Take it as a motivation !

The movie Stand by me is about these 4 best friends that take a journey to find a missing body. One of the boys over hears his brothers talking and he figures out where they found the body so he tells the rest of his friends and they go on a long hunt. Through it they learn different things and they learn that things aren't easy for them. In the end you really see how true friendships go because they stop talking and lose touch with one another. One of the characters Chris he comes from a bad family and everyone thinks he's going to grow up to be this horrible person and are judgmental about he is, and how he carries himself as a person.

For example one of his friends father says "with your thief friend" talking about Chris. Chris had this brother that was bad in school so his brother reputation wore off on him. To me this is kind of an ignorant comment because the father doesn't even really know Chris so why call him on something that you don't know weather its true or not, and to me its not fair nor right that he was judged in that way. Here's the twist in the end they show how Chris bettered his life and became a lawyer so everything that people assumed about him was wrong he became something beyond that, and proved people. This shows that Chris never really gave up until he became what he wanted, and showed people that hes beyond the reputation that they gave him.

In my opinion he did the right thing, he didn't give people the benefit of the doubt which is something that all people should do. When someone says you shouldn't do something it doesn't mean that you stop trying or give them what they want and show that you are weak, but it should motivate you to do better and show them how strong you are. Don't let people's words bring you down but let them bring you motivation, because what good does it do when you give up and show them that your week? or show them that they were right, even when you have the potential to prove them wrong. It all matters on how you interpret the words people say, and how you use them in life. either as good or bad.

Love can be complicated

The book Romeo & Juliet by William Shakesphere is about this boy names Romeo , who goes to a ball and falls in-love with Juliet. Although Romeo falls in-love with Juliet he's been in-love before to this girl named Roseline , but she didn't love him back, he thought he was never going to find love again , and a girl as beautiful as her can't be replaced, he's pretty much a hopeless romantic. When he falls in-love he doesn't take it lightly.

For example he says "Is love a tender thing? It is to rough, Too rude,too boist'rous, and it pricks like thorn. To me this means that for him love isn't such a good thing, and it's not really working out for him. It's also to complicated, because he doesn't like the fact that Roseline doesn't love him back BUT still sees her beauty and her kindness. Another example is when he says "To soar with his light feathers,and so bound I cannot bound a pitch above dull woe.Under love's heavy burden I do sink. I think by this he means that love comes with a lot of problems and disappointments, and as light it can be it can also be heavy, and you might fall so hard that you might not know how do fall out of it. It's so easy to all in-love but to complex , and it's a weight on your shoulders.  

Teenagers fall in-love all the time but it can get to complicated but can also be amazing, it's depends really on how in-love you are. There's not a lot you can do, you can't help it. We all have feelings so we are going to fall in-love so in a way I do understand Romeo, because love has its ups and downs, but as long as you have the person you love with you it doesn't matter. Things aren't always going to be easy, with love comes complications and isn't always the easiest thing in the world, but the love brings you together.

CAN TEXTING AFFECT YOUR ELA GRADE?!?!

"F in Grammer ? Maybe its your phone's fault" By Alessandra Ponteza this article is about how texting affects your actual writing in the real world, for college papers, job applications and just writing in general. Kids are forgetting their actual punctuation and they're getting lazy and using abbreviations and not actually writing out the words. For example they're writing "u" instead of actually writing out you. Teachers have seen it as a problem and see that cell phones as an enemy and aren't helping the kids and that the auto corrections are pretty much doing all the work, and kids aren't even proof reading their stories or papers. The author wanted us to see that we should stop using phones so much, and make an effort on improving our grammer instead of taking the easy way out, like teens usually do. Its going to get them farther in life.

For example in the article its talks about that young kids are offered jobs and they sometimes have to write a paper, well in this case "More than 2,000 applications were submitted by young people during the summer and they had mountains of misspelled words and missing punctuation, spacing mistakes and abbreviations" said the article this shows that kids don't really care, and write as if they're texting a friend and aren't actually formally writing like they should be. they don't really care enough to read it over and make sure these things don't happen, because when you write a paper like that the person that's going to hire you for the job isn't really going to care enough to read it, since you don't care enough to proof read it. In the article they also include statics from 2005 "64% of kids used informational writing styles typical of electronic communication, 50% used informal capitalization , 38% used abbreviations like "LOL", and 25% used emoticons. These were the statistics in 2005 maybe they've changed because the phones are more advanced.

