This spring break I'm going to visit the conservative side of my family. I think we all know how that goes. You either get into big fights that get brought up every year or your stuck holding your tongue. I have had those moments especially when my cousins talk about how "Trump is going to save America" and you really want to tell them that he's actually just saving the only of his friends in the 1 percent club.
But at the end of the day they're your family and it's better to not ruin sun and fun with with low jabs back and fourth. So don't stress just breath. Look at it from their point of view. I get it. Why would you do that? It will help you see what they see and after all their thinking about what's better for their family and wanting to improve the situation in life. And most of the time they didn't choose this, they grew up with it and change is hard for people, especially when they grew up hearing that this is the right choice for the future and the other choice "destroys America and makes people lose their jobs and pay more money tot he government." Just some helpful tips here. And enjoy your break. I mean it. Put the phone down and live in the moment so stop reading this and go spend time with the people who really care about you!
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A few days ago a woman burst in with a gun and injured three people before taking her own life. While we do not know all the details we know that the woman's brother complained many times to the police saying that she might "do something" and claiming "YouTube ruined her life" by purposefully censoring her content. This is weird because she is only a handful of mass shooters who are women. I visited her YouTube channel to get a glimpse of what kind of content a psycho path was creating. She had over 10,000 subscribers but when I found her account she had just 49 left. I didn't watch any of her videos because I found the whole thing disturbing on so many levels. But what I can tell you is there was a defente reason her stuff was flagged
English Honors Portfolio
Prose/Poetry Project Script Girl With The Dragon Tattoo-Independence "There's just one catch, and this also applies to the third possibility that the girl, contrary to every indication, took her own life. Her body must be somewhere in this limited area." Vanger slammed his fist down on the map. "In the days after she disappeared, we searched everywhere, crisscrossing the island. The men waded through every ditch, scoured every patch of field, cliff, and uprooted tree. We went through every building, chimney, well, barn, and hidden garret." The old man looked away from Blomkvist and stared into the darkness outside the window. His voice grew lower and more intimate." Introduction Mikael Blomkvist is an investigative reporter in Stockholm, Sweden, who has been convicted of libel (to publish something untrue damaging a person's reputation) by a powerful business man. Mikael wants to clear his name and learns about a disappearance of a retired CEOs niece 40 years ago and is hired by the retired CEO to help solve it. In return Mikael will get evidence about the man who sent him to jail. Mikael has the help of a hacker named Lisbeth Salander with a dragon tattoo who also had traumatic life. She is declared legally incompetent as a child under the care of her legal guardian, Holgar Palmgren. But when she has a stroke her new guardian blackmails her because he knows she wants her finances. Medusa The water will always fall, and will not fall, And the tipped bell make no sound. The grass will always be growing for hay Deep on the ground. And I shall stand here like a shadow Under the great balanced day, My eyes on the yellow dust, that was lifting in the wind, And does not drift away. ¨Cecilia had never before been as fragile as she was then. Her marriage had ended three months earlier. Domestic violence...the term banal. For her it had taken the form of unceasing abuse.Blows to the head,violent shoving, moody threats, and being knocked to the kitchen floor. Her husband's outbursts were inexplicable and the attacks were not often so severe that she was actually injured. She had become used to it. Until the day she struck back and he completely lost all control. It ended with him flinging some scissors at her which lodged in her shoulder blade. He had been remorseful and panicky and drove her to the hospital, making up a story about a bizarre accident which all the staff in the emergency room saw through at once. She had felt so ashamed. They gave her twelve stitches and kept her in the hospital for two days. Then her uncle picked her up and drove her to his house. She never spoke to her husband again.¨ This is a dead scene forever now. Nothing will ever stir. The end will never brighten it more than this, Nor the rain blur. “The rules for social interaction in school had always baffled her. She minded her own business and did not interfere with what anyone around her did. Yet there was always someone who absolutely would not leave her in peace. In middle school she had several times been sent home after getting into violent fights with classmates. Much stronger boys in her class soon learned that it could be quite unpleasant to fight with that skinny girl. Unlike the other girls in the class, she never backed down, and she would not for a second hesitate to use her fists or any weapon at hand to protect herself. She went around with the attitude that she would rather be beaten to death than take any shit. And she always got revenge.” #1 This is an example of my writing understanding. This shows I can arrange information I’ve assembled into a new, focused message. For this assignment we chose a part of the book we were reading and a poem to weave into the parts of the passage we chose. At first I did not know what part of the book I should pick. I could not identify the theme of this poem. I didn’t understand “Nor the rain blur” or “The water will always fall, and will not fall” I