Crime is Pride

Think: all men make mistakes

But a good man yields when he

Knows his course is wrong,

And repairs the evil: The only

Crime is pride.

                The excerpt from Antigone implies that although all men make mistakes, but not all men are perfect. There are those who have a conscious, and know what they are doing; and there are also those that do the evil things that are discussed in line four of the excerpt, who do not have a conscious, and do not recognize what they are doing. The final line of the excerpt states “The only crime is pride” which means that even though man can do great things, they can still be self-centered enough to feel pride over what they had done rather than the feeling of greatness for accomplishing something for someone else.

                I know from personal experience that people make mistakes, and I assume all of us do. It could be something as simple as missing one point on a test, or it could be something much more serious, but we have all made some sort of mistake at some point in our life. I would find it hard to believe that there are people out there who don’t make mistakes- there’s a reason there is a backspace button on keyboards. People are known to make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean you are a bad person. Lines two and three of the excerpt support this, as they say that good people know when they are doing the wrong thing. Making a mistake on a test is one thing, but making a much more serious mistake, such as one that could affect another person, is what these two lines are talking about.

                I agree with the final statement from this excerpt. The only crime is pride is very true- to an extent. It is true for those who know what they are doing right, and still choose to take pride in it; but for those who know or don’t know what they are doing is wrong, the statement is false. For those doing wrong, their list of crimes is longer than just one word: pride. Those who do good for others and still choose to take pride in themselves are committing a crime; it is a small one, but it is a crime all the same. These people should feel pride in others, not be self-centered enough to feel pride in themselves. The only crime is pride: in a sense, yes it is. But for those who do not follow the rest of the poem, this statement couldn’t be more false.

(435 words)

Warm Weather

                If any of you are anything like me, you absolutely love hot weather. I love it when it’s eighty degrees or hotter- and hate any time it’s less than fifty degrees outside. There is just so much more to do in warmer weather- not just between you and your family, but also between your neighbors, the community, anyone really!

                Today while working at one of our local movie theatres, there weren’t very many people there. I mean there were so many people NOT there that three of our employees were sent home early. That’s how slow today was, and I think it had something to do with the weather. It’s the first really nice day out- the weather is beautiful and everyone wants to be outside and soak up as much sun as they can. I wish I could have been outside all day as well, but I guess I will settle with doing my homework outside now.

                I mean think about it; I hardly ever get to see my neighbors during the cold winter months because none of us like to go outside in the cold for long periods of time. Today however, everyone was outside. They were out mowing their lawns, washing their cars, playing catch in the street, even starting a neighborhood game of baseball. That’s not something you see in my neighborhood on cold winter days- it’s something we save for perfect days like today.

                I think people are generally happier in warm weather than cold, just from personal experience. In my backyard, we have a pool- and you can’t exactly have the pool up in the winter, otherwise it would freeze. Days like today are perfect to jump in the pool- and the more people that show up to swim, the more fun it is!

                We also are able to use the grill more often in warmer weather. Cook outs are one of my favorite things to do in the summer, because you never know who is going to show up. A lot of the time when we invite one neighbor over for a cook out, twenty minutes later half the block is in my backyard. It’s so much fun to get to see the people you rarely see during the colder season.

                I love summer and warm weather. Today’s warm weather was absolutely gorgeous, and it’s making me even more anxious for summer to hurry its butt up and get here. I wish my dad would have let us set up the pool early this year, but we don’t usually set it up until right before school gets out for the summer. Of course, when we first set it up we always take the Polar Plunge, as the water is so cold. This year we’re hoping to get more people to take the Polar Plunge with us; any takers?

 

(476 words)

When I Grew Up

                Remember back when you were a kid, and you were always getting asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I know I answered something different just about every time I was asked; I wanted to be a ballerina one day and queen of the universe the next. My occupations ranged from teacher to monster truck driver, and I was always on the lookout for something new. Sometimes I would even mix it up and hope to become the Tooth Fairy or maybe a vampire. But the funny thing was, I was always asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, not whether or not I even wanted to grow up period. I know I was one of those children that couldn’t wait to get out of school and start a career, but I had never anticipated where I’m at now.

