'This I Believe' Speech "The Family I Love"

   "Family, where life begins, and love never ends." -Unknown 

I believe that a family's love can never falter.

          My now deceased grandpa and the rest of my family live in Progreso, Yucatan. We went on March 16, 2016 to attend his wake. After, my aunt had told my brother and I, "You guys mean alot to your grandma, and she wants to see you guys more, since you two are the only ones she can't see grow up." When I heard that, I realized that even if I didn't talk to her all the time, and wasn't in Mexico for long, she loves me unconditionally and I the same way.

       I realized that my family will always love me, which is why I want to spend all of my time with them. Realizing this has changed my way of life, and now I value my family more than anything. Now, any future actions I do I'll always put them in mind. 

Even as I was writing this, I really wanted to back with all of my family back in Mexico. Even so, I know that however many miles we are apart, a family's love can never falter.

Final Reflection 5/22/16

   
          The three most important things I've learned this year are the proper use of commas, sentence clauses, both dependent and independent, and phrases. I think this because learning these, will increase my level of writing. Knowing these will help me all throughout my life. Mainly since we all write, sentences and paragraphs almost every day, so its important to do it correctly.

          Something we did this year that I personally think I'll never forget would be the Butterfly project. The Holocaust topic has always interested me, and this project brought out both my curiosity and my creativity. When we first stared reading the poems, I got very curious imagining what the concentration camp looked like. As to why I did some further research on the camp. Then when we were told to make a butterfly I went a bit overboard going to different stores for different materials. I loved the end product, and the presentations where very good.

          The nicest thing someone in our class did for me was write the anonymous letter about our problem. My issue that I was dealing with was my grandpa and the prostate cancer that he had. I thought it had to be the nicest thing anyone has ever done to me because I was really scared that he was going to die. However the mystery person told me to keep my head up and hope for the best. I did hope and pray, and in the he sadly did still pass away.

          I taught one of my classmates how to use google docs better. For example, when we were taking notes and she couldn't figure out how to turn on the option to list or change the font/text color. This helped her a lot since we were usually doing notes on the stories we read or essays we'd do. Helping her can also be useful to her in the future, since now she can help others who are confused on how to use Google Docs.

          I think I've made my biggest improvement in writing. I think this because of the multiple writing pieces we've done, and the recent lessons on commas, phrases etc. These lessons will help me in high school and for the rest of my life. Something that I'm proud of accomplishing this year the aphorism project that involved Tuesday's with Morrie. I think this because the project made you really think over the aphorism that we each chose. For example, mine was, "don't cling to things, because everything is impermanent," and I thought this meant life and death. As you shouldn't cling to life, as sooner or later everything dies.

          I think the most challenging part of this year for me was my procrastination. I know its a bad habit to have, yet I haven't really taken measures to fix that. For example, ill put things off until Sunday night, or any night when I know we have homework assigned. I think over the summer ill definitely have to fix that however, since I know high school will give me even more homework then I get now. The summer reading project should help me with my habit, and ill really try to finish it early.

          I think the best piece of writing I've done this year was the Life is Beautiful comparison/differences with Night. I think this because I loved the movie and the book equally. Also the fact that both the movie and the book are in the same time period, yet completely different stories, really interested me. Looking for the similarities and differences between both was also a challenge, but one I didn't really mind. As the whole topic of the Holocaust really interests me and I love reading or watching what ever movie that is related.  

          If I had to chose a favorite book that we read this year, it'd have to be Tuesdays with Morrie. I'd say this because the book has taught me so many life lessons, that I don't think ill ever forget. One that really hit me the most was, "Death ends a life, not a relationship," because my grandpa had passed away before we had started reading it. It was a reminder that I still love him, even if he passed away. The book was also very heartwarming and made me cry on several occasions, in my opinion it was one of the best I'd ever read.

