Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Free Write
MNPS school system doesn't use money on the right things. Instead of replacing the door less bathroom stalls at our school they put in new TV's around the halls that nobody uses. Instead of getting heaters or air conditioning that works they redid the office and painted the walls. I think that the schools should focus on things that will help the school now things that aren't relevant. I think that they should allow the student to help chose what the school spends it's money on. There's a lot of things that need to be fixed at the school and spending money on putting new cabinets in the front office isn't going to effect the student or teachers.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Free Write
I have met some of my best friends online. It's kind of weird, because when you're little your taught not to talk to strangers online. I have met almost all of my best friends through twitter or Facebook. My four best friends and I met through a YouTuber.
I was on a street team on Face Book and I met one of my best friends sister.She was friends with a friend I had met at a concert. One day we were facetiming and she told me to look up a YouTuber named Matt Walden that her sister Sarah showed her. Through Matt I met Sarah, Breanne, Jordan, and Caitlyn. Jordan and Caitlyn live in East Tennessee. Breanne lives in Louisana. Sarah lives in Chicago. Although only Jordan and Caitlyn have met, we became best friends.
We formed a group called the Walden Girls and we spam for Matt. We're like his super fans. We became best friends through our group. We Skype all the time with Matt. We're practically inseparable even though we haven't met. We have even broken iMessage because we talked to much.
I was on a street team on Face Book and I met one of my best friends sister.She was friends with a friend I had met at a concert. One day we were facetiming and she told me to look up a YouTuber named Matt Walden that her sister Sarah showed her. Through Matt I met Sarah, Breanne, Jordan, and Caitlyn. Jordan and Caitlyn live in East Tennessee. Breanne lives in Louisana. Sarah lives in Chicago. Although only Jordan and Caitlyn have met, we became best friends.
We formed a group called the Walden Girls and we spam for Matt. We're like his super fans. We became best friends through our group. We Skype all the time with Matt. We're practically inseparable even though we haven't met. We have even broken iMessage because we talked to much.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Media
The media has to much time on there hands. I don't understand why media such has TMZ would rather post about Jusitn Bieber peeing in a bucket 5 times then posting about things that are relevant to the world. Why would you spend so much time on things that don't really matter? I think that media like TMZ are just bullies.
They spend so much time tearing down people who are doing well. They judge every move that a celebertie makes. They can turn any positive thing into something negative. I saw an article where TMZ stated that Justin was trying to cover up his wrong doings by posting pictures of his brother and sister. In reality he was just spending time with his family and posting pictures on instagram like any normal 19 year old.
They spend so much time tearing down people who are doing well. They judge every move that a celebertie makes. They can turn any positive thing into something negative. I saw an article where TMZ stated that Justin was trying to cover up his wrong doings by posting pictures of his brother and sister. In reality he was just spending time with his family and posting pictures on instagram like any normal 19 year old.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Freewrite Feedback, week 1
Catie, I've really enjoyed reading your first two freewrites! I can definitely see a theme emerging that I might want to assign an essay on. (Hint - it has to do with YouTube!) What you have so far is helping me identify strengths and weaknesses in your causal writing. Organization is a definite strength!
Keep them coming, and I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this feedback up. I'm still learning to use this Blogger app from my phone, but things should start to get smoother and smoother. Don't forget to practice vocab. The words may seem like odd ones to learn, but they are on every college entrance exam there is for some reason.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
freewrite 2
I find YouTube very fascinating. It's field with so many different people doing so many different things. There's people that post videos on YouTube singing. There's people that post videos on YouTube of make-up tutorials and beauty things. There's people that post things about video games. There's people that post things challenges, pranks, and just funny things in general. Last, there's people that vlog about their daily activity's and make videos about everyday things.
There are people who get famous on YouTube for just posting videos about life. Our2ndLife, for example, is and collaboration channel made of 6 guys who post videos each week that have to do with a certain theme. This has gotten them very popular in the social media world. I find this very interesting because they just posted videos because they were bored and somehow ended up YouTube famous and have had many opportunities because of it.
There are people who get famous on YouTube for just posting videos about life. Our2ndLife, for example, is and collaboration channel made of 6 guys who post videos each week that have to do with a certain theme. This has gotten them very popular in the social media world. I find this very interesting because they just posted videos because they were bored and somehow ended up YouTube famous and have had many opportunities because of it.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
freewrite 1
On August 10th, 2013 I met Justin Bieber. It was an amazing experience, even though it took a long time to happen. It took me 4 1/2 years to meet him, but it happened. He always says to believe and to never say never and that's what I did.
