My Fear? Death by Drowning

It's completely dark, you can't breath. Every time you open your mouth precious air bubbles escape up towards the only possible freedom. A freedom that you cant reach. Struggling only makes your final end come faster. My fear? Drowning. I hate swimming. As a kid when my friends would be competing in swim contests and see who cold hold their breath under water the longest, I was begging my Mom and Dad to not make me go to dreaded swim lessons. Even now, when we have to swim in Gym, I try to find any excuse out of it. I have missed days of school out of fear and embarrassment of my fear of drowning.

I'm not exactly sure when my fear of drowning started or what caused it. For as long as I can remember, any thought of it sends chills down my spine. It might have been from tubing as a child. Living in Wisconsin, with water access every few miles, tubing is huge.  To me, the idea of being pulled by a speeding boat on a tube that barely floats, and having a small wimpy piece of rope be the only thing keeping you from flying from behind the boat, to your perilous doom, seems stupid. If I really wanted to risk my life for a thrill, there are better ways to do it. Why not play chicken with a train, skydive off a plane without a parachute, or even jump into the lion cage at the zoo while wearing Lady Gaga's meat dress?

To me, the fear of drowning out weighs any thrill I find from water related activities. I like having something solid under my feet and the ability to breath. But if you happen to know where Lady Gaga's meat dress is, then maybe we can talk about other ways to receive a non-water related life risking thrill.

Ten on Top

If there was any book I could relate to it would be Ten on Top by Janet Evanovich. The main character, Stephanie Plum and her sister almost have a relationship that matches me and my sisters. My sister isn’t older then me, nor does she live in California, but personally, I think that makes our relationship even better.

I can sometimes relate to Stephanie in this book, with how she feels about her sister, Valarie. I know what it feels like to think your sister is the perfect sister. My sister was always the good child who did her homework, I on the other hand liked to eat the glue when I was making projects as a kid. (I promise I don't eat glue any more!) My sister is the straight A student, I like to see how many different words you could make on your report card. My sister likes to bake cookies and cakes, I thought you could actually eat mud pies and that they counted as a real pie making. Stephanie and her sister are the same way, except for the glue thing, that's my own specialty. They are completely opposite from eachother, just as me and my sister are. 

The thing I like the most, is that no matter how different they get ,or how crazy their lives get they are still there for each other. Stephine, as a young child, may not have tried to send her sister to Australia in a Card Board box, but they still did weird and silly things to each other. That's what brings them closer. Whether your sister is running off to Disney Land with her three kids and fiance, on her wedding day, or yelling at you for almost running into a car or child on your way to school, she is still your sister. No matter how far away they maybe or how mad they make you, you still love them. That's what being a sister is all about, and this book shows it perfectly.

No one can exactly explain the weird friendship me and my sister have, but Jane Eevanovich does a pretty good job. I can almost guarantee there is a sister in her life telling her to stop driving, just like there is one in mine and Stephanie Plums.

My Book Post

The book that I chose to read was A People's History of the United States.  I chose this 25 chapter book, written by Howard Zinn, because I have always had an interest in history. I was especially excited to read this book after looking at the back cover. The back cover explains the book and states that it is, "Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research, A People's History of the Untied States is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of --and  in the words of -- America's women, factory workers, African Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers." I liked that the book was from the view of Americans. People who had really lived to see what our history books teach us and maybe even leave out today.

The book starts with the very first discovery of North America and Christopher Columbus. I had actually read the first few pages in an AP US History class. I did not know at that time that the story was from A People's History of the Untied States, but none the less, I was still as moved the first time read it as the second time I read it. The first chapter really changed my point of view, of how North America was discovered. I always celebrated Columbus Day with my family and was happy that he had discovered our country. Now I can only wonder why we celebrate this day. Why does America have a Holiday for a mass murder? The only thing I could compare it to, is having a Holiday for Hitler.

