VOCAB SPRING #4

accolade: any award or honor 
acerbity: sourness
attrition: a decrease in numbers, size, or strength 
bromide: a person who is extremely boring
chauvinist: one who believes one gender is superior to the other
chronic: constant
expound: to set forth in detail
factionalism:self-interested
immaculate:spotlessly clean
imprecation: the act of cursing 
ineluctable: inescapable
mercurial: quick-witted
palliate-to relieve without curing
protocol: an original draft
resplendent:shining brilliantly
stigmatize: to set some mark of disgrace upon
sub rosa: secretly
vainglory: excessive pride over one's own achievements
vestige: a mark of evidence that is no longer in existance 
volition: a choice or decision made by will

HAFTA/WANNA

I think one of the most important things to wrap your mind around is that high school really is the beginning of the rest of your life. Unfortunately I'm just starting to realize this now. Going into your freshman year you feel like you have so much time left, you have four whole years to figure things out and decide on the person you want to be. The confusing part is during those four years. You're still such a child at the beginning of high school but at the end of those four years, which go by unbelievably quick, you're expected to be an adult. High school reflects how well you are at remaining dedicated and motivated and meeting deadlines while also balancing other aspects of your personal and social life. If you manage to do well during high school by practicing good work habits then once you enter the "real world" chances are you'll be a lot more successful than those who chose to take their four years of high school as least serious as possible. Everyone expects life after high school to be a whole new world, which it will be in some areas because we will all have to be much more independent but in a lot of ways it's really quite the same. Most of us will still be going to school to learn to get us to our intended career path and those who aren't are probably going to be going to work every day. The hardest thing is to find a balance between things you WANT to do and things you HAVE to do. Too much or not enough of either would result in going insane. I know that sometimes I struggle with procrastination and a lack of motivation but then again, who doesn't? I'm not worried about my life after high school because with the expectations that I have for myself I know that I will get where I need and want to be.

Vocab Spring #3

apostate: a person who forsakes their religion/cause
effusive: overflowing
impasse: a situation or position with no escape
euphoria: a state of intense happiness and self-confidence
lugubrious: mournful or gloomy
bravado: a pretentious display of courage
consensus: majority of opinion
dichotomy: division into two parts
constrict: to draw or press in
gothic: medieval
punctilio: a fine point of conduct
metamorphosis: a complete change of form
raconteur: a person skilled in telling stories
sine qua non: 
quixotic: extravagantly romantic or chivalrous
vendetta: any prolonged and bitter feud
non sequitur: a statement containing an illogical conclusion
mystique: a framework of doctrines, ideas or beliefs
quagmire: anything soft or flabby
parlous: dangerous 

VISUAL STORYTELLING

Visual story telling such as movies are so effective because of how personal they are, creating a possible strong connection with the audience. The characters coalesce with the story line and as the movie goes on it becomes more and more real. While watching movies, we are hearing the story while also seeing the story as it progresses and reaches its apogee. This is disparate compared to just reading a story because more than just words are used to express characters and moods. Movies are so popular because they are made to be entertaining which is another reason they are so effective.

PROFILE IN COURAGE

When the movie first started I was expecting it to be a story following the lives of a few physically disabled men but I was completely shocked when they introduced the sport of wheelchair rugby for the first time. You could not get me to play the sport while being healthy so it was crazy to see how brave those men are. After all being in such tragic accidents it would be so easy to give up on life considering the endless amount of difficulties and struggles they must face but the men in the movie don't share that mindset. They still go through life with a motivated attitude and use it to compete in a sport made just for them. They make the best of the situation and love the sport that they get to play.

VOCAB SPRING #2

accoutrements: personal clothing or accessories
-My aunt has the most accoutrements of anyone else I know, her outfits are never boring.
apogee: the highest or most distant point
bicker: to engage in peevish argument
coalesce: to grow or come together into one
contretemps: an embarrassing occurrence
convolution: a coiled or rolled up condition
cull: to select or choose
disparate: essentially different
dogmatic: pertaining to
licentious: going beyond proper limits
mete: to distribute my measure
noxious: harmful to health or physical well-being
polemic: a controversial argument
populous: heavily populated; crowded
probity: honesty
repartee: a quick and witty reply

VOCAB #1 PERFORMANCE REVIEW

I did well on the vocal quiz but I realized that I need to stop focusing only on the definition on the word and think more about how and when the word is used. Defining the words is always the easy part for me because that's just memorization but using and putting the words into sentences takes a little thinking and really proves understanding of the word.

VOCAB SPRING #1

adumbrate: to report in an outline 
apotheosis : highest point of a story, the climax

ascetic: self disciplined when comes to indulging
bauble: small trinkets or decorations
beguile: to charm in a deceiving manner 
burgeon: to grow rapidly
complement: to bring to completion or perfection
contumacious: stubborn
curmudgeon: badly tempered person
didactic: in a teaching manner
- I was sure to adumbrate all of the information into very organized notes during the lecture.
-Once I reached the apotheosis of the story I could not put the book down.

-When my mom goes on a diet, she remains completely ascetic, never giving into temptations.
-My room is full of baubles, I collect little knick knacks.
-My sister is notorious for beguiling to get her way.
The flowers in my grandma's garden burgeoned.
-The scarf was the perfect complement to the rest of my outfit.
-You are so contumacious, you can never admit when you're wrong.
-Nobody wants to be around a curmudgeon who is always grumpy.
-My sister is very didactic when helping me with my math homework.

HACKING MY EDUCATION

Whenever we discuss hacking this course with our personal interests and taking our education into our own hands I become so overwhelmed. Some have such clear ideas about what they want to do and where they want to go and what they can do to get there and I still haven't figured all of that out yet. There's tons that I want to do and so much that catches my interest but I'm not sure that I've found my passion yet. I get so anxious because I'd like more than anything to have this all figured out but that's not the case. My plan is to really think hard about what I can do in this particular course that is going to help me in the long run, and maybe even help me put an end to all of my doubt.

THE CHOICE

The choice thats being referred to in the title is whether the little girl is going to take her medicine, or the "poison" on her own or if her parents are going to have to force her to take it.  Although it is a real choice there is no alternative. No matter what the little girl chooses she is going to have to take the medicine. The word "poison" is used when talking about the medicine because that is exactly what it is. It's a poison taken to kill the cells, not just the bad ones but all of the cells in order to eliminate the ones that may be dangerous. The little girl wants to play with the toys intended for older children because she knows that with her sickness she may not live to be that old so she argues that since she might not have the chance she wants to play with that toy while she can. I do agree with her because knowing that your life possibly may be cut short i would want to get the absolute most out of it just as she does. If playing with a toy intended for a child a few years older makes her happy then I don't see even the slightest problem with that. If there was a possibility that I might not live past the age of 30 there would be so many things that I would feel pressured to do so before then, so many actually that its hard to just pick one. I would focus mostly on traveling and seeing parts of the world other than where I've grown up. It would be important for me to get out of here and go to all the places that I want to go to and see before I die. Forcing the uncomfortableness of the medication and horrible taste on their daughter was really their only choice. A few moments of a bad taste is worth an attempt to add time to their daughters life. Suffering is unfortunately most definitely a part of life and love. Everyone will suffer from their own troubles and have to watch those they love most suffer as well. Sometimes there won't be anything you can do which will make the situation even more difficult to get through but it's just a part of life.