Closing

Writing this feels wierd, awkward, like a dream. Most of the time I don't realize when life has moved on. I just suddenly look at myself in the mirror and go, "When did my hair get this long?" "When did these jeans get so short?" This school year is basically over but I still feel like a baby freshman. This year has changed me so much, yet I am the same. All the insecurities, all the worries, the hopes - they're all still there. New experiences and realizations are just piled on top, making me a slightly different person. I didn't accomplish any of the goals that I had intended this year, but as I look at the goals I wanted to achieve I wonder if they were really the right goals for me. Most of my blogs that are more free written struggle with the concept of how to be happy, how to be yourself. My main goal this year was to be myself but I don't think that was the right goal for me because I don't think I really know who I am. Actually I think thats wrong. I know who I am but I'm confused as to whether thats who I want to be. The image of me in my head, and the person I truly am - are two different people. My writing reflects the confusion I feel inside of me. The quotes about living to the fullest, about not living in moderation, about getting up and crying or jumping for joy, the quotes about letting go and letting love in; all reflect the person in me who wants to stand up and be loud and outgoing. But I think my real calling is being an observer. Sometimes it is hard to come to term with who you are because the way you see yourself is different from who you are or who you want to be.
           One of the best ways to look at who you are and what you represent is to look at your friends. When I do that the confusion just piles up because my friends are all so different, all so unique, they all have something going with them that is so completely different from me. But I think they all have one thing in common: they aren't judgmental. I think the fact that none of my friends are very judgmental reflects the strangeness of myself. Time and time again I've been told I'm wierd, I'm awkward, I'm shy. THey're probably right, for a teenager I am definitely wierd. I hate junk food, I love learning, I like my parents music (Dave mathews, ROb THomas, Zydeco, Neville Brothers), I love yoga, I get up 7:30 everyday, I hate sleepovers, I'm okay to just hang out by myself and write or read. I think this blog is letting out who I want to be. I think I get shy sometimes because I feel like If i Say something people are going to judge me. I am different, I don't see eye to eye on everything. Because people get annoyed if you disagree with them I think I stop saying some of the stuff I'd like to. My blogs reflect this message and I think the current song which I forgot the name of that says, "Not everybody lives but everybody dies." Really sums up how I feel sometimes. Also 'Airplanes" is a great song that sums my feelings.
                        Through all of this writing I've learned a lot about who I really am and what I really want. I realize that I am a complicated person. I am a omnivert; an introvert and an extrovert. Someone who is shy and loud. I realized that I have my good days and my bad days and that I should just accept it. I also realize that I need to be who I truly am more. Stop worrying about what other people are doing, stop caring about what they are doing. By having realized so much about myself I have also accomplished a greater self peace and less anxiety. I think the blog was great. It forced me to let out what was inside. THANK YOU MRS. GIlMAN!

Great Expectations Essay

What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. The Great Expectations essay was very challenging and really pushed me outside my safe box. I took my own original idea and wrote an essay on it that is uniquely my own. I had to redo it at least 4 times and because of all that hard work, it is memorable. It is also quite good :)
             The assignment I am referring to is The Great Expectations Essay assignment. In this assignment we had to read Great Expectations, annotate it, and then write an original essay about the theme of the novel combined with character development. Instead of only writing about theme or only writing about character development, we had to do both. That made this assignment that much harder. I chose to write about color symbolization enhancing the theme of love over money throughout Pip's life. I really enjoyed this assignment because it made me a better writer.

