Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Link to "Being 13: Inside the Secret World of Teens". From Mike

If any of you want to watch parts of the documentary again, or share it with friends or family, here is the link.

https://youtu.be/t-9LtTtkg04?list=PL-WnhqkddCM01-Fcn0qbyWP7hkilqi00h

This film really made me think about our cultural habits and some of the challenges and pressures our young people are faced with.  I think it's a good resource and starting place for a conversation about technology and social media use.

All my best,

Mike



Anderson Cooper.

Monday, April 18, 2016

Adding Research to Active Reading Exercise. From Mike

We will create and brainstorm a list of good research questions for today's profiles.


Do your work on the profile question that you take, and post your research findings in the Comments section here.  What did you discover?  Where did you find your best source? How does this help us understand the profile better?

See you in the Comments section below. . .

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Brainstorming Post for collective good Interview Questions. From Mike

Students, using the Comments section below, please post your the four best interview questions you have based on the themes of ECCENTRICITY or DREAMS.

This way we have a multitude of questions to pick from, rewrite, and use for our interviews for the last Creative Profile essay.


Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Beauty in the struggle

I will always hold onto my love for the sport of football and basketball, i will never and cant ever let my passion for sports go. Sports are full of emotions, passion, edge, and fight. Sports are about working together as a collective unit for one common goal, and that's winning. Being active in sports can also test character in many many ways, how do you work with others? can you be trusted to do your assignment? will you battle every play for your teammates? if you can truly be a dependent teammate and player then you would be viewed as a high character player, because you will sacrifice for others and do whats best for everybody. Our coaches always would preach "We put players in positions that we think is best for the team, team over me" football is a sport that can bring a group of people very close together, and that's part of the beauty. My senior year in high school i was the running back and linebacker, Our first scrimmage of the year changed my senior season forever and i would've never expected it. I was having a great scrimmage until one play changed my season. I was running the ball, i broke through the line like a inmate breaking out of jail. As the play continued a safety came out and took my knee out. I tried getting up and walking put the pain was too much.The trainer asked me "Wheres the pain at austin?" i pointed to the inside of my kneecap, the pain was too much for me to speak. The trainer eventually revealed to me that he thinks my MCL was torn. I missed half of the football season.
When i first heard this news i was really frustrated/upset. I felt like my whole season was ruined, then i remembered to stay strong because that's the best thing to do in tough situations. This injury would keep me out for a few months but when i started to come back from the injury i was going to work as hard as possible to come back better, and stronger than i was before the injury. I felt like this injury tested my character, not only because it was my senior season but because I've had an injury before take a season away, and i never wanted the feeling again.  I was faced with this situation and i had to deal with it as best as i could. I felt i had as good of a season as i could, pending the situation.


words:430

Monday, April 11, 2016

Snapshot 6 by Naomi Hillman

Writer Come’s to Life

When I was in junior high I had loved to write short stories. I would always find the perfect time to write a short story, at lunch, recess and, even during class if we weren’t doing anything. My first book that I had written was based off a Japanese Music video. “ Vestige,” it was called. I love that song so much that I decided to make it into a book. I was going to call it Vestige but that name was already taken so I had to come up with a better title and “Burning Flower,” was the name I took. I could picture the cover of the book now, “Burning Flower by MsAlice Nishikawa.”
MsAlice Nishikawa is my alter ego, its a character I give myself every time I write. Sounds silly, I know but I think its cool. I call it my stage name. As I grew up I got into more reading and writing. In High School I mostly spent my days after school at the library since I volunteered there. Volunteering has its advantages, I would ask any of the librarians to get me the newest comic book they could find. I like to read Japanese comic books also known as manga. As I read them I started to think, hey I want to write something like this. When I write I tend to put a little bit of fantasy or even science fiction like unnatural creatures. Super natural was the word I was looking for.
Been writing ever since, never had anything published yet, but that’s because my writing isn’t up to that level yet. Every day I would read one of my books and think to myself, man I really need to improve my grammar. My dream is to become a professional novelist. I guess you could say I’m holding onto my books and dreams. Reading manga inspires me to become a novelist or maybe I could write my own manga. I dream about writing my own manga then after that it can become an Anime (Japanese Cartoons). I have over 15 unfinished books and only one finished book. Funny right, I have all these books but only one is finished. Even a creative person such as myself can have writers block. Right now I’m currently writing another book, I wont get into details about what its about but, lets just say vampires are involved.
Since I wanted to become a writer I decided that my major for college was going to be English. I picked English as my major because I want to better my vocabulary for when I write. I’m an amateur when I write I’ll admit which is why I picked English. I heard in college that they have creative writing courses. Oh boy! Cant wait to get into that course.
I want to say that my treasures are my books that I write. Some of them are very old and some are new. Every time I get an idea I write it on paper and before you know it I’m already writing the third chapter to the book. I have a big imagination when it comes to writing. My imagination tends to grow as the day goes on and no one can take that away from me. I’m holding onto my creativity. 