In my opinion I feel like this is true because this happens to me at times where I write like I'm texting, which can effect my ELA grades at time. In my opinion they should make the kids more aware of this because us teenagers are lazy and careless I guess you can say, and we don't always proof read our things, just to get them over with and take care of it. They should also teach the kids what's the difference from texting and writing an actual essay and that you can't use the same type of writing  it can be good for when your taking notes and it's faster but for actual writing its unacceptable.      

Think before doing

I’m reading the book “Tears of a Tiger” by Sharon D. Draper , this book is about these 4 boys and they are best friends, 2 of them are in the basketball team( Robbie and Andy) and the other two are just a part of the group ( B.J and Tyrone . One night after a game the 4 friends decided to go out and drink. The night takes a turn when they get into an accident because they were drinking and driving. Robbie dies because of the accident. Robbie was a kid with a lot of potential and one day hoped to be a basketball player, but didn't get to meet his potential because he ended up dying. This left Andy his closest friend feeling guilty. Andy feels as if he should’ve been the one to die instead of Robbie because he was such a bright kid, which so much going for him. He also feels guilty because he was the one driving in the first place and didn't save Robbie, while he was burning in the car.

For example Andy says to his coach “I wanted to die right after the accident. I wanted it to be me that dead instead of Rob. He had so much goin’ for himself. He woulda got that scholarship too, coach. This shows that Andy does recognize that his friend really had something going for him, and Andy feels as if he’s to blame for Robbie’s death, because a kid that might have made it to pro basketball died over Andy’s carelessness. Another example when he’s also talking to the coach about his trial he says “I think I would have felt better if I woulda had to suffer and complain a little” then the coach says “You are suffering, Andy. The judge knows that. We all do”. I feel like Andy is a little too hard on himself because it wasn't really his fault all things happen for a reason whether its good or bad, they’re going to happen whether  you like it or not, it’s just the way life works. Like the coach also told Andy if Robbie was a live and Andy was dead, Robbie would've felt just as guilty so nobody really ever wins at the end of the day.

I think that under aged kids shouldn't be drinking in the first place, because the consequences aren't going to be so fun, and you only drink for one night, but the consequence might scar you forever. So it’s not really worth it. Yeah it might be fun, but if you are drinking you shouldn't drive whether your 16 or 60. The risk of you getting into an accident is always going to be the same. In the book the put a statistic and it says that every 18 minutes somewhere in the world someone gets into an accident because of drunk driving, and if you think about it that A LOT of people, now maybe these statistics have changed but who knows. In my opinion one night of fun isn't really worth someone close to you dying. You should think about consequences before you take part in an action such as this one. 

In my life :)

The song that I'm using is "In My Life" by the Beatles, this song expresses different emotions and things. It talks about that there are places they remember all there life, some have change but also some have stayed. The memories are lost but never really forgotten because you'll always have them with you. In this song I think they wanted to express that love is never really forgotten, or memories in general. Your always going to remember them no matter what, because they are with people that you love. It also explains that although people have gone away, like have died and some might still be alive, but at the end of the day you will always remember the memories that you have with the person or the people, because it just meant that much to you.

In my opinion this is a great song because it talks about love, and it talks about that you should always cherish memories good and bad, which people don't do. I also feel like with this generation kids take things for granted, like their parents, their friends and people that really love them and don't really see what they have, and then they realize it when their friends have left and all they have is memories. I also think that this song has a lot of meaning and emotion towards it, and it was made with different things in mind. Who knows what they were going through when they wrote this song, but I think at the end of the day everyone can relate to the song. I mean I can, I've had people that have left me, and not because they want to because they couldn't simply stay, but I will always have our memories in my me and my life, good and bad.

The group wanted to really show that even though someone might leave on purpose or because they need too doesn't mean you can't remember the memories and all that you guys experienced together. You should lose your love either because at the end of the day, your always going to have experiences with the person.


There are places I remember 
All my life, though some have changed 
Some forever not for better 
Some have gone and some remain 
All these places have their moments 
With lovers and friends I still can recall 
Some are dead and some are living 
In my life I've loved them all 

But of all these friends and lovers 
There is no one compares with you 
And these memories lose their meaning 
When I think of love as something new 
Though I know I'll never lose affection 
For people and things that went before 
I know I'll often stop and think about them 
In my life I love you more 

Though I know I'll never lose affection 
For people and things that went before 
I know I'll often stop and think about them 
In my life I love you more 
In my life I love you more

Non fiction post #2

The article "Obese kids likely to have 3 or more serious health or behavior" by Tracy Miller. Expresses how teens that have obesity problems are likely to have health problems at the age they are now, but also in the future. They can have health problems such as bone and joint muscle problems, asthma, allergies, ear infections etc. Not only can they suffer from medical issues they can also suffer with mental issues. Tracy Miller also talks about how teachers and parents when they start seeing it they should stop it. Also that teachers and parents should be aware of the risks that obesity, because some are uneducated about the subject, and don't really realize it's such a big deal and big problem.

