A HUG IS NEARLY A GUN SPELLED BACKWARD

        Most people have, both, public relations, spreading information and having a connection with the public or other individuals, and patriotism, national pride. However, I agree with E.M Foster that public relations are more important and have a greater significance than causes/patriotism.
        Although many people will argue that having patriotism is very essential, public relations are a key role in everyone's lives. I think that the people around us, including friends and family, provide a special feeling in us that we don't get in another place. They are a very important part of our lives. Even though, having that love and pride for one's country has merit, our connection and communication with others is more important. Our friends and family make us feel cared for, protected , loved, understood, and accepted. Yes, the country does too, it makes us feel united, but if it wasn't for all of us and the relationships we have with one another, it wouldn't be the country we are now. If I were to choose between  my friends and family or the country, I would probably have to decide for the people around me. Don't get me wrong, I love my country, but I think I would have to choose the special connection I have with people. Our friends and family are always there for us: when we need a hug, love, or simply advice. William Penn said, " Friendship is the union of spirits, a marriage of hearts, and the bond thereof virtue." Friends and family, basically, complete us. Many people might have a great passion for their country and think I am very cynical for having more interest in my public relations than for a country that has given us many opportunities, but those relationships have a great significance into making us who we all are.

LITERATURE ANALYSIS 2: The Fault in our Stars (THEME)

The Fault in our Stars by John Green is a very beautiful but sad love story. The main characters in the book, Hazel and Augustus, suffer from cancer and Augustus dies at the end. Two of the main themes shown in this book is the strength of love and the suffering in life. It shows that suffering is needed in life in order to "grow." The theme of love is that it is so powerful and can give you hope when you need it. Even though, both characters were suffering and going to a tragic situation, their love maintained them alive. Just being together helped them become stronger and made them not give up...

BIG QUESTION DISCIPLINE and MY YODA

My big question was How will the world be in many years from now? How will it be changed with technology, new inventions, new ways of thinking, and new skills that kids will be taught later on?

A discipline that might help me figure this question is . . .
- Science

Mentor:
-Entrepreneurs
-Engineers

Fall - Vocab #4

Vocabulary #3

There's a difference.

  So I saw this post as I was going through my facebook and thought that this is what happens to most people in these days. I don't think our school system is very good because students are more worried about getting an "A" than actually understanding the subject. LEARNING IS BEAUTIFUL, but now everyone is focused on grades. Everything that school  meant to be, fell apart and now many hate it. School shouldn't just be about passing a class, but to actually learn new things everyday and set goals for yourself. Like what I have been learning in my English class, we need to have intrinsic motivation. That is, to find motivation within you and do something because you want to! Unlike right now, I think in school we just do things because we are assigned to... extrinsic motivation.  This means that we do the things even though we don't really want to because people will give us rewards in return. (either money, grades, fame, etc.)

I'M HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE!

 . . . not really! This is what I have been doing all day. I have so much work for all of my classes that I'm not able to "have the time of my life" right now. Like my English teacher, Dr. Preston, tells us all the time... I am just like most people that he sees around Santa Maria High School,  waiting for it to be Friday to get some rest and do things I'll enjoy more. I understand that it shouldn't be like this, that we have to relax and have time for ourselves everyday. We aren't supposed to feel that we need to do it just for the grade, but honestly, our school system isn't really like that anymore. I think most of us spend all of our week days like this, because now everybody makes school just about PASSING  -_-  So this is what I did today, I guess I definitely had the time of my life here.

Bad Words

So what do people mean when they say some words are bad? How do they know or what makes them even bad? Like I just heard today, I don't think there are any bad words ... maybe just bad people and bad intentions, but NOT WORDS. Language is not bad at all, I think it's in the way some people use it and in the way they mean some things. We all say bad words in some point, like doesn't it feel necessary to just yell some out in some situations. For example, when you miss up something or accidently hurt yourself, in my case, like the words oh sh*t or f*ck sometimes just come out. It is nothing bad and I don't use them in a bad way or to offend someone. People should understand that words are not bad and let the rest feel free to express themselves in the way they want and with whatever words they like to use. I understand it might not sound nice, but I don't think people use them all the time. As long as the words we say aren't with a bad intention or hurt anyone, they are fine to use! I think the words we choose do increase the understanding between people and reinforce our social values. Like we talked about this in class last week, and how people always use euphemism to cover up some "bad words", but I mean why try to cover what you mean, why not just get to the point? In some serious or professional moments, I understand, it might be good to use, but just express yourself and show how you really are. The words aren't really bad, as long as you don't mean them in a bad way. In my English class, I heard something I'll never forget, "whoever controls the words you use, controls you!" So be yourself and communicate in the best way you know/can. . .  not just what others say.

