Stories...

Tonight was a lot of fun, even though there weren't that many kids there. It was fun to hang out with everybody in class and just be relaxed and have fun. Ross your little sister is fricken smart!!! I couldn't believe it. Now its time to put work into our exam projects, this should be fun too

This is frustrating!

Dear Ms. Stariha,

I have been trying to comment on people's posts sense thursday and it won't let me! I make sure I am signed in before I comment, but it still kicks me back to the sign in page. It happens over and over again! I think it is so weird that it will let me post but not comment! grrrr! Any one else having this problem? Oh wait, if you are you will not be able to comment! HAHA!

So close.. yet so far away!

Well my fellow classmates, we have ourselves less than a week before we are done with high school and off to college, well hopefully all of us will be. I also wanted to say good job everybody on your senior projects they were great. Now onto the community project and exam project. I'm not quite sure what my project is going to look like, I was thinking about writing a song and making a video kind of thing but I'm not so good with making videos, but if someone wants to sing the song for me let me know (I can't sing). I also had some concerns about the project at the elementary school tomorrow, has anyone chosen books like Green Eggs and Ham? Because if nobody has then I might just choose that book.

Jeez Louise...or...whatever

Wow! So I just got home from a seven hour shift of scooping ice cream. Which wouldnt be so bad except I broke a nail off scooping and moving the stuff and then dropped a 3 gallon bucket of ice cream on my toe...lovely huh? Well anyway I though my group, and everyone else for that matter, did great on our senior project! Even though I had never hung out with anyone in my group before we had a great time working together! I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time!! Now that that stress is gone I have something new to worry about! My procrastinator roots are showing as I sit up at midnightish trying to think of an idea for my exam project. I know the central theme I want to use but have no clue what method to use to get the effect I'm looking for! I know my exam project last trimester was joke but...well...I wish it would work again for this trimester!!

Off On A Good Note

Well, now it seems like the rest of this class is going to be quite fun. We got the tough things out of the way (everyone did very well by the way) and now we get to read books to little kids and create a project of whatever we want to! Not only that but we graduate the end of this week! Everything has gone by so quickly, its simply amazing. The things that I have learned and learned to do in this class are so great. I never used to read a book, a magazine, or watch a tv ad and analyze why they said or wrote what they did. Now I do. And I feel like I have so much more understanding of what is being said. I catch myself analyzing things all the time!! That is just one thing that I have taken away from this class. So, amidst the tough and stressful assignments, College English has gone above and beyond my expectations, and so I have of myself.

Last hard week...

I'm really glad the presentations are finally over. However, I do admit that I really enjoyed learning information about my group members' topics along with all of the other group members' presentations as well. I really did learn a lot overall.

I really don't feel like I did very good individually. I felt pretty calm when I was presenting infront of the class on Wednesday, but the library just made me lose focus. I was really nervous because there were more adults (not just Stariha) and it was a different setting than just at in the classroom. I'm really thankful for all of the support both in class and at the library.

Lastly, it has come time for our service and exam projects. I am excited for both. I know I will have a lot of fun reading to the little kids and I'm excited for the exam project because my groups idea is very unique and different. I really hope everyone will like it. :)

Exam project

When's the exam project due?

The End......

So our Senior Project is over with, I'm so thankful for that! There were about seven people at our presentation, which really didn't shock me because it's Memorial Day weekend. Our group did pretty well, we had milk and cookies at the presentation.
And after we were done we went out to eat at Schooners. Our group was kind of awkward/random, but we all had a good time working together (for the most part). And just about every time we met we had pizza!
Now time to worry about the Service Project and Exam Project. I think I know what I'm doing with both, but I'm going to work with some of my friends in this class tomorrow and work everything out, so I'm excited about that!
Graduation. I have been wanting graduation to come all year. I have been so excited to leave all these people behind and begin my life. But the fact that I have become close to certain people scares me. The thought keeps running through my head, "what if they never talk to me again?! What if I don't make new friends?!" I am so scared to graduate now. Fourteen years of being in school is hard not to miss, right?! Uggghh, I don't know....

A tad depressed.....................................................................

I felt my group today performed excellently!  We were able to make individual improvments, our powerpoint was fixed of minor bugs, and we had a niffty intro.

And no one saw it..........

Only one student came, Alex (thanks man!), then the last four were parents.  Our handouts were booklets!!!  We only gave out about 5 of 50!

I feel our message, and one of the most important ones of the groups, fell on deaf ears.  We were supposed to inform the public, and we failed.  But we did do a good job.  It just bugs me that I invited SSOOOO many teachers and others, and (almost) no one supported us............

Senior Project Presentation

I am so proud of our Student Outreach group and felt so comfortable practicing in front of them. I felt really bad when I had noticed that there wasn't much time left for Emily, Sarah and Brian but not having the time constraint at the public library definitely felt better. We did have a great audience and I actually was glad that they had asked questions and that we all had an answer for each question. I know that I actually spoke a lot but that's not really different than any other time, but I really felt like I needed to stress the importance about ESL in our schools and how Shelby lacks the programs and methods that we need in order to improve the English language. I'm hoping people learned so valuable information and that changes are made due to our informational presentations.

WOOOOHOOOOO!!

The Student Out Reach group has offically presented and completed their senior projects! What a relief! I am so excited that this HUGE assignment is completed and boy does it feel good!

I was not here on Monday and I am a little confused about our exam project. When is it due? Is it the same assignment as last tri? I would apprieciate any info!

It's a shame really...

Yesterday, I felt that Chris Anderson was really connecting with the presentation.  I think this was one of the only times he got to really use his brain on current topics, and it showed.  It looked like he really liked where the class was going, and it's a shame he wasn't in the class.

Him, and Sam Reenders.  He could have gained a lot from the class.

2 more days...

We only have 2 actual days left of school, and looking back the
last 4 years have gone by soo fast! I never would have thought
that high school would fly by so quickly. But I'm ready to move
on with college and the rest of my life. I'm glad to have the majority
of my assignments done with just this college English exam and a few
small assignments for other classes!! And to also be done with the senior
project presentation! GoOd LuCk to the other groups! The end is so close!

GAH!

