Semester Reflection Part 2

Describe your vision for yourself in pursuing higher education.
I plan to attend a 4 year college and major in something with Veterinarian Studies (Pre-Vet) or Animal Biology/Zoology.

What is a quality in a classmate that you would like to develop in yourself?
A quality in classmates that I've worked with would be to gain leadership abilities, since in groups, I tend to be more of a follower. I would like to be a leader to easily share my ideas and have a thought that people are hearing them.

Beyond grades, what motivates you to work hard at school?
I am motivated by the thought of college, and through high school classes which subconsciously teach how to take notes and learn how to manage your time with assignments. This is especially important in college, since there is notably a lot of work that you are expected to know how to deal with when you get there. Not to mention, what you do in high school greatly changes your chances of getting into whatever college you're interested in, so that's a motivation too.

Reflection Part 1

Valuable Mistake
One mistake would be letting my grades slip. I had a huge roller coaster throughout this whole year, and it really taught me how to be strong and pull through to be my best.

Most Valuable Project
To this day I always have loved the American Icons Project. It was great and it helped me to initially start out my writing to test the waters.

Academic Challenge
I have never been able to write essays easily. It has always been a struggle for me, and this year it didnt change. I had to push and push to get an essay done.

Writing Reflection

1. At the beginning of the year I found it difficult to create leads and endings to my writing pieces. I had always felt that I had strong content to put in but I could never find a way to pull a reader in or lead a reader out without making me feel awkward about writing the whole piece in general. I found that my ending for Ampersand was presented stronger and at the same time satirical.

2. I would like my writing to evolve into intriguing work that pulls readers in. I want it to be interesting, and to use all of the writing tips to make my writing the best it can be. Such as in Ampersand, my work started with a nice opening sentence to pull the reader in.

Historical Reflections

If I could run into any historical figure, I'd want it to be late president Franklin D Roosevelt. I wouldn't mind him being a student, but if he was a student, he wouldn't have had that much experience in his life, so I'd like him to be a professor for a philosophy class that I'd take. He would be teaching after his presidential occupation had been finished (but not dead, mind you).

Roosevelt would be an amazing public speaker in a classroom environment. I believe he'd treat the students as equal to himself as he did to American citizens when he became president in the 30's. I think he'd personally connect to the students as a teacher opposed to just teaching them blindly.

"We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future."
"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved."

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Franklin_D._Roosevelt.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USArooseveltF.htm
http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/fdroosevelt

Literary Reflections

If I could have a roommate from a book we read in class I would choose a Tralfamadorian from Slaughterhouse Five. I wouldn’t chose one in particular because they are one in the same. I think a Tralfamadorian would be a great friend because they could offer help and tutor me when I am confused. A Tralfamadorian would also help me get through life with all of the philosophies that Tralfamadorians have learned throughout years like “when a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past…” Tralfamadorians also see the fourth dimension, so my friend could help me out with seeing the fourth dimension.

If I am down about things my Tralfamadorian friend would pick me out of it by using the quote that Tralfamadorians go by, “So it goes”

Overall, I think a great roommate would be a Tralfamadorian because one would be a great, true and trustworthy friend.

Semester DOS, Honores History #2

World Wars 1 and 2 are important because they led to the way countries acted internationally and nationally following these wars.

After WW1 the Paris peace conference led to the Treaty of Versailles, which then brought forth the existence of the League of Nations. This treaty placed the blame of the war on Germany, and they were forced to pay money, lose land, and have a smaller military. The Ottoman Empire disengaged, leaving the Allies space to breathe. That is, until WW2.

In WW2 the Allies and the Axis powers fought it out. This war was extremely widespread and there was a lot of damage to many countries. After the war, the Allies wanted to maintain international peace, so they formed the United Nations (adopted on October 24, 1945). The Allies also adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard of achievement. The powers also established their own spheres of influence. After this war, the U.N. was ready to keep peace throughout the world.

World Wars 1 and 2 have affected our world today in many ways. In WW1 the Treaty of Versailles was made, causing Germany to have less land, and only a specified amount of military personnel. Then the League of Nations and the International Court of Justice were adopted. Now there are laws that countries have to follow, along with agencies to make sure that the countries follow the rules. Also, if a country wants to start a war, they must go to the U.N. and ask for approval. There is also such thing as a war crime. The International Court of Justice tries and prosecutes criminals on the international scale (ex. Saddam Hussein). Seeing all of these laws, agencies organizations, and a court come out of WW’s 1 and 2, we can see that they really do impact our world today.

DOS Blog#15

Technology:
Atomic Bombs and Firebombs(ex. napalm)

Firebombs:
This interests me because the US and Great Britian didnt have a strategic reason for bombing Dresden, and many people think the Allies used Dresden as more of a test for newer weapons such as napalm. I would like to go more in depth into why the allies kept the Dresden attack secret for whole and why this really aided the allies in new technology.

Atomic Bombs (Fat Man and Little Boy):
This is interesting because not only did the US suckerpunch Japan with one atomic bomb, but then used another one to shove it in their faces. I know a lot about Atomic Bombs but I would like to understand wh the US went to such drastic measures.