Interview and Transcription

                                                          Natacha Cohen

     Intro: Natacha Cohen is an African American woman, who works at the N.Y.U Medical Center as a P.A. She is the mother of 3 girls and one surprise child on the way in her 30s. She is married to a lawyer named David Cohen. Her interview consists of coming of age questions based on family and her teenage years.

1) ONE IMPORTANT CHILDHOOD MOMENT THAT YOU HAD:"The one important childhood experience I've had, I've have to say was when I... left, my family left Haiti to come to the United States. It was a huge moment in...in our lives...in...history of our lives, in,that brought us... that brought us, you know, to the United States to give us a better life, better opportunity. I'd say that was the biggest childhood moment I can think of.

2)SO DO YOU THINK IF U DIDN'T MOVE TO THE U. THAT U WOULD BE A DIFFERENT PERSON: Probably. Ummm Idon'tknowabout different person, but differenT life style, for sure. I'd, I'd be the same person, just a different life style.

3)WHAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU USE TO FEAR:........... Uh... getting really sick, getting cancer... and not being able to see my family, see my children.

4) HOW DID YOU GET OVER THAT FEAR:...Umm...Iguess beinggg inthemedicalfeild, seeing, you know, how people cope with different diseases of cancer helped me deal with it better. And knowing that there's different hope out there, that there's different cures, different medicines out there, and,you know, how people battle certain things, I mean it's still a fear, It's not as bad as it use to be.

5)HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR PARENTS AFFECTED YOUR TEENAGE LIFE: Uh. I think I had a rough teenage life with my parents, um we didn't see eye to eye(smiling). Both my father and my mother, I didn't see eye to eye because I was a such different person, a different personality... (breathes in) and I didn't follow my culture, the Haitian culture the way, the way that they did, so because of that, um we had very difficult times, when, growing up because I wanted to live the "American Way" and they wanted me, to still live the "Haitian Way," though we were living in the United States. And we fought a lot on that. So uh, to answer your question, as far as how my, what was the question again, sorry I lost track. (How your parents affected your teenage life)... Um, I don't think they were good role model, unfortunately, um. I became an adult at an early age where I had to learn things, things on my own, made a lot of big mistakes, that affected my life... but I learned from my mistakes and grew from those mistakes and I it made me a better person, and now I can teach my kids from what I learned. I can teach them so they don't make the same mistakes, that I did.

6)WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR KIDS: Yeah, um, don't ever give up no matter what happens in life, whatever goals or dreams you have, always do whatever in your power to reach them, no matter what the opsticales are, yeah if there may be obsticales, it makes things takes longer, take longer to reach, but don't ever give up on those dreams, because... we're blessed that we're in a country where there's so much opportunity, you could be whatever you want, um all you have to do is work hard at it. Nothing is for free nothing is easy, everything that people, you know, you get, you have to work hard for it. So basically it's just not to give up on your dream and don't underestimate what you can and can't do. and don't let people tell you that you can't do anything...

7)WHAT'S THE CRAZIEST THING YOU DID WHEN YOU WERE A TEENAGER AND HOW OLD WERE YOU:...Skinny dipping, I was 19, at was at the University Of Miami , that's the university that I went to school and me and my sorority sisters one saturday night,  well actually one weekend we went away on a trip,um I don't remember where the trip was, some where around Miami beach and we all went skinny dipping

Final Draft Of Romeo AND Juliet

  

           

 “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life.” In the story of Romeo and Juliet their families hate eachother. The only way thay can escape hate and enter love is by taking their lives.  Romeo and Juliet’s love is known all around the world, but some teens in our world deal with the same tragedies. Romeo and Juliet's love story is similar and different to Amerian teens today because of their dating norms, the way that parents and teens deal with arguments and forbidden love.

