Be True to the Snow

The sweet smell of hot chocolate wakes me up in the morning,

Goosebumps run down my spine while I pull clothes over my body,

Weakness fills my arms as I drag the heavy equipment into the trunk of the car,

My dad is almost finished with the sandwiches for lunch, so I help him,

The warmth of the hot chocolate gives me a tingly feeling in my fingers as I walk to the car.

Out of instinct my hands reach for the CD player where I put in my favorite disc,

My head leans back, my eyes close and my ears open to the beauty of my techno CD,

A dream leads me into another world of peace, harmony and relaxation,

The gravel road wakes me from my sleep and we are almost there,

My head shifts towards the window and my eyes are delighted to see snowflakes.

My body stretches as I get out of the car and put my coat on,

Once I get all suited up, I put my ticket on my jacket, and I push away,

Excitement surges through my body as I wait on my dad to join me,

Up and up and up we go until my dad signs us up at the booth,

My dad leads me as we take our practice run to try to memorize it.

“3, 2, 1, Go, Go, Go, Go, Go.” My dad leaps forward and is instantly out of sight,

My perception blinds me as the cowbells start to clank,

“C’mon Filip, beat your dad, you can do it! Ready when you are!” shouted a man in the booth.

Here it is, my destiny, my moment of glory, my time to shine,

Anxiety and nervousness fill my body as I dive into my glory.

While frantically pushing off, the cowbells suddenly fade away,

Snowflakes land on my face as I start to accelerate,

My eyes widen to the sight of a 90 degree drop,

Adrenaline keeps me going as I focus on the turns,

As I cross the finish line I see a smile on my dads face, and I look at my time, I did it!

"The Catcher in the Rye"

The novel, The Catcher in Rye by J.D. Salinger, has served as a topic of both controversy and debate, but also praise. Many critics have distinguished it as a “classic” because “it captured the mood and sensibility of its era.” It is a favorite of many people, by the influence on young readers even a half-century after it was published. However, it has also suffered much negative criticism for the portrayal of Holden, a depressed, nervous, impulsive, sexual, and vulgar teenager, has attributed to the controversial nature of the novel.

            J.D. Salinger has had much criticism from The Catcher in the Rye, some of it good however. Commentators praise his informal diction, his use of symbolism and also an unusual perception of an adolescent experience. After this book was published, it rocketed to the NY Times #1 Best Seller list and J.D. Salinger became very well known. Later, Salinger became a recluse and stayed at his house with his family for about 20 years. In an interview with him, Salinger stated that he “liked his privacy.” He also said he writes for himself and not for others, that is why he does not publish many books.

            In the 1950’s, The Catcher in the Rye became a best seller instantly. Ever since it was published, about 250,000 copies were sold every year. Today, 60 million copies of the book have already been sold. Over the years its popularity has declined slightly but people are still buying the book. The novel has had its ups and downs however. It was banned in many schools and book store because many believe Holden’s behavior encouraged teenage rebellions, undermined to family values, and used blasphemy.

            The Catcher in the Rye has influenced our pop culture today in many ways. There have been references to Holden in movies such as “Kicking and Screaming”, “Big Fat Liar”, “Wedding Crashers”, and in “Tropic Thunder”. There have also been multiple references in TV shows like “Family Guy”.

            In my opinion, I think that it is good to read this book because it puts a different perspective on things and I believe that it is very important in the lives of many teens.

http://holden.wikia.com/wiki/In_Popular_Culture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye

http://www.levity.com/corduroy/salinger1.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/13/specials/salinger-speaks.html

http://www.opednews.com/articles/My-Exclusive-Interview-Wit-by-John-Blumenthal-100129-990.html

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1902376_1902378_1902428,00.html

http://www.bookrags.com/criticisms/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye

http://www.gradesaver.com/author/j-salinger/

Holden

             In the Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, the main character is a sixteen year-old junior who has been expelled from Pencey Academy due to his bad grades. He has a very pessimistic outlook on life. Many times instead of looking for someone’s friendly features, he tries to find flaws in people. He judges people very quickly on whether they are phony or not.

