Blog Post 15

It was August 25th, 2011, when high school first started. Freshman year was hard for me, as it is for any freshman, as I tried to find my way around the school and become friends with new people. It was a fresh start and a new beginning from that the middle school, childish things. I was fortunate enough to know enough people coming from West Millbrook to Millbrook and knew at least one or two people in every one of my first semester freshman year classes. My sister was also a junior at Millbrook and it was nice to have at least one person in the hall that I was very close to, and even better, was an upperclassman. Looking back now, I realize that freshman year really wasn't all that hard, when it came to work. It was hard in the fact that its completely different than anything I had every experienced in middle school. And to this day, I still believe it is the hardest transition one may make in life, especially because you are only 14 years old at the time.
Sophomore year was basically just a continuation from freshman year for me. Nothing new, nothing different. I continued to have a lot of the same classes with the same people in them from freshman year. My friendships became stronger and I was thoroughly enjoying high school. My sister was a senior at the time, so I was able to walk to the "senior lot" before and after school which made me feel super cool. During this time, I made the decision to follow in my sister's footsteps and sign up to be a part of the IB Programme.
Junior year was, in one word, rough. IB hit me like a brick wall at first with so many deadlines, having to manage 8 classes, and all the work that comes along with being in this programme. I had a total of 2 mental breakdowns, which seems pretty good for the amount of stress I was constantly under. With that said, doing IB was the best decision that I have ever made. I love the family atmosphere it gives you and I can honestly say that I have made friendships that will last a life time and have met people that are truly how I wish to be; giving, caring, funny, thoughtful, and overall amazing people. The relationships I made with teachers made my high school experience even better than it already was. Before we knew it, junior year was over and senior year was here.
Senior year, the final year before another big change, is already coming to an end. I can't get over how fast the end of the year has come, but it's also a very exciting time. My friendships are stronger than ever, but its sadly coming to the point where we are all going in different directions next year, but I know for sure that these friendships will last forever. Even after all the stress, and even tears, that IB has caused me to experience, I do not regret my decision at all and would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I couldn't imagine a better high school experience and these four years are something I will cherish forever.

Blog Post 14- Witty Whitman

The first page of Whitman’s notebook displays five different ideas or pieces of information that are all separated with lines in between them. There is also a stamp about mid-way down the page. On the second page, the word “brochure” is written big and clearly on the top of the page. This brochure is to have a dialog between two people, one of which being the “president elect” and is involving lessons. The third page is slightly messy and hard to read, but Whitman has a lot of things crossed out, showing his change in mind over the particular subject. Words that I can pick out include, “religious”, “crash”, and “question”. On the next few pages he goes on to discuss the Queen of England and the Queen of Spain. With this, Whitman is perhaps talking about the effects that religion has on being a leader and having power. Following this is a description of a ship of the World, Humanity, of all Ages, of Promise that he welcomes with joy. Next comes several drawings of men that all look rather similar when it comes to the long beard, bushy eyebrows, and messy hair. The first picture is just a profile of a man’s face, the second is the same but with his hand reaching out, and the third man is in a tall hat. The last drawing is a purse or satchel-type bag. Whitman then draws a sign that reads “The Bohemian. Saturday Press” and writes a poem about Brooklyn. The last page is picture of a skeleton head with a sword through its heart. This is perhaps the man on the last few pages after his heart was broken.  

The first page of Whitman’s notebook is actually a list of different addresses with lines that separate them. Following this is a made up conversation between him and Lincoln, although they never actually met in person. The next section displays Whitman’s views on religion, as he proposed a four-sided version of God, which included Christ and Satan. In Whitman’s wish to show that freedom can be extended, he wrote the poem, “Libertad”. He later added to word “perhaps” to the poem to add hope. Whitman also uses the phrase, “and you”, representing an unanswered thought. This brings in the thoughts of the reader to finish the conversation. At this time, Whitman was facing with a mid-life crisis. The sketches at the back of the notebook were said to most likely not have been drawn by Whitman, but are actually pictures of Whitman. The last poem in his notebook discusses the Battle of Brooklyn with George Washington. What I believed to be a bag of some sort was actually a harp, a symbol for poetry. The skeleton on the last page was said to possible be an allegory of America itself in the transition of life to death. Whitman's ideas displayed throughout his notes, poems, and sketches show how creative he was and his strong ideas about the future. These ideas were about America's leadership and the condition that America was in now. By related to America's depleting success, Whitman was perhaps tying it to his own mid-life crisis by the many allegories he creates.

Blog Post 13- "The American Dream"

I would describe the “American Dream” as a life of happiness and comfort as many people seek in the United States. To me, this is having a family of two kids, about two years apart, and a dog. The mother is a stay-at-home, mini-van driving, picture-taking loving mom, while the dad has a good job that is able to provide for his family, but then also has time to play sports with his kids on the weekends. The oldest child is a boy who protects and looks after his younger sister. They both play sports and keep up good grades. Every Friday, the family eats out to reflect on their week, to talk as a family, and spend time together.

