Monday, January 31, 2011

Quick Write- Symbolism in Stories I've Read

In the story The Osage Orange Tree, the tree was the main symbol in the story. For one thing, it's a tree, it's also the place where the Narrator and the girl meets. It was a meeting place, and soon it became an everyday place. An everyday place where the narrator goes and drops off the newspaper. The tree is also a symbol of them, the narrator and the girl. It's a symbol of them together, their feelings, and friendship. They walk together everyday, and the narrator drops off the newspaper there everyday. That place became a place that belonged to both of them. I think this tree is symbolic because it shows more than it just being a tree. It symbolises the friendship of the two characters rather than just a tree as a meeting place.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The Road Not Taken

I think the title is called "The Road Not Taken," because it's choice that you didn't make. When you do take one road, it's the choice you've chosen, and there's a road that you didn't take. People always wonder about what would of happened if you chose the other choice rather than the choice you chose. The road NOT taken is always more mysterious than the one you chose, because you don't know what could of happened. Maybe everything will be different now, your life could of been changed. In your life, there's always a point where you have to choose between two choices. There's one that taken, and another that's not taken. The one that's taken has lead you to your life right now, but what if you chose the other road? It's questions like "what if" that makes the road not taken all the more mysterious and makes you more curious about it.

The Scarlet Ibis Quickwrite

Situations that might make someone feel proud:
- winning a game
- getting better grades than others
- knowing more than others
- being right
Pride is both a positive and negative thing. It can be positive because you might of just won a game, and you feel proud that you helped out to win the game. It's good when you accomplish something good. It's also a negative thing because sometimes you can be too proud. When one is too proud, they change and think that they're better than others. Just because you're good at one thing, doesn't make you better than everyone else, so pride can also be a bad thing. To be proud means to feel strong accomplishment, to feel superior over one another, and to feel that you did something good or that you can brag about. Pride isn't a primary emotion, so it's a mix of other emotions. Pride is also another feeling of confidence, being confident about doing things, and not afraid of being wrong.

Monday, January 17, 2011

The Lady or the Tiger Quick write

Yes, I did have to make a choice between something that was good for you and something that was good for someone I cared about. It was a simple choice, though at that time, it wasn't. It was when my friend and I were shopping for a special occasion, and we saw a really cute shirt. We walked into Forever21 and the first thing we saw was that shirt, but there was only one size that was left. Coincidentally, only that size fit both of us, and neither of us knew what we could do. We asked each other whether we wanted to buy it. I really liked that shirt, but I told her that she could buy it. I am glad that I made that choice, because she looked really good in it. Also because I ended up not spending any money that day, so I saved money! When I made this choice, I thought about how it would benefit my friend. She really like that shirt, so if she got it, she'd be really happy. If I wanted to buy it, I would of felt guilty because I knew my friend wanted it. When it comes to a point of deciding whether to benefit my friend or I, I usually end up choosing the one that benefits my friend. I do that because I want my friends to be happy. I would rather have them happy than sad over something that could of benefited them but then ended up benefiting me.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Chinese Mothers - Quickwrite

After reading the article I felt that maybe Amy Chua is right. I always knew that Chinese parents had a "different" teaching method, but it was just a way to help their kids. Even though in the future it really does end up helping the kid, it's a cruel way to teach. In the article whenever Amy talks about how Chinese parents deal with their kids, I think about my mom. It's really stupid and mean of the parents to do that to their kids, even though it's for our own good, it's a way of disrespecting the kids too! From this article I learned that it's true that Chinese parents are able to get away with things western parents can't do. Chinese parents are able to call their child names, but western parents aren't able to do that.  Whenever my parents call me a name, I feel really angry but not bad. It's true that Chinese parents are able to get away with it, but it doesn't mean it's OK. Throughout this article it's telling the reader about how all the cruel things Chinese parents do to their kids is for their own good. That may be true, but the only people that knows that for sure, is the parents. By using this teaching method, your kid can grow up to hate you. Thinking more and more about this article makes me more mad, because I hate how my mom treats me. I believe that making me feel "bad" about my bad grades will cause me to want to achieve better, but I hate how she does it. I hate it when she calls me a name because I didn't do something, even when it's simple, I get called names like "garbage, idiot, retard, stupid," etc. Unlike the article saying how kids feel bad about it, I feel extremely angry. This article is right for the most part, but it's still unacceptable to me how this teaching method is always so mean to the kids, and I really don't believe that it will change soon.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Poison Quickwrite

Factors that influence our choices are our personalities, our needs, fears, society values, environment, and the people around us. A hard choice that I had to decide, was when my parents asked me if I wanted to move back to Taiwan or stay in California. I thought about it for couple of months, because I was listing out all the good and bad of each decision. I thought about how I would fit into a new school when starting high school, how my environment would change, how my personality fits in, and whether I was brave enough to go to a whole new school. Keeping all those things in mind, if I chose to stay in California, I would have more friends. I would of had people I knew when becoming a freshmen. Since I already knew the place like the back of my hand, I would of had no trouble going anywhere. But, if I chose to go back to Taiwan, everything would change. I would be going to a whole new environment that I haven't been around for over 7 years, and attending a new school where I know no one and no one knows me. It was a hard choice, because mainly for me, I was seeing whether if I was brave enough to start a whole new life in a whole new place. The most important factor that influenced my choice, was my personality. I love meeting new people and going to new places to see what it's like in different parts of the world. Being that kind of person who loves meeting new people, I decided to move back to Taiwan.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

The Gift of the Magi Quickwrite

If I could save just one item from a disaster, I would save my picture album. My most cherished possession is my picture album of family and friends. The album is a scrapbook from Disney Land when I went there in 8th grade for a choir competition. The pictures in it are pictures from the whole 8th grade year, and some photos of family. Other than pictures, there were also signatures and messages. In a way the picture album was a gift, because all my friends wrote messages in it, so a gift of messages. They wrote in it because the picture album was a going away gift for me. What makes this album special is that all my friends wrote me messages inside. You might think that they could just send those messages to me over email or chat, but when it's down on paper it's different. It feels as if there's more feelings and reality to what they're writing down. Everyone has a different handwriting, and their writing styles are different, so when I read what they're writing, I can kind of imagine what they were like back then. It shows me that they really did like me as a friend and I was special and important to them. Without this picture album, I wouldn't of been able to be as happy to accept my Taiwan environment. The album gave me courage and happiness to open my mind and think "I could make friends like that in Taiwan too, so I have to be more social and nicer to everyone I meet."

Monday, January 3, 2011

New Year Resolutions & Career

Five of my 2011 New Year resolutions are to be able to get better grades in school, especially in math, grow a bit taller, get rid of stage fright,  become more prepared for SAT subject tests, and learn to stop procrastinating.

If I could choose any occupation in the world, I would choose to be a performer. I would want to be a performer because I love to entertain people, especially if it's making them laugh. I love how performers are able to connect with their audience ,making them feel sad, happy, hyper, loved by being on stage and performing. I love to dance and sing, but I have stage fright. Stage fright is a big obstacle for this dream to come true, but even so, it's a career I would like to have.