Group K: "The Story of Mr. Ford"

After a long day of work one night, Mr. Ford came home to an empty house.  His wife was on vacation with the kids, and he was excited to have the time to relax for one night before she came back.  He went to the local sandwich shop, bought a large ham sandwich, and went home.  Instead of following the rules this night and eat in the dining room or kitchen, however, he decided to eat in his favorite old recliner and read the newspaper.  This was his favorite way to spend the night, and did whenever possible.  He got home, and immediately went to the oversized, blue chair.  In one motion he grabbed the newspaper while taking the sandwich out of the bag.  The paper around the sandwich fell to the ground, and he started eating.  After about ten minutes of reading the newspaper, he began to hear a loud noise coming from underneath his chair.  He thought it was just his imagination, but when he felt something hit the leg of the chair with such a force that he dropped his paper, he became concerned.  He ran to the kitchen and put the sandwich on the counter.  He grabbed a large, wooden chair in the dining room to use as  protection if there was something in there, and walked into the room cautiously.  As he walked onto the carpet, he felt something move around his feet.  Alarmed, he looked down to see a large bump underneath the carpet.  As it circled around and came back toward him, he began to panic.  He had no idea what to do and tried to run away from it, hiding between the side-table and the bookcase.  The thing, however, seemed to sense where he was heading, and went right for him.  It hit his feet with such a force that he fell backward, knocking the chair out of his hands.  He knew that whatever this thing was, it meant business.  As he saw it coming back around, he stood up with the chair.  He knew he had to end this now.  As it got closer and closer, Mr. Ford raised the chair above his head even more.  Finally, as it was just about to crash into him again, he brought the chair down, hitting it with a great amount of force.  It stopped moving, and he ran out of the room back into the kitchen.  He didn't care what the thing was.  He just wanted to get out of there.  He looked at the newspaper again this time, but instead of finishing the sports section, he perused through the apartment listings, thinking that perhaps it would be a good time for a change.

J2.) My favorite Teacher (K-12)

It's difficult to remember back to grades K-5, but Fourth Grade sticks out in my mind over all the others.  I had Mrs. Hartman as my teacher, and she was fantastic.  I was able to learn a lot while still having a lot of fun.  I loved going to school in the morning, and was sad to see the year end.  Mrs. Hartman was able to make learning a fun experience.  I remember reading a lot of books together as a group, which really sparked my love for reading.  We read Where the Red Fern Grows together, which I was able to take a lot from.  Without her, I probably wouldn't have loved to read as much as I did.  She taught in a way where we weren't just copying material for the board, but allowed us to really experience it.  For example, when we were learning about the geography and people of New York State, we made colored salt maps to show where different land marks were and where the different Native American tribes were located.  When we were learning about world geography, we each made our own globes out of paper mache.  If we had trouble remembering something that we learned, she would help us come up with a way to remember it.  One of my favorite parts of being in her class was that she rewarded our good behavior.  If we all did our homework or were well-behaved, she would add marbles to a jar.  Once the whole jar was filled up with marbles, she would throw us a party.  She would organize food and drinks, and would let us bring in some toys from home.  When looking back on Fourth Grade, there was never a dull moment.  Mrs. Hartman made that year the best year between grades K-5, and I'll always remember the positive impact she had on me. 

J3. The Black Keys, The Kooks, and Kate Nash

Whenever someone asks me what my favorite bands are, I have a hard time answering.  There are so many good bands to choose from, that its difficult to pick just one.  A lot of it depends on my mood, the weather, and what I'm doing while I'm listening to the music.  As of right now, my top three favorite bands and musicians are The Black Keys, The Kooks, and Kate Nash. 

No matter what I am doing, I never get sick of listening to The Black Keys.  They are an all-around great band.  I love all of their albums, but have recently been listening to their new album "El Camino" nonstop.  My favorite songs on this album have to be "Little Black Submarines" and "Mind Eraser," although it is very hard to choose.  Overall, I like how this album sounds as a whole.  I could listen to it over and over again without getting sick of it.  No matter what album I'm listening to of theirs, it is always phenomenal.  I hope to someday be able to see them in concert, seeing as I missed my chance this summer. 

The Kooks are another favorite band of mine.  They always put me in a good mood when I listen to them.  I love their style and lyrics.  A lot of times when I'm stressed out I will listen to them because it's difficult to be angry when they are playing in the background.  Their 2011 album "Junk of the Heart" is fantastic, but I also like "Konk" too.  Overall, they're a great band. 

Lately, I have also been listening to a lot of Kate Nash.  Throughout the past few years, I have gone through stages of really liking her music to thinking it was okay. In the past few weeks, however, I have been listening to her a lot.  I really like her lyrics and she has a fantastic voice.  I have always loved her song "Foundations," and think that her song "Navy Taxi" is also very nice to listen to while doing my homework.  She is definitely worth listening to. 

