The clear-blue water was cold on our hot skin when we jumped into the pool. It cooled us off as we rose from under the surface. There was a cacophony of splashing and yelling as we jumped in and felt the water's cold hand grab hold of our bodies and pull us under. We entertained ourselves by playing pool basketball and tips. All of us together. Close friends and people I had just met having a great time together. We all raised ourselves out of the enormous, blue bowl and onto the boiling, gray pavement. We went under the sun umbrella to get out of the blistering heat. Everyone brought all sorts of food for us to eat. We feasted on pretzels and oreos as we talked the rest of the afternoon away.
I chose this piece because I feel that I did a good job describing the pool's atmosphere that day. I made a reference to another poem we talked about this year when I called the pool a "blue bowl". I tried to use personification when I mentioned the water taking hold of us and pulling my friends and I under. I tried to use descriptive adjectives to describe the pool and what was happening that day. I think that made it a better piece, and also more entertaining for readers.
This quarter I finished four books. This is one more book than I finished last quarter. I read the Color of Waterby James McBride, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, as well as Decision Points by George W. Bush. My books were quite challenging for me especially because they were all long. It made me read a lot. I chose this level of rigor becasue I felt that in my last quarter of reading I did not challenge myself enough. I wanted to do better this quarter and to really learn from my reading. The best book that I read this quarter was Decision Points by George W. Bush. This was a great book because it was an autobiography that went deeper into various topics about our former president that I never knew before. It had some great stories and details about past events and other things that I never knew before reading it. I have discovered that I tend to enjoy nonfiction more than fiction. I like reading autobiographies and biographies and learning from other people's experiences.
I definitely achieved my reading goals from last quarter. I read more challenging books and I read not only fantasy books, but nonfiction which I have found that I enjoy more. For the third quarter, I would like to read five books with at least three different genres. This will help me continue to try out new genres and read more books. My second goal is to read over two thousand pages. Not only do I want to read more books, but I also would like to challenge myself to read longer books. I want to do this so that it will force me to read more often to reach that goal.
The Puritans (group of reformed English Protestants) would like to shut down the Globe Theater. The Globe attracts many different kinds of people, from gamblers to beggars and all sorts of other rogues. The young, mischievous people love The Globe and all theaters like it. However, Puritans despise these new theaters due to all of the immoral activities that take place. The objections that the Puritans have about the theaters are quickly spreading among the respectable citizens of society. Many people are beginning to agree with the Puritan's views of the theaters. The Puritans are looking towards Parliament to take action against the theaters to suppress the bad activity that is currently taking place in the theaters.
The Puritans are gaining a lot of power in Parliament. The conflict between the Puritans and Royalists is starting to cause the outbreak of an English Civil War. With their recently gained power, Puritans shut down the theaters that they believe are metaphorical marketplaces of immorality. The people believe that the outcome of the war will determine whether or not the theaters ever open up again. The Puritans have already started to demolish the theaters so it seems unlikely that they will ever reopen. Participation in any plays could result in severe punishment by Puritan authorities due to new strict laws against the theaters. For now, I advise my readers to stay away from the recently outlawed theaters so that no one gets harmed.
My symbol shows how in A long Way Gone, narrator Ishmael Beah locks his feelings and past memories away during his time at the Benin Rehabilitation Center like someone would lock away money in a safe. Ishmael created a wall between his past from the war and the present and does not let anyone through to help him. Until, a nurse named Esther got through to Ismael's memories that he had been hiding for months. Ismael only talks about his experiences in the war with Esther for a long time before opening up to anyone else. The combination lock shows that even though the safe is tightly sealed, there will always be a combination to unlock it. These child soldiers can always be rehabilitated.
"Esther got me to tell her some of m dreams. She would just listen and sit quietly with me" (Beah, 160). The dreams that Ishmael was having in this quote were about his past memories. This quote connects to the symbol because this was one of the first times that Ishmael opens up about his dreams (or memories). This is one of the first times that he "unlocks the safe" of his past.
I chose these poems because I have never formatted poems like these. With very short lines and sentences. I did this to try and copy the format of the poems that we had studied those days. I liked in my second poem the way that I used parentheses to show the sounds of a ball in a game. I felt that it helped to make my poem much more creative and fun to read.
In the first quarter of my ninth grade year I finished 3 books and almost finished a fourth as well. The four that I read were books one-four in the Harry Potter series. I have never read four books in a nine week period so I feel proud of this accomplishment. These books were not very challenging for me even though they are long. The vocabulary used in these books is not very advanced. I knew they would not be challenging but still read them because I really enjoy the movies and I have never had the chance to read them before now. Since I do have the chance to read them I took that opportunity. I believe that the best book I have read this semester was Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. This was my favorite book because I like the plot of it better than that of the others. All of these books are written with great detail which I love but I thought that the story of this book was the most intriguing.
