Bubble Gum June 4, 2012

Bubble Gum

What do you do with your bubble gum

When it is no longer sweet?

Do you stick in underneath the table?

Would you throw it in the street?

Should you patch it on flat tires?

Or use it on a leaking pipe?

Could you hold together pages

Of a book report you typed?

You may hang it from the ceiling.

You may mail it overseas.

Just make sure that your bubble gum.

Stays far away from me.

Common cold

What is a common cold? A cold is a highly contagious virus that is spread super easily. Usually, it is mainly caused by germs spread around from telephones, pens/pencils, and physical contact with someone who has already been infected by the virus (Common Cold). Colds are prominent in areas such as school, the workplace, downtown cities, or any other place where many people inhabit (Doerr). Therefore, catching a cold can be easier than the sneeze that transmits it.  Although a simple cold is among the least serious sicknesses there are it is a worldwide illness that cannot be escaped.

Though a cold may not be a serious illness, it is very contagious. On average, the American kindergartener gets an ordinary cold up to 12 times a year, while the average adult gets a cold 2-4 times a year. Assumingly, this could be because kids are crammed into dirty schools with other sick children, and adults need to endure a hard day at work with other dirty slobs working to get their paychecks. Colds can be caused by a virus called “Rhinovirus” (Common Cold Cause).

            Because every single person gets a cold sooner or later, it’s not necessarily a big deal if you catch a cold, unless your condition worsens. For example, if you get a cold, that is no reason to miss school or work, unless if your symptoms have evolved to the point where you cannot function in your daily routine. There is technically no cure for a cold, but you can treat it just by home remedies. A great way to feel better, and try to get over a cold is drink lots of fluid, lay in bed, or take a Tylenol if you have a head ache to make it feel better, and that’s one less symptom out of the way.

Symptoms of a cold include coughing, sneezing, slight fever, sore throat, fatigue, and more (Common Cold Symptoms). The cold season is normally during the fall/winter seasons, but that doesn’t mean you can’t catch a cold year around. Most people think that you get a cold from the weather, but that is semi true. During the fall and winter months, the air is usually quite dry which can cause a cold. Also, that season is when children return to school, allowing exposure to a wide variety of germs and viruses. The weather plus exposure makes the fall and winter seasons the perfect time for catching colds, along with many other illnesses that may not be as minor.

With all the ways to receive an illness, it’s no surprise how easily colds are caught. There will always be those minor setbacks in every society, and ours is the common cold. But, if left untreated, colds can lead to more serious illnesses like Influenza. So to stay safe, one must know the various places colds could be lurking. One must also be aware of the various methods to treat a cold, to prevent further contamination or growth of the illness.

Smoking 5/12/2012

Authors Note: I am writing this piece to show the audience why smoking is bad.

 

Smoking will eventually cause smokers cough. Smokers cough is when smokers have to clear the tubes in their throat and lungs. They do this by involuntarily coughing. Would you really want to inflict yourself with all these problems?

Another reason I strongly believe that smoking is a horrible habit is that it makes your hair and clothes smell, ages your skin faster than need be and it turns your teeth, tongue, fingers and finger nails yellow. Who really wants that?

Another thing that people may not realize about smoking is you can lose parts of your body! If your body looses too much oxygen to one certain part of your body you may have to have that part of your body amputated. I don’t know about you but I’d rather keep all of my body parts.

Yet another reason not to smoke is that there is one really nasty disease you can get called emphysema. What happens when you get emphysema is that you are always short of breathe, it destroys the tubes in your lungs, damages your air sacs. If you get this disease you will have it for life but stopping smoking helps. 

People say they smoke because they think it is good for stress. This has scientifically been proven wrong but smokers become affected physiologically and it makes them feel better when they have a cigarette.

Symbols from the short story “The Lottery” 5/18/2012

   

Author’s Note: I am writing this response to show you the symbols in the story “The Lottery.”

          What would you do if you won the lottery but your prize is death? Would you still play? Well in “The Lottery” the people that live in the village don’t have a choice because they’re all scared of being killed by the government. There are a lot of symbols in this story.

          One symbol in the story is the lottery. They do the lottery because it is a tradition and the winner dies. This is a twisted inhuman tradition. The person who wins gets hit in the back of the head with a big rock by their best friend so it is fast and painless.

