Time

1 hour reading

Best part

As days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months and years, everyone eventually forgets to think about why they're happy, or what is good about they're life. I personally have had trouble in the past seeing that, but its obvious now, in ninth grade, that there is a lot of positivity in my life. I wake up in a warm bed and every morning eat breakfast. I have everything to be thankful for. But what in my life isn't as painfully obvious as my house, or the food I eat.

I thought about it for a while. I wake up with music in my ears and a song in my head. I look out the window in the car with the knowledge that whatever happens today, I will still have tomorrow. I sit in class with comfort in knowing that there are friends all around me. I walk to chapel or the VPAC with a smile on my face, even if I'm not with a huge group of friends I don't let that bother me. I know that to be happy I shouldn't worry about what people think about me, I should worry about whether or not I'm spending my life making myself happy. To sum it all up, I think the best part of my life is that I'm able to have positivity, because even the richest person can be the saddest.

Writing center

My visit to the writing center was actually very helpful. I went expecting to just be told I was wrong and my paper was horrible, but the entire thing was so positive. I made an appt with Christine Phan, we started with me reading my paper so I would notice any grammatical mistakes. Throughout the appt she would always remember to compliment me on my paper. I never felt like I was just being yelled at and told I was wrong, I felt like I was finally being taken seriously as a writer.

The overall experience was excellent and I will definitely return next semester for any papers I have then. I would encourage everyone to go if they are ever unsure about a paper.

College

I knew that when I started high school I would make older friends, but I honestly never anticipated having friends that were 2-4 years older than me. The fact they are older has never bothered me - my sister is my best friend who is six years older, so I'm used to it - but now that graduation is rolling around and everyone is talking about where they're moving to, I'm getting scared. I would rather not lose these amazing people right after I met them.

That's the problem with high school, you meet amazing people who change your life, but depending on their age, they could be gone right after you arrive. It scares me to imagine some of my best friends in college, because to me they aren't adults just yet, they're still kids who aren't ready to be given to the world of taxes and mortgages just yet. My biggest fear is that once they experience the amazing world out there, they'll forget all about me who's still stuck in high school.

2 hours
LOTF

LOTF reflection

So far the book is very good. I enjoy the detailed physical descriptions of the island, and all of the social controversy that is subtly going on in the boys lives. I have a few problems though. The book can be hard to understand at points because of the way it's written. There it a lot of British slang, and war references that would be a lot easier to understand if I was born at the time.

I am glad my topic to focus on is evil, because from what I've heard and seen, there is a lot of evil that becomes ever present in the boys now that they are on the island. It made me wonder what I would be like on an island like that. We all have our own views, and everyone has their different ways of expressing the, but in a situation like this would the darkness in everyone come out? Would I become a wild animal?  It is rather strange to see how quickly people change in situations where danger is the reality. I do wish we would be able to see what the boys were like before all of this, to get a better view on how much they changed when they became stranded on the island.

Simulation

The desert island simulation went fairly well for my class. We all started off yelling at each other, of course, but over the course of a few minutes someone came up with an idea. The talking fork, which was a fork and whoever was holding it was the only one who could talk. Then we established jobs, and leaders. I considered starting my own group at first. I knew that if we didn't organize all the chaos we wouldn't last long, but surprisingly it worked out very well.

I think our class would last a long while on a desert island. We were organized and made sure everyone had a chance to speak. But honestly after reading a bit of the book, I think now if our class was on an island like that I would go on my own. In extreme conditions like that, people become someone they're not, I'd rather not deal with that..

1 hour
Blogs

Reading

Perks of being a wallflower
1 hour

Friendship

This year, I've come to a new realization. Friends aren't what I thought they were, at least my idea of friendship was a bit warped. High school is a place where we're finally aloud to be ourselves, because unlike middle school, we're not all mushed together in a glob of angry 12 year old's who are being forced to be friendly to each other. Middle school just seemed like a failed attempt at getting us kids to bond during the most hormonal part of our lives. Everyone was changing into an adult and no one really knew what to do about it, we had no breathing room. Which in turn made my middle school something I'd rather forget. I had been floating around in that mass our 12 year old's with no goal, no meaning and no real friends. Until 8th grade I didn't have a problem with that, but then when we received a fresh batch of personalities from all over the country. This introduced me to so many new things I was a bit overwhelmed, I tried to force my way into anyone's live who I thought what cool. Not the best idea.

