Veteran's Day Poem

Veteran’s Poem -

Mommy left today,
She told me she’d be okay.
She kissed my forehead and told me to stay safe,    

She turned with a tear and went to another place.

Mommy wrote me a letter today.
She’s in Afghanistan which is very far away.
I don’t know what she’s doing there,
I just hope she takes care.

Mommy hasn’t contacted me,
I can’t help staring at her favorite tree.
It reminds me of how she’s tall and strong,
So I care for it while singing our favorite song.

Daddy said mommy is going to take long,
I can’t help but feel like something’s wrong.
I tell myself she’s fine,
I fall asleep with her in my mind.

Mommy came home today!
I couldn’t help just screaming hooray!
Our family is together and happy,
She receives a big hug from me and my daddy.

Mom had to go back,
She says the US wants a counterattack.
I stay home and pray for her,
Time goes by in a blur.

Mother flys home to my graduation,
She calls it a small break from the nation.
She says she gets to stay home for good,
And is sorry for missing years of her motherhood.

I tell her I love her with all my heart,
And I'm glad we no longer have to be apart.
I thank her for fighting,
She makes everyone’s day brighten.

Blog for 10-28-16

Prompt: Which character do you like best and which do you like least?

Book: Percy Jackson & The Olympians - The Sea of Monsters

Author: Rick Riordan

Page #: 279 (finished)

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     The Sea of Monsters continues in Percy's perspective. Percy spends the rest of the year at another private school with his new friend Tyson, which no one seems to like, without little to any worries. One day at gym monsters attack his school and he is forced to go back to Camp Half Blood. However the camp is no longer protected and soon becomes dangerous due to Talia's tree being poisoned. Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson soon sneak out to go on a quest to save Talia's tree and their friend Grover.

       My favorite character in the story is Annabeth, she's very smart and determined. In the movies she was also the best character in my opinion. Percy is a bit to stubborn and he just doesn't call out to me. Grover is also pretty funny but once again, he's not all that.

       My least favorite character is Tyson. In the story he came off as annoying and baby-like. Spoiler Starts Now - When he supposedly died I wasn't even sad, actually I was quite relived. - End of Spoiler. He just seemed to hold the team down, but he did however help them a lot.

       Overall, the characters don't really catch my attention, it's more the plot.  I feel like they could be developed more, which happens as you read the rest of the series. As of now I'm just reading the books because I'm interested in the problems they face and the greek mythology behind their story.

Blogging Tips

     I personally like to think I'm good at blogging but I know I have a lot to work on.  In the past three years I've had three different blogs, each for a different class in each grade.  I do have experience.  However, I only blog when I have to. I don't see the reason to blog for everything or anything.  That's why I think I should work on a few things.

       One blogging tip I need to become more accustomed to is creative titles, ones that bring the reader in and interest them.  My titles are very plain, boring, and bare minimum.  They don't necessarily catch the attention of people, I know I wouldn't be intrigued by them.  To fix this I will try to use titles with actual words and make it interesting or make it mysterious so they are lured in.  For my past blogs, I will keep the same titles just so the people reading and myself can see how it's changed.

       Another blogging tip I need to work on is alloting time.  I do manage to submit and complete my blogs that are assigned but I simply do not blogging on my own.  I need a motivation.  I simply don't understand the need to blog everything when it's not necessary or graded.  That needs to change. To do that I will make sure to write a note every week in my planner to upload at least one blog.  I will also read more (so there's more to blog about), and open my mind an bit more.

       Lastly, a blogging tip I know I need to fix is my grammar and punctuation skills.  There is a lot of mistakes in my writing, especially with the comas.  Misspellings are also common, auto-correct isn't always on my side.  To fix this I will spend more time writing and proof reading my blogs.

       Overall, I need to work on a few things to grow my blog.  Hopefully by the end of the year my blog will be improved.

Blog for 10-8-16

Prompt: Summary, thoughts, and recommandation.

Book: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief

Author : Rick Riordan

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       Percy Jackson is a half-blood which means he is half human, half god.  He attends a private highschool with his best friend Grover for sometime until something strange happens.  A dangerous and scary encounter with his teacher causes his normal life to completely end and he is forced to go to a special summer camp.  At this camp he is surrounded by people just like him and he is given the opportunity to befriend them. However, his stay is short because one of the God's most prized possessions is stolen.  Percy must return this item, causing him to go on an epic and adventurous quest with his two best friends.

       This book is quite an old story, most people have already read it.  I've finally got the chance to read it and I am happy I made the decision to pick it.  To me, I loved it.  It was a very fast read and the plot kept me going further within the pages.  I've always had an interest in Greek mythology and being able to read and learn about it was really fun and interesting. The main character, Percy Jackson, is a well developed character and his personality is a bit vague.  The book and movie are completely different, which I still don't know how to feel about it.  Overall, I really enjoyed the book.

