I'm going to be honest. I do not bond with nature, because nature is not my friend. Nature has spiders, and I hate spiders with a really deep fiery passion because they scare the living bejeezus out of me. They have way too many legs and eyes and they spin webs.
Because of my fear of spiders, my severe allergy to poison ivy, my dislike of mud, and several others factors, I stay away from nature. Nature is dirty and it gives you diseases like poison oak/ivy and rabies. There are some parts of nature that aren't that bad, though, like if you are bonding with nature in a clean, insect-free situation. When there is no excessive dirtiness or scary bugs, then nature does not bother me that much. I'm still wary of poison ivy and whatnot, though. Besides, animals aren't all that cute either. Sure, you may think Bambi is all cute and leaps through meadows and befriends beavers and rabbits, but that's just an act. Really, Bambi is waiting at the edge of the meadow waiting for you to finish your picnic lunch, ready to pounce and eat you and spit out your bones. It's just the truth.
Last summer when we went to Montana and hiked in the mountains, and I was extremely displeased with the amount of nature that was surrounding me. Leaves. Mud. Ants. Flies. Spiders. Vicious, bloodthirsty bears. The experience was not a pleasant one for me, especially since it involved walking five miles up a mountain and then back down with no water and only a very small bag of white cheddar goldfish to eat. There were eight very hungry people that had to share that tiny little bag of goldfish and it was actually a really terrifying for all of us. I never want to go through that kind of emotional and physical pain again. Nature inflicted that pain on me, and I will hold this grudge forever.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Journal #16: My Favorite ______
My favorite _____ would probably have to be _____. It's fun and entertaining and interesting and I love it. Whenever people ask me what my favorite _____ is, I always know exactly what I'm going to tell them.
But really, my favorite thing is my iPod, Penelope. She is an iTouch and was given to me two years ago over Spring Break. I would probably be able to go a few days without my cell phone and maybe a day or two without food, but I absolutely need my iPod. When I'm grounded, my parents tend to go straight for the kill and take away my iPod for a couple days. And those few days of separation from Penelope the iTouch just rip me to shreds, to be honest. My drive to school becomes boring because of listening to my "Oh the Roadtrip" or "Moo" or "Rawr" playlist, I have to listen to the radio. It's an abomination. Because it's all morning talk shows and lots of commercial breaks and way too much music that I don't like. Plus, what if I have an odd hankering to listen to Britney Spears circa 2004? They don't play that stuff on the radio anymore!
And then I get to school and I'm in a really bad mood from not being able to listen to my music preferences on my way to school and I get in a intense fistfight and fail a test and set the mini lab cart on fire and roll it down the hallway, all because Penelope and I were separated on the way to school. But then it gets even worse...I get to work and I'm still in a foul mood and when my boss, crazy-Joan, asks me to go make a copy of her calorie intake log, I snap and launch myself out the window.
My iPod is my favorite thing, and that is what would happen if she and I were ever separated for a long period of time.
But really, my favorite thing is my iPod, Penelope. She is an iTouch and was given to me two years ago over Spring Break. I would probably be able to go a few days without my cell phone and maybe a day or two without food, but I absolutely need my iPod. When I'm grounded, my parents tend to go straight for the kill and take away my iPod for a couple days. And those few days of separation from Penelope the iTouch just rip me to shreds, to be honest. My drive to school becomes boring because of listening to my "Oh the Roadtrip" or "Moo" or "Rawr" playlist, I have to listen to the radio. It's an abomination. Because it's all morning talk shows and lots of commercial breaks and way too much music that I don't like. Plus, what if I have an odd hankering to listen to Britney Spears circa 2004? They don't play that stuff on the radio anymore!
And then I get to school and I'm in a really bad mood from not being able to listen to my music preferences on my way to school and I get in a intense fistfight and fail a test and set the mini lab cart on fire and roll it down the hallway, all because Penelope and I were separated on the way to school. But then it gets even worse...I get to work and I'm still in a foul mood and when my boss, crazy-Joan, asks me to go make a copy of her calorie intake log, I snap and launch myself out the window.
My iPod is my favorite thing, and that is what would happen if she and I were ever separated for a long period of time.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Journal #15: Logic and Reason
At the moment, I am not using much logic and reason. Because honestly, I'm freaking out. Advanced Algebra II is slowly but surely killing me- stabbing me in the heart with an icicle so that there is technically no weapon to use as evidence after the fact. I see life flashing before my eyes, but I'm not sure if it's actually my life flashing before my eyes (that's how much I'm freaking out right now). It's basically just a blur of fruit gushers and "As Told By Ginger" and peanut butter, so I'm guessing it's my life.
