This semester in creative writing has been way too fun. However, I didn't really like it without Mrs. Barniskis, it wasn't as much fun OR creative. Anyway, I'll be leaving the class now to work on my May Term project. I'm very very excited.
Although there is a lot of excitment, it's pretty weird knowing that today is my last day ever taking classes at High School. Realy really weird actually. Anyways, from now until the end of May, I get to make pottery and work on some ceramics projects and I can NOT be more excited.
For my project, I'm working with my friend Jon and we are going to be making a new glaze board, because some fool broke the old one. We are gonna make the best glaze board in the world because we have some really good ideas. Not only are we going to display the different glazes, but we are going to make some tea bowls, cups, cereal bowls, and all the other simple kind of bowls that we can to display how they should look, so people can look at them as examples.
My nose really itches right now.
Clayton looks like a fool today, he's got a clip in his hair and I don't think he's really even concered with how silly he looks. Oh well. But yeah, I don't really know what else to write other then the fact that I'm going to miss this class a lot. I really enjoyed it. :(
p.s. COME TO CURRENT JAM AT THE END OF MAY!
GOOD BYEEEE! I LOVE CREATIVE WRITING!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
In Character!
Cookie Monster!
To be completely honest I think that cookie monster had a great impact on society. I mean lets be honest, he could relate to children in their love for sweets, and he was a kind funny character on Sesame Street. I think Cookie Monster isn't very facsinating, but his history is! The fact that his character really wasn't planned out makes him that much more special to the show. However, when the whole drama came out of sugar craving character Sesame Street tried to make it better by having other characters on the show sing to Cookie Monster about how cookies are only a "sometimes" snack. Luckily, they didn't really change anything about Cookie Monster, and the fact that he has such an obsession of cookies just adds to his character and makes him memorable. In my opinion Cookie Monster is the man, he's great on the show and whenever I think about cookies I think about the fuzzy blue monster who always says "C is for cookie; and that's good enough for me!"
Dora The Explorer!
This girl is definatly a big influence on the children in society today. Her show is said to be the most popular for children of all genders and races ages 2 to 5. The fact that she is latino and teachs children in America some spanish words, I think is a great way of bringing diversity throughout the country instead of just saying "diversity is good, all people are equal, cultures are different" blah blah blah and so on. This show is a great way for some children to see that there are different cultures throughout the world, and there are different languages. Also, Dora is a powerful female role model. She's very courageous and displays that girls can be just as good as boys. The show is also a good way for kids to learn how to problem solve. Dora asks the viewers many questions which they are supposed to respond to and answer. Yeah, it sounds dumb and whatever, but toddlers totally dig that stuff. She definatly has a way of interacting and teaching children in a fun but still educational way, I think her show will be successful for many years and hopefully bring about some new shows like it!
Nemo and Marlin
I think that as a duo these father and son characters bring a lot to society because they totally display the relationship of a parent and a child. Nemo, the fun free spirited child that wants to explore everything, and see everything from a different view, is often struggling to accept his fathers overprotective view on everything. I know that a lot of kids think that they can do anything, and that their parents try to stop them from everything, and this view totally applies to Nemo and his father Marlin. Also however, the movie and the characters display the idea that family will always be there for you, and always love you and basically do anything for you if you really think about it. After Nemo got captured you see that he feels this way about his father and realizes that his dad really isn't doing anything but trying to protect him. And Marlin, once he reaches and rescues Nemo, realizes that kids will be kids and that he needs to lighten up when it comes to letting Nemo do certain things. They are just a great pair that show good qualities and teach children in society good lessons that hopefully have an impact on them.
To be completely honest I think that cookie monster had a great impact on society. I mean lets be honest, he could relate to children in their love for sweets, and he was a kind funny character on Sesame Street. I think Cookie Monster isn't very facsinating, but his history is! The fact that his character really wasn't planned out makes him that much more special to the show. However, when the whole drama came out of sugar craving character Sesame Street tried to make it better by having other characters on the show sing to Cookie Monster about how cookies are only a "sometimes" snack. Luckily, they didn't really change anything about Cookie Monster, and the fact that he has such an obsession of cookies just adds to his character and makes him memorable. In my opinion Cookie Monster is the man, he's great on the show and whenever I think about cookies I think about the fuzzy blue monster who always says "C is for cookie; and that's good enough for me!"
Dora The Explorer!