  Long ago in Verona love had different dating norms compared to today. The ages were much younger to have kids and get married. In the play Juliet is around the age 13. In lines 10-15 on pg.27 Paris, (the man Juliet is suppose to marry) says, “Younger than she are happy mothers made” (1.2.12). This shows that girls could have been mothers before the age 13. Girls in America today are usually ages 18 and up when they get married and have kids. That's the way that the society was built to believe Younger than that doesn't seem right.

   Even though the dating norms are very different, the way that teens and parents responded to arguments were similar. Parents and children don’t always see eye to eye, the way they dealt with it then in Verona is similar to how they deal with it today. In the play Capulet said, “Thursday is near. Lay had on Herat; advise. An you be mine, I’ll give you to my friend. An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die on the streets…” (3.5.202)He threatens and frightens Juliet so she can listen. Now and days when there’s a disagreement parents act the same way, some parents are just harsh or they threat children. This way of life hasn’t really changed since that time in Verona.

  As you can see the way that arguments were dealt with were very similar when you compare then and now, so is forbbiden love.Forbidden love has been around for centuries and still hasn’t changed. Forbidden love always has to do with family history, culture, or simply because of parents not approving your lover. In the love story of Romeo and Juliet, the couple’s families were enemies to each other. This caused their love be forbidden because, no one wanted them to be together. Especially their parents. In America today friend and family don't approve becaue they don't think your love is real. Like a figment of your imagination. What I mean by this is that maybe you think that the person that you love, love's you back, but your friends and family see other wise. That's why your parnts forbid you to see your lover.

   I have discovered that love is very complicated when no one approves. If no one approves your love than it ccould leave you to do what Romeo and Juliet did. The bad thing about this is not only the idea of suicide, but also the affect it will have on your family. If you know well enough, you should already know that your family loves you and was just looking out for you. Relationships can cause confusion and big problems for family. Something that many teens should know is not to let their relationship get in the way of family, because fmily is blood and that is what should come first. No matter what family has your back and you should remember that.

Crimes:Punishment or Not (Extra Credit)

 When are crimes good to be unpunished? Some might argue never, but others might look deeper into the case. In this response I will be looking through two article to argue both side.

  In the article "Crime and Punishment," by Patricia Smith, Smith explains the story of Rebecca Falcon's accused crime. One night when Falcon was really ddepressed about her ex-boyfriend, she got dunk. When she hailed a cab with her 18 year old friend, he was carrying a gun. By the end of the night the cab driver was dead with a gun shot to the head. Falcon ended up taking the blame and was sentened to life. Thankfully the court realized that this was cruel and unusal punishment because , she did't do it!  Therefore it's good for her to not get punished, but for the person that killed the person should.

  In the article,"When is it Ok to Kill," the author tells the story of Trayvon Martin. Martin was a teenage boy living in florida on his way home from the store, when he was shot. His killer was known to be police officer Zimmerman. Many people believe that Zimmerman killed him for no reason. This is why (also based off investigation) that Zimmerman was punished.

  Crime is wrong and should be stopped. Crime can be punished or should be if it was based off of what Zimmerman did. If  it was the case of Falcon, you shouldn't be punished. There's a lot of crimes done, but not everyone is guilty. Think about that next you read an article on crime.

Romeo and Juliet outline

INTRO:
Hook- What love is tragic love?
Thesis- Romeo ad Juliet love is known all around the world, but teen in our world deal with the same thing.

BODY 1: topic sentence-back then love had different dating norms compared to today

-boys are usually 15-18 and girls are 11-14 (pg 27 line 10-15)
-when girls are wed now they are usually 18+
-capulets can only marry capulets, same for montague
-now its wrong to marry the same blood line , it causes medical problems

BODY 2: topi sentence-age played a big role in descison making back then and now.

-girls have no choice in who or when they marry (pg 167 lines 165-170)

BODY 3:topic sentence-parents and children don't always see eye to eye, but the way they dealt with it then is different than now.

