My Gift: I am a Dancer

Here are a few ways in which you could say I am a dancer.

I devote my life to practice over 20 hours a week.
I wear tutus and glitter.
I sacrifice my feet and sanity for the team.
I wear fake eyelashes and ruby red lipstick.
I count out my routine in math class.
I pull muscles I never knew I had; daily.
I own my own ballet bar.
I treat my dance shoes as if they were my children.
I expect my talent to be noticed.
I have the strength to improve my skills.

“Dancers are the athletes of God,” Albert Einstein once said. For as long as I can remember, I have been proud to be part of this title. Some may classify dancers as annoying or embarrassing, but that doesn’t bring us down. Going to dance releases emotions and energy that you never knew you even had. Plus, I have made life lasting friends from being part of the dance team.
It is important for people to realize that dancer’s, just like other athletes, work hard and are devoted. Some think that just because it seems like a girly activity, it’s easy. That would be a false accusation. First of all, some of the best dancers are male. Secondly, we work day and night to perfect our skills and clean our routine, which in return, we expect to be noticed.
We wear sparkly costumes and too much makeup. Does this seem overrated? Maybe, but it helps us get better scores and show off our technique. It is not regularly or by choice that we would wear this. We do it simply for the score sheet, kind of like one would do with a job. Businessmen do not want to wear a suit and tie everyday, but it gets them somewhere. That is the same with dance costumes. As overrated as it may be, it’s necessary.
What also is the truth is that I strive for perfection. I strive to be the best I can be and to improve on all that I can. With that being said, dance is the perfect thing for me. It is a sport where perfection is mandatory. Working hard and doing your best is mandatory. There have been many ups and downs in my personal experiences with dance, but they have all made me a better person. Plus, it makes me work ten times harder to achieve perfection. I consider my talent a gift.
I am an athlete. A perfectionist. A girly-girl. I am a hard worker. I try my best. I never give up. I reach for the stars. I am a dancer.

Here

So, apparently I’ve skipped a generation or something. Last time I checked it wasn’t cool to shave your head; especially if you were a girl. You know what else wasn’t so cool? Stuffing your face with over processed grease at the nearest fast food restaurant. Welcome to America.
It is here that people consider a $100 pair of shoes a deal. Do not forget that these shoes are nothing other than a piece of fabric with a rubber sole that, quite frankly, I could sew together myself. It is here that $20 worth of food at McDonalds (all of which is from the dollar menu) is considered to be reasonable and maybe even healthy. I am sure then that a $100,000 medical bill for clogged arteries caused from fast food would be acceptable too? Just a guess.
It is here that a citizen will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but will barely cross the street to vote in a national election.
It is here that a Dad will cradle the television set, as if it were their 3rd child, every Sunday afternoon. So much for family time. But, when they see something they don’t like, beware. Their mood for the rest of the day will depend on the score board.
It is here that people will be seen, alone in their cars, belting out the lyrics to their favorite song. They assume that no one can see them, or in some cases hear them. Or how about this; the yelling driver cursing at the vehicle that just cut them off. I hope they do not think that the vehicle can hear them, or really even cares.
It is here that having a 30 year old mom is acceptable…when you are 16. It here that being offered drugs on the corner of most streets is common. It makes you fell like you are walking on clouds; you should really buy some and help support those who need money…sound familiar?
This one is my favorite. It is here where we drive around to four different gas stations, trying to find the cheapest price. Well, going to the nearest one probably would have been a good idea, seeing that one now spent more money and time driving around.
It is here where people will do anything for publicity, even if that means telling the world their little boy drifted off into space in a hot air balloon. Sounds real convincing, right?
It is here where naming your baby boy Apple is perfectly normal. Or your baby girl Sunday. Very cute.
It is here where using the rearview mirror as your beauty salon is acceptable. Don't poke your eye out. Here is where it is ok to put false eyelashes on three year old girls and send them on stage to “compete for the crown.”
It is here where we think we know so much. Where we think we are being so politically, economically and socially correct. It is here that we quite often make absolutely no sense.
Welcome to America.