Poetry

            In 3rd grade I had a horrible, horrible, horrible teacher! She made us read and write poetry. She would look over our shoulder and tell us little "nuggets of constructive critiscm." Her name was Mrs. Robinson and we did not get along.
             I can think of countless thing I did to annoy her, and countless things she did to annoy me. I had recess before her writing class and would always try to get hurt before so I could go to the nurse instead of her classroom. One day I came into the classroom with a popsicle and she sent me to the principle. One day she gave me two peices of paper, instead of the usual one, and with that second piece of paper I wrote a note to my friend Karoline; she sent me to the principal. One day she said something that was really stupid and I laughed so hard I fell out of my seat; she sent my to the principle. One day we were talking about middle names, and in 3rd grade I thought that middle names were names you could choose for yourself. I liked so many names that I had 10 different "middle names." My teacher did not understand my logic, said I was being disruptive and rude, and sent me to the principals office. AGAIN! After all of this treachery it is clear that me and Mrs. Robinson did NOT get along. And she, being my very first poetry teacher, swayed poetry in the wrong direction.I have, however, started to like poetry again as the memories of her and her disastrous teaching techniques get farther and farther away!

"The Reality Concept"

There are many different kinds of conflict evident within Romeo and Juliet. For instance there are internal conflicts, external conflicts, physical conflicts, and my personal favorite, the "Is this really happening" conlict. The "is this really happening" conflict is seen often, mostly through Romeo, and ties human nature, passionate love, and depth of emotion all together in one big knot. An amazing example of this is when Romeo is aware of the danger he is in when he visits Juliet yet chooses to ignore it and says, "I have nights cloak to hide me from their eyes, and, but thou love me, let them find me here. My life were better ended by their hate than death prorogued wanting of thy love." (2.2.80) You may be wondering what is Tali talking about, I really don't get it. Basically, the "is this really happening Conflict" is a conflict in which the person to which the conflict is happening looks at the conflict with an eye deeming the could-be punishment false or for some reason a joke. For example, when you break your arm you look at your arm and think, "Haha funny, when is this dream going to end...is this really happening?" When Romeo visits Juliet, he knows that he could be killed but he uses love as a blindfold and somewhat pretends or is maybe too "in love" to grasp that he could really be killed and that it isn't just a joke. Similarly, when Romeo approaches the physical conflict of Mercutio and Tybalt fighting he intervenes like it is a joke or a video game in which, if something goes bad, you can always 'restart.' In life this is not the case. Romeo says, "Gentlemen, for shame forbear this outrage! Tybalt! Mercutio! The Prince expressly hath forbid this bandying in Verona streets. Hole, Tybalt! Good Mercutio!" (3.1.85) Here Romeo jumps in between the two fighting men as if he is invincible never thinking about the consequences or what could happen. And when Mercutio gets killed he acts like is this really happening? Did I really kill him? Another way you could describe this conflict, is the conflict of Extreme Emotions. This is both a good and a bad thing. It is great to love deeply, to be alive when you're happy but it is also a bad thing when you are depressed with grief and drowning in sorrow.

The Uglies :)

In Romeo and Juliet many different themes are enmeshed within. One that speaks to me is the theme of Style over Substance which is seen most everywhere today. In the Uglies series by Tom Westerfield the importance of looks is played upon with a new twist. For those of you who haven't read The Uglies it is about a world where at 16 everyone gets an operation done that makes you beautifu and thin but that takes out your independent-thinking brain cells. Basically you become beautiful and lose your brains. It shows what a world where everyone is beautiful might look like. When reading Romeo and Juliet, I noticed that they fall in love immediatly and Juliet even comments that she has heard him say less than 100 words and already loves him. When you have spent so little time with someone and have barely heard them talk, it is obvious that is not the brains and substance that is speaking but the beauty that they see within eachother. In the Uglies when everyone is beautiful, Tally (the main character) falls in love with someone who has escaped the surgery and not only does this coorelate with "forbidden love" theme but it also points out human nature which is that we always want what we don't have. When few are beautiful, we want beautiful; when few are ugly, we want "unique."  In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet can't have eachother because their families are fighting, however, they try to find a way around it. Tally can't have the man she loves because he doesn't live in her pretty world and the pretty world doesn't let anyone in or out besides the new pretties.

