What We Learned In School
That we are cool
To never close our eyes
To always pay attention, to what we can’t deny
Always sit next to the hot chick
To be best friends with the smart kid
To always know whose boss
How to fake sick
To never stop walking in the hall
To know your right as Freshmen
To always miss the bus, to come in your dad’s car
To use your restroom break at the right time
To lie like a pro to your teacher
Know the five D’s of dodge ball, Dodge, Dip, Duck, Dive, and …. Dodge
To always have a comeback joke
To tell them what you really think
To never forget that one special teacher
To always spend time with your real friends
This is what we learned!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
What We Learned In School
We went to high school
It was cool.
Learned a lot of stuff
Through thick and thin, it was rough.
Sports are a stress-relief
That is our belief.
Clubs were a big deal
That is how we feel.
English class is where I got my naps
To the beats of the finger snaps.
Other languages are such a bore,
I much rather learn history and war.
I guess school was great,
Now here comes college
Another 4 years
Of Learning and fun.
By
Robin
Tyler
Michael
We went to high school
It was cool.
Learned a lot of stuff
Through thick and thin, it was rough.
Sports are a stress-relief
That is our belief.
Clubs were a big deal
That is how we feel.
English class is where I got my naps
To the beats of the finger snaps.
Other languages are such a bore,
I much rather learn history and war.
I guess school was great,
Now here comes college
Another 4 years
Of Learning and fun.
By
Robin
Tyler
Michael
What We Learned In School
Three tardies and receive a detention,
Four tardies and receive a in school suspension,
Six tardies and you’re out for three days.
Walk into school in the morning and the lobby’s crowded,
Walk down the hall and it’s crowded,
Surrounded by sweaty and annoying freshman.
Enter a classroom of a teacher you love,
It’s all fun and games throughout lessons,
Enter a classroom of a teacher you despise,
It’s all sleeping, texting, and eye rolling throughout lessons.
By: Amanda, Sagal, & Elissa
Four tardies and receive a in school suspension,
Six tardies and you’re out for three days.
Walk into school in the morning and the lobby’s crowded,
Walk down the hall and it’s crowded,
Surrounded by sweaty and annoying freshman.
Enter a classroom of a teacher you love,
It’s all fun and games throughout lessons,
Enter a classroom of a teacher you despise,
It’s all sleeping, texting, and eye rolling throughout lessons.
By: Amanda, Sagal, & Elissa
What we learned in High School
What we Learned in School
Alex Kaufman & Danny Maks
When Mr. Moore was mad his voice would crack
Saying us to “pick up the slack!”
And Mr. Davis, he was kind of weird
With his own music on iTunes
I learned from Mr. Sedlachek that formative assessment sucks
I learned that Mr. Fox was a little crazy
Mr. Shacter told us to think figuratively but also be logic
I learned that Mr. Sweeney was smart and way passed retired
That Mr. Hale should have been a college professor and was also human
Olentangy Liberty, why couldn’t you teach me real life things? Thank you
From Alex and Danny
Alex Kaufman & Danny Maks
When Mr. Moore was mad his voice would crack
Saying us to “pick up the slack!”
And Mr. Davis, he was kind of weird
With his own music on iTunes
I learned from Mr. Sedlachek that formative assessment sucks
I learned that Mr. Fox was a little crazy
Mr. Shacter told us to think figuratively but also be logic
I learned that Mr. Sweeney was smart and way passed retired
That Mr. Hale should have been a college professor and was also human
Olentangy Liberty, why couldn’t you teach me real life things? Thank you
From Alex and Danny
Chelsea and Maggie
What We Learned In School
Mrs. Freese taught us to always stay organized
And have neat, simple power points
But she was never all that simple.
She was very outgoing,
Always had a huge smile.
She helped us see our future
But took each step day by day
Her outfits were the cutest,
We miss her everyday!
Mrs. Freese taught us to always stay organized
And have neat, simple power points
But she was never all that simple.
She was very outgoing,
Always had a huge smile.
She helped us see our future
But took each step day by day
Her outfits were the cutest,
We miss her everyday!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sweet Like A Crow
"Your voice sounds like a scorpion being pushed through a glass tube." This is my favorite line from the poem because I like the use of description. I can imagine that if one's voice sounded like that, it would be pretty horrible. Reading this, I laughed a little bit because this reminded me of a girl who I used to go to elementary school with. She had a very sharp voice that could break anyone's eardrums. Eventually, she ended up in the choir of our middle school!
My favorite poem that we read was What They Learn in School by Jerome Stern. This was my favorite because throughout the entire poem there was ironic language. He would say they don't want students to learn because of one reason because they are afraid it would intreast them to go out to do it, and the vice versa. When you think about it, it is very true of how the school system has become. It is now very controlled and in my own opinion is controlled the wrong way. I'm not sure but this poem also seems to reflect parties in the government. It sounds to me as if Jerome Stern is talking about how republicans think and what they want to to be tought in the class room. I'm not sure if this is true but it may be. Thats what is great about poems is that they allow everybody to interpret them in their own way.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
What I Learned About School - Jon
In the poem "What I Learn in School," Jerome Stern describes in satire, an educational censorship of important information that is kept from students. This knowledge is with-held for the purpose of controlling thier thoughts of the world, so that the students' minds would be bent to the ideals of those holding the pen/white-out.
"And they mainly want to teach them not to question, not to challenge, not to imgaine, ut to be obedient and behave well so that they can hold them forever as children to their bosoms as the second millennium lurches toward its panicky close."
I like to think that I have a knack for seeing through the smoke, and while I was a student in High School my teachers were good friends because of how I questioned the sources of my knowledge. This poem was powerful to me because I could relate and find the dark humor underlying Stern's words. This poem reminds me of all the hours spent reading textbooks then all the hours finding where the books got their smarts.
"And they mainly want to teach them not to question, not to challenge, not to imgaine, ut to be obedient and behave well so that they can hold them forever as children to their bosoms as the second millennium lurches toward its panicky close."
I like to think that I have a knack for seeing through the smoke, and while I was a student in High School my teachers were good friends because of how I questioned the sources of my knowledge. This poem was powerful to me because I could relate and find the dark humor underlying Stern's words. This poem reminds me of all the hours spent reading textbooks then all the hours finding where the books got their smarts.
I, Too, Sing America
I found this poem very inspiring. It focuses on how a person wishes to be treated the way others are being treated. This poems reminds me of the time when there were slaves. This person is sent to the kitchen to eat instead of sitting at the table with everyone else. It is sad that this person doesnt get to experience what the others do. Also, i think this poem touches on the "American dream." This is because the deeper meaning of the poem is about how this person is determined to reach a higher goal in life. This persons view of the American dream is to be treated equally and free, and this poem allows the reader to infer that this person is determined to achieve this "dream." Therefore, I enjoyed this poem the most overall.
Tyler Hughes
Eng 109.01
Journal 8/Nov 23, 2010
Even though there is no set rhyme to the poem but there is a small rhythm get into as you read it. This line is such a simple little observation that adds to the cold morning air but it is so much more. This metaphor gives life to the boy's breath and gives you a vivid mental picture of watching your own breath every time its cold. It makes you wonder if your breath makes little sculptures in the air.
I flashed back to my time spent at the bus stop. I vividly remember one winter morning at the bus stop. The temperature was at or below 20 degrees, there was a foot of snow and of course i was wearing shorts and a hoodie. As i walked the two streets to the corner i just always saw my breath. So i changed my breathing to make weird patterns in the frigid sky. I sped up my breath, slowed it down and made short fast breaths. As i waited the 5 or 15 minutes for the bus to get there, i pretended i was smoking then thought to blow "smoke" rings and failed.
Overall i felt very mellow and reminiscent about my childhood and my childish conquests.
Eng 109.01
Journal 8/Nov 23, 2010
Boy, Waiting for a School Bus
"His breath carves little statues out of cold"Even though there is no set rhyme to the poem but there is a small rhythm get into as you read it. This line is such a simple little observation that adds to the cold morning air but it is so much more. This metaphor gives life to the boy's breath and gives you a vivid mental picture of watching your own breath every time its cold. It makes you wonder if your breath makes little sculptures in the air.
I flashed back to my time spent at the bus stop. I vividly remember one winter morning at the bus stop. The temperature was at or below 20 degrees, there was a foot of snow and of course i was wearing shorts and a hoodie. As i walked the two streets to the corner i just always saw my breath. So i changed my breathing to make weird patterns in the frigid sky. I sped up my breath, slowed it down and made short fast breaths. As i waited the 5 or 15 minutes for the bus to get there, i pretended i was smoking then thought to blow "smoke" rings and failed.
Overall i felt very mellow and reminiscent about my childhood and my childish conquests.
jounral 8
I, too, Sing America by Langton Hughes. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table when company comes. Nobody'll dare say to me "eat in the kitchen," then. What stands out about this to me is the meaning behind it. How hopeful he is about his life even though he isn't living in the best situation. This poem made me feel hopeful for the future. That things will get better if you work hard. This is telling us to work hard through tough times and keep hoping and work for a better future and to never give up hope.
I, too, sing America
I love this poem we read it last year in English and it really stood out to me. My favorite line is more an entire segment, '"Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then."' This really stands out because its almost like a punch in the stomach. It really makes you think about suffrage in black America, like what people went through and the way they were treated. But I love this because it say tomorrow meaning in the future he will eat at the table, he will be excepted and not treated like an animal. It makes me sad in the beginning that people were treated so terribly in our country for so many years but it makes me happy that it has improved but it still is not good enough, like in Ordinary Resurrections there are limits and restrictions still set on people and i think its awful.
Poem Response
Amanda Floyd
English 109.01
journal 8
"But they don't want them to discuss current events because it might be controversial and upset them and make them want to take drugs which they already have told them all about". This quote stood out the most to me because it contradicts an issue in which was already brought up in the beginning of the poem. I think the meaning of the words also stood out to me because the current happenings usually lead to people using drugs.
This poem made me feel like this statement was very true. Alot of people turn to drugs or even alcohol when they aren't satisfied with happenings in our society, whether it's based on their personal choices or the choices of others that influence them.
English 109.01
journal 8
"But they don't want them to discuss current events because it might be controversial and upset them and make them want to take drugs which they already have told them all about". This quote stood out the most to me because it contradicts an issue in which was already brought up in the beginning of the poem. I think the meaning of the words also stood out to me because the current happenings usually lead to people using drugs.
This poem made me feel like this statement was very true. Alot of people turn to drugs or even alcohol when they aren't satisfied with happenings in our society, whether it's based on their personal choices or the choices of others that influence them.
Poem Response
In the poem packet we received in class, my favorite poem was For Brothers Everywhere. In the middle of the poem the author says.
Their bodies like muscular saxaphones body-boppin
better than jazz, beyond summer, beyond
weather, beyond everything that moves-
I enjoyed reading this poem because of the metaphors and the language the author uses to describe people, movements, or things around the environment he's in. This poem had some humor to it and it was also somewhat serious as well, although, he was talking about a group of kids in a schoolyard.
