National Junior Honors Society's Bloody Talk

I was forced into speaking at the National Junior Honors Society Induction Meeting. I would never choose to speak at something as big as this. Unfortunately, I was forced to, so I did not receive a choice. So since I typed it up I am killing two birds with one stone. Sorry Mr. T.

I used my Eagle project hours for my service hours for National Junior Honors Society. After an earthquake people sometimes have problems because they can not find a wrench to turn their gas off. So to solve this problem, I attached an emergency shut-off wrench to the gas meters of about sixty-five people. These people signed up at the Kaysville Crestwood Stake Emergency Preparedness fair. There were many steps to doing this project, which included: Acquiring names at the fair, buying wrenches, assembling wrenches, and installing wrenches. Many people helped me with my Eagle Project, these include: My mom, dad, brothers, friends, and many other scouts from the ward. The total number of hours spent on my project from these people was eighty-seven and a half hours. Now many people in my area will be prepared in an emergency.

The Utah House Field trip

The Utah House is an ordinary house that uses natural resources instead of gas and other types of energy providing mechanisms.

The Utah house receives its own water from the rain. From one inch of rain they receive nine hundred gallons of water. This house does not need to get water from somewhere else because they invented a way to catch the rain.

The Utah house heats its self from the sun. The sunlight goes through some hollow tubes and heat water. This water then is taken to a converter so that the Utah house can pick up the heat.

The Utah house is made for people of all ages and all abilities. Everything is made so it is easy for people with wheel chairs. This includes: tables lower, microwave lower, counters hollow underneath so a wheel chair can go under it, and many more exciting features. Everything is made so it is easy for elderly people. The shower has no lip. The tub has a seat so they can just whip their legs over.

All of the counters, carpets, tile, and furniture are made of recycled substances. One factory that recycles bottles recycles 14,000 bottles a minute! Some things are made of recycled glass.

The Utah house is made for many things: disabilities, age, and save our world by reusing substances. Because of science, our lives are made easier and better for the Earth.

Arches National Park Field Trip

Last week I went to Moab over spring break. I was able to hike trails that passed many arches and amazing sculptures.

On the last day I was in Moab, my family and I hiked Devils Garden. This trail passed and led to many arches. These arches and other rock sculptures were formed by water and ice, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement. In other words, these rocks were formed by erosion and weathering. Some of the arches that I saw on this trail were Pine Tree Arch, Tunnel Arch, Navajo Arch, Partition Arch, Landscape Arch, Double O Arch, Private Arch, and about 5 more that have not been named. All of these arches were different in their own way, there were no two alike. Pine Tree Arch was named because of the Pine Tree that was in the middle of the arch. Tunnel Arch was named because it was a wide arch that looked like a tunnel. Navajo Arch was named because it was a sacred place for the Navajo Indians. Partition Arch was named because it did not look like it was finished yet. Landscape Arch was named because it is very long (The longest span of all the arches in Arches National Park). Double O Arch is named because it consists of two arches, one on top of the other. Private Arch is named because it is very secluded, and very hard to hike to. All of these arches were named for their own spectacular reason. I really enjoyed going to Devils Garden to see all of the amazing rock sculptures.

Another day in Moab, we hiked Park Avenue and The Windows Section. Park Avenue was this hiked that brought you through a canyon. By going on this hike I learned that some rocks are softer than others so they break down easier. This canyon was formed by a wide river. I could tell where sea level was hundreds of years ago. After we hiked Park Avenue we drove over to the Windows section and many cool structures that have also been formed by weathering and erosion. These structures included the Petrified Dunes, The Great Wall, Rock Pinnacles, Balanced Rock, and Ham Rock. We then hiked to The North Window, The South Window, and Turret Arch. North and South Windows were next to each other, one north and the other south. Turret Arch was an arch that looked withered. It was tall but it looked like a balloon after a person inflates it. The last arch that we hiked to that day was Double Arch. This Arch consists of the tallest arch and 90 degrees later another arch. When we climbed to the second arch we were able to see the sunset. I enjoyed going on these hikes it was an education, enjoyable, and exercising experience.

In Moab, I was able to see many things. I am grateful that my parents decided to go there instead of to an amusement park. I look forward to go there again.

Moab

This week was awesome. I was able to go to Moab, and go mountain biking and hiking. Monday and today we spent all day traveling, packing, and unpacking, but the rest of the week was a blast.

Tuesday we spent riding a bike trail that my little brothers could go on. This trail is named Bartlett. This trail was really hard because we missed the unmarked trailhead. We thought we were on the right trail until we had gone about five miles in ankle deep sand too deep to pedal on, so we walked most of the way. This trail was only meant to be an eight mile loop, but it ended up being a 15.4 mile bike ride. On the way back we found the trail head so we did some of the bike trial. I was pretty disappointed because we road in sand for miles and miles and we did not see anything but desert.

