Week Thirteen

End of semester reflections

This last week of classes is bitter sweet. Although I am excited for my first semester of mun to be completely over, I really enjoyed this class and am sad it must come to a end. On the positive side, I will be taking many things I have learned from this course with me. Since September I have learned many helpful things on writing a essay, such as improving my thesis statements and how to use MLA format. I have also learned all the small details that lie within a poem and how analyzing them helps to understand the deeper meaning of a poem. I enjoyed the poetry section and the short fiction section of this course but my favorite aspect was the blog posts. I have never kept a blog before and I have grown to love it. I think within a class, it is a great way for students to get to know each other a little more and get the opportunity to see what the interests of the people sitting beside you are. I liked how each different week the blog usually related to something we discussed during class, it was a exciting way to keep us interested in the course material. I really enjoyed sharing my thoughts and creativity with other people and reading everyone's blogs each week. It became my favorite part of Fridays. A suggestion I would make about the course is, it might be interesting for students to pick their favorite poem or short fiction story to write a essay on. That way each student can feel passionate about the poem they are writing about and it may make it easier to connect with. Overall, this class has taught me many great things about English and I am looking forward to English 1110. Thanks so much for reading everyone!

Emma Coady

Week Twelve

How To Make Oreo Cookie Fudge

                                               

                                

Oreo fudge is easy to make and delicious!
Needed Ingredients:
1 package of cream cheese, room temperature (8 ounce)
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
15 ounces white chocolate, chopped
15 Oreo cookies, broken into chunks

Step 1: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and no lumps remain.
Step 2: In top of a double boiler, over steaming water, heat white chocolate , stir until melted and smooth.
Step 3: Stir the melted white chocolate and 3/4 of the oreo cookies into the cream cheese mixture.
Step 4: Spread into a parchment lined 8x8 baking dish. Press the remaining cookies into the top of the fudge to make it look presentable.
Step 5: Let fudge chill in fridge for approximately 4 hours before cutting.
Step 6: Cut into 1 inch squares and serve :)

Week Eleven

Week Ten

Quotable

Quote #1. "So many people prefer to live in drama because it's comfortable. It's like someone staying in a bad marriage or relationship - it's actually easier to stay because they know what to expect every day, versus leaving and not knowing what to expect."-- Ellen DeGeneres

Ellen DeGeneres is a comedian, philanthropist, advocate and talk show host. She is one of the most confident women on TV and I love watching her show. She never fails to make me laugh and I admire everything she does for the world. During every one of her shows, she gives generously to others, she cares about what's going on around her and tries her best to contribute as much as she can. This quote has significance to me because I can relate to it. I have found myself sticking to comfort rather then exploring the new because it is easier and feels safer. After hearing this quote from Ellen, I realized that their is so much more in life that I haven't discovered and settling for something that doesn't feel right is never going to make me happy. 

Quote #2. “I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” -- Marilyn Monroe 

Marilyn Monroe was a model, actress and singer who eventually became a major sex symbol in the late 50's and early 60's. Her death was very tragic and people still don't really know what happened. She died of drug over dose in 1962 and there was always the question of if she was murdered. I love this quote because in her movies, Marilyn always played the "dumb blonde" but this quote is so wise. Marilyn is a good real model for girls my age. She was always a bigger sized woman and she is still one of the most beautiful, and iconic ladies in the media today. Marilyn teaches us that everything happens for a reason and the things that happen in life, bad and good help shape us to the person we are ment to be.

Quote #3. "Those who don't try never look foolish" -- Wicked

This quote comes from one of my favorite musicals, Wicked by Stephan Schwartz. It's the story of the two witches from the Wizard of Oz and the experiences that lead to the story that we all know. This play is funny, exciting and sad all at the same time. The quote comes from the song "Dancing Through Life" which is sung by the character Fiyero, who ends up being the scarecrow. The song is about not caring about anything and just dancing through life. This quote can be applied when your nervous about trying something new or when your afraid of the unknown. You can always back down and not do it, in the fear of screwing up, or you can go for it and discover something wonderful. Sometimes you screw up, but that's how people learn. Its better to try then not try at all.

