Cristina Cass is awesome

I am thankful for Cristina. I have prepared a list of reasons why.
1. There is no one nicer than Cristina Cass. Literally Cristina is NOT rude. Even if you are rude to her. She has the most positive attitude of anyone I know and is always smiling, despite the situation. 
2. Cristina throws really cool parties. I think I have been to at least 10 Cass parties and I have only known her for two and a half years. They have lots of food and lots of games and lots of people. Plus her family is really nice also so it's always a lot of fun.
3. Cristina likes Nicolas Cage. I'm not sure why but Cristina was there when my obsession began. She'll probably be there when it ends too. Hmm. 
4. Cristina is the best writer. Have you read her pieces for this class? Astounding. I don't know when she got so good but she is REALLY GOOD. 
5. Cristina has this cute little sway when she walks. I don't know how but I seriously can always recognize her when I see her, despite what she's wearing or how much of her I can see. She also has a really unique style that I really like about her, and she's not afraid to be different. :)))
6. Cristina can do everything- dance, draw, write, sing, anything. 
7. She still works as a Missionary at the Church of Nicolas Cage on Facebook.. (I am priest) but I suppose this could file under #3...

Those are just a few reasons why I am thankful for Cristina. She's an all around great person to be around, so you should be too. 

I Celebrate Myself

I can't say that I celebrate myself, because I don't think I do. Nowadays, when we think about celebrating, we think about parties, fun. No, I don't throw parties for myself... or anything close to that. Maybe it's about being thankful. Sure, I'm  thankful for my life and everything I have, but I don't celebrate that. I'm not even sure I would know how. 

However, maybe the transcendentalists would see otherwise. They likely had a different view on celebrating yourself. For example, I often take time to myself because I get overwhelmed when I'm always around people. Now, I'm NOT saying I would go desert myself in Alaska to take some alone time, but I'll go read alone in my room or something. Sometimes I'll go for a walk by myself. Maybe the transcendentalists would see this as me celebrating myself, because I'm being individual. Other than this, however, I can't see many ties between myself and the transcendentalists. I only agree with some of their individualism ideas, but not all, because I would definitely miss society if I followed all of their beliefs. Sort of how Chris McCandless begins to feel.

So, my answer to the question is still no. I celebrate the fact that I'm alive, sure, but not everything I do, and that's what I think celebrating myself should mean. While the transcendentalists might think otherwise, that's what I think. 

Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was a great other who grew from barely anything. We knew his mother died, but what I didn't know was that his mother died shortly after his father abandoned them. He was adopted, but his new family didn't have much either. He couldn't afford to go to a university, so he tried to be a military cadet, but failed.  This is when he started focusing on writing. It was hard for him at first, but he started to make a pretty decent name for himself. (On a side note, when he was 26, he married his 13 year old cousin. Talk about John Proctor and Abigail..) When he published The Raven, it had immediate success, but two years later his "wife" died. (I can't bring myself to call them really a couple.) It was clear from this point onward that Poe was being to deteriorate mentally.
His life also had an affect on his death. No one knows how he really died, as his death certificate has been lost, but it is thought to be many various things like suicide, alcoholism, cholera, and even rabies. 

You don't even have to know that much to see how Poe's life influenced his writing. His life was very hard and quite depressing, and we can see this in the writing through it's Gothic themes and mystery. He even hints at the death he had to put up with, his mother and his wife. The darkness and depth of his writing is likely caused by the tragedy, torment, and loss Poe lived with. Even before reading about Poe, you could imply most of this from the writing. 

What is an American?

Well, this is definitely a frequently asked question. To me, being an American is not about being born in the United States or being a citizen. People don't say that they're an American because they're legally a citizen of the United States. I think it's more about a sense of belonging in the country, that you feel comfortable with the American culture. We have a very multicultural society, so I don't think it's hard to fit right in. On this note, notice how within 24 hours, nearly everyone in the country knows about how Miley Cyrus made a fool of herself at the MTV awards or has downloaded the latest social media app. Americans are very connected with their culture, too. 
It's not just about the culture, though. Americans stand together when the country needs support, like during the Boston Marathon bombing, or 9/11. This kind of terrible event brings the country closer. Americans also stand together though amazing accomplishments, like the first man on the moon. Americans remember these events with pride.
Last but not least, there's the patriot. In order to really be an American, you have to somehow love America, which sometimes can be hard, but has to be true. Americans are one, and you can't be one with something you don't even like. 
I think throughout this post, the points I've touched on all suggest one thing, togetherness. Americans talk together, laugh together, stand together, are together. America is everywhere, so it makes sense. I don't think it's hard to be an American, and it's definitely worth it.

The Modern Day Puritan

While there aren't any Puritans today like there were in the times of the past, a lot of their beliefs still do exist, just in a more modern circumstance. Nowadays, thinking of someone as a Puritan would just be to think of them is having strict beliefs, or, simply, not a fun person. And here's the tie-in: of course, school.