Inner Ring Response

I really enjoyed reading "The Inner Ring." It was inspirational and nice to hear someone vent about what most people feel they can't. Also, I agree with every word of it. ALtering your self to fit the "persona" needed to fit in with a group is ridiculous. I have seen it first hand, and it never turns out well. If you be yourself, you will find your way, and your place. In fact, you'll be better off. Its an analogy like this: If you are a rose, you are going to feel awkard and out of place in a field of daisys. Find other roses, ones that complement your personality and taste. You'll look, fell and be able to be yourself and let your individual beauty shine through. :)

Trans what? Blog 10

Transcendentalism is a term that confuses me, to say the least. However, after doing a little bit of research I think I can understand the basice concept. That is basically that transcendentalism is based upon the belief that the ideas of reality should be discovered by the study of the process of thought. It relates to nature and rests on the belief of individuality and the power of divine within the individuals. For the most part, I agree with this. I am all for individuality. However, the way in which Ermerson and Thoreau depict this sense of individuality comes off a little bit too strong.
Transcendental means superior, as well. So, it is good to strive to be the best you can, but if everyone had their own superior sense of individuality, the sense of organization would be completly lost and I think we would all be in trouble!
With that being said, being an individual is a good think, but we must not take it to the extreme and get carried away. Personality is key and being who you want to be is key as well. We can not rely on text to tell us who we should and should not (or can and can not) be.

Blog on Anything!

Usually, I would have a hard time comming up with what to blog about. But, today I have lots to say! I got back from Brainderd last night. The Trojet dance team went up there for an invitational meet Friday right after school. It was pretty cold! When we got up there we had to go straight to our hotel rooms to change into something we could practice in (all which had to be the same outfit). We headed over the the Brainderd Dance Studio to get some practice time. After, we went to Famous Daves with Eastview. I am sure when the other customers saw 125 dancers walk in they were overwhelmed...but at least the restaurant was prepared! After Famous Daves we got time to go swimming at the hotel and what not. The hotel hottub felt extremly good!
Saturday morning we were up bright and early to head to Brainerd High school. We got there around 8:15, but had to wait until 1:30 to dance. So we streched, marked through our dance, stretched....and stretched a little more. wayzata's Varsity, JV and B squad all took 1st place which was a really big acomplishment and we felt very proud!
After the awards we headed back to Plymouth, unfortunately to find out that we couldn't get our backpacks out of the locker room at school. I spent all day today gathering up pieces of homework I could attempt to do (math without a calculator=almost impossible by the way.) Anyway, it was a really fun weekend and went by way to fast :(

Thankful...

I was excited to write about this...It is something I could go on about for hours, maybe even days. I am thankful for so many things. One thing that I am very thankful for is my family, as I think most are. I could be all literal and be thankful for them because "without them I would not be here", but I am mostly thankful for them for all that they provide me: a house, food, love, care, other needs, and wants. I do not know what I would do without my family. I am thankful for all of my relatives as well, including both of my 90 year old Grandmas who are still going strong. I am so lucky to have them both be here and be in such great health. I am thankful for my boyfriend Cameron as well because he has brought so much happiness to my life over the past year. I really do not know what it would be like without him. I am thankful for an education and teachers who respect and teach me what I need to suceed. Also, I am thankful for having such great friends who I can relax with. I am thankful that I have the ability to dance as well, because dance is my life. Like I said, I could keep going on and on..but I think I will stop here. All in all, this is a great time of year to really appreciate and be thankful for what you have, and thats exactly what I plan on doing. :)

Child Abuse

I chose to do my visual essay on child abuse because I feel that it needs to be prevented. With that being said, my claim is that child abuse does not achieve happiness and therefore needs to be stopped. I support my claim with pictures and texts that grab at audiences hearts. Pictures of physical abuse is shown in my essay and this helps emphasize how badly abused children need help and support. Also, I show pictures of how sad and lonely abused children are. They are too afraid to tell people about the problem and all they want is someone to reach out and help them. So, as for my warrant? Children do not deserve to grow up being hurt, so it is not right to harm them.

The pictures I chose fit my statement appropriately. I did not want to be too graphic, but I showed enough to get the audiences attention and sympathy. Most of the pictures show lonely/sad children who come off as being afraid. Some of my pictures even include text to emphasize my stance. I decided to have one slide of only text which says "It shouldn't hurt to be a kid." I wanted to be plain and simple with what I said, yet make a bold statement. The first picture (the eye with a tear drop) fits because it sets the overall tone of sadness for my essay. Also, the last picture fits appropriately because it goes beyond just my stance and comes from the actual child as he holds up his hand that says "Stop the Abuse Pretty Please." This is very touching and a good way to get out the final point that not only do I want to help, but that they beg for ours. My pictures switch from isolated to children to semi-graphic photos of actualy abuse. I thought this was effevtive because it shows that not only are they being hurt, but they are afraid and fear to be out right about it.

