What I've Learned About Writing

When you write, the essential concept of Essay Writing is to have an opinion. You need to express an opinion about the topic, and then support that opinion with all the facts you can muster. A good method to use when writing is the KISS method. The KISS method stands for K- keep, I- It, S- Simple, S- Stupid. Keeping this method in mind will improve your writing. The key to good writing is a mixture of short, medium, and long sentences. This means that the writing displays sentence variety especially in length and starting words. "The Big Sixteen" are very common errors that all people using English often encounter. Correctness in your writing is important to the degree that it interferes with your message. You don't want it to interfere because it's important to communicate your message and say things as clearly as possible. To improve your English usage skills, you can get people to proofread your paper, use your computer, and practice writing.

It's easier to practice writing when you are not bothered by distractions. Once you're ready to begin, think about the purpose in doing the assignment. The next step is brainstorming, to think about what information might accomplish your goal. During this process, you start gathering facts and listing ideas. Some ways to brainstorm these ideas are in a Venn Diagram, and a spider web. Try to answer the questions how, when, and why in your writing. This is started by creating a specific purpose for writing. In one complete sentence, the first step in planning your essay is to weite out your point of view, your thesis.

The thesis is the most important sentence in your essay because it's the idea that you are going to prove. The thesis must be expressed in precise language, with a clear, meaningful idea. After your thesis is completed, it's time to do the body paragraphs. The body paragraphs generally present three or four good reasons why the thesis statement is true. Each of the body paragraphs will start with a topic sentence. After you have done your thesis statement and three or four reasons why you think it's true, next you need to develop four or five sentences to clarify each topic sentence. In this part, you're able to expand your thinking to include any questions that seem appropriate. When you write about ideas, specific examples may be essential to make certain that your reader understands you. One way to communicate your writing is to create a mental picture and describe it for your reader. It's not always necessary to write an introduction before you write everything else.

If you first write your introduction, you may have an incomplete idea of exactly what you're leading into. In the introduction you should: get the readers attention, introduce the topic in a natural sounding manner, and make a smooth transition into the body of the paper. A form commonly used in everyday conversations is the generic introduction, the introduction that will work with any topic. To do a generic introduction, pick out one aspect of the thesis, and make an offensive comment about it, and let that lead you naturally into the thesis statement, just as if you were trying to change the subject of a conversation. In the next type of introduction, specialized introductions, there are several different kinds including quotations, personal experiences, famous person anecdotes, questions, and refutations.  The one you choose to do your introduction is entirely personal as long as it accomplishes the three major purposes of the thesis. This all shows how to start your essay, now to the conclusion part.

The conclusion should be relevant, clear, and concise.  Your conclusion should not only tie together the main ideas, but it should also make one, final significant point. The conclusion can either be done in the form of a recommendation, prediction, call for action, quoting a stimulating source, or a summary. This will be the reader's last impression of the essay.

When doing a compare and contrast essay, it's important to know which of the two you should use. It's best to concentrate on contrast if you're trying to show how one item is superior to the other. It's best to use compare when you are trying to show how a product of lesser value can compare to the more appealing product. At times it may be necessary to do a combination of both compare and contrast. In this type of essay it shows the whole picture, with no sides being taken. Unlike in a regular essay, a compare and contrast essay's thesis statement presents a special problem and a special opportunity. It is not limited to show only similarities and differences. Using a well structured pattern is important to the essay. The opposing pattern devotes one paragraph to one topic, and the other paragraph to the opposing topic. This allows your reader to receive a separate total impression of each topic. Alternating pattern moves back and forth between its two topics. This pattern is best when you have a large number of characteristics to cover. Topic sentences for each paragraph refer to the individual characteristics rather than the people being discussed. Structure and outlining are important in this type of essay to try to avoid the possibility of confusion. This isn't very challenging, but you have to try to not to make any silly mistakes.

Sentence combining is a skill learned in class that allows students to improve their writing, which is important in all aspects of life. Some new techniques are: move the adjectives in front of the nouns they modify, use participial phrases, and avoid comma splice by using a conjunction after a comma. There is no need to have unnecessary words, and awkward words and phrases, so those can just be eliminated.

Out of all of these, I new most of the basic information. I didn't know that there are that many options for the introduction and conclusion. Since we have done several essays in this class, I feel like I have learned to incorporate more and more of these things to my writing. Some of the things we learned this year that I've never done before was the Open Responses and the Approach Papers. These weren't difficult but it just took a little to get used to. Overall, this Essay Writing class was fun and very interesting. You are a great teacher and helped me learn a lot, thanks Mr. Bailey!

