Journal #27 Idiginous to Illinois

Illinois is not known for many things, but deep down, Illinois is a very important state. For instance, we have horseshoes in Illinois. No one else is worthy of having horseshoes. A horseshoe is a piece of bread (of some kind), with a meat patty (who knows what that's made of...) and then french fries as the top layer. Finally, a nice tasty and unhealthy layer of cheese is added to the very top. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether or bot this can cause you a heart attack,but one thing is for sure, horseshoes are delicious. Other states think they are cool for having monuments, large populations, and famous people. Illinois had a man named Abraham Lincoln, and we all know what he did. Although he was not born in Illinois he soon realized his mistake and journeyed into our great state. He spent a large portion of his life here in Illinois before moving on to the White House, and the presidency. Lincoln showed the south how its done when he defeated them in the civil war and emancipated the slaves. Florida may have nice weather, but we have a man who was tall like Lebron James and had a big hat. We also had Ronald Reagan, who is not as good as Lincoln but he took down the Berlin Wall. Reagan also had what is called "Reaganomics" but that is overated.

Anyway, back to the main point, Springfield, and Illinois for that matter have horseshoes. When people come to visit, such as family or friends, we always make them eat a horseshoe because they have no idea what they are. From my experiences, the people love them and wish they had them back where they lived. I guess mostly being known for Lincoln and horseshoes is not a bad thing. it could be worse. Who knows, maybe we will get something else that tops the horseshoe and makes us all famous?

#26 Thanksgiving Memoir

The Thanksgiving holidays were very special this year. There was a lot of food for me to eat. I went with my family to my aunt's house where we were going to have our thanksgiving dinner. My brothers had previously arrived from where they currently have established their residence. My oldest brother, Richard Vaninger II lives in Atlanta, Georgia and works as a biomedical engineer for McKesson. This is no problem, he has no friends and nobody will ever love him. My other older brother, the one in between me and rick is named sam. He is a junior at Illinois State University.

I arrived at my aunt's house half an hour early because my parents had lied about the time to see if anyone would fall for it... I did fall for it. Anyway, the meal was elaborate. There was a wide variety of foods with which I could endulge my taste buds with. Upon gazing at the elaborate display of chefmanship placed in front of me (the food) i knew I would not be walking away hungry that night. I ate a large amount of food, too much actually, because afterwords I had to lie down on the couch and take a nap. The nap was a precaution, I had to be ready for desert. I would prove to be very weak indeed if I did not participate in the desert course of the meal. I was a little disappointed with this course I won't lie. It was a pumpkin pie, and some wild berry pie. Im not a fan of pumpkin pie, or wild berry pie... Im a more apple or blue berry pie kinda man. That's when it hit me, I realized that sometimes in life, you get thrown a fastball or a curveball, you either shoot first in the duel or second, and in my case, sometimes you get an apple pie, and sometimes you get a wild berry pie... I decided to make the most of my desperate situation and eat the wild berry pie. At least the berries were ripe. i could have eaten poisionous berries and died from some horrible and unimaginably un-curable disease.

Journal #25 RBC Reviews

I read a couple interesting critical reviews of The Red Badge of Courage. Both reviews shared many interesting points about the book and its author, Stephen Crane. It was interesting to see what the British critics thought of the novel as well as american critics. One former British Gneral praised the story for its format of being described by a private instead of a general. When a story is seen through the eyes of a general, the focus is on troop movements, casualties, individual victories of the units. When seen from a private's point of view, the reader is able to see the individual battles and the intensity of them. Whereas that experience is lost when seen from a general. We are able to see Henry's emotions and ponder his reactions and the reasons why he reacted this way.

I can agree with this because i read a story about the Battle of Waterloo which was fought between The Duke of wellington and napolean (British and allies vs. French). The book described the overall statistics of each individual skirmish, such as cavalry charges and infantry attacks. It sort of described what the troops were experiencing but for the most part it was nothing like how The Red badge of Courage did so. I think The Red Badge of Courage did an excellent job mixing up the view points expressed in combat compared to other writers.

The critics also pointed out how Stephen Crane did a great job writing about battle. Especially since he had never fought in any battles, and he was not even born during the civil war. Yet, he was still able to write about a battle and was very accurate describing what was happening and did a great job describing what the soldiers were experiencing. I agree with them because I feel he had done a great job describing war without ever having experienced a battle or war. He exceeded expectations of normal standards with this book because he does a very good job describing a battle in a war that he had never even been alive during.

Journal #24 9-20 Red Badge

Chapters 9-20 also have many realism qualities. Henry shows a perfect example of Human nature when he continues to ponder how he can return to camp with a good enough excuse for his retreat that the other men will accept him. He worries over this constantly until he finally returns after being hit on the head with a rifle by a retreating comrade. He tells everyone that he has been shot and they believe him. This is his way of showing the men he was not a coward and they accept him back to his explanation of being separated from them and fighting on the right flank. Henry also shows human nature by complaining about how he feels the commanding officers are not skilled enough for their jobs. He blames them for the army's continual defeats which is very common for someone to do, people often blame their superiors. He also shows anger when he becomes aware that essentially, his regiment is just being chased by the rebels like kittens being chased by boy. He begins to really hate the rebel army and takes it out on them during their next skirmish. During the next fight, he fights ferociously and helps to fight the rebel army back.

