Final Blog Post!!

It was a long and busy four years, but I would not trade my time in high school for anything in the world. My high school experience was very good. It was a time period where I grew a lot as a person and a student. I was lucky throughout high school getting good teachers for all my classes. As time passed in high school I was approaching on my Junior year and I had known about the IB program because my sister participated in it. However, I did not really want to do it cause a very small amount of my friends were doing it. The majority of them decided to take the AP route. My parents actually made me do IB. But after two years I am very thankful to them for making me do it. I made a lot of new friends over the past two years and it surrounded me with some very intelligent and hard working people. As graduation approached I am more than ready for college but I am going to miss my days at Millbrook. I feel like the IB program has prepared me very well for college and the professional world after college.

Before high school I WAS a stereotypical Catholic school kid. Raised in the church. After high school, I am still a Catholic but a much different person. The IB program has taught me to be a well rounded thinker and person. I wanna thank all of my teachers over the past four years for all the time and work they have put in and for their impact they have had on me as a student. I was just a young student coming into high school but I am now an IB student heading to college which is crazy to think about! I'm going to miss everyone so much and thanks for a memorable high school experience everyone!

Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman's journal is very hard to read and understand due to the various markings and scribbles within his notebook. I think that shows how his way of thinking was very unique because he would be the only one to understand these various markings and scribbles. I think it also shows at the time Whitman did not want anyone who came across his notebook to understand the ideas he included in hit because his beliefs were very progressive for the time period he was living in, which makes it hard to interpret even in todays time period.

Throughout Whitman's notebook there is a lot of focus on God. On many pages there are references to God or Christ. There are also many references to Judaism in his scribbles. Whitman also incorporates a focus on Abraham Lincoln and a conversation that the two might of had. Another major focus that Whitman had throughout his notebook was power which was seen when he mentioned various queens of countries and the throne. Another interesting observation is that there is some sort of seal on many of the pages of his notebook that seem to come at random points so I am not sure what he used it for. There are also many drawings in his notebook of a bearded man which could very likely be himself. Finally there is an interesting newspaper heading on one of the pages of his notebook.

I think Whitman's scribbles and drawings within his notebook say a lot about him. The newspaper heading he drew in his notebook tells me that he had aspirations for some of his works to be published in a newspaper so his ideals could spread to people around the country because they were not popular at the time. I think all of his scribbles and drawings show how his ideals were very different from the common ideals of the time period and that is why they are so messy and hard to follow because I think he feared that if anyone discovered this why he was still living he would be criticized for his ideals.

After understanding what Whitman really wrote it was discovered that his conversation with Abraham Lincoln never actually occurred. It was something that he had created which showed how he had aspirations to hopefully speak to Lincoln but never had the chance to.  Also a clearer picture was made about Whitman's thoughts on religion and how he proposed a four sided God that would hopefully appeal to all people so they could be unified under one God. We also find out that the seal that was on many of the pages of Whitman's notebook was a Library of Congress collection mark that was added after his notebook was recovered and stored by the Library of Congress.

The "American Dream"

1. How would you describe the “American Dream?”

I would describe the American Dream as the belief that a person can move to America and have the opportunity to work hard. This opportunity to work hard will ultimately pay off in them being successful and being able to provide for themselves and their families.I think the American Dream is applicable to both citizens in the United States and citizens of other countries.

2. What is your definition of wealth?

My definition of wealth is having enough money to cover the necessities that come with living in the United States as well as having plenty of money to cover any wants that a person has. There are different types of wealthy people though. Some people buy all the necessities and wants they have in life. Then there are some wealthy who are very frugal with their money and by all the needs of life but do not spend large amounts of money on wants or indulge in many of their wants even though they have enough money to do that.

3. What are Americans’ attitudes toward wealth and poverty?

I think many Americans have a negative connotation towards people that have wealth. I think this is because we often see wealthy American's not making smart decisions with their money. However I think Americans have a positive association with wealth in the terms that one day if they are smart enough and work hard enough being wealthy is an obtainable thing. I feel like Americans have a helping attitude when it comes to poverty. Many citizens in the country that are well off make an effort to help out those who live in poverty. I also think that many Americans think that the amount of poverty in our country is way to high.

4. What is your attitude toward wealth and poverty?

Wealth is always something I have strived for and continuing striving for in my life. I wanted to be well enough off to provide for my future self and hopeful family to cover all of our needs as well as live a comfortable life where I can provide for some of their wants as well. The idea of poverty has always scared me because I do not think the average person really knows what its like to live in poverty. I do think that it is possible to work your way out of poverty in the United States if you have the right work ethic and mind set. There are a vast amount of opportunities in the United States where someone can be successful. I think knowledge of poverty in the United States is very minimal within the country as well as outside the country because it receives less media coverage compared to the coverage that wealth gets in the United States and outside of the country because people seem to follow the stories of the wealthy more than they do of people who live in poverty.

The Stranger Blog Post

#1:As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

• The diction choice of uneasy shows how the dreams the character was having were harsh and unsettling enough to wake the character from his sleep
• The use of the word insect outlines what he transformed into compared to the word bug because it is more direct

#2:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.

• Bug has a more negative connotation than insect in translation one
• This translation does not include an introductory word like the other three when referring to when the character awoke

#3:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.

• The word choice of transformed is more positive rather than changes in translation two because transformed make the character being turned in to a bug seem more of a privilege than a curse like the word change does
• The word when makes it seem that this transformation was in the characters destiny to become an insect

#4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.

