Don't wish your life away

With the tragic deaths we see every day, I realize that we as teenagers wish our lives away. When we are younger than thirteen we wish to be a teenager. Then, the next part of our lives we wish away is the three years until we turn sixteen. We wanna be able to drive, and maybe just maybe have more freedom.Then we cannot wait until we turn eighteen. We think great we are finally adults. We do not realize once we are on our own we actually have to pay for anything we want. We want to play the lottery, vote, and buy cigarettes if we smoke. Then, the next step we want to reach is our twenty-first birthday, so we can "finally" drink. We don't seem to realize that it is a sort of wishing of our lives away.

As, we get older we think where has all the time gone. We wish we could have the time back. We think we should not have wished all that time away. As we get older, and time goes faster and faster, we want our youth back. We want to be able to easily do the same things we did as kids; we would also like to be able to not have all the stresses of bills and needs. As we get older and it seems death is getting closer we think of our regrets and want the life we wished away back. Then we die and there is no life left to wish away.

Tribute to NO-NAME Calling Week

"No Name-Calling Week was inspired by a young adult novel entitled "The Misfits" by popular author, James Howe. The book tells the story of four best friends trying to survive the seventh grade in the face of all too frequent taunts based on their weight, height, intelligence, and sexual orientation/gender expression. Motivated by the inequities they see around , the "Gang of Five" (as they are known) creates a new political party during student council elections and run on a platform aimed at wiping out name-calling of all kinds. Though they lose the election, they win the support of the school's principal for their cause and their idea for a "No Name-Calling Day" at school." Here is a link to website for No-Name calling week.

I'm a little boy with glasses
The one they call the geek
A little girl who never smiles
'Cause I've got braces on my teeth
And I know how it feels
To cry myself to sleep

I'm that kid on every playground
Who's always chosen last
A single teenage mother
Tryin' to overcome my past
You don't have to be my friend
But is it too much to ask

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

I'm the cripple on the corner
You've passed me on the street
And I wouldn't be out here beggin'
If I had enough to eat
And don't think I don't notice
That our eyes never meet

I lost my wife and little boy when
Someone cross that yellow line
The day we laid them in the ground
Is the day I lost my mind
And right now I'm down to holdin'
This little cardboard sign...so

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

I'm fat, I'm thin, I'm short, I'm tall
I'm deaf, I'm blind, hey, aren't we all

Don't laugh at me
Don't call me names
Don't get your pleasure from my pain
In God's eyes we're all the same
Someday we'll all have perfect wings
Don't laugh at me

Semester test (OC)

What would you do if you went out on the street to get your dog and all the sudden you were in a magical like land? The musical I am going to talk about is The Wiz. The three points I am going to talk about are the plot, compare/contrast to other musicals, and what I like and dislike about this musical.

The plot begins one day Dorothy and her family were having a dinner. Auntie Em told her something about needing to get a family of her own and a place of her own. Toto went out and Dorothy chased after him. A blizzard was coming and and a tornado like part of the blizzard swept her up and took her and Toto to Oz. The sign fell down and crushed the wicked witch of the east Evermean. Thus she sets free the munchkins, who have been turned into graffiti by Evermean for tagging the park walls, who populate the park in which she and Toto land. Miss One, the good witch of the north, gives Dorothy the powerful silver slippers of Evermean. Miss One urges Dorothy to find the Yellow Brick Road and follow it to the Emerald City and find the mysterious "Wizard" who she believes can get Dorothy back home. The good witch and the munchkins disappear, leaving Dorothy to find the Yellow Brick Road on her own. The next morning she meets the Scarecrow who she befriends and they travel the Yellow Brick Road together. The scarecrow hopes that the "Wizard" might give him the brain, he feels he lacks. The happen across the Tin Man and Lion who they befriend. The Tin Man hopes the "Wizard" can give him a heart and the Lion wants courage from the "Wizard". They come across the "Poppy" Girls who attempt to put Dorothy, Toto, and Lion to sleep. When they finally reach the Emerald City, the "Wizard" says he will only grant their wishes if they kill Evillene, the wicked witch of the west. Evillene sends the flying monkeys out to kill her. Evillene tortures the Lion, dismembers the scarecrow, and flattens the Tin Man in hopes of getting the silver shoes. Dorothy nearly gives in when the witch nearly throws Toto in a cauldron, but the Scarecrow points out the fire sprinkler switch which she flips and it nearly destroys Evillene. Everyone in the witch's sweatshop rejoices at that. The flying monkeys give Dorothy and her friends a ride back to the wizard. They realize the back door is open and head in that way. It it then realized that the wizard is a phony. Dorothy convinces her friends they had the things they were longing for all the time. Glenda, good witch of the south, tells her to look inside and use the silver slippers and she can get back home to Harlem.