-parents react harshly pg.165-167
-parents don't act as bad

CONCLUSION:

-recap

Step one of Romeo and Juliet

          My topic is our world of romance compared and contast to Rome and Juliet. I chose this topic because, well I'm a teenager. Also since I'm a young teen, I want to have a deeper feel of teen romance. In this description I want to explore the way that teens react to difficult romance situation. I would also want to take a look at and see if I can explain Romeo and Juliet's love tragety.

The New York Times,Upfront: The Gun Debate

                The death of many was caused by a gun, it can happen again if the government doesn't do something. After the kill at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, people were left worrying if they were safe. Guns should be taken away from everyone, but the police.

               Are we safe. In the Sandy Hook shooting 20 children and 6 adults were killed. These children were killed by a mentally ill 20 year old named Adam Lanza. He also killed his own mother.This left many parents and friends in pain, but this isn't the only shooting that caused people to fear the use of guns. The story of Trayvon martin also struck fear into people. Trayvon Martin was black boy in Florida, age 17, was killed by a police officer. This police officer claimed that Martin had attack him, so he shot. Most people believed that because of Martin's race he was killed. Guns may be able to be used in a good way.

              Guns can protect if in the right hands. If your a single mother that just wants to protect her family in a bad area. That situation can start off in the right hands, but end up in the wrong. Two things. One, one of her children can try to act cool in front of their friends. So they take the gun, show it to their friends and sell it to a drug dealer Two, the mother might pull out the gun for protection, but the person she's protecting herself from can some how get the gun and shoot her. Eventually for each situation, the gun will end up in the wrong hands.

              Guns should only be accessed by the government and police should learn how to fight in combat. Guns have cause too much pain, hurt and murder. Guns should be taken away by everyone so we can prevent all these problems.

Nonfiction "The New York Times, Upfront: The young an the Reckless?"

      Is your sex the reason why you people look at you different. In the "New York Times" magazine, a girl gets her story shared. This girl gets a spot on the boys football team. Some people think it's crazy, others find it cool. What do you think? It's interesting how sexism affects a persons mind set.

      17 year-old senoir of South Plantation High School in Florida named Erin DiMeglio, is the third string quarter back on her football team, She is 5'5 and 140 pounds. When DiMeglio tried out in 2011 spring, the coach knew she was good. He worried for her saftey. If DiMeglio was  boy, the coach probably would't worry, If a boy was good, the coach would throw him on the team. Who says girls can't be as strong as boys.

      Those who are sexist believe that only boys can play sports and men can work. They believe that women are suppose to stay home so that they can cook and clean. What sexist people haven't realized yet is tht we don't live in the olden days anymore. It's 2013! A lot has happened since then. Women have their own businesses, make their own money and live on their own. But there are some people who aren't sexist. These people believe that if you are a women or man, and you really believe in it, you can do it.

     There are a lot of closed minded people in the world. Not only sexist people but racisted people to. So do yourself a favor and the world. Don't be closed minded and teach your kids to be open minded.

The Amputee QB

     Have you ever feared your success because someone told you that you couldn't do it. This article talks about Jacob Rainey, a football player, that had his lower leg amputated after a game gone wrong. Everyone thought that his football career was over. They said that he'd never be back in the game. There is always someone telling you that you can't do. Not only in Rainey's life, ours too and we shouldn't give up.

     The game of the injury Rainey is running with the ball when a tackler dives and grabbes his legs. Rainey tries to shake him off to get more yards, when he blacks out. The lower part of his right leg was dislocated, rupturing his artery and cutting of circulation. This makes the doctor amputate his leg. After the amputaion many people thought his football life was over. One of his teamates said, "There was no doubt in my mind that he was done." Rainey says, "When people tell me I can't do something, the stubbornness I have just pushes me forward."Rainey proves that if you truly believe it, then you can acheieve it.