For Brothers Everywhere
"keep risin up with baske'balls ripe as pumpkins
toward rims hung like pinatas, pinned
like thunderclouds to the sky's wide chest"
I have to say these 3 lines are my favorite from this poem. It's my favorite because the use of metaphors. The use of metaphors describe the basketballs and the rims really well.
This poem reminds me of the game of basketball. Honestly it reminds of two groups playing basketball against each other and/or having free style contests such as having a dunk contest. This poem made me feel energetic, wanting to play basketball with some friends. This is so because of how the author wrote it. I can relate this to life by simply just playing a real game of basketball with some friends.
toward rims hung like pinatas, pinned
like thunderclouds to the sky's wide chest"
I have to say these 3 lines are my favorite from this poem. It's my favorite because the use of metaphors. The use of metaphors describe the basketballs and the rims really well.
This poem reminds me of the game of basketball. Honestly it reminds of two groups playing basketball against each other and/or having free style contests such as having a dunk contest. This poem made me feel energetic, wanting to play basketball with some friends. This is so because of how the author wrote it. I can relate this to life by simply just playing a real game of basketball with some friends.
Poem Response
"And they mainly want to teach them not to question, not to challenge, not to imagine, but to be obedient and behave well so that they can hold them forever as children to their bosoms as the second millennium lurches toward its panicky close" This line is from the poem What They Learn in School. This stood out to me the most because everything about this poem is very true from telling you about the problem, but not willing to teach it because they do not want children to start doing bad stuff. I believe that this poem really didn't have a rhythm but it all flowed together. After reading this poem it almost made me laugh because i can really relate to this poem especially with the school district I came from because they were always willing to tell you what to do and what not to do, but since our school district wanted to shelter us they were not willing to teach us for example about marijuana, crack, heroin because they thought if we teach them this they may want to start trying it, which probably wouldn't be the case because kids would have a more understanding of it.
THIS POEM IS COOL
"But they don't want them to know anything about real science because then they will lose their faith and become secular humanists" The language and the way that this sentence was just written is awesome. It talks about what schools don't want you do do. I feel as though it has a rythmn to it. That these words flow together. The meaning of these words is what schools want and don't us to learn.
This reminded me of how schools want us to be creative but they still don't teach us certain things in fear that we might learn something new or different that isn't socially acceptable. It made me feel that it's the truth that school like certain things to be taught and not taught in schools. I think that this poem basically just wants people to think for themselves and I agree with that.
This reminded me of how schools want us to be creative but they still don't teach us certain things in fear that we might learn something new or different that isn't socially acceptable. It made me feel that it's the truth that school like certain things to be taught and not taught in schools. I think that this poem basically just wants people to think for themselves and I agree with that.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Alexis Ruth Ottenbacher
English 109.01
Journal 7 11/14/10
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been around for quite a long time. This meaning that it must have a positive influence on people. Their music has changed throughout the years, starting out as a funk band then moving into more of alternative rock. I’ve been following the Red Hot Chili Peppers since I was a little girl. I’ve always been drawn to their music and their style. They just have a huge influence on me as well as many others. There is nothing more in the world that influences me besides music. To me it determines the kind of personality someone has and even their sense of fashion.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Pop Culture Influences: YouTube
English 109.01
Journal 7, 11/11/10
When you think of societies most valuable sources of knowledge, entertainment, and communication, the internet is the immediate end all be all destination. Then there are few different pillars that hold up the bulk of the internet's sources of the information listed above. The most pronounced destinations on the world wide web, is Google, Facebook, and Youtube. Between these three vast search engine websites you can locate massive sources of information, current events both political and local, and the most recent viral videos.
When I think of the most influencial and popular locations on the web these three come to my mind, all of which have helped to complete academic research, supported my social communication with friends and family, and have distracted me from both school and society with mind-numbing videos posted of pranks, cats, and auto-tuned non-sense. My favorite by far has to be YouTube, it enables any person to upload a video of themselves or others whether to educate or entertain. I have never have posted a video before but i am constantly coming to this website for reviews of movies and technology. I think that YouTube has a great impact on todays society between entertainment, expresionnism, education and an empowerment to men and women from all over the world.
(Below is a website discussing the Social Effects of YouTube further, with other sources of information and other reasons for debate on both positive and negative influences)
http://www.certmag.com/read.php?in=3525
Monday, November 8, 2010
Pop Culture Influences
Pop Culture Influences
When I think about pop culture influences in my life, many things come to mind. The internet, television shows, music, and movies are just a few pop culture influences. I think music is the most influential to me. I love listening to music and I spend a majority of my time listening to music. Although there are a few tv shows that I watch regularly, I am not a big fan of watching it. Usually, I prefer to watch movies or just listen to music while I surf the internet instead of watching tv. Often, I find myself comparing the music I listen to to events or people in my life. Alot of the music I listen to connects to a past relationship, a friendship, or an event that has happened or is happening in my life at the time. I listen to a variety of music and each type connects differently to my life. I think listening to music is a positive influence because it helps you relax and relieve stress. However, I think most types of music have negative influences on people and how they should act. But, I also feel like all types of pop culture influences have both negative and positive influences. More information about music can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music
Thursday, November 4, 2010
When thinking about popular culture and its influences on my life, I have found that the internet has influences my life the most. Since Facebook was created, it has had a controlling impact on my life. I have become addicted to checking my notifications from friends, and updating my status for everyone to see what I am currently doing at that specific time. Most of the time I find myself just browsing through people’s profiles instead of talking to my friends. These people are usually just acquaintances and I never talk to them. Also, I find myself updating my current “status” everyday, so that everyone can see what I am doing that day. Facebook has taken up so much of my time for years. There is probably many things that I could have been doing instead of sitting on the computer and looking at people that don’t mean anything to my life.
Here is a link to where you can find more information on facebook and how is affects teens and adults.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2007-10-03-teens-facebook_N.htm
Tyler Hughes
Eng 109.01
Journal 7/Nov 4, 2010
Dexter
For those who have never watched or heard the show called Dexter 
it is a about a CSI for the Miami Police Department. But the catch is that he is a serial killer. But he does not kill innocent people he kills people that he has proved to be killers. The basic structure of the show is that each season there is a very successful serial killer that Dexter needs to kill before he or she harms any more innocent people.
This show is truly amazing but it teaching me to become vengeful. This is something negative because being this way leaves you to become very lonely in life because you never learn to forgive. It is also teaching me, very literally, that it is okay to kill someone has long as you can justify it by your own standards not the standard of the law, which is what you are supposed to follow.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/
it is a about a CSI for the Miami Police Department. But the catch is that he is a serial killer. But he does not kill innocent people he kills people that he has proved to be killers. The basic structure of the show is that each season there is a very successful serial killer that Dexter needs to kill before he or she harms any more innocent people.This show is truly amazing but it teaching me to become vengeful. This is something negative because being this way leaves you to become very lonely in life because you never learn to forgive. It is also teaching me, very literally, that it is okay to kill someone has long as you can justify it by your own standards not the standard of the law, which is what you are supposed to follow.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773262/
"You got a friend in me." The Toy Story movie series has been one of the most influencing movie growing up and now with the new movie Toy Story three. These movies have been a positive influence on my because it focus a lot on friendship and how impoertant it is to people. Also the main human character was my age. So when Toy story three came out the human character was going off to college. Some how the movie felt real to. Every kid felt at one point there toy moved when they aren't around and also the story bring up ideas that good friends will always be there no matter how bad the situation. Even now at 19 the movies almost made me cry because it was something i grower up with and now it had an ending. However, with ever ending there is a new beginning and the movie had that at the end. Andy had to give up his toy, buzz and woody and all the other, because he was going to college, but he gave them up to a new little kid where all new adventures can begin. :)
Austin Carlile is cool
Out of all the things in our culture I believe that music is a huge inspiration for me. I think the biggest artist who inspires me is Austin Carlile. Austin is a vocalist who is originally from Coulmbus, Ohio. He isn't very known in the "pop culture" because Austin is does "screamed vocals" which makes him very big in this modern rock/metal scene. Austin's life and what he has done with what he's been through is amazing and inspires me. Austin's mom died when he was 17 and Austin because of personal differences had to leave both bands he started, Attack Attack! and Of Mice & men, people, including his band mates, would swear at him, make fun of him, and make a fool of him. From 17 to 23 he's been through a bunch of harsh criticism and a rough life. Austin was struggling with his own "personal demons" and he let that affect how he treats others and what he did when he was on tour. Austin is inspiring because he picked himself up after leaving two bands he started and just continued to work. His heart condition didn't even stop him. People genuially think Austin is a bad guy, but a has a lot of friends and even more fans. He found Jesus Christ taking his faith seriously and he is making himself a new person it seems. He's been through so much and yet he is inspires so many people. I think he is a very positive guy.
Call of Duty
Video Games can have a lot of influence on people. It could be a good influence or a bad influence. Videos Games do have an influence on me but not to the point where it influenced me outside of playing video games.
Call of Duty, in my opinion, influence me the most of all video games in a negative way. Usually I don't swear when I don't play call of duty. My friends rarely hear me cuss but when I play call of duty by myself, I usually get angry at it and swear a bit. Thats a negative influence. But call of duty doesn't always make me swear. Sometimes I actually do enjoy playing it, and be like "Oh yeah!" In overall, call of duty is an okay game for me even though sometimes I get angry and swear when something happens in that game.
But not all video games related to call of duty makes me swear. Video games like Halo Reach or Bad Company 2 has a more of a positive influence on me then call of duty. When I play that, I usually have a good attitude and play it for fun. However, I do sometimes get a bit frustrated with those games but not as frustrated with call of duty. I usually say "Typical Call of Duty" referring to the things that would happen in call of duty when I do get a bit frustrated with Halo or Bad Company.
Now recently, I do not get as angry when playing call of duty because I've started playing more halo reach or bad company and occasionally call of duty. It doesn't anger me as much because I'm trying to play it for fun and not care about it but the games still gets me where I get a bit frustrated with it....
Heres a link where you can possibly find more about call of duty: www.callofduty.com
Pop Culture
The Hangover
This is a very funny movie and I laughed the whole time. When I ask my self if this had an influence on me i would say yes. I felt that this was inappropriate at times and could have been funny without everything that was included. There was a lot of nudity in this movie and I felt that it made me feel uncomfortable. Luckily I didn't see it with my mom. I felt that this influenced me in the sense that it made me less sensitive to things in the world that sometimes I feel like I should be sensitive to. I don't like what a lot of humor has become today, why does it always have to involve violence and inappropriate scenes.
