What Not to Do in High School

1.      Don’t steal anyone’s parking spot. It’s rude and inconsiderate to take a spot that was rightfully paid for by another student. Did you pay $100 for the spot in the front of the lot? No, you paid for the one in the very back…so get moving.

2.     Don’t make teachers your enemies. Although they can often drive you nuts, they are there to be of assistance to you. They are a resource for succeeding; use them to your advantage.

3.     Don’t consistently ask throughout every class if the assignment you are assigned is going to be worth points. Just do the work like everyone else has to, and hope that you are rewarded.

no.

4.     I know it’s tempting for some girls, (especially freshman), but it is strongly suggested that you refrain from wearing jean skirts and uggs, or uggs with any type of skirt for that matter. 

5.     It is also tempting for some girls, once again, typically underclassmen, to wear excessive amounts of eyeliner or some crazy accessory to make them appear “edgy.” You don’t look edgy, you look ridiculous.

6.     It may sound cliché, but don’t procrastinate. It may seem like everything can be put off until the last minute, but if you do the work ahead of time, it relieves a lot of unnecessary stress.

7.      Offer help to friends that need help with an assignment if they’re struggling…you never know when you’ll be needing their help.

8.     Remember the Golden Rule from Elementary School? It still applies in high school. Treat people how you want to be treated. Don’t gossip about one of your friends behind their backs and get all out of whack when you find out they’ve been talking about you in return…what goes around comes around.

9.     Never write one of your friends a note consisting of extremely embarrassing things and address it with your real names. It could be misplaced and you and everyone that witnessed reading that note will be scarred for life.

10.  Enjoy yourself. This is the last chance you get to spend time with a lot of the people you’ve known for nearly twelve years of school before they all go their separate ways. You only have four years of high school. It may seem like forever, but don’t wish it all away.

Marlena and August's Dysfunctional Relationship

In Water for Elephants, one relationship I didn’t much care for was Marlena and August’s marriage. August was a paranoid schizophrenic who drank too much and pushed Marlena around one too many times. He was an extremely masochistic man. For example, when Marlena’s prize horse, Silver Star, had to be put down, August feeds his remains to the lions in the circus. The importance that that horse served in Marlena’s life should have conquered the poor, inconsiderate choice that August made. August also gets violent with Jacob Jankowski, who Marlena eventually ends up with anyways. She should have been with Jacob from the beginning and the moment she met him and saw the kind of person he was. Nearly seventy-five percent of the novel is about Marlena continuing her abusive relationship with August while Jacob just waits around for her. I think the novel overall would have been better if it shared more of Jacob and Marlena’s happy life together rather than her and August’s dysfunctional one. However, as a reader, I understand that it makes for good reading for the audience to watch the “damsel in distress” persona that Marlena portrays, but I also feel like so many books I have read have the kind of character. It would have been nice for a book for once to just have a solid relationship from the get go, and for the audience to read of different troubles and struggles other than an abusive husband that a woman just can’t seem to get away from. My intent is not to dismiss abusive relationships as ones that have little or no importance, but a nice change of pace in this novel would have made it a little more interesting.

Aunt Tootie

If I had to pick one supporting character from Saving CeeCee Honeycutt to go to lunch with, I would pick Aunt Tootie. She is a very loving and fun woman and she has a very warm nature to her. I feel like I would feel right at home with her and I think we could have a lot of interesting things to talk about. I think we would go to Red Robin because they have awesome milkshakes and chicken caesar wraps. I’d ask her about her late husband Taylor and all of the adventures they had together when they were married and before he passed away. Then I’d probably ask to move into her giant estate in Georgia with her because she has a super sweet house.

Main Character: CeeCee Honeycutt

CeeCee Honeycutt is a young girl who has had a really hard life. Her mom was, well…for lack of a better word, crazy. Her dad was never around and did not want to deal with the issues that were going on at his home. Not to mention, her father is having an affair at the peak of her mom’s illness. Her mom’s death is a Godsend in a sense, because it allows CeeCee to move to Georgia with her Aunt Tootie and try to have a normal life. Her life in Georgia is so different than her life in Ohio, and it’s interesting to watch all of her experiences in her new life. It’s bittersweet when she leaves her lifelong friend Ms. Odell in Ohio, but it is something that she needs to do in order to have any shot at a normal life. When she gets to Aunt Tootie’s extravagant estate, she has no idea what to think. She often has flashbacks of her mother and her fits, and they always cause her pain. They seem to cause her pain because she misses her mother, but her only solid memories of her mother are when she was unhealthy. I found myself tearing up when CeeCee’s mom died, but I immediately felt comfort when she is introduced to Aunt Tootie and her new and better life.

"Saving CeeCee Honeycutt"

The book I chose to read is Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. This book was recommended to me by my aunt and mom and so far is a really good book. Although it had me in hysterics at page twenty two, I still really like it. It’s about this girl whose mother is mentally ill and her father is never around. Her mother passes away at a young age and CeeCee goes to live with her aunt in Georgia. Her whole life is turned around and she finally has the opportunity to be happy and have a good life. It’s a very sweet and heart wrenching novel and it’s hard to not feel connected to each of the characters in the book. I’m looking forward to finishing the story and learning more about CeeCee’s new and better life.

SRP Reflection

Overall, I think I did a good job on the paper. I did a good job integrating and finding quotes that supported my thesis. I wish I would have looked further into my sources and found more support. I didn’t take enough time to really see what my sources said when we did modules; I was more focused on just getting them done. When it came time to highlight the sources, I struggled. Had I actually saw what the sources had to say from the beginning, I feel like the whole process would have been a little easier. I’d like to work more on introducing my paraphrases and quoting less. While reading back on my paper, it seemed like I was quoting too much and not using my own thoughts. If I could recommend anything to future seniors, it would be to spread their time out wisely. Although the paper may seem stress free, the week before its due is one of the most stressful weeks I have ever had in my whole high school career. So use your time wisely. Don’t wait until the week before it’s due to really crack down on it. Do it piece by piece over the month before it’s due so you can leave yourself enough time to revise and edit it as many times as you wish without feeling rushed.

Finding Nemo

I don’t care if you’re fourty or four, Finding Nemo is a movie for all ages. I can watch this movie, start to finish, a million times, and never find myself bored. The characters, the effects, and everything else that contributes to making a good movie a good movie are all in this Pixar animated film. It’s a movie that makes you want to laugh and cry all at the same time. It’s sweet and funny, and not to mention has my girl Ellen Degeneres as the voice of everyone’s all time favorite character, Dori the forgetful fish. Her antics and lack of memory are guaranteed to make anyone watching crack up. Everyone has those movies that they can watch over and over again and never get sick of, and for me, it’s this one. It always puts me in a good mood no matter what. Maybe it’s because I’m really a kid at heart, or maybe it’s because it’s just plain funny…but all I know is that this movie is hilarious and anyone who hasn’t had the privilege of viewing such a fine piece of work should go see it. Right now. Or, for those who are missing out on the greatness of life, we can always watch it during our 7^th bell English class. Just throwin’ that out there…