My Value post 9/30

   The value of life differs per person because each individual views life in a different way. The value of life to me resembles that of being able to wake up everyday with a healthy beating heart and a roof over my head. The more intellectual value of life way for me would be that each day it's inevitable  to learn something new however to be able to learn something new, take it, and apply it to a life lesson shows that I as a person are willing to go through this life failing again and again for this is the easiest way yo succeed. Blatantly, something I value in life is that we are able to grow everyday so this in itself carries much value. It's not the materialistic things here and there in life that I feel grateful for but instead that of being able to eat, sleep, breath and know that there are many people whom I owe some gratitude to.

The Value Of Choice 9/25

  The ideas that I want to focus on the most in regards to the class curriculum is that I want to be able to wrap my head around the concept of literature that has more meaning when analyzed efficiently such as the Importance of Afterlife post. By the end of this topical study, I want to be able to understand my readings more so and gain further knowledge from what the author is trying to convey. I greatly appreciate the challenge that thinking sometime brings therefore, being able to read something and talk about the challenges, social controversial topics,etc. that comes with expository reading/writing skills.

Net Vibes 9/24 Post

Loren Birdsall's Net Vibes Link:
     http://www.netvibes.com/privatepage/1

I still don't completely understand how to operate Net Vibes...

Importance Of the Afterlife, Seriously Post 9.24.13

In regards to the "Importance Of the Afterlife, Seriously" post, I completely agree with the author when he states "We have another reason to try to ensure a flourishing future for those who come after us: it is simply that, to an extent that we rarely recognize or acknowledge, they already matter so much to us." For those of us that continue to go about life consequentially  focusing on the fact that we as a species have made it this far so why bother acknowledging the obvious things we have in our lives? Right now we don't feel it's necessary to do this because some of us know that we aren't going to die soon however, if we were to stop for a second and set a literal dead line date to the human population then it would truly be interesting to witness how differently people would treat one another and what not. This was a pretty mind blowing article to read. 


"Importance Of the Afterlife, Seriously" Link:  http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/21/the-importance-of-the-afterlife-seriously/?smid=pl-share&_r=0
  

Vocab. #6 9/23

 adroit: clever or skillful in using the hands or mind

sentence: The handy man was an adroit when it came to his job.

 amicable:  having a spirit of friendliness; without serious disagreement or rancor.

sentence: The hippies acted amicable when I met them.

 averse: having a strong dislike of or opposition to something.

sentence: Hitler was a prime example of an averse person.

 belligerent: hostile and aggressive.

sentence: The woman on the bus seemed belligerent.

 benevolent: well meaning and kindly.

sentence: Her new husband was benevolent.

 cursory: hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed.

sentence: The instructions to the house seemed cursory like.

 duplicity: deceitfulness; double-dealing.

sentence: The sheep went through a series of tests to have a duplicity of herself.

 extol: praise enthusiastically.

sentence: The toddler was extolled by her parents after saying her first words.

 feasible: possible to do easily or conveniently.

sentence: The task seemed feasible to me.

 grimace: an ugly, twisted expression on a person's face, typically expressing disgust, pain, or wry amusement.

sentence: Her face went grimace after seeing the prime scene photos.

 holocaust: destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, esp. caused by fire or nuclear war.

sentence: Unfortunately their happened to be a holocaust of the animals in the area.

 impervious: not allowing fluid to pass through.

sentence: Her system was impervious in the moment.

 impetus: the force or energy with which a body moves.

sentence: The zen retreat sparked an impetus feeling in me.

 jeopardy: danger of loss, harm, or failure.

sentence: His credit was in jeopardy.

 meticulous: showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.

sentence: The artist had a meticulous hand for the piece of work.

 nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.

sentence: The war hero seemed to continue on with his nostalgia talk.

 quintessence: the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.

sentence: Models for some make great quintessences.

 retrogress: go back to an earlier state, typically a worse one.

sentence: He woke up from his dream and found that his reality was a retrogress of years before.

 scrutinize: examine or inspect closely and thoroughly.

sentence: The flight attendant scrutinized the water bottle for 15 minutes.

 tepid: showing little enthusiasm.

sentence: His grandpa seemed tepid when it came to cars.