J1.) My Hero

In the dictionary, the term hero is defined as "a person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities."  To me, a hero is much more than that.  They set a good example for those around them, and do not give in to pressure from others.  They aren't afraid to speak up about their feelings on a subject, and work hard to get what they want accomplished.  My hero is one of my best friends, Tara Hammerschmidt.  I believe that she exhibits all of these qualities.  I am naturally a serious person, and she helps me realize that I need to enjoy the things that I am a part of.  She has always been there for me, and I really appreciate it.  She is always nice and friendly to others, which is a great quality to possess.  Tara is sociable and loves talking to others.  She genuinely takes an interest in the thoughts and feelings of others.  In school she is able to complete her work while still having fun with it. She always puts an effort in to what she is doing, and will try to perfect it whenever possible.  She is good at balancing her life, which also a respectable quality to have.  Tara is the type of friend that everyone should have, because she does take an interest in your life.  She'll try to help you if you have any sort of problems, and she will be able to cheer you up if you're feeling down.  She doesn't let what others say bother her, and she is her own individual.  She helps me realize that it is okay to have fun and that it is okay to be different.  She is a great role model for anybody to have, which is why she is my hero. 

I4.) Should students be required to learn a second language?

I was reading an article the other day about how many students are trying to opt out of taking a foreign language in High School for the reason of it being unenjoyable.  I do not agree with this for several different reasons.  First, languages teach teenagers a lot of important skills.  It is proven that learning a language leads to broader trains of thought, better listening skills, more complete understandings of one's own language and better communication skills. These are all very important skills to possess in today's society.  Languages can fine-tune these skills, helping them in more areas than one.  The learning of more than one language is also important in today's increasingly global society.  As travel to other areas of the world becomes easier, cultures will begin to interact more.  Learning the language will prevent the spread of ignorance and help to preserve the diverse cultures around the world.  In the future, knowing another language other than your own is also very marketable in the workplace.  It makes you more valuable in certain professions, making it easier to get a job. 

I think that if students took a step back and really tried to enjoy learning a new language, they would find that they would really like it.  It opens up a whole other area of the world to you, which is huge in today's society.  I find that the more I learn about a new language, the more intrigued I am with that whole culture it is related to.  As of now, I have studied both French and Spanish in school as well as trying to learn Russian on the side.  I look at it as if it's a puzzle that needs to be cracked.  I think that it would be really interesting to be able to use these language skills in the future, and hope to be able to speak several languages fluently someday.  More students should definitely be taking language more seriously. 

I3.)My Holiday Break

Overall, my holiday break was really great.  I was able to see a lot of friends and family that I don't usually get to see, which was probably the highlight of my week.  On Christmas Eve, I went over to my Grandma's house for dinner.  Here, I was able to see all of my cousins and relatives from my Dad's side of the family that live out of town.  It was really nice to see them, and we all had a great time.  On Christmas morning, my Mom, Dad, and brother exchanged gifts around nine o'clock, and the rest of the family came later for brunch.  We ended the day by going over to my Aunt's house where we were able to spend some more time with the family.  Two days after Christmas, we drove up to New Hampshire to see my Mom's side of the family and celebrate the remainder of the day with them.  Usually, this is the only time that I get to see many of my Aunts, Uncles, cousins, and Grandma, so I always look forward to it.  On the way up to that area, we got caught in a big snowstorm, and had to stop in Utica at this old hotel for the night.  Although it was unexpected, it was quite fun!  The next morning we got up and drove the remaining distance we had to my Grandma's house outside of the Manchester area.  We were surprisingly the first people there, with the rest of the family following soon after.  We were able to relax there for the remainder of the night, catching up with the rest of the family.  We woke up the next day and got ready to go over to my Aunt's house for the late Christmas celebration.  Everyone had so much fun enjoying each other's company, opening gifts, and playing different  games that people had brought or planned.  Overall, it was a really fun, memorable time that I will be looking forward to have again next year.

I2.)My Bucket List

I have many things on my Bucket List, but three of my top things that I would like to do would be publishing a piece of work, touring Europe from one end to another, and learning how to speak Russian fluently.

Publishing a piece of work would be a great accomplishment, and I would really like to be able to do this.  I like to write, and think that being able to have something out there that I wrote could impact many people over a long period of time.  No matter what I end up writing, I want it to be original and comprised of my own thoughts. 

The second item on my  Bucket List is traveling from one end of Europe to the other.  I would want to start in Spain and make my way through every country at some point.  I think it would be a great adventure and that I would get to meet a lot of new and interesting people through this excursion.  I love experiencing new cultures and what they encompass, and think that I would be able to learn a lot from everyone that I meet.  I would be able to sample several different foods, customs, and languages that I normally would not know much about.  It would be the experience of a lifetime if I was able to do this, and would definitely change my perspectives a bit. 

The last item on my three-item Bucket List is learning how to speak Russian Fluently.  I love learning new languages, and Russian is so different than the other languages that I am exposed to in the United States such as Spanish and French.  They use a whole different writing structure and the Cyrillic alphabet, so this would be a bit of a challenge.  However, I'd love to be able to accomplish this even if I go through a bit of difficulty.  I have some friends from the modern Russian Federation that came here through school that I met on vacation, and would love to be able to visit them.  It is an area of the world that is just beginning to open up and modernize, and by learning the language, it would be easier to experience its rich history.