By: Kiya Hicks
A Summer Day
The sun’s beaming now,
the warms beams across my face,
a nice summer day.
Category: Process Writing Project
Arena’s Poems – block 2
Summer
The hot summer day
The bees buzzing everywhere
Sipping lemonade
Winter
Christmas Eve is here
Sitting by the fireplace
Waiting for the snow
Fall
Watching leaves all day
Green, purple, orange, I see
The nice breeze comes through
Spring
Green leaves sprouting out
Fresh smell of the breezy wind
Nice days with nice air
Hack This Class
- Publish your work! Share/Post more of your best quality work on this blog on other publishing venues. This should be work that you are most proud of and is worthy of exhibition.
- Label or tag your blog posts for easy indexing.
- Write, sketch, draw, create, compose, color in your writer’s notebook daily.
- Revise, resubmit and take advantage of writing conferences – your commitment to the Process Writing Project gives you complete control of your grade in this class.
- Constructively comment on your classmates’ blog posts. The blog is a valuable extension of the classroom. Be an active participant.
- Read as many books as you can, keep a record of what you read, and talk about them in class.
- Always use evidence from the book to prove your point – and cite the page number!
Academic Team: The Time I Will Never Forget
Academic Team: The Time I Will Never Forget
When I was in seventh grade, I had just moved to California and I was starting in a new school. New places and new faces were all around me. Later in the year, I joined the school’s academic team at my mom’s urging. At the time, I didn’t know just how much I would become a part of it and how far I would go with it. That year, I didn’t participate much, but I gained the insatiable passion that lead me to join as soon as it started the following year. I wanted to make it my one thing that I would be remembered for at my middle school, since I was an eighth grader and I hadn’t really made myself known. I later found out just how big the academic team would become, and how much I grew.
When it started in my eighth grade year, I immediately had an edge since I had experience from the previous year. I combined my previous knowledge along with honing my reflexes in order to be the first to answer the question. We had buzzers that would signal the judges if someone knew the answer, and it had a button to do so. However, you also had to be faster than the other team, too. I was slowly growing in skill within academic team, but academic team almost ended before anything could get going. The previous coach was no longer going to run academic team, and that meant we wouldn’t be able to continue with academic team. So I got to talking with one of the assistant coaches about who would be our new coach and I had an idea. It was a slightly crazy idea, but I was so determined to get academic team to continue on that I went with it. The person who I thought of as a new coach was not a teacher or a staff member, but someone close to me. I chose my own mom as the new coach of academic team, since she has shown how effective of a leader she is numerous times. I was at the time thinking that we would do pretty good, but not super well. However, destiny decided to prove me wrong.
The assistant coach agreed with the decision (which made me feel good) and soon enough, my mom was running the show for academic team. Since she was coach, I was able to practice much more intensely at home, even practicing while at breakfast and dinner on school days and every once in a while on the weekends. I practiced for a long time, eventually becoming the captain, or lead player, for our “A” team. We had made four teams to compete in an upcoming NAQT-qualified tournament that was close to us. The winner would go to the National Tournament that was to be held in Atlanta, Georgia. Our school had never won the local tournament, as there was a math and science academy that always won called Mesa Verde. Our teams we had created were labeled as Teams A, B, C, and D, with skill determining the members of each team. The A team was the best of our entire academic team, and at the bottom was the D team. However, that doesn’t mean our D team was a pushover either. They were quite good, but not as skilled as the A team was. So, I was kind of the best player on the entire team for our school, since I had not only the best stats from other mini tournaments, but I also specialized in more areas than most of the team. However, the challenge was on to try and win this qualifier tournament. And it wasn’t going to be easy.
When the day of the qualifier tournament arrived, all of us were both excited as well as nervous. My mom was keeping everyone calm with positive conversation, but I still felt edgy. After meeting up at our school, we packed our things and went to the tournament. Upon arrival, we immediately saw the teams we dreaded to face; nearby were the teams from Mesa Verde, and they had a lot of their heavy hitting players stacked on their teams. Just seeing them made some of us really nervous. In spite of this tension, we decided to calm our nerves with some practice. We went through packet after packet to make sure we were at our 100% best. Then, the tournament began.
We went through match after match, each filled with a series of 20 questions. You had 10 seconds to answer and they were followed by a three part bonus if a team got it correct. We came close to losing on several occasions, but we managed to keep a winning streak throughout. Halfway through, we could hear nervous chatter from upcoming teams, because we essentially made ourselves a big representation by being undefeated. We continued on, pulling win after win. Finally, the tournament had reached the final match, where every other team that didn’t make it gets to watch the two final teams go head to head in a heated contest. We were one of the final teams to make it there. However, our opponents were the #1 team from Mesa Verde, which was the one we saw earlier stacked with their heaviest hitting players. They had equal status to our undefeated streak, as they have always won the qualifier tournament, and have done so for at least 4 years. No one stood a chance against them. But here we were, in the belly of the beast and only one way out. Winning.