            In my opinion, I don’t necessarily like Holden for his actions but you can’t judge anyone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes, right.  I tend to be more attracted to people who are happy and people who smile. If I surround myself with these funny and jovial people, it makes me happy! I think Holden probably had a difficult life and we don’t know the reasoning of why he is so lonely. Some events probably lead to this rebellious stage in Holden’s life. Maybe his childhood wasn’t the best or maybe his parents or his friends just haven’t ever loved him. I can see how Holden could be sad because of Allie’s death, but by doing that he is bringing down so many more people. It must be hard for him but maybe he should strengthen his relationship with Phoebe and be there for her.

            I think that once we get further in the book Holden will mature and he will realize his mistakes. I think that he will start to cope with whatever happened in his past and look to the future.  I also have a small gut instinct that something will happen between Holden and Jane, but I still have not figured out if that will turn out for the better or the worst. I also hope that we meet Holden’s parents later in the book. I think that will really show what hi childhood was, and what kind of leadership he grew up with.

Mr.McCarthy and English II

         In my opinion, English II is by far my most fun class. I look forward to it because I know that our class discussions are always very interesting. Like any class, there are always things you like and things you don't like.
         I woud have to say that I really enjoy the people in the class because when we all participate it makes for a fun class. I also like how Mr.McCarthy tries to involve everyone in the class so it's not like two people are the only ones who talk. Just like any class, there will be homework but I really like how it is spread out so you are rarely overload with a crazy amount of homework. I also like our Thursday free-reading days. It lets us read when we want so it is a good balance between what we have to read for school and what we want to read. I enjoy the class greatly.
         There aren't many bad things I have to say. I don not really like the Cornell notes. They don't really work for me. I prefer bullet-points because I can remember more details for the test.
         Other than that, I really like the flow of the class and it is one of the not many classes I enjoy.

My Red Hunting Hat

         In the novel, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield, is a very pessimistic person in my opinion. On page 22, he says, "This is a people shooting hat...I shoot people in this hat." This tells us that Holden tries to look for faults in people, instead of the good things. Holden wears his red hunting hat to shoot down phonies.
          However, my hunting is completely the opposite of Holden's except for one occasion. I wear my hunting hat to find all the good things someone has to offer. When Holden wears his hunting hat his priority is to find phonies, however, when I wear my hat, I look for someones humor, happiness, and confidence. Now, the one exception. I truly believe that it is our human nature to not necessarily try to find people who are fake but when we come across someone who we think is a phony, we tend to stay away from those people. I think our mind subconsciously tries to find people who we can trust, and when we come across a phony we avoid those people. Holden's mind is a more intense version of this. His mind only tries to find the flaws in people and maybe that is why he isn't such a happy or cheerful person. 
          In Holden's case, I think that the phrase "the red hunting hat" fits in perfectly. I believe though that for my hat, that would not be a good description. If there was such a thing like a "seeking hat" that would explain it better. I don't try to shoot and find all the negative things in people, I try to seek for the positive things that I look for in someone.

Thankful for a Classmate

         Before I start, I would like to start off by saying that I really like my class this year and I enjoy our conversations greatly. This Thanksgiving I am thankful for soccer, Manchester United, food, school and most of all, my family and friends. I not only like my English class because it is after my AP World History class which is boring, but also because I know I will have fun and learn a lot.
          I have couple of people to thank for making the class fun and interesting. First of all I am thankful for Mr. McCarthy because he is an awesome teacher. I would also thank Harlan because his music is amazing and he always thinks out-of-the-box. He puts a different spin on things which makes me think more. I am also thankful for McKinley because I think it is fun and interesting to hear what he would do in tough situations. He sometimes finds a way out of them, but not always. By the way, I like your video when you dunked over Jahlil.
          I am also thankful for my two new friends I met this year, Jonas and Meshaal. I think it is cool to hear how differently or similarly people are in other countries. I never really knew that much about Kuwait but thanks to Meshaal I learned more about it. I am also thankful for Jonas because he has become a great friend of mine. For him, I think I can relate to him because my homeland is neighboring countries with his, Germany and Poland.
         I am looking forward to becoming closer friends with my classmates because I really like all of them. I believe if we become closer friends, that will lead to a better class atmosphere which will lead to more fun.