I love everything about all sports. All of the Ohio teams i root for unless it's a game between the Browns and Bengals, or a battle between the Reds and Indians. However at this point the Cleveland Cavaliers are the most influental to me. They lost their superstar but are still going to fight and try to make the playoffs this season. Everybody is counting them out and that's the way they want it. The reason I like to believe in this team is because everybody goes through hard times like they are. At some point everybody is going to feel like life delt them a shitty hand of cards and have no reason to keep going. The Cavs are going through this right now. All the players are probably saying I came to this team to play with Lebron James and he just up and left. They have two choices, one is to put their heads down and quit. While the other is to take this in stride and accept the challenge. Thats the great thing about sports is that sometimes the biggest underdog can win. Examples would be when Stanford a 48 point underdog to USC took it to the Trojians and won. These types of stories give hope to everybody. Thats why i look up to the Cavs and hope that they can be the feel warm story that all of Clevelland needs!
http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/index.html
Pop culture to me
This is probably really embarrassing but, I think that the tv show, Adventure Time has a big effect on my life. First and foremost, Adventure Time is on cartoon network. Yes, I still watch Cartoon Network. There is nothing wrong with that. The show is about a boy named Finn and his dog Jake. They go on "silly" adventures in the land of "Ooh." Here's a link of what this show is all about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_Time I like this show because it is funny and I feel like I'm not wasting my time when i watch this show. I have a T-shirt somewhere that has a really funny picture main character on it. Sometimes i where it because it's one of my favorite shirts. If anybody gets a chance, try to watch this show, I bet you'll like it and probably laugh. Above are pictures of both Jake and Finn.
The Influence of Popular Culture on a Person
Although, pop culture in America contains many different parts to it, I think the most influencal is the interent. Facebook and Twitter are the two websites teenagers, even adults are most addicted to and it has become part of their daily lives. Facebook and Twitter can be both positive and negative influences. These networking sites are a good way to keep in touch with friends. However, these networking sites are a way of meeting new people, people who aren't probably safe. Facebook and Twitter can be a way of tracking kids, creating problems between people, most importantly, depending of how you use these sites, be targeted. I personally do use these sites, and I actually do enjoy using them. Sometimes, I do see myself so addicted to the point were I may have to deactivate it for a little while. I feel as though these sites are a huge influence because of the contact you have with others. For example, I always notice that someone always brings out something that happended on Facebook and says, "Oh, did you see that on Facebook?" then they run and log in, and spend hours on it. Overall, I believe that when it comes to TV, movies, advertisements, etc, Facebook and Twitter have the biggest influences on people nowadays.
Journal 7
There are many things in American pop culture that influences me. The one that influences me the most is 90210. I am so hooked on this show that every monday I have to watch it. It doesnt matter what I am doing I will find a way to watch even if that means to record it on my DVR and watch it later, but if I am able to watch right when it comes on then i do so. It's a bad addiction because I am so drawn to it that i do not talk on the phone or get on my computer until commercials and if someone interrupts me I either pause the show or hit the rewind button. I feel like this has a negative influence because its like I am so concerned about a television program that isn't even real, but its just their fashion and the drama brings me back each week just to see whats going to happen next.
http://www.cwtv.com/shows/90210
http://www.cwtv.com/shows/90210
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Mrs. L
To be honest I have never really been a “teachers pet” or even well liked by many teachers. I was always known for goofing around in class, always trying to make people laugh and take their minds off the seriousness of school. The only time I felt like I ever got along with teachers was when I was a young girl attending St.Peter Catholic School. Classes were way smaller where you connected with the teachers better, but also, who doesn’t get along with their elementary school teachers?
Thinking of a teacher who had impacted me in a positive way was really hard to think of. I was thinking of my middle school teachers, but no one stood out. Then I was trying to think of any high school teacher, still no luck. For this paper I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to use an elementary teacher, but she’s the only teacher I can say put a positive impact on me. My teacher Mrs. L was my first grade teacher. She was a beautiful old lady, inside and out. She always made me feel like I should have nothing to be afraid of in class and should never be afraid to ask questions. This lady knew the person I really was. She looked way deeper into children than most teachers and always welcomed you with a warm smile and a little hug around the shoulders.
I received Student of the Month, which was a big deal at Saint Petes. I remember her writing, on the paper they hung up in the hallway, about how I was such a smart child with a warm smile that would cheer anyone up. She talked about me as a person and not just for my academic achievements. Reading that made me feel special. I was only in first grade and that stuck with me till this day. She was the person who reminded me to keep laughing and smiling and do the same for other people. That is how Mrs.L influenced me through out life.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Science has never been my strongest subject, I had tried to apply myself but too often I was discouraged by my inability to understand most of the subject material. For hours I would attempt to engrave the lessons on the stone slate that is my brain. However, I still couldn't grasp fully the lessons set before me, I would get sufficiant grades of B's. Yet this didn't suffice my appetite to actually learn what I was reading.
Finally, when I was a Senior at my High School, I took Natural Systems Science. This class discussed the influences that man kind has had on the planet and how these changes could permanently damage our world forever. The class included biology, earth's science, and the universe that Earth resides within. This class was very comprehensive and for the first time I enjoyed studying Science. However, I attribute this passion to my teacher Mrs. Lilly Yap. She was one of the nicest people I have ever met, which caused her to have a great reputation with the student body as well. She was short in stature but made up for this in her character, her two children were always a distracting subject for the class, rather than covering that day's lesson. Mrs. Yap was fair with everyone and tried to never show favorites, yet was generous with her leniancy on grades as long as you never crossed her. Despite her claim to not have favorites i soon became one, she would often ask how my life was going and what i planned for college. She also wrote one of my letters of recommendation for my Eagle Scout award. Then was also the one to hand me the diploma at graduation, which was a very sentimental moment. We now exchange emails and have had several visits and lunches in each other's company. She is a close friend, as well as one of the most influencial people of my life.
Finally, when I was a Senior at my High School, I took Natural Systems Science. This class discussed the influences that man kind has had on the planet and how these changes could permanently damage our world forever. The class included biology, earth's science, and the universe that Earth resides within. This class was very comprehensive and for the first time I enjoyed studying Science. However, I attribute this passion to my teacher Mrs. Lilly Yap. She was one of the nicest people I have ever met, which caused her to have a great reputation with the student body as well. She was short in stature but made up for this in her character, her two children were always a distracting subject for the class, rather than covering that day's lesson. Mrs. Yap was fair with everyone and tried to never show favorites, yet was generous with her leniancy on grades as long as you never crossed her. Despite her claim to not have favorites i soon became one, she would often ask how my life was going and what i planned for college. She also wrote one of my letters of recommendation for my Eagle Scout award. Then was also the one to hand me the diploma at graduation, which was a very sentimental moment. We now exchange emails and have had several visits and lunches in each other's company. She is a close friend, as well as one of the most influencial people of my life.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Math Teacher
The teacher that will always be memorable to me was my 11th and 12th grade teacher Mrs. Pink. She was always extra hard on me but it was for my best. Before her class I would just rely on being able to ask my teachers everything. When I got into her class she saw my potential and wouldn’t let me just glide by. Her first test I showed up a little before class and started asking all sort of questions. She just looked at me and said “Good question, but I’m not sure. Maybe you should go look in the book.” That first test I got by but defiantly wasn’t the grade I wanted. After that test Mrs. Pink came to me and said I was one of the brighter students but I didn’t like to put forth effort, and that I need to learn how to answer my own questions. She told me how it would help me in college. I took that message and ran with it. Ever since that I have done great in all classes and truly enjoyed my math classes. It turns out it truly has helped me and on my first college math exam I got an A. I still talk to her and get everyday advice. She is truly a great teacher.
Ms. Lisa Barber
My senior year in high school, I took Honors Chemistry with Ms. Barber. Many didn't like her, and she already knew that. As a matter of fact, the first day of school, I remember her saying that she didn't care if students talked badly about her because the only reason she was hard on us was because she cared, and I really respected her for that. Junior year, when we scheduled for classes, a lot of the kids that I knew who had her before told me that I wouldn't want her and I should schedule to have Mrs. Greible. I already knew Mrs. G and I knew she was an easy chemistry teacher. I actually had her until I changed my schedule and ended up with Ms. Barber.
Ms. Barber always had a smile on her face, no matter what. She was always happy and cheery, but on task and organized at the same time. She wasn't the kind of teacher to let things go, whatever she has planned, always happens. However, I really didn't like her teaching method at all. I remember always being confused in her class. But what I loved the most about her was that she was really helpful and understanding. Ms. Barber would stay after school everyday if you needed help, and her explanations made a lot more sense when she taught outside of the classroom. Every time I stayed after school to get help, we'd always learn something new about one another, and by the end of the year, we've become really close. Although, many say they didn't like her, I believe that they just needed to get to know her, because she's a great person.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Greetings from the Writing Center!
Hi! My name's Alyssa Francis and I work in the DC Writing Center. I just wanted to encourage you to stop by our office for writing help. We're here to help you with any part of the writing process you're having trouble with. For example, if you're having a hard time starting a paper, come on in and we can work on brainstorming and outlining. Or, if Mike tells you that you should work on a specific grammar error that you often make when you write, we can help you with that, too. Another big thing that we work on is organization. A lot of people come in and say, "I've got all the ideas down on paper, but it feels like I'm jumping from idea to idea." We'll work with you to figure out how to connect and organize those ideas so that your paper reads more smoothly.
Lynda Behan, Sunyung Song, and I are the three tutors who work in the office. We're located in the little office in room 225 (the second floor computer lab). Our hours are Monday 8:30-5:30, Tuesday 8:30-5:00, Wednesday 10:00-5:00, and Thursday 1:00-5:00. You don't even need an appointment; just walk in if you see that the door's open and the chair's empty!
Journal Five
Amanda Floyd
English 109.01
10/26/10
I think Senora Luther-Houghton was effective because she was hard on you to succeed and do what was best for yourself as well as those around you, but she always gave the most effective advice. Outside of the classroom, you could talk to her about personal problems and receive helpful advice or her opinion on something. Inside the classroom, she made sure you understood the grammar, readings, and writing we did in class. We would use little white boards blackboard markers to practice writing out verbs and their conjugations throughout the week before a big test. Sometimes, we would get into small groups and write stories using our vocabulary and words from that week or previous weeks. At other times, we would listen to and sing spanish songs to learn and memorize vocabulary.
I remember going to class on the day of the midterm without studying. For we had practiced using all of her teaching techniques throughout the week and I felt quite confident when practicing in class. While taking the exam, I thought that it was quite easy because it was just like everything we had practiced in class. I remember we had to conjugate several verbs, write a story using vocabulary from the past few weeks, and define several vocabulary words using multiple choice. I ended up getting an A on that midterm and I believe it was because of the ways she taught and worked with our class.
