Hey! Okay, so it’s about 11:00 am and, as I thought, last night is crashing down on me. I’m really tired, but I won’t be able to get to sleep. Once I’m up, that’s the end. But I think I’ll be able to sleep well tonight; we have a big day today which will make me even more tired. YAY! (though it may have seemed like it, there was no sarcasm in that.) Anyways, so it’s now officially 2009. Wow… the year went by so fast… So, I was thinking of New Year’s Resolutions, and I thought stop procrastinating would be a good one, but then I imagined it… I don’t think it’s possible for me to do that. So instead I thought of getting better at math… not that I’m BAD exactly… I’m just not the best. Okay, so I didn’t think of it; my sister did. But that’s my resolution now, too. So… I don’t really know what else to say… I guess that’s the end then. Bye!!! Happy New Year!
So, another night without sleep. Great. I’ll REALLY feel it tomorrow. But, as long as I’m up… So it’s now like 2:30 am, and it’s 2009. It seems like it should still be maybe September 2008. Wow, time goes by when you’re getting older :) Alright, so, I decided to write this poem thing, because I want too.
R eally bad at lying.
U nderstanding… most of the time.
B lue is my favourite colour.
Y es, I am a fan of Twilight.
L oyal.
O utright in love with Edward Cullen.
V ery blessed.
E xtremely sleep deprived right now.
S ensitive and selfless.
T rustworthy.
W eak… physically.
I gnoring what people said about the Twilight movie. I loved it. The end.
L oving.
I maging all the time.
G entle.
H elpful.
T he bright side is the right side.
The End Enjoy, and I’m really tired now. So, goodnight.
It’s past midnight, but I can’t get to sleep. I should, but I can’t.For a while I haven’t been sleeping well; falling to sleep late (evidently), and I don’t sleep in.One of my friends asked if I was worried about something. I can’t really think of anything I’d be worried of. Maybe unfinished things has something to do with it. Maybe it’s because my room is quite messy. Whenever I come in I feel very annoyed because of the mess. But it’s been messier.My mum doesn’t really comment on it. Well, she doesn’t really understand. I’d probably be in trouble if she knew what I did when everyone else was sleeping. But I will tell her. Soon, no doubt. I heard someone running by my house about half an hour ago… they should’ve been inside.What am I doing? I should be trying to fall asleep…But I’m not. I’m here awake, thinking about Twilight. Of course I am…No, I have to try again. Try to fall asleep. I’ll probably have a dreamless night, but maybe that will be good, because then there’s not a chance of a nightmare waking me at three in the morning.I wonder if the bruise-like shadows will disappear from under my eyes before school starts again. Maybe not…Okay, really, I have to go to sleep now. I have to. I have to… Goodnight. Hopefully.
I like Twilight because it’s not the Day,
I like Twilight, because only stars or clouds can hear what I say.
At Twilight, everything is forgotten that is not there,
At Twilight it feels as if there is no room for despair.
For some, Twilight is a time to rest…
But for me, Twilight is the time when I’m happiest.
“The past is never dead, its not even past.”
¯ What does this quote mean to you?
I think that this quote’s meaning is that the past is never gone, it can always happen again. I think it’s quite a frightful thought, because so many bad wars and such have already happened, and to think they could happen again is scary.
¯ How does this connect to The Wave?
The Wave is like the Adolf Hitler and Nazi event all over again in a school, but of course not as gruesome and shocking. The Wave members are the Nazis, and Ben Ross is Adolf Hitler, except Ben Ross doesn’t have as much of a grasp on the situation as Hitler, and he doesn’t have any religious issues.
¯ American History connection, too!
This quote connects to American history because happenings in the past have occurred again. For example, when the colonists took sides during the Revolution (Patriots and Loyalists), this is like any other war. You are on either one side or the other, and if you don’t flee, you will have to choose a side sooner or later.
“Do me a favor and look up the word intrepid and remember me as such.”
Intrepid: Determinedly fearless; dauntless (confident).
