All of the Lights

    We live in a very modern world. Our world absolutely depends on electricity; laptops, cell phones, TVs, washers, dryers, and much, much more all depend on electricity. So image a world without electricity. What is there to do? Go outside? Play a board game? This all sounds old fashioned to us nowadays, but this is because families do not take the time to turn off their devices and actually have family time. So if the entire world were suddenly and completely cut off billions of people would be lost.
    I would most miss the lights. Of course, the first few days I would miss my cell phone, or my TV shows, but I can definitely live without them. On the other hand, I would miss my lights right away. I do not like being in the dark, at all. I am actually kind of afraid of the dark... I use the lights when there is no more sunlight left outside. Of course if it came down too it I could use candles, but as I stated, I am afraid of the dark and candles do not give off enough light for my standards. For me, lights are not just for keeping the monsters away during the night, I find so much beauty in looking at a lit up skyline, or twinkling Christmas lights on a snowy house. People often take lighting for granted because it is so easily available. For example, when stumbling around in the dark its much easier to flip a switch than fumbling around for a candle and a match. Even thought lights are very use full they can also be very expensive and waste a lot of electricity, which is exactly why I make it a point to turn off the lights when they are not in use, and save as much electricity for future generations.

Oh Sarah...

   I have read thousands of books in my short 15 years, but one books stands apart from all the rest. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen is my favorite book of all time. The story is about a young girl named Annabel Green. She seems to have the perfect life, but on the inside she is falling apart. Her sister has an eating disorder, her mom is crippling from depression, and she can not tell ANY one  not even her ex-bestfriend, what happened at the party that summer.
   I do not know why I fell in love with this book so much. I do not see myself in Annabel, though I see myself as wanting to be Annabel. Sarah Dessen does a fantastic job making all of her characters very relatable. Dessen is also probably my favorite author, because I own all 10 of her books and have read most of them more than once. Her writing makes me crave more and inspires me to write. My mother actually got me started reading Dessen and I have been addicted ever since. I own a book that was signed by her, though I have never actually met her. I would give anything to met her and let her know how much her and her books have meant to me.

Pathways in Life

           Everyone has intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in life. Intrinsic means internal motivation and extrinsic meaning external motivation. The decision to follow your intrinsic or extrinsic values is personally deciding which one is more important in life. In the poem “After Apple Picking” Robert Frost dives into a deeper meaning of goals in life. Through the use of imagery, Frost not only creates pictures of the hard and strenuous work the narrator does, but also the outcome of all the hard work in life.

            Frost’s use of imagery in the poem gives the reader a mental image of the hard work the narrator experiences. For example, Frost states “My instep arch not only keeps the ache/It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round/I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.” (l. 21-23). In these lines the deeper meaning of what Frost indirectly states that the narrator feels the aching in his feet from working tirelessly all day. He also puts detail into explaining the feel of the latter swaying underneath his feet and feeling the latter bend as he stands on it all day. This is just one explanation of the strenuous work the narrator does.

            Frost also uses imagery to explain how all of the hard work has affected him, and the choices he made in life. In the poem Frost states “For I have had too much/Of apple-picking: I am overtired/Of the great harvest I myself desired.” (l. 27-29) This is explain how the narrator is exhausted by the goals he wants to achieve in his life. He could possibly be stressed out by trying and trying by never fulfilling his want or need before his time is over.

            As stated before, Robert Frost digs deep into searching for what people really want out of life. He makes his readers think about the want or need in a persons life and asks them the question “What do you love to do in life?” If I had to choose something to do for the rest of my life, I would choose writing. I love to write anything; poems, lyrics, but mostly stories. That would be the one thing I would do if money were no object.

Icy Flames?

In class we are writing an essay on "After Apple Picking" by Robert Frost. I enjoyed the poem but I thought it would be nice to share my favorite poem by him (and possible my favorite poem of all time). I hope you enjoy (:

"Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,  
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice."