I did so terrible in class yesterday!! I asked Chelsea to switch my slides last minute but then I forgot that they were switched. Not only that, I was talking so much and forgot to have Becca switch the slides at all.

However, I felt like I did a lot better at the Library. It felt more casual so I felt a lot better. I only messed up once and I tried to cover it up as best I could.

I feel relieved to be done with my senior project, but I am still TERRIFIED about what my grade is going to be.....I lose sleep at night because of it. I used a technique that Mrs. Gauthier told me about going to sleep at night. She said to write out a list of everything I'm thinking about, i.e. things I have to have done for the next day. It really helped when I was working on my project so I always knew what I had to get done, but it doesn't help with the stress of waiting for the grade.

She also told me to make a checklist of everything I had to do before graduation, and that really helped to organize my thoughts. Every time I could check off something, I felt really good.

Tomorrow is my last full day of high school. It's the ending of an era. I'm scared to move on, but excited to leave my childhood behind and move to a new place and start a new life.

Thankful

Phew i'm so reliefed that my group has presented, overall i felt like our group did pretty good and i appreciate all of our classmates that came out to suppourt us, I hope you guys enjoyed our presentation.

..this is so crazy!

presenting first was pretty scary, but I'm glad it's over with now! good luck to all future presenters. and it's so crazy that school is coming to an end. it's all so surreal :/ but I'm ready, I'm ready to get away and find out what life is really made of!

As for the exam project..I have to start working on some ideas. Because I'm not sure where to begin.

But this class has deffinitely beeen great with all of my classmates and having Ms. Stariha has a teacher!

RELIEF!!!

Hurray! I'm done with my presentations! I think our group did well, not everything was perfect, but overall I think we did well. I'm satisfied with the performance we gave and I'm pretty confident that we earned at least a B overall! Good job team!!! We DESTROYED out presentation!!! Good luck to all the other groups!

:(

Due to the lack of close friends I have in this class... I do not have a partner for the service project yet. I honestly don't care who I am partnered with because I get along with everyone in the class. I'd just like to know who wants to be my partner..
:(

SO EXCITED

YEY im so excited for this week! im ready to present this crap! YEAH!!!!! WHOOT! lol im ready and i feel really confident that my group will do well! good luck everyone

almost there..

Well I'm getting close to finishing up my research paper, its coming along pretty good. But the main problem I'm having is that some of my information is not strong enough to build a long discussion off of it. But either than that I'm actually glad that my group is the first to go because that just meanst that we'll be the first to get it over with and we'll have the rest of the week to watch everybody else present and not have to worry about ours. Good luck everyone!

Can it be?

Could it really REALLY be?!? The end of school just a few days away?! I cant believe it! This year has gone by so fast!! Not to say that there havnt been times where its gone soooo slow that I wanted cry BUT overall its flown!! Only two major things left. One of which being my research paper. Its done and I think it might be ok...but I'm horrified to press the send button!! Theres something finishing it and doing all the editing you can and then actually sending it away. Maybe thats how our parents feel when they send us to college. Like they've done all the work they possibly could but just arn't quite ready to have it evaluated. Kind of a strange thought...comparing a person to a paper. I guess that just goes to show how huge this class has been to me lately. Its really helping though! Despite the stress and occasional tears as I sit, still awake, at 3 in the morning trying to put finishing touches on some phrase or another. I must say that I do enjoy writting now...which I never would've thought was possible like...24 weeks ago! When people say you dont like it because your not very good at it they seem to be right. The changes in my writting style and just transitions alone is clear between my argument essay and this giant paper. Though thats not to say I'm perfect...just to say that I'm better than I was!! So in a very round about way I'm simply trying to say thankyou! Not just to Ms. Stariha although she deserves it, but to the whole class! Our conversations and debates have been PRICELESS!!! I have learned so much and have grown in my opinions to the point where my old self looks just a tad pathetic. But there I go again...rambling...maybe I should hit that little send button and get some sleep!

Can't Wait

Well I can't wait for this week to be over. And i guess know one else knew the answer to my question either....oh well. I just hope this class doesnt prevent me from graduating. That would suck. But hey, one more full week of our high school careers. Crazy.

Just A Lil' Bit Further...

So as our last week of high school comes upon us, I feel anxious and invigorated!!! My group is the first to present, and our research papers are due tomorrow. I can't wait to get out of highschool and to start my life. Recently it seems like this year is ending very badly in my case... and I'm just not sure of how to shake it off....So instead I am just throwing myself into my studies..... weeeeeird lolol

stress...almost over...

getting my paper done, meeting with my group this weekend, and being done with the reading has helped taken the stress of my shoulders!
i have been so overwhelmed with everything but its finally cutting down...
i feel ready for thursdays presentation and im ready to finish this senior project.
if i am stressing now i can only imagine how next year is gonna be!!! :/
ms stariha! be ready for lots of emails from me... :))

Final week......

This is our last full week in class, and im excited.
I'm sick of high school and college english right now to be honest.
This research paper has got me frustrated because its hard to go
in depth on certain aspects of the paper when their is no research
out there and its becoming very tedious. Im ready to have this
paper, and the presentation done!

The End is Near (not the end of the world however)

I am kinda excited for this week. It's like we're on the downside now, and the presentations will be a good ending. The end of the year is coming so soon, and so fast!! It's a releif to get my research paper done with, and my slides of our powerpoint are super close to being done.
As much as we dislike the project now, I feel like if I could survive this, then college is going to be a bit easier. It's like a preview of what's to come, which I like. :]

HEY!

Do we need an annotated bibliography tomorrow or just a reference sheet? or both?

Finishing My Paper.

Reading through my commented rough draft, I noticed a note from Ms. Stariha saying that I need more development of the faultiness of the sequential grade structure we use. In reading this, my soul sunk. I have been looking for the past 8 weeks for research for or against the current sequential grade structure, and I have found NONE. Upon talking to Prof. Boerema from Calvin College, he told me that I may not find research for this particular topic because it is one that is not discussed heavily. He said that we don't want to talk about it because we don't want to change it, and things of that nature. I am afraid that I will do terribly on this paper because I have no evidence supporting the faultiness of the system. It's not because I didn't try. It's not because I slacked off. It's not because I procrastinated. It's because it was not available to me.

