Relationship I Did Not Like

In my novel Change of Heart, there was one relationship that really bothered me. The reader found out near the end of the book that the step father who was killed had been molesting his step daughter (who was also killed). For a while, the mother did not know this while the reader did. It bothered me how the mother still thought of that man as a loving father and husband. The whole town thought of him as a hero who was trying to rescue his daughter when she was murdered. But the truth was that Shay Bourne, the murderer, walked in on the step father molesting the little girl. Bourne tried to save the girl but the the step father ended up shooting her in a struggle over his gun. He was buried with the little girl lying next to him because the mother always thought that he was a wonderful father to her. Even when she came to the realization near the end of the novel that he had been molesting her daughter, she was not especially angry. I wish that she would have made sure that the whole town knew what a horrible man he really was. In reality, the convicted murderer was the honest and good man in the whole situation. But the step father was forever loved and glorified by the everyone in the town.

What I Have Learned in High School

Don't stress over everything!
Some things are just not worth it.

1. Stressing over bad grades on tests. In the moment, it seems like the end of the world. But remember that Chemistry test you failed sophomore year? Yeah, me neither. It is totally not worth the stress.

2. Stressing over the fact that you have the same dress as someone else at a dance. In ten years you most likely won't even remember what your dress looked like. So instead of being angry about it and trying to convince everyone that you look better in it anyways, just have fun!

3. Stressing over being tardy every once in a while. As a freshman I basically thought that being tardy meant that I wouldn't get into college and I had no future. But after being tardy numerous times this year, I have learned that it's really no big deal.

4. Stressing over a horrible coach. Yes, it's hard to have to respect them and listen to them at all times when they are mean and barely ever at practice anyways. But I have learned not to let them ruin the sport (in my case, cheerleading) for everyone.

5. Stressing over missing school when you are sick. There is a lot of work to make up when you stay home from school because you are sick. But worrying about all that work will only make you feel even sicker. Realize that you will get it done eventually, and just let yourself feel better.

Aspect of Society

I think that the aspect of society brought to light through this novel is that people are very un-accepting of the idea that someone who once did bad things can change for the better. It is true that some people never change, but Change of Heart tells the rare story of redemption. Sometimes it's hard to believe that people can change, but this novel shows how important it is to give those people a chance. Shay Bourne was a convicted murderer on death row who wanted to donate his heart to a little girl. Most people did not believe that his intentions were in the right place, but by giving him the benefit of the doubt he saved the little girls life. It is possible that by giving someone the chance to prove that they have changed, one might get hurt. But I think it is important for society to learn how to give people that chance, even with the risks attached.

Favorite Supporting Character

My favorite supporting character in the novel Change of Heart is Lucius. This man is in the prison cell next to Shay Bourne for murdering his boyfriend. He has AIDS and is slowly dying throughout the novel. I would want to go out to lunch with him to PF Changs because that is my favorite restaraunt. I would want him to be able to eat whatever he wanted since he would know that he was dying. This person would be worth my time and energy because he would have an interesting story to tell. Lucius is an artist and frequently makes paint in his jail cell out of Skittles and toothpaste. I would want to see all of his artwork and hear about his life before he was sent to prison. Also, I would want to hear about what it was like to be in the cell next to Bourne. In the novel Lucius has an up close perspective that not many of the other characters have.

Main Character

In the novel Change Of Heart, each chapter is from a different characters perspective. They each tell their own individual stories and their lives are all somehow connected. Regardless of this, the novel revolves around a man named Shay Bourne. So even though there are many "main characters", all of their lives come together because of Bourne. Shay Bourne grew up in abusive foster care homes and therefore lacks important social skills. His sister was molested by their foster care father, and tried to set the house on fire with him in it. Shay took the blame for this so that his sister would not get in trouble and ended up in juvy. Where the book begins, Bourne volunteers to do construction work for the Nealon family. He is soon convicted for the murder of both the step father, who is a police officer, and the daughter, who is seven years old. He is sentenced to death and is on death row for eleven years. Before he is killed though, he makes the decision that he needs to give his heart to the other daughter of Ms. Nealon. This daughter was not alive when the murders took place, but is now ten years old and is dying from heart failure. Eventually the state agrees to let Bourne be killed by hanging instead of lethal injection so that he can donate his heart to the other daughter. Soon before Bourne is killed, he reveals that the reason he killed the step father was because he walked in on him molesting his step daughter. The step daughter died in a struggle between Bourne and the step father over a gun. His story is important to tell because he never tries to defend himself or go free. He wants to die so that his heart can save another little girl, no matter how innocent he was. His character portrays aspects of Jesus and the novel has a lot to do with religion. He always seems to be performing miricles, even though he does not claim to know what he is doing. In the end he dies in the fashion that Jesus does, to save others around him.

