 
Reflection: We would have made sure our variables were more constant. 

Final Portfolio

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in World History - Block - C on
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Screen Shot 2014-06-11 at 11.12.22 AM

This year has been the most challenging year I have had in my ten years of schooling. It was taxing, stressful, and most nights I started drinking coffee at 2 am to stay awake. However, it was also incredibly rewarding. I have learned so much in history; through discussions and worksheets, and creative projects. Through our extensive and detailed units, I have gathered an overarching thesis: In order to understand the world and it’s issues, one must put their mind into another’s environment. In addition to that thesis I gained a general understanding about the future of humans. 

Human evolution and the way we think was greatly challenged in this class. I gained the understanding that, as humans evolve there becomes a great disconnect between humanity and progress. Basically, this just means that as we continue to grow as humans our progress is not measured in morals or humanity, but economically. Whether this is good or bad is mostly based on the type of society we want to live in. From Immanuel Kant’s, What is Enlightenment, I discerned, “As we (humans) have evolved, we have tried to create more things that can do tasks for us and even make decisions for us.” We lose our humanity with each technological advancement. Immanuel Kant wrote this in 1784. His thesis was correct as we have been steadily moving toward this future he imagined. We are dependent on our technology. Through all of the units in history I have questioned my morals and the decreasing morality of people. 

One of the first units we did was about the Keystone XL Pipeline. This is a pipeline that is proposed to run from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. There are numerous environmental consequences should the pipeline be built. In order for us to understand multiple perspectives, we were assigned to create three original monologues, each from a new perspective. My favorite of the three I wrote was from the perspective of a tree that was going to be uprooted. The beginning went as follows, “I’ve sat through many a fire and brimstone. For every ring around my trunk I have seen another man turn to hell this Eden we have tried to provide. My limbs kiss ground so heavy with weariness. I’m so tired. I find myself weeping with willows whipped from their roots by teeth of dead machine.” Writing this monologue was a new creative challenge. In class we had been discussing whether or not the economic benefits of the pipeline outweighed the environmental hazards. I felt that in order to understand and to help others understand nature’s perspective, I had to write in first person as something from nature. Overall, I think it was a success. I created a neat twist to a current event and that made the unit all the more interesting. I also became more sensitive to environmental issues and starting researching them deeper because of the monologue. 

My favorite unit was the religion unit. I entered the unit with a lot of assumptions. Religion has never been apart of my daily home life. I was raised in a household where religion was up to me to decide in my own time. Religion had never been something I was interested in because I didn’t think it had merit beyond tradition. Through exploring different cultures and religions I gained an insight that allowed me to broaden my opinions and understandings. At the end of the unit we reflected in our journals, “In the beginning of this unit I felt like religion was just another way to separate people and the world would be a better place without it…Though I myself am not religious, I do respect the religions of others.” As humans we fill in a lot of our knowledge with assumptions we make. That’s how our brains interpret the world. By slowing down and taking the time to analyze other cultures I gained a great appreciation for them. I even started researching the Wicca religion after the unit was over because I was interested in it on a personal level. The brilliant thing about putting yourself in others’ shoes is that more often than not you learn about yourself. From the religion unit I shaped my identity as an Agnostic Unitarian Universalist. I’m grateful for the opportunity. 

World history is especially important because you can understand cultures that you would perhaps never gain an insight to. One of the cultures we got an inside look to was the Igbo culture from Africa. I had never heard of it and would probably never have learned about it if not for our unit on the book, Things fall Apart. This book kicked off our unit on colonialism. There are so many places that have been greatly affected by European colonialism. In response to a poem about the hardships of colonizers, we had to write a poem from the opposite point of view. The first part of my poem read, 

“Bring forth a savage sorrow-

Abandon lands of centuries’ grown

Salvage gods to waste they’ve thrown

Lay to rest the peace of yester

Into your wounds let hatred fester.”

I attempted to put myself in the minds of the people being colonized through the research I had done. I find that I really learn better when I am creatively thinking about the historical event that took place. The poem helped me to understand colonialism on a personal level, instead of just seeing it as, “something that happened to some people.” 

