Taylor swift :]

The Album that I think everyone should listen to over this winter break is Speak Now by Taylor Swift. It's been out for about a month. Almost each song on that Album is dedicated to a boy that she used to date. However, the song that I like the best on this album is Long Live. I can personally relate to this song. It makes me think of Homecoming Dance and the feeling that one would feel when they've won Homecoming king/queen. Even though I'm still in highschool, I can imagine someone who has graduated from highschool, reminisce while they listen to this specific song. 
We were the Kings and the Queens
And they read off our names
The night you danced like you knew our lives
Would never be the same
You held your head like a hero
On a history book page 
Taylor Swift usually sing Country/Pop type of music. In this song, I can hear the Pop from the drums and guitar, but her voice, like always give off the country feel.
Compared to other artists like Carrie Underwood, I like Taylor Swift more because I can relate to Taylor Swift's songs more than I can relate to Carrie Underwood's songs. However, I still listen to Carrie Underwood too, because she's awesome!!!

Another song that should be heard is Sparks Fly also in Taylor Swift's album. I'm sure a lot of girls can relate! Here's a little preview.
And you stood there in front of me just
Close enough to touch
Close enough to hope you couldn't see
What I was thinking of

Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain

'Cause I see, sparks fly whenever you smile
Get me with those green eyes, baby
As the lights go down
Something that'll haunt me when you're not around

Christmas poem

Fluffy and white
Snowman comes to life
clean and fun
Angles made by everyone

Black and mushy
trees all dreary
sad and dull

Round and round we go
Down we fall
Down we go
slippery and cold

Short and fat in red and white
sliding down chimneys with all his might
kissing mommies
Eating cookies

but tis the season to be jolly.

Nick and Jay

So...they met kinda sorta awkwardly. Even though nick was personally invited to Jay's party, Jay didn't know who nick was other than his neighbor. They seem to have a lot incommon. They also start to "hang out", but a little part of me thinks that Jay is just using Nick to get closer to Daisy( Nick's cousin and the girl Jay has a crush on). Maybe Jay wants to have the best of both worlds where he has Nick as a friend and Daisy as his significant other. Or, he's is just down right using Nick. I hope Jay really has an interest in Nick because I would hate to see 2 characters that clicked right from the start, become enemies. But there was something else that drew my attention. Jay seems kinda fake. He has all these books in his library that he hasn't read. He doesn't know some of the most basic questions, even though he went to oxford. As of now, Jay gives me a mixed feeling. He's kinda of in the middle of my Jerk-or-Mr. Nice guy scale. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough :]]]

The Trick of Writing

Most subjects in school have set rules of how to solve or "do it". But writing is different, besides grammar and punctuations, there are no rules. Writing can make people laugh because of humor or cry because of sorrow. Writing can lead to many different things. It can bring you to a fantasy world filled with creatures or the past that makes us who we are today. Everyone's writing style is different. Why do you think there are so many books out there about the same subject? Since everyone thinks differently, you will definitely have opposing opinions and perspectives. Reading goes hand in hand with writing. What I've realized from the people around me is that those who read a lot, are more likely to write better than those who don't read as much.
There once lived an old wise man...okay he's not THAT old, and he's actually my dad. Anyways, he told me that people who read more are usually good writers, because they see the variety of writing styles and techniques the Authors have to offer. Since then, I've been inspired to read more.

So the tricks to writing are...THERE ARE NO TRICKS. Write what's on your mind. Sure, along the way of that 3 page paper, you'll get side tracked onto a topic that might not even be related to your main topic, but who cares!? That's why teachers usually make you revise and edit your paper, so it takes out all that jibbarish. To me, writing is like the act of pouring your heart and soul onto the paper with black ink. You should put effort into each piece of writing. Oh! and don't think of writing as a chore, it makes the process of actually doing it easier and a lot more fun. (:

 

A classmate that I'm Thankful for...