On the Research paper.....

Are the references supposed to come first, then the graphs and survey results?

Or are the graphs and results first, then the reference page last????


Or doens't it matter?

UUUUGHHHH

OKAY so i dont about you guys but i feel releived to be finally done with this stupid Senior project. Now its only group work. Can anyone help me remeber when our group is going, i hope not wensday because i have a staff meeting soooooo..... yeah its for a job?? Also i dont know if our group got together today or not, NO ONE called me to let me know sooooo.

Senior Project

Everything is finally coming together! I got my section of the powerpoint done and today our group is meeting. What a relief. I've been working on my paper all weekend and got some great feedback last week on it. Its almost finished! I have to say getting help from Mrs. Stariha really helps a lot because I understand things a lot better after I talk to her. The test on friday also went well I thought. Here comes the points for the grade book! I cant wait to see how I have done! :)

this is kicking my butt!

gotta keep plugging away.. open house tmrw sooo today is all i have!

ahhhhhh...!

Finished!!!

Finally im done with my powerpoint and research Paper! what a relief!

HELP, QUICK!

How do I cite my interview or my survey again?????????

I am starting to feel better about the senior project. I am making time to work as hard as I can on my paper, and I think it is paying off. I am really glad that my group is finding time to work around schedules in order to get together. Even though this weekend is definitely one of my busiest ones yet, I know it will all work out. I will be glad when we get our projects out of the way so we can finish off the class (and year) with our community service project. I am actually looking forward to that. I am starting to realize that yes, this is a lot of work, but it will definitely help me out when the fall rolls around. I do believe that this class has helped me become a better writer although I know I still have a long ways to go. I have learned that complaining does nothing to better my education or attitude, so their is no point in it. So I would like to say thank you Stariha for everything you have taught me. You have been a big help and inspiration to me throughout the last trimester. I'm glad I could be one of your students. :)

Waste want not got want...not?

Waste not, want not!  There we go!

Well, I just got my first revision back of my rough draft, but even though it was a tad late, it's been SSSUUPPER D DDDUUPPER.  I've already made a ton of revisions, and it's all for the best.

The color purple is a good color.  The novel "The Color Purple" was also very satisfactory.  I'm kind of a sap for happy endings.  The test proved to be an adversary rather than a foe, which is great since I had to only glance through Nettie's letters since I was behind... But I finished it!  And I think it might be my favorite of the four novels.  (JGHG is a very, VERY close second).

I don't really have much more to say.

Have a good weekend!!

Senior Project

Our Senior Project research paper is due this Monday. I have been working extremely hard on this paper and feel confident about it. Ms. Stariha has definitely been a great help and has answered all the questions that I have had. I feel like my paper is extremely long but it is the information that needs to be present in order for me to explain everything about ESL in Shelby Public Schools. I'm excited and nervous for next week and am hoping that our group is able to get together more.

Also, lets not forget that today in class was the last College English test that we are going to take. I'm hoping that I answered the questions fully and didn't summarize what was happening in the book. I tried to answer everything directly and explain its importance to the theme of The Color Purple.

Well best of luck to all next week. :)

..(:

today was our final test on our final novel..WOW! this class seemed to have just flew by. I never realized how much you could get from a book, but now I know to really dig deep into the novels I read because I might get some important messages out of them.

I am also really proud of my group, making an effort and us all working together. I was so nervous when I found out we had to speak for ten minutes, but just going over my couple of slides now..it's not going to be hard..actually, I think it will be harder to try to keep at the ten minute range.

This weekend, is going to be filled with editing my research paper..and work, but that doesn't really matter. But I do have lots of questions on the research paper, about citing stuff, and transistioning..so if anyone has a really gooood research paper could you e-mail it to me so I can just look at it..and see, and improve mine!?

thanks guys!


and thanks to Stariha for being such a great teacher!!!

Now, it's time for me to kick butt, at all this college english stuff so I get a goood or passing grade!

Lots of stuff!

So, at about 8:00 last night I suddenly felt the erg to rewrite my personal narrative. My original paper was not that great, lets be honest Casey and Taylor, so I decided the best thing I could do is start over. I completely changed my topic. Originally, I was avoiding the topic of my brother Benjamin, and decided to take the paper in a different direction. But, last night I realized that I was not being true to myself. Our personal narratives are suppose to be the thing, or person, who made the biggest impact on our lives, and I know in my heart that it is my brother that has impacted me and made me the person that I am.

Originally, I did not feel comfortable writing about this because it is something extremely personal. But then I realized that other people were sharing extremely personal things so I felt good about changing my paper. Thanks for sharing everyone!

I'm totally changing gears now but I am kind of sad that we are taking our final test over our final novel tomorrow! I never thought I would say this but, I am sad to be done with our class discussions! I got so much out of these books because of my fellow classmates! Thank you everyone for sharing your opinions, you have helped my greatly!

And in case I don't get a chance to say this later on, College English has been worth all of the stress and work. I already know that this was the right decision for me. I feel so much more confident knowing that I have had this experience when I go into my first year of college. Thank you so much Mrs. Stariha for motivating me to do my best! I appreciate all of your hard work as a teacher and I will for sure recommend College English to underclassmen!

i finally finished my personal narrative!

im so happy!

and feel so good about it!

thank goodness!

ps... i like the color purple :)

I love my life right now :)

There's so much to say right now! First of all, the poem Mushrooms I did not understand at first, but when we got in groups to discuss Emily and Kristen told me how a mushroom is on the ground and it's stepped on a lot, and I realized that it's connected to The Color Purple because Celie was like a mushroom. Secondly, I am so glad we're working with our groups now, my group is very motivated and I'm actually being pushed to work extremely hard! I'm currently putting some final touches on my personal narrative, everytime I read it I really want to cry. It's about some of my friends and how they helped me to change. And I have been opening my eyes to so many things lately and have been getting so close with some of my friends and having heart to hearts and whatnot and it truly has made me realize I am not alone and I never will be and that my friends seriously are THE BEST! Y'all do know who you are, thanks so much for changing me as well as making me so happy! I'm not naming any names, just because I don't know if this person wants anyone to know this, but I've been talking/texting one of my friends and we're talking about intense things that I can't even talk to my family about because my family isn't really close to me and I just think it's so weird that I have a difficult time communicating with my family but some of my friends I can just spill my thoughts out to them. I also think my mind has broadened by taking this class, so there you go Stariha, you changed another student!

