Who Knew a Language Arts Project Could Be Rewarding?

Introduction

Well, it's that time of year again. We've just gotten out of school, hoping to live just a few more weeks of break, but it's time to slowly kick back into gear. One may think that in most cases, this would consist of the reading of many books, as well as the writing of many essays; however, this year is different. How so? This year I feel (or least I'm hoping!), that Language Arts at the collegiate level will take me out of textbooks (to some degree), and introduce me into a viewpoint that illustrates that Language Arts isn't all about reading, writing, and grammar, but it may also be a tool that one may use to accomplish goals, and meet many personal milestones.

The Project

This year I decided that my project will be weightlifting. I've never really became interested in weightlifting until freshman year when I first stepped into Kettering's weight room feeling intimidated by all the weights and exercises that I've never really been accustomed too. I've always been a small, skinny guy, a natural "ectomorph" as many may say, and I never felt the need to weight lift. After having a great year of track that season, my times were great, but afterwards didn't improve much. After research, I found that at a certain point only muscular strength will lower your times, and this really got me pumped to get in the weight room. My lifts started out very low as a beginner, but throughout the season I saw a huge improvement. I continued to lift throughout the summer and yet saw more. Last week, right after my 16th birthday, I joined a gym and I've started to weight lift regularly, and I love it! The feeling of accomplishment when I finish is great, and I love that "pumped" sense. My project will be weightlifting, while keeping track of my lifts, measurements, and diet.

The Goal

My goal for this project is to become stronger mainly for sports. Instead of running constantly for faster times, I think it's time to reach the core of what makes someone faster, and weight lift with resistance training. Being a smaller-boned guy, maybe over time I'll even be able to show that a smaller guy can put on size too! Even after this project has been completed, I will continue to work on gaining strength and speed in order to run and perform my best, which is why I feel that this project will suit me perfectly.

Finally found my Idea!

So, I've been going back and forth with different ideas of what summer project I would like best. I almost decided to build a hang out shed type of ordeal and even had asked people to help me out with it, but then I realised that would probably be a whole lot of money that I don't really want to spend. Then I got an even better idea, to look into my heritage and see what my family is really all about.
I decided on this idea because honestly I don't know a lot of my family seeing as my grandparents on both sides of my family were immigrants, and also I've only met (that I remember) my mom's parents. I do however know a great deal about my dad's parents, such as my grandma was from Germany and my grandpa was from Poland, they came to detriot after WWII, my grandpa was in concentration camps for four years! As far as we know, they had no living family after the war, but we're not entirely sure and that's one thing i'm going to look into.
On the other hand, both grandparents on my mother's side are French Canadian and lived in Canada for at least a little of their lives, though I don't know much about when they moved, though I'm pretty sure they didn't have any relatives move with them. I want to know when the first immigrants of my family came from France to Canada, hopefully I'll be able to figure it out.
To start everything off and kinda of document my summer I'm going to be making a family tree, though i'm not sure if i'm going to include all the divorced relatives -though I don't know how adopted cousins and all that would work out if I don't count them- I still have to figure that out. I'm going to include some letters (or copies of them at least) that my gandma wrote in her half english half german written letters, she was a funny woman. Also I'm going to have pictures of some relatives and of places I go, since I want to go to holocaust museums and also do some research on depression and suicide, to get to know who my family was a little better. I'm going to make a scrap book along with the family tree, which is hopefully going to end up on a hugee posterboard.
For this week I'm just going to do a rough draft of the family tree including all my knowledge without doing any furthur research. Also, I'm getting all the supplies I know I need as of the time being. Should be fun (:

Ashley Shuell's Project

My summer project means a lot to me, I feel like I can be creative and free with it, and someone will appreciate it in the end and keep it for a very long while. I am poet, and a poet needs freedom and with this project this can happen instead of writing a 10 page essay about it in the end, thank you for granting such freedom to us students Mr.Wilson, I can speak for everyone, we are really grateful.

Oh! I am so happy I figured out my project idea and I cannot wait to start. My idea is making a book full of my poems and decorating it creatively, adding new poems maybe every other day,
binding the book myself, and giving it to a very special person. I am brainstorming on some ideas for each page, or maybe every other page. I will put pictures related to the poem in a creative fashion. Before that I need to figure out how to bind. My friend suggested a website(http://curiouslycrafty.wordpress.com/tutorials/) but first I need to get all of the materials.

I came up with this Ideas today actually with a friend who is also in AP LA. She is doing something similar but she can call it her own. Without her I would be doing another boring idea that wouldn't be fun with at all. In the end I think this will work out very well and I will be very proud of it. Luckily, I've been writing poems for the last 5 months so I already have things to work with. I am going re-read all of my poems and write down things that relate to it and how I can intertwine it together into my book. I am not much of an artist so there will not be to many drawings. When I am all done with this I plan on giving it to a special person. This person has not read any of my poems and has no Idea I am doing this so it will be a lovely surprise. This project is based on how much I trust this person and that I am willing to do this for them. All I can say I that I am in love.

Katie Sawyers project

Yes i too have been procrastinating and have been busy and such. I can't believe its almost July already, but i finally have found out what i want to do for my project. Since i'm very involved with sports usually year round it keeps me busy atleast two to three days a week plus weekends, so i decided that i would do my project about the sports that i'll be doing (softball and dance) over the next two months of summer.
I have been playing travel softball for 4 years now and my travel softball team starts early June and goes to the end of July, we only have weekend tournaments this year and usually practice two times a week so we're still busy and keep up with what we need to do to be a good team.
I also dance on the Kettering dance team (this is my third year on the team) and our practicing begins at the beginning of August with our three day camp where we learn the routines that we'll be perfoming for the season, then we begin practicing two days a week until school starts.
For my project i want to talk about how i improve each week and how hard i want to push myself to do better with all aspects of each sport such as hitting, fielding, leaping, turning, etc. I want to challenge myself each week to be better at each sport for the seasons coming up or current seasons. I also want to cover how well we improve as a team and how effort can be a big part of winning and losing or looking good together or just as individuals. I know that working with teams and by yourself are two different things but i think that by focusing on both it would make my project more interesting.
I wish everyone the best of luck on their projects over the summer:)

Somewhat of a failure..

So this is entry 2, and if im typing weird, sorry but im falling asleep. I just had to get this down while it was fresh in my head. Today I fired up my kiln for the first time! i had all the pieces i had made in the kiln, completely dried. I lit the torch Im using (which looks a lot like a flamethrower hooked up to a propane tank) and when i inserted it into the kiln, i noticed it sounded like things were exploding, just very small and rapid. I turned it off and looked inside, and the pieces looked like the flames were licking away layers in the clay! I asked my ceramics teacher, Mrs. Groff, why this happened and the best we could figure is that it was because the massive amount of heat being generated by the torch was destroying the clay, just from it getting so hot so fast. This is only because it was the first firing, or bisque firing. The bisque firing turns the clay from what is roughly a pile of dried mud to something much harder, almosta rock. After the bisque, you apply a glaze or stain to color the surface of the clay. The second firing, which is usually hotter than the first, matures the glaze turning it to a glass coating. So Mrs. Groff and i figured that i could either pre-heat the clay pieces in a bonfire, or something hot like that, or just have the torch on a very low heat. I did another firing as well today, the second firing, on a teapot that i got from school, which had no glaze applied to it. I used the raku process, which includes heating the piece, taking it out at the maturing temperature of the glaze, and quickly putting it in a barrel of shredded paper that then catches fire. You then close the lid on the barrel, and the fire sucks all the oxygen out of the clay, turning it black. After that, you take the piece out and dip it in water, to further and lock in the reduction process. The teapot turned out quite nicely, and i will be putting pictures up as soon as i figured out how. The pieces that were destroyed are already being rebuilt as well!

Dan Scott's Project

Wow it’s already time to start the summer homework? I was hoping for another couple weeks of freedom! But I better do this today so I can start keeping track of my work. Even though I am still having trouble figuring out this blog and Twitter, I like the idea of using them a lot more than writing a 10 page paper and turning it in on the first day of school. This way we can be more ourselves, but with proper grammar, instead of being so formal.

