journal 30 free write

So today is May 14 and it is exactly one month away from Graduation, which sounds like it is very far away but in reality it is not. We have only a few days left of classes and it is beginning to hit me that I am graduating this year. I have been here since 7^th grade and I have grown closer and closer with my fellow peers in my AP Lit class mostly over the 6 or 4 years I have been with them. Last Friday while we were sitting outside eating our lunch we realized that was going to be out last Friday lunch at BK  EVER. Then yesterday after our AP Government test a group of us went to red robin after the test and realized it was out last AP exam, which is a good thing but it is sad that I have to say out last this or our last that. Its depressing to finally realize this year is coming to an end and after the summer we are all going to part our ways to our different schools, yet we will meet up next year over breaks or whenever we are felling distant. I honestly can say I have no idea where this year went. While I am writing this blog post I remember sitting in this seat in September thinking about how far away graduation is and how long we have with each other to make memories we will never forget , but truly we only have a few more days. It  is rapidly coming to an end and I would like to thank everyone for being there for me. Thanks to my friends for having my back when I need it the most. Thanks to my parents for sending me to a wonderful school that gave me the best education. An last but not least THANKS to the teachers, I would be no where without you guys, you have put up with everything from my class from late assignments to rude attitudes and you did not deserve any of it. Thanks for always being there when any of us need it or just being there when we want to talk to someone.  I am going to miss being able to go into a class room and sit down and having an entertaining conversation with a teacher and actually connect to them. I know I will always have the ability to come back and talk to the best teachers in the world. I know I will always have a home at BK. Thanks again for everything you do. Thanks Mrs. Hoffman for putting up with us for three years, we enjoyed every minute with you and I hope you enjoyed us too. We will all miss you and we will never forget Sophomore English Honors II, AP Language or AP Literature. We will always have the memories we made from memorizing "Friends, Romans, Countrymen", to quarterly slam poems. Thanks again.

Journal 29

A villanelle is a nineteen line poemt hat contains five tercets and a quatrain. There are two different rhymes schemes throughout the poem.  The first and third lines of the first terect repeat and alternate and the end of each other terects and in the quatrain they both repeat.
A terza rima is a poem with tercets with iambs that contain rhyme scheme of something similar to ABA BCB CDC.
A sestina is a poem with six sestets and a tercet. Each stanza repeats the end words of the lines of the first stanza, in different orders throughout the poem.

This an example of a Villanelle

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
Dylan Thomas (1914-1953)

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night,

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, 
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, 
Do not go gentle into that good night,

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, 
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.




This villanelle is expressing his belief that old man should resist death , they should not take death lightly.  He believes they should leave this world making a scene , meaning they should kick, scream and do whatever they need to in order to not just fall into death' hands and make it easy for death. The end of the poem the speaker tells us that his own father is dying that is why he does not want old people to give up, he wants them to fight as long as they possible can. He does not to lose his father.  This poem is a villanelle which is easy to notice because of the constant repetition of the lines "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "Rage, rage against the dying light". This poem is a great example of a Villanelle.

Journal 28 Poetry/Poem

The Bee

There once was bee

Who was the size of a flee

He only crossed the sea

To get to a the tree

He also went on a shopping spree

 To find the best tea

Once he found it he felt free

One day he landed on a person’s knee

The next day  there was a plea

A plea for the bee

-Victoria Shaughnessy

I feel that poetry is and expression of yourself. In poetry you are able to express what you feel without limitations. There are rules in poetry , yet it is not necessary that you necessarily follow them. Poetry includes, end rhyme, internal rhyme and slant rhyme. A poem that rhymes is my favorite type of poem because I the beat and rhythm the poem has because of the end rhyme.  Poetry is a very interesting topic because everyone has their own opinion on it, it all depends on how you perceive it. Poetry is entertaining, enjoyable and fun.

Journal 27 End of Quarter

 This is so sad it is the end of the third quarter and that means our senior year is about to end. High school has been an experience I will never forget and never want to forget. I am excited about the future but sad about leaving the past. This year has been amazing everyone has become closer and I have been able to share so many memories I will never forget. 

          In our AP Literature class we have done so much Waiting for Godot, which I will never understand, to being able to see Cylbourne Park at Geva, which was the best thing ever. That play was an eye opener, it was very educational and a wonderful experience, I just loved the play and everything the play taught.  We read A Raisin in the Sun  before we went to see the play which I thought was a very good idea because we were able to see the connections to the  book and the play. We learned about “The language game”, “existentialism”, “post-modernism”, “modernism” and  “Automatics”. We have done so much this year I do not know how to sum it up. There is one thing that I was not a fan  of Waiting for Godot, I did not like this at all because I could not understand it. It was a very educational book with very good lessons and themes but I just did not understand it. I liked everything else so far and I am excited for the next poetry slam this week. It has been a great experience and I loved every second of it.Thanks for letting me have this experience. 