Themes in "The Road"

               A common theme in The Road is a father and son relationship. I believe that this is the most important theme in the novel because without their relationship, they have nothing to live for. Another big theme in this book is death. The protagonists are faced with death on almost every page in the book. It is like a shadow following them wherever they go. 
               In an interview with Cormac McCarthy, he was asked the question, "The Road, is this love story between father and son, but they never say, "I love you." Cormac McCarthy answered that he didn't think "I love you" would not have added anything to the story. What I found very interesting was that McCarthy said that many of the conversations between the father and son in the book, were copied verbatim from conversations Cormac had with his son, John. For example, one conversation they had was a very powerful talk about death. John said, "Papa, what would you do if I died?" I said, "I'd want to die, too," and he said, "So you could be with me?" I said, "Yes, so I could be with you." Then McCarthy said "Just a conversation that two guys would have." 
              Conversations like those, are very powerful and strong subjects that are hard to evade. The other main theme in the book was death. Cormac McCarthy has a very sharp and passionate idea about life and death. In another interview with McCarthy he  famously said that he only cares for writers who “deal with issues of life and death.” He think books that don't involve life and death, "are not literature." These statement show that Cormac has a very strong point of view about life and death. Many of these views are expressed in The Road.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704576204574529703577274572.html


http://biblioklept.org/2009/11/28/cormac-mccarthys-issues-of-life-and-death-hans-falladas-complex-resistance-and-jonathan-lethems-bloodless-prose/

Open Letter

Dear Mr. Bukowski,
               After reading your poem "Dinosauria, We", a couple of questions have come to me. First off, what happened to our society that caused this? I have come up with a theory to answer this question. My first thought was that a nuclear war caused "this", or some other sort of war. When you wrote, "Nuclear power will be taken over by the many. Explosions will continuously shake the earth. Radiated robot men will stalk each other", I thought of violence and some sort of bomb that did this (nuclear). What do you think?
                 I think, right now, in our society, this is not probable although it is possible. We have the capability to cover earth with nuclear bombs but that will most likely not happen for a while because I think countries use bombs to gain power however no country is stupid enough to kill/end all of humanity. Today, we obviously have wars, and many people die, but we the wars are not bad enough to cause something like this.
               In my opinion, there are many small things we can do to prevent this from happening although I believe that only one big thing could possibly prevent this, world peace.  We can achieve world peace by finding a way to unify all the countries. Of course, conflicts would arise but the problems would be solved by negotiation and in a peaceful manner. Other than world peace, I don't see a different way of preventing this.
              I would just like to say that enjoyed your poem greatly and I think you would be a very fascinating person to talk to, if you weren't dead, that is. I think the poem really shows what could happen if we continue our current lifestyle, but it really opened my eyes to what is possible.
                                                                                                                         Sincerely,
                                                                                                                             Filip

Father and Son

               In the current book we are reading in class, The Road by Cormac McCarthy, our two main characters are a father and his son. They are traveling south because of some sort of disaster that occurred. In my opinion, I think a nuclear war happened because ash is falling, and it's a nuclear winter. However, the author does not literally state what exactly happened that caused it.
               I think that there is no more hope for the father and the boy as they travel south. However, I believe that the boy is the only thing keeping the father realistic. For example, the father and the son are drinking cocoa but that father doesn't take any to save some for his boy. His son reminds him "if you break small promises, you'll break bigger ones too."I think that this shows the maturity of the kid. I can only assume that he is still young and yet this small child is keeping his father to his principles. The only thing keeping the father alive is the boy.
              I also think that the father wants to raise his son as if nothing had happened. He does this by reading the boy stories and keeping the light on while the boy sleeps. Those little things help the boy grow up like a normal boy. Due to the circumstance though, i'm sure the kid has seen things no child should ever see and in this way he is more mature than a child should be. I know that the father loves his son beyond words and will do anything for him.