          Advice to students who will be in this class next year... I'd say be really organized and be prepared. Both of those things are really good especially since we get a lot of papers, and to be really focused since the up coming year will definitely be harder then the one before. Another thing, don't procrastinate. Its really bad trait, and Mrs. Larson likes things always on time. Still one of the most important things I've learned while being in her class. Well, that goes for most teachers in general. I still cant believe I'm leaving Heritage this year, its been a great three years that have passed by so quickly. You guys will definitely have fun this up coming year! The parties were always really fun! ;)

Morrie's Aphorisms - Final Project

          The aphorism that I chose was, "Don't cling to things, because everything is impermanent." Morrie's main message was that you shouldn't let emotions "penetrate you", that instead they should over flow within you. That's how you'd be able to detach yourself from that emotion. ]His message was if you never allowed yourself to bask in the emotion and accept it, you'd never move past it and instead be forever afraid of it. In the book Morrie had specifically said, "And only then can you say, 'All right. I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment.'" I think what he says relates to "embracing pain" since after you embrace it, you slowly move past it.

          I can relate this aphorism to a personal experience in my life. I would relate it to my grandpa. I know that sooner or later, everyone dies, and Morrie would also be an example to that. Except when you love someone and you've spent so much time with them, you don't really expect it to end. When my grandpa had suddenly died, it made me realize that anyone can die at any second. The sudden realization made me want to spend as much time with my family as I can, especially as I never properly got the chance to say goodbye to my grandpa. This relates to the aphorism as life is impermanent, and we shouldn't cling to the thought that we get to live forever with our loved ones. 

          I agree with the aphorism 100%. There's many ways you can connect this aphorism to, the one that I chose was life and death. Morrie used it with feelings, and you could also connect it with objects. When using life and death as the example, everyone knows that a person can't live forever, so the aphorism matches as life isn't permanent. In the book it had also said, "But detachment doesn't mean you don't let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate you fully." This goes hand in hand to an experience about someone or something dying. You embrace the sadness and accept it, so that you can overcome it sooner. I'd say an aphorism I'd use is "think before you do," since often times, many people don't and that's what usually gets them into trouble.

Socratic Seminar Morrie Reflection

         Tuesday's with Morrie has changed my way of thinking about life, way more then any other book. This book has taught me so many life lessons with Morrie's aphorisms, and our Socratic Seminars helped me really get a clear image as to what the aphorisms meant. For example the aphorism, "'You're not a wave, your part of the ocean.'" When we discussed this, we all had said something different yet in the end we concluded that it meant we are all one and that every person together makes up the 'ocean'. 

          My personal goal through out all the Socratic Seminars was to invite someone into the conversation. The trend that I noticed was that I never actually did it, and I think it's because I never really found a good time to say it. I also never was able to properly form a question in order to bring a person into the conversation. My personal goal never did change, however I did try to involve myself into the conversation more. If we do possibly have more Socratic Seminars, I'll try harder to achieve my personal goal. 

          I noticed as a class, many of us were prepared to speak and had many unique and 'difficult' questions, the ones that made you think more. I think something that helped the seminar was that every one had different parts of the book that they found interesting, and everyone had different questions since we don't all think alike. I think that's one of the reasons why for the most part, the Socratic Seminar's went smoothly. One thing that I noticed was how it was only a specific amount of people who actually were talking. I'm assuming this is why there were awkward silences sometimes after someone had shared a thought or question.  

TWM - What 'Tuesday' Has Inspired You?

          Family to me is the most important thing in the world. It's come to my attention that any of my family members can be taken away from me in the blink of an eye. My grandpa and my uncle where an example of this. Ever since them, Its made me think of my family way more, and miss not being with them in Mexico. Reading the fifth Tuesday, when they talked about family, really hit me hard. As I imagine how his wife and sons must feel when Morrie died.

          One of the reasons I chose this 'Tuesday' was because of what Morrie had said through out the "chapter" about family and its support. Morrie had said the quote, "'The fact is, there is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today if it isn't the family.'" To me, this means that what ever happens, your family will always be able to support you and love you. That the love from your family is the greatest thing you can possibly get in this life, and I think this is true a hundred percent.

         Another reason why I chose this 'Tuesday' was because of what Morrie had said, which was the most powerful thing in that Tuesday. Morrie had said, "'Love each other or perish.'" I chose this because I think it means that if you don't love your family to the best of your ability, your not living correctly and really that goes in certain situations. This quote signifies how you should love your family as much as you can, because as I had mentioned before, they can be taken in the blink of an eye so in that time, love them as much as you can.