I became of fan of Justin in 2009 when I found him on YouTube. I immediately was intrigued by his voice and how cute he was. I became obsessed with him and his music. On June 6th 2010 he followed me on twitter. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. In August 2010 I saw Justin for the first time on the My World Tour in Nashville. In November 2010 I saw Justin for the second time.
When his 3rd Album came out in 2012 and the Believe Tour came out I was determined to get meet and greet tickets. I saved up for months but when I tried to get the tickets they sold out with in a minute. I started looking for other way to get tickets, but everything was too expensive.
Later that month, my friend Airel introduced me to a girl named Elizabeth. We soon became best friends. She was also a fan of Justin. She was blind. She told me about how she was born legally blind, but when she was 3 she started pointing out colors and shapes. When she was 15 her retina detached. It was around the time that she had found Justin. She told me that his music and videos on YouTube got her through all the surgery's that had around that time.
After all the things Elizabeth told me I wasn't as sad about seeing or meeting Justin. To me she deserved it more. She had tickets for Alabama, but not meet and greets. So I started helping her try to get them. I emailed Justin's manager and spammed his crews twitter, but nothing worked.
At Christmas 2012 my mom surprised me with Justin tickets. They weren't the best seats, but they weren't the worst. I wasn't complaining I was glad I got to go. On January 16th, 2013 Elizabeth saw Justin for the second time and two days later I saw him. Elizabeth explained to me that even though her seats had been on the floor she couldn't see him because it was dark and she can only really see about 5 feet in front of her. I decided then that I would continue to try to help her meet Justin.
In February 2013 Elizabeth bought tickets for the second leg of the tour in Atlanta. She decided that she would take me with her due to how much I had tried to help her. The tickets weren't meet and greets but we would be there. They were on the first row on the side, but she wouldn't be able to see from there.
In June 2013, two months before the concert, we started getting excited. We tried so hard to get the word out about Elizabeth, but all we seemed to do was get twitters suspended. One day Elizabeth texted me saying she found meet and greets on a website and the prices were going down. In July her grandpa bought them for her. Not only were they meet and greets, but 3rd row tickets, and I was going.
When August 9th, 2013 rolled around I could hardly contain my excitement. I had to go to school that day, and it was hard. All I could think all day was that it was actually going to happen. I was going to Atlanta to meet Justin.
Atlanta was a very significant place. Not only was it the last show of the tour, but Atlanta is where it all started. Atlanta is where Justin's manager found him on YouTube. Atlanta was the place that Justin went to the first time he flew in an airplane. Atlanta was where his first song was recorded. Atlanta was where his first radio interview was. Atlanta is where he met Usher and Scooter for the first time. Atlanta was where he was signed. I was beyond excited.
I couldn't sleep that night in the hotel. I was so nervous that the tickets wouldn't be real. I also new that Justin was really close to us. He had been at the aquarium and a restaurant super close to us.
When we woke up the next morning we went down to the arena. It was about 10 o'clock. I honestly don't know why the two of us felt obligated to drag our parents to an arena all in day in Georgia in August but we did. As we walked down to the arena Justin's bus drove past us. I knew it was his bus. It honked at us and we both started freaking out. We were the only people around and we were wearing our Bieber shirts.
We waited outside all day. We got to see some of the crew and Cody Simpson. At 4 o'clock we were let into the building. The guy in charge of the meet and greets, Ryan, wouldn't let Elizabeth's mom go back with us, but he said he would watch out for us. We had to sit in this VIP room for like two hours. It was horrible. We just listened to Justin songs and they gave us food, for two hours.
Then we were walked backstage. Our group was the first to meet him since we had VIP and hadn't won our tickets. We walked into a basket ball court that had tent in the corner. We stood in line for a minute before it started moving. While in line we met his manager, guitar player, and body guard.
After what felt like forever we were next in line. Ryan saw us and came over and smiled at us. "Are you ready," he asked us. We just nodded. I saw him whisper something to one of the security people, who whispered something to another one, who whispered it to Justin. I'm pretty sure he said Elizabeth was blind. Justin walked to us and pulled Elizabeth over to the wall where they had hung up the believe sign. She got to say something and hug him before the security pulled her away.
Then it was my turn. I walked up to him and told him I loved him. He said "I love you too," before taking the picture. Afterwards I hugged him and thanked him. I also told him he should smiled more. I'm not really why I told him after the picture, but I did. He told me thank you before I walked to Elizabeth. Right before the next person walked in, he told the security to hold on and then pointed to me. So I turned back around to look at him. He smiled and said thank you again and then nodded towards Elizabeth. He was thanking me for taking her backstage.
