My experience in writing blogs has been a very interesting one.  When we were given the task to begin this blog, did not know if I would pick a  specific theme, or if I would write about an array of topics. I have decided that I would make a blog about things that interest me. Each week I would easily be able to decide on what to write. At first, I was unsure of what I would write about, and even considered blogging about my dog, Lolita. My dog Lolita is a bichon frise, but not the completely white type, she has an apricot tone to her ears and curly fur.  I have many stories to tell about her, but they would be like three pages long and take forever to read. My dog has a lot of cute quirks that she does, which also warm my heart each time I see her do them. Lolita also knows how to play dead, but will only do that trick if food is at the expense. I would pretend to shoot her, and then she would fall to the ground. The funny thing is that she usually keeps one of her eyes open to see what will happen next. I give her the treat right away, or she would refuse to do the trick next time around. I have truly enjoyed writing these blogs, because they have shown me how to express my ideas, and write about topics that I would not have generally written about. I have also enjoyed reading everyone’s blog because they are interesting, funny and share important topics that are relevant today.

Bucket list:

There are many things that I have on my bucket list that I really want to complete. I happen to love nature and very interested in how the landscapes came to be. Geographical regions, and the erosion of mountains are very interesting to see. When I was younger, my family and I would go to the mountains that are located in Patterson California every single weekend. We would drive around and take pictures of the huge mountains that seemed to be very impressive at the time. I truly miss going to see the Patterson mountains like we use to, now my family is too busy to go. The thing that I have on my bucket list is being able to visit as many national parks as possible. To be honest I have only gone to one national park, Sequioa National park.  I actually went in September of this year. It was really beautiful, and I really enjoy seeing the trees and mountains that are full of life. I also want to see the wildlife that lives there, except for bears, because they are scary! They do not compare to the cute teddy bears that are sold at the store, obviously. The  next National park that I want to go to is Yosemite National park. It is actually not that far from Turlock, only being two hours away! I also have to make sure I have a quality camera to take pictures with, because I need to capture nature’s beauty. There are so many National Parks all over the United States that I would like to visit. For example, Grand canyon natl park, and Yellowstone National park, Death valley national park, and many more!

Sequioa National Park
Google images

Patterson, CA Mountains
Google images

Grand Canyon National park
Google images 

Important decisions

As I turn on the TV in my living room, the first thing that shows up is coverage of the 2016 Presidential election. I am aware that it has  been going on for months, and I know that some people are really annoyed with seeing all the ads and what propositions to vote for. This will be my first time voting for a Presidential election with the exception of voting for the primary in June. The young people need to understand how important it is to vote. The argument that a single vote does not matter, really bothers me. There will be local elections that will occur in our community, which can possibly affect our everyday lives. I am just thinking how our candidates that are running came to be and if they deserve to be president. I specifically judge their character and their willingness to help the American people. I will not go into specifics, but it is obvious that one of our candidates cannot possibly relate to us, never having the everyday struggles and the point of view that we the American people go through ,by working hard for the things that we have, and not having the easy way in life. I know that both our candidates are flawed. We do not expect them to be perfect, but sometimes we wish they were different. I did not mean for this post to be Politicized, but it is an important thing going on in our lives, and it is finally happening! I respect everyone's decisions and opinions, but we need to act civil and respectful to each other. Let's all vote for whoever we are voting for tomorrow, and lets hope for the best, because we are going to need it!  If we desire to see change in our county, then we need to make sure to voice our opinion.

Halloween

As long as I could remember, October has been my favorite month for three reasons. It is my mother's birthday in October, the fall weather is in full effect, and the holiday Halloween! I also enjoyed the Halloween movies they played on TV for several days called the thirteen days of Halloween. I remember going trick or treating every year and getting my bag almost full. I ate those candies very quickly.  I really like looking back on those memories, now that I do not trick or treat anymore. My siblings are around my age, so we do not go trick or treating like we used to go every year. I guess this is growing up. *sigh* I believe that any age can go trick or treating, but I am  honestly not that enthusiastic about it anymore, and I don't like eating a lot of candy anymore. I am open to the idea to attending Halloween theme parties, because the decorations are cute and there are a lot of unique costumes. I like when people create homemade costumes, because a lot of effort is put into them, and they are more creative and unique. There will  possibly be no replica since it was made at home. I also like the haunted houses and mazes. I will probably dress up my dog and make her look cute. I feel that pets make any simple costume look really funny, and their little eyes are really cute. I know that if I put a costume on my pet, then I will have a hard time keeping in on her, because she likes to take it off.