    Many people these days focus on living safely, not taking chance. Parent take that role and tell there kids that, but it's usually based off fear. If you really thought about i, where would we be if we didn't take a chance. For example, look at gymnast. They risk their life and injuries for their amazing dreams. Or when motor cyclist ride fast up a sand dome. Not only are these things intertaining to us, they're are dreams at stake. People have to start being more supportive. Instead of saying you can't jump out of an air plain say, make sure all of the equipment is working right. Instead of saying you can't play football say, does your helmet fit right. Take a chance.

    You can see that the diffuculty of negativity doesn't get to everyone, like Rainey, but it does affect many.  There are so many people giving up on their beliefs and dreams because of this. If you believe in it go for it and take that chance. What do really have to loose.

Ninth Grade Slays

    In the book Ninth Grade Slays by Heahter Brewer is about a ninth grade boy named Valdimir Tod. Vlad is half human, half vampire. The idea of him being the "pravus,"( a legendary vampire that rules over all vampires and enslave human) is the main cause of problems in this story. Lies are used in amny ways, in our world and Vlad's.

    Vlad lies a lot in the story to hidee his biggest secret and keeo him alive. Egar, (a geeky that goes to Vlad's school) saw many unique things about Vlad. For example one day Edgar followed Vlad to Vlad's secret hide out and discovered that Vlad could fly. A that Vlad lied was when Vlad and Edgar were outside of a party and Edgar saw Vlad's eyes flash purple. Edgar was surtain that Vlad wasn't human, but Vlad said," I'm just a kid, like you. Now leave me alone, okay?"  Vlad also lied to one of his best friends named Joss who happens to be a vampire slayer. Joss said he was sent to Bathory, (where Vlad lives) because his boss said there was a Vampire there. That Vampire happened to be Vlad. Vlad had to lie, even if it had to be to someone he cared about. People lie a lot in our world.

    People lie in our world, too. A common reason to lie for teens involve grades. Teens lie about grades when they do bad on report cards or do bad on a test. People lie about their  personality. It's because they are are so different at home compard to they are in person. A lot of people lie for a lot of reasons, but it's usually not as bad Vlad's lying reasons.

    We all lie. It's apart of human nature even if it's just a white lie. Not all lies are bad, for example Vlad's lies. They life and death reasons. Lies like the ones that teens do aren't nessasirily bad, they're just not good reasoning backing it up. So if you are to lie, lie for an important reason, not just to do it.

Trayvon Martin

      
The story of Trayvon Martin has been heard by many and devistated others. The author of the article "When Is It OK to Kill" in 'Action' magazine talks of the different ideas and laws connectiing to this case. A lot of people outside of the law believe police officer Zimmerman killed Martin because of his race, that since he was black Martin looked suspious. I beieve police should look deeper into this case.

One night in February, 17 year old Trayvon Martin was on his way home and was spotted by police officer Zimmerman. Martin looked suspious to Zimmerman so he called back-up. "Zimmerman says that the unarmed teen attacked him," so he shot him ("When Is It OK to Kill" 2). Zimmerman was not arrested because of the law known as, "Stand Your Ground." It's used for self-defense murders like this one, but is the law always right?

The law "Stand Your Ground" was an excuse for many murders in Florida." Since 2005 24 other states have passed simliar laws"("When Is It OK to Kill"). An average of 35 murders a year in Florida use this law. I think people use it too lightly. Real murders can just be calling it self-defense when it's just them killing. Law makers need to make a stictor laws so it can't be bent in any way.

Based off of my information, you should be able to see the seriousness, conscicencess of bad law making. You should also see that based off of bad police and loose laws people can be hurt badly. Cases like these definetly need time of deep invetigation and deep thought.

The similarities and differences between Vampire council and Government power:

                In the book Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer Vladimir Tod is a half vampir,half human with dead parents and an aunt for  guardian. The  Elysian vampire council still believes that his parents are still alive, so the council target Vlad because his dad betrayed them. They want to take Vlad's father's punishment on Vlad. Sounds different from our gov't.

