Personal Addition #13

"All I ever really want to know is how other people are making it through life-where do they put their body, hour by hour, and how do they cope inside of it."
— Miranda July

I like this quote because I can relate to it. I think right now in my life and as I'm starting to grow up, I'm more interested in other peoples' lives. It's easy to get interested in what other people are doing when you are in a school setting because there are thousands of kids around you. Everyone has different religions, morals, beliefs, things they like to do. With technology it's becoming easier and easier to know where people stand and what they're up to. Of course, it's also easy to compare yourself or use this information to look at where you stand. There is a positive and negative side to this. The negative side is if people are going out more than you or buying more things than you or getting better jobs and grades. It's easier than ever to bring yourself down because of how other peoples' social networking looks. People can display their lives in such a showcase but it might not actually be that great...The positive side to this technology is that you can see how other people are doing and if someone has a great idea or sparks inspiration, you can use this to further yourself. Everyone wants to know what someone else is up to in their life. It's intriguing, and you have to realize that it can affect you positively or negatively depending on who you are.

Newspaper Blackout Poetry

 

  The picture above is my project called Newspaper Blackout. There are three poems which are all about love. Basically, you take any newspaper article and pick out certain words to form a sentence which forms a poem. This form of poetry was created by Austin Kleon!

This is my first poem:

It is called Doubt and Uncertainty. The poem says: As each day passes, he questions leaving.

This is my second poem:

It is called Hopeful. It is kind of hard to read, so it says:

It was a long awaited four years, but despite that we will move forward.

This is my last poem (split into two to fit it in):

It is called Unbalanced because it talks about fighting and waiting in a relationship.

The poem says: He complained of the reliability of her. They argue for new communication but await the outcome of it.

Overall, this was a fun project to do, and I'd love to have the opportunity to do it again.

Personal Addition #12

I've never tried pumpkin pudding, but it looks so good.
http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/28454/quick-pumpkin-pudding/detail.aspx
The website above has a tasty recipe which looks something like this:

• 
  
• 1 pkg. (5 1/10 oz.) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
• 1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
• 1 can (15 oz) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• Fat free whipped topping (optional)
• If you have the time to try it or have ever tried pumpkin pudding, I'd love to know what it's like. It seems like a great fall dessert or snack!

Personal Addition #11

Halloween is coming up in the next week or so! The most traditional thing to do around Halloween is carve a pumpkin in my opinion! Here are my top five favorite pumpkins:




http://www.home-designing.com/2008/10/amazing-halloween-pumpkins
http://swirlyman.deviantart.com/art/Barfing-Pumpkin-184581126
http://mashable.com/follow/maegwin/
http://www.hohumcards.com/2010/10/30-creative-ideas-for-carving-your-pumpkin-into-a-jack-o-lantern/

Writing Reflection #6

I do not have a solid plan for after high school yet, but I do know that I want to receive scholarships and have the opportunity to go to university. I want to graduate from university and have a career that will fulfill my wants and needs. I want to expand on my family with someone I love and possibly travel to a few places. Blogging can actually help me achieve these things that I dream of. Most scholarships ask for a written part about either yourself or a certain topic, so blogging, especially this type of blogging because it is based on creative writing, helps me improve my writing skills. I think blogging also improves your creativity by adding personal additions and trying to stand out from the crowd. This improved creativity will help my application for a scholarship stand out from everyone else. Leaving high school and going into university, you need to become a lot more independent and not rely so much on the teacher to do things for you. Blogging improves your writing and with improved writing, comes improved reading. I think these two skills are a huge thing when going to university and fending for yourself in class. A professional blog that promotes yourself in a positive way could help you make connections with profs and even other students. Blogging also makes you an awesome researcher. You learn to link back to the sites you took something from and you have to do that for basically everything in university. These skills listed above will also help me in my career I believe. As for having a family, increased creativity would help. Sometimes you have to go with the flow, make things up, start something new. You never know what's going to happen with a loved one or kids. When the time comes for me to travel, skills to research are important. Blogging helps you know your way around the internet a little better. There are many ways that blogging can help me achieve my goals after I graduate from high school.

So, I did a bit of travelling around blogs and posted a few comments here and there. I first commented on Jenine's six word memoir because I love animals and learning about an animal I'm unsure of intrigues me. I commented on Victoria's personal addition because I love music and I as well relate to lyrics. I also commented on Carol's six word memoir because I don't know anything really about exchange programs and I'd love to learn! I believe that a good comment has a purpose. Why are you commenting on a post? Do you want to share what you know about the topic, create an idea and share it relating to the topic, or learn about what they're posting. I think the comment should have one solid topic. It shouldn't be all over the place asking things that aren't related to the post. A good comment should pull the writer or the post into the conversation and want to be involved. I think overall a good comment should express your opinion but also ask for other peoples' or just the writer's as well. I believe that a bad comment focuses on just your opinion. A bad comment is writing that puts someone down or discourages them from writing more. I think a bad comment is one that stops conversation or doesn't start one in the first place. A bad comment has no purpose behind it. There are many benefits from commenting on someone else's blog. You can start a conversation and teach each other things that you may not have known before. Teaching each other things can make a bond or a friendship quite easily. Commenting on someone else's posts makes you noticed. They will notice you and want to see what your blog is all about as well, expanding your circle of blogs you connect with. By commenting on other people's things you can encourage them to keep doing the great things that they are and also improve their writing skills by giving solid criticism. There are also some benefits to receiving comments, which are mostly the same. Someone comments on your blog, you will want to check them out, therefore expanding your circle of blogs you connect with. I really do believe comments of criticism are very valuable to improving writing and blogging skills.

