Personal Edition Numero Nueve

...Don't we?

Personal Edition Numero Ocho

Six Word Memoir #6:

Writers Note: When I was younger I was a big Harry Potter fan and as any people who have seen or read the series know, Hogwarts sends an acceptance letter within their eleventh year. I'm obviously just joking around with this memoir but it shows a side of me that a lot of people don't see. I'm not serious all the time. I do joke around. I can take things lightly too, despite what people may think. Not a lot of people get to see this funny, nerdy side of me because I don't always feel comfortable showing it...Another reason I chose made this "Six Word Memoir" is because it represents a loss of reality and something exciting. It doesn't matter what age I am, there will always a piece of me that believes in magic. Even going through the automatic sliding doors at Superstore, I pretend I have the ability to magically snap them open...which I know, probably sounds crazy. I took this photo of birthday candles to add to the fact that it was on my eleventh birthday that I received this disappointing news. I really love the contrast between the colours of the candles and the black table. However, after this photo was taken and edited my OCD kicked in and I realized that there are only nine candles there, not eleven...counting has always been difficult for me. The hard truth is, I will never stroll around the Ravenclaw corridor. 

At age eleven, Hogwarts failed me. 

Six Word Memoir #5:

Writers Note: No need to call a therapist, I'm not depressed! However, there was a time last year when I sure wasn't happy. I was so stressed out about school and I felt like I was losing my friends and everything I enjoyed over it. I barely ate and lost a lot of weight, nothing seemed to be going right. I found myself smiling and saying everything is okay when people asked. It wasn't okay and I wasn't happy. The smile I showed was forced and on the inside I just wanted to go home, lie in my room, probably cry, and sleep. It got to a point where I didn't even smile at all and, thankfully, people noticed and gave me great advice and helped me out a lot in my life. They told me to smile, it looked good on me. After that stage in my life I legitimately was happy and I wanted to smile all the time. This "Six Word Memoir" does not only apply to that time in my life, it represents anytime that I am sad or unhappy and I try and act like I'm not. We disguise what we really feel...it is easier that way. Interestingly enough, the photo inspired me before I came up with that memoir. I was looking through all family photos and this one stood out to me. The person in the photo doesn't look happy at all, but she is putting on make up and dressing up fancy. It looks as if she was getting ready to hide what she really felt like. She does not look happy and she is not smiling. This photo reminded me a lot of myself and thats why I wanted to find words to connect it to me. 

Smiling is easier when you're happy...

Six Word Memoir #4:

Writers Note: For this "Six Word Memoir" I chose a subject that is very personal to me. I am good at school, and I always have been. It seems as though most things I do, I do very well. At school it doesn't matter what it is, my marks are always extremely high. However, I also work ridiculously hard to make them so. I go home and spend so much time, hours and hours, trying to learn everything about what was learnt at school that day. I read the same thing over, and over again in order to make sense of it and intake the subject. In the past, I have been sat down by teachers to discuss my natural ability in their class and the potential I have. I have been told I am a very smart person by my friends, family, and teachers. To most people, I am known as the smart kid. The thing is...if you told me I was smart to my face, I would say "thank you" and completely disagree with your comment in my head. I know if I say "no I'm not" people would just think I'm searching for a compliment or that I'm acting dumb. To be honest, I really don't think I'm as smart as others think I am. I excel the way I do, and get the grades I do based on hard work...hard, hard work. I sit in class and will intake nothing...that is, until I go home and learn it. Lots of people may not get as high marks as I do, but the fact that they can understand stuff so easily and quickly, in my opinion, makes them smart. I chose this picture because I had recently got this mark on one of my English assignments and I used the gold stars from a test I got back in psychology. It shows something real, and yet false at the same time. Also, I really wanted to use the contrast of my writing. There is the  handwriting, which I use to make myself appear more intelligent. It is what I always hand into a teacher or write notes to people with. Then there is my own writing, messy in all its glory but most people don't see that. I come across as very intelligent...but I don't think I am.

They think I'm smart. I don't.  

