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This weekend, I'm going to a football game at my old school. This will be very weird, especially because I left very dramatically. I burned bridges, and I told people things that had been clawing their way up my throat for years. I think that their isolation from me will help them get over what I said, but if not, I deserve what happens to me. 

There's a girl who'll be at this game. I'm not even really sure what terms we're on anymore. It'll definitely be weird. I ought to have fun. The team is much better than last year. I'll try my hardest to enjoy myself around people I hate. 

Comments

Jordan- Harrison Bergeron 

Anders- The Squirrel in The Attic

Flash "Fiction"

I trust this girl. That's a big thing, right? I don't trust many people. She's one of the best thing that's ever happened to me. Her name is Not Important. She used to live far away but now she lives close enough to visit all the time! She's slightly older, and she brings dinner to her friend at work all the time. They study at his apartment because even though she's a sophomore she enrolled in college! To be honest I'm pretty proud. I don't mind if she hangs out with guys, I trust her...I think. They went dancing until one in the morning last night. I'm just glad she had fun. I tried to call her. She didn't answer. She texted me back thirty minutes later saying that she was sorry, and that she had been taking a nap. She said she was staying home all night, and that she was too tired to hang out with anyone. I'm riding bikes with some of my friends. We pass her house. His truck is in her driveway and I see them together in the kitchen. I trusted this girl. That's a big thing, right?

Comments Week 5

Alex- Ethics

Anders- A Land More Kind Than Home 2

A Game of Thrones

I am currently reading A Game Of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. In this blog, I'd like to talk about the heavy symbolism in this book. In the beginning of the story, Ned Stark finds a dire wolf, the sigil of his house, that has been slain by a stag, the sigil of his king and close friend Robert Baratheon. I think that this is foreshadowing Ned's demise due to association with Robert, and Ned's wife agrees with me on that matter.

I also enjoyed the foreshadowing when it came to Bran, Ned Stark's son. Characters in the story, including Bran, often talked of his climbing ability and how he never, repeat, never falls. This foreshadowed his fall from the broken tower, which led to his paralysis. George R. R. Martin is an eloquent writer, and I would recommend this series to anyone.

Dear 13 year old,

Dear 13 year old,

Next year is gonna be big. You'll be going to high school, and if you're like me, you'll be going to a new school. One of the hardest challenges I've ever faced was trying to fit in and impress people. I just want you to realize that you don't have to impress anyone, but if you do, make sure that the way you impress them isn't hurtful to anyone else.

Never worry about how you look or act around other people. In ten years, odds are they won't be that important to you anymore. That said, make good friends. One friend that you can trust to steer you in the right direction is better than one that acts out and makes you laugh. Live lightly, and don't let the stress and anxiety of high school get to you. It's sort of funny, here I am lecturing you while I struggle with the same things. I wish you the best of luck.

-a 14 year old

The House of The Scorpion

Over the past week I've been reading a book titled The House of The Scorpion. In this book, Matt has a longstanding struggle with the fact that he is a clone.The human whose DNA Matt comes from is a twisted, powerful drug lord, El Patron. Most people, especially El Patron himself, expect Matt to grow up just like him. As the story progresses, however, you can see that Matt is much nicer and gentler than the old man. This goes to show that even if two people are identical in every way, a different environment effects their attitude towards life. 

  Throughout Matt's early life, he's treated more poorly than an animal. He fears that people will be able to tell him apart from normal people. While this fear is never validated, he still feels it every waking moment. When Esperanza tells him that he is needed to disable the security around the Alacran estate, he replies that he is nothing but a clone. She tells him that that is not true because, legally, when the original copy dies, the clone takes the place of the human. This blows Matt's mind, because now he feels that he is human. He feels like he has a soul.

Katrina

I read excerpts from Blood Dazzler, and one of the things that I liked most about the poems was the way Patricia Smith used Personification. In one of the first poems I read, she gave all of the categories their own personalities, listing their names and giving each one it's own individuality. She also made it seem like they shunned their sister-storm Katrina, as if given the chance they wouldn't have done exactly the same. You can almost fit each storm into a certain social category.

In another poem from her book, Katrina was made out to be almost selfish or self absorbed, like a long imprisoned villain finally making a comeback. Katrina seemed spiteful. I got the same feeling from her as if I was reading the journal of a deity, questioning itself and those who oppose it. But at the same time, Smith sows in a sense of chaos and destruction.

The Golden Yarn

The book I'm reading in my free time is The Golden Yarn by Cornelia Funke. In this book, Jacob, the main character, has to face the consequences of his actions. In the previous book, Jacob made a deal with a mysterious being to save the life of his longtime companion Celeste. He acted without thinking, which caused the price to blindside him. What he had to give in return for the figure's help was "the traditional price" in this world. Jacob had to offer up his firstborn son. The author took the classic fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin and transformed it into something that tugged at the heartstrings of every reader.

One of the reasons it was so compelling was that when the card that Jacob uses to communicate with the being showed more writing, it said that he and Celeste would have beautiful children. This takes a threat that seems so far away, and it brings it right up in your face. This also made Jacob and Celeste face the feelings that had been there since the beginning. Cornelia Funke is a wonderful writer, and I can't wait until she publishes the next book in the Mirrorworld series.

Comments Week 2

Griff- The Muddy Cabana

Alex- The Ranger's Apprentice

Comments-week 1

Jordan Flood Victims

Kaya Running That Big Mile

Over the summer I read a fascinating work of Science-Fiction titled  Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Towards the end of this book, the main character, Rick Deckard, goes on a long walk up a steep hill, similar to the people of earth's almost religious figure, Mercer. Though the author doesn't specify the time it took for Rick to complete his hike, you can see that he was gone for some time. He sees a similarity between himself and Mercer, whose teachings Deckard had not practiced extensively. This could be nothing, a way for the author to wrap up the story, but when Rick stops his climb, it is because he sees a toad.

To understand the significance of this toad, first you must know two things. one of which is that the toad was thought to be extinct, and the other was that it was one of Mercer's sacred animals, the other being a donkey. Though this is not stated or thought by Rick, it can be seen clearly by the writers descriptive words and details that had been left out on other animals in the story. When Rick gets home, however, he discovers that the toad was artificial, produced by a mechanical vet clinic in the city.

This weekend, I worked on a fence that surrounded the garden of an older couple. My friend invited me to the job, and at the beginning it was easy. Measuring boards, popping chalk lines, and digging. But as the job progressed, the tasks got progressively harder. Boards wouldn't fit, and the bags of rocks that we had to pour around the fence seemed to gain five pounds every time we picked them up.

 The older man who had hired us to build his fence was very meticulous. If a board wasn't level, it was off with our heads. I spent quite a few hours over the span of the two days digging out rocks that I had poured with my bare hands. As you can imagine, I home sore, dirty, and with red fingertips. But then again, it was well worth a little bit of spending money and a happy couple.