Sunday, May 12, 2013

Compare and contrast writting



To me, there are two very big innovations involved in the developing of America’s, face, you could say. What pops into people’s minds when they think of the U.S. I’m talking about America’s teens, and their technology. Technology changes everything, people’s jobs, their entertainment, and their attitude.
    So I’m sure you all know about the ipod, and the tablet, the iphone, kindle, ipad, and smart phones. Then every single one of those things have about 50 different versions, but I can still remember what I used to listen to songs on when I was just little. On car rides I would plug one of those big headset into this portable little CD player. If you stretch your hand out wide, that’a about how big it was. Now I’ve got this little tiny thing that fits in the palm of my hand, and not only does it play songs, but it also downloads movies, records my voice, takes pictures, photoshops pictures, and that doesn’t even begin to cover everything. I think it’s really cool how people came up with these things, and then condensed them down into these small boxes that don’t show what really goes on inside.
    Where to start? Well I guess size is a good place to start. They now have ipods with a square inch face and is less than half a centimeter in width. I wish I could travel to 1980, show random faces on the sidewalk that, and see what they would say about it. Probably the same thing a six year old now would say about an old juke box. What is it? I wish that they could see where all of this started and where all of these ideas for things came from.
    And what about headphones. Those aren’t so different. Some of them anyways. There are, of corse the classic huge headphones that you see people wear around their necks and walk around thinking “I’m so cool. Look at me with my huge headphones,” By the way, they are way wrong. Anyways, there are also earbuds, which are smaller, and a little more current.
    Also the size of cell phones has majorly decreased. Cell phones used to be huge, and you would carry them around in a big huge bag, or they would be fixed in your car so that they stay there. Also, the nightmare of any now a day teen, no texting, but having one of these phones was like having a version of the iphone a month before it came out.
    Next topic would be what these items were and are capable of. The ipod and the juke box are closely related. They do almost the same thong only ones a lot smaller. On the ipod you buy a song for a dollar or so and you get to listen to that song whenever you want. The juke box would be about the same price only you had to pay every time you wanted to listen to that song. Seeing how this has changed is really cool because everything is so different but so the same idea, even when they change.
    The headphones still do basically the same thing except with higher quality. So next up is iphones and bag/car phones. The only thing the bag/car phone did was make phone calls now, iphones do almost everything except fly.
    Technology has improved majorly and everything has been made smaller and more efficiant. I think it’s really cool to look at the progress that technology has made and to learn about what things used to be. I only wish that they’ll create a time machine so that I could see it for myself.
~Emily McPhail

Friday, May 10, 2013

Amazing Dogs by Nikyla


        I ran up the stairs. Suddenly I felt droplets of water fall down my face. Why does he have to suffer? Why does this happen to me? I finally get close to him and he’s soon to be gone? Maybe I’m just bad luck. Maybe he’s suffering because of me... I walk slowly toward my dog, as he was struggling to get up and greet me. He failed, his efforts were pointless. Every time I came home, Max and my other dog Kaydi used to greet me with hugs and kisses. But today was different. Today was just starting and would soon end another precious life that I called mine. I lost my grandfather two months before, and now him? Well, I’m getting ahead of myself. My mother knew he was suffering, so without telling my brother and I she dropped us off at my Aunts and left with Max. Soon to return without him in the car. I knew what happened... I understand she didn’t want him to suffer.
       I have never seen my dad cry until that day, Max was my fathers pride and joy. Months after his passing, Kaydi was like a zombie. She lost her best friend that she loved and adored... Neither would she wouldn’t eat much or drink. They loved eachother more than we would ever know. Soon, after months of weeping, we couldn’t take it anymore. We decided to look for a dog. My parents found a puppy named Lucas that they wanted so we went to get him that day. While trying to get home, our truck broke down in a place with no phone signal. Besides the point, Kaydi and our family was happy again.
Little did we know that almost a year later we would have a huge surprise in our lives. Which I was very excited to hear that Kaydi was going to have baby puppies! Ten puppies were born on the Fourth of July. That year, my best friend Shroomy Waddles was born. We had two black, one brown, five black and white, and two brown and white. My dad saved two of their lives, when they were born dead. Unfortunately 6 months later, one of them died by getting run over by a truck. I know good things can come out of bad, but I have learned that all you have to do is stick in there.
Shroomy and Max are a lot alike. They both; are black and white. They’re so cuddly and sweet, all you want to do is squeeze them and not let them go. They have big heads, which I think of it as more to love. Max was very Gentle, so is Shroomy. The first things you notice about them is that had big brown sparkly eyes and soft fur. They are both really playful, Max used to play with Kaydi all the time. He used to jump around with his tongue sticking out with a big smile on his face. Shroomy does the same but when he runs he does this gallop. I am writing this because they are both amazing dogs.
These dogs are also very different; Shroomy has head seizures often, and we have no idea why. Max was fine until he had a tumor on his spinal chord, he was completely parallelized neck down. Shroomy is the biggest food hound I will ever meet in my life, but Max was not really a big food hound. Max had different markings than Shroomy, Max didn’t have any designs in his fur. Shroomy does, he has a pig shape, and a mushroom shape. I bet I could find a hundred different shapes in his fur.
    They have shaped me into a good and loving person. Without them I don’t know how I’d be today. I probably wouldn’t have the need to help animals if it wasn’t for them. I may have a rough exterior, but inside I’m more loving. You’d know that if you really knew me.They will always be in my heart for the rest of my life.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Times Have Changed & So Have I.

Georgia Connell
Imagine someone handed you a book of your life would you read it till the very end? I know I would. The younger me and the person I am today are completely two different people. Changing is perfectly fine, we all do it. The person I was a few years a go is WAY different from the person I am today.

Yes, I’ve changed a lot but I’ve also stayed the same for example I still enjoy playing soccer, basketball, and softball. I’m still close to my mother, and have never been with my father. Still going back and forth between living with mom or dad. I’m still trying to be happy, but it’s getting better.

Differences would be that I don’t really know who I can trust or who are my friends, back when I was little I was friends with everyone. Now I’m lucky that I have one. I don’t have the same bonds that I used to. I’m horrible at making friends. I’ve been crushed so much that I push people away because I’m scared that they will hurt me just like everyone else did.

My point is, that it is okay to change, people do it everyday. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. For the most part I think I’ve changed for the better. Yes, I’ve made mistakes and done things I highly regret now, but who hasn’t? No one’s perfect, so don’t try to be. Life’s hard but you’ll make it through.

Little Me, Me Now

Madison Thornton 

  I have changed a lot since I was little, but who hasn’t? Some good and some bad. I am going to be telling you some of those changes. The similarities and differences from when I was little. The changes have been looks, academically, and sports. I like the changes I’ve made, and where I’m going in life, but sometimes I wish I could go back and do it all over again. 
    I have changed since I was little, there aren’t a lot of similarities because I have changed a lot. When I was little, I was hyper. Nothing has changed for that part. I would run around like crazy and I still do that, ask anyone. I still have the same long, shiny, brown hair. The same bright, sparkly, blue eyes. The part of all this, that is most important, is that they are both me. I will always have a part of that little me on the inside.
    Now, I have to admit that I have an attitude, that can be bad at times. I might still be short, but I actually have grown a lot since I was little.  I use to play basketball, but now I’m a cheerleader. I also play soccer and softball, but I have been playing those sports ever since I could kick or throw something. I have improved at the sports I play, ever since I started playing them. I’m in advanced math. I think I have always been a little ahead of the regular math, but I just started advanced math in 5th grade. It’s a great new challenge for me and I am glad to have the skills that I do. I think I have matured since I was little. I might have some immature moments, but for the most part I think I have matured. I don’t dress like a princess every day anymore, I don’t wear my hair in pigtails, I wasn’t very good at sports, and I couldn’t read very well. I think I’ve changed a lot.
    So, the reason I chose little me and me now to compare and contrast, was to make my mind go back in time and see how much I’ve changed. I haven’t really thought about it much. This is a learning experience for me too. I haven’t really thought about it. Based on the changes from when I was little, I like the direction I’m going in. If I keep changing in these ways, I believe that I will have a good future.If you get a chance, think about how much you have changed, and what direction your going in. It might surprise you.

Life of Softball and Basketball (By: Mariah Young)



   Softball and basketball are my favorite sports to play (if you don’t count horseback riding as a sport). I have many experiences in softball and basketball, good and bad. An imperfect experience that I will always remember in softball and basketball are hurting my fingers. I have fractured five fingers during basketball and have jammed my fingers multiple times in softball catching the ball bare handed. I just assume that either softball and basketball don’t like my fingers, or my fingers don’t like them.
However, I am not here to tell you about all my experiences with these, sports and what I like and don’t like about them. I am here to tell you about the similarities and differences.
    Softball and basketball are two different sports with many similarities. The obvious similarity is they are both sports. That isn’t the only similarity. They also involve balls, there a team sport, there are girls and mens teams, there is running, and the team with the highest score wins. Also there are national sports teams for both sports. These teams are NSA (National Softball Association) and the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association). In both sports there is extended arm action. This is a key part of both sports. In softball you use extended arm action when you straighten your arm when throwing the ball, and you would use this action in basketball when you are shooting the basketball to shoot. I also have similarities in my opinion. Those similarities are their fun and their the only sports that I play other than horseback riding. You know see that there are many similarities but there are even more of them if you wanted to get into the little details, but it would take forever to list them.
     Know let’s have a conversation on softball and basketball and their differences. Softball uses a smaller ball as basketball uses a larger ball. The ball you use in softball is either a twelve inch softball or eleven inch softball (mostly twelve though). The ball in basketball is 28.5 inches (girls). In softball to play you need to have at least nine players to play a game on each team if not more. As in basketball you need at least five players on each team if not more. To score in softball you need to make it all around the bases and back to home plate and they are called runs. In basketball you need to shot the basketball up in the hoop and the ball needs to go through the basketball to make a score and they are called baskets. The most two most obvious differences between the two sports are were you play and what you wear. In softball you play outdoors on a dirt field and wear softball pants, a t-shirt or tank top, long socks, a visor, and cleats. You play basketball inside on a court in a gym. You wear shorts, b-ball socks, a tank top, and sneakers (preferably b-ball sneakers).
    As a result more kids should get involved in more sports and after school activities. When kids get involved in sports they need to keep their grades up in school and need to keep them at a seventy and above average. Being in sports also helps them stay out of trouble and be more active instead of sitting at home like a couch potato. Sports will also help some kids get scholarships to colleges so they don’t have to pay their full way in or don’t have to pay at all. If more kids get involved with sports their won’t be so many gangs and other thing similar to gangs. Then the streets will be safer and it will be a happier world. I just want to point out that softball and basketball with always be a part of school sports if more kids want to play them. Softball and basketball are sports that will get kids active and off the streets. Let’s make U.S.A a better and safer country for kids to grow up in. Get off the streets and get active.

Matt P.'s compare and contrast essay


Julia and I, then and now

     Relationships change over time, and so do maturity levels, interests, knowledge, and talents. All the previous contributed to the change in my sister’s relationship with me. Julia and I have been mostly friends ever since she could walk and talk. We have always been there for each other in times of struggle.
      We have always bothered each other and hate each other for 5 minutes, but we can’t stay mad and become friends again because we have been growing closer all these years that we have been alive. We have always played similar sports, such as baseball and softball, and basketball. We always have fun together outside. We joke around a lot and both get the jokes, so that makes it better. When Julia and I bicker, we both know what it is about because we are trying to irritate each other. Thankfully neither of us have gotten seriously hurt because of our disagreements.
      Although we still get along, we have changed a lot between then and now. We have grown apart, not much, but some. Our bond is growing closer, though. We are friends most of the time, but less than we did when we were younger. If I took a guess, I would say that Julia and I are friends around 60% of the time as opposed to when we were younger we were friends about 90%. I was 9 and Julia was 7. Disaster came when Julia got smarter. She figured out what irritates me and she does it all the time, just to annoy me. Luckily I figured out what irritates her! Julia is a very unpredictable child. She will be cruel to me one minute and kind the next. I, on the other hand, stay one way, predictable.
      In conclusion, my relationship with Julia has changed a lot, but it has also stayed the same. I wrote this to realize how much things change, and I discovered that things change a lot. I didn’t realize how much our relationship has changed until I wrote this paper.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Sonic 3, or Sonic 2. Compare and Contrast Essay

Sonic 3 and Sonic 2 Compare and Contrast
By: Dax C

    Sonic the Hedgehog is a character in a popular game series. He was in his first game in 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog. I am going to compare and contrast two of his earlier games, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Personally, I think that Sonic 3 is better. First, let’s talk about what each game is about. The game Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was about a blue Hedgehog named Sonic, and his buddy Miles Prower, also know as Tails, who had to go defeat the evil Dr. Robotnik. That game was the 2nd console game Sonic starred in, which was released in 1992. In Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Sonic and Tails again had to defeat Dr. Robotnik. It was released in 1994. This game, actually, was the 4th console game Sonic starred in. The 3rd was Sonic the Hedgehog CD, which was released in 1993. That game was about traveling trough time. It was also released for the Sega Genesis, with the Sega CD attachment. This essay will explain some of the similarities, and differences between Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

    There are many similarities between Sonic 2, and Sonic 3. In both the games, you could play as Sonic, Tails, or both. As an added bonus feature, if you used the lock-on feature of Sonic and Knuckles with these 2 games, you could play as Knuckles in them. These games were released for the system called the Sega Genesis, which had 16 bit graphical capacity. But if you used the 32x add on, you could play 32 bit games. If you chose play as both Sonic and Tails, you could have a person plug in another controller to play as Tails. These games both include the 7 Chaos Emeralds. If you could collect all 7 of them by playing the special stages, you could get Super Sonic. Both games also included rings, which you could collect. If you collected 100 of them, you could earn an extra “life”.

    There are many differences between Sonic 2 and Sonic 3. In Sonic 2, if you played as Tails, he was just like Sonic, but shorter. But if you played as him in Sonic 3, he could use his two tails in a propeller motion, allowing him to fly! This is one major improvement that made me like Sonic 3 better. It showed more ability, instead of having Tails be pretty much just like Sonic. Well, also in both of the games, you went through zones. In Sonic 3, there were 6 zones, each with 2 acts. In Sonic 2 though, it was a lot more complicated. there was 11 zones. 3 zones had 1 act, 7 zones had 2 acts, and 1 zone had 3 acts. In these games, you went through special stages. They were accessed in different ways though. In Sonic 2, you got into the special stage by collecting 50 rings, and touching a sign post. But in Sonic 3, you had to find the hidden giant rings in the acts. Sign post still were in Sonic 3. If you collected 50 rings and touched one, you would be transported to a place with bumpers, where you could collect items that fell out of a giant gum ball machine. In that minigame, you could get rings, a bubble, a giant bumper, and shields. In Sonic 3, there were 3 different types of shields. With Sonic you could get a fire shield, which lets you jump then do a quick boost to the way you’re facing, a bubble shield, which lets you breathe underwater and bounce, and a lightning shield, which magnetics rings to you and lets you do a double jump. With Tails, you could still get the shields, but you couldn’t bounce with the bubble shield, or get the boost with the fire shield, or do a double jump with the lightning shield. Sonic 2 only had one shield, which basically only let you get protected from one hit.The last difference I have to share, is that you could save in Sonic 3, but not in Sonic 2. That feature I really liked, because I don’t usually play one game for a very long time, so it’s nice to be able to continue later on.

    Those are the differences, and similarities that I have for the two games Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Both were great games, but still, I like Sonic 3 better. A quote from IGN (a game rating company) pretty much agrees with me, and says, "Sonic 1 we called impressive. Sonic 2 we labeled great. Sonic 3, though, is the best of them all – and deservingly earns the highest score of the trilogy.” Well, you may be wondering now, why I choose these two games as my topic? Actually, I was born in 2000. That is when the Nintendo 64 was out, and the Sega Dreamcast was just getting started. When I was 4 though, I didn’t have any of those ‘new’ consoles. I had a Sega Genesis. Sonic was all I knew about. Mario wasn’t even known to exist to me. So, I grew up with these games. I thought it would be nice to choose 2 of these games for my topic. That is why Sonic 2 and 3 were my topic. So in conclusion, Sonic 3, is a lot better than Sonic 2.

∞Forever Young∞

       Remember when we were young and everything was so beautiful? Do you also remember when you were young, you wanted to grow up? Nobody actually wants to grow up, we just want the freedom to use our youth. As a child, I would dream the wildest things that I would do as I got older. I never thought those dreams were true, but as Walt Disney used to say, “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

       I have a couple of similarities from when I was a child to now. I do have the same interests. Ever since I was 2, I’ve been going to Speedway 95 to support my god dad, Dj Moody. He races #34 in Late Model. I’ve always wanted to follow in his foot steps and start racing my own race car. The youngest racer is in the class “bomber” and is 12 or 13 years old. I wanted to start racing when I got my license like some of the other racers. I’ve always wanted to start In “bomber” and make my way up to the big boys, which is Late Model. That’s how Dj started, he started out as Bomber, then to sportsman. He stuck with sportsman until this year. This year is his 1st year in Late Model. He never went to Street stalk. I think I would skip it too. I also am still interested in Art. I’ve always liked to draw, paint, sketch, you name it.

       I may have some similarities, but I’m definitely not the same person I used to be. Ever since I moved, I changed. I understand that some of you disagree, but Its true. My personality when I was little was girly, sporty, colorful, shy, happy and hyper. Now I’m having a difficult time with depression, I’m not has happy as I used to be, I don’t play any sports and Sometimes I wear dark clothes. I’m out there and not afraid of talking to people I don’t know. I also have a different taste in clothes and music. When I was little I wore bright colorful clothes from Justice and Walmart. Now I get clothes from Hot Topic, Delias, Kohl’s, and T.J. Maxx. My mood has definitely changed.  I used to be happy all the time.  That isn’t the case anymore.  I admit, I am happy back in Hancock, but I am not so happy with my past.  I have depression issues and now I take pills for it. 

        I know it may seem I’ve been talking a lot about myself.  But it’s easier for me to express it in my writing then face to face with no words to support.  I wrote my essay about the changes I’ve been going through because there has been a lot of changes in my life the past couple of months.  I am strong or at least I used to be.  I’m beautiful or at least that’s what I see.  I am confident, or at least I act like I am.  People change for two reasons.  They have learned a lot or they’ve been hurt too many times.  I am still the same person I was, or am I?