The Wiz compares and contrasts with Wizard of Oz and Sound of Music. In all of these there is someone who is finding out something about themselves or basically finding out new things about themselves. The Wiz and Wizard of Oz both have a person who has been transported to Oz. In Sound of Music, Maria finds herself and this is similiar to Dorothy in The Wiz finding new things about herself. The differences in The Wiz and the Wizard of Oz are that The Wiz is more modern day and the Wizard of Oz is more or less in a longer ago time period. Also humans play all the roles in The Wiz and seems like actually animals play some of the roles in the Wizard of Oz. The differences in The Wiz and Sound of Music are that Maria doesn't get transported to a magical land and Dorothy does. Also, the time period in The Wiz is the seventies and the time period in Sound of Music is in the fourties.

What I like and disliked about this musical. I liked that Dorothy went to Oz and got to be a hero. I also liked that the train station scene where the trash cans and walls came alive. I like that Dorothy did not think she would be able to make it home and learned she had what it took all along. I disliked the fact that the Wiz was a phony. I also disliked the storm being a blizzard that took her to Oz.

In conclusion, I talked about the plot, compared and contrasted to other musicals, and told what i liked and disliked about The Whiz.

Analysis of Of Mice and Men

Analysis Detail

From his first paragraph, John Steinbeck sets the scene in Of Mice and Men through his use of imagery as he describes the natural world as a parallel to later events in the novella."The Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green." Runs deep means strong solid foundation goes beyond. Green means young, fresh, healthy vegetation. Runs deep symbolizes George. Green symbolizes Lennie."Slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains." Strong means to have a strong foundation. Rocky means to have a shaky foundation. Mountains means obstacles. Strong symbolizes George. Rocky symbolizes Lennie. Mountains symbolize the obstacles Lennie and George will face."Under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp." Leaves lie deep means to have roots in. So crisp stands for new people coming in. Under trees means where an occurrence is. Leaves lie deep symbolizes Curley.So crisp symbolizes Lennie.Under trees symbolizes the safety that Curley feels because of the fight being where he has roots. "The limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it." Limb worn smooth means to wear something down until it breaks and smoothes. Who have sat on it means someone has pushed someone until they break.Limb worn smooth symbolizes the torture Lennie has endured because of Curley. Who have sat on it means Curley pushed Lennie until he broke. The author used detail to adequately symbolize and get his message across.

Analysis Of Point of View

The third-person objective point of view solidifies the solitary lives these men lead. "It was Saturday night. Through the open door...came the sound of moving horses, of feet stirring, of teeth champing on hay, of the rattle of halter chains."(pg. 67) This might indicate the troubles of the times and, the horses getting all worked up.This might foreshadow the events of Lennie petting Curley's wife and ending up killing her. "Crooks did not see him...on raising his eyes...a scowl came on his face." This might be because he keeps to himself and has no people friends.Crooks likes his privacy probably because he does not want to be viewed as weak and also because he is the only black person on the ranch."Lennie smiled helplessly in an attempt to make friends." (pg.68) This might indicate that Lennie is lonely and wants to make friends that are people. Lennie wants friendship, this is hard for him because he hurts just about everyone he comes in contact with."Lennie was in a panic. His face contorted.She screamed then, and then Lennie's other hand closed over her mouth and nose." Lennie is in a panic due to the screaming of Curley's wife. Her reaction was to scream. Her screaming caused Lennie to use more force.Lennie would not have attacked Curley's wife most likely if she had not screamed. When she screamed that made his reaction worse."She struggled violently under his hands. Her feet battered on the hay and she writhed free; and from under Lennie's hand came a muffled screaming." (pg. 91)This may indicate that she struggled because of the pain of the attack. Also she was panicked because of Lennie smothering her.Curley's wife struggled because pf the attack she had endured by Lennie's hand. She struggled till she got free. She screamed from under his hand to be able to try to get help. The author used the previous quotes to reflect his point of view.
Analysis of Tone

