History Blog #4

As an honor student this past semester, I've had all kinds of different successes. The main successes, however, would have to be just simply passing the class, and getting stronger with my writing skills.

When i made the decision to be in honors, I was already prepared to work hard and put forth my best effort. Throughout the period of time that I did receive honors assignments, the work load started becoming heavier and heavier. Fortunately, with lots of determination, focusing, and energy i was able to work hard and get through obstacles.

As for my writing, i came into the 11th grade knowing how to write general essays, but by being in honors and Randy's class period, I was able to take my writing to a whole new level. I went from just writing everything that was on my mind and correcting any typos and errors, to writing filtered out thoughts that was in my mind in a more structured, organized, and creative way that was easy and interesting for the reader. Blog entries, note sessions, book readings, and Randy's teachings, were all keys that opened the door for me to better writing.

The only thing that I would do differently if I had to do this past semester of honors over again, is manage my time better. There were lots of times when I would get distracted or off task, due to out of control energy and tempting classmates. Everyone knows that I have lots of energy, but there were times when I should've controlled my energy a lot better, and tried to focus a lot harder to help not only myself, but those around me who were trying to concentrate as well. I have to admit that doing this became a little hard, because I felt like even when I tried to focus, there was always that someone that tried to either irritate me on purpose or get me of task. As a result, instead of getting further on whatever was supposed to be completed at that moment, I was actually falling behind. A solution to this problem then and for the future, is to just put forth more effort towards focusing and remembering that the only person responsible for my grades is myself, so that's who I need to worry about---myself.

My goals for next semester of honors is to just keep doing my best, controlling my energy better, getting an A, and managing my time better. The steps that I plan to take in order to achieve these goals, is to take advantage of resources (notes, books, web, Randy, etc., etc.), take good notes, remain positive no matter what, engage in class discussions and note taking sessions, and try hard to comprehend vocabulary and content.

If i were to choose any part of literature and History for our honors work, i would choose slavery. The reason why I would choose slavery, is because it's a topic that I've always been interested in, and it also leads to other possible topics such as, segregation, presidential elections, wars, and trades. So not only will we be able to learn something mew, but tie in and expand other topics that we've already learned as well.

Nature Writing Essay

Krakauer spent long chapters giving his best, most educated guesses about why climbers made certain decisions, and what happened to the people who disappeared. These are assumptions that that had to have resulted in major frustrations, as know one can really be entirely sure what took place.

After many mistakes, Krakauer manages to piece together his own puzzle of what haopened to whom and when during the climb, but the questions he struggles with in almost every situation are "why" and "how". Why does Anatoli Boukreev climb so far ahead of his clients? How does Krakuer mistake Martin Adams for Andy Harris? Why doesn't Rob Hall enforce the two o' clock turn around time? How does Beck Weathers find the strength to literaaly rais himself from the dead not once, but twice?!!! Why did no one notice the storm that hit during the afternoon of the summit? Why do the South Africans refuse to help? Why does Lopsang Sherpa exhaust himself by hauling not only his heavy equipment, but Sandy Pittman, up the mountain as well? Krakauer really struggles and hassles with these questions, attempting to answer them in a variety of different ways, all of which are worthy of further questioning and investigation. Hypoxia, or the influence of high altitude on decision-making, perception, and memory, further distorts and blurs everyones accounts of what happened on Everest, and makes it even more difficult to figure out how and why.

By being under the powerful influence of Hypoxia, Krajuer no longer had the option of functioning by himself, but becoming a puppet to Hypoxia. I'm asssuming that once Hypoxia overtook Krakauers body, his brainpower and process of thinking clearly began to decrease, during and even still after the climb, giving him no right to to still try and piece together wha he thought took place on the mountain. However, throughout the book, Krakuer did portray himself as physically being with the rest of the climbers, but mentally separated from the rest of the climbers. Loke on page 167 when Hall made it very clear to Krakauer that he was to climb no higher until the whole group caught up, his thought response was: "I felt frustrated about wasting so much time and peeved at falling behind everybody else." It was clearly obvious that Hall knew that Krakauer was getting ahead of himself and was trying to put a hold on him so that everyone could say together, however, Krakauer was becoming irritated and wanted to climb at his ow pace. Somehow, this could've benn what decreased his consideration for others, increased his frustration, and then led him to criticize other people.

At the end of the day, Krakauer knew that it is unlikely that the other clients would be capable of helping him if he were to get stranded, and he knows that in order to be as safe as possible, self-reliance is essential. As a result, Krakauer often broke away from the group, climbing ahead of his teammates. He chose to avoid packs and traffic jams and relied on his own mountain climbing experience throughout the expedition. By doing this, I felt like Krakauer both helped and hurt himself. He helped himself by not putting turning over all his trust and life into someone’s hands and being aware of things on his own, and hurt himself by strongly letting his anger get the best of him while under the influence of Hypoxia. Eventually, individualism got the best of him, verbally wounding and hurting relatives of the deceased through a criticizing piece he wrote, exposed in Outside magazine. In the magazine, Krakauer, in my opinion, did not acurately address and explain what took place on the mountain. I feel like some of the things that he said were not thought out properly, and as a result he began receiving angry letters from people who did not agree with his version of what happened. One of the angriest was received from Scott Fisher's sister, Lisa Fischer-Luckenbach, who wrote the following in her letter:

........"What I am reading is a YOUR OWN ego frantically struggling to make sense out of what happened. No amount of your analyzing, criticizing, judging, or hypothesizing will bring the peace you are looking for. There are no answers. No one is at fault. No one is to blame. Everyone was doing their best at the given time under the given circumstances."

Through her words, I could almost feel the hurt and anger she must've been feeling while she was writing this letter, and also reading what was said by Krakauer in the magazine. Although, acoording to Krakauer, his intent was not to criticize any of the climbers, but to tell the story of what happened on the mountain and be as thorough and accurate as possible, he was still in the wrong by even trying to address anthing that happened on the mountain with anyone else, when his own mind and actions weren't even in their proper state when he was on the mountain!!

In the end, even though Krakauer did recognize the anger that he brought upon lots of people, and responded by expressing his "profound condolences" that's still not the point. The point, is that no matter how many condolences or apologies that he tries to give out, what he said, to this day, is still known and recognized by readers and people all over the world, and the people that died on Mt.Everest cannot be brought back.

Nature Writing~~Essay Draft

I believe that endurance and self-control are the two main qualities that make a person fit to climb Everest and possibly lead to disaster.

