Journal #41 PPHS Allusions to Greek/Roman Mythology

In the ancient Greece traditions, they believed that there were many Gods who watched over them. For almost everything in the World there was a God who controlled it or was the God of it. The most powerful god was Zeus, who had many sons and daughters who just happened to grow up and be gods of something just like their dear old dad. At Pleasant Plains High School you can make illusions to the Gods, as to how they pertain to some teachers at the High School. When you are talking about Zeus, the first person I think of is Mr. Ward. Zeus is the god of the sky, and the ruler of Mt. Olympus where all the gods live. This makes me think of Mr. Ward because, like Zeus he, takes in everything from a far but, when something big happened or is happening he, like Zeus, steps in and makes the situation be back under control. Just like Zeus, Mr. Ward is mightier and more powerful than all the other gods, being the most important person or god. Ares is the god of war and while it would be very easy to say that he is like our teacher Mr. Ares because, of his last name, he is not like him but he is like one of the teachers. Ares is most like Mr. Tadla. Every day he brings war to the people in his gym over such sports as badminton and crazy ball. Children that are normally friends are lost in the war and no longer friends. Mr. Tadla is a lot like Ares. The final god that I see a lot of similarity to Pleasant Plains High School is Hermes or the messenger of the gods. The office helpers remind me of him because, the helpers take messages to the teachers from the office staff. Like Hermes they tell the teachers very important information about the students in their own classes.

Journal #40 How I Make Important Decisions

How to make an important decision is a very important tool to have in this world. In every aspect in life you have to make a very important decision at one time or another, so learning how to make important decisions early one in life can be very beneficial to someone as they progress throughout their lives. In my life right now, I have very many important decisions that I have to make in the near future. A couple of these are where I want to go to college, what I want my major to be in college, and also what I want to do whenever I finally get out of college and into the real world to have a job. I already have many ideas on these decisions but, a lot of thought will go into the final decision that I make because, these things are very important to me at this point in my life. The first thing I always do when I make an important decision is, think about all the possible choices that I have in this decision. There could be two choices to maybe ten choices that I could possibly choice concerning the decision. The next thing I do about in this decision is talk about my decision with someone that I trust. That person could be my mom, dad, family member, friend, teacher, or anyone else that knows maybe something about my choices or cares about me a lot. After I talk it over with someone, I think about it a lot with myself about all the positives and negatives with the situation. After weighing my options down with all the pros and cons, it is time to make my decision. Every decision I make I go after one hundred percent. I go after everything I put my mind to one hundred percent, making sure that I go through with the decision that I made. I think that these steps help me out a lot.

Journal #39 Multi-Tasking

I think that I am an okay multi-tasker. I do a lot of things while I am texting. Like when I write blogs at home I text sometimes, and I also text sometimes whenever I am talking to other people I text. I think I am very good at texting on my phone while I am doing other things, but other than that I do not think I am that good of a multi-tasker at all. It is very hard for me to focus on other things while I am putting all of my focus into some other event. When I am doing something very important such as writing a paper for school, doing my National Honor Society form, or doing something other that is very important to me or the people that are around me it is very hard to do something else while I am doing this important that thing because, all of my focus is on the thing I am doing. I can, however, listen to music while I am writing or doing a school assignment. Also, sometimes whenever I try to go to sleep it helps me very much to listen to music while, I am trying to get a lot of sleep. When I am doing homework or other assignments, I can listen to music but, one thing I cannot do however is watch t.v. All of the music and visual movements distract me very easily and make me take away focus from the thing that I should be focusing on most which, is the work that I should be doing. I think that it is very odd how I can listen to music and text while doing other things, but when it comes to watching t.v. while I am doing homework or any assignment, I just cannot seem multi-task very easily because, my focus gets to lost on the t.v. instead of focusing on the thing that is more important to me.

