My Life! (:

So on a normal school day, my mean alarm wakes me up at about 5:10 - 5:15. Some people say it's really early but I get used to it. From the time I wake up to around 5:30 I go on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Vine, and all that good stuff. Then I drag myself to my bathroom and start getting ready (ya know, brushing my teeth, washing my face, dealing with my hair). Then I go and put on my uniform. After I've gotten completely dressed, I have to pack my bag for soccer, which I have everyday right after school. Then, I pack my backpack and go towards the kitchen to try and find something to consume. Usually, I can find something, or if I've eaten everything we just grab something on the way to my friend's house (I carpool in the mornings).

By this time, I'm at school at around 7:15 and I just go in the library. Then the bell rings. And for the next 7-8 hours I become educated. After school, I go straight to practice and it's kind of something to look forward to for me. We usually run, do drills, run, scrimmage, oh and run. On some days, I'll have a game after school, so that means I have to HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE. After practice I usually go home and start my homework, but on some days, I have to go to tutoring after practice.

When I get home, I eat my dinner, and then I go and take a shower. After I've done all of this, I start on my homework, which can be very unpredictable in terms of how much time I might spend on it. By the time I've finished everything it's usually 8:30 - 9:30, and if I feel like it I'll sometimes watch an episode of Gossip Girl, Glee, or the Bachelor (don't judge until you've watched any of the following. they're perfect). While watching these shows I'll sometimes go back on twitter and all that good stuff. And then by 10:00 - 10:30 I'm fast asleep.

Writing Center.

In terms of the requirement to attend the writing center once this semester, I was sort of put into a bind. First, I was reminded of this requirement during our last paper, the literary analysis (I'd forgotten about the writing center as a whole) so I went to the EHS website and pulled up their appointment book. They were completely full on any possible times that I could have gone in. So during a few spare minutes I had after a class, I decided to go, and one of the writing fellows was able to glance over my paper for a few minutes and give me a few quick editing suggestions. For the most part, some of the suggestions really helped me. For instance, she mentioned that I should try to avoid using certain phrases within my paper (I have a habit of using my favorite words too often). But, in the end, it was only five minutes of help, but it still helped me.

Reading Times:

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
Pg. 1 - 56. (75 minutes)

Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pg. 75-112. (45 minutes)

Scary Things?

So during the Halloween time, I always get that one invite from someone, asking me to go with them. I always respond with a "maybe", think about it, and then I end up chickening out. This place that makes me chicken out every year is the 13th gate. Ever since I was younger, I never really liked the thought of being scared, or frightened by something; it just never sat well with me. Recently over the summer, my family took a trip to Orlando, and we went to the Disney Parks. On one of the days we went to Magic Kingdom, and my brother talked me into getting on the Haunted Mansion ride with him. The whole time,  my hands were in a ready position to shoot up and cover my eyes. When the ride was over, I practically shot up out of my seat. Other than haunted mansions, or things of that nature, anything involving scary or frightening things within them tend to intimidate me. It's always a drag when you go to the movies an you get there on time, and you have to wait through about fifty previews. While you're waiting there's about a 99.9% chance you're going to see a scary movie trailer. For me with scary movies, some are bearable, whereas some are too out there for me and make me spill popcorn everywhere for jumping to much. And then there's that annoying part of your brain that makes you think of scary things at the worst possible times. So basically, when it comes to things that will make me jump, scream, cling to strangers, or just want to curl up into a ball, they aren't really on my good side.

Free Post.

So we've got about 3 or so weeks (I forgot) until Thanksgiving Break. To be honest, at this point in the school year, school can be such a drag. I picture a bunch of students in a race crawling to the finish line. It's really unbearable sometimes, and the only thing to make it better would be a break. One of the greatest things that come with a break is sleep. Middle and High school really make you appreciate the z's that you manage to catch.. if any at all. I remember in elementary school, in kindergarten we'd have nap time after lunch. Well I barely slept.. I mainly talked to the person next to me about god knows what. Another thing that I love about breaks (that are for holidays) is the type of atmosphere it sets. I think Christmas will always be my favorite holiday because it's always filled with happiness and I think it's kind of impossible to be frowning on Christmas morning.. unless you get lumps of coal. But anyways, I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas break.. but definitely not the dark time in-between that is filled with exams.