My own logic and reasoning is melting down into a little puddle of mush, with scraps of division signs and fractions mixed in for good measure. I wouldn't be surprised if I feel asleep tonight and dreamed of nothing but order of operations and exponents and whatnot, because that's how much math is taking over my life right now. It's a pretty wild ride, and I can honestly say that I am not enjoying it and would like to get off of the hypothetical "train" and the next stop, please. And if there are no stops, I will climb through a window of said "train" and roll on out to freedom, Indiana Jones-style.
In this Indiana Jones-esque escape, I am Indiana Jones, famous archaeologist/crime fighter/protector of ancient artifacts, and Advanced Algebra II would be the bad guys who are trying to steal Coronado's Cross.
Most of the time, when I'm not re-enacting famous scenes from Indiana Jones and I am not completely freaking out, I use my logic and reason pretty well. When I've got a problem, I always try and figure out what the best solution would be, not always the easiest solution. I am not always successful in doing this, but I always at least try. I think you pretty much have to use logic and reasoning to solve your problems, because if you don't use that, the problems are not really solved. Instead, they are just kind of patched up and tucked away, not fixed.
My own logic and reasoning is melting down into a little puddle of mush, with scraps of division signs and fractions mixed in for good measure. I wouldn't be surprised if I feel asleep tonight and dreamed of nothing but order of operations and exponents and whatnot, because that's how much math is taking over my life right now. It's a pretty wild ride, and I can honestly say that I am not enjoying it and would like to get off of the hypothetical "train" and the next stop, please. And if there are no stops, I will climb through a window of said "train" and roll on out to freedom, Indiana Jones-style.
In this Indiana Jones-esque escape, I am Indiana Jones, famous archaeologist/crime fighter/protector of ancient artifacts, and Advanced Algebra II would be the bad guys who are trying to steal Coronado's Cross.
Most of the time, when I'm not re-enacting famous scenes from Indiana Jones and I am not completely freaking out, I use my logic and reason pretty well. When I've got a problem, I always try and figure out what the best solution would be, not always the easiest solution. I am not always successful in doing this, but I always at least try. I think you pretty much have to use logic and reasoning to solve your problems, because if you don't use that, the problems are not really solved. Instead, they are just kind of patched up and tucked away, not fixed.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Common Sense
Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" is a good example of how Common Sense is not so unique. It's not so common after all- because a lot of people are definitely lacking it. Have you ever seen a house with like two feet of yard space and about 500 MILLION lawn gnomes cluttering up that little space? Well, that's a really great example of a person that has very little common sense. Because sure, one or two adorable, chipper lawn gnomes might brighten the place up a bit and you can do whatever floats your tug boat or yacht or fishing boat or whatever kind of boat you happen to float. But when you have more lawn gnomes that Switzerland has military troops, it's time to take a step back and rethink your life choices. That, my friends, is common sense at it's finest.
It is a little hard to take this work about common sense seriously. Paine seems extremely passionate about a subject that is honestly hard to take seriously. Common Sense is such an odd thing to write about...and Paine's opinions and ideas slightly overshadow the facts. It is clear the point he is trying to make- he just does not present it very well, in my opinion.
For instance, it is painfully clear to the reader what Paine's opinion on monarchy (and England in general, apparently) is... and the work is more of a persuasive essay than a factual one. He calls the very composition of monarchy "ridiculous" (Paine), and is obviously not one to hide his true feelings about the subject at hand. There is more emotion in his statements than there are facts, and that is a truly compromising element of literature and writing.
However, Paine's passion for freedom and independence and for the country is very genuine, if not a little but over the top as well. Obviously, Paine's main goal in this piece of writing is to evoke emotion and make the reader feel passionately about these subject matters, too. His enthusiasm is a little too much in certain points, but his point is very clear. He loves America, and he wants you to love it, too.
Unlike the writings of Benjamin Franklin, Paine uses heavy emotions that, although can be overdramatic, also make his writing more enjoyable and entertaining. Benjamin Franklin was a great writer for his time, but his writing skills were sometimes overshadowed by facts and information and it could sometimes be unclear what point he was trying to convey. Franklin was too factual and Paine was not factual enough, in my opinion. But between the two writers, I would have to say that Paine was more successful and persuasive. Franklin's writing was straight facts, and did not really give readers a reason to feel inspired. Paine's writings are so laced with emotion and persuasion that they give the reader every reason to wrap themselves up in an American flag and celebrate Independence Day every day. And sometimes, and author has to be that emotion to get a response from readers.
Overall, I would have to say that "Common Sense" is a bit overdramatic for my taste, but is written well enough to be considered a good work of it's time.
