Hero

I don't really have a hero. Everyone to me has heroic features, but no one stands out. People who seem really heroic have flaws. What I would look for in a hero is nothing like bulk, but someone who really cares about others. Someone who has courage and is self confident. Someone that helps other people simply because of the good of their heart. The title "Hero" means a lot to me, and I wouldn't use it loosely.

1 Year to Live..

If I found out I only had one year to live, well first I would probably get really depressed. Then of course, I'd get over myself and move on. First, I would fly to Europe, and visit England, and Rome. I would visit the Vatican. After Rome, I would fly to Dubai to visit the largest mall in the world. Then I would go on a safari and insist on holding a monkey. Simply because that would be awesome. After my safari adventure I'd fly back over to the U.S. and stop in New York City. I'd walk around central park just to say I had, and then I would visit wall street. Then after that I would take a trip to the Bahamas and stay at Atlantis. This all sounds great, but I would insist my family comes with me and a few friends because otherwise it would be lonely. I would make the most of the last year. I wouldn't hold back, of course I wouldn't do anything really stupid, like skydiving. Although that would be quite the thrill. I would also publish the book that I am writing, because that is a dream. If I only had one year to live, I can assure you, I wouldn't be sitting here writing about, I'd be out in the world. I'd let myself be free.

If you really knew me..

If you really knew me, you'd know that almost every harsh word I've ever said was straight out of anger. I never mean to say things, they just slip out, and I've always regretted some of the things I said.

If you really knew me, you'd know that my brother died when I was in fifth grade, my brother died. I still feel bad about it today. I never stop thinking about it. Always telling myself I should have called him more. I should have went to visit him more. I should have.. but I didn't. And that's what makes me feel so bad all the time.

If you really knew me, you'd know that even though this is just for my language arts class, it's hard to write this and send it out to the world. Because I'm scared of letting other people know who I really am.

Spring Break

Over spring break, my mom took Beth and I to Gurnee Mills for promotion dresses. At first we were going to go to Mall of America in Minnesota, but decided that was too long of a drive. So on our way down there, we stopped at Cracker Barrel to eat. After lunch, we went to go look around in the shop there. Of course we were intrigued with the toys section so we took a gander. There were all sorts of things from spy glasses that let you see behind you to a toy knife that was plastic and retracted in when you stabbed someone to make it look realistic. We had fun with those. Then at the mall we walked everywhere. It seemed to never end. That was the best part of spring break (besides sleeping in and playing zombies that is).

What I learned about the Civil War

1. One of the causes was actually a book. It was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, called "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and it caused the war because it was in the eyes of a slave and it upset some of the people from the south.
2. Gettysburg was important to the war because it wasn't even planed to happen that way and there was a lot of bloodshed there.
3. Abraham Lincoln, because he was president during the war and he made influential decisions during the war.

Reflection

The most difficult part of writing the historical fiction story wasn't even writing. The hardest part was finding the twenty facts. The easiest was writing a story, the only thing somewhat odd about that was putting foot notes into a story. I'm just not used to that. Yes, I do think I used my class time wisely to actually complete the assignment and I was ahead of time on my notes. I think that I might have rushed the ending a little, but otherwise I think that it was pretty good. I really liked this particular assignment because it was actually writing fiction and not another essay.

Interrogation

Interrogator: "So why'd you do it?"
Mary Lou: "I don't know what you're talking about."
Interrogator: "Why'd you try to send information to the Union?"
Mary Lou: "Honestly sir, I don't know what your talking about."
Interrogator: "Stop lying!"
Mary Lou: "Sir, like I've told you repeatedly, I haven't done anything wrong!"
Interrogator: "Is Kate your real name?"
Mary Lou: "Yes sir, since birth. Named after my grandmother."
Interrogator: "Interesting story. Now tell me this: are you a spy?"
Mary Lou: *gasps* "Under no circumstance would I ever betray the south and be in acquaintance with them Yankees."
Interrogator: "Likely."

Spring Break

Yes, we all know what it is. That entire week in April that we get off from school. Most families go on vacation during this time, but why do we really have a spring break? Is it because we're too tired from all the schooling? No. Is it so we can do whatever we want and go on vacation? No. Turns out, spring break is really supposed to be a week to study. Shocker. That whole week we get off is supposed to be just so we can study more. I think it's funny that we do exactly the opposite on spring break than it was really intended for.

Peeps

They're marshmallow, they were first made by a Russian immigrant and they're usually found in Easter baskets. What are they? Yes, they're peeps. This little guys have been an Easter tradition for as long I can remember, almost as important as coloring eggs. They're made of marshmallow (the obvious) , corn syrup, gelatin, and carnauba wax. Carnauba wax may sound kind of scary at first, but not to fear this product is used on many other treats. It's the coating on m&ms! Peeps are so famous, they even have annual "Peep offs" which is basically an eating competition to see who can eat the most of the candies in thirty minutes. Peeps went from an immigrants creation to a mass produced treat.

There's a knock at the door. "Mary Lou will you get that?" My mom calls to me from the parlor.
I open the door to see a man in uniform standing on our porch. "Hello, is your mother home?" I turn around and get my mom. "Hello, what could I do for you sir?" She's wiping her hands on her favorite blue apron. "Are you Mrs. Thompson?" She nods, "Yes." He looks at her with pity and hands her the letter. She starts to open it hesitantly. "I'm sorry to inform you ma'am, that your Husband, Fredrick R. Thompson and your son, Richard S. Thompson, have been killed in battle." She cripples to the floor. "Oh god no!" She starts sobbing and I hold her in my arms. "I'm very sorry ma'am, they were two of the finest men I've ever known." My mom's shaking violently. "Sir, I'm goin' to need to ask you to leave. Good day." "Good day miss." My mom's holding me tight.

Upfront Magazine.

The article that we read in Upfront, there were some quite interesting facts. One of them was that more men died from illness than from actual battle, which surprised me. That was interesting but the thing that I could most use what #9, the one where it talked about how women were involved in the war. Since that is what my historical fiction is going to be on, I do think that I could use this as research. There were also other facts in the article that could perhaps play a role in my research.