          Another symbol is the big rock. They use a big rock because when the winner gets hit with it they die fast and painless. Also the best friend has to hit them because they would want their friend to get hit once with a big rock and die instantly instead of have the villagers throw a bunch of small rocks and the friend dies slow and painfully.

          The last symbol is the black-spotted ticket. The black-spotted ticket is the one ticket that wins but you don’t really win anything you actually lose your life. The ticket symbolizes death and a curse.

          In conclusion in the story “The Lottery” there is three major symbols. The three symbols are the lottery, the big rock, and the black-spotted ticket. The lottery symbolizes tradition. The big rock symbolizes friendship and humanity. Lastly the black-spotted ticket symbolizes death and a curse.    

When I grow up 4/24/2012

When I grow up

Authors Note: I am writing this piece to tell you what I want to be when I grow up.

          What do I want to be when I grow up? When I grow up I want to be a football player, a fireman, or a painter. I want be a football player because I love the sport and it’s my passion. Also I’ve played and watched football my entire life with my family. The three things that I want to be when I grow up are a football player, a fireman, or a house painter.

          I want to play for the Carolina Panthers because they’re my second favorite team and Cam Newton is my favorite NFL football player. Cam Newton was picked first overall by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL draft. I think it would be really cool to catch a touchdown pass from Cam Newton.

          If being a football player doesn’t work I want to be a fireman. I want to be a fireman because I would love to know that every day I am helping somebody or saving someone’s life. Also I would like to ride the fire truck. The best thing though would be to be able to slide down the fire pole. Did you know that every year fires take thousands of of lives and destroy properties worth millions of dollars.

          Another thing that I would want to be is a house painter. I would want to be a house painter because it’s part of the family business. My grandpa started the business and he still paints. My dad, my older brother, and I all work for him.

          So in conclusion when I grow up I want to be a football player, fireman, or a painter. If I was a football I would want to play for the Carolina Panthers because I would be playing with my favorite NFL player. If I was a fireman I would love to have that feeling of knowing that you helped somebody. Lastly if I was a painter I would just be happy to keep the family business going.      

Reaction to Big Yellow Taxi and Field Below 3/29/2012

Big Yellow Taxi

The topic and message of the story is to never take what you got for granted. The figurative language in the story was Metaphor. The Tone of the story was sadden and frustrated and that you don’t know what you got until it's gone. Which means never take anything for granted because one day it could be gone and you never know what you got till it’s gone? The music makes it sound like a whole different tone and mood. This shows us that it looks different on paper than actually hearing the tone and mood in their voice.

Field Below

The theme of the poem is that the person misses someone. The Authors purpose for writing this was to show that they miss someone. Some figurative language that was used was a simile. The mood of the story was sad. The tone of the story was that when someone you care about leaves you feel sad. The music sounds the same as the tone and mood because it is a slow sad song. While the story was sad.

Cam Newton: NFL Rookie of The Year 3/21/12

         

Authors Note: I am writing this essay to show you why I think Cam Newton is the best rookie quarterback in the NFL.

What would you do if you got drafted first overall round to the Panthers? Well Cam Newton was the first overall pick in 2011 NFL Draft. Cam Newton is 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 248 pounds. There are so many reasons why I think he should be the NFL’s Rookie of the Year. He has a lot of potential. While in collage Cam Newton was attending Auburn he won the Heisman Trophy. Cam Newton should get rookie of the year.

My first reason is that in his first three games he broke eight NFL records in his first three regular season games. One of the records was first rookie in NFL history to pass for more than 400 yards in first career start. That is pretty impressive for a rookie from my point of view.

My second reason is that he has a lot of potential as an NFL quarterback. Cam Newton I don’t think will ever be a free agent in the NFL because he has outstanding arm strength. Also he has the ability to move around in the pocket. He can also throw while he is on the run which is very effective when you’re being chased down by a defender in the pocket.

My third and final reason is that in the regular season he already has 1,610 passing yards and seven passing touchdowns. Also he has 160 yards rushing and five rushing touchdowns. He also threw for 422 yards vs. the Packer’s defense. Cam Newton is also the third best quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.

I believe Cam Newton is the best NFL rookie in 2011 because in his first three regular season games in the NFL he broke eight records. Cam Newton also won the Heisman Trophy while he was attending Auburn University. Also he threw for 422 yards against the Green Bay Packers which had the number 1 defense in 2010. Lastly I believe that he has a bright future as a quarterback in the NFL because he has a lot of potential.