Self - Reliance (CRR)

Self -Reliance is one of those difficult texts that takes time to understand. You have to read and reread certain parts to fully comprehend what the writer is saying. Ms.Hegeman made a point and said that that's how good pieces of writing usually are. Even though I know we read together as a class to help each other understand the text, I find it more helpful when I read alone. I feel like when we read as a class there are certain parts of the reading I catch on to faster than the rest of the class and other parts that take me longer to understand. But when I read on my own in complete silence I can move at my own pace.

Once I understand what the writer is saying I usually understand the points he is making. Man does have a lot they can learn from nature. And humans do have to learn how to have more reliance on themselves and their ideas. Many of us sell ourselves short. We don't give our ideas enough credit or the benefit of the doubt that they might work out. Humanity has to learn to believe in themselves when nobody else does.

Senior Year Chronicles: Prom

Prom is an even every teenage girl has been looking forward to since their freshman year in high school, except me. I didn't really start getting excited for prom until I had found my dress. It's crazy because all of my friends really believed I would show up to prom in sweat pants. Now I can not wait for June 12th, I have a countdown in my phone that includes the seconds left until prom.

Prom was also something that brought my mother and I closer together. In our culture they don't really have proms, so it was something new for her. It was fun making her part of my prom experience and for us to find our way through something new together. Even though she wasn't there when we found my prom dress, I still liked having her there when we shopped for my heels and decided on how my makeup would look for the night.

Now all there's left to do is wait for the actual night. This sounds very corny but I hope it's everything I imagine it being because at the end of the day that's the real last "hurrah" with the Class of 2014.

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Free post

ACT V, SCENE II ... The Shocker (FC)

You are probably tired of my blogs being about The Taming of the Shrew. I'm not into repetition so at least every time I write about the book, I write something new about it. I finally got to the end and my socks were blown right off. Let me start by saying that throughout the entire book I didn't think Katharina would be tamed, I believed Petruchio was going to fail miserably. I think I was rooting so hard for Kate because I saw some of myself in her.

We shared many similar beliefs. We believed in being outspoken, independent, and strong women. I admired the fact that no matter how many jokes were cracked on her, no matter how often she was made to feel like the black sheep of the family and no matter how many times she was ridiculed by the people around her, she stood by her beliefs. I admired her perseverance, consistency and loyalty to the things she believed in. That is why I was so shocked by her last words at the end of the book. The Kate that spoke those words wasn't the Katharina Shakespeare had led us to know throughout the book. She no longer seemed independent but dependent on her husband. She no longer seemed outspoken but preached to other wives to learn to bite their tongues so as not to burden their husbands with their words. It was such a drastic change from the Kate that I had seen so much of myself in.

Part of me understood that it was love or a yearning for peace within her household and marriage that had brought these changes. But the majority of me is not able to see how a person's attitude can change from day to night. It's not as if it was just one of her beliefs, she did a 180 on everything she stood for and started believing in the complete opposite. Who new that a couple days of starvation and abuse could create a whole new person.

Senioritis (FC)

Senior year has to be the most stressful year of high school. We are all excited about graduating, prom, going to college and it being our last year in high school that we forget there is still work to get done. And that is the moment in which Senioritis kicks in. Getting to school on time in the morning becomes more difficult. Giving work in late or skipping a few assigments becomes easier. The worst part is that you're not aware of how deep into your Senioritis you are until you see your next report card.

Even though it's hard to fight the temptation of Senioritis you shouldn't give into it, because you do NOT want to end up like me. It is April 25th and I'm sitting in my English class after school making up a blog from March 26th! Procrastination at it's finest. But I learned my lesson today. It's better to get things done the right way when they are first due than to wait last  minute. The problem wasn't even my time management, it was that I was being a lazy ass, but that is still no excuse.


Sincerely Yours,
Confessions of a Senioritis Rehab Patient

Your Reputation (FC)

Different people have different views. There will be times when you view your actions one way and other see them as something totally different. Or moments when you see people's actions as one thing and they describe their actions as meaning the total opposite. This misunderstanding can really tarnish an individual's reputation. This is why when I don't understand a person's actions or have a problem with them I pull that individual aside and tell them how I feel about their actions. I don't bring them up in discussions with other people and leave a bad taste of that individual in other people's mouths. By opening my mouth to other people about that person I would be tarnishing their reputation and giving others a negative impression of that individual. Sometimes it is unnecessary to have an intervention with someone, and much simpler, respectful and effective to try having a one on one with them first.

10 Things I Hate About You (CRR)

Let me start off with saying I did not think "The Taming of the Shrew" would be a good read. But lately I have not been able to put it down and I can really relate to the main character, Katharina. After you get past the Shakespearan dialogue and focus on the big picture it is a great story.

"10 Things I Hate About You" is a movie that was adapted from the play. Two teenage sisters, Kat and Bianca, live with their father. Bianca wants to go to prom but the deal is that her sister must also go for her to be able to attend. Therefore, Patrick is hired to take Kat to prom so that Bianca is also able to go. In the end Kat and Patrick find out they have genuine feelings for one another and start a relationship.

What I liked the most about the movie was that it was able to maintain the core essence of the book. It was so simple to see the shrew in Kat and Bianca's need to be socially acceptable. They were also able to capture the struggle to be the alpha in the relationship between Kat and Patrick that we read about in the book between Kat and Pet.