Personification is used when Crane (the author) says phrases such as, The sun shone his light upon the field. The importance here is in the three words, sun shone his. He is making the sun sound human-like by making it male. in the english language the sun is gender neutral, Crane bypasses this by giving it a male pronoun which makes it less neutral, and more human.

Government is still commanded through the officers in the army. They still give the orders to the regular soldiers and the soldiers follow them. Without the officers to give their orders, their would be mass pandemonium and chaos on the battlefields. The amount of confusion that would be added to the battlefield if their were no officers or men to take charge would be incredible. EVerything would be much more confusing and things such as friendly fire or mass groups of men fighting without leaders to guide them.

Journal #23 Chapers 1-8 RBC

The Red Badge of courage is about a boy named Henry who goes off to fight in the American Civil War. He is just like everyone else in the fact that he views war as a glorious thing and that he will become a hero. However, he soon finds that life in the army is not what he expected at all. He assumed it would be battle after glorious battle. Instead he discovered that it was mostly camping and waiting for the next battle.

The American Dream is shown by how the crowds greet henry and the other soldiers. Everywhere they go they are greeted and sent off as heroes. During this point in time, the American dream was to go fight in the war, either for the south or the north. Each side saw their soldiers as heroes.

Personification was used when the author described how eyes stared up at henry and the other men when they marched through a creek before entering battle. He said that the creek seemed to have eyes and was staring at them. The creek did not really have eyes but it could have been bubbles foam that gave the appearance of the creek having eyes. The way he described the creek having eyes is personification because he made the creek seem human-like.

The government category in the story is the officers. The regular soldiers are given orders from their officers and they follow them. This is the government and governing way in the army. Men follow their superiors' commands and orders because that way things get done and rules are followed. Human Nature is shown in the fact that Henry believes he can beat the rebel army by himself. This is a common way for people (especially henry's age) to feel. However, Henry quickly begins to doubt himself and his abilities. He is unsure of how he will act in combat and how he will react to the confusion of battle. He show more human nature when he sees a small group of his comrades running during the battle. He turns and retreats with them because he gave in to his fear.

Journal #22 All school field trip

On November 13, 2009 (about three days ago) Pleasant Plains High School had an all school field trip. We went t0 four different cemeteries and bases including camp butler, camp lincoln, the air national gaurd base, and the war memorials.

My trip started out with camp butler, which is a cemetery just outside of Springfield. It used to be a military trainingbase for Illinois soldiers who were soon shipped out to fight the confederates. THis was a very interesting place because it has Union and confederate soldiers. It also has soldiers from World War 1 to the Korean and vietnam conflicts. What I found very interesting was the fact that there are some germans, confederates, and koreans buried there ar\s well as american soldiers. Here, at this camp, a lady spoke to us for what seemed like a good 45 minutes but it was probably only half that.

Next, I went to Camp Lincoln and got to see some weapons and vehicles. This was probably my favorite part because the weapons and vehicles were much more interesting to a high school student than the other things. The tour i got of this building was also very interesting because it showed all of the jobs that are handled at Camp Lincoln.

After camp Lincoln i went to the war memorials for the korean, vietnam and world war 2 Wars. We did a little question sheet that took us all the way around the monuments. Fortunately the questions were not difficult and took just a little effort to find. I was getting tired at this point so I would not have worked very hard to find the answers if they were difficult.

For lunch me and luke reynolds ate at burger king together. i went to town on a larger whopper, no lettuce picvkles or tomoatoes, and a large fry. The dr. pepper was also satisfying to my stomach. However, I got a stomach ache because i ate too fast and left the restaurant feeling a little unsettled.

The last place i went was the air national gaurd base. We learned about the fire service there which was a little strange because I expected only jets. Then we saw an f-16 fighter jet which was very interesting.

Journal #21 A Dream that seemed real

I have many dreams and frequently, they are nightmares. Dreams oftentimes seem realistic and when you awake from them, you might think they actually happened. This recently happened to me when I dreamed that I was in college and a few states away. It was a long dream and I remember going to class where i could hear the professor speaking, but could not understand the words. It was sort of like Charley Brown where the teacher speaks gibberish, only for me, unlike charley brown, I could not understand anything. I then took a test over that material and failed it miserably. Maybe it was my brain telling me that I suck at Spanish 3, or math, or science... Anyway, I then went to my dorm room and started watching tv but all of the channels were the rainbow color. I decided that nothing could be done so I sat on the couch and continued viewing the interesting color pattern.

