New Years Resolution

This year, my resolution is to stop drinking so much soda. I realized that I drink it too much, and it is extremely unhealthy. I usually have it with lunch and dinner, and its always the first thing I think to order when I'm out to eat. I always get soda from vending machines and never think twice about it. I've heard too much of it over time can cause health problems, and so this year I will definitely try to cut down.

It should be pretty simple to cut down on my soda drinking. It's not like its even my favorite drink, and if I just make sure there's iced tea or Arnold Palmers in the house I won't feel like I'm making a sacrifice. I also need to train myself to order iced tea or stick with water in restaurants. I've always hated drinking water with meals, and a lot of restaurants only have unsweetened iced tea, but I think I can do it.

On Writing Well

On Writing Well, by William Zinsser, had some really helpful advice that I think I can use in my writing. I completely agreed with his advice about simplifying, since too many writers substitute unnecessarily complicated words for simpler ones that would mean the same thing. It is completely pointless to do this, and all it does is confuse the reader or make it more difficult to understand. I also liked how he gave common examples of cluttered writing, like on airplanes or in politics. I don't understand why politicians can't just directly say what they plan to do, instead of using vague metaphors.

I think that when I write, I can start to picture brackets around my useless phrases and simplify my writing.

Nature

The only real time I can remember that I appreciated nature was going snowboarding in Canada. I was at Mont Tremblant at the summit after a night it had snowed, so the whole mountain and surrounding area was covered in white. I sat at the top for a while before going down because it looked really cool and it was weird how quiet it was. Hearing the wind blowing also made it really peaceful.

5 Important Things In Packet

1. Westward movement was made possible in the late 1800's because of inventions in transportation and agriculture. Railroads and canals made it easy to travel into the frontier, as plank roads were made useless. The inventions of the reaper and the steel plow made the Great Plains useful farmland, and settlement of the West increased.

2. The industrialization and growth of factories in the 1800's came with huge problems for workers. Children were subject to harsh conditions and difficult hours. Workers had low wages and long hours, barely supporting families. Women also had terrible conditions and couldn't even control their own property.

3. Because of the reform many desired, utopias emerged as a way to live in a "perfect community." However, almost all of these communities didn't last long because they simply did not provide the perfect life people envisioned. The only long lasting communities were the Amana colonies in Iowa, where their woolen goods became popular enough to support them.

4. The New England writing with a distinct American identity from the 1840's to 1850's can be traced to Ralph Waldo Emerson. His speech, The American Scholar , in 1837, criticized writers for imitating European writing instead of being unique. Writers like Melville, Dickinson, and Thoreau followed Emerson in creating an American identity of writing.

5. Originally coming from Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, Transcendentalism emerged in America as a popular influence to writers. The philosophy varied in details from writer to writer, but all concentrated on the importance of nature and the knowledge people have without personal experience. Transcendentalism influenced writers like Emerson and Thoreau.

Ten Things That Bring Me Joy

1. Leon Washington, New York Jets

2. Waking up at 12:00 on Saturday

3. George Foreman Grills

4. When Giants fans are heartbroken

5. The end of the school year

6. Large, fluffy blankets

7. Fantasy Football

8. A wise fortune cookie

9. Maple Syrup Candies

10. Seeing a crazy Anderson Silva knock out

What makes a novel "a classic"?

Calling a book a classic when it is first read it one's own personal judgement, but to me there is no doubt what a classic is. A classic is the kind of book that will be read for a very long time, years after its release. It would have to be a unique book, the first of its kind, to be given the title. It must obviously be high quality, but it doesn't have to be liked by everyone. Many classics today were criticized when they first came out. That means a book can't be called a classic until long after its release, to give it the chance to be seen in a different light. And it also must be a book kids in school are forced to read. 

Anticipation Guide - Wuthering Heights

I don't know how anyone could possibly blame a kid for their parents' mistakes. A kid is supposed to mess up and do stupid things; that's why they're kids. It's the parent's job to teach them and be responsible for them, not the other way around. In fact, a parent is responsible for their kids' mistakes. People are just products of their environment, so a terrible home will often make for a troubled child. If you fail to raise your kids and teach them values, then you are partly responsible for their mistakes. Kids know nothing other than what they are taught. It's ridiculous to say that they should be responsible enough to prevent their parents from making mistakes. 

I also think it's ridiculous to say that rich people should only associate with other rich people, and poor people with poor people. All that does is promote class differences and discourage people from moving up in the world. If a poor person never associates with some wealthy people, how will they get a good enough job to make themselves wealthy? And, when they do finally become rich, are they supposed to say goodbye to all their friends and family? They should stay with whoever they feel comfortable with. However, this happens naturally because rich people live in nice neighborhoods and poor people live in worse areas. But that isn't how it should be, it's just how it happens to be. Rich people and poor people are no different other than money, so it shouldn't have anything to do with being friends. I personally have family friends who are both extremely wealthy and not so rich. My dad was friends with both families a long time back, and one happened to become very rich from an art gallery and collection. They still associate with each other, and it's crazy to think that them being rich or poor would change that.