Feed My Starving Children-International Aid Organization

This is the logo from Feed My Starving Children's website*.

Feed My Starving Children was founded in 1987 by a local Minnesotan who had the urge to feed God’s children. The full story is on FMSC’s history page. Through trial and error they found an effective and cheap way to do so. After my research I think I will go there soon. I just saw a sign in my school yesterday to sign up and go volunteer. What a perfect opportunity!

About the organization:
Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a Christian organization. They strive to feed the world’s starving children in countries that have or are experiencing disasters such as war, natural disaster and economic failure. Not only do the feed the children nutritional meals, they feed their spiritual self as well. Barb, a volunteer at FMSC, says the spirituality of the organization gives the children hope (Shimshock). The organization works to sustain the children’s food source as well not just feed the child one meal.


Volunteers at the 6 sites plus their mobile site, pack the food to be shipped. Last year, over 500,000 volunteers packed over 124 million meals to needy countries (Shimshock).  Volunteers also donate their money to help to food program and 94% of their donation goes straight to it. Under a simple section called Our Mission on their website it states: “Feeding God’s Starving Children Hungry in Body and Spirit.”

This is the orientation video for Feed My Starving Children volunteers.

 They have a photo gallery on Flickr. I picked out a two of the pictures from the gallery that immediately stood out to me.

This picture makes me see how big an impact this simple food has on these children. The boy with the empty bowl in line make my heart feel sad for him. Another thing I liked about this photo was that the pot on of food is as big as the little boy. Imagine how many kids are going to eat from it! Amazing!

This little girl in her pretty dress was just so adorable. She grins as she eats perhaps her only meal of the day. It makes me grin as well when I see such a precious child being helped. Who knows how much  better her future will be because of the food she received.

FMSC is helping solve a global problem. In America people find it is hard to believe that about 1 out 7 people in our world lack food and clean water. “146 million children under age 5 are underweight and 10.1 million children under age 5 die every year, over half of hunger-related causes” (Hunger Facts).  Every 6 seconds a child dies of hunger.

This photo just shouts help.Your can see the life draining from her eyes from lack of food and malnutrition. Her bones are visible through her beaten up skin. This was one of the more bearable images. Some of the others freaked me out.

The statistics and images are breathtaking but it is good to know that Feed My Starving Children is doing something about it. The meals they provide prevent the very preventable diseases that cause the deaths of these children. These include diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, or malaria all associated with extreme malnutrition (Hunger facts). FMSC website and videos also back up these stats. The Food was formulated “by scientists at both Cargill and General Mills” and provides enough nutrition for a child in case it is their only meal for the day (Shimshock). There are three different meals that are produced. They are Manna Pack, Manna Pack Potato-W, Manna Pack Potato-D. They are very easy to prepare and even better, they are cheap to produce. One bag has 6 meals and it costs about $1.44 to produce. 


I emailed FMSC for my interview. Barb Shimshock, Development Advisor, replied to my questions. She has been a volunteer for a few years and said she loves it! She answered some statistical and factual questions of which I quoted a few above.  From the interview I also got a personal feel for the volunteering that goes on at the organization. Anyone from any religious group is allowed to volunteer at the organization. The age requirement is 5 years or older but a chaperon to kid ratio is established for each age group to make sure things are safe and run smoothly for the volunteers. She said that when she and others volunteer they get a sense of satisfaction in knowing they are doing something good. They also enjoy themselves greatly. “It’s amazing to see the children in our communities (in MN) reach out and donate their money to help other less fortunate children.(Shimshock)” One interesting thing I found out about the organization was that they don’t serve children in America. She replied, “We do not. Generally we don't see the severe malnutrition that exists in developing countries. Also, there are other resources available such as the food shelf, etc. These don't exist in developing countries.” This makes sense. I still think that if this much food is being sent out, it would be nice to see at least a little go to needy kids in our country. Or maybe at least organizations in America should adopt similar methods of feeding the poor.

The food is distributed to almost 70 countries in the world. These include:

Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Gambia, Niger, North Korea, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Ukraine, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

 This is a map of the countries they serve that is on the website. As you can see the only dark green on the map is Haiti (very small). For this reason I am going to focus on this small country that has received so much aid from this organization.

I read a folktale from Haiti called, “Why Dogs and Cats Never Get Along”:


The characters in the story are Mr. Cat and Mr. Dog. They each have an idea about weather god should allow dead people to come back alive or not. Each one races to God to tell them their idea. Mr. Cat is clever and sets a few bones along the path to distract Mr. Dog. Mr. Dog tries to distract Mr. Cat with a bowl of milk along the path as well. Mr. Cat didn’t fall for it and Mr. Dog did. Mr. Cat got to God first and said, “God I don’t want you to bring dead people back to life,” and good complied. When Mr. Dog got to God he was furious that Mr. Cat had got there first. He never forgave Mr. Cat and this is why Cats and Dogs never get along.