Week Nine

                                                                     Sweet Revenge

 

As I was sitting home starring out my window at the rain, I was thinking, I did nothing wrong. People don't know my side of the story. My parents, my sister Susan and my boyfriend Jake were all on their way over to get me to tell them the truth before they called the police, I am assuming, but they don't know everything. They don't know why I did it. They don't know why I killed that woman. As I was thinking about what I was going to say to them, I replayed it all over in my head. It was exactly a month ago yesterday, on a rainy, cold day like today and it seemed like my luck was really turning around. I had just got a promotion at work and I was headed to meet a old friend for lunch that I haven't seen in years. On my way there, I walked by a man and women fighting on the woman's door step. I tried not to pay any attention to them but the man was being extremely cruel and I was worried for the women so I stopped and said to the lady "are you alright?" She heard me but looked down and didn't respond. The man, on the other hand turned and took a step closer to me and stared in my eyes and said "she is fine, it's none of your concern". I couldn't help but stare back at the man. Something about him was so familiar and I couldn't pick out what it was. I was so thrown off by the run in with this man that I went straight home to rest and have a drink. While I sat on my couch, I thought back to the day of the car accident that killed my cousin Tara, her fiance Brad and my best friend Ally. They were on their way to my house to take me to supper on my birthday. As I thought about these horrible memories I rushed to my desk to get the old articles. Then I realized why the man looked familiar. I read the articles about the accident 3 times and these horrible memories came flooding back to me. The man was proven guilty but only spent a year in jail. I knew this was the same man. At that moment something came over me. That man took so much from me and I wanted to do the same to him. Before even realizing what I was doing, I took a knife from the kitchen and I drove to the house I saw the man and woman fighting in front of earlier that day and watched, waiting to see someone inside. About 45 minutes later, the same women came from the house and was walked towards a trail. I got out of the car and followed her. I followed her until it was dark and no one was around. She had stopped to sit on a bench and make a phone call but I took it as a opportunity and I did it there. I crept up from behind and stabbed her. It was not hard for me and I don't know why I never felt guilt or regret. I did not know this women or anything about her, but I knew that man took the people I loved from me and I could never be the same without them, knowing he was not hurt the way I was. I left the woman there, went home, cleaned my knife and set it back in the draw. No one would ever know I thought. 

Week Eight

Dear 8AM Math Class,

I can't decide how I feel about you. Some days, you are so convenient, but other days you are a nightmare. The worst sound in the world is hearing my alarm go off at 630 in the morning when it's time to wake up and get ready for you. I know it is my fault, I chose to be with you, I could of picked another time slot but you seemed like the best fit at the moment. Now I am questioning my decision... I can not seem to wake myself up half of the time to come to you and when I do, it is hard to concentrate because I am always so tired. I try sleeping earlier in the night time but it still never seems to be enough. I thought you would be so good for me, I enjoy having shorter days and being done by lunch time, I also like getting you over with first thing in my day (no offence). I feel like the relationship we have is going in the wrong direction and we need to make a change. I know I have made some mistakes here, like doing bad on the first test you gave me and dozing off every now and then but we can try our best and get through this. I promise to start coming every day and being my lively, concentrated self if you promise to please be nicer to me on my next midterm. If we keep these promises I think we can make it.

Sincerely,
Emma

Week Six

Man Wishes There Wasn't So Much Blank Room on Anniversary Card

     In Vancouver, Canada, this past weekend, Daniel Cooper spoke to a reporter about how he hates the amount of empty space on a lot of the anniversary cards and birthday cards at the gift shops. Cooper tells the reporter for each occasion, he goes into the store, spends a half hour reading all the cards and he always ends up leaving with one with the least amount of words on it. He says "I always tell myself I'll just buy one with a pretty flower on it saying how much I love her but I hate them all, so I leave thinking I can write something magnificent on my own and I get home and instantly regret it. Should buying a card really be that hard?" The question that haunts us all. Some men just want their wives to be thrilled by the effort put into giving them a card and it stresses men out. What will she say if I write too much or not enough? What will she do if I don't write anything at all? Men live in fear of letting the women in their lives down. Poor Daniel now has to struggle to fill up all that empty space and make it perfect to put a smile on his lady's face.