Masterpiece Essay

As we started the masterpiece academy I was not sure what to expect from the presentations, in the end every single project made me believe how absolutely talented every single person in our class is.
Although the construction of this class is completely different from any learning environment I have ever been in I think it encouraged everyone to do their best. Being able to control our learning experience made it easier for us (students) to tailor each lesson to best fit us. The trust that you as a teacher had in us was brave, although many students could have taken advantage of the freedom we were given most took it and used it in a positive way. For the most part everyone deserved, earned and honored our roll in open source learning.
Relating my journey through this course with some of the fictional stories we have read proved to be difficult. As I think about the tales we have read I think about the struggles and hardships each character had to endure, my journey is meek.. Jumping in to this class though was how I excepted Bernard from Brave New World to feel as he entered the savage community. It was strange and filled with unknown things. My fear of memorization was one that reminded me of Beowulf. As he prepared to slay the beast I had to prepare myself to slay the soliloquy. In the end we both were able to conquer our obstacle (mine was much less violent). Towards the end of the first semester I felt like Ophelia from Hamlet. I was torn between listening to Dr. Preston and do my work or my head telling me to take naps after school. In the end I listen to Dr. Preston and completed my work (thankfully my story ends differently from Ophelia's).
I don't think I reconnected or connected with any passion my passion has always been the same. I enjoy helping people, whether it is through the ClassyU blog or in person I like to see people satisfied and happy.
My hardest fits of laughter during this course was when my group made our first semester masterpiece video. Taking each piece of literature that we had read and making it a parody made the class seem so much less stressful. The element of laughing reduces frustration making everything else enjoyable.
A common theme through many of the presentations was making memories. Taylor, Hannah and Meghan showed us how changing our attitude towards high school and making the best of everything will make it so much more enjoyable. Ian, Shane and Mia promoted school spirit and helped make so many memories for everyone through Warrior Nation. Hayley showed us that even though high school is not perfect if you make the most of what you have you will always have a good time. Breanna, Whitney and Eli told everyone to live life to the fullest. They even went skydiving just to show us how stepping out of your comfort zone will make all the difference and make your time more enjoyable. Miranda brought most of the class to tears with "time is o the essence" she made us all realize how fast time moves and how making memories now is so important.
Am I a Hero? No. I did not do anything extraordinary in the class for the most part I did what I needed very rarely doing extra. When it came to my masterpiece I did put in the extra effort because it was something I was passionate about. I had one great challenge to conquer and that only left me feeling like I barely survived.
Literary techniques, I know this is not sneaky but I am bad at being sneaky (ask my parents). Pathos, emotion was a big theme throughout the masterpiece academy. With graduation so close everyone's emotions are at an all time high.

*This is my essay nothing fancy sorry I had a really big shooting competition this weekend and I did not have much time to work on homework.*

The Crossroads Between Should and Must

In relation to the crossroads I see myself heading towards Must. I hardly ever do what I think people want me to do. I do my own thing all the time. Making myself happy is always numbe one.

People that care about what others think are small minded people, they are so worried with image they are not able to fully enjoy things that make them happy. 

Choosing must has been something I have personally done on a regular basis. I chose to become a marksmen, not one person told me I should. Although many people told me that girls can't shoot I ignored them all and proved them wrong by winning competitions (beating all the men). Choosing Must is who I am. 

Macbeth Act 1 Notes

-Irish invaded Scotland, leader Macdonwald

-Macbeth killed Macdonwald

-Duncan says thane of Cawdor be put to death and Macbeth will be the new thane

-Macbeth and Banquo come across the witches who address Macbeth as "thane of Cawdor" and say that Macbeth will be king one day and Banquo will not but his children will sit upon the throne

-Ross tells Macbeth the king has made him thane of Cawdor and Macbeth is impressed the witches prophecies came true

-Duncan says Cawdor died nobly, repenting free of his sins

-Duncan says Macbeth is now heir to the throne and Macbeth notes to himself that Malcom is in the way

-Macbeth goes to tell the news to his wife

-Macbeth's wife receives a letter of Macbeth's great news and she plans to tell him to do whatever it takes to make it happen 

