Journal 7

I think Romeo and Juliet are viewed as heroes at the end of Act 5. That's because when they died, the two families, Montague and Capulet, no longer hated each other and agreed to properly bury their kids properly. Lord Capulet says, "As rich shall Romeo's by his lady's lie— Poor sacrifices of our enmity!" Here he says that with Romeo and Juliet's dead bodies lie the hatred of their families.

Journal 6

I think Shakespeare characterizes the Capulets in a way that is more villainous than complex. In Act 4, Scene 5, Capulet says, "Death art thou, dead! alack, my child is dead, and with my child my joys are buried!" Capulet is very sad that Juliet is dead, but in the last phrase he says "MY joys are buried." He wanted Juliet to marry Paris for his joys, not hers. Friar then points out in lines 94-95 that the heavens have done this for the wrong the Capulets have done. He says, "The heavens do lower upon you for some ill; Move them no more by crossing their high will." Here, Shakespeare uses Friar to accuse the Capulets of sin against the heavens, making them villains.

Journal 5

I think Romeo and Juliet had very similar reactions to Romeo's banishment. In Act 3, Scene 2, Nurse tells Juliet that Romeo is banished from Verona because he killed Tybalt  (Juliet's cousin). At first Juliet is sad because she realizes the death of a family member, but is more sad that Romeo is banished. She says, "Wash they wounds with tears? Mine shall be spent, when theirs are dry, for Romeo's banishment."

Romeo was talking to Friar about his banishment. He was so upset that he would not be allowed to stay in Verona with Juliet. In Act 3, Scene 3, Romeo says, "Tis torture, and not mercy. Heaven is here, where Juliet lives; and every cat and dog and little mouse, every unworthy thing, live here in Heaven and may look on her; But Romeo may not. " He says that his banishment may as well be considered death because outside the Verona walls he is without Juliet and he is the only thing not worthy of seeing her.

Journal 4

I think that Romeo is over exaggerating when he says that his joy at the time is worth more than their lives. I don't believe that Romeo really loves Juliet. He seems to love with his eyes. He has only known Juliet for a handful of days. In Act 2, Scene 3 Friar Lawrence is making fun of Romeo's foolish love. He says, "Young men's love then lies not truly in their hearts but in their eyes." Here, Friar is calling Romeo out for loving Juliet for her looks. He doesn't really know her with his heart, but likes the way she looks. This is why I don't believe his joy is worth more than his life. He can fall in love with his eyes with any other girls, but the joy of that is not so great that he should just die.

Journal 3

I think Romeo's love for Juliet is shallow. They are very young and have only known each other for a few days. In Act 2, Scene 2 Romeo says "I swear my love by the moon..." which goes to prove that their love is shallow because as Juliet responded, "the moon is inconstant..."

Journal 2

I think Romeo is a foil character to Mercutio because Romeo is sad and sensitive, but Mercutio is blunt and encouraging. In Act 1, Scene 4 Romeo, Mercutio, and Benvolio are going to a party at the Capulet's house. In lines 15-16, Romeo says, "With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead so stakes me to the ground I cannot move. " Mercutio, being the encouraging friend that he is responds encouragingly. In lines 17-18 he says, "You are a lover. Borrow Cupid's wings and soar with them above common bound. " This conversation shows Romeo's sadness and how Mercutio encourages him to find new love.

Journal 1

I think that Romeo is like any other teenage boy who claims to be in love. He says "Tut! I have lost myself; I am not here: This is not Romeo, he's some other where"(189). He is so in love that he is not himself. He says that it is like he doesn't know who he is anymore and that he feels lost.

Duet

If I could do a duet with any artist, i would probably choose Anna Kendrick. I would wanto to do a remake of the cup song that she did in the movie "Pitch Perfect". This is because when I was in 5th grade, I loved her part in the movie so much that I spent an entire week mastering the cup song and learning her song from the movie to go with it. I then started to pick other songs that had the same 7-count as the original beat and song, and picked current pop music to go with it. I picked 6 songs and did a mash up. Then, as a joke, I auditioned for the school talent show. I knew that I had no chance because this one girl had won the competition every year, but I auditioned anyway and I was entered into the competition. I performed my mash up in front of the entire school and it's even on YouTube. Surprisingly, I won! I came in first place overall. This was the first time that I had done public singing. Since then, I have performed the Bational Anthem at my old school's Veterans Day Program and been in several plays. I think it would be coll to do a diet with Anna Kendrick because her song inspired me to start singing and performing.

Spring

"Spring is natures way of saying, "Let's party!"

I agree with statement for three reasons. First, I agree because spring is the season when all the flowers start to bloom, all the baby birds are hatched, and everything is beautiful. The trees start to turn green again. The grass starts to grow again. My favorite part of spring is when the honeysuckles start growing.