Google images

          

Tv musings

Whenever I look around for something to watch on television I always find myself on the children TV networks. I then begin to feel  a sense of nostalgia, and I remember how watching my favorite TV shows have been a big part of my childhood.  I remember coming home from school and going to turn on the television right away. I try to watch the shows that are on TV now and it makes me sad, because those shows are not as good as they used to be. Am I growing up, or do these shows nowadays actually suck? The only show that I think is good is Peppa pig. The characters on that show are really cute!  I remember watching Nickelodeon shows like Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, The fairy odd parents, SpongeBob Square pants,Cat dog and many more! I also like Cartoon Network shows like the Power puff girls, Dexter's Laboratory,  The Looney Tunes, and my favorite Courage the Cowardly dog. Disney channel also had its fair share of great shows like The Proud family, That's so Raven, Kim Possible. These TV networks had many great shows that I watched when I was young. I would list them all, but then it would be a very long blog. Some of these shows were in the 90s and some of them were in the early 2000's. These TV shows kept me and many kids entertained, and makes us miss the old days. I can agree that television is not as popular as it used to be, due to smartphones and Netflix. People could just stream their favorite shows on Netflix using their IPhones. Hopefully a 90's show marathon comes on TV, because I will be definitely watching it.

Cartoon Network

   

Nickelodeon 

For the love of pets!

Having a pet has always been a blessing. I truly believe that pets serve a special purpose in the lives of humans. Pets teach us to be responsible and compassionate. I have always wanted to have a lot of pets especially when I was young, but I did not understand the huge responsibility that comes along with them.  I love how dogs are always cheerful, and very cute. I love how happy they act when they miss their owners. I would say that dogs are my favorite pets, but then again, I have only had dogs. I had parakeets for several years when I was younger, but they would get killed by the evil neighborhood cat. I am not saying that all cats are evil, but the one that ate my parakeets is evil. I am open to the idea of having a pet cat in the future. I know that they are completely different from dogs, and I believe that having different types of pets is very important. No pets should be neglected or abused. I hate when people take advantage of animals and starve or abuse them. That is completely selfish, since  pet puts their complete trust in the owner.  We have a lot to learn about different species of animals. I believe that adopting pets is also a great option! There are a lot of pets in the shelter waiting for a family to give them a home. The animal shelter pets just want to give their
unconditional love to their owners.

9/10/16

I am usually quiet and reserved, which causes people to think that I am standoffish, but I am an observer. I usually listen more than I speak. I love to listen to people, it helps me retain information efficiently. I will occasionally add my input in a conversation, when I am really interested. I can admit that I do not like to participate in class discussions, but I will if there is a participation grade. The funny thing is that my freshman year of high school, I had a class where participation was required, and I got 70% in participation category.  I never raised my hand, so my teacher would constantly pick on me to answer questions. That would make me annoyed, because sometimes I did not know the answer! Now that I look back to those days, I am just glad that my teacher wanted to help my grade out. I would not consider myself shy. I was really shy in elementary school, and liked to read a lot, but as I began junior high I became confident.  I felt that as I grew up, I became comfortable and talking to my peers became an easy thing. I met the shyest girl in high school. If you compared me to her, I would be extremely talkative and outgoing. She constantly looked down when people talked to her,  and she would have a very quiet soft voice. She sat right next to me, and when I talked to her I found out she was a sweet person! She was even voted to be the shyest girl on senior mosts in our high school yearbook. I think that shy people are really interesting people, they just do not express themselves like other people. I am an easygoing person, and willing to help people I know and even strangers. Today an elderly lady came towards me, and asked me to read what size was on the pajama set she was buying. "Is it medium?" she quickly added before I could even tell her what it said. "No, it is  size large" I replied. The print on the tag was extremely small, so I understood why she was having issues. She said thanks and then added that she couldn't see anything, so she was glad that I helped her. I wrote this type of  blog because I realized that I usually do not write about myself, I just write about things that interest me.

Goofy shy gif

internet

The Art of Writing

The Art of writing seems to be a powerful tool in our society. I can see how it is a major form of communication, second place to speaking. Writing can effectively inform and teach about a topic. My experience with writing has always been by making essays that I was assigned to do. I have created an array of persuasive and research essays. I felt like they were really annoying to do and the topics were limited due to school appropriateness. Completing these essays felt like an obligation, because I wanted my grade to remain in a perfect state. Being able to write whenever a person wants to, due to being inspired is when important pieces of writing can be created. All of the most important and influential writers have had a source of inspiration in their lives. For example, In my history class we learned about an important writer by the name of Thomas Paine. Paine was an Englishman who wrote his novel, Common Sense in January 1776.  The significance of this written novel was that, it was the first declaration of protest against the British government. At first, the colonists were reluctant to join the revolution, but after reading Common Sense they became inspired and decided to fight for their freedom. This is a historical example of how literature, writing can be inspiring and change the minds of individuals. There have been many important works of writing that has been around in our lifetime. I am correlating Art and Writing because they are both forms of expressions, while Art is visual and writing being the opposite. I can admit that this blog writing has helped expand my writing abilities.I am also glad that I am able to see my classmates writing,because it is very interesting to see what everyone is writing about.

Art Musings

An image has a very special way of being able to be interpreted. I believe that it all revolves around the idea of perception. Taking a different approach may open many ideas and viewpoints that one individual may not be able to derive from their own brain. I enjoy art that makes a statement, and allows the individual to question the motive behind a particular piece of art. I do not believe that art is only confined to vivid images on canvases, but it can also be found in music, writing, fashion, and poetry. I generally love any form of expression, visual or interpretive.The purpose of a visual image may be to express something that may not be able to be described with words. Individuals may add their own twist and interpret the image with miscellaneous items. Finding inspiration is everywhere and may be located in a local art museum, street art located in the neighborhoods, or images that are shared on social media by aspiring young artists. I have always been a fan of optical illusions since I was a young child. Several of these images have baffled my mind and have allowed me to  think of the big picture.
  
