Writing Territories

Failure

Bad grammar
Making many wonderful friends
My purpose in life
Helplessness
To make a difference in the world
Popping the knuckles in my toes
Opening up to people
Kindle (now), Blue Bear (teddy bear, then)
Trying to do everything right

Some people are scared of the Boogieman, and some are afraid of death, but the one thing that I fear the most is failure. Any kind of failure, be it in my school work, social life, or religion, frightens me to death. I think the thing that scares me the most is the fact that I don't know if it's going to happen, but there is always the possibility that it could. It's not that I don't have confidence in myself and believe that I have what it takes to succeed, but rather that something could always happen to change my personal plan. Since it's pretty much all I think about from August to May, I'll give the example of my school work. I've never earned anything less than an "A" in a class since 4th grade, and I take great pride in that. Because of this track record, I am very confident that I can continue getting these grades throughout high school. But there is always the possibility of failure (with the high standards I've set for myself, getting a "B" would pretty much be a failure for me. I know most people would disagree with this, but that's how I personally feel and I can't help it). In one of my classes, I currently have a very high "B". There's plenty of time left in this semester and I believe that I will be able to bring it up to an "A", but there's always the possibility that I could bomb a test or forget a huge assignment. So, for the rest of the semester, I will be stressed out because of that one grade and I will be in fear of getting a "B". This is just one example of my fear of failure, but hopefully you can get a sense of what I mean.

Writing Territories

Writing Territories

Spiders

Chewing with mouth open

All American Lacrosse 

How to tie shoes

Family deaths

Owning own ice cream truck

Go getter, big balla

College Lacrosse 

Then-Ant Farm Now-relationships

Being late  

I am really scared of spiders. I know it is embarrassing for me, but I make my girl friend who is way smaller than me kill them. I cry when they touch me. I think it is due to my viewing of the movie "Spider Attack 2000". It is not a real movie. My cousin made it at art school and forced me to watch it, then let his pet tarantula crawl on me when I fell asleep when I was 6. This is why I am terrified of spiders.

Blog #8

Animals, guns
Upside-down stop signs
Cello
Any type of history
Quitting, Losing people
To be successful with whatever I want to do
Talking about gymnastics too much, Biting my nails (unfortunately)
Driving
Barbies (then), Friends (now)
Procrastination, being timid

The thing that I am probably the most confused by is history. I personally cannot get into it, and I am almost always confused with anything that I learn. I really did not enjoy world history, but this may have had to do with the teacher that I had. Also, whenever I have any sort of history homework, like reading, I can find at least 10 different interesting time-wasters to do, pushing the history off to the side. I guess this leads to my procrastination territory, but that is a whole other topic.
Interestingly, I would much rather lose myself in math or science, where things just click in my mind (most of the time). These subjects are also the ones that will lead me into my dream profession of being a pediatric physician. I don't believe that history will be that important to my future (even though I realize that it is a nice knowledge), unless it is about medical history. So, because I can't really wrap my mind around the whole subject, any type of history will continue to confuse me.

writing terrritories

dark
when people take my phone
varsity golf
why people enjoy baseball
animal cruelty (ASPCA commercials)
marine biologist
lazy
procrastination
Pets (then) pets (now)
procrastination

As you can see procrastination appears multiple times on this list. It is no secret I tend to be a little lazy from time to time. So, procrastinating plays a major role in my life. As you can see I have waited until the week is almost over before posting this blog. This is a trend that can be followed through most of my academic career. Because this trait I posses involves so much of my life (school), it can be described as three of the topics above. Obviously I have no problem admitting that I am lazy so that takes care of the idiosyncrasy. And, each time I procrastinate i am risking not turning in an assighnment on time which can be a big risk for a highschooler. And, it is probably the biggest problem that I have because it has such a negative impact on y production at school.

Post #7: October 12 1871

On October 12 in 1871 President Grant condemned the Klu Klux Klan. The KKK was a violent organization that hurt, terrorized and often killed African Americans in the south just because of the color of their skin. This condemnation shows the governments recognition of such horrors that the Klu Klux Klan was involved in. With out the president speaking out against them, many people may not have realized the threat that they caused. This is a good event because of the recognition the it brought of the Klu Klux Klan to our nation. After the Civil War when many people in the south still had negative views of African Americans, it was very necessary for someone to let everyone know that it wasn't acceptable for an organization to act as the Klu Klux Klan did. If this was not made clear, many other organizations might have sprung up with similar interests and the nation would've been in a much worse situation than they were at this point.

