Journal # 6

Journal # 6 An Influential Person

An Influential PersonWrite about a person or people you look up to or have learned from. These could be people who have become famous historically, celebreties or even people you know or are related to. You might admire their accomplishments, their personality traits or their values. How did you learn about this person? What makes him or her remarkable? How does knowing about this person impact who you are as an individual?

I Have written these kind of journals for the last 3 years, so many times that I am sure I could go find one on my computer, and hand that in, but I thought about it and id rather not. Even though I am going to write about the same person I always do, and im really not assamed of that. The person I am about to write about is one of the most loving, and caring people I have ever met, but my goodness if you get on her bad side, she will rip your head off. But I think that is why I love her so much, because she is exactly like me in pretty much every way, except that she is married and has three kids.

Tyffani Martin is the pretty much the most influential person in my life at this time. She is my second mother, and I tell her everything that is going on in my life, even when I know that I shouldn't or when I know she really doesn't want to hear it. She is the one person I know will always be here for me, and I know I will always be there when she needs me. I feel like I am a part of her family because she just brings everyone in and shares what ever she can with anyone that she feels deserves it.

Tyff, and I haven't always got along, which is something that really makes me laugh at this point. When I was in grade 9 and my boyfriend at the time had come to see me compete in a dance competition he had skipped her class, and she just reemed him out the next day, saying I couldn't have possibly been worth missing her class, (but in her defence she hadn't met me yet). At that point I believed that she must have been the craziest teacher in the school, (which I still don't doubt some times). And when I joined cheerleading when I was in grade 10, she used to nit pick every little thing I had ever done wrong, and I couldn't stand her. But now I know how much that really did help me in my cheerleading.

Have Tyff as a coach is one of the best things in the world. She is the kind of coach that will scream at you for doing something wrong, but will be there hugging you in 5 minutes when you get hurt. She is by far the best coach I have ever had for anything in my life. She is the greatest at showing people why they are wrong, its just not always in the nicest way. But in the kind of sport we are into, if you cant handle someone being a bitch, you are the one that needs to leave, because that is pretty much what half of our sport is.

By far the best time ive ever had was with having Tyff as a teacher. I had her as a sociology teacher last semester, and she was the best soc teacher ive ever had, BY FAR! She always knows exactly what you are trying to expalin to her, and she was always there to help anyone in that class with anything. She taught me way more that I had learned in my other two sociology classes, and when I came out of that class, I knew that I had actually learned something instead of where I used to have to read the text book in my other classes to understand anything about the subject. She is the kind of teacher that will teach you something, and try and help you use it in context or will get really excited when you bring it back into a conversation at another point. I thought that was just awesome.

Tyff is one of the most amazing people I have ever met, just everything about her is just awesome. She has the kindest personality in the world, and she is a mother figure to anyone who will ever need it. Ik now that long after I graduate I will stay in touch with her, because I know for a fact that I would not and could not have the marks I have, and could have made it to where I am going without her help and pushing. I love her so much, she is just incrediable.

Journal # 5

Journal # 5

"Childhood"

The concept of childhood as we understand it is a product of 19th Century Victorian ideals. Prior to that time, there was no general sense that there was any particular need to shelter children from the unpleasant side of life. Children were put to work as soon as they were able.Almost two hundred years later, we have a sense that children should be almost entirely sheltered until they reach sufficient age. In our society, full adulthood is often delayed until individuals are well into their twenties.

I am the kind of person that thinks that most people do overprotect their children, but I am sure that when I have a child of my own I will gave a different take on things. It just doesn't make much sense that people don't let their children do anything anymore. When I was growing up, the only rules I really knew were that I couldn't play on the road, I had to look both ways before crossing the street, I had to stay away from the stove, and when the street lights came on, it was time to go home.

There are some parents that would never let their children go outside and play as children, and then they tend to be the same parents that are way to overprotective when their kids become teenagers. There are parents that won't let their teens date until grade 12, they have to know where they are at all times, and they can't even have their cell phones after 11pm. Those kind of parents would be the hardest to have for sure.