Journal #38 The Origins of Valentine's Day

The origins of Valentine's Day and no one really knows how it really got it started. No one even knows what a "Valentine" is since the translation has been lost over many centuries. Since all there is speculation about what this word means and who started this tradition, I will just have to make due with the information I have to try and give readers the best possible origins of this marvelous holiday we know as Valentine's Day. Somewhere along the line in World War II there was a young private, who got sent over to Europe to fight the battle. He was a very brave soldier, would do anything for his country, and above everything else just wanted a chance to help out his country any way he could. Along with being scared out of his mind to be going away from home for the first time, and along with the fact that he was going into a war, the young private had a hot young relationship back in his hometown. The couple had been dating for as long as anyone could remember and they hoped to get married. Whenever his girlfriend heard the news of him being shipped off to another country, she refused to talk to him until the day he got back. The private was very shaken up that his girlfriend would not even talk to him, even though they would not see each other for a very long time and he had the possibility of not even returning home for them to every see each other again. So the private went into the War without even saying goodbye to his sweetheart and within a few short days of duty, his plane got shot down and he died tragically. The day before he died he mailed a letter to his girlfriend with only one line written on the paper. He wrote this following line"Will you be my Valentine?" See his last name happened to be Valentine and he asked her to marry him through that line. See was already devastated by her loss when she got the letter, and tearfully she accepted it. Ever since the day she received his letter, February 14, lovers sent their loves valentines to express their love to each other on that same day.

Journal #37 My Favorite Meal

I think that my favorite meal would have to be shrimp and steak. I really do not get to eat it that much though because, it is pricey for steak or shrimp and especially if you eat them both together but, when I do get to have it is so good. I personally prefer a juicy New York strip steak cooked to medium so it is still juicy but, also cooked to where it is hot, probably about a twelve once steak. For the shrimp I would have to go with jumbo wild Gulf shrimp and have about six of them. I do not really like fried shrimp that much because; they lose a lot of their taste so my favorite meal’s shrimp are either or grilled. Of course with shrimp you have to have cocktail sauce that has some spice to it but, it so much that it burns when you eat it. It was also be better if the shrimp were fresh so they taste better, and that also goes with the steak being fresh. So along with the steak and shrimp you have to have some sides to go along with that. My two favorite sides would have to be mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. The mashed potatoes should have some cheddar cheese and bacon on them and be freshly made along with the macaroni and cheese. I also like both of these sides to be home made because, that makes them both so much better than something that you just make out of a box or something. With all this food you have to have something to drink and my drink of choice would have to be an ice cold coke. It’s the best soft drink by far. After all of my course is done, I got to have dessert so it has to be some New York Cheesecake. I do not know why but cheesecake with graham cracker crust, vanilla beans, and a little chocolate is so amazing.

Journal #36 Preparing for the ACT

The ACT (American College Test) is probably one of the biggest tests someone will take in their high school career. There is not one college that I know of that does not at least glance at your ACT test score. People that go into a profession such as a doctor or lawyer also have to pass tests to become certified but, to get to those tests you have to graduate from college first, which you would have had to of taken the ACT to get into college. Since the ACT is such a big test with a lot of impact put on it, a great percentage of the population who takes it, prepares it for it in some way. There are really two ways to prepare yourself for the ACT and they are either prepare by yourself or take a class. Having already taken the ACT in September, I did a little bit of both. I took a class in the summer that was over the English and Reading parts of the ACT, and I think that it helped me greatly. It told what to look for in these subjects and also covered the most common things that both of these tests will have on them. Basically for the reading the instructor just told us the way to pace our time and how to attack the test. In the English the instructor just went over common questions and answers that should be found on the test. The other way to prepare for the ACT is to prepare by yourself. The way I would do this is to buy a ACT Prep guide over the Test. I looked over the book and I think that looking over it weeks before I took the test helped me greatly. The night before the Test I made sure that I ate good that day and also got a really good night's sleep. I woke up extra early to give myself extra time to get there and prepare for any unseen roadblocks that would get in my way. I think that the best way to prepare for the ACT is to take a class because, I think that is the one thing that helped in the most in taking the test with the helpful tips and tricks that the instructor of the class taught me.

