TO ACT OR NOT TO ACT

One major difference I noticed it Job's and Hamlet's speech is the fact that Hamlet says one should bear the hardships, almost let them happen. Job's says to learn from that and do better in the future. I also noticed that Hamlet considers giving up because things get tough, while Steve is the type to realize that he loves something and needs to work harder for it so he is successful. Lastly, Hamlet states that conscience makes us cowards, making this sound bad. Steve Job's encourages you to listen to you instincts and go with it, because your heart already knows what it wants. He thinks your conscience is a good thing and a handy tool. Despite the complexity of Hamlet's speech, these are three major differences I could defer.

DEAR STEVE

Steve Job's speech was inspiring. It was basically the rise from the bottom which you hear typically rappers tell. The background of his life, (adoption), set the tone for what to expect later in his life. He didn't just tell us this part for no reason. Informing the listeners of his 6 months in college was shocking considering his incredible success. His hardships his parents dealt with, spending their life's savings on his college, and his hardships of trading in his bottles to only pay for food also set the tone of his speech. He then worked his way into telling us how he relied on destiny or fate. Dropping out of college was a risky move, of course. But, how can we as people, know that later our "bad" actions one day, can make us extremely successful in life in 10 years. I don't think for me personally, I can "YOLO" moments and think "oh it's ok, this will pay off later". Of course there are some cases where this happens to people, like Steve Jobs, but, not everyone can design computers either.
In Job's second story, he tells us how Apple was the love of his life. He loved what he did. When he got fired it hit him hard. I do strongly believe with his philosophy here. Steve told the listeners that you HAVE to find what you love to do. You can't settle because your whole life is going to be that! He then continues to tell as that when you love what you do, you always got to go after that, no matter how hard it can be. When he got fired from Apple, he was devastated, but he continued to work to get back to where he was, and he did. I love that.
Steve Job's last story on death was also powerful. His mentality of looking in the mirror every morning and asking himself what he did was so meaningful. I think I will start doing this! But, anyways, Job's tells his audience that you must live your life like you really are going to die that day. Yes, it's a very cliche quote, but the way Job's states it really has meaning and isn't so cliche. Don't use this mentality to do stupid things, but rather, life changing experiences.
Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

THE VALUE OF LIFE

From this section, I think one of the key things I could learn is vocabulary, which we are clearly already doing. Reading for understanding is also very important because many times, when asked a question or given a prompt, it is answered in a way that doesn't even answer what was asked. Also, even in a text, by not knowing certain words, your whole understanding is thrown off. That being said, this topic is a big one. I would also enjoy learning about how to prioritize your "life schedule". Deciding what things you want to come first in your life can be a huge decision.

Netvibes

This website for a personal dashboard is a nice idea. It allow people to, in a sense, multitask, or keep up with things they may not get to. The set up, however, was confusing. Usually, I take to new things very easily, especially involving technology, but this didn't click for me. I think once I do get it figured out, I will be impressed by its features. As of now, I am going to continue to work with in and see what I can do. I'm excited to have all my "interests" in one spot.

VOCAB #6

Adroit- expert in the use of hands or body.
As a pianist, I am adroit.
Amicable - showing good will.
My mom was amicable when she donated her clothes.
Averse- strong feeling of opposititon
Many Christians are adverse to abortion.
Belligerent- warlike
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cubans were belligerent. 

LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

Objectives
-Learn new traits that help later in life such as college and a career ex: persistence, creativity, curiosity
-Organize gathered info to write
-Develop vocab through the course
-Sentence structure that demonstrates variety

FREEDOM OF CHOICE

The responsibility of decision making can be intimidating to many, or it could be anyone's desire! People like taking charge of their own life! Some find it easier with a set guide of what to do when. It can potentially be less stressful. I feel, some people are not capable of making their own decisions. Or, rather, they are, but they are not good ones. Some people are NOT mature enough for this freedom. But, they are still given it to an extent. Many people SHOULD be given the opportunity to make decisions for themselves because, they deserve it. This can challenge people. They are tested with time management, mature decisions, and weighing the options! It can be easier or harder. Like I said, for immature people, it's easier for them because it's what they want, but in the long run, harder because they are not learning from this opportunity. For responsible people, it can also be easier and harder as well. Easier in that they get to decide what they want to do. Tougher because this may be challenging to manage your "to do list" on your own time. I like making decisions on my own because I feel empowered. I feel responsible and that I am actually getting credit for this quality. I like seeing how I do under these situations with things such as managing my time. It's rather refreshing for a change while we students go through 18 years of our life being told what to do, when to do it.

