Jay and Nick

Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway are two of the Great Gatsby main characters. Nick moves into the house everyone calls an eye sore which happens to be right next to the Gatsby mansion. Nick hears many different things about Gatsby, however, he does not officially meet Gatsby until he attends one of his parties.
Gatsby and Nick have an interesting relationship with each other. At this point in time, you can not exactly tell whether their friendship is real, or if Gatsby is really just using Nick. Gatsby seems very friendly to Nick, but it seems to me like Gatsby kid of forces Nick into doing some things. He might pick him up randomly and tell him "you are going to lunch with me and I have a story to tell you". It's like he doesn't really give much of a choice about anything he really does with Gatsby. And every time he does something with Gatsby, its for Gatsby benefit or something that Gatsby wants Nick to know.
A good example of this is when Gatsby has Jordan Baker tell Nick about the history between Gatsby and Daisy. Gatsby is still in love with Daisy who is married to Tom and he decides that he is going to use Nick as a way to reconnect with her. Nick of course being the time of person he is, never turning away anybody, helps Gatsby out, but once Gatsby is back with Daisy, will that be the end of their relationship?

Winter in Chicago

It's winter time in Chicago

And we all know what that means

It's time to bring out the heavy coats

And time to drink cocoa so hot,

You can always see the steam

Winter time in Chicago

Does not just mean its cold

But it also means that Christmas is near

And time for school work to be put on hold

Its time for spending time with family

Putting up the Christmas Tree

Time to start making Christmas Lists

With all the things on Christmas morning

You would like to see

Its a time to think of others

Whom you know and love

Hmmm... who am I thankful for?

It might just surprise you how many people other than your family and close friends you are really thankful for. In our class, there are several people I'm thankful for.

Indigoe Timms- Also known as "E" in our class is definitely someone I'm thankful for. This is the second year in a row I've had an English class with her and I can already tell it is going to be another good year. I love the fact she sits right in front of me making it very easy to communicate with her in class when I need to[and when I don't :-)]. She's super fun to be around and American Lit just wouldn't be any fun without her.

Natalia Kata- I know we only met this year, but I'm glad that we did. You are extremely funny and I love the comments you make during group work time when you and Joanne come sit against the window :-) I definitely wish you sat closer to me in American Lit and Chem, but then again I feel like we would get separated for talking and laughing to much in our little area, and then that would suck. Anyway, I looking forward to knowing you better during the year!!!

Joanne Bryja- OMG Are you talking about the super cool girl I definitely had Biology with last year? YEH!! It's guaranteed that anytime I'm around you, I'm going to be laughing. I love how sometimes we get so off topic in American Lit. And I love you for the time you were playing with the little fringe things on my boots and I could not even finish whatever I was writing from laughing. Anyway I really hope that we become closer this year! :-)

Thomas Pietryla-What happened to my cookies that I thought I convinced you to bring me? :-) I only met him this year, but I have almost every class with him so we have ample amount of talking time. If it wasn't for Tom, I would be really bored in so many classes, especially World Studies which he is so AWESOME at!!! I mean every quiz we have, he does well. Soon enough, I'm going to need him to tutor me. :-) Anyway, We always have good conversations especially in Pre-Calc. I feel like we are never paying attention in that class because we are always talking or looking at the clock. :-) Anyway I'm really thankful that I know him and I'm looking forward to classes the rest of the year.

I Am A Plow

I am a Plow. Currently I'm sitting in the warehouse waiting to be shipped off. The plow next to me told me that today would probably be the day that we were shipped off to various places. I guess I'm excited to meet my new owner and find out where I will be staying for a little while. I just hope I don't accidentally mess up or break down. I heard one time, a plow completely broke down on the job. He thought the owner might replace the broken parts and he would be ready to work again. But the owner just got really upset and sent him to a junkyard where he would rot for the rest of his life. Again I got this from the plow next to me. I'm really debating on whether to believe him or not. He's a little crazy to me.
Finally I see humans. I have no idea why it takes them so long to do things. I've been ready to leave this warehouse for HOURS! Anyway I can see the big trucks they are going to use to take us to new places. I'm in the first row so I guess that means I'm going to be one of the first ones to go. I just hope they take me somewhere nice and hot. That way when I'm working, I can get a tan! :-)

A Direction The Class Needs

There are always things about the a class that a student might not like. For example, a student might think their teacher gives way to much homework, or they have to listen to way to many lectures or they just may not like the class in general. I will admit that I have classes like this to that sometimes just make me feel like yelling about it and there are probably some things I could suggest to make these classes better.
In American Lit, I don't really have a lot of issues with the class and I really can't give a specific direction that the class needs to go in. The two things that really only bother me are journals and blogs. I'm not really the type of person that likes to do a lot of writing, discussing and explaining. I like to get straight to the point without giving any explanation which is probably why I really like math. In math, you have a problem, you have to solve it. That's it. It doesn't really matter why you do it a certain way. You only ask those questions if you are trying to be difficult.
Like I said, a specific direction I can't really give, but just some things that don't like, I can definitely think up a few things.