John Proctor... Hero or Stooge?

               First of all, I can see why John Proctor could be considered both a hero and a stooge. However, my opinion lies right in between the two. He can be considered as a hero because he confessed to what he did and that is a heroic act, but at the same time he was confessing so that Abigail would get in trouble. Although he came forth with his information, and what Abigail told him, he did it in a manner that can make him a stooge-like person.

             To be honest, I really like John Proctor because he is so straight-forward. When reading a book in which, everyone is believing in non-existing things, John Proctor is that character that kind of brings you back to reality. You understand him better and could relate to him more because he is thinking along the same lines as we would.

               The reason I believe John Proctor is more a hero over a stooge because it really takes some balls to not follow what everyone else is doing. He could just as easily follow everyone and pretend he believes in the witchcraft nonsense. He is true to himself in that way, however he also isn't true to himself because he had and affair with Abigail and that again makes me think he can also be a stooge.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

              Jonathan Edwards was a well known preacher, in the year 1741, and his main goal was to scare the Puritans from God. He preached that God would punish you if you sinned. In the story, Jonathan Edwards tells us that God is pretty much ready at any moment to destroy you if you do something wrong. Edward was very known so all the smaller preachers would listen to him, and then they would go back to their town or wherever they came from, and preach the same thing. This fear spread throughout the the Puritans, and I think the reason for the fear was that if the Puritans lived their lives being scared they would not sin.
               The way I interpreted this story was that God is this evil monster who defines the word 'power'.  The Puritans are these tiny ants that cannot do anything because God will punish them. These ant live in constant fear of being stepped on, or in this case drowning or burning in hell.  God is just waiting with his arrow, ready to strike at any moment at whoever sins.
               In reality I find it extremely hard to believe how a theocracy could have been going on for quite some time. When I look at it, I can't even imagine in the slightest bit how the Puritans could have believed this. It's not like if I do one thing wrong all of the sudden God will come out of the sky and punish me. Speaking in reality, that isn't possible and I'm pretty sure God didn't do that in 1741 either. I could see that at the beginning when you could be scared that you will be punished if you sin, but because nobody is perfect, someone would sin and nothing would happen to them. Didn't the Puritans have common sense, or was Jonathan Edwards blinding them?

Arrivals… There goes the Neighborhood

          In our modern day society, when people hear that someone is moving into a new area, or house, they automatically think it is harder for the person who is moving in. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it is extremely difficult leaving your life behind and in a way starting a new one. However, in my opinion, I feel that some people don’t realize that it is also very hard for the people who are welcoming the newcomers, they have to make important choices that will not only influence their life, but also the life of the newcomer.
          When Columbus encounters the Native Americans, I think it was a harder and more complicated situation for the Natives. If we look at it from the perspective of the Natives, here come men in big ships with fancy clothes and more advanced weapons, they were faced with two very crucial choices. Should we treat this person with respect as if he were a messenger of God? Or should we have a defensive mindset and be cautious of him because he has better weapons? Due to their religion, they chose the first choice and praised Christopher Columbus. This critical choice the Native Americans faced affected their future greatly.

Introduction

Hello, my name is Filip and I go to Whitney Young High School. This fall I am playing center midfield for my school JV soccer team. I am very interested in the English Barclays Premier League, specifically a team called Manchester United(Man U). I have a great passion for Man U and soccer.
During the winter nothing exists for me except skiing. Couple years ago I finished 7th in Nastar Championship in Park City, Utah, for my age group. Nastar is a race where you go down the slope by going through gates. Last spring I played volleyball, but this year I think I will join the tennis team. Aside from that, other things I like to do include ping-pong, cross-country and cliff diving.
Every summer I visit my grandparents in Poland for the whole summer. I own a house near the mountains and I spend a lot of my time running, jumping on our trampoline and having campfires. I also hike a lot if the weather allows me too.
My favorite movies are all of the James Bond movies as well as the Harry Potter movies. My favorite books include the Percy Jackson series and the Eragon series. The car I like the most is a Lamborghini and I really like Porsches.

http://amber2014m.blogspot.com/