I actually have a friend that just got into university, and luckly he has not taken a downward spirial after the way his parents treated him. He has NEVER been allowed out past midnight, he has his own car, but hes not allowed to drive anyone in it, or go into anyone else's car, and he isnt allowed to have a girlfriend until after he is done university. To me, his parents are crazy, but to him it is just a normal day. When he got to university he had all these freedoms that he had never had before, and some kids that were raised like him, end up going crazy, I am just very happy that is not what happened to him.

When I am a parent, I think my children will have it really easy to tell the honest truth. Most parents tend to raise their kids a little less strict than their parents had raised them, and my parents have been pretty laid back my whole life. I have gotten into trouble of course, but its usually for something comepletely horrible that I have done. But they were good enough that you know they still care what I am doing, and they are always there when I need them for anything. They tend to be pushy when it comes to my grades, they have always been like that. My brother is just as smart as I am, but he always decided that school wasn't his thing. But I am very happy my parents pushed me more than him, because it really did help me in the end, and I am sure that I will try and help my kids through their schooling.

I can not wait to raise my kids wheni have them I think that I am going to be a very good parent, andi really hope that they will be sitting in class one day writing a journal about how much I helped them through exactly what I am going through right now.

Journal # 4

Journal number 4
FREE WRITE

This Journal has been bugging me for a few days, I have been trying really hard to think of something to actually write about. But earlier today, something happened, and I had recalled a memory of a conversation that I had had with one of my teachers last semester. My free write journal is about teen “love”.

Being in high school, I see teen relationships every single place I look, some of them good, others not so good. I have found though watching, and experiencing myself, that some people are just not cut out to be in a serious relationship at this young of an age. When it comes to teenage relationships there are three possible outcomes. You have the “Romeo & Juliet” kind of teen relationships, the normal relationships, and then the just random teen relationships.

The “Romeo & Juliet” kind of relationship is the kind you really do not want to have. It’s funny because if any little grade nine heard that name, before really reading the book, they would think that is the kind of relationship that they wanted. But in reality, it is the worst possible. It is the kind of relationship that is just not healthy for these kinds of kids. When you are anywhere in your teens, and feel that you love your boyfriend or girlfriend enough to kill yourself over them, it is kind of a scary thing. It is always a very difficult thing for anyone to really help with, because at that point, you think that you are so in love with the person, that nothing else in the world really matters to you, and it is very very scary.

The normal kind of relationships, are the ones you tend to see more in the senior grades. The teens still feel like that they love each other, but they are not to the point of being even close to suicidal if something happened to the relationship. These people tend to have more of a mature relationship, and are the ones that can clearly handle being in a relationship, and you can see that when you look at them together.

The third kind of relationships, are the random teen relationships. These are the weird relationships that by the time you hear about them in high school, they are over. It just shows you that most kids in high school tend to want to have someone, and these ones are the luck ones to notice that the one they have chose is wrong for them early enough to get out of it without hurting the other person.

All in all, teen relationships can be very difficult to deal with, and in all reality most kids really can not handle what they are getting themselves into.

Journal # 3

Journal # 3

"The Irony of Education"

Why is it that in North America we (as a society) seem to take education for granted? In other countries students will take any opportunity they can get to improve themselves. In our society, educators sometimes have to take extreme measures to perform their function.


This topic is something that is really interesting to me. I totally see this all the time in our school alone. It is actually really sad, the amount of kids that just leave the chances at education, to do things that are going to get them absolutely no where in life. You see those kids that would rather smoke pot than come to school, and who just fail classes year after year, because they just do not care at all about their education or what they are going to do when they get older.

I really wish we could take every single teenager like that, and ship them off to a country where there is no schooling, or there is just very little schooling, where only certain people can go, and show them what is like to not have the chance. It would also make them see that there are millions of kids our age in the world that would kill go to go the school we go to, and to have the chance to learn the kind of things we just know. I believe that if we did that, the teens would come back, and see how lucky they are to have the opportunity to go to such a good school, and to have the chance for a good education.

