• I read Do You Know the Monkey Man? by Dori Hillestad Butler (worth one book). This book was very good. It talks about a girls named Sam whose twin sister supposedly died when they were three years old. When Sam is told by someone that her sister is still alive, she starts to believe it and starts to search for her? Will Sam find her sister or is she really dead?

• I read the books TTYL, L8RG8R, and TTFN by Lauren Myracle (three different books). This trilogy is about three best friends: Angela, Maddie, and Zoe. Each book is written in instanting messaging format all the way through the book. The books follow all three of the girls through out their high school careers. The books were very entertaining.

• I read the book The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (worth two books). I enjoyed this book. Even though it was long and kind of drawn out, it was interesting enough to keep me reading. I just couldn't put the book down most of the time! The story of Amir is a sad but touching story.

Lowering the Legal Drinking Age?

Many people believe the legal drinking age should be lowered, but I disagree. There are many negative effects of lowering the legal drinking age.

A lot of college presidents and university presidents think that the legal drinking age is not effective and should be lowered. People will find a way to drink whether it is legal for them to be doing so or not so the law is never completely effective anyway. Also, most people that are under twenty-one are not mature enough or responsible enough to be drinking.

Lowering the legal drinking age would result in more car accidents. Car crashes are the leading cause of teenage death, and a lot of the accidents are caused by driving while intoxicated. Just as Pam Richter said, "There are already [enough] distractions for teen drivers." We need not add alcohol to the list.

http://www.news-record.com/content/2008/11/25/article/editorial_essay_drinking_age_should_stay_21

Texting While Driving Should Be Banned!

Texting while driving is bad, period! It can cause drivers to become distracted from the roadway, which is never ok. Although Mr. Balko is right about the fact that there are other forms of distraction while on the road, studies have shown that a person is twenty-three times more likely to get into an accident while texting. In fact, texting while driving is nearly as dangerous as driving while intoxicated.

I know a person whose stepfather was killed in an accident because the person that hit them was not paying attention because she was texting while she was driving. Now that family has to live every day without him by teir side, and the lady that hit them has to live with the guilt of killing that poor innocent man.

Texting hehind the wheel should be illegal nationwide. If this were to happen, families would be less hurt by loss of loved ones, people would not have to live with the guilt of killing someone, and the roadways would be safer. No text is that important.

http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/10/13/theres-no-way-to-enforce-a-texting-while-driving-ban.html

sentence 6

Her sentence
After school, Hassan and I met up, grabbed a book, and trotted up a bowl-shaped hill just north of my father's property in Wazir Akbar Khan.
-The Kite Runner

My sentence
My brother and I walked out the door, hopped in the truck, and headed to town.

sentence 5

Her sentence
Then, Baba and I drove off in his black Ford Mustang-a car that drew envious looks everywhere because it was the same car Steve McQueen had driven in Bullitt, a film that played in one theater for six months.
-The Kite Runner

My sentence
Mom and I sat on the couch in the living room-the soft one with the big blankets thrown across it.

sentence 4

Her sentence
We would hear their caravans approaching our neighborhood, the mewling of their sheep, the baaing of their goats, the jingle of the bells around their camels' necks.
-The Kite Runner

My sentence
I could hear the noise from the kitchen, the clanking of the pots and pans, the sizzling of the fries in the grease, the loud noise of the mixer mixing the cake batter.

sentence 3

Her sentence
We were upstairs in Baba's study, the smoking room, when I told him what Mullah Fatiullah Khan had taught us in class.
-The Kite Runner

My sentence
I was in the dining room, the place where we eat, when my mom asked me how school went that day.

sentence 2

Her sentence
We sat at a picnic table on the banks of the lake, just Baba and me, eating boiled eggs with kofta sandwiches-meatballs and pickles wrapped in naan.

-The Kite Runner

My sentence

We were at the kitchen table, my family and I, eating spaghetti-noodles covered in tomato sauce.

Sentence 1

Her sentence:
The neon sign in the window said, almost cheerfully, open.
from The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

An appositive phrase set apart by commas, deliberately, to describe the noun.

My sentence:
My mother called for me, very angrily, telling me to clean my room.