Stand Up!!!

The poem we talked about today was really cool! It matched everything we've been talking about lately with the Color Purple and all. In both writings people are held down by not doing anything to stand up for themselves. Once they finally realize that it's been enough, they stand up and fix things. This is what everyone must do. We all have problems and no ones life is perfect. When something gets us down and holds us back, we have to face it, beat it, and be better than it in the end! We have to destroy our problems or else they'll continue to hinder us in the long run. This idea is applicable to almost any situation I can think of... So let's not let the world and our circumstances rule us, lets conquer them and fight for a better tommorrow!!! STAND UP!!!

Thank-you!

I want to thank Casey, Emily, and Ross for reading my personal narrative. You're guys' tips and suggestions made my paper sound amazing! Also, I greatly enjoyed reading each of yours.

WORK

This week is going to be filled with a bunch of work but with good teamwork from the group I'm in, will spread the workload around which creates a less stressful life for the people in the group. I'm not procrastinating about this project at all and I'm going to work hard for my group. I think we got pretty far today when we got together too, thanks Ross and Casey.

Off topic for recent assignments...

This is random to the events that we have been working on in class, but I've been reading the color purple. I'm not sure what page we are supposed to be on as of now, so if anyone could answer that, it would be great? But my thoughts as of now on the book, is that Celie is finally standing up to Mr. ........ and becoming a strong empowered woman. She has learned from Shug's example and now she no longer fears her overbearing husband. That's what I have for the week :)

work, work (:

this week is obviously going to be filled with tons of college english work. but i can already tell it will all be worth it in the end.

i loved the personal narrative assignment though..it makes me sad..a litttle bit.

and thanks so much for postponing are due date for our paper Ms. Stariha (:

I'm feeling an attack coming on...

Panic attacks are some of the scariest things, and I'm feeling one...What if I don't get done with my paper? What if we don't get our ppt done in time? What if I forget about my personal narrative? What if I forget to read the book? What if our service project falls through? What if our community forum is a bust? What if we don't get our calculus project done in time? What if I don't have enough time to do all this AND go to work half the week? THESE WHAT IFS ARE KILLING ME!

It's all I can think about night and day, and it's keeping me from sleeping...

It started with a feeling...

Im so excited schools about to end... sorry peoples hope i never see you again... lol JK... maybe... we some of you haha! the novels we read this year have really helped me with inner character development and i wish i would have read them before this class.

The Bluest Eye ******SPOILER ALERT!!*******

I finished reading The Bluest Eye on Thursday, and I have to say that the ending was not at all what I expected. I do not understand how or why the girl got her blue eyes. I mean, I know why she wanted them, but why would the church guy give them to her, and how could he? Is this some kind of metaphor for something else? Noble told me that Pecola just went crazy and is imagining all of the ending (with her blue eyes,) but this doesn't make much since to me either! I wish that there was more then just three of us reading this book so that we could talk about this as a class, but at least it is Noble and Eric, and I know they can help me out. Im counting on you boys!

Personal Narratives..

I'm actually having a lot of fun with this assignment. I like how we are able to write in any style we want to (pretty much). Too bad all our writing assignments aren't like this one. Oh and I was also wondering about the new community project, if we go read the storybooks to the elementary schoolers what day would we be doing this on?

See you all tomorrow

Hmmm...

I honestly have no clue what to talk about.... My personal narrative was pretty awsome to write. It felt good to get some of the things I've struggled with for years off my chest in a creative way. To be able to use words in a way that isnt boring or educational was a fun and different experience for me. It was really....cool. It kinda hurt though...rehashing all of those old emotions and memories was painful at first. I wrote about a really dark time in my life and getting it all out on paper was almost theraputic...or maybe thats just my bizarre counselor side showing. Either way I really loved this assignment!! I'm hoping there will be more like it in college classes. As a side note I've officially fallen in love with a band called Iron and Wine. They happen to be completly amazing. Their songs have an almost haunting ring to them. They make me think of freewrite music which is honestly why they're blasting through my speakers as I search for inspiration...its sorta working!

Personal Narrative

I have been revising my personal narrative a lot. It is slowly, but surely coming together. My paper is pretty personal and there are only four people in the class that I really feel comfortable sharing with. They should all know who they are. So I guess that is about it.. 10 more days of school! :)

My Blog

I did enjoy writing my personal narrative. It was way better than writing an essay or something. I also like reading other peoples. The Color Purple is coming along. I enjoy reading it. Well hopefully this week goes by fast. Adios.

Through the Looking Glass

The personal narrative is a nice break. It gives us a change of pace and a chance to be creative in the midst of our hard research project. For me, it also made me look back at the last 17 years and decide what was a big part of those years. It was a nice reflection and a 'through the looking glass' moment. As we approach graduation, its a big milestone and this personal narrative has made me slow down and look at where we've gotten. It's amazing! It seems like it has taken so long to get here, but we're not even close to starting our lives. Just from a simple personal narrative project have I derived this conclusion. I think the rhetorical analysis has kinda changed my brain, because now I think way too much into things! Maybe that's good... :]

The Bluest Eye quotes

I have finally finished the bluest eye and I would like to share some of my favorite quotes from the book. The first one is found on pg 48 when pecola goes to buy some candy from Mr. Yacobowsi she says "He does not see her, because for him there is nothing to see. How can a fifty-two-year-old white immigrant storekeeper with the taste of potatoes and beer in his mouth, his mind honed on the doe-eyed Virgin Mary, his sensibilities blunted by a permanent awareness of loss, see a little black girl? Nothin in his life even suggested that the feat was possible, not to say desirable or necessary." Another of my favorite quotes is found on page 177 in Soaphead churches letter to god he says "In retaining the identity of our race, we held fast to those characteristics most gratifying to sustain and least troublesome to maintain. Consequently we were not royal but snobbish, not aristocratic but class-conscious; we belieed authority was cruelty to our inferiors, and education was being at school. We mistook violence for passion, indolence for leisure, and thought recklessness was freedom. We raised our children and reared our crops; we let infants grow, and property develop. Our manhood was defined by acquisitions. Our womanhood by acquiescence."