                When I was younger all I wanted to do was grow up. I was tired of being treated like a child, and I thought growing up would automatically earn me more respect. In retrospect, it has. But now that I have grown up I’m not sure I like it so much. I’m at the point in my life where getting asked the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” is no longer just some random question with a quick, easy, simple answer. It is now a serious thing to consider. What do I really want to be when I grow up?

                The hardest thing for me is knowing that I’m where I wanted to be all those years ago. I wanted to grow up, and now look at me. There is so much more crap to deal with the older you get- it actually sucks more than way back in my training wheel days. I mean think about it; back then all you had to do to answer the question was come up with some random job and go with it. Now you are taken seriously, and are forced to actually give an answer that you truly stand behind…Which means you are expected to act serious and professional and provide an answer that is not only socially acceptable, but something for your parents to be proud of. Oh and it has to be something you are excited to be doing for the rest of your life. No pressure, guys. No pressure.

                Except all of us that have grown up feel the damn pressure. It’s horrible! I know what I want to be, but I have no idea if I’ll be able to actually get there. Growing up takes work, and a lot of it. Sometimes I wish I could just hit rewind and go back to the time when color by numbers were all you had for homework, the time when boys still had cooties, and the time when what I wanted to be when I grew up was nothing more than a mythical being.

 

(496 words)

Commercial Free

                You know what I really hate? Commercials. I know I’m not the only one out there who hates commercials- and if I am, y’all are liars. It’s not just the commercials you see on T.V, but also the commercials over the radio, on billboards, and anywhere else you might see or hear them. They are absolutely everywhere, which is kind of ridiculous. I understand that people are trying to make their products and services known, but it’s kind of a bad thing for me to say that I see advertisement every single place I go.

                If I go to my grandparent’s house: ads are on T.V. They are also on the billboards on the road to my grandparent’s house. If I go to school: ads follow our daily announcements on Channel 1 news. If I go to work: ads fill the big screens at the theatre I work at. Posters are also hung on the walls for local upcoming events. Advertisements are everywhere, and I think it’s kind of stupid.

                If I can’t even go to work without seeing advertisements, where can I go that doesn’t have any ads? Think about it: where was the last place you went that didn’t have any advertising? I was thinking it might have been camping, but on the drive to our campground we saw a thousand different ads plastered on billboard after billboard. Mile after mile after mile is covered in billboards, so where can you go without advertisements, and without seeing any on the way there? It’s a tough question to think about, because there really aren’t any perfect answers.

                I think the one place I can go to escape ads is my backyard. No one is trying to sell me anything when I’m swimming in my pool, reading a book on the back stoop, or helping my mom pick tomatoes from the garden. It’s the one place I can go and not worry about what fancy items I will be tempted to buy, which is very refreshing.

 

(336 words)

Sunday Nights

                My favorite part of Fridays is getting to go home, sit on my couch, and do absolutely nothing. I don’t have to do homework, I don’t have to go to work right away, I just get to sit around and relax. That’s always the best feeling.

                On the other hand, the worst feeling: Sunday night. We’ve all been there before. Y’all know what I’m talking about? The Sunday night dread? It’s basically the worst thing ever; actually I don’t mean that, but for the sake of this blog, I mean it. After a long weekend of hanging out with friends, shopping, working, whatever it is that you do with your weekend, you have to come home and finish the crap-ton of homework you were assigned for the weekend. Sunday nights include: homework, homework, oh and homework. For procrastinators like me, Sunday nights are even worse than you’d think. All of our projects, essays, packets, and note taking are pushed aside or skimmed or half-assed until Sunday night. That’s when fingers literally fly across the keyboard, penmanship becomes illegible, and eyes droop a little lower with each passing hour kept away from their pillow and forced to stay open and focused on homework.

                If you’re like me, your parents made you get a job to pay for all your expenses. For those of us involved in extracurricular activities, working during the weekdays doesn’t exactly fit in the schedule, so you are left with working on the weekend. I have worked every single weekend for the last six months, and I can easily tell you that my homework has not been getting done the way it used to. Back before my weekends were filled, I used to spend as much time as I wanted on homework, to make sure it was excellent and would get me an A. Now I do my homework to get it done, hoping it was done right.

                Sunday nights create a lot of pressure for me. I’m sure I’m not the only person out there who stresses out a little (or a lot) when Sunday night rolls around. Just remember to do your best, and try to keep your eyes open. Splash some water on your face and suck it up. You can do this- you are better than dumb homework.

