Book Bucket List

In no particular order:

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. A Whole New Mind - Daniel Pink
3. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
4. As You Like It - William Shakespeare
5. Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
6. Harry Potter Series - J.K. Rowling
7. Fifty Shades of Grey (Trilogy) - E. L. James
8. The Official SAT Study Guide - The College Board
9. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
10. The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling

To Create, Or not to Create... That is the Question.

If I were given the ability to create life, as Frankenstein did, I suppose I would have to turn it down. I don't believe that I should be able to put something on this earth that was so unnatural and fabricated by man, it's almost blasphemous.When God created man on earth, I don't think he expected us to take parts of each other and mend them together to create one super-being or to others, a monster.
When you take human engineering to the extreme, you can do anything with it. When you create life as Frankenstein did, you can create a killing machine. Perhaps a super genius capable of learning anything and everything, maybe someone that can run faster than the average human and have the reflexes of six people together? The truth is, if someone could harness this power what could they do with it?
Some people may disagree, but to me creating life is just wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

My Thoughts About Frankenstein before reading...

Frankenstein, an iconic novel written by a young woman at the age of 19, details the creation of a monster and the downfall of an evil genius. I am excited to begin this novel, knowing of it ever since I was young with the fear of monsters myself. It's shocking to me that a girl only a few years older than I am wrote and published a book that's now known to the world.
When I think of Frankenstein, I picture the tall green man with daunting features, raven black hair and two metal screws poking out of his head suddenly opening his gray eyes and commencing to breathe. The problem is, apparently 'Frankenstein' is the scientist, not the monster. Frankenstein creates this living, breathing monster from.. Various other parts... To create something unnatural. No, I don't believe that man should be able to create life. It messes with the balance of the world and who knows what we're actually dealing with when we come to power like that. In a serious case, you could create a super-monster engineered to kill, immortality and all... Once created, how do you destroy something like that?
I believe that monsters can be found inside of all of us. Whether it's in our thoughts, the words that come from our mouths, maybe some sinister plot to sabotage your brother or sister- You could even be the next Hitler. Everyone has this dark side, but most of us can be better and choose to better ourselves with good deeds and good thoughts the overpower the bad.

Arguement:

Assertion: Students should be able to grade their teachers.

Evidence; CD

• While we need constructive criticism as students, our teachers need to hear our thoughts too. A better connection is always a necessity in our learning enviroment.
• C1: Not every student will move at the same pace, while some teachers acknowledge this- others do not. This is a system that will allow their students to show them what they need to work on.
• C2: New teachers are exactly that, new. Sometimes they need to know what skills they can improve in order to become better and experienced.

Evidence; CD

•  As stated in the article, "But Baldwin points out that teachers themselves are in the business of rating students. "Turnabout," he says, "is fair play."", teachers grade their students based on assignments and participation. We, as students must trust their judgments to determine our future.
• C1: It seems only fair that students are allowed to do the same, if only this process would affect our teachers in the same way it affects their students.
• C2: Most teachers are trustworthy and aim to give all students a fair grade, but there are some who stray from the path in favoritism.

Author Willa Cather embedded literary devices, such as metaphors, similes, and personification, within her writing.

"As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running."

"The grave, with its tall red grass that was never mowed, was like a little island."

"Winter comes down savagely over a little town on the prairie. The wind that sweeps in from the open country strips away all the leafy screens that hide one yard from another in summer, and the houses seem to draw closer together. The roofs, that looked so far away across the green treetops, now stare you in the face, and they are so much uglier than when their angles were softened by vines and shrubs.


Chunk #1: Comment the effect of the setting on the characters within the novel.
The setting of this story surrounds the character in a simple beauty, allowing them to grasp and understand the land as if land were a person in front of them. This place carries values and characteristics of a human, in the land creating a small island for the burial site, perhaps out of respect for it's fallen friend. The land is inspiration in the way it's energy seemed to move Jim, stating that the land was almost "running." Both Antonia and Jim had suffered a loss and found peace in this quiet place where they could gain a friendship greater than most.

Chunk #2: discuss the effect a setting on you, including imagery (lots of adjectives) and a simile or a metaphor as you describe the land.
The majestic beauty of Washington State, it's cool and laid back personality washes over me the moment I step out onto the sidewalk at the airport. Seattle's bustling life on the Puget Sound beckons to me, even now after years since my last visit. I miss the clear, damp with the breath of the last rain still hanging on the breeze. Through Pikes Market, the sounds of the various fishermen, young and old, rough with their 5 o'clock shadow of the late night of work, shouting and throwing their catch back and forth to their awaiting customers. This becomes a lifestyle. Across the water, further west in the state the Olympic Mountains rise into the looming clouds, giants among this evergreen land. Their cloaks of emerald trees cling and shape to them like barnacles on the bottom of a ship, grasping to life.

Wounded Warrior Project

   The Wounded Warrior Project was put in place for the extraordinary people who have served and been affected to such a degree that their lives will never be the same; this organization allows our Heroes to tell their stories to the Nation.

   The Organization was created by veterans and friends that heard the stories of some of the first wounded warriors, feeling compassion for these warriors they formed what we know as the Wounded Warrior Project. I think it is very important to hear what our troops have to tell us, everyone deserves a chance to speak and these warriors have had life-crippling experiences.

   Sometimes having to blend back into society proves harder than expected for these warriors because of PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I have experienced PTSD first hand as my cousin served in Iraq for his full term, when he returned home he wasn’t himself. He couldn’t sleep at night on a bed; he slept on the floor with his back against a wall because he didn’t even feel safe in his own home. My cousin took his own life 2 years ago when he was attending college in Atlanta, Georgia. 

   Our soldiers and their families need us now more than ever to gain their lives back and support those they love. When I think about my cousin and his mom and dad, I can’t help but think that if someone would have just helped him open up about his experiences, if someone had just talked to him and told him that everything would be okay, maybe things would have been different.

   There are thousands of Americans that have served and are still fighting for us when we, as a nation, were in need. So many of our neighbors, school teachers, parents and even grandparents have served our nation and I firmly believe that as a nation we should aid those who are in need; whether we help our soldiers cope with their injuries or just help them with making everyday life easier, it is our duty as Americans to serve those who have given so much for us.

War is...

War is inevitable, serving a vital purpose.
War is intricate, obscuring everything.
War is incessant, unconcerned with who it may affect.
War is infinite, ending only when we do.
War is irrevocable, crucial to protect our rights.
War is impervious, we cannot wage war with war itself.
War is irreconcilable, 'compromise' was tossed from its vocabulary.
War is impairing, destroying coalitions and claiming lives alike.
War is illustrious, manifested in every culture of every sort of people.
War is invidious, clashing with peace in a timeless battle.