I'm not sure if this made sense, but I hope someone caught my train of thought and found this interesting :)

Connection

Within the first few acts of Romeo and Juliet we are already making connections and tying things together. I personally connected to the idea of my father (and mother) giving me the choice of who I marry. My mom and dad have always told me that who I married was my decision and that whoever it was, they would give their full support. In the case of Juliets father Capulet he has said that he will let Paris try to woo his daughter but will let her make the final decision, much as my parents have told me.

The longer I read this play the easier it gets. In 1.1 I had a little trouble understanding what was going on but now as I have learned his writing style I have enhanced my own abilities to understand and the reading gets less confusing. It helps to read it at home and then read it at school because when I read it at home I can try my hand at deciphering what is going on and take as long as I want, where at school I get to hear other input and hear what Shakespeare might really be conveying through different eyes. It also helps some to have the play read out loud in class.

RAPPING UP

The main theme that Charles Dickens wanted to convey in Great Expectations is that money doesn't mean happiness. He wants to show how the external layers of the world like clothes, money, and education are not directly related to how happy you are. Instead happiness comes from self-actualization and the relationships surrounding you. Charles Dickens uses a likeable character to help us realize that sometimes it is better to just be ourselves and be low class than to try to be high class but not have any fun in life. Something I found interesting was that Magwitch was one of the lowest class people in the novel but he made two of the high class people: Estella and Pip. He gave Pip the rescources to become a gentleman and Estella was his daughter thus he fueled them into who they became yet he was still low class. Truly happiness doesn't come from riches but from being true to who you are and who you want to be.

Great Expectation Thoughts

          For me, a book is only good when it is relatable, Great Expectations (though it had the tendency to get boring and slow) was relatable and thus a good read. I know what it feels like to think how much better my life would be if I had money, if I had expensive clothes instead of "common" clothes, if I got to live in a big, amazing city, if I had a gorgeous boyfriend. I also am aware of the fact that even if I got all of these things my core wouldn't change and I would become unhappier because I would have nothing to blame for my unfullfilled feeling. Through this novel Pip realizes this same as well. A main theme brought out into this book is that money, looks, and intellect don't bring happiness, and that expectations are basically you wanting life to do the work for you. Life isn't going to magically disolve your problems, if it did all old people would be happy! Pip gets rich and yet he still feels the same as he did when he was little: wanting. His core emotions are deeply enrooted in his soul, he had anger that he wasn't good enough, anger that he got what he wanted an nothing changed, anger that Estella would never be his. I can relate this to my own life.

              Another theme that was easily relatable to my life was theme of happiness comes best when your being yourself. In my own life I often feel like I don't act like who I truly am or that I don't even know who I am. Pip seemed to feel like a boat in the middle of an ocean, floating aimlessly with the wrong goal in mind, he wanted to get better for Estella, he wanted to change for all the wrong reasons; not for himself but for others. He cared to much what others thought of him, he persistingly tried to be something he wasn't and cringed at the things he was.  This was the most relatable for me because I often feel like I have no direction, I feel like I try hard at a lot of the wrong things and that I am not my own person. In truth, what I got of Great Expectations was a journey of someone unguided to find who they were and what they truly wanted under the surface.   

Color Psychology in Great Expectations

               Regardless of time and place, visual cues and gestures are naturally understood. Know matter what language you speak a smile is a peace offering and a laugh is a sign of friendship. The same goes for colors, the visual perceptual property is universally symbolized with certain meanings; blue is calming, and yellow is joyful.   In Great Expectations the author, Charles Dickens, uses colors to illustrate underlying emotions, foreshadow the coming events, and enhance the characters.