-Lady Macbeth says she will put her femininity aside so she can "get bloody" to seize crown

-Macbeth tells her Duncan plans to leave the following day but Lady Macbeth says he won't live to see the day 

-Duncan comes to visit Macbeth

-Macbeth contemplates about assassinating Duncan and says he would only do it for his own ambition 

-Macbeth goes over why he shouldn't kill Duncan= he's a good ruler and well admired so he decides not to do it

-Lady Macbeth is angry an says to do it and stop being a coward

-as long as they are bold they will be successful

-Lady Macbeth will give Duncan's chamberlains wine while Duncan is asleep to make them drunk and then Macbeth and her will go in and kill him Duncan in his sleep

-smear his blood on the chamberlains so it looks like they did it

-Macbeth agrees and says he hopes she gives birth to sons and no daughters cuz of her plan 

Literature Analysis

Bless Me Ultima

General
1. Antonio is almost 7 years old when Ultima comes to live with them. His family took her in because of her healing powers and experience with magic. She becomes very close with Antonio who becomes fascinated with the process of healing. He frequently goes out with her to collect herbs and make remedies. Antonio begins school and his mother desperately wants Ultima to reveal his destiny. She tells her that he will become a man of learning.
The war ended and Antonio's brothers return home from the war. They have a strange conflict with their father that Antonio will never understand. They both struggle to lead independent lives.
Tenorio gets in a conflict with Ultima and blames her for the death of her daughters. He tries to kill her, but fails. Later, he curses a man and the mans house becomes haunted. Ultima is called upon to get rid of the ghosts, and she does. She is highly respected after this.
Tenorio is still infuriated with Ultima and tries once again to kill her, but ends up shooting her owl. Ultima dies soon after because her owl is her spriritual symbol. Antonio is very sad and buries the owl as Ultima's last wish.
2. The theme is the importance of culture on an individuals identity. For example, the towns people look down upon Narciso for being the town drunk but little do they know that his traumatic experiences from war are what have altered his phsycological state. The characters are limited to what their culture has taught them, and never look past their own assumptions.
3. The authors tone is hopeful. The story is told by Antonio and since he is young, he has reason to hope for everything to turn out the best. He is very mature for his age though. He has many intellectual questions that adults cant even comprehend. The fact that the child tells the stroy, gives it a sense of innocence in a town of guilt. "

Characterization
1. Direct- "She took my hand and the silent magic powers she possessed made beauty from the raw, sunbaked llano, the green river valley, and the blue bowl which was the white sun's home."
-"He spoke in Spanish and the village he metioned was his home. My father had been a vaquero all his life, a calling as ancient as the coming of the Spainard to Nuevo Mejico."
Indirect- "I pressed my forehead against the cold wood of the porch wall and closed my eyes. I wanted the cold to draw all the heat our of my tired, wet body and make me well again. The day had been so long, it seemed to stretch back to eternity. I only wanted to go home... I wanted to hate Andrew for being bad with the women, but I could not. I only felt tired, and older."
- "At first we could only see the flaring light of the pinon torches. Then our eyes grew accustomed to the dark and we could see the dark outlines of men, and their red, sweating faces by the light of their torches."
2.  No, the authors syntax remains the same throughout the entire novel. Since Antonio is narrating the story, everyone is seen through the eyes of the same character, so the syntax and diction remain the same.
3. The protagonist, Antonio, is a dynamic character. At the beginning of the novel, Antonio was as innocent as he looked. He was naive and young. He had alot of questions, but he didn't understand the meaning of them before he became close to Ultima. By the end of the novel, Antonio may not have grown much in age but in mind, he grew about 20 years. He had a new understanding of the world and the people around him, thanks to Ultima.
4. I feel like I have just met a character in a book. I never was fully intregued into the novel. It isn't the type of story that really grabs my attention. For me, it lacked a romantic subplot. I think that the book was very well written and that the story was great. It just didn't hook me the way I beleive it was intended to. "At that moment I heard Ultima's owl hoot a danger cry outside. There was someone out there. I looked at Ultima and saw her smile vanish. She held her head high, as if sniffing the wind, and the strength I had seen when she dealt with Tenorio at the bar filled her face. She, too, had heard the owl."

