Pet Peeves

                                                           Pet Peeves
  I have many pet peeves. My list of them just goes on and on. It’s so weird how some things can bug people immensely and not bother other people at all! We all have things that make us go crazy I have a lot more than this but these ones I can think of instantly. Some of my pet peeves are...

                                      People chewing with their mouths open
                                      Chomping on their gum
                                      Clicking their pens rapidly
                                      Right after I paint my nail it smudges and then I have to redo it.
                                     When people blame other people for things they didn’t do.
                                       I hate when people don’t wash or sanitize their hands before eating.
                                  I hate when people interrupt others while in the middle of telling a story

    Reasons for why some of these bug me are just because they are just extremely gross. I know that I could go on and on and explain why all of these bug me. Just because that would turn my short story into a 10 page essay I'm not going to do that.

Delectable Foods

I have a lot of favorite foods. My top three favorite are watermelon, pickles and peanut butter. I love watermelon because it’s extremely juicy and sweet. Watermelon is also my mom’s favorite food so we have it in the house a lot. I also love pickles because they’re crunchy and a little bit sour. I didn’t realize until about a year ago that pickles are just cucumbers that marinated in vinegar and salt water for a long period of time. My family knows that I love them so much that my sister even bought me a jar for my birthday one year. Lastly peanut butter. I love peanut butter because of its rich taste and creamy texture. The good thing about peanut butter is that you can put it on a lot of things. Things I like to put it on are crackers, toast, bagels,bananas,celery  and on bread for a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Symbolism

Symbolism

Semantic Devices

Semantic Devices

Spring Assessment

  The book Incantation written by Alice Hoffman really is an eye opening and riveting story. It takes place in the cruel and unforgiving century of 1500 in the heart of Spain. Supposedly over 12,000 Jews lived in Spain around that time which the book takes place in. Back then being Jewish was a terrible thing in that small town in Spain. Estrella de Madrigal is a 16 year old girl who lives a comfortable life; only because of one thing that keeps her from being bludgeoned to death. Her family is a Marrano family. In Spain a Marrano is supposedly somebody who is actually Jewish but pretends to be Catholic. Estrella is forced to keep that secret and she is forced to live with the burdens that come along with keeping it.

  The death that had overtaken Encaleflora, Spain was awful. Dozens of Jews were brutally murdered because of their religion. I believe that it's horrible to be killed because people chose what religion they want to be. Every time one of the leaders finds out there is a Jewish family in the village they brutally beat them to death. Estrella quoted" I have to watch the brutality every single day of my loved ones being killed who are living the same life I am….that could be me if I am not careful". That's not fair that a 16 year old girl has to run those thoughts through her head. For Estrella the perfect distractions to get her mind off things were her pet pig Dini and her best friend Catalina.

  Throughout Estrella's childhood she and her best friend Catalina told each other everything including her family’s deepest secrets except for one. That one thing was that Estrella's family was a Marrano family. Estrella thought she could trust Catalina because they were so close. That's what I would think as well. If you have a best friend and you truly consider them one then you should be able to trust them right? In most friendships that's how it is. With Estrella and Catalina's I knew there was something suspicious about one of them I just wasn't sure who. As I read the book, the small hints were clear that Catalina was going to do something she wasn't supposed to. Catalina has a cousin named Andres that she is planning to marry when they both grow older. Estrella knows Andres very well and is attracted to him along with Catalina. With that love triangle many troubles aroused.

  With all of the trust Estrella put into Catalina it quickly started to fade every time her supposed to be best friend says something. Estrella felt like Catalina was turning into someone unbearable to be around. It's very unfortunate that one day you can go from being the closest of friends and the next you feel miles apart. The thing suspicious about their friendship was that Catalina knew Estrella's family was a Marrano family. Once Estrella and Andres decide that they want to marry in the future, Catalina becomes furious. With the fury raging from Catalina's whole being, it was insane. She was so upset that she decided to leak the family secret. At this point in the book I was stunned. How can you do such a cruel act to your best friend's family? Estrella was even sure that Catalina could answer that vague question. Estrella's family has to deal with the bitter consequences which were very unfortunate.

  Alice Hoffman completely succeeded in creating such a remarkable story of a young girl and the betrayal of her best friend. She also amazingly showed how hard it was to live with that. She tells the story just like they were real events and as if I were there. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to watch several tragedies each day and to watch her friend betray her family. Incantation is a fantasy that has the excellent emotion to seem true.

 

Child Abuse

Author's Note: Child abuse is a horrible ongoing crime in our country. Just around 80% of children being physically and emotionally abused are under the age of 4. Not only is abuse very common but child neglect is as well. This crime need's to be stopped immediately.