Understanding the world around you is one of the most important skills you can learn. If given the choice, one should choose to dispel their ignorance and expand their horizons. The truest form of understanding would be to live through the things you are learning about. However, this is not always possible, and sometimes may be dangerous. So I feel that the next best thing would be to put yourself in their shoes. By doing this  stretched my empathy muscles. I have developed the skill to see events from more angles than just one. This helps with problem solving. No longer are things just black and white. World History provided many opportunities for me to learn in this creative experimental way. 


Digital Revolution Story

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler on
​This unit was called, "Revolutions, Revolutions, Revolutions!" We learned about many different types of revolutions from old, The French Revolution, to new, The Arab Spring Revolutions. Through studying these various revolutions, we were able to explore in depth several subtopics. Some of these include: what role social media plays, what are the catalysts of revolutions, and what are the key components of every revolution. It is crucial to study revolutions from past and present, especially with the global turmoil we are are in currently. By learning of revolutions, one can identify when a revolution will occur, or how to help a revolution be more successful. 

Our project assignment was to create a Revolution Digital Story. It is supposed to act as sort of a guide to one specific aspect of revolutions. Something that caught my interest early in this unit was the aftermath of the revolution. As a class we watched most of the Academy Award nominated documentary, The Square. The first half hour focused primarily on the overthrowing of Mubarak. When they were successful, I thought the film was over. Everyone was celebrating and it seemed a joyous ending to a long protest. Then, the film switched focus to the aftermath which was smeared with smoke bombs and a corrupt army. Their revolution was not in the end totally successful because the aftermath caused so much damage. In fact, they had another revolution in the latter months of 2013 because the leader put in power after Mubarak was also unsatisfactory. My focus was heavily on how to have an aftermath that will be beneficial to your country and tie the revolution to a close. 

Revolution Digital Story from Mia Weathers on Vimeo.

Pipeline Monologue Project

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in World History - Block - C on
Part I

We have studied a lot of different issues this unit. We started off by looking at two websites, one that TransCanada (the company creating the pipeline) created and one that people who were concerned about the environment created called 350.org. We learned that the pipeline is not just a good or bad thing there are many pros and cons. There are economic opportunities but there are also harmful environmental risks. The pipeline is already underway but has been stalled due to lack of decision by the President. 

Part II

1. 830,000 barrels a day of oil will be pumped through the pipeline.
2. The pipeline will be 1,179 miles and run through Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas.
3. Up to 700,000 gallons of oil could leak out before it would be detected by the pipeline's sensors.
4. The pipeline has already leaked 12 times in one year.
5. The pipeline would reduce the amount of oil we import from Venezuela. 
Part III

Monologue #1: Blue Skies

I’ve sat through many a fire and brimstone. For every ring around my trunk I have seen another man turn to hell this Eden we have tried to provide. My limbs kiss ground so heavy with weariness. I’m so tired. I find myself weeping with willows whipped from their roots by teeth of dead machine. Every bipedal sheep I see crunch earth under his feet sickens me. The oxygen I provide puffing up his chest imitating the proud peacock who’s home he slaughtered. How dare they come back to my home and insert metal pipe into my veins. Flushing out the water I depend on for black sludge that leaks and swims through rivers, condenses into clouds, and falls down again acidic to the tongue. I will not be calm this time! I will not be the one the wise tree and see again my leaves curl back blackened as fire flirts with them licking at stems. I will not hear for the millionth time metal grind against gear grind against rock to root strained and pulled up through the dirt where it belongs. You all should pay in blood. Return moisture to the farms where you sucked everything out. 


(wind blows and she shivers)


I’ve been around too long. To much these weary limbs have seen. Perhaps it’s time for me to once again become one with ground. I wish not to admit it but I am frightened. As wind grows cold and I grow so old fear has settled into these branches. What will it feel like. Do you think they will push me over? What will be the feeling of having roots torn from me to snap halved by metal teeth. Or to have a spine break backwards, or to have axe hack into trunk again and again until I fall while they shout, “Timber!” jovially. But then I’ll rest, never again to shade a child or fall an apple to provide a break from hunger. I pray you remember me, once standing tall holding hands with the sun and now the earth beneath your feet. 

