Movies I Love

 Gangster Squad

 




The Amazing Spiderman

  




The Avengers

21 Jump Street

Music I Love

The Script-Nothing

Ed Sheeran- Kiss Me

 30 Seconds to Mars- The Kill (Bury Me)

Adele- Turning Tables

FUN.- Out On The Town

Inspirational People

Adele
She is inspirational to me because she cares more about making good music than about her appearance. The music industry has become more about the person being beautiful and sexy rather than them actually being talented. She has a strong sense of self, which has let her  not conform to industry standards of beauty.

   

Jennifer Lawrence
I find her inspirational because in a town full of fake people, she's not afraid to be herself. She doesn't want to look like a skinny model but to give girls an example of what an average women looks like. I love that she refuses to starve herself to get role. She's a great role model in a time when girls are constantly judged for their weight and told to look a certain way.


Military Men and Women
These men and women give up everything to protect us and our freedom. They risk their lives everyday for people they do not even know. They leave their family and lives behind in the name of freedom and democracy. We owe everything we do in our everyday lives to them.

Janine Antoni's Lick and Lather.

Janine Antoni's use of everyday items and even her own body, allows her to become a part of her art work. I thought it was brilliant using her own hair as a paint brush. This allowed her to get completely enthralled in her work. By using her own body as her tool she creates a better connection with the viewer. I loved that she used materials that have been forgotten and are not thought of to be used in the way she does. She even goes as far as to learn new skills and trades in order to use these materials. Using materials of everyday life and connecting them by making them a rope can metaphorically show how everything is interconnect. This can seen through the use of the Christmas dress of her grandmother that connects her to memories of her grandmother.

Books I Want to Read

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. This story is a coming of age tale of Charlie, a high school freshman who has a reputation for being a freak. He is socially awkward, cries easily, and his only friend just killed himself.Things turn around for Charlie when he meets seniors Sam and Patrick, who introduce him to their group of friends. They teach him about friendship, acceptance and love.
     

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. Jacob Jankowski is orphaned when his parents die and suddenly he finds himself adrift. He jumps onto a passing train and he enters in to a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits. He becomes a vet for a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression.

    
Fallen by Lauren Kate. The novel revolves around a young girl named Lucinda "Luce" Price who is sent to Sword & Cross Reform School in Savannah, Georgia, after she is accused of murdering a boy by starting a fire. At the reform school, she meets Daniel, a handsome boy whom she feels inexplicably drawn to, and believes she has met before.
 

Books I Have Read

The Notebook By Nicholas Sparks. The story of Allie and Noah is one of the classic love story about how love conquers all. No matter their setbacks, their love always brought them back to one another. Their story shows us that there is more important things in life than financial success and that the most important is love. 

The Hunger Games Series By Suzanne Collins. This series takes the reader in to a world far from the one they exist in. The series shows how lucky we are in this era to have even just the basic necessities and the freedoms that so many take for granted.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom. This story shows us that there is no random acts in life. Every moment in our lives are connected. Even the smallest moment can have the greatest impact not only on our own lives but the lives of others. 

      

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The characters in the book put great importance in wealth reflecting the mind set of the era. Gatsby's dream in the book reflects the "American Dream" that many strive for. His dreams are crushed as was the peoples of the time dreams were crushed by the great depression.

   

Inventory/ The Tokens Response

In the reading tokens were used as identification of the children. In this era tokens are not used for this purpose. Many people keep tokens because of sentimental reasons. These objects hold memories of people or events. We attach moments to these objects so that they will not be forgotten. Majority of people have some sort of memento that they keep and treasure for their entire lives. Some even wish to be buried with the object.Theses objects hold a special place in our hearts much like the people the objects represents. The tokens become more valuable as time goes on and can not be given a monetary value.

Diane Ackerman Response

Touch is one of our senses that is taken for grant the most by so many. Its they only sense that you can never lose and becomes crucial when losing another. Many look at touch as a sense for just survival. When we touch something hot, sharp or rough we know that harm can occur from that object.Touch can also bring people a variety of emotions like comfort, joy, happiness  along with distress. When we see someone upset or disoriented, our natural reaction is to hug them or rub their arms and their back in an attempt to comfort them. When I was a baby and couldn't fall asleep, my mom would rub my forehead to calm me down and I would soon fall asleep. The tenderness of a mothers touch is so crucial in helping nurture a child. It helps the child feel safe and loved which allows them to grow without being but under stress. I thought it was fascinating that they use touch to help stimulate a premature baby and that the stimulation helped the babies recover faster. Human beings also rely on the sense of touch as a confirmation of what's real and what's reality. Touch becomes important for many artist. An artist can't draw or paint the fur of a dog or cat without petting and touching them first. Artist use touch to observe an object. Experiencing an object through touch allows an artist to better understand the form of the object and draw upon those experiences in their work.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Vocabulary List:

• Harem is a part of a Muslim palace or house reserved for the residence of women.
• Diminutive describes something as small, tiny, or little.
• Concede is to admit that something is true or valid after first denying or resisting it.
• Amelioration is an act of becoming better, more bearable or more satisfactory. 
• Stenography is the art of writing in shorthand.
• Entreaty is make an earnest or humble request.

Response:

Gregor's transformation was not only a test for him but for his parents too. Gregor had to learn how to do normal activities in a new way. This can be compared to that of a person who has gone blind and has to learn to do everything without their site. Due to his frightening transformation, he is cut off from the rest of his family as it is to terrifying for them to see him in that condition. He must also watch as his family suffers due to his lose of income knowing he can not help. I think the hardest would have to be not being able to communicate with anyone. He is unable to express his concerns for them or that he will not harm them. His family is tested through their suffering. Mr. Samsa, Mrs. Samsa, and Grete all take up jobs to supplement the lose of Gregor's income. Gregor was able to set up a comfortable living for his family through his salary. When he is transformed their lifestyle drastically changes and they must learn to live through it. Thought in the beginning they care for Gregor, it soon becomes a burden. The only reason they stay in that apartment, even though it was above their means, is because they do not know what to do with Gregor. When he passes away, this burden is lifted from them and they can move on. The family goes through these hard times and come out of it as stronger people. Mr. and Mrs. Samsa even notice the difference in their daughter who has grown from a child to a beautiful young women. This runs parallel to so many peoples' lives who have gone through rough times and in the end come out stronger.