A Whole New Mind-Portfolio Suggestion

After i read the chapter on design in Pink's book, i looked through the portfolio and something struck my attention. Even though i'm not very good at it, i love to create arts and crafts.

I read the section in the portfolio that was titled "Third Industrial Revolution," and as I read, I noticed that I could go to nike.com and customize my very own shoe any way that i wanted to.

I went to the site and just started playing with the shoe that I chose, and I turned the shoe into something that I really really liked. The shoe expresses me. The colors are even my favorite colors.

Sophomore Reflection

hmm...my sophomore year...well it was interesting

This past year has been crazy! I don't even know where to begin!

I'm finally a junior now. I can't believe it. I'm growing up. I have to face that fact. I have to start thinking about what i want to do with my life. I have to start thinking about college.

I have realized who my real friends are. I have lost a few friends this year, but is for the better. These friendships ended badly, but i realized what these people are really like.

"There comes a point in life when you realize who matters, who

never did, who won't anymore, and who always will, so don't worry

about people from your past, because there's a reason they didn't

make it to your future"

Just like the quote says, i'm not going to worry about those people because there is a reason why they did not make it to my future.

I know my junior year will have its drama, but i am hoping that there will be less of it.

Of Mice and Men review

I highly recommend reading Of Mice and Men because it is a very very good book.



George and Lennie have been together forever. George takes care of Lennie. Lennie is big, but he is dumb. He can't remember a thing.



George always tells him that they're going to get some money and buy themselves a piece of land. George tells him that they are going to "live off the fat of the land".



Lennie is always getting into trouble. He never means in harm, but he's so big and strong that he just gets himself into trouble all the time. When Lennie pushes it a little too far things turn for the worse.



What becomes of Lennie? Read the book and find out!

The Giver review

The Giver is a book of hope for something more in life.



When Jonas is chosen to be the new Receiver of Memory, he is scared because all of the rules are new, and he is not sure of what the job will bring.



Jonas is not allowed to tell anyone of anything about he job as Receiver of Memory. Jonas learns so many things that he never knew before, that no one else in the community knows. He begins to "see beyond". Jonas undergoes a lot of pain.



When Jonas hears of some terrible news, he flees the city, taking a little boy named Gabriel with him. He is in search of a new and better life.

Animal Farm review

Animal Farm is a story of hope. The animals all work together for one common purpose.

When the animals run off the owner of the farm they set up some rules to go by; They basically form their own way of living.

When some disagreeing occurs Snowball is run off, leaving Napoleon to take lead.

When Napoleon changes rules and takes over the whole farm, things go crazy. Animal Farm is never the same.

Spring Break Reflection

For Spring Break I went with the band to Orlando, Florida. I had a lot of fun there.

We went to Islands of Adventure which was a whole lot of fun. There was so much to do and so little time. My favorite rides were Jurassic Park and Dueling Dragons. I got pretty wet on Jurassic Park. On Dueling Dragon I rode the blue dragon.

We also went to Medieval Times. I love horses so i really enjoyed that. They were beautiful. We were on the blue team. The knight for the green team didn't like us very much. We all enjoyed booing at him.

While we were in Orlando we played in a contest. The awards were presented at Universal Studios that night after the contest. We were very pleased when we found out that we had won first in a division AND best overall score.

I had a lot of fun over my Spring Break. It was very enjoyable.

my favorite techie web-based tool!

My favorite web-based technology tool would probably have to be thesaurus.com. Anytime I do not know a good vivid word for something, I look the word I need a vivid word for up on thesaurus.com and find a good vivid word for it and use it. Thesaurus.com is very easy to use. All that has to be done is to go to thesaurus.com and type in the word in the search box and hit enter. It is very simple.

To Perfect My World...

Perfecting the world would be a very hard task to accomplish. It would take many many years to complete.

As for my perfect world:

1) No violence. Yell and scream about a problem all you want, but no hitting, punching, kicking, etc. anyone!

2) Everyone is given a second chance. People make mistakes. No one is perfect, so i believe everyone deserves to have a second chance. When someone messes up, they would be given a warning and then in the second offense, the person would be punished.