The goals I will set for my second quarter reading would be to move on from the low level Harry Potter series and to read some books that will challenge me. I would really like to extend my vocabulary so that I can write better. Reading books of a high level will help with this tremendously. My second goal would be to read books of different genres. In the first nine weeks I have only read fantasy, and some of a memoir. In the second nine weeks I want to challenge myself to read books that have different genres so that I can get a better feel for what my favorite genre is.
I would not call my first quarter reading spiritual. This is because I could not connect well to the books I was reading. Although they do have a theme, I have trouble connecting it back to my life due to the books being fantasy. I think to go deeper I must read more books that are realistic. I believe reading more nonfiction and realistic fiction will help me comprehend and apply the theme of the book into my own life.
I have finally come to the place Where things can come off the shelf So I can try to learn from mistakes And not be so hard on myself.
I no longer need to be opaque It's time for me to see That my failures and past mistakes Do not label me.
No longer trusting what used to assure Sorting out things that will last Mistakes filter out what really endures Permitting to learn from the past.
I know life has its ups and downs I can't help things don't go to plan But mistakes no longer bring 'that frown' Now that I know who I am.
The theme of my narrative is that people can and will make mistakes but that it is alright to make some mistakes. In my narrative this theme is conveyed when I make the mistake of talking right after my teacher had told us to stop. This shows that people will make mistakes because mistakes are unavoidable. The second detail is that my teacher talked to me and told me that it was okay that I had made a mistake. This detail is huge in my narrative because this is where I had the realization that making mistakes is okay and that mistakes occur from time to time. This detail is also where I realized mistakes will not stick with me forever. I realized mistakes do not define me or any other person. The third is that I take a new approach to making mistakes because this is where I describe the change in my view that took place in the very short amount of time after my teacher talked to me.
The theme of the poem above is that people will make mistakes but that people must learn from there mistakes and move on. A detail that promotes this theme is where Hall talks about learning from his mistakes. Also how he will not be extremely hard on himself for making mistakes because he can learn from them in the end. When Hall talks about how mistakes will not label him he also conveys his theme because to truly learn from your mistakes you can not dwell on them and allow these mistakes to categorize who you are as a person. A third detail from this poem that helps to advocate Hall's theme is where Hall states, "Permitting to learn from the past". This line develops the theme of the poem by helping us to understand that we are able to or permitted to learn from the past. That the past helps us not make the same mistakes again.
For my first blog post I was asked to choose a quote that represents my personality. There are lot's of quotes that I really like but one that shows a belief that I value perfectly. One of the best soccer players to ever live, Pelé, once said, "Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing" (Pelé). I really love this quote for many reasons but you may ask, who is Pelé?
Pelé is considered the greatest soccer player of all time to some people. He was born on October 23, 1940 and raised in Brazil. He also played soccer in Brazil, for Santos professional soccer club when he was 15, and the Brazilian national team when he was 17. He competed in the world cup many times for Brazil. His efforts helped Brazil win three world cup titles. Pelé was an outstanding soccer player and is also an outstanding person as he is an ambassador for soccer and other humanitarian causes. If you would like more information on Pelé, click on the link http://www.biography.com/people/pel%C3%A9-39221.
I really love this quote for many different reasons. I can connect to every word in the quote because I truly believe that if you are doing something that you don't love, then you are wasting your time. We have a limited time to live on earth, and I do not believe that we should let this time go to waste by doing things we don't enjoy. If you do not have a true passion for what you are doing, then you need to find something else to do. Otherwise you are just wasting precious time. Not only are you wasting time if you are doing something you do not love, but you will also never be truly successful. Success is not just about how much money you make or how big your house is. It's about passion and love. If you love what you do, if you are passionate about what you do, then you can be successful no matter what. Don't get me wrong, success isn't just given to anyone who loves what they do. Like the great Pelé stated, it is no accident to be successful. I love to play soccer, and I have worked hard to improve my skills for a while now.
I am a student of the game, and I study it all the time, I constantly work on drills even if I don't get them down after a few tries. I connect to this quote because I can apply every word of it to my life. You have to work hard, persevere, learn, study, and sacrifice to be successful. If you combine all of those things with a passion and there is absolutely nothing that can stop you from being successful. I know this as a fact because it has happened to me. I learn and study for school, and I end up getting good grades. I work hard, and I persevere in soccer, and I made the high school team. This quote is so good because it can inspire anyone to be successful through a few simple tips from a man anyone would consider to be very successful. Those are the reasons I chose that quote from Pelé and I hope others will connect to it as well.