didn’t understand how the author could express feelings without saying them. But later because of this section in the book, “she would not for a second hesitate to use her fists or any weapon at hand to protect herself” because of this I was able to improve and understand the real theme of the poem which then helps me identify the text I chose to go with the poem and help people see the theme the project or create a focused message. I was curious about these tests and tried to be as honest as possible to get a real answer. The first test I tried was IAT race and IAT gender The first test I took was the IAT race test which is where you sort Black people and White people's faces with good or bad words then answer a few questions. I try to be as fair as I possibly can because to me we are all the same. But I know that I will never experience the same experiences as a Black person will and I will never know that struggle.But my results were exactly what I thought they would be which was that I had no preference between Black people or White people which means I am not biased to one race or another. I think this test was very accurate. The second test I took was the IAT gender that associates words like home or children with female names and words like salary or work with man names. And I think I would have said the test results weren't right if I would have gotten a different result but it said I had low to none for associating females with family words and males with business words. I thought the test was accurate except, I wasn't sure if I was really thinking about it more and not answering my fastest or putting down what I thought would get me my best scores. I tried to be as honest as possible but I don't think that I will ever know these answers going into the future. 2. A time your relationship with someone you love changed--a little or a lot. My friend was talking bad about our other friends and was really mean to all of us so I decided I wanted to be nice and I didn't want to be her friend anymore. Now it's still a little awkward be we pretty good friends. #2 This is an example of my writing understanding. This shows I can select and use appropriate strategies for my writing based on my purpose. As you can see with the paragraph with a number two next to it, this was at the beginning of the school year. This question was to get to know us, it wasn’t about serious topics. But still read and pay attention to the lack of detail. It seemed like I was rushing and didn’t put any thought into it at all, like when I said “My friend was talking bad about our other friends and was really mean to all of us so I decided I wanted to be nice and I didn't want to be her friend anymore.” It was a very long sentence and no one would know what I was talking about. But read the two paragraphs above. I used less casual language like associating or accurate. I expressed my opinion clearly and used less casual words to help understanding in a serious topic like bias. One of the topics I wrote about was something not very serious and more in which I used casual language because my purpose was for a storytelling brainstorm. However, the top two paragraphs are about a more serious topic which was my reaction to bias testing. Because of 9 honors I am able to use different strategies based on my topic of writing or purpose. <iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dSbHFwmdeAItusXhLlKP_ahBUEVBXrzV/preview" width="640" height="480"></iframe> #3 This is an example of my speaking understanding. I can deliver a presentation effectively. This is the video showing prose-poetry project presentation and at first while I was presenting I would not make eye contact and talked in a soft voice which was bad because no one could understand what I was saying and couldn’t pay attention to the significance my poem and story. But later, I was able to talk louder and put more emotion into my voice which was an improvement because they were able understand and picture the story. This shows my growth because this video shows me realizing my mistake continuing on and showing improvement. #4 This is an example of my reading understanding. These are pictures of the implicit bias article by Annie Murphy Paul that I annotated to show that I can think actively about connections I’m making and the questions I have as I read. At first when I read this article my annotations were not great because on the second page in the third paragraph, I had a hard time understanding why the author had quoted that person, I thought it was because didn’t have enough evidence to back up her point but then when I reread because I wanted to, I was able to understand more and understand why she used that quote. I thought that on page one and paragraph one that the author used “We all use stereotypes, all the time, without knowing it” because she wanted to get the reader’s attention but it was also apart of the topic sentence and a way to wrap things up in the end. This artifact shows my growth because I went from not being able to know what a topic sentence was to making connections and asking real questions when I read. I was reading We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. It's about a family who has everything but is corrupt and a group of four kids known as the liars. Each is different in their own way, but all are bounded together and do something one summer that changes everything except, Cadence (the main character) can't remember anything from that summer and no one will tell her anything so she tries to figure it out. I enjoyed the end of this book because of the twist ending. I did not think this book had much complexity to it. But I think the average American teenager doesn't realize how much people will do for money. For example, when Cadence's mother uses her to try and convince her grandfather to keep their house and their fancy things. I recommend this book because it was easy to understand and everything was well described, I could really picture