Category Archives: ELA Writing Portfolio

The Writing Process

I don’t meditate on brutal thunderstorms that often, nor do I sit and contemplate my writing process, but they are similar. As a cold rain begins to drizzle down, I discover an idea, slowly but surely. Keeping the steady fall, my thoughts develop, build up, and crash onto the paper. Sometimes my pen darts across the page as if it were lightening striking a metal pole. Gusty winds race through my brain, my pen continues to leak more bold ideas onto the blank canvas. The gentle, light drizzle is long gone. It is now a booming collision, crashing upon all the words. Some storms quickly die off, but no, not me. I will make all human kind realize why hurricanes are named after people. Thus the process is finished, until I decide to destroy your property again.

I Am a Cheetah

Victoria Babineaux

Pre- AP 5

April 24,2015

 

Though you may think I am only

A fourteen year old girl

With brown hair, blue eyes,

I am more. Way more

Than that.

Not an alien, or dinosaur,

Not a butterfly, or plant.

A cheetah.

A fast pace cheetah is what I am.

Racing through the wind,

Quick thoughts, sneaky moves.

When I search for answers,

I prowl,

I investigate,

And use my senses to solve the problem.

When I growl,

I scare many.

Kids, maybe even adults.

But wait- look at my simple beauty.

You will light up as the sun does in the early morning.

I gaze onto my prey,

I   p o u n c e

Again.

And Again.

The fourteen year old girl

With brown hair and blue eyes

Is a cheetah.

There is no reason to visit a zoo to see

A fast pace, majestic cheetah,

When I will give it to you in one look.

Elderly& the Youth

 

February 10, 2015

Tom dailed his moms cell phone number in a rush. He yelled into the speaker, “Mom! Please come home and take me to the library! I have to finish my World War 2 story!” Mrs. Brady signed and responded “just call Grandpa.. he can help.” Tom hung up in relief, flipping through the contacts in the house phone to happily come across Jim Brady. Becauase Tom dialed his grandfather, he finished his report on time and aced the project. Through elders, the youth can recieve knowledge about historic events and time periods. They an re-live and get a familiar taste from the past, bond by usuing activities to understand old issues, and re-tell the numerous adventures. 
 The youth and the elderly can work together to bring back awareness on world wide problems. For example, Sam asked her grandmother Carla about the tradgeties of World War 2.Carla explains the invasion of Russia, captured Jews, and the atomic bombs launched down of Japan. Sam decides to get involved, and publishes a book about re-uniting as one generation instead of two. Because of the valuble knowledge of the war and how generations are spread apart, Sam’s powerful book populated over many countries around the world, and less arguements broke out. Both the grandmother and grandchild both bonded through this special story time, and they began to talk about more personal topics and what they would do to change the world. The youth should take more interest in what the elders are saying, because time is valuble and so is the memories that the elders cherish. 
 Similarly, when we join forces to connect our old and new knowledge, we could bring history back to life. For example, John had a research project due for a history class and he already knew the topic he wanted to write about… the ending of the Cold War. John visitied libraries, multiple websites, and read many books, but it wasn’t enough. The paper needed a personal touch. John searched for information until he finally found what he needed: Dawn Reff, a Cold War survivor. John spent many hours with Dawn, learning all about the adventures from the Cold Wr and the change it had on Americans. If the youth would open their ears, heart and mind, this earth might be a more fun and safe place to live. 
 Tom and his grandfather joined forces fot the middle-school World War 2 project. They enjoyed laughing, emotions and researching together. If th eyounger generation would accept the knowledge of the elders and combined ideas, it could change technology, history and love from each generation to the next.

The Importance of High School Grades

 

April 13,2015

High school students will gladly boost importance of grades over their schoolwork, but most don’t fully understand the seriousness grades are to the athletic world. Even though daily grades affect GPA, which is what colleges examine while recruiting student athletes, many students do not care about the outcome of their academic future. Extra curricular athletes are loaded down with homework from all subjects, just as much as the non athletic students are. Instead of school being their main priority, student athletes allow their sport to overpower homework time, and lower their GPA through all classes. 
 GPA is important to getting accepted into a desired college. For example, Sam is passing all seven of his classes, and is looking for a school to offer a basketball scholarship. He soon is accepted for A&M freshman year to play the game. Because Sam was motivated to complete his schoolwork and maintain his grades, he was easily snagged by the university to improve A&M reputation. While John is an amazing football player, he is also a struggler when it comes to his GPA. Because he focused more on sports rather than his homework, he was denied by Alabama University because of his mediocre 2.0 average. Student athletes are exhausted after practices, games and even scrimmages, and would prefer to kick back and relax with the oh-well-I’ll-do-it-tomorrow attitude. If all athletes were dedicated to school work as much they were to the sports they participate in, then extra curricular activities would be less frowned upon, and would serve a bigger and better purpose. Work ethic of every individual athlete is expected to be balanced, or even dominate, the amount left on the field or court, this is what provides the negative or positive about participating in extra curricular activities during the school year.
 The overall grade in the class is supported on attitude and effort, which determines whether extra- curricular activities are a good or bad idea to students. For example, if an athlete is incapable of keeping up with his/her grade, the teen soon finds that he is ineligible to play his sport. The no-pass-no-play rule is like a beehive full of swarming bees, pesky and annoying. Yet it shouldn’t be blown off or annoying because it is dangerous and risky to mess with. If students are able to balance both extra curricular activities and school, then the activities performed outside the school day is beneficial for the student’s health. However, if the student proves to be lazy with the school work ethic, eventually the situation could lead to innapropriate intentions and records. 
 Many students in athletics have a one track mind and never see the whole situation, usually depending on the type of student involved in the activities whether it is a good or bad thing. The reward for playing sports is a privilege, and it is earned in the classroom.

Choosing a Career

 

Career Choice Comparative Essay

 November 14,2014

My love for sports is bigger than most. This being said, coaching would be a well-fitted job for me, despite the long hours of practice and dedication to the team. Regardless of my personal choice, I found two totally different jobs that I might accept: craft and fine artist and a florist.

Though I would make exceptions for my career, I am often told of the creativity I posses, which is why I would consider such jobs in the chart below:

     Coaching                Craft and Fine Artist                  Florist

Salary: $65,910  (yearly average) $32,270 (yearly average) $23,810 (yearly average)
Benefits: Being fit, watching others progress Gain organization skillsCreativeness Gain organization skillsCreativeness
Talents: Communication, patience, coaching skill Drawing, sewing, woodwork, imagination Creativity, eye for color
FutureProspect: P.E coach, or continue this job after retiring Most successful artist is craft and fine artist. Can be carried out past retirement Create and fine artist, keep job past retirement
Advancement: Grows of economy, multimedia artist, art director, art teacher, writer Growth of communication

http://www.bls.gov/ooh/

By examining these three jobs, the most reliable would be coaching. I noticed these jobs varied in salary; coaching has the highest of these, with an average of $65,910.. needing a bachelors degree, coaching training and possible a few extra years in college. My second job choice is a craft and fine artist. This job would give me an average of $32,270 in a year, only needing a high school diploma. The last job I would consider is a florist, which would provide about $23,810 in a year, which also only requires a high school degree. All of these careers give me a reasonable amount of money  good stability and I would have enough experience in my knowledge to take on another job similar, if I wanted to, such as a P.E coach, or other artistic offerings.

The best option for a job to fit me would be coaching, because I love sports and being active. This being said, I would enjoy this job more than others. But also, either of the other two jobs would work for me because I am very creative and have such an eye for artsy craft activities such as painting or drawing. If my career depended on coaching, I would make more money. I would be satisfied with my job for a longer period of time. The downfall would be the crazy, extended hours  into the night, comparing to being self- employed and doing my work as I pleased. Craft and fine artist and a florist have less of a salary, and I would not enjoy working for long.

I would have to decide on coaching as the right job for me. The pay is better, at $65,910 a year. The other two jobs would start interesting, but eventually I would tire of having the same project everyday. As for coaching you have a new challenge of skills, relationships and the effort put into the game, almost every time practice is held.

I have been in love with sports since I was a child. It began with dance. Afterward followed softball, cheer, volleyball and tennis.. every day after school I have some type of sports activity, which is why I chose coaching as my final career choice. This suits me because I love to be in charge of activities I love.

Overall, I think coaching would be a better fit, have a better pay, and I would enjoy having the occupation. I would come to work with plans to overcome obstacles. I would give 110% into what was to be done. Having a side job with an artistic connection  would be amazing, but my heart belongs with physical activity and working with, and for others, helping them progress in their work.