By being mentally prepared to endure the harsh conditions, obstacles, and hardhips that are presented to a climber while trying to climb Everst before you even began climbing on the mountain itself, you are already placing yourself further and further towards the top. Endurance can really go a long ways, simply because it's an emotional quality that can not only help mentally but physically as well. It's one thing to know your mind set before you get to the battle, but it's another when you actuakky began to fight it. Once you're on the mountain, the winds, risks, weather, thin air, and limited oxygen, are all external forces that a climber gas to be ready and wiling to deal with when climbing Everest. However, no matter how mentally or prepared a climber might be, having endurance can also possibly lead to a disaster.

It is possible for a climber to focus so much on endurance that they actually end up using all their energy, leaving them with nothing but hope and the little bit of frozed mind they have left to continue on. Eventually as a result, their body will slowly began to shut down, having to either be carried by a sherpa, freeze to death, or fall hundreds of feet down the side of Everese itself. That's why if a climber wants to even have a good chance of enduring the hardships of Everset, they need to be able to pace all the endurance out, saving and using energy when time to do so.

~End of Essay Beginning~

I Believe that the sugnificance of more guides dying than clients is simple. Most of the time when a person has to repeatedly do simething, they eventually start to beliieve that they know what they're doing and they're going to do it reat every time since they've done it so many times, resulting in relaxed caution and constant careful thinking. Whereas a person who's doing something for the first time, does do everything a lot more careful, and uses caution to the fullest. So maybe when it was time for the guides to lead the clients, they became a little too relaxed about their duty and their goal of getting the clents to the top, while the clients remained focus on safely getting to the top and being a lot more aware of what was going on since it was their first time.

Also, the guides' bodies have been exposed to those kind of altitudes and thin airs more than the clients so the cllients' bodies might have had more energy stored in them than the guides did.

The Great Gatsby!

At first glance, The Great Gatsby may just seem like a story of material objects and mixed emotions. However, underneath the surface, it's really a symbolic explanation of why and how the American Dream slowly began to fade away.

F. Scott Fitzgerald did a really good job of helping the reader to understand that the American Dream was originally about new ideas, individualism, and trying to persue happiness. However, fast and easy money, relaxed social values, and lack of good decisions corrupted that dream, mainly on the East coast. Luckily, the main plot line of the story did a great job of supporting this conclusion.

When Gatsby's goal of being able to love Daisy is ruined due to their different social statuses, he resorts to crime to be able to make enough money to impress her. I believe that Gatsby may have thought that at the moment that was the best decision, but in the end it really wasn't. Gatsby was getting attention from Daisy, true, but at the same time he was also digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole of lies. He was trying his hardest to shield the real him and put forth the fake. Unfortunately, Daisy became blinded by the riches, which made it harder for her to quickly move forward and find out the truth.

Different objects and things were placed in the story as meaningful, but only because the characters instilled them with meaning. For example, in chapter 2 Mrs.Wilson randomly asked Tom to buy her a dog---and he did. Now the gesture seemed very kind and sweet at first until the actual meaning made it's way to the surface. Soon after, when Mrs.Wilson arrived back to her apartment, the dog was quickly abandoned and no longer shown any attention. By Mrs.Wilson abandoning her new dog and not spending any time with it, she proved to the reader that she didn't actually want the dog, but the feeling of temporary pleasure and pampering. She knows that Tom is not her husband and that she cannot have him permanently, so she took advantage of the time she did have with him; entertaining herself and trying to make herself feel special by asking Tom to buy her the dog and getting it.

While West Egg represents newly rich and the more harder earned kind of money, East Egg, especially Daisy and Tom, represent the old rich and the more careless and flashy type of money. Fitzgerald strongly portrays the west Egg as not really "hip", more laid back, and lacking a good sense of taste and a well-rounded social life, while the East Egg an it's old money possesses lots of style, grace, and elegance. Unfortunately, what the East Egg possesses in taste and style, however, it appears to lack in heart and sincerity, as the East Eggers prove themselves to be careless, heartless bullies who are so used to turning to money and riches to ease their mind that they rarely even take the time out to take in the feelings and thoughts of others.

For example, at the end of the novel instead of the Buchanans showing their respect and attending Gatsby's funeral, they choose to move to a new house far away and isolate themselves from the funeral as if they didn't even know Gatsby. Gatsby, on the other hand, put forth his loyal heart and sincerity in chapter 7 when he stood outside of Daisy's window until four in the morning to make sure that Tom didn't hurt her.

In the end Gatsby's good qualities, loyalty and love, lead to his death when he takes the blame for killing Myrtle rather than letting Daisy be punished, while the Buchanans bad qualities, selfishness and greediness, help them to remove themselves from the unfortunate event not only physically but mentally as well.
As a whole, The Great Gatsby helped me as a reader to understand that even though the American Dream may be present in certain situations, it's not always a guarantee that there will be walls blocking outside forces, actions, and people, from corrupting the dream.


~Cited Source~

The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Honors Essay #3

The roaring twenties, also known as the jazz age, was a movement in which jazz music grew in popularity across the US and other parts of the world as well. After world war 1, over 500,000 african ameticans in serach of a better life, moved to the northerm part of the United States. With them, they brought their cultures, and in New York is where the start of the Harlem Renaissance took place. While this was going on, the works of african americans in the writiing and music fields escalated, making styles of music such as Dixieland and the BLues a lot more popular.

During the twenties lots of discoveries were arriving, including both penicillin and insulin. Penicillin is is the world's first antibiotic, and was discovered by British scientist Alexander Fleming.

Your MSB Organization

~Blue Frontier Campaign~

*A news group that works to support seaweed efforts at the local, regional, and national level, with their emphasis on bringing forth the voice of citizen-activist.

Blue Frontier Campain interacts with both the Shell oil industry and the recreational fishing organization to use the public listening session to complain that they'd been excluded from the public process.

~Iredale's Mineral Makeup~

*Jane Iredale's all natural-mineral cosmetics of the new millennium are formulated with pure micronized minerals and pigments that have the ability to cover almost any skin probem, offering coverage that traditional makeup can only envy.

Her website didn't really state any intercations. But she does interact with the government as a whole when she advertises and promotes her cosmetics to gain more consumers and attention in the market

Gatsby! Ch 1-4

I feel like Nick's detachment from the story is how he's sort of on the outside looking in at the things goin on in his surroundings. He has a lot of thoughts and opinions about things, but tends to keep all of that to himself. Another way that I think that Nick is detached from his surroundngs is because of the way he sort of carries himself and handles different situations. For example, when he was at Gatsby's party he wasn't really trying to mingle or socialize with anybody he was just being a loner, and resorted to the bar section as sort of a way to kind of "look cool" or blend in with the crowd. Then when he saw Mrs.Baker he greeted her very loudly as if he planned to see her there, knowing good and well that he was just trying to play the role like he actually knew somebody.

