Journal Entry 75: Humor's Role

            I believe that humor has two roles in a sad story. One of it is to lighten up the mood and make the story more interesting. Another role is to be ironic. When the sad story is too sad and serious, the audience sometimes get bored or annoyed. So to lighten up the mood a little bit, and make the story more interesting,  author uses humor to do that. Sometimes it also shows the optimistic side of the character or people in general. The humor plays a role of hope. It shows that no matter how sad the event and the characters are, there are always hope. Hope is the thing that people can depend on even when the whole world has already turned their back on the character. It shows that people in general hopes for the best when everything is sad and bad. It also plays another role in sad stories - irony. Authors use irony to show what was not expected and make the story more interesting. If we all know what is going to happen, then why will stories be interesting anymore? It is because we have to guess, because we don't know, so we want to keep reading to see if the outcome is what we expected or not. For example, Patricia making the nurses' accents and voices and mocks the nurses is humor. It shows that although she might be dieing in any second. She still take a minute and enjoy life.

Journal Entry 74: Sick

            When I was really really young, when I was a baby, one day my white blood cell in my body suddenly increased too much, and then I had a very serious fever. Because of this I had to live in the hospital for two days. I don't remember anything because I was too young. I only know that all of my family members were really worried about me. Another accident I had was when I was in third grade. My father used to ride the bicycle to bring me to school. One beautiful morning when my father ride the bicycle to bring me to school, one of my feet was searching for the handle but couldn't find it so I thought it was because my foot was too far away from the wheel. I put the foot closer to the wheel and then suddenly I feel a cold liquid on my foot. When I look at it I see my blood running down my feet. I was in complete shock so I quickly tell my dad and he drove me in a car to the hospital. It was the first time I had stitches. It hurt a lot. I could still remember the pain and how I was so scared that I couldn't even cry.

Journal Entry 73: Happy or Sad

            I believe that happy and sad moments all stay in your mind. But if we had to see if our strongest moments are formed by happy or sad moments, I would say that I am sad People are often happy. People remember easier of things that are sad than to  things that happened main girl character. I believe that people remember sad events more than the happy events because it is those memories when you stop and think why me or why now. One very important childhood memories is my first time going to a boarding school. I remember before that I was all brave and told my mom that everything is going to be alright. But then the first day arriving the campus, I was already very very nervous. The first week was horrible, I missed my mom a lot and my home and Taiwan that I hardly put my mind on work or friends. I cried every night. My mom would have to drive to my school for four hours just to see me and talk to me. But then after the first week, I was used to it, and I was happy I had that experience because I know I learned something more important than school work. This memory stands out to me because I went through a hard process and finally learned something.

Journal Entry 70: My Style

            A person's style is how someone present him or herself. My style is a more casual one I mostly wear shorts and t-shirts to almost anywhere I go. However, I have more of an American style compare to the people in Taiwan since I am in an American school. My feet and legs are really small so when I walk, I walk in small steps compare to others. I have to walk many steps in order to catch up with people who have longer legs. I sometimes skip and jump or dance around when I am at school. I am very very energetic and happy most of the time. I won't consider myself fashionable, I just like to wear comfortable clothes. I am a very optimistic person, so I always think of the bright side of events or things. But sometimes I can be very very sad and I start to think too much. I also depend on my friends too much, I am not independent. I am neat, tidy and organized. Sometimes I get really annoyed when my room is messy, I like things being where they are suppose to be at. My favorite band is One Direction, so i like their music the best. But music has been a big part of my life, I like all kinds of music. I think I am in the middle of cool and nerd. I study hard at home and in class but during breaks or after school, I like to make may friends. I am also very athletic. I think my style is a natural reflection who I am.

