Writer's Response 1.29.11

Global Issues Project

Over the past two weeks I've been working on this Global Issues project in World History and English class. My initial thought for this project was, "I have to do something HIV/AIDS." I bet you're wondering why I said that I just had to this project on HIV/AIDS. Well ever since I saw the rock opera 'Rent' by Jonathan Larson I have been very passionate about the disease. But I was really disappointed when Mrs.Andermann said I couldn't focus in on the AIDS epidemic in New York in the 1980's. But I moved on to the disease's believed birth place, Sub-Saharan Africa.

African Children with their faces painted for World AIDS Day {December 1}

My research question is, "What is life like for a child living with HIV/AIDS and a child affected by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa?" Essentially I'm researching two sides of the story. One side being a child infected with HIV/AIDS with the other side being a child living with the effects caused by HIV/AIDS. When I first started researching I was really interested but then I got lost within all of these facts and statistic and it was frustrating. I made my research question what it is because everything I kept finding was boring and things everyone already knew about my topic. But what I always wondered about was 'how do those child live? What keeps them going in life?' because if I were them I would feel hopeless and lost. That's what I'm finding out for my audience! The hardest parts of this project so far were making the detailed outline and STAYING on task.


Time: {sorry I put it off until Sunday Dr.d!}
Sunday: 150 minutes; went through new sources,read new sources, cited new sources,paraphrased new sources, wrote detailed outline, my outline then deleted itself so I had to rewrite my detailed outline. 

Free Post 1.29.12

EHS vs. UHS

On Friday night my friend Megan and I went to the boys varsity EHS vs UHS soccer game. I was really pumped for this game because of the rivalry between EHS and  UHS. When Megan and I got there it was about 10 minutes in and still 0-0.  The EHS and UHS boys took some great shots on the goals but the goalies kept getting the balls! All of the boys were so frustrated and when the game ended it was still 0-0 so they went into two 10 minute golden goals. After the two rounds 10 minute golden goals it went to PK's, where five players on each team gets to take a shot on the goal with the opponents' goalie. EHS made one of their PK's and UHS made three of their PK's. The boys lost their game and the were heartbroken. The boys loss made the girls get even more pumped up for our game the next day!

On Saturday morning I got to school at around 12:30pm and found varsity warming up on the field. I volunteered to be ball-girl for varsity's game. All of the varsity players had told me before the game, "Lauren be as quick as you can and if we yell at you do not take it personally we'll just be stressed out during this game because it is so important!" The girls were right they were so stressed during the game because this game was very important for district. So many fans came out with horns and bells and signs to support our team and it was amazing! The game ended 3-3 so the ref's decided to do only one round of 10 minute golden goals. During the 10 minutes neither team scored, so they went to PK's. EHS made three of their PK's and UHS only made two. The score board read, "HOME: 7 GUEST:5" EHS girls won the game by one PK so the final score was 4-3!! I am so proud to of been apart of that game even though I was only a ball girl! After that game I played in the JV game were we won against UHS 1-0. I love my varsity and JV girls and the sport of soccer. And as my teammates and I would all say...

                             #EHSWINNING
                             #EHSSOCCER                  #NOTECHNICALITIESNEEDED                           

Reader's Response 1.22.12

We  Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee

        Over Christmas I got over $100.000 in Barnes and Noble's gift cards from friends and family. I bought over 10 books with my Christmas money including, We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee. I saw the movie before the book which I now regret doing. The book is about a father, Benjamin, who loses his wife to a brain tumor while living in the country-side of France. Benjamin's sister sends him a voucher from a real-estate agent selling a zoo in England. After Benjamin's wife dies after battling against her stage four brain tumor he buys the zoo, moving he and his two children's lives forever. 

        So far the first three chapters are pretty slow but I have a feeling the story is about to speed up. Benjamin Mee is a very great author as well as a great husband and father. I still don't understand why his sister would just randomly send him a letter showing him a zoo for sale just because he like animals. I mean most everyone likes animals..but it doesn't mean they want to own a zoo. I really love the way Benjamin tells the story with such personal details. Benjamin and his late wife Katherine had such a beautiful marriage and I loved all of the stories he tells about their exciting times together. I shouldn't of expected the book to be exactly like the movie because so fat it's nothing like the movie! I'm loving it but I also loved the movie which is why I bought the book.

We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee- 1hr 55mins; 75 pages

'The Norton Field Guide to Writing'- 35 mins; 15 pages

Free Post 1.22.12

AP United States History

           "AP United States History is a college course that can be taken sophomore year here at our school.", I remember Mrs. Andermann saying as she passed around the AP petition forms to the people in our class that raised their hand for the piece of paper. Only six people in my class asked for the petition. "This is a highly selective class and it moves at a very fast pace so please don't be disappointed if you do not get in. These petitions are due the last day of exams. Do not forget them or you will regret it!", Mrs. Andermann advised the class. All of her 'advise' was making me really nervous so I wrote my name down on the petition and put it in my World History binder.