               Generally speaking, the colors black and red provoke strong feelings and emotions, black is often seen as desperation and red is commonly portrayed as anger. More than once Dickens uses this color combination to foreshadow bad thoughts or feelings that are quick to follow. For example, Pip says, "...My sister, Mrs. Joe, with black hair and eyes, had such a prevailing redness of skin..." and soon follows up with his dislike of her hard upbringing. The black of desperation is a frequent theme throughout Pip's childhood, however; anger isn't as common, instead it lurks beneath the surface of Pips anguish. Black overshadowing red, is symbolization that the desperation Pip feels is nearer to the surface, while the brighter feeling or "color" is deeper down and harder to uncover under the desperation or "black." Similarly, Dickens uses this same combination to foreshadow the events of Pip discovering his benefactor. On the night of his discovery Pip describes the storm raging outside as he looks through the window "...when I shaded my face and looked through the black windows..., I saw that the lamps in the court were blown out, and the lamps on the bridges and the shore were shuddering, and that the coal fires in barges on the river were being carried away before the wind like red hot splashes in the rain." The emotions following this sentence are clearly disguised anger and a deep sense of desperation. At this point Pips expectations have fallen through, and he is still the same confused soul as the day he left his home; none of his core emotions have shifted. He still feels unhappy, disappointed and in search of fulfillment, overall he is angry. Angry that he became a gentleman and still feels common, angry that Estella still doesn't love him, angry that he never treasured Joe and Biddy, above all he is angry that he got what he wanted and still isn't satisfied; I think this burning fire is portrayed in Dickens writing as real "red hot" fire. The almost completely black night characterizes the desperation swallowing up the anger, the darkness swallowing up the fire.  

My story

Theme: Boring, dull life + opportunity arises +  _______________(fill in blank many different outcomes)

1. Twilight: Bella is dull, then comes Edward and her life drastically changes; the difference is that Bella is      happy afterwards.
2. Click: Adam Sandler wants to control his "dull" life but then realizes that he loves it more than he realized and wants it back.
3. Hatchi: A movie about a dog who loves his owner and then his owner dies; Hatchi waits until his death for his master.


Great Expectations by Charles Dickens illustrates the hardships of human expectations, the challenge of the unknown, and the impressible desire to charge ahead in hope of better circumstances. The Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman shows a similar theme in a completely opposite light. Unlike Pips known but unfaced desperation, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior is all about shattering the illusions of expectations.
         Great Expectations and The Way of the Peaceful Warrior both display themes that shed light on human expectations. In Great Expectations Pip is disappointed when he reaches London, "...We Britons...settled it was treasonable to doubt our having and our being the best of everything: otherwise...I think I might have had some faint doubts  of London..." (p172) Though Pip doesn't come out and say it, it's obvious to the reader that he is disappointed in London, he had greater expectations and they fell through. Dan (main character in The Way of the Peaceful Warrior) has similar feelings of disappointment in his own life. Dan is at the Olympics competing in gymnastics where he gets a perfect score, "...My teammates jumping and screaming in excitement...Then it was over. A long-awaited goal was accomplished." His great expectation was to win, to be a champion; he accomplishes it and then realizes it's gone, it wasn't fulfilling.
      Through their expectations Dan and Pip are both searching for fulfillment, yet neither realizes it at first. They both go on with their lives waiting for happiness, for fun, for enlightenment but as Socrates clearly points out, "...Life is the only real teacher. It offers many experiences, and if experience alone brought wisdom and fulfillment, then elderly people would all be happy, enlightened masters." Expectations are people expecting life to do the work for them, and to me that is what Great Expectations and The Way of the Peaceful Warrior uncover.  

I used a picture of water because it is so simple, but so powerful. Much like expectations :)

A quote that fits:

"There is no need to search; achievement leads to nowhere It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all One, you see. And the only laws are paradox, humor, and change. There is no problem, never was, and never will be. Release your struggle, let go of your mind, throw away your concerns, and relax into the world. No need to resist life; just do your best. Open your eyes and see that you are far more than you imagine. You are the world, you are the universe; you are yourself and everyone else too!" - Socrates The Way of the Peaceful Warrior

Jaggers And Wemwick

Two memorable characters Jaggers and Wemwick are already a big part of Second Stage. I thinkt that they represent very similar personas to Pip. They are both tough and hard working and they both seem wise and slightly intimidating. They are also brought up around mystery; when Pip is waiting for Jaggers and all these people are standing in line and then Jaggers just brushes them off which is wierd and makes him very INTIMIDATING!

