Final Thoughts...

My final thoughts on this class...Well for one, the whole blogging then kind of bothered me. I don't mind blogging ever once in a while since we're going to be blogging in college and it's good practice but I chose this art class cause I thought we would be doing real art projects. In the beginning we did the name plaques and we painted our coat of arms but after that we didn't do much art related stuff. I love to paint, draw and make things but we didn't do much of that. I haven't taken an art class since elementary school and so I chose this one but I would consider it more of a blogging class in an art class room. Sorry. The other thing that comes to mind which is he main thing is that I wish I had received more positive feedback on the things I did. The majority of the time I turned my stuff in on time unless I was absent and I have had absences due to health issues. Whenever I turned in something that I had pride in I always got mixed feedback. I never felt fully confident in the things I did cause I feel like I got more negative feedback than positive. When I get negative feedback I just don't wanna work anymore so I just wish I could've gotten nicer feedback. That's how I feel but I've already expressed it.

Farewell, chiao, adios, ellaleqa

I don't think it's hit me yet that I'm graduation...but I'm sure it will hit me when I'm walking in my plastic yellow gown crying haha. I don't have my graduation speech with me so I will give a few words to incoming seniors instead. Basically senior year is the funnest and also the hardest. I'm not gonna lie. The biggest tip I can give you is plan and simple: never give up. That obtains to a lot of things; school work, your personal life and things you wanna achieve. When you think the work can't get any harder just keep working no matter how tired you get. Discouragement is the biggest cause of failure. No one wants to fail. Oh, another tip. Just be yourself. There's that old saying "I would rather be hated for who I am than to be loved for who I'm not" or something to that effect. That's the mind frame we all should be in. I would rather have no friends and love myself then to totally have no confidence at all but all the friends in the world. I know from experience. Trust me. Senior year won't be easy. There's lots of pressure, from parents, teacher, peers ect. but it's all worth it when you walk down that stage. Just keep going and don't stop.

Teens and Internet

I have a myspace and a facebook and I go about every other day just to check my mail and sometimes put up pictures but I'm not like those people that update their status every single day. I'm kind of a private person and I don't like everyone knowing my buisness so I don't feel the need to tell everyone what I'm doing and when or why. My facebook has helped my keep touch with people or find people from elementary school that I haven't talked to in years. Myspace also helps me keep touch with people but I don't feel the need to go on everyday. I don't get that bored, sorry haha. I think it's lame how people become to obsessed with it. With texting, I don't text a lot either. I only text maybe 4 people mainly. I don't text people and have long conversations, I usually just text for emergencies or information. I see my friends all the time so I don't need to text them a million times a day. Call me boring haha.

T3XT!NG

Not too long ago I blogged about some videos my class watched on texting while driving, I guess this is supposed to be a continued blog on the same issue. Pretty much texting while driving is plain stupid. It's been proven that when you're driving and talking on the phone or texting you're attention isn't fully on the road, which causes accidents. I don't drive yet but if I did I wouldn't make the mistake of texting while driving. I think people underestimate how much damage it can cause. I don't text as much as the average teenager, I only text a few close friends or if it's something urgent. I don't let it interfere with my school work or activities and no I'm not addicted haha that's ridiculous. That's all I can say about this blog. I don't feel good, I'm tired and in a crappy mood. Leave me alone.

FREE BLOG

So about a month ago I was flipping through the channels and I came across that new show Life on Discovery Channel. I'm not the kind of person that watches Animal Planet or the History Channel but this show was amazing. Every episode is about a different species of animal; like one week it will be mammals and the next week will be sea creatures of birds. I feel nerdy watching it but it's a really interesting show and it kept my attention for a whole hour. I think as humans we take nature for granted and don't really realize how amazing it is. Animals just know what do and how to take care of themselves just like we do. They have enemies, homes, family and have to go through the motions of life just like us. This season just ended so I hope there's a new season coming up. I recommend this show to everyone. It's awesome.

