Who am I ? Essay 24

Colin

Mr. Salsich

8 English

6/4/10

WHO AM I:

An Essay about Discovering Myself

_____(TS)Last summer, I went to the British Virgin Islands with a friend. (CM)We sailed around from place to place and we hiked, we dove, and we swam (tricolon). (CM)Throughout almost the whole trip, one of the guys on my boat would randomly ask people, "who are you?" (CS)This got me thinking, who am I?

_____(TS)Well, I am Colin. (SD)No! (CM)Colin is just a name to be called by. (CM)It doesn't answer the question, who I am, because it doesn't describe me in any way. (SD)The same may be said for the character "Minny Me," from the Austin Powers movie. (CM)His name doesn't reveal anything about him, except possibly his size, though it does say something about the arrogance of the character of his father. (CM)If Minny Me could have picked a name to reflect who he really was, consistent with his character in the movie, it might more properly have been "Minny Dad." (CS)So, who am I truly?

_____(TS)I have spent all year thinking about this intricate question (Apt. Thesaurus Word). (SD)To answer it, I needed to think of something that incorporated every aspect of my being. (CM)My goods and my bads; my knowledge and my ignorance: my personality as a whole (Apt. Thesaurus Word). (CM)The trouble I had with this, was reducing all of my composite elements into a single word. The more elements I considered, the more words I needed to describe myself. (SD)Then, it hit me! (CM)The answer is "me." (CM)The creators of the characters in the movie were on to something. (CM)They were at least partially right. (CM)"I am myself" incorporates every word, phrase, and sentence I could come up with and more. (CS)This may not make sense to you, and you or I may find a better word in the future, but for now, "I am Me."

_____(TS)"Who are you," a man once asked me. (CM)And I replied, "I am Colin."(CM)But I now know that the better answer would have been, "I am Me." (CS)"I am Me."

Essay Top Sentences

Top Sentences of 2010

Essay 23

5/17/10

This I believe:

An Essay About What is Important to Me

(CM)We must manage the earth's resources in order to ensure that they will remain available in the indefinite future. (CM)"What happens within Nature humans should not have a say [in] and leave Nature to Nature" (Leave Nature to Nature by Francis Duggan).

I chose these two sentences because I think they

flow very well and the quote fits in perfectly.

*****

Essay 19

4/8/10

My Song:

An Essay about the "Traveling Soldier"

By the Dixie Chicks and

Romeo and Juliet

_____(TS)Emotions are important characters in the play of life.

(CS)You must embrace these gifts, these punishments, these emotions.

I chose these two sentences because they clearly

illustrate the umbrella. They connect together even though

one they are the first and last sentences.

*****

Essay 13

1/27/10

Change:

Change To Kill a Mockingbird

and in My Life.

My life, a wild roller coaster, full of suspense, changes constantly (Periodic Sentence).

I chose this sentences because it is a great periodic sentence

and it caught my attention while reading

*****

Essay 11

1/12/10

FEAR:

Fear in To Kill a Mockingbird and in My Life

_____Fear. What is it; where is it; why is it? We often ask ourselves these three basic questions, but have you ever gotten an answer? Have you ever taken the time to look?

The reason I chose these few sentences is because I honestly

believe this was my best introductory sentence I wrote all year.

It grabs the readers attention and pulls him in.

*****

Essay 11

1/12/10

FEAR:

Fear in To Kill a Mockingbird and in My Life

Like a thick fog, the shadows would move in and demolish the vision of those stuck within.

I chose this sentence because it expresses a lot of

emotion about fear and it is a good simile.

*****

Essay 11

1/12/10

FEAR:

Fear in To Kill a Mockingbird and in My Life

Legends can tell us nothing, or everything. It is all in what you believe, but until the day we truly find out why fear is, we will never know.

When I wrote this sentence, I made it purposely

to make the reader think and I believe it does just that.

*****

Essay 7

0/28/09

Trepidation:
An Essay about Fear in My Life

(CS)No matter how hard I try, no matter what I do, I will always have apprehension.

I chose this sentence because it fits into the

paragraph perfectly because it was about over-

coming your fears. It was also a strong closer.

*****

Essay 5

10/14/09

Privacy Is Hard To Please:

An essay about Privacy

in To Kill A Mocking Bird

(TS)Privacy is like the wind; it comes and it goes. (CM)You can catch it, but it will only get away in the future.

