Journal #20: Cycle of Life

People begin as a small and fragile baby.  They have to be cared for and loved in order to grow and prosper.  From the very first breath taken in this world by that child to the last, it is called the circle of life.  After they spend their first year as a tiny baby, they start to take even bigger steps in life, literally.  They begin to walk around two years of age.  They slowly strengthen their wobbling legs and influential minds by striving to take those first steps of their whole lives.  They weakly lean on short tables and walls while their small legs are shaking terribly and trying to make sense of this new ability.  Then after those first steps, they never stop.  They walk and run and jump and play!  They excitedly jump in rain puddles and splatter mud all over themselves!  They run on the soft and fuzzy carpet with the collective fuzz separating their toes.  And after those glorious steps are taken, speech comes into their lives.  They imitate their parents strange noises and funny sounds.  They learn and develop the ability to speak slowly but surely!  They start with simple words: mom, dad, dog, cat.  Then they move on to new and fun words.  And year by year they grow taller and taller and smarter and smarter.  They learn reading, math, writing, history, and other important things.  They experience the world and the many dangers and glories to it.  They slowly develop a sense of what they want to do with their lives.  This cycle continues on and on until they are old enough to drive and to go off on their own away from their parents.  They go off to college, fall in love, get their heart broken, and fall in love again.  They graduate, get a job, get married and even have children once they are ready!  And thus, the cycle begins again with their babies and their baby's babies, and so on and so forth!

Journal #19: Patriotism Poem

It was the fourth of July,
the fireworks were in the sky,
They were beautiful,
I cannot tell a lie.

The sky was sparkling,
they were so pretty!
They brought tears to my eyes,
like a little kitty!
The freedom in our nation,
proved that we were united as one!

I think back to why this holiday existed,
it seems simple,
but back then life was twisted!
The British had American Colonies under their rule,
and then one day colonists realized it was uncool!
So thus began the Revolutionary War,
against America, the British were sore.

There was fighting day and night,
until America had the right,
to call itself an independent Union.
And thus on the fourth of July,
a treaty was signed!
Americans were free from British strain,
no longer would the Americans
experience the freedomless pain.

 I love the patriotism my life holds,
and the stories from yesteryear's struggles being told.

Journal 18

As I pondered the multitude of eyes beaming at me from the magnificent creature, their UFO came to sweep up the captured humans and themselves to go back to their home planet.  The unidentified flying object was silver and shiny.  It made the strangest noises as it shot through the air.  The sounds were comparable to that of a dying elephant.  The UFO finally came to a halt in the middle of the dark cloudy sky.  It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.  Then, from the core of the UFO came a vibrant green light.  A horrific creature beamed down to the Earth to greet the new human prisoners that would soon be under their control.  The creature looked unlike the ones with the multitude of eyes.  It was more terrifying and awful looking than it.  The creature flipped the curly hair out of her eyes, it was Katie! I tried to prevent her stench from reaching my fragile nostrils, but it was too late!  I gagged on the scent and tried hold back the vomit climbing up my throat.  She was wearing a blue toga, and there was a lime colored sash that had the words: SUPREME RULER.  I tried to avert my eyes from this creature, but she had a power that made me look at her.  I was terrified and Katie was laughing hysterically at my pain.  
"I have been after you Allison!  You will finally be my slave on my home planet of K-topia!" Katie shouted. 
"NO!!" I shouted, "You will never make me be your slave!".  I then threw a hammer at her head, and escaped the woods we were captured in.  The creature with the numerous eyes chased after me, but I had a can of mace and sprayed it in the hundreds of eyes.  Katie then flew from out of nowhere and tackled me!  She hit me with the hammer and I died.  Then the world captured Katie and locked her in a cage in the middle of Times Square in New York City for people to throw tomatoes at.  Then I came back from the dead and haunted Katie and her alien friends.  Katie never returned to K-topia, and the planet was destroyed by the Remember Allie Foundation also known as We hate Katie Foundation.