1. accede: assent or agree to a demand, request, or treaty.
2.  sentence : The president acceded to the demand that was requested.
3.  brandish: wave or flourish (something, esp. a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.
4. sentence: The farmer brandished his gun in the air.
5.  comprise: consist of; be made up of.
6. sentence: The meal was comprised of very expensive ingredients.
7.  deft: neatly skillful and quick in one's movements.
8. sentence: The artist was deft in his drawings.
9.  destitute: without the basic necessities of life
10. sentence: She was destitute primarily because of her situation.
11.  explicit: stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.
12. sentence: The saying was very explicit. 
13.  extirpate: root out and destroy completely
14. sentence: The relationship was completely extirpated.
15.  inopportune: occurring at an inconvenient or inappropriate time.
16. sentence: The alarm clock was inopportune.
17.  ironic: using or characterized by irony
18. sentence: It was ironic to see a fire truck on fire yesterday.
19.  musty: having a stail or moldy smell 
20. sentence: The basement was very musty.
21.  officious: assertive of authority in an annoying way 
22. sentence: The officer seemed officious in his demands.
23.  ominous: giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen 
24. sentence: The fortune teller told an ominous story about her client.
25.  pinnacle: a high pointed piece of rock 
26. example: The goat sat near the pinnacle point of the mountain.
27.  premeditated: thinking of a plan before hand
28. sentence: The master plan was completely premeditated.
29.  rampant: flourishing or spreading unchecked.
30. sentence: The gas leak started to rampant into the water.
31.  solace: comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness.
32. sentence: Her way to cope was to choose an unhealthy solace.
33.  stately: having a dignified, unhurried, and grand manner; majestic in manner and appearance.
34. sentence: The waiter seemed to be very stately.
35.  supple: bending and moving easily and gracefully; flexible.
36. sentence: The dancers were so supple in their routines.
37.  suppress: to hold in and or push down 
38. sentence: The soldier had to suppress many memories.
39.  venal: showing or motivated by susceptibility to bribery
40. sentence: The judge made a venal decision when he let the criminal off the hook.

Literature Analysis #2 A Million Little Pieces Notes

• Chapter 1: James doesn't know where he went through and or how he came about the situation he had on the plane when he was conscious enough to realize that he had a couple missing teeth and a hole through his bottom lip while on a plane to an appointed destination he knows nothing about yet.

• As time goes on James figures he's at another rehabilitation for his continuous drinking and use of crack cocaine however he isn't pleased for he doesn't want to be sober while detoxing at this center.

• Chapter 2: As time goes by James is able to rejuvenate/detox thus making him have a little more energy to explore his new home he will be living at for a total of 6 - 8 weeks. He meets another patient that gives him a hard time.

Freedom Of Choice 9/18 ( absent on this day)

   The pros to being responsible for your own decisions are that you are granted with more responsibility to work with along with being on whatever schedule you facilitate for that day which varies depending on how busy you are. Sometimes when it comes down to decision making, you are limited in the sense that sometimes you don't ultimately know what to decide on so consequentially your final decision already comes with pros and cons in whatever context of the situation it may have been. Though it's harder to make your decisions and stick with them, it's a much more rewarding lifestyle of living for you feel that everyday you are doing something either to benefit you in the moment and or unfortunately work against you. From my own personal experience of living/working on my own, it does become stressful at some points which can fall under a con none the less when I am able to make my own money it's simply breathe taking because I know that I didn't have to depend on anyone for the hard work I put into whatever it is that I may have been doing that day whether it's school, working, chores, etc. The obvious thing about making your own decisions is that in the long run you have to live with the choice that you made and pay a natural consequence for the good or bad of the situation however if you are able to fail repeatedly when stumbling through this phase in your life then have a vast amount of gratitude for these are cons working against you to help create many more pros once you have fallen into a routine of an independent life style.

No Child Left Untableted Response 9-16-13

   Majority of teachers agreed with one another when it came to the subject of using technology in the classroom environment was purposed and most said "they don't prefer looking at a screen over their students in order to teach a lesson,etc". Most educators prefer to keep the style of education traditional however with time progressing on it's inevitable that technology will not be used in all education systems for the near future. A couple teachers had to agree in the sense that they claimed it was much more easier/efficient to be able to prepare a lesson on a laptop, tablet,etc. and present it from the hardware itself as opposed to writing vast amounts of critical information all out on a white board then expecting students to copy it all down where there is a big percentage of those students that 1. were not paying attention 2. missed some information and 3. just blatantly don't understand what it is that's trying to be conveyed for the lesson of the day. By giving a student the technology based item,etc. and letting them step into the world of maturity and self management, the future is looking bright, literally bright with glowing screens containing all kinds of information waiting to be worked with and transformed into something great!

