The Quintessential summer wear: denim cutoffs

Trends associated with summer are simple yet fun-filled. At one point or another, just the sight of a flowy minidress or a wide-brimmed hat was enough to make one weak-in-the-knees with excitement. Sadly, just like summer, most of these trends do not last very long. But there is one item of summer clothing that has lasted the test of time: the denim cutoff. This effortlessly flawless creation has been flaunted for decades, rocked by countless women of all shape and size, and with good reason. The secret "it" factor of these babies is that unlike most shorts, these soft, comfortable gifts from God actually look better when they get worn out. As the summer progresses, so do the shorts, locking every great summer memory into each ever-growing fray, so that even when the crisp navy of the denim fades, the good times won't. And when the time comes for beautiful summer bliss to end, you will have yourself not only a perfect fitting pair of shorts, but a record of memories to last you a lifetime.

project proposal

This year for my Sophomore English Quality Project, I plan to write a song, write the music for that song, and then make a music video for the song. I decided to do this because I love music, and I think that a good song does not only sound good, but has emotion and effort that can only be seen when the song is of exemplary quality. I plan for the song to be about the way I think we should live in our world, and I want the tempo to be fast and the music upbeat so that it exudes an enthusiastic quality. In order to be able to write the music for this song, I will need to learn either basic piano or guitar, and how to operate the Garageband program. I also plan to listen to other fast, upbeat songs for inspiration. For the music video, I will need people to help me record it as well as to be in the video. I will also need to learn how to better operate iMovie, seeing as I only know the basics of it right now. It's a lot of learning and work, but I'm excited for the outcome!

thoughts on exodus.

I think that Exodus was a book who's purpose was to show how living in Africa affected each of the Price's lives. It is also a way to connect to certain ideas mentioned previously in the book. For example, the night of the ant attack in "The Judges" sort of forshadowed the fate of the four girls. Rachel goes off on her own, Leah clings to Anatole, and Ruth May and Adah are deemed first and second pick, respectively, by Orleanna. Another recurring theme I noticed was the four children: Orleanna had four girls and Leah had four boys.

I also noticed that the way the four daughters turned out was not unpredictable. It seemed as if each girl got what they wanted. Ruth May always talked about how she wanted to be a green mamba snake, and her death was brought by one. Rachel always dreamed of living a luxurious life and of being a wife (hope chests), and in the end she got to be a wife to three men as well as live a life of luxury as a hotel owner. Adah was very intelligent, so it makes sense that she became something as great as a doctor. It also makes sense that she went into a unique field of medicine because she herself is a very unique person. I also think that finding herself in Africa gave her the courage to be able to pursue things she's capable of having. Leah showed to be like her father in more ways than one. Like her father, she loved nature, and she seemed to continue to express that by praying to the nature around her. Also, like Nathan, she invaded the African culture. Although Nathan's approach was more stubborn and forceful, Leah still did things that weren't accepted by the Africans, even if she did it because of her love for them. She indulged in the culture, but did not respect its rules. For instance, she hunted with the men and taught the boys, things that were not socially or culturally accepted by the Congolese. But it was predictable that she would marry an African man because she loved the culture so much, and it seemed that she and Anatole had a romantic connection.

I think overall that Exodus was an accessory chapter. Although it is very good and provides a lot of interesting information, it would have been fine if the book ended after Bel and the Serpent.

the lit eight lexicographer.

This week, for my lit eight post, my job is lexicographer. There is a cornucopia of words displayed, so feel free to knock yourself out.

precocity - having mature qualities at an unusually early age.

menagerie - a collection of live animals for study or display (a.k.a. a zoo)

derelict - worn and broken down by hard use

reticence - the trait of being non-communicative; not volunteering any more than necessary

deferential - courteously regarding others' feelings

contemptuous - express of an extreme lack or respect and a feeling of intense dislike

absolve - grant remission of a sin to; "let off the hook"

milieu - social and cultural surroundings or landscape of a particular area

egregious - bad, blatant, or ridiculous to an extreme degree.

he didnt want to practice writing essays, so instead he just SAT in the corner.

Another SAT practice essay I wrote in English. I have to say that I definitely liked my first one better. I give this one a 4. The other one a 6.

What do you stand for?

What is the most important thing to you in your life right now? What do you value most? What are you morals? What do you believe in? It is hard to state your morals when you don't really understand what they are. In many schools, morals are hardly discussed, and social issues scarcely brought up. If schools don't help students to decide what they stand for, how will they know what to do when they are faced with making important, moral-based decisions later on in life? This is why I think that moral choices and social issues should be discussed in schools.

I have been to a school that allows discussion of morals and social issues and a school that doesn't allow it. after looking back on challenges I have been faced with at each, I know that attending a school that makes moral discussion a part of their curriculum really helped me to make better decisions. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I visited the World Trade Center grounds in New York. After my visit, I was able to discuss the sacrifices made and all the feelings that must have been felt during the tragic event with my friends from school. I was also able to talk about what was happening now with the resulting war, and my moral standings on it. I felt proud that I knew where I stood with the social issues our world is confronted with.


At my previous school, when the September 11 tragedies occurred, all we got was information. We were never even presented with the idea of sharing our feelings or reflections on the event. I know that if I still attended that school today, I would not know where I stood or how I felt about September 11 or the war in Iraq.

On the other hand, education is important. If people did not have educations, how would jobs be determined? We need academics to help us advance on to the next level. But at the same time, academics cannot help us to determine what kind of world we live in and how we live in it. Thus, while academics are important, a moral education is absolutely necessary to lead a proper life.

analyzing a passage.

For this post I had to choose a passage from the "Judges" portion of Poisonwood Bible and analyze its meaning.

The passage:

All my life I've tried to set my shoes squarely into his footprints, believing if only I stayed close enough to him those same clean, simple laws would rule my life as well. That the Lord would see my goodness and fill me with light. Yet with each passing day I find myself farther away. There's a great holy war going on in my father's mind, in which we're meant to duck and run and obey orders and fight for all the right things, but I can't always make out the orders or even tell which side I am on exactly. I'm not even allowed to carry a gun. I'm a girl. He has no inkling.

Some background information:

In this passage, Leah is analyzing her father and her relationship with him after he has made the decision to stay in the Congo even with all the excitement and potential danger that is coming with the independence.

Analysis:

I think that this is a turning point, or a "center of gravity" quote for Leah because all this time, it has been as if she had set up a cover for her father that allowed her to see past his anger and imperfection as this perfect man of God and role-model. Some people call it "being blinded by love". But during this quote it seems like she is finally able to remove that cover and see her father as a real person, one who is not so perfect. She is able to finally see that he in reality is not a very good person or father, and starts to depend on herself and less on her father, which is good because it shows that she is starting to mature more.

Being able to see her father for what he really is allowed Leah to see that God and her father are two different things, and that she can depend on the Lord without depending on her father. It also allows her to be her own person, and to pursue the things she enjoys doing rather that restraining herself from them just because her father didn't do them.