We sat at our designated area, as did Mesa Verde. When both teams were ready, the onslaught of questions began. I was insanely nervous, and my adrenaline was pumping. The hardest thing is you can’t see your current score or theirs, so you were left in the dark as to how well you were doing. The only time we knew was when it was halftime, where the coaches talked with the teams and enforced strategies, as well as give them a score update. At the time, my mom said that it was a close game, but that we were 5 to 10 points behind them. I was surprised, since Mesa Verde usually won by a landslide victory in the past. Determined to win, we resumed with the match. It was as if I had been going on autopilot after that. I just answered question after question, beating Mesa Verde to the buzzer and singlehandedly carrying the team. When the questions were over, they said good game and that it was a close match. Everyone in the audience got on their feet and went wild, and I thought it was because Mesa Verde won. That was, until my mom ran up to me and said that we won. I was ecstatic, and so was my team. We saw that there was only a 15 point difference in the scores, and that we were the champions of the tournament. After that, everything just flew by for me. But I knew one thing. We beat the old champions, and that we were going to the National Tournament. That was just as fun, but that’s a story for another time.
Control
There is an essence in each object.
This essence,
consisting of different elements,
represents different factors of life.
Taking advantage of the essence can create beautiful things.
Farming can be done faster.
Landscaping is easier than imagined.
Natural resources are at our fingertips.
Taking advantage of this life force can put man in control of nature.
Or so he thinks….
Nature has a mind of its own.
There is a delicate balance of power between man and the environment.
And if man is taking too much control of the environment,
Nature will fight back in order to restore equilibrium.
Nature will bring about a vile wave of famine,
disaster,
plague,
and mutant creatures beyond anyone’s imagination.
Today, we are at the brink of thriving or dying.
We can bring back a world of hope,
Use the essence for the positive.
Or we can continue to move forward,
abuse the essence,
and let nature take over the human population.
The choice is yours.
The War Cry
Ethan McFerren
Mr. Koch
English 9H
May 18, 2015
The War Cry
Chinadyawaho, or Waho as his friends called him, was deeply saddened because of the cruel desires of the foreigners. When the foreigners had arrived in their beat-up, desperate looking wooden ships, their only thoughts were of pity, kindness, and friendliness. Waho’s Cheyenne ancestors had aided them, listening to their odd accented questions about building proper shelters and where to camp to avoid predators. They learned how to plant and preserve their precious crops of maize, carrots, and cabbage in the fertile young land. The foreigners had learned and grown; only too much. They knew the layout of the land, and where the camps were. They had developed selfish desires and plotted on their own friends, seeking out how to eliminate them. Before they had known it, they were pushed out of their true and rightful land, and outmatched in weaponry and numbers. This resulted in the natives being crowded into highly guarded and supervised complexes, these small, uncomfortable, and musty places of life, where innocent and guiltless dark skinned men, women and children were kept. They were treated like inmates in a jail, but why? They were Native Americans, who had helped their so-called friends. The only true Americans as Waho thought, the free and proud and… imprisoned.
They were like doves in a bronze cage and dolphins in an unforgiving net, trapped helplessly. The reservations were horrible. They were constantly being watched with no privacy whatsoever. The guards had specific and strict patrol duties and night shifts. This was their reward for helping their friends.
Soon, this would all change. Navajo Nation, the biggest Native American reservation that covered the corners of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, was powerful. They consisted of close to 200,000 vengeful Native Americans. They had the numbers, the will, the want, and the need, to escape from their chains of shame. They needed much more space, a place where the natives could live like they wanted to, dress like they wanted to, have their own laws, and their own government. They needed a place where proud green forest rose high, a place of crisp, fresh wood for tools, filled with singing birds and leaping deer, fat turkeys, and silver wolves. A place that would conceal their elaborate and decorative teepees, with cool aqua pools, the overwhelming and rich aroma of venison cooking, the chopping of woodpeckers. They needed a home.
This was all a dream, until now.
The day of escape was near to come. Waho had talked to hundreds of strong and courageous men who hailed from tribes like the Navajo, Cheyenne, Sioux, and many others. They wanted to try to release themselves from their unrightfully determined predicament. Waho had to admit that they were weakened, but not dead. The nails of their captivity were tightened once, but now coming loose. The bars were holding, but not for much longer. The keys were dangling, but they weren’t out of reach.
He was stirring and mixing the unrest into something that would hopefully change the future of all Native Americans. He had heard tales from his equally optimistic son Jaulawena about the government plummeting, the economy struggling, the leaders rule shaky. If this wasn’t a better time to ambush, then when was?