Journal Entry 63: Being tested

         

Journal Entry 62: Symbol of the House

            In the story, "House Taken Over" the two characters were scared that there are monsters or aliens in the house so they ran away and closed they house because they were scared of thing that they don't even know if it exist. I think the house itself acts like many symbols. I think one of the symbols that the house represent is the life, the world. Because everything happened in the house, it is like the world, because we all live in the world and everything  happens in the world. It also acts like life because the scary noises are challenges you have to go through. It is also a pause button. Because it seems like the two characters are living in a life that doesn't change at all, and everyday they do the same thing and only stay in the house. So it acts like a pause in time and the two characters are stuck there. I think the noises in the house acts or represents or symbolizes the challenges and new things in life. They are like challenges and new things in life because just like the noises, if we don't overcome the fear and take the challenge and try new things, then we will always be hiding, hiding from the noises, the challenges, and barriers, the reality The the two man characters act like the people who refuses to move on or take new challenges, so they are pause in time and they stay in the same place. And all they do is hide.

Journal Entry 61: Taken over

           I think what is really taken over is their mind and heart. We don't know throughout the whole story weather the house is taken over by someone, or some monster or no one. We only knew that the two main characters heard scary noise and sound so they are afraid to go o the other part of the house, and then later leave the house. I think what is really taken over is their mind and heart and beliefs. First the two characters stay in the house all the time, which is very weird for a person to do. Then they heard noises and sounds on the other side of the house, so they were really scared, and automatically assumed that it was a monster or some alien. They locked up the door and decided to stay only on the other side of the house. They thought they were safe until they heard another sound or noise in the kitchen when they are trying to get water. They didn't think much and panicked and they ran out of the house thinking that they have escaped. I think the author is trying to say that we often assume things before we even actually know it. We are scared of trying and we are not curious about it so we don't want to find out what happened.

Journal Entry 60: Symbols

            Symbols surround us today. Our lives are full of symbols, from big one to small ones, from obvious ones to hard to tell ones. A symbol is a thing or object that represent of stands for something. For example, the symbols for McDonald's is a really big yellow M. So when you see a really big yellow M you know it is McDonald's. Or another example is when you see a girl and a boy standing together, you know it means the bathroom. There are also a lot of symbols in books and stories. For example, in the book called Animal Farm, each animal symbolizes different kinds of people or country. I think these things are acquired a cultural agreed upon meaning because it is widely used. Wherever you go, shopping malls, restaurants, museum or any public place, they use the girl and the boy standing together as the symbol of bathroom. Once you learned that, whenever you see the symbol, you know it means the bathroom. Something like this happens when it is very widely used. I think symbols are created "naturally". People don't go around and draw symbols and show it to people and tell them that it is a symbol of something. It natural develops and before you know it, the world is using it. But I think some symbols are created by will. For example, the facebook symbol. It is created by will. There are many symbols in my life.

Journal Entry 59: Choices

           J. K. Rowling is a very famous British novelist. She is most known for her Harry Potter fantasy series. Almost everyone knows about Harry Potter, and if you don't, theres something wrong with you. She said before that, "It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." I completely agree with her. I believe that it is our choice to weather go for a dream or not. It is our choice to give up or not. It is our choice to do what we want. Our abilities only show people how much and what we can do. But our choices can show people what we want to be, and what we want other people to think of us. Your future, your life depends on every single choice you make everyday. No one can make you do things or stop doing things except yourself. So if you want to go chase you dream, then go. If you want to live a different life, then change. Our choices in life determines our future. Weather you want to be a teacher or a doctor. Weather you want to be a trust worthy person or not. The choice is yours. I decided to go to the states every summer to go to summer camps and tour. I made this choice because I want to learn. This choice shows people that I am a person that like to experience things and that I will take the risk to go to the other side of the world just to learn.

