Object essay! POPCORN!! (:

Pop! Pop! Pop! Not able to  see it but can hear it. Shhh..... Listen to the sound. A drum? Fireworks? A gun? What could it be?  The heat rises, the tension builds up. Then the microwave chirps a  beep!  Smells like butter. Looks like a cloud. Tastes salty. Crunches like snow between your teeth.

                Popcorn starts as a little seed. Farmers plant it, water, and nurture the corn. It eventually grows into tall corn stalks that reach for the sky. Workers harvest the long, fat cobs of corn.  Lay the cobs out to dry the kernels. Then  shave the rows of kernels off the cobs.  Next,  apply heat to the corn kernels and it will pop into  popcorn!  Most are in favor of the wonderful flavor  of this fluffy, salty, buttery, yellow, and white treat.

                Popcorn can be compared to our future in life. We start with a goal as our seed. We plant that goal by taking action. Water it with practice. Nurture it with confidence.  Pretty soon the goal grows into a reality. Lay your accomplishments out . Harvest the skills. Then  layer by layer you have almost reached it.  Next, put it all together apply motivation. The goal has became a certainty.  Congratulations the popcorn has popped and the goal has been reached.

                Life can be like a kernel of popcorn,  some pop in to something wonderful,  some do not. Popcorn kernels are full of potential.  They either use the heat in their favor to pop or let the heat burn them .  Popcorn like people can either use the heat to help fulfill their goals and reach their highest potential in life, or they can let obstacles in life burn them.  Some popcorn kernels do not  react positively to the heat and become a fluffy treat.   Like a person not living up to their goals in life.

Huck Finn essay! Who should children be raised by?

In  the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by: Mark Twain I stuck with my opinion that it is not always good for children to be raised by their parents. Huck had a rotten father who didn't treat him kindly. Some parents shouldn't be allowed to have kids because of their everyday actions that they choose. Certain parents aren't capable of raising their children.

                Huck had a rotten father who didn't treat him kindly. Pap never really tried to be a good father to Huck. Coming home drunk, or as soon as he got money he ran out to get alcohol. sometimes he was not even home to give Huck the love and care a child needs. A fourteen year old child needs stabilization, somebody to take care of them, and a good father to love them.  Jim took over the role of Huck's father. He was a role model to Huck. Jim taught Huck right from wrong. He also taught  Huck about what was lucky and what wasn't. He comforted, helped, and cared for Huck. Jim had a relationship with Huck that he had never had with his own pap.

                Some parents shouldn't be allowed to have kids because of their everyday actions they choose. Parents who come home drunk or are drunk most of the time tend to be mean to their children. Their kids may be suffering because of their alcohol, and drug addictions. Some parents choose to abuse their children by taking out their anger on them from work, or their daily frustrations.

                Certain parents aren't capable of raising their children. Many parents aren't able to take care of their children finically.  Some children suffer from hunger due to their parent's actions of how they use their money on their addictions. Most teen moms struggle to take care of their baby. In that case adoption is sometimes the best choice for the mom and the baby. Abusive parents whether they think they are able to take care of their children or not shouldn't be able too. It puts the child's life in danger. In that case the child is usually better off away from that parent or in a different  home.

                If Huck wouldn't have ran away from home he would live a completely different life. Pap treated him rudely, and un kind. He may have abused Huck if he had continued to stay with him. Huck may have suffered from nutrition, care, and love that a father should provide for his child.

                As I have read this book and seen Huck struggle with his pap. I have came to decide and also felt this way before reading Huck Finn that children being raised by their parents isn't always the safest and best choice. Huck had a rotten father who didn't treat him kindly. Some parents shouldn't be allowed to have kids because of their everyday actions that they choose. Certain parents aren't capable of raising their children. Even though it may be hard for the parent and child to be separated in some cases it is what is best. I have great parents that take care of me and love me, and I hope to do the same for my children one day. I can't imagine the things the Huck went through he was brave little boy.  He did what was best for him he got out of a bad situation before it got worse. Jim came along to the rescue and protected and gave him the care he needed.

               

               

                 

My Favorite Scar :)

I don’t have very many scars only two. There really isn’t a cool story to them either. My first scar is on my forehead. It’s about an inch long; you have to look really close to see it. I was in about third grade when one night my mom asked me to turn on the living room lights. I ran from the other end of the house to turn them on, and there was a tote below the light switch on the ground full of markers and crayons. I stepped inside of it and slipped. I smacked my forehead on the corner of the wall. It bleed and left a big gouge, and resulted in  a scar I still have.

My second scar is on my knee its round and is a pink color. I got it in ninth grade playing volleyball. I forgot my knee pads one day for practice. The ball was spiked over the net and I was playing back row. I dived and it skinned my knee. It made a huge bruise, and was all scratched up. It later turned to a scar that I also still have.

The Sun Goes Down on Summer!

Our plane lands in Texas, and the humidity greets my naturally curly hair with frizz. We collect our luggage and head to pick up a rental car. Little did we know they didn't have a big enough vehicle for us. So we sat and waited forever for them to find us one that would fit us all and our luggage. Finally they found us a Suburban to accommodate our family. We headed for the hotel to clean up and go for a quick bite to eat.