Word Count: 1,041

Private and public schools 2

When going to private school, all the rules are clearly stated when you first sign the contract to enter into the school. If you don't abide by the rules on the contract that you signed, there'll be consequences. Unlike private schools which can make up their own rules, public schools have to abide by the rules of the state. To help public schools enforce the rules, there is a police officer. In private schools, this role is handled by the Student Judiciary Committee. Just like there is high discipline, there is also high expectations for learning.  Learning expectations in private schools are not measured in Standardized testing until PSAT, SAT, or AP course testing. In public schools, from elementary school until senior year in high schools, learning skills are measured through Standardized MCAS testing. In public high school, just like in private, you also have to take the PSAT, SAT, and AP courses if you make it in. The course time differed at HHS and MSC, the school I went too.  At MSC, we also had a free period similar to DSB. The free period, instead of it only being about 40 minutes, was the length of a full period. The periods there were much shorter, only about 52 minutes. We had six classes a day and the schedule was rotating. Personally, I liked the schedule better there because you didn't have all the same classes everyday, two would switch out. When the two classes switched out, this would give you more time to do your work which made it easier. In HHS, seniors are allowed to leave for DSB and lunch, but not in MSC. At all times you are supervised by an adult. For this reason, when I'm a senior, I'll enjoy DSB in HHS more than the free period in MSC. Another very similar program private and public schools share are extracurricular activities.  In MSC, there isn't a football, golf, or frisbee team like HHS. In MSC, football wasn't allowed because it is "too dangerous," and  the insurance is too high. Hockey is huge at MSC, they are one of the most competitive high school teams in the country. They have their own rink and travel across the country because they are often ranked nationally. In HHS, there are all of the sports in MSC and more. Football is a huge part at HHS, they have been Superbowl champs and always field a competitive team. In public school there is more of a variety of choices because the state pays for most of it. There is a charge of $200 for any sport you are participating in the school. There is no charge in private school, it's all rolled into the tuition. Both are equally competitive. One of the problems in competing in a sports team is getting home.  In MSC, we tended to travel to farther distances. Some happened to be as far as about a one-two hour drive. At HHS, most of our competitions are within 30 minutes of the school. For both schools, to go to away games, there would be a team bus for the players and coaches, that way we all get there at the same time. After the games, there is transportation back to the school, but none back home. We would either have to have our parents pick us up or get in a carpool. In MSC, I was able to get in carpools because people lived in the same area. Unfortunately, this year at HHS, there is almost nobody that lives in my area. To get to school everyday to MSC was a pain. It took about  40 minutes to drive there on a good day, without traffic. Since it was a 40 minute drive, I had to wake up extra early just to get ready. Going to HHS is a much better drive. It only takes about 20 minutes to get there, but the traffic can also get hectic every once in awhile. When comparing private and public schools, there are more similarities than differences, particularly when looking at sports, and free time. 

Death of an Innocent Open Response

Death of an Innocent Open Response: 

The most important factors in Chris's death were his "intensity, heedlessness, and agitation of the soul," and an unlucky twist of fate. Gallien had tried repeatedly to dissuade Alex from his plan to no avail. He even offered to drive Alex all the way to Anchorage so he could at least buy the kid some decent gear. This had been a pattern throughout Alex's life and he had distanced himself from his parents because of their disapproval. Many thought Alex's behavior was crazy and suicidal. Alex had lived a life of extremes by challenging how long he could go without food, water, and shelter. He believed that he could get himself out of any possible situation that he encountered with as few supplies as possible. This behavior wasn't suicidal, but it most definitely was naive and ill-fated. He donated the $20,000 in his bank account to Oxfam, loaded up his car, and disappeared. Walt and Billie would hear nothing more about Chris's whereabouts until their son's body turned up in Alaska two years later. Even though Alex had grown up in an affluent family, he shunned money and worldly possessions. His family loved him very much but he pushed them away. He was very much a loner and wanted to test himself to see if he could survive the extremes of the wilderness. Strength is the gift of the youth, and wisdom is the gift of the aged. If Alex had used his gifts of intensity, heedlessness, and agitation combined with a little wisdom, he would have been able to survive his Alaskan adventure. If Alex had known about 6 miles due South of the bus, an easy day walk, a cabin supplied with food, bedding, and first aid supplies was plainly marked on most maps of the area. 

Waters of Babylon

John's journey to the Place of the Gods makes him more knowledgeable,mature,  

brave, and independent. All of these qualities are shown during his excursion 
because he faces his fears and bravely travels alone, down the river going where 
none of his people have gone before. 

At the beginning of the story, John says "My father is a priest; I am the son of 
a priest." Throughout the story, John matures and evolves into a leader, and is 
recognized by the current leader of the hill people, his father, as their future 
leader. This is evident when his father says "Truth is a hard deer to hunt. If 
you eat too much of the truth at once, you may die of the truth." His father, 
through these words, recognized John as the future leader of the hill people. He 
cautioned John about sharing the lessons he's learned from the Place of the 
Gods. His father didn't want John to say anything because he was scared of the 
way people would react because the knowledge that John had was dangerous. 
"Perhaps in the old days, they ate knowledge too fast." According to his father, 
knowledge is power but too much knowledge might kill him. 

John's maturity has completed by the end of his journey as he returns home to 
his father. John's father reflects upon this journey when he says, "You went 
away boy. You came back a man and a priest." John's father is very excited about 
the discoveries that John has made in the Place of the Gods. He is so overcome 
with joy because John made the discovery of men in the Place of the Gods, 
something that he couldn't have done in his time.   "The law is not always the 
same shape-you have done what you have done. I could not have done it my time, 
but you come after me. Tell!"  John explains all about his discoveries in the 
Place of the Gods and his father is overwhelmed by the truth. He cautions that 
the truth is too much for the dear people. 

