Heather DeAnda

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) a 17-year-old decides to start over in a new life and move from Phoenix to Forks Washington to live with her dad Charlie (Billy Burke). When Bella arrives in Forks, she doesn’t expect much to happen there. But things change when she meets the mysterious, and beautiful Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). Edward is different from anyone she’s ever experienced; He’s intelligent, witty, and seems to see into her soul.  Edward can run faster then a mountain lion, he can stop moving vans with his bare hands, and he hasn’t aged since 1918. Bella soon finds out his secret of being a vampire and they fall desperately and inseparably in love. Edward is not like other vampires; He is in a group of vampires that considers themselves “vegetarians;” they don’t drink human blood, just animal blood. The closer Bella and Edward become, the harder it gets for Edward so resist her scent, which could send him into an uncontrollable frenzy. Once things start to seem to good to be true, the unexpected comes along. Bad Vampire Visitors soon realize there is a human in love with a vampire, who is considered impossible and unacceptable; Edward must fight to save Bella’s life and their rare love.

            I really enjoyed this movie. They did an extremely good job getting the main points and important parts from the book across in the movie. The movie does a really good job explaining and showing the romance between a human and a vampire. Twilight illustrates all the obstacles the couple has to go through just to be together and save their “unacceptable love affair.” Twilight does a brilliant job explaining how hard it is for Edward to resist Bella’s human blood scent. The actors/actresses in the movie really play their part well and fit the role they play in the movie. There is a lot of action and exciting parts that really get you involved and interested in the movie quick. They really do a good job conveying what its like to be a teenage girl in love and the feelings she goes through.

            The movie does a great job visualizing the baseball scene. The baseball scene is actually better in the movie, then the way the book explains. I really enjoyed how they used darkness and shadowing of the clouds and the storm over the field while playing baseball. When you hear the thunder roaring as they hit the ball, you can see why the storm is necessary for the game. There are a few minor changes in the movie from the book, but not so different to where the movie is not the same at all. Edward and Bella really fit the physical description, described in the book. They both look as I imagined in my head.

            Making the movie exactly like the book on the big screen is difficult to do without dragging on the movie any longer; with out boring the audience to get the point across. Considering this, I think the movie was awesome compared to the book. In the book, Edward explains to Bella how he never goes out into the sunlight because his skin sparkles. I pictured how he would look differently in the book, but what they did in the movie to his skin actually worked well; he looked very heavenly. His skin sparkled like he was covered in tiny shimmering diamonds that glowed off of him. The only thing I do think they should have changed is the fact that Edward and Bella fall in love way too fast. They meet each other and have a quarrel then suddenly fall in love. It seems too sudden and weird. In the book Stephanie Meyer makes Bella come off as extremely vulnerable and clumsy; they don’t really show that she is clumsy and vulnerable in the movie much.

Twilight overall was much better then most people perceive it to be. Yes the book is more detailed then the movie but you also don’t have a time limit in a book as you do in a movie. I love the movie twilight.

March 17^th, 2009 a 20-year-old Grand Valley State University student Derrek Copp who is currently hospitalized and in serious conditions after a police officer shot him in the chest while serving a drug warrant. Derrek claims he had no idea the officer was even an officer after coming through his apartment’s back door, then shining a flashlight in his eyes. He never even got a chance to see who was coming at him. Derek was unarmed and police haven’t told whether he had possession of marijuana or not. (Webster) Does this seem like something to get shot over? It’s not exactly even clear why he was shot?

            Illegal drug policy, which is currently in effect, is just stupid. Poor innocent people who are not harming anyone while doing drugs and going to jail for years and life sometimes is insane. For a first time offence you can get a fine up to a $5000 fine and go to jail up to a year. (Analysis)  People are going to do drugs whether they are legal or not and it is causing people to go crazy just to get it. It’s putting people in extreme debt and making them homeless because illegal drugs are so expensive. Tell me why this makes any sense? Police arrest more American people for marijuana charges alone per year, then they do for rape, murder, robbery, and aggravated assault combined. (NORML) Convicted marijuana offenders are denied federal financial aid, welfare, and food stamps and may be removed from public housings. Is all this really necessary if its not harming anyone? It should be your own choice. In some states, convicted marijuana offenders are automatically stripped of their driving privileges even if the offence is not driving related.