This portrays to the motifs of mystery, prison and dark ambience that is found in the first stage of the book. When Pip describes Jagger he goes into great detail about how big/large/wide his features/actions/things are. Similarly, when describing Jaggers office he uses intimidating wording like gloomy, dismal, gray etc. He describes Wemmick with this same essence of ominous.

Dominoes

That quote refers to one little thing, one day, one time in which something happened and forever altered your life. The "...iron or gold, thorns or flowers,..." part is referring to whether or not that happening was a good one. If it is a good change that day could give you a beautiful garden but if that one first little link was something bad you could get a land of thorns and it all boils down to that very first link.

The first day that Pip met Mrs. Havisham and Estella - and his long chain began - he realized how small and "common" his world was. I think Pip also realized the state of Mrs. Joe and Joe and that, even though they were older than him, were just as unwise and conforming (In my opinion he tested this theory by feeding the lies of Mrs. Havisham and her dogs and her black coach to them and found it to be further true: his guardians lived in just as small a world as he did). He came to be more self-aware realizing that the way he looked was the basis of how others treated him. After that day at Mrs. Havishams Pip wanted more. He wasn't happy with being the blacksmiths apprentice or having rough hands. 

In chapters 10-16 Pip becomes more independent (especially in his thinking), just a few days later Pip is already asking Biddy "...if she would impart all her learning..." to him in hopes that this the new knowledge would make him more "uncommon." Pip also begins thinking with bigger ideas and seems to be understanding concepts with a new grasp of knowledge. It seems to me that he also has built a heavy hatred towards Mrs. Joe and Pumblechook and I can tell that he is ready to take off if something were to happen, without giving them a thought; I first realized this when they took his money (calling it theirs) because they gave absolutely no care to him or his wishes and thus he became emotionally resigned. In some ways these changes are positive and in some ways they are negative. The fact that he is becoming emotionally resigned from Mrs. Joe and Pumblechook is negative and positive, it's good that he is staying away from their constant complaints of him but a part of me fears that he will paid for it later on with abandonment issues (which is negative). Also the fact that Pip is beginning to understand concepts with greater knowledge is positive except for the fact that he seems to be using his knowledge to plot against/lie/keep secretes from Mrs. Joe and others close to him.

The summer before 5th grade I fell and broke my arm and looking back now (4 years later) I realize that that one happening has really shaped a lot of my life. Before I broke my arm I had an illusion that I was invincible, I thought that I would never break a bone, or die, or have a disease because I had never had any physical problems before, however, after I broke my arm that safety bubble I had been floating in, popped and dropped me back onto the ground. I have been relatively cautious since then when playing sports, or doing something physically risky. For instance when I play soccer I am not very aggressive and try to stay back from players who are running straight down the field with a mad look in their eyes. Before I broke my arm that fear was not there, I would run straight at the player without any fear of getting hurt. Breaking my arm was a small event in my 14 years of life but it has made a huge difference in who I am today. I think I owe the fact that I like to play tennis to breaking my arm because tennis is a no contact sport and I hated it when I was little, yet now I actually enjoy the idea of a whole 100 feet between me and the person with who I am playing.

Greater Expectations Questions

Question: "My convict never looked at me, except that once. While we stood in the hut, he stood before the fire loooking thoughtfully at it, or putting up his feet by turns upon the hob, and looking thoughtfully at them as if he pitied them for their recent adventures. Suddenly, he turned to the sergeant, and remarked: 'I wish to say something respecting this escape...'...'A man can't starve; at least I can't. I took some wittles, up at the willage over yonder - where the church stands a' most out on the marshes.' 'You mean stole' said the sergeant. '...From the blacksmith's.' (P37-38)

1. Why does the convict say this? Why doesn't he just outright blame Pip? I am confused by his motives and manipulations?
2. Does the convict think that Pip told or does he realize that it was just a coincidence that Pip was there?

Thanks!

