11/2/2017 0 Comments Summary of Where to Invade Next
In the documentary Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore travels around the world to different countries. While he visits these countries, he finds different things that the people do in their country to try to be the happiest they can be. The purpose of his trip was to take ideas from these countries and try to incorporate them in America to try and make America a better place.
The first country he visited in the film was Italy, where workers have a 2 hour lunch break, receive 5 months maternity leave while getting paid, and they have 8 weeks of paid vacation a year. Then Michael went to France, where the school cafeteria gives their children a 4 course meal of actual food, instead of the slop us American children got in school cafeterias. France considers lunchtime an hour long class, and the children learn manners and how to eat civilly. France also teaches students about love; particularly, sexual love. America teaches kids abstinence, but France teaches kids how to be safe about sex to prevent outbreaks of sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancy. Moore then went to Finland which has the top education system in the world. The kids do not receive any homework because the people believe that kids should be kids and they should spend time with family, playing sports, etc. The kids go to school for only 20 hours a week, including their lunch break. The people in France do not give their kids standardize testing, and they think that America should stop this tradition because it is not beneficial in our lives. Another country Moore went to is Slovenia, where college students can go to college for free and they do not have any debt to pay off from school. Moore then goes to Germany, and finds out that people work 36 hours a week, they get paid for 40 hours, and when work is done, work is done. It is illegal for a boss to contact their workers for work related things if they are on vacation, and companies are not allowed to email their workers after work hours. The next country that was visited was Portugal, and here, all drugs are legal. Whether someone has drugs on them or they are using them, there is no illegal aspect about any of it. After Portugal, Moore traveled to Norway and saw how the prisoners are not treated horribly like they are here in America. The only thing that is taken away from them is their freedom, and they are not punished in any other way. Even in the highest security prison, the prisoners are given keys for their rooms, good food, clothes, and much more. The next country that Moore invaded was Tunisia, where the governments funds women’s health clinics, which includes abortion. The people here believe that women should have equal rights as men, and so do the people in Iceland. Iceland was the final country that Moore invaded. In Iceland, women had the exact same rights as men. There are women on boards and in almost every business, and having these women has proven that life in Iceland has definitely improved. In the end, all of these countries have particular rules and a way of living life, which makes them happy and appreciative about themselves and the people and the life around them. If America adopts some of these standards, we could too be as happy as these countries.
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10/16/2017 1 Comment Life-Choice Memoir ReflectionThe focus of this blog post is a reflection for my first draft of my Life Choice Memoir that I am writing in my English class. This reflection will ask me questions about my writing process, my writing topic, and how to make my writing piece improve. I learned some tips to improve my writing from this reflective writing video.
10/6/2017 0 Comments Life Choice: Is This My Tradition?Write a 50-word introduction that provides the focus of the blog post (two-sentence summary of the story and transition to questions) and a link to the reading. In the story The Lottery written by Shirley Jackson, there is a village that had a tradition annually called “the lottery.” During the lottery, the men draw one piece of paper out of the annually used black box. When all of the villagers were done picking, Mr. Hutchinson had the marked paper. There was a black dot in the center of the paper. This indicates that Mr. Hutchinson and his family all need to draw again for the chance to pick the paper with the black dot. Once everyone drew a paper, it was revealed that Mr. Hutchinson’s wife, Tessie, had picked the paper with the black dot. This now indicates that all of the village people stone her until she dies. So the fellow villagers all picked up a stone, even her own family, and stoned Tessie Hutchinson to her death. Write a 200-word argument that responds to this question: Are there any American traditions that share similarities with the lottery tradition in the village? Please provide a link to an article that illustrates the tradition you choose to discuss. One American tradition that shares similarities with a tradition from the lottery is murder and violence. There have been countless acts of violence and murders that have happened in America. One recent event is what has happened in Las Vegas, Nevada. Recently, there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas that resulted in the death of 58 people and over 500 injured. This has been one of the biggest mass shootings and violent acts in the country. Another violent and murderous event that happened in America was the Boston marathon bombing in Boston, Massachusetts. In the middle of the marathon, two bombs went off near the finish line killing 3 people and injuring over 260 other people. There have been plenty of other violent and murderous acts that have happened in America, and the Las Vegas shooting and the Boston bombing are just a few. In The Lottery, the violent and murderous act performed in the village was the stoning of Tessie Hutchinson. This lottery happens annually in the village, meaning someone gets stoned to death every year. One man said that he has been involved in the lottery drawling for over 77 years. If this violent and murderous lottery happened every year for over 77 years, that’s 77 people murdered, which is a big chunk of people. In conclusion, America and the village from The Lottery share a tradition of having violent and murderous act happen in the area. Write a 200-word narrative that illustrates a response to this question: When have you made an important choice to break away or not break away from a strong cultural tradition you shared with a family, friend, or culture?