Most of the book was like this. It was very interesting and very eye opening. I did enjoy that the book included history from this time as well. The very last chapter is about the Gore v. Bush election and all of the controversy that fallowed. The last chapter also includes some facts about 9/11.

 I did not agree with everything Zinn wrote, but a lot of it had some truth to it. Just going threw the Table of Contents you could get a feel to the tone of the book. Chapter 10. The other Civil War, Chapter 16. A Peoples War?, Chapter 18. The Impossible Victory: Vietnam, and so on.

I would highly recommend this book, A People's History of the Untied States . Not only because it is an interesting read, but because it has the possibility of changing your view and question about just how much they leave out of our history books.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

I couldn't help but laugh when I first glanced at the title of this piece of writing. As soon as you drag your eyes from the witty title to the rest of what author, Nicholas Carr, has written you can see the truth in it. I have always known that the Internet and Google, aren't always the most honest or truthful ways to find information. Most of the information is just plain false. For example, I do know that Russia and Mexico are not countries that happen to be right on the border each other; as a website from Google shared with me only a few days ago. The struggle to find the correct information, and the information that actually answers your question, has become harder and harder as Google progresses. This is not helped by the fact that our brains have started to progresse differently as well, as Carr shares in this article.

My favorite line in this article is: "I feel as I'm always dragging my wayward brain back to the text. The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle." I can 100%  relate to this. Being the avid reader that I am, I have noticed that when I was younger I could sit down for hours and read no problem. But as I have become older, I observed that after the first hours I start to get restless and feel the need to do something else.

I have also noticed then when I use the computer with homework it takes longer. I am much more distracted. I do feel as if I "risk being turned into "pancake people"-- spread wide and thing as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button". My homework takes longer, if I don't find the answer that I am looking for in the first five minutes I start to give up.

This article has made me wonder if the distractions to our brains, and the need we feel to find the answers fast; whether they are true or not, is really stemming from Google. It also made me question, that if we are this bad with distractions now, how will we and future generations be as technology progresses. Can Google make us even Stupider?

About Me

I realize this is slightly late but I felt that posting about myself was better done late then never!

My name is Samantha Berry and I will be a senior at McFarland High school this year. My favorite classes have always been English and History. I am totally dreadful at Math and Science; and dread every second that I spend in those classes. I have always wished Math was as easy as learning the Alphabet.

I love traveling and wish that I could do more of it. My dream is to go to London, England and am completely jealous of any one who is going this year for the Olympics. I am a huge fan of the Olympics and I will be watching every second that I can. The Winter Olympics are my favorite, but watching Michael Phelps win 7 more gold medals will make up for the fact that it is the Summer!

Me and my family are very close. Because of this I have always grown up around Baseball. I am usually guilty of knowing far too much about my favorite team, the Milwaukee Brewers. I am also lucky enough to  have gone to almost 15 Brewers games a year. I have been able to go to so many Brewers games, over my short 17 year old life, that I think I have been to over 200 games. Because I am such an avid Brewers fan and my Dad is a huge Cardinals fan, I have a huge dislike for the Cubs. I will admit, that the fact the Cubs haven't won a world series in over 100 years, does make me smile when I think about it.

I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with my life; but I am currently thinking about being an elementary school teacher. One thing I have not decided is whether I want to be a Special Education teacher or just your normal everyday elementary school teacher. I know I will be happy with either choice, but things may change. For example, if I still wanted to do what I did 10 years ago I would be studying to become the first super hero in space. I'm not sure how I would achieve this goal, but then again I was 7 and at that age anything is possible!

I hope everyone has a great summer and am looking forward to being in this class!