English 109.01
10/26/10
Senora Luther-Houghton
My favorite teacher in high school was Senora Luther-Houghton. Senora Luther-Houghton was my spanish teacher for five semesters of high school. She was the leader of the Spanish Club and an excellent teacher. She made sure that everyone in the class understand her when she spoke in class and if they didn't she would repeat herself until the students understood her. Whenever I was around her, she was always friendly, and although she was sometimes harsh and critical when giving advice it was always helpful.I think Senora Luther-Houghton was effective because she was hard on you to succeed and do what was best for yourself as well as those around you, but she always gave the most effective advice. Outside of the classroom, you could talk to her about personal problems and receive helpful advice or her opinion on something. Inside the classroom, she made sure you understood the grammar, readings, and writing we did in class. We would use little white boards blackboard markers to practice writing out verbs and their conjugations throughout the week before a big test. Sometimes, we would get into small groups and write stories using our vocabulary and words from that week or previous weeks. At other times, we would listen to and sing spanish songs to learn and memorize vocabulary.
I remember going to class on the day of the midterm without studying. For we had practiced using all of her teaching techniques throughout the week and I felt quite confident when practicing in class. While taking the exam, I thought that it was quite easy because it was just like everything we had practiced in class. I remember we had to conjugate several verbs, write a story using vocabulary from the past few weeks, and define several vocabulary words using multiple choice. I ended up getting an A on that midterm and I believe it was because of the ways she taught and worked with our class.
Ellwood The Great
Michael Tung
When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a ton of boring classes. All except for my
history class with Mr. Ellwood. Mr. Ellwood always wore a suit in class everyday because as he explained, "I think it's what all professional teachers should wear." He was an older man who often used his age a as a base for some of his humor. He was the first teacher that did nothing but lecture. As a result, anyone who had Mr. Ellwood got a head start on learning good note taking. Just by teaching, we learned so much from him and we as a class, were lucky to have him.
Mr. Ellwood always had the lesson on the board at the beginning of the class. He had three large chalkboards that read from left to right. Each was filled to the max with information. He always advised not writing down everything on the board immediately, because he had more information to lecture about that specific topic. The classroom was filled with memorabilia from all the years that Mr. Ellwood had been teaching. From swords to oreo cookie peripherals, he had it all. The room was always organized and we had enough room to ourselves for our stuff and such. This may seem kinda odd but, my most success in the class was actually on the midterm and the final. I scored an average of an 88% on both tests. his tests were also very difficult, so I was happy. I'll never forget Mr. Ellwood, because he was the best teacher that i had, and that he was the one who handed me my diploma on graduation.
When I was a sophomore in high school, I had a ton of boring classes. All except for my
history class with Mr. Ellwood. Mr. Ellwood always wore a suit in class everyday because as he explained, "I think it's what all professional teachers should wear." He was an older man who often used his age a as a base for some of his humor. He was the first teacher that did nothing but lecture. As a result, anyone who had Mr. Ellwood got a head start on learning good note taking. Just by teaching, we learned so much from him and we as a class, were lucky to have him.
Mr. Ellwood always had the lesson on the board at the beginning of the class. He had three large chalkboards that read from left to right. Each was filled to the max with information. He always advised not writing down everything on the board immediately, because he had more information to lecture about that specific topic. The classroom was filled with memorabilia from all the years that Mr. Ellwood had been teaching. From swords to oreo cookie peripherals, he had it all. The room was always organized and we had enough room to ourselves for our stuff and such. This may seem kinda odd but, my most success in the class was actually on the midterm and the final. I scored an average of an 88% on both tests. his tests were also very difficult, so I was happy. I'll never forget Mr. Ellwood, because he was the best teacher that i had, and that he was the one who handed me my diploma on graduation.
Tyler Hughes
Eng 109.01
Journal 5/Oct 26 2010
Eng 109.01
Journal 5/Oct 26 2010
Joanna Burcham
Mrs. Burcham is the AP Calculus AB teacher and a Algebra II teacher at Olentangy Orange High School. I had her for AP Calc my senior year a long with several football players. As a team we helper each other out a lot when we had problems with the problems. But when we could not figure out the proper solution we always went up to her without the fear of judgement from her. She was a teacher that would always help and always made sure you understand the concepts before her tests. On more than one occasion she postponed the test a day or two to make sure that her students would do well on the test. At the end of the class and after the AP test, she forced us do a project about the concepts of the class. I was so reluctant to do this project because I wanted to graduate but I sat down and did it and so glad because these presentations are helping me right now in my math class.
Let the man teach!
Going into my junior year I had no idea on what I really was doing with my life. My Chemistry teacher was able to inspire me and focus me in a way that no one had been able to. This teacher was loud and proud. He had a way of having fun while at the same time being able to keep a good learning environment. He was a large man, very large, when he wasn't at the school teaching he probably was lifting weights. He was an avid body builder which really added to his persona. He also had a great understanding of life, he was really down to earth and got what it was all about. He became a friend to many students including myself. He became close to me and because of that he was also very real with me. When he could see that i was not really trying he would strait up tell me what was wrong and that he knew I could do so much better. I was able to talk to him with more than just school also. I was able to discuss my life and girls and problems I had. He helped me many times with dealing on certain situations.
He was a very effective teacher also. He had a great classroom environment that made it fun and exciting, and being a chemistry teacher it is hard to be exciting with the subject being not so exciting. He would know when to joke and when to be serious. He commanded respect in his classroom cause after all he was the teacher. He would always share life stories with us and joke around with us. We used to play games every once and a while, which kept the mood light and fun. He took the stress off of us a lot. I used to also go to his class as a student aid in my study hall, the things I learned from him I will never forget.
Mr. Mount
It was my Pre-Calculus teacher, Danny Mount, who has had the biggest positive influence on my life and education. He is very motivating and makes learning fun. He is energetic and always has a smile on his face. Not only is he a great teacher, but he is a great coach as well. He coaches basketball and baseball. He cares deeply about his students and their success.
He has influenced my life in many ways. One, he nominated me as student of the month. He presented a five minute speech about me to the school administration and parents. In this speech, he explained how I am a class leader and how I always strive to be the best. He also said that he would be "honored" to have me as a future co-worker one day. It touched me a lot. Also, he influenced my math skills. He knew my love for math, and challenged me everyday to become even better at it. Also, Mr. Mount was also their for me in my personal life. He would be the one I could count on for advice, or even to talk about the drama in my life at the time. Mr. Mount has influenced my life in a way that I will never forget.
Mr. Mount had many qualities that made him such a great teacher. One quality he had was that he was very caring. He cared for each and every student that he has ever impacted, whether it was an older student, or one that he had in his class at the time. Also, he had an outgoing personality that would shine as he would teach. He also was patient, which is a very important quality to have as a teacher.
The classroom environment was a relaxed one. We could raise our hand and ask questions at any time. He was not very stricked, but he was very productive in class and did not just joke around the whole time.
One particular assignment that I remember was the unit circle assignment. We made a circle and wrote all the units of the circle on there so that it was easy to study and remember. He knew that this would help us because this material is something that we will need to know in our future math classes.
Mr. Mount was such a great teacher, and I asked him to do the honor of handing me my dipolma at my high school graduation. Now, Mr. Mount is a great friend to me. He is also a great support to my college education because I am following his foot steps at Ohio State, and i know that he will be there to help me along the way. I know that he will always be one of the most inspiring people in my life.
He has influenced my life in many ways. One, he nominated me as student of the month. He presented a five minute speech about me to the school administration and parents. In this speech, he explained how I am a class leader and how I always strive to be the best. He also said that he would be "honored" to have me as a future co-worker one day. It touched me a lot. Also, he influenced my math skills. He knew my love for math, and challenged me everyday to become even better at it. Also, Mr. Mount was also their for me in my personal life. He would be the one I could count on for advice, or even to talk about the drama in my life at the time. Mr. Mount has influenced my life in a way that I will never forget.
Mr. Mount had many qualities that made him such a great teacher. One quality he had was that he was very caring. He cared for each and every student that he has ever impacted, whether it was an older student, or one that he had in his class at the time. Also, he had an outgoing personality that would shine as he would teach. He also was patient, which is a very important quality to have as a teacher.
The classroom environment was a relaxed one. We could raise our hand and ask questions at any time. He was not very stricked, but he was very productive in class and did not just joke around the whole time.
One particular assignment that I remember was the unit circle assignment. We made a circle and wrote all the units of the circle on there so that it was easy to study and remember. He knew that this would help us because this material is something that we will need to know in our future math classes.
Mr. Mount was such a great teacher, and I asked him to do the honor of handing me my dipolma at my high school graduation. Now, Mr. Mount is a great friend to me. He is also a great support to my college education because I am following his foot steps at Ohio State, and i know that he will be there to help me along the way. I know that he will always be one of the most inspiring people in my life.
Mr. Mathy
Robin Yamini
109.01
10/26/2010, journal 5
Back when I was in high school in my senior year, I had a teacher named Mr. Mathy. Mr. Mathy teaches physics and AP Physics. I took physics with my friend Abdel and I am glad that I took it. What made the class great is the teacher.
Mr. Mathy's personality is just hilarious. He could really be a successful comedian if he wanted to. Everyday in class, he makes jokes about a lot of stuff. Whether the joke was about someone, or about something. He also told us funny stories. He was the type of teacher that can make someone laugh when a student is having a bad day. Being around this teacher is really interesting. There wouldn't be a conversation with Mr. Mathy where he didn't make you laugh.
For an example, my friend Ginny and I told him a prank that we had done to another teacher with air horns. His response was "Why did ya scare the poor guy, he already lost his hair." His classroom environment was just bunch of laughs but also stress with hard work.
Every day in class, we begin with so called journals where we had riddles or pictures on the smartboard. We had to figure out what it means and then if we get it right, we would get candy. If an answer is so creative but it wasn't the right answer, the person would still get candy. We spend like at least five minutes on this journals. Sometimes Mr. Mathy doesn't know the answers when we are stuck at one.
I think one of the best qualities that made his class effective is his personality. He being a comedian what makes you interested in the class. During class teachings, if he was presenting an object, he would joke as if something bad happened. An example, one time he brought in this static electrocity machine and when he was presenting it to the class, he pretented that he got electricuted.
There was a project that I remember doing in his class. We had to get a partner and make a bridge out of toothpicks. It was so complicated. My friend and I spent hours at his house working on this project. As the day comes when the bridge is due, our bridge looked like we dumped glue on the bridge and let it dry. To test out the strentgh of the bridge, Mr Mathy bough weights and put it on the bridge until it breaks. He had to be careful that the weights didn't fall on his shoe when it breaks. It was fun watching each bridge break due to the weight of the weights.
Mr. Mathy influenced me by showing that life can be all fun and games but also times where you had to be serious.
109.01
10/26/2010, journal 5
Back when I was in high school in my senior year, I had a teacher named Mr. Mathy. Mr. Mathy teaches physics and AP Physics. I took physics with my friend Abdel and I am glad that I took it. What made the class great is the teacher.
Mr. Mathy's personality is just hilarious. He could really be a successful comedian if he wanted to. Everyday in class, he makes jokes about a lot of stuff. Whether the joke was about someone, or about something. He also told us funny stories. He was the type of teacher that can make someone laugh when a student is having a bad day. Being around this teacher is really interesting. There wouldn't be a conversation with Mr. Mathy where he didn't make you laugh.