This girl is definatly a big influence on the children in society today. Her show is said to be the most popular for children of all genders and races ages 2 to 5. The fact that she is latino and teachs children in America some spanish words, I think is a great way of bringing diversity throughout the country instead of just saying "diversity is good, all people are equal, cultures are different" blah blah blah and so on. This show is a great way for some children to see that there are different cultures throughout the world, and there are different languages. Also, Dora is a powerful female role model. She's very courageous and displays that girls can be just as good as boys. The show is also a good way for kids to learn how to problem solve. Dora asks the viewers many questions which they are supposed to respond to and answer. Yeah, it sounds dumb and whatever, but toddlers totally dig that stuff. She definatly has a way of interacting and teaching children in a fun but still educational way, I think her show will be successful for many years and hopefully bring about some new shows like it!
Nemo and Marlin
I think that as a duo these father and son characters bring a lot to society because they totally display the relationship of a parent and a child. Nemo, the fun free spirited child that wants to explore everything, and see everything from a different view, is often struggling to accept his fathers overprotective view on everything. I know that a lot of kids think that they can do anything, and that their parents try to stop them from everything, and this view totally applies to Nemo and his father Marlin. Also however, the movie and the characters display the idea that family will always be there for you, and always love you and basically do anything for you if you really think about it. After Nemo got captured you see that he feels this way about his father and realizes that his dad really isn't doing anything but trying to protect him. And Marlin, once he reaches and rescues Nemo, realizes that kids will be kids and that he needs to lighten up when it comes to letting Nemo do certain things. They are just a great pair that show good qualities and teach children in society good lessons that hopefully have an impact on them.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Characteristics Of A Well Told Story
We all have heard and read stories.
It is one of the first things many parents do with their kids.
Part 1: I think that parents tell us stories when we are children because it allows us to grow our own individual imagination and sometimes teaches us good life lessons in easy to understand ways. Stories are important in childhood because they get our mind moving and let us gain new knowledge. Typically when I think of a childhood story, I think of a story that has a really lame way of showing how to do things like share, be nice, make friends with everybody, and so on. Things that we learn as children and that our parents try to demonstrate for us so we can grow up respectable adults.
Part 2: I believe that older people read stories, especially during the educational years, because like childhood, it teaches us things. In my experiences in High School, I've read some books that definatly had an impact on the way in which I look at things. For example, the most moving and well written book I've read for a class reading was the book "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. This book I found was full of important life lessons that I can still carry with me today.
Part 3: I kind of find that reading stories and especially popular ones listed in the New York Times can bring people together. By reading the same story as a nation, there's many ways for people to discuss their own individual view on the novel with someone who may have a totally different idea. Although reading a book is such a small and enjoyable task, people can really become a little bit closer through discussion of different issues.
Part 4: One of my favorite childhood books was "I'll Love You Forever". I remember my mom used to read this story to me before I went to bed, and everytime she did I could imagine the mom in the story as my mom. It was a book that I think taught me at a young age how much family really loves you, and how no matter what they will be there for you. Also, I remember my grandpa from Holland always had the best stories to tell. He would tell me about when he was a magician or the times he had in the war. And then he would also have the stories to tell that you knew he made up, but didn't care because they were that intriguing. My grandpa's stories will always be something that I remember, he was a great story teller, and I hope that when I'm older and have grandkids of my own I can do the same for them.
Part 5: My list of good story characteristics:
1. A strong title that will make the reader want to start reading
2. A powerful opening that draws the reader in, maybe a small story or exciting event
3. Characters that can somewhat relate to most readers, or someone totally different
4. The storyline should be clear and make sense throughout the book
5. The climax should be very clear and fit in well with the rest of the story
6. The characters should be easy to remember
7. The ending should be intense and fit in well with the story, happy or sad it needs to have a lot of emotion tied into it
Part 1: I think that parents tell us stories when we are children because it allows us to grow our own individual imagination and sometimes teaches us good life lessons in easy to understand ways. Stories are important in childhood because they get our mind moving and let us gain new knowledge. Typically when I think of a childhood story, I think of a story that has a really lame way of showing how to do things like share, be nice, make friends with everybody, and so on. Things that we learn as children and that our parents try to demonstrate for us so we can grow up respectable adults.
Part 2: I believe that older people read stories, especially during the educational years, because like childhood, it teaches us things. In my experiences in High School, I've read some books that definatly had an impact on the way in which I look at things. For example, the most moving and well written book I've read for a class reading was the book "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. This book I found was full of important life lessons that I can still carry with me today.
Part 3: I kind of find that reading stories and especially popular ones listed in the New York Times can bring people together. By reading the same story as a nation, there's many ways for people to discuss their own individual view on the novel with someone who may have a totally different idea. Although reading a book is such a small and enjoyable task, people can really become a little bit closer through discussion of different issues.