Gatsby's detachment from the story is how he's placed in the story in a kind of mysterious and interesting way. It's like he's a apart of the story, but at the same time ot apart of the story. To me it seems like Gatsby's hiding an important secret and is trying to cover it up by being kind and reserved. But i have a feeling that later on the truth is going to be revealed and it's going to put all the pieces of Gatsby's mysterious puzzle together.

Beginning The Great Gatsby

Nick Caroway is the author of The Grea Gatsby. He comes from a wealthy family and has money, but nothing compared to the people who live around him. He's neither old or new money, but is moving to New York to try and become a bonds trader to get to the status of new money. He's currently renting a small house in the west egg, that he describes as "an eyesore". He used to be in the military and fought in World War 1. His father gave him advice and said: "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had." As a result, Caroway spends time trying to convince the reader that he is not judgemental.

By F. Scott Fitzgerald choosing the specific narrator that he chose rather than a different kind of person or style, he accomplishes the idea of sort of taking you through an organized journey. As a reader you're able to get informed about the characters and the plot, but at the same time you're also able to enjoy and understand the book as well.

Critique a Professional Example

~Professional Example~

The above pictures are a stack of mineral eye shadows and a professional scrapbook page example. What I plan to do is morph information about mineral cosmetics and the quality of ocean water so that my essential question is answered through a creative scrapbook.

The most successful element of the scrapbook example are the photos and the way the layout is set up. It's creative and also easy to navigate around and understand.

The main message of the scrapbook page is that the world as a whole has the power to make a difference in the beauty of our beaches and our environment. The reason why i know this i because it's clearly stated in Kennedy's quote and it's in really big letters on the page.

I think that the intended audience for this piece of work is anyone who can read. People of all ages even toddlers can start early trying to help get our environments and beaches a lot cleaner. From simply disposing of trash properly to volunteering in beach clean-ups.

I think that the main specific elements that come together to deliver the main message are the photos and the quote. I feel like the quote was the intro for the main performance while the photos were the main performancprohee.

To get my message delivered and my essential question answered for the MSB project I'm going to combine information about mineral cosmetics and ocean water quality to show how the two contribute to each other, the market, and society as a whole.

One technique or strategy that I noticed the creator used for this work was the "less is more" startegy. He only used one large photo, a quote, a straight to the point write up, a headline, and a few little objects or gadgets for decoration. I feel like by him putting not too much and not too little amounts of information and decorations it made the crapbook page very neat, exciting, informative, and attention grabbing all at the same time without overwhelming the viewer.

The reason why i chose this work example is because i feel like it really represents a creative professional scrapbok page. I also chose this example because i love the layout and i would like to do a scrapbook instead of an album. I feel like an album is sort of pushing the line and i don't really feel think i would be able to have enough access to studio time. But hopefully my fans will understand my circumstances and continue looking forward to my album later on down the road.

Honors Novel #2

Although the community's shunning of Seth and Baby Sugg's for thinking too highly of themselves is unair, the fact that Seth prefers to steal food from the restaurant where she works rather than wait in line with the rest of the black community, shows that she does consider herself different from the rest of the blacks in her neighborhood, and also unveils her uncivilized free and wild thinking.

Sethe's most striking charactersistics, however, is her devotion to her children. Unwilling to release her children to the physical, emotional, and spiritual trauma she endured as a slave, she tries to murder them; demonstrating "her version" of motherly love and protection. Her memories of this cruel act and the brutality she to suffered as a slave, penetrate her everyday life and leads her to believe that past trauma can never really be erased, but continued somehow in the present. As a result, Sethe spends her life attempting to avoid encounters with the past. Did Sethe's fear of the past lead her to ignore the overwhelming evidence that beloved was the reincarnation of her murdered daughter?

Still, even after she acknowledges Beloved's identity, Sethe shows herself to still be enslaved by the past, because she quickly surrenders to Beloved's demands and allows her to be consumed by Beloved. Only when Sethe learns to confront the past head-on and maintain herself in it's presence, can she be able to free herself from it's power and begin to live peacefuilly and responsibly in the present.

Where slavery exists, everyone suffers a loss of humanity and compassion. When schoolteacher's nephews seize Sethe in the barn and violate her, stealing the milk her body is storing for her infant daughter, her uncivilized free and wild thinking begins to play a very important role in her actions. From risking her life escaping the horrific farm, to forcefully murdering her daughter. But could you really blame her? I mean after living and enduring such a rutheless lifestyle and environment for so long, her mind just simply began to stray further and further away from a "normal humans" way of thinking. But it's not her fault. She was hidden so far back into the darkness of all the negative situations that she had experienced, that the only thing her mind focused on was doing whatever she could to escape and protect her children----attempting to kill them was her first and only option.

I believe that Morrison's main objective was to recover a history that had been lost to the damage of forced silences and influenced forgefulness. As a reader, from Sethe's experiences, I learned that before a stable future can be created, the "ghosts" of the past must first be confronted and understood. Throughout the novel, I noticed that Morrison set the plot up so that like Sethe, readers must first confront the history and details of slavery in order to address and understand it's legacy.

Newspapers & MSB

The main lessons I learned while doing the Industrializaton Newspapers

(IN) that I can carry forward into the MSB project is to keep everything that I do organized, be

consisitent with my work, and pace myself.

During the IN project a lot of my drafts, notes, and critiques were all over thge place and dometimes I couldn't even find the things that I needed, which eventually led me to wasting a lot of my time just loooking for things. I know that if I am a lot more organized during the MSB project then less time willl be wasted and my transitions between working on different things for the project will be a lot smoother.

Being consistent with work is very good thing because it makes it so that for the most part you're always on task and you're constantly working up to ypur final product. For the IN project i found myself getting off track a lot or becoming distracted by a varirty of different non-important things. As a result I began getting behind in my work and everything started to become really stressful. To solve this problem so that it wont happen in the MSB project I am going to make sure that I'm constantly giving myself work for my project. Hopefully by doing this, I will be so focused on the work that I have to do that I won't even be able to give myself a chance to get off task.

When there are a lot of things that I have to do, sometimes I tend to either focus really hard on one of the tasks and wait until the last minute for the other ones, become stressed, or get irritated. The reason why these sorts of things happen is because I get so focused on trying to complete everythingh and get a good grade, that I barely give myself time to relax or get my thoughts together. This definetely cannot happen in the MSB prject, so I'm going to start pacing myself. By pacing myself I give myself a chance to complete the things that I need to get done,

while also being able to give my brain time to breath and take breaks.

MSB people, groups, and orgs!

~Organization Resources~

San Diego Coastkeeper

http://www.sdbaykeeper.org/

I would want to interview a professional water tester. The reason why is because it will help me to gain more information on the water around me, and the information will give me more ideas for my album. In order for my album to have accurate information, be the best that it can be, and maybe a few voice samples or recordings, i will need to do research on my own while also using research from others.