Like many of the blogs I have read, I too have been having trouble finding a project that will last me this summer and that I will stick to. Every idea that I have been thinking up I have been shooting down because of a slight error that might face my project and I over the length of the summer. I’m starting to think I am wayyyy over thinking this (lol). Are LOL’s okay? We’ll find out. Anyways, after many hours of thinking of a project and finding help from peers, I have come to the conclusion that I will do my project on my weightlifting over the summer. Since I am doing football in the fall, I am already going up to Kettering every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings to weight train and I will now continue lifting at home on my own weight bench on all the other days of the week. I have not yet figured out a goal weight, but I do know I will lift for about 30-45 minutes a day while keeping track of what I lift. For a while I’ve wanted to stay motivated at weight lifting, but I always seem to become lazy and find a way to the Xbox or something like that. But now that I have another reason for lifting and that I know I HAVE to do it, I should have no problem staying on schedule! :) Good luck everybody.

Vlog-venture(?) (Video Blogging Adventure... or something... I guess.)

Knowing me, I of course procrastinated once again. I had many ideas lined up for this project but didn't pick one until today. I pretty much just had a really hard time choosing, but finally "fell in love" with my decision. Although it's not an entirely original idea, I can make it my own.

I got this idea thanks to my addiction on YouTube (sad, I know), but there is a man whom has kept a video journal for over 400 days straight without missing a day and I have come to really enjoy watching him live his life while I'm pathetically sitting here. He just shows what he does on a daily basis, but I'm going to sneak a peak into lives of other Waterford or local citizens while tying in bits and pieces of my own.

So everything is less complex, I'm basically going to be keeping a weekly video journal. My camera will become my new best friend, always handy in my pocket. I won't necessarily be interviewing citizens, but I will pick a topic or theme for each week and ask citizens about that topic. It will have to do with something local, of course. I really want to think of a clever title for this adventure, but have yet to do so.

I am a bad decision maker, so this also allows me to show other smaller goals that I may decide to do along the way. I really want to learn how to do a front flip for some odd reason, so that can be a little snippet every so often of my attempts.

I chose this project firstly because the idea just made me extremely eager to start right away, so I know that had to mean that it would keep my interest. Another thing is that it can sort of help me out by maybe making me to come out of my shell more if and when I talk to random people. It would be good for me. I also really love making videos and editing them.

This idea seems jumbled right now, but I'm sure that once i start and everything, I will be able to clear things up. As of right now, I don't even exactly know how all of this is going to play out, but that's just more fun then.

(If my display name isn't the correct format, I apologize. I've had this blog since last year and don't know how to change it.)

Not to Shabby

Today is day 10 since I began and I feel great. Though tired, it is such a relieving feeling to be exercising it seems. I have been in my summer school gym class for a week and a half now and man do we get a good workout. We walk, or jog on the track for an hour, spend a minimum of a half hour stretching and working specific areas of the body, and go up to the weight center for an hour and workout with a partner every day. We also swim, or play some sort of sport each day.

Remember, not only am I working out on a regular basis, I am also attempting to eat healthier and adjust my diet. This is the more difficult part for me. Exercising and playing sports and different things has always been something I have enjoyed so that part of this isn't so bad. On the other hand I love food, which especially includes foods that are bad for us, making this part harder. I have done pretty well at keeping on track; I'm giving myself a little leeway for now since I have just begun, but only a little. I really wanted to eat a delicious bacon cheeseburger the other day, but instead had a marinated chicken salad with some pineapple. After eating it I felt so much better than what I usually do after a bacon cheeseburger, this is when I decided that maybe eating healthy wouldn't be so terrible.

I have even noticed a change in how my work clothes are fitting. I bought a new belt about a month ago and started on the middle hole; I then moved over one and had been on that hole for a couple weeks. I now am on the last hole and it isn't even tight enough anymore. =] Time for a new belt? Possibly.

I am glad I chose to do this.

P.s. Anyone else doing some sort of working out for their summer project want to maybe do some working out together at some point?

ANOTHER HOLDOUT APPEARS.

Ladies and gentlemen of the blog, I am finally announcing my project, which I suspect has been in the works since last November, or perhaps even further back: when I was eight years old.
When I was first handed these seven pages of summer assignment in June (?...or maybe it was May?), I began to feel a little troubled for a split second. No wait, that's an understatement. I freaking PANICKED. WHAT?! THINK OF AN ASSIGNMENT FOR THESE TWO BOOKS? EH???
Then my mind quickly rebounded and realized the teacher was talking about thinking of a task to complete over the summer, not a project directly related to the reading assignments. lol nvm.
But I was faced with a difficult question: what was I going to do? What sort of project could I come up with that would take me through the summer AND that I could relate to this Barbara Kingsolver book about living for a year on locally and personally grown foods?
As I drifted towards my locker after class ended and everyone was filing out into the halls, a (to quote a Green Day song older than I am) thought burst in my head: "Write a novel."
Eh? What? ...Oh...I see...it would take me just that long, wouldn't it, if I really buckled down?.....yes....yes....I COULD! I COULD! OH MY GOD, THERE IT IS!
You see, when I was eight years old, my mother decided to home school me. She herself was not a teacher. So she had to come up with some way to TEACH me and keep me entertained at the same time, because of course she was not a skilled instructor, and that classroom structure was no longer there for me, and I could come and go as I pleased, and be easily distracted by the fact that I was in my house and had total freedom. (Plus my dog.) And one of her interesting ideas was to insert vocabulary words into little mystery stories she had written featuring me and my ventriloquist's dummy, a Charlie McCarthy doll. I was thrilled by these stories and wanted them to keep coming. Eventually ma suggested that I try writing one myself, because I was always an avid reader, plus I come from generations of Irish yarn spinners, and she wanted to see if I carried the storytelling gene. So I tried my hand at it. I carried the gene, folks, if you ask my mother. She loved my writing and encouraged me to present her with more of it. And since then I've had a love of writing. Although I've always wanted to write a full-length novel, or at least a novella, I've never found the time to dedicate to it. This assignment provides it, however.
But now the question was what would I write about? I wanted to do something in the suspense vein. So I transferred something I had been working on for a while to this assignment. Although, this particular project always presented a problem for me in the way of I could not figure out how to tie the elements of the story together. I have written bits and pieces, but cannot figure out how they come together in my mind. And so for a while I dwelt on a possibility: should I even try to continue with this for my assignment?
Last week I decided against it. For I hit upon something I am even more keen to embark on.
I will write a novel based upon my experiences as a first-time Black Friday shopper at the Best Buy in Mount Clemens on Thanksgiving, 2009. Yeah, roll your eyes, I'm one of THOSE people. The people who rush to a store at five in the morning and stampede inside and trip and fall and fight other people for the significantly-marked-down item they want. Well, not really, actually...
My friend---who had previously gone Black Friday shopping, long ago, although I don't think it was on this scale--- suggested to me one lovely fall evening that maybe we could take a trip to the Best Buy for their Black Friday deals. Maybe we would go early in the morning THE DAY BEFORE THEY OPENED. Yes, we would be getting there early, the DAY BEFORE they opened, at ten in the morning, and we would spend the night there, on the sidewalk, in the bitter, uncaring cold. This way, my friend reasoned, we would be first in line. And that means, we would get what we wanted. Best Buy has a ticketing system, in order to prevent the chaos usually associated with Black Friday. The employees go down the line with tickets for the items on sale. Once the store opens, everyone files in, having a "permit"to get what they want. Unfortunately, people at the very back of the line will likely find themselves shafted, because by the time they are reached, the tickets will probably have run out. Now, the item I wanted (*coughPS3cough*) , strangely enough, was not ticketed, but when I went in to claim one I saw no one fighting over them and no one fought me for mine, so I was all right.
It was cold. It rained. My friend's mom dropped us off, and we two were all alone for a while, but first in line. We survived, later with the help of great neighbors in the line who let us borrow tents and car heaters, etc. etc.
At around 5 p.m., Natalie Sentz from WDIV-TV came, armed with a cameraman, and confronted a nearly-empty parking lot and people burrowed in their tents.
Then she saw me step out from a tent.
My neighbors were a bit nervous, if I remember correctly, but for some reason I wasn't. I volunteered to go out and introduce myself to the reporter. She ended up interviewing me and a neighbor with whom I shared a tent. Yes, that's right. I was on TV. I have a clown nose that Sentz gave me (in promotion of the Thanksgiving Parade which WDIV broadcasts) to prove it.
Eventually, my friend's mom came back, with Thanksgiving cuisine and plenty of coffee, which we gladly downed (we had run out of the food I had brought some time before). By the time the hour of 4 a.m. rang in, I was dozing off in the back of my friend's mom's car, covered with my coat (a style of covering up learned from my father), listening to WWJ 950 reports on people like me, my feet were freezing, but I felt fine, somehow. My friend---who had opted to stay outside--- came to get me when the manager and employees arrived. At 5 a.m., the doors opened, and I got my PS3 and my friend got his item and we hit the road. It really was an adventure, and certainly one not to forget.
Overall, my goal with this project is to complete a novel, and within that novel, record experiences to someday share with a publishing company and hopefully after that a nation of readers. I will show you the entire process: brainstorming, plotting characters and events, figuring out where the story is going next, etc. And I will be utilizing all of those issues of The Writer (a must for burgeoning writers, BTW) which I have accumulated over the course of many months. I cannot wait to get started on this one, and of course I cannot wait to share the process with everyone here.


tl;dr: I'm going to write a novel based on my experiences on Black Friday, 2009 at a Best Buy, waiting to buy a PS3. Fiction. Comedic.

