Speak

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a novel about a girl named Melinda who becomes an outcast in her school.

Melinda snuck out to a party and hooked up with an upperclassmen at her school named Andy Evans. Melinda gets drunk and ends up calling 911. The police come and break up the party and arrest some of the students.

When Melinda returns to school no one will talk to her. All of her friends have ditched her and split up to join separate cliques. Melinda is all alone and forced to deal with her problems head on.

Melinda's only escape is her art class. Where she can express herself freely because ever since the party incident Melinda doesn't speak.

Somehow Melinda must find herself, get her friends back and save Rachel, her ex-best friend, from suffering the same fate she did.

This book was so real. This happens to so many teenagers all around the world today. I give this book four stars. I do recommend it. The movie is pretty good too. (:

Boo to Bullying

Bullying.

I say BOO to bullying.

I believe you should always treat a person the way you want to be treated. That is The Golden Rule.

23% of Elementary School students admit to being bullied one to three times a month.

50% of Bullying incidents go unreported.

77% of the students questioned say they have been bullied

14% of the 77% say they experienced bad reactions because of the abuse.

Nobody fully understands what bullying does to a person until they have experieced the abuse first hand. If you see a case of bullying. . . Do something. Do not stand and watch because that makes you a part of the problem as well.

Bullying can be prevented.

Being Thankful

Thankful. . .

What am I thankful for?

I am thankful for my friends and my family. I am thankful for Jesus. I am thankful for too many things to name!

People sometimes forget that you should ALWAYS be thankful and not just on Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for my mother who works so hard to give me everything I want or need.

Thanksgiving is everyday of the year for me. My mother always taught me that I should be thankful on my birthday. Thankful on Christmas. Thankful on Friday, Sunday AND Monday.

Everyday should be Thanksgiving.

The Breakup Bible

The Breakup Bible by Melissa Kantor is a book about moving on.

Jen Lewis,a junior, is dating the editor in cheif of the schools newspaper. . . or should I say was dating. Jen thought everything was fine between her and Max until he said the dreaded words. . "Maybe it would be better if we were just friends." Just friends. Just FRIENDS?



How could they be just friends after he told her he LOVED her? How can she walk through the hallways at school and see him? More importantly, why did he dump her?


Jen cannont function for all the grief she is going through. So her Nana buys her a book called The Breakup Bible by Dr. Emerson.

Can the book help Jen move on from Max?

A True Pioneer

A pioneer never quits. . .

My Little Brother

My youngest brother, Chauncey, is a true pioneer. When he was born he was put on a monitor. The monitor told us when he stopped breathing , and when his heart stopped beating. Eventually he was taken off the monitor but the doctors decided he was not fully healthy.

They ran tests that showed when he ingested liquids they went straight to his lungs. My little brother was put on a feeding tube for six years of his life. The doctors told us he was not aloud to drink orally. The only way he was aloud to drink was thru his stomach.I cannot imagine what it feels like to be four years old and not be able to drink juice with the rest of the kids at my preschool.

My little brother is a prime example of a true pioneer. He was never down about his situation and he never gave up hope. Even at such a young age he believed God would heal him and he would be able to drink again. Two years ago he was saying his prayers and said " Oh and thank you Jesus for taking my feeding tube away." The very next day the doctors told us he no longer needed it. He has been drinking ever since.

iJERK

The "JERK" movement.

The jerk is a dance that has THREE separate dances inside it.

Most people do not know this.

The Reject- What is commonly mistaken as the jerk. However it is not. It is the reject. It is basically a backwards skipping motion..

The Jerk- A simple movement of the legs. You bend at the knees and sway your legs side to side. Away from and then towards each other.

The Dip- Drop down to a complete squat and pop back up sticking out your feet in different orders and styles.

Right now the largest jerking crew/rappers is the NewBoyz. The NewBoyz consists of Ben J, Legacy and the hype man. They made it big with the songs "You're a Jerk" and "Tie Me Down" in 2009.

Wanna learn how to Jerk? Contact me(:

So much depens upon...

