FINAL REFLECTION POST

1. Im not going to lie, I was worried about this class when I first came in because I thought it was going to be a lot of writing that I wasn't going to want to do. I'm not a big fan of short stories and I was scared that that was going to be all we did. Then we started our assignments and I wasn't limited on what I could do. I was soooo happy. My first assignment: "I Am" poem- This piece was a challenge, surprisingly. It took me a while to decide what I was comfortable saying, how I wanted to say it, where I wanted to put it. But in the end I was satisfied with it. There was another piece that I wrote and it reminded me of my family. The food piece we all did, it's my favorite. It brought back wonderful memories and I enjoyed writing it a lot. I want to write more things like that. Pieces that I didn't really enjoy were the ones where we started with a random sentence and tried to make a story out of it. Like I said, I don't really like writing stories. ha


2. I want to talk about a specific person in this class and a specific piece in her blog. Hanna Auman's memorable passage. I've always admired her for her extreme honesty. Things like that about myself I know are true but I don't think I could ever get myself to post it anywhere to several people willing for them to read it. I love that passage of her's because of her honesty and the fact that she will admit to her flaws, the fact that she actually recognizes them. People that have issues like that and don't see it at all or won't admit it at all bother the hell out of me. It makes me so mad. I love you Hanna!
I've started a new book just recently and I actually really like it do far. I'm not very far into it yet but it's keeping my attention which I like. It's hard for me to find a book that I can actually stick to.

3. When I was first told about the blog, I did not like the idea at all. I thought I was going to hate it. Then I bucked up and did a few of the assignments and I saw how much I could make my blog like me and personalize it and I thought, "Ok. Maybe this won't be so bad." The more assignments we did the more I started to like it. I started to write at home on my own more (although I didn't ever post any of it, more of a personal thing) which I had been even before this class but I realized how much I really did learn just from writing what I was thinking, feeling, seeing, hearing. It's helped me a lot lately and I'm glad.
I would like to continue using my blog on my own but I know me and how busy I am outside of school so honestly I probably won't.

4. Most of the things written in my journal are posts on here or class assignments we did together. There are a few sentimental or personal writings in there though. I mainly did those in my own notebook that I knew nobody would be looking in. And, yes, I will definetly continue journaling. I pretty much always have on my own and I love it. I'll write about what Im thinking, anything and everything thats going on. Pretty much anything thats on my mind or that I want to get off my chest that I don't want to tell anyone else.

5. Everything is in slow motion now while your floating through the air. All you see is calm, bestilled water about to be awakened. our braced for impact and... your sinking... slowly... inch by inch... centimeter by centimeter. The sun is up above. Your try to reach out or it but can't seem to move. The light is fading... fading... fading...

6. Nothing but the sound of birds singing and the dishes clanking in the kitchen. Nothing but the smell of sweet and salty mixed together with a hint of grease. Nothing but the feeling of happiness, calmness, and hunger. Nothing but the thought of which engredient comes next, how much, or when is the food going to be ready? ............. Nothing but the sight of my favorite food laying in front of me. Nothing but the sweet, sticky syrup mixed with fluffy, circular bread laying on my tongue. Nothing but the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Nothing but the sound of chewing, slirping, and the occasional small talk in between mouthfulls and two little girls giggling at little things. ........... Nothing like being with my cousin, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa, father, sitting at one table together. No TV, no radio, just country and cows and hummingbirds outside of the window. Nothing like those mornings.

7. I want to tie a piece of my work and translate it into a painting. I get a sense of pride when I write something and Im happy with the finished product. It differs because school writings, I'm usually given a prompt. I like to go wherever I want to go.

8. I think we all are talented and I have grown from this class. I don't really understand how but I can feel a difference inside myself. I'm not ashamed of my writings, and I don't feel so silly when I write at home on my own. I hope everyone has the same feelings about this class as i do.

9. I'm very appreciative of what you have taught me in this short time, Mrs. Fraser. I've had an awesome time and I'm going to miss you!!! Again, thankyou :)

Dan In Real Life

Can you know in 3 days that you love someone?
Honestly, I think anything is possible. Enough said.