Journal Entry 58: Free Write

            Wow. We can write whatever we want today! What a special day! A lot of stuff happened today especially dramas. I hate dramas, and the people who created it period. When we were in 8th grade, a girl caused so many drams and cause us to hate each other. And that happened again this weekend. But no, our friendship is more than that. Our friendship is way more stronger than that. And we agreed that no matter what happens, nothing can get into our friendship, no boys, no dramas, or even achedemic. We understand that we are a very competitive class, so that is why we have to promise each other that. And because we are going to have a lot of pressure, we have to stand together and fight.
            My sister asked me today how does it feel to be confident. Being the more confident sister, I started to worry. My sister has always been a little bit shy and a little bit not confident enough, well, thats according to her. My mother started lecturing her how, if she doesn't have standards so high, she will feel confident. And that confidence is when you know what you can handle things. But I don't believe so. Being a friend with Eileen, Jingmin, and Jean has taught me a lot. They taught me that when you found something that you are bad at, remember there are always things you can do good. And that I have to keep in mind that everyone has something they are good at and something they are bad at. Everyone is different in their own way. I believe that confidence has a big association with optimism. I am a very optimistic and happy person, I always think naively that everything is going to work out. And if it is, then it is not the end. I believe that whenever I have any problems, i don't need to be afraid, because I am not standing alone, I have my friends and family, and I know that when I need a shoulder to cry on, they will be one. So dear sister, don't be afraid, because in this scary world, there are still your family and your friends. And also, you already have confident in yourself, you just don't know. So smile, and be happy, because life is too short to be worried everyday!

Journal Entry 57: Sea Fever

            After reading the poem Sea Fever, I really do feel the urge to go to the sea. The poem is about how the author really wants to go back to the sea and sail and be a sailor. He talked and described the situation on the sea, the surroundings and the environment. He described and talked about what he wants to see and hear from the ocean. After reading the poem I do understand the appeal of sailing the seas as the speaker describes the experience in the poem. Many things and activities in real life gives me a "fever". One big example is One Direction. One Direction is a British boy band that is very very famous right now. But I became a fan before they were that famous. Basically, I really love them. I add them on facebook, reblog and make posts on tumblr about them. I listen to their music every single day and watch their videos too. I also buy all their albums, singles and also some posters and bracelets. But in general, I have a fever in music. I have to listen to music when I go to sleep or else I can't sleep. I have to listen to music when I wake up or else I will be come very grumpy. I have to listen to music when I'm doing my homework, or else I can't concentrate. I also have a fever for sweets or candies. If I am having a bad day, and someone offer me some candies, my mood immediately gets better. I also really like to eat them while I am reading or doing my school work.

Journal Entry 56: Public Speaking

            Public speaking hasn't been a really big issue in my life. I have been on stages a lot of times throughout my life. So I am pretty confident on stage or when I do public speaking. Of course, I sometimes get nervous before I go on the stage, but not too nervous that I think I am going to cry or anything. Also, my voice is very very loud, both normal life and on stage, so it let people think that I am good at public speaking. I enjoy public speaking. I think it is something that can make your life more interesting. I get nervous and excited before I need to do a public speaking. I believe that making a prose speech and reciting a poem is at the same difficulty level.  This means that I don't think either one of them is harder than the other one. I believe that there is a big difference between a speaker shouting out the crowd and the kind that speaker stands in front of the crowd. I believe that by standing within and beside the crowd makes the crowd more involve and more interesting. While speaking in front of the crowd makes it more powerful and formal and educational, more in a demanding way. I believe people like to shout from the crowd because then he or she won't be able to see all the eyes locked on him or her, so they won't feel pressured. When you stand on the crowd, you can literally feel the eyes on their faces, and thats what makes public speaking so hard, other people's eyes.