For an example, my friend Ginny and I told him a prank that we had done to another teacher with air horns. His response was "Why did ya scare the poor guy, he already lost his hair." His classroom environment was just bunch of laughs but also stress with hard work.
Every day in class, we begin with so called journals where we had riddles or pictures on the smartboard. We had to figure out what it means and then if we get it right, we would get candy. If an answer is so creative but it wasn't the right answer, the person would still get candy. We spend like at least five minutes on this journals. Sometimes Mr. Mathy doesn't know the answers when we are stuck at one.
I think one of the best qualities that made his class effective is his personality. He being a comedian what makes you interested in the class. During class teachings, if he was presenting an object, he would joke as if something bad happened. An example, one time he brought in this static electrocity machine and when he was presenting it to the class, he pretented that he got electricuted.
There was a project that I remember doing in his class. We had to get a partner and make a bridge out of toothpicks. It was so complicated. My friend and I spent hours at his house working on this project. As the day comes when the bridge is due, our bridge looked like we dumped glue on the bridge and let it dry. To test out the strentgh of the bridge, Mr Mathy bough weights and put it on the bridge until it breaks. He had to be careful that the weights didn't fall on his shoe when it breaks. It was fun watching each bridge break due to the weight of the weights.
Mr. Mathy influenced me by showing that life can be all fun and games but also times where you had to be serious.
Mrs. Freese
There is a teacher I will never forget. Her name was Mrs. Freese and she has made the most positive impact on my life. I met her my sophomore year during food for fitness class. She wasn't even my teacher and she found out I was going to the new high school and she screamed at the top of her lungs "YEAHHH GIRL you better take cultural cuisine because I'm going to be your new teacher" and from that day on I knew this lady was going to have a huge impact on my life. I actually took classes that I knew she taught even if I was not interested in them just because I wanted to be around her positive energy. I remember I was having a horrible day like any other typical high school student I went into her classroom and just broke down crying and sobbing because I didn't think anyone could help me at this point. She took me into her arms and held me and told me to talk everything out with her and so I did and she listen to every word I said. She looked at me and told me to just let it all out because in the end I will feel much better and so I did. She was exactly right I felt so much better and at that point not only did I look at her as a teacher, but I looked at her as a mother because she was willing to hold me in her arms while I was crying and not many teachers would take the time to do that. Another thing about Mrs. Freese is she always motivated you to go above and beyond on her projects. In teacher academy we had to do a huge portfolio at the end of the semester and present it to the class. I literally freaked out because I was not a well organized person. When it was time to start the project I looked at her with these eyes and she just knew I needed help and told me to stay after class. Three straight weeks instead of going home early like I normally did, she took the time to help me organize everything and made me really enjoy the project and still today this day I am most proud of my portfolio and I do not know how many people I have showed. As I look back on her classroom and the environment she was over all just gave off a positive energy and never put people down. She actually did the opposite and she never left one kid out. Even if you were the quietest kid she got you to talk some how even if it was just a couple of words. I can say this with confidence Mrs. Freese will always be my favorite teacher.
best teacher
The teacher that impact me the most in school was Mr. Hale, my Ap calculus. Mr. Hale was the math teacher that taught the highest level math class. He was ever focused in his teaching. He always had a positive spirit about him and he did not care if you goofed off in class as long as you did not bug other students and got your work done. He was also every intelligent but every down to earth as well. He also was active and help us when we were doing worksheets in class and wasn't sitting at the computer messaging other teacher or doing other stuff on the computer else he had to. He also played the guitar when we did our worksheet making the classroom peaceful and relaxing making it easy to work and learn. Mr. Hale also had a professional aspect about his teaching. I think he had a huge impact on me because I got to know him personally and he made mistakes like everyone. I think he made the class fun and enjoyed what he was teaching and what to teach.
4th grade was awesome
My favorite teacher throughout my school history were two teachers! They would team teacher which means they both taught the same class room. Mrs Franco was an older teacher, she was a very sweet woman who had a a family with kids a lot older than us. Being in 4th grade and having a teacher that sweet and kind was a blessing. Mrs Franco had a mother like gentleness and she would always comfort us when we had trouble or felt sad. I remember on September 11th when we all ask what happened she began to cry and aid that one of her Grandmother died. Her grandma didn't actually die, but she just didn't know how to tell a bunch of eight and nine year olds that our country was under attack. My other teacher Mrs Stringer was exactly like Mrs Franco only a little but younger. She also had that mother like kindness about her. She and Mrs Franco made learning interesting and got into reading. My friend Brad and I would always attempt to goof around in there class and they would always find assignments that would calm me and Brad down. I remember this one project we did that was a big play about the history of Thanksgiving. I was a goofy kid but I hated rehearsing lines for people because I always thought I'd get a word wrong. Mrs Franco and Mrs Stringer gave me a a part that was very comfortable for me and that made me and every other kid in my class feel like they were a star of the play. It was very successful they kept on pushing us to do our bets and we did. There was a point where I loved going to school because 4th grade was such great year full of friends and great memories.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Water Under the Bridge
When I was young, my family and I lived in a neighborhood that seemed to be my world. My school was only a couple streets away from where I lived and my neighborhood stretched to its doors. My house was a warm place; it never had any gloom anywhere, always an inviting comfort. In the summer when I would no longer have to attend school, yet my parents still had to leave for work. So I would often go to day-camps, in short little rides in the family van. I would never know where I was being taken because I would be far too preoccupied with what my friends were doing in the seat beside me. On the rare occasion that I would have to stay home, my family would arrange for someone to baby-sit me. Those days were normally filled with videogames and books. Yet, when my parents would come home I would get ready to play with my friends. I always liked to imagine that my mother and father would go to work and that was a place where grown-up’s went to play all day. All of my friends lived a few houses apart from my own. So when my parents would come home I would ask to go play with either Richie, Ben or Tom, or maybe even all of them. I was almost always granted my request and I would go around on my bike and pick up each friend.
One hot summer day the four of us all decided to go fishing in the nearby creek that stretched beyond our neighborhood, we had our toy poles with tackle boxes and bread to feed to the monstrous fish that we planned to take home and cook for dinner. I had gone around on my bike with all my equipment in my backpack. As we had all gathered our things we took off for the nearest bridge over the creek. We had determined that the biggest fish in the creek would be swimming in the middle. So as the sun began to descend towards the earth and a warm soft glow began to spread over each of us, we still had not caught a thing. Our entire half a loaf had been reduced to either soggy bits floating downstream or nibbled to crumbs on the surface.
Feeling quite dismayed, we became more frustrated with one another, blaming the others for the kind of hook they had used or the heat. I liked to think that we sounded quite adult; however as adults do when it gets late and the sun is about to set, in the summer it means it is about time for dinner. The four of us picked up our things from the dirt and we each climbed on our bikes. Then we all set off for my house, because my mom was going to be home later tonight than usual, and I had missed her dearly. She had also been kind enough to offer for everyone to stay over. So we slowly made our way back to my house with our rods strapped to our backs and earth worms in our soda cans for safe keeping. My house smelled of fresh cut grass and burgers on the grill. I raced into the house after we all dumped our bikes into the garage. I threw down my back pack and jumped into my mother’s arms.
My mother turns to me once she hears all of the commotion from the garage. “What have you don
“Do you have to leave tonight?” I exclaimed “I was hoping you could stay home!”
“Hun, you will have all of your friends over, you don’t need me tonight. Besides, aren’t you getting to old for me to read to you?” She responds as she lifts me into the air.
“No! I will always want you to read to me!” I say out of sheer stubbornness.
“One day you will be too old for my stories, but for now I love reading our stories and watching the storms pass out of your window.
“I do too Mom, maybe there will be a storm tonight!” She would be leaving for her second job on something called the night shift and I would miss her.
“No Jon, I have to go to work, but have fun with your friends.” She sets me on the ground again but did not let go. “I will think of you every minute I am gone. I love you sweetheart.”
“I love you to Mom!”
As she squeezed her arms around me I could smell the combination of hair spray and that warm aroma of love. I missed my mother most nights because of her second job, so quite often my dad would have to read a bedtime story and attempt to stop me from trying stay up waiting to see my mother. However tonight Ben had made the suggestion of sleeping outside in my family’s tent, we all agreed to that idea and quickly ate our food to begin packing for our adventure into the wilds of my back yard.
My mother prepared s’more supplies and retrieved my sleeping back from our basement. She departed while I gathered all the essentials of any exploration, binoculars, a knife, and hand-drawn map to stay prepared. My dad started a fire in the backyard’s pit and got ready to put the fire out soon after because of a fear that we might hurt ourselves. It took a great deal of convincing and Richie finally persuaded my dad from staying up all night with us. Once my father left and the sun had completely set we laid out our sleeping bags and roasted marshmallows over the fire. We talked about our day’s hunting, had bared nothing but a lost half a loaf of bread. As I sat in the circle of the closest friends and considered my problems already missing my mother and yet I knew these were only temporary and how I had not caught a single mine today only meant that there were still big fish to catch, my mother will always be there for me and no matter what happened I could rely on there being a tomorrow. These problems were only bread crumbs and water passing under the bridge. We all ate s’mores until we had to lie down and before you knew it, the sun was rising and it was time to start all over in childhood adventures.
One Good Man
Nick Pecikonis
English 109.01
Snap Shot 2
October 4, 2010
One Good Man
“Ok guys lets settle down and be calm but lets be energetic!”
“Peccy what are you talking about?” my friend says to me, “Those are exactly opposing ideas!”
I say, “Your right, maybe it didn’t really come out as i wanted it to but guys we just have to remember the basics and just play, we’re getting too worked up and making errors.”
It was a saturday morning, we were at Hilliard Bradley for a volleyball tournament, we had been there for almost three hours and the guys were laking energy and poise. It was our last game of the day and we hadn’t won any. Lets just say that this was becoming a down year. The year before we only had four losses and we were a dominant team taking down some of the top teams in the state. We were the best we had ever been and we won our division. We were mainly seniors that year, out of our team of 14 eight of them were seniors so needless to say we lost a lot of talent, also some of the junior guys didn’t come back out for their senior season. So we were needless to say, young, four seniors one junior and the rest were sophomores. These sophomores were talented though, they all primarily play basketball so they were the correct type of athlete for volleyball, we just lacked experience.
“Lets just go out there and have fun guys, thats all this is. A game, for fun,” I say, play your hearts out but don’t forget this is just a game for fun, don’t get overwhelmed with doubt.”
That game put me at one of the leaders on our team, being a senior and a captain it was my responsibility to get these guys through everything. Like a black widow we are small but u mess with us and we just might take you out. Ready to strike at any time. I made it my goal to lead this team, and i did my best and the end of the season ended strong. We won our first playoff game, something that only had happened once in the history of our school’s program, we lost our second game to the number two team in the state. Even though we didn’t have the strongest season i was proud to be a part of that team because of the way those guys fought for everything we did.