A New Project...Maybe?

Since this needs to be posted before the end of today and I have yet to have my e-mail replied to,I've decided to post the other idea that I will use for my project,the final idea will be posted under the comments after I receive the e-mail.

The following project idea is inspired by want I want my future career to be,videogame developing.As a starting point,I wrote entire game plots to ones that I hope to present and have them made. My first series was completed early this year with a total of four plots equalling around 300 pages total.

The series I'm currently working on is called "Galaxy" and if allowed,I'll be using its sequel for the project.The series starts off following the events of a man who brings a weapons design into an industrial corporation.After being hired,a series of bizarre events happen to him and other members of the corporation that lead into a discovery of an alien race,him being one of them for unknown reasons,and military involvement;along with feelings of love,betrayal,and abandonment.It ends with him leaving the earth in search for the unanswered questions of his powers.A war continues on between the military and the aliens after departing.

I won't reveal much at the sequel because it reveals his origins,including his heterochromia(disorder resulting in two different eye colors).It may also cause a third plot because of the ending,which will leave you speechless.The only hint that I will leave is that he returns to Earth two years after his departure,discovering that the war is still taking place.Along the way,he reunites with his former friends,who still have little trust in him for some of the plot.

Either way,I will begin the second plot tomorrow no matter what happens.If this is the route I take,then wish me luck.Also,if you would like to know more about any of my plots,feel free to ask me during or before school starts.Good luck to the rest of you.

Aspects of a Teenage Summer

Over the course of about a week, I'd brainstormed with my mom about what exactly was going to be my project idea. During our random times of idea conjuring I'd come up with not good ideas, but instead responses to ideas that I'd shot down. Things like: "No.", "Nahh.", "Nope.", "That's too hard.", "That's too predictable.", "Too boring.", "That doesn't interest me.", "Who do you think I am, Oprah?", "Are you kidding?", "Yeah right.", "That's already being done." But, by the grace of God, I'd finally rested on a project prompt I'm happy with.

I've always been a writer, and since the beginning of last school year, I have made up my mind about being one as a career. I thought, what better way to exercise my writing skills then to orchestrate a journalistic project. My plan is to observe and interview the different aspects of a teenage summer. Basically, common issues or behaviors teens often have during the summer that they don't have during the school year. For each aspect, I'll simply analyze the nature of it, develop an opinion about it, then go out and interview other people's opinion on the subject. Then I'll write a 300+ word story about the subject I've chosen and post it on this here blog.

I'm going to keep a journal, and carry it around with me everywhere. I'm hoping to accomplish eight legit, interesting and easily relate able story ideas by the end of the summer. And also I was to build a better understanding of why these "aspects" are they way they are, and other people's reactions to each particular subject.

By all means, comment and give me ideas. I'm desperate for your opinion.
Hey! Have a great summer.

Casey Miller

Project Idea

So basically for my summer I am going to do something to get me stronger and in better shape. Since I run track I thought it would be a good idea to work on running this summer so I can stay in shape over the offseason. Also this will teach me self reliance and perseverance. Since I run track getting strong and building endurance would help me run my races better. I think for my summer project I am going to build up my distance running and see if I can run a mile in 6 minutes or less. This is more to just measure whether or not I am in decent shape because I know already that if I can not run a mile in under 6 minutes I should be fairly close and it should not take much work to get to the six minute mile. I plan on doing this by starting by running 2 miles a day for the first week and then each week I will add a mile to each run. Hopefully by the end of the 8 weeks I will be able to run 10 miles or more. However one week I may feel the need to up the miles per run to give myself more of a challenge with this project. That would be why I put ten miles or more. I really want to see what my body is capable of. Also my track times should improve quite a bit after this project. I really do not want this project to be something I can just blow off because if I just blow it off then I will be in no better shape and will not be any stronger. I will track the distances by map questing the distance I am running. This is something that will keep me interested I think.

Change of Taste

The minute our Mr. Wilson explained the project I had my idea; go vegetarian. For some reason I’ve always wanted to, I can’t really explain it. Eating meat is almost the Lafountain Family way, but so are health problems. My grandpa loves red meat and if you don’t watch him, he might eat raw red meat. That is so GROSS (sorry g-pa). The difference with me is that I’m such a picky eater, but when it comes to fruits and vegetables you can’t go wrong! I figure it was time to finally take part in a healthy adventure.

Fun Facts: There are different types of vegetarians.

Flexitarians are flexible when it comes to the vegetarian diet and can eat meat once in a while.
Pollo-Vegetarians eat poultry but no other animal flesh or meat.
Pescartarians eat fish but no other animal flesh or meat.
Lacto-ovo Vegetarians refrain from eating all types of meat but do consume eggs and dairy products.
Vegans do not eat meat, eggs, dairy products, or processed foods containing animal-derived ingredients.
Fruitarians only eat the fruit of plants that do not mean death to the plant.

I’ve chosen to become a pescartarian mostly because I think it will be hard to get all the protein I need. So foods like; beans (not just baked beans), eggs, cheese, and fish will all be eaten on a regular basis. I also want to try a bunch of recipes like fish tacos and homemade hummus. My vegetarian friend, Elyse Komarzec, will also be on hand to help me on my adventure. She might give me courage to stay on my path or new delicious foods to try. It won’t be all that easy, but it should be very interesting and entertaining.

Today will be my last day of a normal American diet. I will say my farewell to my favorite meat foods; maple sausage and turkey burgers.

Let me begin by saying I did have a really cool idea. I wanted to make a documentary, and I had everything perfectly planned out, until I realized I have no access to a video camera. After I tossed out that project, it was becoming increasingly hard to come up with a good plan. I tried becoming a vegetarian, but my parents said no. I tried raising baby ducks, but my dad said no. I tried maybe building something, but my dad said no. I tried a bunch of other stuff but, guess what, my dad said no. He wanted me to study the growth of grass. GRASS. : / And I said no.

He thinks he's such a comedian. Ha Ha Ha.

In the end, he came up with this really great idea. When he was a kid, he used to build models of things like cars or planes, which I guess is neat if you're a boy...with no life. But at this point I was desperate. I went to two hobby shops in the Waterford area, and the second one I visited, RC Hobbies, had just what I wanted. I went for the model boat section, because that seemed to be the least lame. All they really had, though, was war ships or barges. Yay... guns and garbage.

After about a half hour of looking around, i found the perfect boat! It was supposed to be a model of a famous Finnish Ferry called the FinnJet. Since I get to not only put it together, but I get to paint it, I was thinking 'AWESOME! I COULD MAKE IT A CRUISE SHIP!!!' which is way cooler than an aircraft carrier or an ocean explorere vessel. I plan on spending this week reading over the directions because there are A TON, and lots of little tiny pieces i have to become familiar with first, because there are no back ups. I'm also taking pictures along the way to prove I am seriously going to build this thing, so no one should have any doubts. So with that, all I have to say is Bon Voyage, Landlovers!

Twilight Could Be Real! Who Knew?

