Comedic Advice?

"I Hate MySelfie" by: Shane Dawson; an autobiography about his twisted yet humorous life. However, through the jokes and laughs, I found aspects of advice within his book. I've always been able to identify strong emotional connections between people and their environment. Honestly, it's weird. I can walk into a lunchroom and figure out how everyone is feeling. It definitely enhances my caring/understanding side of my personality. Besides the point, this helps with identifying how an author connects to their text. As I read, you could see the humor laced within Shane's words. The picture to the top-right clearly represents this. Yet, there is still an element of sadness. It's clear that the author copes with humor, I do this as well. But, Shane Dawson's entire book wasn't just full of laughing at himself. There was advice hidden behind his words.

His words are empowering. It shows the lessons he has learned from his past. Sure, not every reader can relate to each detail of this story. But, everyone endures obstacles throughout life. Shane even addresses a common problem across teens today. He says, "I know the old saying, 'Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.' Well, nothing tastes as good as being alive either." (Dawson, 81) It's a great quality to be able to laugh at your life and move on. It's an even greater quality to reflect on your life and give advice to others. I really do recommend this book. It's comedic but it gives you a perspective to walk away with. I think this is also an incredible way to practice identifying author's purpose. Shane Dawson has been a positive impact on my life and I hope he can be a positive impact on yours as well.

Wattpad Obsession

As I've introduced in my blog before, Wattpad is an amazing app. It's such easy access and its really encouraged me to read as much as I can. I read this book called, "Somber". It's an action packed, romantic story. I have to say that I read this story in about two days. It never fails to surprise me that kids my age actually wrote these books. I think I might write one this summer. I took Creative Writing I in the first semester and I've learned so much through our column writing unit about diction and syntax from Mrs. Bross. I'm excited to write a story of my own.

I'm sad the column unit is coming to an end. Sure, working on the creative non-fiction project was stressful especially for a perfectionist like me, however, it was extremely fun. I loved how it included both writing as well as a creative aspect. Hence the name, creative non-fiction. Next week is the week I've been dreading. PAARC testing. But, I do have a book that I picked out for next week. It''s called: "I Hate MySelfie" By: Shane Dawson. It's a comedic title, I think you can identify that from the title. I'm so happy to start reading it because I actually went to a bookstore to meet the author. We took a picture and he signed my book. It was one of the best moments of my life. I'll include a cover of the book to the side. Until next time, Happy Reading! It's almost the end of the year, crazy!

Four Agreements

I'm back this week with a new book that I've been extremely inspired by. See, I'm the type of person to act like I'm a therapist. I've always been the friend that would give advice on absolutely anything. I think the simple act of feeling like you helped someone brought warmth to me. Anyways... before I trail on and start giving advice on how to deliver advice, my book this week is: Four Agreements by: Don Miguel Ruiz. It's honestly a book that I bought because of the intriguing cover. I know, "don't judge a book by it's cover". However, I did. And I fell in love with this book. It creates a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love. It's definitely a different style of reading as you can tell. It really changed my outlook on life and just enhanced my positive attitude everyday. It's full of important lessons and guides you to enlightenment. This might not be everyone's cup of tea but I've always thought advice books were amazing.

I would definitely rate this 5/5 in a heartbeat. I love the type of books that leave an impact. We read so many books these days that may give us entertainment for a week or two, but after that, what are we left with? I promise you that this book will transform you in some way. It wasn't a New York Times bestseller for nothing-- for 7 years to be exact. I'll leave a picture of the cover to the side. I bought this book for a low price on Amazon and the thoughts I were left with are so valuable. I hope you take into consideration to read this book because I want people to enjoy it as much as I did. It's audience is very broad. And I'll leave off with my favorite quote from the book which is, "Every human is an artist. The dream of your life is to make beautiful art." (Miguel Ruiz)

The Interesting Art of Column Writing

We introduced the column writing unit this week and I'm beyond excited. I can finally have more freedom within my writing and really show my voice. I think this will be an awesome unit. We read a view samples of columns this week and it was a nice change. It's much easier to understand and it's fun when the authors add some humor to the mix. For instance, we read this one column called "The Mother of all Parties" by Dave Barry. It is about the extravagance of a 4-year-old's birthday party. I found it to be really humorous and I realized that I tend to be drawn towards more columns that have humor. I definitely want to write a column with humor laced within it. I think "Mother of all Parties" was a great example of how to write a column that seems to be directed towards one specific audience but is found to be enjoyable by everyone. I can't wait to venture further into this unit. It's easier for me to read and I really enjoy the style of this writing.