It was time for the retake, revival, and reawakening of Native Americans. It was time to regain what was rightfully theirs. It was time for the Native Americans to free the helpless natives from their reservations. Waho’s grandfather once said: “The difference between a wise man and a fool is one priceless asset: their wits.” Waho was growing old, but his dreams were not yet fulfilled. They were very close.
Works Cited
http://www.infoplease.com/toptens/indianreservations.html
The First Step
Hey Guys!
Here is a story that I made and sorry it is really long. This is a prequel of my poem, The Final Stand. I highly recommend that you read it first before reading this story, as it may help you understand this story a bit more. You can read it right here:
http://irockenglish.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-final-stand.html
Either way, thanks for reading this and hope you guys enjoy!
-Harish Karumuri
_______________________________________________________
Date: March 10, 3026
Location: Gamma Ray Cloud
R.A.: 05h 34m 33s
Dec.: +22:00:55
Houston Time: 3:48
In front of the Massive Terrier X-1 Photon Cruiser -a prime spacecraft of the fleet at my home planet of Xenonia – was a plethora of Gamma Radiation, an energy at the top of our radioactive wave chart. It powers our cities for years, if not decades. However, this particular source could run our planet for at least a century. This ball of gas and radioactivity is what our planet runs on, and without it our city would be devoid of the technological miracles that have been bestowed to us by the scientists of our planet. We have cures to many diseases, clean energy, and sustainable crops due to the energy harnessed within this destructive force. With my family being grown in the Pre-Bestowed time of Xenonia, a time when plague and famine had came across the planet, I felt a need to help our terrestrial sphere continue its prosperity.
“Captain, how’s the energy?” I hear, from my best friend and partner down at the base.
“Navtek, everything seems to be going well. Preparing to take in energy. And how many times have I told you to call me Clayton?” I hear a chuckle from his side as I begin to take out my Energy Absorbtors to take in the abundance of energy from the Gamma Radiation. Energy begins to first fuel up my spacecraft and then begins to store the excess. From my dock inside the shuttle I see the gauge of the Absorbtors slowly grow. But at the last second, the gauges start to show an excess amount of radiation and error messages along with red flashing lights everywhere. If you haven’t seen any good action movies, this means something bad is going to happen.
In this case, the gamma radiation was so much stronger than what I originally anticipated. The energy was seeping out of the Absorbtors and harming the ship itself.
“Sergeant! What is going on?” I hear through a crackly intermission.
“Navtek, it seems as if the energy source came into the infrastructure of the ship. Run a diagnostic now!”
Within seconds came a response. “The assumption you had was indeed correct. However, the radiation is much too extreme for a body to handle. It is required that the ship breaks apart for the escape of the energy as well. ”
“Then what the heck am I supposed to do?”
“First, wear the radiation armor. Then steer the ship to the coordinates you are about to receive.”
The pair of numbers are sent to me and the coordinates take me to some unknown planet. “What coordinates are these!” I scream in panic as I quickly put on the radiation exosuit. In my 5 years as an energy collector, this is my moment of most panic.
“Sergeant, getting back to Xenonia is literally death. This was the closest planet we could give you.”
With no other option, I hop on to driver’s seat and rush to the planet as fast as I can. “Houston, tell me the details of this planet!”
“Planet name: Un-own. Popula-on: Un-own. Biome: Un-now-.”
“IT’S BREAKING UP,” I scream at the top of my lungs with chaos going on around me. Knowing that my communication was about to be cut off, I start to take precautionary actions.
“Sur-ival Chanc-: 1.2%” my computer practically shouts at me.
The two words to describe my feelings were, “Oh crap.”
“Out of all the things I hear, that’s the one thing that comes out of you, you stupid computer!? The one thing that totally can motivate me to survive!?” I practically scream.
Everything afterward is just an indecipherable mess of static. I guess cursing at the computer made my situation even worse. I throw my hands in the air in frustration and assess the predicament I was in.
I have no other option. I have to go to this planet and survive. As I wait in anticipation, my ship suddenly goes into overdrive.
Date: March 10th, 3026
Location: Planet Unknown
R.A. 06h 34m 33sec
Dec. +23:01:56
Houston Time: 4:50?
As I painfully open my eyes, I see a desolate land with withered trees outside the cockpit. Toward the back of this cockpit is a blown up and fragmented stern. The ringing sensation in my ears recedes. As I make my way into my ship and look for any undamaged gadgets, a display on ship’s front shows the outside air quality as anything but breathable. If I go outside, I die. Luckily the cockpit itself stayed intact, retaining the oxygen inside.