Second post! I'm hoping everyone received the invitation to participate in my poll: Wizards vs. Vampires. If not, I think you can find it on Wiggio and participate anyways, but I'm not sure... Thank you to everyone who submitted their votes already! :)

So far I've just been reading and taking notes on the Harry Potter books. There are sticky notes everywhere and it's just a mess. & It's more time consuming than I predicted, but I'm about halfway through the fourth one already so it's all good. I don't have much to talk about yet, because I haven't started writing my book or anything. Since I didn't want to blog about my notes, I decided to start my research and enlighten you all with some witty banter. Here is a blog from a girl who is "unconditionally and irrevocably in love" with Twilight. I'm a teensy bit opinionated, so I couldn't resist making a few comments here and there. I found it while researching the HP vs. Twilight debate, and I really hope it makes some of you smile:

"Twilight is so much better because it's real, at least it could be real." --Okay... Wait. What?-- "Harry Potter is just about some teenage kids who desperately need to grow up." --As opposed to what? Some teenagers who can't grow up?-- "Also there is no love in HP," --Yes. None at all. Everyone hates each other.-- "Twilight is like the modern romeo & juliet, because if anyone has read romeo & juliet you would see how similar the mindless obsession is....." --How is mindless obsession 'love'? And to compare the messed up Bella/Edward/Jacob/Half-Vampire-Half-Human-Spawn love square thing to Romeo and Juliet? Well, Shakespeare just did backflips in his grave.-- "... I dont think they are badly written either, i think they are written so anyone can read and understand without the use of your dictionary," --Lies. Don't even get me started on her obsession with her thesaurus. I'm glad a fantastic writer like yourself tried to clear that up.-- "my 7 year old brother loves the [Harry Potter] films and would love to read the [Harry Potter] books but he cannot read them...they are too advanced for him..therefore they are NOT geared towards every age group" -- Yes because Twilight, with its multiple references to heroin and sex, is perfect for little kids. Unlike the Harry Potter books, because that's just about good vs. evil. No good lessons in it at all...-- "...Twilight goes more in depth with the emotions. You can feel Bella's pain when Edward leaves her. You can feel her confusion between Edward and Jacob. You can feel her love for Renesmee" --All I felt was my last meal trying to find its way out of my stomach. Sorry-- "...Because unlike Harry no one thoughts are actually that deep and intellectual." --Yes, good thing Bella is so 'deep'. Wouldn't want her to be cheerful or independent or anything at the same time. She's too clumsy to multitask.-- "Infact i bet if any of us published our thoughts into a book none of them would be great english lit. Infact Bellas thoughts are more realistic." --Yes. Teenage girls usually read Wuthering Heights 77 times and don't get freaked out by 108-year-old men watching them sleep or vampires trying to kill them.-- "...to those who are disturbed by bella and edward's story need to remeber that this is FICTION." --Way to contradict yourself. I thought it was real...-- "as in most fantasy fiction novels, reality is heightened in book." --What?-- "you are not supposed to literally think that a guy like Edward REALLY EXISTS out there for you. he is a fantasy character as even his species, a vampire, does not exist in the real world." --Thanks for clearing that up. Everyone was a bit confused.-- "he is a creature of pure imagination who is helplessly devoted to his beloved Bella to the point of obsession." --Which is completely normal and romantic.-- "If every book had to have a normal relationship they would all be the same, boring and no point in reading." --Yes. Every romance novel that is vampire-free is pointless. I can see how codependency is much more romantic.

If you want to read the whole thing without my interruptions, here's the link:
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/harry-potter-vs-twilight/forum/post/41229/title/1000-reasons-why-twilight-better-than-harry-potter

Oh! I must admit I did see Eclipse last night at midnight. The movies are better than the books because you don't have to deal with Stephanie Meyer's writing, but barely. I actually thought Eclipse was fairly amusing, though I'm sure the majority of the comedy was unintentional...

I'm still a bit shocked that the Twilight fan would say there's no love in HP. Voldemort can't kill Harry because Harry's mother sacrificed herself to save him (AKA: love). Human relationships form the core of this series. Even in the first three books. (There are more important things than romance, but Meyer seems to think otherwise. Bella ditches her parents and all of her friends for a sparkly leech... Which is weird. & When he's gone she just sits around doing nothing and complains about the hole in her chest.) Rowling focuses on friendship and family. In the third book, Hagrid criticizes Harry and Ron for ignoring Hermione because of a rat and a broomstick. And while preparing to murder Pettigrew, Sirius yells "You should have died! Died rather than betray your friends!" And even if that "Twihard" was only focused on romance--which she obviously was--there's all of the Harry-Cho/Harry-Ginny/Hermione-Krum/Ron-Lavender/Ron-Hermione relationship issues. But I'm only halfway through the fourth book right now and none of that has gone down yet... Shh... :)

I'm so nerdy... That's all for now!

Oh! And the HP7 trailer... It looks awesome!
http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/harrypotterandthedeathlyhallows/

Ahhh, I've figured it out.

Well, I have to start by saying that a little bit of procrastination may occasionally pay off. Yes, it is the last day to turn in our first blog stating our ideas-- and yes, it took me until today, to figure the perfect idea. It’s Junior year, arguably the most difficult, and most dreaded year for one reason… the ACT. The big, bad ACT test that teachers promised would be the most important test we will need to take. “This test determines your future,” Mr. Reeser once remarked. “I could have been a doctor, but I’m here teaching you guys.” That is something that will be ingrained in my head until the test proctor says, “pencils down.”

So, when Mr. Wilson gave us a project and said, “Do what you want,” I was a little stumped. However, when Mr. Reeser’s words of wisdom, and many other horror stories came to mind I came up with it. I needed to find a way to combat the ominous ACT. So I sat down and thought about the best ways to learn. I thought, music, but I am musically inept. Well, how about flash cards? No, that would mean about 4000 flash cards and I wouldn’t be able to sustain that project all summer. I thought about all my normal study techniques and nothing came to me. I talked it over with my sister—who is a teacher, and she said she learns something from her students everyday. It hit me. I am going to spend my summer Tutoring, and practicing for the ACT. What better way to learn, than to teach? I will come up with weekly lesson plans, practices tests and I will go over study habits with the student I will tutor. I figure, if I can help someone, while helping myself, there is no better way to spend the summer. ACT, you are going down!

Third Post

I have been waiting all week to make this post, I don't really care that it will be midnight by the time I am finished. I have planned five desserts for this week, three of which I have already completed. The first two I made on saturday, just after I returned from camp. Well, I slept first, but that is off topic. I made Dark Chocolate Truffles and Double Chocolate-Hazelnut Biscotti, replacing the hazelnuts with almonds. Both turned out well, although I think I need practice withe the truffles. The recipe claims to produce thirty truffles while I only got twenty-one. I also had trouble making them spherical, to start with they were too hard for the melon baller, and so I enlisted the help of my stepmom Bonnie. We formed a very short assembly line; she would roll them into shape by hand and I would coat them in almonds, pecans, and/or cocoa powder. I was expecting more truffles and chopped enough nuts for about ten each, so I ended up only coating two completely in cocoa powder. Then I felt bad for those two lone cocoa powdered truffles and tried to add cocoa powder to some of the pecan and almond coated truffles, but that didn't seem to help much. Oh well, cocoa coated or not, all of those truffles have probably been thoroughly digested by now. My cousin Joel is  due to be married this august, and his lovely fiancée had her bridal shower at our home. This is where my truffles and biscotti ended up. Tragically (for my desserts) very few truffles survived and the numbers of the biscotti were greatly depleted. Apparently my aunt's friend was in love with the truffles, and my biscotti were a hit. I will admit that my contributions were not the stars of the dessert table, my cousin Beryl had made adorable sunflower shaped cookies which I plan to steal the recipe for as soon as possible. Also, sunday was a rather hot day, and biscotti are meant to be served with coffee or tea. Everyone had arnold palmers, not ideal for dunking cookies in. No wonder they thought the cookies were too hard. It's not the poor biscotti's fault, I will make them again at Christmas, when their crunchiness will be appreciated. Still, they were not ignored, at the moment there is only one left from a batch of about fifty.  I have more good news, the recipe for the Chocolate-Dipped Lemon Cookies I brought to Beryl's baby shower was requested by my grandmother, and that is a pretty big complement. I honestly didn't know there was a recipe my grandma hasn't tried.