Part 4: One of my favorite childhood books was "I'll Love You Forever". I remember my mom used to read this story to me before I went to bed, and everytime she did I could imagine the mom in the story as my mom. It was a book that I think taught me at a young age how much family really loves you, and how no matter what they will be there for you. Also, I remember my grandpa from Holland always had the best stories to tell. He would tell me about when he was a magician or the times he had in the war. And then he would also have the stories to tell that you knew he made up, but didn't care because they were that intriguing. My grandpa's stories will always be something that I remember, he was a great story teller, and I hope that when I'm older and have grandkids of my own I can do the same for them.
Part 5: My list of good story characteristics:
1. A strong title that will make the reader want to start reading
2. A powerful opening that draws the reader in, maybe a small story or exciting event
3. Characters that can somewhat relate to most readers, or someone totally different
4. The storyline should be clear and make sense throughout the book
5. The climax should be very clear and fit in well with the rest of the story
6. The characters should be easy to remember
7. The ending should be intense and fit in well with the story, happy or sad it needs to have a lot of emotion tied into it
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Poetry Critique
Fairytale - Sara Bareilles
Cinderella’s on her bedroom floor
She’s got a crush on the guy at the liquor store
Cause Mr. Charming don’t come home anymore and she forgets why she came here.
Sleeping Beauty’s in a foul mood for shame she says
None for you dear prince, I’m tired today.
I’d rather sleep my whole life away than have you keep me from dreaming
I don’t care for your fairytale
You’re so worried 'bout the maiden, though you know she’s only waiting on the next best thing Snow White is doing dishes again cause what else can you do
With seven itty bitty men?
Sends them to bed and she calls up a friend, says will you meet me at midnight.
The tall blonde lets out a cry of despair says
Would have cut it myself if I knew men could climb hair I’ll have to find another tower somewhere and keep away from the windows.
I don’t care for your fairytale
You’re so worried 'bout the maiden, though you know she’s only waiting on the next best thing Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom, man made up a story
Said that I should believe him
Go and tell your white knight that he’s handsome in hindsight but
I don’t want the next best thing
So I sing and hold my head down and I break these walls 'round me
Can’t take no more of your fairytale love
I don’t care for your fairytale
You’re so worried bout the maiden, though you know she’s used to waiting spent her whole life being graded on the sanctity of patience and a dumb appreciation
The story needs some mending and a better happy ending ‘cause
I don’t want the next best thing no no
I don’t want the next best thing.
Explain briefly why you selected this poem. What about it do you find interesting?
I chose this poem because I think that Sara Bareilles has a great way of getting her feelings across through the music she writes. This is one of my favorite songs by her, and I think she is portraying a really strong and kind of cute message by using popular fairytale princesses. It's a very unique and different way of expressing emotion.
Comment on its title. How does the title fit the work?
The title "Fairytale" fits the work perfectly because the entire piece is about a "fairy tale love" that is expressed through different fairytale princesses throughout.
Comment on the author's use of poetic devices.
She really uses imagery, by describing each character and at least for me when I read this poem or hear the song I can picture the different characters in my head and picture what they're doing. For example "Cinderella's laying on her bedroom floor"...I can see in my mind Cinderella laying down thinking about something. I don't know it sounds weird, but it's totally true! She didn't really use any other poetic devices because she uses so much imagery throughout the entire poem/song.
Explain the tone of the piece. What is the tone?
She basically wrote a story through a song. I think that the way she described all of the characters and their somewhat personalities really expressed what she was trying to portray. I also really enjoy how she takes these fairy tale loves and proves that there really isn't such thing as a perfect love. By using these characters she gives the song a totally different feeling and makes it very thought provoking. The actual tone is very light and somewhat amusing but at the same time with a very serious feeling throughout it.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
How Unpoetic
The topic I have chosen to write about today is the conversations I have with my friends sometimes. These conversations mostly happen with my friend Hayley. She's kind of crazy, but I guess in the end she's okay. Anyways when we have serious conversations, which isn't very often with us, we talk about things such as religion, my best friend Christie who passed away, or what the future looks like.
For example, over the weekend we went to Chicago for choir and roomed with Katie and Taylor. We all sat there for a while talking about how this year has turned out differently then we imagined it would. It was really interesting to hear about how we have all become friends with people that we usually don't hang out with and it's kind of nice hanging out in different atmospheres sometimes. Also, we talked about how people have changed a lot over the years and how annoying they have become. Yeah, it's mean, but seriously you don't understand how much people have changed! There are so many social climbers that bother me.