Tuesdays with Morrie - Bucket List

           My first thought when reading Tuesdays with Morrie book was that it was very saddening, and I had thought I wouldn't like it. Since I usually like to read books that don't cause sadness, but instead make me laugh and bring smiles. When we first read through the table of contents, I felt really nervous when I saw it had said "We say goodbye". It gave me a really bad omen and I didn't feel like it was going to be a nice book. However, were already at page 40 and I can honestly say that I'd love to keep reading. I'd like to go ahead because Morrie and Mitch's relationship makes me curious. How if they had something like that, couldn't we all? It seems nice that Morrie cares so much about Mitch, even possibly as a second son. 

          One thing that got me sad in the book, was when Mitch had said, "... and I swallowed because I knew, deep down, I was no longer the good, gift-bearing student he remembers. I only hoped that. for the next few hours, I could fool him." This made me sad because I don't want to know what will happen when Morrie finds out what has changed. Even when Mitch hadn't visited, and only did when he saw that Morrie was on TV. That made me a bit mad, as I would always keep in touch if I ever would have a professor that meant so much to me. That being said, I love how the book cuts back between the past and his present, I found that to be a unique writing style that I like more then other types.       

Bucket List:

• Learn Japanese
• Finish learning Italian
• Travel to Tokyo, Japan
• Travel to Progreso, Yucatan
• Be fluent in writing in Spanish
• Have 5 dogs
• Graduate from college with a bachelors degree
• Get a nice apartment in the city
• Travel to all 50 states
• Learn how to program/code
• Go bungee jumping
• Become good at cooking
• Have a pool
• Get good at photography
• Go sky diving
• Travel anywhere, but in first class
• Get good at baking 

3rd Quarter Reflection Blog

          Something I have accomplished that I am very proud of would be my butterfly from the butterfly project. I think it was in seventh grade when I had first heard of the butterfly project, and I was so excited, already thinking of how I would get to do it one day. Once we started, I was already making mental imagines on how it would look. The week we had to build the butterfly wasn't easy. The designs I had wanted proved to be a lot harder to build then I had expected, and I had a lot of trouble arming the butterfly itself. I had to use hot glue for the most of it... not fun. However overall I was really happy from the outcome and I loved seeing everyone else's butterflies. 

          I'd say the most challenging part of third quarter would be our argumentative essay. Seeing as I wasn't in school and actually in Mexico. It was really stressing to come back and realize how much homework that was assigned while I was away. The only thing I had managed to finish was the three main body paragraphs of the first draft. When I had come back, I tried to follow Edmodo as best as I could and in the end finished. I had spent a lot of time on the introduction and conclusion, I actually think out of all the paragraphs those two were the hardest. Of course, it won't be as great as everyone else's, but I think I tried my best and I was happy how it turned out. 

          The area I think I've made the biggest improvement in would be my vocabulary. I say this because as I write paragraphs I find that at some words, I stop and think, "What's another word to use?" For example, if I were to write "bad" I would stop and think that I could change that to a say, "terrible, or miserable. I think that because of this, my writing has improved quite a lot. I have to thank the vocabulary tests that help me. My vocabulary also helps me when I'm talking to other people. For example I was talking to a friend, and she had mentioned something about a person being very religious, so I said, "then she's a pious person right?". It made me happy to know I knew that.

Blog for 3/11/16 The Nazi Hunters

List three questions you have about what you read.

          If I was able to ask a question based off of the book The Nazi Hunters, I would ask "Why did Israel desperately want to bring Eichmann into their country in order to put him on trial?" I would ask this because they're many other countries who sooner or later would of done the same thing. While reading this I thought Germany would have arrested all those involved with the Holocaust, since it took place in their own country. I was assuming out of regret for what had happened. I didn't expect a country that hadn't been made at the time, to want him captured that badly.

          Another question I would ask would be, "How were they able to get help from survivors so quickly." I would ask this because I'd think any survivor would want to put the memories of the Holocaust behind them. However in the book these people had volunteered their help. I'm assuming many wanted revenge for all the pain he had caused them, their friends, and their families. I was very surprised when these people did everything they could to help, even going into the house where Eichmann lived at the time. I thought it was very brave of them and in all honesty I don't think I could of done the same.

