My literature progress

             

1.                      My reading goal was to at least have read 15 books from all different types of genres that seem interesting to me as soon I turned the first page. Sadly, I read only 11 books. I have failed to reach my goal. I wasn't able to reach my goal due to the fact the book club books were somewhat challenging, that slowed me down as the reader. I was able to find that I increased my vocabulary throughout all the books I've read in my way.

2.   The books I have read are:                    1) Thirteen Reasons Why

                                                                     2) Lessons From a Dead Girl

                                                                   3) Perfect Chemistry

                          4) Extremely Loud and Incredible Close

                          5) Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs-abandoned

                          6) My Heart and Other Black Holes

                          7) The Book Thief

                          8) The Namesake

                          9) The Room

                         10) Ball don't Lie

                         11) The Distance Between Us

3.                The book that I enjoyed the most was Perfect Chemistry. This book was filled with suspense lurking in every corner making us, the reader, keep reading and not want us to drop the book for one second.  The book was about a "perfect" teenager wanting the best out of her parents, when in the other hand the guy was to carry his family over his shoulders, and was a gang member by legacy since his dad was one. They weren't meant to fall in love. Although they did, everyone was against their love, so they went hidden. Hidden from the public, with lies in every move they did so they wouldn't get caught. At the end, the author did a good job closing the book with the ending everyone wasn't expecting to happen. They reunited after a long time going to same college. The author did a good job to make us, the reader, feel as if we are in the actual scene, feeling what the characters are going through, and building up our thirst to know whats coming next.

4.                 The hardest book I have read was, The Namesake, due to the complexity of understanding another persons culture and religion. The vocabulary wasn't the toughest part in the book because I was able to understand it with no difficulty whatsoever, but the actual hard part was being able to captivate all the different customs going along in the book. As a child from Mexicans, we have different traditions and religions. When i was reading the book, I would make notes to all the different things going along. Being married by the parents choice, eating chicken differently, getting named by your grandmas choice, those were just some of the traditions done. This book consumed most of the time to read. It wasn't really interesting as I thought it was going to be. I would constant forget what was happening in the book if I wouldn't make note of what was going. It was DEFINITELY, boring to read.

5.                 My greatest are of strength as a reader was being able to find some rhetorical devices as in the different irony, similes, metaphors, etc. Especially in irony, I had a lot of fun being able to study ironic literature due to the fact I am very ironic myself. The different twists that can be made with irony had this sense of humor to me that actually helped me when I would write poetry. Poetry helped me a lot in finding the different devices being used. Some were tricky due to the fact they were more than one device in a single sentence. I would have so much fun being able just to write and being able to identify these devices along my way reading. 

6.                As a reader, and my second year of A.P. english. my vocabulary has improved. Yet, I know I can do way better than what I have been typing and reading. I need to challenge myself to read fiction books due to the fact they will help increase my vocabulary. I have always read non-fiction, and the fact they aren't hard to read is what catches my attention, but I should start looking towards fiction because I am sure, whenever I get a hold of pen and use the new words 

I have learned my grading score would be way better than now.

7.                 Well I never had a teacher conference about reading with the teacher. They would've helped me in just putting that little extra pressure making me want to read more. Maybe then I would've reached my goal and actually pass this reading check were about to have. I would've probably would've chosen difficult books and I would loved to read fiction books.

8.                  Me being apart of a reading community benefited me by being able to go thorough the passages given to us. They made finding the themes to the passages easier. When we would have our harkeness discussions we made easier to read easy texts and find themes a lot quicker than they were to be able to find them ourselves.