Paine, Thomas. "Thomas Paine's Common Sense". Archiving Early Amercia. Web. Oct 18 2010.
http://www.earlyamerica.com.
It is a little hard to take this work about common sense seriously. Paine seems extremely passionate about a subject that is honestly hard to take seriously. Common Sense is such an odd thing to write about...and Paine's opinions and ideas slightly overshadow the facts. It is clear the point he is trying to make- he just does not present it very well, in my opinion.
For instance, it is painfully clear to the reader what Paine's opinion on monarchy (and England in general, apparently) is... and the work is more of a persuasive essay than a factual one. He calls the very composition of monarchy "ridiculous" (Paine), and is obviously not one to hide his true feelings about the subject at hand. There is more emotion in his statements than there are facts, and that is a truly compromising element of literature and writing.
However, Paine's passion for freedom and independence and for the country is very genuine, if not a little but over the top as well. Obviously, Paine's main goal in this piece of writing is to evoke emotion and make the reader feel passionately about these subject matters, too. His enthusiasm is a little too much in certain points, but his point is very clear. He loves America, and he wants you to love it, too.
Unlike the writings of Benjamin Franklin, Paine uses heavy emotions that, although can be overdramatic, also make his writing more enjoyable and entertaining. Benjamin Franklin was a great writer for his time, but his writing skills were sometimes overshadowed by facts and information and it could sometimes be unclear what point he was trying to convey. Franklin was too factual and Paine was not factual enough, in my opinion. But between the two writers, I would have to say that Paine was more successful and persuasive. Franklin's writing was straight facts, and did not really give readers a reason to feel inspired. Paine's writings are so laced with emotion and persuasion that they give the reader every reason to wrap themselves up in an American flag and celebrate Independence Day every day. And sometimes, and author has to be that emotion to get a response from readers.
Overall, I would have to say that "Common Sense" is a bit overdramatic for my taste, but is written well enough to be considered a good work of it's time.
Paine, Thomas. "Thomas Paine's Common Sense". Archiving Early Amercia. Web. Oct 18 2010.
http://www.earlyamerica.com.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream
J.A. Leo Lamay, the author of "The American Dream", first begins to criticize Benjamin Franklin by saying that it is not put together well, structurally. He compares Franklin's autobiography to the famous works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, and those of Henry James as well (Lemay). It certainly is true that Franklin did not have the same distinct writing style as these two highly regarded author, but I do not think that Franklin's goal was to write a book with a certain writing style. Instead, he wanted to express his virtues and life experiences. But most people would not read Franklin's autobiography simply for entertainment. Instead, they would most likely want to learn more about the virtues and ideas that Franklin supported.
Lemay also points out that although Franklin does detail his and others economic rises, this is not the only point of the autobiography. I think that Franklin included these small parts about economics and wealth only to contribute to the other ideas that Franklin brings to attention. Instead of acting as if his wealth was a factor that made him more important, Franklin wrote that he appreciated the advantages that his wealth gave him politically, socially, and in general. I think that Franklin was more interested in detailing his virtues than the other successes of his life, and Lemay highlights this in his criticism. Franklin writes of his early poverty several times, but does not dwell on it (Lemay).
Franklin's autobiography is obviously written in the eighteenth century, which Lemay points out. However, Lemay does not criticize Franklin for this. Instead, he says that the biography portrays the first modern world in Western literature. I think Lemay is right to say this, because Franklin's autobiography really is non feudal, nonreligious, and nonaristocratric.
Lemay most critiques the fact that most of the autobiography by Benjamin Franklin is unedited and unrevised. However, I think that while mistakes can be extremely annoying, Franklin's unediting of his autobiography showed that his ideas were all thought out and important to him- things that he thought of and wrote down, not really in order and formatted. However, Lemay also says that Franklin's works are easy to relate to and descriptive.
In his critique, Lemay mostly focuses on the idea of "The American Dream". Lemay basically reinforces the idea that the American Dream is a very important concept, and says that Franklin himself was practically the epitome of this, and was a fair representation of early American citizens (Lemay).
Lemay, J.A. Leo. "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream". Facts on File. Web.
Oct 14 2010.
Lemay also points out that although Franklin does detail his and others economic rises, this is not the only point of the autobiography. I think that Franklin included these small parts about economics and wealth only to contribute to the other ideas that Franklin brings to attention. Instead of acting as if his wealth was a factor that made him more important, Franklin wrote that he appreciated the advantages that his wealth gave him politically, socially, and in general. I think that Franklin was more interested in detailing his virtues than the other successes of his life, and Lemay highlights this in his criticism. Franklin writes of his early poverty several times, but does not dwell on it (Lemay).