*SPOILERS*

          The final question I would ask would be, "Why didn't they capture Eichmann on the first night that they had seen him walk home in the dark?" There was no one around him from what the book said, and there was only the light from his flash light surrounding him. In my opinion it would have been very easy for the team to capture him then and there, instead of hiding and watching him coming home for three straight days. Even they had said so, however they waited and I wonder why they would wait that long. Maybe it was because they thought if they failed he would flee again?

Blog for 3/7/16 The Nazi Hunters

Predict what will happen next.
Quote a passage & respond to it. How did it make you feel?
Why did you choose this to read?

          In the book The Nazi Hunters it explains how a team of spies and survivors captured the worlds most notorious Nazi, Adolf Eichmann. so far in the book, they've had many clues and were about to catch him many times. However each time he always got away and the trail had gotten cold every time. Currently they are very close to capturing him again, but like the other times I think Eichmann will escape. I can predict this because in the book he's described as clever, so I think he would be able to tell what is happening around him. The team had been investigating Eichmann, and even pretended one of their men was a person looking to buy a house for his family. The man had a brief case, which held a camera inside of it. As to how they were able to achieve pictures of Eichmann close up. This to me would be very fishy, if a man was to be holding a brief case in front of him instead of holding it in his hand next to it. Which is why I think Eichmann will realize he's being investigated, and flee with his family once again.

          There's a quote that isn't necessarily inside the book, but its on one of the beginning pages. The quote is said by Adolf Eichmann, and it states, "I sat at my desk and did my work. It was my job to catch our Jewish enemies like fish in a net and transport them to their final destination." Many thoughts run through my head every time I skim past this quote. How Hitler was able to convince so many people that the Jews were bad and how Eichmann didn't even question it. That Eichmann knew he was sending millions do their deaths and didn't care. It makes me feel sick thinking about it. A man that killed so many, and on a regular basis, had acted normal. The quote also makes me think of how Germany must have been so crushed after WWI, and how the Germans were able to put their trust into a horrible man so easily.

          The main reason I chose to read this book was that I'm really intrigued with the Holocaust. I like to read survivor stories, like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Boy on the Wooden Box or Night and try to understand what it was they were all going through. It makes me feel that I need to understand how these people lived their lives, so I can see the good side and the bad side of the world. Another reason I chose to read this book is because I've heard of Adolf Eichmann, and the horrors that he had done during the Holocaust. Since I heard he went into hiding, I assumed he was never found. However when I saw the book standing on Mrs. Larson's desk, and read the cover, saying how he was captured, I was immediately intrigued and went to go check it out. Currently I'm really liking this book, and every time I read more, it makes me feel like I'm in an episode of Criminal Minds.

Life is Beautiful

          There are many connections that can be made between Life is Beautiful and Night by Elie Wiesel. One connection can be that obviously, both involved the Holocaust. Now, we all know that of course both these works have the Holocaust, but its more specifically how they're described that's different. Elie had faced the more brutal side of the Holocaust. While Guido, determined to keep his son away from the horrors of the Holocaust, says its all a game and tries to keep the humor for his kid throughout the movie. Another connection in between the movie and the book, was that both get their families separated. Again, Night showing us the more brutal side of the Holocaust, how Elie says that after his mother and sister went to the right, he never saw them again. In Life is Beautiful Guido and his wife do get separated, but he does everything in his power to show her that himself and their son are still alive and were well. For example when they snuck into the radio room and sent her a message while she was picking out clothes as her job. Or when he put on the song they had seen being preformed in an opera before the concentration camps.

          In Life is Beautiful and Night by Elie Wiesel, there are also many scenes that are different and similar. A similarity is when the families, like mentioned earlier, are separated. In Night the family arrives at Birkenau and immediately guards are shouting at them to form lines. As Elie stated, "An SS came toward us wielding a club. He commanded; "Men to the left! Women to the right!'" That was the last moment Elie said he saw his mother and little sister, as they were forced right and Elie and his father were forced left. Then in the movie, the family arrives in the camp and the women all get out one side of the train, and men the other. Guido however, in a last attempt to see Dora (his wife) again, jumps on the train onto the other side as they look at each other as a final goodbye. The movie and the book are similar since both families are separated in similar fashion, how women were sent in one direction and men in the other.

