Winter Break

There is very little that I absolutely have to do over this break, I finally get a two week break from dance which I am in desperate need of. I mostly plan to sit on my butt and eat a ton of junk food. On Monday I am the only one that is going to be home all day so I plan to curl up with my 2 rottweilers and finish The Life of Pi. I also plan to sit and watch all the episodes of Psych that I have missed due to my mom's 10 o'clock school night curfew, it will be a good day. I also have to make a Costco run because I plan to give each of my parents a mug with my face on it for Christmas presents. They have no idea that I am planning this so it should be funny to see how they react. My brothers are probably going to be extremely jealous that they didn't think of it themselves and will have to watch my parents drink out of the coolest mug ever. Sometime over the break I have to meet up with Camie and Molly for our Christmas present exchange. I plan to draw them both something amazing, but that is going to be a ton of effort on my part. I have a feeling that because I am going to be off school for so long my dad is going to put me to work out on the property because he has absolutely no sense of what is to cold when it comes to being outside. God forbid he use either of my muscle bound brothers, that would be way to easy. I will also spend some time at my Grandma Betty's house. She watches my little brother Daniel during the day and is nearly always willing to make me something to eat. I basically plan on gaining a few pounds due to all the food that I will without a doubt consume. But don't worry, because I have to stay in shape for Drill Team I am supposed to work out over the break, mainly focusing on running (endurance for our new kick routine) and flexibility (because we do either the splits or a toe-touch or both during nearly every routine) I have made plans with a few of my friends (Justin, Chandler, and Kyle) to go running on the track sometime over this two weeks. I have a feeling that I will not be able to keep up with them, I am very out of shape when it comes to my endurance. I also plan to have an emotional breakdown at sometime during the Christmasy days and text Colin even though I am not supposed to, who knows maybe something good will happen, long distance relationships aren't that hard I suppose. I will of course have Christmas dinner with my grandparents and unfortunately my cousin Shannon and her children (luckily my cousin Justin and his awful kids aren't going to be over while I am there). At my Dad's house we do our Christmas on Christmas Eve so my little brother Jake will probably wake us all up at 7ish or maybe even 6ish, my brother Terry will probably make plans to go to Starbucks at 4 in the morning and I will be the only one that gets up because he will over sleep or just decide that he doesn't care anymore and I will have gotten up for no reason and will spend the remaining time before Jake wakes us all up to try to fall back asleep. This Christmas will be a little weird because my stepmother and her family won't be there so we will have an unstressful morning and it will throw us all off. I know that on the 27th I have to go and clean Myrtle's apartment and then on the 28th I have to go to the Red Lion and do the Christmas Tree Forest tear down for 3 hours. That is all that I have planned so far for my break.

Poetry Out Loud and Me

The poem that I have chosen to memorize is Fairy-Tale Logic by A.E. Stallings. This first caught my eye with the title, I may be nearly 17 years old but I love fairy tales. They almost always have a happy ending, and frankly what girl doesn't like fairy tales. I love that this poem is mildly poking fun at all the tests and trials that people in fairy tales are willing to endure. They do some pretty crazy things. They cross sulphuric lakes in leaky boats, princes slay dragons, there is
always some sort of wild test that probably wouldn't happen in the real world.
I think that to perform this poem I will have to do little girly things, like spirit fingers when it refers to magic, and I really have to try not to play with my hair (its a nervous habit). Seeing as I already have a fairly girly voice I won't have to work very hard to get the fairy tale point across. My face will look happy, which it already nearly always does anyway. I don't feel like I will have to work very hard to convey the meaning of the poem, its pretty straight forward.
I think that after hearing this poem people will probably look at fairy tales in a whole new light. They will understand the references in the poem, like "the language of snakes, perhaps, an invisible cloak". People will recognise that as a Harry Potter reference and will probably laugh whether they like that series or not. It will be easy for people to connect to and they will probably get a good laugh out of it, I know I did.

Poetry Out Loud

Part 1:website cruising
1. Sadie and Maud by Gwendolyn Brooks
2. Ox Cart Man by Donald Hall
3. One Perfect Rose by Dorothy Parker
4. The Emperor of Ice-Cream by, Wallace Stevens
A Dream Within a Dream by, Edgar Allen Poe

Part 2:What do you Think?
1.I really liked the poem One Perfect Rose because it is sweet and every girl loves sweet things. I also liked it because it rhymed and I really prefer my poetry to rhyme because it is easier to remember when you are trying to memorize it and it is easier to read because you know where to put the emphasis.
2. I did not like The Emperor of Ice-Cream because I thought that it would be more fun just based on the title but when I actually started to read it I was a little bit disappointed because it didn't rhyme.
3. If I had to choose between these six poems I would choose to study One Perfect Rose. I really liked it because it is sweet and I would love to get a rose with a poem on it like the woman in this poem.