This year everything was different, instead of having a set of rules I had to follow and being an arms length from every student in my grade 24/7, I had time to myself. It was amazing. I took this chance to meet new people, like upperclassmen and the new kids in our grade. I walked around seeing people laughing at other peoples jokes and just the general feeling of acceptance. I saw friends walking around talking and just enjoying each others company. Before friendship for me was always so forced and dramatic, but these people seemed to be so carefree. Popular people were hanging with "nerds" and everyone seemed out of place. I realized something then. Friendship isn't something you force yourself into with an interesting person, its not something that you should be afraid of breaking because its so fragile. Friendship is a bond between people that is created when you show another person who you really are, and they love it, they don't judge your weirdness, or act different in front of people who they think are cooler than you. It's something you would do anything for, no matter who it was. I realized that it wasn't based off of "social classes" it was based off love, if you love someone for who they are, be their friend. Who cares if they don't dress like someone in vogue, or listen to bad music, if they make you happy then who cares what anyone else thinks. 

Response

The story "Sucker" is very interesting. It's about a 16 year old boy in what seems to be a dystopian setting, and his relationship with his younger cousin, Sucker. I say this story is in a dystopian setting because of how much they talk about buying cigarettes, and everyone who does buy them is way to young to be able too. Other rules or social norms bring up evidence that this is a dystopian story too but the cigarettes are what really caught my attention. My first time reading this story, and the other stories, I noticed that once you really pay close attention to every word the author wrote, you see how much symbolism there really is.

In sucker I feel the symbolism is in the two boys and their personality changes. At the begging sucker is an innocent 12 year old who idolizes the main character, Pete. Throughout the story their relationship changes A LOT. During the time that Pete is dating his crush the two boys relationship is close and loving, when before it was timid and rather tense. At the end of the story after Pete was broken up with and went through pain, he yells at Sucker, and then Sucker hates Pete. Pete feels sorry for what he said to Sucker. I feel that this relationship symbolizes that of a boy and his inner consciousness. When growing up your child self (Sucker) is very open to accepting new information from the outside world (Pete). As time grows on and you find, lets say a love interest, the whole world seems so happy and wonderful, just like Pete and Suckers relationship. When you experience some sort of pain, you shut everything out, and realize that the world isn't as pretty as you thought it was. I think near the end of the story Sucker symbolizes ones true self after being exposed to what the world has to offer, which in turn makes him angry, and possibly violent.

Reading:

Looking for alaska - 2 hours

Reading

Glass castle - 1 hour

Looking for Alaska - 20 min

Random thing in my kitchen

I woke up to the sound of incredibly annoying barking. "Moooooom!" I yelled as I pushed my head deeper into the pillow. A few minutes past with no response, and the barking just grew louder. I looked at my phone to see what time it was, "Ugh, why do they have to do this at 10 AM" I groaned. After much thought on weather or not it would be worth it to actually get up from my bed to yell at my dogs, I decided enough was enough. Pulling myself up with the small amount of strength left in my tired arms, I rubbed my eyes and let my feet adjust to the cold temperature of the floor. At this hour, walking through the what seemed mile long hallway, was a torture that could only be enforced in Hades.

I was honestly ready to kill my dogs if they didn't stop barking. I blindly shuffled into the kitchen ready to scream my head of, but when I opened my eyes my breathe got stuck in my throat. Right in front of me was an enormous golden retriever, that I could've sworn was made of vanilla ice cream. Paralyzed from confusion, I looked around the kitchen for a possible weapon in case this animal was dangerous. See this doesn't seem scary to someone who is used to big dogs, but my dogs are the size of my shoe with legs that could honestly be mistaken for toothpicks. Before I could call for my Dad I realized I was home alone "Of course..." I muttered. After a second I realized 'If this thing hasn't devoured my stupid little dogs, I think I'll be ok'. I bent down to pet the dog which jumped me, and licked my face enough to make me think I was drowning.

THE END

A funny boy

I am about to start reading this book. Im hoping it can answer my question "what goes on in other countries?". Ive always been very intrested in what goes on in other countries just because I hate how much America focuses in on itself. It suprises people that alot of other countries know more about us than the average American does. Most of the world is kept in touch with other countries.

America seems to be the only one with no real concern for other countries. Which bothers me because we all this on this planet and I think we should all learn about what going on in it. I feel this should be a manditory thing. So many kids take advantage of these incredible gadgets they have. People in Kenya would kill for a supply of fresh water for their family, while people here complain their parents wont buy them a new video game.

Character-Marley

I lay my head down for the first time today. It suddenly becomes really obvious how exhausted I really am, hours of jumping from roof to roof can tire a person out. It makes me think to other kids from my school. They were probably up texting their friends, talking about their crush. I bet they werent even tired, they dont do anything besides come home after school and study. Just imagining having that luxury makes me smile wide enough for the moon to see. Somtime's this life is just too much, too many packages to deliver, too many lives to save, too little time. I just wonder what will happen to me in the future, the possibility of dying tommorow is higher than id like to admit. Even if I do survive through highschool, what can I do then? I want to get out of this country and find somewhere where I can be happy and not have to worry if my house will be stormed by soldiers while I sleep.

