Monday, December 15, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Hannah's Full Essay
Mr. Salsich
9 English
15 December 2008
Regrets, can’t live with them can’t live with out them
An essay on a regret in my life and my plan on living regret free
OP: Regrets when you think about it are such simple things. In a way they are like mistakes, some more significant than the others. In my life I have had very few regrets, but I’m only fourteen so that will change. Also, something I am working on in my life is not holding grudges with myself about these predicaments.
TS: A past regret that was pretty important to me occurred in the seventh grade. SD: My best friend at the time and I were really close, like sisters when all of a sudden that changed. CM: One day she got a boyfriend and we both thought that that was a really cool thing and we would talk about it on our regular Friday sleepovers. CM: Then one day her boyfriend and I got into a fight. SD: At first we tried to work things out between the three of us because we wanted to resolve a solution and do this for each other. CM: But the result wasn’t that great and it was deeply disappointing for me. CM: My best friend at the time ended up dumping her boyfriend so we could work on our friendship and that only made people look down on me as a person more. SD: Now looking back on the situation, it drew my best friend and me more apart and we aren’t as close. CM: I really miss those daily Friday sleepovers and talking about everything. CM: In a way our friendship ended in such a sudden way that now I fell like there wasn’t anything there and sometimes I get sad about that.
TS: Most people know me as being a somewhat paranoid person and something I am pretty paranoid about is learning to deal with regret. SD: From this point on, something I want to work on is living my life with no regrets. CM: I have slowly come to realize that these regrets, vexatious little pieces of my past, have controlled me for way to long (S-V split). CM: I have turned into the type of person who carries these regrets with her and hasn’t quite figured out how to “let go.” SD: So from this day forward I am going to make these nagging regrets memories, forever. CM: While these annoying regrets have bothered me for the past few years of my life, they have done me one bit of good and that’s that these regrets have shaped me as a person. CM: After regretting loosing one of the best friendships I have ever had, I learned that two people need to work at a situation like this together in order to make it work. CM: I have also learned that at the end of all good things, new great things begin (chiasmus).
CP: I have had many experiences in my life and now thinking about regrets I realized how many I actually have. While writing this paper, I have learned that regrets are just like mistakes and although they aren’t always fixable, they are a learning experience. I really want to thank the people in my life who have caused me to regret, because they are the people who have helped me become the girl I am today.
Self Assessment:
1. What do you like best about your essay? What I like the most about my essay is my 1st body paragraph. I think I got pretty personal which helps the reader get to know a little bit about what I went through and maybe they can even relate to the same situation.
2. What was the hardest part of this assignment for you? The hardest part of this assignment for me was using the S-V split and chiasmus. These writing tools look easy but then when I have to apply them to my writing I get confused. So that is something I am also trying to work on.
Hannah's Graphic Organizer
Hannah Staley 12-11-2008
OP- There has been many regrets thru ought my life and some are definitely more significant than others….
TS: A past regret that I have occurred in the 7th grade…
SD: My best friend and I were so close (like sisters) and then that all changed…
TS: When she got a boyfriend, we both thought it was really cool and we would talk about it on our daily sleepovers…
TS: Then one day her boyfriend and I got into a fight….
SD: At first, we tried to figure things out with the three of us because that was going to be out resolution…..
TS: Nothing seemed to work….
TS: my best friend dumped him for me only to cause more drama…
SD: Now looking back my then best friend and I aren’t as close…
TS: I really miss those daily sleepovers…
TS: Our friendship ended in such a sudden way that now I almost feel like nothing was ever there….
TS: Since I am a somewhat paranoid person, from now on I am going to try to (live with no regrets)….
SD: I have realized that in a way these regrets have changed me to much…
TS: I have turned myself into someone that takes these regrets everywhere with her…
TS: From now on, these regrets are going to become memories…..
SD: Also not only have these regrets changed me, but they have shaped me as a person as well…
TS: Once I lost one of the best friendships I have ever had, I realized that you need to work at it (BOTH PEOPLE)…..
TS: I have also realized that at the end of all good things there are new beginnings….
CP: I have had many experiences in my life and writing this paper made me realize exactly how I might be able to get rid of some of those regrets that are riding on me….
Eleanor's Essay #9 (sorry it's late some of it deleted and I had to rewrite)
Mr. Salsich
English 9
December 15th 2008
Regrets
My Thoughts about some Parts of My Life I Wish I could Change
Whether it’s to do with sports, home life or even your friends, everyone does something they regret later. In ‘The Christmas Carol”, a timeless, beautiful story written over one hundred years ago, by Charles Dickens we learn that Scrooge, the main character of the story, is mean and unbelievably bitter. However, we then learn that Scrooge regrets his ways and overcomes them later in the story. I too have had some regrets.