The hotel was nice enough to make us a huge yummy breakfast complete with Texas shaped waffles! Then we headed out to Gator country. We like to watch Gator 911 on CMT so we decided to visit their park in Beaumont, Texas. We arrive and the first sign we see is "Welcome to Gator Country watch your step or you may be lunch". That added even more excitement to the adventure. We saw gators right off the bat and they were huge! We walked around a little more and the girl from the television show came up to us holding a baby gator with tape around its mouth and let us hold it. It wasn't really slimy to touch. Their skin was smooth. I wanted to bring one home! We bought hot dogs that you tie with string to the end of a stick and dangle it in the water to feed the gators. It was really fun to tease them, I got a good giggle. We all jumped in the truck that they use to go save gators in! Next, we went to a show that was put on by Gary the owner and main character of the show. We held huge pythons around our necks. Then held a another baby gator named Chubbs. Chubbs' mom had stepped on him when he was a baby so he had an injured jaw and was not able to bite. Due to his injured jaw it made him look like he was always smiling.

Next on our trip we stop for history lessons at the Alamo, the Battleship Texas, and the USS Lexington. We tour the ships and learn a great deal about them and the men that served on them. I am truly glad I didn't go through what they did, or have to live in such a small space. The Alamo was really neat, it was really amazing what they went through and had to do.

The Sea World creatures greeted us with a splash. We visited Shamu and the other killer whales. We attended all the shows and watched the sea creatures. We were able to see otters, seals, and sea lions, killers whales, and a beluga whale. We fed the dolphins fish and petted them until they were sick of us. We tried hard all day to get soaked in the splash zones. We then ran to ride the roller coasters. The crabs and sting rays tolerated us playing and petting them at the Texas State Aquarium. We stopped at the Sam Houston race track to watch the horses wiz around the track!. We learned all about space and rockets at the NASA space center.

We had an interesting experience that is not often experienced in Utah. We had played at the beach all day and it was a little stormy and windy and the waves were pretty strong and quick. Little did we know there was going to be a tornado in the middle of the night. It started pouring rain big time, and the trees were swaying as fast as they could in the wind. My mom woke us all up to watch. She went out and recorded it all. It made the power go out, and water come inside the hotel. There wasn't a whole lot of damage . It even made the news!

We visited the Botanical Gardens in San Antonio. We viewed all the pretty flowers and butterflies! We went shopping at Market Square. It is a Mexican market with jewelry, pottery, food, and millions of other things from Mexico. We got to shop around there and bought some pretty neat things. We visited a car show they were having there. I found a lime green older truck that was pretty cool looking.

We had a really great time in Texas. My parents, two brothers, sister, and grandparents all went. We enjoyed the warm weather, the beach, the sites and the great food. We had a little Mexican food, Texas Smoked meat, and barbecue. The poor Calamari ended up in our tummies. We could have stayed there all summer. It was sad to leave. We were in paradise! The hot sandy beach exfoliated my skin as it squished between my toes. The shining bright sun glowed down on my freckled nose. The palm trees swayed in the light wind. The water was just right, the waves were the perfect height. I looked back one last time, and picked up a shiny shell. We hugged Texas goodbye before it was time to go back home.

The Sun Goes Down on Summer Pictures! :)

Me and a Gator :)

Gia and I with a Python :)

Texas, The Lone Star State :)

A Pelican at the beach!

Me and Chubbs the smiley Gator! :)

Gator 911

Gator Country :)

Texas State Flag!

Me as a writer! :)

     The reason I ever found interest or fun in writing is through books. I love to read and listen to stories. When you read a good Nancy Drew mystery in fourth grade, a funny Junie B. Jones book in second grade, and the thriving Twilight Saga in Jr. high. You begin to appreciate writing. Reading sets a better reputation for writing instead of focusing on specifics and accuracy. It opens your mind to the creativity and enjoyment writing can bring.


     I don't see myself as an author now or in the future. But through my favorite authors I have been influenced to take my writing assignments to heart instead of procrastinating and disliking them. Over the years of taking an English class each year I seem to get more frustrated with writing as I go. It's great to write but even better when the assignment is over with. I don't think I am an awful writer but I don't believe I'm wonderful at it either. If you were to graph all my writing from second grade to now I'm sure there would be huge improvements as my knowledge has grown.

     My Main struggle in writing is getting started. Once I get an idea of how to start I can write my paper and its simple for me then I can write forever. I tend to talk aloud to myself as I write. I read my paper out loud to myself multiple times as I go. The only note taking I do before I write is a few ideas on how to begin my paper and the order it will go. Or just the topic sentences for each paragraph. I like opinions about my writing. I usually ask my sister for her opinion on my ideas, then start from there and hopefully end up well in the end.

      The only writing I do outside of school is in a journal. I like to write my thoughts and feelings down about my day, mainly for myself. I don't usually share my journal. I'm not the biggest fan of others reading my writing I get shy about it. I am not shy about it all the time though I do like opinions on how I can improve my paper. I would love if even the teacher didn't have to read my writing but unfortunately I have no choice about that.

       As I go back and read journal entries from when I was younger to now I notice a maturity difference in the writing. My journal entries from when I was younger are about little silly things that aren't too important. Opposing to the ones I write now that are about more important things, how I feel, and events I wouldn't mind going back and reading about later in life.

      My writing strengths depend on the type of writing I'm assigned to do. I feel stronger when the prompt lets me be creative and have fun with the piece. I don't really have a writing strategy or writing pattern I just go with it.

     My guess about the reasons why people have poor writing is due to laziness. They just don't care enough to put effort into it. If it's something out of their comfort zone, or if writing isn't their thing they loose interest. I feel that as a writer I need to practice. Be open minded and that I need to write more for enjoyment instead of just school assignments.

      I believe, the most important aspect about writing is that you put yourself into your work, don't make it so complex that you hate it! Just have fun with it and make it your own. It doesn't have to be hard it is only hard if it you make it that way!