Franklin's autobiography is obviously written in the eighteenth century, which Lemay points out. However, Lemay does not criticize Franklin for this. Instead, he says that the biography portrays the first modern world in Western literature. I think Lemay is right to say this, because Franklin's autobiography really is non feudal, nonreligious, and nonaristocratric.
Lemay most critiques the fact that most of the autobiography by Benjamin Franklin is unedited and unrevised. However, I think that while mistakes can be extremely annoying, Franklin's unediting of his autobiography showed that his ideas were all thought out and important to him- things that he thought of and wrote down, not really in order and formatted. However, Lemay also says that Franklin's works are easy to relate to and descriptive.
In his critique, Lemay mostly focuses on the idea of "The American Dream". Lemay basically reinforces the idea that the American Dream is a very important concept, and says that Franklin himself was practically the epitome of this, and was a fair representation of early American citizens (Lemay).
Lemay, J.A. Leo. "Franklin's Autobiography and the American Dream". Facts on File. Web.
Oct 14 2010.
Journal #14: Declaration of Creeping
I'm a creep. I'll admit it right now- my friends and I are all creeps. We love creeping, especially on facebook. Because really, why else would we be on facebook so often? My bestfriend Mallorie Lohman and I are probably the biggest creeps of all. When we get together on facebook, there is no stopping us from being total creepers. Mallorie and I have a top list of people that we creep on. This list includes our friends, of course, as well as people we think are weird and people we don't like. We both creeped on our Farmington partners, too. Mallorie discovered that her partner is a very nice ginger who likes to play video games and build rockets, and I found out that my partner is an equally nice young lady you plays in band and has an older sister.
I know that everyone creeps- you can't even deny it. I'm a creep, and so are you. When you look at other people's facebook page, you're a creep. When you befriend random strangers in public, you're a creep. When you stalk someone, you're a creep that's looking at jail time and a restraining order. When you talk to strangers at the grocery store and start exchanging recipes, you're a creep. It may be a little harsh, but it's the true. Everyone creeps.
So...you're a creep, but it's okay. You certainly are not alone. As I am typing this, I myself am creeping on Abby, reading something in her American Literature text book. It's what make the earth go round, honestly. Creeping is okay, as long as it is down properly. There are certain rules to follow:
1. If you creep on someone, don't tell them. Unless you're friends or if you want them to break out the pepper spray. Because even though they probably are creepers too, they'll feel threatened.
2. Keep the creeping to a minimum. You don't need to creep on someone every single day, because that is no longer creeping- it's stalking. And believe it or not, that's illegal.
3. If you find out something about someone while you're secretly creeping, you can't tell them about it. It's too weird. This happens to apply to my best friend Haley and a note she found on the floor of Mr. Bryan's room.
I know that everyone creeps- you can't even deny it. I'm a creep, and so are you. When you look at other people's facebook page, you're a creep. When you befriend random strangers in public, you're a creep. When you stalk someone, you're a creep that's looking at jail time and a restraining order. When you talk to strangers at the grocery store and start exchanging recipes, you're a creep. It may be a little harsh, but it's the true. Everyone creeps.
So...you're a creep, but it's okay. You certainly are not alone. As I am typing this, I myself am creeping on Abby, reading something in her American Literature text book. It's what make the earth go round, honestly. Creeping is okay, as long as it is down properly. There are certain rules to follow:
1. If you creep on someone, don't tell them. Unless you're friends or if you want them to break out the pepper spray. Because even though they probably are creepers too, they'll feel threatened.
2. Keep the creeping to a minimum. You don't need to creep on someone every single day, because that is no longer creeping- it's stalking. And believe it or not, that's illegal.
3. If you find out something about someone while you're secretly creeping, you can't tell them about it. It's too weird. This happens to apply to my best friend Haley and a note she found on the floor of Mr. Bryan's room.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Journal #13: Spirit
Our school has a lot of school spirit, especially for football and other major sports like that. This is why "Spirit Day" of homecoming week is my favorite day of the whole entire school year. All of the students and most of the teachers dress up in the school colors of red and blue. Then we all pile into our designated sections of the bleachers- separated into our classes- and yell and each other and shout back and forth and whatnot.