Although Chicago was just one example of a conversation we've had, there have been many other times. We usually talk about things such as friends, parents, school, and what we think is going to happen next year or what it is that we want to do. It's pretty cool having a friend that you can talk about important things with and then talk about the stupidest things in the world. I'm lucky to have had Hayley as a friend since the 8th grade. Although we have times that we don't get a long and fight about stupid things, in the end we will always be there for eachother.
But it's really weird for me to think about the topic of what next year at college will be like. None of my friends will be there that I've known since grade school, and I will have to make a bunch of new friends. It's weird because it's somewhat like a fresh start. A blank slate. And I really like the idea of that. Even though I'm going to miss my friends from Edina, I know that I'm going to make a bunch of new ones in college that will become lifelong friends. I'm nervous, yeah, but I think I'm mostly excited.
Well, that's all!
p.s. Clayton apologizes for being a big jerkburger today.
For example, over the weekend we went to Chicago for choir and roomed with Katie and Taylor. We all sat there for a while talking about how this year has turned out differently then we imagined it would. It was really interesting to hear about how we have all become friends with people that we usually don't hang out with and it's kind of nice hanging out in different atmospheres sometimes. Also, we talked about how people have changed a lot over the years and how annoying they have become. Yeah, it's mean, but seriously you don't understand how much people have changed! There are so many social climbers that bother me.
Although Chicago was just one example of a conversation we've had, there have been many other times. We usually talk about things such as friends, parents, school, and what we think is going to happen next year or what it is that we want to do. It's pretty cool having a friend that you can talk about important things with and then talk about the stupidest things in the world. I'm lucky to have had Hayley as a friend since the 8th grade. Although we have times that we don't get a long and fight about stupid things, in the end we will always be there for eachother.
But it's really weird for me to think about the topic of what next year at college will be like. None of my friends will be there that I've known since grade school, and I will have to make a bunch of new friends. It's weird because it's somewhat like a fresh start. A blank slate. And I really like the idea of that. Even though I'm going to miss my friends from Edina, I know that I'm going to make a bunch of new ones in college that will become lifelong friends. I'm nervous, yeah, but I think I'm mostly excited.
Well, that's all!
p.s. Clayton apologizes for being a big jerkburger today.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Some Writings I Enjoy...
What kinds of writing do you like to read?
I enjoy reading magazines, books, and random poems. I think that reading other peoples random thoughts, such as blogs, is really interesting at times too.
What kinds of writing do you like to write?
I really like to write a bunch of different things. I guess that I really like writing when I don't have to so that I can just free-write more then follow direction.
How often do you write when it is not a school assignment?
I enjoy journaling sometimes. If something really cool happens, or I'm bored it's sometimes fun to write about experiences, or just write some poems or something I guess.
What topics most intrigue you?
I don't really have a specific topic that intrigues me. I really don't like futuristic things, or things such as Lord of the Rings, I find those types of stories pretty boring.
3. When I was in kindergarten, one of the worst things happened to me that I will never forget. I was standing, waiting for the bus after school had finished standing with my friends. It was a cold day, and everything was freezing over. That's when I thought to myself 'I wonder if I licked this pole if my tongue would stick to it. The first time I licked it, my tongue stuck a little and came right off. Laughing to myself, I turned to my friend and said "hey look! My tongue almost got stuck to this pole!" Of course, when I licked it again...it stuck. And I mean REALLY stuck.
At this point in time I didn't know what to do. I started yelling for my mom, and looking around to see if anyone was coming to help. All I knew at that point was that my brother who was in fifth grade at the time was crying harder then I was because he thought that I was going to die or something. When I came to the conclusion that no one was going to help me get my tongue off of this pole, I pulled my tongue off of the pole by myself. Of course, at that exact moment just my luck, the nurse came running outside with a cup of warm water.
The whole school had seen this happen, and I couldn't have been more embarassed, and even now people still ask me "are you the girl that got her tongue stuck to a pole?" This is definatly a childhood memory that I will never forget.
I enjoy reading magazines, books, and random poems. I think that reading other peoples random thoughts, such as blogs, is really interesting at times too.
What kinds of writing do you like to write?
I really like to write a bunch of different things. I guess that I really like writing when I don't have to so that I can just free-write more then follow direction.
How often do you write when it is not a school assignment?
I enjoy journaling sometimes. If something really cool happens, or I'm bored it's sometimes fun to write about experiences, or just write some poems or something I guess.
What topics most intrigue you?