emotional wreck

       What are feelings?
       Is it okay to be emotionally unstable? Just due to the fact once in their lifetime they had someone ruin how they felt about them. Just one time, can we be happy without an image coming to our head, making us feel miserable and depressed about how we could've done something to prevent that situation but its too late now. We try to make ourselves happy, what we forget, is that we need to be happy in the inside with ourselves before we try to make us feel some type of way. Peace within ourselves is the key to having a happy life.  Don't you think?
        The fact, we are emotionally unstable is we don't think we are good enough due to the past experiences. Once in our lifetime, we have met a certain someone to make us feel as a piece of trash that can't even be fixed from all the imperfections. Sometimes, we just need to fix ourselves. It takes us 10 times longer to put ourselves back together, then for us to break down. Now we are strong. Strong because we have this feeling we are indestructible. But once we are broken down, we seem to not get back up.
       Why?
       As a teenager I know what it is to break down crying. You feel like your air is limited and every time you try to grasp it, they take more away. We don't seem to know that we are valuable. But we have those experiences, images, feelings that just don't go away. Being depressed has nothing to do with this. What it does? Is just us trying to fix ourselves. All our flaws, define who we are.
      We are perfect imperfections.
      We are creations of god. We are made all different. Different as in being who we are made to be. Different as in a miniature elephant, its still an elephant right? God loves all his children. We are the future, that has to mess up a couple of times in order to understand who we are. Sometimes hurting ourselves and being skarred emotionally, where we are just afraid to have that same feeling again.
          Being an emotional wreck is normal now in days. There is help everywhere, as in a teacher, parent or a simple friend. We need to be found of our inner beauty and accept us for who we are, and not what people make us feel who are. We only live once right? Well, its time to make our life worth while. Let's not fall because THEY want to, we need to pick ourselves up because we are different, and we just are perfect imperfections trying to show the world who we are.

teen pregnancy

    Strict parents are the parents who create trouble (not saying that they never did anything bad when they were young) , just that they are the reason some teens be getting pregnant. “You aren't allowed to date till your 18, don't talk to those to those boys”, little do they know when they hit the sheets these kids be sneaking out at midnight to see these boys. Birth control is the perfect way to prevent it, but why? Teenagers are too young to think about having sex. Sex, sex, sex. Back in the old days parents didn't have to worry about their teenage daughters coming home throwing up. They seemed to have more respect for themselves, than now (not saying that we don't respect ourselves now in days).
    Teen pregnancy is the way gossiping starts, “did you know shes a h**”, little do they know this girl did it for love. Birth control can mess up these girls bodies. To me, birth control is better than these kids getting pregnant and having a child that most likely their parents will not love because they'll think its a “mistake”.
    Why struggle with a baby, education and work? Put on a rubber (condom), close your legs and focus on education, and just listen to your parents.
    As a teenager, I know what is to have a kinda strict parent. She lets the leash sometimes loose and I don't disappoint her. I do good. I know if I ever got pregnant, she would be disappointed of me. A kid shouldn't know what being a disappointment is. But he should know what failing is. You catch the difference. Failing is something you can fix, well to us kids when we usually talk about failing, we think of grades and behaving better.
           Teenagers shouldn't even think about getting pregnant until they know how to wipe their butts and know how to clean the house. Simple as that. The problem is that teenagers are like monkeys curious to find things, like a big scavenger hunt with no ending.
         Let's go out.
         Have fun.
         While your gut says no, your mind says yes. "16 and pregnant", are the perfect show's to show the down effects of being pregnant in early ages isn't as perfect books and movies make it seem. Our lives aren't like The Jetsons, a happy family in outer space. Reality hits you. You faceplant against the cement as in Tom trying to catch Jerry in the show Tom and jerry.
          Teen pregnancy has become so popular that it is normal for us to walk in a restaurant and see a young couple eating. You just wonder what was going through their head. Its normal as just waking up and yawning that first thing morning.
            Little to know, we are just so use to this pregnancy, that in Hispanics and other races you expect them to be pregnant at the age of 16. Why can't it be white people too? Somehow its more on us poor people because we seem to want to be some ho**s.
           Bottom line is, we shouldn't do what percentages say we will become when we turn a certain age. We are better than pregnancy, drugs, jail and etc. We have to know what age everything is appropriate because sooner or later we will grow old disappointed if we ever did a mistake to change our lives forever.