Voice of San Diego

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/cafesandiego/

I would want to interview Erik Bruvold, President, from the National University System Institute for Policy Research. The reason why is because i feel like he would be able to not only give me actual facts about our water supply and the effects it has on the society or world as a whole, but also his own opinion. It's always good to have a variety of facts and opinions because lots of people tend to dissagree with the facts and believe there own thoughts.

The San Diego River Park Foundation

http://www.sandiegoriver.org/

I would want to interview Project & Outreach Associate, Elizabeth Hanley. The reason why i would want to interview her is becaus ei'm curious as to how she does or could get the youth more involved in helping the ocean become cleaner and safer for everyone. Since youth become clueless to the important things going on in our ocean water, it woud be good if something big and fun could be done to get the youth more involved with improving our ocean water.

~Government People~

Council President Pro Tem Kevin Faulconer

Councilmember Tony Young

Councilmember Donna Frye

I would want Council President and his council members to buy my album. The reason why is because my album is going to be a high quality piece of work that will not only be able to entertain them, but inform them as well. Then maybe, they will like the album so much that they will refer it to other people, and it will continue on like a chain reaction, helping me to raise money for the the class, get more fans, and help my album to go platinum.

Honors History Writing #2

McKinley or Bryan? Silver or gold? The questions that are being asked all across the US. Both McKinley and Bryan are fighting for what they believe is right and to earn their title as president, but only one can come out a winner. Who should it be?

With no hesitation at all, Republican McKinley is surely the right candidate that posseses the key to a better America, and absolutely deserves to become the next President. McKinley's strategic planning of speeches and ideas will lead him to slowly but surely place Bryan in the shadows of uncertainty and confusion.

Mckinley's tariff, a surcharge or overcharge on imported goods designed to protect domestic industries by raising costs and and rstricting access to cheaper foreign goods, became part of the campaign platform McKinley ran on and was a foundation of his economic philosophy.

With the help of McKinleys best asset, his campaign manager Mark Hanna, also chairman of the National Republican Committee, Mckinley was saved from an embarrassing bankruptcy by raising money to pay off a loan for which the co-govener co-signed. By doing this, McKinley is now able to really let his skills and his desire for gold to be the currency for America shine through.

Eventually, McKinley began to adopt a "Front Porch" startegy for the fall campaign. Similar to recent candidates, he believes that groveling for votes is beneath the pride and dignity of the man and the office. As a result, McKinley stays at his home in Canton and campaignes, literally, from his front porch. Hanna also pays for tens of thousands of supporters by train to hear the candidate speak from his home.

Bryan on the other hand, seems to be in a constant state of motion throughout the campaign. He travels the country by train, and makes twice as many speeches as McKinley---So what!!!! It doesn't matter how many more things Bryan does than McKinley, it's all in the delivery and the main message behind the things's that he does. As of right now, I can honestly say that both arguemenst are neck and neck, but McKinley is definetely making a more poweful impact on his crowds than his opponent.

Although lots of people are opposing the idea of making gold the currency, and believes that the way McKinley is conducting his way of campaigning is rediculous, he still continues to rise above the negativity and keep his eye on his main prize of becoming president. Where there's a will there's a way, and McKinley is not going to let anyone or anything get in the way of getting his ideas and speeches out across America.

McKinley defended his campaign by saying: "I might as well put up a trapeze on my front lawn and compete with some professional athlete as go out speaking against Bryan. I think when I speak."

Mckinley refused to make the issue out of the gold/silver question as Bryan did. Why? Beause Bryan was more focused on making himself look good as a candidte rather than helping America look good as a whole---But not Mckinley! Besides, his 1890 tariff was the key to economic prosperity in his mind and he's making sure that he takes every opportunity before the large crowds in his front yard to drive home the point.

Yes! it is true that Bryan is a MAJOR supporter of the silver standard. However, the original currency was actually gold, but was soon forced to be joined witht he option of silver when the opposition to the gold standard emerged from farmers in the west and great plains. So in my opinion, i don't think that the ENTIRE currency should be changed. A few complaints and problems from farmers can be easily taken care of with a better leader. With McKinley's strong and steady ways of thinking and handling business, supporters, and ideas, America can easily be carried out of the depression, and veered to a better road of success and solutions.

In the end, when Mckinley becomes President, his decisions will have positive repercussions for years to come. His drive and outlooks on life and America will lead to new and improved ways of living and spending money. America will definetely not regret electing William McKinley to become President, and everything will soon become fabulous!!

MSB comments, ideas, plans, critiques and more!

~Student Resources/Helpful ideas~

From Jasmine Jackson's blog #15 (examples of professional work) i thought that the mercedez timeline was a cool idea because it explained a little bit of history behind the mercedez. For my own album, i might add sort of like a hidden message in my lyrics or my album booklet, so i can sort of confuse my fans in a fun and interesting way.

From Calvin Brown's blog #14 (possible MSB question) i noticed that he had some really in-depth questions. Mine are somewhat in-depth, but i feel like after looking at Calvin's blog, i may need to expand a little more with my main question so that my tracks can consist of a few more concepts and possibly more material to use in my verses.

From Jasmine Roesners"Possible MSB Products" blog i realized that one of her possible products was to do a video/documentary. Doing a video/documenatry really exposes you to different people who you could use for interviews or resources,, and for my album i feel likei can also use people for not just interviews and resources, but maybe voice recordings for my songs and extras for certaint photos as well.

Industrialization and Coastal Environments

~News Story Excerpt~

They trace the change in the ethnic composition of American society; the movement toward equal rights for racial minorities and women; and the role of the United States as a major world power.

~Questions/Answers~

1. What is the issue, controversy or event in the story? What are the basic facts?

This issue is pretty much a group of 11th grade students who are trying to emphasize the major turning points in American history, due to the beginning of the industrial revolution, that led uis to where were are now as an economy. They explain how the US acts as a whole, and what things, people, and situations influence different companies and people within the US to act how they act and do the things that they do.

2. What information is missing from the story?

I think that the only thing that's really missing from the story are a few more deep and detailed facts. A lot of the facts in the story are very general, with little evidence and explanations as to why the facts are true, which got me alittle confused. So maybe they could've just gone in a litttle deeper, just so that the reader wouldn't have to guess to hard to figure out what exactly they were talking about.

3. What would be your next steps if you were creating a follow up to this story?

If i were to create a follow up to this story, i would probably choose one main issue that i felt was important to our economy as a whole, and explain step by step what the issue was, how i thought that the issue was affecting our economy, and what i thought could be done to help slow if not stop the issue from causing anymore damage.