#6 My Adventure

1) What is the greatest invention of all time?
2) What are some good reasons to learn a foreign language?
3) Why do we become attached to our domesticated pets?

I have chosen prompt #3. When an animal becomes your pet, it is no longer just an animal. It is your friend. However, I believe that dogs are the easiest to get close to... as they are my favorite. Dogs, aka "man's best friend," connect with people in a way that no other animal or person could. Dogs show unconditional love to anyone. I have a memory from when I was younger... I had the flu and spent multiple days just laying around trying to feel better. My dog at the time would lay around with me all day attempting to stay as close to me as possible and comfort me as if she could sense that something was wrong. I think this is a true example of the love that dogs have for people.

Post 8

Rats
cockiness
Varsity
french
things i didnt do
nfl
jock
kala
Friends(now), stuffed animals(then)
keeping my mouth shut

I started taking french in 7th grade. My teacher madame renot was crazy. There were these twins in my class named cory and kyle who were from michigan. One time madame renot was stretching and we saw her stomach. Cory then raised his hand and asked her why she had a happy trail, the whole class started cracking up and she kicked him out of the room. French is also where I met some of my best friends like Kylan and Snoop, then the year after that Eamon was in my class too. In 7th grade snoop and javonte would make madame renot pissed then shed take it out on us. In 8th grade madame renot was absent one day, Eamon walked into the room and asked the sub "Is madame renot dead?" and she sent him too the office. Around ten minutes later, I asked the sub to read a question for me and she sent me to the office. So for the rest of class me and eamon were sitting in the office across from each other just telling jokes and having a blast.

"The Most Human, Human Being"

Writing Territories

Fears - Heights, mediocrity

Annoyances - Doing something because other people do/don't, breaking the spine on books, dog-earing books...

Accomplishments - Being in the classes that I am, keeping friends

Confusions - How to be honest without also hurting peoples' feelings

Sorrows - Average, mediocre, etc

Dreams - To get one. Alt ver: move to a big city such as Chicago and also to travel the world.

Idiosyncrasies - Shipping

Risks - College (anything and everything) not knowing what to do with my life

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then - Box of memories (then), laptop (now)

Problems - See sorrows, inability to distinguish myself

Music floats from her speakers as she sits typing at her computer. A look over her shoulder would probably give a glimpse of a blog, maybe an instant messenger conversation. Maybe she's not even writing, maybe she's simply reading something, a website of some sort or maybe it's a fanfiction for her favorite show. The music stops now and she doesn't notice it immediately, just continues to type on. Whether she eventually notices the lack of music or not doesn't matter, as right now she is lost in her routine, what she does. 

She flicks her trackpad up and flips to another tab on her computer, a big "Youtube" symbol emblazoned at the top. She flips to a different video, the generic strains of pop music begins over her speakers now. The title at the top of the page reveals the fact that it's a pairing video, not that it would have mattered anyway. She flips back to whatever she was doing before, maybe even begins singing, and who knows, maybe she's bad, maybe she isn't that terrible, but that's never been something she cared about, particularly. It's a love song of course (what music isn't, really?) and perhaps the song she sings is something she can relate to, or maybe it's something she has never experienced herself. 

All in all, nothing too interesting, nothing out of the ordinary. Any number of teenagers' names could be used here, to describe this scene. Their stories would be different, of course. It's not necessarily the fact that she's a cookie cutter, but more so the fact that she isn't particularly interesting. On a Sunday afternoon, she could be doing all kinds of things. On a Monday she could be doing whatever she wanted, granted it was after school. All of those days that she gets, she could use them to be something, to distinguish herself from the crowd. However, her activities and goals, while not the exact same as anyone else's, hardly bring anything new to the table. Maybe there's one thing she does better than some people; but even then, it's probably something useless. 

Does people ever talk about her? Probably, but what they say will remain unknown to her. What is said about her is not what she worries about. Indeed, her parents might actually even worry about that more than her. Like perhaps, when she wanted to get a really short haircut right before going into high school and her parents worried that it would earn her the reputation of "the lesbian", and that didn't actually happen (not that the haircut might have still been okay, it was completely terrible in case anyone cares). In general, her number two fear might simply be that she is mediocre at everything (except maybe going into panic attacks because of her number one fear, whatever that might be). 

Whoever this person might be, she appears to be very good at writing too much on her blog posts. And naming posts after quotes that don't even have anything to do with the post itself.