When John reaches adulthood, he asks his father for permission to go on his 
journey. "It is time for me to go on my journey. Give me your leave." John is 
brave enough to endure the trip on the river and to explore the Place of the 
Gods. He discovers the man and brings the news back to his father. He faces many 
perils during his journey. He was "afraid, afraid. The current of the great 
river is very strong- it gripped my raft with its hands." No one from his tribe 
has ever gone to the Place of the Gods, including his father. Knowing he will be 
alone, somewhere no one has been before, requires bravery and determination. 
John faces his fears and learns from his experiences and brings his knowledge 
back to his father.

John is very independent, his journey to the Place of the Gods has shown 
leadership and independence. When John's father says, " It is forbidden to 
travel east. It is forbidden to cross over the great river...," he expects his 
son to break the rules and do it anyways. This is how he knows that when he 
tells him not to go to the east of the river, that he will go to the Place of 
the Gods. 

Clearly, by the end of John's journey, he has grown in knowledge, independence, 
maturity, bravery, and is ready to take a leadership role as the priest of the 
hill people. His father recognizes these changes and respects the growth, but 
cautions him to slowly impart knowledge to the hill people. 

Private/ Public schools.

Up until this year I have gone to private or "catholic" school. Even though private and public are both kinds of schools you can go too, they are both very different. Private school and public schools are different when it comes to money, uniforms,  accepting students, subjects, class sizes, etc. When I went to a private school, I had to pay tuition, unlike in public schools which you don't have to pay. In order to be accepted into the private school that I went to, MSC, you had to take an entrance test. All you had to do was pass the test to be accepted into the school. The majority of my grade from my elementary school had taken the test too. About 75% of my old school got accepted into the school, so I knew a few people.  The next difference was class size. Each class was probably within the range of twelve to fifteen. In public school the range for the major classes is around 25-30. It was a lot easier in the private schools because the teacher could take control of a smaller amount of people easier than a larger amount. The only major difference with subjects was one, Religion. In private school we had to take it as a subject every year. Here, in private school we rarely ever even mention anything about the subject. Every year in private school we would basically be relearning everything but just in greater detail which got kind of boring. Another thing we had to do was learn a ton of prayers and read the bible. In elementary school at least once a week we would usually walk up to the church that was right down the street. In MSC we had a mass whenever the administration of the school felt like having one. At times this sucked because it was like an hour and a half long. The positive side of this was that we got out of classes to go to it. On top of going to mass during school, they expected us to go on Sundays too. Every once and a while they'd ask us questions about the homily to see if we actually had gone. Now that I switched this year it has basically gone to waste because I'm never really ever going to need to know any of this stuff ever again. A positive about going to private school was also that you got excused from almost every CCD class. I probably had to go to about five classes  in my life to receive all of the sacraments so far, while public school people had to do so many more. I have received Baptism, Holy Communion, Reconciliation, and Confirmation.  Lastly the dress code. Luckily, last year, my dress code wasn't as terrible as some schools. For girls, we had about three skirts: plaid, navy blue, and gray. We had a pretty good variety of shirts also. For boys, unfortunately they didn't have as many choices. A lot of rules came with these uniforms. The length for skirts on girls had to be two inches above the knee. This had been a problem for most girls. At random times there would be people with a ruler measuring to see if your skirt was actually the appropriate length. Since most girls rolled their skirts, they would rush to unroll them before the person checking got to them.  If it wasn't the right length, you would get sent to the office to either change into pants or a longer skirt. This would suck if you had to change because the skirts they'd give you were extremely ugly. A plus about wearing uniforms is it doesn't take more than two seconds to choose what you're going to wear. I like going to public schools because we're able to dress down. At times, this can be a pain to choose what you're going to wear. Since there's no dress code there's so many more choices of what you can wear.  I switched this year to private because I was getting bored of private school and I wanted to see what it was like to go to public. Overall I'm glad that I switched because public school is way more free and less strict overall. At times I miss my friends that rarely see now that I used to see everyday, but I got to meet a lot of new people here this year, so I'm glad I came.  Word count: 748

Theme of The Interlopers

The theme of The Interlopers is a long standing feud between two families. Both men despised each other for reasons unknown. They have known about their family history's since they were kids which caused them to be in dispute. The feud goes on for so long that the reason the families are feuding, is forgotten. The people involved in the feud in the end, Georg and Ulrich have trouble understanding the reason for the fighting. This occurred when they were trapped underneath the tree. Ulrich offers to have his men free Georg. Ulrich says to Georg, "We've been rather fools; there are better things in life than getting the better of a boundary dispute." Georg said that it would be weird if the people saw them together because everyone knew they were enemies. They each prayed that their men would arrive first so that they could save their new friend. The irony of the situation is that when something does come, it's wolves. This means that they will both die.