Possible MSB Products

~Album (idea #1)~

For this product, i wanted to create an album that consisted of six tracks that creatively explained how ocean water affects mineral cosmetics in the modeling industry and the market through sound, beats, and lyrics. Along with the album case and the album itself, i wanted to also include the album booklet with different photos that relate to my main question and a summary of each song that explained the meaning and purpose of writing the song.

~Professional Work Example~

I used Beyonce's album cover as an example of professional work not only because it looks fabulous, but because she really knows how to connect herself to her music, her style, and her background, which is what i would like to do for my own album. The name of the album is I Am Sasha Fierce, the songs and lyrics within the album are fierce:

lyrics ex. "I'm a peasant by some standardsBut in your eyes I'm a queenYou see potential in all my flawsAnd that's exactly what I need...."

Her outfit, hair, props, and make-up are fierce, and her black shadowy background gives off sort of a secretive fierce vibe. So as you can see, everything just sort of all ties in together, which helps her fans get a really good understanding of the message and image she is trying to portray. For my own album, i would like to do the same. I want to take photos, write lyrics, and record songs that tie in really well to my main question, and that my fans can enjoy and learn from.

~Ideas to Use~

*Strong/Creative Photo- It's really important that my photos are very creative and connected to my product as a whole. The pictures could be the firstthing that my fans look at, so it's important to have them set-up and chosen in a way that is interesting, easy to understand, and a boost to my overall product.

*Strong Meaningful Lyrics- In order for my fans to be able to enjoy and learn something from my songs, my lyrics need to be well thought out, organized, creative, and fabulous. It's always good for a song to hav a nice groovie beat, but eventually the song becomes pointless when people realize that the song has no actual meaning.

*Powerful Theme- The album absolutely has to have a powerful theme. Since my main question would be how does ocean water affect mineral make-up?, then my theme would be focuse on ocean water and mineral cosmetis/fashion. So I would somehow have to morph the two together to make the final product flow nicely.

~Scrapbook (idea #2)~

I love being in pictures, and i love taking pictures as well. For this product, i wanted to create a scrapbook with a variety of different well-taken photos (with a few edited in Photoshop) that connected to my main question. Along with the photos, there would be a high quality piece of writing/summary that explained each photo and what it meant, and different data graphs, facts, and captions, that guide the reader/viewer through the pathway that leads to the answer to my main queston.

~Professional Work Example~

I chose this scrapbook page as an example of professional work because it's very colorful, interesting, organized in a unique way, and it grabbed my attention. If i were to choose to do the dcrapbook, i would wabt all my photos to stand out and grab the reader/viewer's attention. I also chose this as an example because of the type and the format of the words. While looking at the scrapbook page, i noticed that there weren't too many words, and there weren't too little words. It was just the right amont of words that could explain what the picture(s) or the page was all about, while reframing from boring the reader.

~Ideas to Use~

*Color Scheme- i really liked how this person chose colrs that were somewhat bright and fabulous, but not too bright to the point where the reader no longer wants to keep reading or looking through the scrapbook. So i would do the same for my own scrapbook, which is to be bright, but stay right. Meaning, use bright colors that will attract the reader, but not colors that would scare the reader away.

*Word Choiuce/Format- Sometimes reading long text can be boring, so i would want the captions and the descriptions to be staight to the point, so that the unnecessary words and sentences can be eliminated.

*Close-Up Photos- I really like how the flower is zoomed in because it helps me adjust to what that part of the scrapbook is going to be about. Chosing photos for a scrapbook can be difficult sometimes, but it's a lot easier when you know your purpose for doing the scrapbook, and how you want the purpose to be potrayed through your scrapbook.

MSB Questions and Resorces

~Main Question~

How does ocean water affect mineral cosmetics in the modeling industry and the market?

~Subquestions~

How does the modeling industry thrive off of mineral cosmetics?

Are there more mineral cosmetic products bought than ordinary cosemtics?

After the needed elements are collected from the ocean water, what is the process of making mineral make-up ready to be bought and used?

~Useful Resources~

~website~

http://www.syl.com/hb/healingpropertiesofdeadseamineralsusedasmineralmakeupingredients.html

~News Article~

http://www.webmd.com/skin-beauty/features/the-lowdown-on-mineral-makeup

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUH-GrhTBYQ

All 3 resources are really going to help me because they provide lots of information about salt water, the elements of mineral cosmetics, the process of making mineral make-up, and what makes mineral cosmetics so much better than ordinary cosmetics. Once all this information is applied to my album drafts, hopefully all the parts to my prtoject will just fall into place, and my debut album and it's tracks will be on point, creative, fabulous, and informative.

More ideas that formed in my head while collecting these resources were:

- Connecting the use of mineral cosmetics to society as a whole

- Using 1 specific celebrity as an example of how mineral make-up enhances your face and overall look

- Explaining the steps it takes to actually get the minerals from the water

- Discussing the origin of mineral cosmetics

- Discussing how the difficulty of collecting minerals from the ocean changes with the change of weather

- Mentioning the different modeling agencies and brands that are major supporters and consumers of mineral cosmetics

Honors Novel #1

Because Huck is a child, the world seems extremely new to him. Everything he encounters is an occasion for thought. Because of his background and past life, however, he does more than just apply the rules---he creates his own. Throughout the novel, it's clearly shown that even though Huck is imperfect, he still represents what everyone is capable of becoming: a thinking feeling human being rather than just simply an object in the machine of society.

Huck's youth is an important factor in his moral education over the course of the novel. Sometimes we believe that only a child is open-minded enough to undergo the kind of development that Huck does. Since Huck and Tom are young, their age lends a sense of "play" to their actions, which excuses them in certain ways and also enhances the novel's commentary on slavery and society, helping the reader to get a better understanding of Huck's emvironment and how he adapts and learns from it.

"Tom told me what his plan was, and I see in a minute it was worth fifteen of mine for style, and would make Jim just as free a man as mine would, and maybe get us all killed besides. So I was satisfied, and said we would waltz in on it."

Ironically, Huck often knows better than Tom and the adults around him, even though he has lacked the guidance that a proper family and community should have offered him. Twain also drew links between Huck’s youth and Jim’s status as a black man: both are vulnerable, yet Huck, because he is white, has power over Jim. But being the kind of thinker that Huck is, he doesn't let that known fact get in the way of helping Jim. In this quotation from Chapter 34, we see Huck once again swayed by his friend Tom. Although in practical terms it would be quite simple to break Jim out of the shed, Tom insists on a more complicated plan with “style.” Huck could've just simply argued with Tom to try and get his point across that Tom's plan was not a good idea and that it was an easier way to help Jim, but instead he just went along with Tom's idea to keep down confusion.