Smooth sailing

This past week has been pretty good!  I've written a nice Personal Narative, The Color Purple is rolling along at a fast pace, and graduation is just around the river bend!

good good good nice nice nice flow flow flow

I can't think of anyother words right now...

All in all, I'm looking forward for the next week and whatever it brings!

Narrative

I just wrote the last paragraph of my personal narrative with tears in my eyes. It is about how I used to be completely dependent on my father until a year or two ago. I never want him to find it.

The Color Purple & My Personal Narrative

So, I am moving along pretty well on The Color Purple. Since I will be gone on Tuesday for my Orientation at Grand Valley (yay!), I will have to make sure that I read far enough ahead to be ready for discussion on Wednesday. I really like the sections where Nettie is writing to Celie from Africa. Although Celie is not reading the letters as they arrive (because of Albert), it still gives her messages that much more meaning because Celie didn't know about them in time to write back. Nettie's dedication to Celie shows that although they are both struggling (in different ways), they are still there for each other no matter what. Even though Celie hasn't been writing back, Nettie writes in hopes to reach her and because she really has no one else to turn to and express her feelings towards.

My personal narrative rough draft was not so good because I wrote it more as an essay instead of a narrative. I don't think that it will be a problem for me to transform it into one because I already have developed points about how music defines me and makes me feel. I have many (specific) stories I can use to express what I am trying to say, so hopefully I can just tie them all together and make it more of a chapter book with different experiences rather than just using one. I'm looking forward to sharing our stories. :)

Personal Narrative

"When I look closer into the empty auditorium I see the vague faces of loved ones.
Some stand out boldly in the front row, as others fade in the back.
My mothers smile becomes a spotlight shinning on her daughters bold movements..."

This personal narrative was such a great way for me to let out my emotions freely!
I have realized so much throughout my years and am so excited for my new stage of life!
I feel this is a writing assignment where we can take control of the paper and not let the paper take over us.
I am excite to hear every ones creative writings!
And the peer editing today was such a help, my group really took it seriously and it became very effective in each of our papers.
THANKS nora and becca!

Personal Narrative

I really enjoyed going over our Personal Narratives in class with a small group. I felt like my group was very understanding and did not judge what I had to say. I felt bad for breaking down while reading but my story about my father is very emotional for me. I really do want to share what I wrote but I do not want people to think my stories are boring and not necessary because each part of the diary entry I wrote is an event that is a memory that I will never forget. Becca and Bethany definitely made me feel less scared to actually share my story with others. I want people to understand the reason why I am the way that I am. Hopefully many people decide to share and we are able to get to know our senior classmates even better.

Personal Narratives

I really liked editing each others personal narratives in class today. It gave us a chance to understand someone Else's life a little better. And it really makes you realize that our senior
year is almost over, and we may never see some of these people again. Four years goes by so fast, I never thought it would fly by as quick as it has.

The Color Purple

I really liked the quiz today [hmmm, never thought I'd say that]. But what really helped me was to read the question that was asked and then ask myself the three questions Stariha told us to answer [what do you mean? how do you know? why is it important?]. And I included appropriate quotes in each of my answers that help support my point(s). So hopefully I did a lot better!

18

I thought turning 18 would be different than what it really was like. I really feel no different. I'm still close to graduation. I'm still living with my parents and brothers. I'm still going to school. I think being 18 won't sink in until I go to college.

I was watching the office a while ago and heard one of the funniest lines by Dwight (though everything he says is hilarious): "R is among the most menacing of sounds. That's why they call it murder and not mukduk." I was thinking, dang, that's almost a rhetorical analysis. I notice myself analyzing rhetoric ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!

On another note, I'm kind of disappointed that I forgot to start a blog conversation about the cycle of victimization, but I belive I understood it for the quiz. I see it all the time in today's society, especially with what we just did as a country. Osama killed us, he made a victim of us, so we killed him, made a victim of him.

Does anyone else have other examples of a modern cycle of victimization? Or one from the book?

Potential...

The book is pretty crazy and has made me do some thinking as well as connections with life at the present. The girls in the book are hindered and held down from thier full potential by men, thier race, and poor circumstances. They are defined by all the things that could describe them, but that doesn't have to be that way. In our lives also, we can all be something great, we just have to stop being dumb, lazy, permiscuous, destructive, careless, disrespectful, trashy, and not compromise our own values. Life is what you make it, so make it the best it can be, and don't let your circumstances define you... You control the outcome of your life, so make it one of value and avoid regrets!

random blog

as i was getting on to blog something a song came across my i-tunes

and it made me think...

its one of the dumbest songs i've every heard..

its called true friend by hannah montana.

why is it on my i-tunes then? long story.

but it did make me stop and think..

do true friends or "best friends forever" truly exist?

as i thought, my conclusion was..... heck no!

at least not in this point of life.

friendship takes time, effort, care, interests, caring for each other and love.

a best friend is there til the end and will be by your side no matter what.

soo can a teenage girl fulfill the criteria?

no. there is so much in a teenagers life where some people dont know the things that have really been a blessing in their life.

if you have a so called best friend...

treat them the best that you can! give them all your heart and time as you would a significant other. a friend is one of the best things in life you can have.

cherish them, treat them like gold and you will get that in return (most of the time)

listen to the song and think... does your best friend do all that for you?

if they do.. you have a keeper... if they dont... your search continues.

maybe...if i see evidence that it does exist i will believe... but for now.. im so very doubtful.

Service Project

Well after school today I talked to Stariha and she proposed a new service project for our class to do. It would basically be us going to the elementary school and reading bedtime stories to the kids. We would read little kids books to them and teach/stress the value of reading to them. I think it sounds really easy but still a good job. I don't know what people think about this?...... Im just the messenger so feel free to comment.

trying to decide what to write for my personal narrative... hmmm.....

what are you guys writing about?

Words I Never Said

Well the talk about silence today made me think about a newer song by Lupe Fiasco featuring Skylar Grey. Its called Words I Never said and its pretty sweet. You should check it out. The chorus goes as follows:

It's so loud, inside my head
With words that I should have said!
As I drown in my regrets
I can't take back, the words I never said!
I can't take back, the words I never said!