Writing Territories

Fears: Wolves

Annoyances: Bring It On The Musical

Accomplishments: Friendships

Confusions: Math and spelling

Sorrows: Grudges

Dreams: Going anywhere and everywhere

Idiosyncrasies: Knowing all/most songs to musicals. By heart.

Risks: Germany

Beloved Possessions: Books (then), Stories (now)

Problems: Procrastination

There is a difference between books and stories. Books are possessions. Stories are life, ideas, memories, dreams and secrets. Books have always been dear to me; my mother is an English teacher after all. Lately though I've come to realize that it is not the books that I love but they stories that they hold. That is one of the reasons I love history so much. It is one long, really really long story that never stops being interesting. I mean who could just come up with something like the Egyptian Pharaohs or Marie Antoinette, and to think that it’s true is amazing. Any form of entertainment to me is about the story, whether it be musicals, movies, TV, books or songs. But the most precious stories are those that are true and that you share with friends or family. Memories, even secrets, are the most important thing about living. They are your own personal history with fabulous plotlines of tears and laughter and a lot of embarrassment and they are always there to look back to and cherish. Knowing that life is about making memories is why living my life to the fullest only makes sense.

A Slow Process

Failure
Hypocrisy
Recovery
Acceptable Social Behavior
Perfectionism
Travel the world (and write about it)
Foreigner
Application (fear of rejection)
Material objects/Self-Obsession vs. Value of Family
Time/Stress Managment

Every child goes through a period where all they feel is intense hatred towards their parents and I can not deny that I was above the influence of such temptation. Those days are filled with screaming "I hate you!" or "Stop controlling my life!", relentless of door slamming/locking, and cold-shoulder treatments so icy one  would think the modern marvel of heating had never come about. But lets face the hard truth, children are idiots. Apparently, or so I've been told, such a period for me began in 8th grade (because it always does take root with middle school drama). There were days on end where I would remain sequestered up in my room coming down only to feed, like an animal in the wild - hiding from the predators relentlessly (i.e. parents) and emerging momentarily to throw morsels of food down to my stomach, small enough to be eaten quickly and without chewing but enough to keep me satisfied until the next "safe" opportunity presented itself. There was no routine family dinner, no sitting at the table discussing the days events. It was several minutes of grunting in between intervals of rapid chewing, then a quick excuse for leaving and back to hiding it was. Once more, I'll say children are not intelligent. I believed my "drama" to be so devastating and monumental that it was beyond repair when in reality it was so trivial that looking back now, I feel shame for the way I acted towards my parents. I can proudly say I no longer behave in that manner and have no intention of ever returning to a time in which I did. One could say I have "rediscovered" the significance of the parent-daughter relationship. I couldn't ask for anything more than the bond I curernlty have with my mother. There are days in which such "trivial drama" does affect me but its a relief knowing that I have someone who is willing to listen and offer advice no matter the situation. I treat my mother as my best friend and I honestly consider her to be one. After everything she has done for me, there is no way I could say otherwise. I guess all it took for this realization was just a matter of growing up and maturing. Patience is truly a virtue in this case.

Blog Post #7

On October 14, 1884 a patent was made that would eventually effect my life and the lives of many others. This was the day that George Eastman would patent paper photographic film; Eastman founded Eastman Kodak Company. Photography is one of my passions, and this patent was one of the steps in bringing picture taking to the greater public. Before digital cameras, that require no film, people had to use standard cameras that worked on this principle- a chemical reaction on the film. Film consists of many different chemical layers so that it can properly capture the colors of an image. It’s made up of chemicals such as cellulose acetate and silver nitrate; silver compounds are light sensitive (change color when exposed to light).  In 1727 a German scientist named Johan Heinrich Schulze was mixing a batch of silver nitrate when he saw when it was exposed to light it turned purple. Now our film has a top layer of scratch resistant chemical, then a layer of silver compounds sensitive to blue, green and red light. On your camera when you push down the button and hear a “click!” you are actually hearing the sound of a shutter at the front of the camera opening and closing very quickly. This exposes the film for a split second and allows your image to get burned on the film with different chemicals to which it is sensitive. As you can imagine, as the demand for photography went up, so did the demand for film. Eastman’s patent was the first step to more film and more cameras. Our cameras have evolved into completely different technology that no longer needs film and can even fit into your cell phone. But if it hadn’t been for Eastman none of that would be possible. 

Assignment 7

October 11, 1939 Albert Einstein writes a letter to the president detailing the potential of the atomic bomb.