T.S In the summer coming up to my eighth grade year at Pine Point, I went away to a camp for three weeks. S.D The camp was called Explo which has been shortened from the official term ‘Exploration’. C.M At this camp I created some amazing memories which I still remember, and cherish. C.M Infact, I’m still corresponding with most of the people I was there with. S.D Unfortunately there was a regret that came from this stupendous experience. C.M At Explo, I was only friends with the people in my hall, the four or five rooms that were part of a group, with two helpful and friendly advisors. C.M I wish that I could have become friends with maybe even a few more of the two hundred other people there, instead of hiding away like Scrooge and only sharing a laugh with my hall-mates. C.S Even though this one regret hangs over me, I cannot forget the fun times I have shared with my many other friends.
T.S Even though I regret not talking to as many people, I do believe that some good has come from it. S.D To begin with, I am now more courageous and willing to go up to someone new and say, ‘Hi I’m Eleanor. What’s your name?’. C.M Now, when I go to my new school next year, I will be willing to meet new people. S.D Also, I have learned the importance of having more friends. C.M The more people you know, the more content you will be. C.M Yes I did have a fun at Explo, and was happy there. C.M However, sometimes my hall-mates were off doing one thing and I was somewhere else. C.S If I had talked more, I would already know some of the other people and wouldn’t have to take the time to break the ice, and make new friends.
Before, I ignored the other people, so then the other people ignored me. Now, I know better. I know that any person is worth talking to and making friends with, it doesn’t matter whether they are in your hall or not. It doesn’t even matter if they live half way across the globe, if all the countries and people kept to themselves our planet would be a disaster.
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G.O
Intro: Like Scrooge I have some regrets
1st Body:
1st chunk, last summer I went to a camp called Explo, here I made some great friend and have many memories
2nd chunk, However I regret that I didn't make many other friends outside our dorm
2nd Body:
1st chunk, However, I am now more courageous and willing to talk andm eet new faces.
2nd chunk, In activities it would have been helpful to already know people instead of trying to break the ice in the midst of a talk or something.
Conclusion: Everyone is worth talking to and making friends with.
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SA
Question 1: I especially like my first FAST word. Also, I like how I have written my introductory paragraph, I think it flows nicely.
Queston 2: The hardest part I believe was writing the chiasmus as I have not done one before. It was even more so difficult because I had to figure it out, instead of being taught by Mr. Salsich, who helps make writing much more enjoyable.
Olivia's Essay
Olivia Denison
Mr. Salsich
English 9
15 November 2008
What do you regret?
What I regret and what Mr. Scrooge regrets
Do you ever want to go back in time and change something? Do you even realize at that instant that you might regret what you are doing? Scrooge didn’t realize what he was doing to himself or to others until his dead friend came to talk to him about his faults. I didn’t even think what I was saying or doing when my grandma called, and now, just like Scrooge, I regret what happened that day.
TS A few days before she died, my grandma called. SD I remember that she was asking a lot of questions and I wasn’t really paying attention because I had a friend over and we were getting ready to leave for a long weekend in New Hampshire CM She was telling me about this “game”, the choking game, where kids try to hold their breath as long as they can. CM I told her that I had never heard of it and neither had my friend. SD She told me to never play this game because kids were dying from playing it. CM I told her I never would, and that it was unintelligent for a person to do something like that. CM She was satisfied with my answer, and we eventually parted with, “I love you”. CS Since then, I have kept my promise to her and have not done anything that would put my life in danger and I hope my grandma is looking down on me and is pleased with what she is seeing.
TS There are many things I regret that day, including some things that I learned when I was child that I could have done better. SD For instance, when I was talking to her on the phone, I didn’t make her feel loved because I was preoccupied with what was happening at the time. CM If I had known that it would be the last time I talked to her, I would have shown more love toward her. CM I should have at least shown a more caring tone in my voice because I think she thought I didn’t care at the time. SD Secondly, I wasn’t paying attention and listening to what she had to say. CM I should have excused myself from my friend’s company and gone to another room. I was so distracted by my friend’s presence, that I wasn’t even paying attention to her conversation, which made it hard to say anything meaningful. CM My grandma didn’t show she was hurt and I realize that she just wanted to hear my eager voice, but instead I think she was disappointed with me. CS If I could do it all over again and make my grandma come back, I would do everything in the world to make her feel wanted and needed.