Freddy Jr.- Carmen Curtis


I feel like the thing that I am holding on to is my brother. I was diagnosed with PTSD when I was a junior year in high school. My brother had died when I was five and ever since then I have been holding on to the few memories I have of him.
4 years’ old
I remember him always being really protective of me and my sister. There was this time that my mom brother and I had gone outside of Children’s Hospital because it had been a nice day. We were in this small part of the stone path that broke out into a circle that had a round short stone wall around it and a grassy area that centered around that that contained benches and a few trees. I was off playing on my own when some boy had come up to me and started to be mean. He ended up pushing me down. I cried because I had scrapped my knee. My brother had seen the entire incident and had come over to where I was on the ground to help me up. After my brother had helped me sit down on the stone wall he told me to stay where I was. At the time I had found it weird that he hadn’t stayed to sit with me. I watched him as he walked up to the boy that had pushed me and punched him. The boy went and cried to his mom about the fountain of blood pouring from his nostrils. My mom had stopped talking to my dad on the phone and realized that the boy’s mom was talking to my brother. I feel like the only reason that she hadn’t been yelling at him was because she realized he had no hair. She had been telling him very sternly that he couldn’t just walk up and punch people. When my mom came and asked what happened the lady told her that Freddy had punched her son in the face. My mom looked at him with a bewildered face and asked him why. I remember that after he had explained himself the other boy was getting yelled at and the boy having to apologize to me and the women telling my brother that she had been wrong and that he should always stand up for his little sister.
5 years’ old
I also remember the time I realized that I realized that my brother loved me a lot more than he could ever say. It was the fourth of July and Freddy was sitting in his hospital gown next to me. He was playing Donkey Kong on his play station while I was coloring in a coloring book. As I looked over and began to watch him play I thought about my new Barbie snowboarding game mom had just bought me and asked if I could use his play station. He said I could as long as he got to color me a picture. I agreed and let him have my coloring book then put in my new game. I was so excited I didn’t even stop to see what my brother was doing. I was too engrossed in the game on the screen to see that my brother had found a picture that he liked in my coloring book. My brother had always been the kindest person. He would always do anything to make my sister or me happy. When he gently pulled on the back of my power puff girls shirt with his fragile fingers I turned around only to see that he had closed the book and that he was done with his picture. Even at a young age my brother had been a gifted artist. I knew that the colored picture would be beautiful but before I could grab the book my brother started acting weird. He started shaking really bad and hyperventilating. His heart monitor started beeping fast. My mother shoved me off the bed and me and my sister were rushed from the room in a panic I began crying asking if he was okay but no one would answer me. My aunt who had visiting that day brought us over to our room at the Ronald McDonald house and calmed us down. My mom and dad never came back to our room that night to tuck us in but my aunt said, after a long talk on the phone later that night, that we would see them in the morning and that my brother was fine. I never got to see my brother the next day my mom said that he was in recovery. The next day when I seen my mom I ran up to her and she gave me my coloring book. I searched through it frantically trying to find the picture that my brother had drawn for me when I stopped on a colored picture of a rose that said “I love you.”
16 years’ old

I was rummaging through old boxes in the side attic of my house looking for glass jars that I could use for my biology project when I came across a box that I just had to open. The box itself wasn’t all that interesting but what intrigued me was that on the top in my mother’s handwriting was the name Freddy. My brother had died from cancer on July 31 when I was five from squamous cell carcinoma. When I opened the box that was basically falling apart on all sides as I went through the box I found a folded up piece of paper. When I opened I couldn’t contain my happiness. It was a small picture of a cartoon rose that said “I love you.” I began to cry with joy but also with sadness. It was a bittersweet moment looking at the colored in cartoon. 

The Library - Miranda( Snapshot six)