          The mood in these two works are very different. In Night Elie tells what he's feeling in his perspective. How he had seen so many dying around him, being moved from camp to camp. In the book he had said, "I too had become a different person. The student of Talmud, the child I was, had been consumed by the flames." This shows just how heavy the mood was during the whole duration of the book. While inside of the movie, Guido is trying to create a happy mood for his kid, since the child thinks the camp is a giant game. Guido like any good father, tries to hide all the horrors behind the camp and does anything to make his child smile. As to show how the mood in the movie was a lot lighter than Night as there was also a lot of comedy coming from Guido.

          Both the movie and the book have very different points of views. For example, Elie and Guido are both Jewish, however Elie is the only one that practices the religion. I think that, that specific part is why the book was so suspenseful. How we as readers were able to see his transformation from the kid that loved to study and practice his religion, to a kid who questioned and disliked God. Its that much more suspenseful seeing as his religion used to be the most important thing in his life, so to be taken away so quickly meant that what he went through changed him probably faster than anything else in his life. In the movie however, Guido had never practiced the religion and continues his daily life. I think it had a bit more humor because of this, since loosing your faith is something huge. Guido still managed to make everyone laugh with his cheerful nature, which I think was another main reason as to why the movie was more humorous.

*SPOILERS*

          One way I thought life was shown as beautiful throughout the film was Dora and Guido's love. Since we are all different, and we all have emotions its beautiful that people are lucky enough to enjoy having such a strong love like Dora and Guido had. For example how Guido risked his life, as his child's in order to send Dora a message on how he loved her and wanted to let her know they were both doing fine. Another way I thought life was shown as beautiful throughout the film was Guido's love to his kid. Every parent loves their kid, but Guido knew what he was getting into the moment he put his child into the box near the end of the movie. Guido was trying to hide his kid so that he could go find Dora, and even when he got caught, as soon as he started walking in front of the box, he was marching funny in order to try and cheer up his son. Even in his final moments, his main priority was to keep his soon happy, as the last memory the boy would ever have of him. I think that's how life is shown as beautiful because parents have the natural instinct to keep their kids safe and happy, and I think Guido did a wonderful job keeping his child safe before he was shot.

Night Blog 2

Focus Question: How do Elie's experiences during the Holocaust change him as a person?

          In Night Elie's beliefs in God are very strong before the Holocaust. At the beginning of the story he says, "Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I breathe?" This shows how he was so into his religion, that it was like second nature to him. He is saying how you breathe unconsciously, like there's something telling you to breathe all the time, and for him it was the same, however with his religion and praying as well. However, as he is taken to each of the concentration camps, his faith in God starts to become less and less, until to him, God is non existent. In the book he says, "I too had become a different person. The student of Talmud, the child I was, had been consumed by the flames. He meant that by seeing all the horrors around him, the harsh labor, the kids and adults being put into the crematories, all of it had made him doubt that there was no god.

        Also in Night Elie's values of family become, stronger. For example in the story it says, "And I started to hit him harder and harder. At last, my father half opened his eyes. They were glassy. He was breathing faintly." This shows how throughout his experiences leading him to that moment, they were always together. However when he thought his father was going to die, like all children they get scared. As to the reason why he hit his father so hard until he woke up, so they wouldn't have to separated. Since his father was Elie's sole reason for continuing to live.

*Spoilers*

        After all of these experiences and changes Elie goes through, he ends up mentally and physically dead. At the end of the book he says, "From the depths of the mirror, a corpse was contemplating me. The look in his eyes as he gazed at me has never left me." This shows how after everything he had been through, there was no way he would ever be the same. How seeing so many die, how knowing his father had died, but not even saying goodbye, knowing that his mother and litter sister had also died with out him saying goodbye must had crushed him in a way I hopefully will never know.