                 Elysia has a lot of  power. They decides who gets what punishment when they do something wrong. For example Vlad's father got into a relationship with a human, so he was sentenced to death. They also make all the rule. Like the on that says that vampires can't get involved with humans. They're like the the gov't but with no branches.
 
                 In our world today we have three branches of gov't executive, legislative and judicial. They have the power. People get a voice in gov't. We get a right to vote and speak oil. As you can see the vampire council doesn't do that, so vampires and human powers are very different.

                  In conclusion the vampire conucil and gov't are similar because they both own power. The difference between them are, that vampires don't give people a voice and our gov't does. I'd stick with the gov't any day.

Reading Response Question # 8

                                

      In Frostbite by Richelle Mead the strigoi are here and ready for some Moroi. Rose's friends Mason, Eddie (dhampirs), and  (a Moroi) went off on a wild goose chase for strigoi. Now let me remind you that strigoi are crazy, strong , fast dead vampires that pretty much kill everything in their path. So you could see how dumb this seems to Rose. Of course she has to go after them, when she goes, she brings another Moroi named Christan. When she finds them, they all get kidnapped by strigoi and some humans. This is not only a problem in the story, but the world too.

       Rose and her friends get kidnapped by two strigoi named and . The strigoi in the story don't want the Moroi's blood, they want one of them to turn into strigoi. The only way for this to happen is, by one of the Moroi dranking from either Rose, Mason or Eddie, until they are died. Christan and woulldn't do it so they were starved. When a Moroi doesn't have a blood source for a long time, they can die. Before that happened they escaped, with magic and they lost a friend.

       In the real world, little kids get kidnapped and they don't have anyone or any magic to help them. I'm not saying that Rose had it easy, but the real world for a little kid seems harder. This is a big problem that never been solved, and probably will never be solved. Not only do they get kidnapped, but they sometimes get raped and are scard for life or they're killed. It's terrible and needs to be fixed.

      This problem of kidnapping can be fixed as long as  young kids get home at a good time and teenagers have phones. We can only try being safe the best way we know how. SO protect yourself and your family.

Question #11 reading response

          Who Has "Power" in Your Text? How  Does That 

                                      Power Get Shown?

 

     Have you ever been in that situation where you're so afraid that it seems like the person you're going against is the bully, and you're the nerd? It's like that in Frostbite by Richelle Mead. In this story there are dhampirs (half vampire, half human), Moroi (are like linving vampires that drank blood, but can die like a human), and Strigoi (dead vampire that get killed with silver stakes). The Moroi and dhampirs are like the nerds and the Strigoi are the bullies, but their mean ways are worse than a wedgie. Their power over everyone is huge.

     

     The Strigoi like I said before are these dead vampires, they love the taste of Moroi blood. They kill the Moroi and drank all their blood. Everyone is afraid of not only the Strigoi strength and speed, but the Strigoi are also immortal. This makes everyones lives harder because it no one wants to bring them down. When people tried, most of the time they ended up dead, others have been lucky. We all know, no one wants to be in the death percentage. So pretty much no one will try.

        How is the power of the Strigoi shown in the text? By the fear. In the text mostly every dhampir is training to fight a Strigoi and protect a royal Moroi (like princes and princesses).  Since all royal Moroi need protection, they don't know how to protect themselves. So they have to hide from Strigoi to stay safe. The Strigoi have so much power over everyone, that dhampirs and Moroi wouldn't go against them.

       Power is a big thing in this text and in real life, so the thing that we have to focus on is making sure the right person gets the power.

        

     

Social Awarness #8 (Based on Wanted flyers)

       Something I noticed was Wanted flyers on stores and buses. These are pictures of rapist, abusers and murderers. What's terrible, is the amount of flyers, there are so many and that doesn't even count the real amount of people in New York! The thing that could make this worse, is the amount of people that get hurt by these murderers, rapist and abusers.

