A Memory

Author's Note: I was in downtown Pewaukee yesterday at the beach and Chocolate Factory with some friends.  When I was there, it reminded me of back when I was little and my family used to come down quite often.  Slowly over time, we stopped coming so this really brought me back.  

Back to the time

When I was little

Walking down by the shores

Hearing the sound of crashing waves

Squishing rocky sand between by toes

Feeling cool, raspberry ice cream drip down

Back to the time

When we used to walk

Down by the pier

And try to find fishies in the murky waters

Smelling the lake stench

Feeling the warm breeze against my skin

Those were the times to remember 

Back to the time

When I was little

Staying out at the lakefront

Amazed by everything that surrounded me

Ice cream, walking, laughing

Memories from my past

Making a Difference

Author's Note: My sister and I had just planted a tree yesterday so I decided to write a post about it for Making a Difference.  

Nowadays, our world is getting more populated and that means more pollution and dirty air.  Some think that this cannot be reversed or treated whatsoever.  Yet, most, if not everyone knows some ways of going green: plant a tree, ride a bike instead of a car, carpool, pick up litter, and so on.  My sister and I felt like making our world a little bit better yesterday.  We decided to plant a tree in our backyard.  A few years ago, I tried planting a tree but, it was washed away by a huge rainstorm, followed by a flood.

First, we dug up a hole in the dirt wide and deep enough to fit the tree's roots.  I put in the roots and began putting back soil.  My sister and I had just planted the roots of a new life.  In addition, my dad helped out and got the tree watered and positioned correctly.  This time I am confident the tree will stay strong and stay healthy, compared to my last tree.  Someday I hope for the tree to grow to be as big as the others in my yard. 

No matter how small the project, you can always make a difference.  I hoped to help the ecosystem, air, and animals by planting one little tree.  I made a change in my life, a change in our environment, a change in our world.  Now see what you can do even if it's as little as carpooling with a friend. 

       The arrow is pointing at my growing little tree.

Birthday

Author's Note: Today I turn 13 years old.  This poem is to show the true meaning behind a birthday, not just presents and cake.  
 
Today is my birthday,
The day
Where I celebrate my birth
Where I celebrate when I came to life
Where I celebrate history of me

Though presents and parties sound great
It's not what birthdays are about
Though center of attention and praise sound great
It's not what birthdays are for

When I was born
It meant something
When you were born
It meant something
The day a person is born
The world is changed
Each and everyone person made a difference

We are unique
We have our own
Talent,
Use,
And part of someone's life

So a birthday isn't about
Cake, presents, and parties
A birthday is the day to celebrate when we were born
When we changed lives
Happy Birthday

Someday

Author's Note: I am playing around with writing a haiku.  As usual my inspiration is nature.  

Little and simple

Waiting for sun, rain, and love

To blossom someday

Spring is Here

Author's Note: As my non-fiction response, my inspiration is on nature.  I found a picture on the National Geographic website and I decided to write a poem of it.  In my poem, I am doing my best to include syntactic devices, semantic devices, and patterns.  Please leave me feedback.

Grass just turned green

From the morning dew

Flowers just blossomed

Of pink and blue

Snow has gone
Rain has come
Frigid cold has left
Warmth has shown

The sun will shine

The birds will sing

The wind will blow

So peacefully

Above

Clouds, wispy as cotton candy

Below

Fields, sway like ocean waves

For a while you just stand

Looking at the gift of nature

Color

Air

Life

Simply,

Flowers in the field

And sun in the sky

Prove that color is needed

Prove that life exists

Prove that spring is here

A First Communion

Author's Note: Yesterday was my little sister's first communion and it was very special day.  I felt like writing a poem for her.  I also felt like including a picture of my family after her communion.    

My family after my sister's communion.