I am holding onto the past and how things used to be.  I treasure the old time building's and the paved brick roads along with house appliances from over one hundred years ago.  I love cleaning my grandmother's house and finding a surprise in every box or book.  It's so interesting to see her childhood right before my eyes from books from the 1800's, wooden toys, black and white photographs, and so many more treasures. It seems like I am the only one in my family that cares about these old and dusty things but for me they're what my grandma had and now I have them and will pass them down to my children eventually.  One scene is when I found my grandmother's old Quiver , which is her senior year book from 1939,When I was down in our basement, in our library. I was rearranging boxes upon boxes of books. There had to have been at least 20 boxes of books and I had finally had enough of not being able to walk across the floor from the tumbling boxes stacked in front of the bookcases and in the middle of the floor. So I started opening the boxes and stacking the books inside on top of our long bookcases to try and make floor space. As I opened the boxes I ran into silverfish, which are a small silver book worms but I found roughly 11 which is a huge accomplishment from when we first inherited the house when my grandma passed away in 2007 and found a few hundred silverfish under every box. The boxes were dusty, and coated with cobwebs and many boxes had small brown worm/caterpillar hybrid looking insects within them. By the time I got to the 7th box I had stacked nearly 175 books, some as old as 1852 and some as new as 2006. The older books had been ruined as the silverfish had ate all of the glue in the binding of the books, but also they were coated in mold because no one else but takes care of the library and we don't have a dehumidifier in there to reduce the moisture in the air so it ends up making a lot of the books to grow mold on the outside and along the edges of the pages. It is really disgusting to think about and to deal with including the bugs and mold, but someone has to organize the books and take inventory of what is there. We keep the books although they are gross because that is the one thing my father asked for is that we do not throw out any books, so my father is also holding on to the old books that he grew up with. We are holding on to the house and the memories made there as he helped my grandparents build the house in the early 1970’s and we both grew up there. I hold on to my father’s and grandmother’s childhood by keeping the papers and hidden treasures and am holding onto the old days, photographs, books, toys, saved and collected by my grandmother which will all to be passed down and cherished for decades to come even though the rest of the family over looked the stories these items have. I hold onto the house for all of it’s glory in the eyes of my grandmother for how she saw her treasured home.

Total words (574)  

Last Words and New Hope - Snapshot Six - Alyssa

Early one morning, I came into the family room. This was a long time ago. Before I began to use my room as the only room in the house. The family room is a dirty green carpeted spacious add on room. When my mom moved in, that room wasn't even there, nor was the garage. My grandfather helped build it with my dad. I remember them telling me stories about how my brother was little and he would steal some of the supplies they were using and hid them in various other parts of the ground. Every time I'm in that room now, I don't think of it as something that was built by my family. I think of it as the place I lost my best friend.
It seemed like two days, but it was two months before that day. He called me at about ten-thirty on a school night. I remember my mom telling me I needed to go to bed. Of course, my logic is; being in my bed but being up is still being in bed. I closed my door, way back when my door still functioned like a door and actually closed. We talked for longer than we ever have before, he seemed happy. I told him I missed him. "I miss you too, but don't worry I'll be coming back soon." He told me I couldn't contain my excitement; "How soon?" I screamed into the phone. Of course, my mom heard this and began making her way into my room. "In the summer sometime. Cole is coming back to live with his grandparents for a while and I plan to come with him," I told him how excited I was, and how I couldn't wait to see him again. Knowing my luck, that would be exactly when my mom walks in and decides to play the one-hundred question game. I waved her off, which didn't work to well because we are both extremely stubborn in all the wrong ways. “I love you, I will talk to you again soon," Skylar said. I would have never guessed that that day would be the last time I would ever hear his voice.
The day that Cole called and told me Skylar died, was the literal worst day I have ever experienced. I was sitting on our torn up ten-year-old couch (which thankfully would be replaced three years later). I hung up almost immediately after he told me. My heart felt like it was burning. It felt like a candle was sitting in the pit of my stomach. I felt like flames stretched across my chest and held my heart in place. My heart slowly burned until I could feel nothing except for the bones in my jaw tightening. Aching.


            “That’s what Alyssa’s going to be.” My grandpa said pointing out the window at a psychic building.
            “Right, because they are even remotely the same thing,” I said, rolling my eyes.
            “Well, you’re going to be a psychiatrist, right? They said similar so that’s something.” My dad said.
            “No, I want to be a psychologist. Totally different thing.” I said.
            “They’re the same thing. They doth don’t know what they’re doing.” My grandpa said, giving off one of his deep throated laughs.

“Why do you want to be a counselor?” Jon asked me.
“So I can get paid to tell people they’re crazy,” I said joking. He rolled his eyes in that way he always does. When he wants more information and he’s tired of me giving him the same old safe answers.
“Bullshit.” He said.
“I want to help people the way I wanted to help my best friend before he killed himself. I sat helplessly as he drowned himself in his own sorrow. I’ve watched too many close friends destroy themselves.”
             “That’s awesome, I just hope it works out exactly how you imagine it to,” Jon said.

676 words 

Snapshot 6 (Family) -Alexandra Abrams

Family

Everyone holds on to something that is has the most meaning to them. Any human being can have something so small that can mean the world to them. In fact, I hold on to something that always knocks me down. My family.

Ever since I was a little girl, I would always tend to have this certain mind set about how someone treated and made me feel at my lowest. Growing up I was the second to oldest grandchild born. I would say I born with the same opportunity as the rest of my family but I would be lying. I remember when I was the one singing in the microphone with my Papa, singing Johnny Cash. How good everything used to be with no negative remarks. I remember back then my innocence matter, until I entered school and things gradually crumbled downhill. I remember my first boy that was a friend. Right off the back my aunt always told me I would get knocked up like her and I wouldn't have a future. Now for the record, my family means more than life itself to me. I would give up my life for them even all the times they have discourage me and told me I was going to be like everyone else. A pregnant drop out. I never understood why I was always avoided. No one attended my softball games, volleyball games, basketball games, cheer leading games, and cheer leading camp where I received two metals and a chance to perform at Florida. With no financial support I wasn't able to attend and have the full experience. The only person that cared was my mom. I remember I was on the homecoming court and most of my immediate family didn't showed up. Not my grandma, grandpa, or my uncles. Shockingly my aunt that always said I was going to screw up showed up, but only to tell me that I could of won if I would have been in the popular group like she was. It was a never ending cycle. All those times I was hurt by my family that said, "Family is the only group of people that would have your back." Then the day of eruption finally came.

