At the beginning of ninth grade, I had no idea what to expect. After it sunk in that I was finally in high school, I noticed the work was getting harder and more vigorous. I also noticed that my writing was really improving. The techniques I was learning in Essay Writing were helping my organization and making open response paragraphs and essays much easier. At the beginning of the school year my writing was far from where it is now.
The first thing I was taught to do through elementary and middle school was write a sentence or two to "hook" the reader. To write some sort of visual imagery to interest the person reading your essay. However, the first thing I learned here was not to do that. The very first thing I was taught in Essay Writing was that an essay is a person's thoughts or opinions about a subject. Therefore, the first sentence you write should be an opinionated statement about your topic, not visual imagery, or questions, or anything like that.
The next thing I learned about writing this year was a whole new set of introductions and conclusions. In our text book "Write to the Point!" there was an entire chapter on each. It mentioned a few different ways of writing introductions, and few different ways of writing conclusions. My teacher was quick to point out which ones he wanted us to use and which ones weren't actually very good. For example, the summary conclusion--my former go-to format. I also used to have a lot trouble coming up with introductions that didn't sound completely disjointed from my thesis. However, I find myself getting better and better with every essay I write. I think my writing has improved alot in that respect.
Another part of my writing that I'm proud to say has improved is the structure and orginazation. Last year the whole CM, CD thing was a little fuzzy. I didn't really understand why it mattered, or how to use it properly. With someone new explaining it, and showing me how to use it properly, it became very easy to use. I like the way it sturctures my open response paragraphs and body paragraphs in essays. Having a clear format to follow makes writing essays much, much easier. However, there are also other formats that I've learned about. For example, compare and contrast essays. Learning an esay way to write these has been a blessing. Speaking form my past experience, compare and contrast essays are the hardest to write. When we started to talk about them in class I thought it would be a real drag. However, it turned out that learning two different ways to write them and about how the thesis differs from other theses cleared the whole thing up. Looking at the example outlines in the textbook made the whole thing way easier.
Which leads me to perhaps the most important part of an essay--the thesis. The compare and contrast thesis was very interesting to look at. I'm really glad we had time to talk about it in class, because at first it's really confusing. It is a two part thesis--first you state the two things being compared, and then you make a statement about what you are going to concentrate on. For example, "Although both "Wall-E" and "By the Waters of Babylon" are both stories about the future of makind, By the Waters of Babylon gives a more realistic look at our future." Learning about how to write these has made my life so much easier. My theses in general have gotten better and much easier to write.
I am so glad that I was able to improve my writing this year. I think I've really improved from my days of bad topic sentences and disjointed introductions. I can't wait to learn more!
Word Count: 645
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Compare and Contrast
For this entry, I decided to compare and contrast traveling by car and traveling by plane. I have done both numerous times, mostly to Michigan, where I have a lot of family, and back. While both an airplane and a car will get you there somewhat on time, the traveling processes are extremely different. For example, when you leave. When you are flying, there's a plane to catch. If you show up less than an hour early, you won't catch your plane because of the insane security measures. You have to leave your house about three hours before the time your plane departs. This allows an hour and a half to get to the airport, an hour to get through customs, and then half an hour to go to the bathroom, eat, and get organized before boarding the plane. However, it never works out that nicely. Usually, we get to the airport about a half an hour late, because a) we don't leave the house on time, b) traffic, and c) we couldn't find a parking space. Therefore, security still takes an hour, and we're running to our gate to get there in time so we can get on the plane before it leaves.
On the other hand, driving allows for a slightly more relaxed schedule. Sometimes. Of course, there's still a set time that we have to leave by or else the hotel won't hold our room because we'll get there too late. But we leave late anyway. Then it's a mad dash out to the car and packing up the last of your stuff and trying to pack it in tight enough so that there's still room for you fit into you seat and shove a grocery bag full of junk food next to you so you're set until the first bathroom stop. But of course driving takes forever. The drive to Michigan is about sixteen hours. We do it over two days, spending the night somewhere in New York. I think last time it was Utica. By the time we actually get to Detroit, all of my electrical appliances are dead, my brother is asleep, and will most likely throw-up as soon as he wakes up, and we've been listening to the same two CD's over and over for the past day and a half.