Dan's family is very involved in getting him to date again. How involved do you think faimly should be in your relationships? Your involvement in theirs?
There's a certain point that your family should stop trying to be involved in your relationship. For example, if you are in a healthy relationship that you are happy in, your partner isn't hurting you physically or mentally, your family should not mess with your relationship for their own reasons. Like if they don't like your partner or are doing it just because they're that type of a person it's not right. If you are in an abusive relationship, they know your not happy, or they know you really just need a night to go out and have some fun then I think it's okay. But there's always a line they should not cross.

Dan and Marie aren't supposed to fall in love. Is illicit love more appealing to us?
I know for a fact when something is forbidden, or someone is playing hard to get then yes, it is going to make you want it more. It's the challenge, the adrenaline rush when your with a person that you know your not supposed to be with or that you would get in trouble for being with. It's human nature. I've been in this position quite a bit. And someone playing hard to get always draws my attention. I'm not sure why we're like this but I believe most human beings are like that.

Dan is widowed and then falls for Marie. Do you think there is only one true soul mate for everyone or lots of options out there?
I do not believe there is technically one true soul mate out there for everyone. I think people just intend to lean into believing that because your first love always stands out to you the most. There's always going to be one person that stood out to you the most but I do believe you can fall in love with multiple people.




Do you thik asking questions makes you a good conversationalist?
Asking a lot of questions just gives you more to talk about. It doesn't necessarily mean your a good conversationalist, in my opinion, because anybody can ask questions.

Dan tells the kids at the abandoned Shack O' Shells that "life is full of disappointment." Do you think that's true? How do you deal with disappointment?
Life is full of disappointment. Nothing is ever perfect but it depends on how you deal with it. And everyone deals with disappointment differently.

Are you a good bowler?
I am a terrible bowler but I still love to go because I laugh at myself. :)

Good Times, Good Times

The Poky Little Puppy was probably my favorite book as a little kid because I always loved animals and I remember thinking about how cute the puppy on the cover was.
Basically The Poky Little Puppy is about, obviously, a puppy who likes to go on adventures. While his siblings are always getting in trouble, he avoids it because he's always the last one to arrive home. He's always too busy looking at other things. In the end, fate finally catches up to him when his siblings fill in the hole he had dug under the fence and can not get back in to come home.


The Very Hungry Caterpillar was another favorite of mine because of the foods he eats. I remember thinking it was so funny imagining a caterpillar eating cake! Also, I liked the pictures and the holes that the caterpillar supposidly ate through the book pages!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a simple story about a caterpillar who is (duh) really hungry. It goes through all the days of the week and everyday the caterpillar eats another food if I remember correctly. By the end of the week he was eating ten different foods in one day! As a kid, I thought that was crazy. :)


Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? didn't really have a story line to it. I just remember liking it because of the different colored animals. I thought it was silly and it was fun to look at.

Memorable Music

Music that reminds me of my childhood:

Britney Spears
Nsync
Backstreet Boys
Aaron Carter
Chrstina Aguilara
Avril Laveign

Music that reminds me of relationships:

My Guardian Angel
Love Drunk
Dirty Bit
Bottoms Up
Mayday Parade
Framing Hanley
A Day To Remember

Music that reminds me of family:

Toby Keith
Dixie Chicks
Shania Twain
Ecanescence
Rascall Flatts

And music that reminds me of present day:

Bottoms Up
Dirty Bit
Animal Collectives
Tool- 10000 Days
A Perfect Circle
Eminem
Evanescence
Kid cudi
Bassnector
A Day to Remember

MUSIC&&TEACHERS

What music or songs reminds you of your childhood?

Country reminds Coach Hawxby of his childhood because he was raised in the country. He loved AC/DC and still likes 80's music.

Who is your favorite singer or group or song and why?

Ms. Frasiers favorite singers are Sarah McLaughlan and Jack Johnson because she has seen both their concerts and they were amazing and the concerts were beautiful.

What music reminds you of someone you love? Your child? Spouse? Parents?

