Don't You Worry About a Thing

Should we worry that today's society is over run by celebrities? Many people are influenced by their favorite singer, athlete, or actor/actress. There are some celebrities to look up to and are good influences. Hilary Duff, would be a great example for my peers and age group. She is a celebrity who was a child actress and grew up well, is now raising her child, and has a family. Other celebrities are not to look up to, like rap artist who have songs about doing drugs, or even actresses who have gone off the wall. Today's children are looking up to those not so good celebrities and doing things that are frowned upon. As in doing drugs, or going out to party, even dressing inappropriate. We should be worried about today's society, but hopefully my generation or even the next one is smarter than to be influenced by our celebs today.

Magazine Thread

Don't Quote Me on That..

Pink Out--Black Out

Smile first
Give People Friendly imbalance
Grow beyond childhood

Memorable Passage

I had finished Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer at the end of freshman year, which is the last book of the Twilight Saga. This story is the end of Bella Swan's life, and a new beginning too. Much of this story is based on love and her life with Edward Cullen. A passage I noted was of her love for their baby and how she would do anything for it, well written thoughts of Bella Swan:

“You could run from someone you feared, you could try to fight someone you hated. All my reactions were geared toward those kinds of killers – the monsters, the enemies. When you loved the one who was killing you, it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved, how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?” 

 This passage could just give you chills every time you read it, Bella Swan was a brave girl. Whether she showed it or not.

(http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/2960529-breaking-dawn)

Famous First and Last Lines

First Line:

"The moment one learns English, complications set in." This famous first line is from the novel Chromos which was published in the year 1990 by the author Felipe Alfau who lived from 1902 to 1999. This author is also known for other works, including Locos: A Comedy of Gestures and Sentimental Songs: La Poesia Cursi.

This book is a fiction novel that is post World War II and about American immigration. It is about many people from Spanish decent coming to an unfriendly New York City, New York. They are trying to connect their two worlds together, but they aren't meshing together well. It's a narrator telling a story about someone and then that someone is telling a story about another person and so on.

I would personally like to read this book, because it'd be something different for me. Chromos would challenge me as a reader. It may be confusing at first, just because the way it is written with the narrators telling of a story that connects to each narrator. It seems interesting enough, I'd like to know if the characters ever do connect their worlds together or try and make them work in the end. I'd like to see myself read and finish this book, or at least get into this book at some point in the future.

Last Line:

"P.S.
Sorry I forgot to give you the mayonnaise." This famous last line is from the novel Trout Fishing in America, which was published in the year 1967 by the author Richard Brautigan who lived from 1935 to 1984. He is also know for other works, including Revenge of the Lawn and The Pill Vs. The Springhill Mine Disaster.

Trout Fishing in America has about forty different episodes and the novel has a unnamed narrator. Part of the story is about the experiences of the narrators boyhood. Another part of the story is about the experience the narrator has with trout fishing, but overlap with his boyhood experiences. Comfort is what the narrator is searching for in his adolescence and he is seeking it through nature.

I probably would not want to read this book, because trout fishing isn't something I am interested in. Also, it wouldn't connect with me because I am not a boy. It may be interesting, just because of the way it is written. I would have a hard time getting into this book, because it is written to where the book isn't in chronological order, it's written into an order where one event leads to the next event.

Famous Lines From Famous Books--Thread

The moment one learns English, complications set in.
As a baby all adults want you to do is speak. they would exclaim, "Say mommy!" Then they'd get disappointed that you wouldn't say it. I feel as if this is some sort of trickery. Once you start speaking, parents get all excited and brag about it, but when you're a few years older they want you to just be quiet and listen.
One rainy day, I was forced to stay inside, I decided to get a bunch of munchies and watch television. I ended up falling asleep eating cheese balls. My mom woke me up screaming, "You're such a pig, why don't you ever clean up after yourself?" I retorted back, "Because that's your job." I got grounded for awhile after I said that for talking back. That's just what my mother taught me how to do, talk back.
Once you've learned how to speak, you're already screwed. You'll lose many battles, but you do get wins. Whenever you're in a fight with someone, your words are a strong weapon to use against someone. Not that I am condoning it. Speaking and using your words is an extraordinary thing when you are apologizing or even giving forgiveness. my mom and I got in a huge fight, but all I needed to say to fix it was, "P.S. Sorry I forgot to give you the mayonnaise."