This optical illusion has two main images that both showcase a story. When I first looked at it I noticed two men sitting down and playing the guitar. I looked to the right and saw that it was a passageway to a different room and that a woman seemed to be entering the room. As I inspected to picture in more depth, I realized that the image turned out to be an old man and woman who were facing each other! This image has intricate details of the two men sitting down, which allow the old man and woman to be shown. There are many websites that showcase optical illusions. If you enjoy art, and like looking at the intricate details that show the bigger picture, I recommend looking at  Optical Illusions.

   

Era Musings

The way our world and society is shaped has a lot to do with the norms and practices that we the people follow or do. The  eras of humankind have always been around, and have shown special times in the evolution of generations.  According to Merriam Webster, an Era is a long and distinct period of history with a particular feature or characteristic. The term era can be subdivided into several categories. For example, in geology a subdivision of time may be the "Mesozoic era", or musical eras like Baroque, Renaissance, and Romantic. People may argue that the world may be better off today in technological terms, or that the music of back then had a lot more value than the music of today. I am glad that I am alive in this era of technological advancement, because it has made our world more efficient and communication is very viable and important. I also wonder how the world was several decades ago, and how the "future" may have been perceived back then.  I took an era quiz for fun to see if my result actually matched with what I was thinking of. My results were the 1960's and 1970's times for peace, ending war, music, dancing and disco? Yes, I was surprised with my results, but I did agree with the musical influences that were back then. The 1960's had a very interesting culture that made it into a well known era. For example the 1960's  hippie counterculture movement that had a huge impact on the society. I would travel back in time just to attend the concerts of the 60's and 70's music icons like: the Rolling stones,  The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and many more. There are always pros and cons in each era, but each era has a characteristic that makes it special.

             
 

Extraterrestrial Musings

I have always speculated whether or not aliens were real in several occasions in my life. Knowing that there are other planets in the solar system and the galaxy makes me think that there will be other life forms that our scientists have not found and discovered yet. Area 51 , the United States Air force facility, which is located in southern Nevada, has had a lot of speculation of Alien sightings. These alleged alien sightings has caused people to believe that our government is hiding confidential information from the public. Roswell, New Mexico has also had a UFO sighting that caused a spark of interest on July 7, 1947. A  Ranch worker named William Brazel, had found balloon-like debris that seemed very strange, according to the Week.co.uk. The Government took measures in making the object not get so much attention, but that failed. People began to arrive at Roswell in hopes of seeing any more UFO sightings that will prove that aliens exist. Roswell, New Mexico soon became a famous Tourist attraction where Alien lovers and believers could attend UFO conferences and museums. I personally would like to go to these two places, because I would like to bring back souvenirs, and I want to explore new locations. I am not an alien fanatic, I just have a slight interest in them. Could these creatures possibly be real? The myth has not yet been debunked, there has been numerous sightings around the world. A question to keep in mind would be:are there any reliable sources where we can assure ourselves that these creatures are real? There are a lot of people who may trick people in believing that they saw a UFO by using special effects on computers, which makes it difficult to find the truth. I believe that one day the truth of other life forms may come to our understanding, and the depiction of aliens may change as the years go by. Do you believe in Aliens or other life forms?

  

 

UFO shaped Mc donalds in Roswell, NM 

UFO Mcdonalds in Roswell, NM

 

Novel Musings

As an avid book reader, I have encountered many books with complex, fictitious plots that have made me feel like I am in a different world. I have also encountered the mediocre books, which are an easy read, but are still appreciated nonetheless. This summer, I was thrust into the world of Miss Peregrine's home for Peculiar children by Ransom Riggs. Before I became enthralled with this book, my cousin had let me borrow her copy of the book. My cousin said that this book was an interesting story with a complex plot line. The cover of the book has an mysterious and ominous look, a little girl who appears to be floating in the air. I wondered if she was a ghost, and what was the significance of her being on the cover of the book. The story begins with the introduction of the main character Jacob Portman, and how his childhood was spent with his grandfather telling him stories of  the monsters that he fought off in World War II. These stories are very interesting, but when Jacob grows up he feels like his Grandfather's stories were lies that were made to entertain him. Following a family tragedy, Jacob soon found evidence that indicated him to arrive at an orphanage in a Welsh island. He soon finds information about his grandfather, and even himself that drastically changes his life. This novel is in the Dark fantasy genre, and has black and white pictures which are defined as "creepy" throughout the whole novel. I am aware that there will be a movie released on this novel by the end of this month. I am not really a fan of novel adapted movies, because they always seem to miss a vital part of the novel. I am considering watching this particular novel adapted movie, because I want to see how it will be artistically interpreted.

                                                                                                             Miss Peregrine