So much depends upon
dreams wide as the sky

and reaching
for the highest point

never letting go

Sophmore year reflecton 2

o
oh
ohm
ohmy
ohmyw
ohmywo
ohmywor
ohmyword....

The end of my sophomore year. In my head I feel like a ninth grader still because that is the grade almost all my friends are in. However, outside my head I realize the truth. I am one year from graduation...

Wow. That is kind of scary...I like the thought of getting away from all my tenth grade drama and moving on. Even though I am sure there will be eleventh grade drama as well. I do not know what to do with myself.

This year has been pretty amazing despite the drama. Let me tell you there was loads and loads of drama. However it was needed. Sometimes bad things have to happen for you to realize the truth about people.

A way to explain my actions and everything that happened to my friends and me through the course of this year is by a quote from Ferris Bueller's Day off :

I am not going to sit on my butt as the events that affect me unfold to determine the course of my life. I'm going to take a stand. I'm going to defend it. Right or wrong, I'm going to defend it.

Junior year here I come..

The House on Mango Street

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a collection of very short stories called vignettes. This book is about a young Latin girl living in Chicago and its only one hundred and ten pages...I know what your thinking -" Boy, a book full of short stories and its only about a hundred pages! I would love to read that!"
NO! I thought that too.

This book was so BORING. I thought I could read it in one night no problem and be done. However I read the first couple chapters and I nearly pulled my hair out from the horror. She tells little stories of her life but she NEVER explains fully. You never know what happens after. You never know how things start. It is so incomplete.

I would say don't read this book. However, if you are an eleven year old boy.. this book is awesome because my little brother LOVED it.

Anthem

Anthem by Ayn Rand is a book about Equality. No, not equality as in sameness in state or continued course; evenness; uniformity but Equality 7-2527. Equality is in a community where everything is chosen for him. He does not decide when he eats, what he eats, or what job he has. He wants to change his community and give everyone choices.

He somehow he realized that there was more out there and he was missing it and so was the rest of his community. Equality is the hope for his community.


Although this story is about oppression towards the people but it is a story of hope and liberation. How? Well, if Equality were not in the story then the citizens would be desperate and lost. However, because of Equality they can have hope for the future that their lives will get better.

The book theif

The book thief by Markus Zusak [Ten parts]

"I do not carry a sickle or a scythe. I only wear a hooded black robe when it's cold. And I don't have those skull-like facial features you seem to enjoy pinning on my from a distance. You want to know what I truly look like? I'll help you out. Find yourself a mirror..."

This book was emotionally stressful. There were so many ups and downs and loopty loops...
I just could not put it down. It starts out and the book is rather boring..When I first started reading it I thought to myself "Oh, my word. Why did I even get this book? 552 pages!! I have officially lost my mind.."

However 20 pages in.. I-was-hooked.

One thing that killed me was this book is a big SPOILER..Every time something is about to happen the narrator tells you 30 pages ahead of time..ugggh.

This book is about Liesel,a nine year old girl, in Nazi Germany. Enough said right.. Right. The story was told in the perspective of DEATH. Woah..innovative right? Yes... yes,yes,yes.

Go out...to a library... or a store.. somewhere and get this book.. It is a must read! (Tears WILL fall)

Relfecting on my Spring Break...

Ahh.. Spring Break....

My spring break was so amazing. The band and I went on a trip all the way down to .....

Texas? ..no

Alabama?..no

Georgia?..no

ORLANDO,FLORIDA!!

Me,myself, I have never been to Florida. We went to Disney World and all the parks in that same general theme..It was amazing. We all got to hang out and just have fun. Also, we competed in a concert contest and we won overall!! A perfect end to a perfect trip..

However, I was very glad to get back to Arkansas and see my family... =)

Animal Farm

WARNING-TALKING ANIMALS..

There are so many movies about talking animals now days I was a little wary when I realized Animal Farm by George Orwell was one in book form. Such as : Open Season, Madagascar, Barnyard and many more.