Journal Entry 55: The Inspiration of Sound

            Sounds and music plays the most important part of my life. Whenever I am sad, I listen to music to make me happier. When I don't have confidence, I listen to music to make me feel better. When I am too energetic, I listen to music to calm me down. And whenever I can't sleep, I listen to music to make me fall asleep. Basically, music is everything in my life. I listen it during car rides, when I am walking, when I am doing my homework, even when I am in class or taking a test. And also, sounds also inspire me. I move with the beats or hum with the tune when I hear sounds. If we don't have any sounds in life, our lives will be very miserable. I hear sounds every second in my life. In the morning I listen to the sound my mom wakes me up me, I listen to the sound of her making our breakfast and lunch in the kitchen, and I listen to my music to cheer myself up. And then in school I hear sounds of closing lockers, sounds of footsteps and also sounds of noisy friends. And right now I am listening to the sound that my keyboard makes when I type things down in my computer. I would classify sounds into, the ones we purposely listen to and the normal life sounds that we like, or the normal sound that we don't like. Sounds like music or beats or sounds that make you think of something good is pleasant. And the sounds like teachers yelling at you or screeching tables and chairs are very painful. Some sounds make you feel happy because of the picture you see in your mind when you listen to the sound. For example, when I listen to the sound my mother makes while she is cooking makes me picture delicious food, so it is a pleasant sound. Or the sound made my the birds make you picture their cute appearances, that is pleasant too. Some sounds are more pleasant because of the images they give us.

Journal 54: Travel

            Traveling has been a big part of my life since both my parents love to travel around the world on vacations. I went to many countries, and whenever it is time for break they will plan something, maybe not always outside the country, but always outside the house. The first transportation that I am going to talk about is airplane. I was born in America, and then I came back from the states one month after, which means that I was already on the plane when I was only one month old. And since I go to America almost every summer, I always travel on planes. And also when I go to other countries for vacations, for example, Thailand, Japan, China, Malaysia etc, I always have to go on plane. The advantage of it is that it is very comfortable and fast, but the disadvantage for it is that it is very expensive and also very stuffy in the plane. Next is the boat. I don't go on boats that often since our whole family gets boat sick very very easily. One time we had to take a boat trip for 4 hours to an island for vacations, we all got extremely sick. The advantage of ship is that it is cheaper than planes, and can go on water. But the disadvantage is that you can get boat sick like me and you smell really badly afterwards. And then there is the train. I used to go on trains to go back to my grandparents' house when I was young. But then my parents didn't like it so we ended up driving. The advantage is that it is faster than cars but less convenient than cars. I believe the best transportation is the car. It is fast, convenient, and easy to afford. But the disadvantage is that it is not as fast as any of the transportation I said above.

Journal Entry 53: Write A Sonnet

htbfrveds

Journal Entry 52: Respond to Shakespeare

           In the poem, "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's day?", the author, which is Shakespeare, is writing about how much he loves a woman. It is a love poem and a very formal and old one. If I was the speaker's beloved, if I was the one that the author is talking about, I think I will have many feelings together, and in a very complicated form. At first, I will feel shocked because someone just wrote a poem for me, and then I will feel confused because it won't be easy to understand for me. But then I will feel flattered and happy that someone actually wrote a poem to prove how much he loves me. At last, I will feel confused and kind of angry because of the language he used. So I will have a lot of feelings together. And this is my response:

Dear my love,
          Thank you so much for spending your time to write this poem to me. I am very flattered about it. Although I understand your hard work and your true heart and feelings for me, I am not very happy about it. It is very confusing and hard for me to understand the language you used. And also, I wouldn't want to be like a summer day. I don't want to shine on people until they are annoyed by me. I am also a little bit irritated by your language.

Sincerely,

Your love.

Journal Entry 51: Heart!

            In the poem, "Heart! We will forget him!", the author is talking to her heart about how they should forget about the guy she loves. It is a lyric poem, so it is free verse and doesn't have a format. It is a poem that the famous female poet, Emily Dickinson wrote. In the poem, she used personification. Personification is when you make an object or animal like a person. And the heart is personified, because she is talking to her heart, and heart is not a person, it can't listen to hat you are saying nor can it understand what you mean. I think Emily Dickinson wrote this poem like this, she separated the heart from rest of herself and her mind, is because she is emphasizing how her mind know what she is suppose to do, but her heart won't obey because her heart feels something different. It is like when you can't control your feelings for someone or just emotional feelings, it is like it is separated from the rest of your body. I always tried to separate the heart and the mind and the thoughts. Because to me, the heart symbolizes what you want to do no matter it is right or wrong. And the mind and the thoughts symbolizes what you should do instead, and the right thing. This might be helpful when you don't know what to do next, whether to do what yo want or do what you are suppose to do. But sometimes it can be destructive.