Deserted Island.

In our class, when we were told to imagine being abandoned on an island after a plane crash, and to come up with a well thought out strategy to survive, we kind of jumped right into it. The one thing we had to keep in mind was that it wasn't just us, it was also a class of first graders stuck with us. At first, it was a commotion of ideas just being thrown out into the open, without any structure. After a minute or so of this going on, someone grabbed a tape dispenser, and we deemed that to be our "talking stick". We established that if you didn't have the "talking stick" then you couldn't speak (some people had trouble following that rule). At this point, the leaders in our group became pretty obvious, considering they were the ones mainly keeping us on track. We then began making groups for what needed to be done, like making shelter, getting water, collecting wood for a fire, finding food, and for taking care of the first graders. After a while, we got into more detail when we realized that even though the plane was crashed, there may have been some supplies that may be still intact. This all occurred in a duration of about 5-10 minutes. Overall, when our time was up, we had a pretty structured plan for what needed to be done. On the other hand, if this would have happened in real life, I think before all of the structured planning, there would have been a definite period of panic for everyone. If we would have had to gather all of the things and fend for ourselves, I think the outcome wouldn't really be that easy to decide. Some other challenges that we could definitely encounter in that type of situation is the weather, sickness, hunger, injury, and many more. In other words, in this type of situation almost anything could happen.

Essay: 75 minutes
Outside Reading - I Am Number Four - 75-122. (50 minutes)

Reading Times

I Am Number Four - Pittacus Lore 

1- 75: 120 minutes

Reading Times

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
331- 389: 120 minutes

Reading Times + Personal Question.

Question: Why do I prefer to read teen fiction way more than any of the other genres?

Reading Times:

Pg. 189-331: 120 minutes

Response to Stuff?

   So we've been learning about short stories, and what traits are within them. We've also been reading a few, and for the most part, either they've made sense or they've confused me. There isn't really an in between. They all have one main thing in common, they are set on one topic, and they manage to tell it in a conformed way. All of the short stories also have a plot with rising action, climax, falling action and more. So the story may be shorter, but it still manages to have a structure to it, that makes it an interesting read. A majority of the stories we've read I've been able to comprehend them pretty well, but the main one that threw me off was the one with the angel coming to the family? The whole story was just a blur to my brain. I couldn't comprehend it at all, whereas with the Da-Duh story and the Harrison B. one, I understood those pretty well. In terms of writing a short story, from the things I've seen in some of these mentor texts, I think I get the idea as to what I need to do.


Fangirl -Rainbow Rowell
45- 105: 120 minutes. 

What I'm Thinking. (Character's Mind)

    Today went by so slow, especially Algebra class- DID I DO THAT HOMEWORK?! Oh yup I did.
I really liked that song I heard on the way home.. about that girl cutting her teeth on wedding rings. That Latin quiz tomorrow will be the death of my brain but then again I studied a lot for it. How did my room get this messy? I cleaned it about two hours ago. Oh, yup. I can definitely feel those sprints from practice now. This ugly doll is making me paranoid. I should really go to sleep now, but my mind won't be quiet. Ever since I got home it's been raining. Oh yeah, I have to remember to get the check from mom or dad in the morning for club dues. I really want some Oreos right now. Oh wow, my bed is really comfy. Forget that, this blanket is suffocating me. Well let me just be weird and have a thumb war with myself. Yeah, I agree, it's definitely time for me to go to bed.

Reading Response (5)

   So I've actually started a new book called Fangirl. I stumbled upon it the other day when I was in Barnes and Noble. It's always been a habit of mine to wander through the teen fiction section, and judge all the books by their covers. So when I saw Fangirl, despite the cover, I grabbed the book and read the description immediately. To say it seemed like a book that was sent to me by god would be an understatement. In the story, the main character, Cath is obsessed with a series of books about a teenager who gets sent to a school for magicians (kind of like Harry Potter). She's also a freshmen in college.. and is still obsessed. Oh! and she writes fan-fictions on this website where other people read them. Considering I read fan-fictions sometimes, on the same type of website, I found it kind of funny. So in the book, where I am, Cath is getting used to college life, and is trying to get to know her roommate as best as possible.