Miller wanted to make the point that a lot of more people should be educated about this subject, and should realize that it’s a serious issue. For example she says, "The number of obese kids have doubled over the past two decades, these obese teens have tripled, according to the American Association of Pediatrics". This shows me that she wants us to know that this problem has gotten worst over the past few years, which is true. Another quote that proves her point of the story is when she says "The findings should serve as a wakeup call to physicians, parents, and teachers, who should be better informed about of the risk of other health conditions associated with childhood obesity so that they can target interventions that can result to better health conditions. This also shows me that she wants to make sure that EVERYONE knows about these issues, and she really wants to make a change with the statistics. This also shows me that this is an issue that she most likely cares for and cares about.

This issue hasn't really bothered me before, but I always see weight loss shows like biggest loser and things like that. I feel like this show should motivate obese people because if another obese person can do it why can't they? I feel like that also has a lot to do with self-pride and maybe they feel too embarrassed to go to a gym and work out, or get on a diet which they shouldn't. I've had people in my family have problems with this, and they don't really solve the issue until they realize that they have a health issue or something, which to me isn't okay because you should try to prevent things from happening and not wait until you get sick or something to make a change in your diet. 

Are you informed about obesity?

The article "Obese kids likely to have 3 or more serious health or behavior" by Tracy Miller. Expresses how teens that have obesity problems are likely to have health problems at the age they are now, but also in the future. They can have health problems such as bone and joint muscle problems, asthma , allergies, ear infections ect. It also explains how kids that are obese suffer with mental issues. Tracy Miller also talks about how teachers and parents when they start seeing it they should stop it. They also say that teacher and parents should be aware of the risks that obesity, because some are uneducated about the subject, and don't really realize it's such a big deal and big problem. 

I think the article wanted to express that like I said before a lot of more people should be educated about this subject, and should realize that its a serious issue. For example Miller says , "The number of obese kids have doubled over the past two decades, these obese teens have tripled, according to the American Association of Pediatrics". This shows me that she wants us to know that this problem has gotten worst over the past few years, which is true. Another quote that proves her point of the story is when she says "The findings should serve as a wake up call to physicians, parents, and teachers, who should be better informed about of the risk of other health conditions associated with childhood obesity so that they can target interventions that can result to better health conditions. This also shows me that she wants to make sure that EVERYONE knows about this issues, and she really wants to make a change with the statistics. This also shows me that this is a issue that she most likely cares for and cares about. 

This issue hasn't really bothered me before, but I always see weight loss shows like biggest loser and things like that. I feel like this show should motivate obese people because if another obese person can do it why can't they?. I feel like that also has a lot to do with self pride and maybe they feel to embarrassed to go to a gym and work out, or get on a diet which they shouldn't. I've had people in my family have problems with this, and they don't really solve the issue until they realize that they have a health issue or something, which to me isn't okay because you should try to prevent things from happening and not wait until you get sick or something to make a change in your diet 

The book  Upstate by Kalisha Buckhonon is about this boy named Antonio , and he's in jail because they accused him of killing his father. In his defense he was defending his mom. To me Antonio is a strong and brave character because he still manginess to keep his head up high and maintain his relationship with his girlfriend. 

For example, in one of the letters Antonio tells his girlfriend that he confessed and said what really happened to the jury, because he couldn't stand to see his mom cry. I feel like this was strong of him because he didn't really mean to stab his dad , but he's still taking full blame for it like a real man should. I agree with his desion because he's being honest and excepting the truth. His mom and girlfriend don't agree with his desion of being honest and just coming out and saying the truth , but I agree with it because it's showing that he can step up and except reality. 

A way that Antonio is also being strong is because he's holding on to his relationship an he's not giving up on it. Which I find romantic & nice. Because he's in jail yet still rights Natasha ever chance he gets, he's always telling her that he loves her, and to marry him. This is also a sign of hope because if they weren't hopeful of him getting out of jail why would they still be engaged ? Why would they still continue with the relationship ? . The little things that these characters makes a big difference in the book, & it gives hope on what's gonna happen next is good. Also that he might get out of jail. 

This connects to the world in many ways, because it shoes you not to lose hope, & to always be honest. Honesty and hope can help you a lot in life, 2 of the main things actually , things will go better for you of you actually are honest & do believe in what you say or the future or just in general. You should always be strong & don't lose hope. 