Wednesday was a million times better because we did this trail called Porcupine Rim. This trail was basically three miles strait uphill then the last twelve miles were downhill. The first three miles took us a very long time because our neighbors that were doing this with us walked every hill. Most of the time they did not even try the hills, but when we made it to the top and saw the spectacular view I knew it was worth it. Downhill was very fun I reached some pretty high speeds and I was only thrown over my handlebars once. The trail of the last two miles was about five feet from a cliff. It was scary to think that if I were to fall to my right I would probably keep falling for a few hundred feet to a painful death on a rock in the sunset. Most people would think that sunset is beautiful, but for me it could have been death. When I finally made it to the road I was happier than a tornado in a trailer park. I was just relieved that I had not fallen off of the cliff.

Thursday was a small bike ride for the little kids because Tuesday did not work for them. This was a slower day, which was good because my legs hurt from sunburn and bloodies. This trail was good for the little kids though because it was fairly easy with hardly any hills, and they were all disappointed that they were not able to go on the bike ride the day before. After the bike ride, we went hiking to a few arches and we even caught the sunset through the back arch of the double arches.

Friday we went on a twelve mile hike this took almost all day. We were able to see tons of arches even including Landscape Arch and many more. Because we had so much time, we were able to hike the primitive trial that most people do not travel. Many of the things a lot of people haven’t seen including: Private Arch, and many more arches that were not named. This is really cool because a lot of people will not slow down to see stuff they just want to see the most important stuff.

I really enjoyed my trip to Moab. I liked my trip to Moab more than my trips to Disneyland, Disneyworld, or any trip like that. This trip I did not need to stand in lines, there was no schedule, and we were completely flexible. These three things made this vacation a real vacation.

Springtime

I could not believe I messed up my streak once again. I was planning on writing all of my blogs on week days, so that I would be able to have my whole weekends for just fun. Of course I was procrastinating maybe that is why I forgot, or I may be really bummed out that the ski season is over for me.

Last Saturday was probably the last ski day this season for me because the snow is melting. Last Saturday there was fresh powder, but by the end of the day the snow was crap. This really made me depressed because I could not make it this Saturday or next week, so there will most likely be no more snow in two weeks from now. If there is any snow there probably won’t be very much and it will be really crappy.

At the beginning of this week I was feeling good, and happy that my incisions from surgery taking out my appendix were feeling all the way healed. I decided to do some intense workouts for track, and I felt normal. However, when I woke up on Thursday my incisions were hurting intensely. I was really bewildered why this would start hurting out of no where, so I took the rest of the week off of track. I am hoping that my incisions will stop hurting, so that can do some intense bike riding in Moab this week.

I am very excited to mountain bike because I have not done any since last summer. This has made me really rejuvenated for next week. I am really sad about skiing, but I am excited about track coming up and mountain biking.

Last time I went mountain biking I went to slick rock with my brother and sister. We had the time of our lives battling the heat after running out of water. We made it alright safe and sound, but this year I hope it won’t be as hot, and I hope we don’t run out of water. My sister will not be coming to Moab with us because she has school this week.

I have loved skiing and Mountain Biking so much because it is active and I am able to be with my family. My family is pretty big being a family of 8, so we have the time of our lives every time we do something together especially when we are skiing and mountain biking. I love my family and look forward to do stuff with them every time that we do stuff.

Spring time brings many things every year, but it also destroys things. Spring time brings: soccer, mountain biking, boating, running, camping, and many more exhilarating adventures. Spring time destroys: Skiing, snowmobiling, snow shoeing, and other exiting adventures. Spring time is a sad, but great time because it destroys some of my favorite sports, but it also brings amazing, exhilarating sports. I am ready for this spring.

Honors English

I am very grateful for Honor’s English even though it has been very difficult. Last term I failed the accelerated reader test on The Great Expectations twice before I passed. I hated that book like I had ever hated a book before, but Honors English has taught me a lot. I have become a better writer and reader, than I was at the beginning of the year. I recently noticed that because this has helped me so much, I may have even done the requirements for Honors English this term even though it was so hard.

I am writing this blog to say that Honors English is worth it. I know it may not seem like it when you are stuck reading one of Charles Dickens’s books, but it has been worth all the work. I have made it most of the way through this year, I can see the finish line. This is very exciting because I have become tired of writing so many blogs, staying up late trying to write a perfect essay and keeping up with the discussion boards.

Last term I procrastinated, and was about five weeks behind. This was a terrible experience when I finally wrote all of these blogs. I finally finished last term with my more than 2,000 word blog about my experience with my appendix. Right now I am already behind by one day. This blog should have been done last night.

I could not believe I had already messed without even working my way through the first week! Now I am going to try something new. I am going to write my blogs before the weekend, so that I will not have to worry about them later in the week. I am hoping that this will work, so I will not be a lazy butt, procrastinate, and rush to write everything at the last minute.

At the beginning of the year it took me a long time to write my weekly blog. Now, it seems as if it hardly takes time at all. The funny thing is, at the beginning of the year when it took me forever to write my blogs I was on top of things. Now, that I can do blogs in less time it seems like I am never on top of writing my blog. I am always writing these late, and I am sick of it. I hope I will actually keep up with the class now. I guess I will probably be hurrying stuff in at the last second anyway, but it is worth a shot.