A tradition I used to share with my family was playing sports. I did not actually play the sport with my family, but we would encourage each other to try out for teams, talk about practices, go to each other’s games, and overall use the sport as a family bond. In high school, I played volleyball for my school. I would start tryouts in the summer time, play throughout the fall, and repeat the process every year. My family would come to almost all of my games and cheer me on; I would talk to them about practice and conditioning, and we would have full out conversations about anything that happened during the sport. However, when I finished the season during my senior year, I decided that was my last year playing and I would not play in college. I chose not to for a couple of reasons. One reason is because I started playing the sport later on compared to when everyone else on the team started playing. I started high-school level volleyball my sophomore year, while most of them started in 8th grade. This caused me to not be as good as most of my other team mates. This also meant that I did not get a lot of playing time, which caused me to not fully enjoy being on the team. The other reason is because I did not really get along with my team mates. I never really talked to them besides being at practices or games, so we were never close friends. I also believe that since I was not as good as them at the sport, then they would look down on me for it. I would catch them looking at me funny if I messed up, saying not-so-nice things about me, and I really did not want to deal with this anywhere else. These two reasons caused me to not want to play the sport anymore, or any sport really. Now, I do not play any sports so I do not have that traditional “sports bond” that I have every year with my family. Although my parents were not thrilled that I decided not to keep going with volleyball, I think they understood and we all moved past it. Write a 50-word introduction that provides the focus of the blog post (two-sentence summary of reading and transition to questions) and a link to the reading. In Hills Like White Elephants written by Ernest Hemingway, a man and a woman are sitting in a train station waiting for the train to come. The man and the woman are a couple, and they both have a big decision to make. The woman is unexpectedly pregnant and they both have different perspectives about the situation. The woman wants to keep the baby, and the man does not want to keep it. The man keeps pushing the woman to convince for her to want to have an abortion; however, the woman wants to keep the baby and wants the man to accept life with their child. I will now be answering questions as to whether I believe that the woman kept the baby or not, and when I have been in a situation where I stayed or left a relationship. Write a 200-word argument that responds to these questions: Does the girl in the story keep the baby? Does she stay in her relationship with the man? I believe that the woman does keep the baby. One reason why I believe this is because the author mentions a beaded curtain multiple times to show its significance. The woman at one point takes 2 beads from the curtain and holds them in her hands. I think these 2 beads, which are held together by a thread, symbolize the relationship that a mother has with her child. I believe that the woman held these beads because she wants the relationship between a mother and a child, therefore wanting to keep the baby. Another reason why I think she kept the baby is because in one point of the story, the woman says “And once they take it away, you never get it back.” I believe she said this as in talking about the baby. If she gets an abortion, she can never get the baby back that is currently developing. Sure she could get pregnant again, but it would never be that exact child that she aborted. The last reason is because the woman says to the man, “That’s all we do, isn’t it – look at things and try new drinks?” The tone that I am receiving from this statement is boredom, and I believe that she is bored of her and the man’s relationship. Therefore, if she is bored and tired of their relationship and she hints numerous times that she does not want to abort the baby, I believe that in the end she decides to keep the child, no matter if it means that her husband is unhappy with her decision. Write a 200-word narrative that illustrates a response to this question: When have you made an important choice to stay in a relationship or leave a relationship -- OR -- stay or leave a difficult situation? I encourage you to write a scene that shows the moment. Consider using dialogue.
A few years ago, I made an important choice to leave a relationship with this guy named Joe. We had only known each other for about 3 or 4 weeks before we started dating. Since we did not know each other for long, I wasn’t head over heels for this guy, but of course I liked him. However, I knew that he and his friends hung out with people that I did not get along with. One day, my friend Sam came up to me and said “I need to tell you something.” I froze and thought that it had something to do with Joe, beings that Sam and I did not really hang out unless we were hanging out with Joe and his friends. She told me that one of Joe’s friends had told her that Joe had cheated on me with 2 other girls that I knew. I was furious. How could I not have known this? I should have seen this coming when I knew that he was hanging out with a crowd that I did not belong with. I immediately texted him and told him to meet me at this coffee shop. As I was sitting there with a warm cup of coffee in my hands, I look up and see him walking toward me. When I saw him, my skin started boiling and my breaths started becoming heavier. The closer he walked toward me, the more my skin boiled and the heavier I had to take each breath. He sits down with this shameful look on his face. The look of guilt and sinfulness was directly in his eyes. I said “so, do you want to tell me about Teresa and Katie?” His eyes start to move downwards as his cheeks start to turn to a pinkish red color. As I sit there with the cup still in my hands waiting for his answer, he does not move a single muscle. After a long, cold minute, he says “I’m sorry.” I say “I am too,” picked up my coffee and my jacket, and left. Ever since this day, I have not talked to Joe or any of his friends, and they were the best group of people that I decided to get rid of in my life. 9/19/2017 1 Comment Life Choice: To Tell the Truth?