Thats Skylar Grey singing, the same chic that sings "I Need A Doctor" so it sounds sweet. Then one of Lupe's verses goes as follows:

I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence
Fear is such a weak emotion thats why I despise it
We scared of almost everything, afraid to even tell the truth
So scared of what you think of me, I'm scared of even telling you
Sometimes I'm like the only person I feel safe to tell it to
I'm locked inside a cell in me, I know that theres a jail in you
Consider this your bailing out, so take a breath, inhale a few
My screams is finally getting free, my thoughts is finally yelling through!

Yeaah its a dope song and it has alot to do with the silence in this nation. I just thought I should share it because thats what I was thinking about during our discussion today. And I forgot to blog yesterday so I hope this makes up for it...:). Peace!

personal narritives.

..this assignment sounds like so much fun! except for..i'm not sure what to center my story around, so..give me your guys's ideas..to help me think! ..(:

*cricket cricket*

So the whole silence concept today really had me thinking about how noisy and busy my life is. Even while I'm writing this, I'm listening to music. I don't really take time to be quiet, because my thoughts catch up to me. And it's almost as if my whole persona crumbles, and it's really scary. Sometimes I get scared, because I realize everything has been flying by. And I'm usually a confident and outgoing person. But when it comes to basking in the silence, I become a vulneralbe little kid again. I hate being scared... Especailly when one of the posts we read in class today was about only getting silence through death. Death is my number one fear, because I'm afraid of loosing my sense of thinking, and my memories. I don't want to loose my mind in the literal sense. I hate not knowing, or being in the 'unknown'. So having silence and death go hand in hand kind of freaked me out today...I don't know, this free write really hit me hard today so I thought just to write about it on here :/

Oh my...

Well... The Color Purple is nothing like i thought it would be but its a GREAT book!! Its kind of rought but the point made in class is true. The rough parts arnt there to be gross or in your face they're there to make you think and to set up certain ideas and characters. The first scene in the book illustrated how women in that time were seen as objects, just something to use and then discard no matter what shape they're in. It was a really startling way to begin the story but at the same time it makes you think and draws you into the story of this poor girl from the very beginning!

Senior Project

I was so glad to finally have the rough draft done. I was so scared that i wasn't going to be able to make it 5-7 pages long but luckily it ended up being like 11 pages. I am hoping that the revision will help and hopefully this will be one of the best papers I have ever written. The conferencing has been helping me a lot and I am really thankful for that time.

Rough Draft

I thought that I was going to have a hard time typing up the minimum of 5 or 7 pages but it actually wasn't hard. What I am having a hard time doing is adding in transitions in between each new paragraph when adding a new topic that goes along with my thesis. I wasn't able to revise both of my peers papers and didn't do it over the weekend because like I've said I don't have internet. I was able to read some of the comments my peers gave me on the paper and it did help me. My paper is also pretty long which makes me kind of scared because others papers are about 7 or 8 pages.

peer editing :))

Fridays class time of peer editing eachothers papers really helped me!
Being able to go over our peers papers looking for corrections made me realize what I needed to fix on my paper as well to make it complete.
Even though I felt bad marking peoples papers up I know it will help them in the end.
The more advise people can give..the better!
And turing in multiple rough drafts is the way to go...helps so much to make your paper as close to perfect as possible!

A Wedding, Prom, and College English... :)

So on Saturday, I had so much to do. I went and got my hair done at 12:30 because my cousin's wedding took place at 3:00. By the time the wedding was over, there would have been no possible way for me to get my hair done and get together with friends before prom. So, it really worked out because that way I looked good for the wedding as well. My sister Kaylee and I sang the song "Here" by Rascal Flatts in the wedding upon my cousin's request. I'm really glad I got to do so because I felt really honored and happy to share that moment with her and her husband.

Then there was prom. I'm really glad I got to get together with so many people to take pictures and go out to eat because it made it that much more of an enjoyable night. Even though I'm not really close with some of the people that went with us, I'm really glad it turned out the way it did. I definitely will never forget the wonderful night I had (even though right now I feel as if I will never recover because I am so tired).

As of my college english duties, I didn't have time to do any work on my paper, but I know that I will have more time this week to do so. I am actually looking forward to the narrative paper we are writing because we get be ourselves and choose what we want to write about that has personally touched our lives. I really want to do good on this short paper as well as the research paper, so I hope they don't interfere with each other too much.

Sorry Stariha

I know you hate when we post on this like it is facebook..... But PROM is the exception! Last night was awsome, the group was so big it was sweet. I think we owned senior prom. But the book is a different one. Ive been reading and it is not my thing. It is a tear jerker. (too sad for me) but maybe it'll end good?

Last night was awesome and I am so tired right now, but I think I figured out how to organize my research paper and that makes me feel much better!!! But yeah prom was fricken sweet, had a great time.

Fantastic

So my blog has nothing to do with my title, except for from was fantastic last night. Anywho I am only doing this post is because my sister had the computer on besides that I am not going to do any research this weekend!! HAHA UHM I also dont have to read because I am on page 140 oh yeah!!

re'search'ing

I love and hate research papers all at the same time. They are soooo intensive and time consuming that its as if they will never end. They also take a lot of dedication to apply yourself when you don't want to (which is what I do). But I love getting down deep into a topic and learning so much about it. There's huge amounts of details and parts of merit pay that I never thought about or knew before I started researaching it! Just to spend time thinking on one thing, its amazing what you will find out.
I finally got my interview done with this weekend and I learned quite a bit just from someone else's viewpoint. I talked to a professor at Michigan State University who teaches Children's Literature. She gave me answers that surprised me and backed up research I've already discovered! The amount of ideas in our world constantly catches me off guard, and hearing from just one other person outside Shelby can do that.

It's just so sad....

The girl in "The Color Purple" is just abused and used so much... and she doesn't even know most of it's bad!  It's heart breaking...

But, it reminds me of  a song!  It's called "Life is but a mere supply"

Here is the link:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBGisHQbkek

I strongly reccomend you listen to the whole song!  It's cool!

The whole song is sad.  The singer is a girl who has been abused her whole life and was forced into prostitution.  Some of the lyrics worth highlighting are...