This is a video of kids in Haiti singing and dancing. Chances are they were aided by some organization like FMSC. It is uplifting to see them with uplifted spirits and smiles.

Works Cited
* All information not cited on in the paragraphs came from Feed My Starving Children's Web page.

Feed My Starving Children. Feed My Starving Children | Volunteer Work Opportunities. 2011. Web. 11 May 2011. http://www.fmsc.org/.

"Hunger Facts - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America." Home - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Web. 11 May 2011. http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Responding-to-the-World/ELCA-World-Hunger/Resources/Hunger-Facts.aspx.

Shimshock, Barb. "Feed My Starving Children Information." E-mail interview. 9 May 2011.

Topic for Final Blog Post

***I remember reading somewhere that this was supposed to be a blog post but I can't find it anywhere. Well I forgot to do it so just thought I would do it now in case it was due. I had it posted on the discussion boards for sure but thought this would be a nice preview of whats to come!

Feed My Starving Children

I choose this because this is an organization I am familiar with. I have gone twice to a packaging site before and had a great time and was very happy to be helping out. 94% of donations go to their food programs. They are a Christian organization trying to feed the world’s children with food and spiritually as well. They’re organization is simple in its goal. They feed and try to maintain feeding children who would otherwise starve to death. The food is of the highest nutritional value (and doesn’t taste all that bad either). They are a very trusted organization and millions of people help pack food or donate money to purchase food. “Diarrhea is the number one cause of death of malnourished children. Diarrheal diseases accounted for 16% of deaths among children under the age of 5 worldwide in 2004” (FMST). Every 6 meals only cost 1.44!  They are packed with nutrition and potatoes and rice that prevent diarrhea.  Here is there website where I got a lot of these facts from: www.fmsc.org

Analyzing Artifacts of a Subculture

For this activity you’ll focus on the artifacts that seem central to the subculture you are

studying, and you will try to analyze what those artifacts reflect about the subculture.

Choose three artifacts from the subculture you are studying.

Phone

Booze, cigarettes

Makeup

Explain why you chose the objects you did.

I choose these because they reflect  this group of girls. They are also the stereotype to this group so I think it would be good to touch on these items.

What do you already know about this object? How does that affect your interpretation of its significance in the subculture?

Phones are used to communicate with friends. Makeup is used to make girls look older or better. Booze and cigarettes are a sign of rebellion. Most high school girls have phones, wear makeup, and have used alcohol but these girls do it to the extreme. This is what defines their subculture.

How is it connected to the other artifacts you’ve collected?

All of these are connected because they involve partying, rebellion, and friends.

Think about the values this artifact reflects for this subculture. What are they?

These reflect that these girls value what they look like, who they are with and their social lives a lot. Basically they like to have a good time and don’t care what others thing about.

How is this object used in the subculture? What does that tell you about its significance and the value it has for the group?

I think that the better the phone, the better you look the more parties you go to and the more friends you have in the group the better. They want the new things and to be liked by everyone.

What research might you do on the object's history? uses?

I think I could research the significance of makeup and stereotypes about it and what it says about people.

Phones are very social devices. I could research their impact on people. Maybe for the interview I could ask the girls how many texts the use a month and so forth.

Then, in the space below, finish the following sentence for each of the three artifacts you

have chosen:

The three (or more) most important things this artifact tells me about this

subculture are they are social, they are rebels, they care about what they look like because the other girls in the group do that too, they follow one another and what the media says is ‘in’.

One Last Strike from A Long Way Gone

“He looked at me and I could see in his eyes that he had given up hope. I begged him not to leave us. His lips were about to utter something, but they stopped shaking, and he was gone. …I still held my uncle in my arms, tears running down my face. My entire body had gone numb. I couldn’t move from where I sat. Mohamed and Allie came in and took Uncle away from me and put him on the bed. After a few minutes, I was able to get up. I went behind the house and punched the mango tree until Mohamed took me away from it. I was always losing everything that meant something to me.

            My cousins cried, asking, Who is going to take care of us now? Why did this happen to us in these difficult times?

            Down in the city, the gunmen fired off their guns.”

(Page 208)

                                    

This scene just ripped my heart out. His uncle, his only blood relative left in his life, was taken from him. He has already lost so much!  He is angry that he lost the important things in his life. Just as things were getting better again, the war caught up with him and he lost his uncle. He just can’t seem to get away from tragedy. This made me mad because I felt he deserved the good things that were happening to him after all that he had been through in the last few years.

