Monday, September 30, 2013

Dear Steve

Steve Jobs was a very successful man who never gave up when things got difficult. He always said that when bad situations came up and you made mistakes always learn from them. It surprised me how successful he became for the simple fact that he didn't complete college. Hearing such a story like that makes anyone realize that success is open to everyone as long as you try. Even though he was surrounded by negative people he managed to look passed that and not let it get to him.

Another thing that amazed me was that he created the company of Apple in his parents garage. That's just amazing!!! I just thought it was weird how he ended up getting fired from it a while later. He never gave up though. He later went to work for Pixar and after a while ended back at Apple. I know of a few people that have gone to college and done so much, but aren't nearly that successful. Some can't even get a job in what they love. They end up having to give it up for something they hste. To see someone who tried outside of school become this successful at such a young age was just inspiring.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

The Value of Choice

If we had to read one of the books listed in the file, the only text that seems interesting is "What is a Life Worth?". I think it would be awesome if we got the chance to analyze a text like that one because it seems like it focuses on actual life and it's a question that many people ask, so why not try and figure out the message the author wants us to see in the text.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Life After High School

Alicia Ramirez

LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

Summary: As we read our topic we read about one specific way the college board wanted us to do things such as studying & note taking ; students didn’t have the choice to do in a way that would help them out , which basically contradicts what we’ve learned In this class. In this class we learned that no two people learn exactly the same. So, find a way that works for you ! One thing that we did agree with the college board on was the SMART Goals . Your future is in your hands, write down a plan that will help you achieve your life Goals !


1.       How To Study
·         Don’t be limited! There are many different way to study so explore a few and choose what works best for you.

2.       How To Take Notes
·         Cornel Notes work for you ? Great ! It didn’t for me, so I found a way that did.
 ** Bullet points, summeries,  ask questions, etc…

3.       Reading and understanding.
·         Not everyone will undersand the material so consider doing discussions . They will help everyone get a better understanding, even those who did undertand.
** You will receive many different points of views
·         Don’t be afraid to ask questions!
·         ReRead the material as many times as necessary
4.       Research
·         Research Different topics all based on the same topic. It will help you get a better understanding on what your subject is actually about.
·         Get research from more than two sources that way you get different information and different perspectives.

5.       Reflection On Writing Process
·         Like we said before , different ways work for different people.
** Organization maps, bullet points to organize your thoughts,

·         Different forms of writing require different organization and thought processes 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Vocabulary: Fall #2


  • Obesity: The condition of being very fat or overweight.
  • Accumulate: To gather or collect, often in gradual degrees; heap up.
  • Mass: A body of coherent matter, usually of indefinite shape and often of considerable size.
  • Disease: A disorder or incorrectly functioning organ,part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness.
  • Diet: Food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effect on health.
  • Prevalence: The condition of being prevalent, or widespread.
  • Stigma: A mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain or reproach, as on one's reputation.
  • Prevent(able): To keep from occurring; avert.
  • Adolescent: Growing to manhood or womanhood; youthful.
  • Cardiovascular: of, pertaining to, or affecting the heart and blood vessels.
  • Excessive: Going beyond the usual, necessary, or proper limit or degree; characterized by excess.
  • Mechanism: An assembly of moving parts performing a complete functional motion, often being part of a large machine.
  • Sedentary: Characterized by or requiring a sitting posture.
  • Predispose: To give an inclination or tendency to beforehand; make susceptible.
  • Syndrome: Pathology, Psychiatry. a group of symptoms that together are characteristic of a specific disorder, disease, or the like.  

This Is PHAT!