       There so many reasons why these people do what they do. For example, maybe murderers just likes to see someones terrified face. Rapist could just feels alone so he rapes to feel like he's no longer lonely. Last but not least, abusers could just like giving people pain. The effect that they have on people are lost loved ones, nightmares and suicide, but the list can on forever. Sadly there is no solution unless you always make sure your kid get home before dark and you get home safely. So if you see a Wanted sign, actually look at the face on it, so you don't become one of their victims.

Social Awarness #11(Scene based on racism)

      I'm writing this scene to show how big a problem like racism is. It has effected many lives and hurt many people. It may not be the biggest problem right now, but it's still out there.
     
      We walked into the resturant, leaving the Tennessee breeze behind us to have a nice family meal. My mom asked for a seat for five people, me, my mom, my dad, and my two sisters. The woman taking the reservation was blond, had perfect teeth, and tan skin. She told my mom that they will bring us to the tables soon.

      So a white family with the same amount of people walked up to the perfect teeth lady, asked for their table and walked right through. Apparently my mom noticed to because she walked up to the lady and asked,"Did those people reserve over the phone?"
 
     The perfect teeth lady smiled simply and said,"No."
  
      Then my mom asked, " Why did they go before us then?"

      "Because,'' the lady said like my mom was a little child, "We help your kind after we help out other customers."

      "What do you mean, my kind?" I could see my mom getting angry now.
       
        " I mean black people, now we are very busy, so please miss go back to the waiting area."

      My mom was so mad, that we never went to Tennessee again.

Out of Sight Out of Time

   
                 Have you ever forgotten something, and when it comes back your emotions come in so many different combos? Meet Cammie Morgan, the happened to loose her memory of the summer and she doesn't    know how. What's worse is that no one was with her during the summer, because she was trying to protect her friends from the Circle of Cavan. The Circle of Cavan is a group of bad secret agents, and they been trying to get Cammie. In the end Cammie and her friends find out what happened in the summer and it was not expected.

                  They're going to Rome. When Cammie returned from the Alps, Cammie and her friends go looking for clues of where Cammie went over the summer at Mr.Solom's cabin. They went there because Cammie's mom found secret, security footage of Cammie and Liz (one of Cammie's friends), found a letter from Cammie, sent from Rome. So they went to Rome. At Rome Cammie remembered a safe home that she stayed in, and then she remembered about it. She ran behind the house to find a clearing and she remembered. A cold voice in her head said," The least we can do is bring her to her father." Even before she remembered this, I think she already knew where her father was. He was buried and now that Cammie knows exactly where her father is, it hurts a lot.

                  The song was discovered. Throughout the book, a song kept playing in the back of  Cammie's head. She never knew where it was frome until, Dr.Steve (a teacher at her spy school that was willing help Cammie sort out her feelings), reminded her of where she first heard the song. It was the day before her father went missing and they were at the circus. When Cammie is remembering everything, she speaks out loud,"A woman is stopping in front of us. She's dropped her purse and he's (Cammie's dad) helping her. There's a napkin on the ground. He offers it to her and leads me away... There's a list of names written on the napkin." I think then she realized the importance of the napkin, it was the thing she was looking for,for most of the book. It was the list that could down the Circle of Cavan. This was the importance of the song.

                 As you can see, memory can be helpful, surprising, and painful. Cammie went through that all and more. Memories also help you realize things you didn't before.

Sandy's Impact

          In the article,"After a Gas Station Runs Dry, Cabbies Park and Wait," the author, Winnie Hu tries to show us how unfair it is for cab drivers waiting for gas. People  are waiting for gas to return to Hess gas station on 10th ave and 44th street. The line is pass 22nd street and not many people have moved from the line. Families are even sleeping in there cars. It's really bad.

