Animal Farm - Poem

There once was a farm like no other.
"Animal Farm" was the name.
This farm was run just by animals,
Though it functioned just the same.

On this farm, all were equal.
The pigs, the hens, the cows...
And everyone worked in harmony
Through songs, commandments, and vows.

But soon the work grew harder
And food was running low.
The animals knew that they needed a leader -
Or they didn't have long to go.

Since pigs are the smartest of animals,
A hog named Snowball stepped up.
His bright ideas gave the animals hope,
From Mare to Donkey to Pup.

Another hog named Napoleon
Hated Snowball for all he was worth.
Their ideas completely differed,
And Naploeon wanted him gone more than anything on earth.

But Napoleon kept quiet,
For he was forming an evil plan.
He wanted to get rid of Snowball,
And take over the power of man.

His plan was put into action
And worked better than he had expected.
He sent his fierce dogs on Snowball,
And he was chased off the land; rejected.

The power was finally his!
And he used it very incorrectly.
The animals were now his control.
And the leadership was his directly.

So Napoleon got what he wanted,
To the expense of others he ran.
A failing farm,
Where there was much alarm,
His power was like unto man....

Both of my parents have given me plenty of advice over the years, but one of the best pieces of advice I've ever gotten was from my mom. I was in about second or third grade and my group of friends was having some troubles. Everyone was spreading rumors about everyone and it felt like whenever I got home from school, I was always close to tears. Finally, I couldnt take it anymore, so I decided to talk to my Mom about it. She listened while I vented everything that had been happening over the course of the week, and when I was finished, she told me this: "If you're nice to everyone, you are never going to give anyone a reason not to like you." Soon after the talk with my mom, the fight among my friends ended.

I think the advice that my my mother gave me that one afternoon was some of the best advice she has ever given. I still use that advice to this day, and I think it's a really important lesson that everyone should follow. With all of the gossip and judging going on today, its really important to realize that you would definately not feel good if you knew people were talking about you. That's why I try to be nice to everyone and focus on a person through a positive perspective, not a negative one. Everyone seems to judge people as soon as they meet them, and I'm glad that my mom taught me at a young age that that isnt ok.

My Best Friend

My Best Friend... I really don't like the sound of that. By choosing one friends as the "best" it automatically excludes every other friend. Instead of writing about a best friend, I'm going to write about one of my best friends. My BFF Naomi has many talents, including playing the violin. She's always been an orchestra geek :). She also does rowing, and although I've never actually seen her do it, I'm guessing she's pretty good. One thing Naomi and I do together in the summer is take sailing classes at the OYC, which is a lot of fun. We also enjoy playing The Legends of Zelda: The Wind Waker and feeling like total nerds, embarrassing ourselves in public, riding scooters around town, watching Phineas and Ferb, and laughing at inside jokes!

Naomi and I have been friends since the 1st grade, when we were both new at our elementary school and didn't have any other friends. We became best friends from the start, always having play dates and playing together at recess. Naomi has always been there; through the the Pokemon stage, the Kim Possible stage, the Dog-loving stage, the art-freak stage, and many more. No matter where our interests drifted, we always drifted there together.

My Earliest Memory

My earliest memory is very clear to me. At the time my family was living in our house in Shelton, Washington, before we moved here to Olympia. I must have been around two-years-old because I was still sleeping in a crib. When I was little, I never wanted to go to sleep without holding onto my mom or dad's hand and rubbing their fingers. It sounds weird now, but it was a huge comfort to me. In fact, my sleeping habits got so bad that my parents would keep a pillow under my bed. Every night one of my parents would lay on the floor with their pillow and stick one of their hands through the bars of my crib until I fell asleep.

I can remember my very first memory like it was yesterday. I am laying in my crib. The crib was white and had small blue and pink teddy bears on the sheets. I sat up and looked through the bars of the crib and saw my mom on the ground sleeping. This is the earliest memory of mine, and it is very special to me because it shows how much my parents love me, even if that means staying up late holding my hand and sleeping on the ground. I'm glad that I have this as my earliest memory because at least my parents will know that all that time staying up with me has been remembered and appreciated.

The Bean Trees: Motif

Throughout The Bean Trees, by Brabara Kingsolver, motif is overwhelmingly used. The entire book focuses on one main symbol: Motherhood. The entire book is based on difficult family situations and the strives that these women have to make while trying to protect their children. Without this strong motif, the book would have no purpose. Even though it was just only a story, the characters and their feelings towards each other amazed me.

Although not one character had an easy life, they all found ways to love their lives and be grateful for what they had. One of the characters, a women named Esperanza, had her baby taken by a neighboring country during war. Through these tough times, although she was scarred forever, she still found ways to love life and be thankful for what she had. Another women named Taylor was unexpectenly given a Indian child while on the Cherrokee Indian Reservation. Her astonishment was something completely expected. To my suprise, Taylor cared for the baby like she was her own, and even though having the baby changed her life forever, she remained positive and happy. One other women who had mothering troubles was LouAnn. Her husband left her right after she had her baby, and although she was always hurt by this, she ended up becoming a wonderful mother and became happier than she had ever been.

I believe that the stongest element in the story is definately motif. Although there is some imagery, motif is used much more often. I love the motif in this story because I love books that have to do with motherhood and children. This book was definately a fun read and was very easy to get attached to the characters and their lives. I was upset when I finished this wonderful book!

Outside Reading Assignment

For my outside reading assignment, I chose the book The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver. I began enjoying this book from the very first page. Kingsolver's humerous tone and use of diction adds a fun southern twist on the story of a girl who aquires an unexpected three-year-old and the adventures that they have. In the part that I'm at right now in the book, the point of view is switching back-and-forth by chapters between Taylor, the main charater, and a completely irrevelent charater named Lou Ann. Because the point of view is switching like this, I predict that Lou Ann and Taylor will meet up sometime soon. Other than this confusion, the book has been very enjoyable so far.

The literary element that believe suits the book best at this point in the story is, obvioulsy, Point Of View. With the characters changing chapter by chapter, point of view is a huge key concept in the book.

I think that it is very clever of the author to use point of view this way. By introducing a new character early in the book, when the two characters meet the reader will feel like they are already acuanted with the character and the story will continue on without delay.

To be honest, I am really not far enough in the book to be able to identify its tone, but from what I can tell so far the tone is very humorous, but has real thought and meaning behind the words written. I think it takes great skill as an author to be able to write humor and meaning all in the same book. To someone that wasn't looking for poetic meaning, you could read throught the entire book and not recognize any of the greater message hidden between the lines.

Writing About Reading

Reading has always been something that I've enjoyed. My key reading environment is not quiet. I always have to have some noise when I'm reading. I listen to music, go into a noisy room, or turn on the TV when I read. Even though I am picky with my surroundings, I am not picky at all when it comes to books.

I read all kinds of books! I honestly can't say that I have a favorite genre. I believe that the books are great because of the authors, not because they are a certain genre. I will read a science fiction book that I absolutely love, then I will read a book of the same genre and not like it at all because of the diction of author's tone. I also try not to read the same genre of book twice in a row. If I do, I find myself comparing the two, and I don't really like doing that. I end up choosing a favorite, and I find myself not liking the other.

I'm thankful that my parents got my excited about books early. If they didnt, I probably wouldn't be as interested reading as I am now.