All gathered together

In a beautiful church

Little boys and girls

Dressed up in black suits and white gowns

Get ready for their big day

She walked down the aisle

Her veil flowed behind

She tried to put on a grin to hide her nervousness

Staring down at her glossed white heels

Left, right, left, right

As she got to the alter,

My parents by her side 

Candles flickered,

Music filled the air,

Sun shined through the stain-glassed windows,

As she got her first communion

Smiles on everyone's face

The most nerve wrecking part

Done

One step to growing up

In the path of God

Animal Farm Final

Author's Note: For book club we recently finished Animal Farm.  This was my final piece for the book.  Instead of the usual essay that you can see on my Animal Farm page, I decided to use some technology and make a Vuvox.  Please leave feedback. 

Wasps

Author's Note: Currently, I am reading the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  In this poem, you are Katniss; a tribute who volunteered herself for her sister, Prim.  I want this poem to descriptive enough for you to imagine yourself, as Katniss, in the Games.  I also decided to include some syntactic devices.  Please give me feedback.

Scorched by flames
Cut by trees
Threatened by the others
You feel hopeless

Surrounded by people who want to kill you
Momentarily frightened by the glowing eyes
Of a girl next to you
Warning you
A wasps nest
Wait why would she help you?

Soon enough welts the size of plum appear
With green venom oozing from your skin
Wasps chase, wound, and kill tributes

Panting, bleeding, disgusted
You feel sick
Hallucinations take over
Smoke thickens
Until all you see is darkness

A Sad Ending

Author's Note: This is a poem relating to the ending of Animal Farm by George Orwell.  Though it's sad, it's quite true.  
 
A sad ending
With death and mourn
Tragedy and forgetfulness
Growing old and gray
Frail and worrisome

Falling apart
With rules not reasonable
Evil takes over
Leaving everything, but
Happiness, fun, life

Not only are lives lost
Not only is work destroyed
Not only is trust abandoned
Nothing good can stay

Where they say everyone is "equal"
But everything has gone wrong

One of a Kind: Poppy

Author's Note: I found this picture of a poppy on the National Geographic website.  I decided to writing a poem about it.  I wanted to be very descriptive and use repetitive syntactic devices.  

Swaying in the field

To the rhythm of the wind

Side to side

Graceful, peaceful, joyful

Unique, one of a kind

A scarlet blossom forever in bloom

An olive stem dancing with the breeze

Fragile as glass

Don't let wind make a poppy snap or fall

Sacred as life

An animal, a plant, a person

A single person is unique

Like one swaying poppy

What if there was no color?

Then it seems lifeless

What if it is drooping down?

Then no one cares

What if it is not there?

Then it's a field like any other

Controlled Burns and Wildfires

 Author's Note: Recently we had a seminar on controlled burns.  Some of the Academy 21 students went out to the prairie to see what the prairie looks like after a control burn that was a few days earlier.  Our task was to research controlled burns and state our opinion on whether or not we should do controlled burns, and whether or not we should stop wildfires.  I felt like including examples of controlled burns and wildfires from recent events.  As for many of my responses, I am working on reducing be-verbs by 30%.  Please give me feedback!


Controlled burns and wildfires happen all of the time.  Since controlled burns can help the land then why do firemen immediately take action when there is a wildfire?  On the other hand, some negatives can come up when doing a controlled burns and having untreated wildfires.  Should people create controlled burns and keep wildfires or stop them altogether?

Controlled Burn

Not long ago, in the prairie behind our school, there was a fire.  Did you get to see the fire or what the prairie looked like afterward?  No worries, that fire wasn't to harm anything, it was one step that we annually do to restore our prairie.  Those kinds of fires are called controlled burns.  Controlled burns are fires professionally set during cooler months as a technique to manage forests, farm, or restore prairies.  Many use controlled burning as a helpful tool to disperse seeds, begin plant growth, and abolish unwanted species. 


On the other hand, controlled burns can be quite harmful.  All the smoke and ashes will definitely pollute the atmosphere.  When inhaling the smoke from a controlled burn or any fire it can be dangerous to people's health.  Sadly, in Oregon during the year 1988, a 23-car crash that took five lives and injured over 35 people due to a vast amount of smoke from a controlled burn.

