Blog comments

I commented on Lane's blog
https://lanelovestacos.blogspot.com/2017/04/1.html?showComment=1493339033369#c7508402451542843036

I commented on Sutter's blog
https://sutterenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/04/hit-or-miss.html?showComment=1493339286448#c8239568813638859142

Hits and Misses

Starting off with my work that I struggled with the most was the first personal narrative.  Remembering something intersting i experienced was challenging but wasn't the hardest part.  The part that troubled me the most was trying to twist my middle school gibberish into high schooler typing.  I have very rarelly ever been that frustrated.  The reason I had trouble with it wmostly was because my use of words and sentence structure had yet to be developed.

The writing I feel I have done the best on is my paper on Shintoism.  At this point I've learned what a paper is supposed to look like.  Including the fact that I've had weeks to research my topic the paper wasn't too bad and left me with a sense of accomplishment.  I  used the writing tools I had learned up to that point to help me to better my paper and fix my preious mistakes.  Turnng the paper in didn't feel like academic suicide this time.

My take on power and Ambition

Ambition is one of the better traits of the human race despite what some people might say.   People who say they don't have any ambitions no matter how small or good natured, aren't exactly dependable.  They have no plans for their future and are generally unpredictable.  People with ambitions have plans are capable of making them as well.  You know what drives them and through that can better understand them.

Often tv shows  depict characters getting lots of power or money and still not being satisfied.  But considering that power and money know no bounds I believe its safe to say that its the reason behind happiness.  What keeps social media apps up, funds schools, events, sports,enertainment, and other material items,money.  The money is spent so they or others can be happy so I can make the connection that being in power of course anyone would be happy.  Because you've not only accomplished something that few others have but you also have so many more ways to broaden your happiness.

Reading Strategies

I find the book Purple Hibiscus to be a very immersive story in comparison to the books.  A way for me to better understand what I'm reading is to go ahead and simply read the whole chapter.  Afterwards, I go back and annotate what I noticed on my first walkthrough and antything that gave me pause.  Following my annotations I try and verbaly summarize what I read that happened in that chapter to try and solidify what I know.  Through this method I can somewhat better comprehend what I've read.

The challenges that bother me the most come from the perspective the book is written.  Because its from the point of view from a fifteen year old girl who doesn't immmediatly see the big picture.  She still loves her father despite his abusive tendencies.  Amongst other things the reader is only aware of what Kambili's aware of which greatly narrows the range of knowledge.  The way I address this is by simply continuing to read until she gets the full picture.

My role in my family.

My role in my family isn't obvious at first glance because I'm not the best at it.  Because of my siblings' life choices my mom believes they've acomplished nothing and are on the wrong track.  So I'm supposed to be the trophy child, someone that my mom can proudly say she raised.  I have nothing against my siblings infact I look up to my older brother but my mom thinks thats a bad idea.  Mom holds me to higher standards than she did my siblings because I'm the last egg in the nest.

And in the final years of my stay in her household it's a question of wether I crack or hatch under the circumstances.  These circumstances include my enrollment into Episcopal a college prep school, in order to prepare me for college unlike my siblings.  I'm expected to make A's and B's despite my obvious limitations.  If her expectations aren't upheld she gets unreasonably angry in my opion.  I have no interest in being the best of my siblings, I just hope I'll still be able to enjoy my childhood.

Comments week 20

I commented on Jordon's post
https://jordoniam.blogspot.com/2017/03/immigration-ban-article.html?showComment=1490829551616#c6458370379272134990

I commented on Laura's blog
https://stephcurryftw.blogspot.com/2017/03/political-response.html?showComment=1490837708853#c1088558754994379999

Political Post

https://www.nytimes.com

The article I am reviewing was written by a supporter of Hillary Clinton.  It was written as a method of endorsement for Hillary Clinton as president and went about stating reasons as to her usefulness.  Clinton's accomplishments are retraced how she's helped America, instead of insulting her opposing campigner.  Instead on relying on talking badly of Donald Trump the autho chooses a more refreshing method and tells of what Hillary Clinton can and has done for America.  I myself agree with this person's views on the presidential candidate.