Naswa Resort

Since 2006 we have been going to New Hampshire every year. We meet up with about 
7 other families, about 30  people all from my mothers side of the family. We 
stay at the Naswa Resort. In order to fit us all, we rent all of the cabins in 
our row. The cabins are located right on the lake with all of the summer 
activities. One of the activities includes a boat ride tour of the lake, Lake 
Winnepausauke. Other activities include snorkeling, paddle boating, kayaking, 
jet skiing, tubing, and much more! 

Out of all those things my favorite was probably jet skiing. As you're going 
across the waves, you have an adrenaline rush. On the jet ski, you can either 
sit or stand to navigate across the waves. Jet skiing was outstanding, and it 
also gave you a chance to view the lake as you're going by at high speeds.
Located right on the lake was also the bar. I tried just about every "virgin" 
drink they had. My favorite was either the strawberry daiquiri or the mudslide. 
We were able to buy the drink glasses, which we still have to remind us of our 
trip. 

Another fun activity we did was go to Fun Spot. Fun Spot was the second largest 
arcade in the world. Since it was raining every day, we went every day to the 
indoor arcade. This was a good way to waste my parents money. I would like to go 
from game to game, I didn't exactly have a favorite one. Whenever I was running 
low on coins I'd play a 'circus game' where you put a coin in and tried to knock 
multiple ones down. This was the type of game where you win some and you lose 
some. Every day we probably spent about two hours here. The arcade had three 
levels so it kept you occupied. 

The most memorable year of these summer trips was in 2009. We knew this wasn't 
going to be a good week by the looks of the weather forecast. Five of the seven 
day trip it poured  all day long. This killed most of our plans because they 
required sunshine. The fifth day was  by far the worst. The day began with 
torrential rain so as it was we had to stay inside. By the afternoon, the roads 
were flooding. I had noticed that the water being flooded was getting closer and 
closer to the propane tank. We of course were located right beside it, lucky us! 
My sister and I at the time weren't even in our cabins. We had been in the cabin 
with our grandparents. We watched the rain and wind carry my grandparents' grill 
and swing set into the lake. The sand around the house had eroded and the water 
had just been flooded even more, almost to the point of reaching our house. Soon 
after, I saw people leaving their cabins. This made me wonder why people would 
be leaving in such weather. A couple minutes after, we heard a knock on the 
door. The person at the door said we were being evacuated to the hotel across 
the street. The guy said the water was getting too close to the propane tank and 
if it had got closer, it would blow up.  After hearing this, we ran to our cabin 
and grabbed all of our belongings because we didn't know what would happen. 
After we were in the hotel, we just stared out the window and watched the rain 
destroy anything in its path. 

The next day we were allowed to go back to the cabins and get the rest o our 
belongings. We saw the parking lot had eroded away, the swing set and grill were 
gone, and the sand had huge holes in the ground. We decided to go home since our 
trip had been washed out. On our way home we stopped at Fun Spot to redeem our 
weeks worth of tickets. We had about 20,000 tickets! We didn't waste them, we 
put all of ours together and got an electric scooter. Surprisingly we had just 
enough to get it. By the time we arrived home, it was a beautiful day. It was blue 

skies and 80 degrees. Of course that's just our luck. 

Bryson's Irony

Sometimes the things we want aren't necessarily what we need. This irony is shown in Bryson's junk food experience. While cleaning out the fridge, Bryson uncovers a breakfast pizza "the last  surviving relie of a bout of very serious retail foolishness on my part." Several weeks earlier he convinced his wife to purchase a great variety of junk food because "we are living in a paradise of junk food." Once Bryson had the junk food, it wasn't as great as he thought it'd be. Particularly the breakfast pizza which Bryson found to be "lim, chewy, and listless." Bryson's dilemma can be an analogy for what we feel we have to have in our lives. When someone really wants something, but doesn't actually need it, the importance diminishes once it is attained.

The Lonely

Corry's confinement to the asteroid is an example of cruel and unusual punishment because no one should be treated this way. Corry was punished for killing someone that was trying to attack him; it was self-defense.  The loneliness that Corry feels is made worse by the space ship that brings him food every three months because he has the human contact at those times and realizes what he is missing.  When Corry is first seen, he has been imprisoned for four years and is suffering from loneliness, expressing thoughts of desperation, insanity, and suicide. The humane Captain Allen takes pity on Corry and brings him a female robot named Alicia for companionship. Corry feels like he is being mocked and rejects Alicia's companionship because she is a "machine." Eventually he comes to value her company and spends nights star gazing and talking with Alicia. Alicia offers a convincing replica of a human woman and interacts with Corry in convincing ways. When the spaceship comes back, Corry learns that his sentence has been shortened and he can now return to Earth. Unfortunately, the spaceship only has room for Corry and Alicia has to stay behind. In his heart, Corry believes Alicia is a woman and he begs Captain Allen to take her back to Earth. He says it is murder if they leave Alicia behind. They shoot Alicia in the face and Corry can see that she was a robot; her face is all computer boards and screws. Corry sadly goes to the spaceship and the narrator talks about how the man's machines are left behind, including the one kept alive buy love.  Corry leaves the asteroid disheartened because his companion is now dead and he is once again alone.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Vanessa Mejia

Mr. Bailey

Essay Writing

5/22/12

My Dream Vacation

           
Four, twenty-two, thirteen, eleven, nine, ten, I WON THE LOTTERY! Time for a fun, endless vacation with no expenses spared. I am a very adventurous person, so the vacation will have to include stops at several destinations to include all of my favorite things. With an unlimited budget, a month to travel, and a private jet, the perfect vacation would be a combination of beaches, and outdoor activities.
         
