Introduction

Authors Note: We were doing a warm-up for introductions in class. We chose topics for a story such as  settings, and characters then we switched a couple of them throughout the classroom and made an introduction with our settings, characters, and topics. This was a challange for me because my setting and charactors are so different.

In Lake Park, a neighborly, subdivision lived an old man named sensei chin-chin. He was a extremely wise man with sensible clothing, for an old person that is. He lived next door to me. In his back yard he had a wagon, but it wasn’t just a wagon, it was a big red pool he had custom made for him. Sensei swam everyday. He would swim laps for hours and hours and play classical music loudly. It was so loud that inside my home, in the basement, on the furthest corner away from his house, and with ear plugs in could still hear his music. This kept me from being able to do my homework and read because I couldn't concentrate, but don’t try and tell your teacher that, trust me they wont believe it. I got in trouble at school because I had kept using "excuses" about not getting my homework done. My teacher called home my mother and father yelled at me. But I never had time to explain my self! Whatever. Screw this. I am going to Sencei Chin-Chin and we are going to have a conversation about his music. I am going to fix this problem all on my own.

Grandma's House

As I lay here I think about what I have left at home, nothing but loneliness and nothingness fills that home. Although it has nothing good for me there I love it because it was my grandmother's house. She passed in 1990 when I was 13. I was old enough to remember her and cherish her, but that was different for my 3 year old brother who will not remember her and if he does it will be just a small memory that will fade to nothing over time. Her death will mean something to him, but he won't hurt as much as it hurts the rest of us.

I think to the future and how it will be when he asks who his grandmother was and what she was all about. He'll ask questions I'll feel obligated answer that I may not be ready to answer at that time. He deserves to know but, he is too young to know enough of what is going on at home right now. I hope that one day he will know who she is and remember how I do. I will honor her in everyway I can now. I don’t want to go back to loneliness and the depressing home that awaits me. It is sad there right now with everyone grieving.

Ever since I moved into my grandmother's house I have felt close to her. If I go back, will it feel better? Will I be less sad? Either way I have to go home at one point to her house. I will go back, but again it is nice here in Cancun, and I don’t want to leave. Maybe I will stay here for a while, and relax. That sounds like a good idea to me.

Language Arts Progress

Author's Note: I wrote this piece to explain what this Language Arts year, and how it meant to me and how I have improved. I went through so much this year that I couldn't fit all of it in this one piece knowing that I would bore you. 

In the beginning of the year I came into the class feeling like an outsider. I felt as though I didn't belong with all the other students. Because it was a couple of weeks into school it was very hard for me to just walk into the class, and write, and then share my writing with all these new people. However, I was welcomed in to the class as soon as I entered the room. I felt very comfortable in this class. This helped with my writing because my surroundings were comforting. I was very relaxed and my mind could travel wherever I wanted it be. As a writer I feel like I have learned so many new and different things ranging from simple grammar to how to quote sayings from books, or just sounds that I wanted to authorize. Even after improving in all of these things, there are still a few things I'd like to work on. Such as, reading more than I do now a days and also writing in different styles like poems or nonfiction. Seeing as I have never tried that kind of writing this year in class, I would like to try this at home on my own on my own time.

Independence.....something so important in school for students to learn, but we never do. We are taught that you listen to rules and follow them to a "T". Well, with the help of Mr. Johnson I was able to understand how important it is really was to be yourself and to be independent, not only in your writing and in Language Arts, but also in other classes too. This year in this class I worked on being as independent as possible, but also using my resources wisely. Mr. Johnson was there for me to answer every question I had, important and meaningful, or any silly, or nonsense questions. I happened to have those a lot. Even though most of the year was spent on time filming and editing videos for my group's satire, that was about three months late, I still had time for independent book reading and independent writing. The whole experience was extremely enjoyable, but frustrating at the same time with everyone bickering, and trying to make the movie better in their own ways. In the end I got a ton out of it. After everything was done, I realized that not only did I finish one of the best worked on project so far in my life, I had also made new friends, and got closer to ones that were always there. Most importantly I was independent with my work that I put forth and my groups work, which I was proud of. This meant a lot to me because teachers that I have had in the past years haven't let me be me in a classroom. I was doing the work I had to do, and putting as much effort into it that I had to. Now I know how good I can writer I can be, and that when I write a piece that I am not impressed with to make it the best that it can be, and Mr. Johnson helped me realize that.