love is a curse

                 Do you ever meet the most handsome guy ever and just stare drooling saliva out of the corner of your mouth? You love everything about him, until you find out he pulled you into the house of the devil. Love. What a mischievous thing to do, to a poor innocent girl. Don’t you think?
     When your mother doesn’t accept of your relationship with this guy, all you do is ask why? Mother knows why, she is just protecting us from the bowels of the devil, trying to pull us into the heat of love that will destroy ourselves if we fell for him. “He is my everything, I love him”, words from a teenager, or is it the devil possesing the teenagers body and making her say that and believe what she is saying. As if we fall into a 100 feet pool, drowning, we see people around us happy, we scream for help, but no one pays attention to us in pain. Seems to be depression to how I just described it to be.
    Okay, maybe love isnt that bad. Who am I kidding, it will literally eat your your self esteem once you break up. The person who made you feel like a queen, makes you feel like poop sitting on the grass on a long summer day.
            It wont happen again. I promise.
    I’m sorry.
            Why don’t we just prevent us from falling in this hole with no escape of love. I bet if we switched shoes, the pain wouldn’t be here. I really am sorry. It wont happen again. It isn’t like we can just put white out in every scar to make it blend in.
             If you happened to know teenagers end up falling in Love so much. Due to the feelings it won't happen again. Yupp, Love, is the Devil itself hidden in this costume of happiness. Why don't we just drop out of school because we think this person will stay with us forever and grow a family with them when they are just temporary. No ring on the finger, but honey it won't hurt to lose focus on everything for one person.
             Make this kid your world. It won't hurt. Start skipping school to see him, do drugs if he does them, start failing school, or why don't we just run away from a household that has all the support we need but take for granted cause we are focused on Love.
            No, I can't lose him.
            Being loved is being hated on. God brought this gift to earth to be supported through good and bad. But to my concerns when is failing a class or two cause you're out all night with this boy more important. Education shouldn't even exist, because most of us are going to take it for granted if we let love keep separating us from our goals. I think we should just bury all this books, drop out and destroy this schools to be with the one person we won't be with forever. Maybe.
              Sorry.
              Maybe, there should be a education system where we can get separated from this failure of love to people who want to actually achieve something. Education is poop now in days to teenagers because you only live once. Y.O.L.O. right? We should go back to living like Adam and Eve with little knowledge, all we knew was to grow up, have a family and work till we die. Now imagine a society like that. Peaceful. Or will it be?
              If we put all this effort for one kid, why not in work. Work seems to get money and food on the reach. Getting paid 7.50 is far from perfect because it's money either way. Imagine life would be perfect if we didn't have education. Yeah love is important. But getting that low wage money. Yes, that's even better. Having those 20 dollars extra after paying bills will definitely get us that spoiling feeling buying chips and a drink.
              But, I don't want to go to school.
               Once upon a time...a fairytale can make you dream into prince charming saving you. Is he really saving you from this earth that will only create problems. I say, burn this schools. We don't need them after all. We can make a living. Buying roman noodles, and water for a whole month with the person you love is perfect. Wait, I forgot, while living in a apartment with one bedroom late in rent two months.
           If you want that life. I assure you. Being focused only on love will get you there. Trust me love is wonderful. So if I were you, forget about school, money and find you some low wage love.

My Creed

  My first ever poem. At first it was hard knowing how to write a poem. How to rhyme, use literary devices, after i got started, I saw poetry wasn't all about rhymes, like we read in Dr. Seuss books.