         

Night Blog

             In the book Night Elie, the narrator's point of view on god changes as he is transferred from camp to camp. In his earlier days, Elie was very religious. In the memoir he had stated, "I continued to devote myself to my studies, Talmud during the day and Kabbalah at night." This represents how he was so devoted that he spent both night and day studying the religion. However once Elie was transferred from camp to camp, being dehumanized made a very large hole in him. While all the other men in the camp think God's challenging them, Elie just gets mad at God for not helping them escape living hell. As in the later chapters, Elie had said, "I too had become a different person. The student of Talmud, the child I was, had been consumed by the flames." This meant that he didn't believe in God anymore. With all the horrid events that surrounded him day and night he stopped believing that God would help them as when ever they looked to him for guidance, nothing ever happened.

             One emotion Elie, had felt would be fear. He, as most of the other men of the camps all felt fear. The fear of having your loved one killed, the fear of being burned in the fires, there was always fear around them, one way or another. As when Elie's father had been chosen to stay back for the second selection, Elie had said, "I was afraid of finding myself alone that evening. How good it would be to die right here!" I would say that Elie's greatest fear would be losing his father. As he's the only family he has left, after being separated from him mom and sister.

             Another emotion Elie had felt would be anger. This anger was not directed at the SS guards, well some of it was, but who it was directed at was God. As explained earlier, Elie was very angry at the fact that God didn't help these people. How he didn't stop children being thrown into the fires. Or how he didn't stop that young boy from dying during those hangings. Elie is starting to reject that God is even there. For example when the men were praying to God as the new year approached and Elie has thought, "My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God..." With everything happening around him, nothing would ever be the same. His total faith in God and been destroyed. For a person to be so religious, and then turn to say he lived in a world without God, it truly shows how horrid that time period was. Not just for Elie, but for all of the Jewish people in concentration camps.

Holocaust Aow Impression Blog

          When seeing all the different articles based off the Holocaust, many emotions hit me. Sadness, horror were many. One thing that seeing all these articles made me realize, was that even if the Holocaust was in the past, it still manages to appear in peoples lives in some way or another. For example, my specific article was on how many concentration camps there was in total. Which researchers had only discovered the full number in 2013. It was only three years ago, but many years ago to the actual happenings of the Holocaust.

          An article that caught my attention was Devin's article on a man who had been a former SS guard, and was being put to trial for 300,000 assisted murder charges. The article had been posted on July 15, 2015, which again shows how the Holocaust in general is still around today. The article had said how the man was morally sorry for what he had done, but legally, it wasn't decided yet. The article also had talked about his experience as an Auschwitz guard, and how he was assigned to guard the area from the cattle carts, to the gas chambers. This caught my attention because normally those guards wanted to cause harm to the Jews, that they had purposely requested that position. However, this man said he had no clue of what the job was going to be like, and once he got there, he couldn't back out.

         Another article that caught my attention was Evie's article on a man who was a Holocaust survivor, and teaches kids based off of his experiences. The article had been recently updated as of January 2016, which also shows how the Holocaust is still around. The article talked about how he has been educating kids for over 25 years, and how he has been receiving letters from the kids he speaks to every week. I thought this was special, because I feel like if he were to speak with me, I would probably send him a letter as well. It made me wonder just what did these kids write about in their letters to him, and what he had even told them as he has been educating various kids for again, 25 years. Had this man told the same story he always talked about?

Oskar Gröningz, former SS guard put to trial for committing 300,000 assisted murders.

Butterfly Project

I commented on: Jared's Blog, Omar's Blog, Mia's Blog and Michael's Blog

Berlin Memorial Activity

          I learned that there were many laws that were passed in order to make Jewish people's lives miserable during the Holocaust. For example how in 1942 Jewish families with pets could no longer have them. Or how in 1940 Jewish people could only buy groceries from 4pm to 5pm, which left many hungry since they where usually still working at that hour. Hearing everyone read out the laws they were given was making me feel more sympathetic as the laws were read one by one. There's many of these laws that hit me very hard, and I couldn't imagine the lives of these poor people, that had to live with these laws. Many for a good portion of their entire lives. It's just so sad.