I like these two sentences because they are

a great simile and they plant a good

picture in your mind.

*****

Essay 2

9/23/09

The Misery of Mistakes:
This Essay is About When Scout Couldn't Find the
Right Words to Say in To Kill A Mocking Bird

“I suppose she chose me because she knew my name; as I read the alphabet a faint line appeared between her eyebrows, and after making me read most of My First Reader and the stock-market quotations from The Mobile Register aloud, she discovered that I was literate and looked at me with more than faint distaste. (p22)”

I chose this sentence because I thought the quote fit in

nicely and it is also a very long sentence

which can increase the power of the writing

*****

Essay 1

9/22/09

You Can't Judge a Book By Its Cover:

An Essay About Fearing the Differences of People

(TS)When I was about eleven, I met this man who at the time looked funny but as time passed, I got to know him and found out that it was a battle wound from the war. (CM1)When I learned this, I was thankful, amazed and I was afraid. (CM2)I was scared of the differences between us.

I Like this introduction paragraph because it really draws

the reader in and shows him what

the paragraph will be about.

Essay 23 Self Assessment

Colin

Mr. Salsich

8 English

5/18/10

Self Assessment

1. What am I continuing to work on?

In this essay, I am continuing to work on the unity of all three paragraphs because I feel I got a little off track in some points.

2. What is a strong point?

I feel a strong point in this essay would be the variety of sentences because I use many specials and they have helped to improve it.

3. What is a week point?

Getting my essay to flow well is still a week point in my writing. I think this would be much better if the sentences flowed into each other nice and smoothly.

4. What grade would I give myself?

For this essay, I would give myself an "A" because I honestly feel it is some of my best writing all year and I have worked more on this than any other essay.

Essay 23

Colin

Mr. Salsich

8 English

5/17/10

This I believe:

An Essay About What is Important to Me

_____(TS)"Man destroys nature far more worse than nature destroys it's self" (Nature Destroys Nature, by Qualme Tari Misterres of Death Nat. Norvile). (CM)So why do we continue doing what we do? (CM)I was once asked, "What do [I] personally believe is really important"; my rejoinder was, "I believe in the sustainability of our natural resources and the future of this planet" (Quote said by Mr. Salsich, Apt. Thesaurus Word). (CS)This planet is our future and we must do what ever we can to protect it.

_____(TS)Sustainability, a very important issue facing us today, is something that we need to be involved in both locally and globally. (SD)There are many natural resources that we can harness in this world. (CM)Natural resources such as air, wind, sun, and water can and should be used for energy. (CM)By using these primary resources, we will be able to cut costs, we will be able to promote clean air, and we will help sustain the environment (Tricolon and Apt. Thesaurus Word). (SD)In addition, we should sustain our biological ecosystems too. (CM)If we don't save our wetlands, forests, and oceans, the benefits we receive from these biological resources will be gone and considered abiotic ("Free of living things") (Apt. Thesaurus Word and Parallelism). (CM)By destroying these precious systems and the life they contain, we will only be hurting ourselves in the long run. (SD)Also, we need to use more environmental technology in our daily lives. (CM)At home, at school, at work, and even at a friend's house, we should all be doing simple tasks like recycling and composting (Anaphora). (CM)To add on to this, we could also be using energy efficient light bulbs, and non-harmful chemicals, but one of the easiest things to do to help promote sustainability is to turn the lights off to save energy. (CS)Both locally and globally, I believe that sustainability is one of the most important issues facing our society today.

_____(TS)This earth is our future and we must keep it intact, we must protect it, and we must covet our natural resources (Apt Thesaurus Word). (CM)We must manage the earth's resources in order to ensure that they will remain available in the indefinite future. (CM)"What happens within Nature humans should not have a say [in] and leave Nature to Nature" (Leave Nature to Nature by Francis Duggan). (CS)I feel it is really important to protect our natural resources, and if we do not become sustainable and continue to destroy the earth, some day the earth will fight back.

Essay 22 Self Assessment

Colin

Mr. Salsich

8 English

5/12/10

Self Assessment

1. What am I continuing to work on?

In this essay, I am always working on making it flow nice and smoothly because I feel it still needs some improvements with that.

