2nd Quarter Poetry Journal Reflection.

The orange is orange

The red of an apple

The flowing sand

Covering the land

Like brown Snapple®

The kidnappers were not cats

That struck last month

Wearing fancy hats

Stealing the king

And his thing

I chose this poem because it was the only one that was actually something and not just badly constructed paragraphs with weird rhyming schemes. I liked it though because it was just some silly poem written one day in English class that I enjoyed writing and coming up with random words. I didn't change anything because if I did the words would not have followed the "rule" of the rhyming.

2nd Quarter Independent Reading Reflection

This semester I finished 3 books if you include The Color of Water, by James McBride, and my memoir, Gang Leader for a Day, by Sudhir Venkatesh. The other book I read was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Haddon. Last quarter I read about two books. My book choices were not that rigorous but The Curious Incident of the Dog of the Nighttime was written in a "curious" way (Lol, I'm so funny). In all seriousness though, the chapters were prime numbers and the narrator wrote with lots of and's and without contractions. For example, "...Then, when I have got a degree in Maths, or Physics, or Maths and Physics, I will ever able to get a job and earn lots of money and I will be able to pay someone who can look after me and cook my meals and wash my clothes..." I didn't choose the level of challenge because I just picked up the book and started reading it but it was a good read. I'd have to say that the best book I read was Gang Leader for a Day because of how informative and suspenseful it was. I discovered that the biography-type books are not a bad choice.

My goals from the 1st quarter were to read more books with a greater vocabulary, more discussion topics, or longer books. I don't think I met that goal. I could have been because we read our memoirs. Some measurable goals that I have for my 3rd quarter independent reading are to read a total of 4 books even if they are shorter or less complex. I also want to read some more fantasy or fiction books such as The Drafter by Kim Harrison.

Elizabethan Era Fashion

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Before

After

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*Not all clothing pieces will be available to everyone. Only noble women will be able to obtain all clothing. Lower class women will not get full set.

After

Before

Picture This

I read Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh. For my symbol I drew a canyon with houses. In my picture the canyon represents the gap between the blacks and whites in the community. The houses on the white side of the canyon represent the education, justice, wealth, jobs, safety, etc. that the blacks are struggling to get.

Venkastesh notices this gap in his book by saying "...the Robert Taylor Homes were thousands of families struggling to survive. It was the epitome of an 'underclass' urban neighborhood, with the poor living hard and virtually separate lives from the mainstream." (Venkatesh 38). This really hits Sudhir hard and he has a sort of realization where he empathizes with the black community. He sees how most of these people got to the point they are at and how they do not have the opportunities to do what they want.

1st Quarter Poetry Journal Reflection

My first poem is called "Ode to Netflix". The title was taken from another poem and I made my own poem about Netflix and its shows. I really like this poem because it describes something I love doing, I love it as much as a white girl loves pumpkin spice lattes. I followed the guidelines of the original poem and made a couplet poem. I didn't make any changes to my poem because I think that it reflects who I am in the original form.

Ode to Netflix

Oh how I love my Netflix,

When I turn it on.

Asking me what to watch,

And if I'm still there.

Pokémon or Power Rangers,

It doesn't really matter.

Bæ stills recommends,

Only the best of shows.

I'll never leave her,

She'll never leave me.

We're a match made in heaven,

Netflix and me.

Side Effects Of Reading This Poem Include Becoming A Power Ranger
And Saving The World From Rita Repulsa And Lord Zedd

This next poem is also a "silly" poem (That's what not koolio teachers call it). It is about Randy Orton, John Cena and Hollywood Superstar Shia LaBeouf. I think that this poem reflects my personality more than hobbies because I don't usually watch WWE, but I do use memes involving WWE. I did make some revisions, such as adding John Cena to the mix.

Untitled RKO Poem

 Somewhere,

Randy Orton

Has entered

The ring.

He climbs

The ladder of steel.

He is staring

Down towards the ring.

There on the ground

John Cena appears

Alongside Hollywood Superstar

Shia LaBeouf.

Commentators yelling,

Slitherin'. Watch out.

Randy Orton

Launches.

Coming down at

The speed of sound,

Orton RKOs

Shia and Cena.

His boldness lives on.

WARNING: Reading This Poem May Cause The Urge To Wrestle And/Or RKO Someone

1st Quarter Independent Reading Reflection

This quarter I finished two and a half books. The reason I say half of a book is because I started reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime but we started reading The Color of Water midway through the book so I didn't finish it. This number is about the same as last year. I think I read three books last year. The books I chose were not super challenging but they were fun to read and discuss with friends. I chose this level of rigorousness because I thought it would be a good start to the year. I think the best book I read was Ready Player One because I really connected with the video game atmosphere.

This second quarter I will focus on more challenging books with more vocabulary, more discussion topics, or simply longer books in general. I want to expand my reading to more genres as well. I don't think that any of the books I read over the first quarter were spiritual reading. They didn't make me ask really deep questions about the book or other matters in life. I would need to find a book that provokes challenging questions and thought for spiritual reading material.

Making the best of a bad situation...

Tirzah Conway

Sometimes you have to make the best,
Of the bad luck thrown your way;
Get on with your life, to heck with the rest,
And just enjoy your day; I was having me a terrible day,
Everyone grumbling at work;
No one had anything nice to say,
And my boss was being quite a jerk; I went to my office and told myself,
I wouldn’t let it get to me;
I grabbed a book off the shelf,
And went to work, plain as can be; I smiled at everyone that was around,
And went out of my way to be nice;
It was strange for me to be so profound,
Giving everyone advise; I figured that was the best way,
For me to get back at them;
By wishing them a happy day,
And not being hasty to condemn; I have never been more happy,
I’ve sure got it made;
Cause you know when life gave me
Lemons, I made the office lemonade!

http://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/making_the_best_of_a_bad_situation..._232820

In my narrative, finding what is good in bad situations can make someone feel better. Some significant details in my story were that I really didn't care and I didn't have any regrets at the end of the day. Another thing was that I didn't care to find out if it was me or not. What really shows how much I cared was the fact that I kept playing even though I had a brown stain on my butt.

In the poem, Tirzah Conway illustrates how someone can make their day better by being positive. In the poem the narrator was having a bad day at work because of everyone else. He didn't let anyone get to him and he smiled at everyone. The narrator also was positive toward everyone and that made him positive. He also made his office lemonade out the lemons life gave him. This shows how someone can really bring up their day by simply being nice and not caring how people are acting.

Introductory Blog Post

The quote I chose was from Jack Sparrow (sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow) in the movie Pirate of the Caribbean: At World's End.

"Close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream. That's how I get by."

During that scene Jack is negotiating with Beckett about Davy Jones' heart. Jack wanted it to repay a debt but now he wants it to keep it. Beckett on the other hand is using it as leverage to get information out of Jack.

This quote really connects with me because Jack Sparrow doesn't care all that much about the bad things in his life. If something bad did happen to him then he would make the situation as humorous as he possibly could. I think that's a great way to live life.

I remember watching the movie, hearing that and then applying it to my life. I still recall when I lost my dog and I cried a lot. It was late and we still hadn't found her. I went to sleep and I pretended like it was a bad dream. In the morning someone returned her and I felt really happy.