Makenzie-Failure
Alex H-Hits and Misses
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Friday, April 21, 2017
1. Ambition is a positive, desirable trait in a person. 2. If you are in a position of power, you are happy.
I agree that ambition is a positive, desirable trait in a person. However, ambition and lust for power seem easily confused. Ambition is a positive drive towards your goals and can be accomplished in positive ways. There is also the kind of ambition that is fueled purely by power and that is not always morally correct. People go out of their way and do the wrong things to get what they want and that is not the kind of ambition that is positive and desirable. If you have to do morally corrupt or wrong things to get what you want then you may not necessarily deserve whatever your goal is.
However, I strongly disagree that if you are in a position of power, you are happy. People often think they want positions of power then find themselves trapped. I think that is one reason why there are set terms for presidency in the United States. Presidents likely find themselves unhappy in their position because they have such heavy burdens put on them as the leader of the nation. This is also the case for famous people. Though they don't have political power, they still have a lot of influence over people and grow tired of the limelight often. It is said in many songs and by a lot of celebrities that they just wish they could not be famous and not have to worry about appearances so much. Overall, power is good and a lot of people want it, but it is also a heavy burden to carry.
However, I strongly disagree that if you are in a position of power, you are happy. People often think they want positions of power then find themselves trapped. I think that is one reason why there are set terms for presidency in the United States. Presidents likely find themselves unhappy in their position because they have such heavy burdens put on them as the leader of the nation. This is also the case for famous people. Though they don't have political power, they still have a lot of influence over people and grow tired of the limelight often. It is said in many songs and by a lot of celebrities that they just wish they could not be famous and not have to worry about appearances so much. Overall, power is good and a lot of people want it, but it is also a heavy burden to carry.
Hits and Misses
Though I don't really enjoy writing essays, I did think that all of mine this year turned out well. My research paper came out especially well and I was actually proud of it. I felt like working on it for so long and so thoroughly was boring but ended up good for the paper because I knew my information so well. I also thought that the personal narrative was a strong suit of mine but I don't know how that could have been super difficult seeing as it's your own story. I also enjoy some blog posts, like reading responses because I feel like I can really choose the direction of those while also having a clear direction for the post.
What I felt wasn't my strong suit, however, was the literary analysis. I had a hard time coming up with my thesis and what I wanted to get out of the paper, and it was kind of a struggle for me all the way through. Once I started writing with my topic it wasn't too bad, but I constantly worried if I had too much plot information. I also felt like the statements that we had to write during the poetry unit were iffy. I felt like it was all opinion based and I don't generally like that. I like facts so those statements were difficult for me to write and assume that I had interpreted the poems correctly.
What I felt wasn't my strong suit, however, was the literary analysis. I had a hard time coming up with my thesis and what I wanted to get out of the paper, and it was kind of a struggle for me all the way through. Once I started writing with my topic it wasn't too bad, but I constantly worried if I had too much plot information. I also felt like the statements that we had to write during the poetry unit were iffy. I felt like it was all opinion based and I don't generally like that. I like facts so those statements were difficult for me to write and assume that I had interpreted the poems correctly.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Writing Prompt- How Do You Feel About Zoos?
This seems like one of the most random prompts to choose but I'm going to go for it. Zoos have always been one of my favorite places, especially when I was little. I love animals and seeing all of those weird and cool animals in one place is a wild ride. I'm probably even annoying to go to zoos with because I either want to stay at certain animals the whole time or I'm running to the next one because I get pretty excited. Unfortunately, though, I can't pet all the animals in zoos. Except for zoos that have petting zoos. Those are the best.
Despite my enthusiasm about zoos, I know that they aren't the best place for animals. Some zoos do help with endangered species and such but it can't be a good enough life for them to live in those small enclosures. Zoos also take animals from the wild sometimes which is horrible for them to go from such freedom to incarceration in a zoo. They also still teach animals to do tricks and such which we know is not humane because almost all of these operations use physical punishment to make them do these tricks. Finally, though I enjoy zoos, I know that the animals aren't living their best lives and it would be better for them if we didn't lock them up for our enjoyment.
Despite my enthusiasm about zoos, I know that they aren't the best place for animals. Some zoos do help with endangered species and such but it can't be a good enough life for them to live in those small enclosures. Zoos also take animals from the wild sometimes which is horrible for them to go from such freedom to incarceration in a zoo. They also still teach animals to do tricks and such which we know is not humane because almost all of these operations use physical punishment to make them do these tricks. Finally, though I enjoy zoos, I know that the animals aren't living their best lives and it would be better for them if we didn't lock them up for our enjoyment.
Purple Hibiscus
In the grand scheme of things, I'm enjoying Purple Hibiscus. However, it is kind of dense but not a bad kind of dense. This book gives a lot to think about and I think that's why it takes me a while to read it. I'm really trying to focus on annotating the most important things so that I remember them. I annotate with my interpretations of most of the important lines in this book. This book says a lot of important and powerful things though, so my annotations are also kind of dense, but I don't mind it because at least I feel like I'm getting something out of reading this.
I don't always enjoy school reading books, but this one is up there with the good ones. I think that I'm invested in this book so it's making it easier for me to read. If the characters in a novel are likable, or even extremely dislikeable like Papa, it makes it easier to get through. I want the best for Kambili and Jaja so I've mainly been making my annotations analyze their actions in contrast to Papa and basically rephrasing the main parts. Writing things out helps me to remember them so annotating and summarizing important parts has helped me a lot with understanding this novel.
I don't always enjoy school reading books, but this one is up there with the good ones. I think that I'm invested in this book so it's making it easier for me to read. If the characters in a novel are likable, or even extremely dislikeable like Papa, it makes it easier to get through. I want the best for Kambili and Jaja so I've mainly been making my annotations analyze their actions in contrast to Papa and basically rephrasing the main parts. Writing things out helps me to remember them so annotating and summarizing important parts has helped me a lot with understanding this novel.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
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