 

(384 words)

Cheetah Poem

1. My skin is not perfect, flawed with dark spots.

2. My amber eyes watch you from tall green grasses.

3. My ears are sharp, my ears are soft.

4. My legs run 75mph and silently.

5. My fur flies at top speed.

6. But you?

7. You- who, who, who might you be?

8. You- whose beak resembles the talons on your feet.

9. You- with your pristine feathers so ruffled.

10. You- who, who, who have no idea I’m here.

11. You- with your eyes so large,

12. You- whose eyes meet mine at the last moment.

13. The last moment before survival of the fittest wins.

14. You- the Prey.

15. Me- the Predator.

 

Lines one and eight are allusions. For line one, I thought of the Clinique commercial with the spotted egg that was made to be smooth and one color by using the makeup. They referred to black dots as “dark spots,” so I referenced that in this line. The beak in line eight looks curved, kind of like a talon. I referenced the appearance of the beak to the talons on the feet in this line.

Line two is an example of visual imagery. The way it’s worded makes you see an image of a cheetah with amber eyes poking through tall green grasses. I thought it sounded kind of neat as well… but maybe that’s just me.

Line three is an example of an antithesis. The ears are both sharp and soft, which contradict each other. They are sharp because of their ability to hear sounds so clearly while others cannot hear them hardly at all, and soft because of their physical feeling.

Line four contains a zeugma: “run.” Not only do the legs run at 75mph, but they also run silently.

Line five personifies fur flying, even though it’s not possible for fur to fly on its own.

Lines six and ten-fifteen are fillers. They just needed to be there… mostly because I thought they should be there for dramatic effect.

Lines seven and nine use diction. Both of these lines contain “who, who, who” which gives insight as to which animal is the predator in this poem. (The predator was an owl, in case you didn’t get it).

Line eight was an oxymoron between “pristine” and “ruffled.” When I think of something that is pristine, I think of it as very clean and perfect, not at all ruffled or out of place.

Lines 1-5 contained an anaphora, as well as lines 7-12. The first set of lines all began with “My” something. The second set of lines all began with “You-”something. Line six and fifteen were just oddballs and weren’t cool enough to be anaphoras.

 

(456 words)

Mechanical Pencil Rule

                For those of you out there who have ever been forced to sit down and take a standardized test, or were required to take the ACT to get into your dream college, or even spent a day taking an AP exam, you know the rule: #2 pencils only. I remember when I was younger, being of middle school-ish time, and we found out we were able to use mechanical pencils on the types of tests listed above. Everyone was so excited- we finally weren’t forced to use those silly wooden pencils that constantly broke, we finally didn’t have to worry about bringing extra in case they did break, and we didn’t have to mess with jammed pencil sharpeners in the middle of the test. Times have changed back though, as we are no longer allowed to use mechanical pencils on these tests.

                Over the weekend, I took the ACT for the first time. I had been planning on taking one mechanical pencil with extra lead inside of it, but it turns out I couldn’t do that anymore. Now I am forced to use the old-fashioned yellow pencils that I’ve always disliked. I was curious as to why we were now forced back into the old ways, and the answer I received surprised me.

                We are not allowed to use mechanical pencils on standardized tests anymore because test proctors think that we have rolled up a small slip of paper with the answers on them and stuck this slip of paper into the inside of the mechanical pencils in order to cheat.

                Really? They think we cheat from rolling up a tiny scrap of paper into our pencils? I’m not sure if one of the proctors just woke up one day to realize that someone could cheat by this method, or if someone out there in the world was dumb enough to try to sneak in test answers by this method. Obviously something had to have gone wrong with a mechanical pencil somewhere along the testing line, but I still am surprised by the fact that we can no longer use them on standardized tests.

                I mean really- my math teacher lets me use mechanical pencils on my tests. I usually get A’s on them, but that doesn’t mean I’m cheating. He knows that I study enough to learn the terms to do well on his tests, and that I’m not just unrolling a slip of paper I had snuck into my mechanical pencil so that I could get all the right answers.

                Standardized tests have enough rules already, so why do they need another? It’s a pencil for goodness sakes, and I don’t think they should really have to enforce that rule on us. At least they provide us with non-mechanical pencils these days- it’s the least they could do with this new rule.

 

(474 words)