Journal #17: Sensory Details

As the light blue fuzz feathered through the warm current of air purring from the heating vent, Katie fell off her chair.  Katie fell due to the hysterical laughing fit Allie had put her in.  This was brought on by the wonderful humor and wits that Allie had of course.  Katie, however, fell and broke her left wrist.  Allie, being comparable to the greatest of heroes, scooped Katie up and ran her to the nurses office.  The nurse was not there, so it was up to this great girl to save the day, and possibly Katie's young life.  Allie grabbed the painkillers and crushed them up with her fingers then injected them into Katie's bloodstream to stop the blinding pain of her wrist being broken.  Katie did not react well to the painkillers, and developed a rash on her arm!  Allie just thought, oh no! another battle to face!  But smart and brave Allie put lotion to ease the rash.  Next, Allie grabbed a splint made from her bare hands to use to straighten Katie's wrist back out.  Allie needed a bandage to wrap the splint to her hand!  She looked to the left and found a leather couch.  Allie tore the fibers of the couch in half and made a wrap with her own two hands.  She is truly a hero!  Her great strengths made the leather of the couch perfectly capable to use as a wrap for her injured friend.  She tightly wound the leather bandage around Katie's wrist.  Katie arose with a brand new life in her eyes.  She was back to normal!  Allie actually did such a good job, she actually healed Katie's arm in two days and now Katie can throw a 98 mile per hour speedball and became the first women to play in the Major Leagues.  Katie's life is obviously ten times better just because Allie was in it.  As for Allie, she became and astronaut and a national hero.  She received the Nobel Peace Prize and saved the world from the zombie apocalypse.

Journal #16: Different clothes

When I was in sixth grade, I would always wear strange things to be funny and get attention from other people.  I would wear cow print pants, suspenders, fake glasses, and other goofy things.  I did this and the reaction was very funny.  Some people made fun of me but most people just ignored my strangeness. Another reaction that might happen can been seen when I wear nice clothes to school this year.  Usually, I wear sweatpants or leggings and a tee shirt.  Since I dress nice every once in a while, people will comment on my outfit and say I look nice today.  When someone dresses different suddenly, people think that they went through a sudden emotional or life changing happening.  If a nice girl goes from wearing bright colors and trendy clothes to wearing black baggy clothes, someone will probably think that something is wrong in  their life that caused the sudden change.  There could be multiple reasons that someone would want to change their style.  It could be friends influence, family influences, or just personal want.  I know that if I had friends that all wore something, I might join in with them if I think it is cute.  An example for family influence would be your family disapproving of something you wear, such as a dress that is too short.  That will make someone more conscious of what they wear.  An example of personal want to change your clothes and style would be a gain in money for better and cuter clothes, or a loss in money for having to look for cheaper clothes.   All of these changes lead to one thing, people noticing that you have a changed wardrobe. People will wonder why you have a change in wardrobe, but who cares.  If you are happy with what you are wearing than nothing else matters. It only matters what you think about yourself and what you are comfortable wearing.  If someone ever makes fun of what you wear, just remember that you have your own personal style, and that is what counts for you and for the world.

Journal #15: Someone I miss

Someone who I miss that I try to stay connected to is my Grandma.  My grandma died when I was a freshmen on my birthday, so I think this is a sign that she cared for me and tried to show that she will always be there for me.  The date she died is a connection between us because there must have been a reason she died on that certain date to show me something.  While I still am not sure why she chose my birthday to die, it was for a special reason that will connect us forever.  Another connection I have to my grandma is her jewelry.  She had the best taste in jewelry and I got some very valuable pieces from her.  Whenever I wear these pieces of jewelry, I know that she is watching over me and protecting me and letting me know that I am there for her.  My favorite thing of my grandma's is a ring that said her name on it.  I keep it on a chain in my car so she will always keep me safe on the roads.  I love having it in my car, because it makes me feel safe.  I really think that it is a huge connection between us because she will always watch me when I am driving and keep me safe.  I think it works because there have been a few close calls that have missed me on the road.  Another one of my keepsakes from my grandma is a jewelry box.  I got this before she passed away, and I value this very much as well.  I keep all the jewelry from her in this box, and other special items I have obtained through numerous experiences.  My grandma had the best jewelry and always kept it in cute boxes and such, which made me want to be as stylish and cute as her.  When I think about her, it makes me want to connect to her through being like her.  That might be the biggest connection because it the the most important to me.  I want to be like her because she was stylish, sweet, and strong.  I miss my grandma, but we still have many connections to each other that make me feel like she is still with me.

The Pit and the Pendulum Analysis

The Pit and the Pendulum is a dark story by Edgar Allen Poe.  This story shows a certain side of Romanticism, which is Dark Romanticism.  This story includes dark characters that have qualities such as greed and hate toward others.  In the Pit in the Pendulum, shows this darkness because of the horrors that a man suffers through when accused during the Spanish Inquisition.  His torturous stay in prison also supports Poe's Dark Romanticism style.  A last indicator of the Dark Romanticism in this short story is the depressing tone that is used by Poe in this short story.