When I woke up friom the dream and was lying in my bed, I remember that it was around 4:30 A.M. This is about two hours before I wake up for school. I could not go back to sleep because everything felt so strange. I still thought I was living in the dream at this point so I felt like an idiot for failing the test. I went down stairs because i felt to strange to go back to bed and whwen I got down I realized it was all a dream and i felt much better. I had a heart warming bowl of Fruity Dino-Bites. While eating my breakfast, which was the cereal mentioned abovE along with a nice glass of chocolate milk, I watched t.v. for a few hours and then went to school. School sucked because I was tired all day but that is what happens anyway so it wasn'rt too different.

Dreams can seem real sometimes and nightmares are no fun. When you wake up from them everything seems twisted and upside down. Here a fun fact, dreaming occurs in the REM stage of sleep. That stands for Rapid Eye Movement. During this stage thwe eyes rapidly move under the eyelids and this is totally normal.

Journal #20 Favorite Tall Tale

My favorite tall tale is the legend of Johnny Appleseed. I'm honestly not really sure why this is my favorite, but i really like it. The story is about a boy named Johnny who travels westward and plants apple seeds along his way. These seeds eventually develop into apple trees and the moral of the story is that Johnny is the reason there are apple trees across America.

I guess I like the story because of the adventure it brings out. Johnny leaves everything he has in the Eastern part of America, and walks all the way to the western part. There are very few people who would be willing to do this and many would consider this crazy, not to mention suicidal. Johnny not only has no essential plan he is following, but he also plants apple seeds along the way. Im not sure that I know or can think of many people who would abandon everything they have in order to walk thousands of miles planting apple seeds.

My second favorite is the story of John Henry, the man who was very strong. They say John was born with a hammer in his hand because he is so good using hammers. John is the fastest and strongest spike nailer in the railroad building business. He can quickly and effectively drive nails into the ground stabilizing the train tracks.

John ultimately dies when he challenges a machine to a spike driving contest. The machine does not get tired which is what kills John. Since John is human, he suffered from fatigue and his heart stopped due to his hard work beating the machine. Fortunately, John Henry was able to beat the machine in the challenge, unfortunately, it cost him his life.

Everybody has different favorite stories but the two that were mentioned above are my favorites.Tall Tales are stories passed down in order to entertain people and teach us morals, very similar to the native american stories that are often popular moral giving stories.

Journal #19 Vengeance

Vengenace is the act of seeking revenge. Everybody does this at one point or another. For instance, When Benedict Arnold's treacherous plot to give up an important Continental Army base to the british, George Washington was furious. He sent his Aide, Colonel Alexander Hamilton, to find Arnold and bring him back to be made an example of. However, Arnold had already escaped to a British warship.

Washington failed to catch Arnold but he was exemplifying revenge.

How about the time the Arch Duke Ferdinand and Isabella were shot? That event led to a great period of the nineteen hundreds called World War 1. The events World War 1 led to an even more important factor, World War 2. This led to the Vietnam war due to the rise in communism and many other following events.

This shows that revenge is sometimes bad. However, in Star Wars, Revenge cam out good.

Darth Vader destoryed Princess Leia's homewrold of Alderan with the death star. The rebel Alliance decided this was not good and attacked the death star. Luke Skywalker destroyed the death star and exacted revenge for alderan. This was a good example of revenge.

Revenge can go both ways, but it usually just ends up making things worse. You should always try to talk things out like civilized people. Violence only leads to more violence. For instance, in los Angelos there are many gangs. Two very big rival gangs are the bloods and the crips. These gangs kill each other causing the other members to exact revenge, only making the situations worse. Innocent people sometimes get caught in the cross fire and that is never good. The name innocent implies that they have nothing to do with the event so its unfair they are caught up in it. This just goes to show that vengeance is not very good.

I am not a very good spokesperson for anti-vengeance because I get angry, just like everyone else, and want revenge. Sometimes I am able to calm myself down but sometimes you just gotta show people not to mess with you.

Journal #18 My Biggest Fear

I have many fears, but that is normal because everyone has at least one fear. I can be considered a brave person, but i am humble so I realize that I am not invincible. I absolutely hate spiders and snakes. They are the worst and most useless creatures on the planet (not really) and all they do is scare people. Whenever I see a snake i run away, which I realize is an unmanly thing to do, but im not going to pick a fight with it. Sometimes when I cut the grass, I see a snake slithering towards me, instead of running, I run it over and kill it.

If I see a spider that is big, I just have my dad kill it. I basically hate these because they are big and everywhere. Its a little ridiculous. There a huge spiders near my house by the woods because I live near woods. They are pretty big sometimes and that makes me angry because whenever I see them I vacate the general area.

Im also afraid of heights. This is not as bad as my other fears because I can handle it better. If I am up on a roof i am fine, but if I am up in an airplane it takes me awhile to get used to my altitude. It just varies depending on the situation.

My fear are very common fears among Americans. America's number one fear is death. I would not say that I fear death. Im not comfortable with it but i know that Im going to die eventually. This opinion will probably change with time but I know that I have all my life to impact planet Earth, and i intend to do that.

I understand how people can fear death but I don't see a reason to it. If everything goes well my classmates and I will have long lives ahead of us. We should worry about death after we get closer to it, not now when we still have so much life left.