Decleration Of Learning Independence Post

    One of the biggest reasons why I as a student am so committed to earning scholarship money is because the bottom line is continued schooling/education can be very expensive and that is a known fact. To learn and to be independent are two broad subjects within themselves however when combining the two ( learning and independence) then this itself is what most people 18+ are learning to do, be independent and self sufficient for a better shot at life. 

   To this day we still see the roles that some play in society, some stereotype roles such as a teacher should do all the teaching, a student should be doing homework,etc. but when we really look at the big picture to situations like this we forget that it's the use of simple technology that facilitates how learning takes place in schools as well as independence for we are able to access whatever information we want without any excuses to be limited HOWEVER mentally we are crippled in the sense that we see we have all of these resources with a click of a button but depending on the individual  we don't know where to begin, how to go about operating things and most importantly how to take the acquiring of information into our own hands as opposed to been given instructions and a time line when to complete this or that.

   To learn independents to me consists of knowing how to be self sufficient, prioritize and manage money with the aid of the technology that's used now days' there isn't a reason why most people shouldn't already be owning their own multi million dollar businesses! Learning to be independence is a foundation that can be built on many levels, not just education wise.

Vocab. #5 9/16

adroit: clever or skillful in using the hands or mind

sentence: The handy man was an adroit when it came to his job.

 amicable:  having a spirit of friendliness; without serious disagreement or rancor.

sentence: The hippies acted amicable when I met them.

 averse: having a strong dislike of or opposition to something.

sentence: Hitler was a prime example of an averse person.

 belligerent: hostile and aggressive.

sentence: The woman on the bus seemed belligerent.

 benevolent: well meaning and kindly.

sentence: Her new husband was benevolent.

 cursory: hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed.

sentence: The instructions to the house seemed cursory like.

 duplicity: deceitfulness; double-dealing.

sentence: The sheep went through a series of tests to have a duplicity of herself.

 extol: praise enthusiastically.

sentence: The toddler was extoled by her parents after saying her first words.

 feasible: possible to do easily or conveniently.

sentence: The task seemed feasible to me.

 grimace: an ugly, twisted expression on a person's face, typically expressing disgust, pain, or wry amusement.

sentence: Her face went grimace after seeing the prime scene photos.

 holocaust: destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, esp. caused by fire or nuclear war.

sentence: Unfortunately their happened to be a holocaust of the animals in the area.

 impervious: not allowing fluid to pass through.

sentence: Her system was impervious in the moment.

 impetus: the force or energy with which a body moves.

sentence: The zen retreat sparked an impetus feeling in me.

 jeopardy: danger of loss, harm, or failure.

sentence: His credit was in jeopardy.

 meticulous: showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.

sentence: The artist had a meticulous hand for the piece of work.

 nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.

sentence: The war hero seemed to continue on with his nostalgia talk.

 quintessence: the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.

sentence: Models for some make great quintessences.

 retrogress: go back to an earlier state, typically a worse one.

sentence: He woke up from his dream and found that his reality was a retrogress of years before.

 scrutinize: examine or inspect closely and thoroughly.

sentence: The flight attendant scrutinized the water bottle for 15 minutes.

 tepid: showing little enthusiasm.

sentence: His grandpa seemed tepid when it came to cars.