By focusing on Huck’s education, Twain was able to help the reader gain a better understanding of Huck as a person and how is process of thinking works. As a poor, uneducated boy, or orphan, Huck withdraws his trust from the morals and precepts of the society that treats him as an outcast and fails to protect him from abuse. This conclusion about society, and his growing relationship with Jim, lead Huck to question many of the teachings that he has received, especially regarding race and slavery. More than once, Huck chose to “go to hell” rather than go along with the rules and follow what he has been taught. Huck bases these decisions on his experiences, his own sense of logic, and what his developing conscience tells him. On the raft, away from civilization, Huck is especially free from society’s rules, able to make his own decisions without any restrictions.

By the end of the novel, Huck learned to “read” the world around him, to distinguish good, bad, right, wrong, menace, friend, and so on. His moral development is sharply contrasted to the character of Tom Sawyer, who is influenced by a crazy mix of adventure novels and Sunday-school teachings, which he combines to influence and help his outrageous and potentially harmful escapades. Luckily, Huck was strong enough t0 look beyond Tom's selfish and confused way of thinking and living, and act in a way that took him from being the object in the machine of society that depended and waited on the macine to help him, to the machine that helped the rest of the incoming objects.

Media Saves the Beach questions

1. How does ocean water affect mineral cosmetics in the modeling industry and the market?

Honestly I chose this question because I'm really into fashion, and I feel like going beyond the normal thoughts about water will connect with my album, and interest not only myself but my fans as well.

2. In what creative ways can the youth help prevent water pollution?

I chose this question because youth have lots of energy, but it would be a lot better if all that energy could be put towards a helpful cause. So finding an answer to this question and getting the youth involved, could bring the ocean closer and closer to becoming a lot more clean and healthy.

3. In what ways can celebrities help the public become more aware of ocean pollution?

Celebrities are one of the main attractions in the world, so I believe that if we somehow involve them in spreading awareness about water pollution, we can gain a lot more attention from more people.

Honors History Writng #1

Somewhere in the midst of careless politics and mentally blinded humans, the value and impact of the civil war on modern America has been hidden and forgotten by people all over the world.

Mentally blinded humans? You know, those people who do things without taking in the consideration of others. However, everyone was entitled to their own opinions and beliefs. Due to friction between different races, thoughts and beliefs interferred with each other causing lots of negativity and conflicts.

Union and Confederates; or the good and the bad. Union (north) being the group that is completely against slavery, racism, and segregation, while the confederates (south) are absolute supporters of slavery, racism and segregation. Why? Because in America, both past and present, finding the best solutions takes countless number of opinions from a variety of different people, while in other cases, finding a good solution only takes the strong and steady thoughts of just one person.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free."

Abraham Lincoln was responsible for freeing all slaves on January 1, 1863. It took Lincoln a while to do this, but his main objective was to keep the country together, and make decisions for the country that kept it balanced on both sides. In the beginning, Lincoln made it very clear to the people that he was not for slavery, and he wasn't against slavery either. He was a supporter of doing whatever it took to try and stop the country from being divided. However, despite all the pressures, loss of life, battlefiels setbacks, general's who weren't ready to fight, and assassination threats, Abraham Lincoln continued to endure four long years of Civil War. The Emancipation went into effect, and that's what led to the freedom of slaves.

The civil war split Americans into groups beyond that of the confederacy and the union, but also those who were pro-slavery and racist, against slavery and non-racist, and undecided.

" blacks just need to get over slavery," she said, as though talking of the flu. "You can't live in the past."

This quote was stated by a waitress named Frances Chapman who worked at a small diner in Kentucky, who was a supporter of the rebel mascot ( two flag-waving confederates), and felt that blacks were overreacting to the mascot. How would she know? She is not black, nor has she ever worked or experienced the lifestyle of a slave on a slave plantation. In order to understand a person's life you have to be able to put yourself in their position. So therefore, it was wrong of Frances to jump to such a bizarre explanation as to what blacks need to do with their thoughts about slavery. She hasn't even really took the time out to uinderstand why blacks feel the way they do! Luckily, there are others with common sense who don't feel the same way and were completely against slavery.

Flppin tried to calm both blacks and whites, but he felt he simply couldn't break through. "I don't know if it's the movies, the music videos," he said, "but there's no respect for adults, or for human life. You just had this feeling all the time that something bad was about to happen."

Flippin was a black teenager that attended Todd central, and also one of the few kids that actually tried to look beyond the friction between both races and bring the two together. But Sometimes, when teenagers are so far into a certain type of lifestyle and are constantly being brought up and raised by a family that teaches them not to like certain people, things, and ideas, it becomes hard trying to pull them away from that and get them to believe and do something else. But the point is, Flippin saw the problems and the conflicts, and found it within his heart and mind to at least try to get both blacks and whites to get along.

Any person, young or old, has their own individual way of thinking. But sometimes people who are undecided about themselves or their opinion and beliefs, become a little too attached and influenced by others' way of thinking, and their minds eventually begin to mold and form into a permanent mind set that becomes hard to change. In some cases, this can truly be a bad thing because instead of people moving forward and trying to come together as one to make the world a better a place, everyone begins to mentally move backward, making the world a more difficult place to live in.

Although the civil war has already ended it is still going on. How you ask? Because minds and actions of people all over the world are still reflecting the causes and amunitions that caused the civil war, marking the civil war as the beginning, maybe even the end, of modern America.

What's the deal with reconstruction?

Reconstruction is the period after the civil war when states that were formerly apart of the Confederacy were brought back into the United States. During reconstruction, the south was divided into military districts so that the elections could be supervised to set up new state governments. These governments often included carpetbaggers (northener who went to the south and became active in Republican politics). However, former officials of the Confederacy were not allowed to serve the carpetbaggers. Eventually, the new state governments apprved 3 ammendments to the constitution: the 13th ammendment which outlawed slavery; the 14th ammendment which kept some former supporters of the Confederacy out of public office until Congress allowed them to serve; and the 15th amendment which guaranteed voting rights for black men. Once a state approved the 13th and 14th ammendments, it was to be readmittd or returned to the US and again represented or brought back up in Congress. The official end of reconstruction came n 1877, when the last troops were withdrawn or taken away from the south.
~Excerpt From Modern Issue~

A recession is a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales. A recession begins just after the economy reaches a peak of activity and ends as the economy reaches its trough.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/r/recession_and_

depression/index.html

Reconstruction relates to today because there are a variety of different thing in our society and the world that are currently being reconstructed or needs to be reconstructed. One issue that currenly stands out to me right now is money and the recession. Due to money not being used properly in a lot of different situations, lots of banks were shut down, and as a result lots of peoples funds and bank accounts became messed up. I believe that obama and the society is currently trying to reconstruct the spending of money by being a lot more aware of what is being bought, what banks are and aren't handling money correctly, and how spendings are being prioritized. It's a process that takes lots of time and thought, but eventually will be completed.