   

Over 3 million reports of child abuse are filed each year and more than five children die every day from child abuse. Imagine being beaten, discouraged and starved by your own mother every single day. The  book "A child Called It" written by David Pelzer is a heart breaking yet inspiring book. David Pelzer, the author was actually the young child that suffered eight years of unpredictable and torturous " games" his mother liked to play with him. Imagine being beaten, discouraged and starved by your own mother. Well, that is what David experienced from what was supposed to be his caring and loving mother. " I live in a dark world with dark people…but soon there will be a light to guide me through it". Young David once quoted that at age eight. Him as the author and victim amazingly delivered such an eye-opening story to the world .

    All throughout his horrifying childhood David stood strong. Although at many times he was overtaken by such fear and loneliness.  The lonely child explains through out the book of his terrible times. Only  six years old at the time David's alcoholic mother makes him regurgitate his  meal because he ate without permission. It's so cruel of her to make him do that amid all the other terrible "games" she plays. What was even worse than that disturbing action was David's mother made him drink Clorox cleaner and then slashed his stomach with a knife. This part of the book left me speechless. How could a mother do that to her own kid?  After few of the many brutal moments like those David's hope started fading quickly.

Still with the hideous moments going on at home , David grew weaker,  more angry, and more hatred towards his brothers. He despised his brothers because they were never beaten or starved….it was just him. One day while his mother took his brothers to McDonald's David was forced to sit in the car and wait. His mother never allowed him to eat. It's terrible. I can't even imagine how he felt because I know my mother would never do that to me. As each pressuring minute passed David knew that if he was going to escape from his horrible life it had to be there and then. David bolted out of the car and he sprinted all the way to the police station where they would bring him to a foster home to find a loving family and recover from not only his external bruised wounds but his internal  heart wounds as well. From that day, March 5, 1973 David James Pelzer knew for a fact from the California department of police, that he was free. I was so happy when David felt a sigh of relief. No child should never have to experience what he had to.  

 A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds, and more than 5 kids die each day in America because of abuse. Stories like David Pelzer's are heartbreaking and awareness worthy stories. With the common abuse rate going up in our country, we should emphasize the importance and seriousness of child abuse and neglect cases. With all of the reasoning's I shared from the book are why I loved it. It tells an incredible story of a young boy's brave journey through the unthinkable darkness of his early stages of childhood. In the sequel "The Lost Boy" it tells of David's life trying to find love from his new foster family.  I hope at least just one more person becomes aware of the terrifying crimes that actually go on in our world and maybe just maybe we can put a stop to child abuse once and for all .

Why I loved "The Notebook"

 Author's Note: This was a very inspiring book. It's inspiration is one of the many reasons why I loved it. I would definitely read it again and I can't wait to read more of this author's books.


   

 In "The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks lots of events occurred in the time frame of the 1940's  Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson live in Raleigh, North Carolina . Noah is a middle class country boy who fends for himself along with his father living on a dirt and gravel country road. Where as Allie Nelson's  family is a very wealthy and classy family from the northeast. Normally  Allie wouldn’t fall for a country southerner like Noah but the summer of 1943 changed everything for the two very different people. It changed them partially in a  good way. And  partially in a bad way.

       After I was finished reading this book I decided that I loved it. Mostly because of the way that  the author  plotted this story together was amazing. Each time one thrilling moment  ended another one was just beginning. In the summer Noah and Allie fell in love they were positive that  their lives were changed because of that and because of each other.  The thing that crumbled the relationship was when Allie brought Noah home to meet her parents. Allie's mother and father greatly disapproved of him and wanted him out of her life completely. I don't think that's fair of them to interfere with her love life because it's her choice to date him and if that's what she wants to do then she should. From that  moment when her parents had a yelling rage of his insincerity and lack of wealth is when their love life went downhill. Reasons like those are reasons why I love this book so much.

  Just like every regular day in Noah Calhoun's  life he goes out to his porch to sip on sweet tea and looks at the lake right by his house. Little did he know that his "regular" day turned into a life changing experience. That experience was when Allie decided to come and visit him . It has been 14 years since they last saw each other and Noah was taken by surprise at her sudden presence. Once the previous couple caught up and started talking again they rekindled their friendship. Things like those are why I loved this book because of it's suspense.

   

 Exciting moments like the ones that I described are very interesting because they keep you attached to the book. All books should be like that. They should make you want to never close it. For me all of those reasons occurred. The Notebook is a very inspiring book. The wisdom and courage it brings to readers is great. I loved this book and I would read it  again in a heartbeat. Nicholas Sparks did an amazing job at portraying a story of sincerity and love. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes this particular author or this type of genre.