Recording My Poem

I have just recorded my poem. It took me seven tries to get it right, but I wanted it to be perfect. I know it's late, but better late than never.

New Reflective Piece

I finished my reflective piece (not EP reflective). I had many good suggestions. I used most of them and now my piece is much better than before.

New Transactive Piece

I just finished editing my transactive piece. I had many good suggestions about the title, the order of the piece, and whether or not I needed pictures. I am very grateful for all of the help I have recieved so far on my pieces. And I am getting ready to edit my reflective piece.

New Author's Agendas

I just sent out two more author's agendas. One of the agendas is about my reflective piece. I asked about my title, my literary elements definitions, and if my piece was confusing.

My other author's agenda was about my transactive piece. I was going to write about my worst memory, but it wasn't long enough. I asked about my title, the confusing parts, and the order of the piece. 

Mission Blog, Week of May 11, Suggestions

I have only done one conference but I think that it turned out good. I gave suggestions to others in my group and received helpful suggestions for my poem. I received many title suggestions for my poem including, "Unsure", "Commotion of Christmas", and "Sometimes I Wonder." I haven't really changed my poem much yet because I haven't got all of the responses, but the responses I have received so far have helped me a lot.

I also found out that we are going to Camden Park. I have been there many times and I am really looking forward to going with my class. It will be really fun.

Writing A New Story On Fictionpress

The title pretty much explains it, I'm writing a new story on my Fictionpress account. It will be called, Never Again. I'm going to give you all more of a preview than what's on my Fictionpress account. If any of you have a Fictionpress account, please R&R (read and review).

It is about a teen who has experienced a school shooting and lost someone he cared about. He is angry because his school hasn't made any safety precautions, updated the security system, etc. He hears about a plan for another shooting and decides to take matters into his own hands.

I got the idea for this story from Jeremy, which is about a suicide, not a shooting. I first thought of it when I was in my room going through new story plots in my head. The idea of a school shooting story just seemed to stand out. So if you want to read it, it will be coming soon on my Fictionpress account. 

Fall From Innocence

In the Bible, Genesis 3:6 is the Fall From Innocence. The Fall From Innocence is when Eve took a bite from an apple from the Tree of Knowledge. Then she gave it to Adam and he took a bite, too. Since the fruits from the Tree of Knowledge were forbidden, when both Adam and Eve took a bite from the apple they broke God's only law. This was the Fall From Innocence.

In the original video of Jeremy, Genesis 3:6 appeared at the beginning. Since Genesis 3:6 is the Fall From Innocence, it was referring to when Jeremy committed suicide. But I don't think he lost his innocence at that moment, I think he lost it earlier. The reason I think this is because he didn't choose to kill himself right on the spot, he had planned it. I think when he first decided to kill himself is when he lost his innocence.

Which Is Better? 1st Video Or 2nd Video Of Jeremy?

I personally think the first video is better. I was watching the alternate video and it doesn't reveal as much about the story in it's images. I know it was supposed to leave you thinking, but I like to have a little more detail.

First of all, it seems like there is less clips of Jeremy in the second video, you need more of the main character in the song for people to understand it. My second reason sort of interlocks with my first reason. The second video shows less of the pain Jeremy was dealing with, it relates with my first reason is because with less footage of Jeremy, you have less of a chance to see the pain. If I would have watched the alternate video first, I probably wouldn't have understood it until I would have watched the original video. But that's just my opinion.

Challenge Question #1 Jeremy

I think that, "64* degrees and cloudy" is what it was like when the event happened. "In a suburban neighborhood" is probably what kind of neighborhood Jeremy Wade Delle lived in. It sort of sticks out as an obveous meaning.

It could have a bigger meaning. The setting could have been in the summer, and "64* and cloudy" is the mood and feeling that everyone felt in the suburban neighborhood after the suicide. Like its a mental thing. Thats just what I think.

My Theory About Jeremy Was Wrong

I watched the video a few more times and I found out that the headline, "Four Teenagers Shot" was just as an example, such as, "Girls in Torture... In India" and, "All Walks of Life." The headline wasn't really dealing with Jeremy, it was just something to begin the video. I have found out that Jeremy didn't kill any students.

I was reading a documentary on Jeremy Wade Delle, and it said that he had missed second period so his teacher told him to go the office and get an admittance slip. He came back with a .357-caliber Magnum. His last words were, "Miss, I got what I really went for." Then he placed the Magnum barrel in his mouth and fired. He died instantly around 9:45 am on a Tuesday in front of a classroom with about 30 students.

The students that witnessed it were immediately sent to counseling. They all agreed that the memory of Jeremy's suicide would stay in the thoughts of all of the students, especially the witnesses. The school will never forget it.

Jeremy 1st Video

First of all, there is a debate about whether he killed himself or some of the students. I think that he killed some students because if you pause it at the right time at the beginning where the articles come up you'll see the headline, "Four Teenagers Shot." I also think that he killed students because there was only blood on four students in the front row, which he could get to easily.

Before I saw the video, Jeremy, I didn't understand the song, at least on the first day, one reason was the fact that I came in late when we started the lesson. Once Ms. Holmes explained it I understood more of it, like the fact that the kid was bullied everyday and it drove him insane. But I never really, truly understood it until I watched the video.