I was so excited as we went to our seats. Elizabeth started crying, as well as the two girls we had been talking to behind us in line. It was pretty amazing. I didn't think it would happen, but it did. Justin not only told me to never say never and believe, he also showed me.
I became of fan of Justin in 2009 when I found him on YouTube. I immediately was intrigued by his voice and how cute he was. I became obsessed with him and his music. On June 6th 2010 he followed me on twitter. I thought it was the coolest thing ever. In August 2010 I saw Justin for the first time on the My World Tour in Nashville. In November 2010 I saw Justin for the second time.
When his 3rd Album came out in 2012 and the Believe Tour came out I was determined to get meet and greet tickets. I saved up for months but when I tried to get the tickets they sold out with in a minute. I started looking for other way to get tickets, but everything was too expensive.
Later that month, my friend Airel introduced me to a girl named Elizabeth. We soon became best friends. She was also a fan of Justin. She was blind. She told me about how she was born legally blind, but when she was 3 she started pointing out colors and shapes. When she was 15 her retina detached. It was around the time that she had found Justin. She told me that his music and videos on YouTube got her through all the surgery's that had around that time.
After all the things Elizabeth told me I wasn't as sad about seeing or meeting Justin. To me she deserved it more. She had tickets for Alabama, but not meet and greets. So I started helping her try to get them. I emailed Justin's manager and spammed his crews twitter, but nothing worked.
At Christmas 2012 my mom surprised me with Justin tickets. They weren't the best seats, but they weren't the worst. I wasn't complaining I was glad I got to go. On January 16th, 2013 Elizabeth saw Justin for the second time and two days later I saw him. Elizabeth explained to me that even though her seats had been on the floor she couldn't see him because it was dark and she can only really see about 5 feet in front of her. I decided then that I would continue to try to help her meet Justin.
In February 2013 Elizabeth bought tickets for the second leg of the tour in Atlanta. She decided that she would take me with her due to how much I had tried to help her. The tickets weren't meet and greets but we would be there. They were on the first row on the side, but she wouldn't be able to see from there.
In June 2013, two months before the concert, we started getting excited. We tried so hard to get the word out about Elizabeth, but all we seemed to do was get twitters suspended. One day Elizabeth texted me saying she found meet and greets on a website and the prices were going down. In July her grandpa bought them for her. Not only were they meet and greets, but 3rd row tickets, and I was going.
When August 9th, 2013 rolled around I could hardly contain my excitement. I had to go to school that day, and it was hard. All I could think all day was that it was actually going to happen. I was going to Atlanta to meet Justin.
Atlanta was a very significant place. Not only was it the last show of the tour, but Atlanta is where it all started. Atlanta is where Justin's manager found him on YouTube. Atlanta was the place that Justin went to the first time he flew in an airplane. Atlanta was where his first song was recorded. Atlanta was where his first radio interview was. Atlanta is where he met Usher and Scooter for the first time. Atlanta was where he was signed. I was beyond excited.
I couldn't sleep that night in the hotel. I was so nervous that the tickets wouldn't be real. I also new that Justin was really close to us. He had been at the aquarium and a restaurant super close to us.
When we woke up the next morning we went down to the arena. It was about 10 o'clock. I honestly don't know why the two of us felt obligated to drag our parents to an arena all in day in Georgia in August but we did. As we walked down to the arena Justin's bus drove past us. I knew it was his bus. It honked at us and we both started freaking out. We were the only people around and we were wearing our Bieber shirts.
We waited outside all day. We got to see some of the crew and Cody Simpson. At 4 o'clock we were let into the building. The guy in charge of the meet and greets, Ryan, wouldn't let Elizabeth's mom go back with us, but he said he would watch out for us. We had to sit in this VIP room for like two hours. It was horrible. We just listened to Justin songs and they gave us food, for two hours.
Then we were walked backstage. Our group was the first to meet him since we had VIP and hadn't won our tickets. We walked into a basket ball court that had tent in the corner. We stood in line for a minute before it started moving. While in line we met his manager, guitar player, and body guard.
After what felt like forever we were next in line. Ryan saw us and came over and smiled at us. "Are you ready," he asked us. We just nodded. I saw him whisper something to one of the security people, who whispered something to another one, who whispered it to Justin. I'm pretty sure he said Elizabeth was blind. Justin walked to us and pulled Elizabeth over to the wall where they had hung up the believe sign. She got to say something and hug him before the security pulled her away.
