In today's gallery walk, I learned a good amount of things happening in our world. I learned about how Trumps decisions with the country could affect of negatively. Also how the education system is changing in small but important ways. Not only did I learn the importance of theses things but I also found the similarities and relations they have to each other. My overall thoughts on what I learned were to figure out what else is Trump changing in our schools and communities? And who else or what is being changed?

However, things I wished I learned were things about the war in Syria and all the complications in the country, Although, I am very satisfied with what I learned today in all the current events.

November 10, 2016

My overall thoughts on this year's election is that it was very much chaotic. The election has always been very straightforward to me. People vote for the president and the president runs the country for four years. Then the process repeats again and again. However, this election caught my eye when it truly started effecting the place that i live in. Also the people that i know then that's when i get pulled into the election. After living in a year of violent PEP rallies, people dieing due to having a different opinion of who becomes president. I then was truly worried about who becomes president at this point, I now was worried about how the country will react.

In the next four years the next election will be coming up. Also following that I will be able to vote. I am excited to finally be able to somewhat involved in the future of our country. I being involved in the decision of who becomes president for America truly astonishes me, and makes me feel important. However, I just hope to have great candidates for that election in the future.

I feel some issues about the election is the people who we have run in the election. Also, how they view America, because how they view America truly affects us.The people who ran for president had plans for our country, however, they weren't truly direct to us. Most of theses plans were meant to change our country to keep people outside of America away and to stop small and unnecessary things, but I digress. America isn't truly what it used to be, people are using violence and hate. Instead of our words we use our pain and rage to say our opinion, all because of the influence put on us by the election. Not saying it's the elections fault, but saying the election just fueled a raging fire. Hopefully in the distant future, in the next election we can have a more satisfying and selflessly driven outcome to our country.

“Why?”

Why must we face such grief?
Shouldn't war be solving our problems
And cease our grief?
Why do we feed the endless cycle of war that
Destroys us and parts us?

Why?
Does god give and take such good and brave people from
Our life's?

Why must we sit here accept the way our country acts on war?
Fighting back with brute force and sending the message of rage and anger,
If we want peace, we must show it, with words, not guns, or bombs, or missiles that drop down from the sky.
And then send in people, brave and selfless people to do what we want to stop.
Create and support war…

Why?

October 26th, 2016

“White Lexus Man Hits Cyclist!”

           A car and motorcycle crashed on October 25th on Polaski Street at noon. There was a yellow light and the motorcycle man attempted to slow down. For the red light that was soon coming up. However, a man in a white Lexus didn't slow down in time for the red light. The driver attempts to get out of the direction of the motorcycle man. However, ended up directly hitting the motorcycle man on the side. The man came out of the car discombobulated, not knowing what happened. The ambulance was called by the man in the white Lexus.

 The motorcycle man wasn't severely damaged. Though was currently out of commission. The Lexus driver was then was held by the policemen until they arrived to the station. This then was put on channel nine news at 6:00pm, they say the man with white Lexus will not be charged for the accident because of the question if he was intoxicated or if this was intentional.Officers were aware of the ominousness of the accident.They replied with, “ We ask that you remain aware of your surroundings when on the road with other cars…..We will investigate the situation”.

October 27th, 2016

The first quarter of 8th grade for me was extremely surprising but somewhat comfortable for me. I say that I have improved so much over these past 3 months, I have more fluent writing and I am better at supporting my statements. Not only that but I have learned so many new things with reading, math, science, and social studies. I've grown a lot academically and artistically through many of the new challenges I've faced through separate units and test.The first quarter has set me up for the next 3 quarters that are upcoming.

In ELA class I've developed so much in writing and supporting my topic, transitions, and reading. In the beginning of this class I was very inexperienced and had forgotten most of what i had learned over the long summer. Leaving me to start school blank and not knowing what to expect. However, throughout the quarter i was able to go back and relearn those things in I had struggled on and forgotten and get better at them. Now I am at the end of the quarter knowing how to write stories and news stories, knowing how to support my topic or my thesis, and analyze my favorite books.

My blogs that I've been posting have been getting better and getting to the point somewhat faster. My blogs are very lengthy and have a lot of explaining to them, almost dragging on and not getting to the point. Although, I have noticed my small mistakes and have been trying to fix them blog by blog. This has helped me practice on my writing more and put more focus on the key points of my blogs. Overall, my blogs have had improvement and will continue to get better throughout the 3 upcoming quarters.

The theme of The Giver is, we need emotions to shape ourselves and to have change. Emotions are very important to the plot in The Giver. People in The Giver don't have emotions, to prevent people breaking any rules or causing chaos. However, we see Jonas gained a familiar emotion through a memory, joy. “He had seen a birthday party.... now he understood the joy of being an individual, special and unique and proud.”(121). We can see that when Jonas gains this emotion, he changes. He also then understands the concept of age and birthdays in a whole different level. We truly see that emotions are becoming a huge thing in the story because it begins to affect our main character, and soon the plot. Then, as the plot escalates we then go to Jonas experiencing selflessness. Jonas leaves the community and is now experiencing the obstacles of the outside world. He then puts Gabriel's safety first and doesn't care for his own well being. “He wept because he was afraid now that he could not save Gabriel. He no longer cared about himself ”(174). Jonas at this point in time now doesn't care about himself, but only cares about keeping Gabe safe. And getting all of the memories to the community. At this point in the story we see that Jonas has grown from gaining all of the emotions, and only cares for the greater good.

Jonas is a dynamic character who changes rapidly throughout The Giver.In the beginning of The Giver Jonas starts off as a apprehensive character. Always second guessing himself, and worrying about the situation. When Jonas goes into Annex and begins his training, he introduces himself and The Giver had no response, “Jonas looked self consciously into the pale eyes that mirrored his own…. Sir I apologize for my lack of understanding….” (75). This is a clear example of how shy and nervous Jonas was in the beginning of the Giver. At this point of the story Jonas hasn't changed yet and was still apprehensive and nervous, still afraid to speak his mind.Then, after the passing chapters we see Jonas truly become a developed character who has feelings. At the end of the story, Jonas becomes more aware of the conflict. In the end of the book where Jonas is leaving the community with Gabe. We see Jonas develop selflessness and courage. “Jonas felt himself losing consciousness and with whole being willed himself to stay upright atop the slam...”(179). In this scene we see Jonas is experiencing so much pain and suffering, however, Jonas kept on to keep Gabe safe and to release the memories to the community. Jonas has lost all interest in keeping himself alive and only to do the initiative. This shows that Jonas is a dynamic character with a large change throughout the book.

In the book The Giver by Lois Lowry, the word ‘released’ has recurred in the book several times and plays a bigger part in the plot. On page two in chapter one, when an aircraft that delivers food misses the community a bystander says, “Needless to say he will be released.” This keeps showing up because it plays a larger role in the book. Released means punishment or reward as it is used again and again in the book. In this scene the Pilot messing up and missing it's destination caused him to gain this punishment.This sets up the constant question of what it means and how this scene gives us knowledge of what it might mean in future.

Throughout the book the giver, we've been introduced to word released. On page 32 in chapter four, Jonas does volunteer work by helping the elderly take there baths.While talking to an elderly woman named Larissa about an old man named Robertto being released, Jonas asks “what happens when they make the actual release?Where exactly did Robertto go?”.This question is a question everyone has in the community, where do they go? Do they die? And because being Released is an easily achieved punishment, everyone wants to know what this means. The answer to this question could be a huge plot point in the story. Possibly this question could lead us to who or what the giver is.