Monologue #2: Hotrods

(He takes a break from digging for the pipeline to pull a wrapped sandwich out of his pocket. His friend walks by and calls out his name.)


Stop calling me that man. It’s just Rodney. Hot Rod sounds gay. You been gone all day I started to think you got crushed by a dozer. That’s not even funny man that’s how we lost little Bill. I miss him he brought me a cupcake one time...

How long you been on for? 6 months ain’t too bad. I’ve only been here a month and a half. My only complaint would be the crap lunches. You’d think they could at least give us some decent food. Beats prison food I guess. Yeah man I already told you this story.


(finishes sandwich and continues to dig)


I was, what, a senior in high school and broke as hell just like everybody else. Naw man I wasn’t no sob story. Not like my mom got sick and I had to pay the bills or anything. Actually my dad is loaded. Too bad he says my mom was such a slut he doesn’t know if I’m his. Anyways some dude approached me and was like I hear your good with cars. Long story short I start jackin hot rods. Haha yeah funny. That’s not my name. Everything was chillin for like a year and then I got busted in a ferrari. Got 3 years cause they found out about the other ones too.


(Long pause between them)


Why you look so nervous man?


(Looks over his shoulder to see the boss)


Aw don’t worry he comes around here all the time. Just checkin up on us to make sure we’re workin’.

What do you mean it ain’t like that this time?

They’re what? They can’t be laying people off right now I need this job. I’ll be one of the first ones to go! I was last hired and I have a record. Here he comes, straighten up.


(Boss comes over.)


Hey bossman. I heard there are some financial troubles since the pipeline has been stalled but I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate-

Naw man stop right there. Don’t say your letting me go. Because I ain’t never said I was trynna leave. Listen this is the only place that would hire a-

Yeah I understand.


(starts walking away)


This is some bullshit. I get that the pipeline may do some environmental harm but it’s helpful. People like me rely on projects like this to get a job. I oughtta go to right up to the White House and tell the President to keep it goin. Man I could make a scene too. I can name at least thirty other dudes who only eat because this pipeline. I hope the oil leaks out all everywhere. Maybe they’ll hire us again to clean it up.


Monologue #3: 7 Billion Dollars

Tim Green works at the White House as somewhat of a “paper pusher” There is no paperwork that goes to the higher ups that doesn’t pass him first.


(Tim is sitting at his desk when his phone rings and he answers)


Sorry I am not at liberty to answer that at the moment, please call again later.


(He hangs up the phone and yells to his assistant)


Jenny. Oh I’m sorry Jennifer. Could you do me a favor and call Brad from across the hall and tell him I need him to sign off on this form so that I can send it off. It’s been sitting on my desk for weeks now. Also is the security outside yet the protestors are getting restless.


(Yells while looking around the office)


And will someone please handle the man that’s been knocking on the door for at least 10 minutes!


(A protestor walks in)


What can I help you with sir? (chuckles) Or should I say dude?


(Cutting him off)


Listen I know why you’re here. It’s the pipeline right? Yes of course the environment. Do you know the exact amount of money the government has funneled into this project? 7 billion dollars is not something we would just spend on anyth-


(The phone rings and Tim answers)


Yes. Yes. Yes it should be on it’s way to your office today we just need one more signature. (Laughs loudly) I’ll sure keep that in mind. Say hello to the kids for me.


(To himself)


Man I love that guy.


(Back to the protestor)


Oh so where was I? Yes. (Waves to a man walking in the hallway)The environment. A very serious matter. I can assure you that we have taken every precaution to ensure that the pipeline is safe. We care just as much if not more than you do.


(The protestor starts yelling at Tim)


Sir! I’d like to kindly ask you to calm down I understand that you are upset but you have no idea the profits this country will make. There could be thousands of dollars in tax revenue not to mention putting good people back to work. Now if you have a problem with that then show yourself out.


(He exits. Tim turns to Jenny and laughs)


That gets them every time. Call Mr. Draper. This pipeline will move forward.