 My perfect vacation is chauffeured with private transportation everywhere. The first thing I would buy is a private jet. This is the fastest way to get me from place to place without having to deal with crowds in airports. To travel from place to place on land, I would go by Lamborghini, a car that attracts attention. If traveling by water, I'd go by private yacht. That way I'd always have a perfect view of everything and I wouldn't have to worry about other tourists getting in the way. From adventure to adventure, transportation would not be an issue. 

           
My perfect vacation would include having a house overlooking the water, and traveling to different terrain. For example, in Hawaii, I can surf, snorkel, helicopter, or bicycle.  Surfing would take place on the warm, crystal blue water on the Oahu North Shore, the birthplace of big wave surfing. I have read a couple articles about shark attacks so this makes it a bit more frightening, but it's still an activity I would like to do. Snorkeling would take place in Molokini, home of the clearest water. Snorkeling seems fun because you're able to go swimming with fins, a mask, and a snorkel which allows you to go underwater and still be able to breathe.  The helicopter tour would be in Kauai, famous for its stunning scenery. When biking on the Haleakala Mountain, the sunrise from the top is spectacular. I'd enjoy seeing sunrises because they are very colorful and relaxing. 
       
 Now that I have done everything I wanted in Hawaii,  I'm off to Peru, where I can see its snowy mountains, sandy deserts, tropical rainforests, and the vast blue ocean! I'd have a private beach house with a magnificent ocean view. Each day I'd go out for a refreshing morning surf, then travel inland to do sightseeing. My first destination would be to Huacachina, home of some of the largest sand dunes in the world. I have been snowboarding before so sandboarding sounds like it'd be a blast! If you go on a buggy tour, your driver will bring you to the top of the dune and pick you up when you're done at the bottom. This in a way is better than snowboarding because you don't have to ride a chairlift. Next, I'd travel to the Andes, the longest continental mountain range in the world. I would like to go to the Andes because I'd like to see all of the different climate changes. Then I'd travel to the Amazon rainforest, one of the world's exceptional biodiversity areas. I would like to go to the rainforest because I'd like to see all of the different kinds of animals, trees, and plants that live and grow there. People nowadays don't appreciate the rainforest and are destroying it little by little. People don't realize they are destroying the rainforest by cutting down the trees. Lastly, Macchu Picchu has a beautiful setting in the middle of the tropical rain forest. My father is Peruvian, so it'd be cool to go visit and see where he grew up.  The unlimited budget would help me experience many great journeys in Hawaii and Peru, but this would only start my journey.
       
My perfect vacation continues with clean, fresh, outdoor adventures. Glacier Bay National Park, in Alaska, is exploding with glaciers and wildlife. I have been obsessed with glaciers since watching the movie Titanic, so it would be cool and scary to sail on Glacier Bay! Since in Alaska, helicopter rides are a more regular part of daily life, I could take a helicopter ride to Mt. McKinley. From the helicopter, it would be cool to view then land at the top of Mt. McKinley. After this experience, I would like to go to the Rockies to go zip-lining through the clean, crisp air. On the zip-line course you can see snow-capped peaks, wetlands, and the Wind River, which is located right below. This would be fun because I'd be able to see everything from a whole new perspective. After zip-lining, I want to go whitewater rafting along the Colorado River.  There is a wide range of courses for each level of rafting, and it would be fun to increasingly build up to higher and tougher levels. My next destination would be in Washington to see Mount Saint Helens, one of the last active volcanoes to erupt.  I'd definitely hike up to the top for a view of the crater. So far I have visited the beaches and the outdoor activities. It's time for the rides!

As a roller coaster lover, my unlimited vacation has to include  a trip to Disney, but since money is unlimited, I would go to Disney in Paris. The rides are top notch and I can also visit the Eiffel Tower, The Arc de Triomphe and shop in the fashion capital of the world.  At the Eiffel Tower, I'd like to see the view from about 50 stories above the ground. One of the sights I'll be seeing from the Eiffel Tower is Arc de Triomphe. At night, I'd go to see Arc de Triomphe because you're able to see the lighted torch, which represents "the unknown soldier." Next, I would lunch in cafes where great writers like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald received their inspiration. A short flight will take me to Ireland to visit my mother's family. I can kiss the Blarney stone and visit castles and visit our thatch cottage near Galway.  I can golf, ride a donkey and milk a cow. My European leg of this vacation would end with a return visit to Spain. I would run with the bulls in Pamplona and cheer the brave matadors during a bullfight. I will visit Casa del Sol and soak up the rays while body surfing in the warm ocean. I will visit the Roman Aqueducts in Segovia and marvel at how they have survived the test of time. I will visit my friends in Madrid who live in the condominium with the President's daughter.


