J = Eight People to Emulate

1.) Jennifer Aniston- She is a great actor. She did a great job in the hit TV show "Friends".

2.) Jessie James- He may not be the nicest person in the world, but he is a great mechanic. I admire his wide imagination hat he has. He has a true talent for building and designing cars.

3.) Jonas Brothers- I am not a fan of them, but I must say they they have done a great job in the music industry. They have quickly gained many fans and have risen to the top.

4.) Justin Bieber- I am not a big fan of his music but I know that many people are. He is so young and already has a career! I think that he is a great role model for young kids.

5.) Jenna Marbles- She may be the funniest person I have ever herd of. She makes You Tube videos and she has a ton of people that watch them. Her videos are about everyday situations, but she manages to make them hilarious. She is not famous: she is just a normal girl, but so many people know about her and enjoy her humor.

6.) Grandma Joan- My grandma is absolutely great! She helps my family when my mom is sick or if my dad is away. When my grandma was younger she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully she was strong and lived through it. She has been widowed twice. Both her first and second husband died from lung cancer. She raised six kids by herself! I admire her stre3ngth and hope someday to be as strong as her.

7.) Uncle John- My uncle John is a character. Hes that person in the room who is loud and obnoxious; but you love him anyway. He is full of confidence and doesn't let anything get him down.

8.) Jeff VanEpps- He is my best friends dad and I consider him family. I have known him since I was in kindergarten and hes has proven over and over again that he is a great father. He also owns a successful business. He is the proud owner of Hiawatha Trails golf course that's across the street from the middle school. He treats his costumers like family and is truly great at what he does.

TU Tuesday-Culture

Link to article: http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Cold-snap-in-Eastern-Europe-kills-more-than-600-3332575.php

Link to poem: http://naishinnoumouko.tripod.com/id2.html

This article is about "a record breaking cold snap" in Eastern Europe. "More then 600 people died," and many still remain isolated. The people in Eastern Europe that are facing this cold spell are running out of food, water, and medicine." People are being forced to put chains on there tires, stay indoors and skip work. Many people are losing there lives because of the frigged weather. "Authorities said seven people have died in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 86 deaths." Now the temperature is going far below zero causing extreme ice. There is also harsh winds and blockades due to the enormous amount of snow piling up. This event relates to the poem "Sonnet on Loss" by David Lewis Paget because this poem talks about loss, and this event caused a lot of loss. "Grief overwhelms me as I stare," is probably how people were feeling as they looked at the loved ones that they have lost. People are trying to survive "through mist and hurt". I think that this poem really does relate to this event, because "every love turned to ash." 

"Sonnet On Loss"

 

You’ve gone again, and I sit granite faced,
Astare at this, the loss of my estate,
To count my grievings, seen as if afar
Through mist and hurt, and bramble patch and pain
Where life may only tear you at the briar
To leave blood-blackberry patches at the stain
Of every love, turned ash, or died, or went
Beyond the realm of touch, or argument.
So here I sit, and never look aside
But stare ahead, pretending life pretence,
And sleep, that blessed anaesthetic state
As life, but turned about by accident –
While I, unmoved, unmoving sit in fear
That grief will overwhelm me as I stare.

 

Valentine's Day

3.  Not to long ago I found out that people that I thought my friends, really weren't. I trusted them and thought that they actually liked me but they went behind my back and put my personal conversation with them out in the open. I thought that I made friends, I thought that I finally figured out how to make friends with the cool kids. That day when I found out what they did, I had no one to turn to. I didn't want anyone to see me cry. I am a rock, I don't show emotions, but while walking in the hall by myself I saw him. He smiled and I tried to smile back, but I couldn't without a tear falling. He walked rite up to me and hugged me and just let me cry. He didn't ask questions, he didn't judge me. He just held me. That is when I noticed who my real friend was. He was there and is one of my best friends. I felt loved and that I had someone to finally let me cry on their shoulder. The feeling of having someone love you, even if they will only be there for a little while, is such a great feeling. It's like finally having someone understand and really care about you.

I hate this life so deeply, almost as deeply as I love it

Hanging On
I hate this life so deeply, almost as deeply as I love it
Everything that makes me numb
All those things line up one by one
They try to knock me down until I'm done
They know I can't fight back
My emotions take over
I have no control, its strength that I lack
Just when I think I'm done
When I think that the pain has won
Someone must have a plan
Because suddenly I understand
Things can only get better
Theres no more room for failure
So I must succeed
Sooner or later
So I just keep hanging in there
Even when life seems unfair
Because someday there will actually be someone who will care

Comic Connection

I chose this comic because I feel that this relates a lot to what I see at school. I feel that girls need and should be reminded that its winter, and if you don't want to be cold then dress appropriately. I think its ridiculous that girls think its okay to ware skirts and tank tops in the middle of winter. They look ridiculous as they are shivering in the middle of class. If they choose to dress like its summer, then they shouldn't be complaining that they are cold when we have an unexpected fire drill. It drives me, and many other people crazy, when girls are standing outside in a summer outfit and they are whining that they are cold. I know that many people like summer more then winter, and that could be why some people dress like this, but its time to get a grip of reality and realize that you need to dress appropriately for the seasons. Another reason why I think girls dress like this is to cause attention to their selves, but they don't realize that the attention that they are receiving is not the attention that they want. People are not looking at them because they look really good or because they are attractive, but because they look awkward and ridiculous. I feel as if I am seeing more and more girls dress like this each day. It's a little disturbing to think that young women would go this far to get peoples attention. I think that many other people are feeling this way too. The schools dress code is getting much stricter, so that must mean that the school administrators are noticing this way. If girls decide to dress this way I think that it's there problem; let them shiver and learn there lessons. I don't think that we should solve this problem by creating more rules. i think we should solve this problem by letting the girls at schools that they are attracting the wrong kind of attention and that they should ware appropriate clothing according to the seasons. 

Pep Talk

I looked through all of these "pep talks" and one that really stood out to me was "dust off and get up". This "pep talk" relates to my everyday life because when I fall I need someone to tell me this. Once I was ridding my horse, Guinevere, and we were working on jumping a bending line. We made it over the first jump just fine, but then when she landed the second jump...She went to the right and I went to the left. I ended up in the dirt faster then a blink of an eye. Trying to catch my breath I turned my head and saw my trainer walking toward me smiling. "You need to follow her with your body and look where your going," she said while she extended her arm out to me. I looked at her hand and grabbed and she helped me to my feet. "You were due for a good fall. Come on dust off and get up. Try it again!" I chucked and did just that. i needed that light encouragement. I needed that calmness and nonchalant attitude to encourage em to try again. I got right back in the saddle and tried it again. I cleared the first jump fine again and headed to the second one. I kept my head up looking around the corner. As she jumped over the second fence I let my body follow Guinevere and held on as she landed. When we stopped I realized that I did it! I was so happy that I had someone with me to give me a "pep talk" because without the simple words of "dust off and get up" I would have never been able to get back i the saddle that day. I would have never felt that great feeling of accomplishment. Everybody needs a "pep talk" when they are struggling. I'm sure I'll need one again soon.

TU Tuesday

The Evolution of Cheerleaders 
http://blackboard.neric.org/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_2263_1%26url%3d
This article is about how cheerleaders have changed sense 1898, when cheer leading first started. Cheer leading started from a man named Johnny Campbell. He was at a football game and started to chant and that caught on. Soon after that cheer leading squads were formed.
At the beginning of cheer leading history the out fits consisted of skirts that were well past the knee. In the 1720's cheer leading became a female dominated spot and the girls started to use "pom-poms".  Not until the 1970s did the outfits become "skimpy" and "provocative".  Sense then, the outfits have only gotten more revealing and calling more attention to the cheerleaders.
Are all cheerleaders like this? Absolutely not. Many high school cheerleaders pointed out that they are "unlike the girls on the professional football fields". The girls on high school cheer leading teams do not ware revealing outfits like the professional cheerleaders. The high school cheerleaders are very athletic. They succeed in doing flips, pyramids, acrobatic stunts, and very precisely choreographed dances. I would think that the high school cheerleaders deserve a bigger applause then the professional cheerleaders.

Imagery: He picked up a megaphone and directed a crowd in cheering: "Rah, rah, rah! Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Minn-e-so-tah!" 
This is a example of imagery. Imagery is when you use words that create mental images for the reader. Imagery helps the reader visualize whats going on and really understand what the writer is trying to say. 

Repetition: Most NFL cheerleaders these days are known for their tight abs, sexy outfits...The sexy outfits didn't arrive until the 1970s.

This is a example of repetition. Repetition is the repeating of a word, phrase, or idea. 

Alliteration: "Rah, rah, rah! Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Minn-e-so-tah!" and also "pom-poms"

These are both an example of alliteration. Alliteration is when words in a section begin with the same sound.