As for my musical selection, I thought it to be a perfect fit. The song is called "After Afterall" by William Fitzsimmons. The way the song flows with the pictures is really effective. Also, the lyrics match well. "Please don't leave me" and "please don't keep me" describes the struggles that abused children face everyday. They want a family, but they are unhappy and afraid of their own (therefore being tossed up with what they truely want). The tone of the music gives off sadness, and that defenitely fits with the statement my visual essay has. The song says "Please don't leave me" right as my text comes across saying "It shouldn't hurt to be a kid." This is a strong statement because its expressing two powerful things, not to leave me and that it shouldn't hurt to be a child. I feel that that is almost a solution. Since it shouldn't hurt to be a child, then do not harm them and they won't have to leave you. I sense that the "child" is actually saying that life shouldn't be like this for them and they shouldn't have to suffer with pain and no family.

Overall, it is important to help those in need and I hope my essay helps illustrate how critical this truely is.

Video Essay

Enlightenment

Enlightenment acts as an understandment and spread of knowledge. To enlighten someone is to broaden their view on something. I think that this blog post relates to what we have been talking about in class the past few days.
The articles we have read about eatting disorders, media, fashion, looks, etc is all examples of enlightenment. The authors are spreading what they know about the issue to us. Most of it is positive enlightenment as well because it is allowing us to know that no one is perfect.
The word enlightenment can be looked at in so many different ways. It can be thought of as learining, or as teaching. It can be looked at as education or wisdom. Also, it can be thought of as open mindedness or broad mindedness. Instruction and insight also describe enlightenment.
Overall, thinking about this blog post really enlightened;) me to looking deep for the meaning of a term.

A Commercial Remembered- Blog #6

I recently saw a commercial for comcast. It was about, as usual, their service being fast. Something that stuck out to me about this commercial was the overall structure of it. It was hard to understand at first, but at the end of the 30 second clip, it turned out to be very clever. It used a metaphor to make the service seem more effective and fast. It compared the speed of comcast to that of a race car and a cheetah, without directly saying that it was comcast that it was being compared to.
The words spoken at the very end stick out to me. They said "Comcast, we make fast faster." Once this was said, it made sense why the "man" (comcast) was outrunning the cheetah and the racecar. I thought this was very effective.
As for its purpose, it was clear to me from the start that the purpose of whatever the product was was speed. They really emphasized this. No voice was used until the very end, so the cadence was short and direct. The voice is memorable and the actual words are even more memorable. The overall effectiveness of this commercial was good and it was really well planned and produced.

School All Year Round?!

I give lots of credit to students who go to school all year round. To me, this seems almost absurd. At the end of the nine month school year, I am beyond ready to have a break. Then, at the end of summer I am ready to re group and start up the school year again. I feel that summer break helps get my mind back on track and focused. School all year round would make it really hard to focus on my studies, especially during the summer months when the weather becomes distracting. I feel bad for kids who have no summer break. However, they probablly do not know what it feels like and are use to what the routine they have.
All in all, I strongly feel that a summer break is needed. Not only only so students can stay sane, but so they can take family trips and spend time with their friends. I think WHS has a perfect routine just how it is. But, maybe we could have a few extra breaks throughout the year? Just kidding. :)

After reading the article about American students and their work ethic, I felt a little bit offended. I think that American's work ethic may be a lot less than other countires, but the article was a little too stereotypical. We work and strive for perfection as well. We are not all just one big party, as the ethnic girl referred to us as in the movie. My reaction to the video was that it was dissing American students. However, it also may just be trying to prove a point or bring upon an argument.
I feel bad for the students in China and other countires who spend every moment of their day studying and doing school work. It also makes me feel a little bit guilty, like I should live up to their standards. I try my best in all that I do so I know that that must count for something right? Your reward for so much work is success. But, does this mean that I won't be as successful as students in other countries? I hope not. I think that the article was zooming in on a group of students in America, not American students as a whole. Because I know that there are some very smart and hard working students here, a ton even in our own school.
All in all, the movie and the article were interesting to read because it lead me to see how other people categorize us. Whether or not their categorization be correct is up to us as individuals (and maybe as a whole too.)

Dance..How do they do it?

