one of my favorite non fiction books

My favorite book of all time is sort of boarderline fiction/non-fiction. It's called A Separate Peace, by John Knowles. The book is about a man named Gene who returns to his boarding school, and relives the adventures he had there as a boy. Gene was very competitive with his best friend Finny and one day he bounced him off of a tree branch while they were jumping into the river. Finny broke his leg. People knew that Gene caused Finny to break his leg, although neither of the boys would confess to it. In the end Finny hurts himself again, when the other boys try to tell him that Gene caused him to break his leg in the first place. He rushes out of the room and falls down some stairs, re-breaking his leg. When the doctors go to reset the broken leg, bone marrow escapes into Finny's bloodstream and he passes away. This book is based off of real people, and true events, but years and names and physical descriptions have been changed around.

Qualities of bad writing

Many people don't write poorly; they just are not educated enough to write correctly. Badly written pieces are choppy, hard to understand, and don't engage the reader. Most of the pieces won't use a variety of words, which makes them very simple. Poor writing has no sensory details, so it's very hard to get yourself into what you are reading. Reasons for poor writing may have to do with the face that the writer does not feel strongly about the topic that they are writing about. They might have to put in filler sentences that do not belong, just to add length to the piece. Sometimes it may not be the writers fault at all, if the audience doesn't enjoy the piece, like if the readers do not feel strongly or relate to the topic. Poorly written pieces can be revised and made into a better piece, with practice.

Good writing

Good writing qualities, don't only lie in the way that you use your words. Of course your sentences need to make sense, and be structured in a way that is understandable to readers, but the writing needs to be more than that. Good writing paints a picture for a reader, without actually showing what you are talking about. It gives good sensory detail. If the writer is talking about a campfire, they shouldn't only use the word campfire for the surrounding's details. They should use words that describe what it's like to be right next to the warm, orange fire that dances with ever breeze of the wind, while the dark silhouetted trees sway back and forth. Writing is overall sharing an experience with people, and the only way to do that justice is to tell the whole truth, leaving nothing out.

Motivation is at the heart of writing

Anybody can write about something. Not all people can write about something and actually mean it, though. To me, this phrase means that for your writing to truly mean something; for it to really be able to connect with a reader and make them feel for the topic as you feel, it has to be something you are passionate for. Having a passion for something, will in turn give you the motivation to write about it in a way that translates your feelings onto paper. In the simplest terms I can think of, this phrase means that the very core of your writing, the part that makes it what it is, is how much you put into it, and how much you care for it.

The best writing teacher I've ever had

I have several english teachers that I have loved. I am not sure that I can chose between them. Mr. TerWee was my teacher all the way from 5th grade to 8th grade. He taught me some of the very most important things I use in my writing today. He shaped the strength from which I write upon and that is what makes him one of my greatest teachers. Sarge was my 9th grade english teacher. Most people will say that she is one of the toughest teachers they ever had, and boy was she. For some reason, though, I was able to really connect with her teaching and grow on it. Mrs. Sarar was my 10th grade english teacher, speech teacher, and is currently the teacher for my AP english class. She is tough, and funny, and fair, and helps. She listens and really connects with students, to try and help them understand their writing better. Out of all these teachers I could not pick. They have all helped to shape the style and form of my writing, so much. Together they have made one pretty amazing student. :)

Research Memories

I remember having to do a paper on stem cell research for speech class. That is something I feel very strongly about. I am for it. I have a very strong belief, that with stem cell research, we can fight many of the life threatening diseases that plague us today. I was able to research something I felt very strongly about, and add points from my personal life, which made it more sentimental. This project also gave other people the opportunity to create their speech opposite to yours, which is what one girl in my grade did. So she gave her speech, and I gave mine. Our ideas opposed one another. Our grades may have depended on the research we did; how accurate it was. I think this is the research project that I learned the most from.

The writer I would like to be

I plan on majoring in biology, and minoring in english. I would like to some day publish my own book, though I'm not sure what I want it to be about. I don't really write for others. Then again, I don't really write for myself either. I don't usually think my work is that good. I write becuase it's what I like to do. I write because it's a sense of release. I would like to become a better, stronger writer. Who wouldn't like to be able to paint a picture for somebody, just with their words? That is what I want to do. I would just like to inspire just ONE person with my writing some day. One person inspired is better than none.

The best thing I ever wrote

In all honesty, I don't think I'm one to judge that. Overall, I don't see my writing as that good. I have a very difficult time composing papers, because I question myself so much. Something I would see as good, somebody else might not see as a quality piece of literature. Out of all the things I have wrote, my favortie has to be a story I wrote last year. It was about a fictional character, Sean, who had just gotten out of jail and ended up stalking down his ex-girlfriend, Katelyn, in an attempt to repay her for testifying against him. Katelyn ends up with an empty tank of gas and stuck on the side of the road. When Sean shows up, he takes her against her will. After driving for a long while, and talking to her he stops and gets her out of the car. He brings her into a barn and kills her. The story, to me, is much better on paper, but out of all the things I have wrote, this has to be favorite. I don't think it is only my favorite because I like the writing so well, it has some figurative meaning in my life too.