Activities in Aesthetic Principles

Through a diary one often writes about the factual events as a recording of their life, though, Cecily uses her diary for entirely different purposes. Cecily’s diary “…is a young girl’s record of her own thoughts and impressions…” however the thoughts and impressions may not be true but instead a work of art delving from deep in Cecily’s dreams and hopes. Instead of facing the truth of a chosen husband she fantasizes about her guardians troublesome brother, Ernest Worthing, and uses this vision as a way to spice up her life. Thus this desire is evident as a social faux pas, as troublesome Ernest Worthing would not be an acceptable husband in society; yet Cecily justifies it in her journal with an artistic sense of danger and intrigue. Through Algernon, Wilde illustrates this concept in a more apparent way. Algernon can’t play the piano accurately and justifies his ill playing as a form of expression and feeling; a work of art instead of admitting that he can’t play the piano well. On the other hand, the people of the Victorian Era often overlooked art in times that it seemed most important. Miss Prism easily pushes upon Cecily that schooling holds favor over watering the flowers (a small but nonetheless form of artistic expression), “…Surely such a utilitarian occupation as the watering of flowers is rather Moulton’s duty than yours?” Yet whether Miss Prism acknowledges it or not the importance of watering the flowers is undeniable. There is an artistic sense about it, a release, and an escape that is dreadfully important but not justified; showing not only the hypocrisy of the Victorian Era but also means of using art as a main way to leave duties behind.

Questions:
1) Are there any words I'm using to much?
2) Do the transistions flow well?
3) Does what I'm saying make sense?
4) Is the contrasting point a good or bad point?
5) Is there anything it's missing or that isn't clear?

Dishonesty!

Dishonesty is all over life; mainly because of others feelings. In the Importance of Being Ernest you see dishonesty in many different ways; people lie about their names, their family, they tell white lies and generally just lie. Dishonesty is often found in humor as it is fun to watch others lies coming undone and even more fun to watch them try to cover up their lies, In the Importance of Being Ernest you find humorous lies when Jack says that Ernest is dead and then a few minutes later realizes that Ernest is actually in his house. Also the thought of bunburying which is itself very humorous is dishonest. The fact that Cecily and Gwendolen like the Ernests' because of their name is humorous because those are not actually their names; an epigram: karma. Dishonesty is related to satire because the name of the main character is Ernest. Ernest is not earnest -which refers to honesty, sincerity, and seriousness - when he is Ernest and is in fact that opposite: dishonest, unserious.  Also there is satire on the fact that the bachelors, who do no work in London, are well-dressed while the ones who work are under dressed. Dishonesty is also found in the pursuit of pleasure. To get out of their boring, and rather dull lives Jack and Algernon make up aliases so that they can go somewhere else and be a partier. White lies also go into the category of dishonesty for pleasure because telling a white lie can make friends: for instance "I would hang on Miss Prisms every word." (chasuble), when really he would probably be just as bored as Cecily.

I think that using dishonesty and traits of Earnestness, Wilde, is trying to portray that lies and dishonesty can be good and bad. Theirs the bad in that you're obviously lying, that you're distancing yourself from your family and friends (keeping secrets), and that you might get a bad reputation. The good is that you save peoples feelings, for example instead of Algernon telling Lady Bracknell that he didn't want eat dinner at her house he said that he was going to visit his sick cousin Bunbury; you also can keep situations under controls using lies or manipulate others. In society lying and dishonesty has a very negative connotation but as Wilde shows dishonesty is very needed. If anyone has seen the movie, The Invention of Lying, I think that they should further grasp why we need the ability to lie and why lying can be a good thing as well as a bad thing.