You'll Always Have a Friend :)

In class we read the book "FOX", and it"s about this fox that's lonely and doesn't  have friends. so in order to satisfy himself and not feel so alone he tries to ruin someone else's friendship. There's this dog and bird that are very close friends, so fox gets jealous and tries to ruin the friendship by tricking bird and taking her away, which in my opinion isn't fair.

People get jealous all the time, but I don't think it's right to ruin something because your jealous because it's not fair towards the two people that your affecting, friendships are very strong, especially when you have that type of friendship that you need each other for everything, and that's the type of relationship that dog and bird had. Now it's kind of bird's fault because she left, but in the end of the story she tries to find her way back, which I think is the main message of this story which is yeah your friendship can get ruined but at the end of the day it's worth fighting for no matter what you go through, because that's always going to be a friend. The journey to get back where you where at in the first place is not gonna be easy but it's worth the fight and journey.

I think this is a good message for kids because little kids especially get jealous when there "BFF" gets a new friend and doesn't really pay attention to you, so you get lonely and angry and go out you way to ruin the friendship which is understandable  but shouldn't happen because why can't we all be friends? , why do we have to be specific groups?, if its a true friend they will always be there, also when you ruin a friendship or do something to effect it your going to be friends again, not like the way you first were but you are. This message isn't only for kids but for teenagers and grown ups too, because we do ruin friendships and we don't try to put them together because we're either scared to be rejected or scared that friend isn't going to be waiting for you, which you never know they might be.

   

Everyone Belongs & Need They Love

In the book "Because I Am Furniture" by Thalia Chaltas. Is about this girl named Anke that feels like she's invisible, her dad hit her brother and her sister, but never lays a hand on her. she wonders why. She's always hiding her voice and opinion and keeps things to herself a lot. Anke doesn't get attention at home, her mom doesn't show her any real love and attention.Her sibling are mean you could say, they tell her things that shouldn't be said.

I feel like this book relates to me because I know what it feels like to be stuck in the middle of things and feeling like your being forgotten. For example when she says "At times I still want to sigh,curl into her, nourish in her motherness.....But she doesn't welcome that, and when he"s there all her motherness is spent on him. This makes me feel sad and disappointed in a way, because every girl needs her mother there for her, and needs that attention that every other girl gets. I completely know how she feels because sometimes i feel like my own mom pays attention to other things and not really on me. I'm not saying that I need attention at all times, but it would be nice to feel like she care and show her love..When Anke talks about her mom giving all her motherness to him she means that when her father is around, all she does is focus on him and what he wants. Which I believe is not fair, nor right that she only pays attention to the father when he's there. I think that Anke is missing love and needs someone to tell her that they love her everyday, which everyone needs that one person that does that for you everyday.

Another example that Anke's brother and sister are always putting her down, and not really making her feel good about herself. For example, they told her "You don't look like us your noise is different you don't belong" then they told her she was the mailman's child. Thinks makes me mad because, to have someone tell you that you don't belong can really hurt your feelings but the person that your saying it to can kill themselves or do something to end there life. I feel like her brother and sister should've never said that because everyone belongs and everyone is equal. Nobody should be excluded from something, or be told these things.

In a way I feel like her family is just distant and there not really a family. They pretty much do there own thing when they want to, which I think you shouldn't really call a family. This book is going to have a lot to do with not only bullying outside of school but inside your home too. This isn't right because your home should be a place that you want to go home everyday, and you feel safe. In Anke's case I think she feels safer in school then at home,it's not somewhere where you wan to go home to everyday.

We All Do Different Things That Make Us Happy

In the book Its Kind Of A Funny Story  By Ned Vizzini. Is About this boy named Craig and he's a kid thats always depressed and he doesn't really have a lot of people there for him. But there's one way that Craig gets his anger out.And that by drawing maps and just drawing in general. When Craig was younger he couldnt draw maps because he thought they were to "hard to draw" & he couldnt do them. And now that he's older he can draw and now that's the way he gets he's anger out on paper.

We all have different ways to take our anger out so that we don't have to take them out on other people.For example some of us play football or just play sports in general. Others sing,dance, write, read. What I do when I'm mad I write. I write different stories & on different perespectives. I don't necasserly write about myself and what's going on with me I just write realistic fictiom stories or "young adult" stories.

I think that it's important that we all have these different hobbies because if not we would all be fighting in the streets. Well ok maybe not fighting but taking our anger out on other people and getting angry at other people for something that they probably never even did. I thinknthat Craig does the right thing by drawing maps and other things because thats what makes him feel better about himself. And makes his depression stop while he's doing it.