I honestly think school is alright. But yes, we should all agree, it's very strict, even here at Whitney Young. Just Friday, only two minutes into my lunch period, the security guard yelled at me and my friend for being in the hallway. Okay.. Or take for example this guy in my gym class who literally stepped into the classroom a second or two after the bell, and received a tardy.  School can be a fun place, but it's very strict, kind of like a modern day Puritan. After doing some research I learned that Puritans actually allowed alcohol, in moderation. So they allowed enjoyment, but were strict if you abused the privilege. The more you think about it, the more you can see the tie-in to school. 

So, although the Puritans don't really exist today, we can still see some of the ideals they left behind, like everything in moderation. If we become too comfortable with our privileges, we might stop following the rules, which is I think what our school has in mind with it's rules. The Puritans were more strict than today, but I think had roughly the same idea, if that makes sense.

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

Wow. This was a very dramatic, unexpected ending to what I thought was a great play. But now the real question, hero or stooge?
I have to say hero. While John isn't a superhero or a you saved my baby! hero, he still was heroic in his own way. He could have lied to protect his own life when his close friends would be telling the truth and dying for it. He chose to do the right thing, and not be selfish, and I think that makes him a hero. 

You still need to be convinced? Let's look at it the other way around. John gave up his life to tell the truth, because he believed it was unfair. A definition of stooge I found was "a weak or unimportant person who is controlled by a more powerful person." Comparing these facts, I think John is doing the opposite of being controlled by a more powerful person (i.e. Parris, Danforth, Hale, etc.) by withdrawing his confession. If he really was being controlled, he would have confessed, without a doubt in his mind. But by withdrawing, he did the opposite as they wished, likely starting the rebellion Parris and Danforth had hoped to subdue. 

I hope I've convinced you. I think that John did the right thing in this case, and doing this helped repair his relationship with his wife for the little time their marriage had left. Oh, one more thing. Hero is defined as "a person who is idealized for courage or noble qualities." If you don't think John was courageous in his decision, I think you should re-read Act IV... 

Arrivals... there goes the neighborhood.

Sadly, in this day and age in our world, we tend to be very selfish. Due to this, we judge people before we even get to know them, thinking they could ruin what we have. If we are a new somewhere, we sometimes judge people because of what we think we know about them before we even get to know them. Everyone is a little bit guilty of this, I know I am. This leads to fighting and sometimes war when people refuse to compromise or be friends.  We see this lots of times throughout history. 

An obvious example of this in history would be when Columbus came to the Americas. When the Indians already living there refused to convert to Christianity and become civilized like the Spaniards, Columbus and his men felt threatened, and thought they had to do something. They then felt it was justified to kill Indians, steal from them, take them for slaves, and etc. The new arrivals, Columbus and his men, felt threatened by the Indians since they were different, and thought this meant they were dangerous and uncivilized. However, they didn't even know the neighborhood, and immediately judged it and harmed it. 

Yes, this does relate to my life... especially right now. I'm a freshman, but since I'm an ackie, the new arrivals (the new freshman) seem to think that the ackies are conceited, stuck up, and only want to brag about their accomplishments. That's not me at all. I think they should give us a chance before they decide to not want to be my friend at all. It's very easy to judge nowadays, but I think that especially in a place like high school where everyone is nervous about what other people think, we should try to refrain from doing so as much as possible. Last year, I thought I might judge the new freshman, but now I see it's actually the other way around.. 

I started by saying people can be very selfish, and that's why they don't want anyone new in their "neighborhood." That's all I can really say. If everyone gave each other a chance, the world would be so much more peaceful. 

Me!

 Hi, my name is Claire. 
 I go to Whitney Young (I'm in 9th grade) and I've been there since 7th grade. I am on the swim team, and I swim breaststroke. My favorite subject in school would be math, although sometimes I struggle with it. I'm also unsure which sport I will play in the spring, lacrosse or water polo? I've played lacrosse for six years, but water polo seems fun too. 
 My personal interests include listening to music, watching Nicolas Cage movies, reading books, eating, and sleeping. My favorite book is Divergent, but I'm fairly certain it won't be after the movie comes out. My favorite author is John Green, my favorite color is UCLA Blue, my favorite movie is Face/Off, and my favorite bands are Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, Two Door Cinema Club, Vampire Weekend, and Phoenix. 
 Although I scare people because I yell frequently, I like to think I'm pretty cool if you actually get to know me... I'd also like to work at Second City one day, that's my dream job, because I love making people laugh. When I'm rich and famous from that, I would consider pursuing a career in the math and science industry, or just become an actor.
 Hopefully you won't read this and decide not to like me. It would mean a lot. Maybe we'll have something in common and will become great friends...