Modern Day Slavery

Hundreds of years ago, slavery was very popular. One example is when the Europeans were coming to America. They used the Native Americans as their slaves but they also Brought Africans on huge slave ships and in most cases, the Africans did not make the journey to the new world. In today's society I don't think we have slavery going on like it was; working all day with no pay and poor treatment. However, I do think that we might be enslaving ourselves mentally and hindering ourselves when it comes to thinking.
In the case of the Europeans and the Africans, the Europeans realized that they needed to keep the Africans illiterate or else they might figure out how they were being treated was wrong and definitely not normal. Therefore, the slaves really knew nothing.
With that example, no one else is hindering us to learn, we are doing it to ourselves. For example, cheating. When you cheat off of someone else, what are YOU learning? Nothing. You are hindering your own self and remaining ignorant about what ever the subject matter is. Another example is the fact that we are so closed minded sometimes. Because we don't try to let anything else in besides what we already know, we miss out on many learning opportunities that we could really use to better ourselves and our knowledge.
In terms of modern day slavery, the only thing I can really make a connection with is mentally and what we actually know.

Where a kid CAN"T always be a kid

In society today, kids are free to laugh and play when they are younger and as they get older, they gradually become more independent and responsible and really think about what is right and what is wrong. But what if you lived in a Puritan society? Things for you as a child would be completely different.
Think about when you were younger. You probably spent your time playing with toys and running around the back yard pretending to be a superhero. But if you were a Puritan child, and you were caught playing, you were a sinner. Puritans saw playing games as a sinful distraction. They expected children to know the difference between right and wrong. They basically treated children as little adults. Children weren't allowed to show the slightest bit of emotion either. Happy, sad, angry, NONE of it was allowed. If anyone did catch you showing emotion, you were severely punished.
Some of the punishments for children were much harsher than we can imagine. Those punishments included the whipping post and sometimes being burned or just maybe killed.
In today's society I think that Puritans still influence us but the rules and punishments aren't as harsh as they used to be. For example kids back then for talking in class might be whipped. Today, the teacher may give you a look or just tell you to be quiet. Talking in class still isn't allowed, but the way the situation is totally different.

The Moment I knew I was an American

The moment I knew I was an American was probably in the seventh grade when I can really remember celebrating our country's independence with my family.
When it comes to the 4th of July, everyone gets excited. School is out. The weather is nice and its now time for fireworks and spending time with family. During this time, I think about how lucky I am to live in America. America is a country that allows you to believe what you want. One example is religion. In some other countries, conflicts over religion still exist today. But in America there are so many different religions and for the most part, people allow other people to have their own beliefs without a problem. Another example is in politics. Our system of democracy allows people to decide who they want to govern them. Even though I cannot vote for a few more years, I definitely plan to exercise this right because I know that many other people don't have this kind of right and I should take advantage of it.
Being an American means being a part of very diverse country. There are so many different races of people in America that it's pretty difficult to find out every one of them.
In America we have more luxuries than some other countries. I'm glad to be living here because I feel that America is one of the best places in the world to be living.

Us VS Them

How many of us have ever been in a conflict? Probably all of us at some point in time. Let's say, someone makes you mad or you make someone else mad. Then you might argue with that other person. Most times conflicts can be resolved but why is it that some conflicts aren't resolved so easily and the after math might be loosing a job, a friend or maybe even physical death.
The reason I think some conflicts aren't resolved (and ultimately lead to death) is people are stubborn and they like to hold grudges. Think about it. Most times when you are in a conflict with someone else, you don't always want to be the first person to apologize or you don't really feel like talking to that person at all. People usually like to be stubborn and wait for the other person to start doing some apologizing. When that doesn't happen, things just go down hill from there. You might stop speaking to that other person for a while and then eventually, lose complete connection with them.
In the case of physical death however, there is a good example of that in the Crucible. People held grudges against each other. And then when they got the perfect moment to get revenge, they accused people of being witches and wizards. Abigail did this to Mrs. Proctor. She kept low and the first chance she got, she accused Mrs. Proctor of being a witch. However she was only kept alive because she was pregnant.
Maybe if people didn't hold so many grudges or stopped being so stubborn, more conflicts would be resolved and they wouldn't ultimately lead to death.