Full of s**t
Full of dope
Full of wishing and I'd love to get in close

Full of hate (watch it)
Full of hope
Who's your daddy is he in the room?

Life is but, a mere supply
of a few good [thoughts]
then you die.


This song has been with me most of my life FYI it's in Grand theft Auto 3.  But I feel that I'm only understanding the messages as I get older.

Please listen to the whole song and comment on what it made you feel.

...it's friday (:

those of you reading the color purple..
what is the nasty women disease?..that Shug is dying from...When I first read it I thought of Aids, or some STD, because..Shug sleep around according to Mr.________'s dad? but I'm not really sure .

and as for the rough draft,
the peer editing activity we did today in class has already helped so much! now, i just have to make my changes so i can send a "good" rough draft to Ms. Stariha.

ok so for those who are reading the color purple...
how far are you?
how far are we supposed to be??
im on page 54... and dont want to be behind
so let me know! thanks

Andy said something beneficial...

I really liked what Andy said in class the other day...that Celie doesn't say men's last names because they are all the same to her. She probably looks at all men as having "things" and beating her, and nothing more. They aren't real people to her. Or they are real people and she ahs been demoted so many times by them that she doesn't see herself as an equal to them. Anyone else have thoughts?

???

Is there a secret to making the "Running head" dissapear after the first page?

I just read my e-mail like a good little boy....

BBBUUUUUTTTT I didn't get one of those peer revision sheets!

 *GASP*  

And the in the e-mail, Stariha wrote, "The paper will need to be emailed to your peer review group members"  Is this just our group members we were assigned today?

The color purple

I thought the begining of this book was terrible in the fact that a 14 yr old had gotten raped by her father. Meanwhile are class discussions dont focus on the bad we are all mature and can really break down whats goin on in the novel and not just the bad.

Thursday

Well Im glad the weekend is coming but first things first the rough draft is due. Im kinda stressed with that but I hope I can write a good rough draft so then its easier to make the changes for the final draft. Im excited for prom and a break, its been a long stressful week.

It's Thursday, Thursday Thuuuursday (to the "Friday Song" theme)

So as I'm sitting here listening to Rebecca Black's horrible song, yes I actually YouTube'd it, I'm finishing my rough draft. I just sent it to Mrs. Stariha actually. But I just realized that I didn't incorporate my interviews......... Oh, crap........ You know how she was talking about the really rough drafts she was going to get... Yeah that's my paper, but I'm not procrastinating this time, I swear!!! I've been working on it for the past week and a half. The hardest part has been combining everything. Has anyone else had this problem? Thank goodness it's almost Prom Weekend, cause I really need a break.

P.S: Almost done with the Color Purple, can't wait to start the Bluest Eye. Could someone give me a quick summary of that book so far? Thanks :)

THANK YOU, PROF. BOEREMA!

I conducted my interview today and I found the PERFECT professor to talk to! It turns out that he has been pondering the thesis I have for my project for the past 30-or-so years... He was also a high school principal for a number of those years and decided he didn't like public education and went to grad school to teach college education classes. Anyways, he helped me SO MUCH! I've been emailing him back and forth since the beginning of this project and everything he says is so relevant to what my project is!

WeDnEsDaY(:

So i've been working on my rough draft this week and i finally finished up tonight
with saving the intro, conclusion and abstract for last. Im not sure if my abstract is exactly on
target, but i tried to follow the example paper and i think im headed in the right direction. I really like the color purple so far because the sections are short. Im really hoping by the end Celie steps up and finds her voice instead of not saying or doing anything. Its really sad to know
that this sort of stuff happened all the time. The book in the beginning really reminds me of the movie precious. but anywayyy umm i have no idea what to write about for our narrative.. and when is it due??

another writing assignment?
my one question is when is this due? because there is a lot on our plate as it is...
but on the plus side this is about us. we know ourselves better then anyone else.
so this should be easier then a huge research project.
and give me and those who need it a chance to get their grades up.

oh and really? we can read another book for extra credit?
that sounds great and all but i really wouldn't want to get the two books confused..
what to do... what to do.

A poem

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/still-i-rise/

This is a really good poem that has to do with both African Americans and women's rights. Its really good! check it out!

I always forget about blogging until Sunday night, which is not good!

So, I was slacking off on my Senior Project [until today]. My mom was on the computer and she asked if I wanted to get on before she shut it off and I was thinking in my head "Ugh, I really don't want to work on anything," but somehow I ended up saying "Yeah! I'll get on the computer," so, here I am, on the computer. And surprisingly I have done a lot! I finished typing my survey out and making it all pretty, and I got my interview questions all in line, but the only problem is is that I cannot find any of these peoples phone numbers or even e-mail addresses! So, I'm stressing about that right now! Other than that I just have to say I hate how much crap I have to do this week [but I'm not going to complain too much, because there are actually 6 of us in College English that are also in AP Calculus and a majority of us will be gone Wednesday due to the fact we are taking the AP Exam, and all 6 of us will be gone Friday to the Oceana County Math Tournament]. Oh, and did I mention I really haven't started on my paper yet?! I'm happy/nervous that I have a conference with Stariha tomorrow. I don't want her to tell me how dumb I am and that I'm not doing too great in the class, because I already know that!

The Color Purple

Inbetween writing my rough draft for my research paper, I decided to start reading The Color Purple. This book is such a great, but sad story. And it is definitly a mature read. I like that it's in a 'slang' style too. I'm interested to see how this book ties into the other three that we have read in class already. Well, happy blogging!

P.S: Mrs. Stariha you'll see me very soon for a conference time :)

i know that blogging isnt all about talking about your life and how stressed out you are but "jeez oh man" im stressed!
i feel better that we are done reading PWB but this research paper and my grade are really getting to me...
lets hope this all turns around soon :/

RELATION!!!