Six Word Memoir #3:

Writers Note: Even when I was younger, school came first. It wasn't my parents driving me to study, study, study...acheive, achieve, achieve...It was myself. In the past, and still to this day (although not as extreme) I would make school work my everything. I would come home and spend my entire night studying and perfecting my projects. Nothing was handed in that wasn't worth 100% in my eyes. I wouldn't spend time with friends, my physical activity was not even a thought in my mind, I dropped all my extra curricular activities and anything I did outside school was eventually ended. I lived and breathed schoolwork. You're probably thinking this sounds pretty ridiculous and over-exaggerated. Well, it is extremely ridiculous and I'm being completely honest. Last year I had to stop everything that I was doing, sign out of my IB classes and take a regular easy life. I knew it wasn't healthy and I needed to live life and put the school books aside. I needed to tell myself that it was okay not to be perfect. Happiness needed to be my main priority, not school. I took this picture of my memoir on a chalk board I have in my room. I chose this because it relates to school and because it was the simplest way I could write my message. Theres not really much to this image, which I wanted because I usually always jazz up anything I hand in for marks. However, for this image I didn't want the raw truth of my message to be hidden. 

School became my main priority. Stupid. 

Six Word Memoir #2:

Writers Note: I could not last 10 seconds in a video game...but in tetris, I can play for hours. It is the only game that I really enjoy playing. When I say "I would rather be playing tetris" what I mean is, I'd prefer spending my time doing that than having fun with a bunch of people or partying. I used this phrase because it shows a side of me that would rather be alone. All I need is a computer game to be content. I can't explain it...but I feel safe when I'm playing. Everything is so simple, and yet complicated...everything fits into place. I chose this photo because well...first of all, it made me laugh because these are my business like/professional grandparents completely drunk and secondly, it doesn't really interest me to do myself. I'm a really socially awkward person and I don't like coming out of my comfort zone. If I had to picture myself in a situation like this, I wouldn't want to be there. Truthfully, I don't really like going to parties. I would just want to be in a calming atmosphere, doing something I enjoy. 

I would rather be playing tetris...

Personal Edition Numero Siete

  ...and that's okay.

Personal Edition Numero Seis

Six Word Memoir #1:

Writers Note: This "Six Word Memoir" has to do with the subject of growing up. When I was a lot younger, I read a poem about how trhough life things keep getting greyer and greyer. Our black and white choices merge. Everything we do and choose isn't obvious. As I grew up, I really began to understand this message. Choices were so easy as a kid, right or wrong, yes or no. There were no consequences. Now, I find my self constantly having to make decisions about my life that I have to think about a lot. There is no obvious choice. Now that I'm in Grade 12, there is so much I need to think about, from simple things like going to a party or choosing classes, to deciding what university I want to go to and what I want to do with the rest of my life. Nothing is easy anymore. I chose a white canvas to put paint splatters of different colours on, with my memoir beside it because I wanted the  different colours and splatters to represent the fact that choices in my life are no long defined and ready for me, there is so many possibilities and it is up to me to find which is right for me. Another reason I chose to put my art in this image is because art is one of my biggest passions and I want to do something after high school having to do with that...but I don't know if that would be the right choice. Honestly, I don't know what the right choice is yet. My choices in life are no long black and white.

It's not black and white anymore. 

Questioning Quotations #1    

 Doubt thou the stars are fire,

  Doubt that the sun doth move,

  Doubt truth to be a liar,

  But never doubt I love.

Hamlet (II,ii,108-111)

http://goo.gl/AwUGY

In my literary English class we are reading the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. So far...I don't love it, but I also don't hate it. In any kind of book, or play, I love discovering hidden meanings, symbols, and themes that run throughout the reading which is why Shakespeare's plays really interest me. While reading, I came across this quote and it stood out to me so much. It really means you may question/wonder if the stars are made out of fire, you may questions if the sun moves, you may question if all truth are lies, but never question my love for you. I found these lines so simple, and yet poetic and beautiful. Particularly the line: "Doubt truth to be a liar." I think I like this quote a lot because, when Hamlet is using poetry to show is love to Ophelia, it is and yet it is not. He uses words like fire, liar, and words having to do with the universe and yet he's making a connection to their love. 

Personal Edition Numero Cinco

We are the heroes to our own stories...but also the villains...aren't we?

Writing Reflection #1

          Hello ladies and gents, we started writing six word memoirs in class and frankly...I love them. They are so simple, and even the most unintelligent thought and combination of word sounds so meaningful and beautiful. I started this assignment the night is was posted on the classroom blog because it sounded so interesting and many ideas were passing through my mind. Plus, the videos we watched in class were really inspiring. I came up with about 30 memoirs and I wish I could use all of them! I chose to go into solitary confinement to work on them because when I'm alone thoughts come to me easy without distraction getting in the way. I really like this genre of writing because anyone can do it and they are easy and...well...fun. Its a challenge for me because I always write way much more than I need to to get my message across (just like now) but I found that when I did come up with six words on a topic, I was surprised how well they flowed and summed up everything I needed to say. I am excited to work on coming up with a visual image to go with each memoir because I my memoirs mean a lot to me and art is also one of my biggest passions.