Movie

Johnny Depp would play the character Shay Bourne. This character is on death row for murdering a child and police officer. He becomes very mentally unstable, and Johnny Depp would be good for this role because he is good at acting the way that Bourne needs to be portrayed.
Sandra Bullock would play the character June Nealon. This character loses her first husband in a car accident, her second husband and daughter are murdered, and her other daughter is dying from heart failure. Sandra Bullock would be perfect for this role because she is such a strong actress.
Nikki Blonsky would play the character Maggie. This character is the attorney for Shay Bourne and also struggles with her weight and appearance. Nikki Blonsky would be a good fit because she is strong willed just like Maggie is.
Kirk Cameron would play the character Michael. This character is on the jury that sentences Shay Bourne to death row, but later in life becomes a Priest and is Bourne's spiritual advisor. Kirk Cameron should have this role because he plays a spiritual role in the majority of the movies that he is in.
Shia Labeouf would play the character Lucius. This character is in the prison cell next to Shay Bourne. He was convicted for murdering his boyfriend and is also dying from AIDS. Shia Labeouf fits this role because he is such a convincing actor.
Abigail Breslin would play the character Claire. This character is June Nealon's daughter who is waiting for a heart transplant. She would be good at this because of the similar roles she has played in her other movies.

Change of Heart

The book that I chose is Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. One of the reasons that I picked this book was because one of my favorite books, My Sister's Keeper, is by the same author. I have also seen some of the movies that her other novels have been made into and loved them. At first I was confused as to what the storyline was going to be because the chapters are split up into different characters perspectives. But just after reading the first couple pages, I knew that I was not going to be able to put it down. The fact that it was so good that I could not put it down is another reason that I chose this novel.

SRP

A. One thing that I think I did well with on my SRP was keeping organized. Keeping my works cited updated whenever I added a source to my paper saved me a lot of time near the end. I knew where everything was saved or printed out which made it easier to work on the paper when I needed to. Something that I don't think I did very well with and I would have done over would be managing my time wisely. It wasn't as bad because I was so organized, but I definitely should not have waited even two days before each step was due to complete it. If I could do it over I would do a little bit of each step at least four days in advance to the due date.

B. For the seniors next year, I would recommend that they actually take their time to find books and sources when they take the field trip to Xavier. One of the books that I got there gave me tons of information and I don't know what I would have done without it. I would also recommend that they save all of their sources to a USB drive so that they can use them either at school or at home.

National Championship

When I was a sophomore, the cheerleaders traveled to Miami, Florida to perform at the halftime of the National Championship game. We met up with about five other cheerleading squads and dance teams to give a once in a lifetime performance. The first day that we were in Miami was one of the most exhausting days of my life. We had an eight hour practice to learn the dance with choreographer Shane Sparks and his assistant Rachel Kay. Only thirty minutes after practice ended, we had to attend a special dinner and ceremony honoring our coaches and teachers. We finally got to go to bed late that night, but were woken up way earlier than wanted for yet another practice. Charter buses took us to a nearby high school football field so that we could perfect the dance and know where to stand on the lines of the field. Finally after arriving back at the hotel we got a catered lunch and relaxed by the pool until it was time to get ready for the big game. The charter buses took us to the stadium and we immediately got off in our shiny silver dresses to head towards the field where we stood for the National Anthem. We got back on the buses to wait for halftime, and I took a much needed nap. When halftime came, I do not think I have ever been more nervous. Performing for around one-hundred fans at football and basketball games is nothing compared to performing for thousands of fans at the National Championship game. The dance went by so quickly- everything was a blur and I was off the field before I knew it. The last day that we were in Florida we participated in two different dance classes with Shane Sparks and Michael Schwatt. It was an absolutely amazing experience and I am so lucky that I got to do it.

Camp Kern

From the moment I got back from Camp Kern in sixth grade, I couldn't wait to be a senior in high school and be one of the counselors. All throughout high school I listened to seniors rant about how amazing being a counselor at Camp Kern is and how much fun they had. But to say that after I experienced it I was a little let down would be a huge understatement. Day one: The bus ride to the camp with all the sixth graders. Definitely fun, but the first glance at just how energetic these kids were going to be all week. Then lugging suitcases and sleeping bags to the cabin and having only a short period of time before the longest three days of my life. There is literally not one second of rest. From the time you wake up in the morning(when you're ACTUALLY getting up for the day, not the ten times that a sixth grader wakes you up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night), it is non-stop action. Day two: Running around hunting for fossils with kids who absolutely refuse to follow directions. Listening to the same teacher yell the exact same words to the disobedient children over and over and over again. Finding out at eleven o'clock at night that the seniors are not allowed to shower because the sixth grade girls took too long and it is "time for bed." Not that it was too much of a dissapointment considering the scalding hot(literally, you can not stand directly under it) shower water. Then having the girls in your cabin talk so much that a teacher comes and makes you sleep with the cabin door open, letting whatever bugs wish to enter come right on in. Day three: FINALLY. The home stretch. Or so you think. Yes, the beef in your breakfast burrito is exactly the same meat that they used in the hamburgers, sloppy joes, and the salsbury steak. But getting through yet another meal of picking through lettuce at the salad bar and eating all the bread you possibly can to keep yourself going has barely begun. A three hour game of playing indians and settlers is coming, and it will be never ending. When the teachers come to get you and tell you the buses are arriving soon, run for your life. Run for the candy that the kids have been eating all week and stuff your face. You need sugar. You need to lay down in the parking lot on the hot pavement and sweat until the bus arrives. When the bus does come, an hour late, it's hard not to laugh at the overly excited second batch of seniors ready to have the "time of their lives." Good luck.

