My Reflection on Making The Blog

I personally enjoyed doing the Blog. I loved that I could write about things that matter to me during the semester in English 1A. It also helped me to better understand class topics because I was able to read other people's opinions on class topics and that really open my eyes to other possibilities. I also enjoyed getting fed back from everyone, I like how people agreed and disagreed, I think that was very important because everyone is allowed to agree and disagree as long as they do it respectfully and I feel everyone did that. The Blog assignments also improved my writing and I learned other writing techniques. The Blog assignments also allowed me to get to know people and how they feel about certain things. I feel as if we didn't do the Blog assignments, that I wouldn't got to know people on a different level.

5-Photo Essay On Global Warming

What is Global Warming? Global Warming is the increase in the Earth's temperature. Some of the factors that contribute to Global Warming are the releasing of carbon dioxide and methane, and deforestation. If we don't help slow down the production of carbon dioxide and methane and slow down on deforestation we will end up losing a lot of the beautiful places that we have today such as the beaches and forests. A way we can stop deforestation is by slowing down on how much we cut down and by replanting two trees for every tree cut down.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I took this photo while I was back in Georgia because I thought it was absolutely beautiful. But I'm afraid if we continue to have Global warming we will lose these beautiful Sand Duns due to the rising sea levels that are occurring because of the Glaciers melting.  A side affect of Global Warming is violent storms. Each year, we have recording breaking storms and the reason why is because the increases of greenhouse gases, it's the Earth's way of cooling itself down. I recently watch The Inconvenient Truth for my Astronomy class and I was amazed on how much Carbon Dioxide levels have increased over the years and it's all because of us. Gore explains that one of the ice shelves in the Artic completely melted away in 32 days because of the increasing temperatures and it's all due to our dependency on fossil fuel. If we didn't use so much fossil fuel then it wouldn't have affected the atmosphere as much as it has. I just can't believe that it took just 32days to melt away a ice shelf, just imagine how many can be melted away in just the next year or two. If they shelves keep melting the oceans levels will keep rising and soon all the communities on the coast will have to leave because they will be submerge underwater. That scares me and it should scare everyone. Whether we like or not Global Warming is happening and it's happening fast. If we don't take action now, then our grandchildren or even maybe our children will have to pay for our consequences. Right now in the Artic Polar Bears are drowning because their environment is melting away, if we don't help this animals then we might just lose them for good and that would be devastating,

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Some other immediate consequences we have facing for causing global warming is drought. About 50% of the United States is facing a droughts. During a drought, people might have to cut down on their use of water and some cities/towns have put days were you can water your yard and days when you can't.

 

 

I feel as if people should take Global Warming more seriously because it is affecting and it will continue to affect us. Things could get worst if we don't change our ways but I'm afraid that a lot of us won't do anything to help because a lot of people are to self absorbed in their own lives, but if they were to step out of that bubble and learn about all the facts about Global Warming and what they can do to help (and actually want to help) then that would be great. But we will all have to contribute or else it won't work.

Into The Wild: My Opinion About Chris' Death

Before Chris' death, he torn a page with a quote by Robinson Jeffers's poem, "Wise Men in Their Bad Hours", which said

"Death's a fierce meadowlark: but to die having made

Something more equal to the centuries

 Than muscle and bone. is mostly to shed weakness.

The mountains are dead stone, the people

Admire or hate their stature, their insolent quitness,

The mountains are not softened or troubled

And a few dead men's thoughts have the same temper."

Then on the back of Chris wrote " I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD, GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL."(pg 199)

I think Chris might have wanted to die out there. Chris was a smart young fellow and he survived out in the Alaskan wilderness for four months and I think he got familiar with his surroundings, knowing what to eat and not to eat. But when he couldn't cross the river when he wanted, he lost hope and just gave up. The author says "McCandless wasn't some feckless slacker, adrift and confused, racked by existenial despair. But the meaning he wrested from existence lay beyond the comfortable path: McCandless distrusted the value of things that came easily. He demande much of himself." (page 184).  Maybe Chris gave up because he didn't know what he ment to people. He was on his own for so long and hadn't really spent much time with anyone in two years. He hadn't had much contact with his family and was mad at his parents, he only really cared for his sister and wasn't sure if his family would take him back. Chris was just a very confused and lost person, he just wanted his life to have meaning and mean something to people, he never realized he meant SO much to so many people. Every person he had ever meet in his life cared about him and wanted the best for him, but he never realized that. He took them for granted. I think Chris didn't realize what he was doing because he was basing everything, every feeling and action on impulses. If he would have stopped and think before he reacted and talk to people about how he felt, then maybe he wouldn't felt the way he did and have made the decisions he made. I think right before Chris died, after reading the quote by Jeffers, that he find peace with himself, he gotten to see Alaska and all the other places he did. He got to meet all the nice people he met and he changed each and everyone of them. He started to realize what he ment to people but realize it was too late, that he was dying. The quote gave him peace in mind and he wrote on the back that he was happy and had a happy life and was thankful to God. Chris' story changed not only his family and friends, but people all over the world, and if Chris could look down open everyone he has impacted, he would be happy because he changed people, had an impact, and had a meaning.

