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This year's AP English class was a lot of fun. At first, I did not want to take any AP classe's because I was not up for all the work we had to do, but after joining this class I'm glad I did. The class had a very nice environment and overall had a good vibe, and that was my favorite thing about the class. As for my least favorite thing, I do not have one.
My favorite piece of literature that we read this year is the Great Gatsby. I enjoyed reading this novel because it was a lot more modern compared the other pieces of literature we went over and because it was a really interesting book overall. My least favorite piece of literature were the short stories that were set during the puritan times. I found those stories to be extremely boring and hard to keep up with.
Overall, I would like to conclude that Ms. Kirkman's AP English class was awesome. It was filled with a lot of fun activities and smart board games.

Man Finally Put In Charge Of Struggling Feminist Movement

Peter "Buck" McGowan, a 53 year old management consultant, is the new chief of a feminist movement in America. Feminists have been struggling for so many years to receive the same rights men do and finally, starting last month, they found a man who can make it happen for them. It is quite ironic that women who are all about female empowerment put a man in power to get them more power. Since his rising as chief, McGowan was able to talk to the ''big boys upstairs" and close the 23.5% gender wage gap. "You can't waste time pussyfooting around with protests and getting all emotional about a bunch of irrelevant details," said McGowan, which is exactly what the feminist movement had been doing prior to his uprising. "His drive, focus, and determination are truly remarkable" said Gloria Steinem, and that is just what the feminist movement needs.

Cayote vs. ACME

This week in class we read a satirical story called Cayote vs. ACME. This story is about a famous cartoon character, Wile E. Cayote, who is suing the ACME company for all the injuries he has received due to using their products. The author, Ian Frazier, purposely chose to use a cartoon character in his story to show the ridiculousness of actual law suits that are taken to court everyday. Frazier's purpose of writing this story is to mock the people who sue for the most absurd reasons.
The speaker of this story is Wile E. Cayote's lawyer, and it takes place in a courtroom. His tone is sarcastic and mocking and the audience of this story are the people in the courtroom and the reader. I overall enjoyed reading this anecdote, I have never really read anything like this before.

Pink Slime in School Burgers

As most of you have probably already heard, many meat packing companies mix their meat with a man made, artificial ingredient known as "pink slime". The USDA has allowed for companies to use pink slime in their products, and for years it has been sold in grocery stores and served in schools. Recently, because of the publicity of the pink slime, the USDA said that schools can pick whether they want to serve that type of meat or not.
This news really bugged me, what other disgusting ingredients are there in the food I am eating? It is so upsetting that the USDA, which is supposed to regulate what goes into our food, allows all of these nasty ingredients. This is just meat, who knows what we will come to know next. I think the USDA should start getting regulated.

SOAPST

We are reading the Great Gatsby in Miss Kirkmans AP english class. The book was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and it takes place in New York (Long Island to be exact) in the summer of 1922. The audience is who ever is reading it and the speaker is Nick Carraway. Nick lives next door to Jay Gatsby who is rich and throws lavish parties at his house every weekend. Gatsby is the exact opposite of Nick and is also in love with Nicks cousin, Daisy. The subject is mostly about Gatsbys life and about the rich people of New York. I am eager to read the rest of the book and put all the pieces together.

Argumentative Essay

Now that I am writing a short paragraph on language, I am definitely paying more attention and trying to analyze the way I speak. I feel as though I just had an epiphany, I have never really payed much attention to the way people speak and how it portrays their character. As I analyze myself, I realize that I speak differently based on my mood, the occasion, my environment, etc. When I am confident about something, the words roll out of my tongue so perfectly and loud, when I am unsure, I tend to speak in a lower tone and use the word "like" repeatedly, which is really bad!
I have noticed a long time ago that people who try to use big vocabulary words while having a normal conversation with their peers look awfully stupid rather than smart. There was this boy at my old school who desperately sought to have the title as the "smart one" and would always use terms that were unheard of to try to impress everyone but it would not really work out because people are able to tell the artificiality of his language.

11 year old girl dies from a fight

Joanna Ramos died shortly after she got into a fight with another 11 year old girl on Friday. The fight took place at her school and was reportedly over a boy. Ramos complained of a headache so she was rushed to the emergency room where she received surgery and later died. When I read this news I was very shocked. It is unbelievable that a little fight caused a little girl today, and it was over something so silly too. I feel bad for the other girl as well as Joannas dear family. Children need to learn that fighting is not a solution to any problem and it will only lead to worse things. This fight was completely avoidable, none of this would have happened if they had just talked about their problems instead of resorting to violence.

Gatsby Party

If I was rich like Jay Gatsby and had a hundred thousand dollars to spend on a party, I would live out all of my wildest dreams! My party would last an entire weekend and it would begin Friday morning. Everyone would gather at my house at exactly 10 o'clock for a fancy tea party dressed in only pastel colors, and large hats will be mandatory. We will eat the most delicious pastries and will drink only the finest imported tea shipped from different places of the world. After the tea party we will take a nap because we will have food coma. Around 6'oclock we will wake up and begin our night party which will consist of gourmet food made by private chefs, drinks, performers, and music. We will party all night long and have a great time.
The next morning we will have our private chefs cook us breakfast, than we will go bounce around in the 2,000 square foot moon bounce for some exercise. Once again, we will party all day afterwards and we will all go to bed together in an enormous outdoor tent that is provided with comfortable beds and is completely insect proof. In order to help us sleep better, we will have Lana Del Rey sing to us as we fall asleep. During the last day of my exquisite party, we will spend our morning and most of our afternoon sky diving. After we are done, we will all return to my house to have our final gourmet meal and end our unforgettable weekend.