Today I made English Toffee, something I have been wanting to make ever since my first Heath bar. I LOVE chocolate covered toffee, and I was ecstatic to find a recipe for it here. I decided to make it for the last ski show practice. My family (Dad&Bonnie) is part of the Lake Oakland Ski Demons club, and every saturday before the fourth of july we host a patriotic ski show. Wednesday (or today considering it is now One in the morning) is their last practice. So finally I get to try my new favorite recipe out on a crowd of wet people in red white and blue grass skirts! I doubt I will be awake to see them eat it, but I imagine that they will like my perfect toffee. Toffee and carmel is fun to make. For any of you who went home from seventh grade science and tried to make carmel from pure granulated sugar, I congratulate you. For any of you who were pleased with the results, I envy you, you are a far better chef than I am. For me, granulated sugar in a sauce pan burns. A cookbook I have had for years taught me that if you add a few tablespoons of water to your sugar, it will become a dark amber color and start to resemble caramel, but will lack the sweetness of the sugar and will harden into a bitter brown brick. My neighbor gave me a cookbook last Christmas that taught me how to make the real caramel that we love to top our sundays with. If I remember right, it goes something like this: 1 cup of granulated sugar and 3 tablespoons of water heated in a saucepan until amber colored, then you  move the saucepan to the side and add 1 cup of heavy cream. This is when you jump back and watch the magic! After the violent bubbling dies down you have this gooey caramel that is sweet and never hardens. Okay, I'm getting off track. I have one more stepping stone on my journey to the perfect toffee. Cashew brittle. Hard and toffee-like, it was close to what I had in mind, but lacked the chocolate, and it had cashews in it when I prefer pecans. This Toffee is made of 1 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons of water, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. The first four ingredients are set in a saucepan and wait there until the candy thermometer reads 305℉ when the mixture is really starting to boil. Then you pull it off the burner and add the vanilla. The key to making toffee, brittle, and caramel is that you have to trust the cookbook and your thermometer. I have burnt brittles and caramels by worrying that the color wasn't dark enough and that I should let it sit. When the cookbook says to move the pan, move the pan and everything will turn out fine. Okay, typing at One thirty in the morning is a bad Idea, Spell Check is being pressed way too much. Good night to anybody who hasn't stopped reading by now.

My Summer Project

It was extremely difficult for me to decide what I wanted to spend my summer project doing. Finally, I came up with the idea of going back to riding horses, since I have not ridden in over two years. Instead of just riding horses, however, I discovered a very unique farm called OATS. At OATS, the volunteers dedicate their time to children with disabilities and teach them how to ride. The goal that OATS (Alternative Therapy with Smiles) wants their riders to accomplish is to become an independent rider without any assistance from their volunteers.

When I heard of OATS I knew this was what my project was going to be about. I loved the idea of being able to ride horses again, but now I also get to spend time with inspiring children, and hopefully be able to bring some joy to their lives. Although this project is going to be fun, it is also a bit nerve wracking since I have not been around horses in about two years. I also want to develop a bond with these kids. Now I'm not just responsible for controlling a horse but I'm responsible for the safety of the rider. As a volunteer, I will help tack horses, clean, and spend time with riders. I will mostly be leading a horse by a lead rope, while the rider uses the reins to steer. My responsibility is to guide the rider while the instructor teaches fundamentals. The rider does most of the work. Some children require more assistance, which I do as a sidewalker. In the blog, there will be entries of kids that I've met along with events that happen while I volunteered. Along with that, I'll be doing a little research on using horses for children with disabilities. Some of the disabilities I will encounter are autism, cerebral palsy, etc. I can not wait to get started and see them grow.

My goal of this project is to help these children and make them smile. I want so much to help them grow, and become stronger. Even if I'm only helping one child that is great! At least I'll help bring joy to their lives. This is not just a project that I can stop at the end of Summer. I plan on getting attached and volunteering at OATS for as long as I can. Well I hope everybody's projects are going well :) I'm very excited to start mine.

A Drummer's Summer

Hey everyone, Alex here. I thought about doing a project involving sociology or psychology, but then I decided that wasn't something I would be really excited and interested in doing. So then I thought, what do I enjoy doing? The answer came pretty quickly: drumming. But, what would I do regarding drumming that I could document my progress while doing it. I thought for a little while, and a lot of ideas came to mind, but I decided to do something productive that could benefit the drumline. So I decided to write a drumline cadence. I'm not sure if it's going to be good enough to be performed, but, it's worth a shot.



I'm going to be doing different parts of the cadence each week. It would fit the timeline we have perfectly if I finish each instrument's part in two weeks each. However, it most likely won't be that simple, and different parts may take different amounts of time. But, I'll try to stay on the two week per part deadline as best as I can. If I'm lucky, there might even be time to try a second cadence if I can. Also during all this time, I'm going to be working on improving my skills and playing ability, so this will benefit me as well as the drumline.



That just about sums it all up. I'm not the most creative person in the world, so coming up with a cadence from scratch will take some work, but I'll be sure to try my best. I'm hoping this will all go over smoothly, but I will still plan on having time put aside just in case the unexpected happens, because that seems to be the case very often. I'm really excited to get started with it, and I'm also excited to see what everyone else is doing!

Big Leap

So I have contemplated for the past couple of days on what to do for my project this summer. Every time I chose an idea, another one popped into my head. I am one of those people that want to do everything and feel it is necessary to do everything, but I have to make a decision and I think I'm making a decent one. I was debating between a project that involves charity work and a project that would benefit my upcoming basketball season. My project is going to be increasing my vertical jump for basketball, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up on donating my time to charity. I love making people smile and happy, so I will be doing that in my free time. Jumping higher is something I've always wanted to do and have been told I needed to do endless times and this seems like the perfect opportunity to do it.

To get things started I'm going to find an 8 week jump training program and try to get things going as soon as possible. I will be recording my weekly results/goals, sharing some new training techniques, and blogging about any exciting accomplishments. You may have heard the phrase "white girls can't jump", well I'm going to prove that phrase wrong. I know I have the potential and determination to complete this task, so I'm up for the challenge. My goal is to touch rim by the beginning of basketball season which starts in November. I realize that this is a huge goal, not to say a "Big Leap", but failure isn't intimidating me. If I successfully execute this task, not only will I be getting a grade, I believe my game will be brought up to a whole new level. I mean why have to worry about getting a shot blocked if I can just shoot over my opponent or have the luxury of being able to jump higher than a defender to grab the rebound. I'm excited and ready to get started. Good luck to everyone! :)
"You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them." - Michael Jordan

Summer Project

For my summer project I have decided to push myself to work harder on my ice skating. I have been skating since 7th grade but this is going to be the perfect way to work on my skating program for testing at the end of the summer. I am going to be working on my freestyle program. There are many different components to this test. Spins - Scratch spin, sit spin, and back spin, Jumps - Flip, loop, waltz jump, and toe loop, and timing which is skating to music that I have choosen. While I am on the ice I will be working on all of this but I will also be doing this off ice. I will be stretching to stay flexible and going through all of the steps of the program.
Jumps are going to be one of the hardest elements for me to accomplish in such a short amount of time. When you are learning a new jump you have to do it over and over again but it still could take weeks before you land it. Also, when you test the judges look at more than just if you land the jump or fall, they look at your speed into the jump, the height you had in the jump, and how smoothly you entered and exit the jump. I find spins to be a little bit easier, except for the sit spin. In a sit spin you push on to your left foot with your right leg in front of you. While you are spinning you slowly start to sit. If you can't picture this I have posted a video of a skater doing a sit spin. See this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uddFeaHk8jA
This is not going to be an easy thing to do but I am determined to keep working on this program so that I can pass my freestyle test by the end of the summer.

SAX ADVENTURE :))

Ok, so Loni here, well I decided on a kind of cool experiment for this summer project. I was a bit nervous to do this because of what people might think or that it wasn’t good but whatever, I like it and it is pretty cool. Plus it involves making some money over the summer and who doesn’t want that?

I’m going to play my saxophone at like random places around Waterford and the surrounding area. I’m sure you’ve seen street musicians and things like that but yeah that’s what I want to do. If you’ve ever been to the flea market there’s this guy who’s always playing the guitar there so that’s what I want to do and he’s not even that good so I’m not worried J no offense to him but just of what I’ve heard, he doesn’t seem that….skilled.

I’m going to play for regular donations which are going to be really cool because I would feel really cool for some reason. My “goal” for the end to collect as much money as I can from playing and take 50% and give it to a musical charity of some sorts. And then I’m going to take the other 50% and put it towards a new used car.
I’m thinking about play at a bunch of different places, I already have permission to play at the flea market, but I’m thinking about playing at the River Walk in Detroit and maybe like Downtown Ann Arbor and maybe in front of the L.A. Café? So that’s a few ideas that I have.

**I don’t really know of ay musical charities to donate money to if any one can help with that and I also would appreciate if anyone knew of any other semi populated areas that I could
play. **

Paws to Remember

To whom it may concern,

Alright, so it's my first post on the class blog and I'd like to make a few points abundantly clear. First off, I think many of the projects I've seen on here are wonderful ideas, and I wish you all the best of luck with them! Secondly, yes, I procrastinated on starting the project. Sorta. Third, I finally came up with an idea that I'm quite excited about!