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge

During the Salem Witch Hunts, things were hard for everybody. People were terrified of the possibility of being accused of being a witch. If you knew that someone was falsely accusing people of being a witch, what would you do?
For John Proctor, this decision is difficult. Abigail and the other girls are only accusing people of being witches to save themselves. They were caught in the woods doing things that they weren't supposed to be doing. They need a way to get out of trouble and the only way they can do that, is lie blame other people. John Proctor can tell that Abigail is lying because he really knows her and how she is.
The thing is, if he tells the court Abigail is lying and how, he is going to become a stooge. Or he could also be considered a hero in this situation because he might be saving many people's lives that were falsely accused of being witches. But then again if he tells the court that Abigail is lying and they don't believe him, he will become a stooge.
Whether John Proctor is a hero or stooge, is really all going to depend on what he decides to tell the court.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

If i was sitting in church listening to this sermon, I would probably have many different thoughts going through my head. The way this particular preacher is describing God, makes it seem like he hates us all and is just waiting for us to mess up so he can punish us. In the beginning of the excerpt, the preacher is saying that what God can show us is only being held because he takes pleasure in that. However, all he has to do is let go of that power and the hate he has against us and its over. In another part of the sermon, he says that God is holding us over the fires of hell as if he is just waiting to throw us into the fire and watch us burn. He says that God feels like we are worth nothing and should be thrown into the fire.
My opinions about God would probably differ from this preacher, however at the time, if you went against what the church said, there were serious punishments. At the time, I don't think I would have believed that God was out to get us. If he really hated us that much, I don't think he would have created us. Normally if you hate something, you aren't going to want to deal with it.
I think what the preacher is saying doesn't really make any sense. But again because of the time period where you had to agree with the church, no one would know that.

When Things Go Wrong

During World War II, there was a time when Germany occupied France and that's when things in France started to go very wrong.
Germany occupied France after France was defeated in the Battle of France by Germany. France wanted all conflicts to stop so they signed the Second Armistice which allowed German troops to live in northern and western parts of France.
Almost immediately, the French had to deal with shortages. There was no longer enough food, fuel, workers and much more and it was definitely affecting the French. Because of the food shortage, grocery stores could no longer supply people with groceries. The French eventually had to create a system where you were given a certain number of tickets for a certain number of food items but it still didn't stop hunger. Malnutrition in young people could be seen everywhere and it was no where near getting better.
The French had no workers for their own country because they were all in Germany working for German companies. They were sent to Germany against their will and there was nothing they could do about it.
Another thing the French had to deal with was persecution of their Jewish population. France alone had 49 different concentration camps. On July 16th and 17th of 1942, over 13,000 Jews were arrested in Paris, France and sent to Auschwitz concentration camp where they were all killed. Jews that weren't killed were forced to follow certain rules. They could only ride in certain parts of the train or they could only go to certain restaurants during a certain time. Jews were forced to wear a yellow star so that they could be identified as Jews.
The French had to endure four years of the Germans. When France was finally free of the Germans, I know they were elated to see them go.

All About Morgan

My name is Morgan. I'm a fifteen year old sophomore excited for my sixteenth birthday. I live with my mom and dad, my little brother and my grandmother who unfortunately has Alzheimer's. Living with my grandmother can be tough sometimes because when you have Alzheimer's you are slowly starting to lose your memory and other abilities like speaking, hearing and talking. I usually hear her asking the same questions about twenty times a day.
Some of my hobbies are dancing, reading and listening to music. I've been dancing for about five or six years now. I took Ballet for four of those years and recently, I participated in one of the Joffrey Ballet Summer Intensive programs. The program ran for eight weeks. During those weeks, I danced for about six hours per day five days a week, and learned thirteen different dances.
I also love the environment. I feel that we should keep the earth clean and that there are ways that we can be comfortable and live our lives without trashing the planet. To help achieve this, one of my goals is to own a chain of hotels that are all eco friendly. My hotels will allow guests to live comfortably, but without causing so much harm to the environment.
Lastly, I LOVE to have fun and do things with my friends. We go to the movies and out to eat together and just have a good time. However, when I need to be, I can be very serious and get down to business. Now you know all about Morgan.