A classmate that I'm THANKFUL for is Cindy Mei :] She's not the only one I'm thankful for but, she's definitely on the top of my list! What's so special about her?! Well, I'm glad you asked. I met Cindy before we attend Whitney Young. We met in the most awkward place, the train station. She knew one of my friends from my elementary school. We officially met when we were at the movies...I think.... I didn't really like her back then, but that has definitely changed! She helps me with things that I don't understand, and she reminds me when I forget to do an assignment (I'm sure anyone in the class will do the same for me). Besides helping me and reminding me, she's someone I look forward to seeing during the day. She so easy to talk to, very fun and goofy too. Cindy is not only my classmate, she's one of my closest friends. Thank you Cindy! :] <333

I am a Plow

I am a Plow. A plow plows over many things, like snow in the Winter or weeds in the Summer and Spring. In the winter, the snow plow plows the snow into a pile on the side. In this case, I'm the plow that pushes my problems to the side by solving them. Every now and then, there would be a rough patch that every plow will meet. Some plow might blow through it like they're nothing, but others will have a hard time and have to go over that spot a few times. That's like not concluding a problem or issue the first time and trying again. However, in the Summer and Spring, the plows cut the weeds and grass; while leaving the roots. It's similar to life because everything one had or will conquer, there will always be a memory of it, no matter big or small. It can be the first time you've successfully tied your shoes laces to graduating college. Both of those experiences will stick with you, they have become apart of your field.    

A change in the Classroom

I think everyone in our class can agree that there's nothing wrong with in the classroom. When it comes to discussion time, everyone has their own opinion and everyone is heard. One of the good things in class is that every morning we have journal topics that we are to write about. It helps me wake up and it gets everyone thinking. We talk about whatever the topic is, it usually gets pretty heated if it a popular subject. Other than a change in the classroom, I kind of want a change in the school. I feel like in division, other than just sitting around for ten minutes, we can learn about how to pay the bills or manage a bank account. Because not everyone knows how to do that. I scared that if i wait till i grow up to learn, it will be too late.

Modern Slavery

Hmmm...Slavery, Wasn't that over a long time ago? No, not really. There are still many forms of Slavery out there today. Lately, in class we talked about some types of slavery that still exist today. Like sweat shops, Women inferior to men, and slaves of your sibling(s). My teacher was telling us about how brand name stores buy factors in other countries to avoid paying taxes. A store like Nike has kids from 3rd world countries making their product. The class was having a discussion about whether or not they'll still buy/ use the product if they knew it was from a sweat shop. Some people said it depends and others said they wouldn't. I agree with the people who said it depends on what the product is because sometime that certain product might be the only one out there. Women inferior to men would be a mild form of slavery because I grew up learning that women are suppose to listen to what the "men" of the family has to say. I don't totally agree with this, but because I'm a daddy's girl, I usually listen and obey what my dad tells me to do. Not that I'm a slave of his, but I do what he tells me to do. Lastly, Slaves of your sibling. Even thought I'm the youngest in my family, I never experienced being bossed around and being told what to do. They always treated me like someone their age. But I've seen sibling slavery before. Most of my friends that are girls, boss their little brothers around like their some kind of mule. I feel sorry for their siblings because it's sad and they're helpless. However, Sometime I think they deserve it. I swear to never commit any type of slavery because slavery is BAD! :PPP 

Salem, Puritans, House of Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne...They're all related?!

As one of our Blog entries, we were asked to research and write about Salem, Puritans, House of The Seven Gables and Nathaniel Hawthorne. I didn't realize that they were all connected until I did further research on them.

So the story all started when I learned about the Puritans living in this place called Salem. In Salem, the Puritans worshiped god and feared the devil. That was how kids were born and raised. It was a sin to be happy and kids were punished for have "fun". Also it was a sin to born on Sunday...Yeah, I know right~! For sometime, Salem had "Salem Witch Trials", basically trials that determined whether or not you practiced witchcraft (a Sin). What happened was that a group of girls went around accusing people for practicing witchcraft. They claimed that they felt or saw the person's ( in which they were accusing) "ghost". The girls said they felt them touch them. Later, Scientist suggest that the Hallucinations and itching sensations that they felt were because of a fungi called Ergot. Ergot was found in rye. Rye was in the food in which they consumed.

One of the judges of the Salem witch trial was John Hathorne. He killed innocent people by believing the girls. He is Nathaniel Hawthorne's great grand father. Nathaniel was so ashamed of his ancestor that he changed his name from hathorne to hawthorne, so he wouldn't have any ties with them.

The Book House of Seven Gables was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. There is an actual House called the House of The Seven Gables. It's called that because of the Seven pointed tops the house has. The house is in Salem, Massachusetts. It was built by John Turner, who sold it to Captain Samuel  Ingersoll. When Samuel died, he left the house for lady named Susanna. Susanna turned out to be Nathaniel's Cousin. So he would often times visit her when she was still alive and lived in that house. It is believed that she still haunts the house today.