Mr. R just always knows the right word. Intrepid is the exact word to describe him. Though I do not understand, I won’t ask why he left. He has written to us all he wanted us to know, and I understand. His letter to us was heartbreaking, beautiful, and shocking. No-one in that room was happy when we found out the reason for Mr. R’s absence. There wasn’t a sound to be heard except for Ms. D reading the letter written with great care. It was a sad day, and lately, March seems to be a sad month for me. Mr. R was a great teacher, and won’t be forgotten. Thankyou Mr. R, we’ve learnt a lot from you.
Laurie has noticed that non-Wave members are being bullied into the Wave.
*Have you ever been forced to join something against your will?
No, not that I can remember, which makes me relieved. I hate it when people will stop at nothing to get what they want, forcing people into doing something they really don’t want to do.
*How should we behave if we see someone being taunted or bullied by a group of people?
I know it makes people seem like a tattle-tale, but the best thing to do is tell a teacher, especially if the victim is being hurt physically. If that doesn’t work (but there’s no reason why it shouldn’t), if it won’t make it worse, you could try stopping it yourself with words. BUT TRY THE TEACHER OPTION FIRST!!!!!!!
*Should we try not to get involved or should we intervene?
It depends on the situation. Unfortunately, sometimes the geed guys get hurt. But if it’s a non-violent situation, try to stop it yourself by standing up for the victim. If it is violent, however, inform a teacher straight away.
This week in class is different. No Mr. R, and until recently, we just thought he was sick. We have a sub, and she didn’t really know too much about what we were doing and starting. So, we went to Ms. D’s classroom.
“It takes two sides to start a fight.” - Ms. D
Ms. D talked about The Wave and how it compares to the Germans. The Germans had nothing, then Hitler came along…
I daydreamed about what would happen if our school had something like The Wave. I imagine us all in different lines having been told an order by our “leader”, and having to complete the task. I also imagine a teacher (I imagined Mr. J) asking a question and everyone raises their hand all at once.
Laurie’s father likes The Wave idea of getting people to work together as a group, while Laurie’s mother admires people who are not afraid to act as individuals. Whose side are you on?
1. Do you need to be in a group or are you more independent?
I like to be in a group because otherwise a lot of the time I just feel alone. But I am an independent person, too. I basically have the best of both worlds, because I like to be with my friends, or people, I know. But I also like to be independent, if I’m doing a project or something like that.
2. Have people in Qatar achieved a balance between individualism and community spirit?
Well, I think Qatar citizens will act as a community and can still be independent. So I think people here have achieved it, maybe not as much as it could be achieved, but there’s a nice balance of both.
3. Is individual freedom more important than community?
No, I think they’re about as important as each other because it’s a skill to speak your own mind, but it’s also a skill to act in a group.
What’s the difference between being the same and being equal, or are they the same?
I think that being equal is having the same rights as everyone else, the same respect, and the same freedom. Whereas if everyone’s the same, then everyone thinks the same, have the same personalities, and no-one’s different.
This week we worked on our blogs and talked about commenting. I learned that it’s very good to write things down, such as google reader passwords! But it’s ok now, I wrote everything down so I won’t need to try 20 made up passwords again! I also learned a kind of “cycle” of comments. Mr. R told us how to start comments, too:
v This reminds me of…
v I wonder…
v I noticed…
v I’d like to know…
v I’m suprised that…
v If _________, then _________
v I’m not sure that…
v This is similar to…
v I realized…
v You can relate this to…
v I’d like to know…
v If I were ________, I would _______
v Although it seems…
This week in class was a bit different than the rest of the year. Mr. R has now left the school, and everyone who had him is upset, even some people who didn’t have him. Mr. R was a great teacher, and he was the best Language Arts teacher I’ve ever had, too. Even though he did say things like “I don’t want to teach you” (and other things meaning he REALLY didn’t want to teach us), he was still a great teacher and we learnt a lot from him. So, thankyou, Mr. R.