       Fritz Petite-Homme, a Brooklyn cab driver who was being taxed while waiting in line. He has been sitting in his yellow cab for a while with only a quarter of gas in his tank. Since he was parking and not driving, he was loosing up to $35 every hour. He would have went to Manhattan, but it's way worse. When Homme got to the front of the line, there was no more gas, he said, "It was so bad I didn't even try," I think he thinks that even though he's in third place, he's not gaining anything because there is no gas. Homme went home with the quarter filled tank he came with.
 
        John Solomon, a 50 year old cab driver  who lives in Washington Heights, faces some really bad conditions while waiting for gas. One problem  was his job! Solomon was in third place for gas, when his job called for him to pick up a client. He had to get out of the line for to hours for his client and return to the end of the long line. Solomon decided to save gas by turning off the heater and keeping his foot of the gas petal. If it take to long he would go to new Jersey. As Solomon drove of he said,"You know when you're so close, but so far?" I think he feels like if he waits in line, he's so close to getting gas, but he feels far away because  there's no gas.

        After reading the article, I see how much worse the cab drivers have than I thought. Homme waited in his car for gas that never came and taxed for it. Solomon had to leave the line for two hours for his client and not only lost his spot, but he also lost the chance  to be on of the first to get gas. Also since the gas station was packed he decided to go get gas in New Jersey. So now he's loosing gas gaining chances, he also has to  go to a gas station farther away from his home. This is not fair! Mayor  Bloomberg has to do something about this and fast.

Morganville Vampires

Who knew that karma be so real?In The  Morganville Vampires , Claire, a 16 yr old genius goes to Morganville, Texas for college. When Claire is there, she is bullied by a girl named Monica. It's so bad that that Claire had to find a place out of  college to sleep. In the  end Monica gets what she deserves.

 When Claire was still in the college dorms,  Monica was really cruel to her. This whole war between Claire and Monica started when  Claire corrected Monica in front of her friends. Monica said that World War two,"Was the dumb ass Chinese thing," and Claire corrected her. Monica probably felt embarrassed and thought Claire was trying to steal her spotlight. So the first thing that Monica did,to get back at Claire, was take all of Claire's good clothes out of the washing machine, and then dump them down the garbage chute. Monica even wrote Claire a note that said,"Dear dork, we found trash in the machines and threw it down the chute. If you want it, dive for it." This made me think that Monica is sending a message. Monica wants Claire to go away or be taken away like the clothes she threw down the chute.Monica probably wants to seem smart, and she thinks Claire will ruin that  for her. Also Monica and her friends also fought Claire after she say the note Monica wrote her. When Claire was walking up the steps, Monica and her friends started pushing Claire around. When Claire started to defend herself, all the girls pushed down the steps.While Claire was on the ground defenseless, Monica said,"You'll get what coming to you," when Monica actually gets whats coming to her.

In the second half of the book Monica gets it. Claire and Eve (one of Claire's housemate) are lookig for someone to help them save Shane, when Monica finds Claire and abducts her, Claire wakes up on the floor of one of Monica's vans and one of Monica's friends on her. Then the van was stopped by another van,  a man with bikers stepped out and approached their van. Monica was going to hurt Claire, but her plans were ruined because the man takes Monica and Claire hostage, but lets Monica's friends go. Monica was so scared,  that Claire even saw,"Tears glitter in her eyes." You can tell that Monica is scared. I think the reason why she's scared is because she knows this man can really hurt her, the tears prove that.Monica also probably heard of the terrible things her did to vampires, and she knows that whatever he's going to do to her is going to be painful. Monica deserves to feel scared, she made Claire so afraid, that she didn't even want to go to school  for classes. This shows that Monica got her karma

 When it comes to karma, it means what goes comes around. Monica made  feel pain, now she's going to get hurt. I think that Monica got herself into this mess and if she was just a nice person to everyone, she would have not been apart of this.No one deserves to feel the way Claire felt, and now Monica will feel the pain.  I discovered  that when I look at some of the things I said, I notice that this book was really good at teaching a lesson that no good comes out of putting negative energy into the world.