Journal#17 Peaceful Protests

Protesting is a good alternative to an all out riot. Riots generally do not accomplish much and many people can usually end up dead and hurt. For instance, in the Middle East, Israeli officials visited a muslim temple and the muslims got very angry over this. So, their reaction was to start massive riots throughout the city and the Israelis had to call out the police to fend off the rioters. To the rest of the world, this riot showed unrest in the nations and was not viewed in very high esteem. This riot accomplished nothing except to make things worse and to cause even more political tensions between Isareal and the rest of the Arab world.

A better solution to this would have been to just let the whole thing go, not start a massive riot that accomplished nothing. Martin Luther King Jr was an expert in peaceful protesting. He organized countless protests and he did not advocate violence. He knew that if the blacks fought with the whites it would make tensions worse and everything would fall apart, violence would not achieve civil rights. King even spoke out against groups such as the Black Panthers who used violence because he did not like the thought of fighting. He knew that if the blacks kept peacfully protesting then eventually the whites would not have anything to use against them because the blacks were not being violent. He understood the importance of peaceful protesting and how much more effective it can be compared to violence.

However, sometimes ou have to put the peace dove aside and call out the war hawk. When things get ugly, and you can't talk your way out of it, you will have to gear up and send in the troops. Such as when the Little Rock Nine were attending school and the rioting crowds blocked them out. President Lyndon B. Johnson called in the National Gaurd and the troops kept the protesters at bay. The Little Rock Nine were able to attend school with the white kids and this helped to de-segregate the pulic school systems in the south.

Journal #16 Taking Breaks

Sometimes life can become too over whelming and people cannot take it anymore. This is perfectly normal and there is a simple solution. All people have to do is take a break as soon as they can. This will help them to relax and give them some time off. Everyone, no matter who they are need to take a break at some point every once in awhile.

I like to take a break everyday after school. When I get home, I will lie down on the couch and watch tv for an hour or so. Then I feel a little better and am ready tp start tackling my homework, which usually takes up the rest of my night. Sometimes I will take a nap while lying on the couch, hoverver, I only do this when I really need to because it keeps me up at night. Also, when I wake up from the nap I feel worse than I did before i fell asleep. After about half an hour I am re-energized from the nap and feel muh better.

If I did not watch tv or take a nap every day, then quite simply, I would die. I would not be able to keep up with everything I've been scheduling myself to do and the things I am in charge of handling. Also school gives me hours of work every night. So, I need to take a break every once in awhile, just like every body else does. If people did not take breaks every so often, then they would simply over work themselves and ultimately fall apart.

I usually try not to actually fall asleep when I take a nap after school because I know i won't be able to fall asleep at night. Plus, I feel aweful and like garbage when I wake up from naps. I feel better when I take some time and wake up, which is where the nap pays off. I usually just like to lie down and relax, without actually falling asleep.

Reading Enjoyment Journal # 15

Thre are many different genres of literature out on the market for people to choose from. Personally, I like to read about mysteries. The mystery novel can be in any form from normal Sherlock Holmes where the detective is trying to solve the case or a mystery on a much larger scale with a wide variety of characters. One author who's writings I have enjoyed for a number of years is Clive Cussler.

I enjoy Cussler's writing because all of them have myseteries that need to be solved. They also have adventure and an exciting cast of characters consiting of a wide variety. I enjoy these stories because of the fast paced motion they have, even though I never fully understand what is going on in them, I don't mined because i enjoy the story.

I also like to read books about historiacal figures or events. When I graduate highschool I want to go into Political Science and either become a lawyer or a history teacher. Im pretty sure that even if I cahnge my mind on those two career options i will still have a career involving history. I would not say that I enjoy reading historical books because they are exciting but more so because I enjoy picking up interesting facts about them. Plus, if I am reading the book about it it is because i am interested in learning more about it so I enjoy gaining a better understanding of the person or event.

Overall, I would say that I enjoy reading and find it enjoyable. however, I never feel motivated to read for school because I don't like the books. Many people complain about school reading mostly on the grounds that they don't like to read. I enjoy the reading once I finish it when it is school reading but at the time i am not a fan because i do not like being forced to read. An example of this is when we read Great Expectations during freshmen year. i absoulutely hated it (and still do) but a few weeks after we finished it i was able to reflect a bit and enjoy the story for what it was (which is still not good).

Journal #14 The Ideal United States

The Ideal United States would vary in the opinion of everyone. Nobody can create an illusion of the United States that would satisfy everyone. I feel that in the ideal United States I would be able to do whatever i wanted. I would sit around all day and cat-nap in the sun. When I had my fair share of that I would get up and watch NCIS for about five hours more. Then I would do my homework and finish all of my school related work.

In my ideal United States there would be no language other than English. Spanish three is basically destroying me one class at a time. I don't really like this very much and its even worse because I'm watching it happen. Also, the ideal united states would not allow me to be sick. It would produce scientists smart enough to eradicate all diseases, or at least send them to other countries so that I don not have to deal with them. I think that is the best way because it will give the Postal Service something to do and jump start the economy again.

