Assignment #15: Cowboys.

Cowboys... rugged? Tough? heroes... throughout western history.

Elrich describes the softer side of these men, exemplifying sweetness, vulnerability and kindness... kind of like puppies(: A mix of these two images. 

Assignment #14: Internet secrecy

Social networking sites have no secrets. Today it is impossible to keep those secrets good or bad to yourself. The real question is, is this a good or a bad thing? Society look at internet as a source of evil, especially concerning teenage 'scandals' and 'secrets.' People undermine the fact that the internet isn't creating these secrets, just exploiting them. So maybe it's a good thing, because we all know lies and secrets don't make friends.

Assignment #13: Personal Values v. school

Although the idea to teach students 'good' personal values and making better future citizens, I believe that this should not be applied to public schools. There is a reason topics like religion are not taught and practiced in school, people have their own beliefs and values.  That's one major difference between public and private schools, seeing as most private schools teach and apply religious practices with their students.Save 'personal' values for student's personal lives, school is strictly professional.

Assignment #12: Movies.

Movies are seperated into genres like the following;

-action/adventure

-romance

-drama/tragedy
-comedy/humor

-documentary

-thriller/horror

-animation

What makes a great movie? That to me, is totally a opinion. People say Godfather and Casablanca are great movies but I could care less for them. It's what you, as an individual like and relate to. Some people say money, special effects and good props and settings make the movie. However, I believe movies in black and white, no special effects or millions of dollars can be just as good if it has a good captivating story line and good actors. That's the difference between avatar and To Kill a Mocking Bird.

Here are some Movies that I feel deserve the title 'great'

-Pride and Prejudice

-Harry potter

-Lord of the Rings

-Toy story 3

-Up

-The secret Window

-Titanic

-The Time Traveler's wife

Assignment #11: Metacognitive Questions on Definition Essay.

Culminating Writers Profile

1. Discuss how your expectations about your writing style and needs have both changed and remained the same since this class has started.

I expected to start developing better writing, however this seems to be a slower process then I thought... I still write the same as when I did two years ago.

2. What do you see as your strengths as a writer and how have you reinforced them?

I feel like one good strength about writing is that I use a more personal approach/tone that relates to the reader.

3. What do you still see as your writing weaknesses and what have you done to strengthen those areas?

Well I am not very good at saying exactly what I need to say when it comes to analysis, my evidence and examples can be word for word what I think in my head, but the actual explaining part always seems to come out wrong.

Evaluating your writing process

1. If you had the time to write one more draft of this essay, how would you improve it?

I would make the conclusion a lot stronger, and relate my concrete details to the rest of the essay a lot better.

2. As you received peer feedback and revised your essay, what did you find the easiest element to improve in your essay?

grammer and vocab, a lot of expansion on ideas too.

3. Discuss the biggest problem you had in writing and revising this essay.

It was difficult to change things that I originally thought was good material

Assignment #10: Nobodiness

She sits in the same spot everyday, two seats away from the two most popular girls in school. They continuously copy her homework and cheat off her tests. They would do the work themselves but they are always too busy gossiping. One day her name gets brought up, followed by two blank stares and a , "who the hell is that?"

He comes home everyday from school and gets asked the same question from his mom, "how was school?" She doesn't even look up from the TV. Usually he mutters a 'fine' or 'good' which is always followed by "that's good honey." Today he decides to use the word 'terrible' which not to his surprise is responded with, "that's good honey." 

Nobodiness is a way other people can make a person feel. Whatever the feeling, sadness unwanted or loneliness it is all the same. Being unacknowledged  by friends, peers, co-workers and even family is not a fun event and causes self esteem and depression. No one should be subjected to nobodiness.

Assignment #9: Tuesdays with Morrie

In Tuesdays with Morrie Mitch Albom addresses the materialistic nature of our lives – and what Morrie has to teach him about how to live. 

Personally, after reading the book I was left with a new sense of appreciation and graciousness for my life and all the people and opportunities that have come with it.  Also, seeing as I'm only 16, Morrie's philosophy has left me thinking about what lays ahead and how to prepare myself for all the changes and choices that come with being independent and starting my own life. I want to be able to say I wanna live life following my dreams and not the whole society lifestyle with money, a good job and a high status. But Mitch thought that too, and he ended up the very poster boy for all that. Anyways, Morrie's words definitely had a positive impact on me and my future :)