          I think this memorial was built as a reminder of what had happened during the Holocaust, and to commemorate those who died. Even if the memorial is small in comparison to the many Jews that had lost their lives, it does its purpose and helps us remember the tragic events of that time. It's also a huge reminder of how such a massive genocide should never repeat itself in the years to come. I think that this monument was also built as a way to put those who died, at rest. I'm sure many are still angry for their deaths, and the families that were seperated afterwards were probably angry as well. This helps those people be at ease, as they know they won't be forgotten. 

          I noticed how many of the laws where created during certain events. For example how twelve laws were put into play in 1933, more specifically the year Hitler and come into power. Which could be a reason as to why so many laws where placed. Another example would be in 1942 when another sixteen laws were added. Which was also in the middle of WWII, so that's probably one of the reasons why more laws were added. 

          One of the laws I think would of affected me the most would have been the one where Jews couldn't have pets. I say this because I have a kitten that I've barely had for about eight months and I know I would never give her up. She's my world, and I love her very much. Even if it meant going to jail or dying, I wouldn't give her up because she's apart of my family now, and everyone loves her. It would be so hard imagining a life without her, as she's the one that usually makes my whole family all laugh when we're at home. 

Second Quarter Reflection Blog

          The most challenging part of second quarter would be time management. I've always had a struggle with that and until this quarter decided to change that. It's been a struggle for me at least, since I'm usually that person who stays up late into the night doing their homework. I've mostly been doing my homework for Mrs. Larson's class, and also all my other classes as soon as I get home from school. I think over all I'm doing better at managing my time, at least than I used to. One example would be my aows (articles of the week) as I start most of them on Tuesday or Wednesday and then finish and submit on Thursday evening. 

          Something I've accomplished since the new year that I'm proud of would be my vocabulary tests. I've mainly been receiving all 100's which I'm very proud of. Achieving these scores of course isn't easy, how ever with the help of Quizlet studying its ten times easier, for me at least. My vocabulary tests have also helped increase my actual vocabulary. For example one of the words that I had just learned Coalesce which means to unite, or to form as a whole.

          I think the biggest improvement I've made in English Language Arts would be my writing. Especially with the narrative essay we wrote and our latest essay which was To Kill A Mockingbird Thematic Literary Analysis. Both pieces of writing have made me think a lot about for example, "What to write about in this specific category," or, "How to put what I'm thinking into sentences." The revisions and editing took a long time and required a lot of focus, but I believe its improved my writing than anything else. After all, the more you practice, the better.

TKAM Comparative Analysis

- What do you think is the most important difference(s) between the written and filmed version? Provide evidence with specific details.

- How would you prove or disprove that one version of To Kill A Mockingbird is more effective in delivering its message than the other? Be sure to provide specific pieces of evidence to support your opinion.

          One of the most important differences in my opinion between the written and filmed versions of To Kill A Mockingbird was the fact that in the movie, Tom Robinson had his left hand. While inside of the book Tom's hand had been chopped off by a machine if I recall. This is a very important difference especially to how the trial continues, as many could of just said he was lying when he said he couldn't move his hand. For example when Atticus tossed the cup at Tom, as he caught the cup with his right, he could of been lying about not being able to catch the cup with his left. Its obvious he isn't that type of person based off of his reactions later in the trial, but the jury that was all white folks could of thought differently.

          The second most important difference in my opinion would be when Miss Maudie's house burned down in the book, but never in the movie. I think this because without this happening, we wouldn't have seen one of the moments where Boo or Arthur Radley interacts with the Scout and Jem. This was vital in the book as Scout and Jem where always looking for ways to meet Boo and that moment had helped Scout connect with Boo more. As when Boo put the blanket around Scout's shoulders when she was outside watching the fire, very cold.

          I think that the book version of To Kill A Mockingbird is more effective in delivering its message more than the movie. I think this because in the book there is a variety of other characters that helped give more meaning to the book than in the movie. For example Aunt Alexandra, who helped give that mother figure to both Jem and Scout while still helping Atticus while he was busy away at night with the trial. She also taught Scout many things over how to be more feminine. Like when she held that tea party at their house and Scout saw how the ladies acted and tried to be like them.