I found this moment memorable also because he finally reacted to death in a ‘normal’ way since being rehabilitated. He use to except death as easy as breathing as a soldier. Now he is crying, punching things, and worrying. He is grieving for the death.

I have never experienced much loss during my life let alone witness it. I can’t imagine what that felt like. I have had my heartbroken by my dog before but that’s about as close to his experience I can relate. That’s not close. I am not saying I want to relate to him though. That’d be so scary and sad. I don’t know how he is so strong.

Parents from A Long Way Gone

"In particular, I remember a final match that my team, which consisted of Junior and some friends, won. Both my parents were at the game, and at the end, my mother applauded and smiled widely, her face glowing with pride. My father walked up to me and rubbed my head before he held my right hand and raised it up, as he declared me his champion. He did the same to Junior. My mother brought us a cup of water, and as we drank she fanned us with her head cloth. The excitement caused my heart to pound faster and I was sweating profusely. I could taste the salty sweat that ran from my forehead to my lips. Standing there with my family, I felt light, as if I were getting ready to fly. I wanted to hold the moment longer, not only to celebrate our victory, but because the smile on my parents’ faces that evening made me so happy that I felt every nerve in my body had awoken and swayed to the gentlest wind that sailed within me.” Page 210

I choose this because it reminds me of all kids. At a young age we live to impress our moms and dad with the things we do. But even now I, at age 17, try to do that with my parents. Our parents find pride in all we do too. Ishmael is just like any other kid in that manner. He feels so much pride and excitement that he brought joy to his parents. We all know the feeling of happiness that can overwhelm us as a child when our parents tell us “good job!” or “that was amazing!”

I also choose this because he used great descriptions in this paragraph. “I felt light, as if I were getting ready to fly.” and “…swayed to the gentlest wind that sailed within me.” are my favorite lines in the paragraph. They really capture how he is feeling in unique ways.

One particular occasion when I felt this was when I was 12. I had to give my first speech at church. My page long speech took me all night Saturday to write, trying to get it all right. My dad helped me out and gave my pointers, and words of encouragement. When you’re twelve you haven’t had much public speaking training yet so the next day when I was a kid with a mission and simply read my speech, not looking up once and reading straight through my writing. I was so nervous, I felt sick but at least it was over. Afterwards I remember my Mom having the biggest smile on her face “so proud of her baby girl.” I looked for my dad who I found with arms stretched out. He gave me a big hug and said I did an amazing job. I was so happy that day and they kept bragging about me. I felt like a million bucks.

Just A Dream from A Long Way Gone

"We arrived in Mattru Jong late that night. Junior and Talloi explained to our friends what we had seen, while I stayed quiet, still trying to decide whether what I had seen was real. That night, when I finally managed to drift off, I dreamt that I was shot in my side and people ran past me without helping, as they were all running for their lives. I tried to crawl to safety in the bushes, but from out of nowhere there was someone standing on top of me with a gun. I couldn’t make out his face as the sun was against it. That person pointed the gun at the place where I had been shot and pulled the trigger. I woke up and hesitantly touched my side. I became afraid, since I could no longer tell the difference between dream and reality." page 14-15

I choose this passage because I can relate to it somewhat. Also, this passage was very vivid. I could feel his anxiety and stress through his style of writing. Everyone has those dreams where they can’t run fast enough or can’t scream loud enough for people to hear of help. His dream seems more in content with what is going on his life though. It could actually be real. That must be terrifying that he has to live in his nightmares. “…I could no longer tell the difference between dream and reality.” How does he deal with that at the age of 12?

After visiting my Uncle Joe’s ranch one year I kept having this dream:
A bunch of animals are stampeding. Horses, deer, rhinos and every type of animal imaginable are coming straight for me in an open field. I run as fast as I can and try to avoid them in any way. I look to my side and see some brush that I could hide in. But my mind won’t let me turn off into the brush that could offer shelter. My gut yearns to be able to go that way and I just can’t. My mind can’t control my feet and I keep running in the path of the animals. It’s frustrating to the point I want to cry. Then, the moment comes when I can feel the vibration of the animals on my heels. They hooves sound like a thousand booms of thunder going off as they hit the ground. I trip, slamming hard on the ground. I wake up after this moment, feeling anxious and frazzled. I hate not being able to control the dream but at least I knew it was just a dream.

Also, I have had dreams where I’m running through the halls of my school and I hear the bell ring. I wake up because of that and find my alarm going off. It’s weird how that works. This is kind of like him waking up to the gunshot.