Monday, September 2, 2013

Vocabulary: Fall #1


  • Expository: Of the nature of exposition; serving to expound, set forth, or explain. We had to write an expository essay on how to use a smart phone.
  • Composition: The act of combining parts or elements to form a whole. Dr. Preston is going to compose what we will learn this school year in his class using the vocabulary words.
  • Assuage: To make milder or less severe; relieve; ease. I tried to assuage my friend from her pain.
  • Decadence: The act or process of falling into an inferior condition or state; deterioration; decay. I try connecting what I learn to my daily life so it doesn't become a decadence.
  • Hackneyed: Made commonplace or trite; stale; banal. The young mans' poetry had been hackneyed. 
  • Coalition: A combination or alliance, especially a temporary one between persons, factions, states, etc. My partner and I made a coalition to put the same effort on the huge project we were assigned together.
  • Transcend: To rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed. I decided to transcend the amount of effort I usually put in projects and make it the best project ever.
  • Meritorious: Deserving praise, reward, esteem, etc.; praiseworthy. The dog received a gift for his meritorious service.
  • Lurid: Gruesome; horrible; revolting. I didn't want to hear the lurid details of how he lost his hand.
  • Petulant: Moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, especially over some trifling annoyance. The child grew very petulant when he couldn't reach the chips that were on the top shelf.

Reflections on Week 1!

1. Are there any factors that you think are going to affect your participation or experience in this class?      Access to a computer? Mobile/smart phone? Transportation? Friends/Family? Schedule?

* In the beginning of the year I was nervous about this class once again because I walked in not knowing anybody. Now I'm confident I'll do well as long as I do my work and don't procrastinate.Besides that, I have total access to a computer, smart phone, transportation, schedule, and great friends/family to help me when I'm struggling.

2. Think of an awesome best ever learning experience that changed you. What did you learn? What  happened? Who else was there? Did it teach you anything about how you learn (or pay attention... or  remember, or think?) How did you know what was happening?

*An awesome learning experience that changed me was working at Subway this summer. I have been working with my parents in our family business sense I was 8 so getting an official job was great. It taught me how to be more responsible and I realized I was capable of doing things that I never thought I could. I was able to learn the whole routine in less then a week. I was under a lot of pressure which got me to do an even better job. I enjoyed the fact that my family would randomly come in and see how I was doing and support me. My family and friends are what kept me motivated and helped me not give up and always try my best. I learned how to deal with customers and how to try and keep them satisfied. There were times when I struggled because I would be very nervous and was scared I would mess up, but even the people that would go in would put a smile on my face and compliment me and say I was doing a great job and to just take my time. I guess what I learned from my time working at Subway was that you can do great things and make peoples day as long as you're always happy and not serious and in a bad mood all the time. It felt great seeing customers come back and them wanting for me to attend them. We need each other in this world to be successful, to feel accomplished, and just to have them there for support and encourage you to keep doing what you're doing.

3. What are you most [excited/concerned] about in this class? What do you look forward to in learning? How do you think it can/ will make a practical difference in your life?

*What I'm most excited about in this class is getting to do all the amazing projects and learning to do more incredible things on the internet. I learned a lot in this class last year and it just always had me thinking and encouraged me to do even better on my next projects. This class is making a huge difference in my life because it is teaching me how to learn from modern technology and not stick to the old material which would be textbooks. My vocabulary has expanded throughout the time I've been in this class and I don't use many basic words as I used to. I appreciate the fact that I received the opportunity to once again be taught by the great Dr. Preston and am looking forward to the challenges that will come up in the future.



5 Go-To Sources For Good Non Fiction


A Truly Interesting Piece Of Non-Fiction

I was assigned to read a truly interesting piece of non-fiction and the article that i read caught my eye mainly from the title "Take Care Of Your Life". Why did it catch my attention? I have no idea. It just reminded me of all the people that decide to give up on life and not even give life a chance. They give up easily and never do find their real purpose for being here today. The article mentioned a few things that the young man had read in passed newspaper articles of young people taking their lives because they think they're failures or are scarred to fail. I connected to it in the way that my cousin 4 years ago, took his life as well. Nobody ever really knows the struggles they are going through, but it's best to try and find something to live for then do what they do. This young man in particular had a religion which kept his hopes up and from not doing anything that he would've regret.