It was July of 2015. I was still recovering a bad patch in my life where I was no longer allowed to be alone. I was permitted to always be with someone at all times. One day I had enough. I begged to talk to my grandparents about how I felt because my councilor had mentioned, "You will never be able to live a happy life as long as your grudges continue to grow from the ones you love." I thought to give it a chance. We were currently at a tire shop that they had owned. The place smelled like oil and tires. I remember entering the door sweaty with my nerves higher than the ceiling. I started to talk. It went from a sunny no cloudy day, to a hurricane. My mama and papa was yelling at me in each ear. My aunt was calling me a cry baby and saying that I was jealous of her and who she used to me. My mind was spinning and my heart was breaking. I couldn't escape now so I said it, "If I was so called family then why everything is about Mary and her kids. How come every holiday you forget all about the other grandkids except for her kids?" My grandparents were still in denial thinking that I was the one who is crazy when everyone saw it but them. I remember my aunt said I was still going to screw up and finally I turned around, sobbing and said, “I am not you Mary and I will never be like you." I left and I was told I was no longer their granddaughter ever again. 

Time flew with no communication. I blamed my councilor for giving me advice that didn’t work. I felt empty. I later on told my family I was sorry. The one thing they said after my apology was, “Next time don’t spaz out because of your wrongful thinking.”

Today I live on my own with my amazing fiancé and our dog. I cry at least three times a week because of my family. I would rather do that than have WW III Part two again. Today I am 18, with a job, and a graduate from Harding High School 2015. I am also a non-pregnant student at the Ohio State University. But if there was one thing that I know. I would rather be hurt by their actions than be killed by no actions at all.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Matthew Rimmer, Snapshot #6 Holding Onto...

We as human beings hold onto so many things throughout the course of our lifetime. Whether these things we hold onto are our self, the people around us, places we've been, memories of life experiences or even the good/the bad times in our life. Now what is being held onto will vary individually between us. As a result, this adds a spice of variety to us and our lives. The point that I'm trying to make is that we decide what we want to hold onto or let go of and this helps shape who we are.

I'm no different from anybody else in a sense that there are many things I want to hold onto in my life. However, the one thing that I want to hold onto the most in my life are my memories. It was hard for me say this because it makes me feel horrible for choosing my memories over everything else. But the reason that I want to hold onto my memories the most is because by holding onto to them I'm indirectly holding onto my life, the people that I care about, and the other many important events that shaped who I am and will become along with my life. My mind is like a DVD player and my memories are like the DVDs. I can relive all the good times along with the bad times from my life. I can recall all the good things that I have done along with all the mistakes I have made. Most importantly I can always remember the people that I care the most about and keep them with me forever.

I especially want to hold onto all of the good memories from my life. Whenever I'm feeling down and want to just give up on life I think back to all the good times I've had. There is one good memory that I often find myself looking back on. My graduation.
[It was on a nice day in the month of May. The sun was halfway shining out of the clouds. There was a slight breeze from the wind. I walked in my gown, while it flowed around my body. My mom pulled to the side before we entered the building. She told me, “Matthew I am so proud of you and I love you!” and I responded, “Thank you mom and I love you too!”. I soon found the room in which we all were to wait in until the graduation ceremony was to begin. I then came across one of my two best friends, Bradley Ernsberger. I questioned, “Hey man how's it going?” to which he responded, “It's going good but I can't wait til we're finally free.” and I laughed in agreement. So we talked for a bit about our plans for after the graduation ceremony until it was show time. We all lined up in two rows while being in the order from our practice graduations. We then marched to the two doors of the gymnasium, then one by one walked in, walked to meet each other in the middle, turn and walk down the aisle, and then finally took our seats. As the principal droned on with his speech I couldn't help but look around at my family and friends and think how about how I lucky I was. That was when I noticed my other best friend Cody Reinhart. He texted me early to inform me that he wouldn't be able to make it, but there he was. The principal then called everyone up one by one to shake hands and bestow their `diploma´. After everything was said and done I  received my real diploma from the office. I then hung around with my family along with my friends at the school to chat, take pictures, et cetera until it was time to part ways.]
I will forever hold onto that memory and never let go. It was a good time spent with my family and friends. Even though it meant writing a new chapter in my life I was happy with that day.