Total Eclipse

Annie Dillard's Total Eclipse, was an interesting piece of writing. It was not my favorite piece, but it still had a few things that caught my attention. I thought the Dillard's writing of the clown painting, in her hotel, was confusing the first time I read threw it. I could not figure out how it fit into this writing. But then it was mentioned to me by a family member, that maybe Dillard had put the clown into her writing to compare it to the Eclipse. The painting of the clown, at first, looks very normal. It's not until you look closer, that you can realize it's not what it seems. "His hair was bunches of baby carrots. Inset in his white clown makeup, and in his cabbage skull, where his small and laughing human eyes... the crinkle shadows around his eyes were string beans. His eyebrows were parsley. Each of his ears was a broad bean."It's not just any old clown painting, this one's made out of vegetables.

The same thing can be seen with the Eclipse. As the sun starts to disappear, the world and the things around Dillard didn't look as they seem. "The grasses were wrong; they were platinum. Their every detail of stem, head, and blade shone lightness and artificially distinct as an art photographer's platinum print. This color had never been seen on hearth. The hues were metallic; their finish was matte. The hillside was a nineteenth-century tinted photograph from which the tints had faded.... The sky was navy blue." The world, in Dillard's view, had changed it was not; as in the clown painting, compleatly normal.

It is later mentioned in Dillard's writing that there will not be another total eclipse in Yakima, Washington till 2086. I hope that if I can make it to the Eclipse, and my boss can gives me an hour off, that I will be able to witness the Eclipse like her; and maybe even compare it to the crazy clown painting as well.

Talk of the Town

September 11, 2001 is a day that we shall never forget. It's a day that brought Americans closer. It's a day that our children and our children's children will study about in their history classes for years. You can find many stories about the tragedy; from fire fighters, who saved hundreds when the planes hit and the towers collapsed, and other stories from people thousands miles away, who only witnessed the grand towers falling as their local news replayed the tragic scene over and over again.

John Updike and Susan Sontag, both share their own reactions to the 9/11 attacks. The two share radically different views on 9/11. I enjoyed reading both sides of the story; and really loved the vivid descriptions that both authors used to describe what they saw, and how they felt. I will admit that I do find my self agreeing more with Updike's view of 9/11. Updike saw the twin towers fall while he was surrounded by his family, in a tenth-floor apartment in Brooklyn Heights. He continues to explain the sight of the towers falling while he was with his family. 'And then, within an hour, as my wife and I watched from the Brooklyn building's roof, the south tower dropped from the screen of our view, it fell straight down like an elevator, with a tinkling shiver and a groan of concussion distinct across the mile of air. We knew we had just witnessed thousands of deaths; we clung to each other as if we ourselves were falling.' Updike shows the feelings that many Americans felt at the time. The very feelings that can make millions of Amercian's get back up after being pushed down.

Sontag had different views, equally as important, but different. Many would argue that Sontag is a heartless person. That she has no compassion for her own country. I disagree, as I read threw her writings, I realized that she does love this country. What she doesn't love how we are choosing to use our power. I understand how she feels, America, recently it seems, has been run by politicians who only tell us what we want to hear, not what we need. She states 'Our leaders are bent on convincing us that everything is O.K. America is not afraid. Our spirit is unbroken, although this was a day that will live in infamy and America is now at war. But everything is not O.K. And this was not Pearl Harbor. We have a robotic President who assures us that America still stands tall.' I, again, must agree and disagree with this statement. At the time that is what we needed to hear from our leaders. America was in shambles, we were thrust apart from one another. What America needed at that time was to know that we were going to be O.K. But I think the charade that our leaders put on went to long. The war raged on for over 10 years. At the time her writings were published, Sontag's views did not share the same views of many Americans; but as the war raged on, many more might agree with her now.

They both bring into focus the fear that millions of Americans felt; weeks, months and years later. This fear brought America to another war, was the war necessary? That's a question that can and has left many politicians blue in the face as they argue with one another. Did it make us safer and stronger? Yes, I believe the war, at that time, is what kept America strong. Yes, it should have ended sooner; but for those first few years it brought us closer. Closer then America has been since that tragic day of September 11, 2001; a day that we shall never forget.