The characters in this novel show a great deal of dark and undesirable qualities.  The fact that these characters represent such qualities shows that Poe is a Dark Romanticist.  The judges that sentence the main character shows their dark sides when they do not let the man have a case.  They already made up their minds about the man and decide he should be tortured.  This is a dark quality because it shows that they are abusing their powers.  "With the intensity of their expression of firmness-of immovable resolution-of stern contempt of human torture"(Poe 263). This quote showed that the judges made up their minds about the sentence of the man without caring about his case.  The dark quality that the man possesses is the fear quality.  While this quality is not bad, it shows the darkness of the story.  He is so afraid of death and wait awaits him.  This quality shows the Dark Romanticism that Poe portrays in the story. This quality also shows the emotion of the soldier, which shows regular Romanticism. These characters show Romanticism within the story.

Another indicator in the story shows the Dark Romanticism.  This would be the torture that the man experiences while in prison.  He is in a room with a dangerous pendulum and a pit that he is supposed to die in.  Also, the walls of this room keep getting closer and closer together to force him into the pit.   Not only are the walls closing in, they are heated and they keep getting hotter and hotter.  This horrific scene from the story shows that Poe is a very dark writer and the emotion of the story show Romanticism.  No other writing style would have such dark and emotional times in the stories as much as Dark Romanticism has.  Poe obviously shows it through the experiences of the soldier.

The tone of the story also shows Dark Romanticism.  The dark setting, the dark fears and emotions experienced by the soldier, and the twisted punishment the soldier goes through all make the tone dark.  The description of the setting shows that this story is Dark Romanticism.  Everything is dark, depressing, and scary.  The pit shows that fear and twisted experience that this man is going through.  Also,the horrific events that the soldier had to face shows that this is Dark Romanticism.  He experiences extreme fear during his imprisonment.  He has to avoid death even though that is what he is being set up for.  The importance of the experience and not the knowledge he has shows that this is a Romanticism story.  Also, the twisted punishment of having unpreventable death brought upon him shows the darkness that Poe wrote with.  He had to face a fate that would be tortuous and horrible to happen.  However, him being saved at the end shows that Romanticism is the writing style.  The fact that the hero survived is a Romanticism aspect.  He was not deserving of the punishment, so he survived.

Hence, this story strongly represented Romanticism, more specifically, Dark Romanticism.  Poe showed this through his tone, his portrayal of the torture the soldier experiences, and the characters qualities.  Poe did a wonderful job showing all that is important in this style of writing.  While it is darker than other Romanticism works, it shows the emotion and beliefs other Romanticism stories portray as well.  Obviously, Poe represents the style of Romanticism very well in the Pit and the Pendulum.  

Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Glencoe Literature. Comp. Jeffrey Wilhelm. American Literature. Ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill. 2010. 263-273. Print.

Journal 14: Scared

There have been few times in my life that I have been deathly scared.  One of these times was actually yesterday on Halloween.  I was going to my friend Emily's house after school, but I wanted to shower before I went over.  I decided I would go home and take a quick shower before I went over to Emily's house.  So, I drove home right after school so I could be quick.  Once I was inside, I had to let my dog in and feed him and such before I showered.  I let my dog in and he was acting very strange.  He seemed to be timid about something.  I petted him for a a little while to calm him down and then I went up to shower.  When I went upstairs, I heard a strange fuzzy sound coming from my parents room.  I went in and found the alarm clock radio to be going off.  I thought this was weird because usually my parents  shut it of when they wake up.  Anyhow, I shut it off and went into my bathroom.  I decided to turn on the radio in my bathroom because I felt a little strange.  I was scared because it was Halloween, I was home alone, my dog was acting strange, and the alarm clock was left on.  I still needed to shower however, so my friends would not think I was nasty.  Therefore, I put my fears aside and got into the shower.  There are certain rules to follow on Halloween according to horror movies and one of them is never ever get into the shower when you are home alone on Halloween.  Thinking about this got me even more scared and when I was shampooing my hair, I heard the bathroom door creak.  I was petrified!  I did not know what to do because I suspected someone was about to kill me in the shower!  I tried to think of how I could let this happen and then I decided I would charge whoever the person was so I would surprise them.  I jumped out of the shower curtain, and I saw my cat staring up at me.  I had been worried about nothing, but it was one of the most terrifying moments in my life because I thought I was about to die!