In all honesty, yes, I even want to hold onto the bad memories from my life. The thing with bad memories is that they can either help you push forward or they can pull you back. It just depends on who you are and how you deal with them. For me I look back at the bad memories and use them as barriers. I can remember plenty of bad memories from my life. Let's just say most of them involve outside family hurting my immediate family and people turning their backs on me. As a result I'm choosy about who I trust. I know there are people out there who mean well but after dealing with people who've hurt me and my family for so long I try not to set myself up by being too willing to trust people just to turn around and get hurt.

So those are but one of my good memories along with a wrap up of my bad memories. I believe that it's important to hold onto our memories, both good and bad, because they are moments from our lives that shape who we are.  

Snapshot 6- Nick Gurtler

Piece by Piece it Molds Me

     For years, ever since I can remember I've held on to things from all my relationships with people. Including family, friends, and even teachers. Even long after the relationship has ended I still hold on to something that they have left me with and it becomes a part of me. To this day all the relationships that I have had with people, have made me who I am. From my earliest relationships I took things. Such as playing video games. My dad since I was a very small child, played video games and would play with me and my older brother. I took from him the want to play video games which has turned into my addiction since that's what he did and all we always did together. My older brother left me with the need to seek those who succeed, to have it rub off on me or to have access to these people to further your self. He would seek out very established people to learn from and use to further his career, he would use them as recommendations to get a good job. While I have not been as successful in my search, it is something I have took from him. My mother is a very large hearted person and I took from here to always love and care for those around and closest to you. I am always there for both friends and family or anyone who needs it. My ex best friend was a piece of work when I first met him. He had multiple problems that were able to be fixed but weren't due to his home life and parents not being there to correct him. Being a troubled child, I shaped him up to be a respectful and better person. From that friendship I took the need to help others around me, those who are broken or troubled I feel the need to fix and help them as if no one else would. Following the end of that relationship I met my ex girl friend, she always was a very well rounded person and seemed as if she was prepared for anything you threw at her. I learned that she specifically studied a vast amount of things to be able to have an engaging conversation with anyone with almost about anything broadly. From her I took the need to feel prepared for any conversation prior to it happening, such as studying things that one might say during a conversation with someone you want to talk to. From all these people, the ones closest to me, I have taken something from them that I carry with me still to this day.
     Some of the earliest memories I have of my dad are those where I was in the basement with him and my older brother. Since I was about three the room in the basement seemed huge, when in fact it was not it was actually very small and crammed. While in the basement I can picture a desk against the wall next to a TV with a Nintendo 64 hooked up to it and a couch where my older brother sat. My dad sat at his big black desk on his computer playing Quake. I was on the floor watching my brother play games. This is the first memory I have of my dad. Him at his computer and my brother playing video games. That's why I have a need and want to play games.
     There are way more things that I hold on to but these are some of the biggest from some of the most important people in my life. My dad who I got games from is no longer in my life, my older brother too has moved on and is no longer involved in my life, my ex best friend became a bad influence who happens to also no longer be in my life, and my ex girlfriend is clearly no longer in my life. But the fact that all these people are not present around me physically does not mean that I do not carry a part of them in who I am today. These people but not just these people are all significant because I hold their things closer than others. With each new relation I make the more I hold and the more it molds. 

John Hunter Bayer- Snapshot #6

              There are many things in my life that hold dear to me. My passions, my family, almost everything I choose to do in my life I hold. But I think the most important thing I hold close to me is my friends. There are always in everyday of my life. They are always there for me, and I'm always there for them. You could consider some of my friends brothers to me. Even after all this time I am still close to my childhood friends, even with college catching up with us. There are a ton of stories that I would love to share. These stories can range from spending almost a week together during the summer, or hanging out during the weekends. I have never been good at making new friends, I am good at building old ones.

              One story I would like to share would be when my oldest friends, Cj and Kyle, rode bikes to my Cj's house. This has got to be one of the funniest moments I remember with them. We decided to ride our bikes to Cj's house because we needed to grab some clothes for him since he forgot some and was staying the night at my house. So we grabbed our bikes and headed out. It took only fifteen minutes to get to his house and it was fun going there. We were making jokes and telling stories about video games we were playing at the time. But as we were heading home, the wind picked up at lighting fast speed and was against us on the way back. We tried cycling our way back but were exhausted not even after two minutes. We were forced to walk the way back, which almost took an hour to get back. But during that time walking back Kyle said "I'm glad it's you two that I am stuck walking down the road with". Cj replied with "its because we are like brothers". It was one of the most memorable moments with them. To this day I still make memories with them, even with after all these years.

             I could go on and on about how great my friends are. From our late night gaming sessions to spending weekend after weekend at Lake Erie, my friends are something that only blood brothers could have. Sure, friends come and go, but the impact that we left on each other has changed a lot in each other's lives, and I am undoubtedly grateful for it.