          I love blogging! Even though...most likely...no one really reads what I post, the words I write do have a lot of meaning to me and I enjoy sharing that with imaginary people...for now at least. Probably the hardest part of blogging is staying on track with a specific thought when writing, and not going too off topic. Also, thinking of something that would be worth reading by other people has been a bit difficult. Like always, the most rewarding part for my blogging experience is clicking the publish button of a finished piece of writing. I want to at least write five personal editions to my blog every week. 

P.S- Designing my blog with the different templates, layouts, backgrounds, and colours has turned into an addiction. 

Reading Reflection #3

Book: Lord of the Flies

Author: William Goulding

Pages Read: 50-65

          Dear Fellow Readers, I must admit I'm not yet loving this book...so far the beginning of the book is moving pretty slow. Not only that, but I'm getting the impression, even though it was pretty much obvious by the first page, that it is a book about survival. Movies like Cast Away or books like the Hatchet I never enjoyed because I found the content predictable with not a lot of action, twists, or mysteries, which I love. 

         Like I had originally thought, the boys hunger is a huge issue for them. Just the sound of the pigs running on the path is driving the boys crazy. They need meet and protein and can't just run off of fruit. I predict that if these boys don't learn to hunt soon some will die due to malnutrition. Also it seems like the old boys, especially Ralph are getting really annoyed with the younger kids for not helping out and I think that the older boys are going to eventually find a way to make it so that the younger boys help. I also don't think this will be done more aggressively than needed, more so to do with the fact that the older boys seem very angry and they want to show that they're tough. They aren't playing around with these kids and rules. However, these younger boys are already facing a lot of stomach problems and illnesses due to their time on the island, so I highly doubt all of them will survive as the book proceeds. 

         One comment, or something I noticed while reading that I found very interesting was that it seems as though the setting and weather reflects the mood of the boys at current times. When the weather is hot and sticky, the older boys become aggravated and the younger boys become lazy. In the evening when it becomes cooler everything is more laid back for the boys, they are a lot calmer. Another comment I had was that is only just now in the book, about 60 pages in, that the author is choosing to introduce new characters, names, and visual descriptions. I found it interesting that he waited this long to bring these people into the story line, which may mean they are not very important to the plot or it could show that they will be the kids who help out the most on the island. There are really two ways of viewing this approach. 

         For the most part, the section of the book I read did not have too many words that I were confused about, however there were a few. One of the words was opalescence (which sounded very pretty to me) that meant " having or emitting an iridescence like that of an opal." I really liked this word used to describe the stars and it gave a very captivation visual impression. 

          So to sum all this up, I am...once again, not loving this book. It may get interesting later on but I'm not to eager to get to that point. I also think that we are eventually reading this novel in my literary english class, so I may just put it aside for now until we read it in class. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this entry. 

Personal Edition Numero Cuatro

Change?

Hey everyone, fall is coming soon and that means a change in season. Remember, don't be scared to make a change in your life too and try new things. Whether its working harder in school...or maybe even taking it easy. Read a book every so often instead of watching t.v...or watch an episode of gossip girl and close War and Peace. Run instead of walk, sing instead of yell, and taste instead of eat. Try to change and succeed, or try to change and fail. Then change that. 

True life is lived when tiny changes occur. 
Leo Tolstoy 

http://goo.gl/IldLo

Personal Edition Numero Tres

Red Thread Movement

http://www.redthreadmovement.org/

Hey everyone, this summer I went to a benefit concert that I heard about at school supporting something called the Red Thread Movement. I knew it had something to do with raising awareness of human trafficking and slavery, but honestly, before I went to the concert I was completely in the dark about...well, all of it. The ticket was $10 and they gave you a red thread bracelet that, I later found out, were made by women who were rescued from human trafficking. These were the facts that were told to me, and can be found on the website above:

1. More people are in slavery today than at the height of the Atlantic . (Kevin Bales; Free the Slaves)

2. Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world (United States Department of Health and Human Resources)

3. Human trafficking is the world's 2nd largest criminal enterprise behind narcotics  (U.S. State Department).
4. There are 12.3 million adults and children in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2010).

5. Approximately 80% of human trafficking victims are women and girls... up to 50% are minors  (U.S. State Department).
6. Child trafficking is an over $12 billion a year global industry, with over 2 million child victims (UNICEF).