I just walked in the doors and my toes are dirty and raw. Six hours of dance is enough for one day. Today, we had master classes at Summit Dance Shoppe. Choreographers from all over the United States came in to teach us combinations and expand our knowledge in the world of dance. It really got me wondering on how they do it. How does a person exert so much passion into such a tiring and difficult task. But, then it hit me. It's merely because they ARE so passionate about what they do. They strive to be the best and thats what has made them the best.

They told us that we can do whatever we want if we put our mind to it. If we want to do five turns instead of four, we can most defenitely do that. It is all about whats in your mind. Now us, as teenagers, think to ourselves (sarcastically) "Yeah, we've never heard that expression before." However, I realized if you actually believe in yourself and you actually set your mind on what you want to do, dance in general is 10 times easier. Practicing this expression today made me feel so much more comfortable. It was more enjoyable for me to dance when I practiced that mind set.

I give so much credit to the choreographers; the ones we had today and the other great ones still out there. Dance is an art, and it is by no means an easy form of it. The ones who can lecture and teach and create this art, like them, deserve a lot of credit.

Well, 6 hours later I am starting to feel a little tired and hungry. Dinner is ready so I better go!

Language and Identity

To me, there is a defenite relationship between language and identity. In simplest terms, the language you speak is what identifies who you are and where you may be from. However, the relationship between the two can get way deeper. For example, the language you use in your writing is how you are looked upon and identified, as an author and person. The words and phrases and ideas you portray in what you say on paper is your voice, your specific language. When people read it, that is how they will see you, label you and be able to identify you.
Your language can reveal many things about you such as race, gender, age, occupation, level of education and culture. But like I said before, it can be twisted into different meanings as well. It makes you you. It has to do with identity because you are your own identity, and thats the best way I can put it. It's almost like the phrase "you are what you eat." Except with this, you are what you say and write. Your language (literally or metaphorically) constructs your identity. When used, it forms a sense of who we are. Thats how I see it, and thats how I compare the two as a relationship.

Which One? By Amber

After reading both essays "Why I Write", by George Orwell and Joan Didion, it was clear to me on which one I resonated with more. The main idea of Orwell's was that he has always known he wanted/should be a writer. In contrast, the main idea of Didion's was that it took her years to discover that a writer is what she should be. With that said, I think that Orwell's piece resonates with me more.

I feel that being a writer isn't something you just wake up and decide. It's something that sticks with you for a long time. The things you do in your childhood could play roll in this as well, like Orwell. For example, as a child Orwell described himself failing in most of his writings. People can relate to that as they get fed up and frustrated when they write. However, that doesn't mean they are bad at it or should give up, and Orwell proves this. I also feel like you always have somewhat of an idea that writing is something you may be good at. Then, you may find yourself practicing and engaging in writing all the time, like Orwell did.

George Orwell was negative about his own writing, but he was generally positive about different reasons for writing. I liked his essay because it gave ideas and motives for not just him, but for all writers in general. Didion's essay wasn't as easy to relate to because it gave only personal experiences she had with writing, which were all pretty negative and incomplete. It seemed as though she was unfocused and unsure of what she really wanted. Orwell on the other hand was sure of what he knew, which was that he would be a writer, even though he didn't always like the idea of it. His motives are really inspirational and I find them interesting and relatable. After reading Orwell's essay, one thing I read that has stuck with me is when he basically said " you live in the story and can't stop your thoughts and ideas." Now, those were not his direct words, but a summary of what he was trying to get across. I think that this is 100% true. When you write, you are letting out emotions, whether they are yours or ones you need to give a character. You almost get addicted to the words and moments you are in. This is why I relate best to Orwell's essay. He gives a lot of good points and things I can strongly relate to. Didion's essay was interesting, but Orwell's essay has ideas and things that will stick with me for a while, and I will think back on them when I am stuck.

My first...

This is my first blog I have ever done. I never thought I would actually start blogging, especially today after all the trouble I had with my account and computer! I think it is exciting and interesting that we are able to do this as a class. It should be convenient once we all get the hang of it. At first, I thought being able to choose your own topic would be a lot easier and more fun. However, now that I actually have to do that I've realized it's not as easy as I had once thought.
Anyway, now that the year has started I have to get into my normal school routine and begin to focus more. I am excited to start the year. I am very glad I got into AP Comp, as I know the waiting list is suppose to be really long. I enjoy writing though so this class should be fun and entertaining. I feel like I am a pretty creative person, so hopefully it will begin to show through in my writing! Thanks for listening! I am super excited :)