Snapshot 6 - Tiff Holding Holding on to Dreams in life


                                                      Dreams happen for A reason

Where do i beginning about dreams i hold on to Here’s where it all started i was about 10 years old and was in school my teacher ask me to write down some dreams i had and wanted to do when i grew up i first i had to think about in for a minute. what dreams do i  have that i want to do when i grow up the teacher hand us a piece of paper and i started my list of dreams that i wanted to do when i grew up and one dreams that i still hold on to this very day is having a restaurant that i could  call mine when it came Christmas time every year i always put on my Christmas list that was cooking things like a kitchen set and supply's to practices on i tried so hard to get a kitchen set and supply's i wanted one so bad so i finally got one i practiced everyday with what i had i was like this is what i want to be when i grew up it.when i got in to middle school and high school that dream of mind fell flat i stopped holding on to that dream i thought at that time it wasn't going to happen not to me i was too short and small to do anything like that   but one day i was at a restaurant with a group of friends having lunch and we were all sitting around talking about if we were going to college and if we were what were we going to take one of my friends says " i am going to take nursing so i can become a doctor one day" i said "that’s a good idea you would be a great doctor" then i thought for a second and said to all my friends “ I want to go to college to  become a business woman so I can have one day a restaurant I can call mind “ so we left the restaurant and I went home and told my parents and they suggested I go work at a real restaurant so you can get the fill of it first I told them that’s a great idea . The next day I called ok café it’s a restaurant here it town if I could work for them for a few days so I could get the fill for what’s it’s like to become a business person they were more than willing to teach me what they could the few days I would be there I went in two days later I learned a lot from that few days i was there not enough yet to run a real restaurant so after that  I decided to go to college to do some more learning on becoming a business person this is the dream I hold on to and still hold on to this very day it wasn’t easy holding this dream for so long then losing it then getting it back but from that very first day I know one day I will be successful it hasn’t happened yet but it will come just have to keep holding on to this one dream of mine

544 words


Christine Mailey-Snapshot 6


Christine Mailey

English1109-10:30       


Off to the Races


     The season begins at a dirt-track in Daytona Beach Florida on the third Thursday and Friday in March.  The warm Florida sun shines from the sky and warms our bodies that are chilled from the cold winter weather.  We purchase out tickets for the motorcycle race.  We also stop to buy the newest year of flat-track race tee-shirts.  Now it’s time for practice to start.  The sound of the motorcycles starting up is like music to my ears.  The fumes from the exhaust are a familiar and welcoming smell.  The bikes enter the track to begin practice, the dust starts to fly.  The bikes race round and round the track.  After all of the classes of riders have practiced they get a short break to work on their bikes to get the best performance out of their bike.  They riders will also race in a fastest qualifying race, and then heat race.  For the main event the top couple riders from each class get to race in the main.  The main will usually have fifteen to twenty riders in t and they will race twenty-five laps.  It is a miracle for the racers bot to crash during the main.  Some spectators like to see the crashes.  My family and I do not.  My brother and dad used to race and you never wanted to see them crash.  We had a close friend Chuckie Jordan killed while racing.  We have had other friends that have passed while racing.  We have a good friend Nick who was hurt severely in a crash in 2009.  My family and I ran a fundraiser at a race to help him and his family while he was in the hospital.  We consider the racers and their families our flat-track family.

     I began loving flat-track at the young age of four, when my dad and brother raced.  It was a family affair.  My mom and I would help prepare for the races by packing, cooking, cheering and praying for a safe race.  When I got married, I introduced what I loved to my husband.  When our daughter was nine we took her to her first flat-track race.  They both love the sport as well.

     I am very passionate about the sport.  I am very blessed with many great people in my flat-track family.  The come from a lot of different states.  We have a lot of friends from the state up north.  We tease back and forth about Michigan and Ohio State.  I will continue to attend the races as long I am able.  If you are curious about flat-track there is a National race the last Saturday in June every year in Lima Ohio.

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Nick Cummings-racer/Photo by: JGPhotoworx

 

  

 

  

Snapshot 6 by Matthew Glenn


Is everything in life temporary? Sometimes, there will be people that give complicated answers to a simple question. Maybe their answers rely on past experiences, something they’re holding onto or just common sense. After racking my brain for hours, the most logical answer I could think up is, change must occur in order to determine if something is temporary.

I like to think that great things will be held onto for life, and the bad will be temporary. In reality most of the time that isn’t the case. People and places seem to always come and go, however I believe certain things can be held onto forever. Every so often we may lose sight of those things, but something reminds us. Then, the motivation returns and we remember why.