NO CHILD LEFT UNTABLETED

With this passage, I have thought about the options. If a county like Guilford can afford to fund the schools to be able to do this, they should! Students are fascinated by the fact that there are people who actually care of our education, and want us to succeed. This can be shown by designing new ways of learning. The teachers in this passage, though some hesitant or slow to learn, at least put in the effort to help try a new system. If test scores improve in two to three years like they hope, this system could be revolutionary in America's education. With the tablet personalizing each students learning capabilities, as well as teachers now facilitating learning, I believe that this new idea seems nothing but beneficial. The Amplify tablets have numerous great features such as the ability to send out lesson plans to all students' tablets and give them the ability to learn at their pace. Another great feature is the classroom control which could track and monitor the students' history. This would probably be many people's biggest concern. "How do we know that students aren't spending time looking up useless things?" With this control, it's impossible. I think that there may be some con's people can think of, but with time and effort put into this, like the people in charge of Amplify and the teachers in Guilford county are already doing, these schools might see great results.

DECLARATION OF LEARNING INDEPENDENCE

With my education in my own hands, I want to take advantage of that. I see that I can relate this course to my big question, that being, how people come up with new ideas for inventions and along the same lines, how they think to try two elements to make their invention work. Each day, coming to period 0 Expository Composition, we are forced to challenge our minds. We are expected to think outside what we normally would. These are requirements, but yet they don't seem forced. Everyday, these new ways of opening our minds and exploring a different thought process has become more and more natural. Maybe this is how inventors have been naturally thinking. Questioning logic in ways they haven't know they could. Maybe, this is what I am doing! Am I an inventor? Yes, I am inventor of my future!

VOCAB #5

Adroit- expert in the use of hands or body.
As a pianist, I am adroit.
Amicable - showing good will.
My mom was amicable when she donated her clothes.
Averse- strong feeling of opposititon
Many Christians are adverse to abortion.
Belligerent- warlike
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Cubans were belligerent. 
Benevolent- expressing good will or kindly feelings.
She has a benevolent smile.
Cursory- going rapidly over something without noticing details.
In my attempt on my last minute essay, I cursorily wrote it in ten minutes.
Duplicity- double dealing
The duplicity of her actions was astonishing.
Extol - to praise highly
After receiving athlete of the week, i was extolled by my school.
Feasible- capable of being done
My homework is feasible.
Grimace- facial expression that indicates disapproval or pain
When she heard the news, her grimace was shown.
Holocaust- a great devastation, especially by fire
A holocaust was put upon the house because of the carelessness of playing with matches.
impervious- not permitting penetration or passage
Many say the American border is impervious.
impetus- a moving force
The passion in the young kids acted as an impetus for the project.
jeopardy- hazard of exposure to loss, harm, death, or injury
My life was in jeopardy when I got in the car with the drunk driver.
meticulous- showing extreme care about minute details
I meticulously worked on the project that I received an A on.
nostalgia- sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.
Many exchange students experience nostalgia while here.
quintessence- the pure and concentrated essence of a substance
As the stage in time, the flower was quintessence.
retrogress- to go back to an earlier and usually worse condition.
Many drug addicts retrogress to their old habits after help.
scrutinize- to examine with detail
The doctor scrutinized the X-rays to check for a break.
tepid- moderately warm
After sitting for awhile, my tea was only tepid.