       I would recommand this story to a person who is interested in long series, it isn't for someone who wants a small book to finish.  It is great for people who are fascinated in Greek mythology since the whole story revolves around it.  This book is a story that pulls you in automatically and causes you to read it constantly, so if you have a lot of spare time and want a story to read then I strongly sugggest reading this story and continuing with the series.  Lastly, this story is great for people who like action mixed with a bit of monsters.  However, I think everyone to try to read it, maybe it just might work for them.

Blog - 10/3/16

     I haven't traveled very far, actually I've never been outside of the Midwest.  The last time I actually "traveled" outside of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana ina, or Michigan, was went I went to Flordia at the age of two.  As you can assume, I don't remember much, only a few things, but even those are to fuzzy to put a story behind it.  You'd think since I've never really traveled I'd have a dream trip though out, but that's not the case.  The only place I would want to visit is Australia or England, but those details aren't planned out.  Instead, I'm going to tell about one of my yearly trips from when Iwent camping.

       Each summer, in late June or July, my family decides to go camping.  Our grandparents and cousins also go, but they have their own spot.  The campsite is located in Michigan, a few hours away.  The campground we go to is semi-modern, meaning the only really nice thing we have are the bathrooms and showers.  There are no pools, not many cabins, nor are there any small buildings where events are held.

       We only stayed about three nights and during the first two days we would go on 'adventures'.  These adventures consisted of following my dad through these narrows bushy paths, starting at the campsite and going through the woods.  We would continue the path until we reached the beach then go back to the site. Another day we climbed a sand mountain, it was very high.

       In the night we would roast marshmallows, tell stories, play UNO, and just kind of chill.  Sometimes we'd walk around the campsite, the stars in the sky are very big and clear. It's quite a sight.

       Since my grandparents had a camper, my sister and I would sleep on the opposite bed while my parents slept in a separate tent.  It was way more confortable then an air-mattresses in a small thin tent.

       The second day there we went home to pick up our dog and take him back to the campsite. We did this because my cousin, who was watching him, said that he wasn't eating and was moping around because he missed us. As soon as we saw him he immediately brightend up.  He hopped onto our car and we drove back to continue the last night of our vacation.

       The last day there we all went up the sand mountain s a family, and took the sand trail all the way to the beach.  By the time we got there we were all sweaty and tired, dog included. We ended up swimming a bit and retrieving our pre-packed stuff after, then leaving. That was my summer camping trip, the great thing is I get to create more every summer !

Summer Reading - Paper Towns

Blog One -

       The book I have chose to read during the summer is Paper Towns by John Green.
This story takes place in Orlando, Florida and mainly focuses on two teenagers, Quentin Jacobsen and Margo Spiegelman. They are neighbors and were actually childhood friends up until high school. One random night, Margo knocks on Quentin’s window and asks him to take part of an 11 step revenge plan. They spend the whole night together and Quentin starts to feel hopeful that they’ll become friends again. However, that doesn’t happen because Margo goes missing the next day. She leaves clues behind for Quetin that hint about her whereabouts and he shortly catches on. Quentin feels obligated to follow her trail and soon he and his friends go through a long exciting adventure to find the amazing Margo Roth Spiegelman.

       In the story Quentin Jacobson is described as a normal teenage boy. He is a senior in highschool, has perfect attendance, and has two ‘nerdy’ best friends. He is described to have brown hair and brown (almost black) eyes. Overall he only has one enemy, Chuck Parson, who is his bully. Quentin's most noticeable traits are his lack of confidence, his love for Margo, and how he always likes to be careful. This is portrayed in the story , “Let’s just please not get in trouble,” I said. “I mean I want to have fun and everything, but not at the expense of, like, my future.” (Page 32) This shows that Quentin isn’t really an adventurous person and how he tends to stay on the safe side.

       All in all, Quentin likes to refrain from doing anything that could potentially hurt his future but will go to extreme lengths to find his love, Margo. He feels obligated to find her, and sometimes can put her before his friends. Despite this, his friends are always by his side and later on in the story he starts to see that and begins to appreciate it.

       In Paper Towns Margo is described as an independent determined girl through the eyes of Quentin. She is known for going missing for a few days and doing crazy exotic things. She likes to live in the spark of the moment and hates the idea of being a paper girl. She feels trapped in Orlando, and decides to leave. Everyone sees Margo as if she’s perfect but inside she is actually a troubled and vulnerable girl. In the story she states, “I thought of you a lot, to answer your question. And my parents. Of course, okay? Maybe I am the most horribly self-centered person in the history of the world. But God, do you think I would have done it if I didn’t need to?” (Page 286) This shows a little bit about how Margo was feeling. She felt almost lost and took time to find herself. Overall, her true character is hidden from the eyes of Quentin.

       All in all, Margo is a bit of a rebel, but only does it to get attention from her parents. She feels lost and trapped. Lastly, she treats people differently depending on their actions.

       These two main characters are very different from each other. However, their differences are what mold the story together. Without Quentin, Margo would have never saw life through his eyes. Without Margo, Quentin would’ve never broken out of his shell and learn how to live life in the moment.