I believe in prayer,
Yet destruction happens to the good.
I believe in falling in love is pure,
Although it leaves a scar.
I believe in magic,
Brings an image of youth in my head,
As a 5 year old running to my father's arm.
I believe in the first impressions,
Even tho sometimes the goodbyes are the most important.
I roam around for happiness,
It isn't easy I say.
Looking under the rocks isn't the ideal way to look for it.
My uncle was the happiness in me.
Not even a goodbye.
Just tears strolling down,
God hugged me, and whispered in my ear, everything will be okay.
I believe in midnight phone calls,
Shows the sweetness of a candy.
I believe in perfection,
Yet one little hair, can mess your first impression in meeting the love of your life.
I believe that the present builds upon your past,
Creating the person you never thought you could be.
I believe in the power of the music,
It can move cities with its inspiration acting upon us human beings.
It can help us do the right choices, prevent cuts, scars, and guide us to our call.
I believe in make-up,
To hide nights of solitude filled with worries, tears and regrets.
I believe in kisses can cease a contract.
I believe in romantic dates,
But opening the door of the car will make me fall in love.
I believe in "Sprite",
The fizzing in my throat after a long, sunny day,
Can improve my mood.
The pop sounds. Pop, pop, pop, all with a different symphonic noises added to it.
As if there speaking to me.
I believe in horoscopes
"Tell me the future"
Prevent myself from losing a family member.
To prevent to know what depression feels like.
Have the knowledge to understand what it is to not shed a tear.
Drop, after drop, sweep after sweep.
I believe in video games,
Makes me feel young.
Shows me how it feels to not be stressed.
I believe in fairy tales
Has me waiting patiently for my prince charming to sweep me of my feet.
I believe in dinosaurs,
There had to be something before us?
How can you trust, if you hurt me.
The trees speak, when the air blows through the leaves that seem as is its hair flowing in the wind.
Is it okay to be emotionally unstable?
I believe that life is fair,
It just doesn't affect one person, but a lot more.
Show me the path, to not make mistakes.
I believe in picture perfect,
Shows moments for my grandchildren to be inspired that me, as a teenager, was happy.
Not in happy about smiling, but took time off to be myself.
Not what my parents wanted.
But what I wanted to do with myself.
I don't believe in payback,
Because I don't carry remorse on my shoulders.
I believe in the color red,
Gives me the urge of excitement.
I believe in medicine,
Its able to heal the scars from the fallen.
The fallen.
Lord be my witness, I shall only do good. Never on purpose to make a mistake.
Pennies are the foundation of colleges.
Education is my belief system.
I believe the A.C. turned on is the summer in winter.
I believe without money we can do anything.
Yet, money is how we pay rent, go to college, and raise a family.
As soon I grabbed my moms hands, I said I believe.
And rode the roller coaster, without any fear.

Determination

                Allah, your in the middle of the sea, no one to be in touch with, all you can do is try to survive. You're there for months and yet you managed to live because somehow the determination is turning into survival. Sometimes the word we try to find to describe ourselves is "pretty, handsome...etc", the words we should be using are far more than that, some that we never thought that could describe a human being. As I am determination. Giving up isn't an option or is it when all you have done is failed? Only someone negative thinks like that. For I am invincible, because when I fall into my knees I get right back up and try, try, try again all because determination is the most propounding word with meaning that can be shown physically and emotionally.
          For any type of teenager school, and having a job is stressful. Some of them quit the job, as of my experience I haven't given up in working and managing school. But when I look up to my mother see the person I want to make proud of me, and I work even more harder to perceive the happiness of a daughter that determination has always guided her even thru the worst, because looking frontwards has more inspiration than looking backwards to the agony and suffering you went through.
         Always remember that determination is the key word to anything. Why you may ask? Well have you ever felt down? What made you keep going? What makes you smile now? All important questions to ask, but why? Well that boy that broke your heart, isn't as important now, because you were determined to forget about him. You set goals to make yourself happy for your own good and set an example slowly. Yes, determination was written all over those words.
         Once when you have achieved your goal, you feel all set in the mind, with the world. You feel as if you just won a race that yourself didn't think of you could be able to. It's like taking a bite of a donut freshly out of the oven that melts in your mouth because well it's so delicious. And I mean who doesn't love donuts right? It's like being able to smell the hot shower coming from after working in a sweaty, horrendous, sunny day. It's being able to sit, and watch tv with no disturbances or commercials. That, my friend, is how determination finishes off.

the little words count

                                                           The Little Words Count    
     We all have something or someone, guiding us to success, inspiring us, or just pushing us to the limits, exact same way we have a driving force. it might be a simple word with a lot of deep meaning in to it, but only we know why it is. After watching the "Ted" talk, I was wondering what was my driving force. When the teacher told us their was a quiz to find out what was our driving force I quickly went to the website and started the questions. Let me tell you the truth, it was boring answering about 90 questions, one, after, another. So less talking now, and more into my analysis,  I learned that my my number one driving force is growth, my second, love/connection.
       