In this blog post, I will be reflecting on the reading What You Don’t Know written by Lulu Wang. In this story, Lulu’s grandmother was given 3 months to live; however, her family did not want her to know. Therefore, the grandmother’s sister, children, grandchildren, and everyone kept that secret from her so she could continue living happily. I will be answering questions as to whether I agree with that decision or not and if I had done something that can relate to what Lulu’s family did to her grandmother. Write a 200-word argument that responds to this question: Did you agree with the family's choice to deceive Wang's grandmother? I actually do agree with the family’s choice to deceive their grandmother. At first, I did not. I wondered how they could keep something so big from her, especially if it was their grandmother’s own life. I then thought that if it were my life, I would want to know if I was going to die soon. This way I could get to do everything in life that I was not able to do yet, maybe take a trip to somewhere I always wanted to go and never got the chance to. However, by the end of the story, I completely changed my mind. Someone in Lulu’s story had told her that if they tell their grandmother that she is going to die, then she will focus on it and make herself unhappy, and they did not want her to do that. They wanted her to continue being happy instead of knowing that she only has a little longer to live. After hearing that opinion, I started to agree with the decision. They did not want their grandmother to suffer and become depressed knowing that she was going to die, so it made sense that they wanted her to live out the rest of her days as happy as she could. After realizing that, I realized that I probably would have wanted to live the rest of my days as happy as I could too, I don’t want to look forward to the time I die. In the end, I agree with the family’s decision to not tell their grandmother she was going to die and let her be as happy as she could be for as long as she could. Write a 200-word narrative that illustrates a response to this question: When have you made an important choice to tell someone a difficult truth or you made an important choice to tell a lie that had a major impact on you and/or someone else?
Just recently, I had made an important choice to tell a difficult truth to my boyfriend. We were working at an event in Radnor, PA and our job was to watch moon bounces. As I was working mine, a volunteer came up to help me with watching the kids. He was about my age and we were talking for a while, and when he had to leave he said that we should hangout and gave me his phone to put in my number. First of all, I’m horrible in those situations. Do I tell him I have a boyfriend? Would he get mad? Will my boyfriend get mad? I froze and basically had no time to think of an excuse, so (stupidly) I put my phone number in his phone. I knew I wasn’t going to text him (mean, I know), but then I needed to decide to tell my boyfriend what happened or not. I know that if he did what I did then I would want to know so I can know I can trust him and that he isn’t hiding anything from me. Therefore, I knew I needed to tell him, but I knew that he was not going to be happy with me. After I told him, he was mad at me but I told him that I wasn’t going to talk to the kid at all, and I just didn’t know what to do. He understood, but he was still angry. Everything was fine at the end of the day and we were okay. Now, I hope that he knows that he can trust me and that I make some dumb decisions when I am put on the spot. 9/14/2017 5 Comments Life Choice: The Powers That Be?
This post is a reflection on the short story I read called “My Name is Margaret” written by Maya Angelou. This story is about how this young girl, Margaret, works for a lady named Mrs. C. One day, Mrs. C’s friends were over, and one of her friends told Mrs. C that Margaret’s name is too long to say and in her opinion, she would call Margaret Mary. The next day, Mrs. C called Margaret Mary, and long story short, Margaret decided to get revenge on Mrs. C by breaking Mrs. C’s favorite casserole dish and two green class cups. I will be writing my opinions and argument to questions that relate to this reading. In my opinion, I do agree with Margaret’s choice to break the casserole dish and the two glass cups. I agree because Mrs. C took away Margaret’s identity by calling her by the wrong name on purpose. Also, Mrs. C was showing Margaret that she is socially ranked above her and she can call Margaret whatever she wanted to, and there was nothing Margaret could do about it. I do not think that anyone should be treated this way, and anyone who does treat other people this way should get revenge or some type of bad karma. When Margaret broke Mrs. C’s casserole dish and the two green glass cups, she also broke free of Mrs. C’s abuse of acting as her slave. One reason why Mrs. C loved those dishes so much is because they were handed down to her through generations, just like her wealth and high class. Margaret breaking those items took something that Mrs. C owned and loved, just as Mrs. C took away Margaret’s name that she owned and loved. Therefore, I think that Margaret had every right to break Mrs. C’s casserole dish and her two green glass cups. 9/5/2017 0 Comments Writing Process Quote Collage
The Daily Writing Routines of Great Writers (Maria Popova) “When I am working on a book or a story I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write” (Popova). “I get up at 4:00 am and work for five to six hours” (Popova). “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper” (Popova). Bird by Bird (Anne Lamott) “But I am suggesting that there may be a close friend – who will read your finished drafts and give you an honest critique, let you know what does and doesn’t work, give you some suggestions on things you might take out or things on which you need to elaborate, ways in which to make your piece stronger” (Lamott 9). “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first effort. You need to start somewhere” (Lamott 7) “But beginners are learning to play and they need encouragement to keep their hands moving across the page” (Lamott 13). Zen in the Art of Writing (Ray Bradbury) “In quickness is truth. The faster you blurt, the more swiftly you write, the more honest you are” (Bradbury 13). "You stumble into it, mostly. You don't know what you're doing, and suddenly, it's done. You don't set out to reform a certain kind of writing. It evolves out of your own life and night scares. Suddenly you look around and see that you have done something almost fresh" (Bradbury 14). Well, if you are a writer, or hope to be one, similar lists, dredged out of the lop side of your brain, might well help you discover you, even as I flopped around and finally found me" (Bradbury 19). Our Quotes: “The first draft will never be your final draft” “You need to find your inner self to present your best writing” “The beginning of the day will give you fresh set of thoughts” 9/5/2017 3 Comments The Proust Questionnaire
In this post, I am answering the questions to The Proust Questionnaire for one of my English class assignments. The answers to these questions will give an insight into my personal life and thoughts and I hope some will enjoy and relate to my answers.
1.__What is your idea of perfect happiness? My idea of perfect happiness is living with my family when I am an adult. I have a nice and respectful family and we celebrate holiday’s together and we are overall a happy and loving family. __2.__What is your greatest fear? My greatest fear would have to be death because I do not like not knowing what happens when we die. Also, I do not want to die young before I get to do everything that I want to in life. Not being able to control when and how I die is another reason why death is my greatest fear. __3.__What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? The trait I most deplore in myself is how I scare myself about my anxiety. When I am confronted with new things I get nervous, and those nerves take over my thoughts sometimes. Although I do get anxiety about any new thing i try, most of the time i realize how the new thing was not as bad as i thought it was going to be and i get back to my normal self. __4.__What is the trait you most deplore in others? The trait I most deplore in others is obnoxiousness. Whether they are yelling in public, running around in hallways, etc. Doing this is rude in my opinion and very unnecessary and I cannot stand when people do this. __5.__Which living person do you most admire? I admire my grandmother the most. She’s been through major up’s and down’s in her life yet she is one of the funniest and kindest person I know. I know that is I went through what she has been through, I would not be as uplifting and happy as she is. __6.__What is your greatest extravagance? My greatest extravagance is buying my friend new Nike shoes and a fit bit for his birthday. I don't spend a lot of my money, so when i buy things that are over $100, I consider them an extravagance. __7.__What is your current state of mind? My current state of mind is content. I am generally happy but not overly happy, i get angry and sad but not overly angry and sad. __8.__What do you consider the most overrated virtue? I think the most overrated virtue is intelligence. I believe that some people are judged by not being smart enough, but that should not be a factor in why that someone is judged or being put down. Everyone is who they are, and some will be better at things than others, and those things should not determine why someone is better than another. __9.__On what occasion do you lie? I lie when I know that I would get in trouble for something that I did. Most of the time I knew it was wrong, but I feel that I know how to take care of myself, so I do not think that telling the truth and getting in trouble is worth it. __10.__What do you most dislike about your appearance? I mostly dislike my nose because I feel that it is too big for my face. When I look at others i feel that their's is not as big as mine. However, my Dad has told me that I have the "Thornton nose," so hopefully one day it'll grow out. __11.