LITERARY ANALYSIS #1

The Diary of a Girl by Anne Frank
Topics and Events
1.
a) This book is a diary written by Anne Frank as a young, Jewish girl trying to not become a victim of the Halocaust. She writes nearly everyday and explains everything in her journal: her hideout, her family, and her emotions. Her and her family along with one other family remain in hideout barely being able to make noise day to day in fear of being found. As the war goes on, situations become worse.
b) Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl, along with her family records her experiences in a diary as her and her family overcome one of the most brutal acts on humanity, the Halocaust.
2.The author, Anne Frank chose to right about this event because she was directly affected by it. Her people were targeted for all social and economic problems. Anne Frank wanted to record this time in her life because she knew that one day this racial act on Jewish people would be over and people needed to know what life at this time for a targeted group was. She herself wanted to remember this time of life in detail as you can tell in her descriptive entries. Anne Frank wanted people to see a real insight of the Halocaust. Aside from what text books say, but a real account. A true, personal story.
3. I chose this book because I had some background on the history of this event. Knowing the cruel acts that went on then, I knew that reading a true story of this time period would further advance my knowledge of the Halocaust. I also thought it would be interesting reading of a poor girl's experiences and really imagining her life as it continued and how hard it must have been living day to day in fear for your life. Also, an emotional appeal on literature really appeals to me because I enjoy relating or furthermore imagining. This book is clearly emotional considering the tragic conditions. This book is very famous and world-wide, so I had her about it before, but never sat down and actually read it.
4. I found this book to be EXTREMELY realistic because of not only my historical knowledge, but the fact that this book is so widely known and it was published after the time of Anne's death. She didn't know that her diary would be published therefore she couldn't have made major changes to her story. I don't think I could relate this story so much to my life because it is so intensely sad and I have not dealt with such tragedy. However, I did relate her story to what I have learned over the years between movies, history class, and other literature pieces. I also connected her story to my emotions directly. As I read, I felt how she felt to a certain degree. As I read, I could hardly bear the thought of Anne actually living through what she did.
People
1. Anne is a young teenage girl at the time of the event. She, therefore encountered many young people as well through school. At the beginning of the book, she actually takes a whole days worth of an entry to describe each person in her class. Because of her age, she has a developing attitude and is self revolved. You can make this assumption because many of her classmates are described as dumb, annoying, or dirty minded. Also, Anne describes her mother as someone who does not listen to Anne's needs or understands Anne much at all. From this I came to a conclusion that Anne has a snotty demeanor. The only person she speaks good of is her father. We now know that Anne is a daddy's girl.
2. Mrs. Van Daan is the mother of the other family in hiding. Mrs. Van Daan is only referred to as this, and Madame. She alone is enough to make the household go crazy. She can best be described as stingy, snotty, and abrupt. Anything that she brought to their "hideout home" cannot be used by the Franks. One by one, she starts removing items that were in public vicinities and storing them for her family's personal use. She is also snotty and abrupt in that she punishes Anne herself for things Mr. nor Mrs. Frank would punish her for. She also has the nerve to continually criticize Anne's upbringing. Peter is Mrs. Van Daan's son. Peter is a young boy who is shy and immature. Peter does not get along well with Anne at all. He also continues to mouth off to his parents which send him to his "room" without a bed or dinner. Peter can be easily angered, but can also easily anger anyone. Anne vaguely describes him as unfriendly. I would characterize them indirectly because their actions speak for themselves. Through the mishaps they perform the readers are able to tell what kind of character they are.
3. These two characters make the story more interesting. Between them two, they create enough arguments to last the whole war. Because they are from the same family, they have many similar characteristics. Anne is always finding a reason to complain with Peter and his mother, Mrs. Van Daan hiding with them. The way that the son and mother are so similar makes them interesting characters to compare and contrast.
Style
1. This author, Anne Frank chose to use a journalistic style because she wrote her diaries day by day. She never knew what the next day would bring. She also died before her diary was published so she was not able to even go back and edit things about her story. Not many fictional techniques were used. One that was used throughout her story was pathos. Her whole diary was appealing to emotion. I think this was not even done intentionally. Just the fact that the story was so tragic was enough to say pathos was used.
2. Anne frank definitely uses lengthy descriptions to show the personalities of all the characters. At the beginning of the book, she describes each member in her class with a detailed description. She also does the same for any main character later in this book. Eventually, you see how Anne is right about her characters through their dialogue, but the initial introduction to her characters are descriptions by Anne.
 3. Personally, I think the mood of this story sets itself. It is already a horrific story so people are already sympathetic to this. But, Anne appeals to emotion as I said before, using pathos. The way she describes each sad event that takes place, for example, their living conditions, the description really uses pathos because of the extreme measures.
4.The authors attitude toward the subject was, in a sense, calm and suttle. Anne never though, even after the whole war was over, that humanity was evil. She still, even after all that she went through, had a positive outlook on life. She quoted near the end of her book this amazing quote,  "I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." This quote alone truly shows her attitude at the end of the war and her outlook on life. Her attitude toward the audience was not pity. She was never looking for anyone's approval or disapproval of her experience. She simply wanted to record her story for her own self. If people were to read it one day, she simply wanted readers to know what happened at this time. Not in pity for her or her family, but for the historical aspect of the matter. Anne Frank was an amazing girl with an even better outlook on life.
5. Anne Frank personally didn't include any kind of historical information about her story. This was because, it was strictly a diary. She wasn't trying to prove anything to anyone. She also didn't have access to any sort of these items as she was in hiding, and died before her book was even published. She herself did not include these things. However, her father who ended up deciding to publish her diary, chose to include family photos. These family photos helped put a face to the name I read about. These family photos helped understand the time period. These family photos helped relate for me in a sense. This extra piece of history didn't so much influence my thinking, but it made the book that much more interesting for me.