Over my life many things have changed, but the one thing I have managed to hold onto this far is my curiosity. Since I was a child, I have had an overwhelming desire to gain knowledge of as much as possible. Curiosity has lead me to want to understand how things work, such as the government, stock market, politics, the criminal justice system and many more. It has also treated me well when it comes to academics, since I have always like to learn as much as possible.
There was a short period of time I had lost touch with my curiosity. I had graduated high school about eight months prior and was indecisive about continuing on to college, but I knew if I went, I wanted to study something that allowed me to continually learn, or research to satisfy my curiosity. I was working a lot at the time at a dead end job that I hated, without opportunities for advancement. I am a workaholic, so the only upside to the position was the pay. Since I was working as much as I could, I began to eliminate the things I loved to do in my spare time. I became distant with friends and family, after a few months passed I realized I had lost my motivation to learn and be curious. Things that would spark my interest no longer were, and it remained that way for a while longer.

Next, something happened out of the blue. It was morning and I was just getting up for the day. The television was up unusually loud when I had stepped out of my room, so I looked around, but no one else was home. I remember hearing something to do with the S&P 500 on the T.V and it instantly grabbed ahold of me. I kept asking myself “What is the S&P 500?” For some reason it was like a switch had been flipped in my mind and I found myself in front of my computer. I was researching and learning all about the stock market. I spent quite a bit of time on Google before realizing what I was doing, but once I did I was thrilled. My curiosity was back. I began to think about life, I thought about the fact that I wanted more than what my job provided. Within two days I had applied for OSU, then a week later quit my job to take a different position that would accommodate my class schedule, when it was time.

Now I am pleased with the way my life is going. I made a change to make something good become lifelong, and make something bad become temporary.  My curiosity has been sparked, my motivation still pushes me every day, and I no longer feel trapped.

Word Count : 598  

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Comments for Tiff and Matthew: J.K. Rowling

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific.

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Comments for Naomi and Carmen: Shel Silverstein

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific.

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Comments for Christine and Miquel: Che Guevera

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Monday, April 4, 2016

Comments for Tim Burton presentation: Alex and Miranda

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific.

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Comments for Drake: Austin and Nick

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific.

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Comments for Jennifer Lawrence: Kendell and Alyssa

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific.

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Comments for Robin Williams: Hunter and Matt R.

For your comments on Presentations:

First, write about something well done.  What did you learn from this group?  What part of the Presentation seemed the best?  Be specific.

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Monday, March 28, 2016

Presentation days and order. From Mike Lohre

Monday, April 4

1. Robin Williams: Hunter and Matt R.
2. Jennifer Lawrence: Kendell and Alyssa
3. Drake: Austin and Nick
4. Tim Burton: Alex and Miranda

Wednesday, April 6
1. Che Guevera: Miquel and Christine
2. Shel Silverstein: Naomi and Carmen
3. J.K. Rowling: Tiff and Matthew

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Christine Mailey journal 8

                                                      Never too Old to Dream                                        
I have always been a dreamer.  I think dreaming is a wonderful thing.  I have always been my own person.  I wouldn't call myself ecsentric, but always found people that were interesting.  Most of our society judges if you are not the majority or do not do things in a certain way.  I love meeting different people and finding out what makes them tick and find out about their experiences.  I believe we learn from one another.  Life can be a bit of an adventure at times.
I did not go to college right out of high school.  I went to cosmetology school, owned a salon for several years.  I was a housewife and mom for many years.  I had an Allstate Insurance agency for a short time, and had numerous jobs throughout my life.  A few years ago I was an assistant teacher at Headstart, and loved working with the students.  So a couple of years ago I decided to go to college to become a teacher.  I remember the first day I stepped onto campus, I thought to myself, what am I doing?  I am forty-eight years old,and still dreaming of things I can do or accomplish in my life.  I encourage you to dream and more importantly follow your dreams.
I have had a set-back, I just suffered a heart-attack during spring break.  I did not have to have surgery, but taking meds.  I am still holding onto  my dreams of being a teacher.  As long as you have breath you can continue to dream.  If I am able to help one student,then I will have fulfilled my dream.
I thought the writings of Robert Shields was fascinating.  I can not help but wonder how much life passed him by, while documenting all accounts of his day.  I think it would be exhausting to have to do this every day.  You are so wrapped up in documenting, real life experiences are being missed.
My readings are going well.  I think it is great reading about different experiences people have in their lives.  We can learn valuable things from other people's experiences. We also may be encouraged to be ecsentric and dream from others experiences.