   On the other hand, with the literacy narrative e-book, I have the job of dealing with the media. I actually wanted a job where I could add life to the papers, in order to catch someone's eye. I guess I'll be dealing with all types of media, pictures, videos, audio, or anything of that nature. I'm not complaining considering the task of finding media is bearable.


Literacy Narrative
9/17/13 - Editing a few things: 15 minutes

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell
9/16/13 - Pg. 1-20: 25 minutes
9/17/13 - Pg. 20 - 35: 25 minutes
9/17/13 - (Harrison B.) - 15 minutes
9/18/13 - Pg. 35 - 45: 15 minutes
9/19/13 - (Da-Duh): 15 minutes

Literacy Narrative.

   With my paper, I wouldn't say that other people reading it would really bother me. The only concerns I have about it might be my ability to add vivid detail to it. That was one of my main struggles while writing. For a graphic aid, I might be able to make a Wordle with words describing my paper. Another option I'm considering is maybe making a photo-bucket presentation of all of the books mentioned in my paper, plus some of my favorites from when I was younger. In terms of proof reading my paper, I don't think that another round would hurt. I actually think that it'd give me an advantage to get one more round of editing in before others read it. I think that the main thing the reader should know is that I am mainly focusing in on reading in my paper, not really writing at all, considering it's not one of my favorite things to do. Other types of media to bring my paper to life? With my paper I could probably find some of the movie versions of the books, and make a compilation of some of them. For instance in Arthur, find my favorite episode, and take my favorite scene from it.

Reading Response (4)

Reading Log
Class time Peer review (Thursday) - 45 minutes
Alphas (Lisi Harrison) - Pg. 115- 165: 40 minutes
Alphas (Lisi Harrison) - Pg. 165 - 190: 35 minutes

   So in class this week we've been working on our literacy narrative. In class we did tons of peer editing, after getting some personal suggestions from Dr. D. Personally, being able to have someone read my paper and make suggestions, that is a humungous help. Towards the beginning of the week we started with small groups (mine was four people) and we each read our story aloud. At first it was kind of awkward, but it got better as we started to get used to it. Reading it out loud allowed me to hear how at some points in my paper it may sound weird, or where I may have had a typo. On Thursday, we did a huge in class swap. I got three different papers and read them. I read a lot of different types of stories, and as I read I had to add any edits that I think were needed. When I got my paper back and went over some of the edits, they actually helped me. After applying some of them, my paper was actually improved.

   With the book I'm reading, it's still pretty good. But, it's getting a little more intense as more girls are getting cut from the academy, and the main characters begin to secretly meet up with Shira's sons. Overall, I'm liking it, and was happy to find out that there was a second book.. and a third.

Dialogue.

"Hey there! How are you?"
"I'm good, thanks."
"Isn't it a pretty day today?"
"Indeed it is."
"Does that cloud look like a kangaroo to you?"
"Umm.. Not really."
"Oh... well I like kangaroos, don't you?"
"I have mixed feelings about kangaroos."
"Oh. Well what's your favorite animal?"
"Non- existent."
"Well that's quite boring. Do you like scary movies?"
"No.. they scare me entirely too much."
"Chicke- I mean well everyone has limits. How about comedies?"
"They make me chuckle."
"Same here. What's your favorite ice cream flavor?"
"Funky nut blast."
"Oh my.. well I like vanilla.. do you enjoy reality tv?"
"Yup, some are really good, some repulse me."
"Well that's umm normal? Uhh how about- never mind I'll talk to you later?"
"Yeah, sure, okay, bye."