Comment #1
http://jeninesbookloversblog.blogspot.ca/2012/10/my-6-word-memoir-5.html?showComment=1350915352053#c8167084679061721461

The first comment I posted was on Jenine's blog. Her drawing with a six word memoir on it caught my eye and made me read on to her explanation. It got me thinking of how complex horses are. There aren't many other sports that involve animals and how many different things horses are used for is incredible. It's weird that humans, who are smaller than horses, can have such control and power over something so large. It also got me thinking of other animals and the relationship you can have with them. Sometimes it's so powerful that when you lose them, it takes a toll on you. Animals can become good companions. I wonder what variety of companions there are out there? What is the weirdest pet there is? I think from commenting on Jenine's post, I stopped thinking of technology and friends for once and focused on something that may not get enough attention when we're caught up in our daily lives; animals.



Comment #2
http://victoriasbooksandwrittenpieces.blogspot.ca/2012/10/want-u-back-cher-lloyd.html#comment-form

The second comment I posted was on Victoria's blog. I relate to lyrics all the time so it's nice to know someone else does too. It made me think of how people relate to things online and I was wondering if we rely on that too much? Have we grown up expressing our emotions through technology too much that the person or problem we should be addressing has no clue what's going on and nothing will get solved? It made me think of Facebook and how it's become just a mess of people's opinions and emotions. Sometimes people don't use the internet for things that contribute to their life. We're all guilty of it, but some people more than others. I think technology has taken us away from playing outside or art or other beautiful, natural things. Is that a bad thing though? I know Victoria didn't say any of this in her post, but the whole idea came to me when I thought of how we relieve ourselves through lyrics and original things like music.



Comment #3
http://carolcastilhosblog.blogspot.ca/2012/10/as-i-guess-im-only-exchange-student-in.html

The third comment I posted was on Carol's blog. Her six word memoir caught my eye because it had something to do with travelling and that interests me. She talked about being an exchange student and what a good opportunity it is. It made me think of having the opportunity myself and where I would choose to go. I've never traveled out of America, so any opportunity South or to Europe would be a dream. I wonder how many people are on an exchange right now? I told Carol that I'd be so scared to leave my family and friends. I'm not that outgoing so I don't know how I'd survive in a whole new school. It would be different adjusting to the food, the traditions, and especially the weather! If I went on an exchange, I'd definitely have to go somewhere a bit warmer than Winterpeg. Overall, I wanted to create a conversation to learn about what it's like to go on an exchange. I don't know anything about them, so I am interested to learn!

Personal Addition #10

Did you know kiwi can enhance your sleep?
Kiwi fruit is actually known to reduce asthma, wheezing & coughing from the high amount of Vitamin C in it.
While a banana is know to have say 1.6 grams of fiber, kiwi is know to have about 3.4 grams. With such a high level of fiber, kiwi can increase good bacteria in the intestines and sometimes even strengthen the intestines ability to absorb nutrients needed. Also, because of having such high levels of fiber it can help to reduce cholesterol. This means less of a risk for heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and heart attacks. Kiwi is also a good cleaner outer. It can get rid of toxins in your body and unwanted substances. There are specific nutrients called lutein and zeaxanthin, which help protect against blindness and cataracts. These two substances in general help reduce macular degeneration (medical condition, usually for old people, where there is a loss of vision in the center of their vision field because of damage to the retina). Relating back to my main question, kiwis can in fact improve sleep! It is hard to find a fruit with the levels of calcium that kiwi has, but this calcium helps with sleeping.
Aren't those good reasons to grab a kiwi next time you see one in the fruit basket?

Personal Addition #9

Just today, I remembered a trip I went on to Yellowstone National Park in the state of Wyoming. This National Park is about 1,488 km from Winnipeg and takes around 16 hours to get there! If you have ever been there you'd know how magnificent and interesting it is! It truly displays nature's beauty through colors, depth and actions.

The picture to the left is a geyser called Old Faithful. This geyser could possibly be one of the most famous in the world. Believe it or not, it it the most predictable geographical feature on Earth. It erupts every 91 minutes. I remember waiting around, walking through the park, trying to time it exactly right so we got back in time to pull out our cameras. They also have a sort of countdown of minutes until it erupts. It's truly amazing how precised something that we cannot control is. This geyser can shoot hot water up to 32 m in the air!

This picture is a spring called Grand Prismatic Spring. It is also quite famous in Yellowstone National Park. A spring is basically a point in the ground at which the surface dips below the water table. This causes water to come up from the Earth and form a pool. The water in it is said to be around 70 degrees Celsius! The colors that these springs form are so vibrant and eye-catching. I learned that nature doesn't have to be green, brown, and grey.


It blows my mind still that you can get that close to something so strange and mysterious. You look at them and want to dive in to explore. I don't think most people know much about geysers or hot springs, but they're amazing in my opinion & I'd suggest everyone goes to Yellowstone National Park at some point in their lives to experience these things.
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