I have watched the video a few times and now I understand it. Because of the constant bullying the kid faced, he was slowly being destroyed on the inside. He was being pushed closer and closer to he breaking point. Finally he snapped.

Plot Summary About My Novel

My novel has two main characters: Kane, my antagonist, and Brock, my protagonist. The novel is about both of my main characters' stuggles withing their own tribes, their tribes are groups that people belong to. The tribes work together, sometimes, and battle each other, not for fun. Eventually Kane's tribe is driven out by a rebellion beause of his cruel rule and he needs to find more territory. He turned to the tribes in Redwood, one of the tribes are Brock's. The second half of their story is about the tribes' battle for territory.

Here is the official summary of my novel which is on fictionpress.com/~roshoka (it is shorter on fictionpress because I ran out of space): In Redwood, the three tribes, Suntribe, Moontribe, and Earthtribe, lived in peace. Then war breaks out. In the midst of the war a new, dangerous tribe attacks and takes over. Now all that is left is one man, it is his destiny to lead a rebellion to stop the new tribe. R&R.

My Novel On Fictionpress

In November my writing class wrote a 7,000 word novel, mine was called The Last Survivor: The Terror Begins. Some students decided to forget about it after the month was over with. I, on the other hand, have more plans for it. I finished the word count by the end of the month, but I never had a true ending to the story. I have decided to write and ending for the novel and post it on the Internet, on fictionpress.com. The site of my novel, and other stories yet to come, is fictionpress.com/~roshoka

Fictionpress.com is a website where you can post stories about whatever you want, unlike fanfiction.net where you have to base your stories on a book, movie, TV show, etc. My fanfiction adress is fanfiction.net/~roshoka I have already put my prologue, my first chapter, and my second chapter. Every few days I will add another chapter. While I'm adding chapters, I will also be typing the rest of my novel, which I never finished typing.

I am ahead of my typing, and the end of my novel for that matter. I already have the title and the ending battle for the sequel. As you can see, I have a lot of work to do.

My Opinion About The State's Decision To Stop Grading Portfolios

Everyone in my class was shocked when all of us found out that the state wasn't going to grade portfolios any more. Some were mad, but some were relieved. I was sort of angry, because we had finished portfolios when we were given the information. It was like we did it for nothing.

If the state would have told us that they weren't grading the portfolios any more than my class wouldn't have to do all of the drafting, editing, revising, drafting again, editing again, revising again, and finally publishing. But there is a downside to stopping portfolios. Portfolios aren't just writing a lot of reports, portfolios help you grow as a writer. They teach you the writing process, such as drafting, revising, proofreading, and all of the other steps.

So, there are good sides and bad sides to stopping portfolios. But either way, what really counts is that our class grows as writers. I hope that everyone understands that.

My Process Speech: How to Ride a Ripstick

For my process speech I presented a how-to speech on how to ride a ripstick. I had only one visual, my ripstick. I picked this item for my presentation because it I narrowed down a list of things I'm good at and it ended up to be my ripstick.

At the end of my presentation I asked if anyone wanted to try to ride my ripstick, many students agreed. Three students already knew how to ride a ripstick, and some were better than others. I think my presentation was a success because everyone, not just me, had an awsome time.

My Most Prized Possession

Prized possessions are things that you cherish forever. These certain things can come in many different forms, like a baseball signed by your major league hero or a souvenir you grandparents got you from their vacation. My most prized possession is a Raceland Rams football jersey signed by Toby Keith and two members of Rascall Flatts.

It started when my family and I went to a Toby Keith concert in Charleston West Virginia, my mom had gotten us good seats for the concert. My brother and I had wore our football jerseys to the concert. While we were in our seats a man from backstage walked over to us, he said that his son played football and he missed him. The man then said that he could take our jerseys backstage so Toby Keith could sign them. We agreed and we left the concert with two football jerseys signed by a celebrity.

A while later, we went to a Rascall Flatts concert. This time my mom brought a poster that said, "Sign Our Jerseys." A person from backstage came and got our jerseys and put them on top of a speaker on the stage. The lead singer, Gary, and one of the guitar players, Joe Don, signed our jerseys while on stage, during a song. That jersey will be something I will cherish forever.

My Worst Memery: Baseball Bat Incident

Picture this. It was a Sunday in the summer between my first and second grade year. This unfaithful day was the day of my worst memory.

It started with me playing in my backyard, when three older kids came to my house. They had came over before and my parents knew them so they were safe. I asked one of them if they wanted to use my hitaway. She agreed and we went out to my front driveway. Her two friends were talking behind us. I was standing behind her, not knowing she was swing the baseball bat. She swung and when the bat came back behind her it hit me in the mouth, knocking three teeth out. I remember seeing her turn around and step back a few times, her face in shock. Once I realized I freaked out and ran inside. All there girls ran back to their houses.

One of the worst things about it was the fact that it was Sunday and there were no dentists offices open, so my mom was franticly making phone calls to dentists offices. I kept chanting, "Never growing back. Never growing back." Because one of the teeth that had been knocked out was an adult tooth. Finally, I had to go to the ER. We drove as fast as we could to get there. Once we got there I was immediatly placed in a hospital bed.

I don't remember part of the meeting because they had put an IV in me to make me sleep. One thing I do remember is my teeth being stitched back in. I had eight stitches in my gums when it was all over. This memory will be one that I will never forget.