My Life As A Transcendentalist

So I can't put my presentation on here cause it's not working too well but I will give you a brief discription of it. Most of my pictures were of nature or animals. I took all of them except one and most of them were taken in my house or my backyard. I didn't realize how many pretty things were in my yard till I did this project. I used 5 quotes all from Throeau and I had 20 slides. My song was the best part, in my opinion. My song was Speak by Gary Go. It was mostly about self reliance. I hope I got a good grade on this project cause it was worth a big chunk of our grade. Cross my fingers.

Comments

Uno, Two, Three wouldnt work :(

Duradangos

So I just finished my duradango (ball of dirt) today. It just started as dirt, mud and clay and now it's a pretty cool ball of dirt. I guess the regular recipe is made with poop but we weren't allowed to use poop. Darn ;) I think I did a good job with mine, it's pretty circular and has nice color but unfortunately it won't shine up like everyone else's. But I like it. Honestly from the beginning I wasn't too big on the idea but now that it's done it's pretty cool. I would do it again for sure.file:///Users/berkeytaylor/Desktop/Photo%2022.jpg

:)

This is my dreamboard.

SPRING BREAK 2010

I have to say Spring Break this year was the best so far. The past spring break vacations haven't been as good as this one, I didn't hang out with anyone, didn't hit up the beach and I had no one to spend it with. This one was different though.

This year I have made some amazing new friends, so I had more people to hang out with and more things to do. I went to the beach a few times with friends and went out to eat a lot. Since I don't drive my friend Kendra and I took the MCAT Bus to the beach which was quite an adventure....we took the wrong bus haha but it was a lot of fun and we got to the beach eventually. I also have family from New York that came down. 3 kids between the ages of 7 and 2. That's a party.

The best part of it all though was that I spent time with my new boyfriend Alex :D Yes. I did. I had a boyfriend last spring break but that was a very different story. This was different. He took me out to play mini golf, the Wing House, and to a few parties. I'm one of those people that likes to have someone to spend time with. I think I finally found that at the perfect time. That time with him meant a lot to me. Awwwww.

So to wrap it all up, this break was the best and I'm glad it was because this was the last spring break of my High School career. Kind of makes me sad but I have so much more to look forward to. I hope everyone had a good spring break. Class of 2010.

I AM POEM....

I am alone and damaged

I wonder if I will escape this feeling

I hear truth and lies in my mind

I see myself breaking

I want to fee my soul

I am alone and damaged

I pretend that I am okay

I fee like the only victim

I touch my broken lips

I worry that he'll come back

I cry by myself

I am alone and damaged

I understand it's not my fault

I say nothing

I dream of being healed

I try to break out of this nightmare

I hope one day I can

I am alone and damaged.

Challenge #3

I live in the sunshine state.

Where the sky is always blue.

Where the ocean in clear as glass.

Where oranges are always ripe.

And where the sun always shines.

Image by: Google images bradenton beach florida

Pictures?

Ugh, this is a complicated subject kinda. I have a picture of myself on my facebook and my myspace but not on here, not like I wouldn't I just haven't gotten around to putting one on here. I know there are lots of creepy men/women out there but as long as the picture is appropriate, it's not like you are asking for it so I think it's alright. The thing with myspace is that not everyone can see your myspace cause they have to be accepted as your friend, same thing with facebook. On here anyone can see this is we should be cautious, but pictures are okay to have on here. I also think that at our age we know right from wrong and what's smart and what's dumb, we can handle it :D

FREE POST!