the characters and the places in my mind. But one downfall of the book was that some things didn't make sense and I thought that bigger details were overlooked and other things were fathered in to make the plot less realistic. More importantly, this book represents what money, guilt, and a horrible secret have in common. It also shows what money can make people do bad things no matter who it is.This book showed me a different perspective because I have never experienced a family so revolved in money that their lives literally depended on it but also because I have never experienced depression (like the main character, Cadence) so it was a different point of view in the book. I think teenagers could benefit because from reading a character or characters like this because they would be able to understand more about depression or mental illness and know what someone is going through. It was hard for me to read about Cadence because this book wasn't about her triumphs, but more her breaking point and how she fell rock bottom (literally), and not showing this realistically in books can make people who do have a mental disorder feel alone or unwanted because they can't relate or because it's not portrayed accurately. After reading this book you'll feel compassion and a willing to help and understand those who need help because in a way through this book you will see through the eyes of someone who has a mental disorder, insecurities, money problems, a love like no other, and extreme guilt. I think readers should steer away from their normal under emphasized genres because it can help you experience things outside your own world and get help for people who really need it. THIS IS FOR MY LIT CIRCLE NOVEL SINCE I CAN’T TAKE PICTURES OF THE ACTUAL BOOK. This is an example of my reading understanding. I can use the author’s writing style in a novel to help me understand it. I read We Were Liars and if you want to know what it’s about it’s on that page. But that good reads review is my We Need Diverse Books Lit Circle Novel, that’s what I’m writing about. This book is different than any other books I’ve read. The author’s words and writing style seemed similar my classmates. I was able to relate to the book because of the writing style. I liked that this book was different because there were a few tricky words but there was never a time when I was reading that I struggled, there were no times I had to go through an obstacle while reading this book. When I read a book the first thing I notice is the writing style because for me it tells me something about the author. I also try to look for similarities I’ve seen before in my life. Before this year I did not pay attention to those details but because 9 honors has challenged me to read so many new books I wouldn’t normally read, I like to pay attention to those details because it can help me connect to a character by the way they are described, but it also helps connect to the author. #5 Participation Checklist (self-evaluation) You SHOULD photograph or scan this sheet after you fill it out and include it as an artifact. In this class, I have consistently done which of the following? (check all that apply)
I have consistently NOT done which of the following? (check all that apply)
Independent Reading I try to read every night because it’s required but if it wasn’t I probably wouldn’t. But I would like to read more because I like learning and hopefully it can help me with improved memory or distraction problems I have. I want to push myself next by finishing my goal this year on goodreads. -Paper Towns by John Green -We Were liars by -The Fault In Our Stars by John Green Participation I was given the opportunity to participate many times like when you let us talk about bias openly but it’s not that I didn’t know what to say it’s just I could never get myself to say anything. I think I need to challenge myself more and get more involved. I definitely did better during small groups and had no trouble saying what I wanted to. Like in our book groups. I felt like a leader because I thought I pushed my group members to get work done and I would usually start the book conversations. Although I didn’t participate that much I still ask questions and get help if it’s something I have trouble in. I still come to class everyday prepared. Before I start writing this and you start reading this I jus want to say I RESPECT EVERYONE'S OPINIONS! Now that I got that out of the way, please keep reading.
What I'm writing about is school shootings. I have never experienced a school shooting but I feel like I have. News about school shootings is constantly being shoved in my face as if I don't already know. People who I didn't know are now on a poster with a caption reading "Never Again" and that makes me feel so unsafe. Three weeks after Parkland I had serious thought, "what will happen if I die?" Morbid right? Well for the first time I actually felt unsafe at school. I started noticing little things that could affect my life, such as the lack of security before school started or places where I could hide in my classroom. This is not made up. This is the feelings of a student who risks her life everyday just to go to school. In my opinion, Nikolas Cruz should have never been able to get a gun. Guns are a huge deal in this country. It's like we have an unhealthy attachment to our guns, gun laws need to change so another child does not have to lose their life to prove a point. I don't want to be afraid anymore. Maybe people need to start asking themselves this question, what if your child were next? I was a cheerleader my freshman year of high school. I did it because all of the women in my family were cheerleaders, so as the next girl in my family I felt an amounting pressure to do it. But now, thanks to cheer I learned the power labels have and what I was expected to, for example I was the first cheerleader to do cross country as well as cheer. But I had no idea what work it was to be a cheerleader.
