A Poem That Doesn't Suck

Do I Know You? by Ann Wittig

I'm sorry, I thought I knew you,

I didn't mean to stare,

Was that a smile of recognition, 

Just before that worried glare?

No, you're right, you're not the person,

The girl I knew was full of hope,

You're depressed and getting older,

You can hardly seem to cope.

She was young and full of energy,

There was nothing she couldn't do,

She had faith and joy and laughter,

No, you're right, she wasn't you.

Promise me, that if you see her,

You'll tell her that I really care,

And I miss her looking back at me,

From the mirror over there.

I think this poem doesn't suck because it tells a story. A lot of people can relate to it.

Soccer tryouts

Coach said not to eat FIFA and play pizza but i decided to rebel (like Montag).

Vocab List #7

1. pratfall- humiliating blunder or defeat

2. bewilderedly- completely puzzled or confused

3. titillation- to excite or arouse agreeably

4. theremin- musical instrument with electronic tone generation

5. tabloids- sensationalists news article 

6. centrifuge- apparatus that spins really quick

7. haltingly- hesitantly 

8. probing- to search into or examine thoroughly 

9. stagnant- stale or foul standing 

10. cacophony- harsh discordance of sound

My AVID Trip

        In a little less than two weeks, I will be going on a college AVID trip. I'm really excited for this trip because I will experience new things. I will see colleges I've never seen before and hopefully gain an interest in one. Also, we will go to a LA Clipper's game and Knotts Berry Farm.

Vocab List #6

1. tatters- torn pieces of something
sentence: They tried to sow the tattered shirt back to together but it didn't look as good as it originally did.

2. merely- just part
sentence: The couple wasn't fighting, they were merely arguing.

3. vast- huge, immense
sentence: He stood atop the mountain, his eyes fixed on the beautiful, vast scenery almost making him forget the dangerous journey it took him to get there.

4. parlor- an entry room in a private home
sentence: The parlor was decorated with vases and dull colors which suggested a classic style in the owners.

5. abrupt(ly)- sudden stop
sentence: The officer was on the verge of shooting the criminal but stopped abruptly because of the hostage at stake.

6. refracted- reflected at different angles
sentence: The beauty in the diamond was showing through the way the blue light refracted off of it.

7. immense- vast, huge
sentence: Most video games now a days are based on immense maps.

8. imperceptibly- impossible to perceive
sentence: The imperceptible language the man was talking in fascinated me.

9. ventilator- breathing machine
sentence: The firemen's ventilator was broken which made the mission ten times harder.

10. olfactory- having to do with smell
sentence: The smell of stake made the dog's olfactory senses go crazy.

FAHRENHEIT 451

     After reading the wikipedia entry for Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I've learned a few things.

   1. Fahrenheit 451 is a dystopian novel that was published in 1953.
 
    2. The title of the book refers to the temperature that Montag believes is the autoignition point of paper.
 
    3. In a radio interview, Bradbury said that his inspiration for writing the book came from recent threats of book burning in the United States.
 
    4. The novel has won multiple awards, including the Prometheus "Hall of Fame" Award and the "Retro" Hugo Award.
 
    5. Bradbury help develop a 1984 interactive computer game titled Fahrenheit 451.

Fahrenheit 451: First Impressions

          After reading the first 30 pages of Fahrenheit 451, I think I can give an honest opinion on my first impressions of the story. The story gets increasingly better as it goes on. It leaves you wondering what will happen to Guy as a fireman, how Guy's and Clarisse's friendship will develop, and what the war that's occurring is about. I felt nostalgic after the scene with the mechanical hound because it took me to a time in my childhood where I wanted to mechanical animals to be a real thing. I've also been surprised that the story was written over 60 years ago yet it predicts modern inventions. Overall, I've enjoyed the book so far.

Just Sharing

    This is just a blog post to share something with anyone that is reading. In 4th and 5th grade, my class was assigned to write a poem which we were going to submit to a publisher. Later on in the school year we found out that most of the class's poems were published and we received our books. Just thought it would make sense to share this considering this is an American Literature class.

AHA!

    Today in class, we did a journal on what we think other people assume about us based on the diction of our speech. It made me think that people can assume a lot of things about me without thinking about it. I never really thought of this until today. When you think about it, speech can say a lot about you without actually saying something specific. In stories, this could be called "indirect characterization".That's something i thought was interesting.

 

Goals from the Course

       I am taking the American Literature class mainly because it's part of the school curriculum. Aside from that, I'm hoping to extend my knowledge of vocabulary and american literature. The only thing I'm nervous about this semester are the texts. I feel like I probably won't be able to understand some of it and will have trouble with them. My goals for this course are to be able to apply the vocabulary I learn in real- life conversations, pass with a minimum of a B, and to increase my interest in learning. I expect to be able to colaberate much better after taking this course.