Well, about an hour ago, I was set on a single idea. I'd thought about it for a couple of days, and it was writing related, so it'd be perfect! ...Or so I thought. In a random burst of fitful indecisiveness, my brain presented me with an entirely different concept. My house has been quiet, empty, and desolate for a few months now, as if as a testament to how bright the presence of my late best friend made my entire world. Following his abrupt death on February 19th, 2010, every little thing my family does has changed drastically. It feels weird. Because every time we leave the house, we expect to say goodbye to him. Because every time we tear open the crackling wrapper on a slice of cheese, we wait for the sound of his excited footsteps upon the kitchen floor. Because every time we return home, we long to be greeted by his happy face and wagging tail. Yeah, my best friend was a dog, but that's not a disparaging thing to say. It was an honor to have been with him for his nine years, and an honor to have had someone so loyal by my side through everything in my life thus far. Being a Siberian Husky and quite healthy despite seizures that were very infrequent and brought on by the stress of travelling by car as far as we know, Bandit's passing at 9 years of age was a bit of a shock. (A Siberian's life span is about 12-19 years, and he was a very playful, active dog. He became ill and seemed to have some kind of stomach pain for about a week before his death, but otherwise displayed no signs of poor health aside from the seizures explained above.)

I never cried so hard as I did when I received the news. I felt guilty, too, as I had been staying at a friends house when it happened. I returned home late at night, and I'll never forget how it felt to walk in the door. Dad had been saying we needed to talk as he drove me home, and refused to speak more on the issue until we were inside. My younger brother was completely silent. And there was something just wrong about the house when I crossed the threshold of the back door. It felt like a void where life had stopped, like a graveyard where no one was welcome. I couldn't place it until I was told to sit in the kitchen, because that's when Dad voiced what my heart must have already known. "Staicee, Bandit passed away." It hurt then, and still hurts now, to know that he's gone. Everyone, in my extended family even, loved him. Every single cousin of mine has a little stuffed animal that they picked out themselves at some point because it was a grey Sibe, and each one of them named it Bandit. Explaining that he's gone when I see them for the first time after in Missouri next month is going to be hard - he always came with us, and now he'll be gone. When I had friends over for my birthday, the twenty-seventh of February, the first thing they asked was "Where's Bandit?".

But the purpose of this post is not to depress you all, it's to explain my project. That doesn't mean what I've written so far is pointless, either. What I want you all to gather from that, is that even though his life was short, he touched and inspired many people. In the same way, but in opposite direction, I want to touch the lives of animals. I know it's not as exciting a project as writing your own music, or as selfless as giving time to people with cancer, or even as useful as learning to cook or getting in shape, but what I want to do is going to help me on a deeply emotional level. I'm not depressed; I got over that with counseling, though this turn of events didn't help as it happened halfway through trying to cross that bridge. So what I want to do is to volunteer at an animal shelter this summer. Petsitting and raising money for animal charities may also be brought in, depending on how much time I have. I'll be documenting my experiences to share with you all. The first step is applying to be a volunteer. Wish me luck! :D

Wrapping this up, I'd just like to restate point number one: I'm impressed with all of the projects you've all chosen to pursue, and I wish you the best of luck. I'll be even more impressed if you manage to stick with it all through the summer, so please keep your posts updated! I'm excited to see these take flight!

Best regards,

Staicee L. Kwiatkowski

Where Have I Been?

So, I'm a garage sail/salvation army type of girl, I can't help myself, the idea of recycled items for a cheap price is very appealing to me. My aunt, knowing my mom and I are both like this, found an old wooden chest at a garage sail, that needs a lot more then a polish job, and gave it to us to do what we please with it. I immediately was fascinated by this chest, it looked so old I couldn't help but wonder where it has been, if it could tell its own life story what would it be? Maybe that makes me a freak, but like I said, I cant help it. My mom went on the Internet and discovered that because of how aged the chest is the type of key that it requires can no longer be manufactured, of course that spiked my interest even more. I know that the chest can never be locked again but looking at it made me wonder what I could do to preserve this piece of history. So this summer I'm going to restore the beautiful chest and hopefully take it with me when i get my own place so its story doesn't have to end. I know that this probably seems like the most boring thing to spend your summer doing, but for me it will be like learning the story of this chest. i want to merely add on my own section of history to hopefully be passed on to the next person who cant help but wonder, where did this chest begin?


The first though in my head was not to restore the chest, I didn't want to strip away the evidence of history and what I thought was the beauty of the whole thing. After i thought about it for a while i realized most people would throw out such a worn down piece of furniture, that would be such a waist of such a beautiful antique. So restoring the chest seemed like the best action to take, I think its going to prove to be more of a challenge then i thought, i mean I'm not any sort of Carpenter. After a while I'm sure this idea is going to seem a lot less appealing but its worth a try. I don't want to be the reason something so old and so full of stories has to stop its journey short, i want to be the reason that this chest continues its journey and fills with millions of untold stories.

Small Steps

For my summer project I wanted to not only better my life, but also impact the life of others. That's why my project is bettering the world. I realize that bettering the world is a huge task to accomplish and is impossible for just one person to achieve by themselves. My goal is not to save everyone in the world, stop world hunger or make the poor rich. No, it is simply to touch a life, any life. Making a difference in someones life will change mine. Whether I make someone smile, or just give them that one last ounce of hope to make it through another day, I will be honored to know I made a difference in the life of another. For this reason, the name of my project is "Small Steps."

I wanted to start off my project small, so last week I wrote letters. I wrote to the soldiers at war, thanking them and letting them know that they are heroes and I am praying for them. I sent 20 letters to an organization called "Operation Thank You." The organization will send my letters to 20 different soldiers at war. I am hopeful that this will give them strength to go on. I also wrote 20 letters to sick children. I told them how special they are and I was thinking of them. I told them to get well soon and never give up. I sent these letters to the St. Jude Hospital in the hopes that one simple letter will give a child strength and encourage them to keep fighting. I've also begun instructing little girls ballet classes on every Tuesday. It is something I love to do, and the girls love it too. They are so cute and I love helping them when they need it.

This week I am beginning to help coach my little sisters softball team. They have practice every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night. I love helping young girls excel, especially when I have been in their situation and can teach them from my own experience. I am also volunteering at Grace Center of Hope in Pontiac on July 3. I am not sure what I will be doing, but I am hoping that I can make someones day.

I am very excited for the rest of my project and wish everyone else GOOD LUCK ;)

They say that "our fingerprints never fade from the lives we touch." -Remember Me

Yupp.

Guess who just fell in love with OnDemand?!

Okay, so some friends and I had planned on going to the gym today. Running, swimming, weights, the usual. We were getting ready to go when the tornado siren went off. My mom started freaking out and saying that we weren't leaving with a tornado warning in effect and all that jazz so we just decided to stay in my house and chill.

And bam! We decided to use OnDemand! I've worked out with OnDemand's fitness thing before for fun and I got excited because now I have a way to work out at home. Forgot about it until todayy!

So on OnDemand, if you go to 'Sports & Fitness' and then click 'Exercise TV', they have a huge selection of 10-30 minute work outs. The videos range from cardio, yoga and pilates to muscle work outs, dance videos and choreography and all that. We did a few dance work outs (and learned how to do the hustle, Beyonce's booty pop and Michael Jackson's pelvic thrust! I am quite proud.) and did some leg toning exercises and ab work outs. The videos basically just have a work out instructor that sits on a mat and smiles and encourages you as you work out with them through the TV. :) Very lame, but very effective.

Of course, we took a break somewhere in there and watch a few movies, but then we worked out more. It was fun. I'm just happy I don't have to go to the gym all the time. Who said TV makes you fat? Thank the lord for OnDemand!!

Decisions Decisions

So, before the summer had started I had this fantastic idea to study teen girls and guys and how they interact with different groups; family, friends, boyfriend/girlfriend, people they don't know, and possibly people that have positions above them. But, the issue was, I didn't have a goal.
I then ditched the teen idea and went to getting a job. After running this by "the man", it was absolutly understandable that this didn't really work. I missed my teen idea, and I remembered how extremely excited I was for this project! So, this morning, I went into crazy brainstorm mode. After thinking about goals for this project I had finally found one! I have decided that by the end of summer, I will have an honest opinion of which teen group interacts better. My opinion will be proved with pictures and possibly videos and recordings.
I am very excited for this project! Though, I still need to decide whether I should study people I know, or people I don't know. The only risk with choosing people I don't know is they won't cooperate and think that I am strange if I simply randomly aproach them and ask to follow them, but the upside to doing strangers is that the final decision will be even more honest. I think I will try this with strangers, and if that fails (I absolutly hope it won't) I will go to the people that I do know.