Rough Draft of First Two Pages

Obesity
Go to a mall and look around. You should see an overweight or obese teen or child effortlessly. If a person has a BMI higher than 30 they are considered obese. (cdc) “In the last 30 years the number of children who are overweight has tripled to 15%. When you add the overweight and obese statistics together, the problem becomes crystal clear. One-third of the nation's children are carrying too much weight.”(hcco) But what caused these huge numbers of obese children and teens in our population in the richest and most successful nation on earth? Doctors claim that the main reasons for it are poor diets and lack of exercise (hcco). Our mothers and fathers have the most influence on our lives. And one of the best ways to teach is by example. Parents should act as a role model for their children in the things they eat and the ways they exercise.

With peer pressures all around, teens and children are always worried about their image. They make choices with what the crowd does. Sometimes these pressures lead to anorexia or on the opposite spectrum obesity. But, the best diet a child or teen can be on is the non-fad diet. “The no-fad diet is one that relies on good food choices that provide the nutrients needed to accommodate changing bodies”(hcco) Diet doesn’t necessarily mean not eating, it means eating the healthy food, in correct proportions.

If parents teach their children to have a well-balanced diet, all these pressures will subside. With healthy bodies, children and teens won’t be sent in the direction of not eating of overeating. Avoiding fatty, high sugared, greasy food is simple. The parents, by not buying these unhealthy products, can teach their children to eat healthy food like fruits and vegetables instead. Always having grapes or nuts or jello available to snack on in the pantry is very important.

Fast food restaurants have begun to offer healthy alternatives on their menus. Their advertisements target young children and teens to come to their restaurants. Those thousands of dollars and millions of man hours put into commercials and advertisements are no match for children. Parents should make it clear that it is okay to go to them sometimes though. When they do go out to eat get a small drink and fries and not the biggest size. Or even better, milk should be suggested instead of pop, and apples or carrots instead of fries. These simple choices can have a huge impact. Parents, order the salad and take out the mayo dressing to set an example too.

Technology has taken over today’s world. ”People don’t have to walk a mile to see their closest neighbor. They can just sit on their couch and text them burning about 10 calories.”(nick) TV, computers and video games make for much more sedentary lifestyles in most children’s lives now a day.

Schools have also contributed to increased childhood obesity. ” Daily participation in school physical education among adolescents dropped 14 percentage points over the last 13 years, from 42% in 1991 to 28% in 2003.” Sitting in school for seven hours a day is not teaching children healthy habits.

Generating Ideas for Persuasive Research Essay

In your journal make a quick list of issues that have provoked disagreement between groups of people in your hometown or local community.

Cheerleading is a sport

What to do with the 2 million dollar surplus in our city

Hats in school

I-pods and phones in school

Easy to get into honors courses

Keeping our town ‘small’

Overcrowded High School

Switching from 7 hour days to 6 hour days

School dance policy

Make a quick list of issues that have provoked disagreements on your college campus, and between groups of people in your home state.

Memorial for the 35 bridge collapse

Drinking age

Future of parking at NCC

Tuition costs

Smoking Indoors

New stadium for the Vikings

Think about issues—local, statewide, regional, national—that have touched your life or could affect you in some way in the following areas:  environmental, health care, civil rights, business, education, crime or sports.  Make a quick list of questions within these areas you wonder about.  For example, Will I be able to afford to send my children to college in twelve years?

Will I collect social security when I am older?

Is our earth going to use up all its resources?

How expensive will gas prices become?

Will new technology be created to suppress them?

Is our nation headed towards socialism?

Will the NFL play next year?

Will the unions get disbanded for teachers?

Will crime rates continue to grow?

Can cancer be cured?

What is more important…freedom of speech or the right to privacy?

Jot down a list of classes you are taking this semester.  Then make a quick list of topics that prompt disagreements among the people in the field you are studying or plan to study.  For instance, in political science, people continue to debate whether the electoral college is useful anymore or not.

Spanish 2200

Should people who immigrate have to learn English?

How can we embrace other cultures?

AP BC Calculus

Nothing really.. Maybe over whether or not it is useful in life

Economics

How should our economy run?

How much government should be involved?

Humanities

What is considered art?

Do things like dance count as art?

Are people born artists?

Can anything be called art?

Revising the Review Essay

Name Background:
“Corn Snakes belong to the species, Elaphe Guttata.” (Kaplan)  The latin translations of species names describe the animal. Elaphe means deerskin and guttata means speckled of spotted. The corn snakes skin is spotted pattern and feels like “tanned deer skin.” (Kaplan) All snakes that I have held seem to have this “tanned deer skin” texture and it was this that got me hooked on them and wildlife in general. I love looking at and feeling the snakes.   

I am going to use this in my final draft as my opening paragraph. I had written about the texture of the snake before so I think this will be good to tie into the topic of snakes and me owning one, thus reviewing having one as a pet.