I soon decide to scavenge the interior, looking for anything that I can use: mainly oxygen, food, water, and weapons. After a good while of searching, I find a small survival bunker [Thank the lords!], which gives me a week’s worth of nutrition packs with water, a small pistol with several cartridges, a blunt copper dagger, and the one thing I need the most: oxygen. There’s only one problem- I only have three days worth of it.
Three days.
I have to get out of here in three days if I ever want to see home.
See my family.
See Xenonia.
I put on my oxygen mask to head to the doors, leading to a world that I have no idea of- with no sense of what obstacles are going to come across my way, no idea of how I was going to get home, and no knowledge of surviving with any creatures that may be out there.
I take one more deep breath, and open the metal door. A screech of air releases and comes outward, causing red-orange dust to puff around and make my mask become unclear. Soon after I wipe it off, I experience a fearful awe that comes across me.
The sky was nearly dark with small sections of a yellow, glowing rock, dimly fading with a small source of light. Around and below me is a blood red crust that makes me feel miniscule, inferior, and disgraceful. Some sections seemed to be a poisonous and vicious gunk that threatened to melt the soul away from anyone who ventured into it. And across some edges were pools of molten magma, daring for something to come venture into the scalding sections. Some areas even had shriveled up plants and trees thriving for water and nutrition. In short, this place was as if Mars had crashed into the Hell.
As I walk in, I feel the swish of an arrow just above my ear.
So I fling my pistol out expecting to see the most horrifying creature alive. Well, I’m not sure if I should even call it a creature. The only thing that was visible was a charcoal black skeleton with one of the most powerful bows ever invented – a Manalyn Framed, Ferrouskyn stringed bow (Did I mention I got an A+ in Weapon Identification in college?). I had to be extremely lucky that he missed.
I shot him several times, and that only made him seem to rage even more. His body started to light up as a blinding flash came about. Then, I saw no longer a skeleton, but a flaring skeleton monster, with teeth sharper than a granite-sharpened damascus steel sword. His body grew to at least seven feet inside. When I look even closer, it seems as if it has a black smog releasing from him as his focus began to come on me.
Crap.
I began to once again shoot wildly, trying to hit every part of his evil, skeletal body. However, this came to no avail.
Then I took out the one weapon I had left. The copper dagger with a dull tip was what my life came down to. I had no other choice. I chucked the worthless piece of metal at him as hard as I could and when the knife struck him, a piercing screech shot out of him and his body slowly shriveled to ash leaving only one thing.
The copper dagger.
I slowly creep toward the body, hoping that it won’t somehow magically pop back to life in a more bloodthirsty form. But as I reach the death spot the glint of the dagger was the only thing found in the mound of dark ashes. I pick up this strange shard and begin to marvel at the power that seems to be inside.
That is, until when a hard thump of a club hits my head. The last thing I hear is a gruff man saying, “Dang it Billy! Boss told us to keep him alive!”
Date: March 11th?, 3026
Location: Planet Unknown
R.A. 06h 34m 33sec
Dec. +23:01:56
Houston Time: ?:??
“Hey Boss, I think the guy’s waking up.” I hear the same gruff voice.
I hear another unfamiliar voice, assuming it’s Billy’s saying, “I told you I didn’t kill him!”
I try to pretend to remain sleeping so I could eavesdrop into the conversation, but a third unfamiliar voice, “Wake up Clayton. We know you’ve already been awake for the past five minutes.”
What the. They know my name!
The same unfamiliar voice replied, “Yes. We know your name. That’s probably why I said it.”
I swear, these guys are freaking mind readers. I manage to open my eyes and sit up to find myself in a meager, metal-walled room with computers and flashing lights. Each screen had different things on it, like a security camera. The first camera had a picture of the atmosphere. The second was a picture of a fortress, seeming to be made out of a refined sort of the crust that I had crash landed on. A third screen trailed a buff man which seemed to embody evil. The man had a dark, ashen aura seeping out of his body. He was wearing obsidian armor with damascus iron boots, and a light, flexible black undercloth. His face showed a evil pair of eyes with no pupils showing. His blood-red colored hair was tied in an ornate fashion with jewels and gold, showing his vile face which was a stygian skin on top of the evilness that was already in him. The camera followed him until he reached a weak and undernourished boy. The boy moved his lips in fear, as if he had done something wrong. Then in a flash, the evil man took out a shadow iron sword and decapitated the poor little child.
I can’t say any more about what he did at that moment.
And on the fourth screen was a broken down Terrier X-1 Photon Cruiser.
“Wait a second, why is my Terrier X-1 Photon Cruiser on the screen!” I yell in frustration.
The third man who had spoken responded with, “Uuuuuuuuummmm. You should follow me.”