To me, all of this is wealth. While having enough money to support oneself and their family is important, wealth is being happy together and spending time together as a family. Money is great to have, but happiness and love is what I believe is the true meaning of “being wealthy”. “You aren't wealthy until you have something money can't buy” (Garth Brooks).

American’s tend to believe that by living in the US, one is already wealthy. Some American’s are selfish when it comes to this and are also very stereotypical as they believe that The United States provides numerous opportunities for everyone to have a lot of money and to take advantage of. As this is partially true when comparing to other countries, the majority of people in the US are not extremely wealthy. Similarly, American’s tend to view poverty as small starving villages in Africa, when in reality poverty is a problem in the United States too.

I find myself falling into the stereotypes I listed above. I do view America as having a huge amount of opportunities and find myself asking why everyone doesn’t take advantage of the amazing breaks that the US offers. When I think of poverty I also think of small villages in other countries and it is still hard for me to grasp how common poverty is in America. While money is a very important aspect of everyone’s lives, happiness and love should always come first.

Blog Post 12

Freebie

Blog Post 11

I couldn't figure out how to upload the recording to my blog, so here is the youtube link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9PJ3W5l5CA&feature=em-upload_owner

Knowledge and understanding of the poem/extract
For this section, I would give myself a 6 because I generally understood the text, but could have supported my points more frequently by referencing the text.
Appreciation of the writer’s choices
I would once again give myself a 6 because my awareness of literary features could have been a lot better.
Organization and presentation
I would give myself a 2 for organization because I lacked a lot of it....need to set aside the last minute or so to gather my thoughts in planning.
Language
I would give myself a 3 in the language section because it was clear and appropriate, but extremely informal.

Blog Post 9- Once Upon a Time

https://www.ted.com/talks/ric_elias

                In this TED talk, Ric Elias, a survivor of the plane crash that crashed into the Hudson River in 2009, discusses the 3 things he learned about himself as he knew that his life could be ending very soon. I believe that Elias did not have just one purpose to his talk, but that he had 3- the three things that he learned. The first thing he learned was that everything can change in an instant. With this, he talks about the change he has made to his life now; not postponing anything. The second thing he learned was that he only had one regret, and that being that he has allowed his ego to come in and waste time on pointless things with people that he really cares about. He decided then to eliminate negative energy from his life to become a happier man. “I no longer try to be right; I choose to be happy”. The third thing he learned was that all he wanted to do was watch his kids grow up and be the best possible dad that he could be.

                Elias does a very good job of getting his points across in a motivating and captivating way. This talk may only be 5 minutes, but I was thoroughly intrigued the whole time. Just by the title, “3 Things I Learned While My Plane Crashed”, I was emotionally drawn in and interested to hear his story.

                This emotion is an example of pathos. Pathos is used throughout the whole talk, as the idea of being on a plane crash is scary to most people and makes you feel sad for people that have experienced this tragedy. I find this technique of storytelling to be very effective. One thing I found very strong in his talk was the excessive amount of times that he said “imagine…”, as if you were in the same position that he was in a few years ago. By doing this, it allows the audience to become part of the story and perhaps feel similar emotions.

                Logos, another way that helps Elias get his point across, is displayed throughout the talk. Being a personal story, I find that the logic of his argument (the three points) to be very reasonable. No one can prove that he wasn’t having these thoughts as the plane was crashing, therefore logos is used as a strength in his TED talk.

                Ethos is also displayed as this story is being told to us by someone who experienced the plane crash. Since these three things were just thoughts of Elias, we have no real way of knowing for sure if these were his exact thoughts as the plane was crashing. With this, I don’t believe it has any real negative impact on his story.

Blog Post 8, Baby

In your mind, are there any heroes in Double Indemnity? If so, who?

 

I do not believe that there are any heroes in Double Indemnity. Multiple characters could be considered heroes, but by the end of the film I had eliminated them all. Once starting the movie, I thought that Phyllis could possibly be the hero of the film, but  later came to the conclusion that she is responsible for actions throughout the movie that make her just as sinful as the other characters. Phyllis, a manipulating woman who is having an affair, commits acts that clearly conclude that she is not a hero.

Walter Neff is a successful insurance salesman who first meets Phyllis when he comes to renew her husband’s automobile insurance. He is not home, but Phyllis, wrapped in only a towel, comes to the top of the stairs. Phyllis was obviously bored with her husband, who lost a lot of money in the oil business. These were just two motives that caused her to come up with the idea of murder. Once meeting and falling in love with Neff, they both agreed that killing her husband and collecting money was a very wise and brilliant idea. Neither one of these characters would have committed this act alone. Being so “in love”, the idea of working together was exciting, with the crime not being the main focus. Money, as well as love, can make people do foolish things, as Double Indemnity displays.

At first seeming to help Phyllis, Neff could be seen as a hero. Once the movie progresses, we begin to see that Neff is anything but a hero, taking part in Phyllis’ affair and aiding in the murder of Mr. Dietrichson for selfish reasons. At the end of the movie, Neff kills Phyllis. Neff then goes and confesses what evil deed he has done to Keyes, his coworker. After confessing, he runs away from his deserved punishment. All of these things are simple evidence that Walter Neff is not a hero.