Holding a snake:
In holding my snake I realize how jerky and fragile it is. Although he is tamed these sudden movements from him could scare someone not experienced with handling a snake. My teacher Mr. Volm told me, “All it takes is one drop and the snake could be injured or worse, it could get away and hide in an unreachable spot.” Unlike my brothers ball python, which wraps around my arms and is slow moving, my corn snake “tends to pick a direction and go for it.” (Kaplan) Little kids or people afraid of snakes should not handle for these reasons.

I can use this as one of the downfalls of owning a snake as a pet. Although I have no trouble handling my snake, many people would.

From Jury to Judgement:

Begin with a focused freewrite that explores your initial feelings and experiences, if any, about your subject. This might be the first time you remember visiting the restaurant or hearing the performer or seeing the photographs. Focus on scenes, moments, situations, and people.

Snakes have always fascinated me. I remember going to wildlife lectures were the would always have animals with the, showing them off to spark interest in the cause. Snake’s would always be there. When I was about eight, I went to one of these presentations and got to hold the tail of a huge boa constrictor. It wasn’t slimy or icky like it is stereotyped to be. The snake was actually soft, smooth like baby skin and not scary at all.

 In 9^th grade my chemistry teacher had five of these little critters. Four corn snakes and one ball python. My hand would shoot write up whenever he asked who wanted to hold them. They were just so cool to look at and hold. They’re movements seemed effortless, slithering up and around my arms, even though they had no limbs.

Write about what you think might be the important qualities of your subject. Ideally this would be what the thing should be able to do well or what effects it should have on people who use or see it.

Important qualities about this pet are that it is easy to care for, clean, interesting and pretty safe.  

Write about how the thing makes you feel. So much of our evaluation of a thing begins with our emotional responses to it. You love the photography of Edward Weston or you really dislike Alfred Hitchcock movies. Explore not just your initial good or bad feelings but the place from where those feelings arise.

Snakes and animals in general make me feel happy. They make my mind wonder, how does this thing work? Snakes are so cool because the can move without limbs. They eat things whole and kill without limbs either. They make me feel needy..having a thumb and all.

Compare the thing you’re evaluating with something similar. Focus your fastwrite on a relevant comparison, teasing out the similarities and differences and thinking about how you feel about them.

(see below...I compare to fish and cats and dogs and turtles.)

Think about Criteria

As you write think about the main criteria you will use for evaluation. Someone evaluation a good modern dance performance, for instance, may decide on these criteria: 1) interesting features (props, music), 2) something improvised, 3) visible expression of the dancer’s enjoyment, 4) good balance in choreography between repetition and randomness, 5) seamless connection between beginning, middle, and end. Know your criteria before you start writing!

Criteria:

How long will it live for? (about them)

Corn snakes in captivity can live at their longest for about 50 years. They are an investment of your time. Doing the math, their lives exceed fish by 48 years and dogs for about 35.  This is one of the downfalls of a corn snake as a pet. They will be with you through different stages of your life and who knows, the future wife or even husband may not like your little critter. Different places you live such as a dorm or apartment may not let them live there. It is impossible to know your future so having a pet that will be around for forever can be a real pain.

How big will it grow?

Animals like turtles often trick people. It’s hard to believe that that adorable little turtle that fits in the palm of your hand can grow into a monster weighing over 100 pounds. Most fish, ranging in size from a penny to an iPod, stay the same size their whole life. Corn snakes grow 4 to 5 feet in length over the course of four years after hatching. This is about 3 ½ feet longer then to begin with. This size is a confortable medium, not unmanageable like the turtle or pathetic like a fish. If planned right you will only need to purchase one or two different cages for it.

How much space will it take up?

                As cute little baby corn snakes, about the size of a pencil, a small cage or container. At full size though a 10 or 20 gallon take is needed to satisfy the corn snake. Although a piece of a counter top or the top of a dresser will be sacrificed, cages can often times be decorative. My snake has half a coconut shell as its shelter and a cute green bowl for its water. Weights on top of the cage (so the critter doesn’t sneak out and haunt your home) can be whatever you want. They aren’t an eye sore if effort and creativity are put into its home.

What need does it require?

                Most animals require the following: shelter, food, water, bedding, and climate. Snakes  can’t live in our conditions completely like a dog or cat can. They need a variety of special tools and food in order to live comfortably. It’s kind of annoying to have to make special trips to pet stores instead of just the local target in order to get the things need. Heating pads, lighting, enclosures, shelters and humidity/temperature gages are onetime purchases. Mice, bedding and water(free) are the only things that really need to be purchaced time and time again. Even then though, snakes eat once every week to every month. Bedding switched every month isn’t bad either.  Their exotic list of items fits their exotic pet status.