Keystone xl Pipeline Monologue from Mia Weathers on Vimeo.

Mi Casa Perfecto para Soledad (Myrna y Mia)

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler on
​

Está casa está en las ciudad en Philadelphia de Pennsylvania. Está cerca del supermercado y transporte público. La casa es mediana pero es elegante. La casa puede tener muchas personas.



¡La casa tiene todo!

  • Siete habitaciones moderno con mucho colores.

  • Dos baños enormes con espejos grandes.

  • Una cocina de lujo con una estufa, dos fregaderos, y ventanas magnífico.

  • Una sala elegante con sofás, cómodo, y ventanas enormes.

  • Un comedor simple ideal para partido de cena.

  • Un garaje grandísimo con dos carros y cinco bicicletas.

  • Una cuarto para estudiar tiene muchos libros y es amarillo.

  • Una piscina perfecto para verano.

  • Dos habitaciónes es perfecto para muchachos  jovenes.

  • La casa es muy grande y guapo. Está cerca de la escuela y un supermercado.


Contacto

Señorita Mia y Señorita Myrna

Teléfono: 000-111-222

Sólo cuesta: $700,000

PECO:1-800-494-4000


Visitar la casa haga aquí 

Photo on 3-21-13 at 3.46 PM
Photo on 3-21-13 at 3.46 PM
​

Persona

  • Ella nombre es Soledad Alfaro-Allah

  • Ella es muy inteligente y creativa

  • Ella color favorita amarillo

  • Cuando tiene tiempo libre encanta escribe poemas

  • Ella es divertida y comica

  • Le gusta nueva york pero ir a la universidad en filadelfia porque vive aqui

  • ella quiere ser maestra o trabajar en la united nations y hacer cosas cerca de los derechos humanos y tratando de hacer soluciones para problemas del medio ambiente


Negative Space Reflection

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Art - Freshman - Hull on
What is Negative Space
Negative space is the space around or in between the object you are drawing. Negative space has no detail. 

My Negative Space
In my drawing I found the negative space by looking at the spaces in between the object. One example is the chairs stacked on top of each other. I tried to shade in everything but the actual chair, such as the space between the bars. In my cutout, everything that I cut out was negative space. 

Artists' Negative Space
I think that it is important for artists' to use negative space. Then, they can look at the whole shape and not just the figure. 

Negative Space Enhances
I think that negative space enhances pictures because you are not only drawing the figures you are drawing everything around it too. 
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Final Perspective Drawing - Blue Stream

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Art - Freshman - Hull on
A. During this project I learned so much! One of the most interesting things that I learned was then when drawing in one point perspective, I would only be using 3 types of lines: horizontal, vertical, and lines to my vanishing point. 

B. Learning about the three types of lines improved my drawing immediately. When I used a line that was not vertical, horizontal, or to my vanishing point, it wouldn't look realistic. I remember this because I had a random diagonal line while drawing my door. After changing that one line and drawing it to the vanishing point, my door looked so much better. 

C. If I did this assignment again I would definitely start earlier. Ten weeks is a long time to do a project so naturally in the beginning I did not use my time wisely. Then when it got down to one week left I started getting stressed out. So, if I had to do it again I would make better use of the time we were given.

D. My advice to a person who has never drawn a one point perspective would be to take your time and don't be afraid of your eraser! It can be really overwhelming to be told to draw a whole room in one point perspective. Especially to a person like me who has never felt particularly good at art. However, if you take it one step at a time it becomes much easier. You absolutely cannot be afraid of your eraser because during this project it will be your best friend. Making mistakes is apart of the process and things will get erased over and over again.

E. The resource that most helped me was the step by step presentation that was on Moodle. I would have been lost without it. The hardest part was starting, so having a guide was really helpful. By the end I got comfortable enough to figure it out on my own, but in the beginning it was a huge help!
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Screen Shot 2013-04-19 at 6.23.56 PM

Benchmark Reflection

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler on
​This benchmark is very relevant to the world. Especially to certain professions such as: architects, construction workers, contractors and even business men need to understand indirect measurements. For these jobs you would have to know indirect measurement to alter buildings or even create new ones. Business men and investors could use indirect measurement so that they can see which buildings have the most space and are worth investing. Also the verification methods are important because if they measure and don’t verify it then they could mess up the building and put people in danger. Indirect measurement and verification is important and relevant in the real world.


