Wednesday 4/23

Today was a day wrecked with emotions! It was the birthday of a really good friend of mine, and now I am at home relaxing and enjoying the nice day. On top of that, Kartik, one of my best friends came over and we had a lot of fun together and walked around the neighborhood and conversed. We planned a flight to San Diego since we are both going there this summer!

I feel ecstatic and content about life as it feels like it is taking a turn for the better. Haha, amazing isn't it? Well, I think that is all for today. Oh, and even better, we biked around the neighborhood and the way the wind chill blew on me really just tingled my nerves and gave me an adrenaline rush.

Tuesday 4/22

Today was an average day. I took a nap, and I felt rejuvenated but oversleeping truly did kil my mood. In the morning, I woke up pretty early but I stayed the night at a friend's house yesterday so I biked home quickly in the morning. Past that, I stayed home and worked on various projects because I want to go out with my friends tonight and tomorrow night. Spring break has been treating me well.

Today I felt a mixture of emotions. First it was happiness, then it was frustration, and then it was sadness/madness. I do not and I will never understand myself and my body. My emotions shift like a yoyo and I find myself feeling these emotions of either happiness or sadness many times in my life. It is an odd phenomenon really. I felt consumed with sadness barely fifteen minutes ago and I could not pinpoint the root of my emotions, and now I feel even better. Quite strange, if you ask me.

Monday 4/21

Today, life was amazing. I got to meet some of the nicest people in the world at an Interact bonding at Piedmont Hills High School. At the start of my day, I was completely tentative because I had looked at the RSVP list, and I did not know a single person on that list. I said to myself, "you have to take chances, Kalvin." And a chance I took, and that chance was amazing. I came home after a few hours with great friendships made, and an extremely satisfied feeling.

My favorite part about Interact and friendships like these are the fact that everyone surrounding me in Interact has the desire and the will to meet new people. I expected some amount of exclusion or people leaving me out, but it was truly amazing to see that albeit all these people already in their "clique" of friends, they were still willing to include me in. I love Interact not only because I get to meet new people but because it shows me a different perspective, since at school I am often apart of the "in-crowd" as people call it, I like being part of the "out-crowd" and seeing what it is like and working my way and trying to meet new people while they have no natural opinion of me. The difference is at school, people are already assuming that I am a person of character, while at Interact, I am a clean slate, and friendships mean so much more that way.

AMSND Journal #3: Get Over It - Kirsten Dunst

The similarities between AMSND and this movie clip of Kirsten Durst is the fact that both the book and this movie clip both illustrate the romantic relationship and the seductive capability of Hermia. Also, both illustrate how Hermia was loved by both Lysander and Demetrius. This movie clip is different from the book itself because the movie clip includes song and melody to illustrate Shakespeare's message of love. Also, both illustrate the universal theme of romance, subtle but present within all of Shakespeare's works. In the short clip of Kirsten Durst, we witness her spew her emotion and passion into a short song that encompasses intimacy and really displays how love can really help us traverse vast distances and conquer all.

Dramatic Terms

Gestures can induce specific thoughts. Thoughts can be invoked based on the way a gesture is made. Gestures are powerful because a slight tweak in the gesture can create an entirely different thought or mood. They are powerful in life and in theater. 

Don't sit by and watch it happen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EisZTB4ZQxY

Next time, remember that most bullying incidents can be stopped and/or mitigated by the intervention of a bystander. Don't be that bystander. You can save someone's life just by speaking up. It does not take much to stand up for someone in need, but most do not do it. Be the leader in your community and know that good deeds are contagious and people will be willing to follow suit if you set the precedent.

Summary 12/12/13

Q.O.D.-Allegory

An allegory is basically a literature device that uses a poem or even a picture to reveal a hidden meaning behind something. In simpler words, an allegory is a form of symbolism. Power is a form of allegory, as power can be interpreted differently and used differently be those who have power, in a moral or political form. Additionally, as seen throughout Animal Farm, more specifically, power is commonly seen being used in a corrupt manner by Napoleon (Joseph Stalin), while the Seven Commandments describe power as being equally diverse amongst the animals to allow equality within society. 

Summary of today:

Today, in class, we had Mr. Kleckner, an assistant principal at our school come visit and assess our classroom. We did objectives at the beginning of class where Shreya, the other SLOD, brought up the news story about the sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's funeral. Today, we were introduced to the Facebook project, an Animal Farm project where we have to put ourselves in the shoes of the animals that are on Animal Farm. Mrs. Kritzeck showed us an example of a Facebook project she did, where she emulated Napoleon, the main antagonist in Animal Farm. She showed us how to put ourselves in the shoes of the characters in the story, and how we must include things that they would say as well as things that they would like. At the end of the day, we discussed whether or not we met the objectives, and to our satisfaction, we did. 

**Remember to answer the Q.O.D!!***

Q.O.D: What is allegory and how is it used as a source of power? How is power a form of allegory?