Weather: The Great Impacts

Author's Note: Callie and I conducted a project on weather and the impacts that it has on the environment.  We looked at natural disasters and debated whether sewer drainage or oil spills were more harmful to the environment.

Is he really the "Monster of Monticello"?

Author's Note:  After reading "The Monster of Monticello", I was asked to critique the piece and discuss whether the author's claims were supported enough to be considered true.  I will try to support my decision as much as possible.  I will try to keep a formal voice, but at the same time, use syntax patterns that make the piece flow. If you would like to read the "Monster of Monticello, click here.

People are perceived differently through different eyes.  Paul Finkelman, writer of the" Monster of Monticello" has a very strong opinion about Thomas Jefferson.  He believes that "the third president was a creepy, brutal hypocrite".  I don't believe this entirely.  His biased opinion was blind to the many things that made Thomas Jefferson a good person.  An opinion is an opinion.  There is never a right or wrong. 

For argument sake, I would have to say that there was some reason why Thomas Jefferson was elected president in 1801.  No one would vote for him if he really was an awful person.  Even though he owned about 175 slaves he was still a person that supported religious and political freedom.  Along with his support for our rights by writing the Declaration of Independence, he also helped the state of Virginia in the last few years of the American Revolution. 

Besides his presidency, he accomplished many other things too.  He was known as one of the designers of our capital, Washington D.C., Virginia's capital, his home, Monticello, and the University of Virginia.  Jefferson founded this university too; he had a strong passion for education.  Thomas was also a writer who wrote several documents that make the United States free: the Declaration of Independence as I stated before, Virginia's Statute of Religious Freedom, and the Manual of Parliamentary Practice were some of the many. 

Paul Finkelman can argue that Jefferson was evil, racist, and unfair.  Although you cannot judge someone by the one thing that they did wrong, but by the many things they did right.  I disagree with Finkelman, because as you now know, Jefferson was an important and helpful being in the creation of our nation.

Moments in Time

Author's Note: This piece is one of my responses  to the book I just finished reading called the Time Keeper by Mitch Albom.  In this story there is a man named Dor (a.k.a. Father Time), a girl named Sarah Lemon, who wanted to end her life, and an old man named Victor Delamonte, who wanted to live forever.  When I finished this book, I realized how important time is.  In this piece about the importance of time, I will try to use crisscrossing, reversed, antithetical, and climatic patterns.  I also wanted to create a visual response to this piece too, so I use my photography and editing skills to show you what these moments  looks like.

Time is an important part of life -- or is it the moments that are?  To Dor, time is a way of counting the moments in a day; to Sarah, time is the number of days she has to suffer through; to Victor, time is the amount of life he has and deserves to live.  One question was carried throughout this story: why do we count time?  There are many answers to that one question although, the answers are determined by the kind of people who we are.

A way of counting the moments in our lives, time is.  We praise those wonderful flashes of life that we have, yet we number the seconds until the day ends.  Time is the reason that we don't stand still.  Never do we savor the daytime.  Never do we forget that the clocks are still running.  Although we wish, we wish for it sometimes.  Anytime, for us to just forget and stop.  Everyone wants to freeze time, yet we burn away the hours by flooding our lives with errands we don't need to do.  Time is what keeps life constant.

Without time, what would our world be like?  Would we wonder what to do with that time?  Would we slow down?  Would we waste that time?  Time is the only thing that keeps the clocks running, literally.  We need it.  For preventing us from getting off track it is important.  All of us know time is important, but why we keep it ticking some of us don’t know.  The only thing that we know is that moments in time cannot be wasted.

In the Center of It All

Author's Note: Yesterday, we took a reading test, and there were so many words I didn't know, and I'm not the type of person that can look it up and memorize it, I have to actually use it.  In this piece the blue words are words I didn't know, and I tried to use them in a sentence; I hope it makes sense.  There were also some writing techniques I learned and tried to use too: satire and allusion.

The morning subway train whizzed by, as I sat in the diner at the station.  Pale yellow tiles and the scarlet booths made the scene look like a restaurant from the 60s.  Right outside the window was reality -- the hustle and bustle of the real world.  People with their usual everyday garb.  Sometimes in that bunch there would be one person dress for an occasion, and when you came back from your trip, they would be back on the bench, eyes swollen and red, because there day wasn't a fairytale. 

Seeing the slovenly station through the window began to make me think to much about if I should be here, so I became listless of that dark tunnel and turned back to the black and white sheet in front of me.  The obituaries were very long two day -- a whole two pages of the paper just to give others despair.  Apparently, a famous actress known for her breath taking asides was mauled by a psychotic biped of which species they do not know, or what ever they said to spark up the media.  In another location, there was a regicide.  Although, the convicted murderer was conspicuous and left evidence within the vicinity of the crime scene.  After the many depressing stories I folded up the paper and shoved it into my handbag. 

Today I was on a "mission".  For the last five years I've pushed people away, but after I met this one person, I decided to go introspecting, looking into myself.  My first stop was my grandmother's house.  Ever since Grandpa died, she has been the antithesis of social.  She likes it when people visit; it helps her with consoling. 

Next stop, on my train ride to restarting, was the home of my adversaries . . .  My little brother and his wife, Beth.  Beth just been an annoyance me; maybe it's the way that she is always so indecorous, from living styles to just her way of life.  And I've always had contempt towards her,  she's contradictory to any proper woman of our time.  I'll bet that she'll be just rapturous to see me when she opens up that creaky old door and lets the apposite life clean up their ways. 

When she responded to the gentle ding of the doorbell, I immediately sense the repulsive aroma of a meal she failed to create.  Instead of causing a fracas, I accepted her warm "hello". . .

Believe me when I say this, I could not have stayed any longer than I did.  It was like watching the Grinch set all your Christmas decorations on fire.  It was horrific.  Now, I am completely fine, in this tiny little room; after all it's just a sojourn.  I'm just about to let my mind drift off when I hear something.  People running around this tiny cabin, or maybe away from the building.  I try to open the door, but it won't budge.  Smoke fills the room and I have no where to go.  The alarm dies and I feel as if I am, too.  I have elated myself, and I couldn't want any more to stop right now and right here.