Mawi Blog

    

      The individuals in OBAA, Mawi's parents, and my AOW, the author's father and grandmother who were refugees in World War II, are similar. I think they are similar because Mawi's parents were refugees and they both went through their own hardships and still survived. I think the author's family members are similar because they have their own refugee story, but it's from World War II. I think this because in the text it says,"My father and grandmother had survived only because strangers had helped them..." This is showing the author's relatives were going through rough times, but strangers had helped them. Strangers also helped Mawi's parents. 

       The event in my article that was similar to OBAA include war, world war II and the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The title of my article states, "...My Father's World War II Refugee Story" which right away shows that it is related to war. In OBAA it states,"He fled our war-ravaged home a year earlier, driven away by the advancing Ethiopian army." This shows that there was also war going on in the story. Both of these are major events in everyone's story.

        The idea in OBAA and my AOW are basically the same thing. The idea is being kind to anyone, it doesn't matter what they look like or if you know them or not, being kind can change someone's life forever. I think this because in OBAA it states, "I had watched him see angels in the least likely places, and wanted nothing more than to be like him." This is showing Mawi admiring tewolde about being kind and respecting towards everyone, and wishing everyone was like that. In my AOW it states,"My father and grandmother had survived only because strangers had helped them..." This shows the author's relatives survived only off the kindess of absolute strangers helping them. 

         War affects induviduals and societies in very negative ways. War affects society by corrupting everyone in that society. They would have to live through such torture and stress and things that no one should have to go through. It makes everything miserable. War can also change induviduals. It can sometimes change people in a positive way but sometimes in a negative way. People can change in positive ways like Mawi and his family by seeing the angel in everyone. It could change people in negative ways by people not being able to trust anyone or make them traumatized by all the horrible things they've seen. War's affect on anything really is mostly negative because it is such an awful thing no deserves to go through.

       

Summer Reading #4

I'll Give You the Sun

By Jandy Nelson Pages #240-371

Prompt: Draw 4 objects that represent your reading. Write a sentence for each, telling what each item says about what you’ve been reading.

      The first image I chose was a cliff. I chose this to represent Jude during her wild stage. She went cliff diving, surfing, went to parties, etc. This stage of Jude was when she was thirteen. The second image is of paint brushes. I chose this to represent Noah at age thirteen and Jude at sixteen to show that they were very artistic. 

       The third image is a picture of asteroids. This symbolizes Noah and Brian's relationship. Brian was crazy about space. He would take Noah out to look for asteroid pieces in the woods. He also had a suitcase with him that was full of asteroid rocks that he found. This made them very close. Noah felt best when he was with Brian. 

       The final image is an orange. This represents Jude and Oscar's relationship. Jude's grandmother always said that if a boy gives you an orange, your love for him will multiply. At this time she was sixteen and on her "boycott". She stayed away from them. Oscar tried to give her an orange and Jude refused. This turned into a little game, Oscar would give her an orange and Jude would put it somewhere like a jacket pocket. This was important to jude in their relationship. 

Summer Reading #3

I'll Give You the Sun

By Jandy Nelson Pages #1-239

Prompt: List the personality characteristics of the main character (feelings, interests,

behaviors, etc.)

      The book starts off with the main characters at age thirteen. Noah tells the story at thirteen. Jude tells the story at sixteen. Noah at thirteen is super artistic. He draws and paints and does everything related to art. He is shy and bullied by Zephyr and Fry. He desperately wants a best friend. Then a new boy moves into the neighborhood. They become friends instantly. Brian ( his new friend) is obsessed with space. They hang out a go to the woods together. Noah almost loves Brian but feels unsure about it.

      Jude at thirteen is wild and fears nothing. She goes surfing and cliff diving and hangs out with the hornets. The hornets are basically the group of popular surfer girls. Only Noah calls them the hornets. Just has long blonde hair, Noah describes her as Rapunzel. She goes to parties and is just wild. Her mother always talked to her telling her not to be that girl.