Library Memories

I can't say I have too many library memories. Most of them are filled with shelf stocking at a young age, checking out books, and watching the librarian try to get people to be quiet, and making more of a scene out of it. My favorite memory in the library has to be one of the games we played, called "honey, do you love me". It's basically a game to see if you can make somebody smile by the way you say "honey, do you love me?". If they could respond with a firm "no" without smiling, they won the game. They then moved on to the rest of the class and the last two people played, until somebody could hold their smile. There's many creative ways you can make somebody smile, and my class out of any of them was willing to try anything.

Accident

I have made many mistakes in my life, and I have been in a few accidents, but the one that sticks out in my head the most is the day I backed into my brother's car. It was 8:00 am and school started at 8:25 am. Most of the time I got up at 7:25 just to gel my hair, which is my lazy way of doing it. I rushed through my shower, threw on some clothes, got myself as presentable as the time allowed, brushed my teeth and I was out. My 21 year old brother, for some odd reason, had just decided to move home for a while. For some other odd reason, he decided to park right behind my car, when I was parked in the garage. I flew out to my car, got inside while the garage door opened, turned on the car, put it in reverse and there I went...for about 3 seconds when I noticed my car had stopped moving and there was some odd loud noise. Since I had forgotten he moved home I didn't even realize what had happened, and got out of my car annoyed, because I thought it was the garbage can. When I saw my pinkish red car, blended with my brother's new Honda, my stomach fell out of my body and I turned as white as snow that hasn't been peed on. I learned from my mistake, and I no longer back up out of my driveway at 200 mph. All I can say is that maybe next time, they should put a post it note up for me so I can remember where my brother is.

Words to live by

"Fortune favors the brave"
I'm going to be honest. I never had really thought about living by quotes. I do what I do, and I don't do it for anybody else's reasons, but when I read this quote, it made me think of myself. There's a lot of different ways you can put the meaning of this quote, for instance, "taking the bull by the horns". To me this quote means, that things don't come to you; instead you work for the good things that you achieve. There's the quote "good things come to those who wait", but if you think about it, do they? Sure, in some cases they might, but if you ever talked to a homeless man and asked him what he was doing, and he replied, "waiting for my rent to come to me", you would laugh, because that won't happen. To make payments for college, to achieve your career, you are going to have to work for it; at least at some point you would. Fortune in your life wouldn't mean as much if you didn't have to work for it.

The Nicest Thing Ever Said To Me

Maddi; She's my mini. We have the same hair, the same eyes, and the same bone structure. About the only thing different about us is our age and our voices. She's seven year old, and she's my half sister. Well, half by blood, whole by heart. I love her with every fiber of my being. This summer on one of our family bonding events I was playing with her in the pool; probably holding her in the deep end, since she loves to go in it but is to afraid to swim on her own, she said, "I hope I'm like you when I'm your age". It might not seem like something that would make your heart melt, but coming from a six (at the time) year old, it's so genuine and honest. We are almost alike, except the fact that her heart is about four times the size of mine (not literally). Maddi will end up looking like me, but she is going to be a much better person than I ever will be, and I'm so proud of her for the kindness she shares with people. I hope, in turn that some day, I can be like her.

Why Remember??

Septemeber eleventh will always be a part of history. At my age, even people quite a bit older than me, this is the most important historical event we have been alive to see. The day the planes hit the tower, reporters said "nothing will ever be the same". Well they were right. We are currently at war. Our country is much more restricted, with Homeland security. Really why should we remember though? Well, we should remember, because if we don't remember, we disrespect all the people that were in the two planes that hit the World Trade Centers, the people that hit the pentagon, and the brave people who crashed the plane in Pennsylvania. If we don't remember, we forget about all the people that are currently fighting for freedom oversees. If we don't remember we lose what we prize so much in this country, freedom. Overall we should remember because those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

My Grandparents

My grandparents have been a very essential part of my life, especially on my mother's side.
On my father's side, my grandfather is no longer with us. He passed away when I was only about 18 months old. My grandmother is with us, but I don't see her as often as I would like to. When I was two years old my parents split, and my mother, my brother, and I moved in with my grandparents. We lived with them for about a year, and ever since then they have been a very influencial part of my life. My grandfather was a doctor. He used to take me into work and let me interact with the patients. Ever since then, I have had the passion for helping people and wish to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor, hopefully half as good as him. My grandma has always been the very nurturing kind of woman, especially with me! She has taught me how to cook, and clean. I don't think she minded teaching me how to clean, since I helped her get her chores done. To this day I help my grandparents as much as I can, since I know I owe it to them. They are the foundation on which I was raised. Without them, I might not be who I am today.