Sonnet 55

Senior

Last Saturday was the basketball players and cheerleaders senior night. It did not really hit me until that night, when all the underclassmen cheerleaders were crying, that this is really it. For three years I helped plan and organize six different cheerleading senior nights, but my own senior night always seemed far away in the distance. I made shirts, candy bags, cakes, and build-a-bears. I bought tiaras, picture frames, and giftcards. Yet through all that, I could never picture myself standing on the basketball court and cheering my last home game. I never imagined doing my last band dance, holding the warrior banner for the last time, or calling my last cheer. Now that the season is over and the tournament is about to start, I am beginning to see the end of my 14 season cheerleading career. I will never forget the day in fourth grade when my teacher handed out fliers for girls who were interested in beginning a cheerleading program the next year. I will not forget practicing on the upper field, getting my first uniform, and learning my first cheers. The memories of cheering in junior high and moving up to JV and then cheering at my first varsity game will never escape my mind. The friends I have made have become my best friends and the ones that I know I can always rely on. It is weird to imagine turning in my uniform and participating in my last competition, but I know that it is coming faster than I can really comprehend.

Jellyfish

Walking along the beach in Destin, Florida, I always see a lot of jellyfish. I have gone to Destin the past two spring breaks and one of my favorite things is walking besides the water and seeing all the jellyfish and shells buried in the sand. Of course at this point the jellyfish are all dead because they have washed up and gotten stuck in the sand. But it does not make it any less fascinating to look at their clear bodies and try to find the biggest jellyfish that I can. Last summer as I was walking with my friends we came across this one, which is the largest that I have ever found. Two of the boys decided it would be fun to cut it up, so they actually borrowed a family's shovel used to build a sand castle to dissect the jellyfish with. Soon after I took the picture the only thing left was a pile of clear and gooey mush. They each took a small piece back to our condo and searched what a safe way to eat a jellyfish is so that there is no possible way that poison might be left in it. Turns out that one must soak it in water and keep it refrigerated for a certain amount of time and then either boil it or grill it. I doubt that it tasted very good when they finally ate it, and their parents were not to happy about it either. But they seemed proud to have found such a ginormous jellyfish and, like all guys would, figured out a way to consume it.

Love Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbKGsEK_T9g

The love song that I chose is I've Just Seen A Face by The Beatles. The lyrics are pretty simple and repetitive but carry a theme that is important. It talks about how he has just seen a girl for the first time and can not forget that moment. He is not necesarily saying that he is in love with this girl yet, but that he hopes love will come. In fact, he is so excited that he wants to shout it to the whole world what he has just experienced. This song was written a while ago, and I think love songs have definitely changed since then. There are rarely songs written now about the simplicity of meeting a girl for the first time and wanting something more out of that.

Arrowhead Lake

Last summer I discovered my favorite town that I have ever been to. With the majority of my relatives living in Hollywood, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento; most would think that family vacations could not get much better. But last year my Grandma Helen passed away and one of her wishes was to have her ashes scattered in a small stream running from Arrowhead Lake in Mammoth, California. Mammoth is where my aunt grew up and where her and my uncle live now. It is a tiny town based around a ski resort on Mammoth Mountain. I have gone to California every year since I was born, but for some reason our relatives and us have never vacationed in Mammoth. Because of my grandma's last request about her ashes, she brought us all together in Mammoth last summer. Her four children plus husbands, wives, children, and children's children. When I found out that Mammoth is all mountains and that I would be hiking, mountain biking, and going fishing, I was less than thrilled. All I wanted was a summer lying out in the sun. Not hiking on mountains that still had mass remnants of snow on them. But after saying goodbye to my grandma one last time in the stream, we hiked the rest of the way to the top of the mountain. When I caught my first glance of Arrowhead Lake, I immediately fell in love with Mammoth. I understood how my aunt had lived there her whole life, because I never wanted to leave. I stopped complaining about all the "outdoorsy" things I would be doing for the next week, and absolutely loved every single thing that I did. I caught my first fish where my grandma caught hers, mountain biked, and became obsessed with Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I will never be more grateful for my grandma bringing my family together in such an amazing town.