Animal Farm is an allegorical fable. A fable-teaches a lesson. An allegory-a story that has a deeper meaning. Basically, its a story a farm whose animals decide that they deserve better than what they are getting and they start a revolt....

What happens when you beg and beg for something different but when you get it....it is not what you thought it would be? Do you...

Ask for more change?
or
Sit back and deal with it....

There is a lot of symbolism in the book and it was an inspirational message to all humans...and to all animals that snuck into their farm houses and learned to read and write.

My favorite Techie tool...

My favorite techie tool of all the techie tools will definitely have to be Dictionary.com. I use dictionary.com almost every day! If I am in a conversation and someone uses a word I do not understand. I do not want to embarrass myself by asking what the word means... I dictionary.com it.

If I am reading a book and I come across a word that I have not heard...

Do I put up that book or skip that word?? NO! I dictionary.com it..

Listening to a song?... Dictionary.com it.

Watching the news? Dictionary.com it.

Dictionary.com helps me learn new words in a quick and easy way. It is like vocabulary's easy button.

Lush.[[How much did you drink tonight?]]

Lush by Natasha Friend.


Poor child. Such a beautiful girl.(I would assume). but such a horrible home life.

Her father is a alcoholic. A drunk. Not the kind of drunk you can look over and ignore either. Like the kind that is always in your face with breath that can burn the hair right off your eyebrows! Smelly breath that makes your eyes water and your nose tingle.

How is a kid to deal with a drunk father and a mother who does not see the problem or refuses to see the problem . Also a younger brother who needs attention and cannot get it from his emotionally absent parents.

OH.. I know.. WRITE NOTES!! yes..this young girl decides to write notes to a "girl" she knows nothing about and she tells this kid all her problems. Every little thing that goes on is written down in notes.. hmmm.. makes for an interesting story...some conversations... maybe some. confrontation..:]]

A couple of guys thrown in and BAM! Another great story by Natasha Friend.

Good book.. happy...sad..excited..mad.. so many emotions in such a short book.
READ IT.

To perfect my world...

To perfect the world....wow...that is surely a task.





1.) No one can hurt anyone physically. No war.
This means no hitting, pinching, punching, slapping, or biting (for the little ones). No hair pulling, no scratching, and no Indian burns. No one can harm another person unless you are their parent( which has a whole other list of guidelines).





2.) Music will be limited for every age level.

Ages o-6 years-Playhouse Disney music

Ages 6-12 years- Bubble gum pop

Ages 12-15 years- Disney music and country music and bubble gum pop

Ages 15 and on- Unlimited choices



3.) Every family must put in a request to have children. They must take a parent aptitude test.( PAT).

It is no good when I see unfit parents...I just wanna yell at them and run away with their kids. In my perfect world no one will see unfit parents because they have to pass a series of grueling tests...



4.) No one will die before the age of 67.

It is just so heartbreaking to hear of a child dying before they can enjoy their life or for a teenager to die in the prime of their life. In my perfect world no one will die before their 67 years has passed.

5.) Let it out!!!
There will be allotted time in schools for children to let out their frustrations or happiness. School have much less drama if there was a period in which they could yell and scream and fight all they wanted (just no hitting). The children could confront their problems head on with conversation and for the teacher and onlookers enjoyment, maybe confrontation, BUT NO HITTING. That is the very first rule. No violence.

There is a three times your out rule..
First discrepancy-Warning

Second discrepancy-A firm talking to

Third discrepancy- YOUR OUT. your being released...


Now I know what your thinking. "Child,this is NOT going to help the world. It is just going to make it creepy and controlling."

But I say to you. How else can we make the world perfect other than controlling everyone and creeping them out to a point that they will obey?

Rules-review [[If it fits in your mouth..Its food]]

Rules by Cynthia Lord.

A very common story about a girl who's younger brother has a disability and she feels like she gets thrown to the side...

You have heard this story before right...WRONG! I started reading the book and I had to keep putting it down because it made me so frustrated. This girl I thought was too shy. She was very selfish and I could not even get into the book let alone think about writing a review about it.