I think that the most exciting portion was being outside and measuring. I wouldn’t say that it was exciting but I would say that it was really fun. Being outside was nice and I think that my group worked really well together. We all did our part and helped each other which made I more fun. The part that was least exciting was when we had to put it all together. It was stressful because not everyone knew what they were doing and we just had to spend a lot of time sifting through things that should have already been done. It was just a long process but we got it done and I am proud of our product.


I learned a lot from doing this project. I learned things about geometry and about woking in a larger group like a group of 4. Indirect measurement was something I had never heard of before this project. Now I have a really good understanding of it and if I ever need it in real life or in another project I can easily figure it out. For working in a group I learned a lot about how to delegate so that everyone is getting a fair portion of the work. Also I learned that if you do your individual part than it just makes the group outcome better.


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Screen Shot 2013-03-18 at 6.58.32 PM
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Screen Shot 2013-03-18 at 7.01.22 PM

Nuestras actividades

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Spanish 1 - Manuel on
Mi nombre es Mia Weathers. Tengo 15 años. Soy  muy activa y sociable. Después de la clases, practico deportes. Es por eso que cuando tengo tiempo libre relajo. Nunca salgo con mi novio. Por lo tanto a veces paso con mi amigos. Me encanta escribir. Así que de vez en cuando escribo poemas. 
La nombre de mi amiga es Jacklyn. Apodo es Jackie. Siempre habla por teléfono. Es por eso que ella nunca estudia. Ella es muy activa. Así que después de las clases Jackie practica deportes. Casi todos los días ella ríe. Por lo tanto ella es muy feliz. 

¡Mi Escuela es Asombroso!

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Spanish 1 - Manuel on

¡Hola! Me llamo Mia. Tengo quince años. Mi cumpleaños es el primero de enero. Soy estudiante de Science Leadership Academy. Està en el centro de la ciudad de Filadelfia. Està cerca de Trader Joes, Arch Gourmet, y Papa John’s. Es muy divertida y difícil. Hay cinco pisos. Tenemos una computadora para cada estudiante. Tenemos voleibol, baloncesto, arte, drama, ultimate frisbee, y mucho màs. Yo juego voleibol. Participo en ultimate frisbee y voleibol porque es un buen ejercicio.

Tengo las clases de matemáticas, arte, español, historia, íngles, y bioquímica. Mis classes favoritas son íngles y drama porque son interesantes y divertidas. También son un poquito difícil. En íngles escribimos y leemos mucho. Bioquímica es increiblemente aburrida y difícil. Es por eso que no me gusta nada. Es importante participar activamente. En la clase de matematicas necesito la carpeta, unos làpices, y una regla. En la clase de arte necesito un cuaderno porque en arte dibujamos y escribimos. En la clase de historia necesito una computadora. Es increiblemente importante tomar apuntes. Para tener exito en la clase de íngles es importante trabajar duro. Para tener exito en la clase de matematicas esta requerido hacer toda la tarea.

La Srta. Manuel eseña la clase de español. Su cumpleaños es diecisiete de mayo. Ella es divertida y muy inteligente. Le gusta leer y jugar fútbol. La clase de español es fascinate y bastante importante. La Srta. Dunda eseña bioquímica. No le gusta nada cuando comes en el laboratorio. Es de Florida pero vivo en Filadelfia. Ella es rubia. Èl señor Kay eseña la clase de íngles. Èl es mi profesor favorito. Èl es bien chévere. No tengo hermanos o hermanas. Tiene treinta y nueve años. El señor VK es mi consejerio. El es muy alta y extraña. Es un genio. Vive en muchos lugares. Le encanta plataños.