As for independent reading, I'm in the process of finding a new book. So, if you have any suggestions, comment down below. I will have a lot of time over spring break so hopefully I can find a new series to read. I've read two books this week already off of the app Wattpad as I mentioned in my blog before. It's such a great app and the stories are addicting. I'm excited to go to the beach on spring break and read a book on the sand. I believe Wattpad might have samples of columns so I might read more into that as we continue into our unit. My favorite short-stories I read on there this week was "After" By: Anna Todd and a short-story called "7:15". They're both romantic stories and have amazing plot lines. It's amazing to think that people my age are writing these stories. Happy Reading!

Individual Self-Expression is Important

Individual Self-Expression is Important

Lauren Thomas, Alexander Amaya, Alexis Branscum, Courtney Cavallo & Rachel Stapleton

Bell 3

Quotes

• “They want to know what I do with all my time. I tell them that I sit and think. I won’t tell them what.” (Bradbury 20)

• “After all, when we had all the books we needed, we still insisted on finding the highest cliff to jump off of. But we do need a breather. We do need knowledge. And perhaps in a thousand years we might pick smaller cliffs to jump off. The books are to remind us what fools we are.” (Bradbury 86)

• “We never burned right…” (Bradbury 113)

Individual self-expression is important to our understanding of the story because we’re able to identify characterization throughout the story as well as understand the different point of views between the multiple characters.

Individual self-expression in our society today plays a major role in helping people get their ideas everywhere to help change the world in a positive way. It is important for us to study and be aware of this theme so that this is made possible.

Timeline

• Montag’s encounter with Clarisse.

• Woman refusing to leave her burning house.

• Faber’s conversation with Montag.

• Montag’s final scene with Beatty.

Long Break with a Good Book

Welcome back from a long, unexpected break. I would've planned a vacation if I knew we were having a 10-day break. Anyways, I've discovered a new app for reading as well as diving into a great book that was recommended by Mrs. Bross. First off, the book is called: "We Were Liars" By: Emily Lockhart. This book is just as amazing as Mrs. Bross said it was. I recommend adding it to your "to-read" list on your Goodreads account like I did. It was even a Goodreads choice 2014 winner. This book has something everyone would enjoy. It has an aspect of romance as well as suspense. It's set in a private island near Cape Cod where the main character, Candence spends most of her summers. The island is owned by her grandfather and she usually spends time there with her cousins as well as her aunt's husband's nephew, somebody who she is romantically involved with. However, a couple summers ago Candence had a head injury and lost her memory. She can't remember what happened and how. So, she decides to go back to the island with her two cousins as well as boyfriend to find out what happened. But sometimes the truth isn't so sweet. My favorite quote that really describes the character of Candence is when she says, " 'I will prove myself strong, when they think I am sick. I will prove myself brave, when they think I am weak.' " (Lockhart, 142) This shows the amount of courage Candance has. Read this book and find out what really happened a couple summers ago.

Also, before I leave, I discovered an app called Wattpad. It's a community of writers ranging from different ages and offers thousands of books from many genres. You can even write your own stories. It's mostly short stories and I tend to read 1-5 a week. It's a free app and I would definitely recommend it. It's a great way to show your writing as well as learn new techniques from other people. I will post a picture of the app to the side. Happy Reading!

Narrative Prompt

Mrs. Bowles slams the front door, the sound echoing across the bare streets. She starts to walk towards her home with Mrs. Phelps silently crying by her side. She wasn't going to cry. She wanted to remain strong. Mrs. Bowles rests her hands across her stomach. They both quietly walk side-by-side and Mrs. Bowles watches as Mrs. Phelps descends towards her front door. Mrs. Phelps stops at the step and looks over her shoulder at Mrs. Bowles.

"I'm a horrible person." Mrs. Phelps whispers. She looks at her quivering hands just as a slight drizzle falls from the sky above.

"You're fine Mrs. Phelps. Everything is going to be okay." Mrs. Bowles says, her voice remaining monotone. Mrs. Phelps rapidly shakes her head and runs into her house. Mrs. Bowles rolls her eyes and continues walking towards her own home.

"This is why we shouldn't have books, it destroys our sanity." Mrs. Bowles mutters. Small drops of rain fall onto her beautiful, spring dress. She looks off into the distance to see children splashing in the rain puddles. Their parents watching in admiration. Mrs. Bowles  looks down at her heels, "... your children who hate your guts..." repeats over and over in her mind. Maybe Mrs. Phelps was right, she thought. We're horrible people. No it can't be, we follow the rules. But, maybe that was the problem, she thought to herself.

She starts to walk faster along the sidewalk. Bad thoughts running through her mind. She starts to smack her palm against her head as her eyes fill with tears. Her house comes into sight and she starts running towards it. She quickly unlocks the front door and walks inside. She slides down to ground and leans her back up against it. Tears now fall freely down her face. We are all horrible people, she thinks. This was the first time she showed true emotion in years and she hated it. She looked down the hallway and listened to see if her family was home. But she was alone with herself and her miserable thoughts.