How much care will it need? Companionship?

                Dogs are man’s best friends, snake are what? They spend their days looking for areas in their cage to regulate body temperature. If they aren’t doing that, they are constantly looking for ways to escape, crawling up the sides of the glass until they timber. They don’t have fur and aren’t to cuddly. They won’t chase a piece of sting or fetch a ball. When friends come over its fun to show them off but really, that can get old. I mean it’s nice you don’t have to give them attention like a wining puppy requires but corn snakes in return give you no companionship.

               

How clean/dirty is the pet?

                Cat pee is one of the most discussing, puke provoking smell to have ever entered the nostrils of my nose. They get into trash and track in dirt. Kitty litter, which needs to be scooped every other day it seems,  sticks to their paws and as a result can be found in all corners of the house along with the never ending rainstorm of fur. They claw at furniture, destroying it in most cases. Their mark can lead to at least a few hours of cleaning up every week. Cats can definitely be considered a dirty pet.  When I walk into my room I don’t see any of the things from the cat just described. My corn snake, its bedding, feces, and trails are all confined to its cage. Cleaning a cage, dumping the bedding out, whipping it down, and putting new bedding down, takes a matter of minutes. It poops once a week and isn’t even recognizable in the bedding. This makes it necessary to only clean once a month to prevent bacteria growth.

How much will it cost?

                Taking care of any animal’s costs money. At first the investment of a snake is high but in the long run, maintaining your snake and its home is cheap. Snakes are reasonably priced when you think of a 300 dollar puppy. They are more expensive than a 1 dollar gold fish though. Corn snakes range in price from 30 dollars to 200. It all depends on their pattern and color. The supplies for a snake add up to cost around 200 dollars depending on which brands and styles of supplies are purchased. Like I said before, this is a one-time purchase only for most of the things. All corn snakes eat the same thing, mice. Starting your way from pinkies when they are first born, corn snakes make it up to about a large mouse when they get full grown. Mice cost about 5 dollars for a box of 4 frozen mice. When corn snakes are fed only once a week, it does not add up to much. Not to shabby of a deal for a pet.

Review of a Presentation

(Turned it in but...totally forgot this was a blog assignment! Better late than never.)

Essay Exam Presentation

            I choose the essay exams presentation. I choose this because I always struggle with getting out the important info when crunched on time. The ACT exam essays I wrote were extremely poorly written.  I have never taken a college level essay exam and I hoped to learn good strategies in taking essay exams like in the ACT. The presentation was held in language classroom and there were about 15 students in the room, no faculty.  The presenter was a professor at the Normandale. He used the projector and worked with the class to come up with the tips to use when taking essay exams. It was more of a conversation then him just lecturing.

He told us a story of when he was in college. He had an exam on biblical history and wasn’t prepared for it at all. He had read some essay on the way to class and wrote about it. No matter what the question was about, his answer came from that essay. Moral of his story was, don’t BS the essay. Know the material and be prepared.

He also told us to understand the question. We went over what the words compare, discuss, evaluate, summarize and contrast meant. Although questions will often times not specifically have the words, it is vital to find key verbs and terms, and cross out irrelevant information in order to figure out the basics of the question. We then went through four example questions and figured out what the question was basically asking.

The main thing I learned from this presentation was to use key terms and main ideas from the question to form the thesis of your answer. Although I think I do this, it was the best advice of the presentation. It makes sense because the audience just wants to be informed of what you know. You don’t need an AGD or anything. You just need to get to the facts.

Overall this presentation was sort of pointless for me. I didn’t really learn any new information about taking an essay exam. Obviously you need to know the material. Obviously you should understand the question. Actually breaking down parts of a question seemed a little pointless also because when you take an exam you aren’t going to spend five minutes breaking down the question. That should be second nature by the time you’re in college. A woman asked the question, “What is the most important thing when taking an exam?” at the end of the presentation. He replied, “Relax.” This is good advice but again, pretty well known information.

Exploding A Moment in My Personal Essay

Before: To our huge surprise we took second out of 10 teams. Although I screamed and hugged my team mates, I made sure to remember what was happening to me.