The One of My Dreams

Before I say anything I would like to admit that I am a fully aware that I am an Orchdork. On that note, I have recently discovered just how much I love to play violin. Unfortunately the six years of playing hadn't awoken anything inside of me until now, meaning I have a lot of catching up to do. My goal for this summer is to improve my violin skills.

Every year since seventh grade I have participated in Michigan's District Solo and Ensemble Festival. For anyone that has no idea what it is here's a rundown. S&E is basically an event that you go to and get rated on your skills. You can either play in a group or do a solo. You practice for months on one song of your choosing then play is for a judge who rates you. The rating scale is Five through one. Five is the worst and is rarely given out, meaning if you receive it you just fail, and obviously one is the best. If you receive a one you are eligible to go on to State Solo and Ensemble. I have only received a one once, and for some unknown reason, I was not able to advance to States. Every other year I have only been able to achieve a two. This year I want that to change. I want a one and I want to go to States (and possibly get a one there, although that's a pretty far reach).

This year I plan on doing at least one duet and a solo (which I have never done before). I have never done a solo before due to the fact that it is just pretty scary, but I have gained a little confidence due to making it into Kettering's Chamber Academy and Flint's Youth Symphony Orchestra. Although I have until next February I need all the practice I can get... starting when my sheet music is finally delivered.

My Very Musical Summer- Elyse's Project Idea

I was tossing around the idea of doing a social experiment for a few weeks after we got this project, but then I began thinking, would doing something like that become a treasured memory? Would I put my whole heart into it? The answer to both, I realized, was no. What I hope to accomplish this summer will be related to something that I've loved my entire life: music.

I'm a total classical music geek, and I've played viola for nearly seven years. The experiences I've had with orchestra have been absolutely amazing, and next year will be the big Disney trip for the music department, which I'm absolutely psyched for. I've come to realize that orchestra, and just music in general, is what gives my life happiness. Regardless of whatever stress has come from school or home, music has always been there. That’s why I've decided to make this summer about improving myself as a musician, and hopefully composing some of my own music along the way.

I'm going to be studying a high-level viola technique book and working on what I hope will be my senior solo/college audition piece. Progress will come in baby steps, but I want to achieve a higher level of performance, so it'll be worth it. Improving my viola skills will also help me to get ready for a potential Oakland Youth Orchestra audition, which may or may not fall through due to the high cost of tuition, time, etc. I'd very much like to be a part of it, so I'll be working hard to find a way for OYO to work out. I also would like to work on learning the basics of guitar. Its always interested me, so I'll give it a shot. Plus, I'd like to research music theory and try to write a string orchestral piece, and perhaps a quartet if there's time. They won't be of Beethoven's caliber, but it'll be a fun process trying to compose.

This won't be easy, but I hope that by the time school starts, I'll have had a very musical summer that made lots of memories.

✿ Elyse Komarzec ✿

♪♫ "Music is what emotions sound like."- Unknown ♪♫

The Last Three Letters- Lilly's Project Idea.

For my summer project, I did not want to do something that seemed so dull,
and at the same time I didn't plan to save the world of starvation and an unending list of dilemmas that seemed impossible to accomplish. I thought of perhaps doing something which incorporated anything that I enjoy doing frequently.

My biggest passion is music. I love going to concerts, and in my opinion, there is no greater feeling than to be waiting outside of a venue for countless hours while band members walk in front of you preparing to set up for an amazing show. I cannot begin to describe the feeling of holding a musicians hand while he sings beautifully structured lyrics to the crowd. It's such a great connection to not only buy their music, but to get to know the musicians as a person after the show.

When I first started going to shows I was surprised at how willingly the musicians are to talk, and to even go out to eat with my friends and I. By now, it has become routine, the only difference is I never feel as if I had done it before. Every time I encounter this, it feels as if it is for the first time I am experiencing this. It's something I never plan to give up, until old age prevents me.

Although I would love my project to be specifically about concerts I will be attending throughout July and August, I feel as if it is not enough. After all, my summer isn't only made up of concerts. I thought it would be more idealistic to involve even more things I love spending my time on. These 'things' are in fact not things, but people. These people, are great friends of mine, whom i practically live with during summer. What I plan on doing is to write three letters to myself each week throughout July and August.

The letters will include the highs of my week. Basically, things that I did over the summer that I would like to look back upon and recall my thoughts, feelings, etc. My inspiration came from a song, titled 'The Last Three Letters', which is why I will be writing three letters to myself. These letters will go in a scrapbook, along with photos and pieces of my summer. By pieces, I mean, concert and movie tickets, stickers, wrist bands from amusement parks, and the list goes on. So far this summer has started off great, and hopefully by the time this is due, my scrapbook will be full of my actions and thoughts during summer.
Good luck on everyone's project :]
Love, Lilly.

project idea

Since summer started i've been thinking about what I'm going to do for this project. I've been reading others posts about their own projects and what they are doing. i finally got it and now i know what i'm going to do for the whole summer. i'm really not good at writing and being creative when it comes to lanuage arts. so this summer i think i'm going to practice that by wrting stories and making a scrapbook about my summer of 2010 experience. the stories that i will write will be fiction and non fiction. i will write about what happen in my life, what happen to others in my life and talk about things i'm interested in. Hopefully when school restarts i will be able to be a good writer for lanuage arts. My scrapbook will be my whole summer experience like hanging with my friends, places i go and things i do with my family. I already have gone to a concert called bamboozle that ad bands like boys like girls, LMFAO, good charlotte, and forever the sickest kids. i went to the concert with my friends katie, lily, and kyle. i took many pictures and i'm putting them in the scrapbook so i can remember the great times i had. also i will put all of my movie tickets that i gone to with my friends and family in the scrapbook. i will post about my first story soon when i start it and post what things i put in my scrapbook. i realdy have an idea for my first first story it will be fiction and will be about a women and her husband. so comment on my posts and ask any questions that you want. i will post updates on my project next week and will be on twitter giving little updates.

Summer project

Well ever since I herd about the project for AP Language Arts, I've been bouncing back and fourth on what I want to do. I wanted to make this project something that I could feel very accomplished with and have it more personal then just a grade and a project.

For the last couple years I have had some trouble opening up to my family, shutting them out and sharing what is wrong and have hard times dealing with depression. A majority of my depression is because I'm not happy with myself, and am stuck. So I want to work on opening up to people, asking for help when I need it, and not shutting people out. I've always wanted to do this, but I never could stay committed to keeping it up. So I think with having to do this for school the school project will really help me be able to stay committed to doing so.

I think it is going to be a very big challenge for me, because I can never stay committed to doing something I really want to do, and because I've tried to open up and deal with my depression for quite some time now and I get stuck and when it gets hard I just quit. I do that because I hate change, so it will be interesting to see how good this will turn out.

The ways I plan on doing this is when there is something wrong, I'm not going to just sit in my room or with people and pretend everything is fine. I plan on writing in a journal at least once a day, or draw the highlight of my day, or something to start showing myself what is wrong and being true to myself on how I feel instead of the mask I put on for everyone and myself. After I get used to that, I wanna start getting closer with someone about everything, and not just saying I'm fine. So when I need to talk, I can turn to someone and get the help I really want. If I can do that I know that it will make me a lot happier and I can hopefully not be as depressed and more open about things and have better relationships with people.

I have the hardest time with commitment so I know this project will help me be a better person, and make me a lot happier.

My 2nd Post. Love, Hannah Long

Ok, one year later and I visited the cemetery for the fifth time. This stuff never gets easier. I realized some thing today. I'm really going to need A LOTTT of flowers! My friend remains in a small cemetery with at least 500 graves. The one that I have chosen is the one right next to the library and they are probably sporting over 1,000 graves. That's way over $3,000 for this. I know if I had more than this summer to complete this I might be able to raise enough but instead I'm taking someone's advice. I'm going to place a few flowers on each grave. I know it seems like I'm kinda bailing on my idea but it's practical. Also, for the last week I'm going with another idea, I'm going to accept donations for the last few days. My final day is going to be August 22, 2010. (ok, well this date may be flexible.) I'm determined to see this happen but I'm not in full control. It's a lot about word of mouth.
I used to see funerals and cemeteries as terrible places. Why would I want to remember them as this lifeless, cold person and then see this symbol of all of their greatness thrown into the ground for the those who aren't paying attention to walk over? That's a pessimistic view. I realized they are really a place to gather, laugh and love. Their death should be as colorful, if not more colorful, than life. It's something to fear but it's also something to respect. It will be a mystery until we experience it or even after that it might stay unknown. Death humbles the scientist and causes those of religion to question their God's decision. They just help you realize how short your life is. How close you are to losing it. They help you question how you are living your life. Today really hit hope when I looked over and read "Patrica O. 'Patty' [Born:] September 3, 1954. [Died:] June 16, 2009" She was born a year after my dad and now she's dead. It hits hard sometimes. A real eye opener. I don't have all that much to say anymore. After today I'm out of energy.
I have a contest for anyone with an eye for art. Email me a photo of your idea for my logo. It isn't that big of a deal but I still want some ideas. I can do lettering but I'd love to see others. Please put it on the email so when I open it I can see it. Attachments usually fail. Looks like my summer project is reaching out. But that's probably the idea behind it ;)

Email me at hbananaxblonde@aol.com for any personal questions or text me at 248-421-8978.