__Which living person do you most despise? I most despise my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, just because I am a very jealous person and she gives me little reasons not to like her. She'll do little things to be a bother (like look at him and smile when I am not looking) and it just makes me think lower and lower of her each time. __12.__What is the quality you most like in a man? The quality I most like in a man is a sense of humor. When I see and talk to a man who is nice but doesn't really make me laugh, it makes me realize that I would much rather be talking to someone who makes me laugh than someone who doesn't. __13.__What is the quality you most like in a woman? The quality I most like in a woman is being down to earth and kind of laid back. A woman who is uptight makes me not want to talk and interact with them verses someone who isn't. __14.__Which words or phrases do you most overuse? I way overuse the word “like,” I say it too often and most of the time it is unnecessary. It kind of became a habit to say when i am speaking and I find that I say it in almost every sentence. __15.__What or who is the greatest love of your life? I am only 18 and I do not really have a love of my life. I love my family, my pets, and i do love my boyfriend. However, even though we have been dating for a long time, I do not want to say that he is the love of my life just yet. __16.__When and where were you happiest? I was most happy in my later high school years, mostly my junior and senior year. At this time, I just started dating my boyfriend and I was becoming more mature. I wouldn't let certain things bother me like they used to and I overall had a good 2 years. __17.__Which talent would you most like to have? The talent I would most like to have would to be very athletic and good at sports. I've played sports in middle school and high school, but I never was the "best" one on the team. I would love to know what it feels like to just be automatically awesome at almost all sports. __18.__If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? I would change the fact that I get in my head way too much and my anxiety. Feeling this way sometimes holds me back from doing new things or even focusing on what is going on around me. __19.__What do you consider your greatest achievement? My greatest achievement is probably graduating high school. I went to the same school district (Springfield) from Kindergarten to Senior year and graduating and moving on from there felt so relieving. __20.__If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? If I were to die and come back as anything, I would want to come back as a dog. Most people love dogs and give them a good home and a life to live. Dogs are also very adorable and I would love if I became one. __21.__Where would you most like to live? If I could live anywhere, I would love to live near the beach. I could go to the beach on a nice day or maybe not even a nice day and not have to travel very far to get there. __22.__What is your most treasured possession? My most treasured possession is probably my cell phone. It has a lot of information of mine on it and it is very expensive. I communicate with people through it to make plans, ask questions, etc. and I really don't know how I would do that so easily without it. __23.__What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? In my opinion, the lowest depth of misery would be living homeless on the street in the cold weather. If someone is homeless, then they most likely do not have friends or family to go to for help. Having no one and no where would have to be my opinion of the lowest depth of misery. __24.__What is your favorite occupation? My favorite occupation is spending time with my friends and family. I love to have fun and laugh with others, especially with the people that I am closest with. __25.__What is your most marked characteristic? My most marked characteristic is making others happy before myself. I'm not that picky of a person, so I would rather go see a movie that my boyfriend wanted to see, eat the food my friends want, and make them happy because then it leads to e becoming happy. __26.__What do you most value in your friends? I most value honesty, humor, and adventure in my friends. I need friends that will be honest and tell me if my outfit makes me look fat, will make me laugh and have a good time, and go out and explore new places and new things. __27.__Who are your favorite writers? I don’t have any favorite writers because I do not read that often. The only time I really read is when I have to, and that is mostly for school. __28.__Who is your hero of fiction? I do not have a hero of fiction. I find superheroes cool and all, but I do not read about them and compare myself to any. __29.__Which historical figure do you most identify with? The historical figure I most identify with is Leonardo Da Vinci. I'll be honest, I do not know much about history and what people have done in the past to make history. So, I looked up a personality test to see what historical figure I matched up with. The result was Leonardo Da Vinci and it states that he was a genius, he wasn't much for the 'trivial' things in life, and he liked art science, discovery, and romance. So i guess you could say that I am similar to him. __30.__Who are your heroes in real life? My heroes in real life would have to be my parents. They raised me and provided with me with all my needs and try their best to be reasonable with curfews, rules, and more. I couldn't ask for anything better than that and I could not have asked for a better life (so far). __31.__What are your favorite names? My favorite names are Kristen and Joseph. I think the name Kristen is very pretty and Joseph is professional yet normal at the same time. __32.__What is it that you most dislike? I mostly hate blood. I have this condition (I don't really know if it is a condition but I know it happens to others) where when I see a lot of blood, I faint. Even just talking about it makes me feel weak and light headed. __33.__What is your greatest regret? __34.__How would you like to die? If I could choose the way i die, would like to die in my sleep. Therefore, I would not suffer and I do not expect it to happen. I would like to go peacefully and quietly. __35.__What is your motto? My motto is live life to the fullest because you only get one. You don't want to sit your whole life watching TV, you need to go out, explore, learn new things in new places, and to fulfill your life with all you can. |
Julia ThorntonI am using this blog for my English course and beyond Archives
December 2017
CategoriesAll Life Choice Making Connections Memoir Proust Questionnaire Reflection Research Paper Student Choice Summary Where To Invade Next Writing Process |