Peanut Butter Pot

A man traveling at the Oakland international airport tried to smuggle pot in a skippy peanut butter jar last week. The 47 year old man admitted that the marijuana belonged to him and that he tried to hide it in a jar of peanut butter because he did not have a marijuana license. Authorities said that this was not the first time that someone tried to smuggle pot in a peanut butter jar. TSA spokesman Nico Melendez stated that "peanut butter is prohibited anyway because of the liquid ban." Well, better luck next time!

1920's Prohibition

The prohibition was a law enacted by government that banned the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol in the U.S. in 1920. Several reasons contributed to the illegalization of alcohol, including domestic abuse, work related accidents, and other social disturbances. The government decided it was time to put an end to the nuisance alcohol caused to the American people.

As a result of the illegalization, people began to make home made alcohol in their bathtubs, called moonshine, which was unsanitary and lead to many deaths. Alcohol began being sold in underground bars, called speakeasies, and illegal businesses run by notorious gangsters rapidly began to flourish. The prohibition did not last very long. By 1933, the 21st amendment was passed which legalized the consumption and sale of alcohol in the united states once again.

Whitney Houston's death may have been caused by drowning

As most of you have already heard, the legendary singer, Whitney Houston, passed away this saturday in her hotel suite. Though immediately after her passing it was assumed that her death was caused by a drug overdose, officials are now saying that she might have possibly drowned in her bathtub. Officials also speculate whether her death occurred naturally or not. According to the Los Angeles County coroner's office, her toxicology results from her autopsy will not be available until six to eight weeks.
Houston has been struggling with drugs for many years now. Many reports have surfaced about the singer/actors strange and unusual behavior in the recent years. Regardless of how she died, she will still be greatly missed. Her talent was truly remarkable and may she rest in peace.

Co-founder of Pinkberry beats up a homeless man

The co-founder of Pinkberry, Young Lee, has been charged with assault for chasing a homeless man and beating him with a weapon in East hollywood. Though this event occurred in June of last year, he is due in court on monday and he may face up to four years in prison. The police department believes that Lee got into an argument with the homeless man next to a freeway exit over the mans sexually explicit tattoo. This apparently is not the first time that the founder of the extremely successful frozen yogurt company, "Pinkberry," has gotten violent. Court records show that he has been charged for misdemeanor battery of a spouse, though the charge was later dropped, and a few other restraining orders due to threats of violence.  I will take this news into serious consideration the next time I am faced with the decision of eating pinkberry. I do not want to support a violent man who beats innocent people.

Observing Nature

Today at approximately 4:30 pm, I found myself sitting alone in front of Lulu's and Anna's front yard. Everyone had left the house, and my mom had not arrived yet to pick me up. During my twenty minute wait, I had nothing to do but observe my surroundings. While waiting, I realized how sweet and fresh the air smelled, and how often and loud birds chirp. I always hear these chirps, but I never pay attention to them or really listen to them. I found that it was rather soothing. I also noticed how the birds would fly in and out of a certain tree. It seemed like they were kind of playing around in a way, and it actually looked like a lot of fun. I even imagined myself being a bird in my after life, but then I remembered that they eat worms and the mother bird throws up the food from her stomach to feed it to her children so I changed my mind.
The birds were not the only thing I noticed. While sitting outside I saw quite a lot of old people walking alone on the quiet street, taking time to be alone with their thoughts, and just enjoying the beauty of nature. I always see this happen, it certainly was not the first time, but today while sitting and watching them, I understood why they do it so often. I imagined what it felt like to be in their shoes, to be of old age and know how short the amount of time you have left  here on earth is. I thought to myself, perhaps when you are closer to the end, you realize what life is really all about, and just how beautiful nature and life really are. My twenty minute observation has taught me so much more then I expected. It truly opened my eyes to all the things that happen around me everyday and it is a shame that I had never even noticed.

SOAPST

    During winter vacation, Miss Kirkmans AP English class read the play, The Death of a salesman, written by Arthur Miller. The speaker of the play was Arthur Miller. It was set in Brooklyn, New York, during the 1940's. The play can either be read as a book, or viewed as a theater play. The purpose of the play is to inform the audience about the struggle of achievement and life failures.

    I very much enjoyed reading this play. Though it was written approximately 60 years ago , it shows that not much has changes since than. The same problems occur on and on. The desire to achieve and impress, the denial, the cheating, the failures, the dreams. I learned so much from this short play and it has allowed me to have an even clearer vision on life.

Who I relate to the most

    Though I personally do not think that I relate to any of the characters in the play, if I had to choose, I would probably relate most to Happy. The reason I feel I resemble his character most is because I always have a positive view on life, no matter what the situation. Just like Happy, I do not allow anything to bring me down, no matter how much it pains me.
    Unlike Happy, I no longer live to impress any one else. If my experiences have taught me anything, it is to put myself first and give more value to myself. I used to put others before me and try to please everyone, and I would always end up suffering the most. I can not continue living my life for other people. I love to help and be there for others, but most of those people probably will not be there for me, which is the sad truth.