The adventure can only start once I cash in this lottery ticket. Off to the Massachusetts Lottery to claim my prize and start the adventure of a lifetime. My perfect vacation of beaches, outdoor adventures and rides can start once the check clears. Want to come?

Florida!

In my lifetime so far, I've been to Florida about six times. This summer will be seven! The last time I went was when I was in sixth grade. My grandparents and aunt were going and they invited me to go. I found this amazing because I was able to go to Florida, while my siblings had to go to school. The downside was that I had to make up the work. I also had to stay after one day on the weekend to make up testing, that they were going to be doing while I was gone. At that point, it honestly didn't even matter. Like I've said in one of my previous essays, I love roller coasters and rides. Disney World was just the place for me.

When we got up there, we met up with some of my other aunts and uncles and we all went back to the resort. We stayed about 15 minutes away from Disney World so they took me everyday. We stayed right on the water as well so I could just go swimming whenever I felt like it, which was a plus. Everyday we would take a ferry which would bring us to Disney.

I was finally tall enough to ride all of the roller coasters and rides! Since it wasn't on an actual vacation week from school, luckily, it wasn't crowded. All the other years, I wasn't able to go on all the rides that my older brother and dad went on because I wasn't tall enough. Now I finally was! Of course, the first rides I went on were those.

The first ride was Aerosmith, the one with the huge guitar one the outside. It started out with the band being late and their manager is trying to get them on the road. I remember being so excited about being able to go on it, I wasn't even really paying attention. What caught my attention was being shot out from zero mph to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds! Since I wasn't ready all I could do was scream! It was a good kind of scream though.

The next ride, The Tower of Terror. Just the name in general kind of frightened me a bit. This hadn't stopped me. As I got closer and closer to the beginning of the line, I felt my heart pumping faster and faster. The video before I went into the elevator was a story about the "Twilight Zone." When I got on the elevator my seatbelt was extremely loose, this I felt made it a million times more scary! On the first drop it felt like I was about to fly out of my seat. The seatbelt wasn't even serving its purpose because I was flying everywhere. After the ride was over surprisingly, even after that, I still wanted to go on again. The next times that I went on weren't as bad because I was actually strapped in correctly. The ride consisted of freefall, and dazzling effects.

Next, we did something that wasn't on a track! We did Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes. This was very interesting and fun but also tiring. It was an oar powered ride around Tom Sawyer's Island. You had to propel the craft around the island and past the Cascade Peak. We were helped by two explorer scouts. I learned the hard way, if you go on this, don't sit behind a little kid. You'll get soaked!
Every single night after spending the majority of the day in Disney World, we'd watch the fireworks. It was like a front row seat for us because we weren't far from where the fireworks were being set off. We would watch the fire works from Epcot. In Epcot we also saw the Future World and World Showcase. In the Future World we saw the past and future of technology advancements. In World Showcase, it highlighted the art, architecture, and culture of the countries surrounding the Lagoon. Epcot's landscape is watery, grassy slopes, and many trees.

In Magic Kingdom as a kid, my favorite ride was "It's a small world." I liked the catchy melody and the boat ride. It glided through the various dolls that were singing and dancing to bring the world's cultures closer. My favorite ride there today is probably either Space Mountain or Splash Mountain. For Space Mountain I just remember all of these flashing lights we go past as we swerved through the galaxy. For Splash Mountain this was fun because we went from going through caves and watery byways in a log boat. As this was going on, we were listening to characters singing songs from a Disney film. It had about a 50ft drop too which was exciting.

We also went through the Haunted Mansion. This was a spooky tour of an ominous haunted house. The ghost introduced us to his "closest 999 dearly-departed friends."As you walk through different parts of the house I remember walking into the ghostly portrait chamber where the room got colder, and you just got that spooky sense. Right after that is when I realized there were no doors or windows. After passing through, we board a "Doom Buggy" and the ghost took us through several dusty rooms. At the end of the tour, three ghosts volunteer to follow you home.

I would have loved to go to Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon! We unfortunately just ran out of time. We are going back this summer so hopefully we'll go there!
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Example Conclusion

Drug addiction is responsible for much of today's crime. Jim Morrison, one of the most charismatic and influential frontmen in rock music said "Drugs are a bet with your mind." The mind is where all kinds of things take place. When doing drugs, you're mind is affected because you are allowing yourself to get addicted to being "high." While this is going on, you have no control because you can't use your regular judgement that you have when you're drug-free. Doing drugs makes you think you have nothing to lose. Some of the decisions you make may be leading you to do something that would normally be out of your comfort zone. Maybe people prefer to think this way because it allows the conscience to make the decision with less persuasion, and it's easier to just give up, or to give in. The mind actually believes there's much to gain with the drug of choice. In the end you wasted your time, money, and dignity. The odds are against you, and if you place a bet with your mind you'll lose.