I still am politically uneducated and so I tend to avoid politics, but the most recent election process has caught my eyes.  She's not a perfect human being and she acknowledges that fact and strives to continue to help better America instead of feigning ingnorance.  I may not know too much about Donald Trump's agenda but it seems he's more worried about keeping tradition than improvement.  I chose an article from New York Times because its the only news company I know of.  I believe its a trustworthy source because I've heard alot of this company's publications.

Comments week 20

I commented on latham's blog
https://jamaicanenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/03/learning.html?showComment=1490325170472#c4352296602678817289

I commented on Sophia's blog
https://sophia-english1.blogspot.com/2017/03/daily-routine-after-school.html?showComment=1490326408905#c1729898993105816380

Free Post

Its hard to believe it's already the fourth quarter of the school year.  It feels like only last week was winter.  I'm now beginning to understand what everyone meant about Louisisana's crazy weather.  One day it's extremely hot and the next its colder enough to frost the grass.  Makes me wonder why I've only experienced such crazy weather in this state.

From what I've read something similar is happening all over the planet.  I'm now becoming aware of this fact thanks to the internet.  Every few or so months something new happens to the weather thats even weirder than the previous occurance. Temperatures are getting crazy in the north and unpredictable weather patterns are occuring more often.  I don't think anyones too sure what this year has in store but it will definilty be interesting.

Reflection

As a student I've somewhat imrpoved overall even if just a little.  Previously I didn't study no matter the occasion, and now it's apart of my daily life.  Another example comes from my newfound determination that wasn't present before.  Other things have changed as well such as how late I usually stay up.  All of these contribute to my imrpovement academically.

As a reader and a writer in my opinion I've gotten better.  I've learned new terms for identifying and classifying types of writing.  In the past three quarters I've also been taught how to and the meaning behind the annotation of what I've been reading. All of the things I've learned this year will help me to better prepare for passing into the next grade.  These skills may even help me later in everyday life depending on where I end up.

Comments

I commented on DJ's blog

https://djsbloge1.blogspot.com/2017/03/analyzing-song.html?showComment=1489111292483#c6249212796056738770

I commented on Ian's blog

https://ianbsblogs.blogspot.com/2017/03/free-post.html?showComment=1489111922669#c7462213091263832728

Free post

Over Mardi gras break I've done very little besides sitting on my couch.  I've so far only gone out to the powerlifting meet which was last Saturday.  I will admit it was pretty nerve wracking to wait for my turn to lift.  Considering the fact that the crowd was huge this time in comparison to last time.  So to keep from letting the stress get to me I'd constantly step outside and sit in the sun.

At first I'd sit outside the front against the wall but after exploring the school for a while I fond a bench perfectly positioned under the sun away from the main gym.  Sfter finding this bench I decided to lay on it and rest my nerves, and as a result I fell asleep.  It was probably the best sleep I had that day because of the fact that I stayed up pretty late.  Once the sun started to cool down I somehow woke up and panicked thinking I was late.  Upon arriving in the gym I realized I wasn't late to my relief.

Analyzation

The song I chose to analyze was "Umbrella" by Rihanna feat. Jay-Z.  I believe the song is written in the form of an lyric because the singer is talking about how she feels towards a person.  The speaker's tone shows that they admire the person the song is written about.  She repetedly uses words that show affection such as baby,  and other such phrases as we shine together.  It can be conluded that the audience is the object of her affection.

The occasion was through a session of rain under an umbrella.  The purpose of the song was to portray Rihanna's feelings towards her affectionate other.  She uses Anaphra's every few few stanza's ,"Under my umbrella ella, ella, eh, eh, eh...".  The subject of  the song is her affectionate other and the umbrella they share.  Throughout the song imagery is used to describe the situations they share together.  Laslty every two lines there's a couplet in the song.

comments week 17

I commented on Megan N's blog
https://potatogirl101.blogspot.com/2017/02/poem.html?showComment=1487905418589#c7629100622755187152

I commentd on Lathan's blog
https://jamaicanenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/02/story.html?showComment=1487907111866#c5922890176333903149

Vocabulary post

2016 proved to be a very tenous year with all the events that passed.  Thankfully thats over and done with.  And with the inception 2017 things are starting to look brighter.  This year I plan on keeping my grades as long as possible.  I'll start my crusade making a habit of nightly studing.  