Also, McChickens should be a requirement for school lunch, everyday, served along side of a sweet tea and an oreo mcflurry. Basically, that right there would be the highlight of my day and I would always be in a good mood. Another important detail would be that there would be no crime. Plus, I feel that horrendously awful things such vegetables and prune juice should be outlawed.

In my ideal united states I would essentially be able to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I would not plane on doing anything bad, and most of the things I would do would be relatively harmless. It would just be nice to not have any consequences. Even if only a few of my plans listed above were implemented it would still be a an ideal united states. I would be perfectly happy with minor changes as well, but I am perfectly happy with how the country is now as well so Im not too worried about it.

Journal #13 My favorites

What is it that makes something a favorite? Well, whatever it is, it varies from person to person. To be a favorite of someone that object/thought must be very important in one way or another to that specific person. Many people might agree that their favorite food is pizza, but overall everyone will not always agree on favorites. My favorite food is fettucini alfredo. If it has chicken in it then I still love it and will agree that it is just as good (chicken alfredo). My favorite soda has got to be Black Cherry soda, however, in a close second, it is Dr. Pepper. Other people will have different favorites than I do, it is just how we are wired together. Everybody like different things which is good because it creates variety.

Easily, my favorite day of the week is Saturday, this is because I greatly dis-like school. I hate getting up in the morning, I hate getting ready for school, and I hate school itself (Im not a fan of school). Honestly though, I enjoy school while I'm there, its just the homework and the fact that I have to be there that I hate about it. Otherwise, I am fine with having to go to school because I enjoy seeing and talking to people. That is why I enjoy Saturday so much. I can sleep in and relax, and hang out with my friends all day. I don't have to worry about school until sunday when I am forced to do all of my homework.

My favorite class is A.P. American History because I enjoy history alot and I am good in that class. My favorite sport is baseball, and it is the only high school sport that I still play. My favorite color is blue because red is too common for me. I know blue is very common too but I just like blue better. A very wide ranging favorite for many people is their favorite flavor of ice cream. I honestly don't care, I would prefer chocolate chip cookie dough but ill settle for chocolate or vanilla.

Having favorites different than those of the people around us adds variety to our lives and makes us unique.

Journal #13 Declaration of freedom

I beleive that freedom is very important to have. Life would not be nearly as good for me if i did not have this important thing. In the United States, we have what is called a Democracy, meaning that the people elect the officials and president. We do not have a perfect Democracy, but that would be imposible because when people run things nobody agrees 100% of the time. However, the difference in opinion allows for debates and arguments about the situation. This allows us to view the character of who we might possibly vote for in future elections. It shows us who is capaple of leading and who is not.

Freedom is not being allowed to do whatever you want whenever you want. So, if anyone every tells you they can do whatever they want because it is a free country, they are wrong. Freedom is having liberties like the right to vote, elect governing officials, and living as unregulated as you can. By unregulated I mean, the government might tax you and impose rules on you, but they do not totally control your life.

I enjoy living in the United States because in general, we have more freedoms than a lot of other laces in the world. I hear many people say that they would rather live in a foreign country but I think that is kind of dumb because i am perfectly happy here. If I can't find what I want in America, why would I be able to find it somewhere else? We have basically everything we could want here and most of us don't have to do anything to get it.

Im happy that I was born with the right to vote and all I really have to do is go to school and get an education. I don't have to go to war right now like many kids that are my age do in other parts of the world. I get to enjoy being a teenager and look forward to a productive life.

Journal #11 reasoning vs Emotion

When solving a problem, or looking to understand the world around them, many people use either reasoning and emotion. Reasoning is looking for a practical explanation for why something has happened. Emotion, in this case, is just saying that God is responsible, or something of that nature. For a long period of time, many people, including the Puritans, used emotion to explain the world around them. Whenever something good or bad happened they said God was responsible. An example of this is the Salem Witch Trials. The villagers believed the little girls when they said that they were being corrupted by witches. Without any real evidence, the juries convicted many people of being witches and sentenced them to death.

Reasoning is looking for a logical answer as to why something happens or occurs. An example of a rationalist thinker is Benjamin Franklin. He is famous for experimenting with lightning and politics. He created a plan, called the Albany Plan, which was meant to unite the colonies and bring them together in making a strategy for defense and Westward expansion. Although this plan did not work, it showed Franklin's potential and genius. Franklin experimented with lightning to learn more about it. He did not believe in saying God causes everything and he tried his bets to find answers. Through experimenting he invented a new stove that uses less fuel and many other important inventions. Franklin is a very good example because he excelled at using reason to find answers.

Neither one of these is right or wrong. It all depends on what our beliefs are. Personally, I like to take the reasoning approach. To me, it does not seem right saying God is responsible for things like earthquakes or hurricanes. I like to hear what the scientists say is the reason, like in an earthquake the cause is the plates running against each other. When it comes down to you're opinion, you just have to go with what you believe in most. I believe that reasoning is better because people need to expand their views.