Vocabulary #4 9/9

1. accede: assent or agree to a demand, request, or treaty.
2.  sentence : The president acceded to the demand that was requested.
3.  brandish: wave or flourish (something, esp. a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.
4. sentence: The farmer brandished his gun in the air.
5.  comprise: consist of; be made up of.
6. sentence: The meal was comprised of very expensive ingredients.
7.  deft: neatly skillful and quick in one's movements.
8. sentence: The artist was deft in his drawings.
9.  destitute: without the basic necessities of life
10. sentence: She was destitute primarily because of her situation.
11.  explicit: stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.
12. sentence: The saying was very explicit. 
13.  extirpate: root out and destroy completely
14. sentence: The relationship was completely extirpated.
15.  inopportune: occurring at an inconvenient or inappropriate time.
16. sentence: The alarm clock was inopportune.
17.  ironic: using or characterized by irony
18. sentence: It was ironic to see a fire truck on fire yesterday.
19.  musty: having a stail or moldy smell 
20. sentence: The basement was very musty.
21.  officious: assertive of authority in an annoying way 
22. sentence: The officer seemed officious in his demands.
23.  ominous: giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen 
24. sentence: The fortune teller told an ominous story about her client.
25.  pinnacle: a high pointed piece of rock 
26. example: The goat sat near the pinnacle point of the mountain.
27.  premeditated: thinking of a plan before hand
28. sentence: The master plan was completely premeditated.
29.  rampant: flourishing or spreading unchecked.
30. sentence: The gas leak started to rampant into the water.
31.  solace: comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness.
32. sentence: Her way to cope was to choose an unhealthy solace.
33.  stately: having a dignified, unhurried, and grand manner; majestic in manner and appearance.
34. sentence: The waiter seemed to be very stately.
35.  supple: bending and moving easily and gracefully; flexible.
36. sentence: The dancers were so supple in their routines.
37.  suppress: to hold in and or push down 
38. sentence: The soldier had to suppress many memories.
39.  venal: showing or motivated by susceptibility to bribery
40. sentence: The judge made a venal decision when he let the criminal off the hook.

Literature Analysis #1 Beautiful Boy

 Beautiful Boy by David Sheff tells the story of what a father had to go through along with his son's addiction to drugs, in this case meth and heroine. From sun up to sun down David was continuously worrying about his son and if he would live to see tomorrow. This kind of stress eventually started to deteriorate David's mental and physical state thus taking away from his other 2 kids Jasper and Daisy whom he had with his new wife.

   David Sheff decided to write this book because he claimed "I just had to sit down and write, all of this happened so fast I didn't know what to do. I was watching my oldest son Nik slowly kill himself through the constant use of drugs and other illegal activity. I felt so helpless at the time because I blamed myself, I thought I wasn't a good father to him growing up, what could I have done differently was the biggest question I just couldn't find an answer to." Sheff felt obligated to write this book for he knew that there were many parents out there dealing with similar and or the same nightmares of losing their children to drugs, he needed to reach out to these people. 

   The reason why I chose to read this book was because I wanted to be able to understand the thoughts and feelings that run through a worried parents' head when their child has gone missing for days at a time. I wanted to be able to understand what I myself had put my own mother through when I used to use daily. I remember I saw my mom reading this book the same time I would come home loaded. At the time she would tell me little facts about the book here and there although I didn't care much to listen to what she had to say, I hated reading anything back then. It was about a year ago when I read this book for the first time and I couldn't put it down for it was so fascinating to me. Everything about the book, the setting, the real life events that this man had to go through for his son all just caught my attention. Everything Sheff described about his family was a perfect match as to what my own family was going through. I genuinely felt that after reading this book I could relate 100 %. When living in Utah at the time I had nothing better to do than read so I read Tweak by Nik Sheff whom is David Sheff's son and this by far made me really feel like I could change if I wanted to, it all was so inspiring to me.

   The author's use of characters seemed completely blunt, real and not sugar coated. Everyone and everything in this book was documented factual events that happened in reality. By David choosing to use his family as the primary characters for this book it really showed that he needed some way to deal with everything that was happening so writing was his way out. The 3 main characters that stuck out to me the most throughout the story was David, Nik and Karen whom is David's wife and Nik's step mom. Within the family dynamic amongsts these 3 people, David always was the layed back father whom had incredible insight into everything along with a big heart for he loved his family very deeply. Nik is a smart, artistic, social, down to earth guy whom is very family oriented when not under the influence however this changes over time the more he continues to use meth. He becomes very dark, quiet, manipulative, apathetic and withdrawn from his family over time. Karen loves her 2 children Jasper and Daisy along with her step son Nik whom she raised as one of her own over the years. She would bend over backwards for Nik however as time progresses she sees the effects that Nik has on his father and doesn't want that for her own kids so she begins to push Nik out of her life. Because she is so uncertain what Nik is going to do next she does her best to keep Jasper and Daisy away from their eldest step brother. The dynamic of this family was a very interesting thing to write about because over time there is proof to show that something so simple as a certain substance can become ones ultimate love leaving those in the dust that truly do love you for who you are, not for what you have.