Journal #35 "Chanting the Square Deific"

In the Walt Whitman poem "Chanting the Square Deific" Whitman talks about the holy trinity that many religions believe in. These religions believe that the trinity consists of God, the Father and Creator of life, Jesus, the Son of God who died for people’s sins, and the Holy Spirit. With this poem Whitman talks about the holy trinity but, he talks about a different look to the trinity talking about the trinity as a square unit with one more person added to it. With this Whitman adds Satan to the holy trinity. He calls it a square deific, with all of the sides complementing each other. The first side he mentions in this poem is God. He talks about him as the Creator of life but, also merciless who forgives no man. In the poem Whitman says, “As the Earth, the Father, the brown old Kronos, with laws, Aged beyond computation, yet ever new, ever with those mighty laws rolling, Relentless, I forgive no man—whoever sins dies—I will have that man’s life; Therefore let none expect mercy—have the seasons, gravitation, the appointed days, mercy? no more have I”. This shows just how merciless God seems to be, but also he is the Father of all life on Earth. The next side is Jesus which he explains by saying “Many times have I been rejected, taunted, put in prison and crucified, and many times shall be again, All the world have I given up for my dear brothers’ and sisters’ sake, for the soul’s sake, Wending my way through the homes of men, rich or poor, with the kiss of affection, For I am affection, I am the cheer-bringing God, with hope and all-enclosing charity,”. This shows us the side of Jesus, God’s Son, and how he died for us and how he gave up everything for the people of Earth. The next side is none other than Satan himself. This is the evil side of square that Whitman describes by saying “Morose, full of guile, full of reminiscences, brooding, with many wiles, (Though it was thought I was baffled and dispel’d, and my wiles done, but that will never be,) Defiant, I, Satan, still live, still utter words, in new lands duly appearing, (and old ones also,) Permanent here from my side, warlike, equal with any, real as any, Nor time nor change shall ever change me or my words.” This shows how evil Satan is and how he has also sort of been the villain to God and still will continue to be. The last side is the Holy Spirit, which is perhaps the most part of the square because, it balances the other three sides. Whitman describes this by saying “Santa Spirita, breather, life, Beyond the light, lighter than light, Beyond the flames of hell, joyous, leaping easily above hell, Beyond Paradise, perfumed solely with mine own perfume, Including all life on earth, touching, including God, including Saviour and Satan,” This is the counter weight to the other three sides and Whitman also says how the Spirit is a part of all three of God, Jesus, and Satan. This is a very strong poem with many religious ties to it.

Journal #34 Groundhog's Day

The marvelous holiday of Groundhog’s Day is almost upon us, so that reminds me of the greatest story ever told about a groundhog. When Groundhog’s Day started way back when in roughly 376 B.C., it was just basically a holiday that was a joke to everyone and no one took it seriously. All the people just laughed when the groundhog came out of his hole, and tried to see his shadow, and the people just thought of this as entertainment. That all changed one very cold Groundhog’s Day in 1122 A.D. The great philosopher Aristotle saw that if whether or not the groundhog saw his shadow determined if there would be six more weeks of winter or if spring would come early that year. This philosopher noticed that every year his philosophy about the groundhog came true, and that one little groundhog could actually determine how much longer winter was to be upon the people of the world. The philosopher Aristotle published his findings, and everyone around the world began to take into account if the groundhog saw his shadow or not to determine how much longer they would have to get through the extremes of winter. Over the years the groundhog became more and more famous so every groundhog had to take precautions to protect his life. Groundhog’s Day would never be looked at the same every again after the great assignation of the most famous groundhog of all time, Chumlee, on Groundhog’s Day 2145 A.D. As he came out of his hole, a sniper sitting on the roof of a building tragically took his life, and people all over the world were stunned. People were to no longer find if the groundhog saw his shadow or not since it put the groundhog at a very high risk. Now to this day the only person to know if the groundhog saw his shadow or not, is the leader of the United States and that is it.