Journal #10 School Spirit

School spirit is very important. If you don't show good spirit then your school could come off as sad and depressing. If nobody likes their school they will not show much spirit and people will not care about school as much. In Pleasant Plains, we have alot of school spirit. Kids enjoy coming to school everyday (I don't mean for learning and class, its more for the friends and good attitudes) and seeing each other.

In some cases, school spirit can be taken too far. Such cases are during homecoming week and important athletic events. Generally, it can be taken way too far but quite honesty I find this hilarious and entertaining. When I heard some of the chants that were going to be said today at the Spirit Day games I laughed, alot. Yes, they were all ridiculously insulting but that is what makes it fun. The only thing we are allowed to say now is, Seniors go to college. All I can say is that they will be hurt by that one...

However, we cannot allow school spirit to get out of hand and verbal and physical fights ensue, we will all feel the consequences. These are normal problems though as everyone just wishes to have a little fun and enjoy the moments. School spirit can make a school a much happier and energetic place. For instance, if we are not allowed to have spirit and show this energy in the from of spirit week, the student body might as well just wear all black and come to school as gothic and emu kids.

School spirit also ultimately brings the school together. After the rivalry of todays spirit games dies down,we will all unite together to show support for our football team at tonights game against new berlin High School.

School spirit is something that many of take for granted. Without it, our school would not be nearly as much fun. Images such as the cardinal, our mascot, make school something much easier to be proud of. I would much rather support our football team than something else... in an extreme case math class.

Journal #9 Ethics and Vaules

Ethics and values are very important to have if you want to be successful. They are a moral guide that you can follow andessentially they define who you are and what your beliefs are. They can be either good or bad but no matter what everybody has at least one. For instance, people might not steal because they know it is wrong and they will tell you it is against their morals to steal. However, every person has many different variations and different outlooks on morales.

For instance, I think stealing is wrong and you should not do it. Al Capone might disagree with me if her were still alive today because he was a mobster and made alot of money through crime. This is just one example of how people can view morales differently which means that you need to have some optimism when discussing morales with other people. You cannot expect everyone to fully agree with you or what you belive in.

Overall, Ethics and morales can be found everywhere. They simply show what you value and believe in. They can be good or bad and it mostly comes down to individual opinion on these matters.

Even though people may think differently when it comes to morales and values, many of them are viewed basically the same way when it comes to the general population. In America, the majority of the population does not like crime so we want to make sure criminals are punished so that we can reduce the amount of crime in our country. Also, because of crime we agree that a police force is necassary in order to catch the criminals and to protect the population from crime and criminals.

When it comes to morales, anything can be taken differently by other people and seen differently than yourself. The best way to handle this is to look openly towards other peoples' ideas even if they are different and they will generally show you the same respect. Morales and ethics are found in every single culture or community no matter where you go. They are as essential to the human identity as the eyes ears and noses.

Journal #8 Working with Partners

Working with another person or in a large group can be both good and bad. It is a good way to divide the amount of work that you have to do but it can also make coordinating everything much more difficult.
If you have a large project to do, it can be overwhelming if you have too much work to do. When you have a partner or a group of partners it reduces the amount of work that eveyrbody has to do. This is beneficial because then all you have to do is focus on one section and it is much smaller than having to work on the whole project by yourself.
However, sometimes working with a group or a partner can be a bad thing. If you get a partner that does not want to do the work, then it can become frustrating. Dealing with people like this is an important experience because they are everywhere. It is good to experience at least a few times since it provides valuable insight into the real world.
When dealing with an unproductive or unresponsive partner things can become much more stressful. This kind of behavior only piles on to the other sources of stress put on by the project and trying to tie everybody's pieces together. The best thing that can be done is to take things one step at a time and have an accurate plan that can be followed.
When you have a group or partner that is willing to do the work, things become much easier. Everybody takes a piece of the project and accomplishes what needs to be done. Then, they can all take the parts and combine them to make them the whole. These group projects slash the amount of work and time that would have been needed if it was not a group project. This type of group is not as bad as an uncooperative group but is just as essential to gaining real world experience.
Working with partners can be both a good and bad thing. If the group gets along then things can go smoothly but it can be a rough and bumpy ride if the group does not get along well.

Organized Religion

Organized religion is important for any society or culture to have in order to function properly. Religion brings the people in a society together and allows them to work together or worship together. This unity can be carried outside of the church and into everyday life so that people help each other out if there is a problem.
The Church is an important part of any culture. Virtually every culture ever to have existed has had some form of religion. It is crucial to the identity of the culture to have a religion because it allows them to be assossiated with that certain religion. Plus, it can unify the whole culture or civilization by all of the people having the same religion. It can even be on a smaller scale such as a small village or town. These places especially can be brought together in church because of religion.
When brought together by a common interest, in this case religion, people are more able to get along and become friends. Outside of church, the friendships created can be shown by helping out neighbors or other people that need help. This is shwon through acts of good deeds after a large storm wrecks havoc on an area. The community gets together and does what they can to help each other rebuild and move forward.
The Church can also scare people into behaving. This lessens the crime rate hopefully and keeps a large portion of the population behaving. When people go to church, they hear about how if they are bad or they do not behave they will be sent to some form of Hell. I can only assume that the vast majority of people to not want to be sent to Hell. Therefore, it is safe to say that most people will try to behave and not murder, steal, or cause problems for the ordinary good people.
Organized religion is an essential tool in maintaing an empire or running a counrty. It unites the people and brings communities together. Also, religion causes people to try and live as "holy" lives as they can.