But then I realized I was talking without an oxygen mask. “Before you say anything else, where is my oxygen mask?”
“We went to refill it. There is oxygen constantly being filled in this base so you will be fine.”
Oh. So I guess these guys are friendly. What’s this guys name anyway?
“Yes, we are friendly. And the name is Ramhart. I am part of the Pure Blood clan. We are here in order to bring prosperity to this land.”
Once again, freaking mind readers! “What’s the name of this planet?”
“Welcome to planet Earth, or nicknamed by us as the Underworld.”
Yikes. I’ve only heard legends about this place by elders who escaped from the planet and fled to Xenonia. “And why do you want me?”
“You took down a monstrous force that kills three of our members every time it approaches. You took it down with no effort.”
“Well, I di-”
“Don’t say it was the copper dagger! There’s something inside of you that can help us. You may be…” Ramhart began to mumble off.
“What was that?”
“Oh nothing. Let me introduce you to the leaders.”
After what I think an hour has elapsed, I finally get an understanding of the “Pure Blood” clan. So this group has five different leaders, and each of them have mastered their minds and bodies and are now able to control one of the six elements. Ramhart has mastered spirit, giving him telekinetic powers, so he’s the only one who can mind read. The group also made him the general leader, so that’s who “Boss” was. A slender and fast girl, Bryze, controls the element of wind. Because of her, we have the oxygen in this area. A girl named Blaise pretty much bends fire, so she gives the heat when we need it. The Gruff guy, named Thomas, has electricity, so I think it’s self explanatory on how he helps the base. Finally, Billy can control water, so he gives the group hydration.
There was one more element which I questioned them about, but they all pretended like they didn’t hear it. It was frustrating, but I didn’t really want to get on the bad side of some people who could wreck my face in a few seconds.
There were also other members from crashed planes and refugees from the so called “Death Age” who helped the cause here as well. They didn’t manage to be able to “master” themselves, but they help out the place by developing new tools and such.
After being bored in the room I awoke to for a long time, I got up and and checked the place around. Despite what I originally thought, this place was gigantic and had intricate hallways and many different rooms. In the midst of roaming around, I heard Ramhart speaking from a small distance away. As I ventured closer to the sound, it seemed as if the leaders were having a discussion.
“Is Clayton the one?” Bryze says.
Wait, what? They’re talking about me? What do I have that can make this place great?
Then I hear a sound that I never thought that I would hear. Navtek.
“Clayton is your guy. He’s been one with nature since childhood. He loves animals and he has a huge garden back here. He will help Earth come back to how it was,” he said through a transmission.
I couldn’t hear anymore. I could not listen in. I immediately left the area. All that “unknown” crap he gave me about this planet. He knew the ins and outs of this place. He never wanted me to get back home. He wanted me to fight for some bloody cause. But then I heard my name once again.
“Clayton, I know you’re listening in on this. I’m sorry man. I had to do this. You know what? Xenonia is on its tipping point too. We may not have plague or hunger, but we have another problem. Greed. Wars are breaking out between us and many countries. There’s overpopulation. We need more room to grow. That’s why you are here.”
I just ran away as the ending click came. Thomas was coming out and trying to send a stun ball my way, but as he threw it, a trap door opened below my feet into a dim area. As I was falling, the door was going back into place and the only place I could go was down.
—
I seem to be waking up with paining eyes way too much within the past few, hours? Days? I don’t even know at this point. I get up off this dusty floor and I find myself in this old and decrepit room. On the far side of the room are podiums, each one with a small symbol on them. I come closer and see that the first one had a Purple circle with a four pointed star in the middle. The one after had strokes of white coming forward as if it showed a sense of wind. The one after was remarkably like a fire burst with colors of crimson and orange. The next had a lightning bolt on it with a golden yellow. The one after had waves of water.
The final one had a tree with branches that came forward at me and was calling my name. And what was really different about this one was that there was a sword handle sticking out of the top. It had an intricate carving of branches and leaves. There was a force belonging to this sword that was longing me to pull it out. I went forward to grab it and I clasp my hands around the handle.
As I tried to pull it up, the sword remained stiff and refused to come up no matter what I tried.
I pull with great strength for an extreme amount of time and begin to frustrate myself. After what I think is an hour, I give up and try to head back.
No need to though. Blaise and Bill manage to come in and help me out. They said nothing. They just get me out, take me to my room and left. Nothing more than that. I lay down on my bed, thinking about everything that happened and just fall asleep with the confusion in my head.
Date: March ??, 3026
Location: Planet Earth
R.A. 06h 34m 33sec
Dec. +23:01:56
Houston Time: ?:??
“BEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEP”
I jolt awake immediately. Red flashing lights with ear-splitting sounds scream at me. A worker tells me to go to the conference room, the same room where I heard Navtek. Everyone was squished into the area to see a giant video message from the ominous man I had seen on the security camera.
“Hello there Pure bloods,” he said with a mocking tone. “My name is Oklarth Tenebis. It has come to my attention that you are attempting to steal my kingdom. If anyone tries to steal it, I punish them. So, I have done exactly that. Take a look at these people.” Gasps came out from all around the room. Each of the clan leaders were there, tied to a pole surrounded with billions of things that could kill them. Things from flame throwers, to tear gas, to motion detecting turrets ready to fire at the slightest bit of movement. “I have heard that these people are leading this cause. If you want them back, you have one thing to do. Fight. Otherwise, say goodbye. You have 2 hours starting now. May you lose!” He followed that with the most menacing laugh heard by any being’s ears. A timer came afterwards.
I had no idea what do or or say. But then I saw a small, green pathway, similar to the one on GPS, urging me to follow it like the yellow brick road. With the shock I was in, I decide to follow it. It leads me down some stairs and directly to the sword.
The Sword.
I was about to curse and scream in frustration, but I heard a voice. A small voice.
Ramhart.
“Pull-the-sword.” I hear his croaking voice. “Pull-the-sword.”
It all begins to click in my head. Spirit. Wind. Fire. Lightning. Water. Life. A newfound will comes into me. Ramhart is right. I will pull this sword out of this podium. I will not be stopped. These are my friends at stake. This is the planet at stake.
This is Xenonia at stake.
I will be the warrior of life.
I take a good look into the sword and grasp the handle. As I pull my hand upward, there is a copper sword ready to destroy a skeleton army.
Honors Reflection Essay
Ethan McFerren
Mr. Koch
English 9H
March 17, 2015
2014 Writing Checkpoint
I have improved on structure, grammar, and diction in my pieces of writing this year. The six pieces of writing that I have improved on include a Reader Response called the Thrilling Book Review: Hatchet, a Creative Fiction on the beginning story of a captured African teenager entitled The Story of a Slave, Original Poetry where I describe the memories of pumpkin pie, also known as Oh Yum, Pumpkin Pie, a Personal Narrative named the Slide of Doomwhere I recall my experience with a horrendous water slide, a Business Letter entitled Nerf Business Letter in which I describe an issue with a Nerf Gun, and a Big Question Essay stating the advantages and disadvantages of robots called Should Robots be Allowed in Our World? I still have weaknesses and flaws that I need to address, including the use of more semicolons and a stronger, more mature vocabulary. In structure, I have improved with analysis, in grammar I have gotten better in quotation marks, and finally I have increased my skills in diction, especially in the use of strong verbs.
The crucial part of writing I have gotten better at is structure. Specifically, I improved on analysis. I did not know that analysis was an important part of writing until a couple of years ago, but now I know how to consistently find the purpose of a piece of writing. For example in my Big Question Essay titled Should Robots be Allowed in Our World?, “According to these articles, I think robots are good for society to use only in the workplace.” Analysis is important in writing because it shows that you are trying to dig deeper and farther to really examine something further than other people would. I can improve my analyzing skills by constantly questioning and finding a purpose in every paper I read and write.
The second strength I have gained in writing is command of grammar, especially with quotation marks. In the past, I rarely used quotation marks when I was writing and had no idea how to properly use them. This sentence shows evidence of my improvement: A robotic voice soon announced, “Five, four, three, two, one.” I used this quotation in my Personal Narrative TheSlide of Doom writing. Quotation marks are crucial, especially in stories. The reader needs to be able to follow the story easily and know who is saying what. I need to improve in this skill by making sure that I am using quotation marks correctly in personal accounts and book reviews.
My final strength I achieved in writing this year is strong verbs. This can be tricky to find a perfect verb to describe somebody’s reaction or a memory, like mine, pumpkin pie. One instance of this strength as shown in my Free Verse Poem “Oh Yum, Pumpkin Pie” is: “Do you remember spraying and spurting whip cream, that wonderful whip cream, on to the back of your pie for five long seconds near the crispy crust …” Using strong verbs is one of the most important, if not the most important, aspect of writing. A reader needs to have a mental painting or image in their head to visualize what is going on so they can connect with the story from their own experiences. Using stronger verbs can be achieved by reading; which is something I need to keep up with. Of course, I have weaknesses in my writing that I need to fix to become a better reader, writer, and thinker. Some examples of my weakness include thesis statements, semicolons, and a mature vocabulary. I can fix these issues by using them more in my writing repeatedly and to read consistently.