You never know what the future will bring, so be careful about what you do and say. I am not saying always do everything right, but try to be as kind as possible because it might come back to bite you, so bite it before it bites you. In other words, be ahead of the game and if you can’t, change what you have done. If you regret something, try to fix it; and if you can, do so quickly.
Graphic organizer
Introduction: Do you ever want to go back in time and fix something or do you even realize at that instant that what you are doing might be a regret later. Scrooge didn’t realize what he was doing to himself and others until his dead friend came to talk to him about. I didn’t realize it until that person was gone.
1st body paragraph:
TS: New Hampshire, few days before my grandma died
SD: she was asking a lot of questions and I wasn’t paying attention
CM: told me about the choking game
CM: I had never heard of it
SD: kids were dying from it
CM: I never would do it because it was unintelligent
CM: was pleased
CS: kept my promise
2nd body paragraph:
TS: many things I regret, and I had learned these things long ago
SD: didn’t make her feel loved
CM: if I had known it would have been the last time, I would have showed more love
CM: I think she thought I didn’t care about her at the time
SD: wasn’t paying attention or listening
CM: should have excused myself from my friend
CM: didn’t show she was hurt but I knew she was disappointed
CS: make her feel wanted and needed
Conclusion: I am not saying always do everything right but try to be as kind as possible because it might come back and bite you, but you have to bite it before it bites you. In other words be ahead of the game. If you regret something try to fix if you can that is and if you can do so quickly.
Self Assessment
What I like best about my essay…
What I like about my essay is that I think I did a good job explaining my feelings about what happened that day. I did a good job going into depth about my feelings for my grandma, too.
What was the hardest part of this assignment for me?
Organization was the hardest part for me. I don’t think it flows very well and maybe in some parts boring.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Message in a Christmas story
What you should do in life
We all understand that some things in life are hard to give up and others not so much. Jacob Marley And Ebenzer Scrooge were and are two very selfish people who only think of themselves. Jacob Marley died with and burden that he didn’t even notice he was wearing around his waist until when he died and was sent back to earth to wander it to try to help people not become like him. The ghost of Jacob comes to speak to Scrooge about his mistakes so far in life and how to become a better person.
TS Have you ever thought how your actions for people, and not for yourself are more important? SD The Ghost Jacob Marley in the story “A Christmas Carol” tries to tell his mortal friend that what he is doing is wrong, and that he should help people instead of turning them away. CM Jacob says to Scrooge that once you keep on being selfish it will eventually catch up to you and you have to pay for it when you die. CM This is what Jacob had to do because he was the same way Scrooge was, stingy, stubborn, cranky and mean old man, and now he has come to tell Scrooge that he needs to change. SD “ I wear the chain I forged in life, I made it made link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it.” CM By being mean and only thinking for himself, Jacob had some sort of a “weight” that he wore around his waist and every time he refused to help some one it would get a tiny bit bigger and he didn’t even notice the weight he was carrying until he died. CM The message that completely but simply sums this moral up is that, It’s nice to be important, but more important to be nice. CS A businessman like Scrooge should maybe follow his dead friends advice on changing instead of waiting around being mean to people and until it’s to late to go back.
Hannah's In class Essay
Mr. Salsich
9 English
4 December 2008
Life and Death
A three-paragraph essay on my interpretation of a quote from “ A Christmas Carol” By Charles Dickens
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OP: “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens tells the story of a true friendship but in a different perspective. Ebenezer Scrooge is a bitter man who lost his business partner of seven years. His name was Marley. Once Marley dies, his ghost comes back and speaks to Scrooge. What Marley says is interesting and really shows how much both of them are committed to the friendship even though one of them isn’t there.
TS: In the play “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, there is a quote that stood out to me. SD: When Marley the ghost says, “ I wear the chain I forged in life” I think he might be talking about his working experience with Scrooge and his life in general. CM: Scrooge is a bitter man, who likes to be left alone. CM: So for Marley, working with Scrooge for seven years may have been a scaring experience, but a learning one at the same time. SD: Also, when Marley says that he “made it link by link and yard by yard” that means that the chain as a whole represents his life. CM: The chain represents how he has made it though the toughest of times and the happiest of times. CM: And through it all he did have Scrooge there as a friend even though it might not have felt like it. CS: Overall, Marley lived a very fulfilling life and was very lucky to have Scrooge as a friend and business partner because he’s one of those people who you don’t think care’s very much, when really he care’s the most (chiasmus).
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CP: Scrooge and Marley got along well together and the chain can signify many things. The chain definitely connects the things that have happened in Marley’s life together and Scrooge realized that which is a really cool thing. Scrooge in a way realized how much he missed Marley once he saw his ghost and one link of the chain can represent their friendship as well.