            Decriminalizing marijuana is treating marijuana like a speeding ticket and getting a fine. Instead of going to jail, you get treatment and it does not go on your record, which I think is an awesome plan. Each year we waste $7-10 billion just prosecuting users alone it.(NORML)

             Decriminalizing drugs just seems more reasonable; your not making them legal but you are also not making people  who use them affected for life, just for trying it once and getting caught. This policy is also making it possible for people to get treatment and get better rather then going to jail and going right back into doing drugs again when they get out.  People are going to jail and paying all of these fines for something that is not harming anyone. Getting treatment for doing drugs is a much more positive solution then being sent to jail. In treatment there’s usually a relapse but that’s the case for everything. Just keep going. More then 76 million Americans have admitted to trying marijuana. The majority of these people did not go on to becoming regular users, try other illicit drugs or suffer from any deleterious effects to their health. (NORML)

            A recent research report published in Thorax an international journal of  respiratory medicine stated that; “  Smoking a Joint is equivalent to 20 cigarettes in terms of  lung cancer risks.” ( Marijuana). Cigarettes and alcohol are worse then Marijuana. Alcohol affects your liver and other health problems that kill you.  Juniors in High School drank 35 % of all wine coolers in the US. Alcohol related accidents are the leading cause of death among people 15 to 24 years of age. Half of all youthful deaths are alcohol related. Cigarettes cause lung cancer and birth defects that kill you and are also harmful to your body. Not only are cigarettes a gateway to higher worse drugs, they are also more likely to get into fights, carry weapons, attempt suicide and engage in high risk sexual behaviors. The US Department of Education echoes the CDC found that people who begin to smoke at an early age are more likely to,  develop severe levels of nicotine addiction that those who start at a later age. (Keeping).

            Everyone should have the right to choose what is affecting his or her health or not. Who is to say whether alcohol is better then marijuana or cigarettes to marijuana? Who is the one who judges this? Right or wrong?  It’s your life and you should be able to make your own decisions. Who are you to say what’s someone should do or not? Marijuana should be at least decriminalized and treated like a traffic ticket at least.  If anything I think Cigarettes and alcohol should also be banned, not just marijuana.

Combine each grouping of sentences into one sentence using all of the sentence combining tricks at your disposal.

1.         The sky is reddened by a typical Midwestern sunset.

2.         The sky begins clouding over just before dusk.

3.         But no threat of rain can stop something.

The sky is reddened by a Midwestern sunset, and begins clouding before dusk no treat of rain can stop.

 4.         Twenty thousand rock fans flock to Cincinnati’s River-front Coliseum.

5.         They are coming to see and hear Pink Floyd.

Twenty thousand pink floyd rock fans, flock to cincinattis coliseum.

6.         The concert is still three hours off.

7.         The concert has already attracted early birds.

8.         There are several thousand of them.

9.         They are all decked out.

10.         They are wearing their best rock-concert, faded blue jeans.

11.         They are wearing their best rock-concert, tie-dyed T-shirts.

12.         They are all keyed up for the high-energy Pink Floyd show.

The concert is three hours off, attracted early birds, all decked out in rocker gear, wearing faded bluc jeans, tye dyed shirts, and all keyed up for high energy pink floyd show.

13.         There are newcomers to the rock scene.

14.         Their newness is obvious.

15.         They wander about.

The new comers at the rock scene are obvious, they wander about.

16.         They gawk at the others.

17.         They are conspicuous.

18.         They wear neatly pressed checked slacks.

19.         They wear expensive shirts.

They gawk at others conspicuously, wearing neatly pressed checked slacks and expensive shirts.

20.         There are loners.

21.         Their eyes are barely open.

22.         Their arms dangle uselessly at their sides.

23.         They weave aimlessly around the circles.

24.         The squinting is so they can steady themselves.

There are loners,eyes barley open, arms dangle uselessly at their sides, weaving aimlessly around squinting to steady themselves.

25.         There are couples.

26.         They cling to each other.

27.         They are near fountains or in remote corners.

Couples cling together near fountains in remote corners.

28.         There are real police.

29.         They are not the rent-a-cop breed.

30.         They stride confidently.

31.         They stride in large groups.

32.         They stride among the crowd.

33.         They twirl their billyclubs.

34.         They sweep their eyes over the area,

35.         They look for trouble.

Police not rent a cop brees stride confidenly, in large groups among the crowd twirling billyclubs sweeping over the area looking for trouble.

36.         Hawkers call out.

37.         They call wherever there are crowds.

38.         They try to unload cheap T-shirts.

39.         They try to unload pennants.

40.         They draw only laughter from most concert goers.

Hawkers call out in the crowds,trying to unload cheap t shirts and pennants but only draw laughter from concert goers.