Today I get to pick my own topic to write about. I'm going to write about the pressures of senior year. I've been really stressed out lately mostly about school related stuff. I've been under a lot of pressure from my family, as if I don't put enough pressure on myself! I think when people talk about senior year they make it sound a lot more carefree than it really is. People talk about parties, grad night, graduation and all that stuff but you never really think about all the other things that have to be done in between. Around October I took the ACT and I did pretty good, in December I took the SAT. I bombed it to say the least. This means I will either have to take it again or just resort to taking the CPT ( college placement test). Applying for colleges was a struggle to. My family has made lots of decisions for me in the past years of my life, and that didn't stop them from basically choosing where I'm going to college. I got accepted to SCF a.k.a. MCC. I wasn't too thrilled about it. If I had my choice I would go somewhere FAR AWAY FROM HOME. But that didn't happen. I got one family member that wants me to go to Julliard, another wants me to go to USF and another wants me to go to SCF. Geesh. Too much at once. I figure I will go to SCF for a two years and then transfer where I WANT TO GO. My mom is the kind of mother that feels the need to hold my hand through everything. If that's the way things are going to go from here on out I will never be able to learn anything. I want to be more independent ( hence, wanting to go far away for college) Ugh, either way I have a lot on my plate right now. I don't even know what career path I want to go in. Medicine, education, computers, music, insurance ect. I want to pick a field that get me good money cause in this day and age, money is more important now. So yea, senior year has been fun. I made awesome new friends, got to take fun classes and have good memories to take with me but when I get home, there is no time to relax. Right back to work I go. If I could give any advice it would be that just because this is your senior year, don't think fora second that you have the right to slack off. Senioritis is a terrible disease. Work your buns off till you can't anymore. It will all pay off sooner than later.

Challenge #1

Why visit my blog? I will tell you why right now. Because...I'm awesome. No just kidding. Seriously, you should read my blog because there is nothing wrong with seeing into other people's opinions on issues instead of just sticking to your own. I think that's part of what blogging is about. It's cool to explore and research different issues and then express your opinions on them. I think in High School sometimes teens feel like we can't really speak out and say how we feel so it's cool to have our own place where we can express that kind of stuff. I'm not that good of a writer but that doesn't matter, everyone is different. I'm always honest with how I feel and I can defend my thoughts so hey if you're really bored, why not read my blog? Woo.

Life of Pi

I was absent on the day of this post so now I'm making it up. So the subject is; what did I learn from life of Pi? If anything I learned about the true meaning of survival. It's not just physical but mental. When it got near the end Pi was pretty much convinced that he was going to die and started to give up hope. Although he did end up going blind which was kind of break your spirit a little bit. I think survival isn't just about your physical being but it's also about mental state. It's important to stay sane and keep up even an once of hope cause in the end that's what may keep you alive. I'm really glad that I read life of pi, it was a good read.

The Driving Videos.

So the first video I saw was pretty graphic and had to do with texting while driving and the other one was about putting on your seatbelt and was deeper and not graphic at all. For me they both caught my attention in different ways. The one about texting while driving I think is proof that texting while driving is just as big an issue as not wearing your seatbelt these days. I don't drive therefore I don't text and drive so I had no idea how much damage it could do. Seeing a graphic video I think has a bigger affect on people. Blood and guts just kind of sticks with you. However the one on wearing your seatbelt was quite capturing to but in a different way. It showed a father, his wife and a daughter which shows that it without a seatbelt your loved ones are in danger. I liked the concept and the setting. I think there are millions of ways to advertise but with issues such as seatbelt wearing and texting while driving you have to be really careful with how you portray things and I think both creators of these videos deserve a pat on the back.

5 Things

So for this blog I'm supposed to name 5 things that a teacher can do to be a better teacher to students. Most of the tips I'm going to give are pretty basic but they're things that I look for and appreciate.

1. Making learning fun: If kids get bored in the classroom or with the assignments then they're not going to even want to learn. You have to make the kids want to be productive and they're dragging their feet with every assignment or project, chances are they are bored with the regular routine. So switch it up and make it fun. Go outside, draw pictures, do videos, watch movies ect.

2. Connect with your students: When I mean connect I mean on a personal level, but not too personal. You have to be relatable to your students. You can be 50 years old and still have a fun time with your students that are 17-18 years old. That's going to make all the difference. The vibes you give off from the start will stick till the end of the school year so first impressions are important. It's nice to have a personal conversation with your teacher once in a while instead of just talking about homework. Sharing stories is refreshing.