10 Questions

10 Questions I would ask my expert:


1. Is this the job that you always wanted?
2. Do you have any tips for time management?
3. How did you create a network of people that are reliable?
4. Is this the type of job you love coming to everyday?
5. Are there any special skills that you need to get this job?
6. Did you ever change your major in college?
7. How do you balance work and a social life?
8. Do you have any contacts that I could use for my career?
9. Do you ever get really stressed out?
10. How do you manage stress?

Benchmark

Sarah, Micaela, Caroline and I have tried multiple ways to approach our website. After the first two platforms not working or costing us money we finally found one that worked for us. Although it is not completely ready to show people right now I think our website will really be helpful to people. I hope that people in the class will actually look at it and tell their friends about it to spread the word so that it will become popular. Our website will be one that has something for everyone.

Resource of the Day #4

STARBUCKS!! This is the best place in my opinion to get together and work on a project like my group did. There are plenty of delicious drinks and snacks to have while we are working. Thank goodness for coffee!

Resource of the Day #3

Today's resource of the day is the internet! There are so many easy ways to start a cool website, my group is currently trying to decide what platform we want to use but we did pick a name "ClassyU"

Resource of the Day #2

Today's resource is Amazon, I ordered two new books about beauty and style for a lot cheaper than a book store! Ordering them is easier and saves you money!

Resource of the Day #1

Laurenconrad.com
This is a website that was started by Lauren Conrad who started out of Laguna Beach the Real OC and The Hills on MTV and now has a clothing and jewelry line. She gives tips and tricks to girls about everything you could think of.

Literature Analysis #4

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

1. The Joy Luck Club is about a club Suyuan Woo creates during the Chinese war. The club is established during the war but continues in America long after all the warring has stopped. The joy luck club, consists of four Chinese women and their daughters as members. At these meetings they talk, eat, and gamble. The women grow old together until Suyuan the founder dies. Her daughter June Woo 37 at the time struggles with the idea of replacing the place a mother should hold. All of the girls struggle with their relationships with there mothers. Eventually June discovers that her mother had more children in china and that her sisters have been found, the book concludes with the other girls sending June to meet her sisters.
   
    2. The general theme of this novel is the relationship between mother and daughter and the ultimate sacrifice a mother will make for her own. In the novel all the daughters struggle with their overall relationship and emotional connections with their mothers, feeling of sadness, joy, and discovery.
   
   3. Tan's tone through out the novel is very serious which is appropriate considering the topics that are being addressed. There are even times where the tone and mood of the book are slow moving and depressing.
   “Then you must teach my daughter this same lesson. How to lose your innocence but not your hope. How to laugh forever.”
    “Now you see,' said the turtle, drifting back into the pond, 'why it is useless to cry. Your tears do not wash away your sorrows. They feed someone else's joy. And that is why you must learn to swallow your own tears.”
     “Because sometimes that is the only way to remember what is in your bones. You must peel off your skin, and that of your mother, and her mother. Until there is nothing. No scar, no skin, no flesh.
   