        A week later it was 7:50 A.M. in Mrs. Andermann's classroom and my class and I were preparing to take our exam. Mrs. Andermann suddenly reminded us about the petition and I had completely forgotten about it! I asked her if I could bring it to her tomorrow and she said yes. I ended up forgetting about the petition until the last day of exams. On the morning of my last exam I text messaged my mom before school asking to get the petition, sign it, and bring it with her when she comes to pick me up. She did just that and I brought it to Mrs. Andermann.

       Fast forward to January 19, 2012. After soccer I got home and I checked my school email and I had five emails but one really stood out to me. It didn't say who it was from but the subject said, 'AP Petition- US history.' I got really nervous, excited, and anxious so I opened the emailed and it said, "Congratulations! Your petition for AP United States History has been accepted for the 2012-2013 school year.  Thank you, Mrs. Andermann."I was so relived and excited! I told my my mom and dad and they were beaming and congratulating me. I told my two friends who are currently sophomores and both taking AP US History, Megan and Lance, and they both sent me emoji icon's of party balloons and messages saying,"CONGRATS LAUREN!!" I am so excited for AP US History because I have worked very hard for this opportunity and I am so thankful and blessed to be given it.

Free Post 1.16.12

 Wallpapering

        I've lived in my new house for almost a year now and an old lady used to live in it so my family decided that we'd have to do a lot of person work to it. We've gotten all new appliances to the kitchen, had the guest room, living room, entry way, sitting room, dinning room, the extensions' hallway and the solarium painted, my mom and I painted my room, and now my mom and I decided to wall paper my vanity room. My mom said she wallpapered our dinning room in one of our past houses...fifteen years ago. I was pretty worried when we started on Saturday morning but it turns out if you've done it once, you can do it again!

       On Saturday we got a whole wall and two quarters done of two other walls. Which is a lot considering we didn't really know what we were doing. Everything I'm saying may make it seem like wallpapering rooms is easy...it is not at all. Wallpapering is the most frustrating thing I've ever done! On Sunday my mom and I started back to wallpapering and got another wall and a half of another wall. But the paper got too heavy and peeled up while it was drying. Which made me even more frustrated but my mom said we can fix it. I really love my wallpaper but it's really challenging to put up with when applying it! The whole time we were wallpapering I kept saying that schools should teach kids how to paint and wall paper rooms instead of Algebra. Don't y'all think so?

This is the wall we did on Saturday! The wall paper patter is a brown and blue toile.

Reader's Response 1.16.12

    Charmed and Dangerous: The Rise of the Pretty Committee. The Clique Prequel by Lisi Harrison      

     For my outside reading this week I bought a new book on my NOOK tablet. I bought Charmed and Dangerous: The Rise of the Pretty Committee, the Clique Prequel by Lisi Harrison. I loved The Clique series by Lisi Harrison all throughout middle school and I have been awaiting the prequel for so long now! Most of the girls reading this blog probably have read at least the first book in the series because it's very popular.

      The book is all about how 'The Clique' ,aka The Pretty Committee, all met. The Clique is made up of Massie who's the alpha of the group, Alicia, Dylan, Kristen, and Claire who are all betas to Massie. When ever I was reading the series Harrison always made me feel like I was apart of the Clique! Also I had always try to come up with my own ways of how the girls all met but those thoughts were nothing compared to what Harrison wrote in this book! I truly love this book {and the entire series} because no matter what all girls can relate to what the Clique goes through, minus the gorgeous million dollar mansions and designer everything. It was so imaginative and I highly recommend it to all girls still in highschool maybe even college!{Sorry boys! Not really your kind of book..}

Reading Time:
Saturday: 2hr and 30mins. 150pgs.

Free Post 1.7.12

       "Girl, respect yourself." I was scrolling through my dashboard on tumblr.com this morning and saw this quote. It really made an impression on me so I decided to share it. I feel like this quote is not just a 'message for the week' but a message for life. Young girls take themselves for granted now a days as though it's like breathing air. Does anyone no longer remember sock-hops and learning to waltz? A time were there was no iPhone with an app for everything? There where no social networking sites were rumors can spread like wildfire and ruin a person's reputation. I do understand that there were still some girls even back then that didn't respect themselves and there were still gossiping girls spreading rumors like wildfire. But there were always classy girl walking with their heads held high. Which seems as like a rare species of girl in this day and age.
 
     Some people make take offense to this quote and say, "everyone does it" or "seriously..it's no big deal." But I would like to be taken out of those boats and defy our generation. No everyone does not do those thing and in fact yes it is a big deal. Respecting yourself shouldn't be a chore because it should come naturally but unfortunately for many it doesn't. Girls need to think before they act because at the time it sound like the best idea in the world but later on it will never help you in a positive way. So for the reputation of yourself, your school, the people you associate yourself with, your family's name, and your own sanity... girl, respect yourself.