The Unchangeable

      I live with no regrets. Life is too short to constantly wish you had a do-over, so I make sure that I am happy with the choices I make. Although, I did not start living this lifestyle until I was a bit older and I was aware of the choices and consequences of life. It is not everyday that someone asks you "If you could change one thing that has happened in life, what would it be?"
      This has been a surprisingly difficult subject for me to write about, because the one thing I regret and want to change is something I do not enjoy talking about. It is not something I could even change if given the chance. It happened and that is that. No external force could has possibly made the outcome any different. But, IF I could change the unchangeable, I would go back and make sure my sister was born.
       I know that everyone has "their time" and death is inescapable but I wish I would have known her. I wish she would have gotten a chance to see the world and know how much her family loves her. I wish she could have opened her eyes at least once to see the world. Then we could finally know the color of her inexperienced eyes.
   It pains me to think of the "what if's". What if everything would have gone smoothly? What if we took her home? What if she grew up to be beautiful and smart? It pains me so much I have force myself to stop thinking sometimes. That is one of the main reasons I live with no regrets, I do not have time to sit around and imaging what times would have been like. Things happen for a reason. I have come to accept that, it took me a while, but I finally accepted it.

   

On My Honor

        When I got this assignment it was an extremely easy choice for me. My favorite hobby would have to be Girl Scouts. I started  Scouts when I was 5 years old. Every 1st grade girl gets a letter home about Girl Scouts when she is that young. My mom thought it would be a good opportunity for me, so it all began.
         Over my 11 years of being in Scouts I have done MANY things. I have facilitated hundreds of programs, helped thousands of girls, hiked miles and miles in the deep woods, and earned important awards. I am currently a Senior Girl Scout, after my 10th grade year I will be an ambassador Girl Scout. Ambassador is the last rank of girl scouting possible, then when you turn 18 (if you still decide to stay in) you will be a Adult Volunteer.
     Scouting is way more than selling cookies like most people think. It can become a lot of hard work,  because once you get to be a certain age in scouting you are no longer "doing crafts" and "playing games". You become the older girl that helps the little ones with their crafts. You become the one cooking Chili on an open fire for 100+ girls. You become the one that spends over 7 hours a week devoted to planning programs and thinking of new, exciting things to do.
     This is my favorite part of Scouting. I love working with the little girls and coming up with new events for them to go to. I love teaching younger girl the values and morels they should have in life. I love being the person they look up to and I hope they think "Wow, I want to be just like her when I grow up"  I recently started a group for high scout girl scouts, since we are a rarity. Currently in the group we are planning a Halloween Party for about 175 girls. I think it is so much fun to decide what games to play and what prizes to give out.
      I love Scouting. It has become a HUGE part of my life over the years. I know that even when I graduate I will still be involved. I hope to get my lifetime membership when I turn 18. That means that for the rest of my life I will be a registered Girl Scout. It brings me joy knowing that my blood will forever be green.

Paradise City

     This is has been very difficult subject for me to write about, because music has impacted my life so much. It took me all week to think of a way to attack this assignment, but I think I finally figured it out.
I love ALL types of music. Every genre and type of music could be found on my iTunes. I listen to everything from country to hip hop, and classical to rock 'n' roll. I also have a favorite artist and a favorite song in every single category so it makes it extremely hard for me to choose.
    I finally chose classic rock. I enjoy classic rock very very much. It was the music I grew up listening to and the music I still listen to on a daily base. Most of the bands/groups I love from is category are Guns N Roses, The Eagles, Queen, Def Leppard, The Beatles, Areosmith, Lynyrd Skyard, Pink Floyd and honestly the list could just keep going. I find comfort and joy in older music like this, because it just makes me happy and takes me to my childhood. It reminds me of my mom quizzing me in the car when I was younger and giving me a dollar every time I guessed the band correctly.
     This genre of music has helped me through many situations in my life and it gives me inspiration to keep going. I just hope that future generations get a chance to experience this music. I hope it impacts them as much as it has impacted me.