My favorite part of the movie was at the end when Kat read her poem out loud in front of class. I could feel her frustration from being in love with someone who had betrayed her trust. I could feel her pain from being in love with someone that had played with her emotions. Watching that scene also made me curious to find out how Kat and Petruchio would fall in love? Like at what moment would he tame her into showing the love she truly had for him. In the end I enjoyed the movie and it portrayed the play very well.

Convict Leasing (ID)

Currently in my U.S Economics class we are learning about Convict Leasing. Convict Leasing was a system of penal labor practiced in the southern states of the USA. Black prisoners were leased to employers for low pay or sometimes to work as a way to pay off a debt without receiving any pay. The practice of this system first started when slaves were first emancipated at the end of the Civil War in 1865 and did not end until 1928.

The way in which the government imprisoned so many blacks during that era was through the Pig Laws. Pig Laws were a system of minor petty laws that could land any black in jail. An example were the Vagrant Laws. If a black was found homeless or just roaming the streets with no destination he could be charged and sentenced to prison. Once in prison they could be leased to perform all types of labors at corporations and plantations.

The entire point of the Convict Leasing System was to regain power of the black labor force. After slaves were emancipated the southern economy crumbled. It was the black labor force that had been bringing in the real money to the southern states. Southern whites realized that they needed blacks for their economy to prosper and their response to that was the Convict Leasing System.

Freebie

I'm using my freebie for this marking period

James Patterson (PB)

James Patterson is my FAVORITE author. He was born on March 22, 1947 in the United States. He is well known for his mystery books. He published his first novel in 1976 called "The Thomas Berryman Number." The novels featuring his character Alex Cross, a forensic psychologist, are his most popular and the top selling U.S. detective series in the past ten years. He holds The New York Times record for most bestselling hardcover fiction titles by a single author, a total of 76, which is a Guinness World Record.

His work is amazing. I have read at least a dozen of his books. He is able to keep the suspense going throughout the entire book. He drops hints as to who the murderer is but the ending always catches you by surprise. I'm one of those readers that does not believe in reading a book twice but his books have tempted me to do so multiple times. He has the type of writing in which you find something new every time you reread it.

One of my favorite books he has published is "Confessions of A Murder Suspect". A teenage female is accused of the murder of both her parents. The content of the book was amazing. The story line kept you intrigued and hooked through the entire reading and the plot was an unexpected twist. However, what I found most appealing about it was how he was able to portray the main character. It was obvious he was able to put himself in her predicament when writing. While reading you could feel the confusion and aggravation she felt for being wrongly convicted, her emotions were nakedly laid out on the pages before you. It takes a great writer to be able to make fiction feel so realistic.

Career Warfare (SSR)

Currently at my internship with Capital One Bank we are undergoing this program called "Building the Brand". As part of the program we are reading "Career Warfare: 10 Rules for Building a Successful Personal Brand and Fighting to Keep It", written by David D'Alessandro . At first I thought it would be a boring book. When it comes to the rules of business, most reads are not that exciting. However, D'Alessandro found interesting ways to get his topics across. He made valid points and always had an example or humorous story to go along with it. 

One example was when he was explaining the qualities of a good boss. He stated that just because the boss held a position of power did not mean he did not owe his workers the same respect they gave to him. The example he chose to speak about was the Boston Celtics. The team had a coach that spoke to them like they were kids and constantly bossed them around the court with no respect, under this coach the team played horribly and did not make it to playoffs for years. Then one year they got a new coach. A coach that listened to their opinions, did not talk down to them and gave them the same respect they gave. That year the Boston Celtics made it to playoffs. What I took out of that scenario was that human beings have to want to be their best for them to actually achieve it. Both coaches had the same players but only one was able to turn them into a winning team.

I'm DONE (FC)

So I am FINALLY done with my college application process and I have never felt this relieved in my LIFE! I finished on Christmas, its completion was my Christmas present to myself. I sent out my applications to private, SUNY & CUNY schools. I also sent out my SAT Scores which really put a hole in my mother's credit card. My counselors and teachers sent out my transcripts and letters of recommendation. I also finished applying for Financial Aid through FAFSA and the CSS Profile. Everything is complete, now all I have to do is wait.

Applying was difficult and time consuming but waiting has to be the hardest part so far. Anyone that knows me is aware of the fact that I lack patience. I've received two acceptance letters so far to Quinnipiac & Iona. When I received my first acceptance letter I was so excited. Not because it was one of my top choices or anything but because that's when it became clear that I was DEFINITELY going to college. I was guaranteed that I was going somewhere. However, I'm still anxious for my top choices to come in. I know I will get rejected by a couple of them, that is inevitable. But I also know I'm going to get accepted to some, and that's is what I am waiting for.

The Heart of Darkness (CRR)

We're currently working on our final project for the "Heart of Darkness". I could not wait for this book to be over. As hard as I tried and as much effort as I put into deciphering the themes and the characters within the literature, I could not understand that book. I did not find it interesting at all, therefore I did not put that much effort into understanding it. The only time I was able to interpret the book was during class discussions. I was able to feed off of my other class mates' opinions on the meaning of the literature. Listening to their ideas gave me something to chew on to come up with my own interpretations of quotes.

I actually enjoyed these class discussions because I heard quotes being interpreted in ways that I would have never thought about. These were the moments in which I was best able to interpret the book. For example when we interpreted the quote that described Kurtz's mistress. We were able to conclude that she was wealthy, a leader and had strength. We were also able to come to the conclusion that she was beyond gorgeous. That her beauty must have been captivating and way beyond the rest of the females in the village. Interpreting gets easier when it's done in groups.