         I got to admit, I was really surprised. Well, because, they described me in just some simple words. In growth, I'm always curious to learn more, expand my knowledge, and to see if by learning more my brain will expand like in the cartoons when they know to much, maybe even blow up. I'm a ordinary teenager that goes to school to turn into a somebody, and works to help out her mom with some small payments around the house. All this is sometimes, I mean all the time is pretty much stressful. Getting homework done, turning major works in on time, going to work that same afternoon and getting out around 10 p.m, so where's the sleep in all this? I really don't see it. But growth has impacted my determination to not give up, in contrary is has helped me to improve. On the low, sometimes i get to lazy to do my homework causing me to turn it in late and that negative things about school, but this driving force of "growth", has helped me not only to expand in knowledge, but to improve my time management, create new ideas in order to get my things ready for school, and to catch in some sleep I been missing out on.
       
          Now when it comes to people around me with their feelings out in the open, trust me I'm not a person to show what I'm feeling. I just smile to much if you know me, because a smile to anyone can enlighten their day a little. But for my second driving force to be "love/connection", I was literally with my jaw to the floor. Then I think, love and connection don't have to be about feelings, but about feeling appreciated, making people love them and just feel a connection with anyone, now to my recall that is so me. I love being the center of the attention, I like to feel like if people notice me and know who I am. In my quinceañera (Mexican tradition, showing the girl is turning into a women) I loved the feeling of million eyes on me. My family was all over me, my friends, you can say I'm self-centered, but that word to me is being selfish, but that's not me. I just like feeling loved, having a close bonding with everyone and making sure they know their loved for too.

       My driving forces have helped me in my reading life because they make me want to explore the outside world, to become connected with everyone around me. I've started reading some fiction books to challenge me, their vocabulary is HUGE, but it doesn't hurt to improve on my English, since English is my second language, and besides I'm still growing, so my improvement, and being able to read more tough books is good. When I read, I feel as if I'm connected to the characters, some are very touching to the heart, makes you want to be a little like them in being able to perceive something, or just learn a lesson. In my sophomore year, I barely read about 2 books and only because those books were required. Now, when Mrs. Rassmusen told us this year we have to do a lot of reading I was, well, disgusted of the idea of reading. I guess someone sprinkled some magic powder because I have read about 7 books, since starting this junior year. Did you see my driving forces were always with me, even before I knew there was driving forces? I barely noticed it right now.

     My very favorite book I've read was Perfect Chemistry. A perfect book about how to people from way opposite economic livings, fell in love with each other. This book has me so interested, it was impossible for me to put the book down, somehow I was able to bond with the guy character of this book, because well some of us don't have a really pretty life. The hardest book I've read was probably, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs. This book was non-fiction, my reading process was slowed down, because it was really complicated to read, with the big vocabulary words and the text was dry, no imagination. Overall, I have been transformed into a very successful reader this year and hope to still be one.

      The book I'm reading is named, The Namesake. This book has a way different type of culture within it. The characters come from India. Ashami, she is a be loving mother, afraid of her first born baby, scared of a new life. Now, this can be seen ALL around the world. Even our own mother has gone through the same problem as Ashami. But, she can't call her husband by his real name. Something we don't see in the U.S.A. Yet, as the Indian culture and everywhere else in the world, we are very profound of our religion beliefs, culture and the way we think. No matter where we come from we all have one similar thing, that is religion. that helps us in the worst times, and makes us have the good times.