Animal Farm Review

1. I chose to review Angela's project on her blog: AngelaMak. First of all I thought her project was very creative. It had a lot of great colors, details, and indepth symbolism. The first thing I noticed when looking at her project was all the men in the background! I was thinking, "What are all these men doing here?" As she explained below her project, the men were, "...surrounding this pyramid because they more commonly succumb to greed and corruption and are generally the leaders and the people in power." I thought that was interesting because not a lot of other people included men in their project. I also thought it was interesting how she put our President in there, to me that is a way of paralleling not only Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution but also paralleling the Past to the Present; and showing how, even in todays culture, we still have leaders and people above others. The theme she really brought out in her project was that communism will never happen and she illustrated this be showing the unequality of the animals who were supposedly "equal." Some indepth symbolism I noticed was that all the animals are blending into the background but then there is a pig above all the rest; to me this depicts how all the animals were working together behind the scenes while the pig not only got all the credit but was also on the top of the pyramid.

Check AngelaMak Out: http://angelamak3.blogspot.com/

2. Kelsey: Kelseys project was in the form of Comic Strip. She many colorful pictures to illustrate the story of Animal Farm. I think her project was very effective (2.7) and I particularly enjoyed how she used the windmills to represent the mood of animal farm: when things are going good the sky is a nice baby blue and when things are going bad their is lightning and clouds!

3. Emily Wakefield: Emily made her project in Photoshop and it is very interesting and effective (2.8). I really liked how she not only made the animal pyramid but also did a pyramid that paralleled to the Russian Revolution.

4. Levi: Levi's project is absolutely amazing! He made a video that thoroughly describes Animal Farm and it's theme, he also added the Cuban Revolution in there which is very original and unique because I don't know anyone else who did that (3)!

5. Sidney: Sidney did a poem (2.9) and it was very effictive. It clearly outlined the whole story and was moderately lengthy.

6. Hailey: Hailey did a poem that was very effective (2.6). I liked how it was from the animals point of view and I also like the rhyming style ( aab).

7. Adorka Nwanky: Adorka did a poem (3). As I was reading this I felt as though Adora was reading it to me, she clearly has a very distinctive style and uses it well! Great idea to do the poem from the donkeys point of view :)

8. Raegan: Raegan did photoshop (2.5) and it was absolutely incredible. I love all the different aspects pulled in together. I also love how it looks right together but also wrong, it would make for a great artwork peice/conversation peice!

9. Kylie: Kylie did photoshop (2.6) and it was very insightful. She had interesting little extras that you only caught if you were paying attention, for example: one pig (napoleon) was wearing  a crown, and also how the commandments had the rewritten commandments.

10. Leanna: Leanna Did Photoshop (2.8) and it was very creative. I like how she showed the controllers and showed how unequal all the animals were! I also liked how she showed one leader and then a group of others and just clumped them all together.


Me: I feel like I compare relatively well. I think everyone stands out in a different aspect; Adorka is deep, and Angela is artistic, and I am informative. So I think it all evens out for the most part! I really enjoyed looking through all the projects! I think that I put in a lot of effort probably a little more than most of my classmates. I conveyed the literary concepts well, I showed how communism doesn't work well (today, in the russian revolution, and in Animal farm) and also who rises up and takes control.

Follow My PAssion

As a New Years resolution I would like to really focus in and follow my passions which are: tennis, psychology, writing, and modeling.


1) Tennis: As tennis is one of my passions my New Years resolution is to play at least twice a week! Every week I will go to one tennis lesson and then I will play with friends or acquaintances for further practice! My resolution of playing more tennis will help me meet my goal of being on JV or Varsity for Girls Tennis 2011.


2) Pyschology: Psychology is a bit harder to follow since there aren't any specific classes I can take or things that I can do to learn about it. Instead I will design psychology experiments, test them out and write a paper on the results! I will shoot for 1 paper every 6 months!


3) Writing: I love to write so my New Years resolution will be to write something everyday. I am also a part of LISTMYFIVE a writing community where you write and get paid for people looking at your work. My goal is to have 500 lists so by writing everyday I can possibly achieve that goal by the end of the year.


ListMyFive link: http://www.listmyfive.com/chilipepper
Check Me Out!


4) Modeling: Modeling is fun and exciting and something I would like to pursue. For my New Years resolution my goal will be to Find at least 3 paying modeling jobs this year and to continue to practice with photographers!