OK so for those of you who do not know, Pope John Paul II was a big deal for the Catholic Church. He touched on issues that most either Popes wouldn't have. For instance when the US entered in the Iraq war he was basically like what the hell? you guys are idiots, do you think fighting a war is going to fix anything!?! Any who this past Sunday was the Beatification of him, basically meaning they made him a saint!!! whoot! any who i listened to a hommoly given by him that discussed that even the Catholic Church and all other RELIGIONS in the world destroy the idea of faith. he said its sad when a church cares more about expanding and money than FAITH. he simply said regardless if you have a religion you maybe don't have faith, b/c faith is not paying money to a church or going every Sunday, its blind! it kind of reminded me of the Poisonwood Bible! idk why it just did! lol

the outline

I am working on recreating my outline and hope that it turns out a lot better than the first. Having Luke's example really does help. There is so much information on his and once mine is finished it will really make it a whole lot easier to start and develop my paper.

RANDOM?...?

Dear Ross, I hope this makes your time alot easier this week! I am posting at the VERY BEGGINNING of the week so you have alot of time to comment! haha...

Ok well having the paper coming to a finish and finishing with the PWB this class is not seeming so demanding. I know that I will most likely eat these words in a week or so but for now I'll enjoy the ride!

I wish I had more to say, but were not reading a book so I don't have alot to comment on?... :P

Letters for Project

I sent my letters out the other day and I was just thinking this morning...What if they dont write back? Do we get marked down for this? The people that I chose to send letters to seemed pretty reliable so I think that they will but its just starting to stress me out. I hope this all works out!

That reminds me, Osama Bin Ladin is dead!

So it's official, he's dead.  But that's not why I'm posting another blog.

WHY DO YOU GUYS WAIT TO POST UNTILL SUNDAY NIGHT!?!?!?!?

I wanted to give some comments, but there were too scarse and not diverse enough.  Please just post a blog response-thingy in the middle of the week, that way I can get this over with faster and not stay up so late.

Research paper

Im really not looking forward to this research paper being due
friday, but im hoping that once i start writing my rough draft it will
just start coming naturally without to much difficulty. Im having a
hard time with my essays for the quizzes... sometimes i and to general
and other times i dont develop a certain idea enough, and im kind of
confused on when i should do which? I am excited to read the color purple
though, im really hoping i can get into the book being the last one i will have
to read for high school ever!!.. and it makes the assignment that much better(:

I don't really know...

So I'm not sure about how I did on the quiz... I'm hoping it went okay overall, as I took some advice and tried to use a different method while going about the quiz. I guess that no matter what the outcome is, I will have to be okay with it. I enjoyed the Poisonwood Bible as a whole (I prefer the reading just for the enjoyment), but I'm glad it is time for us to move on. I'm looking forward to the next novel(s) and I can't wait to see what lesson will be coming at us next.
As of the project, I am a little worried, but I am confident that it will all turn out, as it always has in the past. I know that I am farther behind than I should be, but if I manage my time properly I shouldn't have too many problems. I am glad that we, once again, get to have rough drafts to hand in before our finals, and I really hope it will help me understand everything more clearly.

Great Golly Miss Molly!

So this uh...this project...I should actually stop procastinating. But that just happens to be my biggest problem! I cant seem to work unless a deadling is fast approaching. Which means that this week will be absolutly crazy and a bit stressful. My topic is arts in education so its been I'really fun to research! I happen to be a band geek which I'm sure most of you know so I think the arts are really important! Its actually been really fun to look up the different effects (affects??) that music and the other arts have on the brain. Sometimes I just want to kill Mr. I. for the weird time signatures and crazy hard pieces he throws at us but through my research I've realized that the awfulness actually helps with my math..another awful thing I might add! Its also been proven that students that work in the arts have better problem solving skills and do better on tests like the ACT and SAT. Researching has been almost painless...the hard part comes when I have to put it together and make it make sense when its not just floating around in my head...ruhroh raggy...

The Poisonwood Bible was a really good book, but at the end I was slacking off on the reading and just kind of fell off. Therefore, I am excited we will begin a new novel. If I am correct there are three options and we get to read as many as we want. I know for sure that I want to read The Color Purple, I heard that it's very controversial and interesting.

New Book

So I'm looking foward to the second chance that this new book is giving me. Hopefully I enjoy the book so it isnt torcher when I read it. Cuase Ill be reading it. Well I would blabber on about the poisonwood bible, but were done reading it. Darn. Its been real. See ya!

Culture Challenge

My topic for our senior projects is Cultural Dynamics, in other words i'm researching the impact cultural diversity has on schools and if a cultural bias has formed in curriculum and standardized testing. Coming from a small school I didn't feel that culture could have much of an impact on learning. That was until I came across the Oakland Ebonic's controversy. In 1996 the Oakland school board approved the use of Ebonics(otherwise known as "ghetto talk") to help their students learn standard english. The school board approved the use of Ebonics since 52% of their students were african american, and african american students accounted for 80% of the school suspensions and 71% of them were classified as having special needs. Also the average GPA for these students was a D+. I was shocked when i found this out. This has open eyes, I see now that culture plays a crucial part of learning, and our school system does not do enough to assist culturally different people. And with our nation becoming more diverse every day this is a problem that has to be dealt with quickly.

A New Favorite :]

Well, I spent a wonderful weekend in East Lansing and part of that was a Sunday afternoon in Barnes and Noble. I decided to check out some of Barbara Kingsolver's other novels and I found a good one!!! Prodigal Summer!! I only read the first chapter but I know already that from the way I loved The Poisonwood Bible and how this new one is starting, I really like the style of writing Kingsolver does. It's entertainig, intelligent, and makes you connect multiple things in one idea. I kinda want us to hurry up and read The Color Purple so I can start a new Kingsolver one...cause I don't dare start a good book when I know I have a required one coming over the hill. That's just not a good idea.

The Office

I'm sitting at home right now watching The Office. Strangely, it is reminding me of the Poisonwood Bible. It has stories of different characters, wrapped up in one greater story. I'm not really sure why this show is funny...

Anyways, I'm excited to be done with The Poisonwood Bible. It was a rather lengthy book, and I feel very accomplished to have finished it. I really don't read a lot at all, so reading as much as we are these past couple of trimesters makes me feel really good.

I took a copy of The Color Purple home on Thursday or Friday, I don't remember which day, and it seems like it is going to be a good book.

A new name!

My research paper is about the importance of foreign language classes in public school systems. I was wondering if one of you creative people out there could help me come up with an exciting and interesting title!