Cell Phone Effects

 Stacey was racing down highway 80 as she received a text message from her best friend, Martha. Stacey gasped and dialed Martha’s number as quickly as she could so her eyes could return to the overwhelming traffic. Time seemed to slow down as the flaming red sports car collided with an old pick up truck. As Stacey learned that day, it is important not to text while driving. Cell phones have affected our lives by opening up distractions with apps or even texting while driving, and also keeping track of a serious emergency.
 Cell phones possess many new and trending apps, along with easy access to texting and or calling while driving. Typical teenagers, or even matured adults are caught not considering law, or even their own safety while being on the phone in the car. For example, Sam, a mother of three soon-to-be teenagers, grabs at her phone from her purse aimlessly from the drivers seat. She begins finding an address for the destination of their arrival. Though Sam frequently took short glances of the road, she noticed flashing red, white and blue lights. She threw her phone down in the seat, avoiding an on coming speeding motorcycle. Similarly, a young, free-spirited teenager named Paul cranked his rock-and-roll tunes as loud as he could, via iPhone. As he arrived his neighborhood, he snatched his phone from the AUX cord and texted his best friend Tom. Paul wasn’t paying attention to the ditches and curbs, and jammed his new Ford F-150 into a mailbox. As proven, texting can affect both mature drivers and young ones, too. Cell phones can be distractions to the not-so-cautious drivers. Many of these irresponsible accidents can cause major damage. Broken limbs. Brain damage. Paralyzed bodies. Death.
 Cell phones create connections between school events and keeping in touch with emergencies. There are many apps schools recommend for their students, such as Skyward, Quizlet, the Internet, or even social media. For example, last week Mrs.Davis assigned an assignment for the eager pupils of the Journalism one class. The project included facts and stats from the Internet and pictures, logos and memorable posts from Instagram and Twitter. All thirty one students joined forces to bring one whole entry for the upcoming “Gauger” under the titled selection “Should Cell Phone Usage Be Banned From White Oak High-School?” Because of the entry, students are now allowed to continue using their phones under responsible use of the student. Consider this: A student from Spring Hill named Ashley, is related to a White Oak student, Cameron. Ashlee has been involved in a major car accident from speeding down George Richey. Because Cameron is close to Ashley, she is able to call help as soon as she can from 911. School functions and emergencies depend very heavily on cell phones because they provide quick contact.
 Cell phones can be a distraction to drivers but also keep the present human-kind up-to-date while in risky emergencies. Though Stacey returned her accident from the Highway 80 crash, she realized cell phones can create distractions to cause emergencies. Though these devices can be used for school functions, cell phones impact our lives by giving us interruptions and knowledge for emergencies.

Movie Review for Dr. Jekyll& Mr. Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde Movie Review

 

When I began watching the movie Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I expected it to reflect exactly what the book presented.

 

Negatives:

-The movie left out characters that the book had, such as Utterson and Lanyon. This affected the suspense that the book had provided. The lack of Utterson from the book makes the movie seem more confusing, because the characters having to make up for the missing pieces.

-Jekyll/ Hyde’s death in the movie was different than the book. In the book, Hyde committed suicide. This affects the guilt that Hyde felt for taking action to all of his crime. The movie makes it appear that he did not feel any guilt for what he has done.

-In the book, more characters were provided to back the whole story line up, and make it sound more of a suspense to people.

-The movie expresses that Jekyll experiments on animals, instead of himself. This provides evidence to more people how evil he really is from the heart. Because most people are against animal abuse, he is trying to figure out a way to change the mammal without killing it, which would be his way of not killing himself.

Positives:

-The movie adds additional scenes than the book does, to go into a more vivid explanation and give more of a story about the sneakiness and evilness of Mr. Hyde.

-The book provides more background of how evil Mr.Hyde is and his deviousness to his experiments.

-The movie has a full circle ending with the church and the prayer over his death at the end of the movie. This is a totally different opening and closing than the book, but I think it was more effective than the beginning and ending of the book. It provided a more realistic way to end a life.

 

 

Overall:

The movie has the same general effect that the book has. Though there is a lack of characters, the story-line differs, there are similar connections that can be made if comparing the book to the movie. But, it does not give off the full suspension as the book provides.