Technology! [Satire Project]

Have you ever spent time with friends or been in a family reunion and everyone is just on their phones? Isn't it so annoying, frustrating, & sad that no one wants to have actual conversations with each other anymore? However, when you start to talk, people just interrupt you all the time, give you bad looks, or start arguments because of  "the way" you said some things. The solution is simple, might as well just keep it that way and have everyone just text each other whenever they want to say something. Lets have no one talk at all! Even though you're in the same room or right next to them, communicating just through emails and texts is easier and better for everyone. Like that, nobody will see your expressions or argue because the tone you say things with... they'll just be reading it through their screen. And people always have their phones with them, now a days they even take care of them more than anything else, so they'll probably answer very fast. Unlike, when you're together, they don't even pay attention to what you say for being distracted by their devices. Lets just keep using technology all the time for our benefit & not have our time wasted trying to actually talk to others.
  

Literature Analysis #1: The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

1. The Best of Me is a story about two teenagers, Dawson and Amanda, who fall in love with each other in high school, but aren't able to be together. The story takes place in a town in Oriental, North Carolina. They are deeply in love with each other, but it seems to be impossible since their families are very different & won't "approve" their relationship. Amanda's parents try to get her away from Dawson because they want her to be with someone, suppose ably, better . . they are very rich & , unlike them, most of Dawson's family are even criminals. So after high school, Amanda goes off to college and each basically go their own ways. Many years later, though, they both return to the town for a funeral & see each other again . . . both of their lives are very changed after all that time, but their love still appears as strong as it was in the beginning! Later one day, Amanda's son has an accident which leaves him very injured & with the need of a heart transplant. Unfortunately, around those days, Dawson also gets shot and killed, but , as a result, he is the one who ends up saving his lover's son. Through Amanda's son, she keeps remembering & hearing Dawson's heartbeat.
2. The major theme of the novel is about love not giving up. I think it has a lot do to about your first love, your soul mate, the destiny, and how everything happens for a reason, but at the end everything that is meant to be will...
3. Nicholas Sparks is all about romance & always uses an inspiring, loving, and relaxed tone. I picture him as a morning person who drinks a tea while writing all of  his amazing novels outside his house. Just staring into nature, being very calm and concentrated. He seems like a person that enjoys just going for walks or a jog to exercise and to get all of his ideas. I think some of his own feelings and actions are described as if he was the characters in the books. Some of the following quotes below make me imagine the type of person he might be.
- "Outside, the morning was already bright. A thin layer of haze on the river hovered like a low-level cloud, but the sky above was a brilliant blue and clear in every direction. The air was already warm, foretelling hotter weather to come. He rolled his shoulders a few times and was jogging before he hit the road." (82).
-"... but on weekends she used to wander out to the bridge, where she sometimes sat for hours, watching the sun gradually dissipate the mist." (101).
- " I want to wake up with you beside me in the mornings. I want to spend my evenings looking at you across the dinner table."
4. Literary Techniques:
1. "The words seemed to hang in the air..." (135).
2. Personification & Imagery: "He stopped, hearing the starlings chirp, a hundred of them calling from the trees. Thousands maybe... by the swarmlike way they would break from the trees when he clapped, as though they were tethered together. They were calling now, calling for something." (146).
3. Personification: "... the racing of his heart." (146).
4. Simile: " His throat was like sandpaper." (147).
 - Tenor: his throat
 - Vehicle: sandpaper
 - His throat was very dry. harsh? been sick or maybe doing too much
5. Simile: "... thinking his brother looked like crap." (158).
6. Imagery: " The storm had wrung the humidity from the air, leaving blue skies and a sweet floral aroma behind. The occasional drop of water still fell from the roof, landing on ferns and ivy, making them shimmer in the clear golden light." (212).