Oh Millbrook! My Millbrook!

I still cannot believe that high school is almost over for me.  As I reflect back on my years at Millbrook High School I see how much I have grown and changed.

For starters I see how much I have grown as a leader and student.   I began high school quite ambitious ready to learn and prosper in what people call the best 4 years of your life.  I must have heard that saying wrong because in all honesty high school is anything but the best four years of your life.  You learn the good and bad of relationships, friendships, teachers, studying, and hard work.  You also learn about time management, most of the time from that awful all-nighter you had to pull because you procrastinated a little too long.

In the short four years of high school I have grown so much as a person.  Personally my relationship with my parents have grown and matured as I have grown and matured.  Friendships have also done the same for me, as I have learned who I can really count on and who is just passing by.  I have also learned a lot about myself and about the kind of person I am.  Because of specific classes I have taken in high school I know what kinds of things I am really good at and what other things I struggle with more.

The biggest advice I can give to someone who is about to start high school is to enjoy their four years in high school.  High school goes by faster than you think, I promise (even though it really doesn't feel like it).  Sit back and relax, enjoy the end of your time as a kid because after high school comes adulthood and lemme just say that can be quite intimidating.

My inner Whitman challenges you to embrace high school and enjoy both the ups and downs that it brings you.  It will be over before you know it and you will be looking back at it wondering where the time went (like me).

Walt Whitman Notebooks

Walt Whitman was a great writer, but his handwriting was subpar to say the least.  I could understand best page seven.  From this page I interpreted that he is talking about a struggle of some kind.  He is comparing a challenge with the challenge of sailing.  He states that "anybody can sail with a fair wind and smooth seas."  By saying that he is implying that anyone can be successful without is they face no adversity.  He explains in the beginning that he welcomes the storms and trials and that he wants the waves to come.  I interpreted this as he wants to be challenged in life and in his endeavors.  I think this is referring to his career.

After reading the interpretation of what he said on page seven, I understand that he was not talking about himself as much as he was talking about other endeavors in life.  The extract specifically resembled a poem he wrote about the civil war.  I think it is interesting that he talks about the endeavor using first person.  This is why I interpreted his words as speaking about his own strength.  After reading that it was about the Civil War it makes me wonder if he views war as a necessary evil because he references that the he welcomes the challenges.

The American Dream

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

The American Dream to me is simply successfully achieving your life goals. These goals can range from simply finding the love of your life and starting a family to creating a fourtune 500 company. My american dream would be to become a renowned speech pathologist who helps people all over he country. The other part of my american dream is finding the man of my dreams and starting a family together.

2. What is your definition of wealth?

To me, wealth has to facets. The first is not having to worry about bills. When you don't have to stay up at night wondering how you will make your next house payment, you are wealthy. The most important part of wealth, though, is the relationship part. Having positive and healthy relationships with your family and friends makes you the wealthiest person in the world.

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

I think a majority of America, including myself sometimes, view the wealthy as the great and smart individuals of our society and the poor as the weak and unintelligent of our society. This is obviously not the case. As I stated above, wealth is determined more by your personal relationships and personal happiness rather than material money.

4. What is your attitude toward wealth and poverty?

My attitude is that if you have positive and happy relationships and you are personally content and happy with yourself and your life then you are as wealthy as any man. Wealth is connected to Maslow's hierarchy of need. The higher on the hierarchy the wealthier you are.

***I was going to insert a picture of Maslow's hierarchy, but the subpar internet connection in the London Heathrow airport would not load it so use your imagination***

Freebie

Freebie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Practice IOC

I emailed you my recording of the IOC.  My grading is listed below.

A) 6

• I referenced specific quotes from the text with almost every assertion I make and I showed good understanding of the text

B) 4

• I dove deep into body language and tone but only referenced those two aspects

C) 4

• My IOC was well organized and it obviously followed the flow of the passage

D) 3

• My register was very appropriate but I had a lot of pauses and some of my statements were difficult to follow

Total score: 17

#ibtakesdunsinane

I went to Dunsinane with the IB fam!!!

How to Live Passionately- No Matter your Age

Isabel Allende

In the famous authors Ted Talk, How to Live Passionately- No Matter your Age, Isabel Allende argues that the best way to avoid the horrors of aging is to become passionate about something and be involved in whatever that is.  The important thing is to make yourself happy.  Allende mentioned the things she lost though aging, like her boundless energy and her sexy body, but told what she gained as well.  The things she gained; freedom, lightness, softness, and spirituality are the things what make her happy now and keep her young.  These keep her spirits up when she becomes scared of losing her independence because of age.  The concept of aging is difficult to explain becuase in reality we are all aging all the time ever since birth.  It is important to start living passionately now because you never know what could happen in your one special life.  She tells how her role models, who are people who live passionately through a cause or idea, are the ones who stay young in their spirit.  Although she may be physically 71, she feels 17 because of the happy and passionate life she lives.

The purpose of her talk to to inspire others to not fear the process of aging, but instead thrive in it through living passionately.  To achieve her purpose she gives herself credibility.  She does this by starting the talk by announcing her age, 71.  What she talks about concerning aging would not be trusted coming from someone who has only aged 17 years.  The logical side of her argument is very strong as well.  She uses words like "inevitable" and "everyone" to show how this aging thing she is referring to will happen no matter what, it is purely a fact.  This strengthens her argument by recognizing the reality of her topic while also connecting it to every single person.

The strongest part of her argument is her emotional appeal.  Because everyone has or will experience aging, she can create a story that everyone can relate to.  She uses a lot of humor, usually at herself, to point out the "horrors" of aging.  An example is when she talked about the changes she has experienced with her body.  She also has more serious emotional points that strengthens her connection with the audience.  An example would be when she shares her story of losing her independence as a person and how frightening that is for her.  

I chose to watch this Ted Talk because I am a very passionate person when it comes to specific things.  Sometimes this is a strength of mine and other times it can be a weakness.  I wanted to hear from someone, who has experienced a lot more life than me, how they managed to age and remain happy through passion.  The whole talk was essentially about finding yourself and accepting yourself through passionate living.