Journal Entry 50: Tanka Poem

1. The Happy Moment

Everyone gathered

around the happy mother

beside the white bed

feeling the warmth inside them

as they watched the baby smile

2. Moonlit Grass Field

Millions of white stars

the bright moon lit up the night

the wind blows lightly

a field of green grass dancing

the insects singing softly

3. Pretending

She dropped a fake smile

she stares into the mirror

as the tears slide down

body sick of pretending

thinking which is the real her

Journal Entry 49: Cinquain Poem

Ocean

beautiful, blue

also represents calm

flows around the world

Sea

Child

innocent, naive

imagination and creativity

brings smiles to people

Kids

Cry 

when sad

also relieve pressure

slides down your face

Teardrops

Journal Entry 48: Diamante Poem

Sun

warm, happy

sweat, shine, blind

yellow, fire, water, blue

cry, fall, drizzle

sad, cold

Rain

City

loud, busy

rush, pollute, compete

convenience, buildings, farms, fields

plant, celebrate, explore

clean, relax

Country

Life

exciting, long

explore, laugh, love

dream, passion, regrets, memories

relieve, regret, break

sad, alone

Death

Journal Entry 47: A Day In Your Life

           Its 6:50. A dim, yellow light shining through the curtains to a purple small bedroom, as a woman walk slowly into the room with her eyes half shut saying "Wake up! Wake up!". Yes, that is Amanda's mom. "UHHHH. Five more minutes please?" Amanda shouts. And then the mom walks back into the room after five minutes, shouting, "Wake up! Its already 6:55!" A small body slowly sits up from the comfortable and warm bed. She climbs down her bed and slowly walk to bathroom with her eyes fully shut. Shivering as she opens the hot water. "Ahh. This feels good." She starts to rub her hair with a special shampoo so hard that her head starts to hurt, and put on some lavender soap. After taking a wonderful bath and brushed her teeth, its 7:15. Finally fully awake, she rushes to her room thinking that she doesn't have much time to prepare for school. She puts her books into her purple book bag, dries her hair, comb her black hair until her hair is in a perfect shape that she wants. A good smell of breakfast slowly flows into her noise. And then she starts to carefully pick her outfit. She tries on many clothes until she is satisfy. Squeezes into her long jeans. And looked at the mirror for the last time to check is everything alright. She frowns as she touches her arm and her stomach. "Not thin enough." She thinks in her head, although all of her friends keep telling her she is very thin. 7:25, she rushes for school. Head rested on the side of the car, still sleeping, with her earphones in her ears, she slowly falls asleep again. 7:50 she is in school. Her face changes as soon as she walks into the school glass front door. A big smile, and two big eyes are now on her face. Greeting everyone she knows on the hallway, afraid that she will miss anyone.

Journal Entry 46: Acrostic

My own name:

A mazing but
M ust grow taller
A
N ame
Dat sounds like
A mandolin
L ikes to laugh and
I mmature and that is why I'm
N ever bored

One of my best friend's name:

J umpy but sometimes
E motional
A friend that I will
N ever regret to have
H er
S inging voice is also
U nique and beautiful like her

Journal Entry 45: How Do Images Convey Mood?

            To me, colors are very important in my life. I would really like to have a colorful life other than a black and white one. From when I was younger, when my mom bought something from the market for my sister and I, I will always pick first because I think colors really matters. If a thing is in a very ugly color, I will automatically thinks it is ugly. But if the same thing has another better color, I wouldn't think its ugly at all. My room is very colorful. The walls are purple. My bed is pink, my carpet is white and I have lots of other decorations in many different colors. Colors also change my mood. If I see grey, I will feel really sad. And if I see red or pick I get really excited. And I feel really happy when I see purple since it is my favorite color, and when I see blue I feel calm and happy. Sounds and music also can change my mood. If I listen to some happy and inspiring songs, I will feel happy. But when I listen to sad, slow songs, I get sad or calm. In stories or poems, if they describe the item or situation in many sensory details, such as the color and the shape and the sound that it makes, then I can really picture the item or the feeling that the narrator is trying to describe. I am a very imagery person, so if I start to picture the item, situation, or feeling out, I feel like I can really see or feel like the narrator.

