Thankful for a classmate

I am thankful for all of my classmates but there are a few in particular that I am especially thankful for.  Kamal, I am very thankful for you as a friend, but you're a pretty weak classmate, you were gone for a whole week!  Briana, you're really smart and funny.  We spend like the first four hours of our day together and I like your nail polish.  Gordon....no comment.  Last but defineately not least EMMET DREA.  Despite the fact that half the time you have no idea what is going on in the class I am beyond thankful for you as a classmate.  For all readers of my blog, let me share a little information on me and my good friend Emmet.  We went to school together before Whitwhit and there was this one time when we went to Cold Stone....waiiit Emmet will kill me if I share this story, well just know that at the end of the story we became good friends.  He's a great classmate, every morning I get to hear him complain about how much he hates my oversized sweater which he likes to call my "maternal sweater", or my hipster shoes.  He tells some of the dumbest jokes, but my favorite part of this kid is how confused he gets.  For all of those who do not sit in our corner of the room, Emmet is under the impression that everyone is Native American.  He refers to himself as "Young Buck"  and he believes that our work group is a tribe that is "fast with axe and swift with sword". He calls me "Young Red River Hair".  Emmet is the greatest.  Hey Emmet guess what? Tomorrow for Thanksgiving, people won't look at you funny when you decide to be all Native American and what not. :)

I Am A Plow

A plow is a big farming tool with sharp blades used for cutting furrows in soil and turn it over to prepare it before seeds are planted.  I am a 5'6" city girl, and the only blades I have are the safety scissors in my pencil case.  I am clearly not a plow.  All though, there are many things that make me and a plow similar.  A plow is used to make the soil more manageable.  It changes the soil and makes it better.  Well not to toot my own horn, but I think that I make many things in life better.  I plow all the time.  The best example of me plowing would probably be with people.

     I am a very opinionated, upfront person.  I often tend to notice what people do that's wrong or unfair in any way and I confront them about it.  Sure, I'm not the nicest person but one way or another people do listen to me.  They usually respect the fact that I don't hide how i truly feel about them.  Ultimately, I am a plower,  I plow my way into people's business and say anything that i think isn't right.  

Direction This Class Needs

Hmmm...Mr. McCarthy, American Literature, new direction?  I think I have a few ideas.  First off, I think that we should have more assessments, or ways to check what we've learned before a big exam.  I personally, found the 10 week assessment challenging and I was very surprised by some of the questions that I saw on it. When it comes to the test context, I think that the vocabulary should be seperate from the readings.  I also think that we shouldn't have to read as much everynight since the books that we read in class are harder to comprehend and they take a bit to process.  I read what is assigned but sometimes I don't get the full effect because I'm so worried that I won't finish on time.  I know that this isn't really "new direction" and it's pretty random, but I think that our concrete notes should be put in the left column of our notes, not our critical thinking.  Sometimes, class is a little boring, since we never really switch things up.  I also think that we should rotate when it comes to reading blogs in class, since a lot of people never read their blogs, that are actually really good.  Another thing I think would be nice, is for Mr. McCarthy to pass back the stuff that we turn in, so that way we can see what we did wrong and fix it for next time.  On another note, there are many things that I enjoy in this class.  I love doing the group work, that way I get to discuss the readings with my peers.  I also think that we talk about things in great detail and usually if I have a question, I know that it'll be answered.  Lastly, I really like how this class isn't stressful, but we still learn. 

Modern Day Slavery

Today, slavery is illegal. All though it doesn't seem like it, slavery is still going on.  Sure, there aren't villages of people being kidnapped from their homes and forced into hard labor but the idea of slavery is still around.  Slaves were forced to do things that they didnt want to, they weren't given a choice in life, they were expected to work until they couldn't work any more and in order to live, they had no choice but to listen to the people above them.  Modern day slavery is all around us.  There are the single parents, who have no time for their kids, spending their whole lives working to provide.  There are the CEO's who don't know what it's like to have a life outside of work, or who have lost everything to their work.  There are the lower class citizens, working on minimum wage, who couldn't dream of ever getting out of their current situation due to the fact that they never had anything more.  There are even the famous celebrities who know nothing but to entertain and with the constant publicity, aren't able to lead real lives.  Today slaves are everywhere, whether it's because of the economy, responsibility, pressure, or outter influences, people are enslaved by work and lose time for the things that really matter in life, such as family values, fun, experiences, and overall happiness.