Writers as Readers

A silent environment is a necessity to read any book. It is difficult to concentrate or start on a new book whenever people are chatting continuously. I get fairly frustrated whenever I'm trying to read and a teacher or a friend continues talking. Other than that, I'm pretty comfortable reading anywhere at any given time.

I do not have a specific genre that I favor, but I read a lot of romance stories. I grew up with fairy tales and princesses and happily ever after in the future. I like how a writer can make chemistry happen between two characters in different and interesting ways. I'm drawn to romance because they're like fairy tales to me.

Twilight is a book that I've picked up and have been excited to turn the next page, and the next. It's a love story with an unexpected twist. The love between Bella and Edward is so strong that you can feel it in every single page. Some books that have been assigned for me to read I have had to trudge to get to the end of, but if I'm not interested enough in the book I just don't finish reading it. There's no point in reading a book if you have no interest in it, unless it's for school.

My favorite book series would have to be "The Clique." These books were not just books for me, they were something I worshipped, I couldn't stop reading them. The friendships in this book I was envious of. I based a lot of my middle school life off of these books, for better or for worse. My friends and I worshipped the girls in these books. They were beyond wealthy and popular middle school girls. Everyone wanted to be them, in the story and in real life.

Whenever I write, I usually write for myself, and I don't envision the reader. A lot of the times I am just writing papers for class, so I try and just write in a structure that relates to the style of paper I am writing. My teachers are definitely into my work, because they've assigned the papers I've written, but I've never thought about other people reading what I have written. A reader in mind does affect how you choose your words, themes, and ideas. The writer is wanting to reach out to them and give them what they want. Writing for yourself you don't try and impress anyone else, you don't think about it as much as you would if you are writing for a reader.

To become a strong writer, you must be a good reader. It's different if the reader only reads one kind of book and doesn't challenge themselves. For readers who challenge themselves and read all kinds of genres, that's an excellent writer. That is where excellent writers do come from. We do pick up vocabulary, sentence structures, and themes from the books we read, and we put them in our own writings.

I don't think I would ever write a book in the future, I may write for myself, but writing is not something I want to do. If I were to write a book someday, it'd be a romance novel, or maybe even a mystery. I would want to be described well on the "About the Author" at the front of the book. I would like to be described as a good writer that has many novels and about how I came from Springfield, Mo.

Maya Angelou--Writer's Dream

Talking about bad dreams or "feeding" into something may give those things power. You end up talking about it more and more, and then they're always at the top of your mind. If there is drama and a person talks about it all of the time, it gets even bigger. It becomes more of a situation and is always on your mind. Sometimes it is good to talk about, but only if you talk to the right person. It will help because you can get your feelings out and they aren't bottled up inside. Venting about a problem to the correct person or just someone you can trust is always helpful.

Dreams can reveal the truth about us. Some dreams can be surprising and not ordinary; those are the dreams that reveal the most. Whenever someone has a absurd dream it could mean there's something on their mind, and the things in the dream all represent something. Reoccurring dreams can also reveal truths about a person.

Angeleou didn't talk for almost five years that is something I could not do. I could stop talking all day if I wanted, that's not a difficult skill to acquire. People would start considering you rude if you didn't talk to them or ignored them. Being rude to people is something I learned to avoid. I think I talk just the right amount, but whenever I get hyper, not so much. I used to not talk much at all, sometimes I still do not. I'm a reserved person and I like to be laid back. If I learned to listen more and talk less, I'd learn a heap about other people's problems and different situations. I'd be able to be there more for people than complain about more of my hardships. I could grow more as a person if I spoke more by speaking up in class. I would like to be part of more classroom discussions, which would be useful. I would like to speak up in some classes whenever I need help.