Thanks for reading.
Love,
Hannah

On your mark, get set, go!

So, this is it; the beginning. I'm kicking it off. There's no turning back now. Deep breaths... Okay, here we go...

For the next eight weeks I will be documenting my experiences; advances, set-backs, highs and lows throughout my summer season of cheerleading. My goal is by all means reachable, but whether or not it is reachable within the time frame is basically up to me and is 100% based off how hard I work and how courageous I choose to be.

My desired result is to work insanely hard until I get a tumbling skill; a full to be exact. There's a video below of a girl performing a full in case you, I don't know, just don't give a flying tuck about cheerleading. It's basically a back flip with a hollow body and a complete 360 degree rotation. Simple, right? A flip with a twist, no biggie.





The problem is that with this kind of skill, practice really does make perfect. Muscle memory is key. That's why I know for sure it will take the whole eight weeks to build my muscle memory and generally become comfortable doing this skill on my own. The other main thing, actually the number one thing that is required for me to achieve this goal is complete and utter confidence. Unsure hesitation is literally the biggest downfall, because gravity takes this opportunity to drag you down and, well, make you fall. Another thing that will help me to achieve this goal is eating right, working out, and keeping my body healthy as far as injuries go. These are freaking awesome habits that will just make me into a champ and help me become the best athlete I can be.

So, the challenge is not just a skill, the challenge is much greater. I'm going to change how I eat, exercise more frequently, do endless amounts of twisting drills to get the right muscle memory and technique, go into the gym extra hours to practice, and become confident in myself and in my skills. This is why I chose this goal, because it isn't just another skill to check off the list, it will improve my life in more ways than one. Because of this challenge, I will be happier, healthier, and more confident in myself. If I want to achieve it, there's no time to lose. On your mark, get set, go!

Plan of Action!

So I went to the gym yesterday and I guess I was kind of testing how far I could push myself. I figure if I slowly build up my endurance and strength and all that junk that it'll work better. So yesterday I ran on the treadmill for like 10 minutes (not very good, something I need to build up for(I hate running!)), went on the elliptical bike I think for 30 minutes, lifted weights (all muscle groups, alternating) for 20 minutes and did laps in the pool (and splashed around a bit for fun) for like 40. I know I can do better than all of this so when I go later today I'm going to push myself like crazyy!

Plan for tonight:
- Treadmill for 15-20
- Elliptical for at least 30 again. Most likely more.
- Max out on all of the weights for 20 again? I don't know. I'll see how much I can take.
- Pool for 40 again, maybe more. Just less playing, and more laps. Not too difficult.
- Pray to little baby Jesus in his manger that the stair stepper isn't occupied again! Love the thing, but my favorite one is always taken. I'll go for like 20 minutes and see how much more I can take. I just have to test some limits, right?

If I'm really into it, I can stay at the gym foreverr. Yesterday I was there for almost 4 hours. I had some people with me, of course, for entertainment, but danggg.

Luckily I had someone there who's like a pro at all of this stuff since she is basically working out all of the time. So I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing. She was telling me what was too much and how hard I should push myself and stuff so yeah. I should be set.

The only thing I'm really worrying about now is my enthusiasm for this stuff! I keep thinking of reasons not to go to the gym like I could be with friends or I could start the LA3 reading or I could do anything else but work out. I'm like mentally slapping myself continuously. Thank God for work out buddies, right? They friggin drag you if you refuse. :) That's always nice.

So until next time. Cioa! <---(I've always wanted to say that...)

Book binding

Well I have been scrambling for the past week trying to decide on the perfect idea for a project, I wanted my project to mean something more to me than just a grade. So therefore my project will be based off a personal idea I was already working towards accomplishing this summer which was to come up with a effective plan to help me control my depression without pills. I have been battling depression for some time now, and have found that most anti-depression medicines are really not good for me. I'm also a firm believer in all natural healing so i have come up with a summer plan which consists of:
1. Working through the depression notebook(thank you Copeland)
2. Eating healthy and exercising probably help!! :)
3. Keeping a daily journal of my progress throughout the summer.
4. Daily meditation for twenty minutes.
5. Healing...
Along with this I will bind a book at the end of the summer showing my overall progress including pictures, journal entries, pieces out of the book, poems I enjoy and poems I have personally written. The poems will convey the raw picturesque person I hide inside, as well as the person I'm trying to find. Hopefully in the end I will treasure this summer as my closure and also the beginning of true healing.
"If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain Or help one fainting robin, Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain..." -Emily Dickinson

(The Depression Workbook by: Mary Ellen Copeland, M.S., M.A)

Get In Shape

Finally, I have come up with a summer project I am happy with. The best part is that it’s a kill two birds with one stone kind of thing. I want to get in shape, and I need to do my AP project, so the simple solution is to do my AP project on my struggle (because it WILL be a struggle) to get in shape.

To help you understand my point of view as to why I want to get in shape, I’m giving you a little introduction to me. The first thing you need to know is that I used to play basketball so I was active a lot more than I am now. When I was still involved in basketball I actually ate more than I do now, but I was better in shape. Since I had to stop playing basketball, due to multiple injuries of my ankles and knees, I began eating less than I did while I was involved in sports. So, I eat less but I also exercise less, which has caused me to gain weight. My final solution is a summer workout plan and hopefully trying to modify my diet. I hate running but I am planning on pushing through and trying to get in shape and lose weight.

My goal is to lose 25 pounds throughout the summer (eight weeks of this project). I am hoping that by making this my AP summer project I will actually follow through with my plan. In reality, exercising does not interest me but being healthy is important. My blogs will be mostly about what I did that week to work toward my goal and how I am feeling physically, emotionally and mentally.

At the moment I am 175 pounds and to reach my goal weight of 150 pounds I have set up my idea exercise routine. I am going to make sure I do my routine a minimum of 3 times a week but my goal is to do it everyday. My workout routine is as follows:
1. Warm Up Stretch
2. Run 1 Mile
3. 1 sprint down my street
4. Cool down walk around my block
5. 35 Sit Ups
6. Cool Down Stretch

Finally, I want to try for 30 minutes of physical activity each day. This could include swimming, running, playing basketball, bike riding, and dancing. By seeing my summer project due I hope to accomplish a lower weight, healthier eating and exercise habits and to bring to my own attention how much better I can feel when I take care of my body. If anyone has any suggestions of anything else I could do to help reach my goal please let me know!

Hope everyone’s project goes well :)

Project!

Ever since I heard of this project I've been freaking out because I could not think of one single thing that sounded like it could keep my interest for 3 months. I tend to start a lot of personal projects, get bored and then move on without ever finishing. But now I've finally come up with a project idea, yay! I was trying so hard to come up with something that really fascinates me and that i could put all my heart into.Yesterday I was just laying in the grass with my best friend and we were talking about how pretty the natural world was with all the people in it. The darker side occurred to me too, for every happy normal person there's someone less fortunate. There's a lot of reasons why someone could be down on their luck, whether it's brought on themselves by addictions/bad life choices or circumstances were just not on their side like our economy and I hope to capture that and share it with the world (or possibly just the class hah).That's when I knew what I wanted my project to be about, because maybe someone will see what I've made and want to do their part to help. There might not even be one person that actually cares about what I'm doing but I think that when someone sees someones suffering straight from the streets it could really make an impact. In the project I want to incorporate real pictures of real people that I've taken who you can just tell are struggling to survive along with a new found love of writing poetry to tell their stories. This summer I will be traveling to many different places and I hope to expose how "the other half" really lives and compile all my findings into a scrapbook.

Hope it goes well, touching at least one person will be my goal.