Elevator Conversation

Oh, hey! How are you? What? You're the admissions counselor for Bethel? I just applied there! Why should you pick me to join your college? Well, there is a few reasons. First, I am very hard-working. I have set goals and am determined to reach them. This has helped my academic record stay in good shape. I also am creative. My father once told me he had to write a five page essay on a quarter, and it gave him extreme difficulties. I remember thinking that there were so many possibilities in terms of what to write about the quarter. You could talk about its history, its metal, the president that is permanently imprinted proudly on the front, the sayings inscribed in the coin, or the eagle arching its wings on the back. On the other hand, you could also fashion it into a memoir or a story. Maybe the quarter was the last thing your grandmother gave to you, or maybe it plays an important part in a counterfeit scheme. My father always said that the fact I was able to come up with so many ideas was that I am creative. I also have been told many times that I have the ability to lead, and I try to live up to that compliment. Another compliment that my friends and family have given me has been that I am loyal, and will stick with something or someone until the end. That includes a college, a course, or a set of standards set before me. Lastly, I consider myself to be artistic, by means of art, music, drama, and writing. These skills can come in handy in many places. They also add to my ability to understand and interpret different works of art, which is another important skill. I believe all of these traits would be beneficial to a college, and I am eager to use them in my future college years. Bethel is a place that I think would be a good college to practice and use those characteristics, and I am ready to do so.

In class we learned about the different steps to writing, and I found that I had overlooked some steps...or, not really known they had existed. The "Discovering Form" section was one that I have never heard of, but I have known subconsciously. I also was previously unaware that "Revising" and "Editing" are different. I have always done both, I believe, but I had simply grouped both in the "Editing" department. I also learned that writing is something that always stems from a thought, no matter how much poets or novelists might claim that their writings were random. Even if you do not consciously realize that the words you are writing are from a certain source, they are. That was an interesting concept of writing that I had never looked at before. All of this new info will come in handy when writing essays!

Today was my first day in CIS English! Our first assignment was to write about our writing process. I am not entirely sure what mine is like. However, I do know that I generally follow a three or more step process. First, I write words straight from my mind, thinking about them, but not looking at them critically. Then, when that first draft is done, I reread what I have written. As I do so, I make changes that I see are necessary, including grammar and adding more where is needed. After I have finished, I reread my work again. This time, I am looking to make sure it flows. I also look to see that I have added just the right amount of description. Not enough descriptive words can make writing boring and bland. On the other hand, too much description can make writing hard to understand. When I have finished my third editing, I am done. However, I sometimes may look over and change my work more than three times, depending on how important, how long, and how difficult the paper is.

Heartbeat

The book Heartbeat, by Shannon Creech, holds a variety of different poems by the main character. She deals with the struggles of her life by running and drawing. She always runs barefoot, sometimes with one of her friends. However, although she is fast, she refuses to join track, much to the chagrin of the coach and her friend. The book is a composition of all of the poems she writes to express her complicated feelings. Creech is the author of many books that include poetry. One example of these is the book Love That Dog. That is one of my brother's favorite books. It is about a boy who is sad that his dog died, and when his class has a poetry unit, he uses poems to show his emotions. Throughout the book, the boy comes out of his shell and tries new types of poetry, thanks to his role model, poet Walter Dean Meyers. In the end, the boy, who was so confident that he would never get another pet, receives a kitten and welcomes it into his family. These books often are bitter-sweet, with sad memories but bright futures. They are well written and enjoyable.

Size 14 is Not Fat Either

This book is the sequel to the book Size 12 is Not Fat, by Meg Cabot. Former pop singer Heather Wells seems to settle into her ordinary life, until a cheerleader, the most popular girl in school, is found dead...Her dream guy, her landlord, warns her to stay out of things, as does her dad, who suddenly shows up out of nowhere after being released from jail. Still, despite their chiding, Heather can't resist a little sleuthing, which leads to more and more detective work, which lead to...the discovery of the girl's murderer. While juggling the problems of her life, Heather seeks out the killers, and meets them, unfortunately, alone...and there is more than just one killer. There is in her college, as well as many others throughout the USA and the world, a cult. One of those secret ones that, like in real life, are very dangerous and involve drugs. Trapped with no escape, the cult members become increasingly agitated as violence occurs, but the ring-leader will not tolerate any cowards. Through confessions, Heather learns the reason for the girl's death, but it is not as anyone would have expected from a seemingly perfect girl...

Lost in Las Vegas

I finished the fifth book in the Carter House Girls series, Lost in Las Vegas, by Melody Carlson. It was a book that taught me more about the main characters, but was not exactly a fast-paced or action-filled book. It was mainly centered on the unreadable Taylor. She invites DJ to spend Christmas with her, and DJ, lonely with all of the other girls gone, agrees. She is nervous however; Taylor apparently has big party plans-and Taylor's parties involve drinking. When DJ arrives, she discovers her worries were real. Taylor, behind her singer mom's back, is sneaking into bars underage with a fake id. She drags reluctant DJ with her into one, but DJ excuses herself and returns to the hotel, waking up to find Taylor with a hangover. This same scene repeats itself over and over again, until DJ wearily tells Taylor's mother the truth about her daughter's drinking habits. Taylor reveals the reasons as well- and they explain many things in Taylor's complicated moods, actions, and life. Taylor signs up for rehab, but leaves on her own to fly over to the clinic, but DJ is worried. Did Taylor actually go to the clinic? There is no way of knowing for now...

Size 12 is Not Fat

I just completed the book Size 12 is Not Fat, by Meg Cabot. I really enjoyed the unique portrayal of the heroine of the book. Generally in action books, the heroine is slim, strong, pretty, and fit. This books heroine wears a size 12, but that isn't fat...is it? It is actually the average size for the American women, but the main character, Heather Wells still struggles with her weight. She had everything a girl would dream of, she was a rock star, her boyfriend was the guy every girl admired, and she had a great singing contract. But dreams don't last forever, and the big money Heather made from her albums is taken from her account, because she was under 18 at the time, and her mother rushes away with the money to Argentina. To make matters worse, when Heather suggests composing her own songs to sing (not just using the ones written for her), she is automatically rejected. She walks in on her boyfriend and another girl, shattering that security, and she is forced to leave her singing career. To cope with the difficulties of life, Heather begins something most girls experience when anxious- stress eating. She gains weight and reaches a size 12. Her glamor days complete, she now works as an assistant at a college. She rents an apartment from her landlord, the guy of her dreams, who is actually the older brother of her recent boyfriend. Her life seems stuck as it is until deaths begin occurring at the college, and while the police write them off as accidents, Heather is not so sure...so she takes up a little detective work of her own. This is a suspenseful book that does not follow the general status in the world of action novels, and liked this new twist, so I would recommend it, because in real life, not every heroine wears a size 2.