• Vermin is a different translation from the other three and the translation includes monstrous which makes his transformation seem worse
• The introductory saying of one morning makes it seem as if it was an ordinary day
• This translation is separated with commas where as the other three are not broken apart with any commas. This makes this translation seem 

How does the word choice, syntax, punctuation, and imagery shift in each affect meaning? Is one more effective than another? Why? What does this exercise bring up about the difficulty of reading translated texts? How do different translations effect the tone of the sentence? 

Different translations from original text carry different interpretations by readers compares to the original text. Translator interpret the original text in their own ways and then translate the original text in their own ways. This leads to different wordings of parts of the text. Translation that correlate directly with what the original text are the most similar to the original text. However translation that are similar to the original text but vary in wording so it flows better with the language that it was translated in to are more effective at allowing the reader to understand the text because the translation is easier to read and glows better with the language they are reading it in rather than reading a direct translation of a text because the direct translation most likely does not create flowing sentences compared to a translation that was made to be read in the language it was translated in to.

The exercise shows how different translations of text can lead to difficulty to understanding the original text. Translations allow for different word choice based on what the translator sees fit. This shows that readers could read to different translations of a text and they could read two different stories just because they are two different translations and could not receive an understanding of what the original text was trying to say. Translators can use different syntax or sentence structure to alter the tone of their sentences and these tones could e different compared to what the original author's tones in the story. 

Practice IOC

Im sorry, but I have not felt well this weekend so I am going to use my freebie. :(

I've Got You Covered

The four covers are all different from each other. In my opinion the bottom right book cover is the most interesting and fits the story line of Never Let Me Go the best. The Top two covers and the bottom right all incorporate a human attributes on the cover where as the bottom left does not. The bottom left book cover is the most mysterious of the four and the most confusing in my opinion. The top right and bottom book covers incorporate larger font for the book title compared to the top left book cover. The top two and bottom left book covers incorporate more light colors like yellow and green, but the bottom left book cover is very dark having grey and navy. The bottom right book cover does not have any of the recognitions the book received where as the other three books do. The bottom right also does not include any quotes from reviews on the cover. The purpose of the top left color is to show the loneliness of a teenage girl and show the sadness that could be in the story. The top rights purpose is shown by the fading character on the front. This represents how a character is going to fade/die in the story. The bottom left book cover's purpose is to really grab the readers attention to grab the book off the shelf because it is very mystical and is open to a lot of interpretation because a boat on the water does not tell much about what the story could be about. The bottom right book cover's purpose is to show the importance the human body is going to have on the story because it incorporates human body parts as the main feature on the cover.

Both of these covers incorporate aspects of nature. However the cover on the right focus more on a certain character most likely Kathy the main character of the story. The cover on the right leads a reader to think that the story is more about a lonely girl and her story. Where as the cover on the left has a greater focus on the organs of the human body which is the purpose of the clones that are living in Hailsham. The cover on the left is a more accurate representation of the story and draws the attention of someone looking at the cover and does not know the story more because the dark colors make it more mysterious and intriguing to the reader to find out why there is an outline of the human body on the cover the incorporates all the major organs in the body. The cover on the right grabs the attention of a reader interested in a love story because it is almost like someone is looking at this shy girl with content. This is a great set up for how a shy girl falls in love with the boy who is interested in her. The cover on the left does a good job at capturing the relationship between Tommy and Kathy in the story however I don't think it grabs the attention of the reader as well. The cover on the left is my favorite of the four covers and does the best job at portraying the story in the book without giving anything major away.

Never Let Me Go Post

Link- https://www.ted.com/talks/ed_gavagan_a_story_about_knots_and_surgeons

This Ted Talk by Ed Gavagan was a story about his life when he was stabbed by some gangbangers and luckily survived. He used his story to make the argument that everything that happens in your life happens for a reason and shapes what happens in your life later; and all the moments and people in your life help shape who you are. He starts by describing the predictability of life. He then talks about one of his common subway rides. One night on his subway ride there were these two college age students practicing tying knots on some string. He was a little confused by this until a man came over to help the two college students. He later found out that these two kids were medical school students practicing the latest and greatest suturing knots, and the man that came over to help them happened to be the professor of the seminar the students were on their way to see. The idea sent Gavagan into a flashback of his story about how he was stabbed. It brought him to his time in the ambulance after he was almost killed by the gangbangers. He then describes his surgeries he had to go through and the chances he had at survival. He was lucky to survive and the doctor tells him that he had about a %2 at living. He is now back on his subway train thinking about showing his scars from surgery to the med students and then he thinks that he probably shouldn't. He uses this story to highlight his main thesis on life to connect is first ever scar from his umbilical cord and his other scars connecting. His brush up with the gangbangers is what lead him to his medical team and his medical team helped him push back against the chaos.

Gavagan uses many different types of emotional appeal to portray the meaning of his talk to the audience. He first uses the predictability of life to connect with the members of the audience who often experience the same predictability. He then uses emotional appeal through the story of the two med students trying to learn suture knots on the train before their seminar. He also uses his story of facing death after he was stabbed to really draw emotion from the audience and allow them to connect with him as he is telling the story. Gavagan use of emotional appeal in multiple circumstances was effective at driving home his point that the experiences we have in life and the people in our life shape us into the person we are because without his scuffle with the gangbangers he would have not met his medical team. He also uses the example of the two med students. If they had not been practicing suture knots on the train they would never receive help from the professor who taught them in the future.

The title of the ted talk is what really grabbed my attention. I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon one day so I thought I could relate to this story very easily. I hope that one day I can make differences in my patients lives like Gavagans surgeon made a difference in his life and helped shape him into the person he is today.