        I am honestly not ready for college, it feels like there is no time until we graduate on June 14, 2014. It is sad and scary that we only have one more quarter left in Bishop Kearney High School, with all these wonderful teachers. I have been here since 7th grade with a large majority of my grade and we have all grown together and have formed relationships that we will never lose. I am ready for a new chapter in my life but I do not want to end this chapter. 

Journal 26 Waiting for Godot

       Waiting for Godot this is a play written by Samuel Beckett that examines the human condition. Nihilism is the belief that traditions, values, ideas or beliefs do not have any value. Absurdity is a state of being ridiculous and absurd. Existentialism is the belief that emphasis the existence of the individual person as a responsible and free spirit, which means they have the ability to determine their fate through their own actions.

            Nihilism is one of the predominate philosophical theories in Waiting for Godot. This theme is seen the different conversations the characters have with each other.  Vladimir and Estragon constantly  talking and keeping conversation to pass the time while they wait for Godot, but all the conversations they have are pointless and meaningless. They never have significant meaning to them. When Estragon makes the comment about hanging themselves this is an act of nihilism because he just said that like it was nothing like thinking about killing themselves was nothing. He was talking like suicide was meaningless and pointless. There are multiple accounts of nihilism throughout this work of literature.

            Absurdity is seen throughout this whole play. The conversations the Vladimir and Estragon are absurd and make no sense. They always make comments about wanting to leave yet they never leave. They always remain in the same spot which is very strange. This play is overall very absurd and strange because of how it does not make sense and is confusing. This is absurd because of the issues this play puts forward.

         Existentialism is seen through Waiting for Godot  through Vladimir. Vladimir began by asking questions about why they are there and why they exist. Then randomly throughout the play Vladimir will realize that they all do have a purpose and it is important. Samuel Beckett wants people to think that there are chances of hope for everyone and everyone does have a purpose. 

        This play shows examples of many different beliefs like Absurdity, Existentialism and Nihilism. 

Journal 25 Literature that mirrors social concerns

           In the play Waiting for Godot there multiple connections to our world and our society even though it is such a strange play. I think of this play as a symbol for these two mean thinking about their lives and contemplating everything while they are physically waiting for “God”ot. This play symbolizes how we are all waiting for Jesus to come back to us for the revelation.  This story relates to how hard life can get and sometimes it causes people to want to end their life. There are many stories in the news where kids cannot deal with being bullied and they end up ending their life. This relates to Estragon when he says they have the ability to hang themselves since they cannot figure out what to do with their time while they wait for Godot. There are many relatable issues in this book.

         The independent novel I am reading is called Alias Grace  this novel deals with multiple social issues. The main character discusses some of the reasons why the woman are in the jail some are in there only so they have a warm place to say for the winter. There are multiple issues in this book and that is why I enjoy it because even though I cannot personally relate to the issue of people being in jail I have the ability to relate to other things. I can relate to the idea of being in a place and feeling scared. When I was going to the cancer center for myself and  for my brother it scared me because I never knew what was going to happen in there or what the outcome was going to be.

Journal 24 What is water- inspirational speech.

This motivational speech was very different than other speeches, I really enjoyed it because it was full of passion and creativity.  This man describes many different things from the tough white collar job lifestyle to the simply task of going shopping for groceries that can end up being the worse job ever. I really enjoyed how he first explained the automatic response to certain situations like waiting in traffic or a long line at the grocery store but then he took a moment and told us how we could see things. We could see things in a different light meaning we could visualize different scenarios that may not be true but are not Impossible. I think this man has the right idea that sometimes we need to take a step back and think about others, no one truly knows what another person is going through in their life they only see what is portrayed on the outside.  Take a step back and think about all the different life situations those people could be facing from a loved one dying to a child being born, you never know. This was a very good inspirational speech and it was not a typical speech which is why I truly enjoyed it. 

      The way the man said the speech was relatable and understanding. I was able to grasp what he meant and fully get what he meant when he was saying these wise sayings.  My favorite part was when he said " You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn't". I feel like this has so much meaning because everyone can relate to this. Everyone has the power to decide is important and what is not. I really enjoyed this and took a lot from this speech.