   4. Tan takes advantage of many literary devices when writing the novel The Joy Luck Club, some of which are foreshadowing, simile, metaphor, allusion, rhetorical questions, theme, motifs, symbolism, tone, and symbolism.
    "Over the years, she told me the same story, except for the ending, which grew darker, casting long shadows into her life, and eventually into mine."
    "Even though I was young, I could see the pain of the flesh and the worth of the pain."
    "After the gold was removed from my body I felt lighter, more free. They say this is what happens if you lack metal. You begin to think as an independent person."
    "And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood."
    "Why are you attracted only to Chinese nonsense?"
    "I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these things do not mix?"
   "In my mother's case, this would be the first day of the lunar new year. And because it is the new year, all debts must be paid, or disaster and misfortune will follow."
    "That bad crab, only you tried to take it. Everybody else want best quality. You, your thinking different. Waverly took best-quality crab. You took worst, because you have best-quality heart. You have style no one can teach. Must be born this way. I see you."
    “Isn't hate merely the result of wounded love?”
    “And I think now that fate is shaped half by expectation, half by inattention. But somehow, when you lose something you love, faith takes over."
    “So this is what I will do. I will gather together my past and look. I will see a thing that has already happened. the pain that cut my spirit loose. I will hold that pain in my hand until it becomes hard and shiny, more clear. And then my fierceness can come back, my golden side, my black side. I will use this sharp pain to penetrate my daughter's tough skin and cut her tiger spirit loose. She will fight me, because this is the nature of two tigers. But I will win and giver her my spirit, because this is the way a mother loves her daughter.”
    “In two years' time, my scar became pale and shiny and I had no memory of my mother. That is the way it is with a wound. The wound begins to close in on itself, to protect what is hurting so much. And once it is closed, you no longer see what is underneath, what started the pain."
    “A girl is like a young tree, she said. You must stand tall and listen to your mother standing next to you. That is the only way to grow strong and straight. But if you bend to listen to other people, you will grow crooked and weak. You will fall to the ground with the first strong wind. And then you will be like a weed, growing wild in any direction, running along the ground until someone pulls you out and throws you away. ”
    “There's no hope. There's no reason to keep trying.
   Because you must. This is not hope. Not reason. This is your fate. This is your life, what you must do.”
   
   Characterization:
   1.Tan uses a combination of both indirect and direct characterization to add a higher quality to her characters. An example of indirect characterization would he the way the other girls react to the things that are shared at their club meetings or when the story telling is in play. And some examples of when she uses direct characterization would be when she reveals June's true feelings and struggles she faces when approaching her relationship with her mother or in other words the lack of one.
   2. Tan's syntax and diction does change when switching the focus from character to character and this is because the characters speak in first person throughout the novel when they give their testimonies to the reader therefore they must in order for it to make sense, because each girl is different and facing different struggles and situations. 
   3. The protagonist of the story, June, is dynamic in my eyes because after she discovers her sisters in china she has a whole new look on life and is much less bitter about her situation. She is also a round character because she has many qualities about her.
   4. Overall when looking back on my reading of the book I feel like I have been able to really meet these people and feel their heart break and pain.

Super 5

My resources that I think will be helpful are 1. My sister who has been living on her own for three years 2. Teachers at righetti they have all been through the process of becoming a teacher and know what it is like 3. Fellow students to find out what they want to know about being independent 4. My group 5. My parents they will be very insightful on what it is like to live on your own

My Team

My team is Sarah Stevens, Micaela Hellman and Caroline Mantura. As a group we are going to create a website for people around our age to go to find information on college, budgeting money, time management, decorating, fashion and any other important thing that people our age might need to know to become successful.

Launch

My launch program is all about being independent. I want to learn how to be independent and then share what I have found to be helpful or resourceful with other people who are starting college as well. This website will have a mixture of all things not only for my major but also for the majors of my group.

Brave New World Essay

Topic: Describe the elements of our real time world that you think relates or doesn't to Huxley's Brave New World.


Our real time world and Huxley's Brave New World have elements that are related and that are not related. The way that our world is related to the Brave New one is how we rate people in our society, ways that the two worlds are different are the control that the government system has over the people in Brave New World the other way the two worlds differ is that fact that children in our real time world are free.
Both worlds place value on how a person is rated or ranked in society, although our real time world does not go to some of the extremes the brave new one does both have a way a demoralizing people based on society. In our real time world we rank people on clothes, cars and how big our houses are all these things are merely superficial things that do not place any type of value on how a person's character is. In the Brave New world children are separated before they are even born into different classes of people, they are not given the chance to break free from the class they are placed into. Both world have a fixation on appearance the color you wear defines the level you are in Brave new world and the brand of clothes you wear in our real time one defines what social class you fit into.
The worlds differ in two main ways, the government system in the Brave New world is prominent in the everyday life of the citizens, in our real time world our government is an invisible had that is meant to guide the citizens and not interfere with the everyday life. Our real time lives are meant to have struggles and we are suppose to fix our own problems with our turning to an over seeing government for help. The Brave New world government is there to control every aspect of citizens lives. The second way that our worlds differ greatly is that our real time world we let our children be free, by this I mean we encourage our children to get as much education as possible. In the Brave New world children are told that history is not a good thing to learn and only certain children get to learn things others are sent straight to work. As a free society we also encourage our children to be curios and ask questions we do not shock them for trying to touch a new thing, as a society we need our youth to become educated for our society to continue to work.
Our real time world is meant to be one that makes people feel like they are free to do what they want and to live life how they chose no one person is stuck doing something they do not enjoy unlike the brave new world which chooses what each person will do and makes them be the same type of person so that their society will stay in the same state they want it to.

