My Reading Life

A Stolen Life - Book Trailer

    My reading life was improved dramatically, so far I have tripled the number of the books I have read compared to last year. I am falling in love with reading for the first time, I've found a genre that I actually enjoy reading. For me this feeling is uncharted territory. The best book I have ever read is "A Stolen Life: A Memoir" by Jaycyee Dugard, if I hadn't known this was I memoir I wouldnt have believed the events that accrued, Dugard's ability to always see the brighter side of things during a time of darkness is inspirational. The second best book I've read is "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls, the book reads like a novel but is also a memoir. The other books I've read this year are "The Liars' Club" by Mary Karr, "The Dictionary of High School B.S." by Lois Beckwith, and "Sula" by Toni Morrison. I'm starting to see a pattern, reading about other people' s disfunctional lives and adversities interest me the most. Reading all these books has made me realize I get bored easily when reading, a book as to be good from beginning to end for me to read it until the end. The most difficult book was "Sula" because of the dialogue. The book was set in the south, the southern droll made words difficult to recognize when written. My solution was to listen to the audio book, after jumping over that hurdle I began to enjoy the book more. The hardest part about maintaining my reading life is making time to read. Before I wouldn't be caught dead reading anywhere outside of the classroom, but now I read everywhere and anywhere. When you have a good book in hand it is easy to find time to read. I have made a lot of progress so far but I'm still a long ways away from my reading goals. Having a faster reading rate is my main goal because it will not only help me in English but also in all my other classes. My second goal is to improve my ability to spell. I could hear a word and use it correctly repeatedly but when it comes to using it in my writing I never do because spelling is an issue. As a result, I dumb down my written by only using words I know how to spell correctly. 

AWESOME!!!

The Perfect Ending To A Not So Perfect Day... AWESOME!

     It's Thursday night, just one more day until the weekend. You're working a double shift after school for the lowest remuneration legally possible, covering for your troll like co-worker you despise the most. SUBWAY, the cheapest corporation known to man, is a nightmare employer.The only reason you did is because you told yourself, "That's one less shift I have to work to get my new car." The rudest customers flood in by the the billions, each one worst then the last. Being rude back can have deleterious affects so your cheeks hurt from all the fake smiles you've dished out along side their sandwiches. The words, "Have a great night! Come again!", mean absolutely nothing by the end of the night. You are secretly wishing they will never come during your shift again, but they always do. The hebdomary ones can be the worst, they get tired of being nice to you, they expect you to look in your crystal ball and instantly know their order, like they are the one only ones that come in for a sandwich at SUBWAY. And then there's the customers who come in and tell me,"I just love SUBWAY, but only for there cookies." It's always surprising to hear their favorite item on the menu of a sandwich shop are the cookies. Mouth drooling, hungry customers can smell the freshly-frozen cookie dough baking in the oven. The line starts to back up, everyone is smacked up against each other in the match box sized store. The creation of the perfect sub is no easy task, you have to add the meat and the cheese and the vegetables and the sauces. But the real challenge is commenced when a soccer mom orders a footlong, orders a six inch, orders a kids pack, orders a dozen cookies, it is then you realize, you will need to facilitate an addition pair of hands. Finally it winds down to closing time, you wish you could bifurcate yourself in half to clean up after all the slobs that rolled in only a few minutes before closing. After consummating your long list of to-do's, you subsequently close up shop. You hop in your mom's antediluvian beat up station wagon, the engine makes its infamous CLONK sounds as you start the engine. You are not cognizant of what the future holds, in the back of your mind you hope it decides to start this time. The whole way home you mull-over the homework that's due tomorrow, the word problems for Physics, the textbook questions for Algebra II, the annotated article for English, the TRF for AVID.Then you realize the last few traffic lights were green, then the next one and the next one. The perfect ending to a not so perfect day, a non-stop trip back home. AWESOME!

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My Go World Analysis

     

My Go World Analysis 

     When I was first assigned this project I was stumped. I began to think of all the eventful memories in my life; dealing with loosing a loved one, my coming out story, choosing which parent to live with, the list goes on and on but none of them seemed to really jump out at me. Until a light bulb went off the night before the best draft was due. EDUCATION! The single word that describes my motivation in life. What better story to tell then your childhood dream, that is steadily approaching completion. The next hill to climb was word choice, the make it or break it factor of the project. I can honestly say this was one of my first times writing draft after draft with different variation of diction and sentence structure. Usually my drafts are written with the one and done policy.