Girls have to spend way more time than boys getting ready in the morning.

• Girls put on makeup to look more "attractive" and "mature."
• Hair takes longer to do because girls have longer hair. 
• Outfits are hard to choose because you have so many choices. 

Off to Spain!

When I was twelve, I went on vacation with my littlest sister, dad, and mom. My other two siblings stayed home with my grandparents. My littlest sister was about two, so she doesn't remember anything. For me, this was by far the best vacation I've ever been on! The reason why we went on this trip was because my dad had a business trip. We thought it'd be fun to go with him. Luckily, thanks to my dad, we all knew how to speak Spanish.
The plane was probably the worst part because the person in back of me was a five year old boy. All throughout the plane ride there, he kicked my seat. It was really annoying. I wasn't able to go to sleep at all in the 11 hour plane ride. When I got there, it was totally worth it!
I remember getting off the airplane thinking it was a certain time, then it wasn't. Spain is six hours ahead of the US, this took a while to get used to. In the airport the first thing we noticed is that everyone talked super fast. At times, this made it hard to understand. They pronounce some words differently which didn't help either. After we had gone through all of the security gates, we were looking for my dad's friend. I thought this was going to be impossible to find him, considering that we had never seen him before. We had gone down the escalator, then I spotted some guy jumping up and down with a huge poster with our names on it. I would have never thought of doing this, but it was a good way to get our attention. It was safe to assume that it was him. My dad's friend was Javier and his wife was Paloma.
After we introduced ourselves, he drove us to his house. They had a huge house and invited us to stay. From the window of his house, you could see where the princess lived. Although we never got to see her, I still thought it was really cool! It was only about 300 feet from the house we stayed.
The first day, I woke up at 1pm! Half the day was already gone! It took me about three days to actually get used to the time difference. Every day, everyone went to work. This left my mom, my sister, and I to just wander. We got lost a lot, but that's what made it interesting. Every day my mom would bring me to this desert and icy shop. I'd always get a lemon slush. Unfortunately, they don't make it anywhere around here.
The second day, we went to a famous art gallery called Museo del Prado. The Prado is one of the largest art collections int he world. It is best known for its diverse assortment of works by Velasquez, Goya, and El Greco. As a kid, I found this the most boring thing. I didn't understand why my mother put me through this torture. I remember seeing the painting of the naked lady. I wondered how that was artwork, and why they put it up in public. I was scarred for life at that point. The only thing that got me through it was that my mom said we could go to the amusement park after. I'd do just about anything to go to amusement parks. I have loved roller coasters ever since i was little. The amusement parks there I now know aren't as good as Six Flags, but as a kid it didn't even make a difference.
The next day we went with everyone on a bus tour. This took us all around Madrid. It showed us all of the top ten sights to see. The sights we saw were the Royal Palace, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Mayor, Templo de Debod, Madrid Cathedral, Plaza de la Villa, Puerta de Alcala, Gran Via, Plaza de Cibeles, and Plaza de Oriente. In the night some of these things looked even prettier because of all the lights.
What I found very different from here and there are the types of food. Here, there is a ton of junk food and fast food places. There, there's none that I saw. On almost every other street, there were a ton of stands that made food and sold it on the side of the road. I unfortunately am a very picky eater and chose to eat none of it. My mother and sister seemed to enjoy it though. Just about every single night, we'd eat at a different restaurant. At most restaurants I would just eat pasta. I am not the type of person that likes to try a lot of new foods. I like to eat the common, every day foods and that's about it. When we decided to eat at home Javier and Paloma would make similar things like in the restaurant. I chose to make pasta every night they made it. My dad usually made me try to eat their food, which I knew I wasn't going to like. This majority of the time this ended with me always  saying "Ew, I told you I wouldn't like it."My dad would then say, "If you don't try things you'll never get used to new things." At this point it honestly didn't matter to me, I was only twelve. All the foods he learned how to cook down there he still cooks every once in awhile. Since he has been having me eat a little every time, I guess I could say it has grown on me a little.
The next day my mom, sister, and I went on and underground railroad. I thought it was the weirdest thing because i have never seen one underground before. We took it to one of the streets by the center of town. We walked to one of Spain's historical parks and spent the day there. It was a very calm and soothing place. It was a peaceful urban park centered around a beautiful lake. The name of the park is Parque del Retiro.
The next day we drove to Toledo to see one of Spain's finest Gothic cathedrals. The cathedral that was had seen was Catedral Primada Santa Maria de Toledo. Right by the cathedral, was a church. The church was called Iglesia de Santo Tome. We went inside the church to see El Greco's most important painting, the Burial of Count Orgaz. After that, we went to Javier's mother's house. I thought Javier's house was huge, then I saw his mother's house. She has a different room for each one of her kids and grand kids just for when they visit. There had to be at least twenty rooms and ten or so bathrooms. It was ridiculous! They owned part of a farm so they also had a ton of land and animals. For dinner they offered to give me rabbit, goat, pig and a lot of other things. I wondered why they were giving me so many choices and why they were all the animals I saw on their farm. Right as I walked through the door, to go to the bathroom, then everything made sense. There was a picture of people who were holding up dead animals and a gun right next to it. That is when I realized they were hunters and they killed their animals they owned.
The last day we went to Segovia and we saw the aqueducts. I found this very interesting because I learned that there was a system of aqueducts and underground canals which once brought water from the mountains fifteen km away. The aqueduct was about 2950 feet long. The section where the arches are divided in two levels is about 900 feet. This was built by the Romans around 50a.d. and was designed to make water flow uphill. This surprisingly was just built by stacking large stones.
One of the things I personally would have enjoyed doing was seeing a bullfight. Madrid, where we stayed, was one of the dual epicenters of bullfighting in Spain. This seems really fun to watch and I would have loved to see it. It's basically a dance with death, one wrong move and the Matador could be dead. Javier also had a beach house in Casa del Sol that i never got to see. It would have been nice because I heard the beaches are really nice there. I also never got to go to the spot in Barcelona where they had the Olympics.
Since the day we left, my dad has been telling me that we are going to go back but we have yet to do so. Since then, Javier and Paloma now have two kids. Javier and Paloma asked if they could fly me there to teach their kids English. This would be really fun because I would get to do that and I would probably get to do the things I didn't get to do the first time. I get to fly out there this summer for a whole month if my grades are good. This has been my motivation this whole year and I hope I can keep them up so I can go!