Although the letter itself wasn't entirely important it does mark a turning point in the world. Obviously, bringing atomic bombs into the world changes everything, no doubt. But what could have happened if he hadn't written this? if he hadn't made the bomb. I would consider this letter to be a great thing which affected the entire world. After writing this letter the Manhattan project took went into full swing. If he was not able to convince the president here then who knows what might have happened. What if Japan had just kept on going, what would the world be like today. With all of these possibilites out there you must recognize the extrreme effect that the bomb and in turn this letter had on every city in Japan, the US, and probably Europe. It greatly affected Japan for obvious reasons, and really it changed the landscape of the entire world. This letter convinced the most powerful man in America of how to become the most respected, feared, powerful country on Earth. Frankly, I'm not sure I would like to live in a world where this wasn't the case.

Assignment 8: "I never had to choose my subject- my subject rather chose me"

Writing territories are a range of ideas that one generates to spark their writing. In general, it is just one of the many ways one can brainstorm for different types of writing.

This week's blog is more undefined than others because it depends so much on your unique personal experiences. Below, is a list of 10 writing territories and you'll begin by answering them. Your answers do not have to be lengthy, they only need to be definitive enough so that you, the writer, could look back at it weeks from now and it could trigger what you were thinking about.

Writing Territories

Fears

Annoyances

Accomplishments

Confusions

Sorrows

Dreams

Idiosyncrasies

Risks

Beloved Possessions, Now and Then

Problems

For instance, my list looks like:

drowning

rudeness

family/marriage

organization

anger

retirement travel

nerd

pilot's license

comic books (then), friendships (now)

Organization

Simple, right?

Now, once you have your list, choose one topic to expand upon in-depth (or at least 150 words). This may be as simple as an explanation of this topic (e.g. Organizationis a problem of mine because...). It may turn into to a short-story or a beginning of a short story. It may turn into a narrative of a memory. It may turn into a social commentary. It may turn into 150 words of freewrite. It may turn into something all together different and weird and delightful. Whatever you wrote down in your list, reflect upon it and allow it to guide your entry for the week.

"There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it's like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges." -Ernest Hemingway

Due Sunday, October 21 at 11:59 pm

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Take me out with the crowd

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack

I don't care if I never get back

Let me root, root, root for the Cubies

If they don't win it's a shame

For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out

At the old ball game

When anyone in my family hears that song we think of Harry Caray singing it at Wrigley Field. And no matter where I am it's not "home team" it's "Cubies".

My dad and oldest brother are Cincinnati Reds fans but my middle brother and I are Cubs fans. 

On October 14, 1908 the Cubs beat the Tigers 4-1 in the 5th World Series ever and that marks the last time the Cubs have ever won a world series. This is great that the Cubs won the world series, but it marks the last time they have ever won one so it is kind of no bueno. 

This for sure did not have an influence on a world or nation, but on the Cubs fans. Cubs fans are dedicated people that do not let the shame of the 104 no World Series win streak get to them. Being a Cubs fan when I mention I am one, or the World Series comes around people love to poke fun at our streak. But after awhile us Cub fans can poke fun at ourselves too. 

It's hard to describe how I feel about this event since we haven't won a World Series since 1908, but hey the Cubs have at least one 2 that were consecutive.

October 14th

On this date 48 years ago Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize. He was thirty-five in 1964 and the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize. MLK won for his non violent resistance to racial prejudice in America. The year before he led his famous march in Washington DC where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The year he won, two very important things happened for the civil rights movement; the ratification of the 24th amendment, which abolished the poll tax, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited racial discrimination in employment and education and outlawed racial segregation in public facilities. Awarded the Peace Prize in October, King donated the all of the prize money, around $54,600, to the civil rights movement. Only four years later Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Known as one of the greatest proponents for peace in the modern world, King is revered across the states and the world for his work still today. His contributions to the civil rights movement as a leader were many but he is well known for his want of non-violent change. I believe one reason he is so revered as he is today and was then is that he did so much, was such a great influence without letting his anger influence his actions and lead to violence. King claimed that "at the center of non-violence is love." He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his love of humanity and his devotion to a cause that touched so many people.

On a lighter note and because I just couldn't exclude it, today in 1926 was also the day Winnie the Pooh was first released.

On This Date

1066 - Battle of Hastings, in which William the Conqueror wins England
      This battle occurred on October 14th. Normandy completely took over England who was under Harlod II. He died during the battle and legend has it that he was shot in the eye by an arrow. The Battle of Hastings took place at Senlac Hill. This had an everlasting effect on the world. It changed the British culture tremendously which most likely has some effect on myself if traced back far enough, however I have no personal feelings towards the event due to how long ago it took place. It is an interesting event in history and was a very captivating event to learn about. One can learn several leadership lessons through this that prove to be very helpful.  In order to make decisions in the present it is ever so important to know and to learn from the precedent of the past.