Part 3:
For me the easiest part of this will be voice and articulation because I am able to speak loudly and clearly thanks to my background in cheerleading and overall accuracy because I am able to remember things also thanks to my cheerleading background. The hardest part for me will be the body language because I get nervous and tend to play with my hair as well as the understanding of the poem because they are difficult for me to decipher.

Part 4:

Emmerson's Self Reliance

I feel that of the two essays I am more able to connect with Self Reliance. This could be because it is easier to understand and has a few quotes in it that everyone should hear during their life time. One of my favorite quotes from the essay is "that envy is ignorance:that imitation is suicide: that he must take himself for better or worse". I was able to connect to these small pieces of advice because I can honestly say that I have wished to have more than I have, its human nature. We strive for more than what we have, frankly human nature as a whole is a tad bit greedy.
I was especially able to connect to "imitation is suicide" because when I was little there was nothing I wanted more than to be my sister. She is a gorgeous girl and she always had this air of confidence about her that I always wanted. I literally followed her everywhere and wanted to do absolutely everything that she was doing and I wanted to wear all her clothes and have her do my hair and makeup. But I started to realize that she didn't like the things that I liked, she didn't play football out in the rain and mud with my brothers like I always loved to do. She was the girly cheerleader (ha ha which I did eventually turn into) who didn't want to get dirty or spend time outside period. The more I tried to be like her the less of myself I was, the old Sam was disappearing. I think that I finally came to a good compromise, I did become the fairly girly dancer and I like to get my hair done and get dressed up, but I can also throw down and take my brothers on in football (a thanksgiving tradition) I can even out eat and out burp my brothers...I think that I became a good mixture of both my sister and I, but all in all its me, no one else.

Essay Writing

Over the years I have written countless essays, some better than others. One amongst the millions that I wrote last year was about the character Hoppy Groenwald from Bryce Courtenay's The Power of One and how he related to the main character PK. Hoppy is one of my favorite characters and he served as a real inspiration to PK when he really needed a friend more than ever and is even the man who inspired him to begin boxing. I enjoyed writing this essay and it really taught be how easy it can be to write a quality essay when you have the proper format and know what you are doing. I learned how important quotes are and how intelligent they can make your paper sound when used properly. This essay also changed my opinion of essays. I used to think that they were the work of the devil but now I feel like I can just whip the paragraphs out and it doesn't seem as intimidating as it used to be. Liking the topic can help to, writing as essay does not have to mean hours of pencil pushing and trying to work to a dead line, it can be a fun challenge (depending on the subject)
As a writer I would say that I'm not bad, I'm definitely not the best writer in the world but I think it is one of my strong points. I have found that success comes from not trying to write as essay last minute and truly understanding your topic. Knowing the OHS format helps too. The tools you need are pretty straight forward, you need your book or source for strong concrete details (be sure to embed your quotes though because if you don't then it just doesn't work and takes away from the overall quality of your paper) a clear head, and either a computer or paper and a pencil. You also need to be able to make mistakes, you can't expect to get things right the first time (I've started this post over 3 times and I just now like it) you need to be able to problem solve, don't anger yourself, you will get your point across eventually. If you use this advice then you will find that you are able to write an essay much more smoothly and you will probably see a better grade from your teacher.