After: At awards, my stunt group and I sat down in a circle, criss-cross apple sauce, with our arms linked. Our heads were bent downward as if we were praying and our arms squeezed tight, listening for the results. “Third place goes to… stunt group number two from Centennial!” I took a deep breath not realizing I had stopped breathing. We stood up and clapped and congratulated them before returning to our huddled position. Everything got quite as the announcer began speaking again. “Second place goes to…” The next few seconds felt like eternity. I could tell my group had forgotten to breathe as well, like they were under water, not wanting to miss the next team announced.  “…stunt group number one from Prior Lake!” We all stood up hugging and cheering like cheerleaders do, excited about our success! Although I screamed and hugged my team mates, I made sure to remember what was happening to me as well, taking in the moment in its entirety

The “Music” of Figurative Language

Summertime – Kenny Chesney

http://www.youtube.com/user/KennyChesneyVEVO#p/u/19/BWSn0JFRiPI

Here is an example of simile:

“just like a long lost friend
You ain't seen in a while
And can't help but smile”

Here is an example of alliteration:

“Sweet summertime”

Here is an example of personification:

“School's out and the nights roll in”

I think these lines are examples of a metaphor because they compare are those things as summertime:

“Perfect song on the radio
Sing along 'cause it's one we know
It's a smile, it's a kiss
It's a sip of wine, it's summertime
Sweet summertime”

I learned that lyrics are a combination of many good writing techniques. In the short few lines, the writer is able to better get across his story or idea in the way he wants. Figurative language enables the writers voice to shine through his or her lyrics. It really takes skill to be able to write like that.

fastwrites...

~Choose an item from any of the preceding lists as a prompt. Just start fastwriting about the item; perhaps start with a story, a scene, a situation, a description. Follow the writing to see where it leads.

It was our second competition of the year and we were just as nervous about competing at this one as we were our first. In our beautiful handmade white outfits me and the rest of the spazzlers waited behind stage for our turn. We preformed our lyrical routine flawlessly when the time came. The song we danced to was called “Slow me Down”. It really was a beautiful dance. We continued through our day competing our various other dances, tap, jazz and finally production. At the end of the competition there are three encores announced. These are the three most entertaining dances of the competition asked to preform again. As expected our studios production got called back along with another studios production and a senior hip-hop dance.

We all rushed back to our dressing room to get dressed for our performance completely excited. About two minutes later our dance teacher comes running back saying that the hip-hop had to pull out due to girls having left. Our lyrical had gotten the encore too! We all started screaming our heads off. Keep in mind this is out of 600+ dances over the course of two days. So the plan was we would do our production and run to our dressing room change while the other team was dancing and then go on again! That was the craziest 15 minutes of my life. Clothes, makeup, and shoes flying everywhere helped it go by in a blur.

When all that was done we went and sat down on stage for awards. My lyrical and production took first in their categories. We finally got to the last three awards to give out. Encore, Sportsmanship and Overall. Encore went to our production. After screams and hugs we all sat down to hear who got sportsmanship and overall. The sportsmanship award went to a small studio that I can’t remember.

As I said before there were 600+ dances at that competition. It spanned over two days and ranged in age groups from 5 year olds to adult dances, and ranged in styles from tap to jazz to ballet to modern to hiphop etc.  We now listened with curiously for who one over all.  In the typical dramatic voice we hear, “And the overall winner for this year’s competition is….. Slow Me Down, from Premiere Dance Academy!” I wish we had a camera to capture the moment because all of our faces went from shock to screaming to crying. None of us had put the fact that we got encore to the chance at winning over all, together. Encore was more for most entertaining.

We claimed our four foot trophy, still in complete shock. I will never forget that dance or those girls or that competition. We really did danced to that song with our hearts and I think this is one of the reasons the judges loved it so much. It had meaning and purpose. This was one of those moments in my life I wish I could slow down. Later that night I still couldn’t believe we had been honored that way. It was one of the best days of my life.

~Most of us quietly harbor dreams—we hope to be a professional dancer, a good father, an activist, an Olympic luger, or a novelist. Begin a fastwrite in which you explore your dreams. When the writing stalls ask yourself these questions: Where did this dream come from? Do I still believe in it? In what moments did it seem to be within reach? In what moments did it fade? Plunge into those moments.

I dream to be a successful educated mother someday. I have always worked hard in high school to get into college. Right now I want to get into dental school and become a dentist. When I use to live in Texas I had the nicest dentist. I loved to go there! I have only ever had one cavity so I really never have associated pain with trips to the dentist. Maybe I just like the attention, or the amazing cleanness in my mouth after a visit, and that’s why I enjoy it so much. Right now being a dentist seems like the ideal job if I want to have a family. They can work wherever basically, from the city to the country. Everywhere needs a dentist. Also, once I have had enough experience I can open my own practice and make my own hours. Dentists make a lot of money too. I want to have kids and give them all that I can. As sad as it is, money really is important now a days. My family now isn’t wealthy but we get by. We only ever travel to Texas to see family and never go on vacations. That is something I want to be able to afford in my future.