Next I will do my best to keep up with whats posted on whipple hill.  Doing my homework is probably the easiest of all the things I have to do.  The only other thing I have to worry about is putting too much time into extra curricular activities.   That'll be under wraps soon enough with enough given time.  Those are just a few of the many things I can work on.

poetry post

Watching the clouds float over the peeks of the buildings

I look up and envy the birds and their carefree life style

Flying free with no restrictions no walls no ceilings

I remember the last time I felt truly free, its been a while.

As time brings about age and age brings about a trials
trials bring obstacles and every obstacle a new test
Choosing to march on despite all of the denials
always trying to meet expectations to your best

Try not to give up hope the year is coming to an end
and over the summer your smile will mend


 

ATDPI Response

Arnold can't seem to stop surprising me.  Despite how his life has its major ups and downs he trys his best to reajust.  And in this chapter he's shown his coping mechanism is laughter.  Because of the current state he's in makes his mind wander to avoid thinking about the problem.  This state has lead him to acting oddly around his family, and angering Rowdy.

Everyone handles their grief differently despite all of them being humans.  Grief is also what brings us closer together after tearing us apart.  Arnold noticed the difference when the race barrier was broken as Penelope was crying for his loss.  This not only applies to the people who were close to Arnold but also the people who simply know about his loss.  Because no matter what people saw him as they understood that like them he was a human.

comments week 16

I commented on Sarah C's blog
https://sarahcenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/02/research.html?showComment=1486604695619#c178382418228974111

I commented on Rikcy's blog
https://rickyenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/02/reading-response.html?showComment=1486605043302#c2105009230740306463

Research

One of the skills I've learned to use while writing this research paper is information fluency.  This is when I get more information than originally and add it too my paper properly where it belongs.  I believe this to be a useful skill because I constantly add new information to my research paper.  Previously I would lazily add the new information to whatever part of the paper I was working on whihc caused alot of inconcistancies throughout my papers.  Thanks to the current research paper I'm working on I've learned the reasoning behind proper placement of information, information fluency.

A second skill I've learned from working on my current reseearch paper is how to properly format my paper.  I was shown how to properly do this plenty of times but it hasn't stuck with me until recently.  If my paper isn't properly formatted I'll end up doing more work than assigned.  One thing I'm uncomfortable with during this research paper is properly citing sources where I got my information from.  My problem isn't forgetting to cite my sources but properly adding the citations to my research paper.

reading response

It's good to see Arnold adjusting to his new surroundings.  Gordy's portraition has caught my attention rather than the others.  For his age Gordy is smarter than the average student at the Reardan school along side Arnold.  Despite Gordy's intelligence he's somehwat immature and finds chilidish things funny.  Like when his metaphor choice when explainging his joy for books.

Despite adjusting to his new school life Arnold still seems to take the opinion of others around him into account.  Even though he knew the other students would judge him because of his heritage.  Arnold's sister choice to marry the gambler wasn't the best in my opinion.  Gamblers tend to attract robbers and take chances even no matter what the results of failing would be.  Hopefully she and her husband won't one day become poorer than Arnold's parents.

Blog Comments Week 15

I commented on Jack's blog
https://jackcenglish1blog.blogspot.com/2017/02/response-to-atdpti-2.html?showComment=1486092611959#c6718152368368320428

I commented on Megan's blog
https://potatogirl101.blogspot.com/2017/01/blood-and-gunfire.html?showComment=1486093311482#c5443075503958613849

Free Post

This winter has probalby been the quickest I've experienced.  Usually the weeks crawl by, but this time it's flying.  It feels like last week was the week of New Years Eve. As  unbelievable as that sounds it feels the same for Christmas in  my opinion.  This is probably because all the things that have transpired since last year.

 Anyways, with a new semester comes new and harder work.  So most of time on the weekends will be given to my work instead of just some.  I hope thats the only change I'll have to make because those are the days I usually take to unwind.  Only time will tell, after all its only the first month of the new year appearantly.

