The 2nd Semester (So Far)

The 2nd Semester has been going fairly well for me. My grades are better than they were last nine weeks. Im glad everything has been going well, even outside of school. I have been a lot less stressful because it is not my first semester of high school. But still, things have been going well.

Most people say their freshmen year is horrible, but I don't think it is bad at all. The homework load is ok, and the tests are not that bad. We have lots of free time to get things done or just relax. I have been enjoying the difference between high school and middle school. We have more freedom in high school, which I like.

Research Paper

My research paper about the 2nd amendment has been coming together well. All during this week I have been working to get my thoughts and research organized. I spent about 40 minutes working on research and bibliographies. I also worked on my outline for about 80 mins. I have been really focusing on this outline and hope it forms a well developed paper. I needed time to gather my info and come up with multiple theses from my research summaries to choose one that would best be for my paper, that took me about 40 minutes all together.

This is my new thesis. "The Right To Bear Arms was created for protection and hunting in colonial times. These days, guns have become more dangerous, abundant, and carried. Many tragedies have occurred from gun abused and there needs to be some sort of control of this problem."

A Tale of Two Cities - Entry 2

     The story takes place in the late 1750s. There is a conflict between the two cities London and France. It involves emotional drama I have noticed throughout the book. I talks about orphans and adoption. Later on in the story, things start to turn mysterious. Since the story takes place in the late 1750s, the American Revolution plays a role in the story. The character Charles Darny is taken to court because he has been blamed for giving the French British secrets during the outbreak of the revolution.

    
      I like the way Charles Dickens writes. He comes up with brilliant idea. Charles Dickens can take history and throw in a plot with some characters and make it work. The way he makes characters known by adding similes, metaphors, personification, etc just makes the character make an impression in your thoughts.


DATE    PAGES  TIME
1-16-12      24      30mins
1-18-12      33       40mins
1-19-12      37       45mins
1-21-12      11       15mins
1-22-12      14      20mins

Track & Field

     Conditioning for track is almost over. At the end of cross country, I was focused on relaxing. Then a few weeks later, I realized track practice was upon the year. I was completely out of shape, and did not know what I was going to do. I was filling up on junk food and soft drinks.
   
     First day of track, and I couldn't feel worse about it. It was cold, and I was out of shape. Later on, I gradually got back into shape. Practices are getting better, and so is everyone's attitudes. I can not wait until the first outdoor track meet and see how everyone performs.
 

Apple Store's Great Service

    Early in the week, my iphone had cracked and the touch screen was unresponsive. I tried EVERYTHING to try and get it to work, but sadly it did not. The whole week, getting in touch with my parents was hard, because of course, I did not have a phone. This weekend we went to the apple store with the broken phone and told them what had happened. The employee went to the supply room and brought me back a brand new iPhone with even taking 10 minutes. I was surprised with their service and very satisfied.

A Tale of Two Cities

     My outside reading choice for this week was, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens. For me, beginning a book is very challenging. You have to memorize the setting, the plot, characters, It's like going to a new school. But this story, was not hard to begin with. The writing of style, and an interesting plot is what makes this story easy to understand. At the beginning, it starts off telling you about the two cities, France and Britian. Later on, it starts providing you with info about them. So far, I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an interesting book.

DATE    PAGES  TIME
1-11-12      13       20mins
1-11-12      28       45mins
1-13-12      32       50mins
1-14-12      15       25mins
1-15-12       8         15mins

New Semester Goals

My goals for the new semester are to be more responsible, use my time wisely, and study more. Last nine weeks I knew I could do a lot better with my grade to support my semester grade. I believe with more study time and responsibility I can accomplish good grades during the nine weeks in the future. I was disappointed with my grades and knew I could do better, so I am going through with this for the semester.
I also need to get more engaged with Wordly Wise and get a more understanding of the words. I hope this semester goes well.