But I was born into this life, I cant even remember a time when we were free to do what we wanted, to worship who we wanted. Egypt had now become this place that only existed in movies, ones where dictators like ours ruled only because the world had went to hell and the apocalypse burned through everything. But what can I do? a 16 year old with no power besides that of my fists? I wanted to help people, I wanted to end their suffering. But for now I guess I'm stuck here, wondering what violence ill face tomorrow. This is my life now, I'll have to learn to love it.  

Reading Response - Waltz of a fat man

I have mixed emotions towards this story. The story in itself is rather bizarre. I feel like its just a huge metaphor, maybe saying that when you make fun of someone they become somthing horrible, or just that when you make fun of people they turn into horses and join the circus. As you can see I didnt really like how it was written. Sometimes being too metaphorical can be a bad thing. There were too many deeper meanings which pretty much ruined the story.

The plot line was pretty good though. I liked that the author did portray the character in a relatable way. He is constantly talked about and just wants to fit in; which is true for all of us. His decision to become a butcher just to be social is just like any other decision we may make in our everyday lives. Many of us may leave behind what makes us truly happy just to get an assuring smile when they pass us by. I believe that the clocks he own symbolizes this inner personality hes been hiding in fear of judgment, and when one becomes damaged he loses it. It takes an inner "catastrophe" to show us what we really want, in that moment of uncertainty and fear there's a thought in our head about what really matters to us. He seemed to get that thought when the clock broke, he realized this is what he really cares about, so he joins a "circus", which is probably just a word used to describe his new friends. Who to others, would look like circus freak, but he loves them.

Short Story Part 2

I woke up to the sound of a gun going off. Whoever caught the end of that shot probably wasn't feeling too much better than I was; today was the first day of school. A month had passed since tax collection day for youth. My hands still had bruises, this years' was especially brutal. 

I got dressed in the required black and white uniform; My black hair tightly restrained in a bun. Everything about this made me cringe, if you didn't know better you'd think originality was outlawed too.The school director made sure we all looked like sheep, physically and metaphorically. Yet no one ever seemed to notice, I seemed to be the only one with working eyesight. 

I made my way downstairs to our empty kitchen. Cold and barley light up by the small amount of light that shown through the windows. Everyone had left for work or school, and all that kept me company were two cold eggs and a glass of milk. Medical kits were stacked up on the table, looks like I'll be making runs tonight. With every school year brought protests, kids like me who gathered enough courage to make their voices heard. Although none of them ever made a difference, people never seemed to give up. I grabbed my backpack and ignored breakfast. 

My Short Story

Main Character: Marley (runner name :juju)

Plot:
It's ten years after the militia initially overthrew Morsi. Egypt is now a dictatorship. Marley is a "runner". She brings illegal  goods to the poor (food, medicine, education). Part of a large group who does this. She goes to a rich school where no one there really has any idea of how bad Egypt has gotten.

Setting Macro:

• Egypt
• Year 2023
• 10 years after the militia took over

1.       Meso

·         Cairo, Egypt

1.       Micro

·         Children of Atum school for the gifted (pre-k through 12)

Psychological Macro:

• World trying to help Egypt
• World is scared of Militia

Meso

• people are pretty depressed
• Most have lost hope for liberation

1.       Micro

·         Schools for the rich (everyones ignorant and doesn’t really have an idea about how bad their country is and is getting)

·         Her schoolmates agree with the dictator

·         Everyone worships Atum

·         Main character worships no one but likes the idea of muslim

Short Stories

I noticed a pattern of darkness in the short stories we have read. In each one it shows an extreme situation where 9/10 times, someone dies. I think these stories all have a connection to real world human cruelty towards each other. I think these stories in particular are kind of useless though. I think we should be reading stories that we as students would like, or would write about. I just highly doubt that anyone in our class will be writing about weird old angel men being found facedown in mud. I think we should be reading stories that are a lot less confusing and show better character formation.

All the stories we have read are extremely confusing because they either have very advanced vocabulary or are just poorly written. I think we should be reading more about character and story organization. I would like to read more stories of past students. I really enjoyed reading the story by Dr.D's old college student, especially because we talked about what was good, bad and what was expected in this class.

Mon: 25 min TGC
Tues: 30 min LFA
Wed: 32 min AFIOS
Thurs: 25 min TGC
Fri: 30 min TGC
Sat: 20 min AFIOS

Ebook

I have many concerns for this E book. I am not very comfortable with everyone reading mine, as it was very personal for me. I do understand and agree with the concept of letting your classmates read your personal writing, to become closer, but honestly its easier said that done. I am concerned my paper will be miss understood, maybe even offend some people. I am a little excited by the idea of the class coming together to read each others papers, and creating a whole E book; but as I said it would be weird, mostly because I don't know how everyone in my class thinks, or what they think about me.