Brave New World Essay Topic

Was the future society created in the novel Brave New World actually brave?

Brave New World Prompt

Was the future society created in the novel Brave New World actually brave?

I Am Here

Through out the first part of this class is was skeptical on how all of this would really help me in what I wanted to do. But as time as passed I have found these skills to help me with my own blog about DIY projects. I am not going to lie keeping up with the blog has not been easy but I have been trying my best to do it. This blog connects to my senior project because it allows me to work on my explaining skills which will help me when I am a teacher, it takes patience to explain things to people and to find the right words to get my point across through text has been even harder. I also was excited to hear Dr. Preston talk about a group he is going to start for prospective teachers. That is something I am very interested in dedicating my time towards because it is something that will help me out later in life.

Lit term #6

Simile: comparing two things using the word "like" or "as"

Soliloquy: a long speech given by a character in a play to the audience that reveals their thoughts

Spiritual: a folk song, usually on a religious theme

Speaker: the person who is speaker; narrator
  
Stereotype: a fixed idea of a character/idea which does not allow for any individual prejudices

Stream of consciousness: a style of writing that portrays the inner workings of a character's mind

Structure: framework of a work of literature

Style: the distinctive way in which a writer uses language; use of diction, tone, syntax

Subordination: words, phrases, and clauses that make one element of a sentence dependent on another

Surrealism: movement that replaces conventional realism with the full expression of the unconscious mind

Suspension of disbelief: suspended not believing in order to enjoy it

Symbol: a person, place, thing or event that had meaning in itself and also stands for something more than itself

Synesthesia: to present ideas, characters, or places in such a manner that they appeal to more than one senses like hearing, seeing, smell, at the same time

Synecdoche: a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole

Syntax: the way an author chooses to join word into phrases, clauses, and sentences

Theme: the insight about human life that is revealed in a literary work

Thesis: the sentence or group of sentences that directly express the author's opinion, purpose, or meaning

Tone: the attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience

Tongue in cheek: cleverly amusing in tone

Tragedy: any literary composition dealing with a somber theme

Understatement: the ironic minimizing of fact; presents something as less significant than it is

Vernacular: everyday language; slang

Voice: the author's style that makes his or her writing unique and conveys the author's attitude, personality, and character

Zeitgeist: the general cultural, intellectual, or spiritual climate within a nation or even a group 

Hafta/Wanna

My life while I am in high school and my life next year when I am off doing my own thing will be different in so many ways. First I won't have my family around me all the time to hang out with, I will most likely be spending a lot of time alone studying or with new friends that I am going to have to make. Second I will have a lot of time to myself I will not have to worry about picking up my sister and getting her where she needs to go, I will actually be able to have time to do my own thing. Parts that will be similar are that I am still going to be me, thinking my same thoughts about people and other things, I will still have the same work ethic, I will however be able to broaden my thinking meeting new people and going new places. I think that there will be a really big difference between my life in high school and my life next year out of it. I don't think people will magically transform after we graduate, I know of people that graduated three years ago that are still acting the same way they did in high school, for the most part people might change but it will not be a magical transformation of every student. The way I balance what I have to do and what I want to do is by first crying a little bit because I am always so high stress, then I plan my time out. I always do what I have to do first so that I do not have to worry about it while I am doing what I want to do. Making a solid plan is always a good idea. My expectations of the world around me are not very high, I try not to think to much of other people and what they might do for me, I know that if I want something done it is easier to do it myself then to rely on another person. I will always apply that to my life as I move forward in it.