Always Be Yourself

     The story Am I Blue  by Bruce Caville. Is about this boy named Vince who's trying to figure himself out. I think that the over all theme is that you shouldn't be afraid to be who you want to be or do what you want to do, because youvthink that they're gonna critize you or judge you. Cause you never know the person that's bugging you about things might be like you , and just taking out they're anger out on you.  One day Vince gets knocked out and everything but then when he turns around he sees that theres this guy above him. This guy is his "fairy godfather" and is there to help Vince and is there to try to help him out with his problems. He's also there to help Vince realize that there's a lot more people out there like him . Vince sees something very intresting he closes his eyes and then he realizes that about half of the people around him are either blue or turning blue. This is because they're either gay or turning gay.

       As I said before the whole general theme is to be who you want to be and do what you want to do and stop worrying about what people are going to say because they're always gonna talk.  I feel like a lot of kids that are unsure about themselfs should read this story. The boy that was bullying and bothering Vince about things his name is Butch. So in this story Vince gets three wished and one of his wishes he was to turn Butch blue, but when the fairy godfather went to make his wish true he came back and said "you still got one wish left kiddo, Butch Carrigan was already blue as the summer sky when I got there" . This proves the first theme of the story. That you should hide from someone because your scared of the way they might react because they might be just like you.

       Kids that are gay need to realize this because yea of course people are going to judge you but you also have to think about the people that are like you and the people that support you because the judgemental friends and the bullies are going to be out numberd by the people that actually care about you. You also have to ecept yourself before anyone else can.

You Should Always have Confidence in Yourself

  The Drummer Boy of Shiloh By Ray Bradbury . Is about this young 13 year old boy around there that has to go into war . But Joby in the beginning of thr story feels disconfident , scared and fearful to go into this war , I mean who wouldn't a 13 year old boy going to war so young must be tarrifing . But then towards the end of the story Joby starts to get more confidence in himself , he sees that he shouldn't be scared because it all might be worth it in the end . This was because a general from the battle/war came and talked to Joby and told him that he didnt have to worry about it ,that he shouldn't feel discourged. Because he could to it.  

      I think that everyone , should have a person like this , kind of like a life coach. That tells you that everythings going to be alright . And that you are going to make it through certain things . Because not everybody knows that , and sometimes us people do feel discourged and fearful and never have someone there for us . Weather its a friend or a family member you always need someone there for you to boost up your confidence because you might not know how to be confidence in yourself . Or someone to tell you that you need to take risks in life and that you shouldn't be scared to do anything . Because you might not know how it might work out in the end . 

      My book is about this girls boyfriend that , kills half a dozen kids at his school . Then just points the gun at himself . The school actually considerd her a hero because she saved this one girl from getting killed . But there's also rumores that she had something to do with the homidides . But she wasn't this girl has diffrent views on what happen, for example she feels that in a way she really did have something to do with it . Somedays she feels like she really is a hero , but other days she just wishes she had died right along with nick .

        I think that the main theme is that you shouldnt always be or think you are what other people lable you as , and that you should move foward with life when bad things happen . Because you never know what could happen next . In the beginning of the book she felt like it was her fault and didnt want to go to school . But I think that the school , her mom and her theripist kind of helped her get through her feelings and helped her open up more .

Summer Reading Response about "The Giver "

      The Giver is about these diffrent of zones & its very organizad things are always in order . For example all kids depending on their age get to do diffrent things . Like when your 8 you can learn how to ride a bike or something . This kid Jonas is 13 years old and he's getting ajob . But in these zones you just don't go out to find a job they pick your jobs . Jonas got the job as the "giver" which is a job that isnt given out to every person . With this job Jonas goes through physical & mental pain . The man that was choosen for the giver , 20 years before , has to give Jonas his "powers" & his mentallity . With these power Jonas can see things that the other people from his town cant & can feel things that  the other people can't . For example like he can see colors & can feel really sharp pains & much more . But Jonas can't share his powers or tell anyone what its like to be learning for a giver .

     This book is has alot of discription and diffrent details . It's intresting how the author uses the people that dont see or do what Jonas does , & their diffrent opinions . How he reacts to their questions . I also like that the author uses colors to represent diffrent things . I like how the people can't really see or feel or even react to anything . But then here comes Jonas and he could do what us humans can do . So you can say that the people from these zones aren't your normal humans , you can say that their pretty much like robots . That cant do anything without rules & regulations. But this book has a lot more of conflicts . For example , Jonas gets a brother , but he might get killed off because once you have more one boy in the family and you get another the second one gets killed off. But Jonas doesn't want this to happen . So he does some intresting things to help privent this . The Giver is a great book I really recommend that you read it.