I THANK YOU :D



***Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Thank You Note Music Playing***

             

              I've been thinking about who I was going to thank for this blog but I just couldn't decide on one person or at least two. I can sincerely say that I am thankful for everyone in the class. You guys are really awesome and I always enjoy coming into that classroom (that almost never happens, trust me) and knowing that I will probably laugh a great deal throughout the class period. As we all know having to start school 2nd period is not that fun since most of us have to wake 2-3 hours earlier just to get to school on time. But you guys really make it more bearable and I actually look forward to this class. I am really thankful for you guys. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year. Hopefully we will continue on having fun.

ADVENTURE PLOW!

I was an adventure plow. What is an adventure plow, you ask? Well an adventure plow is one that has traveled all around the world and through out time. One that has been broken and fixed so many times I have lost count of exactly how many.

The earliest memory was when I was one of a kind. Freshly made and out of the farmers workshop. This was in Egypt long ago. I lived in luxury and I was made of gold. The fields that I plowed where rich and fresh, all courtesy of the beautiful Nile.

Years later, I went to a beautiful place called Italy. My life was not as luxuries but I was happy with the family I was staying with. They were very hard working people. A very united family. Very caring and polite.

"Buon Giorno"

"Scusa"

"Grazie"

"Prego"

"Come Stai?"

"Buona Notte"

I enjoyed the work. The earth had a completely different smell from what I was used to. But it was a welcomed difference. During rainy days I would lean on the farm's wall and let the water wash away a day's worth of hard work. The drip-drip-drip of the rain, a pleasing lullaby. 

Next thing I knew I was drifting away on river and into the big unknown sea. 

There I was letting the waves guide me to an unknown place. What I did not expect was that to a monster of the sea I looked like a delicious fish and I was bitten by it. It was all too fast and i had lost one of the most important parts. I thought that was the end of my life. Just after I had accepted the fact that I might not make it any longer, the roar of the waves reached me and i felt myself being delivered onto the shore. I WAS SAFE! I WAS ALIVE! All I had to do was wait, and waited.

In this place I was fixed up and put right to work. The soil wasn't the best to work with. Too many pebbles that felt like a million pins being stuck on me. I was getting old. I couldn't take it anymore. All the abuse was just too much. 

I was given the opportunity to go to a land were they said there might still be hope for me. I decided to go. It was exactly what they said it would be. The farmer's family was just as kind as the one I worked with in Italy. I was happy here, but then there was talk a new, easier to use tool that did the same job I did. I was not expecting this to be true and did not pay much attention to these rumors. But all those rumors were true the new and improved plow received lots of fanfare. I was thrown onto a very dusty ignored corner in the barn.

So here I still am. Covered in dust all that kept me company was the small bugs and mice that felt curious and wanted to see who that sad old plow was.

Over time, I don't know how much time it was, the farm grew quiet. Until the silence was finally broken by a strange sound and some footsteps. That's when the door flew open, a burst of light and wind burst in, and in stepped a man. He had the weirdest clothes on, nothing like the farmer used to wear.

Time and the way of human life had changed quite a lot. When I was brought out into the world once more, there were buildings so high they seemed to touch the clouds.

They took me to a beautifully sculpted building were I was placed in a room that resembled my old Egyptian home. I WAS HOME! So much joy filled me then. People come to see me and hear my story and there is never lack of people who wish to know where this old, adventure plow has been.

CLASS: A NEW DIRECTION?

      2nd period American Lit. There is only one problem: IT'S a second period class. It is too early to think and most of us are still in those early stages of becoming fully awake. But this is one thing that cannot be changed.
    
      This class is one that makes it bearable to come fully awake. The many interesting discussions that go on are very enlightening. They allow many people to voice their opinions and are even challenged to go deeper and expand their reasons. Many of these become entertaining and we have some very good laughs.

      I really like how most of the time we have the choice to voice our opinions. And even though when asked to answer something, its not uncomfortable. Definitely not as much as some math or chem questions would. The amount of homework is not overwhelming so its a relief from other work that takes a bit more time.

     One thing that I wished was part of class was to get more feedback on our writing. I am someone who is very insecure about my writing. I sometimes feel like I might not be using the proper grammar or something. So it would be nice to have some assignment that will be scored and we will be given feedback on it.

    

Let there be slavery???

Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44 in the United States.

  
      In seventh grade I remember having to go through the Safe Dates program. One of the issues discussed was the person you're dating telling you what to wear, who to hang out with, and pretty much what to do.
      To me this seems like a mild form of slavery. Mild probably not being the right word because women, and some men, suffer through extreme situations. Being told what to wear by your partner will probably be the milder form of ones freedom being taken away. The cases that most of us hear about is women being abused by their partners and some of them even snap and end up killing their partners.
      There are many people who still believe that man rule the household and that the woman does what the man tells her to do. In Spanish there is a word that pretty much describes this, MACHISMO. So if you think about it, this is a type of slavery that many might not think of it being so. But in this situation isn't the man the master and the woman the slave? The woman does as she is told and is punished if she does something wrong. Most women will probably be punished with some sort of sexual abuse. How can a man do this to someone that he is supposed to love? And how can a woman think this is okay?
      I remember watching a show once where the man even called his wife his property. It is just shocking to think about people still believe that a person can be property. I guess it would be ignorant of me to think that this doesn't go on and no one thinks this way. But I am aware that it does. In Africa many young girls are sold into sex slavery and some even by their own families. Living in a society where this sort of thing is rare is what makes us blind to this problem. For a nation that once was into slavery we shouldn't forget why it was abolished and we should all be aware of people that may still be suffering, so that we may be able to help them.
    On the risk of sounding like Public Service Announcement I have to say:
     How can we turn a blind eye to something that is so disgusting, so wrong? Next time you hear about someone being abused or treated like property just think about what you can do. People our own age are suffering through this and if you feel that someone you know is being abused, try to help them realize they have someone to rely on and that they should get help. Remember that this could be happening to anyone and even though this was focused more on women, there many man who also may be going through this.

   Approximately one in five female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner