Internet

How many hours do you think you spend on the internet? You'd be surprised to see how long people really do spend on here. Researchers say that teens spend on average 31 hours a week on the computer. That's about 4 hours a day! I am not one of those teens. I spend at most an hour on the internet. The numbers have been increasing ever since Facebook, twitter and YouTube have dominated the internet world. However, teens also get their homework help from the internet. 

Can you believe almost 25 years ago, internet was a dream come true? No one thought an idea like this would ever happen. Was internet a good thing for us or a bad thing? Others may say it opens to a whole new world of possibilities and opportunities that we could never achieve without the internet. The other side thinks it will just ruin the foundation that we have built up our whole lives. 

Pros of the Internet:

• Information is available on the internet 24/7. Libraries can close early and you have to scan for books.
• There are many new jobs that opened up because of the internet. 
• Businesses and franchises are at ease when they store their information into documents on the computer where they can never be lost.
• It entertains us!
• You can see your family members and video chat with them even if they're half-way across the pacific ocean.

Cons of the Internet

• Researchers say that teens aren't getting the social needs they get from meeting people face to face. They start to become accustomed to talking with them online.
• Teens are always letting out their information on the web.
• Teens and adults have become more obese because they spend to much time on the internet.
• Teens and adults don't get their daily Vitamin D outside that they need.
• Your safety is compromised whenever you have online banking.
• Safety is also compromised when you have a Facebook or Twitter and have your picture out there.

I don't really know whether or not the internet was a blessing or a curse on us. I guess it's how you decide to use that's really important. The internet is a big responsibility. You either ruin your life with it, or you can open up to all it has to offer.

I Love.. I Hate..

I love the color green. I love how I hadn't once changed my favorite color. I love how it's so bright and colorful. I love how it brightens up anything. I love how it never will get dull. I love that it can brighten my day. I hate that I don't have a green room anymore. 

I love York Peppermint Patties. I love how you feel so refreshed whenever you eat one. I love the feeling you get when you drink water right after you eat one. I hate that my risk of diabetes goes up. I love how it's 70% less fat than the leading chocolate brands!

I love going to the mall. I love that you get to see the new trends and styles out today. I love how it can help you bond with anyone. I love it when you meet your friends at the mall. I love it when you find something on sale and buy it before anyone else does. I love the feeling you get when you find out the last pair of shoes are in your size! I hate that feeling when you don't buy anything from the mall. 

I love my family. I love how we can't see each other at the same time for days and still have that bond between us. I love how close we are to each other. I love we can laugh about each other and not get offended! I hate that they get on your nerves sometimes.

I love T.V. I love that it entertains you. I love that the shows you watch in it are funny. I hate that you watch it so much that you get fat.

I love the music they play in Hollister. I love how it get's you happy and makes you wanna dance. I love that they're so catchy. I love that it has some of my favorite bands on there. I hate how you can't see what's playing anymore :(

Most of all, I love it when you get those friends that always stay with you no matter what. I love you guys.

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek was probably one of those movies where you think that it's a really bad, nerdy, and stupid movie to watch. I was once one those people. Now, I have changed.

This movie had it all. The Romance/a little comedy/ LOTS OF ACTION/and drama. It was baffling. The story starts out with Captain Kirk's dad. He was the commander of the ships. After being captured by a mysterious alien ship, the captain is forced out to meet with the leader. He gave his position to Commander Pike, who is now Captain Pike. After realizing that the captain was murdered, they had to open fire. It was hopeless and they were trapped. Everyone was to evacuate without him. It was the only way to save them. He fought them off while his pregnant wife ,who was about to give birth, was wheeled to the ship. Captain Kirk, who was a captain for only 12 minutes, saved 800 lives. Can you believe this was only the beginning?

Well, baby James Tiberious Kirk was born down in earth. Spock, who was just a little older than him, is being picked on because he is half human. Well, I will not go into the whole thing. It's just way to good to spoil. In the end James turns into one of the most famous Captains to lead.

All in all, it's a great movie to watch. Incredible. Amazing. Spectacular. One of the best movies to watch for anyone. You don't have to like Star Trek. I didn't at first. I rate it a 5 out of 5.

Do You Ever Stop To Think?

I don't know why I randomly wanted to blog about this, but here goes.

Do you ever stop to think about the small things? The things you miss when you're rushing out the door? The things you miss when you drive in the car? The things you miss when you're coming home from soccer or work? Yeah those things. The flowers that bloom outside? The stars that are smothered by pollution and smog at night? The little fireflies that light up the night? Whoa, that could be a song right there. But anyways, it just those tiny little things in life that make it just right. Ever stop to notice your mom being so tired of cleaning and cooking and work and then cleaning and cooking then work? I consider myself observant. Being that I'm quiet and soak it all in. I like to observe those little details that others seem to miss. I notice the frown on someone's face when they're hiding it. I notice the tears that are waiting at the edge of the eyelids. I notice everything around me. I don't know why I do this though. Is it creepy? Weird? I don't know. And frankly, I don't care. Do people ever stop to think what a person goes through? Do they stop and think about what they just said? Do they stop and think about the consequences of their actions? Do they stop and think that this might hurt someone? It's the people that are like this that annoy me to no end. So,I kind of wanted to write about this because that's how people are today. Ignorant. Only some though, so it's still okay I guess. So in the future, stop and think about everything that's around you.

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment- James Patterson


Where do I begin?
Well to start off, I was a bit skeptical about this book. It looked like it was a book made for boys. The title Maximum Ride gave me the impression that it was going to be the sci-fi type of book. I'm not the sci-fi genre type of person. I didn't like reading about fairies and wizards and out-of this-world creatures. I didn't want to hear about the Dogergenes from the planet Xenorson-Galactica and how they fought off a bunch of Muffenauts. I didn't like to read about wizards and witches who train in a school and get caught by dark, scary creatures and use the spell "Expeleeeeamus!" to fight them away. I absolutely hated them. But then, more and more people read it. More and more girls started reading it. I wondered and debated with myself if I should waste my time on this book. The next day I went to my school's library, picked out the book, checked it out, and then left.

The Beginning.
After reading the first chapter, I was like "Wow that was a short chapter!" It really was literally a 3 page chapter. I was beginning to like this book. The beginning immediately caught my attention. There was already a fight scene going on and I'm just soaking it all in. Max who was actually a GIRL(yay!), is the sole protector of her family after being abandoned by their guardian. They were actually human-avian; meaning they had wings. They were created by scientists in a lab in Cali. I still thought it was dull.

My Favorite Part!
After reading about all the details, things started picking up. The bad guys were introduced, kidnappings, the plotting of revenge. But my favorite part was when Max was actually battled the Erasers (bad guys) with sheer strength. I also loved the parts where Max and Fang started to find their true feelings for each other.

Quotes
"In the dictionary, next to the word stress, there is a picture of a mid-size mutant stuck inside a dog crate, wondering if her destiny is to be killed or to save the world. Okay, not really. But there should be."
Max says this when her and the flock get caught by the scientists, whom they call the "Whitecoats", who had created them in the first place. They wanted Max and the rest of them to be experimented on because they had never had an experiment where it was successful. I love this quote because this shows how really comical this book is. This also brings out Max's witty character.

"I couldn’t leave Total behind.”
“Total?” Iggy asked.
“That’s what his card said,” Angel explained.
“Totally a mutant dog who will probably turn on us and kill us in our sleep,” Fang said.
This whole section of the book reveals where they are basically. This was when they were trying to look for their biological records, and to also find about their parents back at the lab where they were created from. They were just leaving when they found Total the talking dog. This was very significant because they added Total to the team.

Review/Rate Part
I absolutely adore this book. I haven't found a single book that got me as addicted as this one. I think that this book was perfect in every way. I love the comedy in it, the action it brought, the twists, the witty remarks, and all the adventures they embarked. The text was a little easy for me to read, so there wasn't really a challenge in reading it. I would give this book a 5 out of 5. I'd recommend this book for young adult



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Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
by: Suzanne Collins

Finding Out About the Book
When the school year began, we already had to start reading books! I was worried because I had already read all the books I wanted to read. Gladly, we got to search for them and then pick 3 out. Turns out, I had A LOT of books I had wanted to read. I read the first book of the series in September. I absolutely LOVED IT. I just had to keep reading them. They were so similar to the Maximum Ride series.

What I Thought of It
I can't really explain it at all. My feelings for this book are so mixed up. At the end of the book, I kind of hated/liked it. It was so confusing. I hated it because I really didn't like that it centered mostly on Peeta and Katniss's relationship and how they want to stop a rebellion. What I liked was that there were a lot of surprises because they had to go through a second Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins should have stuck to the general idea of maybe having Peeta and Katniss in the second Hunger Games from the beginning. When they went to the second hunger games in the second book, it was kind of late to have a second one right in the middle of it.

Meaningful Quotes
"So it's you and a syringe against the Capitol? See, this is why no one lets you make the plans."

This quote really stood out for me because it reminded me of Max from the Maximum Ride series. Haymitch, Katniss's mentor, says this after Katniss comes out of the ER on the day they busted her out of the Hunger Game's arena. She woke up dazed and confused because she got electrocuted from a plan that went wrong. She thought Peeta, her partner, was hurt badly. So, she wanted to end his misery by stabbing him with the syringe. Haymitch comes out though, and stops her. This was important because this was the beginning started the rebellion in the Hunger Games. Peeta, Katniss's partner, does not make it out of the arena. Katniss is outraged because they saved her instead of Peeta.

"The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracker, the dress that burst into flames. I am the mockingjay. The one that survived despite the Capitol's plans. The symbol of the rebellion."

This quote stood out because this basically says "The rebellion started because of me." This was such an important quote from Katniss because she finally accepts that she is the one and only symbol of the rebellion. When she mentions "The bird, the pin, the song, the berries, the watch, the cracler, the dress that burst into flames...." She did all those things. The bird she refers to is the Mockingjay. It was originally a Jabberjay that was used as a weapon for the Capitol, but it backfired. So, she let them out in the wild to die. However, their populations grew in size because they mated with the Mockingbird. This, was a symbol of something that survived through obstacles and is still standing alive. The pin she refers to is a mockingjay pin that she wore; this pin played a part in the rebellion by being the symbol for it. The song Katniss refers to is the song she sang to her friend that was killed at the Hunger Games. This was also a sign of defiance from her to the Capitol. The berries played a significant part of the rebellion. Peeta and Katniss were tricked into killing each other. They thought they both could win, but the Capitol dismissed it. The berries they picked were berries that would kill them. They were both about to take it when the Capitol immediately regretted what they did, and let them both win the Games. This stunt sparked the idea of the rebellion. The watch which she refers to is a actually the game arena for the second Hunger Games she was forced into. The cracker became important too because it had her face on it. Two women ran away from their district just to give this to her. It's a sign that they're joining the rebellion. Finally, the burning dress refers to Katniss's stylist Cinna. He was who Katniss trusted the most during the Games. As a sign that Cinna was part of the rebellion, he had made a wedding dress made for her. However, when Katniss and Peeta attempted to extinguish the flames of rebellion by saying that they just did that stunt because they were madly inlove with each other, her dress burned down into a mockingjay suit that Cinna made for her. Since the Capitol saw this as a defiance against them, Cinna was beaten and was killed.


Review/Rate part
Although I didn't really like this book a whole lot, it was still good. Not the best sequel to a book I've ever read, but it was okay. The only parts I really liked were the very last pages because I felt the characters stood out more in the end. They start to show what kind of person they really are. You discover their strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. All in all I would give this book a 2.5 out of 5. I would still recommend this book, mostly because it's plays a big part in the end of the series.




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Fredrick Douglass Chapter Summary

Fredrick Douglas: “My Bondage and My Freedom” Summary

Fredrick Douglass lived with his owner’s family for seven years in Baltimore. Fredrick was baffled because of his Mistress's sudden change in personality. Learning is the only thing Fredrick really wants to learn. When he does learn to read, he realized something shocking that changed him forever. He thought that she changed her mind about the importance of reading because she was trained to be mean or strict with her slaves. He could talk and laugh, but not read. She was so nice and kind. She didn’t have most of the qualities she should be having as a slaveholder. In fact, she’s supposed to be the opposite. Mrs. Auld gave money and food to the poor.She used to think that he should be treated as a regular person. Then, she started to more violent. One time she was so mad, she snatched the book from him and then scolded him. She then started to track everything that he did. If he stayed in a room for too long, they would think that he was reading. He got so desperate, he turned to help from his friends. They were good friends to him. Some wanted little to nothing in return. He wanted to mention their names in the book, but he doesn’t want to embarrass them in anyway. Back then, it was very shameful to have interacted with a slave. Fredrick talked about slavery freely with his friends. They too opposed the idea that he was a slave. His friends even said that he should be as free as they are. When he turned thirteen years old, Fredrick had succeeded in learning how to read. His knowledge increased, his perception on his environments have changed, his views have also changed. He finally realized that he was a slave-- for life. He had finally figured out everything he needs to know about slavery. Turns out, it was more of a pride thing. With each book that he bought, he gained more and more knowledge about slavery and how cruel and unfair it is. He has now been changed because of the sad, sad truth. He no longer was the light-hearted, happy-go-lucky, and playful little boy that he used to be. After realizing the truth, Fredrick was more sad, depressed, and miserable. He was mad at slavery, not just the things he observed that were related to it. Whenever he saw a colored man thinking that God has done this to them, it bothered him, infuriated even. It wasn’t God’s fault. It was whoever started slavery. Fredrick had no doubts that all this started because of the way his Mistress had changed. She was the reason that he grew up sad and remorseful. He didn’t tell her though. She tried to cheer him up, but he never changed. He thought they were more like deceivers and liars. But, he can’t blame her. If she was in the same position as him, she would have done the same things he had done.