3) Only people that are fit to be parents would be allowed to have children. No teen pregnancies.

4) Less drama. Everyone would avoid conflict as much as possible.


Basically, my perfect world would be almost completely free of violent manners.

Anthem review

Anthem is a story of determination. Equality 7-2521 knows there is more to the world than just the findings in the community he lives in.



Equality 7-2521 is just like everyone else. Well, at least that is what he is supposed to think. Everyone is treated the same, given the same clothing, given the same food, everything is equal. Everyone is referred to as "we", not "I". The word "I" is forbidden.



While doing the job he was assigned to do, a street sweeper, Equality 7-2521 meets Liberty 5-3000. It is forbidden for men to talk to women. He ignores this rule and so does she. Equality 7-2521 has even give Liberty 5-3000 her own special name! He calls her the Golden One.



When Equality 7-2521 discovers something new, he can't wait to show the House of Scholars. He has always dreamed of being a scholar. But when Equality 7-2521's discovery is banished, Equality 7-2521 runs away into the Uncharted Forest.



Does Equality 7-2521 survive in the Uncharted Forest? Does Equality 7-2521 get the Golden One? Read and find out!

Breaking Dawn review (754 pages, 3 books)

Breaking Dawn is a story of love and war. This book is a wonderful conclusion to the Twilight series. This story winds up the story of Bella, mortal human being, and Edward, immortal vampire.

In the small town of forks you would think that nothing out of the ordinary would happen, but when Bella meets Edward, her whole life changes. She is caught in a love with an immortal being. Forced to keep secrets from her father and friends.

Bella and Edward are engaged to be married. Edward has promised Bella he will make her a vampire after they are married, but when Bella becomes pregnant, he must change her sooner than planned.

To top everything off, Jacob, the werewolf, has a secret of his own about the baby.

The Volturi, a clan of vampires, has it out for the Cullens.

Join the supense and figure out what happens to the Cullens when the Volturi come to attack!

The Call of the Wild Review

In The Call of the Wild by Jack London, Buck is forced to live the life a sled dog. This book was a quick read with a very moving story. It held my attention very well.



Jack London bases his writings on experience. He keeps the reader's attention.


Buck is forced to live with struggles. Between the never-ending fight for food and his enemy Spitz, Buck is worn. He is determined to be the leader of the pack, even if that means killing a pack mate. Buck doesn't hestitate to keep the rest of the pack in line.

Just when hope seems to be lost, Buck finds a friend in John Thornton.

Buck's true desire is to join his companions in the wild. Does he? Read and find out!

Antigone review

Antigone is a woman with disregard of the rules. This takes the spotlight in Sophocles' play Antigone.

Antigone has lost not just one but both of her brothers in battle. Since one of her brothers, Polynices, left the city and came back to attack, Creon ordered that he be left unhonored.

Antigone must choose between following the rules and honoring her family. Antigone is willing to die for what she believes in.

This play, just like in Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a love is ruined by deaths before their time.

Although this Antigone was written in a different time period than now, it is a moving story about a woman with enough will power to stand up for what she thinks is right. I highly recommend this story.

Taking A Stand

I was sitting in the building waiting for church to start of all places and i overheard some of the girls discussing some horrible and vulgar assumptions they had thought about one of my very good friends. They were calling her nasty names. They said that she was a slut, and they went on and on using names that I cannot repeat. They then proceeded to accuse her. They said, "She is always out drinking and smoking!" I decided I was going to say something. I told them that she was a wonderful person that did not deserve to be treated in the way they had been treating her. I also told them that they should find something better to do than sit around bad-mouthing people all day. They ended up telling me that they would not talk about her like that again and they apologized to her for talking about her in the way that they had.

Julius Caesar-Friendship

From this play I learned that friends should be chosen very carefully. Just because someone seems to be a good person doesn't mean that they are.
Julius Caesar thought that his friend Brutus was loyal, but Brutus turned against Caesar. He ended up helping in the plot to kill Caesar.
I also learned that staying loyal to your friends brings reward, while not being loyal to your friends brings consequence.
Brutus and Cassius, two men that helped in the plot to kill Caesar, later died, but Mark Antony, who did not help, was rewarded.