Rachel's Blog

After Years by Ted Kooser

rachels2014 — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:33:26 +0000

I thought this peom was really deep. It can have multiple meanings but to me its about loving someone and then losing them. It tells the pain and severity of how it felt to lose the one you love and that really came through in the poem. I loved the peom.

Washington DC

rachels2014 — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:29:59 +0000

I had a great time gouing to DC. When we went there we first went to the Holocaust Museum. It was very sad and depressing. It really made you think about your family and friends and how lucky you are. After that we walked to the Washington Monument. It was really big and tall. We looked at it and took pictures then we walked to the Lincoln Memorial. It was a long walk up to the Lincoln Memorial but when we got there it was worth it because everything was beautiful. All the things were so detailed and well made that it was shocking that humans caould make it.

My Greatest Accomplishment

rachels2014 — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:23:43 +0000

My Greatest Accomplishment Essay

When I tried to think of my greatest accomplishment I came up blank. There have been so many things going on that I can’t even decide on just one. I think one of my greatest accomplishments would have to be when I took my DSTP this year. Usually when I take the DSTP I am really nervous and scared. Also I always take a really long time when I take a test.

This year when I took the DSTP I felt that I was really prepared and ready to take the test. I didn’t feel any anxiety and it felt good to feel really prepared. I felt confident about my tests and the answers that I put down. I also usually take a super long time when taking the test but this year I finished in a good time.

It was a proud moment for me. I loved it and will try to do that again throughout the year.

Middle School Memories

rachels2014 — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:20:55 +0000

Middle School Memories

I have had so many great memories over the years while in Middle School. Some of my favorite memories the DSTP rap, friends, and Challenge Day.

The DSTP rap was one of the funniest most random moment ever. What happened was I had been sick a few days and when I got back from school my friends Sydney, Nichole, and Ariel had wrote part of a rap about tips for the DSTP and I helped finish the rap and one day we stayed in Mr. Luciano’s class and preformed and video tapped the rap. A few days after we tapped the rap they showed it to the 7^th and 8^th grade and random people came up to us and started complementing us on how cool the rap and dance was.

Another great memory was my first Challenge Day. I remember how scared and nervous I was because all the eighth graders told me how emotional and scary it was. Heather an eighth grader on my bus said that everyone cried. When I got there I was really nervous. We met all the chaperones and teachers and everyone was dancing. We played games and shared personal information. We learned how to handle situations and how to not judge ourselves. It was freeing and relaxing.

Although it may not seem like a memory all the friends I mad are important memories to me. I have met some really great people in my middle school days. Some of the people I have known in elementary school I really became good friends with. Some of the people I have met are Sydney, Maggie, Angela, Olivia, Gabrielle, Marymar, Ariel, Ashley, Nichole, Sara, Zack, Cole, and many others.

Middle School has really meant a lot to me and really gave me friends and memories that I will never forget. I hope I will make more memories and friends throughout the years.

Princess in Waiting

rachels2014 — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:14:48 +0000

Princess in Waiting

Meg Cabot

When I first picked up Princess in Waiting I thought it was going to be a simple and easy book to read. But I was wrong this book has everything a good teen girl book needs to have. In this book Princess Mia is back and going out with Michael the guy she has been in love with since 1^st grade. Mia also goes through something every girl encounters in her life Mia tries to figure out who she is.

Princess in Waiting has many great characters. There is such a great range of characters I this book like the shy and funny Mia to the cool down to earth Michael and even the selfish but sometimes caring Grand’Mere. There is even Lily who is smart and witty and Tina who is romantic and caring. There are so many characters in this book that it makes it so hard to pick a favorite.

In this book Mia is finally going out with Michael but the first few weeks they are going out Mia is Genovia and is barely able to talk to Michael and this makes Mia so paranoid and anxious she can hardly focus on her Princess duties. When she gets back it gets even harder Mia and Michael finally set up a first date but she has a ball on the same day. Mia also tries to figure out who she is. In a Gifted and Talented class Mia considers herself untalented and it crushes her.

In the end the drama surrounding Mia’s relationship to Michael ends and she finally figures out what she is really talented at with a few insecure and heartfelt moments in the middle this book gives you a perfect dose of every girly moment in a teenage girls life except for the parts about Mia being a princess. The themes for this book are romance and finding out who you are really are as a person.

I really loved this book and read a few in the series and will continue to read the books that are in the Princess series. The authors writing style really fits the book and I really thought it was great. I highly recommend the book to all girls. It truly was a great book especially if you have seen The Princess Diaries movies.

Choices by Nikki Giovanni

rachels2014 — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:10:40 +0000

If i can’t do
what i want to do
then my job is to not
do what i don’t want
to do
It’s not the same thing
but it’s the best i can
do
If i can’t have
what i want . . . then
my job is to want
what i’ve got
and be satisfied
that at least there
is something more to want
Since i can’t go
where i need
to go . . . then i must . . . go
where the signs point
through always understanding
parallel movement
isn’t lateral
When i can’t express
what i really feel
i practice feeling
what i can express
and none of it is equal
I know
but that’s why mankind
alone among the animals
learns to cry

Reflection:

I honestly didn’t understand this poem at first but after I read this poem more and more I really understood it and got the poems meaning. Its a relly great poem and I love the descriptive details.

The Journey by Mary Oliver

rachels2014 — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:20:52 +0000

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice –
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do –
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Reflection:

I really love this peom. It describes the journey and path we will all have to take at some point in our life. I love the details and passsion that are in this peom you can really feel and in a way know exactly what she is feeling. I love how mature and knowing the person in the poem is. I read this poem to my dad and he said he really enjoyed it.

Success is Counted Sweetest: Emily Dickinson

rachels2014 — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:06:23 +0000

Success is Counted Sweetest

Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne’er succeed.
To comprehend a nectar
Requires sorest need.

Not one of all the purple host
Who took the flag to-day
Can tell the definition,
So clear, of victory!

As he, defeated, dying,
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear!

Reflection:

My reflection of this poem is that in a way it’s depressing to know he is happy that his side won even though it mwant his life would be gone. My firnde thought this poem was in a way very inpirational and strong. She loved his pride always showed

Sleeping in the Forest: Mary Oliver

rachels2014 — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:23:39 +0000

Sleeping in the Forest

I thought the earth remembered me,

she took me back so tenderly,

arranging her dark skirts, her pockets

full of lichens and seeds.

I slept as never before, a stone on the river bed,

nothing between me and the white fire of the stars

but my thoughts, and they floated light as moths

among the branches of the perfect trees.

All night I heard the small kingdoms

breathing around me, the insects,

and the birds who do their work in the darkness.

All night I rose and fell, as if in water,

grappling with a luminous doom. By morning

I had vanished at least a dozen times

into something better.

Reflection:

My reflection of this poem is that the poem is very good I love the passion in the poem and I enjoyed it very much. I love the very descriptive details. My friend Sydney thought the poem was very good and inspiring.

Artist of the Week:Cartel

rachels2014 — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 13:58:15 +0000

This week’s Artist of the Week is Cartel! They are an alternative band whose sound has a rocker touch to every song. They have catchy beats and infectious sing a longs. They are a five member band originally from Georgia. Cartel in most widely known for their hit song “Honestly” on their album “Chroma”. The band recently released a new album titled “Cycles” and the single from that album was “Let’s Go”. The band is also known for being on MTV’s Band in a Bubble in 2007. In 2010 Cartel will be playing The Bamboozle Roadshow. I really hope you who are reading this decide to give this band a listen they write great songs and I know many people who enjoy there music.