Into The Wild Book Response

"Into The Wild" by Jon Krakauser was about the a young man name Christopher Johnson McCandless, who went to the Alaskan wilderness and four months later was found dead. Krakauser told the story of the events leading up to Chris' death. He traveled all over America, went from job to job, place to place. Chris was scared of getting close to anyone and only wrote to his little sister from time to time. When I first began to read the book, I thought Chris was selfish. But as I read move into the novel I began to understand Chris. He was hurt by his farther for having two lives, his parents pushing him into doing what they thought was best for him. Chris just wanted to live his life to the fullest without anyone dictating what he could and couldn't do. Since Chris was young, he was always drawn to Alaska for some reason that most didn't understand. I think that we are all drawn to a place for some reason that we don't quite understand, we just know that we want to go to that place, that it would make us happy if we go there. That's exactly what Chris did; he left his life behind, left all the materialist things behind, and went into the wild with nothing but the essentials he thought he needed to survive. Chris did an incredible job of surviving on his own for as long as he did. I think Chris was just trying to find himself and a part of Chris finding himself was to go out on his own and experience all these different types of jobs, life experiences, and meeting a few good people on the way. Sometimes, in order to find who you are, you must leave home and everything behind, and work on you by trying everything you can possible could think of and once you do this, you become happy. Chris was happy experiencing life but sadly he never got the chance to go home. But Chris did do something must haven’t, he left a forever lasting impact on people. The people who have heard of Chris' story or have read the book, they are changed. They might look at life differently now, they might appreciate what they have, or they might even try what Chris did. I know after reading the book, I want to go out and experience the world. I would like to see Alaska the way Chris did and I would like to see all the other beautiful sites this world has to offer.

Class Topic: What is Success? Here's a Better Definition Article

While reading Georffrey James articla "What is Succeess? Here's a Better Definition" I was amazed that he mention that so many people define success has making a lot of money. I honestly don't understand why people think that way. I don't believe that money can buy happiness because it's not something you go shopping for. You have to create your own happiness and your own success by working hard. You can't be successful if you don't work hard and experience failure a few times. Failuring can either destroy you or better you, it all depends on how you choose to deal with it. If you choice to let failure better you then you will success. If you choose to let it destroy you, then you won't go to far in life. And you don't need to be rich to be happy, James says "there's no point to being rich if you're not enjoying yourself. Second, you're most likely to get rich if you're happy doing whatever you're doing." So do something you love like writing or helping people out because in the long run you want to be successful in something you enjoy no matter how much money you earn. Take Georffrey for example, he spent six years working in as a marketing executive, he got paid well but he wasn't happy. He always had a voice in his head saying he was "born to be a writer". So he decided to become a writer because he knew that would make him happy. Yes, at first his pay was less than what he was use to, but he was happy. Then after a while of being a writer, he began to make more money than ever before and he works half the hours has he did as a marketing executive and he is happy. Georffrey defines this as success, doing something he loves. Georffrey's definition of success is a lot like mine, I believe in doing something that makes me happy and I don't care about the amount of money I make, as long as I am happy. Happiness is key to success, without happiness you won't truly successed.

A Movie Review: Breaking Dawn Part 2

Breaking Dawn Part 2 is the final movie to the Twilight Series. It opens up with Bella waking up after giving birth to her child (half human, half vampire) and after she is turned into a vampire. She seemed very thrilled with her new life. The movie was filled with humor, romance, and action which made the movie easy to watch. The special effects were a little off (meaning with certain scenes you can tell they were filmed it on a green screen) and some parts were hard to watch because some of the actors seemed to be over acting. Despite all the minor things that made the movie seem a little less than perfect, I still enjoyed the movie and I think anyone who likes humor, romance, and action will enjoy the movie. And for the ones who read the book, this movie seems to be the one that was most off track compare to the other movies that followed the books well. But overall, the movie was enjoyable and I recommend it to anyone who loves vampires, werewolves, and romance will like this movie.

 

A Class Topic From Chapter 3- Grow Up? Not So Fast

In 2005, Lev Grossman wrote an article about a new group of young people called twixters. This group is from the ages of 18 to 25, and the reason why this group is called twixters is because they are "betwixts and between". This group tends to put off becoming an adult by still living at home, taking 5 or so more years to gruaduate from college, putting off marriage and having kids, and they tend to go from city to city, job to job. The reason why it takes twixters longer to graduate from college and to get married is because they are simply taking pleasure in savoring the irresponsibility they have. I find this socking because why would someone what to savor in irresponsibility and want to still be living with their parents? Maybe it's because they are afraid to commit to adulthood or maybe it's because they weren't taught to be responsible. Like the author stats "They are worried that twixters aren't growing up beause they can't" Maybe they can't because no one is telling them they can. If someone would just believe in them and give them a little push in the right direction, then maybe the twixters can grow up. Also, if that person who believes in them constantly reminds them that they can do it and that they believe in then that might just motivate them enough to commit to adulthood.