My second reason is because of Spring Break. People like to hang out and party over spring break. People go to the beach, they go out of the country, or some people stay home and spend time with family. Either way, Spring Break is a fun break from school.

My third reason is Easter! There's always a reason to party in the Spring! That reason is that Jesus died on the cross for my sin and everyone's sin. Then, he defeated death and rose out from the tomb. This is my favorite reason to party in the Spring, because even when I do bad things, this season reminds me that I am forgiven and I don't have to carry around the burden of my mistakes.

Kid's TV Show

If I could create a kid's television show, it would be focused around the importance of musical instruments. Many people do not realize the importance of musical skills. If kids at young ages are introduced to different instruments, they can gain musical appreciation and even build up an interest in learning how to play an instrument. The show could be centered around a group of friends. Two girls and one boy. They are in 3rd grade and they each play an instrument. The boy plays viola. One girl plays violin and the other plays the cello. No one else in their class plays an instrument, so they frequently get picked on. As soon as they play their instrument, all their worries go away. They don't think about anything else except for their friendship and the love of their instruments. The show would present different life lessons that relate back to friendship and also show the many advantages and fun experiences that music brings. As the many episodes go on, the other students start deciding to play instruments, too. Soon, the whole grade plays instruments of different kinds. They get together a school orchestra and put on shows for different occasions and events.

Finish the Story...

When I looked up and saw Cupid with his bow, I knew we were in trouble. Cupid was known all through out the land for having horrible aim and timing. I looked at my best guy friend standing in front of me. I did not want to fall in love with that! Yeah, he's funny and all, but he was just not my type. I began to panic and look around myself awkwardly. Thinking of ways I could quickly and easily get out of the conversation and walk away without him suspecting anything. It also needed to be quick so that Cupid didn't have a 'think fast' moment and ruin the situation even more. Maybe I would tell him I needed to use the bathroom, or pretend to get a phone call or text. None of those would've worked. They were all too common for excuses! Then, the unexpected happened. He said he had homework to do and he needed to go to the library. As he was walking away, Cupid shot the arrow. Turns out, when he was walking away, he was just catching a glimpse of Cupid hovering above him. Cupid's plan backfired on him and he was stuck with my best friend for a while. At least until Zeus came down and broke the spell.

LOVE

As love begins to blossom
our hearts play a new rhythm
something like a drum
and our minds begin to hum

Love lasts forever
when you are two birds of a feather
you stay with each other
no matter the weather

but love is somewhat amusing
eventually it gets confusing
things begin breaking
conversations start changing
sometimes love can be so demanding

but love always deserves a fresh new start
even if it is one like Jessica and Bart
love keeps you from being apart
it makes you happy and fills your heart

If I Could Meet Any Famous Person...

If I could meet any famous person, I would want to meet Misty Copeland. Misty Copeland is an amazing dancer who can be seen performing in the new Under Armor advertisement for "I WILL WHAT I WANT". Misty Copeland started dancing at age 13. Misty tried several times to apply to different dance academies. They all told her that she did not have the right body type for dancing because she started dancing at an older age. They said that if she had began sooner, she would have been able to develop the dancer's body. Now, she is a very well known dancer in the United States. She is now a part of the American Ballet and is an idol for young dancers. I look up to Misty Copeland because she faced many struggles. She was told that she simply would never be able to dance because she started at age 13. I have been dancing since I was 2 or 3 years old. Starting at such a young age gave me an advantage, but it is still very hard for me to do some the choreography that is taught to the class. I can't begin to imagine the struggles that Misty Copeland went through on her rise to success. All I know is that she is a great role model and is highly admired. She teaches people that no matter what struggles you face, you can always do better than what others expect out of you. If it is something you are really passionate about, do it. Do not let anything hold you back.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

One country that practices Individualism is The United States of America. Individualism is the value of an individual more than the value of a group. A way that this is practiced is through self owned businesses. In the United States, we believe that it is ok for anyone to create their own business and run it themselves or with a self hired staff. I think that it is good to practice Individualism because it teaches leadership skills and how to be a hard worker without always depending on other people.

One country that practices Collectivism is Russia. Collectivism is valuing a group more than an individual. One way that Russia practices this is through their farming. Farm land in Russia is typically owned by groups of people and is farmed by a group. The group works together to get the job done and they all split the money. I personally think that Collectivism can be very bad because they put no value on the individual. One person can not be honored for their hard work. If a group of 3 people has 2 lazy people and 1 hard working person that gets all the work done, the whole group could be praised and rewarded. The one person who did the work would get no special recognition. The only way that this idea could be good is learning how to work well with a group. You can also split the work load to get the job done faster.

I believe that Individualism is better than Collectivism because you have to learn to value yourself before you start learning to value others. If you don't understand all the hard work that has to be put into finishing the task, you can't praise any group of people for splitting the work and making the load easier.