2. What is a strong point?

A strong point, I think, would be the bell words because I repeated them many times and it helped the essay have more unity.

3. What is a weak point?

I think a weak point would be the intro and concluding paragraphs because they still seem a little weak to me.

4. What grade would I give myself?

For this essay, I would give myself an "A-" because I worked very hard on it, it took a lot of time to put together, and all in all, I think I did a good job.

Essay 22

Colin

Mr. Salsich

8 English

5/5/10

Unseen Beauty:

An Essay About Rare Beauty in Unexpected Places

And the Poem Valentine for Ernest Mann

_____(TS)Beauty is a rare commodity and can only be acquired by a few. (CM)Or can it? (CM)According to Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, "Valentine for Ernest Mann," you can find beauty in everything, and everywhere you look. (CS)According to the poem, a man says "Nothing is ugly just because the world [says] so," and this is true in many ways.

_____(TS)In Naomi Shihab Nye's poem, "Valentine for Ernest Mann," she talks about a man who thought every thing was beautiful, even the most hideous of things (Bell Word). (SD)In the minds of certain people, things are ugly and things are pretty, and this all depends on the person's persona (Apt. Thesaurus Word). (CM)According to the man in her poem, beauty can be seen by everything depending on how one perceives it (Apt. Thesaurus Word). (CM)This was the purpose of her poem to me, to try to teach people that if you look closely, beauty can be found though sometimes people don't see it. (SD)In addition, there are many ways the poet could have developed this theme, as I believe all she did was look around. (CM)In the media, you can find beauty everywhere, ugliness everywhere, and nonacceptance everywhere (Purposeful Repetition). (CM)The media also throws things way out of proportion so if there was a beautiful act, all you would see was the ugly side and this is where I believe the poet got her theme from. (CS)Beauty is always evident yet our innocent minds have been altered by the media, people and other forms of commercialism to turn beautiful actions, places, and people into into ugliness.

_____(TS)"Maybe if we reinvent what life has given us," we would discover more beauty in our world (Bell Word). (SD)I believe that most stories in the media are not ugly, but are the opposite because we only see one side of the story. (CM)The papers, the magazines and the televisions show you only part of the alluring story, so in most cases, you may not even know why the person did the crime (Apt. Thesaurus Word and Purposeful Repetition). (CM)Often you may not even be told the truth at all and thats when things become ugly to some. (SD)In addition, a long time ago, I used to go down to my friends swamp and play around in the deep mud. (CM)To any ordinary person, the thick swamp would be repugnant and people would try to stay away, but to me, this was a place of nirvana (Apt. Thesaurus Words). (CM)Because I knew the swamp better than those that looked at it from afar , I was able to appreciate it's value and beauty in more depth. (SD)The more you come to understand something, the more you come to know something, the more you come to find beauty in that something. (CM)In "Valentine for Ernest Mann," the man talks about finding beauty in the two skunks eyes and he came to find this by learning about the skunks. (CM)To him, they were not just that black thing that sprays odors at you, but instead, those magnificent creatures in the forest. (CS)The more we come to know something, the more beauty we will find no matter what it is.

_____(TS)Beauty is everywhere you look, everything you see, and all there is. (CM)You can not find one thing on this beautiful earth that would not have beauty surrounding it. (CM)"Nothing is ugly just because the world said so." (CS)And in the words of Francis Duggan, "It is a rare beauty that will never die."

Essay 21 Self Assessment

Colin
Mr. Salsich
8 English
5/4/10

Self Assessment

1. What am I continuing to work on?
In my essay, I am continuing to work on many small things, but the biggest is making my poem flow well. To me, it still sounds a bit weird and I will continue to work on it.

2. What is strong about my essay?
In my essay, I believe my haiku poem is the strongest. I tried to write it the way Shakespear wrote back then.

3. What is weak in my essay?
In my essay, I believe the 8 sentence paragraph is weak. It still needs some tweaking and the examples are not the best.

4. What grade would I give myself?
For this essay, I think I should get an "-A" because I worked very hard on it and spent a lot of time picking the genres to get them perfect.

