What I've Learned This Semester

At the beginning of the year I wasn’t sure what to expect from this whole new school and new teachers. I was told that Stevenson would be a lot easier than St. Mikes, which brings me to the first thing I learned, which is that English class at Stevenson is as hard if not harder than the one I had at my old school. I learned that English class can be the worst and best class of the day.

When I wrote my first day of school paper, I had no idea what the grading scale was in this school, or what to do to get a good grade. When I got my paper back I was not very happy with myself because of the grade I got, so when we were going to start the rewrite, I decided to work harder, this is the second thing I learned, which is that you have to try your very best to succeed in writing and from trying your best you are rewarded with knowledge.

The third thing I learned was not a life lesson, but it had as big of an impact on me as the lessons I learned did. I learned of something called the Rwandan genocide. Up until this year I don’t think I even knew that there was a country called Rwanda on this planet. I knew about the genocide of the Jewish people in the Holocaust, but never knew that there was another time in history where that happened. I learned about all the different groups of people who were involved or not involved enough in the genocide, like France, Uganda, and even my own country. One thing that I found most disturbing during the genocide was that the Hutu people (MRND) had a radio station set up to instruct the Hutus on how and when to kill their neighbors, the Tutsis. I found it strange that the Hutus were not smart enough to think for themselves.

The next thing I learned I had only used twice before, but it wasn’t used the same way. I learned how to write a thesis statement. In the 7th grade I did a science fair project and for that I had to write a thesis. That thesis had to be an “if”, “then” statement and use both those words in it. It took me a long time to understand the purpose of a thesis. In 8th grade I had to do the same thing, but for a half year long research project. The concept of how to write a thesis was clear to me now, it had to have an opposing side, the words if and then, and have support throughout your paper. When I got to 9th grade, my image of a thesis was twisted, when I wrote a thesis it was always fairly long, but I learned that a thesis doesn’t have to be a paragraph, or have the exact word if or then, as long as you get your point across and express your idea clearly.

I also learned how to margin note. Margin noting on papers or articles can help me to understand the article and help me not to have to re-read the article; I can just summarize what at certain paragraph or line said in the margins. I can also highlight the really important parts so I know what they are or what the main idea of the article is.

The last thing I’ve learned is that harsh, correcting criticism is a thousand times better than no criticism at all. I have learned that being told that you are wrong when you are wrong is better than being told you are right when you are wrong. In other words, I appreciate harsh critics because they make me a better writer. I have improved in my writing skills so much this half a year that I ever have, so I would like to thank Mr. Fielder for all the critics he has given me this semester, I truly appreciate each and every one of them, so once again thank you!

To Be a Native American

If I had to be a native person in the time of colonization or hardship in North America, South Africa, Rwanda, or Australia, I would be a Native American.


I would not only want to be just a Native American, but a Native American in the Powhatan tribe. I have my reasons for being so specific with my choice. You see, over the summer, I got bored one day and sat on the couch. I turned on the TV and there it was, a movie that I had fallen in love with years ago, but hadn’t seen it since then, until now. It was the Disney movie, Mulan. Seeing this movie triggered a new obsession that I still hold today, which is Disney. So, I would spend the rest of my summer watching all the old Disney VHS movies (around 35) and researching for the original or historical reference in each and every one of them. I read Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, old folk tales of the legend of Hua Mulan, and I discovered the historical background of the movie Pocahontas. It was magic! The two things I love in this world the most history and Disney combined! This discovery led to numerous library visits, which led to me knowing more and more about “little mischief” (it’s what Pocahontas means, it was a nickname) than I ever knew before, like that she was from the Powhatan tribe.

It would be a dream come true to experience Jamestown first hand! I would pay big money and leave everything I have behind to be able to live through this time, even though I would be most likely killed, it would be completely worth it. Sure, it would be tough having to deal with those pesky Brits and their misunderstandings and the tribe’s misunderstandings, but there are so many different points of view on this story that I’m not sure which one to believe. Knowing the truth would make it all the better. So, maybe I don’t want to live in a colonized area because it was safer, easier to live in, or anything else like that. The sole reason I chose to be a Powhatan is because of an obsession.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

This time of year sure is the most wonderfel time of the year. Christmas is personally my favorite holiday. Is it because I’m a selfish brat who loves getting stuff? No, I would never ever think that way. My favorite part of the holiday is shopping. When I go to the store in search of the perfect present it always makes me feel excited and happy. What makes it even better is when I actually found that perfect present and the person I gave it to lights up when they open it. It makes me feel good to know that all that searching paid off. Actually here are so many things I truly love about Christmas.

