Because I Could Not Stop For Death by Emily Dickinson

Because I could not stop for Death – 
He kindly stopped for me –  
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –  
And Immortality.

We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility – 

We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –  
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –  
We passed the Setting Sun – 

Or rather – He passed us – 
The Dews drew quivering and chill – 
For only Gossamer, my Gown – 
My Tippet – only Tulle – 

We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground – 
The Roof was scarcely visible – 
The Cornice – in the Ground – 

Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads 
Were toward Eternity – 

In this poem by Emily Dickison she expressed what she thinks of life by using literary devices and other ways to get her point across. Reading this poem right off the back I think her view on life is to get through life taking your time and enjoying it instead of it passing you by. Some of the devices she uses is personification, such as the word Death. When she says, "Because I could not stop for death; He kindly stopped for me." This is saying that she was able to get a second chance and an eye-opener for her. No one can stop for death because every day its getting closer and closer, and if you take life for granted, running through it as if it has no importance, your time will be up before you know it. All together she wrote this poem trying to warn everyone that they should enjoy life while they can because its passing you by without you even noticing.

What I Read that Mattered

At first I thought I would put all the text books I have read since I was five. Textbooks are important things I read , with out them I probably wouldn't be in the place I am now . If you know me , you know that I absolutely hate the thought of reading. As much as I have tried to read it is just really hard. But this year , since we have been given the opportunity to read works that we want , reading has become a little easier. What I have read that has mattered was the book " The Help" . I just recently finished reading this book and it was absolutely amazing , the movie didn't even compared to the book. If I could reach everyone in the world I would tell them to read this book. Why does this matter? It matters because this book shows us what this poor African American women went through. This book shows us what kind of unjust society we lived in. To me it is important to show others that this is something we could never go back to. That as loving human beings we can't treat others like that just because of skin tone. Skin tones, being handy capped, etc. is no reason to treat someone differently . God made all of us for a reason and we all come to this world with a purpose, whether it be a good one or a bad one. The thing i really enjoyed about the book was that the main character Skeeter (who was white) loved the company of the maids and she consider her best friend to be her maid. She considered that because her maid was the only one around her that didn't make fun of her and the maid treated her with respected. This book was just amazing and I hope that others get the chance to read this.“ The Help” really makes you wonder how not that long ago people were treated like that. It also makes you want to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again. Another thing that helped me during reading this book and that I would encourage for others is to watch the movie before reading the book. I watched the movie before reading the book and it helped a lot because you could see in your mind while reading every characters face. Not only that the movie is pretty similar to the book , so it also helps you understand the plot.

Why I Dance

Why do I dance? Well, that is a really hard question… There are so many reasons as to why I dance that it's hard to explain, but I’ll do the best that I can. I dance because it gives me the freedom to be who I want to be. It allows me to express how I feel without any words at all- I can go into my own little corner and just dance and I immediately feel so much better. There are many times in life where a lot of people go through tough times and unfortunately, some may turn to things such as alcohol or drugs, or even both, but I turn to dancing. When I have bad days I like to play random music and just dance. Dancing helps the soul, or at least that is what I believe. Dancing is a safe haven for me, something that no one could ever take away from me. It has become a part of me and I will always find a way to incorporate dance into my life. Not only is dancing good for your soul, but it is also beneficial for the body. Dance provides a way of losing weight and keeping healthy without even thinking about it. Dance is an integral part of my life. That feeling that I get when I put on my jazz shoes and hit the dance floor is indescribable. I love being able to not only learn new things everyday, but to also experience being around people who love the same thing I do. It’s the best experience and feeling when everyone is willing to help you and also when you make new friends through dance. The best part about dancing is that you don’t have to be perfect. Dance allows anyone of any age to join. Dancing is an art that comes in various forms. You could be leaping gracefully across the room or simply swaying from side to side and it is still considered to be dancing. It has this amazing power to make others and more importantly, yourself happy. Who knew that something so simplistic could possibly bring so much gladness and joy to my life? I dance because it is me- it’s what I do. And I really could not imagine living a life that doesn’t involve dance.