The only language I would be comfortable in is my own. I took three years of Japanese, but I was not ever fully comfortable speaking the language. If I would be to choose languagees to be fluent in they would be, Japanese, German, Spanish, and French. I'd be able to speak and understand my grandmother more if I were to be fluent in Japanese. My brother took German, so it'd be cool to be fluent in that language, it's different. Spanish is a language that is getting more common in the U.S. French is just a language I would like to be fluent in just for fun, in case I ever travel to France I would like to communicate with the people there.

I agree when Nathaniel West says, "Easy reading is damned hard writing, writing is just hard work, you know?" When you're trying to let readers inside of your mind, it is hard. Connecting to a reader takes an ounce of effort. The easiest thing about writing is getting ideas and having them flooding out of your mind whenever you get a prompt. A difficult concept to grasp for me is transferring these ideas to paper and getting my thoughts organized. If your thoughts aren't organized and the ideas are great, you still get a not so good result. Depending on what you are writing, it could be considered hard work, or maybe even who you are might determine that. If I have a prompt that I really enjoy, it is not much hard work, besides the editing and revisions.

Dream Thread

It was taunting me, so I decided to buy the chicken nugget. The dark shadow had left me alone after I ate the chicken nugget. When the shadow figure came back I was twenty pounds heavier than I was before. He poked and proded at me until he told me to buy another chicken nugget. Yet again, I bought another one and I ate it. This time the figure did not go away. He just stood there as if he were waiting for something. Two minutes later, I blew up and that is when closing my eyes became a fear.

Take Control of your Dreams--Reoccuring Dream

A reoccurring dream I have or had is me as a little girl, probably around five or maybe even younger. I'd get into my mother's old car, Betsy, turn on the engine and look at the gas pedal and brake to figure out which one was which. I would find the accelerator and stomp on it. The moment that the car would turn on, I wouldn't be able to control the car. I had no idea how to drive it. It would jerk forward and just take me with it as though it had a mind of its own. I would start in the parking lot of the old apartment complex that I used to live in, and drive until I got to the bridge by Meador Park. Sometimes I'd see my brother or mother on the bridge and they'd fall off onto cars in the traffic. They'd jump from car to car and I’d tried to get them, but I’d lose them. It seemed as if vehicles just kept coming. Other times I would find my brother in the car with me, he was at a young age, probably around seven. We'd both be scared to death, because we were young and didn’t understand how to work a car. I never did understand this dream. I was a bit hesitant to learn how to drive, because I didn't know if I was the one who controlled the car or if the car controlled me. Once I did start driving, I wasn't so scared anymore. I had taken control not only of the car, but of my life.

COLOR

A New Leaf

She was a girl with a bitter past. Her entire house reminded her of those bad times. She couldn't afford to move, she's never carried a job for more than a week. Though, she could rearrange her furniture and make it look like she was living in a new house. She started in the living room, then the dining room, the kitchen, and then she did all of the bedrooms. By the end of the day she was all tuckered out, but she thought that it'd be worth it. She stood in her living room and stared, expecting some sort of relief that never came. She hadn't felt like everything was left in the past, so she decided to paint every room a different color. Her favorite room was the bedroom that she painted, "A New Leaf," which was a bright green color. She finally had felt as if she had moved on.

 

 

 

Imagination at it's finest,

Children playing in the

Evening

Dreaming endlessly,

 

Leisurely days and

Eating whenever you want

Monday mornings are not to dread

Only in the summertime.

Nevertheless, it only last a moment.

 

 

 

How sweet it must be

To recieve endless romance

Love that conquers all

 

A hot well-built fire

Growing bigger and more fierce

Red like sticky clay