Texas Wildfire

As for wildfires, nature makes them on their own.  Right now in Texas blazing wildfires take over hundreds of miles due to a drought and gusty winds.  Hundreds of firemen from all over the United States try to put out the destructive fire before it could damage more.  Should firemen put out wildfires?  They are nature's way of a controlled burn.  Those fires could start renewing all of this land, but then firemen will extinguish them before restoration could be done. 


Fires happen for a reason and sometimes I think firemen should let them be.  Though controlled burns can  harm people and the air, they are also great for plant life which people and animals need to live.  In addition, I think that extinguishing wildfires right away isn't the best idea until they get out of hand.  What do you think?  Should we set controlled burns or not?  Do you think we should extinguish wildfires right away?


Bibliography

"Controlled Burn On UCSB’s Lagoon Island Fuels Effort to Smoke Out Invasive Plant - Noozhawk.com." Santa Barbara News and Information - Noozhawk.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.noozhawk.com/local_news/article/061909_controlled_burn_at_ucs

"Controlled Burn- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ." Wikipedia the free encyclopedia . N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_burn>.

"Controlled burn." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/c/controlled_burn.htm>.

"Texas Wildfire Condition Ease; Weather a Concern." Fox News. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,514707,00.html>.

Lighthouse

Author's Note: I cannot wait for Summer to come but before that Spring must come too.  I felt like writing a poem on a lighthouse since they are truly great architecture and they seemed like an interesting poem topic.  I wanted to add some syntactic devices and a picture for visual effect.  Please give me feedback.

Standing on rocky shorelines
Lighting the night sky
With rotating beams of light
Leading sailboats or ships
Inland, shore, land

Standing tall to beam light
Standing tall to direct those boats
Standing tall to warn rocky shores nearby

On that lighthouse,
Blue waves crash high
Cool rain sprinkle down
Blustery winds brush by


It stands there perfectly
Shining rays of white light 
Guiding the path of boats
While tortured by weather of nature

A Day to Remember

Author's Note: Over this weekend, I had a great time with my family.  I felt like doing a response-like piece to my weekend.  In this piece, I wanted to add some syntactic devices and my own weekend experience.  I have also been working on reducing my be-verbs by 30%.  
  
Happiness, joy, and fun really bring families together.  On Saturday, my dad's entire family came to my grandma's house and we had a spectacular day.  We had gathered there to remember the passing of my grandpa ten years ago and my uncle's birthday. No matter what the occasion is families should come together and enjoy the time that they can have with each other.

Most of my cousins and I spent the majority of our day outside since it was a sunny and warm.  Later some of my uncles and aunts came out too.  After thinking about it, what we did wasn't really to my interest, it was the time with my family that made it fun.  Whatever game we played, food we ate, or picture we took did not matter; we made it fun and creative by being with the ones we love. 

Any family can enjoy each other and it doesn't depend on what they're doing.  My memory will keep my perfect day with family full of love and joy. 

When the Sun will Shine

Author's Note: Today, well this entire week, it has been cloudy and rainy.  I felt like writing a poem about the weather.  I wanted to add some onomatopoeias and be as descriptive as possible.  Please give me feedback.     

Pitter patter
Drip drop
Down your window pane
Cloudy skies, low and dark
No sun can shine
Skies rumble
Lightning cracks
Sending beams of light 
Splish splash
Muddy puddles
Whoshh
Wind brushing against your cheek
Slipping and sliding
Across the sidewalk
Rain sprinkles down
You wait for another day
When the sun will shine

I have a Sibling?

Author's Note: Currently, I am reading The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan.  Recently in the book, Jason met his sister for the first time in his life.  He never knew about her before.  I try to include syntactic devices in my response.  Also, I would like to reduce by be-verbs by about 30% by replacing them with active verbs.  I wrote this to show my opinion too. 