   The style of writing that I picked up on when reading Beautiful Boy was that Sheff was able to write raw journal like entries using first person point of view to talk about everything that took place. The colorful vocabulary and descriptions for this book really stands out for you are looking at the world through David's eyes and seeing, hearing and feeling what is coming up for him per sentence. This let alone creates a complete style of tone and voice to the book for it shows that Sheff was really struggling with the immense amounts of emotional pain that was inflicted on him.

   Because Sheff took the time to write this book, I feel that he really cared about his son and needed some way to reach out to him and to prove that he to was effected by addiction that rooted itself deeply into Nik's character. When writing a book like this, it's something that is very personal however the biggest reason why Sheff continues to stay vulnerable and talk about the subject of addiction is because he has hope for not just his own son but for other parents that are going through the same thing as he does. The lack of sleep, headaches, aching stomach when waking up to find your child's room empty, missing money and items from around the house and having to change the locks in your house. Sheff has been through it all and he wants you to know to that there is still hope no matter how scary it may become. To this day, Sheff along with his son continues to be a big advocate for the study of drug abuse and addiction.

   After reading this book, I now am able to see the effects of addiction and how it effects not just a single person but society and families as a whole. Unfortunately I to fell down the same path as Nik in the sense that I started to use and it became my ultimate love. I would do anything for it even if that meant going against my own blood and closest friends however,  to this day I look back on all of those experiences and am blessed to have had them. I say this because I had  to fail in order to learn something new about myself and or anything really. I fell flat on my face numerous times, I was homeless at one point in time, I ran away and I did a lot of stupid things that I look back on now and regret however with all of this bad comes good as well because I know now what it means to love someone. I now know how to be vulnerable and let people into my life as opposed to isolating myself through putting up walls and not letting anyone in. I am better able to see other's perspectives on a situation as opposed to just being tunnel visioned of only my own emotions. Now I know what it is to be human. I currently am a year and 5 months sober to this day! A day at a time is all I can do.

                    

   Passages from Beautiful Boy                                                                                

• “Anyone who has lived through it, or those who are now living through it, knows that caring about an addict is as complex and fraught and debilitating as addiction itself.” 

• “He had black fingernails and drove a hearse. Everything about him cried out, 'Look at me, look at me,' and when you looked at him, he would snap, 'Who the fuck are you looking at?' If you subscribe to the idea that addiction is a disease, it is startling to see how many of these children- paranoid, anxious, bruised, tremulous, withered, in some cases psychotic - are seriously ill, slowly dying. We'd never allow such a scene if these kids had any other disease. They would be in a hospital, not on the streets.” 

WILL STUDY FOR FOOD

Originally I plan on attending Hancock (a Junior college) to finish my generals. I then want to transfer over to a 4+ year college in California somewhere either in the Bay area or Los Angeles area. The biggest reason why I need scholarship money is to help pay for the expenses of books, transportation and living. Already I'm saving up money for the big move next year however if I can get a scholarship and or scholarships then this would really speed up the process leaving me to be on my way to where I want to go in the future. On an estimate, I plan on receiving $ 10,000 - 20,000 worth of scholarship money to start off with. Though this a good starting chunk of change to get things situated, there will be more expenses that unfold so I need to be well prepared with more scholarship back ups if needed.



                                    College Prowler "No Essay" Scholarship                                                       

link: http://www.scholarshipexperts.com/showScholarshipDetail?scholarshipId=1002851

Awarded by:

College Prowler, Inc.

Award Amount:

$2,000 offered annually, non-renewable

Recipients:

12 awards

Deadline:

Monday, September 30, 2013

Deadline Info:

To apply, applicants must simply submit a form on the College Prowler website. One application allowed per person.

Requirements:

• Must be a high school student, college student, grad student or adult learner.
• This award is for U.S. students.

Additional Info:

The winner will be contacted via email at the end of the monthly contest and his/her name will be posted on the website. All scholarships will be awarded without regard to sex, race, age, religion, or national origin of the applicant.