Challenge Essay #3

After completing the designated sections of Peter Pan in both the movie and book, I have a new found appreciation for the Gothic. The fairy tale was very dark with the underlying concepts of death and heaven. The Gothic style played a prominent role in the novel, giving me a new perspective of the genre. The reading, however, was quite confusing. Barrie did not say straightforwardly that Peter Pan was an angel that takes children to heaven. This concept should be inferred through detailed context clues, such as the "skeleton" leaves or the ability to fly and inability to age in Neverland (which is basically children heaven). Though confusing, once I had an epiphany of what the story really represented, the fairy tale became that much more bone chilling. Overall, I really enjoyed doing all sections of this essay!

Emblem

These pictures all depict older people looking at their younger selves in the mirror. I think this is a perfect emblem for my blog posts because I feel like I have been stuck in the past. I fear growing up and life changing, which is probably why all four of my blog posts include fond childhood moments. I even picked Peter Pan as my challenge essay, which makes sense now that I think about it...I don't want to grow up. I honestly still feel like a kid and it dumbfounds me why kids my age are getting pregnant or engaged. I wish living like a child for my whole life was socially acceptable, but I know better, so I need to move on. However, a quote that I will leave with best sums up this moment in my life right now: "Falling leaves always fall back to its roots." -Adenine Yen Mah, author of Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

Blog Post #4

I like reading a book if the storyline is captivating, don't get me wrong. However, I was never had a strive to read like some of my other friends. When I was in 4th grade, though, all the students had to take part in a competition called Battle of the Books. Fourth graders were given a list of twenty books, and were required to read a minimum of five of them. At the end of the year, every student had to take this test on all twenty stories and the four students who score the highest in each class formed a team. Then the classes compete in a head-to-head challenge with a host and buzzer and everything. I read maybe nine of them, and answered the questions I knew on the cumulative test and Christmas treed the rest. Guess what...I got the highest score in the class and was nominated captain of Mrs. Ogelby's team. Well, we were screwed in the competition round if I was captain and only read nine of the twenty novels! Since there was a week or two until the class competition, I sat down everyday in between then and tore through as many books as I could. Some of the books looked so boring, but I felt like I needed to do this for the team. In retrospect, the books I thought would be boring were actually some of the best ones I read. I think I ended up reading 15 before the class round. Guess what...WE WON THE CLASS COMPETITION, TOO. Our team ended up representing Camino Elementary at the Tampa Convention Center that month. We won another round at the convention center, but placed second in the district finals. Battle of the Books might have sounded lame in the first place, but after our team won first place in the class competition, it all got real. Plus, I learned to not judge a book by its cover (literally) and learned to expand my breadth of literary knowledge!

Thoughts on my Proposal Essay

A problem in this day in age is that kids are too reliant on technology. With all these technological advancements, phones, tablets, computers, etc. can do a lot of tasks for people. If kids become too dependent on technology to do tasks for them, then they will miss out on learning real life chores. A policy could be implemented which creates a class that replaces Good Life that teaches real life things, such as laundry or professional communication. It could be made mandatory for all freshman. More research can be done to find out what most kids don't know how to do because of their phones/computers. It could involve asking a big group of teenagers to perform real-life tasks that can be done on a phone or computer, like mailing a letter or using an encyclopedia. A media approach would be difficult since it would use more technology to perform. However, if the new media can give bad connotations to heavy reliance on technology, maybe kids would use them less. It would be better if kids weaned off a heavy dependency, but not fully.

Challenge Check-In #2

I'm gonna be honest and just say that I haven't even thought about starting this yet. That's because this good life essay has thrown me for a loop, but now that it is over, I can concentrate on the challenge essay. It's a blessing that Good Life is winding down because it may be the worst class I've ever had. Anyway, I'll sit down some time this week and read the fairy tale and watch the movie another night. I'm not procrastinating this, I swear. 

Blog Post #3

     When I think back to my childhood in rural Lafayette, Indiana, a few memories come to mind. I used to play piano with my sister when she still took lessons or I would hang out at my grandma's house while my parents were at work. But one memory in particular brings back a ton of nostalgia for many reasons, and that was Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64. I think that was the first video game I ever beat... and I wasn't the only one in my family who did. I find this hysterical because I can't see her doing this, but before I could ever walk or talk, my mom beat the game with all 120 stars. I guess there is some sort of genetic trait her and I share that made us both obsessed with Super Mario 64.

 

I absolutely loved the concept of being able to jump through the pictures in the wall and enter all these different worlds and environments.

     Not only was the game a landmark in video gaming at the time, but it was also challenging. Each star provided a new puzzle to solve in order to get to it. Each world progressively became more difficult, but that was no match for my mom or me.

The stupid clock level always got to me, but I like a challenge. It made me into the man I am today.

 

 About a year ago, my mom brought up this game in a conversation. We looked at each other and smirked. We set up the N64 that night and played it together for hours. It was probably the cutest mother/son bonding experience of my life. Whether I'm 6 and childish, or 18 and still childish, Super Mario 64 will always have this special, nostalgic place in my heart.



 

 

 

 

 

Blog Response #2

Wait, I have to move high schools? But I'm going into the 11th grade! Why can't I just finish high school with all my friends.

My dad got a job promotion in June of 2012, and his new job was taking us to Ponte Veda Beach, Florida. That was a four hour drive from Brandon. I was livid because I grew up in Brandon (right outside Tampa) since the first grade. To be honest, I was pretty popular at my school, too. I didn't want to leave, I had a great life!

My parents begged me to consider moving because it would help us as a family. The mood in the air of the house for the next couple months was tense. I had a good amount of reliable friends I could not imagine life without. 



This is my best friend Paulina, one of the greatest people I have ever met. When I moved, posted this on Facebook saying, "Oh Jake. It's not easy for me to express myself but, you're one of the only guys that hasn't broken my heart and you have become the brother I never had. Thank you for all the memories. I feel like a part of your family."

 



This is one of my major groups of friends at homecoming. I didn't know what life would be like without all the close connections between these people.

It was a rough period in my life, but we decided to move to Ponte Vedra that summer. I was not happy with the decision but I did what was best for the family. Although, I kept connections with a lot of my close friends and met a lot of new friends in Ponte Vedra! I don't regret moving four hours away in the long run.