The obligation and sorrow, tones in Steinbeck's passage reflect the troubles that are faced by the main characters, Lennie and George, in the book, Of Mice and Men. The tone word number one is obligation. "No-look! I was jus' foolin', Lennie.'Cause I want you to stay with me. Trouble with mice is you always kill 'em." He paused." Tell you what I'll do, Lennie. First chance I get I'll give you a pup. Maybe you won't kill it. That'd be better than mice. And you coulc pet it harder."(pg. 13)The quote, on page 13, shows George's obligation to Lennie because George tells Lennie he wants him to stay when Lennie makes the comment that he can go to a cave leave George. Also it shows that George cares for Lennie because he explains he will get Lennie a pup instead of a mouse to pet.'George stepped close."Couldn' we may bring him in an' they'll lock him up? He's nuts, Slim. He never done this to be mean."(pg.97)The quote, on page 97, show the obligation George has for Lennie because George feels like Lennie should be locked up and not killed, for killing Curley's wife.'George shook his head again. "No," he said."I want you to stay with me here."(pg.104)The quote, on page 104, shows the obligation George has for Lennie because he tells him he wants him to stay with him when Lennie offers to leave. The second tone word is sorrow. "Oh! Please don't do none of that,"Lennie begged. "George gonna say I done a bad thing. He ain't gonna let me tend the rabbits." (pg.91)The quote, on page 91, Lennie's sorrow because 'George gonna say I done a bad thing. He realized that now that he killed Curley's wife George would not let him tend the rabbits and that made him sad."I done a real bad thing," he said."I shouldn't of did that. George'll be mad. An'... he said... an' hide in the bushes till he come. He's gonna be mad. In the brush till he come. Tha's what he said."(pg.92)The quote, on page 92, show the sorrow felt by Lennie because he seems all frazzled about the bad thing he did and thought George would be mad at him. He also kept repeating that he should hide in the bushes and that George would be mad. It is easy to tell that he feels like he will make George mad because of his killing Curley's wife. The tone words obligation and sorrow are adequately represented in the above quotes.

Analysis of Theme

We are our brother's keeper. " I wisht I could put you in a cage with about a million mice an' let you have fun."(p.11) George said this to Lennie. When he said this he suddenly had no anger and he felt ashamed of hisself. This shows how George is Lennie's keeper because he cannot stay mad at Lennie and he wants what is best for Lennie."Lennie was jus' scairt," he explained. " He didn't know what to do. I told you nobody ought to never fight him. No, I guess it was Candy I told." (p.65) This proves that George is Lennie's keeper because he is defending George. When you are someone's keeper you defend them. This all proves that we are our brother's keeper.

Migrant Mother Photographs Reflection

The woman in the migrant mother photographs looks sad that she has to live that way. She seems to reflect all the horrible stories of what happened in the Great Depression. She seems a lot older than she actually is, maybe this is because of the stress she had to endure being homeless and having to raise small children. It seems almost as though she was trying to cling to all the belongings she had left during homelessness. The woman makes me sad, being that she does not have a home and is having to deal with raising small children on top of that. I honestly cannot understand how the woman, in the photographs, can stand to endure being homeless.

Fictional Acceptance Speech (OC)

Could it be plausible that such a boring article got me this award?I thought it was not, but apparently it was. Thanks for giving me the honor of receiving the Pulitzer Prize. I am going to tell you about the article I received the award for, what the award means to me, and how thankful I am to those who gave me the award.

First off, I am going to tell you about the article I received the award for. One day i was thinking about the elections and I thought, 'Oh I have the perfect idea for an article.' The article I wrote was about elections being like a divorce case of he said she said. One opponent will invent propaganda about the other opponent, sort of like a husband and wife that get divorced saying different things about the other to make the other sound bad. Well it is like a he said she said thing except the commercials air on the television.

Next, I am going to tell you what the award means to me. I never thought in a million years I would receive such an honor. I thought all my articles were garbage until this award. This award means that all my hardwork writing that article paid off. Also, it means that I have succeeded in getting my point across for my article. This artcle means that I have done something worth all the time and effort it spent on doing it.

Finally, I am to tell you how thankful I am to those who gave me the award. I am really happy that the committee chose me to win this award. I nefver thought that the committee would pick my article for such an honor.

Let's review. The three things I talked about were: the article I received the award for, what the award means to me, and how thankful I am to those who gave me the award. Apparently it was plausible that such a boring story could get me this award.

School Year 2009-10 (OC)

This school year has been full of interesting memories that I will cherish forever. Many acquaintances have been made. Acquaintances from other countries in the form of exchange students and immigrants. One of them will remain my friend, I hope even when she goes back to Germany. I have enjoyed the classes this year. Though, in some classes I have not agreed with everything. This year is the first year I have kept all A's. I have enjoyed the assignments and such at school this year. This was the first year my twin sister and I have had totally different schedules from each other. I came to the realization that it was okay to ask for help. I learned that a bus full of annoying kids is not the best thing to hear first thing in the morning. I learned that taking an ACT is not as bad as I thought. I also learned that sometimes I get carried away when I do certain things. I learned that you do not have to decide the rest of your life in the tenth grade, that it is okay not to know what you want to do with your life. One bad grade on an assignment, may seem like the end of the world, and parents may think this too, but I have come to the realization that one bad grade is not worth getting upset over. This year I also learned it is not as scary as I thought to ask teachers and the principal for recommendations for an application. This year I was glad that I had the opportunity to apply for ASMSA and got in. I learned at the orientation that what I thought difficult here will seem like a piece of cake compared to some of the stuff that they will teach there. I am so happy about going there, but I am not so happy about having to start the fourth of August, because my summer will be cut short. I learned that sometimes do your schoolwork pays off. I also learned that I am glad I came to Batesville because otherwise I would not have some of the friends I have now.