Media Saves The Beach in The News

"We see the warning signs-the closed fishing seasons, the listing of endangered species, the posted beaches-but we dont have a comprehensive picture of the magnitude of these problems," Griggs, a Marine scientist said." We need a better understanding of how the coastal environment functions and how human activity has affected this zone so we can develop effective and informed environmental policy."

The article that this excerpt was taken from was about a research program started by the University of California, that helps to solve the major management problems facing California's 1,100mile coastline.

The excerpt and the article itself really does tie into the roject and connects to our class because both are trying to get people to gain a better understanding, and become more aware of the water and oceans around us, and what's within the water and the oceans that can make a major impact on not only our society, but the world as well.

(click link below for article)

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5367/is_200103/ai_n21469947/

Media Saves The Beach

The main thing that I'm really excited to learn about while doing this project is the process of how the trash makes it's way in the ocean and on the beach. I know that there is lots of trash and pollution on the beach, but I've never gotten a full understanding of how it gets there.


I know that there are a lot of options and mini projects you can choose from with the Media Saves the Beach project. However, I love music so I think that I'm going to create an album. The actual booklet that will go inside the album cover will incorporate the writing and some facts, while the actual song on the album will incorporate most of the facts along with a fabulous beat. Then, the album cover will be some sort of creative designed picture that somehow connects to the beach and the things that go in within the beach water.

AmericanIcons~ Final Product

Fab⋅u⋅loc⋅i⋅ty [fab-u-los-i-tee]

-noun
1. An act of being yourself, unique, smart, fabulous, creative, and above all, humble.

Looking at Beyonce is similar to looking at myself in the mirror. I see beauty, hard work, power, and intelligence. I’ve never been one to pattern the things that I do after someone else, but I have been one to become inspired by someone else. I consider myself a blooming flower. A flower that needs my own elements to grow and bloom properly, but also the help and guidance from others to bloom to my fullest potential.

Beyonce first inspired me when I was around 8 years old in the year 2001. During this year Beyonce was not yet a solo artist, and her first album Writing’s on the Wall, was released with the former group Destiny’s Child. There are lots of songs that I remember hearing and enjoying at the time, but not as much as I enjoyed listening to Destiny’s Child and the lead voice of Beyonce.

I’ve always been a very prissy girly girl that was attracted to girly activities and objects, along with girly music. Sometimes, it was almost a mind tug of war between an alter ego and myself. One side of me only wanted to be that fabulous diva, while another side of me wanted to let that side go and become more open-minded to more meaningful and important thoughts and ideas.

Through the lyrics of Destiny’s Child, I began to find myself. I became a lot more connected to life and the different decisions that I was making. Unfortunately, it was still something else that I was longing for, something more that I wanted to connect to and be apart of. Soon…it was found.

In the year 2004, Beyonce became a solo artist and I became a reflection. I began making and gaining all the connections that I was hoping for. Everytime I watched Beyonce on and off stage, she exhibited such diverse characteristics, emotions, and ideas similar to myself. It was almost as if Beyonce and I both had an installed knob in our minds and bodies that turned itself from high to low according to what situations and environments we were in. Making this connection helped me to understand my icon and I a lot better.

Everyone knows that I am a very smart girl, but at times can be a little too loud and energetic. Over time, however, I’ve learned to control my strong personality and adapt to my surroundings. For example, if I’m in class listening to a lecture or trying to take notes, my knob would turn to low and I would become a little more reserved and toned down. The reason for this, is so that I would not distract myself, or others from learning and absorbing new information. Now, if it were time for a project, my switch would turn to high so that I could incorporate my traits, creativity, and energy into the project.

As a result of having these mental switches and becoming inspired by Beyonce, I’ve become a lot more balanced, and my actions and thoughts have remained well thought out and organized. I’ve learned that It’s all a matter of staying true to myself, while also being aware of my audience and knowing how to portray and exhibit myself in front of them. I am an icon that would like to be known and remembered as a fabulous hard worker that tried my best to spread positivity, and help myself while helping others along the way.

Sources

Oscar Hidalgo, New York Times, “Beyonce Knowles,” http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/k/beyonce_knowles/index.html. (Accessed September 13, 2009)

Norment Lynn, Ebony, “Beyonce heats up Hollywood,” http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-88581939.html. (Accessed September 13, 2009)

American Icons~ Reflection

While doing this project I discovered that my writing is very creative and organized. I have a way of getting my points across, while also keeping the reader's attention.

Two writing technique that I found myself constantly using for my artist statement were "Make meaning early" and creating a relationship with my audience. When I first began writing my artist statement, I knew that I wanted to get straight to the point without including unnecessary information. By learning and using making meaning early I was able to do that in a way that was in order and not too confusing for the reader to understand. I chose to really emphasize creating a relationshiop with my audience because I feel like when a reader is able to connect and grasp your writing, they enjoy it a lot more, and they don't get bored as easily.

If I had time for one more draft, I would probably focus more on the speed of my writing. I tend to add lots of commas when I write because when I read the writing out loud, it sounds like pauses are needed. But after learning that speeds can vary and switch up according to how fast you want the pace of your writing, and your reader to move while reading your writing, I wanted to experiment a little more with speeds but it was a little too late. So maybe next time I will try out different speeds and include them in another writing piece.

Looking at Beyonce is similar to looking at myself in the mirror.

This sentence from my artist statement really stands out to me because it was my guiding sentence. After I began with this sentence, everything else started to flow and I knew what direction I wanted to go in. This sentence also stands out to me because its almost like I'm making a hidden comparison. I'm telling the reader that I feel like looking at Beyonce is similar to looking at myself in the mirror, but they dont find out the reason why I feel that way until they continue to read everything else.

Photography Techniques

*Movement*

- I wanted ny hair to blow to add more of a beyonce affect

- I feel like movenent is a lot more interesting in a picture than just being still

- I wanted the picture tolook as if i was actually doing something

*Background*

- I used the studio as a background because Beyonce is in the music industry and I wanted to incorporate that

- The background enhanced my photo and made the whole idea come together

*Camera Angle*

- I wanted the picture taken from the top because not a lot of people do that and I wanted to be different.

- The shot made the hoto appear a little 3D because my body appeaered really zoomed in at the top and smaller at the bottom, which made the picture look as if it was poping out of the paprer.

Latest Draft~ Photo

Ok so this is what I have so far. I havn't done any work on it because im debating rather or not I want to use it. So tell me what you think. Too much blur? Is the movement nice? Get a new picture? just let me know.

Latest Draft~ Artist Statement

* Well I wasn't here when the in-class critiques were done. But when i sat and showed Randy the beginning of my artist statement, he suggested that I make the beginning of my artist statement look like a real dictionary definition.

