So Much Depends....

So much depends on a little blue box.
Not the kind with a shiny gem inside.
But one on the computer screen
With words meant for me.
Turning a frown
To a smile and a
Real light to shine.

Animal Farm

Four legs, good. Two legs, bad.

I have read a book so expertly alluded to a taboo subject. George Orwell's Animal Farm is a blatant outcry of communism in Russia.

The character Boxer the Horse touches one's heart as much as any human character.

The story gives you a great insight to a historical event without the boredom glued to history class. The animals bring a livlihood to the book.

If you delve into the story of Animal Farm, you can find a Leo trotsky, a Vladmir Lenin, a Joseph Stalin.

I recommend the book with highest regards with a, "Job well done" to George Orwell.

The Help

Imagine yourself in a stuffy closed room. No fan, no air conditioning. Middle of summer. 90 degree heat and 100 percent humidity. This is how the women of Kathryn Stockett's The Help lived their day to day lives. 

It was the year 1962. Skeeter was a Southern society woman with a secret project- a book detailing the lives of the African-American maids hired by many women. From her mother to her 'best friends'.

Aibileen mothers lonely white children to help nurse the loss of her own son, killed at work by racist men.

Minny, a sassy maid, deals with unemployment as her former employee sullies her reputation with lies. 

These three women form a bond forded with the glue of secrecy and fear and pride.

Kathryn Stockett makes the Civil Rights Act a personal experience. One that hits right in the heart. Each of her characters is written with a detail that makes them almost more alive than your very own next door neighbor.

*444 pages

Favorite Techie Tool

In our school, the most beneficial web based technology tool is the class blog. I like the opportunity to read my classmates' work . It is a great way to compare my skill to theirs. I can also gather a new perspective of prompts and assignments. 

The blog is also a very convenient way for teachers to post what absentees missed during the class period. It gives a mass detailed instruction without need of much repetition. Students have no excuse anymore to get behind on homework.

Anthem

Our latest assignment for Mrs. Gillmore's English class was to enter an essay contest. Our subject? Ayn Rand's Anthem.

Despite the book's gloomy air, I had to prove that it was indeed a testament to hope of man.

An example from my essay:

..... Anthem is a story of personal triumph. Prometheus, formerly known as Equality 7-2521 and also a man of Greek legend who brought fire to his people, discovers his true self. As an outcast in his former society, Prometheus realizes he must be attuned to his real needs, thoughts, and beliefs rather than those expected of him by his “brothers.” Prometheus longs for the freedom unavailable to him in this supposed utopian society of brotherhood. This is illustrated by the shedding of his burden of sadness in his escape to the Uncharted Forest. Prometheus wakes up realizing he is free of his binding and spins in a circle, arms flying free just like a child. ......

Spring Break

What a treasure it was to be in Florida for Spring Break. The Orlando weather was quite an escape from the gray, cold I left behind in Batesville.

In Orlando's Universal Studios, I rode my first huge roller coaster. I had not been missing anything. Turns out, I hate roller coasters. I got off the ride which shaky arms and legs from holding so tightly to the bottomless seat. I was motion sick as well. Dueling Dragons, never again.

While all the amusement parks were generally great fun, I was quite home sick. I missed my family, especially my sister Hannah, and all the friends I left behind. I kept thinking of what they would say about everything we did. Especially the sarcastic comments.