Cracked Open
The day I watched Forest Gump is the day I lost half my brain. Not really. Nothing that dramatic, but the first day I ever watched Forest Gump is the day I cracked my head open. My mother and I had just gotten done watching that movie when my neighbor, Sutton, came over. We always caused some kind of mischief whenever we were together. It was rather dark out so mother insisted we stay in. First we started in the kitchen, just being obnoxious, playing a little, ridiculous game of tag. Neither of us took the games we played as serious as this one. Like all moms, my mom did not allow running in the house but behind her back me and Sutton started chasing one another and next thing you know it I’ m scrunched up, hiding under my Moms end table. Sutton tells me “I’m gonna get you!”
“You wanna bet?” I say retaliating.
“You better look out, I see you under that table!”
“Shoot…”
And as I scream on the top of my lungs, I see him sprinting to the table. I scramble to get out of there as fast as lightning. To my disbelief, I go to free myself from this table and as soon as I put my hand down it simply lands on the cord and pulls this heavy lamp onto my head. At first, everything was dark. I hear Sutton screaming “help!” As he’s screaming like he had just witnessed a killing, my mother comes sprinting downstairs. I feel blood trickle down the back of my head. “What’s going on?” is what I think to myself. My mom rushes me up to the bathroom and puts my head under the faucet to rinse it off with cold water. I had to go to the hospital and have stitches in the back of my head. I still have a noticeable scar on the back of my head but when I see it, I will never forget the first time I watched Forest Gump.
The day I watched Forest Gump is the day I lost half my brain. Not really. Nothing that dramatic, but the first day I ever watched Forest Gump is the day I cracked my head open. My mother and I had just gotten done watching that movie when my neighbor, Sutton, came over. We always caused some kind of mischief whenever we were together. It was rather dark out so mother insisted we stay in. First we started in the kitchen, just being obnoxious, playing a little, ridiculous game of tag. Neither of us took the games we played as serious as this one. Like all moms, my mom did not allow running in the house but behind her back me and Sutton started chasing one another and next thing you know it I’ m scrunched up, hiding under my Moms end table. Sutton tells me “I’m gonna get you!”
“You wanna bet?” I say retaliating.
“You better look out, I see you under that table!”
“Shoot…”
And as I scream on the top of my lungs, I see him sprinting to the table. I scramble to get out of there as fast as lightning. To my disbelief, I go to free myself from this table and as soon as I put my hand down it simply lands on the cord and pulls this heavy lamp onto my head. At first, everything was dark. I hear Sutton screaming “help!” As he’s screaming like he had just witnessed a killing, my mother comes sprinting downstairs. I feel blood trickle down the back of my head. “What’s going on?” is what I think to myself. My mom rushes me up to the bathroom and puts my head under the faucet to rinse it off with cold water. I had to go to the hospital and have stitches in the back of my head. I still have a noticeable scar on the back of my head but when I see it, I will never forget the first time I watched Forest Gump.
Warp Speed
I remember this one time where my friend Alex and I were walking to Target at Polaris. It
was a cold winter day, where the winds were so icy that they were like whips whenever they
hit. Alex and I at the time were not able to drive, but we knew we wanted to go to Target! Anyways, this memory refers to an event that occurred along the way that I will hopefully never forget.
As we almost arrived at our destination, we came across a snow mound in the parking lot in front of the Lowe’s store. The snow mound had been at least seven feet high, and was probably 12 or so feet in diameter. Think of a mini mountain and that what this mound was. Both of us looked at the mound and I decided, “I got an idea“. Some idea this turned out to be. My idea was to try sliding down the more gradual side. So I climbed the up and got on top of the mound. I was thinking how cool it would be if I actually successfully had been able to slide down the side. Well, actually I fell on my butt at the start and experienced something like no other! The rush! It was incredible. The sheer, speed at which the sliding had happened… it was instantaneous.
I imagine it was a lot like traveling through space, you know, how cartoons portray travel in outer space as warp or something like that. Alex was just kind of watching these whole four or five seconds. In that time he declared to himself that I was lame and that he had to show as he put it, “Let me show you how it’s done.” And then he decided to try it and he too fell on his butt. When he reached the bottom, where I had been sitting, he said, “wow.” And then we looked at each other for a few seconds and then we broke out like hyenas in laughter. “That was awesome man!” I said. “It was, man that was good!” And then we were on our way.
was a cold winter day, where the winds were so icy that they were like whips whenever they
hit. Alex and I at the time were not able to drive, but we knew we wanted to go to Target! Anyways, this memory refers to an event that occurred along the way that I will hopefully never forget.
As we almost arrived at our destination, we came across a snow mound in the parking lot in front of the Lowe’s store. The snow mound had been at least seven feet high, and was probably 12 or so feet in diameter. Think of a mini mountain and that what this mound was. Both of us looked at the mound and I decided, “I got an idea“. Some idea this turned out to be. My idea was to try sliding down the more gradual side. So I climbed the up and got on top of the mound. I was thinking how cool it would be if I actually successfully had been able to slide down the side. Well, actually I fell on my butt at the start and experienced something like no other! The rush! It was incredible. The sheer, speed at which the sliding had happened… it was instantaneous.
I imagine it was a lot like traveling through space, you know, how cartoons portray travel in outer space as warp or something like that. Alex was just kind of watching these whole four or five seconds. In that time he declared to himself that I was lame and that he had to show as he put it, “Let me show you how it’s done.” And then he decided to try it and he too fell on his butt. When he reached the bottom, where I had been sitting, he said, “wow.” And then we looked at each other for a few seconds and then we broke out like hyenas in laughter. “That was awesome man!” I said. “It was, man that was good!” And then we were on our way.
Snapshot Two- The Castle
The Castle
It was a day that I will never forget. It was the day I gained a new best friend, one like I’ve never had before. Someone that would be there for me through anything. Someone to talk to when I need some cheering up. Or just someone to call mine. It was the day I started a relationship that I knew would last a very, very long time.
It was April 27th 2008, my 16th birthday. I was in Florida for The Cheerleading Worlds competition, along with my family and friends. Will Gunn is a teammate of mine who I had grown to really like during that cheer season. We became really good friends. He sent me a text message that nice that told me that he was going to pick me up at my hotel room at 8 o’clock that night and we were going to go to one of the Disney parks for my birthday. Nervously, I got ready. I put on a pink shirt with a classic jean skirt. I hear a knock on the door. It was Will. He looked great, he had plaid shorts on with a top that matched one of the colors in the plaid short design. He was carrying a birthday present, and he handed it to me. We walked in the room and I opened the card. The card read, “For your birthday, I’d like to give you the world. But my heart will have to do.” I smiled after I read the card, and began to open the present. It was a picture of Will and I on the competition floor that very same day that he had bought from the competition photographer. Will had put it in a Disney themed frame that said, “A magical memory of a magical day.” I was probably the best birthday gift that anyone could ask for, so I gave Will a hug and said, “Thank you so much!” He smiled and said, “your welcome.” With that, we went to the Disney park.
The park that Will had chosen to take me to was Disney’s Magic Kingdom. It also happened to be my favorite park of all. We walked through the gates and saw the park all lit up with lights. It was such a beautiful sight. We walk over to the glowing castle that just absolutely took our breath away. The castle is a symbol of joy and happiness. We stood my the castle and held hands and all of a sudden, a blue firework flew into the air. The Disney music started to play and the firework show matched perfectly to the songs. The song spoke about wishes, and that all your wishes can come true with a little hope. It was truly the best fireworks show that I had ever seen in my entire life. The finale was approaching and Will squeezed my hand a little harder. Once the speed of the fireworks increased into the finale, Will turned to me and with a shaky, nervous voice, he said, “Will you please be my girlfriend?” I had a huge smile across my face and it was then that I said, “Yes!” We shared a kiss, and then watched the last little part of the fireworks. It was truly the best night of my life. I am so grateful to still be dating the most wonderful guy in the world. We have been dating for about two and a half years now, and I do not see the relationship ending here. We are the perfect match for each other, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.
It was a day that I will never forget. It was the day I gained a new best friend, one like I’ve never had before. Someone that would be there for me through anything. Someone to talk to when I need some cheering up. Or just someone to call mine. It was the day I started a relationship that I knew would last a very, very long time.
It was April 27th 2008, my 16th birthday. I was in Florida for The Cheerleading Worlds competition, along with my family and friends. Will Gunn is a teammate of mine who I had grown to really like during that cheer season. We became really good friends. He sent me a text message that nice that told me that he was going to pick me up at my hotel room at 8 o’clock that night and we were going to go to one of the Disney parks for my birthday. Nervously, I got ready. I put on a pink shirt with a classic jean skirt. I hear a knock on the door. It was Will. He looked great, he had plaid shorts on with a top that matched one of the colors in the plaid short design. He was carrying a birthday present, and he handed it to me. We walked in the room and I opened the card. The card read, “For your birthday, I’d like to give you the world. But my heart will have to do.” I smiled after I read the card, and began to open the present. It was a picture of Will and I on the competition floor that very same day that he had bought from the competition photographer. Will had put it in a Disney themed frame that said, “A magical memory of a magical day.” I was probably the best birthday gift that anyone could ask for, so I gave Will a hug and said, “Thank you so much!” He smiled and said, “your welcome.” With that, we went to the Disney park.
The park that Will had chosen to take me to was Disney’s Magic Kingdom. It also happened to be my favorite park of all. We walked through the gates and saw the park all lit up with lights. It was such a beautiful sight. We walk over to the glowing castle that just absolutely took our breath away. The castle is a symbol of joy and happiness. We stood my the castle and held hands and all of a sudden, a blue firework flew into the air. The Disney music started to play and the firework show matched perfectly to the songs. The song spoke about wishes, and that all your wishes can come true with a little hope. It was truly the best fireworks show that I had ever seen in my entire life. The finale was approaching and Will squeezed my hand a little harder. Once the speed of the fireworks increased into the finale, Will turned to me and with a shaky, nervous voice, he said, “Will you please be my girlfriend?” I had a huge smile across my face and it was then that I said, “Yes!” We shared a kiss, and then watched the last little part of the fireworks. It was truly the best night of my life. I am so grateful to still be dating the most wonderful guy in the world. We have been dating for about two and a half years now, and I do not see the relationship ending here. We are the perfect match for each other, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Snap Shot 2
The Last Stand
It’s late October and just above freezing, but you couldn’t tell looking at the players. The lights glare down on the mud covered field. My team, huddled together, taking deep breathes, steam coming from our bodies. The crowd is so loud that it seems like a dream; something that you see in the movies. It is late in the fourth quarter and we are punting. The ball is snapped like a rocket back to Steven. I take off, speeding down the field with only one target in sight, number 34. He catches the ball and the chase begins; the cheetah after the gazelle.