Journal Entry 44: Images, Emotion, Mood

            It is purple, my favorite color. Not light purple, not violate, not blueish purple, but dark purple. The texture of the object is very very smooth but there are a lot of spikes coming out of it. It is made out of plastic and rubber, so it smells like plastic and rubber. It is very bouncy and soft. And when it bounces it makes this noise "bouinggg!" It also makes a loud noise when you sit on it and bounce on it. It is a very common thing in people's home but it is very uncommon to be seen in a classroom. You can poke it and your finger wouldn't hurt because it is soft.
            I believe by this point you can guess that it is a purple spiky bouncy ball. When I look at the ball, I think of my childhood. I used to have two of those kinds of bouncy balls. One with a handle on it and one with spikes on it. I really loved those two balls. I used to ride on the handle one around the house, using it as a transportation. I would bounce out to watch TV, bounce to talk to my mom, then bounce back to my room. It is just like a horse for me. The ball also helps my mom with yoga and let my dad sits on it when he is watching TV. So when I look at the ball in the classroom, flashbacks of my childhood comes into my mind. I believe the ball in the classroom is used for entertainment. When students get bored, we play with that ball. Or when we don't have a chair, we use that as a replacement.

Journal Entry 43: Elements of Poetry

            Poetry is a kind of writing. But to me, poetry is very different from other forms of writing. And since poetry is very different from other forms of writing, the elements of poetry is also very different from other forms of writing. Some elements of poetry that are very different and unique from other forms of writings are rhythm, stanza, meter, and rhymes. These elements are what make poetry so special and different from other forms of writings. Poetry uses stanza instead of paragraphs and they have a rhythm in it. And the rhymes in the poetry make the rhythm. But there are still some elements of poetry similar or the same as other forms of writings. For one example, all forms of writing have imagery. Imagery is when you describe and picture something in the audience's mind. Poetry uses imagery a lot. Another element that is shared between poetry and other forms of writing is plot. It is obvious that every fiction has a plot. But I believe that poetry also has plot. Even if a poem is just describing an animal, there is a plot about the animal's action and everything. And also like a fiction, poetry has setting too. Sometimes poets write it really obvious in poems bt sometimes they are not that obvious, but there is always setting for poetry.

Journal Entry 42: Poetry

            Poetry is a very ancient kind of writing that people write from a long time ago till now. Poetry are very different from other kinds of writing. They are different in many different ways. One example is that the format of the writing. Other forms of writings are mostly sentence after sentence, while poetry are mostly very short phrases each line. They are sometimes sentences and they are sometimes not sentences. And also other forms of writing usually use paragraphs for three or more sentences usually related to each other. While poetry use stanzas for a group of phrases or sentences. And another example of the difference between poetry and other forms of writing is that most poetry rhymes. And that is what makes poetry fun and interesting. Their similarities is that they both express something and they are all build up by words. Yes, poems can do the same things as other forms of expression. Poems can do things like make it sound more interesting or describe something very detailed that other forms of writing can't. And yes I do see poetry these days. I see them most in slogans or commercials and they use poems to try to attract customers.  And also in schools where students learn to write different forms of writing. Although you don't notice it, poems are everywhere in our life.

Journal Entry 41: Analyzing Visuals

            Artists and writers use special tools and styles to create different effects. Poets use figures of speech and man other kinds of techniques to create certain effects. Looking at the artwork in my textbook page 648 an 649, I can see how artists use imagery to create desired effects. When I look at the stylistic elements, I first notice the bold and colors and visible lines. I think I notice the colors first because I care a lot about colors. I hate things that are just plain black and white, I think life should be colorful. When I study the surface of the painting, I found out that the surface is rough. I think the the artist is using the texture to approach to the subject of how scary and powerful the dragon is. The artist uses bright colors such as orange and blue. The colors help convey the message that the dragon is special, powerful, and scary. The overall message is that the dragon is mighty and scary and powerful. The bright colors can really show the dragon. The waves in the background are repeated patterns. I think the artist include the pattern to make the dragon more obvious. The effect of the artist using two contrasting colors is that the dragon is more obvious and the audience can easily make a good impression on us. The artwork includes lines that are not blended or hidden to make the texture more rough.