Uncle Kracker reminds Ms. Nance of of her kids.

Do you go to concerts? Which concerts are memorable to you? why?

Mrs. Frasier went to Lady Gaga's concert over the summer- definetly very memorable. She didn't have good seats and she couldn't stop staring at the crazy, half naked lady gaga fan, male in front of her. LAWL!

What radio stations do you normally listen to in your car? Do you sing along?

Mrs. Frasier and her son like to listen to 96.5 and sing along but when Mrs. Frasier is by herself she likes to listen to 102.1, especially in the mornings.

Which music or artist was "controversial" or "offensive" to some when you were growing up? Is any music offensive to you now?

When Mrs. Nunez went to Mexico her first time she heard a song on the radio of mexicans and americans fighting with each other. There was a lot of vulgar words and she thought everyone was going to hate her. She talked to a few people about that song and they told her it's mostly the mexicans that live right on the border that feel that way.
Ms. Nance thinks Pink Floyd is offensive.

Which music or artist do you really dislike or refuse to listen to?
Coach Hawxby says he refuses to listen to hard rap.

Music && Writing

2. I have never been able to have one favorite song. My song preferences change all the time. One week, there will be two or three songs that I listen to over and over and by the next week they've changed again even if I end up coming back to the first ones.

3. When I lived in the country as a younger kid, all I listened to was country. Thats the only music I even thought existed besides classic rock. It was the only music I knew of until I heard hip hop for the first time in fifth grade and thats when my music choices started changing. For a while, all I would listen to was 96.5 and then I discovered rock, hard rock, screamo, etc. I started listening to different kinds of music in that genre and my music knowledge just kept growing and growing. Now I listen to whatever I feel like listening to.

4. I definitely think parents and others around you have a huge influence on the music you listen to. Ex: I was raised in the country and that was all I knew until I spent more time in the "city".

5. Jessica is pretty much the exact same as me. She likes almost anything and everything. Whatever kind of mood we're in is the kind of music we'll listen to. I think it just means we have some things in common.

7. Without music, my life would be boring.

8. I admire the music of everyone, because everyone has their own right to making their own music. Music is music whether or not I like it. It still takes skill and courage to make your own music and put yourself out there for the world to judge you. I admire anyone who can do that.

Theres Nothing Like Those Days

When I was little, I used to live with my biological father in Marshfield every other weekend. Everytime I was there, we would usually go to my grandmas for breakfast. Grandma ALWAYS made me pancakes because that was my favorite. It was the only thing I ever wanted, but my cousin Jessi didn't like pancakes. She liked biscuits and gravy which I hated. Just because Jessi and I always liked different things she would make both, every morning. The rest of the family that came for breakfast was tired of pancakes and biscuits and gravy but Jessi and I never could be.
I always thought that was awesome for her to do. To go out of her way just to make both of us happy. Not only did she do that, but she made the best pancakes ever, always from scratch. Well, most of the time. I loved it because she would always let me help. Once I got old enough I pretty much started doing it on my own. Jessi would help make the biscuits and gravy so I helped make the pancakes. We used to have so much fun and pancakes are still my favorite breakfast to this day. I even still love cooking them too just because it reminds of those weekends where we had family time, sat around the table together laughing and smiling, with all sorts of smell goods floating in the air, stuffing our faces.

Nothing but the sound of birds singing and dishes clanking in the kitchen

Nothing but the smell of sweet and salty mixed together with a hint of grease

Nothing but the feeling of happiness, calmness, and hunger

Nothing but the thought of which ingredient comes next, how much

Or when is the food going to be ready?

....Nothing but the sight of my favorite food laying in front of me

Nothing but the sweet, sticky syrup mixed with fluffy, circular bread laying on my tongue

Nothing but the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction

Nothing but the sound of chewing, slirping, the occasional small talk in between mouthfulls and two little girls giggling at little things

.....Nothing like being with my cousin, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa, father

sitting at one table, together

No TV, no radio, just country and cows and hummingbirds outside of the window

Nothing like those mornings