Essay 21

Colin

Mr. Salsich

8 English

4/29/10

Friendship:

An Essay about Friends in My

Life and in Romeo and Juliet

Dear Reader,

_____This is a multi-genre essay that will be including one expository paragraph, a free verse poem, a haiku poem, a classified ad, and interior monologue. This essay is also about friendship in my own life and in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Thanks for reading,

-Colin-

*****

_____(TS)What is friendship? According to dictionary.com, friendship is "the state of being of a friend" and "a friendly relation or intimacy" with a person. (SD)In Romeo and Juliet, Paris sees Romeo walking sadly through the woods and he gets worried. (CM)This is a sign of true friendship, when a friend is truly worried about another friend. (CM)I think Romeo is lucky to have Paris as a friend because he will stick up for him and help him when he needs it. (SD)In my own life, I feel privileged to have one friend who will help me no matter what the consequences are. (CM)Even though he doesn't live close, all I need to do is call him and he will come running. (CM)We have known each other since we were born and our friendship is unbreakable. (CS)Friendship means different things to different people, but to me, it is as simple as just having a friend.

*****

Where is thy good friend,

Who supports thy's decisions,

Where is my Paris?

(Read with British ascent)

*****

_____Oh Mercutio, I honestly feel honored to be your friend. You have given me such great wisdom over the years. Your tragic death will be avenged and I will miss you old friend. If I had the choice, your life would not have ended in vain. You were the best friend I have ever known and I don't know what I will ever do without your guidance. Good by old friend. You will be missed.

*****

Help Wanted!

Looking for good friend with experience.

^Will do friend things like:^

~Have fun

~Mess around

~Help each other

~And more

^Requirements:^

* Need to be kind

* Need to stand up for me

* Need to have fun

* Need to help me when needed

Will pay with many hugs!

Hours include when needed or wanted

Call: 1-(800)-588-2300

Thank you for calling

*****

_____What is a friend? Is it someone who you can trust your deepest secrets to? Is it someone who will help you and support you? Is it someone who will trust you? Is it someone who is nice to you? Yes, it is. A friend is everything and nothing at the same time. Your friend will make good decisions. Your friend will make bad decisions, but the true question is what will you do? Help them or let fall; be kind to them or be mean to them. True friends stick together.

Essay 20 Self Assessment

Colin
Mr. Salsich
8 English
4/26/10

What am I continuing to work on?
___In my essay, I am continuing to work on the introduction and concluding paragraphs.
What is strong about the essay?
___The specials are what I think are strong in my writing.
What is weak about the essay?
___I also think the concluding paragraph is weak.
What grade would I give myself?
___I would give my self a "B" on this essay.

Essay 20

Colin

Mr. Salsich

8 English

4/20/10

Family:

Family in To Kill a Mockingbird and in My life

_____(TS)Family is like the leaves on a tree: they stick together; they change together; and they are connected together. (CM)If one of those precious leaves falls, the rest will surely follow in due time. (CM)In addition, if one of those leaves starts changing, it leads the path for the others to follow. (CS)My own family and the Finches both are all connected

_____(TS)What I value and admire most in life is my family because each member has unique, strong and individual traits. (SD)One of the members of my family that I have high regards for my dad for one main reason. (CM)He never gives up, never stops fighting, and never surrenders, and by doing this, he brings hope and spirit to those around him (Loose Sentence). (CM)For instance, when our basement flooded, he spent over 48 hours down there vacuuming and brushing the water out. (SD)Another person I admire is my sister, Caroline, for many reasons. (CM)I am always marveling at her knack to learn new information quickly; in any subject from Spanish to English (Apt. Thesaurus Word). (CM)Every time I see her, she knows more and more about everything I may ask; wether it being a math problem to the time it takes to get to California. (CS)Not many people hull heatedly appreciate each individual member of their family, but I, on the other hand, do.

_____(TS)What is family? To me, family are people you can count on to stand by you no matter what the situation is. (SD)One of the members of my family is my sister and we always stand up for each other. (CM)In the book, Jem and Scout are always standing up for each other too; for instance, on the night they were attacked by Mr. Ewel, they kept fighting for each others safety and never gave up. (CM)This reminded me of a summer in Maine, when one of the kids at a party, took my bike; all of a sudden, Caroline stepped in, backed me up and helped me get my bike back. (SD)To continue, one thing about family is they help you out in any way they can. (CM)My dad is one of those people, who I can go to time after time and get advice or help with any problem. (CM)In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout feels she can go and trust her father with anything. (SD)In addition, Moms are very unique as they like to teach you how to respect, to use manners and to care (Parallelism). (CM)In the tome, Cal is like a mom to Scout, as she taught her much; for instance, Cal taught Scout how to respect her company (Apt. Thesaurus Word). (CM)My magnificent mom makes me know the meaning of most of these every day values that are needed in life (alliteration). (CS)Respect, moral courage, team work, support, and togetherness all represent family.