What kind of world would it be if no one communicated?  What kind of world would it be if no one knew each other?  What kind of world would it be to not know their family?  Of course, exceptions come in here and there for some people, but in general people know these things.  Jason Grace, son of Zeus, discovered at the beginning that he had a sister, Thalia Grace.  No one had ever mentioned her, and now that he is in high school he finds out. 

If you have a sibling, imagine if they never existed.  Then one day they show up at your door saying, "Hi, I'm your brother/sister."  Jason must have had that reaction when first hearing about Thalia.  The idea of a parent not telling their own children about their siblings is not an honest relationship.  I don't think secrecy can be fair unless protecting someone.

Jason Grace must have gotten a lot of shock when uncovering a sister he never knew of.   Why would his parents keep this away from him?  A family should tell the truth when they can, and that would make the world a more understandable place.

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them." ~ Galileo Galilei

Zones of the Oceans

Author's Note:  I had thought of this content essay on my own since I felt like learning more on the zones of the oceans and the species within them.  In addition, I though that you, the reader, might have wanted to learn something new.  As I wrote this, I thought about reducing my be-verbs throughout the piece and making the descriptions best as possible.  Please give me feedback and comments at the bottom. 

Five oceans surround earth: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, and Southern.  Oceans make up nearly 70% of the earth's surface.  They provide home to thousands of unique aquatic animals and plants.  As you go deeper down the pressure gets stronger and sunlight dims until no light can get through.  Each of the five oceans have five main zones: Sunlight, Twilight, Midnight, Abyss, and Trenches.  
 

Sea Lettuce

The surface zone, named the Sunlight Zone, extends from the surface to approximately 650 feet underwater.  The most visible sunlight exists here hence the name Sunlight Zone.  Plants can only grow in the Sunlight Zone since the most light and warmth exists here.  Plants like Sea Lettuce give food to the vast amount of animals such as dolphins, sharks, and jellyfish. 

Bioluminescent Creatures

Next, the Twilight Zone, which is from 650 feet to 3,300 feet.  Light strives to get through, and any shining light appears to be extremely dim.  There are unique sea creatures living in the Twilight Zone called bioluminescent creatures that can give off light such as the lantern fish and viper fish.  Bioluminescent creatures get food by attracting prey with their light. 

Approximately 3,300 feet to 13,100 feet is complete darkness giving the name Midnight Zone.  The only light shining comes from the bioluminescent creatures.  This deep down pressure can reach 5,850  pounds per square inch, yet a decent amount of animals live here.  The Midnight Zone animals look quite unusual such as angler fish and gulper eel.  Due to lack of light animals found in the Midnight Zone appear black or red in color.

Giant Squid

Between 13,100 feet to 19,700 feet below the surface is the Abyss.  With completely no light, temperatures can get near freezing, 31 degrees Fahrenheit.  Since much deeper in the ocean, pressure is so heavy that only few animals can live here.  Most of the animals are invertebrates meaning they don't have a spinal column.  For example, the Giant Squid has adapted to the Abyss needing to withstand immense pressure, darkness, and frigid waters. 

Mariana Trench

 
The deepest, darkest, and most pressurized zones are the Trenches.  The pressure goes up to eight tons per square inch.  Incredibly, invertebrates such as starfish or tube fish can still live here and cannot be removed from their habitat.  The Mariana Trench, located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan, is the deepest point on earth reaching 35,797 feet!


An ocean has more than just saltwater and waves; it has zones filled with life.  Species of plants and animals that need to withstand pressure, darkness, and freezing temperatures to survive in the various zones of our oceans.  

Bibliography

"Bioluminescence - Deep Sea Creatures on Sea and Sky." Sea and Sky - Explore the Oceans Below and the Skies Above. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/biolumiscence.html>.

Durkee, Debra. "Ocean Plants in the Sunlight Zone | eHow.com." eHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles | eHow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/list_7483771_ocean-plants-sunlight-zone.html>.

"Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department." Florida Museum of Natural History. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/education/adapt/adapt.htm>.

"Invertebrate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invertebrate>.