Reading Response

In the following the most recent chapter of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian.  I find Rowdy's reaction towards Arnolds decision very melo-dramatic.  I believe he wasn't really angry but in fact wanted to portray to Arnold how sad he was without losing face.  In my opinion He could have better composed himself despite his age playing a a part in his tantrum.  The fact that Arnold had tried convincing Rowdy to join him on his adventure even though he knew the most likely outcome shows his naivety

Arnolds choice for a new school still has me befuddled.  I wonder why Arnold would  put himself out there when he knew the finacial difference between him and the rest of them. The fact that his parents agreed so willingly also vexes me.  They themselves had said getting to the school would be hard and that the tribe would turn against Arnold.  So why would they let Arnold put himself in such a position.?

Comments week 14

I commmented on Danny K's post
 https://english1danny.blogspot.com/2017/01/post-1.html?showComment=1485478595956#c7421408175156777585

I commented on DJ's blog
https://djsbloge1.blogspot.com/2017/01/last-semester.html?showComment=1485483480597#c8751802397526137394

I Learned

Last semester I learned that its ok to have a change of pace once in awhile.  By this, I mean trying something new like an extracurricular activity or working ahead wasn't a bad thing.  Trying a sport was a nice change of pace that helped me better use my free time after school.  When I worked ahead, although it was a bit more time-consuming at the moment I still had more free time afterward.  Along  side the previously mentioned ideas I also tried many other things to help improve my work efficiency.

The newest thing I've learned that I believe to be the most helpful was learning to speak up when I needed help.  This is something I'd like to make a habit of because it really helped me out.  Unfourtunetly its something I'm still not completly used to asking for help.  From what I can tell help is a very recommended thing.  So I'm going to start getting used to asking when needed.

My research topic

  My research topic is about Shinto's importance in Japan.  Shinto is a religion that was seen as the country's identity at one point.  The reason I said it was the face instead of is, is because Buddhism was imported into Japan around the 6th century.  Previously some of the people of Japan had thought the two religions were the same.  This led to both followers of the two religions to try and dispel the idea that the religions were the same.

  This conflict leads to various occurrences and events, these events included name calling, bloodshed, blasphemy, and the defacing of the twos' holy temples.  The main accounted movement that made such indifferences occur was during Kokugaku, where a slogan was started.  The slogan was Haibutsu Kishaku which some extremists used as an excuse to deface the other religion.  During this time the Meiji government made various moves to try and expell buddhism from Japan.  As it happens this only helped to make buddhism stronger by the end of the movement.

Comments week 15

I commented on Jack C's blog
https://jackcenglish1blog.blogspot.com/2017/01/study.html?showComment=1484882174912#c6928716176856116506
I commented on Ricky V's blog
https://rickyenglish1.blogspot.com/2017/01/research-update.html?showComment=1484883656575#c6430707771166761926

Christmas Break

Over the Christmas break, I didn't do much more than necessary to me.  I took naps when possible and binge watched various shows to an extent.  Prior to Christmas day my uncle had convinced my mom to force me out of the house to go to the party.  Unfortunately, I can't say I agreed with or appreciated their decision.  One of the few positives about going to the party was eating some bread pudding.

Following Christmas day was even more relaxing and chores.  I liked this cycle of my own because it meant I could do mostly whatever I pleased without getting yelled at. Somewhere in the middle of the week, my younger sibling had come to stay with us until New Year.   Before I knew it the New Year had arrived thankfully my uncle hadn't spoken to my mother so I got to stay home.  After my mother returned we said our prayers and she took my sibling home.

Research Update

My research on Shintoism has been going well so far.  The best part of my research as of the moment was finding the different sources.  Finding the sources for my research paper was made easier with the use of the library website.  The sources I found included audio files, photographs, biographies, and other documents pertaining to my subject.  Sub categories were also included that helped me to gather more information about my subject.

For me, the hardest part of the research paper was the annotated bibliography.  What made the annotated bibliography so hard for me was having to break down each source.  I broke down the sources by putting a summary as the first paragraph, the second paragraph was of the trustworthiness of the source, the third paragraph was about how the source would help me to write my paper.  The previously mentioned process was long, tiring, and time consuming.  Fortunately, after completing that, everything else for my research was easy.