I always thought that there were rules to follow on every writing piece, and that you had to write what your teacher told you to. It was very easy to write those pieces because you just put information together into paragraphs and called it writing. No matter how hard I try to write one of those pieces I have to change them now, so that I fit my teachers expectations, but I like to up and beyond them too, and add my own things to the old boring piece. While working on writing pieces that teachers assign me I have a lot of moments when I mess up the spelling of a word in the middle or miss a concept, but I am human. I also make mistakes on simple short stories, or while writing a sentence that when you go back and read it makes no sense. I worked on not missing any concepts and not making any simple spelling errors that were unnecessary in the first place. Because, I worked towards these goals I felt as if I grew and grew over the year and that I was more confident in myself that I can write anything and make it my best that it can be. I'm not another Shakespeare or anything so I don't expect to be the best all the time but as long as I put the best work that I can into it I am usually proud of myself.

I will miss all of my classmates, but there is still next year waiting for me to screw it up, but I will make every moment count with my writing and independence as an 8th grader. I will remember to work hard all of the time, and achieve my best.  All in all I think that this year for me in my LA was successful, and I have become a better writer and became much more independent. No matter how much I miss Mr. Johnson, and how much I learned from him, always coming into class learning something different, I will always remember my 7th grade Advanced Language Arts Class.

First Piece

Author's Note: I thought that it would be fun to post my first piece of the year that I wrote, grammar errors and all. It is very short too. I like reading this because it shows me my growth in writing.

Halloween is a very fun time of the year. People dress up as whatever they want to be. On Halloween people try to scare themselves just for fun. I think that that is kind of stupid but that's not any of my business anyway. No matter what I think everyone should participate in it because it's a fun thing to do and everyone can express themselves  in their costumes.

Soup For Mom

 Authors Note: I wrote this piece as a warm-up one day and went back to edit it. When you read it you will find that in the story I get upset because of something little, but I was trying to do something big, take care of some one who I care about. 

Steaming soup boiling, as I heat it. Bubbling up as if it is boiling lava. My mother was home sick today, so I felt as if I owe her something for being a wonderful mother, sick or not. She has been there for me all my life, so why shouldn't I be there for her? I cool it down waiting to take it to my mother. I look at it as it sits in front of me, teasing me by the smell of fresh vegetables and herbs. I have to take a bite just a small one at least. I try to stop myself, but it seems as if there is something holding me back. It must be my mom sitting in the other room. What else could it be? 
I don’t want to eat all of her soup, or any really, but I am hungry and it smells so good. If I only take one bite I will hurt no one right? I think for a while then I reach out for the spoon as I smell the soup. I pick up the spoon and start towards the bowl. I go in and take a spoon full. I know that I want it but there is no way, I have t I think to myself. The spoon gets closer and closer to me as I see the steam steaming out of it like a sauna. I put it into my mouth and the feeling in my tong disintegrate. My whole mouth is burning. It feels like a volcano erupted in my mouth.
I start to feel extremely upset for failing myself. I guess I don't have any self control. There is no way now that I can ever eat soup that isn't mine again, especially when the person that you made it for is sitting near you.  My mother is sick and the soup is for her after all. I love my mother and I want her to get better but I don't think she will without some soup and proper care. I can't believe that I was so selfish when my mother is sick in the other room sitting wrapped in a warm blanket in the other room. She is in my sight now. I am upset about what I had done, but it isn't about me. I need to get the soup to her and make this situation better. The only way that can happen is for me to help her with anything that she needs all day, and the whole time that she is sick. I feel that is my duty now.

Is It Worth It To Be Selfish

Authors Note: This piece was written for my District Assessment as a mandatory piece.