¡Me encanta SLA! Me gusta mi clases. Ustedes son muy divertida y un poquito difícil. Lo que más me gusta de SLA es mi profesores porque son cuidado. A veces no me gusta proyectos porque son muy difícil y estresante. SLA es súper extraña, bastante brillante, y realmente desafiante. SLA es la mejor escuela.


To view the video, click HERE!

Los Seres Queridos en Mi Vida

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler on
¡Hola! Me llamo Mia. Soy una estudiante de SLA. 
Soy alta. A veces soy perezosa. Tengo una perro. Se llamo Sherlock. Los fines de semana me gusta leer. Me encanta bailar y comer. Cuando tengo tiempo libre me encanta dormir.
Se llama Katelyn. Ella es guapa y muy popular. Es mi mejor amiga. Por desgracia es de Kentucky. Tienes un hermano. Se llamo Sean. Le encanta pasar con un ratos. La extraña. Es importante para mi porque es mi mejor amiga.
Conocer mi amigos. Nagee, Joie, y Bella es súper cómicos. Nagee tiene catorce años. Le encanta comer, bailar, y Niall Horan. Joie es muy baja y adorable. Tiene un tortula. Se llama Herman. Le encanta Trey Songz. Bella es bastante deportista. Le gusta comer. No le gusta nada nada dormir. Son importante para mi porque son amigos buenisimos. 
Conocer Kara, Greta, y Kristina. Ustedes es morena excepto Greta. Greta tiene el pelo rubia y rosado! Kara y Greta es mejor amigas. Kara y Greta les encanta salir con su novios. Kristina es muy inteligente. Es de trienta y marzo. Tambien ella es una mezia de razas. 
Nosotros somos muy extraña. Personas piense que es Aribe pero es de Italia. Ella es muy guapa y alta. Apodo es Lizabelle. Ella banda favorita es Kooks. Jackie es artistica y boba. Tienes un hermano gemelo. Su nombre es John. Le encanta salir con su novio. Angelo es guapo y bajo. Él pelo corto y rizado. Le gusta pasar con un ratos. 
Esos son los seres queridos en mi vida! Gracias! Adiós!


Quin es?

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Spanish 1 - Manuel on
Ella tiene los ojos verdes y el pelo rubia. Le gusta escuchar música y salir con su novio. No le gusta nada estudiar o cantar. Le encanta ayudar en casa. 
Photo on 12-10-12 at 10.32 AM
Photo on 12-10-12 at 10.32 AM
Photo on 12-10-12 at 10.34 AM #5
Photo on 12-10-12 at 10.34 AM #5
Photo on 11-19-12 at 3.37 PM #2
Photo on 11-19-12 at 3.37 PM #2

Slide Presentation

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Technology- Freshmen - Hull on
Creating an interesting, but not overpowering slide is very difficult. When we first received this project I thought it would be very simple to create a dynamic slide about myself. Using what I learned in the two slide designing websites I attempted to create a simplistic slide about me. 

My first idea was to have a photo of me in the center of the slide and have words around it. However, when I read the Presentation Zen website I saw that slides are meant to be visual aids, not text aids. Meaning that instead of having a bunch of words, people should only have to look at your slide for a moment to understand it. The explanation should happen when you are talking. For this reason I put 3 pictures and three words underneath them that explain me in a much faster way.

On the website Slide Design I read about contrasting colors. My slide color is blue. So I thought for a contrasting color I should use red, but a red that was dark enough not to be distracting from what the words actually say. For my pictures I decided to let the two on the ends “bleed off the page”. In Presentation Zen, it says that letting your picture bleed creates the illusion that the picture is bigger than it is. This was especially helpful because I couldn’t make my pictures bigger because they kept getting blurry. 

Finally, I made my words at 80 and 68pt. font. I did this because in Slide Design  it says that bigger font catches attention and forces you to use less words. I tried to create a simple slide that explained one point about me. It wasn't an easy thing to accomplish, but I think I did the best job I could. This project has taught me a lot and will help in future presentations.