This term, I am excited that I am not going to be forced to read a never-ending novel. The book this term looks better than great expectations. I am both excited and sad to be at the beginning of the end of junior high. This is one of the few things that I will be glad to miss because I will not have to worry about this every single week. Every year school becomes harder, so I guess I can not be too happy about this because writing blogs will probably be replaced with something harder. Honors English has helped me a lot, so if anyone is debating on trying out Honors English next year I would say try it.

Pip's Ruined Life

Great Expectations is a book about a poor boy, Pip, that has everything he has ever desired until he meets a girl, Estella, that tells him he is common, so he tries to impress the girl. He receives a benefactor that makes him rich; Pip thinks his benefactor is the girl’s mom, Miss Havisham and the gateway to earn the girl. The girl’s mom turns out not to be his benefactor, and he does not earn the girl (until after her second marriage in the alternate ending.) One theme that this book expresses is to be grateful for what you have. Pip seems to know that he should have stayed with Joe and Biddy, and been grateful for what he had.

Miss Havisham’s intentions towards me, all a mere dream; Estella not designed for me; I only suffered in Satis House as a convenience, a sting for the greedy relations, a model with a mechanical heart to practice on when no other practice was at hand; those were the first smarts I had. But, sharpest and deepest pain of all—it was for the convict, guilty of I knew not what crimes, that I had deserted Joe. (Great Expectations, Abridged Version, Book 2 Chapter 38 p.843)

Before this passage, Pip was just informed that Miss Havisham is not his benefactor. This is a catastrophe because Pip thought that Miss Havisham was his benefactor. If Miss Havisham had been his benefactor, Miss Havisham may have planned to set up Pip and Estella. At this point of the book, Pip realizes that he left his perfect life for nothing; the life he thought he left for Estella. He had been tricked and played like a chess piece by Miss Havisham and Estella. Now Pip thinks that he should have stayed with Joe and Biddy, but Pip deserted them, and ran off to become a gentleman. Becoming a gentleman to impress Estella was so important to him, that everything else was clouded. Now that the cloud is gone Pip looks back and sees that he has accomplished nothing. Pip is discontent because of his decisions, but he can not change them. Pip now wants to apologize to Biddy and Joe, but he needs to take care of the convict first. At this point in the book I finally feel like Pip is taking the right turns.

This passage has painted a picture in my mind because the passage describes things so well. In the first sentence, “all a mere dream” says that Pip imagined Miss Havisham being his benefactor, so that he could marry Estella. By saying this, I can see Pip in one of his dreams imagining Miss Havisham telling Pip she is his benefactor. Dickens could have written something like “Miss Havisham not my benefactor,” and he could have left the rest for us to imagine. In the next part of the first sentence, “Estella not designed for me,” adds more by saying that Estella was never for him, and never will be. It says that Pip and Estella are like a screw and a nail, a screw is designed for a nut, not a nail. “Satis House” is a place for people to become like gods. “Satis House as a convenience” means that he was not there to become like a god, he was there for others’ convenience. “A sting for the greedy relations,” means Miss Havisham has relatives that all want some of her money. These relatives thought that Pip was receiving money from Miss Havisham, so it was hurting the relatives and helping Miss Havisham to see Pip receive money. “A model” is usually something that sits on a shelf and no one plays with it, cares about it, or feels bad about it. “A mechanical heart” is a heart that can be repaired and a person can leave it alone or pick up on it whenever they have time. “First smarts I had” says that Pip is actually thinking right for the first time. “Sharpest and deepest pain of all” says that the pains for Pip’s actions were very terrible, sharp things hurts and cause deep cuts. “I had deserted Joe” means that Pip left Joe without even seeing if Joe was okay. Any reader could receive the same pictures painted in their mind that I received because this passage is described so well.

The tone of the passage helps convey being grateful for what you have. The tone in this passage is Pip being unhappy because he has finally looked back to see that he did not make the right decisions. At the beginning of the passage, Pip is going through all the things that will not receive, for example: Estella, Miss Havisham, and being godlike. Later on in the passage, he realizes that he has been tricked and played, so now he does not know what to do. In the end of the passage he is thinking, “Oh no! I deserted Joe and Biddy.” In this part of the book he is very depressed and angry at himself for leaving Joe and Biddy. Pip is depressed that he left his perfect life, and wishes he would have been grateful for what he had.

This book is a perfect example of why a person should be grateful for what he has. If Pip had stayed with Joe and Biddy he would have been content because he had everything he ever wanted. Before he left to become a gentleman, he had a future wife, a best friend, and the job he had always wanted. After he left to become a gentleman and found out his benefactor’s identity, it was unclear what he was going to do for the rest of his life. Before, Pip really had everything he wanted, but Estella told him he was uncommon. Pip should have just been grateful for what he had and ignored Estella, but Pip did not and he ruined his life until he found out that money does not buy happiness. In the passage he finally realizes that Estella is not for him, and he should be grateful for what he had, and now what he has.

In this part in the book Pip knows he should have been grateful for what he had. Because Pip learned to be grateful for what he has, he was able to move on, and do many things, including; helping the convict, helping Herbert, and apologizing to Joe and Biddy. Because Pip learned to be grateful for what he has, he was able to mend the problems he caused.