Reading Response (3)

   So I've completed The Secrets of My Hollywood Life, and I'm now reading a book called Alphas. I mainly came across it considering the author of it wrote the Clique series which I was obsessed with for a while. In the book, it's about a boarding school in a way, that is on this high tech island. Girls from all across the world come, and they are basically chosen for being the best at what they do. For example, one of the main characters Skye, was the best dancer in her hometown so she was invited to go the Alpha academy. There was a twist that surprised me though, if you mess up, this results in you getting sent home. Skye has roommates as well, and they are all different in what they are good at. Another twist I forgot to mention, it's an all girl school, so this means no guys except for Shira's (head of everything) sons. Their names are Darwin, Taz, Sydney, Melbourne, and Dingo. Shira has basically forbidden any of the girls from dating her sons, which seems kind of difficult considering they're like regular students on the island. So far, this book has been really good in my opinion.


Alphas - Lisi Harrison
9/5/13 - Pg. 1- 30: 30 minutes
9/6/13 - Pg. 30- 60: 30 minutes
9/7/13 - Pg. 60 - 95: 35 minutes
9/8/13 - Pg. 95 - 115: 25 minutes

Free Response.

   Recently in class, we were discussing an article that was published shortly after the Trayvon Martin trial. The article was basically saying how, when Zimmerman pursued Trayvon, it was based on his assumptions of what he thought was going on, rather than what was actually going on. What I mainly took from the article after reading and discussing it, was not to stereotype. It's kind of something that we do without even realizing we're doing it. Basically, just because you may know something that is common among a race, religion, etc. that doesn't mean that it may apply to everyone who may fall under that categorization. That is basically a human being, just like you, and they have their own personality that make them who they are. When we stereotype, we don't look at that person themselves, we look at them with basically a closed mind. I can see now how that may not be a good thing to do in life. The article mentioned how it can lead to disasters, and I totally agree, it can cause trouble when you begin to make assumptions about a person. This is mainly what I'd say I gained from that article, after reading it.

Reading Response - Outside Reading (2)

   I am still currently reading Secrets of My Hollywood Life. The main thing that I can say about it, is that it's just a great novel in my opinion. Where I am in the story line, Kaitlin, the main character, has basically gone in disguise (kind of under cover) into a normal high school. Well you may think that's just drab, but the twist is she's a humungous Hollywood star. In other words it'd be like Selena Gomez, going undercover, and coming into our school without us knowing. Anyways, so far it's been a great read. Currently in the book, I got to meet the antagonist, Lori. I picture her as being Regina George in Mean Girls, because she's just that typical "mean girl who runs the school like a god". She made her character obvious to me the second I saw her mentioned within the book. As for Kaitlin, well her double life is getting a bit more complicated with more pressures coming down on her, but so far nothing to drastic has happened.

   If I were to give a prediction on what might happen, I'd say that her facade will be found out. Also, I think something major within her career will be taking place. She's already gotten an offer from this big producer asking her to be in his new movie that he will be working on. This led me to assume that she'll probably get the part.

Secrets of My Hollywood Life - Jen Calonita
8/25/13 - Pg. 100 - 120: 20 minutes
8/26/13 - Pg. 120 - 146 : 25 minutes
8/27/13 - Pg. 146 - 170: 30 minutes
8/28/13 - Pg. 170 - 185 : 20 minutes
8/29/13 - Pg. 185 - 202: 15 minutes

Divergent.

Divergent was one of our summer reading books, and out of the required choices, I'd say it was may favorite. When it began, it was just one of those books that I had no clue what was going on, but figured it out eventually. After Tris switched from Abnegation to Dauntless, that was mainly when I started to get super interested in the book. Towards the beginning when they mentioned she was "Divergent" I honestly didn't really understand. I was just like cool. But once I read on, I found out why that was such a crucial part of the book. Then came Four. When Four was around Tris those were probably my favorite moments, because they were so darn cute together. When I learned that he was Marcus's son though, I wasn't really surprised, because as soon as I bought my book, I skipped to the last page and knew some things.