7. The average age of entry for children victimized by the sex trade industry is 13 years old.  (U.S. Department of Justice).

8. There are nearly 300,000 children at risk every year  for commercial sexual exploitation (U.S. Department of Justice).

9. It has been estimated that 100,000 minors are in the commercial sex trade in the United States alone (Polaris Project).

10. By age 16, approximately 60% of Nepalese girls in the brothels in Mumbai have contracted HIV (K.I.NEPAL).

...I had never felt so helpless, and I still do. I wanted to help so badly but I don't know how to. Every fact felt like a new stab of a knife. I had absolutely no idea this went on...or at least to this extent. We know the right thing to do, which is to help, but we don't. It can be ended, but it won't. People don't realize that these facts, numbers and statistics are PEOPLE. People who are living a life that is not their own. I can't image living even one day of these peoples lives. Its not fair...but its a sad reality that most people won't understand. These people don't have a voice to speak out with, but we do. Find a way to help. 
Hope you enjoyed this read ladies and gents, and took something to heart...

Personal Edition Numero Dos

Gold  Star

Yes, school work was my main priority.

Yes, I was in the IB. 

Yes, I got the top marks. 

Yes, I was an extremely hard worker. 

Yes, I won a lot of awards.
Yes, I got a gold star on everything.

No, I was not happy. 

Personal Edition Numero Uno

Walk By

Do we still have kindness in our hearts?

      I don't mean the kindness that you show your friends, or teachers, or your family, or even the cashier at the grocery store. I mean the kindness you show, that interrupts a moment of your day, that you don't even have to show at all, but you do anyways. Kindness like pulling the car aside, or bus, to go out and give a homeless man your shoes. How many of us would walk by, or drive by, without taking a second look.  This story has spread throughout the city, being praised by major newspapers and websites. Random acts of kindness like this are....well rare acts of kindness.

I hate that.

      Here's a link to the article about the bus driver who stopped to give a man, without any shoes on, his  own shoes http://goo.gl/KSjs3 . For some reason this story gave me flutters. The fact that someone was able to do this, well everyone is able to, but that he actually did, makes me want to run out and do something...beautiful for someone else. Is beautiful a weird word to use? Probably, but it fits. As Ellen would say, be kind to one another. Hope you enjoyed this read. 

Digital Doodle Drawing

              This is my digital footprint, as confusing as it may look. On the computer keys I have added logos of some of the sites I go on like Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and now this new Blogger site. On some of these sites I like to show a lot of what is of interest to me and display them. For example I have pictures of my artwork on Facebook, which I have encluded in the image above and chemistry images which I loveeeeee and always post. For the border of this image I have put pictures of most of the walls I have liked on Facebook, such as some of my favourite movies, T.V shows, books and artists. I also added visual images of some of the chats sites that I use, or have used in the past such as MSN and BlackBerry Messenger. Of course, the most important chat method of them all: texting. I don't text a whole lot, but I do like talking to some of my friends using that. In my doodle page I included a few old texts that I have sent that have meaning to me. Oh, and tetris. That is all. 

Reading Reflection #2

Book: Lord of the Flies

Author: William Goulding

Pages Read: 32-49

          Dear Fellow Readers, I found that this second reading reflection was a lot more difficult than the first one was. This was mainly because in my first relfection, I had tons of predictions and questions since I was just starting out the book and, as most books do at the beginning, they try to make readers question whats going on to draw them in. It made me curious about a lot of the things that were going on. Although this second reflection was harder to find a lot of points to talk aobut (compared to my first piece of writing) I did manage  to find some good points that, I think, will eventually have great significance to the book as the story progresses. The first comment and prediction I have for this book happens on page 32 when some of the older boys, the leaders, cannot kill a pig they find while exploring the Island. Before actually killing the pig, the boys go into a state of fear and cannot bring themselves to "have the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood." Then these boys go and talk about how tough they were, dealing with the pig. At this point I found irony in the fact that I knew the actual story behind what the boys went though, being that they were scared, meanwhile they are seen as brave and tough by the other boys in the Island. Then I read a part where the "leaders" announced to the group theat they're going to need hunters. If htye act so manly, why do they need younger boys to kill? I predict that these younger boys will, by killing the animals for food, lose compassionate and humane qualities. The group could very well turn into a group of blood thirsty and violent kids. They know they need to hunt for food out of hunger, I just think they will come at it with an unpleasant approach.