Word Count: 1,456

Vacation in Vermont

Every winter since 2006, my whole family has gone to Vermont to stay at a resort called Smuggler's Notch. There you can either go snowboarding or skiing. We usually go around the weekof my birthday which is pretty cool. I get to spend it up on the mountain, with some of my friends that I met there. The first time we had gone, most of my family was on skis because it was our first time ever going. My dad and older brother were the only ones that had gone snowboarding because they had a couple years of experience.


 For those of us that were skiing, we picked it up pretty quickly, and had began going on more difficult runs every time. Usually my dad and brother would snowboard together, and everybody else would ski together. At lunch our whole family would meet up at either the top of the mountain, or down at the bottom. I thought it was cooler to eat at the top because we were able to look at the view of part of the mountain as we ate. After we were done eating, we would all go snowboarding and skiing all together as a group. We would keep going until we were either tired, cold, sore, or until the lift closed. 


Some days it would get really cold, especially at the top of the mountain. The first couple years were
probably the worst because we didn't buy the face masks to protect our faces from the coldness, or even 
frostbite. Although none of us got frostbite, somedays, it sure did seem like we did. In 2008, this was my lastyear skiing. One day it reached about -20 degrees at the top of the highest mountain there. That was the day we decided to buy face masks, so we could avoid getting frostbite. 


After we were done skiing, we would go home and get changed. Luckily, our home was about two steps away from the lifts. After we were changed, we would go to eat dinner. When we were all done eating, we would either go to the Fun Zone or the indoor pool. This was always a win-win situation for me because I loved doing both things. As a kid, I used to love playing in the arcade, sliding down the big blowup slides, and doing obstacle courses, and that was just exactly what the Fun Zone had! I also liked swimming because ever since I was little, I've been a swimmer. I've been swimming on a team for about 9 years now and it hasbecome one of my favorite sports.


The next year, in 2009, was my first year snowboarding! My parents signed my younger sisters, brother, 
and I up for lessons.  I still remember the first day I ever tried it, I probably wiped out about a billion times. The first time I went up to the top with the instructor, I fell in the woods. The instructor had to walk all the way up to the hill and pull me out. It wasn't the woods with an actual path either, which made it that much more difficult to get out. After falling in the woods, it made me actually want to go into the woods, but where there was a designated path. The instructor did not take us into the woods until he knew we were ready. The day he took us was the last day of our vacation, when we got to choose the path.


Going in the woods is probably my favorite part about snowboarding, to this day. My sister doesn't 
typically like it because she always gets stuck, but my brother and I love it. As of this year, it was our first year without lessons! We had been doing lessons for about 2 years and we got to level 7 out of 10. That was when my dad decided that it was time we ride by ourselves now. I liked riding with my brother and sister because we were all around the same speed and we were able to teach each other our specialties. I also likedriding together because we were able to choose which paths we wanted to go on, and we didn't have an instructor saying we couldn't go on them. 


As we got better, we went into the park which was full of ramps and jumps. I didn't really like the jumps
because I didn't like the feeling of being in the air. My brother loved the jumps, and when he didn't land it was funny to watch him wipeout. My favorite part about the park were the rails, some were straight, curved, and others dropped. The only bad thing about the ramps is that if you fell it hurt really bad, and you probably had a nice, big bruise about to pop up within an instant, but it was worth it! I would recommend this trip if you're intoskiing or snowboarding because there are three big mountains with tons of trails.


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What is an essay?

An essay is a writing which usually tells about the writer's point of view. Essays can describe, clarify, argue, and analyze a subject. The components of an essay are the introduction, thesis statement which is usually the last sentence in the introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction and the conclusion are usually the not that long, while the majority of the essay is contained in the body.