Journal #6 Blame

Blame is when you put the responsibility or consequences on someone else so that you don't have to deal with it. It is often a negative thing and when placd upon someone it complicates matters for them greatly. Blame is usually placed on someone else by a person who is in trouble because they are trying to get out of the trouble they are in.
A good example of this can be found in The Crucible written by Arthur Miller. When Abigail, Betty, and the other gils are caught dancing and performing suspicious activities in the woods, the pretend that they see witches, spirits, and other village members with them. This allows them to get out of trouble because they are placing the fault on other people. The people being blamed by them are now the ones in trouble while they are seen as workers of God by rooting out the evil in the village.
Everybody, in one way or another, has experienced both sides of blame. It can be shown as simply as when you break something and you tell your mom it was one of your siblings, not you. Depending on whether or not your mom believes you, you get out of trouble and avoid the consequences, while your sibling gets the blame and is now in trouble.
If you have ever been blamed for something you have not done and gotten into trouble for it then you know first hand how fustrating it can be. This is frustrating because you try to prove your innocence but it doesn't seem to be doing any good. For instance, if yur mother is mad that the object got broken, and your sibling blames you, then your mother comes at you with a wrath and is not willing to listen. In my experience with this, I got lucky, I was only placed in time out for a short time. In some cases, the bad effects of blame can be much more harmful and destructive so you must always be careful. It is always better to just confess to your mistake because then you can keep a clean conscience. Lying causes things to get blown way out of proportion and things become much more difficult. When telling the truth you show that you are man (or woman) enough to admit to your mistakes and things are made much more simpler for everyone.

Journal #5 My True Colors

I took the true colors personality test and it said that I am a blue. I think that this is a fair enough representation of me. Blues are pretty good at keeping cool and try to stay laid back as much as possible. They are good at keeping a level head and prefer to live drama and stress free. I think this representsa me well enough because I prefer to try and not let things get to me so I can get away from unecessary drama. I feel that this leads to a better life and it makes me happier when I don't have to deal with the added difficulties of drama.

When it comes to relationships with other people, blues tend to feel vulnerable in relationships. I don't think this totally describes me because everybody is like this to an extent. Therefore, I don't feel that this part describes me accurately but I can see examples that make it partially true. Blues, when it comes to relationships with others, try to find ways to make others like them and strengthen these relationships.

Even though I don't agree with the feeling vulnerable in relationships with friends, I can see how this applies to me because i always try to find ways to bring me closer to other people. I always find myself wondering how i think my relationships with my friends are going too. If something is wrong between us, or i feel something is wrong between us, then I begin to worry and try and find ways to fix it. Although, everybody does the exact same thing so I feel like that should not be something that sets me apart.

Another trait of someone in the blue category is that they are able to stay calm and keep a straight head. I feel like I have this ability but i can't lie, I also have the ability to mess up a pressure situation very badly. I do my best to give it my best shot but the situation usually ends up spiraling way out of control due to my efforts. That happens sometimes though so it is what it is.

I think I am accurately described as being in the blue category.

Journal #4 How I Categorize People

In one way or another, everybody categorizes people into groups. I am no different from everyone else because I do this as well. I like to think that I'm not usually a judgmental person but i know that alot of the time i can be. I generally classify people into groups that I like and don't like.

For instance, if i think somebody is mean and i don't like them then I will put them in the "dis-like" group. If I like people I am generally more friendly to them and put them in the "like" group. When I do not like a person I usually try to not openly show it. However, I will try my best to avoid them or i will give them short answers. Sometimes I like to be tricky about it and I will be openly friendly to them and laugh on the inside because they have no idea how much I truly despise them.

It takes alot for me to really dis-like someone to the point that I cannot forgive them and move on. I generally try to get along with everyone and for the most part I am successful with this. I think its better to get along with people rather than argue with everyone. This is also basic common sense but some people don't like to get with others. I am much happier being able to talk to people and get along with them as compared to always starting arguments and trying to always prove i am right.

So, basically, I categorize people into two groups. There are the people I like and the people i dis-like. I'll be honest there are other categories too, but if anyone should happen to read this blog and see something that offends them it would not end well for me. Also, if there is someone who is in one of the groups I don't like then they would be unhappy and a conflict would ensue. Therfore, I think it is best if we leave it at people i like and dis-like.