          One connection I made while reading, was that the group of boys and their situation reminded me of the Lost Boys from Peter Pan. Both groups are stuck on an Island by themselves and need to learn how to take care of each other. It was when I found many quotes throughout my reading about how the boys are relishing in the fact that they can do anything they want, no grown ups! Of course, in Peter pan you can see the boys desire for a mother and to be taken care of. This is why I think eventually the boys in Lord of the Flies will realize they can't properly care for themselves.

          One major question I had while reading was WHEN AND WHERE DOES THIS STORE TAKE PLACE IN. They don't mention anything about stand the boys use slang and dialect that is different from ours. At one point I read that their plane was shot down, and thats why they were stuck on the Island. Huh? So, I did some research at home and found that this book was published in the 50's, in the middle of an unknown nuclear war. Could this fact, that is not outwardly mentioned in the novel have  a double meaning? Also the boys are British, which makes A LOT more sense. However, the mix of young, older, and choir boys still doesn't make all too much sense...yet.

         One of the boys relates their stranded situation to books like Treasure Island, Swallows and Amazons, and Coral Island. I have never heard of two of these books so I want to read a brief summary on them to see what these boys are comparing their current experience to. Are the books they're describing tragic, happy, adventurous, etc.

         Another prediction I have is that Piggy will end up being the groups punching bag, not so much physically though. Already it seems as though the other boys hate him and are mean to him. Also, one of the younger boys keeps talking about a "beastie" he has seen, which was a big snake. None of the leaders really believe him, but the younger boys seem scared. I think, this snake really does exist, or at least the fear of it will, and it will drive some of the boys crazy in fear and curiosity if it really does exist. Another thing I noticed was that the boys have already forgotten their main rule: only the person who holds the conch gets to speak. I predict that this rule will die out very quickly, which means some of the other rules that are made may not be enforced for long either.

         In my first reflection I predicted that Piggy and Ralph would be friends, but now I don't think thats the case anymore. Ralph is very mean to Piggy and seems to have a friendship with some of the older choir boys, but maybe this will eventually change...

         One thing I like about this book so far is that it is generally easy to understand, the words are not kindergarten easy but its not like trying to get though a play by Shakespeare. However, there were a few words that I did not know, or slang from England that I was unfamiliar with. Such words include hiatus ("a break or interruption in the continuity of work") which I concluded really meant something like a pause. Also I came across the word dubiety which means doubtfulness, I doubt many people would know that. Since I found out the boys were from Britain I realized a lot of the slang and terms they used I had no idea what they actually meant...such as the wording plonking ("foolish/clumsy") and  then I read that one of the boys used the term "Its Wizard." I look this up, and it is the British slang for "superb, excellent or wonderful" and I found this very interesting because I had never heard this term used for that reason before.

        Overall, I found this reading reflection a bit more challenging to find good point to talk about. However, I did  manage to find a few that were of interest to me and helped with my understanding of the book. Sorry, sorry, sorry for all the reading you had to do if you finished this! I tend to ramble on about each little topic I bring up. I'm gonna have to work on that...hope you enjoyed this long read!



Alright ladies and gents, I promise I'm not as boring as I sound!

Rambling Autobiography

I grew up in the same house for the first 15 years of my life. When I was a child, I truly believed I was an artist. My backpack for school was locked and loaded in July. I became less outgoing as I grew up. I went to church for the oreos and apple juice. When I was younger, I was mean and have hated myself for that fact. Garlic cheese bread is ordered as an appetizer anywhere I go to eat. In Grade 5 I was a ghost for halloween because I thought it would make me different. My grandma once had coffee with Louis Armstrong and this is one of the ten stories I can stand listening to for the tenth time. If anyone asks, my favourite movie is Gone With The Wind, but in actuality it is, and always has been, The Lion King. Talking to new people gives me anxiety, along with tests and quizzes. I have always tutored and helped people. Ghosts are my biggest fear but the possibility of them actually existing intrigues me. I named my dog Scout, after the girl from To Kill A Mockingbird (luckily he'll never know he was named after a girl). I'm a regular customer at Sargeant Sundae. At my cousin's funeral I didn't cry. I love chocolate covered almonds and pretzels. I don't like going to parties. Last year I got 100% in IB chemistry, aswell as a 7 on the exam, and felt disappointed in myself. Guilt is still my biggest weakness. I drink water at school to make it look like I have a healthy lifestyle, but to be honest, I only take a couple sips a day.

Introduction

Hi everyone, I have created this blog for my creative writing class, so bear with my throughout the frustrations and technical difficulties. Eventually, I would hope, something interesting makes its way onto this site. Enjoy.