41.         The numbers grow.

42.         There are circles of roamers, couples, and cops.

43.         Roamers swarm confusedly over the acres of concrete.

44.         Couples swarm confusedly over the acres of concrete.

45.         Cops swarm confusedly over the acres of concrete.

46.         The acres of concrete that lead up to the auditorium.

Numbers grow, circles of roamers, couples, and cops  swarm confusedly over acres of concrete that lead up to the auditiorium.

47.         The management realizes something.

48.         The hordes can no longer be contained peacefully.

49.         Then, the doors open.

50.         Waves of fans pour into the coliseum.

51.         They are already tired from waiting.

Management realized the hordes no longer contained peacefully, doors open, waves of fans pour into the coliseum tired of waiting.

52.         They are already sweaty from waiting.

53.         They are just in time for something.

54.         They wait out the final hour before the show.

Already sweating from waiting for something, and wait out the final hour before the show.

Decriminalizing Marijuanna is smart because it increases jail space, decreases crime and creates a better enviornment.

            Happiness is a common misconception I’ve noticed. Generally people rely on things to make them happy or happier in life. Maybe a “New” boyfriend/girlfriend who will spice up their love life? Making so much money that will make them and their grand children’s grand children rich? Partying every weekend just to avoid staying at home every night watching soap operas. Dreaming about being the most beautiful person in the world, breast implants, liposuction. I guess the real question is, how long does all this really last, and are you truly happy?

            Being Happy to me doesn’t mean you’re not necessarily jumping for joy or constantly smiling. Just being content with everything you have, appreciating things for what they are. You have no major issues going on in your life; you’re not stressed out, and things seem to be going your way. And it’s the best time in your life at the moment. For me being happy happens all at once, then quickly switches to the opposite and everything bad happens all at the same time. For example, one week everything will be amazing, my friends and I will have so much fun together, I’ll get a bonus on my paycheck, my boyfriend takes me on a romantic date or I wont have a single piece of homework. Then the Next week, My car will break down on the side of the road, my best friend and I will get in a fight, I’ll have to pay off a huge credit card payment or I’ll get over draft fees on my debit card. I still can’t quite understand why this happened to me, but it does. I just wish It could be a even split so I can be content; like get paid extra and get over draft fees or something. Life doesn’t work my way though.

            Real happiness is found in sports, art, photography, exercise, friendship, kindness, God, etc. something you can always do. Going out and playing a sport that gets your adrenaline rushing, and a good sweat seems to be more happy then winning a million dollars. Yeah everyone wants to win a million dollars and be rich, but its been proven that people loose all their money and get poor and become depressed. Rather then this happening play basketball, go for a run, soccer, hang out with friends, see a movie. Do something that betters you in the long run, not just temporarily. Create a new recipe and cook a nice big dinner to make your family happy. Paint a picture of something you love, just relax and calm your self.

            Being the most gorgeous/attractive person imaginable is not going to make you happier. Just being your self and having confidence in your self to me seems to be better then being beautiful. Appreciate your friends who love you for you and don’t care what you look like. Think about it. If you got liposuction and you got breast implants and became beautiful as you always imagined; then a guy came along, does he really love you for you; or your looks? I’d rather be extremely ugly and be with someone who really loves me and would do anything for me. Then be with someone who only loves me for my looks and may leave me later when my looks begin to fade.

            I guess the whole point of me writing this essay is people really do take advantage of happiness. They don’t know the exact meaning of happiness. Happiness is something that betters you and helps you out in the long run; making you a better person. Doing things for your self, or others. Creating a new recipe and pleasing your family is satisfaction it self. Going to a nice long run in the morning and feeling good and healthy about your self for the rest of the day. Join a fun dance class with friends. Paint a beautiful picture; that relaxes you. Create confidence in your self. You don’t need lots of money you can spend and waste on un necessary items. You can be happy without being gorgeous. The people who really matter will love you no matter who you are; or how you look.

       Plopping Barbie into her pink Corvette seat, I shifted her head as if she were looking out the window. “My Barbie is going to work!” I shouted, hoping she would follow me.“ Okay, but my Barbie is the hot girl, and she’s going to the mall with her husband and three kids” my sister Danielle sneered at me, whipping her hair around. She was dressing her Barbie in high heels, a mini skirt and a hot pink tank top. Brushing her long blonde hair positioned in front of the mirror as if doing her makeup, she had a look in her eye that said it was more then just a Barbie game. Ever since I could remember, Danielle has been doing everything possible to live that perfect Barbie life.