Journal #3. To lose everything I own

I think it would be extremely difficult to lose everything I own. Since I'm in a routine everyday and used to this routine, to not be able to follow it because of some unforseen tragedy would be horrible. I can't even begin to imagine how my life would be affected. Every day I wake up and take a shower, then I eat breakfast. After that I put my contacts in and brush my teeth. Finally, I pack my boogbag and head for school. This is the same routine I've followed for many years. It's just what I'm used to.

If I lost my house and family in a fire or tornado my routines would be drastically changed and I would most likely find it hard to adapt. Just knowing that I have a home to go to always makes me feel so much better. For instance, If I have a bad day at school or am having a rough weekend, I just go home and take a nap on my bed or couch. If I were to lose those two places I would be totally lost. They are just my way of escaping from the problems I have until I'm ready to deal with them.

Also, if I were to lose my family I would also be totally lost. Without my parents to cook food and do my laundry, I would not be able to survive. Also, my older brothers are always there for me and give me advice or counseling whenever i need it. They are also the first to yell at me when I do something stupid. Without them I wouldn't know what to do. Their advice always helps me because they have already experienced all the things I am experiencing now.

I would like to pretend I would be able to adapt and survive if I lost everything but I doubt I could. I mean, honestly, if I lost my whole family and my house I would be all alone. It is hard for a sixteen year old boy to adapt to such a difficult life situation. Hopefully I'm never put in that situation.

Journal #2 The Importance of Written or Documented Rules

In order for any country to run and govern itself effectively it must have some form of law. Laws keep the people from doing things that might harm others or the country as a whole. Without some form of documented rules, the judicial system would not be able to be fair. When rules are written down they can be revisited during a court case or a technicality. In order for the courts to be fair, there must be a documented form of rules for the court to refer to. Otherwise, the judge or lawyers could make things false laws in order to get what they want. With a set of documented rules corruption can be filtered down much more than if there is no written form of the laws.
Also, documented laws are important because it allows the population in a soceitey to get along and funtion properly. If their were no laws nobody would respect each others property or privacy as much. Crimes would be commited much more because if something isn't documented it can't technically be brought against you in a trial assuming the courts are being fair. Neighbors would constantly steal and take from each other because there are no laws protecting privacy. Documented laws are very necessary in order for people to effectively get along and cooperate together. Without them, things could quickly go wrong and a civilization would falter without them.
Basically every civilization had some form of laws. Especially the major civilizations. Some were based off extremely strict rules and others were much less strict. For instance, in Hammurabi's code, an early documentation of rules, a child could have their hand cut off for disrespecting their parents. In America's system, the child does not get in serious trouble by disrespecting a parent. The parent might punish them to the extent they see necassary, but the child gets to keep their hands. The Roman empire also had thier own set of documented rules. They had one of the greatest empires of all time and they would not have been able to manage it without a documented rule system.
Rules can be found anywhere you go. They are meant to keep order and peace. Sometimes a rule is fair and helpful, but occasionally you find one that you dis-agree with and find it should be eliminated. It is just a process of life. Which, without rules, our lives would not be very structured at all, so it evens out.

Journal #1, How the World was Made

The Story "How the World was made" exemplifies other Native American literature because it uses alot of animals and nature smbols. native Americans are very spiritual people in the sense that their gods come from nature. Also, the way they describe events that shape the world like the sun being made are told in stories featuring animals. "How the World was Made" is no different. For example, when the land was about to harden the animals sent out the father of the buzzards to see if the land was ready to live on. However, the land was still too soft and the great Buzzard's wings caused mountains and valleys to form by flapping his wings too close to the ground. The Cherokee country is full of mountains and valleys and the flapping of the Great Buzzard's wings was how they were able to describe the formation of these landmarks.
"How the World was made" also shows some examples of native American hospitality and mannerisms. When they animals were finally able to settle on the land, it was dark all the time. To solve this problem they got the sun and put it above the Earth. However, it was too hot and was burning things. So, the animals worked together until they were able to get it at just the right height. This can be taken as saying that the Cherokee are considerate and try to help others with their problems when they can. "How the World was made" uses symbolism and mannerisms which shows how well it exemplifies native American Literature.

symbolism in Grapes of Wrath

I noticed the most, and in my opinion, best examples of symbolism in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinback. First, Rose of Sharon't pregnancy was an important one. It represents a new start for the Joad family. Many of their group died or left. The new baby would fill in a hole and give them a second chance. Also, it represents the next piece of the family coming through. The grandparents had died but this baby would be the next generation.
Second, The Joad family's dog was hit by a car. This was important because it was a wake up call for them. They had thought that everything would be perfect in California. They assumed the people would be nice, their would be lots of work, and they would fit in well. The dog getting hit showed that things would not be as they had dreamed. in fact, things would be exactly the opposite for them.
Finally, the last piece of symbolism shows how mankind never gives up. The Joads and thousands of other familes had lost virtually everything. They had little money and supplies. However, they held their heads up and kept moving forward. When they realized California was not what they had thought, they did their best to find work and food. The locals and the police were cruel to them but they didn't let their spirits fall. This shows how mankind never gives up even when things are going poorly for them. Steinback showed how miserable things were for the joads and other families but at the same time shows how they still have pride.