I'll start from the beginning, at auditions girls were to wear black shorts a plain white t-shirt( I had a white t-shirt with words which wasn't acceptable and I had to borrow a shirt) and have my hair up with no fly aways. Next, we all got in a line and they checked our nails which needed to be cut down with no finger nail polish. I then had to lift up my shirt and prove I had no belly button piercings, I felt like a mannequin on display , then we were looked over once more and explained to the expectations which was that we represented the school and that were "walking billboards" for the Coach's program which I understood. But then were expected to learn two routines and have practiced toe touches. But at my school cheer wasn't really well known I mean people knew what it was but it wasn't like football or basketball where people came to every game just to see us. I had been told many times that I shouldn't do it and that made me self conscious about how people would treat me and to be honest I care about what people think of me, even if I shouldn't its always there the fear of being left out. From the beginning I had never felt apart of the team. There were some nice people but most treated me like I was a baby and felt they were superior to me. I would always get in trouble for things I didn't know. For example, I missed weightlifting once(which was mandatory) because the coach and girls didn't tell me. Honestly, it felt horrible to always come up short to things that were out of my control. One other thing the bothered me was that they would always talk behind each others back, it was constant and in the end I quit early because I couldn't function being a people pleaser and being a totally different person in such a negative environment. I decided that being a cheerleader had it's perks but in pros and cons there were mostly cons. Cheer was not for because I didn't want to be remembered as a cheerleader I didn't want to be labeled as stuck up I just wanted to be me. Hey guys! So today I'm going to share some tips I have as a competitive runner and also just running for fun. Competitive running: Congrats! If your reading this it means your running competitivly, what this means is that weather this is your first time or 50th time is that you've been training to improve your time and nows the time. A lot of people count how good they did in a race by their place, while that is important it's about improving your time. One time after I had run a hard race I looked at my time wanting to hopefully improve by a lot I only improved 30 seconds. That's when a teammate who I idolized because of her fast times she freaked out and said how she would kill to get 30 seconds off her time. The point of that was to show that times are everything. Even if you don't improve your time remember there's always another race there's always another chance so don't worry. Make sure to drink plenty of water an hour before this race. Fun runners: This is a huge deal because you are using your free time make yourself healthier and improve your athletic skill! If your starting this powerful journey called running or you've been in it awhile your in for a great run. Now you are running to run or to improve your skill but your not concerned with your place in this race which is great because you'll be less stressed for the run. Make sure to stay loose and keep those shoes tied! Runners signs: Aries March 21-April 19: You often excel with things that have to do with anything in competitions , you are full of life so make sure to get out a few minutes everyday even if its not a long time, its important to stay active. Taurus April 20-May 20:You are relaxed, your not in a hurry you go with the flow but don't overthink the power of loosening up before a race by stretching or listening to your favorite song before your run! Gemini May 21-June 20:You rarely like your alone time. Your a great conversationalist so here's a tip, during your race try and keep up with someone who's a little faster than your normal pace who knows that could be your new pace? Cancer June 21-July 22: Your all about your family, you need to feel needed. You have an offbeat sense of humor and are really good listeners. So make sure you think positive thoughts and that might sound like B.S. but it honestly helps you get through your run. Leo July 23-August 22: You like the big picture not small details. You are warm and relaxed. Remember you'll need to eat an hour before you run, not a big meal but a healthy snack for a boost of energy! Virgo August 23-September 22: Virgo, you are always thinking, assessing. You overburden yourself with more work you can handle sometimes. You are very attentive in your health so make sure you drink plenty water if you don't already but if your new to this try drinking a bottle of water a day two weeks before your run, enough for the water to have an effect and not get cramps during your run. Libra September 23-October 22: You don't like seeing people unhappy and are sometimes wishy-washy when making decisions, but when you do make decisions their usually the right ones! So don't worry! Remember there are rest days in training so don't over work yourself take at least one day a week as a rest day. Scorpio October 23-November 21: You are very secretive by nature but love to embrace life. You have complex emotions. So make sure you set small achievable goals that you can accomplish. Sagittarius November 22-December 21: You take risks and you help other people take risks. You get excited about starting new projects but you are also an honest human! Remember to buy new running shoes. If your's have holes or look like they exploded it's time for new ones. I suggest buying new ones every two years unless you race once a week then maybe get shoes once every year. Capricorn December 22-January 19: You like to stick to plans. You get somewhere with no short cuts but you are also ambitious and view this life as a journey instead of a destination. So to avoid cramps before a workout don't eat solids for about two hours and this helps avoid aches and pains. Aquarius January 20-February 18: You are innovative and love to ask why. You can sometimes be rebellious and not tell the difference between reality and real life. But you are an open-minded person. So make sure you know that you can't just run to change your whole lifestyle it also starts with the things you put in your body like food and alcohol. So try to make healthy choices. Pisces February 19-March 20: You lure people in with your "old soul". You are romantic and compassionate. Before a race find out what motivates you. It doesn't matter what but use that to achieve goals because that is what will pay off. Writing 1: I grew in my personal narrative during tri one and here are two examples.
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