* I know I'm going to add more to my artist stsement. I'm qalso going to change a little bit of my word choice and incorporate some of the writing tips I learned in class.

* My #1 goal is to write an artist statement that my audience can understand, enjoy, and learn from.

*Artist Statement*

Fab u loc i ty [fab-u-los-i-tee]

-noun
1. An act of being yourself, unique, smart, fabulous, creative, and above all, humble.


Looking at Beyonce is similar to looking at myself in a mirror. I see beauty, hardwork, power, and intelligence.



I've never been one to pattern the things that I do after someone else. But i am one to become inspired by someone else. I consider myself a blooming flower. A flower that needs it sown elements to grow and bloom properly, but also the help and guidance of others to bloom to my fullest potential.



I first became inspired by Beyonce when I was aound 8 years old in the year 2001. During this year, Beyonce was not yet a solo artist, but a member of the former group Destiny's Child. Their first album, Writing's on the Wall, was released and went straight to number 1 on the charts. There are a lot of songs that I remember hearing and enjoying, but not as much as I enjoyed listening to Destiny's Child.

American Icons~ Resources

~BEYONCE~

*VIDEO- CRAZY IN LOVE LIVE*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v-13sFxwDv7hw

This live performance of Beyonce is an example of her energy, glamour, and alter ego being shown. Her hard work and new ideas were also shown through her powerful voice, dance moves, and stage presence.

*INTERVIEW*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v-eiQe9EHpBeA&featur-related

This interview is an example of her calm, cool, and collected side. She has the potential to turn her energy on, but also knows how to adapt to her surroundings and turn it down. So still be interactive and lively, but on a lower level.

*MOVIE CLIP- OBSESSED*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v-6EwpKJhAOyO

This movie clip is an example of her diversity and skill to take on a challenge. Beyonce had never been actress in a suspense movie before. But after lots of hard work, guidance, and dedication, she was able to take on the challenge and focus her mind and body on the role.

~TINA TURNER~

*VIDEO- BEYONCE ON TINA TURNER*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v-euXcZF81cpM&feature-fvw

I used this as an example to show that even though Tina Turner was in the music industry way before most of the current artists, shes still influencing and inspiring most of them today.

*VIDEO- PROUD MARY LIVE*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v-6-6-7N9AxTE&feature-related

I used this live performance as an example to show that Tina was able to endure all negativity and still pour her heart and energy into her performance. Seeing her on stage, you wouldve never guessed that she was abused mentally and physically, because she was so good at putting the negativity to the back and the positivity to the front.

*BOOK- I, TINA*

I used this book as an example to show that Tina Turner was not ashamed of sharing her experiences with others, and allowing them to learn not only from the mistakes she made, but the positive decisions as well.

American Icons~ Ideas

I absolutely love Beyonce. shes not only a beautiful performer, actress, singer, dancer, and former group member of Destiny's Child, but also a person who has positively inspired, encouraged, and influenced people of all ages. Beyonce became important to me when she released her first solo album; Dangerously in Love. When she was a member of Destiny's Child her talent shined through the group almost as if she already knew that she would become one of the top female artist in the industry.

I look up to Beyonce because she has her own unique way of communicating with her fans and the entertainment business. One minute she can be trying to help less fortunate people, another minute she could be owning the stage at a sold out concert. Every time Beyonce goes to record in the studio, shes always sure to make sure that every song recorded by her has a message that her fans can relate to. So as a result, people go out and spend their money on an album to not only support her, but her meaningful well thought out lyrics as well.

Beyonce has always been influenced and inspired by the style and singing of Tina Turner. Tina Turner incorporated lots of style, energy, power, and control into her dance moves and songs. Beyonce does the same thing, but adds her own younger and latest dance moves, sounds, and beats. To this day, Beyonce continues to sell millions of albums, and have countless #1 hits, including her most recent; Sweet Dreams. Beyonce is currently on top right now and its going to take lots of effort and hard work to bring her down.



Tina turner is the queen of R&B. Tina Turner has paved the way for countless female solo artists and groups. If it wsn't for Tina Turner, lots of the songs that we all love to listen to wouldnt even exsist. I wasnt born during the time when a lot of her outstanding albums or singles were released, but after watching the Ike and tina movie I became really inspired by her. She experienced not only mental pain and negativity, but physical pain and negativity as well. However, in the midst of all the obstacles she was facing, she was able to remain resili ent and find ways to still be successful and overcome the obstacles. I find myself doing the same thing when im in difficult situations as well.

As a result, I found myself becoming really inspired by Tina Turner because I felt like I saw myself through her. Tina Turner has and will always be the foundation of current and upcoming female artists. Tina Turner's intelligence shined through her lyrics and actions. While being in this class I will follow in her footsteps and let my intelligence shine ythrough my schoolwork and my actions.

Michelle Obama has a long road ahead of her. Although her husband is the president of the united States, she still has her own really big responsibilities to take care. Not only does she have 2 daughters to take of, but she also has to be around to keep Barak Obama's in the proper stste of mind to handle his family and the USA.

Ever since Michelle Obama came on the scene, I've looked up to her. The reason why is because no matter what the media or anybody says about her, a smile continues to remain on her face with her head and her spirits still held high. That's why Michelle Obama reminds me a lot of myself. I am not easily broken an it takes a lot of hardwork and effort to bring me down. Positivity is the key to success and Miichelle Obama demonstrates this theory of mine very well.

I do believe that Michelle Obama should be important to everyone. Not only because shes the first lady, but because people can gain lots of knowledge and positive thoughts just by listening to some of her speeches or paying attention to her actions. Her words are powerful and meaningful, and her actions portray a very smart, attentive, and kind-hearted woman. I love Michelle Obama and I wish her husband and kids lots of luck.

My Goals

I hope to gain a lot of things out of this Humanities class this year. I've always been a very hard worker, but I would like to gain more responsibility skills as well as different ideas on how to incorporate music into my humanities work in a very creative and effective way. I love showing my fabulous personality through all the work that I do. But maybe after being in this class, I can learn more about how to incorporate my personality in a way that doesn't overpower my main message.

A main goal that I would really like to accomplish is becoming more diverse with my choices. Sometimes I lock my mind into liking only certain things when I really need to become a little more open minded to new off the wall ideas. For example, instead of using a rap or hip-hop song for a project or assignment, maybe I can try using a country or jazz song. Or maybe instead of using colored pictures for an assignment or a project, I can use black and white to give a different feel to the overall appearance. So just really expanding my choices and thinking not only out of the box, but out of this world as well.

I am sooo excited about this year and this class, and I can't wait to put forth lots of creativity and effort in all the things that I do.