Once I reach my target, we both dig in deep but I get the better of him and drag him down onto the turf. When getting up I feel a pain; my calf tightens up and I fall like a tree in the forest. After struggling to get to my feet, I look over to the sidelines.
Coach is yelling, “Go in for Ian and play the end!”
I hold my ground and wave him back off the field saying, “There is no way I’m coming out! I’ll be fine!” Shock consumes Coach’s face but there is an understanding. He calls the next play.
The other team marches to the line of scrimmage and gets ready for the first of two clashes. The first play is a complete pass and goes for about twenty yards. I look up at the clock, hoping to see zeros. Unfortunately, there are fifteen seconds left.
We huddle back together as Nick, our captain, yells, “We will not let them win! It’s time to be great! Great players make great plays! Win on two!”
We all join in, “One, two WIN!”
Coach calls the play, “Bear twist C blitz! This is your last stand!” The last battle begins and I sprint past the tackle before my opponent can get his hands on me. I crash my head into the back of the quarterback and before anyone can blink, he is on the ground. Victory!
The rest of my team runs out to join us on the field; stepping, unconsciously, to the beat of our fans’ cheers. Not only have we won the game but our conference. Along with, the first playoff berth our school has had in over a decade.
It’s late October and just above freezing, but you couldn’t tell looking at the players. The lights glare down on the mud covered field. My team, huddled together, taking deep breathes, steam coming from our bodies. The crowd is so loud that it seems like a dream; something that you see in the movies. It is late in the fourth quarter and we are punting. The ball is snapped like a rocket back to Steven. I take off, speeding down the field with only one target in sight, number 34. He catches the ball and the chase begins; the cheetah after the gazelle.
Once I reach my target, we both dig in deep but I get the better of him and drag him down onto the turf. When getting up I feel a pain; my calf tightens up and I fall like a tree in the forest. After struggling to get to my feet, I look over to the sidelines.
Coach is yelling, “Go in for Ian and play the end!”
I hold my ground and wave him back off the field saying, “There is no way I’m coming out! I’ll be fine!” Shock consumes Coach’s face but there is an understanding. He calls the next play.
The other team marches to the line of scrimmage and gets ready for the first of two clashes. The first play is a complete pass and goes for about twenty yards. I look up at the clock, hoping to see zeros. Unfortunately, there are fifteen seconds left.
We huddle back together as Nick, our captain, yells, “We will not let them win! It’s time to be great! Great players make great plays! Win on two!”
We all join in, “One, two WIN!”
Coach calls the play, “Bear twist C blitz! This is your last stand!” The last battle begins and I sprint past the tackle before my opponent can get his hands on me. I crash my head into the back of the quarterback and before anyone can blink, he is on the ground. Victory!
The rest of my team runs out to join us on the field; stepping, unconsciously, to the beat of our fans’ cheers. Not only have we won the game but our conference. Along with, the first playoff berth our school has had in over a decade.
snapshot 2
His name was Alex Durr. He was freakishly tall, for a nine year old. He was my best friend for the last to year. We would do everything with each other. We would hang out every Saturday, switching for hang out at my house then his house then back to mine. But today was different, there wasn’t joy, there were not smiles, there wasn’t, just two long face about to cry. The last day before the biggest day of his and mine life. The day my best friend moves away, to Kansas City.
“Dude was will write each other all the time” said Alex.
“I know we will, we have too!” I replied
This was our last day together so we had to make it worth wide. Therefore, we did every possible thing we could do. We start playing outside. He had a huge white barn, it wasn’t really a barn but a huge empty storage buildings. It was all rusty and old like those beat up looking cars. So how we would always find something new in it. And this day we found his white cat that he lost the day before even though it didn’t matter too much because he was moving. Oh, I forgot almost everything that his family owe or had seemed to be white. Anyways, we would always climb through the hole under the door because the door would not open. We also made a game out of it, but I’m not sure what game we made out of it this time.
We did that with everything that day, like we always did, made a game out of everything thing we did. I had to leave now. The last minute I saw him. We both started to cry. We made a great duo like the dukes of hazards and the General Lee.
“Don’t forget to letter me when you get there” I said.
“I wouldn’t” alex replied, “but what is your address.”
So my mom wrote it down from him. After that we said our goodbyes and that was it he was gone after that. The Alex duo would be no more.
“Dude was will write each other all the time” said Alex.
“I know we will, we have too!” I replied
This was our last day together so we had to make it worth wide. Therefore, we did every possible thing we could do. We start playing outside. He had a huge white barn, it wasn’t really a barn but a huge empty storage buildings. It was all rusty and old like those beat up looking cars. So how we would always find something new in it. And this day we found his white cat that he lost the day before even though it didn’t matter too much because he was moving. Oh, I forgot almost everything that his family owe or had seemed to be white. Anyways, we would always climb through the hole under the door because the door would not open. We also made a game out of it, but I’m not sure what game we made out of it this time.
We did that with everything that day, like we always did, made a game out of everything thing we did. I had to leave now. The last minute I saw him. We both started to cry. We made a great duo like the dukes of hazards and the General Lee.
“Don’t forget to letter me when you get there” I said.
“I wouldn’t” alex replied, “but what is your address.”
So my mom wrote it down from him. After that we said our goodbyes and that was it he was gone after that. The Alex duo would be no more.
Snapshot 2
Chelsea Mayweather
English 109.01
7 October 2010
The smell of the chlorine filled the air like waking up to the smell of bacon frying on a Saturday morning. “Chelsea, you better not be running in those shoes” is all I could hear coming from my mother. I was down at the pool on a hot summer day. Down in the south it was normal to go to the pool early in the morning that way you could get your swimming out the way and not worry about getting a heat stroke.
“Do you wanna come to my house once we leave the pool?” asked Paige “Yeah sure, let me go ask my mom and make sure its ok I am sure she won’t mind. “I said I walked over and asked my mom if I could go to Paiges house and she said “Yeah sure just call me when you are ready to come home” I quickly rushed and put on the black shiny shoes I had worn down to the pool. Paige started to run really fast and told me to catch up with her. So I took off and start running really fast the trees were passing by like cars on the highway going over the speed limit. I just keep running then “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” I woke up to lying on a soaking wet towel. I looked up and I saw everyone standing around me staring at me like a little girl that just saw a ghost.
I quickly tried to get up “AHHHHHHH” I screamed again and sobbing in pain. My mom quickly comes over and says “everything is going to be ok I promise” I had no idea what was going on I just know that people are standing all around me looking down. “ Mom is that the sirens” I repeatedly say. These people come rushing over to me quickly and ask a whole bunch of questions to my mom. I closed my eyes.
English 109.01
7 October 2010
The Fall
“Do you wanna come to my house once we leave the pool?” asked Paige “Yeah sure, let me go ask my mom and make sure its ok I am sure she won’t mind. “I said I walked over and asked my mom if I could go to Paiges house and she said “Yeah sure just call me when you are ready to come home” I quickly rushed and put on the black shiny shoes I had worn down to the pool. Paige started to run really fast and told me to catch up with her. So I took off and start running really fast the trees were passing by like cars on the highway going over the speed limit. I just keep running then “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” I woke up to lying on a soaking wet towel. I looked up and I saw everyone standing around me staring at me like a little girl that just saw a ghost.
I quickly tried to get up “AHHHHHHH” I screamed again and sobbing in pain. My mom quickly comes over and says “everything is going to be ok I promise” I had no idea what was going on I just know that people are standing all around me looking down. “ Mom is that the sirens” I repeatedly say. These people come rushing over to me quickly and ask a whole bunch of questions to my mom. I closed my eyes.
I woke up lying in a hospital bed, with this gel like tubes coming from my arm. “Finally, you woke up,” said this little old lady with food on a tray. I look to my left and my family is sitting there along with Paige thanking God I am ok. I quickly learned that I had fallen running in my shoes my mom told me to. My foot got caught in a gutter and I fell and scraped up my whole body and hit my head on a brick wall. My mom comes over and says, “ I love you and glad you are ok, but I told you do not run in those shoes!”
Snapshot 2
Amanda Floyd
English 109.01
Snapshot Two
10/6/10
Best Friends or Siblings?
As a child, I used to spend my days and some of my nights at my neighbor's house with my best friend, Zack. We grew up together and spent afternoons, snow days, vacations, and even weekends together. When Zack and his family would go camping, out to dinner, or to a museum, I would tag along and we would have a blast. Although we were best friends, sometimes we acted more like brother and sister when we got into little fights about all sorts of childish things.
On one Saturday in early October, I went up to Zack’s house in the early morning hours to spend the day with him. We were all going to go to the pumpkin patch early in the morning to pick out pumpkins and go on a hay ride and then go back to Zack’s house for the night. Once at the pumpkin patch, Zack and I went off on our own to pick out our pumpkins.
As we were both looking for the “perfect” pumpkin, Zack started to question me about the kind of pumpkin I was looking for. Zack asked if I was going to get a big or a medium pumpkin. I said I was thinking of getting a medium pumpkin. Then he replied that he was going to get a big pumpkin. I asked him why he would want to get a big pumpkin and he said that he wanted to prove that he was stronger than me. So, I said to him of course you’re stronger, you’re a boy.
Nonetheless, that was the way Zack was; he always loved to prove he was better than me. He was like a ferocious tiger, never allowing me to be right for one moment. Although, I think that was why we were best friends, because at the time it didn’t bother me to let him be right.
English 109.01
Snapshot Two
10/6/10
Best Friends or Siblings?
As a child, I used to spend my days and some of my nights at my neighbor's house with my best friend, Zack. We grew up together and spent afternoons, snow days, vacations, and even weekends together. When Zack and his family would go camping, out to dinner, or to a museum, I would tag along and we would have a blast. Although we were best friends, sometimes we acted more like brother and sister when we got into little fights about all sorts of childish things.
On one Saturday in early October, I went up to Zack’s house in the early morning hours to spend the day with him. We were all going to go to the pumpkin patch early in the morning to pick out pumpkins and go on a hay ride and then go back to Zack’s house for the night. Once at the pumpkin patch, Zack and I went off on our own to pick out our pumpkins.
As we were both looking for the “perfect” pumpkin, Zack started to question me about the kind of pumpkin I was looking for. Zack asked if I was going to get a big or a medium pumpkin. I said I was thinking of getting a medium pumpkin. Then he replied that he was going to get a big pumpkin. I asked him why he would want to get a big pumpkin and he said that he wanted to prove that he was stronger than me. So, I said to him of course you’re stronger, you’re a boy.
Nonetheless, that was the way Zack was; he always loved to prove he was better than me. He was like a ferocious tiger, never allowing me to be right for one moment. Although, I think that was why we were best friends, because at the time it didn’t bother me to let him be right.