What would you do if your were working for someone who is way more powerful than you? Someone that controls the whole mass of land that you live on. A citizen under the power of one man. That man was the King of England, who tells you what to do, when to do it and how it should be done. Well in the story The Hundredth Dove by Jane Yolen that is just what Hugh had to deal with. Hugh was the best fowler in England, granted that is probably not the best title to have, but he embraced it anyway.

The king ordered Hugh to come the palace for a court session. Hugh was both nervous and excited because he had never been to the palace before. When he got there he went in a room with the king and his lady, Lady Columbia, who was very beautiful. She was slim and fair with black eyes. Hugh described her as he felt she was, "She was neat as a bird," he said. She and the king were to get married soon, so the king ordered one hundred doves in one week's time. Lady Columbia did not agree with the idea at all. She begged him not to have doves as the meal for their wedding, but he rejected the suggestion just as quickly as it was spoken. There was nothing for Hugh or Lady Columbia to do for themselves. Hugh would have to complete the job as told.

The white dove was the dove that Hugh wanted to catch the most. For a long time he wanted to catch her. The symbolism in the story shows me that the white dove was Lady Columbia. I know this because the way he described her and the dove were very similar and in some ways the exact same. He exclaimed that the dove and Lady Columbia both had black eyes, and were both slim and fair. This symbolism meant a lot to me, and made the story come alive.

The fowler had a motto that was extremely important to him. It was sown on his tunic. Servo is what it read, meaning ("I serve"). It was written on his heart. He would serve the king whatever he wanted and or needed. An order of one hundred doves was a large one by the king. It was definitely a high order but not too difficult for Hugh to manage. The first day he caught twenty doves. All blue-gray, but one was not. One of the doves was the white dove. The one dove that if it flew over head you would know because of how white she was. He said that even in the night sky she would shine brightly. This dove was normally not with the rest of the flock, so when Hugh caught it he was happy, but that happiness wouldn't last long because when he got them all home the white dove was gone.

In the end Hugh takes the white dove and kills it. At that same time Lady Columbia was killed because the dove and Lady Columbia were one. Hugh takes all the doves to the doves to the palace for the king. All one hundred made it to the palace for the king, but only ninety-nine of them were alive when they got there. The one thing stood out and helped me prove my theory. That one thing was that after he brought the doves to the palace the wedding was called off. They talked nothing about Lady Columbia afterwards. The king wasn't worried at all and didn't wonder about her which made me think, did the king tell Hugh to kill Lady Columbia. Why would he want to kill her? Then I thought again. Hugh wanted her dead because he wanted her to himself. He trembled at her beauty.

Hugh didn't listen to what other people had to say. Lady Columbia told him not to hunt the bird but he proceeded anyway which got Lady Columbia killed. It is selfish to not listen to other people and do whatever you please no matter who it hurts in the end. The lesson learned is that it is okay to be selfish sometimes but other times it is more important to listen to other people.

Tangled

Author's Note: I wrote this post after watching a movie with my language arts class. After watching half of it I wrote this piece to show the symbolism it had.

Some of that main symbolism was very apparent but then some of the symbolism you have to look at more carefully. It was very clear to me by watching the first part of the movie that the mode was not a tragedy nor a irony. Knowing that it was neither of those two modes I  then knew that it had to be either romance or comedy. So next I took a closer look at both modes but it didn't take much time to figure out that it was a romance.

It was so simple to tell which mode it was because of all the symbolism the story actually had. The pastels were a big part in this movie. Everything for the most part was bright and in pastels. The sky was a light blue color too and she wanted to see the lights in the sky, the stars. That was huge symbolism for me and it stood out. Another thing was the very apparent was flowers. The main character Rapunzel gets her hair braided and the little girls that did her hair added some flowers in it. The flowers are bright pastels color to symbolize romance further.

However there were parts that I could find easily there were parts of the symbolism I forgot. Sunlight was one of them because she wanted to go outside in the sun and go to see the stars at night. Another was the tower she was in. It was one room upstairs and one room downstairs which are both kind of like studies. She also has stain glass in the tower which is symbolism. Evergreens crowded land around the tower. She ran through it with Flin Rider. And even though I found all of these I didn't understand the symbolism of the horse. Because a horse was part of symbolism of a tragedy I wasn't sure about his symbolism.