     At sixteen, both of them completely changed. Noah completely stopped being artistic. He became "normal", he became an athlete and hung with his own group of friends. Jude cut her hair a turned away from every boy, going on a "boycott". She went to a fancy art school and became quiet. She followed her Grandmother's "bible". They switched lives basically. They used to be super close. Now they hate each other. 

Summer Reading #2

We Were Liars

By E. Lockhart Pages #136-225

Prompt: 

Do you like what you’re reading? Why or why not?

(Spoilers)

        I liked what I read, but the ending I thought was just awful. I like the beginning because it doesn't start off too slow or too fast. There was a map of the island and a family tree of the Sinclair family. It was very interesting from the start. The author did a good job of pulling me into the story. The beginning made me think and question if she would ever figure out what would happen. 

        The middle was good because it seemed she was so close to figuring it all out and one thing lead to another and the plot shifted. However it still revolved around her figuring out her amnesia and what happened Summer fifteen. The middle seemed to be more about her and Gat. She figured out she loved him. Even though being with him or any of the Liars didn't feel the same since that last summer.

        The ending was just so surprising and in your face it makes you question the entire book. Personally, I didn't like how (spoiler) the Liars were just visions or weird ghosts the entire summer she was trying to figure everything out. I just didn't like the fact that they died and the whole time they weren't actually there. However, now that I think about it, it was kind of obvious. The ending just made me so frustrated because they seemed so real. Other than the ending I did like the book. The just ruined it for me.

Summer Reading

We Were Liars

By E. Lockhart pages #3-135

Prompt: 

Select a quote from your reading that you liked. What made you pick it? How does it make you pause and think?

     The first quote I chose is, "My head and shoulders melted first, followed by my hips and knees. Before long I was a puddle, soaking into the pretty cotton prints. I drenched the quilt she never finished, rusted the metal parts of her sewing machine." This shows how the main character Cadence reacted to her grandmother's death. Obviously she didn't actually melt, but this is an example of  the author figurative language. This made me pause and think because it show how hard her grandmother's death affected her. 

      The second quote I chose is, "In Europe … I lay prone on the bathroom floors of several museums, feeling the cold tile underneath my cheek as my brain liquefied and seeped out my ear, bubbling. Migraines left my blood spreading across unfamiliar hotel sheets, dripping on the floors, oozing into carpets, soaking through leftover croissants and Italian lace cookies." This is much like the first quote I chose, it has the same form of figurative language and imagery of melting from pain. This quote is describing her migraines while she was away from Beechwood during the summer for the first time. This quote made me stop and think because it shows how much her head injury affected her life in such a negative way.

      The final quote I chose is, "Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family. No one is a criminal. No one is an addict. No one is a failure." This is the first paragraph of the book. However, when you finish the book you understand the beginning even more. Cadence begins the book by lying. I would explain how she is lying but I would just spoil everything. This quote if very important to the book it ties everything together. The first time I read it I didn't stop to think about it. Once I finished the book I thought about it and I realized the beginning almost gave away the ending.

     

Paradox Blog

"Paradox and Dream"

      "We are able to believe that our government is weak, stupid, overbearing, dishonest, and inefficient, and at the same time we are deeply convinced that is the best government in the world, and we would like to impose it upon everyone else."

     This means that we think our government is awful and overbearing, but when brought up with another system we are able to rub it in their faces, convinced that it is the best system in the world. For example, two Americans talking about their government would complain about it. However, if the one of them was from a different country the American would just go on and on about how great it is. This, however, isn't entirely true for all Americans, just some. However, it does show that we are not necessarily happy, and we are willing to fake it to make ourselves look better. This paradox really opened my eyes.

     I chose this paradox because I have seen this happen. I've seen it happen on TV, with my own family, and from others as well. I never really thought about it until I read it on paper. The moment I read it, I felt like I understood everything. Everything just made sense. It made me realize that most of us are not happy with our government, but still think it is better than everyone else's. Which is somewhat true for Americans, but not all. However, I don't it should be that way.

     "Americans are remarkably kind and hospitable and open with both guests and strangers; and yet they will make a wide circle around the man dying on the pavement. Fortunes are spent getting cats out of trees and dogs out of sewer pipes; but a girl screaming for help in the street draws only for slammed doors, closed windows, and silence."