The Puritan roots still affect the decisions America makes today because even though they want to separate religion and state, there's still going to be a connection/bias behind those decisions. They're always going to be there because that was how things were. That was how things/society started, the background will always be there.  So when people say bad habits die hard, in this case so do bias decisions. 

The Moment I Knew I was an American

The moment I was an American was the moment I took my first breath. Like a lot of people, I was born and raised here. I never really put much thought to why being an American was so special...until I started to go to school and realized that there are people that aren't like me. Some were still applying for their citizenship, which made me question if I've done that yet. After learning that I don't have to "apply", I realized that I have more privileges than others. I have the rights that they're applying for right when I was born. My trip back to China during the summer of 06 empathized how lucky, privileged, and special I am. Going there to visit made me realize that they have to pay for their education. They have very little or no say as to who their ruler is. Also, They don't have the choice of how many kids they want to have. All of these restrictions made me think of how different it would be to grow up knowing that there are people out there that have all of those privileges. But, for some odd reason, I don't have them. I'm so glad that I'm AMERICAN.

Us vs. Them = Us and Them??? O.o

The title makes me think of enemies becoming friends. In most cases, it's possible. But in the Crucible, I don't think it's happening. Actually, I know it's not going to happen because I know how it ends. For example, The people that weren't killed, knew innocent people that were killed. Killed for something they didn't do. So their families are left with pain and sorrow. If I were a family member of one of the innocent people that were killed, I would NEVER forgive those who didn't speak up. I would even want revenge. It could also turn out to be Us and Them = Us vs. Them because in the story Abigail and a few other girls were in the lie together, but because of the lie. They turned on each other. The equation can go both ways. It just depends on how you look at it.

Hero or stooge? Hmmmm

Is John proctor a Hero or a stooge? Well, in the story, his actions say he's a little bit of both. But generally, I think he's a good man, because even though he made mistakes like ADULTERY.... and seems kinda selfish at times. He's a good man :] No one is perfect. So reading a story that consists of a character(s) that's perfect is just plain BORING!

Sinners in the hands of Angry god

In class the other day, we read a story called "Sinners in the the hands of Angry God". The story is about how people used to think that god would have a Bow and Arrow pointing to your heart, ready to release it any moment. Because of this fear, the people prayed and wasn't allowed/ too scared to "have fun". So my opinion about this is that.....THEY'RE CRAZY! Who in the world would believe that? they had to live in fear for their whole life! However, I understand that there's a difference between the beliefs now and before. The people grew up believing this myth. So they didn't know any better. 

There goes the neighborhood...

One of my earliest and fondest memories was when my family and I lived in an apartment that 2 other uncles and my dad owned. We lived on the first floor, my 2 other uncles in lived in the second and third. Life was great, especially since i have so many cousins that are my age. I remember playing hide and seek, it was the best when you were allowed to hind anywhere within the 3 floors. But then everyone started to grow older, so it was about time to find our own houses and continue our own journeys. My uncles and their families were the first to move out. I was too young to really understand what was happening. However, I did understand that we didn't live that far apart from one another.

The neighborhood that my family moved in was really close to my old house, so it wasn't too big of a change... Or so i thought. I remember having the nicest neighbor. It was pretty cool how we both moved in around the same time. Even though they weren't kids my age, we spent plenty of time talking and joining the neighborhood events. Events like spring cleaning, cook outs, and block parties. But over time, the man's wife died because of old age. He eventually moved back to Mexico.

This is relevant to the very first peoples of our earth during the paleolithic times because they too moved to different place. They had to adapt to new environments, and if there's people that already occupy the land. They had to communicate with one another. I experienced the same thing. The only difference is that I didn't move, the others who "already occupy the land" moved because of death. But back then, people moved in search for food. One thing that both of us share is that over time, things started to change.

Introduction

    Hi! My name is Amy. I'm a Sophomore. This year, I have many goals to achieve. One of my goals are to write better compositions. Also, I want to enjoy the class. I want to feel like I've earned that A in the class. I plan to ask questions and participate in class as much as possible. Most importantly, I would like to apply the concepts I've learned in the class to all of my other classes. By the end of the year, the other goal that I plan to fulfill is have more confidence in my writing. Because of all the years of holding back and under estimating myself, I want to know that my work is good enough for others to admire.
   My meaning of American Literature is How American writes. I think this class consist of learning and reading different ways writers portray their own kind of American writing.