I improved in analyzing, quotation marks, and strong verbs throughout the school year. Overall, I am satisfied with my growth and development as a reader, writer, and thinker. I am also eager to expand my horizons even further than before with the help of my teachers, classmates, and practice. With these aids in writing, I know I can produce high quality papers and become a better writer. I will to continue using my skills, improve on weaknesses, and gain new strengths in writing that I have yet to master.
Elephants in the Sky
Imagine 6.5 billion female elephants in the sky every year. Now imagine that every person in the US was responsible for 5 of those elephants up there while people in third world countries each put up 5 baby elephants. This may be a farfetched thought, but now imagine each of those elephants being made out of carbon dioxide. This is how much CO2 is in the sky. Let me reiterate: every year, twenty six billion tons of CO2 is put into the atmosphere each year. And Americans put an average of twenty tons of this noxious smog there, while each person in a third world country puts about one ton. This is a severe problem, as we have climate change occurring so much to the point that the Dead Sea may be completely evaporated by 2050 (Deal Could ‘refill’ Drying Dead Sea.) The world still needs energy, however, and third world countries need it even more than anyone else in the world in order to have a good future. So how do we solve this dilemma?
Recently, hydraulic fracking has been on the news for giving us a great amount of oil and it is great that there is more energy available, but this is causing people not to worry about energy problems. On the down side, oil can last for only so long and shale oil may only last until 2020. Even further, oil itself may only last until 2040, giving us less than 26 years to put our act together and find a solution. (Dimick, Natural Geographic) Along with this, communities surrounding oil fracking areas have reports of poisoned drinking water, polluted air, mysterious animal deaths, industrial disasters and explosions. (Fracking Across the United States)
Looking at this prospect, we have to find a solution to lower the amount of carbon dioxide put into the air as close as we can get to 0. This can be found through simple multiplication; the formula is the amount of people times the amount of services used, times the energy each service takes, times the amount of CO2 released through the service. (Gates, TED)
In the formula, we first have the amount of people on the planet. We know that we cannot somehow rid the Earth of people, so this number will either stay the same or go higher. Next, we have the amount of services that each person receives. These services may be having enough drinking water, being able to have light at night, or even being able to cook food. We could remove these services, but it would be harmful toward society, especially to poorer countries where having simple pleasures such as food or light are difficult.
Thirdly, the amount of energy services are taking is generally going down, which is a good thing. We have cleaner cars, televisions that use less power, and more cleaner forms of electricity coming out, such as solar or wind power. At the same time, we have services that are using too much energy such as making fertilizer or burning coal. Therefore, this may lower the overall number, but it is going to make a small difference.
Finally, we come to the last variable in this problem: the amount of carbon dioxide released by the service . Inside any multiplication equation, in order to have a result of zero, it is required to have a zero in the equation. What’s great is that it is possible to bring the amount of carbon dioxide required down to zero! However, in order to accomplish this, we need to have energy breakthroughs, and we need it fast. There are many possibilities, but the ones that seem to have the most promise are nuclear energy and renewable energy. However, if there happens to be more successful sources of clean energy, then the better it will be. But once again, at this time, these sources seem to be the most promising.
In the field of Nuclear Energy, many major innovations are being made as a company called Transatomic Power, founded by 2 graduates from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have possibly found a more efficient method of energy creation. Nuclear energy creates a lot of toxic waste. What Transatomic Power has done is find a way to convert this once thought useless sludge to an abundance of energy. In fact, Cofounder of PayPal, Peter Thiel has invested more than a billion dollars to Transatomic Power. (Kim, Business Insider) This is the kind of action that we need in order to move forward in society.
In the field of renewable energy, there is an abundance of potential for success. However, compared to oil, these renewable energies only give a fraction of power. Research needs to be done in order to increase efficiency of this type of power. For example, wind power generates less than 5% of the energy that oil provides us. There is much work that can be done in this field, but if it works then, it will be very beneficial toward the future of energy.
In the end, we need to reduce the amount of CO2 in the air. Along with that, we need innovations that can take us there. We may find more ways to obtain oil, but there must be a better method that can be found in order to not only help this country, but the whole world. And we have to do it fast. We cannot have anymore elephants in the air. Not even one.
Bibliography
“Bakken Shale Oil.” The New Oil Landscape. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
“Deal Could ‘refill’ Drying Dead Sea.” BBC News. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
Dimick, Dennis. “How Long Can the U.S. Oil Boom Last?” National Geographic. National
Geographic Society, 19 Dec. 2014. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
“Fracking Across the United States.” Earthjustice. 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
Gates, Bill. “Innovating to Zero!” Bill Gates:. TED Talks. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
Kim, Eugene. “Billionaire Investor Peter Thiel Now Wants To Disrupt The Nuclear Energy
Industry.” Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
SeaWorld. “Elephants.” SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment. SeaWorld Parks and
Entertainments. Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
“When Will Oil Run Out?” When Will Oil Run Out? Web. 4 Feb. 2015.