This dream came from my past and previous experiences with dentists. They are all so nice and funny! This career also just seems so ideal so me! I know I should probably be dreaming of being a famous actor or something but I think more logically then that.

Right now, this dream seems to be in reach! It isn’t a ridiculous dream and if I keep up my hard work I can reach it. As I am looking into colleges for next year, I am trying to keep my future for a family in mind. This simple dream will bring me happiness and that’s all I can hope for I guess.

This dream fades whenever my mom and I talk about money. Going to a university is going to cost a lot of money. If I can’t get the scholarships I need, my dream is going to be harder to reach. I almost cry when we have to talk about this. I get super quiet and upset. I tell my mom I can do it myself and then feel mean for saying it because I know she wants to help me through college the most she can. Life is tough though and I know I can do whatever it takes to get where I want to go.

~What do you consider “turning points” in your life, times when you could see the end of one thing and the beginning of something else? Fastwrite about one of those moments for seven minutes.

My quinceañera was probably one of my biggest turning points in my life. The party itself traditionally represented me becoming a woman and my family presenting me as one. But I think the whole experience of planning it and the day really did change me. Before the quince I was really self-conscious and overall a really awkward little girl. I had about 4 good friends that I always hung out with and no one else really. Boys never came over to my house and that subject was always awkward whenever my mom tried to talk to me about it.

For the party I had a court that did a waltz during the presentation. I choose seven girls and seven boys to be in it. We called ourselves the quince group. In and out of school we all became best friends. Boys didn’t seem so strange to invite over anymore and me and my mom became a lot closer. The hours of planning the quinceañera helped this greatly. I felt more confident after 500+ people showed up to celebrate me. I had grown out of my awkwardness after that. As of today I still am more confident and know it is okay to be me.

Adventure- Something I Have Never Done Before

New Heights

            The Mall of America, being around a twenty minute drive from many of us who live in the twin cities, can almost be considered our local mall. It attracts thousands of tourists every year and MOA is always trying to build bigger and better attractions. I have been to the mall plenty of times but yesterday my friend Lucy, her younger sister Tara, and I we went there to try and find something foreign to us. We wanted to do something we have never done before at this mall that we usually only shop at. After sneaking Tara past the security guards with Lucy’s old license, we found exactly what we were looking for.

            Sixty five feet in the air a young boy leaned over a plank like Rose in Titanic. Below him were four levels of rope courses. Everyone on it was harnessed up and attached to the metal structure. Their facial expressions ranged from ‘This is a little scary.’ to ‘This is awesome!’ to ‘I’m going to puke.’ and to ‘I just puked!’. Everyone was smiling though once they touched the ground again. We stood in line for thirty minutes. We were more bored then scared by the time it was our turn to put the harnesses on. The personnel attached us to the course and we climbed to the first level. It was around this time something in my mind clicked. I am afraid of heights!

            I knew I was afraid of heights because I always have been. When I was seven my school had a carnival. I went on the Ferris wheel and cried the whole time because we were so high in the air. When we moved to Minnesota I refused to go on any of the Valley Fair roller coasters that went more the 20 feet in the air. In eighth grade, this fear developed into something new though. Going back to Valley Fair on a field trip with all my friends I did not want to be the scaredy-cat so I went on the power tower. I made it out alive with the help of a death grip on the handles and screaming at the top of my lungs. As the day went on I began to enjoy this rush of adrenalin I felt whenever I was high in the air. Although I was afraid, I was enjoying it!

            Every level we went up got scarier. My hands ached from holding onto the rope so hard. When we reached the fourth level my mouth was dry and no taste. Tara kept encouraging me as I stepped out onto the single rope that you must walk across to get to the plank where we had seen the boy before. When I made it across I felt proud. My heart was pounding, my legs were shaking, and I had a nervous smile as I took the five steps out to the edge of the plank.

            Being only a few feet from the ceiling, I reined over the park. All the way up there I literally saw the world from a different point of view. People were so tiny! I could see everyone and what they were doing; oblivious that someone else was watching their actions. The lights and sounds of the park were terrific. The lights blinked and shined and flashed like paparazzi’s cameras. I was able to zone in on different sounds: children laughing and screaming on the rides, music from the speakers, a roller coasters wheels against the metal as it rolled by, and all around happiness. In this location I felt the rope course shake under my feet but I felt bigger then this huge place. I not only was at the highest point but I had worked through a trilling fear to get there.

I wasn’t quite sure how I would make it down as I was frozen with fear. But, the second time on the levels was less scary then the one before and my fear slowly began to subsided. (Of course my hands relentlessly still gripped my rope.) Although I am no adrenalin junky it is fun to do something exciting like this once in a while. It can be electrifying to engage in your fears and try something new.