      This paradox means that we say we are open to everyone and willing to save animals over people who really need help. It is about how we say that being a bystander is not good, but we still do it anyway. It shows that we will call a fire truck to get a cat down from a tree, but if a girl is screaming for help, we'll lock our doors and pretend nothing has happened. Another example could be that we'll help out at a soup kitchen, but if a person gets jumped in the alley, we might call the cops, but most would probably just ignore it. Like the other paradox this isn't covering all Americans, but I say it does cover most of them. 

      I also chose this paradox because I've seen on TV, on the internet, and in real life. Like the other paradox I didn't realise I already knew this. However, this is more deeper than the first one. It is a very ugly truth. Like the other it really opened up my eyes. I've seen videos and news of things like this. For example, there was this video of a girl in China who got ran over by a car. It was so crowded that the other people behind that car just slowed down and continued to run over her. This also shows that bystanding is an international thing. The only thing I question about this is, why don't we help and still say we do?

     

       

End of the Year Reflection

End of the Year Reflection

1- What are the three most important things you learned this year?

     The first most important thing I learned this year was how to manage my time. Time management in this class is everything. Its how I manage to get EVERYTHING done, even with my busy schedule. I also learned the specifics of writing paragraphs, and now writing takes less time and feels easier. I also learned how to stay on top of things because of absences. This ties in with time management as well.

2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

     I think I will remember doing the AOWS the most. I think this because they took up a lot of my time. However, over the year I have become really efficient in writing things like AOWs. They taught me it is important to keep up with current news. They also helped with my time management. In the end, they mostly helped with my writing skills and responsibility. As much as I disliked them, they actually helped me.

3- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

    
I think the nicest thing that someone did for me was when I was absent for a while and came back somewhat unpreprepared, then Diana airdropped the work. When she did that she explained what was going on. She also caught me up with the AOW and the blog. There were probably other nice things done for me, I just can't remember. The only thing I remember teaching Mrs. Larson is about the Montgomery, Alabama March. I went to the anniversary march this year and I told her some details about it.

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

     I feel my biggest improvement I made this year was, again, my time management. With all of this work, I developed a cycle that works. That cycle has really helped me get through the year. I have really improved in my responsibility. Something I'm proud of is my argumentative essay. I worked really hard on it. I spent a lot of time researching and revising. I also spent a lot of time or most of it looking for synonyms. It was a lot of hard work, but it was worth it.

6- What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

     I think the most challenging part of this year were the AOWs. There were a lot of them of this year. They took up most of my time. I really had to think about the questions for the articles. Annotation took a while as well as answering the questions. Sometimes I even had to redo them because I didn't fully understand the article or the question. However, they got me used to writing a lot. Now I can do an AOW pretty fast.

7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

I again think the best piece of writing I did this year was the argumentative essay. I think it was my absolute best because I worked extremley hard on it. It took me forever to finish it and revize it. I also spent a lot of time looking for websites and sources. I read and reread and edited and did the best I could. However, now that I look back at it, I could have done it in a completely different and somewhat better way.


8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

    My favorite book this year was Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli. I think this because that book gave me a different perspective on things and other people. It showed me two things. It showed me that figuring out who you are takes a very long time, and you will change. If you thought you were something, that could mean you might be something else. The book also taught me that you always have that one person you need to protect, and someone will always protect you. Even if they have changed or aren't actually there, they will always be with you.

9- What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

     For this class you have to be able to manage your time. You need to do this because it is really the only way to go your work done on time. This class is pretty hard, but after awhile you get used to all of the work. AOWs are not that hard, they just take time. Same goes for blogs, they seem hard in the beginning, then after awhile they're okay. You have to pay attention, because there is a 99% chance if you are not Mrs. Larson will call on you. So just behave like it is a regular class. And finally, COPY DOWN THE VOCAB WORDS! It is the easiest assignment ever, and not doing it could add up. Trust me I know. Otherwise, this is just a pretty normal class. You will get through it, don't worry. :)