Thankful For My Class Buddies

I am thankful for Maxwell O’Hagan (Most people call him Max) and Edmund Obermeyer (Most people call him Eddie).  If you don’t know, we all sit next to each other.  You may know because Mr. McCarthy is always saying Max and Eddie are cool and you may know me because of Mr. McCarthy’s WONDERFUL way to say my last name, “Boulababhab” J.  Max and Edmund  are always fun to talk to and accept me into their group even if I’m a pain sometimes.  Whenever I am unable to answer a question in class about The Scarlet Letter, The Crusible, or anything else I can always count on them to help me.  And the same thing happens goes for them, I’ll help them if they ever need help. 

I like everyone in our class because were all such cool people.  Right? Who doesn’t think so? Cuz if you don’t agree then you’re a fool!  Everyone around me are nice too.  If I ever need help I can always ask them as well.  I’m thankful to be in Mr. McCarthy’s 7^th period American Lit. class.  I hope Mr. McCarthy is glade to have us and I hope all of you are thankful to be in Mr. McCarthy’s class.  Plus I’m thankful for having Mr. McCarthy as a teacher.  He is a great teacher that gives us some freedom, so we don’t feel like we are chained to a desk.

I AM A PLOW

PLOW plow plow I may not need to plow my land but I do plow through other things.  I have to plow through homework after Pole vaulting so my mother doesn’t get in my face about not finishing homework fast enough and threaten to pull me off the team.  I have to plow through my thought because my mind can wander.  I have to plow through my feelings so people only see my happy side.  People probably do all of these things just like me.  What kind of plow are you what do you plow through every day?  Or maybe just once on a while?  But plows are also quite helpful tools.  I like to think I can be a helpful person but you never who I’m kind of a cluts and that not always a good thing :P.  I think everyone is “a plow” whether they like to admit it or not.  Plows come in all colors, shapes and sizes.  What plow are you?

Pros and What Cons :P

        I hear that may students are jealous of me because I am in Mr. McCarthy's class.  Many people don't like their American Lit class because their teacher is making them do pointless work; well i shouldn't say pointless but work in which the kids don't like, they are given work that they don't necessarily learn from.  In Mr. McCarthy's class we are given work that enhances what we are learning so it better sticks in our heads.
        I also like that we are able to lead discations within the class.  If we do not understand something we can easily ask and the whole class will attempt to explain or at least make clearer what we don't get.  I think it is a good learning environment but wherever there are pros there are bound to be cons too.
        The only thing I don't really like about the class is the period I have American Literature.  I have the class during seventh period which is Mr. McCarthy's last class of the day and because its his last class of the day and (so Mr. McCarthy tells us) we are the class that always has to ask questions and can't just do what we are told. I feel that with those too things put together, we really bother Mr. McCarthy and weather down nerves till one day Mr. McCarthy will snap....

Modern Slavery

When someone asks if there is slavery going on now most people will say no.  Well at least I would have said no, so I had to get my handy dandy online dictionary and look at the definition of slavery. This is what i found:

slavery  (ˈsleɪvərɪ)

— n

1.	the state or condition of being a slave; a civil relationship where by one person has absolute power over another and controls his life, liberty, and fortune
2.	the subjection of a person to another person, esp in being forced into work
3.	the condition of being subject to some influence or habit

 Number one and two was what I thought the definition would be.  I think of back in the day when African Americans where brought over and forced to work on plantations.  Number three made me understand the slavery is not always forcing someone to do your bidding.  So I came up with these modern day things that fall under the definition of slavery.  

The first one I think everyone would think of right away, at least if they watched or watch as much Criminal Minds, NCIS, Castle, or other murder series on T.V. human trafficking.  Human trafficking is a terrible thing that people do to poor innocent kids. They either bring them in from another country by promising them a better life in American or find kids that ran away or lure kids off.  Whichever way they get kids to follow them it doesn’t matter they drug the kids and use them for money.  

          The second modern day slavery thing I thought of was linked to the human trafficking.  It is being a slave to a drug.  The people in human trafficking are usually given a drug and even if they can escape the trafficking they are usually hooked on the drug.  That is not the only way to become a slave to a drug. Just by doing the drug you can become addicted. 

          So there are probably way more things people can think of for the modern day slavery but my imagination button is broken so I had to make do.  Hopefully it’ll be fixed for the next blog.

Puritans are a crazy bunch of people in my opinion sorry if you don’t think so and I’m sorry if you’re offended but what I think but seriously; come on! Well they think men are just so much better than women allllllll the time and well that kinda just bothers me. In “Adultery, in many states, is still a crime” by Jonathan Turley says that it is “illegal for a married woman to cheat on her husband and make it a crime for single women to have sex at all.” But it does not say anything about men cheating.  And might I remind you that this is present day 2010. What up with that dumb crap! Excuse me but like I don’t think that you should be punished for cheating at least not by the government. You may get a divorce and that punishment enough.  I have lived though my parent’s divorce. Though I don’t remember things about it I have recently stumbled upon letters my father had sent to and from with a friend.  These letters were about what happened during the divorce and the emotional strain it put on him.  The custody battle that was over max and I was the worst because it was overseas so my parents never knew where it would be and if the lawyers should be American or French. I think that is sufficient is punishment for cheating.

I think because Nathanial Hawthorn was born into Puritanism he believed that adultery was a crime that was punishable but after reading other book I feel that his views have changed and he like to write his opinion in his books while being a little bit more liberal then what he was razed to believe.

Puritan beliefs are still in play today but many have died down. The true hardcore puritans go by the same rules as long but I don’t cross paths with them very much so I don’t see their old laws.  

When did I know I was an American

The moment I knew then I was an American was when I finally understood what citizenship was, I could speak English and when I felt like I was home.  I moved to America when I was 3 years old; I was like every little kid, (yes I did grow and yes I’m still little no need to remind me) (O and Ps: my goal is to grow to 5 foot 5 inches. I think it’s quite reasonable) I wanted to have fun and hang out with friends.  As I got older and I would visit people in France and they would ask me “What am I” I would always say I’m American.  I felt that I was an American because that was where I lived and where my home was.  I link home is what you are.  Home is where you feel at ease.  Home is where you need to be.

Us Vs. Them... Us and Them

People can be pushed to their limits about things that they believe in or that others want them to believe in.  Just like in gangs, which are pretty much people under the influence of peer pressure.  They have a longing to want to fit in with a group and will go to extreme measures to make sure that they do.  Rather than being rejected, the gang member will engage in illegal activity such as stealing things, vandalizing and even killing.  It is not that they desire to kill someone but that the task or conflict that they have engaged in requires them to.  Instead of being rejected by the other gang members they choose to believe in the cause of the gang and show that they are strong enough to be accepted in the gang.  The other side of the coin is when people believe in something so strongly that they will kill for it.  The Holocaust would be a good example of this.  Hitler believed so strongly that anyone that did not fit under his qualifications for an “ideal” human being should be killed.  He carried his plans out, gained many Nazi followers and saw his plans to completion until thousands and thousands of people were killed.  This also works in the opposite way when someone stands out for what they believe in and they are not supported by anyone.  Just like Corey in “The Crucible”.  Corey is being pushed to give up names but he refuses and even through torture he will not get honest people in trouble.  His moral convictions about what he believes him lead to his death.      

P.S. I was not really sure what I was supposed to write about but my friend from another class told me I was supposed to write about “the causes of conflict that leads to death”.