The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

Usually in a  war, soldiers are nervous and afraid of battle, but some also show bravery and they believe that they are immortal. In The Drummer Boy of Shiloh," a fourteen year old boy named Joby is the new drummer boy for one of the sides in the civil war.This boy is just scared of war because he believes that he doesn't stand a chance in the war even because he thinks he's going to die, even though he's just going to be drumming. In the end, Joby overcomes his fear by talking to the general.

Why is Joby so afraid? Well  the troops and Joby are in a forest where nothing seems like what it really is. Anything can happen at anytime. Joby was deep in thought he said,"Me, I got only a drum, two sticks to beat it, and no shield." This proved to me that he was really scared because  he feels hopeless and that there is no way he'll survive. Joby  can't take it! Joby is so scared that he even starts to cry, and what makes it worse is that no one is there to comfort him.Except when the general comes.

Joby  has no courage at all and who's there to change that? The general! One way the general helps, is by letting Joby know it okay to cry. By the general doing this, it lets Joby know that he'll be able to go home, the general even told him, "Many years from now,when you're as old or far much older then me, when they ask you what you did in this awful time, you will tell them-one part humble and one part proud- I was a drummer boy at the battle of Owl Creek or Tennessee River." The fact the general even thinks Joby will survive, gives him more courage.

The general also helped Joby by letting him know how important being a drummer boy is. The general said,"You are the heart of the army,"and Joby couldn't believe it! The general also said by the way that Joby hits his drum is the way the army matches. If the beat is slow, then the army will feel depressed and have no energy, but if the beat is strong, then the army will march strong and be ready to fight. Since the general said this, Joby feels more ready then ever and he can't wait to drum.

Joby has gotten his courage and it was all because of the general. When I think about our world and the way we get over our fears are usually from the help of someone else. This person gives us advice or comforts us when we need it. I know when i start a new school and i'm afraid, I can always ask my mom for advice. The advice that general gave Joby was great and now Joby is ready to play his best and forget about his fears.

theme and response

When you usually make a choice to go with someone it's because you trust them, but how do you choose to go somewhere with someone you barely know? In the book "Only the Good Spy Young" by Ally Carter, things like that don't seem to matter that much to Cameron  or Cammie Morgan. Cameron has been spying for a while, and now in this book Cammie is being chased by the 'Secret Circle' which is a group that recruits boys and girls from  schools that teach them how to be spies, they want Cammie because her father was a very important spy that was killed. Cammie dodges many interferences with the secret circle and she also learns new shocking things about the people she trust. I'm going to explain the difference between how Cammie's ways of life and ours.

   Speaking of trust, lets talk about Cammie's sort-of -boyfriend Zack, he's a spy too and he happens to be a pretty good liar when it comes to Cammie. Cammie can barely tell if Zack is lying. Through out the story Zack has been keeping a bunch of secrets from her and one of his biggest secrets come out, but she has nothing  to but thank him. But that doesn't mean she trust him. Cammie also has a choice to make, either to save herself or the people she love. Through this decision  she has to go with the guy she doesn't trust, interesting turn out huh? I guess you have to read the book to figure it out.

 In our world we don't deal with people we don't trust. Usually we stay away from someone  we no longer trust is because the person we don't trust did something that made us no longer trust them. Sure we give them one more chance maybe even two, but then that's it. This trust thing mainly applies to problems like back stabbing, cheating, and talking about about your friend in bad way. What's crazy, is that these things are little and Cameron's problems are big, and she still gives Zack more chances.

That is why their is such a big difference to our world's. Yes they both are complicated, but if I had to guess, the spy world is way harder then ours. From what I know, trust is a hard thing to gain,it's even harder to regain, but its easy to loose, so be careful with what you do and be smart with what you say.