            By the age of 15, Danielle was engaged to a guy she had dated only 2 months. When they broke up, her heart was crushed so badly it seemed she would never get over him. Danielle couldn’t stand living in Seattle anymore; it reminded her too much of him. So she moved away to California with my dad without looking back. She began settling into school, getting a job and moving on. I thought two months was too quick, but my sister never ceases to amaze me. In just half of the time her last boyfriend proposed  she gained a new finace named Jason. The phone rang off the hook all day. Danielle and Jason grew obsessed with each other and could never spend time apart. It wasn’t hard to miss when he suddenly became very busy, and new phone numbers appeared in his phone book. It was clear Jason was cheating on her. They broke up after tears and tears were shed. Many new guys came along, few had the potential to be a husband. Dating did not seem to be an option for Danielle, she was ready to settle down at as early as 17.

             Even though it seems Danielle and I are from two completely different planets, we had one major thing in common. People used to think we were twins. When we used to go places we went out of our way to pretend to be twin sisters. When people obviously believed us we would sit and laugh hysterically. Now that we are older you would never even know we were sisters. She has drastically changed to the exact opposite of me.  She has platinum blonde hair, untouched white skin when she used to be tan with brown hair.

            My sister now admits she regrets settling down so quickly even though she loves her new family because life is hard. If you get married early on in life, you’re skipping a huge part of your young life: clubs, parties, friends, bars, late nights etc…. You have your entire life to settle down and be boring and old: raise children and be with one person. Now that she is married, she will never be able to meet new guys and see if they are the One for her or not. Who wants to sit home taking care of kids all day, cleaning and doing laundry all day and resorting to yoga rather then physically going outside and running? I’m not saying this is all a bad thing, but when you are young it is. You never get to go to college and live in dorms while you are young and still can. Not only that but you have to pay a fortune to hire a nanny or get daycare. I guess the point of this essay is that it really bugs me when people settle down so quickly to find love when really all they are doing is rushing things and missing out on life. My sister is a perfect example of this.

1. What is a rant according to the author and why does the baseball example qualify?

Being Happy to me means you have no issues going on in your life, your not stressed out, things seem to be going your way and the best time in your life at the moment. For me being happy happens all at once then quickly switches to the opposite and everything bad happens at the same time. I’m never really happy during the school year because I’m always so tired and stressed out and have so much to do. Summer is the best time of year for me because I can go out with friends late at night and not worry about a stupid assignment due Monday. Not only stay out late but wake up late. I work tons over the summer and make lots of money to spend on shopping and going out… Also I can lay out in the sun all day and swim when I please. I guess the reason I can’t be happy for 10 months out of the year is because I always have something in the back of my head bothering me. I admit I do get happy on friday nights just relaxing and laying back with my boyfriend or with friends.Being happy is when you dont have a care in the world and have nothing holding you back. you feel like you can do anything.

The hook to this piece is the fact she states what her grandma would say if she heard this and how she lived in the 1920’s and how sales were booming. THis catches out attention because sales are currently not booming so its interesting to see when they actually were.It also talks about how someone stole her silver dollar right out of the floor when times did get really hard. She lost her house, her car and her husbands education money. She also talks about how she fell in love with stories she had read about a lady whose boss left a $5 bill on the ground? That is lame why is that interesting?  She also talks about how they peddled cake flavoring and boxed sausages, axtioned tobacco and sold rum etc.. to make money. She also talks about a woman who stitches shoes and quilts and clothes and stuff to make money also.I think this is a very boring post, maybe interesting to some but not to me.

The hurricane was pretty cool.

The whole class was bored.

I drove into a clown on the road.

1) My brother and me were flying home for christmas and looking out the window at all the citiess and towns we passed over. It was so clear out I swear I saw people running. Suddenly a glimmer and shinny image caught my eye. A huge gust of water was flowing through a whole city and cars, houses, people, objects flowing along with the gust of water. My heart was pumping with a high adrenalin rush as i couldnt hold back my smile.

2) Blahh blah blah! Mr. schnookums is blabbing away about god know what, and I find my self catching my head from falling back as I fall half asleep. The guy next to me is snoring a little and drooling all over his hand, its quite discusting. The kid to my left is tapping his pencil annoyingly. as mr. Shnookums continued murmering.

3) I was driving down the street listening to Justin timberlake when I look over to read the billboard saying Circ dus olay in town. When I hear caplump and my car vibrates. I continue driving along, when I hear Squealing over and over again. At first I thought it was just Justin hitting the high notes. So I pulled over looked under my car when I see a  neon pink fuzzy fur ball. I grab it and out comes a clown all scraped up and bloody. WHOOPS looks like the ccircus is in town.