“To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. “

~Agnes De Mille

Why I write

The reason I write is not just because of grades and what not, but because of my passion for using words to describe a feeling, an event, and something to share to the world. Diaries, the book of secrets and privacy, is what made me start writing. Not only did it let vent out my emotions, frustrations and happiness, but its soft, smooth and clear paper allowed me to writer when I am happy or sad. Tpapers serve as a shoulder for me to cry on, and it also serves as a playground for me to play on. The sound of writing on the paper, the smooth and light lines and curves of the alphabets all prove to be joy. The paper does not criticize you for what you write, neither does the pen object you from writing. The paper does not care what kind of writing you choose to establish, whether it be cursive, formal, or even a different language. The languages on different papers are all the same. They mean the same thing, but just not the same characters. Writing lets people express themselves freely and clearly. It does not need to be read by someone else for one to appreciate their own writing. I write for my own pleasure, I write to share the various experiences in my life, I write to permanently have a certain memory in my mind. The different types of emotions one gets when they're writing affects the style of their work. The smooth and graceful printing on a piece of paper when one is in a good mood, or the dark and imprinted writing when something goes wrong. The paper does not complain and neither does the pencil. Writing is a type of relaxation, it clears my mind while absorbing the memory on paper. On the other hand, writing proves to be an improvement of speech and language. To me, writing is just like drawing.

-Millicent L.

Book Review- Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Westerfeld, Scott. Uglies ( New York; Simon Pulse,2006), 406 pages.
Reviewed by Lee Millicent, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA

The society depicted in the book Uglies by Scott Westerfeld is that of the future generations. Apparently, the book mentions that the society we live in today, still exists, but is in ruins. It is referred to as The Rusties. There is a social status that is upheld in the society shown in the book. It is divided between the Pretties, Uglies, and the Specials. Basically, every one can turn into a pretty at the age of 16. By the phrase 'turning into a pretty', it is pretty obvious that they were talking about a surgery we would probably categorize as being 'plastic surgery'. Whereas the specials are just pretty people with stern faces (or in this case, they work for the government) Other than the distinctions between being an ugly and pretty, the world they live in is divided into various towns.   There are Pretty Town, Ugly Town, and Special Circumstances Town.

I really like the descriptive way they introduce us to the new world, where technology plays a really important factor of the lives of both the uglies and pretties. In the setting of the book, we have Tally Youngblood the main protagonist taking off her interface ring. This interface ring serves as the purpose of communicating with the room. She says into midair,"Good night" and the room replies with a, " Sweet dreams, Tally." Here we can slowly foreshadow how technology would be portrayed in the new world. The book started with Tally's physical features and slowly progresses toward her emotional and mental features. Gradually, we can see the distinctions between an ugly and a pretty. The Pretties have high self esteem whereas the Uglies don't. I get extremely engrossed in Tally's narration because the author makes her seem as if she was a normal individual like us, ourselves. I found myself slowly becoming a part of the character as we are considered as one of the 'Uglies'. I slowly found out that the Uglies were normal people, whereas the Pretties were the abnormal ones. They all went through surgery and their faces look similar.Thus, us readers can relate to the experiences and thoughts of that of Tally's.

The theme of the book is pretty apparent, it revolves around friends and appearance. The author's intention of showing that theme is properly depicted in every chapter. Sometimes, right when we get pretty much absorbed into the book and forget the main motive of the book, the author drops a little hint of her theme here and there to remind us of the main idea in this book. I really enjoyed reading this book, not only because of the plot itself, but also because the author does a really good job of expressing the life of the new world. Although some things of the new world seem weird, the author never fails to explain to us.

-Millicent L.

Reflection on Senior Memoir

This project has made me realize how much we all have matured, not just on our own but together as well. It is hard to believe these past four years will be coming to a close on the 23rd of this month and as excited as we all are to start our new journeys into the world, the memories created with the people here at Los Osos will never be forgotten. I am so proud of each and every one of us in the graduating class of 2012, we finally made it! High school has taught us a lot of things that will be carried by us throughout our lives, but just don't forget that we will always have room to keep learning. Always walk with your head held high my fellow Grizzlies and take every chance you are given.

Reading Poetry

I have been reading the Poetry 180 collection and came across a poem written by Kaylin Haught titled "God Says Yes To Me". The main reason why I noticed this poem is because the author refers to God as a woman which isn't very common in our society. Although people perceive God in their own way and no one is to say which is right or which is wrong, it is just hard to adapt to the authors comparison as God being a woman due to the fact I was raised believing He was well, a "he". Haught uses traits such as forgiving, kind, and accepting which are usually characteristics we would place on a mother figure because of their nurturing persona. After reading the poem about three times I began to understand how the author could possibly portray God as a womanly figure.