However, somewhere in the story I was pulled in.

Yes the girl is embarrassed by her disabled brother as they are in most the stories.

Yes. She is overly shy around boys even though I am sure she is very pleasing to the eyes

But this girl has rules in which to keep her brother in check.. SHE HAS RULES.

These rules tell him how to behave in public and how to respond to people. Some of the rules are made to make his life better.... however others.. are just to keep him from embarrassing her.

SELFISH.

She finally meets a friend that she thinks she will like and the only thing she worries about is is her brother gonna embarrass her... [[Catherine]]Is only twelve years old. Having a "normal life" is pretty important to her and just the crazy things she goes through while attempting to create this normal life is worth the 200 pages.

NO bad-mouthing at the lunch table!

The biggest and longest fight I had ever had with any of my friends, and it included my ENTIRE table....

I had been best friends with *Samantha since the fourth grade. We did everything together. We were sisters at heart. However, there was one thing that we did not have in common. I was in band and she was not. Granted, that is not that big of a deal. If you think that. You have never been in band. Band is a social paradise. The people in band are the people you spend all your time with, your best friends sometimes. Samantha was not in band and Breanna was. That is how it all started.

Sam and I had been best friends for so long that it was hard for both of us when we could not hang out as much because of my band trips and football games. We both changed in the three years from seventh grade to tenth. We had both found totally different types of friends and we were not the same fourth grade girls talking about Jesus, music and playing on the computer.

One day Sam came to me and said that I was stuck up. My head was spinning! Really? I am stuck up? All day long I was running round and round thinking "How in the world am I stuck up?" So finally I texted her. She cannot give me any reasons I thought to myself. But oh she had reasons...

1. I was mean to one of my BEST FRIENDS

No. I will not even listen to that , I thought. She is my best friend and I am NOT mean to her.

2. I talked about people.

Haha. I refused to listen to that one too! I talk about people the same way I did when I was in the fourth grade. Not excessively and not in a gossipy like fashion......

3. I was hanging out with Breanna.

She thought Breanna was just so mean and so horrible. Note: She did not hate Breanna. She just did not like her.

NOT COOL. Breanna had become my very best friend and I could not let her talk about her the way she was. She said Brea was rude, stuck up and she basically was not a good christian. SO SO NOT COOL. I stood up for Breanna and told her how great she was and how nice she was. I also told her that she cannot just make accusations about people when she really does not know them at all! Of course Breanna did not need my help too much...she also stood up for herself.

Needless to say Sam did not like that one bit. There was a big, long argument that went on for a couple weeks. Our relationship is still strained to this day. We get in arguments all the time about the same subjects. Sam still thinks the same things about Breanna and me but I know that Breanna and I will always be close because we always have each others back in any situation. It feels good to know I always have one person that will side with me and vise versa.

* name changed to protect her identity.

The Giver Review

Do you ever wish life was not always so complicated? That you did not have to make as many tough decisions?

The Giver by Lois Lowry gives you just that. A perfect community, a utopia. In this community everything is the same, everyday. They always know what to expect. They always have enough food. They are always happy.....no [precision of language] satisfied.

The main character in the story is Jonas. Jonas was weighted with memories from the past, before the sameness. Memories the rest of the community could not carry on their own or at all for that matter. They were raised in a world of sameness. Can they have real feelings? Real emotions?

When he was twelve he was entrusted with all the secrets the Chief Elder was hiding from the rest of the community and he had to bear that weight alone. Many people can identify with Jonas. Having to grow up too fast. Seeing the world from a different view point than everyone else.

I complain all the time. Why does she get all the best clothes? Why can not i have shoes like that? I worry about what I will do in the future. What career I will have. They did not have to worry about those things... it was all decided for them. They all wore the same clothes. They all had the same belongings.

But what happens when one or two people decide to push the limits of the community. Decide that they know whats best and only they can bring the people real and true happiness.

The Giver by Lois Lowry. READ IT. It will give you a whole new outlook on life....It did me.