I don't really have a specific topic that intrigues me. I really don't like futuristic things, or things such as Lord of the Rings, I find those types of stories pretty boring.
3. When I was in kindergarten, one of the worst things happened to me that I will never forget. I was standing, waiting for the bus after school had finished standing with my friends. It was a cold day, and everything was freezing over. That's when I thought to myself 'I wonder if I licked this pole if my tongue would stick to it. The first time I licked it, my tongue stuck a little and came right off. Laughing to myself, I turned to my friend and said "hey look! My tongue almost got stuck to this pole!" Of course, when I licked it again...it stuck. And I mean REALLY stuck.
At this point in time I didn't know what to do. I started yelling for my mom, and looking around to see if anyone was coming to help. All I knew at that point was that my brother who was in fifth grade at the time was crying harder then I was because he thought that I was going to die or something. When I came to the conclusion that no one was going to help me get my tongue off of this pole, I pulled my tongue off of the pole by myself. Of course, at that exact moment just my luck, the nurse came running outside with a cup of warm water.
The whole school had seen this happen, and I couldn't have been more embarassed, and even now people still ask me "are you the girl that got her tongue stuck to a pole?" This is definatly a childhood memory that I will never forget.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Toward the Future/From the Past
1. I really have had some fun writing my play. I like the fact that it could be about anything I wanted it to be about and I could be really creative. However, I've found that writing in play format isn't as easy as it seems. I really had to try and imagine the whole play in my head while I was writing it. Every move I wanted a character to make, or any emotion I wanted portrayed I had to write in the scene directions to make sure that it would happen. The easiest part of this play making experience was definatly coming up with an idea and deciding what would happen throughout the play. I thought of a story line first, and I knew that I wanted it to be fiction and I wanted it to be somewhat romantic. I thought that having a conflict of a girl finding love to break a curse would be kind of cute and fun. The theme in which i decided to use was "true beauty is on the inside", the basis of my play is about a girl who was cursed with fish lips, and the only way that she could break the curse was to find someone to love her. I thought that this could portray beauty on the inside because a lot of people think that people don't judge on looks. When in reality, the media portrays how people should look and what will make people like you, which is total crap. I believe that the play I wrote is one with a happy ending and a good lesson to learn.
2. The advice I would give to a 10 year old kid would be to work really hard freshman year, through senior year of highschool. Because lets face it, the other years before it doesn't really matter what kind of grades you get. Although it's always good to get good grades, I think that the only years that grades matter are 9-12. If you don't work hard and do the best you can all of highschool, it can really mess you up when you are trying to get in a college that you really want to go to. I haven't had this personally happen to me, but I know a lot of people that haven't been able to get in the college they want to go to because of their grades in like 9th and 10th grade. So if I could give a kid any advice I would say to get good grades all through highschool to make sure you have a really good chance of getting into the college that you want to! :)
3. In my opinion great works of literature stay popular for a long time because the author makes a story that has an impact on people. For example, I found that the book "The Things They Carried" was the best book I have ever read. "The Things They Carried" is used a lot in classrooms for classroom reading and is a modern classic. I think that this book for example, has been recongnized as a great piece of literature because of the lessons taught throughout it, and the style of writing the author uses. The entire story flows well together and each part of the book ties to another part which causes the reader to want to continue reading. I feel that pieces of literature that get recognized as great pieces and last a long time have to have a good story line, good writing style, and themes that the reader can react to.
2. The advice I would give to a 10 year old kid would be to work really hard freshman year, through senior year of highschool. Because lets face it, the other years before it doesn't really matter what kind of grades you get. Although it's always good to get good grades, I think that the only years that grades matter are 9-12. If you don't work hard and do the best you can all of highschool, it can really mess you up when you are trying to get in a college that you really want to go to. I haven't had this personally happen to me, but I know a lot of people that haven't been able to get in the college they want to go to because of their grades in like 9th and 10th grade. So if I could give a kid any advice I would say to get good grades all through highschool to make sure you have a really good chance of getting into the college that you want to! :)
3. In my opinion great works of literature stay popular for a long time because the author makes a story that has an impact on people. For example, I found that the book "The Things They Carried" was the best book I have ever read. "The Things They Carried" is used a lot in classrooms for classroom reading and is a modern classic. I think that this book for example, has been recongnized as a great piece of literature because of the lessons taught throughout it, and the style of writing the author uses. The entire story flows well together and each part of the book ties to another part which causes the reader to want to continue reading. I feel that pieces of literature that get recognized as great pieces and last a long time have to have a good story line, good writing style, and themes that the reader can react to.
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