I am a bit confused about what we're going to do when it comes to media. Since Bailey and I are the media people, we have a lot of stress to please everyone. I like the idea of adding songs to each paper, I feel its gives each paper the ability to make the reader feel what the writer felt when they created the paper. Then again not everyone's music tastes are the same, so I imagine there will be some conflict in that area.

Reading

9/9 - glass castle 25
9/8 - glass castle 30
9/7 - glass castle 20
9/6 -  glass castle 60
9/5 - glass castle 20

Dialogue

Dialogue between Katniss from the Hunger Games, and Harry Potter from Harry Potter.

K - Hi I'm Katniss, whats your name?

H - I'm Harry Potter, the wizard  who defeated Voldemort...

K -  who?

H - YOU DON'T KNOW WHO VOLDEMORT IS?!

K - No.... and did you say you were a wizard? Wizards dont exist.

H - Oh I see, you're a muggle.

K - Muggle?

H - A non-wizard.

K - You must be from the capital... you're really strange.

H - Capitol? I live in London.

K - Whats a London? Is that a nickname for a district?

H - It's a city. where are you from.

K - Panem.

H - Is that even a real place?

K - Where have you been for the past 100 years.

My LN

I'm excited to finish my Literacy Narrative because I really like my topic. Although I am having a little trouble. I'm finding it hard to edit anything other than grammar. I cant think of new ideas to write about without messing up my whole paper. I'd like my classmates help with coming up with new ideas for my paper. So far the peer review group is really helping me. 

I do have some questions about the topic though. Id like to know if the paper has to be very restricted to only writing and reading. I have ideas I'm not sure are allowed to write about. So I need some help with the finer details of the paper.

Literacy Narrative

This week I read a Literacy Narrative that changed my view on writing, more than I thought possible. The paper was about a girl who, at an early age, discovered a way to escape from real world problems, and into a freedom fueled by music. At any age people suddenly realize that the world isn't as welcoming as we thought when we were kids. The existential crisis we all go through just happened to come early for the author. She was forced to take Piano lessons one day and later figured out that music, in itself is an escape from this crisis.

My favorite quote from this paper is "Everyone's addicted to something that takes away the pain of living, my addiction is music." When I read this, the incredible truth was like a slap to the face. For so long I had tried finding a way to relieve the stress I had felt as I lived through every day. Music was my gateway to a world I had been looking at through all the wrong angles. Sometimes others cant understand why I walk around with my ear buds basically glued to my ears; my answer is always "I like music" In many ways this is a lie, Music is what runs through my veins, music is what fuels the flame that, ultimately, keeps me going. No matter what your passion is, if it makes you see the world through the eyes of the artist you really are, then don't let anyone criticize it. I chose this Piece of writing because, it tells the world how much music affects people, in a much more beautiful way than I personally could ever be capable of.

The Glass Castle

I am currently reading The Glass Castle. The book is about a family that's always on the run from what the father says is "the FBI", but in reality is just debt collectors. You read from the point of view of the youngest daughter, who we see grows to be extremely - almost scary - mature at the young age of 4. She can read, write, curse, and can shoot practically any gun; her father taught her these skills in case the "feds" ever catch up to them in the desert.

This book connects to the world in ways I never thought possible. Never did could I fathom a four year old who was a better shooter than her father, or a family who over the years has been so hardened by loss and rejection from the outside world. It makes me regret things I've said in the past about how hard my life was because I didn't have the newest I-phone. It makes me wonder how many children out there are suffering while I'm sitting in my air conditioned house with enough food to last for a year.  I wonder how many people throughout my life I've just walked passed and didn't give a second thought to how they were doing, I think everyone should read this book.


8/27- the glass castle 20 min
8/28- the fault in our stars 25 min
8/29- looking for alaska 30 min
8/30- the fault in our stars 30 min
9/2- The glass castle 25 min

9th Grade

My name is Abby Lowe,


This year I am excited about all the clubs I can join in. Unlike last year there were very few chances to join groups or clubs that I actually had interests in. I expect this english class to be fun, unlike my 8th grade english class which was mostly about grammar and reading, I'm excited my english class is finally focusing on free writing. My goals for this year are to improve my writing skills for poems or other projects I work on.

My opinion on TKNLG

I liked the knife of never letting go because, it was written like a diary which I think made it feel real. It's easier to really get into the book if you can relate to it, of course it can be hard to relate to fiction books but if it's written like a diary it feels like it really happened. I didn't like all the misspellings because it can be hard to understand if your a fast reader.

I didn't like how the dialect from Hilldy was written, it was really hard to understand sometimes and didn't make sense. I also wish they described what each character looked like. My biggest problem about this book is that sometimes it would spend pages just ranting about nothing. Overall I would rate it an 8.