Some kids our age though, are a lost cause. It is welfare that has done this too them, and it is the sad truth. Their parents are on welfare, and they go “well my mom didn’t have to finish high school” or “my dad didn’t need a college degree” and that is how they stay in the same circle when they are adults. It also does not help that our welfare system doesn’t give people enough money to actually pick up a good job and be okay, it only just lets people slide by month by month. So people who would normally be able to get out of that slump don’t, and they show their teenagers that you don’t need to work, to be okay in life, because the government will always be there in case you are in trouble. Of course I’m not saying all families on welfare do this to children, it is just how it works for some people.

Journal # 2

Journal # 2

"The Pen is Mightier than the Sword"

Writers have an extraordinary potential to change people's minds and to create revolutions. Reflect upon some of the radical changes that have been wrought by such texts as The Declaration of Independence, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and The Communist Manifesto. What issues or topics are you interested in exploring in your writing? What changes do you feel are worth making?

It is so true that the pen is mightier than the sword. All through out history, there have been the people who fight with actual wepons, and then the people who fight with the weapon of writing. Clearly they have been the winner considering it is their side of the story that we know today. There are many different types of writing that has helped us, and have become very important documents to our society.Some of these would be The Declaration of Independence, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and The communist Manifesto.

In all three of these pieces of writing, there are many things we have learned, and they have all helped us in different ways. The Declaration of Independence, is an American document teaching them the rights they have and do not have, and how to behave properly( everyone has the right to pursue happiness). Uncle Tom's Cabin, is a book about slavery. It talks about how people lived back in those times, and it helps us understand that slavery is wrong. The Communist Manifesto was Written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles. It was a political piece of writing to help out a particular political party they were working towards. All of these pieces of writing are famous for different reasons, but they are all similar in the way that, without them, the world would be a different place entirely.

I am interested in exploring tons of different types of topics in my writing, and I really look forward to doing that. I believe that writing is something that everyone should be very open with, and people should always try their best to write different styles of writing. When more people do that, then more people will read different types of writing than they normally would.

Journal # 1

Journal # 1

"Write what you know" The first rule of writing is to "Write What You Know." What do you know? What are the experiences, settings, topics, issues, genres, themes and characters that you feel you can comfortably write about? What are the experiences, settings, topics, issues, genres, themes and characters that you are interested in enough to research in order to write about them more effectively? What are your limitations? In other words, what topics do you feel unknowledgeable about and think you should avoid?


If the first rule in writing is to write what you know, I might not be the best writer in the world. Yes there are a fair amount of things that I know but it is not always the kind of things that anyone else really cares that much about. I have found that while talking to others, they tend to shut me out until I stop talking because to them what I am saying does not make a difference here nor there. The things I can talk or write about for ever vary, because there are so many things that interest me, and just not a lot of others.


One thing would be cheerleading, it sounds really cliché that a high school girl would want to talk about it, but it is my life while I am here. I think about practice, stunts and my team sometimes more than I think about school at all. Cheerleading is an addiction to some people, and I can admit that I am definitely one that is addicted to it. When I am at school, in a class that I find is boring or during student presentations that are bland I write about what I would like to accomplish at my next practice and what I would like my team to accomplish. I am the Flyer captain, so I research different ways to stretch for our flyers, and different things that they could pull in the air that would look pretty and suit them, and I always think of new stuff for the group competition that I have entered myself and 4 others in this year.


Another thing that I could talk about for ever is anything to do with psychology or sociology. I have taken every sociology course this school has to offer, and even tried to go to Westlane as a magnet student for psychology. when I go through university I will be taking psychology, and I know that ill do very well. The one teacher I had at this school has taught me more than I ever thought I would learn, it is crazy the amount of things that I know. Almost everyday something in my life will have to do with what I have learned, and it really helps shape the person I am today just by recalling my memories of class.



I feel comfortable writing about pretty much anything as long as I have enough knowledge on it. Also if it is something I find interesting I will take the time to research tons, in order to feel comfortable writing about it. I have done things like that on Abortion, Genetic Engineering, and Marijuana in some of my other classes for projects before. so as long as I find something that is really interesting I will be very happy to research and talk about it. There are some topics that I feel I should really not be writing about, religion being one of them. I am the kind of person who is not really sure what they believe, and I can tend to get very mean when people push religion, or even talk about it in a way that I believe they are pushing it. so I tend to try and stay completely away from it all the time.