3. Don't be too controlling: Everyone knows that teens hate being told what to do. Parents at home tell us what to do all the time. It's your job to give us direction to learn but not constantly be on our back about every single thing. I find that if I'm being pushed around all the time, I just stop and do my own thing. You have to let us breathe and give us space. God knows me need direction but not so much that we feel like we have another set of parents. No one wants a mother clone.

4. Be positive: I don't like being talked down to and I know lots of kids my age feel the same way. Even if we fail miserably at something it's important to give us at least some good feedback. Not everyone is as good at something as someone else might be and it's important to keep that in mind. As long as you recognize that someone did their best that's all that matters. If you knock us down on our mistakes we are more likely to give up, pats on the back only make us work harder.

5. Pay attention to different types of learning: Everyone learns things differently. I learn better through example and pictures or colors. Other people may learn better from just reading and taking notes. I know that there are many ways the brain works and that's good for you to know as a teach too. Some people have trouble learning the traditional way which is to read and write till it's engraved in your head. If you let everyone learn something the way they can learn it and it will pay off.

So that's it, I hope this helps.

my limericks

I'm alone for Vday this year

And I promise I won't shed a tear

It's my ex boyfriends fault

Because he got caught

Now I'll hit up a 6 pack of beer.

Valentines are so overated

Frankly they've got people jaded

If you don't get one

The drama's begun

It's a holiday I've always hated.

Last Vday I got a fish

Even though that was not my wish

My boyfriend was lame

He just has no game

I hit him in the face with a dish.

I wanna make Lil wayne my man

Even though I doubt that I can

I think he's pretty hot

I like his music a lot

I know he likes butts that are tan.

So Vday this year just might suck

I'll get a sweet tea for a buck

I'll stay home and watch movies

Avoid getting cooties

This year I have no luck.

Driving and Texting.

I don't drive while texting because I don't drive lol. But if I did, I would be smart enough not to text when I'm driving. I know of some people that text while driving and I think that people understand how dangerous it is. I think that teenagers always have the mindset that they are invincible They always think that nothing bad can happen to them or their friends but the truth is that it can happen to anyone in a second. However just because you make a law against it or some type of rule it doesn't mean you can stop everyone from doing it. But I think if enough people break the habit then others will follow. However I think it will be like how the law says you can't legally drink until you are 21, that may be the law but it doesn't mean that they will follow it. I think texting while driving is stupid but the only thing that can stop people from doing it is themselves.

my way of life

"Every man dies. Not every man really lives." is my quote for our new project. I picked this quote because it's short and easy to understand. I think it suites my way of thinking and my way of life. I grew up in a very religious family. My whole family consists of Catholics and Presbyterians, yea not much room to breathe. I decided that when I got old enough I was going t decide for myself what I wanted to do and what direction I wanted to go in. I'm not the type of person that does something because everyone else says I should or because everyone else is going it. Fitting in and sharing the same way of life as other people is not important to me. I ended up choosing the way of Christianity but I don't think you should let religion lead every step of your life. You would never learn if that was the way you lived. If you live by the rules (Ten Commandments) sure you won't get into as much trouble but then how do you learn from your mistakes if you make sure you never make any. Religion gives me hope and a more positive outlook on life but I'm not going to let it take over who I am or how I live. I think over the years the world has become some used to the same routine and the same thinking. No one dares to dream anymore because they don't want to fail. No one takes chances and no one lives for themselves anymore. I feel like everyone gets wrapped up in what people think is so right but in the end it gets you nowhere. I think you need to live your life to the fullest everyday because regardless of what your religion says no one lives forever.

:]

Past the crowds,

Down the busy streets,

Between the monstrous structures

Is the dream of all daydreamers.

Where opportunity is everywhere.

The city lights shining down,

The taxi cabs and subways rushing to go where they need to go.

With the vibrant faces of millions of people

And the spirit of the city that completes it all.