"Layers of the Ocean - Deep Sea Creatures on Sea and Sky." Sea and Sky - Explore the Oceans Below and the Skies Above. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/ocean-layers.html>.

"Ocean Light Zones." MBGnet. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://www.mbgnet.net/salt/oceans/zone.htm>.

"Photo in the News: Giant Squid Captured, Filmed for First Time." Daily Nature and Science News and Headlines | National Geographic News. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061222-giant-squid.html>.

"Sunlit Ocean (Euphotic) Zone - EnchantedLearning.com." ENCHANTED LEARNING HOME PAGE. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/ocean/sunlit/>.

"Three New Marine Monuments in the Pacific Ocean | Surprising Science." blogs.smithsonianmag.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2011. <http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2009/01/three-new-marine-monuments-in-the-pacific/>.

Country Comparison: France, Switzerland, or Vietnam?

Author's Note: Recently we had a seminar where we compared different countries to the United States.  We were assigned to choose one of those countries to live in with reason to back up our answer.  I compared France, Switzerland, and Vietnam to the United States.  I really want to show my voice and opinion in this essay.  Please leave feedback and comments at the bottom.   

From north to south and east to west lay thousands countries all around the world.  I choose three countries out of so many: France, Switzerland, and Vietnam to compare to our home, the United States of America.  All countries had pros and cons in comparison to the United States.  In the end,  all I would need to do is answer one simple question, Where would I rather live France, Switzerland, or Vietnam? 


France is a country not much smaller than the Midwest region located within western Europe.   With a population of over 60,000,000 people there is a 4.3% higher chance to be left unemployed and if they had a job they would make 29.31% less money.  In comparison to the United States they have more pros than cons.  For example, the convenience to pay less for health care since they don't earn as much money.  They also get 17.92% more free time, in addition their life expectancy is 2.85 years longer.  People save earth and stay healthy by nearly cutting the use of electricity and consumption of oils by 50% compared to the U.S.

Switzerland, a country also within Europe, with only one con and various pros when compared to the United States.  Unlike France they have a 52.6% higher chance of being employed, but they will get paid 10.13% less money.  For health care, the people don't need to spend as much for coverage too.  In Switzerland, they have a 32.9% less chance of dying in infancy, one years old or younger.  As they get older, they are expected to live 2.73 years longer than average Americans do.  Switzerland's use of electricity and consumption of oils are also about 35% less than the United States.

Vietnam is the thirteenth most populous country with almost 90,000,000 residents.  They have a birth rate of 25.02% more children for every 1,000 people.  Unfortunately, babies one and under have 3.5 times higher chance of dying in infancy.  Plus a grown person's expectancy for life is about 6.3 years sooner than an American's life expectancy.  On the other hand, there would be about a 70% higher chance to be employed and they don't need to pay as much for health care.  Then again, they make almost 95% less money than the average United States employee. 

Though learning about Vietnam was quite interesting, I wouldn't want to live there out of the three countries.  The change from the United States to Vietnam would be very drastic making it harder to adapt.  To choose either France or Switzerland had me stumbling upon all these statistics for what would make a better life and environment.  In conclusion, I decided that I would rather live in France more than Switzerland and Vietnam since the statistics had more positive percentages, and the two cons weren't so big to greatly impact my life.  Personally, I would rather live in France, but where would you rather live: France, Switzerland, or Vietnam?

Earthquake

Author's Note: I am assigned a new goal of posting a non-fiction response every three days.  I decided to do mine on the Japan earthquake, not the tsunami, since it was something that I can relate to.  In this response, I am working on reducing my be-verbs: is, am, are, was, were, be, been, being, by 30%.  In order to do that, I replace be-verbs with active verbs.  I also am trying to include some syntactic devices.  Please give me comments and feedback on this response. 

March 11, 2011 a devastating 8.9 earthquake shook Japan triggering a tsunami.  Buildings rocked and crumbled, furniture toppled down, and people ran of fright.  Japan remains as a disaster zone with thousands of lives lost.  The earthquake became the largest recorded earthquake in Japan's history.  The earthquake left horrible result with ruined shelters, ruined belongings, and ruined lives.  