 “Although I'm only fourteen, I know quite well what I want, I know who is right and who is wrong. I have my opinions, my own ideas and principles, and although it may sound pretty mad from an adolescent, I feel more of a person than a child, I feel quite independent of anyone.”-Anne Frank, The Diary of a Girl. This is one idea I love from this book. Anne represents herself as such an independent, mature girl. So many adults think that young teenagers are immature or not capable of many things. Here Anne expressed her mature attitude. In a couple of years of Anne's life, she experienced more hardships than many adults do in a lifetime. This helped Anne develop at such an early age. Like the famous quote says, tough times don't last, but tough people do. Anne remained tough at this time and got through this tough time. I will remember Anne's bravery and mature demeanor through this rough time in her life.

VOCAB #4

 accede to give approval
I acceded the new project in English.
 brandish to shake or wave as a weapon
The soldier brandished his sword right before battle.
 comprise to include or contain
Our  English call is comprised of smart students.
 deft skillful or clever
I consider a painter to be deft.
 destitute deprived of
The family avoided the loan and therefore remained in destitute.
 explicit fully or clearly expressed or demonstrated
The movie was extremely explicit for young viewers.
 extirpate to remove or destroy totally
I want to extirpate the animal cruelty club.
 inopportune inappropriate
I feel her comments were inopportune.
 ironic The opposite of what is expected to happen
The movies outcome was ironic based on the plot.
 musty having an odor or flavor suggestive of mold
The abandoned building had a musty smell.
 officious objectionably aggressive in offering one's unrequested and unwanted services, help or advive
The maids at the hotel officiously offered help.
 ominous  portending evil or harm
The mystery book ominously told what was to come.
 pinnacle a lofty peakk
When we reached the pinnacle of the mountain, I was too scared to look down.
 premeditated planned in advance
Our groups plans were premeditated to the week before.
 rampant violent in action or spirit
The way she responded to the car accident was rampant.
 solace comfort in sorrow, misfortune, or trouble
When her aunt died, chocolate was her solace.
 stately majestic
Many say that stallions are stately.
 supple bending readily without breaking or becoming deformed
Some wire is supple.
 suppress to put an end to the activities of.
The United States suppressed the Nazi reign.
 venal open to bribery
The cop was venal for the teenager's speeding ticket.

WILL STUDY FOR FOOD

A scholarship I have come across recently is the Chamber of Commerce scholarship. This scholarship is very worth putting in the time for me because it is a local scholarship, a new winner is picked every month, and you are re-entered each month! The competition is lower then a national scholarship of course, so I have more confidence going into this application. This scholarship money if received will provide help for a higher education for me. With the cost of books being outrageously high, student loan interest rates on the rise, and not to mention the UC colleges at an average of $30,000 a year, any amount of "free" money will help me. College seems so unrealistic to many because of the high costs of EVERYTHING, but with so many scholarships out there offering money to students, it acts a glimpse of hope for high-achieving students like me.

VOCABULARY #3

 accomplice- a person who knowingly helps another in a crime or wrongdoing, often as a subordinate.
In many action movies there is usually an accomplice.

 annihilate- to reduce to utter ruin or nonexistence; destroy utterly
King Kong annihilated New York City.
 arbitrary-subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one's 
 Having no parents, I am arbitrary to go to parties.
discretion- the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment; freedom of judgment or choice
Arbitrary and discretion are similar in meaning.
 brazen-shameless or impudent
When his pants fell, he acted brazen.
 catalyst-something that causes activity between two or more persons or forces without itself being affected.
The teacher sitting us next to each other was a catalyst in our relationship.
 exodus-a going out; a departure or emigration, usually of a large number of people
It is an exodus when friends go to the bar.
 facilitate-to make easier or less difficult; help forward
The experts facilitated our meeting.
 incorrigible-not corrigible; bad beyond correction or reform
Her choice of drugs was incorrigible.
 latent-present but not visible, apparent, or actualized; existing as potential

Feelings can be considered latent.
 militant-vigorously active and aggressive, especially in support of a cause
People in the abortion argument are militant.
 morose-gloomily or sullenly ill-humored, as a person or mood
The rainy weather caused me to be morose.
 opaque-not transparent or translucent; impenetrable to light; not allowing light to pass through.
A chalkboard is opaque.

 paramount-chief in importance or impact; supreme; preeminent

A teacher is a paramount in the classroom.

 prattle-to talk in a foolish or simple-minded way; chatter; babble.

Elementary kids generally prattle.

 rebut-to refute by evidence or argument.

Being a lawyer, a rebut using police evidence.
 reprimand-a severe reproof or rebuke, especially a formal one by a person in authority.

My mom reprimands me daily.

 servitude-slavery or bondage of any kind

I feel like I have servitude to my house.

 slapdash-in a hasty, haphazard manner

The girl answered the teacher in a slapdash way.
 stagnant-not flowing or running, as water, air, etc.

 The oxygen to my lungs was stagnant as I swam underwater.

 succumb- to give way to superior force; yield

I want to succumb to my sadness.