I wish I could snap my fingers and be in the midst of it all.

It's New York City, where I will someday be.

The person that has inspired me..

The one person that has taught and inspired me the most I think is my Orchestra teacher Mr. Jorgensen, or as I call him " Mr. J". I started playing cello when I was 10 years old and I went to Sugg for middle school and the orchestra teacher there was horrible. Not going to name any names but, he was BAD. He was absent a lot, he taught too fast, he made it so much more complicated than it needed to be. I swear all I learned in that class was every line to the movie Fiddler On The Roof because we watched that movie at least 10 times that year. So I learned nothing and I was a very bad player. When I got to high school orchestra I was so nervous because I was so far behind everyone else. I didn't know anything about music or about my instrument. Mr. J whipped me into shape. He taught me so much about music history, composers and about playing an instrument. Things I never knew existed. By the time I reached my sophomore year he put me into Advanced Orchestra and that's where I've been ever since. He transformed me into the player that I always wanted to be. He gave me the tools, the confidence and the skill to be that. Not only am I smarter in music but I'm a thousand times more confident then I was a few years ago. There's no such thing as a perfect musician. You may not believe it but even people like Yo-Yo Ma have their bad days where they really stink but it's true. It's not about being perfect it's about being imperfect, having flaws but still putting your all into your craft. All it takes is some TLC. I'm really glad I came to Bayshore and joined orchestra because of Mr.J. He really influenced me. He taught me and showed me things that I will take with me for years and years to come.

Nickname? Mmmmm

My childhood nickname was Tater-tot, so stupid, but that's what it was. I got it when I was in Pre-School at Discover our World. I was about 4 almost 5. My teacher called me that and I didn't like it so I started to cry but it just stuck and everyone started calling me that. I wish I had a cooler nickname, something that really represents me but I don't, that's the best I got. I guess because I was really small and my name was Taylor, I earned it. I don't know. I hate that nickname.

She Walks In Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless, climes and starry skies

And all that's best of dark and fright

As I lay asleep I hear her cries

Thus mellowed by thy tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less

Had half impaired the light of her trace

Which waves in every raven tree

Or softly lightens by her grace

Where thoughts serenley sweet express

How pure, how dear her dwelling face

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,

So soft, so calm, yet eloquent

The smiles that win, the tints that glow

But tell of days in goodness spent,

A mind at peace with all below,

A heart whose love is innocent.

What I'm Best At

Taylor,

Since we can't think of things that are good about ourselves we decided to write for each other. You are a very strong person in many ways. To me you are one of the kindest people I have met in high school. You are a very understanding person and have a good sense of humor. When someone needs to talk to you, you have a good way of comforting them and making them feel better. You are a very beautiful person and have such a good personality to go with it. You play the cello like a beast. :) You have a smile to light up a room and make any girl jealous. When ever I am with you we are usually laughing. You are not easily influenced by other people or dumb trends. You are always yourself, even in a crowded room full of people. One thing I admire about you is your individuality and your sense of right and wrong. You help people with the goodness of your heart even if your not happy yourself. You have helped me through a lot of crap in my life and I have seen you go through just as much. I don't think I could have gone through some of the things I did last year or this year with out being able to talk to you. Your opinion matters a lot to me and I am glad we got stuck in personal fitness together last year. :) You are an amazing person and I am truly happy we are as close as we are. I love you tay-tay and thanks for everything. I'm gona miss you so much when I get out of school!

Love, Savannah

Greatest since 2000

I think the greatest invention since 2000 would have to be the Ipod. It has evolved into so many different kinds of ipods, there's the classic, the nano, the video and also ones with video cameras implanted in them. I think we've come a long way since the walkman and those old boom boxes. Now you can have a music player that's as big as your hand can hold thousands of songs and lots of videos. I have an ipod myself and it is really amazing all the things I can put on it. It's also crazy that the more they evolve the small they get but yet they hold the same amount or more data. They are rather expensive but I think mine was worth all the money I spent.