I love driving by all the houses and staring at the brightly colored lights and decorations. I love how on t.v. there is always a Christmas movie playing. I love Christmas movies. Although I hate to admit it I love the snow. I love how people are always so happy. I love how excited I still get on Christmas Eve. I love how Christmas smells, which at my house is cinnamon and pine tree. I love staring at the Christmas tree. I love staring out my window at all the snow, and admiring how picture perfect pretty it looks. I love taking pictures of the picture perfect snow outside my window. I love Christmas music. I love wrapping presents for my cousins and aunts and uncles. I love decorating the tree. I love making snow men. I love getting Christmas cards. I love sitting by the fire at my grandma’s Christmas party. The last thing I am going to bore you with on my long list of things I love about Christmas is that I love how whenever I think about Christmas I smile.
I would like to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Merry Christmas!
Feliz Navidad!
gëzuar krishtlindjet!
vrolijk kerstfeest!
Joyeux Noël!
frohe Weihnachten!
Buon Natale!
nollaig shona!

The Rwandan genocide debate

Yesterday we had a debate on the Rwandan genocide. We debated back and forth on who to blame and who did what. We mainly tried to get the blame off ourselves and onto another group. I am in the Ugandan group. Uganda, if we were going to pick sides, I would say we were on the Tutsi’s side. Uganda helped the Tutsi’s during the genocide by giving them a safe place to hide and help to again be equal with the Hutus. Some groups think that we were harboring terrorists, but we believe that we were simply making the fight fair by arming and giving the RPF a base. As a group we don’t feel we did anything wrong.


I personally think that everyone at the debate should all be partially blamed for different things in the genocide. Each group could have done more to stop it or more to try to prevent it in the first place. I hope that all the groups will be able to admit this because they all know that they did something. If you did not somehow participate in the genocide, then your group wouldn’t be involved in this debate, or as it seemed at the time, the blame game.

A responce to Emerson's "Man Thinking"

Emerson’s argument in “the American scholar” about American society is still true today.

One reason Emerson’s argument is still true today is that most to all Americans have one job. This job is one that they chose and one that they like. It is one they take pride in doing. They have one job and therefore one main skill. This main skill varies by the job. My dad, in example, is an engineer and the skills he needs are math and science. He doesn’t need to know history, or English. All those things in his mind are lost. When people lose their jobs, it can be difficult to find a new one because you only have one set of skills and one knowledge of one job, so it can be hard to get another job. We should be taught to know more than one set of skills, so this won’t happen to us.

I think that it is a good thing that we are taught different subjects in school. Although we may not like a subject or not do well in it, the skills and knowledge you learned from it may come in handy some day. In some countries, when a child in school has picked out a profession, that is the only thing that child learns about. Say he/she wants to wants to be a computer technician, that person would only be taught things you need to know to become a computer technician. Even though they would become very good at that specific job, it wouldn’t help if they need to find a new job

Halloween story

Halloween is a holiday that at my house is not our favorite, but we try to make the best of it. I am not a huge a fan of Halloween one, because its always cold, two, it sometimes falls on week day and we have school the next day so you can only stay out until like10:00, and three, me and strobe lights don’t mix well together.


Once when I was 8years old I went trick or treating with my sister and brother and parents, like it always used to be, and everything was going fine. So, I went up to a house, like I had done with the houses before that one, and once I was almost up there, I saw a flickering light. It was the first time I had ever seen a strobe light, so I was pretty amazed with it. Imagine this, there is a little girl dressed like Dorothy from the wizard of oz standing on your front lawn staring at your strobe light like it’s the ultimate Barbie dream house complete with all the dolls and an array of furniture and cars. This is what it probably looked like to everyone who saw me, including the owners of the house. After a few seconds, I came out of my daze and back to reality. The current reality that I was walking up to a house, saying trick or treat, getting candy, and running back to my mom to do it again. As I started to get distracted be the flashing light, I started to feel dizzy and tripped over my foot and landed face first in the grass. That was the first time I realized that me and strobe lights don’t go together very well. So I looked away from the light and continued on. I reached the door and just as I was about to walk away, someone jumped out of the bush wearing a scream mask. I screamed and was still with fright for a second. Then I started to run, but I was still blinded by the strobe light, so on my run back, I tripped off the porch into the bushes and landed on the guy who had scared me. I was once again very scared, so I got up and ran to my mom, who hadn’t seen any of it. She was too busy watching my sister go up to the house next door.



Since then I have never been friendly with strobe lights. Every time there is a strobe light on, something painful is bound to happen to me.

An Ancient History of Halloween

"Halloween dates all the way back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain 2,000 years ago in what is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and Northern France. They celebrated New Year in November on the 1st. it marked the end of summer and harvesting and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with death. Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. They caused trouble and damaged crops, Celts also thought that the presence of the spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. The people depended on the spirit world for these predictions; they were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To celebrate the event, they would build bonfires and gather around them. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, mainly consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other their fortunes.

By 43 A.D., Romans had conquered the most of the Celtic territory. For over four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two of the roman festivals were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans remembered the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is sometimes done today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of the Christians had spread into the Celtic’s lands. In the 7th century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 as All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead, with a church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in 1000 A.D., the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas."

So, I was watching the history channel, like I always do, and I saw this little advertizement in the bottom right hand corner that said to go to history.com to watch history about halloween. I got the idea to watch it, take notes, and make it my blog. To watch it yourself click here or here.