Tech Presentation
​Reflection
After listening to some of the critiques I decided to change a few things. I changed the pictures because my new pictures go better with my color scheme. I used red colors to contrast with the blue background. Then I framed the pictures and spread them apart to make the slide more interesting and more memorable. Then I made all the fonts bigger because that made them stand out more.
Tech Boom

Una Carta Para Ti

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Spanish 1 - Manuel on
Mia
Querid@______,

¡Hola! ¡Buenos Días! ¿Qué tal? Me llamo Mia. ¿Cómo te llama? Soy de Kentucky pero vivo en Filadelfia. Es un ciudad entre la ciudad de Nueva York y la capital. Se conoce como “La Ciudad de Amor Fraternal.” ¿De donde eres tú? ¿Cuantos años tienes tú? Tengo catorce años. ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy? Hace frío hoy en Filadelfia. Mi cumpleaños es primero de enero. También es el primero de años¿Cuando es tú cumpleaños?

Los fines de semana me gusta leer y cantar. También me encanta bailar y dormir. No me gusta nada ayudar en casa. Odio dibujar. Cuando tengo tiempo libre me interesante practicar deportes y cocinar. ¿Y a ti? Me gusta ir al cine. ¿Qué te gusta hacer?
Soy delgada y guapa y un poco alta. Siempre soy habladora y boba. Para nada soy tímida. De costumbre soy  inteligente y súper sociable. A veces soy perezosa.  Soy muy morena ¿Cómo eres tú?
Bueno, me voy porque tengo estudiar y ir a la escuela. ¡Responde cuando puedas! ¡Hasta luego! :)
Con cariño,
Mia Weathers
lurv
lurv
nye
nye

Mila Kunis

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Spanish 1 - Manuel on
Su nombre es Mila Kunis. Tiene veinte nueve años. Es de Chernivsti, Ukraine, pero vive en Los Angeles, CA. Ella es bastante guapa. Ella es muy inteligente. Le gusta bailar y cantar. No le gusta nada jugar videojuegos. Le gusta ir de compras y leer. No le gusta nada ayudar en casa. 
kunis
kunis

Hola guapa!: El Tiempo (The Weather)

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Spanish 1 - Manuel on
An important lesson to learn in spanish is the weather. ¿Qué tiempo hace hoy?: What's the weather today? You need to know how to spell/pronounce the weather in order to fully understand it.

Screen Shot 2012-10-24 at 10.21.34 PM
Screen Shot 2012-10-24 at 10.21.34 PM
​Introduction to Video

Our video will show a girl trying to decide whether or not to get her jacket so she asks her friend what the whether is like.

Hola guapa!: Tú vs. Ud

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Spanish 1 - Manuel on
Lesson

​In english we show respect by saying things like sir or ma'am. But in spanish you must say tú or usted and most of the time the word/phrase gets a bit altered. 

Tú is used in cases where you are talking to a friend or a peer. 

Usted is used when showing someone respect, especially an elder. 
Screen Shot 2012-10-24 at 12.11.48 PM
Screen Shot 2012-10-24 at 12.11.48 PM
​Introduction to Video

This video will be showing a girl in Mexico meeting one of her professors for the first time. She asks some questions using Udsted. 

Weathers-Fowler Mia, Lucidchart, HomeNetwork

Posted by Mia Weathers-Fowler in Technology- Freshmen - Hull on
MweathersFowlerLucidHomeNetwork
My L.A.N (local area network) has 10 devices in it. On my internet connection there are 2 iPhones, 2 laptops, 2 iPads, an iPod, a Wii, and speakers. Also my router is connected to the internet. My O.M.G moment was basically this whole time. I didn't know anything about computer networks. All I knew was that some magical force made my computer go so that I could get on Facebook. Now I have a better understanding of how information gets to the internet so that I can see it. I also now know that all of my devices are actually working through one network which is my L.A.N. 

I would tell people that they need to know where their internet comes into their house. For example I know that mine comes in from a cable, but others may have theirs coming in by phone wire. Also you should know how many devices are in your L.A.N and how they are receiving the wireless. And finally you should know who your I.S.P (Internet Service Provider) is, i.e Comcast or AT&T. 
MweathersFowlerLucidHomeNetwork
MweathersFowlerLucidHomeNetwork
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