Lone Survivor: A Tribute, and Analysis
Lone Survivor: A Tribute, and Analysis
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 is a non-fiction book written by novelist Patrick Robinson and former SEAL Marcus Luttrell, the only survivor of a mission in Afghanistan in 2005. Seal Team 10 was tasked with three other SEAL members to kill a high-profile Taliban commander . His story eventually became the basis of his book, which has now turned into a movie.
The book starts with Luttrell describing his childhood in Texas training to become a Navy SEAL, with Billy Shelton, a neighbor and former Green Beret. After joining the U.S. Navy, and finishing BUD/S training to become a SEAL, Luttrell heads to Afghanistan, undergoing several operations around the country before heading to the Hindu Kush mountains of the Kunar province for Operation Red Wings. He and his team, consisting of Lieutenant Michael “Mikey” Murphy, Gunner’s Mate Second Class Danny Dietz, and Sonar Technician Second Class Matthew “Axe” Axelson, were tasked to gather reconnaissance on a village and capture or kill a head Taliban member, who was said to be affiliated with Osama Bin Laden and the 9/11 attack.
On a night during their mission, while hiding out, the team was discovered by three sheepherders, including a boy. The team debated killing the shepherds silently and hiding the bodies, which was the most millitary sound way to not compromise their mission. However, after considering the rules of engagement, they decided to let them go (the shepherds were unarmed and not posing a threat currently). However, the shepherds notified their presence to the Taliban, and about an hour later, SEAL Team 10 was surrounded by dozens of armed warriors under heavy fire. Three of the four men were killed, leaving Luttrell the only one to survive the firefight, but not after one of his attempts to contact the SEAL combat operation centers succeeded. A quick-reaction rescue team consisting of 16 special forces soldiers were sent to extract SDV-1; however, their Chinook helicopter was shot down by the Taliban with a RPG-7 rocket propelled grenade to the chopper’s rear rotor assembly, leaving no survivors. Luttrell was left unconscious and sustained a number of fractures and other serious wounds. After he regained consciousness, he was rescued by local Pashtun villagers, who treated his wounds and ultimately saved his life.
One of the main motifs shown in this book is Luttrell’s frustration at the rules of engagement (RoE) which, indirectly, resulted in the death of 19 American lives. These rules state that no force should be used against unarmed civilians, if they are not presently posing a threat to your safety. When SDV-1 was discovered by the sheepherders, Team Leader Mike Murphy decided to hold a vote in which SDV-1 decided to let them go, since the team may have been considered violating the RoE and possibly being sentenced to life in prison for their actions. If the team did kill the shepherds, then at the very least they would have been ridiculed and criticized by the media, even in the circumstances they had. When describing the situation and his vote, he states, “I had turned into a f—–g liberal, a half-a—-d, no-logic nitwit, all heart, no brain, and the judgement of a jackrabbit… At least, that’s how I look back on those moments now. Probably not then, but for nearly every waking hour of my life since.”
Marcus Luttrell’s story also shows that war is not glorious but evil, no matter which way you put it, and people will die on both sides of the conflict. He also makes a point that when you try to make war “clean,” and “civilized,” you won’t win. Terrorists will stop at nothing to achieve their cause, we can see that everywhere from the acts of ISIL to the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Were it so easy to make that decision, for SDV-1 to be sure with the fact that the most militarily sound option was also the “right” option, this book would have been very different. Luttrell believes that if there was no fear of what may happen to them back home in the United States, SEAL Team 10 would have made it out alive, mission accomplished. However, nothing can change the fact that his team is gone, and so, deeply rooted in this book is his deep sorrow for his friends and his guilt as the sole survivor. Going on a long journey across America, Luttrell visited every family whose son, and in some cases, father, died to honor him and tell them of his last moments. The book closes with a word from Luttrell, saying, “I will never give up on the memory of those nineteen men who lost their lives on the mountain that day, because they never gave up on me.”
Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10, is a stirring tribute to Axe, Mikey, Danny, and the rest of the fallen soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and I would recommend this book to anyone who has relatives in the military services, or is aspiring to join the military. It’s very well-written, yet easy to read, and is very powerful. The only problem some people have with the book is regarding the actual numbers of Taliban forces (it’s disputed whether there were actually 120 to 200 Taliban, or if that was an exaggeration. Nevertheless, Lone Survivor is an amazing and riveting book. Hospital Corpsman Marcus Luttrell went back into the tour of duty in Afghanistan after he recovered from his wounds until he was medically discharged from the Navy in 2007. Mohammed Ismail, the target of Operation Red Wings, was killed during a firefight in 2008.