Then it was my turn. I walked up to him and told him I loved him. He said "I love you too," before taking the picture. Afterwards I hugged him and thanked him. I also told him he should smiled more. I'm not really why I told him after the picture, but I did. He told me thank you before I walked to Elizabeth. Right before the next person walked in, he told the security to hold on and then pointed to me. So I turned back around to look at him. He smiled and said thank you again and then nodded towards Elizabeth. He was thanking me for taking her backstage.
I was so excited as we went to our seats. Elizabeth started crying, as well as the two girls we had been talking to behind us in line. It was pretty amazing. I didn't think it would happen, but it did. Justin not only told me to never say never and believe, he also showed me.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Welcome, Catie! This is our blog, not just for formal tutoring, but for as long as you wish to continue using it. It is my hope that, through the assignments you work on here, your language and writing skills will progress and improve in a way that feels natural and shows boldly in your work.
Starting Monday, January 13, I would like you to complete two daily assignments. I don't believe you will find them difficult or inconvenient, but they should do a great deal to help you develop. I will also assign you an essay after I have had a week or so to get to know your writing style better, and part of our weekly video chat will be revising and editing that essay until you have produced a suitably improved final draft, however long that may take. Once you have completed a final draft, we will start on a new essay. Expect to receive your first essay assignment around January 20.
Daily Assignments
I. Freewriting
The first assignment is timed daily freewriting. I would like you to freewrite a blog post for eight minutes each day. The purpose of freewriting is simply to get into the habit of putting ideas into writing. It also helps you train yourself to get into writing mode quickly and overcome writer's block. I will comment on your freewrites only to suggest ways you could develop the ideas you produce in further writing. Some of our long-term essay topics may evolve from these freewrites.
During a freewrite session, you should not worry about spelling, grammar, structure, etc. This seems like the opposite of developing your writing skill, but remember that all of those things can be fixed once you have ideas on paper. What cannot be fixed is not having ideas on paper. It is important to try to choose a time when you will not be distracted and can write for eight minutes straight. If you go over the time limit that is okay, but don't stop before eight minutes. If you aren't sure what to write about, click the link below and follow the instructions and it will give you a random prompt. I love this prompt generator and have used it countless times! Writing Prompt Generator
II. Vocabulary
The second daily assignment will be a vocabulary exercise. It comes from a book I have had great success using called 1100 Words You Need to Know. All of the words in these exercises are SAT vocabulary, and learning them has been proven to improve test scores in reading comprehension, verbal reasoning, and writing. I will link these assignments from Google Drive to the blog, and you will complete them on your own. At the end of each set of vocabulary, I will quiz you on the vocab using a form linked here in the blog. Click here to view the first vocabulary exercise should you care to get familiar with its format.
Rest up this weekend, and I look forward to working with you and getting to know you better!
Amanda
Starting Monday, January 13, I would like you to complete two daily assignments. I don't believe you will find them difficult or inconvenient, but they should do a great deal to help you develop. I will also assign you an essay after I have had a week or so to get to know your writing style better, and part of our weekly video chat will be revising and editing that essay until you have produced a suitably improved final draft, however long that may take. Once you have completed a final draft, we will start on a new essay. Expect to receive your first essay assignment around January 20.
Daily Assignments
I. Freewriting
The first assignment is timed daily freewriting. I would like you to freewrite a blog post for eight minutes each day. The purpose of freewriting is simply to get into the habit of putting ideas into writing. It also helps you train yourself to get into writing mode quickly and overcome writer's block. I will comment on your freewrites only to suggest ways you could develop the ideas you produce in further writing. Some of our long-term essay topics may evolve from these freewrites.
During a freewrite session, you should not worry about spelling, grammar, structure, etc. This seems like the opposite of developing your writing skill, but remember that all of those things can be fixed once you have ideas on paper. What cannot be fixed is not having ideas on paper. It is important to try to choose a time when you will not be distracted and can write for eight minutes straight. If you go over the time limit that is okay, but don't stop before eight minutes. If you aren't sure what to write about, click the link below and follow the instructions and it will give you a random prompt. I love this prompt generator and have used it countless times! Writing Prompt Generator
II. Vocabulary
The second daily assignment will be a vocabulary exercise. It comes from a book I have had great success using called 1100 Words You Need to Know. All of the words in these exercises are SAT vocabulary, and learning them has been proven to improve test scores in reading comprehension, verbal reasoning, and writing. I will link these assignments from Google Drive to the blog, and you will complete them on your own. At the end of each set of vocabulary, I will quiz you on the vocab using a form linked here in the blog. Click here to view the first vocabulary exercise should you care to get familiar with its format.
Rest up this weekend, and I look forward to working with you and getting to know you better!
Amanda
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