Unfair Trials

A trial in our history that could be considered unfair was the 1999 execution of Troy Farris in Texas. Farris was accused of shooting a sheriff's deputy near Fort Worth in 1984. The man admitted to being present during the drug deal but denied shooting the officer. Lawyers argued that the trial was unfair on a number of grounds including the claim that the court excluded a juror who openly expressed that he was against the death penalty (suspiiiiicious!). Farris was also denied a new trial by the US Supreme Court in 1990. Though in 1994 a similar case in which a juror who was also opposed to the death penalty was excluded the case was reversed. The court later admitted that they had been wrong in their sentencing of Troy Farris and in turn over ruled their prior ruling. However this had no effect on Farris's actual case because his lawyers were appealing at the federal level rather than the state level. In 1995 the Texas Legislator established severe restrictions on the rights of those on death row to launch new state level appeals. However the court refused to block Farris's execution and claimed that he did not fit into these new guide lines. Farris was executed and his lawyer Miss Maurie Levin claimed that it was both "infuriating and terrifying" and that she had never heard of a case where the Court had admitted to an error and yet refused to grant a new trial to the defendant. The court however claims that the were in the right based on the testimony of Farris's brother-in-law, Jimmy Daniels, who claimed that Farris had confessed the killing to him in private.
This case is similar to the Salem Witch Trials as depicted in "The Crucible" in that someone was unfairly executed. Hundreds of people were both convicted and hanged during the Salem Witch trials and there was no real proof that any of the men or women being accused had ever performed any type of magic at all. They are also similar cases in that the court stuck to their sentences based solely on the testimony of one person. For example, the court in Texas "stuck to their guns" based on the testimony of Jimmy Daniels who had no proof other than his word that his brother-in-law killed the sheriff's deputy. An example from "The Crucible" is that Rebecca Nurse was accused of being a witch and I believe sentenced to death at the end of the play based on the fact that all her children had survived into adulthood while all but one of Mrs. Putnam's babies had died. There was absolutely no proof to convict Rebecca and yet she died anyway just as Farris was executed based on something that he supposedly confessed to in confidence with no one else around to back up the claim.

The Crucible and Me

Although The Crucible is a very old play and I am not a Puritan like most of the characters in it, I am able to relate a little bit to the play. The connection that I am able to make is through Rebecca Nurse. I am not saying that I am all high and mighty and people look up to me, I'm saying that I have been falsely accused of a "crime" that I did not commit and did not find out about until it had already happened. Now before you start freaking out let me explain. In my house there is a carton of milk (among other things) that is for everyone to use and put in their coffee and cocoa and what ever else it is that you want to drink...and then there is the coffee creamer that is only to be touched or used my mother and all her important coffee needs. Then there is my 13 year old brother Jacob, and he does not like to follow rules and frankly likes to make my mother mad, however my mother thinks that he is an angel and feels that he can do no wrong (gag). Now one night Jacob made cocoa and decided that instead of putting regular milk in his mug he would use my mother's coffee creamer. He used about a quarter of what was left in the bottle actually. When my mother went to make her coffee the next morning (1/3 coffee and 2/3 creamer) she noticed how much less coffee creamer there was in the bottle than there had been the morning before. She asked Jacob and of course he said that he had nothing to do with it and his shiny little halo gleamed above his head. Having eliminated Jacob from the suspect list that left my 4 year old brother Daniel and me. Now because Daniel is 4 she didn't even think of asking him...because he can't get his own drinks. So who did she accuse? I'll give you a hint...it was me. I got a very stern talking to and was unable to have any of the coffee that she made for the rest of the month while Jacob got off scott-free and even made a point of telling my mom that he was certain that it was me who had done it.
How does this relate to Rebecca Nurse you ask? Well Rebecca Nurse was accused (and later hanged) of being a witch. She was an outstanding member of society and most everyone liked her and her husband. She basically did absolutely no wrong but was accused and sentenced for a crime she was not a part of. She was able to recite all of her bible verses and wanted nothing to do with Samuel Parris's witch hunt, which I would say should have proven that she was innocent. She reacted the same way that I did when I was accused of the "coffee creamer crime", we both immediately admitted that we had nothing do with anything of the sort. Which most people (the people at the trial and my mother) immediately take as protesting to much, a sure sign of guiltiness. We are both women who did not deserve the punishment that we received for crimes that we did not commit.

America

America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. But what does it mean to be an American? To me it means that I do not have to fight for freedom and that I am born with rights that people in other countries are fighting for. As American we have our rights and our downfalls in common. We are not economically strong at the moment but we are coming out of our recession and we will recover eventually. We all have our freedom in common and we have our natural rights in common. Our ancestors fought for them, hence Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson in the Enlightenment and all those people who signed our Declaration of Independence.
As for goals we mainly are trying to succeed and be the best that we can be. I wouldn't say that we all share one big dream, other than upholding our nation, I think that we all have different dreams that make up America in their own way. Everyone has a purpose, what would we do without all the custodians or garbage men all the way up to the president of the United States. We all make a difference in our own way, even if it is not in the way that you thought you would as a child. I personally want to start my own business someday or maybe even be a stockbroker ( I know shocking right? I'm so bubbley all the time that this would just seem to normal for me). Not everyone has the same dreams as me, some people want to be president or a rockstar or whatever crazy thing a person can dream up. I think that the "stereotypical" American dream is to have a family and be financially stable and just be happy. I totally agree with this dream but I feel that everyone comes into this dream in their own way.