The plane ride takes only two-and-a-half hours at the longest. While my brother will still throw-up as soon as we land, it won't stink up the car, and I won't hear it from across the aisle, and there will be no possibility of it getting on me. Also, the battery won't die on my ipod or my laptop in only two hours. The flight attendants also give you free soda, even though those little bags of pretzels now cost five bucks or something ridiculous. However, flying definitely has it's downsides. When I took my first flight I was under a year old. There were no problems until we got to my grandparents' house. I woke up in the middle of the night screaming my head off for no reason that my parents could see. They called a doctor, and finally figured it out; my ears were popping. The other annoying thing about flying is the danger of flying. Even though I've been on tons of planes, there's always that moment at takeoff when I think, "What if the plane crashes??!!!" The fact that your fate is basically in someone else's hands until you land is always scary to me. And another thing about going on airplanes: what is up with the bathrooms? Really, do they have to be that small? It's just a little weird with the sliding door and everything. I guess bathrooms on car rides aren't so great either.
Bathrooms on the road really are disgusting. First of all, how does a floor even get that wet? Are the toilets leaking, or something? We stopped at a Burger King once where the women's room was like a giant puddle. That's just gross. Also, how does toilet paper get all over a toilet? I look in the stalls at some of these places, and they look like the trees in one of those old teen movies where the kids TP a house on Halloween. Why would anybody do that? The most disgusting thing though, is when a bathroom smells. Last weekend, we drove to New Jersey, and stopped at a bathroom that smelled. It's gross. I don't understand why the janitor can't just spray some Febreeze or something. And another thing? Those hand dryer things are supposed to blow hot air on to your hands right? Well, this one didn't. It blew cold air, and it was freezing that day. The only place on the road that seems to have decent bathrooms is oddly enough, Dunkin Donuts. Weird, huh? One positive thing though--the bathrooms at airports are usually pretty clean.
So, although flying and driving get you to the same place, there are many benefits and drawbacks of each. I guess it's up to you, but either way, fasten your seatbelts--it's going to be a bumpy night!
Word Count: 858
On the other hand, driving allows for a slightly more relaxed schedule. Sometimes. Of course, there's still a set time that we have to leave by or else the hotel won't hold our room because we'll get there too late. But we leave late anyway. Then it's a mad dash out to the car and packing up the last of your stuff and trying to pack it in tight enough so that there's still room for you fit into you seat and shove a grocery bag full of junk food next to you so you're set until the first bathroom stop. But of course driving takes forever. The drive to Michigan is about sixteen hours. We do it over two days, spending the night somewhere in New York. I think last time it was Utica. By the time we actually get to Detroit, all of my electrical appliances are dead, my brother is asleep, and will most likely throw-up as soon as he wakes up, and we've been listening to the same two CD's over and over for the past day and a half.
The plane ride takes only two-and-a-half hours at the longest. While my brother will still throw-up as soon as we land, it won't stink up the car, and I won't hear it from across the aisle, and there will be no possibility of it getting on me. Also, the battery won't die on my ipod or my laptop in only two hours. The flight attendants also give you free soda, even though those little bags of pretzels now cost five bucks or something ridiculous. However, flying definitely has it's downsides. When I took my first flight I was under a year old. There were no problems until we got to my grandparents' house. I woke up in the middle of the night screaming my head off for no reason that my parents could see. They called a doctor, and finally figured it out; my ears were popping. The other annoying thing about flying is the danger of flying. Even though I've been on tons of planes, there's always that moment at takeoff when I think, "What if the plane crashes??!!!" The fact that your fate is basically in someone else's hands until you land is always scary to me. And another thing about going on airplanes: what is up with the bathrooms? Really, do they have to be that small? It's just a little weird with the sliding door and everything. I guess bathrooms on car rides aren't so great either.
Bathrooms on the road really are disgusting. First of all, how does a floor even get that wet? Are the toilets leaking, or something? We stopped at a Burger King once where the women's room was like a giant puddle. That's just gross. Also, how does toilet paper get all over a toilet? I look in the stalls at some of these places, and they look like the trees in one of those old teen movies where the kids TP a house on Halloween. Why would anybody do that? The most disgusting thing though, is when a bathroom smells. Last weekend, we drove to New Jersey, and stopped at a bathroom that smelled. It's gross. I don't understand why the janitor can't just spray some Febreeze or something. And another thing? Those hand dryer things are supposed to blow hot air on to your hands right? Well, this one didn't. It blew cold air, and it was freezing that day. The only place on the road that seems to have decent bathrooms is oddly enough, Dunkin Donuts. Weird, huh? One positive thing though--the bathrooms at airports are usually pretty clean.
