Voice Overload

 In such a short time, half of my senior year has already finished. It is easy to say that 12 AP English is probably one of my most favorite classes this year. The activities we did in class were very engaging and I got to learn so much. I loved our solo reading time in class. I got to read a book of my choice, which brought back my interest in reading after I lost it in 9th grade. The independent reading time we had in class was much different than the class readings we have because we have group discussions about the book we are reading. I learn new things about the book that I did not initially realize and I also got to see the character and plot from the perspective of my peers. For me, the workload this semester was perfect. It was not too much and not too little. With other difficult classes and college applications going on, the homework we got from the class was very helpful and reasonable.  I like doing our book clubs because we get to choose the books we read and we ...

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. This is the year my best friends and our families get together and play our traditional Secret Santa game. Every year, our favorite part is to look back at the very first time we played Secret Santa and laugh about everything that went wrong that year.  The funniest thing that happened was our karaoke contest, both singers and non-singers included. We love looking back at the videos and "complimenting" everyone. The most entertaining thing that happened to my friend and me was while baking Christmas cookies. The recipe had asked for 2 cups of sugar, but I had accidentally put salt instead. I was then called away for something, so I had put the container down. However, my friend thought that the content inside the container was sugar and added 2 more cups, thinking that I hadn't put any of it in the dough. None of us realized this.....until everyone ate it. When I say that everyone was running to spit the cookies out, I mean EVERY...

Tuesday, November 10th. It was a beautiful day outside, and I mean BEAUTIFUL. It was 79 degrees Fahrenheit, and the sun was shining so brightly. I sat outside on my balcony and enjoyed the warm sun rays hitting my face as I enjoyed a delicious watermelon with my family. Later that day, my friends and I went to Boulan Park and enjoyed a picnic together (while social distancing, of course)! All summer, it was raining, but it literally felt like the summer in early November. How was I supposed to know that in literally a few days, it would finally look like winter? Sunday, November 22nd. I woke up to my backyard sprinkled with snow. "Mom! C'mon, why is it snowing," I whined. I didn't want snow just yet! It weather never gave warned me about snow coming so soon. One day it was close to being hot and the next it is snowing! Don't get me wrong, I love EVERYTHING about snow, from its beautiful color to the way it makes me feel while drinking hot chocolate in front of my ...

I listen to a This American Life podcast called Five Women . In this episode, women were opening up about the sexual harassment they faced while working under the same man. They trusted him, but he betrayed and took advantage of them for his own reasons. Some of them trusted him so much that they thought that his actions were justified. All their lives were completely changed after working for one single person. Just like this, we can all hear countless stories of women being used, especially by people they trust. This scares me, knowing that I am going to be on my own soon and away from home. How am I going to keep myself safe? As a senior in high school, realizing that college is in the near future comes with its pros and cons. I get to meet new people, experiences new things, and grow as a person. However, I am also going to be around so many people that I do not know and I will have to go places by myself at times, including the night. If grown women in their 30s and 40s are not ev...

 It's almost been a year. One whole year since I went to the Bahamas, since I went on a cruise ship, since I went to Florida, and since I went on a trip with my family. But it's also been a whole 365 days since I saw my best friend. I go over to Illinois for her birthday, she comes over for a long weekend and my birthday, I go during Labor Day and Thanksgiving, and she either comes over for Christmas or we go on vacation together. I see her at least five times a year, but I haven't seen her at all this year, and I hate it. I miss seeing her, goofing off, shopping, and baking together. It's just so iconic being with her because everyone tells us that we remind them of our moms when they were in college since they were also best friends. I just can't wait for COVID-19 to die down so that we can finally see each other after so long. If I had to describe COVID-19, I would say that it SUCKS! It's my senior year and I can't safely hang out with my friends, go to p...

Satire is a very common genre and literary device used in pieces of literature. In order to bring out satire in a piece, the author usually includes irony, sarcasm, and humor to get his or her point across to the reader. The piece is usually either about a trivial or serious subject that is described with respect in a mocking way.  A painter would include the same elements in his piece of art if he wanted to include satire through colors, setting, or objects and people included in it.  This is the "Follow your dreams, cancelled" drawing by Banksy, the famous anonymous England-based street artist. In this piece, Banksy reaches out to Americans to question their country's ideals and the world around them. This is a satirical piece of art because he brings up an important issue. Including an older, lower-class worker as the painter brings attention to the differences in socioeconomic privileges. He looks worn out and does not seem to be following his own dream. His use of gr...

Do not even get me started about the construction on I-75. As far as I can remember, it has been going on FOR YEARS! I don't know about the other construction locations on I-75, but the bridge above Long Lake Road is just so loud. In all honestly, I am glad that they are fixing up the highway, but I just cannot deal with the constant noise pollution every single day. Remember that one week in August right before school where it rained at 7 A.M. every day? Yeah, well on the days that it did not rain, I was still woken up to "thunder." I would just stack two pillows on my head to cancel out the noise and fall right back asleep, wondering why there was more rain in August than May. However, it wasn't until a few days that I found out that the noise was due to construction. I am telling you, it was louder than the loudest of thunders. You would not believe me until you heard it for yourself. Who knew that they make 500-pound hammers jeesh. I can guarantee you that half of...