FNCOD

October 11th is National Coming Out Day.  In 1987, 200,000 gay rights activists marched in D.C. to ban discrimination and ask for more help to combat AIDS.  They felt ignored while almost every other health issue around the globe was being rallied around.  The courthouse was targeted due to a recent ruling upholding the right of a state to prosecute individuals for partaking in homosexual activity in the privacy of their own homes.  Twenty-five years later, that event's mark is still felt.  Although the issue isn't resolved, and the problem has evolved, the States are more tolerant of homosexuality.  Although I feel disheartened at our country's inability to resolve this issue, I know that, like the racial and gender issues before, it will take time.  But how much time are we willing to take?  Like abortion, this issue stems from failing to keep religion separate from state.  I digress.  This day has given hope to those who have yet to tell their families about their preference for people of the same sex.  Hope is the least anyone can ask for.

so yesterday

on October 13th, 1775, the United States Continental Congress ordered the establishment of the Continental Navy, which was later renamed the United States Navy as we know it today. this event is significant to me because a lot of my family members as well as family friends have been in the Navy. The Navy as well as all of the branches of the military (marines, army, air force, coast guard) are all beneficial, and necessary to our country. but they do not only help us, but other countries as well. without the United States Navy, our country would be more vulnerable to any naval or amphibious warfare, but with our multiple branches of military it is not left up to one branch to do everything. by breaking the military down into branches it allows for more specialized training so that the men that enlist to protect and fight for out country will have the skills they need.
                                                        

On This Date

When Saturday rolls around, there are some things I always look forward to. Obviously, there's no school, which is nice, and I get to sleep in, which is a hobby of mine, but there's also something that occurs on many Saturdays way after the events of those days. On these days, at 11:30 PM, Saturday Night Live airs, sometimes live, sometimes recorded, on NBC. What does this have to do with this blog post? Well, on October 11th, 1975, Saturday Night Live debuted on television. Though this is not a well-known, life-changing event, I believe that this had a huge effect on television and its viewers. I think the fact that the show is still on today, after more than 35 years, shows how big of an impact it has had on American viewers. SNL has definitely had a positive influence on the United States (although my opinion is biased because I absolutely love the show), being a sketch comedy show that can surely make anyone with the slightest sense of humor let out some giggles. Most people these days know what SNL is, since it has been on the air for so long, and many can retell their favorite sketch, whether it's Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd in "Two Wild and Crazy Guys" or a more recent Kristen Wiig as the Target lady. Just bringing up the topic of the most well-known SNL sketches to my mom and grandma got them talking about the different sketches and cast members that have been on the show throughout the years. SNL is a great television show that has had a lasting impact on television and I believe that the show will continue to be aired for a very long time. I greatly appreciate SNL and it has become one of my favorite things to watch on TV.

I had to go back and watch the Target sketch. Not sure if you've seen it, but I hope you think it's as funny as I do.
http://www.hulu.com/#!watch/72441
I also hope this link works. Fingers crossed.

On This Date (Blog 7)

On October 12, 1960, the leader of the Socialist Party, Asanuma Inejiro, was assassinated in front of a live audience as well as all of those watching the televised broadcast of the debate that he was currently participating in. Said debate was over the upcoming election of the House of Representatives. Now, when people hear the word "assassinated," they think of one pulling the trigger of a gun in order to end the life of another person. In this case, though, the man who assassinated Asanuma, Yamaguchi Otoya, rushed on to the stage and delivered Asanuma's fate with a Wakizashi, a type of Samurai sword. Quite honestly, upon reading this, I was surprised at the audacity of such a murder considering that most people including myself see the Japanese in general as being much less forward, but I suppose that there are exceptions to every general belief.

This incident resulted in an outcry across the country for a more peaceful country, which is rather commendable, because they could have just as easily been divided even more by political opinions. That's not to say that political opinions weren't further divided, as they were, but these divisions never affected anything beyond politics. Perhaps the biggest change that occurred in the wake of this event was the creation of the Social Democratic Party in January of 1996. The Social Democratic Party has gone on to become one of the larger parties in Japan.

Now, you may wonder why I decided to pick out such an obscure event.... Well, the answer is quite simple really: if I picked out something that I had even the slightest idea about, then I would not have learned as much from writing about it as I would have from writing about a topic that I had never heard of before.