I felt earthquakes various times in Riverside, California, but I was fortunate that nothing as severe as Japan's happened.  Some books, papers, and little things fell, but luckily nothing was destroyed.  At times, we slept through some quakes or didn't panic at all.  Some places near Riverside had experienced worse where buildings and roads shook until they turned to debris. 

Earthquakes are frightening even if it is not an 8.9 magnitude earthquake.  People living in earthquake zones obtain a risk of losing homes, losing precious items, and losing loved ones.  Though it may be interesting to watch from here, just think about what was left and what was lost.

Is the Golden Touch really a gift?

Author's Note: I am assigned a book response every third day.  Currently I am reading The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan.  The response is on the theme of taking advantage.  I am trying to reduce my be-verbs: is, am, are, was, were, be, been, being, by 30%. I will achieve that goals by replacing them with active verbs.  I try to include syntactic devices throughout my response.  Please leave me comments and feedback on this response. 

After crash landing in Omaha, Jason, Piper, and Leo came across King Midas' mansion.  Inside the three of them met King Midas who has power to turn anything to pure gold.  His house shined of golden furniture and his wall lined with golden statues.  Everything King Midas owned was gold and could only be reversed by running water.  He easily took advantage of his golden touch by turning his house, workers, and daughter to gold.  With surplus of gold, he sold it for millions of dollars, and he never reversed golden statues of people.  Having the greater benefit isn't right especially when using it in a sinful way. 

Though he can have all of the riches in the world, is it truly a gift to turn everything he touches to solid gold?  Does he take advantage of his power and people?  Do you take advantage of what you have?

Inspirational quote

"No mother would ever willingly sacrifice her sons for territorial gain, for economic advantage, for ideology." ~ Ronald Reagan

Would I like to go to Rome?

Author's Note: I was assigned to do a response to my project on the five themes of geography in Rome.  My prompt was: Why would you like or not like to go to Rome?  I would have to incorporate the information that I learned from the project to answer the question.  I tried using the repetitive syntactic device.  I wanted this to show my voice and opinion also with a description of each topic.  Please leave me any comments on this piece. 

Going to Rome would be a dream.   I'd love to go there, but it probably won't be anytime soon.  Rome is a magnificent city full of much to see and do.  A place of great architecture, great gifts, and great stories. 

All of the historical sites to see such as the Colosseum, Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain lure me in most.  Imagine going to a building where people once were in ancient times or tossing coins in for a wish at a historic fountain.  It's a miracle to have buildings that are thousands of years old and still standing while being open for visitors.  With many precise and unique works of architecture there would be an educational experience of buildings from medieval to fascist time periods.  

Wisconsin's weather and climate can sometimes be agitating when I have to shovel, bundle up, or stay indoors.  On the other hand, mild temperatures are in Rome year round due to the nice Mediterranean climate.  They have 2,473 hours of warm sunshine and only 34 inches of precipitation on a yearly average!  I would enjoy being able to walk outside and not freeze in the winter. 

The nature in Rome has so much to offer, from the Apennines to the Tiber River.  Peaceful is the walk along the river bank.  Relaxing is the view atop the mountains.  Beauty is looking out at the Mediterranean coast.  Farm land rolls on forever eventually giving fruit, vegetables, and grain to everyone.  Some don't notice what nature has to give, but it's truly magnificent.

Over the past couple of years, I have found it quite interesting to learn about gods, goddesses, and mythology in ancient Rome.  Ancient Romans worshiped and had strong beliefs for much of what we call today mythology.  Statues, buildings, and stories were created honor of gods which would be amazing to see and study first hand. 

A trip to Rome would be a lifetime experience.  There would be a chance to learn by seeing the most splendid architecture, statues, arches, and monuments.  I'd enjoy the pleasant weather when admiring the scenic view from natures blessing.  Someday I hope to go to Rome and have the experience that I dream of now.