Journal Entry 40: Poetry and Imagination

            Poetry often uses figurative language such as metaphors or similes to paint a picture for you. You have to use your imagination to picture a image in your head about what the writer is describing. The quote has a figurative meaning talking about how the narrator loves poems how he or she eats it. It is about how the narrator likes poems that when he or she is studying, reading, or writing a poem, he is very focus and doesn't get distracted easily. And that he is so excited and happy to study them that he he studies a lot of them. Images I see from this quote is someone literally munching on a book and he ink is dripping from his or her mouth to his or her shirt. And their eyes are really big and the mouth is smiling. I think the author use  this metaphor to show how much he loves poems to show us how he is so excited and likes to study a lot of them. He wants us to picture an image in our mind of him munching on them and so excited. And from his quote, I can really see how much he loves poems. I will use metaphors that compare them to how girls like shopping, a fat kid likes to eat, or how boys like video games.

Journal Entry 39: Sacrifice

            People sacrifice for many things in this world. People sacrifice for things they like and for people they love. We often sacrifice for our family and friends. Everyone has to sacrifice something in order to reach your goal, it all depends on your priority of things and events. I have many sacrifices too just like other people in this world. For example, because I have a goal to go to a good college, I sacrifice my time and sleep in order to practice and prepare for the test. When my friends are socializing and playing on the computer, I am alone in my room writing things not due in the school but instead, for practicing SAT and other things related to college. And also I like to go to MUN conferences, so I sacrifice school days and weekends to go to another country just to attend MUN conferences. And after I come back, I will have to do the homework that I didn't do when I was gone in short amount of time, and also I need to study on my own to make up the classes that I missed. And if I want to go out with my friends, I will have to sacrifice my relaxing time in order to finish my homework. It depends on how important the thing and goal is so I can decide whether or not to sacrifice. But I will make big sacrifices for someone who I care because I put families and friends to first priority. I will not sacrifice my life goal for anything because that is my goal, and when I have a goal to achieve I will never sacrifice it.

Journal Entry 38: Christmas Break

            It was finally christmas break, and I was super happy when the school ended in december 16. I had a lot of pressure as this school year started, I guess it is because I am now a sophomore. A day after the exciting and tiring winter dance, me and a lot of my friends flew to Japan to ski and snowboard. This is my fifth ear to go there for ski/snowboarding. This year I snowboarded and it was really fun. I started skiing when I was in fifth grade. I was at local school in fifth grade, which means that I didn't have christmas break. I had to leave school for a week to go to ski despite that I had to finish all the assignments before the week and also had to study by myself of those lectures that I missed. But i think it was worth it. I love snow in general so I love to ski or snowboard. If you ask me which one do I prefer I wouldn't be able to answer you because I think they are two very different sports. Anyways, I went with my friends this year and I had a lot of fun with them. We went shopping and ate together. We also did a lot of funny and stupid things like we always do. I missed snow and everything in Japan the second I hopped on the plane that take me back to Taiwan. After that I went to Jingmin's house for a four days sleepover. The reason why I went to her house for so long is that I wanted to take a break from everything and also finish all the homework in her house. And I did it! I finished all the preview and homework in her house! After that I went to Candy's house for another sleepover to celebrate her birthday. And the last thing I did during the christmas break was I went to Taipei 101 for the New Years Eve fireworks and it was amazing! It was so beautiful that I just kept on staring at it with awe and amazement. I have never went to 101 for New Years Eve fireworks before. There are way too much people there but it was fun too. My winter break was awesome and fun and memorable.