Danny Maks
10/06/2010
English 109.01
The Adventures of a 7th grader
It was a Saturday night as I recall. Nothing exciting at first my friend Brad was turning the big old 14. Brad was a year older than all of us. By us, I mean my friends and I. We were all 13 years old and Brad had been the first one to be 14. In honor of this celebration, Brad invited us over to his house for a sleepover. We first started this off with watching as many horror movies as we could. I remember we first started off with “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” Brad said it was based on a true story and that it’s going to scare the crap out of us. I didn’t want to be scared, especially from a true story. Brad always liked to be though, or at least he said he did.
About 2 hours and several bloody scenes later, my friend Jon flipped on the lights and looking at Brad making fun of him for being scared. He said that brad deserved to be the most frightened out of all of us, I thought was very funny and true.
10/06/2010
English 109.01
The Adventures of a 7th grader
It was a Saturday night as I recall. Nothing exciting at first my friend Brad was turning the big old 14. Brad was a year older than all of us. By us, I mean my friends and I. We were all 13 years old and Brad had been the first one to be 14. In honor of this celebration, Brad invited us over to his house for a sleepover. We first started this off with watching as many horror movies as we could. I remember we first started off with “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” Brad said it was based on a true story and that it’s going to scare the crap out of us. I didn’t want to be scared, especially from a true story. Brad always liked to be though, or at least he said he did.
About 2 hours and several bloody scenes later, my friend Jon flipped on the lights and looking at Brad making fun of him for being scared. He said that brad deserved to be the most frightened out of all of us, I thought was very funny and true.
It then turned from 12 am to 3 am and we were getting tired, the choices were either watch Saw Two or go tee peeing. I have never been tee peeing before, so I picked Saw Two. But all the other guys wanted to go tee peeing. I remember that were was about 6 or 7 of us all gathered in the upstairs hallway, Jon telling us to not snitch even if we get caught. We decided to tee pee a house that were about 2 blocks away from Brads house. The step was to sneak out downstairs, as we were going downstairs the steps were screeching and his two dogs started barking. He then tip toed outside his front door and gently shut it. Outside we caught our breath we suddenly ducked. A cop had just passes Brad’s house and was heading down the street, My friends Jared said that he had a feeling there was going to be a bunch of cops tonight. We headed down the street only to see another cop car. We ran towards a yard and ducked down to blend in with the darkness. We saw a spot light overhead, we thought it was the cop, but it was the people who owned this house who’s yard we were laying down in. We get up run through 5 or 6 back yards and arrive at our target. We stare at these trees and Brad and others start tee peeing, but Jared, our friend Aaron, and I turned around and left, it was too risky. We were walking back when we saw another cop car and we had nowhere to hid, except a place where there was a new house being built. We hid there and run back across the same 5 or 6 backyards to Brad’s only to discover silhouette figures climbing into his window, We waited on Brads porch for about 20 minutes when Brad opened the door and said that they all chickened out too.
My Name
Robin Yamini
English 109.01
Snapshot 1, 09/30/2010
My Name
My name, my name is great. I think it is. I got my name 18 years ago on December 31, 1991. Robin is what they named me. I feel great about it. I do not dislike it at all. In fact, I think it fits me. My name is like the bird in the sky. But in fact, my name is really a name of a bird in the sky. As I went through life, this is what I was known as. Especially in fifth grade, I got the nickname as Robin the Big Bird. That is because I was one of the tallest one in my class. I felt great about this nickname. I am the human bird, as I thought to myself but too bad I cannot fly. One time I even made my class laugh because my name is Robin. We had to introduce ourselves by saying our name and say something you like starting with your first letter of your name. I said, “I am Robin and I like Robins.” Oh, what a joy to have a name like this.
Recently, my siblings make jokes about my name. Occasionally, they tell me to go eat bird seeds or something else that a bird would do. This doesn’t bother me. I am proud of my name. Robin is who I am. Having a name of a bird makes me like birds, makes me want to be like them.
Nanananana Batman. Robin, Batman’s partner, is also associated with my name. People make comments, I go with it. It is like living the American dream. Living with a name of Robin thinking I am Batman’s psychic. That is what is great about my name. My friend and I. We tell each other that we are going to recreate Batman with me being Robin of course.
Yes. Something like Bird Man or Batman’s psychic will do.
English 109.01
Snapshot 1, 09/30/2010
My Name
My name, my name is great. I think it is. I got my name 18 years ago on December 31, 1991. Robin is what they named me. I feel great about it. I do not dislike it at all. In fact, I think it fits me. My name is like the bird in the sky. But in fact, my name is really a name of a bird in the sky. As I went through life, this is what I was known as. Especially in fifth grade, I got the nickname as Robin the Big Bird. That is because I was one of the tallest one in my class. I felt great about this nickname. I am the human bird, as I thought to myself but too bad I cannot fly. One time I even made my class laugh because my name is Robin. We had to introduce ourselves by saying our name and say something you like starting with your first letter of your name. I said, “I am Robin and I like Robins.” Oh, what a joy to have a name like this.
Recently, my siblings make jokes about my name. Occasionally, they tell me to go eat bird seeds or something else that a bird would do. This doesn’t bother me. I am proud of my name. Robin is who I am. Having a name of a bird makes me like birds, makes me want to be like them.
Nanananana Batman. Robin, Batman’s partner, is also associated with my name. People make comments, I go with it. It is like living the American dream. Living with a name of Robin thinking I am Batman’s psychic. That is what is great about my name. My friend and I. We tell each other that we are going to recreate Batman with me being Robin of course.
Yes. Something like Bird Man or Batman’s psychic will do.
Snapshot 1
Sagal. Meaning morning star. Reason, praise. My name is from Somalia, where I was born, but not raised. My name is something special to my culture, to my ancestors, and most importantly to my family. My name is something precious like an heirloom that I should live up to. My name is what my parents were struggling to come up with when I was born. You see, my dad wanted to call me Muna, meaning wish or desire, but my mom wanted Sagal. Well, at the end of the day I was nameless and kept being called “her,” “she,” or my favorite “it.” But my mother obviously got what she wanted. Although, both names are beautiful in their own way, I prefer Muna, well, because I just like it better than Sagal. My family and friends call me Muna rather than Sagal. They actually think it’s weird when people call me Sagal. I still find it weird that my mother wanted it to call me Sagal because Muna came from her mother, Maymuna. I never met my grandmother, and I know she meant a lot to my mother. Although, I found it odd that my mother decided to call me Sagal. It didn’t originate from anything or anyone, sort of like a new flower blossoming. After I was named Sagal, two of my cousins were named after me, seems like my mother started a trend. Yes. Something like trendsetter will do.
Snapshot 2
Tyler Gene Hughes
Eng 109.01
Snapshot 2/October 5, 2010
Unforgettable
“Tyler!”
“Yyyyes, MOM!” I moan through the pain.
“Do we need to go to the ER?”
“YES!”
“Okay. John we are going for the third and final time.”
As I stumble out of bed through the pain of the 1,000 knifes in my rib cage. Mom grabs the weak shell of her son as I almost face plant down the 14 navy blue carpeted stairs. Once my feet reach the cool, ash color wood floor I try to stand on my own and fall into the sky blue wall and fall to my knee. As I make the five more difficult steps to grayish, blue ambulance in our two car garage.
“Tyler. Its okay we will be there in 20 minutes.”
“MUST GO FASTER!” Hails from the backseat.
“I am trying, just hold on.”
As the screech of the tires echo through the now vacant parking lot of Children’s Hospital. I inch my way out in the cool, eerie darkness of the midnight air. With the eyes on the prize, I take the 30 strides and the six floors to the sweet pain relief. Once inside the mouth of the white, immoveable monster either the pain or demoralization hits me first as I see the packed waiting room. Now the waiting game starts and the constant fights with the doctors.
“Mommy,” I whisper, “make them hurry.”
“Honey I can’t control people.”
“Please mommy.”
”Okay sweetie,” As mother gets up with a subtle, unchanging determination to go talk with the nurse.
Then almost like magic I am taken back to talk to the ER doctor and was admitted to the hospital. Two weeks, two room changes, two MRIs, 86 X-rays, three ultra sounds, one nuclear test and one exploratory surgery later I was released and went home to enjoy the rest of my 5th grade year.
Eng 109.01
Snapshot 2/October 5, 2010
Unforgettable
“Tyler!”
“Yyyyes, MOM!” I moan through the pain.
“Do we need to go to the ER?”
“YES!”
“Okay. John we are going for the third and final time.”
As I stumble out of bed through the pain of the 1,000 knifes in my rib cage. Mom grabs the weak shell of her son as I almost face plant down the 14 navy blue carpeted stairs. Once my feet reach the cool, ash color wood floor I try to stand on my own and fall into the sky blue wall and fall to my knee. As I make the five more difficult steps to grayish, blue ambulance in our two car garage.
“Tyler. Its okay we will be there in 20 minutes.”
“MUST GO FASTER!” Hails from the backseat.
“I am trying, just hold on.”
As the screech of the tires echo through the now vacant parking lot of Children’s Hospital. I inch my way out in the cool, eerie darkness of the midnight air. With the eyes on the prize, I take the 30 strides and the six floors to the sweet pain relief. Once inside the mouth of the white, immoveable monster either the pain or demoralization hits me first as I see the packed waiting room. Now the waiting game starts and the constant fights with the doctors.
“Mommy,” I whisper, “make them hurry.”
“Honey I can’t control people.”
“Please mommy.”
”Okay sweetie,” As mother gets up with a subtle, unchanging determination to go talk with the nurse.
Then almost like magic I am taken back to talk to the ER doctor and was admitted to the hospital. Two weeks, two room changes, two MRIs, 86 X-rays, three ultra sounds, one nuclear test and one exploratory surgery later I was released and went home to enjoy the rest of my 5th grade year.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
YO its maggie!
My name is Maggie, and I am a mathematics major. I am 18 years old and I was born in Columbus, Ohio. I went to Olentangy Orange High School. I current work at DSW.
GO BUCKEYES! #1!!!!
GO BUCKEYES! #1!!!!
hey
hey my name is Chelsea, I am 18 years old. My birthday is May 26, 1992. I graduted from the best school ever Olentangy Oragne High School.
Robin here
Hola amigos, this is Robin Yamini. Oh and come and visit me at the Andersons. I work there as a cashier. :-) I'm 18 years old and a human.
Hey there gang
Hey guys. This is Danny. Danny Maks. I am in your class currently writing on this blog. My hobbes are many sucha as palying the bass guitar.
Please practice posting today!
Later, we will post one of our first two Snapshots to the blog so we can share and read them.
But first, let's introduce ourselves and learn how to use the blog. To create a new post, you must look at the upper right hand corner and click New Post.
To comment, you must read the entry, and then click the comment tab.
Let's get started by introducing ourselves in a new post, and saying hi to another person in the class with the Comment feature.
Welcome to the blog!
Mike
But first, let's introduce ourselves and learn how to use the blog. To create a new post, you must look at the upper right hand corner and click New Post.
To comment, you must read the entry, and then click the comment tab.
Let's get started by introducing ourselves in a new post, and saying hi to another person in the class with the Comment feature.
Welcome to the blog!
Mike
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