Towards the end of the book was when I really started to get worried about Tris. She'd been warned that  what she was, divergent, was not safe and it just left me sitting there knowing that something was bound to happen based on that. So, then the end of the book occurs, when everyone wakes up and turns into killing machines. Scary. So during this all Tris finds Four and in the process of trying to get away she gets shot. At that point I was freaking out. Then they get taken to Erudite, and Four is given this serum that makes him forget who Tris is. Skipping to the end when all of her parents are gone and she's getting away with Four, who is in his right mind once again, I just sat in my room saddened that this book had ended. I don't know why I loved this book so much, but I just did. With all the suspense, romance, happiness, and those deep moments; it honestly just all came together perfectly in my opinion.

Free Post - 2

   Something that has recently happened to me was probably when I went to the Apple store the other day. My mom had to go to the genius bar, so I was playing on one of the iMac's with my friend while waiting for her to finish. We were talking about Vines that we found funny, and we thought to search up this really funny one on youtube. So we pulled up this vine, of basically a baby in a diaper, dancing to the beat of the song "Earthquake". We didn't realize until it was too late, that the volume was all the way up. This resulted in the song basically blasting with a diaper baby dancing on the screen, and us frantically trying to turn the volume off. Quite frankly I think the song from the video made the whole situation ten times more embarrassing. Considering the computer was blasting "drop like an earthquake". The workers around us found it amusing, and I found it quite embarrassing. After that, I just decided to stick with playing temple run on the iPads. 

Reading Response - Outside Reading

      The book that I've been reading is Secrets of My Hollywood Life by Jen Calonita. My main question as I'm reading this is basically, what's going to happen as a result of the plan that Kaitlin has concocted. So far as I've been reading, I understand why she created this plan. I've also seen how, since Kaitlin is a big Hollywood star, her life is different from the typical teen. These observations all lead to this plan, which is basically her going into a regular high school, in disguise, and being a regular teen. As far as I've read, this plan is very humorous while at the same time, it leaves you wondering how long she can keep this facade up. This plan isn't as easy as it sounds though. She has this typical teen life, which involves school, the work that goes along with school, and also the people who she associates with at school.  She also has her normal, paparazzi infested life. Full of memorizing scripts, attending events, and trying to control the rumors circulating America about her. Sound easy? Not at all.

     On the other hand, I've have really enjoyed this book so far. It's got everything that I enjoy, when reading a book. There are plenty of amusing moments, there's just the right involvement of a lacrosse player, and there's the reality of the story to where you can kind of picture it happening. It's also a series which is always a good thing. Another thing I also like about this book, is the way that the author writes. It's kind of fluent in involving a humungous amount of events, without overwhelming the reader.

The Daughters - Joanna Philbin
8/19/13 - Pg. 210- 267: 34 minutes
8/20/13 - Pg. 267- 288: 20 minutes
Secrets of My Hollywood Life - Jen Calonita
8/21/13 - Pg. 1- 46 : 27 minutes
8/22/12 - Pg. 46- 87 : 25 minutes
8/23/13 - Pg. 87- 100: 15 minutes

Independent Reading.

The Daughters [Joanna Philbin]:
8-13-13: 1-57 (35 minutes)
3-14-13: 57- 96 (25 minutes)
8-15-13: 96- 145 (30 minutes)
8-16-13: 145- 187 (20 minutes)
8-17-13: 187- 210 (15 minutes)

This Year.

      So far, English has seemed like a pretty good course that I will have to take this year. I'm going to have to try hard in this class though, I can already tell. In terms of the way that the class is set up, I like the environment. For my other classes they all seem the same as this one. But, one thing that all teachers have said is that basically it's very important that you keep up with your work. If you fall behind, then that obviously won't be good for my grades. They all have basically made their expectations pretty clear.

     With the switch from Middle to Upper school, I'd say I've gotten the hang of the new environment pretty well. I honestly like it way better than middle school, one main advantage is we have a lot more freedom. The daily schedule that we go by is also very different, and I just like it better for some strange reason. I think it has to do with the fact that after lunch, I can be happy that there will only be two more classes for the day. I just think the overall schedule makes the day go by faster.

   My expectations for this year are pretty normal. Basically do my best. In terms of goals, I aim to be able to stay on the honor roll for all four quarters, which I think will be easier said than done. But, I have a feeling that if I apply myself well, and try hard, that I can do it.