Eiffel Tower Texas Style

Although you can not see it, in this picture my friends and I are standing under the Eiffel Tower. Not the Eiffel tower in Paris, France as most would think. But the Eiffel tower in Paris, Texas. It is not nearly as tall as the real one in France, but to make up for its lack of height it has a cowboy hat on top. Not many people take summer vacations to Paris, Texas, but I have for the past two summers. My friend Bird moved to San Antonio, Texas a few years ago. She can not come up to visit a lot, she my friends and I planned a surprise visit to her one summer. Me and five other girls drove twenty hours down to her house and arrived there when she was not home. Her brother had taken her out to distract her so that she would not know that we were arriving. We hid under a single blanket on her bed, completely obvious to her that people were under there. When she walked in to her room we jumped out yelling SURPRISE! She had no idea that we were coming at all. On the way home from her house, we stopped for a few days in Paris because to visit with her grandma. It is a very small town but has lots of character, especially because it has its own Eiffel tower. I don't know if I will ever go to the real Paris to see the real Eiffel tower, but if not, at least I can say that I have been to this one.

Barbie Cake

At first glance, this cake just looks like a disgusting mess of frosting and Barbie dolls. But it really was much more than that, carrying on a birthday cake tradition that lasted for a year. This cake never would have been created if it was not for six friends being bored one summer day. It was Lizzie's birthday, and five of us decided to bake her a cake. This lead to the decision that we should all get together whenever one of us had a birthday to surprise the birthday girl with an amazing cake. They started off being shaped and decorated like ladybugs, Ipods, hearts, and other creative designs. But as the school year went on, we all started getting tired of decorating cakes. Which explains the mess of a cake above. The last birthday girl, Olivia, insisted that she absolutely had to get a cake. So we all got together, bought our last box of cake mix, and the adventure began. Cake mix, water, eggs, and oil were mixed together and baked for barely enough time to be called a cake. Vanilla frosting was messily swirled together with pink and purple food coloring. Brains were searched as to what the theme of the cake should be. After we spread the icing on to the still hot cake, someone declared that it reminded them of a Barbie. We raided the house and found old Barbie dolls, sticking their legs into the melted icing and gooey vanilla cake. After a surprise delivery to her house, it was declared the best cake we had ever made.

Auto Pilot

In this article, it discusses how humans are on "auto pilot" for nearly half the time they are awake. This means that instead of being focused on tasks at hand, they are looking into their own thoughts. A study was done earlier in the year which displayed how humans interact with the world. One of the ways is called the default network, and it becomes active when not much is going on around someone. When thinking through this network, people tend to plan and worry about the future rather than enjoy the present. In my opinion, I do not think people would think like this as much if society was not pressuring them into it. Thinking back on the past fourteen and a half years of school I have gone through, it seems to be the major area of my life where I have been taught to think only of the future. Every year we are told that what we are doing is preparing us for the next year of school. When questioned about something, teachers have always used the excuse that, "We are preparing you for next year." I understand that it is important to be prepared, but I think that society has placed too much importance on it. If we are always preparing for the future, we are never really living. Studies have also shown that this mind wandering does not make people happy. All the depression seen today starts to make sense when you hear these statistics. Our society has become so focused on being the best and being perfect that it has become impossible to not think of what will come next. I think that everyone should try and relax and wait for the surprises the future has in store instead of constantly worrying and planning ahead.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-work/201011/new-study-shows-humans-are-auto-pilot-nearly-half-the-time

Isabelle Caro

A few days ago one of my friends was talking about a model who had recently died from anorexia. She said that she was only 59 pounds when she passed away, and I honestly did not believe her at first. I thought it must have just been a rumor she had heard- I did not actually think it was possible for a twenty-eight year old to be 59 pounds. But as I was searching for an article today, I came across the story of Isabelle Caro. Her recent death caused by anorexia is entirely true. Caro began struggling with an eating disorder when she was thirteen years old, and it continued up until her death. I learned that in her late stages of anorexia she began posing for posters that read "No Anorexia." She knew that she was entirely too thin, stating that she was the opposite of what beauty should be. The controversy of these photos arises because they were un-knowingly taken and posted on pro-anorexia websites. Critics argue that the pictures of Caro only made people with eating disorders strive to be as thin as her. On the other hand, Isabelle Caro and her photographer argue that the photos actually helped people with eating disorders to see how dangerous it can get. I looked up the pictures myself, and was absolutely horrified. She literally looks like a skeleton with skin hanging off of her. I have no idea how she survived so long looking like that, or how she did not reverse her anorexia when she realized she was slowly killing herself.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/you-must-be-hungry/201101/the-death-the-little-girl-who-didnt-want-get-fat