During Spirit Day, there are a lot of fun activities that we get to do. The egg drop, the refrigerator box race, the lip-sync, the balloon stomp, and the toilet paper wrapping are a couple of the activities that the classes do to compete against each other in the games. Most of the time, the seniors get first place for homecoming week, and the freshmen get last place. Usually, that's the way things work. Points are also awarded for the float that each class designs/makes for the parade that kicks off homecoming week, and for the "days" that happen the week before. These year, the days included 80's Day, Cowgirl/Cowboy Day, and Class Color Day, all of which led up to Spirit Day on Friday. Each class was awarded additional points for the percentage of people in their class that showed school spirit and actually participated in the daily theme. I myself only participated in 3 out of 4, but oh well.
Even though I had to miss Spirit Day this year, I still love it. It is seriously the best day of the whole entire year. You get to miss class, spend the afternoon with your friends and classmates, laugh at the ridiculous competitions, and show School Spirit. It is an overall win, to say the least.
Most people love Spirit Day, but not just because you get to leave your afternoon classes. It is also a lot of fun to sit in the bleachers with your friends and classmates and cheer on your class. Our school has so much spirit, mostly for our sports teams, so that makes it even more fun.
During Spirit Day, there are a lot of fun activities that we get to do. The egg drop, the refrigerator box race, the lip-sync, the balloon stomp, and the toilet paper wrapping are a couple of the activities that the classes do to compete against each other in the games. Most of the time, the seniors get first place for homecoming week, and the freshmen get last place. Usually, that's the way things work. Points are also awarded for the float that each class designs/makes for the parade that kicks off homecoming week, and for the "days" that happen the week before. These year, the days included 80's Day, Cowgirl/Cowboy Day, and Class Color Day, all of which led up to Spirit Day on Friday. Each class was awarded additional points for the percentage of people in their class that showed school spirit and actually participated in the daily theme. I myself only participated in 3 out of 4, but oh well.
Even though I had to miss Spirit Day this year, I still love it. It is seriously the best day of the whole entire year. You get to miss class, spend the afternoon with your friends and classmates, laugh at the ridiculous competitions, and show School Spirit. It is an overall win, to say the least.
Most people love Spirit Day, but not just because you get to leave your afternoon classes. It is also a lot of fun to sit in the bleachers with your friends and classmates and cheer on your class. Our school has so much spirit, mostly for our sports teams, so that makes it even more fun.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Journal #12: Partners
I like working with partners, mainly because I like having someone to talk to while I work. But not when it's a person I don't know, because that's just awkward and I do not enjoy that amount of awkwardness. Another thing I like about having partners for projects/homework is that you have another person to share the work load with it.
Unless you have own of those people who don't work at all. That really irks me something fierce, because I definitely don't want to do all of the work by myself. I think the best thing you can have in a partner for schoolwork is someone that is willing to share the workload evenly and fairly. There are also a few exceptions, like if you are really, really good at something and your partner is unbelievably bad, you should probably be the one to handle that thing. But if that is the case, then your partner should take care of the other smaller aspects of the project so that it is even and much balanced out between the two of you (or more if it's a group project, I guess).
In some classes, like Spanish, I think that partners are pretty much a necessity. Especially for all those in class assignments and oral presentation that Senor Ares enjoys dishing out on a daily basis. Because I, for one, am extremely bad at Spanish. It's a disgrace. And I probably would have failed last year if Alexis hadn't been my partner, because she was good at speaking Spanish. She did the speaking part, and since I am better at the written part, that was I did. It was a fair deal and if I remember correctly, I passed Spanish II with flying colors. But now Senor Ares is shunning me because I refused to take Spanish III.
I like having partners. I think it's fun and you can still have an advantage in getting your work done. But the best thing is when your best friend is your partner, because you can actually talk and have fun while getting your work done. The End.
Unless you have own of those people who don't work at all. That really irks me something fierce, because I definitely don't want to do all of the work by myself. I think the best thing you can have in a partner for schoolwork is someone that is willing to share the workload evenly and fairly. There are also a few exceptions, like if you are really, really good at something and your partner is unbelievably bad, you should probably be the one to handle that thing. But if that is the case, then your partner should take care of the other smaller aspects of the project so that it is even and much balanced out between the two of you (or more if it's a group project, I guess).
In some classes, like Spanish, I think that partners are pretty much a necessity. Especially for all those in class assignments and oral presentation that Senor Ares enjoys dishing out on a daily basis. Because I, for one, am extremely bad at Spanish. It's a disgrace. And I probably would have failed last year if Alexis hadn't been my partner, because she was good at speaking Spanish. She did the speaking part, and since I am better at the written part, that was I did. It was a fair deal and if I remember correctly, I passed Spanish II with flying colors. But now Senor Ares is shunning me because I refused to take Spanish III.
I like having partners. I think it's fun and you can still have an advantage in getting your work done. But the best thing is when your best friend is your partner, because you can actually talk and have fun while getting your work done. The End.
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