So, although flying and driving get you to the same place, there are many benefits and drawbacks of each. I guess it's up to you, but either way, fasten your seatbelts--it's going to be a bumpy night!
Word Count: 858
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Hopes and Dreams
Ahh, hopes and dreams. Everybody has them. Some discover them quickly, and some slowly. But how many of those dreams do you actually achieve? How many of those things that you hope to get do you actually get? If your answer is not many, then you are probably one of the millions of people who roam this earth. I wonder, how much work do we have to do to achieve our dreams, and how much of it is pure luck? As far as pure luck goes, most people leave it up to that. I think taking some big risks is a good thing if they get you closer to the person you want to be. The passion to achieve your dreams has to be there for you to be able to take those risks in the beginning, however. The inspiration and the dream are the beginning, but if there's no motivation, then all you have is a dream, not a success story. When you have that motivation, that drive; anything is possible. Luck and inspiration can only get you so far--the rest is all you, baby.
Some people let go of their dreams and settle for an average life. Personally, I hope I never do that. But I suppose happiness is the ultimate goal, so if you're happy living in the boonies, and having a normal , everyday lifestyle, go for it. As for me, I've always wanted something more exciting out of life. When I was little, I wanted to be an actress. The whole nine yards--a big time Hollywood movie star. The possibility of being able to transform into tons of different people that were so unlike me every time a camera was rolling was intoxicating. I wanted to be that little orphan girl, that woman living in a pent house, Cinderella, Peter Pan. I loved playing dress up. There are pictures of me draped in strands upon strands of beads, little ballgowns and feathered hats. Halloween is like sacred ground in my family. Every year my uncle comes in on the train from Boston, we hang the strands of pumpkin-shaped lights around the windows and finally head out into the night to get mounds of candy, later dumped and sorted into categories on the living room floor. Picking a costume has always been hard for me. But whatever I choose, I always go all out. Except last year when I thought I wasn't going to go trick-or-treating and wound up being a vampire at the last minute.
Hopes and reams start in all sorts of places. Just hearing a song or watching a movie can make all the difference in a person's life. Anything can make someone look up and say, "I want to do that!" Even if it's a little girl wishing she was Sleeping Beauty, or a boy wishing he was Indiana Jones. The strangest, tiniest things can completely change the course of some one's life. You just have to have faith that all things happen for a reason. Even not achieving your biggest hopes and dreams.
Word Count: 512
Some people let go of their dreams and settle for an average life. Personally, I hope I never do that. But I suppose happiness is the ultimate goal, so if you're happy living in the boonies, and having a normal , everyday lifestyle, go for it. As for me, I've always wanted something more exciting out of life. When I was little, I wanted to be an actress. The whole nine yards--a big time Hollywood movie star. The possibility of being able to transform into tons of different people that were so unlike me every time a camera was rolling was intoxicating. I wanted to be that little orphan girl, that woman living in a pent house, Cinderella, Peter Pan. I loved playing dress up. There are pictures of me draped in strands upon strands of beads, little ballgowns and feathered hats. Halloween is like sacred ground in my family. Every year my uncle comes in on the train from Boston, we hang the strands of pumpkin-shaped lights around the windows and finally head out into the night to get mounds of candy, later dumped and sorted into categories on the living room floor. Picking a costume has always been hard for me. But whatever I choose, I always go all out. Except last year when I thought I wasn't going to go trick-or-treating and wound up being a vampire at the last minute.
Hopes and reams start in all sorts of places. Just hearing a song or watching a movie can make all the difference in a person's life. Anything can make someone look up and say, "I want to do that!" Even if it's a little girl wishing she was Sleeping Beauty, or a boy wishing he was Indiana Jones. The strangest, tiniest things can completely change the course of some one's life. You just have to have faith that all things happen for a reason. Even not achieving your biggest hopes and dreams.
Word Count: 512
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