     The first few drafts left out small but important details, that would leave my audience with some confusion. After reading every draft I asked myself, "If I knew nothing about the story or myself would this make sense?" Many times the answer was "no" until I added very necessary details and extracted all the "fluff" words. Looking back in my writer's notebook I've written at least ten drafts, and each was an improvement from the previous one. 

     My drafts improved because each time I learned how diction, sentence structure and imagery played a huge role in bringing forth emotion. As I continuously got feedback from my peers and teacher I saw I had a good Go World story developing. Initially, I gained feedback when my class held a group discussion about the correct way to give and receive constructive criticism. After preparing my best draft and reading it aloud in class I received a plethora of sticky notes filled with critiques. I found this to be the most beneficial activity we did as a class because my classmates don't have all the background knowledge that I do so after reading their sticky notes I saw my story threw their eyes.

     Following the creation of my new best draft I started exploring the world of Animoto. Being this was my first time using the app it took me a minute to figure out what would help enhance the emotion in my story. After playing around a little I found the perfect backgrounds and sound to match. One of the trickiest steps was figuring out how to break up the sentences in sections to fit in the given text space, while maintaining the structure and flow. Finally, everything was complete! To watch my Go World video click here!

     At the end of the day I was actually proud of myself, there were times when I wasn't sure if I could make an emotional and moving video. I questioned my abilities at every turn the idea of a piece of my life being displayed for the whole class to see was a bit unsettling. I'm not the type of person who puts there feelings on display for the whole world to see but this time I am glad I did. Your peers can be the toughest critics but I now realize I had nothing to worry about. 

It's Not My Fault...

It's Not My Fault...

Are Roller Coasters As Safe As We Like To Think?

Are Roller Coasters As Safe As We Like To Think?

      The Texas Giant and Titan and Shock Wave and Superman and Aquaman are the destinations for thrill seekers all over Texas. I'm not questioning the fun factor but everything is fun until someone gets hurt. This NBC News report explains how a woman died in July of 2013 after being flung from her seat while riding the 'Texas Giant' at Six Flags Over Texas. Keep in mind a person has a better chance of getting into a car attack on their way to work but nearly everyone has to drive to work but not everyone has to ride a 65 mph roller coaster, one hundred and fifty-three feet in the air. Is this risk worth the thrill?
      Just now having my first experience on the new and improved 'Texas Giant' over the weekend, all three minutes and twenty-five seconds, I was thinking is this the part where Mrs. Esparza flew out of her seat and fell to her death. Not the typical roller coaster experience but an experience none the less. For me, the few moments of thrill was not worth a lifetime of moments and memories. 
    Some thrill seekers might disagree with my logical. Because they thrive on the rush of adrenaline  they get while on one of these death traps, thrill seekers hold this rush to a higher regard than I. Since March of 1999, twenty-two people have been killed or suffered injuries at Six Flags Over Texas as a direct result of a taking part in a ride. Twenty-two doesn't sound like a lot compared to the hundreds of people who visit Six flags daily but that's twenty-two people who could have reminded alive or unharmed if they had not taking a ride on one of the Six Flags' thrilling rides.
     Three minutes of thrill is definitely not worth ones life. But their are some that will argue until they are blue in the face that roller coaster are perfectly safe and an ride worth taking. Like me, will people see roller coasters differently now? Only time will tell. 

www.sixflags.com/overtexas

Marriage Equality: What is a "real" marriage?

           

           Marriage Equality: What is a "real" marriage?

 "Ding, Dong!" The church bells ring as the two families enter the grand doors, coming together as one family to celebrate the beginning of a new life for the happy couple. Wait, the happy couple? Couple of what? People of course but does it matter if there is one groom or two. Apparently, to some it is the defining factor of a "real marriage". Who and what defines a "real marriage"? Is it the gender of the people  in the relationship or the love that they share? These are all questions that have remained without one clear-cut answer. I believe this is because there really isn't just ONE answer to these questions. When I think of a happy newly wed couple I think of the life they will soon share together and the memories waiting to be made, not whether there is just one Mrs. or one Mr. America needs to wake up and smell the rainbow colored roses, times have changed and the laws need to change with them. Long ago, the consequence for stealing was to remove the offender's hands but as people evolved, the laws eventually evolved into the laws we know today. The same principle needs to be applied to marriage equality laws. Nancy Kalish, Ph.D., the author of "Lost Loves: Why Marriage Equality Is Important" from Psychology Today, affirms these beliefs. Kalish explains why equality is imperative to same-sex couples. www.psychologytoday.com

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