The Dreamers - Miranda

Dreamers and eccentrics have a very important role in our culture even though many of them go unnoticed. They hold onto their imagination and allow people to expand their thoughts into a world of dreams. I believe that the world both encourages and discourages dreams in different ways. Some ideas are okay, and others are not all depending upon who you talk to. There are many differences between people in our everyday society some people are introverts and some are extroverts and this is a big difference when it comes to how to think, dream, and act. Some people rather spend their time inside their imagination and live like Miles Mahan, who tells about the importance of the hula girl that she salvaged from a Hawaiian restaurant roughly 63 years ago because it holds value to him, just like rocks have value to me because they show the history of the earth and are millions of years old even if they look like gravel to someone else.
Holding on is going pretty great so far I enjoy many of the stories and some are interesting. I like some stories better than others, there are some weak  so those would be the only strength/weaknesses of the book.
The story that struck me the most is the one about Harold C. Cotton, the hat blocker. Because he explains that he fixes and refurbishes every single hat. Even if the owner does not come back in a timely manner, he still continues to keep the hats incase they do return for the hat, and he has learned through experience that if he were to throw away the hat that then the owner would come back asking for it and then he would no longer have it. It shows that he has always worked hard at re-shaping the hats and making them look nice even when the hat trend started to fade out he has still managed to remain in business and never sells an unpicked up hat which is dedication to his customers even if they never return for the hat, he still keeps them.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Freedom by Naomi Hillman

  Freedom              


What dreamers and eccentrics have in out culture is that they will stop at nothing to follow their dreams and passion. In today’s culture you have people that will help the dreamers or eccentricity and then you have those people that goes against it. So its a little bit of both. Before I came to college I was still in high school. Believe it or not I was suppose to be in college in the Autumn of 2015 but I couldn’t attended because I didn’t pass one part of an Ohio State Test (OGT). I went back to High School for four months. I was very depressed, going back to High School knowing that all my friends had walked and I didn’t. I had spoken to a counselor and she asked me if I recommended a G.E.D. I told her no for the simple fact that I didn’t just work my butt off for four years just to drop out and get a G.E.D,  no I told her. The reason I had to go back to High School was so I can retake the science part of the OGT. I was thinking to myself that I wasn’t going to pass because I’ve been taking this same test since I was in 10th grade and I still haven’t passed it. Thankfully one of the counselors from my school and my tech teacher mentioned to me that I should take I.E.P. On October, 2015 I had retaken the test. I didn’t pass it but since I was on I.E.P they finally changed my statues to graduate. It has been my dream to attend The Ohio State University and now I’m here. When I first told my mom about the I.E.P she looked at me funny telling me that I didn’t have to get on I.E.P. She told I had to try harder when it comes down to taking a test. I’ve been taking this test about 7 times and I really wanted to go to college.
I’ll be honest I read up to page 54 on Holding On, but in all honesty the book is pretty good. So far the books strength is awesome. I say awesome because these people are speaking their language meaning that these people are not holding back on how they speak. Some of these characters speak proper and some speak like there from the country. These people sharing their life story is a strength. I couldn’t detect any signs of weakness in this book because I haven’t read it fully yet, but so far there aren’t none that I can see.
One story that struck me the most was Moreese Bickham Prisoner, Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola, Louisiana which can be found in the book on page 33. This struck me the most because this man went to prison for killing two white deputies from the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) back in 1958 I believe. Bickham was in jail for thirty-two years at age seventy-two. I learned that even though this man was in prison for years and that he’s old, Bickham tries to make the best of it. His whole family had passed on and he’s the only one left of his family. A quote that I really in this story was this, “I might be too old to walk, or might not be worth anything, but I’m goin’ to get outta this. I been looking’ forward to that day for a long time. I believe its gonna come. I hope so.” I pick this quote from Bickham because his dream finally came true. Around the late 90s I believe, after serving 38 years in prison Bickham finally got his freedom. That's what the New York Daily New explained. 



Mustain, Gene. "HE SAVORS FREEDOM AFTER 38 YRS." NY Daily News. New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 1996. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. 

Journal 8 by Kendell Miller

I think a value that all dreamers and eccentrics have in common is that they aren’t afraid to ‘think outside the box’. They aren’t afraid to do things that don’t go along with the norm that society has created. I think that as a whole we discourage eccentricity and uniqueness. Everyone says that they are okay with people being unique but it’s a different story when they are actually faced with someone who is unique. They say that they’re okay with it but they judge someone who is different than them.  I think a lot of people think that everyone should fit a certain mold and if you don’t fit that mold that society has created than you’re basically viewed as an outsider.
            I’m really enjoying reading Holding On so far. I’m not usually a fan of books that jump from one subject to another but I think all the different stories in this book is its greatest strength. You get to learn about all different kinds of people in one reading. Personally I wish that the stories would go more in depth. A main question that I’ve had while reading this book is, how did the writers chose who to write about? How did they know which stories to tell?
            The story that struck me the most in this book is Roberta Blackgoat’s story. The main thing I learned from her story was that even if you may not see the results of your efforts during your lifetime doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fight. You should fight for the people that come after you whether it be for your children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren. This is seen when Roberta says, “I’m looking forward for my children and grandchildren and more to come … Where are they going to be raised and learn how to use the land it there’s no land for them to live on?” This really stood out to me because she knows that the fight might not be won during her lifetime but she keeps fighting because she wants the younger generations to be able to use and live off the land that is rightfully theirs. I believe that the key theme in Roberta’s story is fighting for what you believe in.