_____(TS)Family can be like many things: the leaves on the trees, the tires on a car and many more things. (CM)Like tires, family will always stay together, but if one pops, the rest will wait. (CM)Once it has been fixed, they will all continue together. (CS)Family stays together no matter what the situation might be.

Essay 19 Self Assessment

Colin

Mr. Salsich

8 English

4/13/10

Self Assessment for Essay 19.0

Something I am continuing to work on is...

_____In my essay, I am continuing to work on the coherency.

A strong point is...

_____A strong point in my writing would be the examples.

A week point is...

_____One of the week points in my writing is the clarity.

The grade I would give myself is...

_____On this essay, I would give myself a "B-".

Essay 19

Colin

Mr. Salsich

8 English

4/8/10

My Song:

An Essay about the "Traveling Soldier"

By the Dixie Chicks and

Romeo and Juliet

_____(TS)Emotions are important characters in the play of life. (CM)In the novel Romeo and Juliet, there are emotions portrayed on every page, every paragraph, and every sentence. (CM)These emotions are also evident in the song "Traveling Soldier," a story about pain, love and bravery. (CS)Both song and story share a theme of deep love and loss that is expressed by the characters.

_____(TS)The song Traveling Soldier by the Dixie Chicks contains a hodgepodge of themes (Apt. Thesaurus Word). (SD)In the beginning of the song, the soldier states, "I got no one to send a letter to." (CM)To me, this is showing he is alone and sad, with no one by his side, no family and no friends (Appositive). (CM)When I first heard this song, I had mixed emotions of sadness and joyfulness all at the same time because at first he was alone, but then he finally found someone. (SD)In addition, "nobody really cared" about the Traveling Soldier, except for "a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair" and she became his true love. (CM)This helped to show me how much pain and loneliness the war could cause. (CM)It also revealed to me how little some people cared about these brave soldiers. (CS)"Traveling Soldier" is a passionate song filled with fear, courage, and love, and these are some of the themes which relate it to the novel Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

_____(TS)There are many great songs that would portray different themes from Romeo and Juliet, but one I particularly admire is the "Traveling Soldier" by the Dixie Chicks (Apt. Thesaurus Word). (SD)In the book, Romeo sees Juliet for the first time and falls in love with her instantly and the same thing happened in the song with the soldier and the girl. (CM)Boy meets girl and it was love at first sight. (CM)In addition, Romeo and Juliet both want to love each other for ever just like the traveling soldier and the waitress; they say to each other "our love will never end." (SD)At the end of Romeo and Juliet, both lovers have their lives taken away; similarly, at the end of the "Traveling Soldier,'' death keeps the two lovers apart . (CM)Death had robbed the girl of her love. (CM)Both of these couples thought their love would last forever, yet death overcame them. (CS)Romeo and Juliet, and the couple in the ''Traveling Soldier" both shared a rare type of love that was ended by death.

_____(TS)In the game of "Life," emotions play a heavy role. (CM)You may see them near the break of war, or in the 1800s. (CM)Hiding from fear, love, and others is not feasible. (CS)You must embrace these gifts, these punishments, these emotions.

Essay #18 Self Assessment

Colin
Mr. Salsich
8 English
4/6/10
SELF ASSESSMENT
Something I am continuing to work on...
_____I am continuing to work on making the essay flow. I think it is still a little rough.  I am also continuing to make the essay "clean" or errors.  
A strong point...
_____I think a strong point would be the examples in the essay because I feel they all work well with the topic of the essay and tie everything in together.
A weak point...
_____A week point in this essay would be the ability to flow.  I feel it is still a little rough.  The grade I would give myself...
_____I would give myself an "+B" for this essay because I think I worked hard, but there are somethings that may still need to be changed.

Essay 18

Colin Burlingham

Mr. Salsich

8 English

3/10/10

Forgiveness:

An Essay about Bob and

Mayella Ewel being Forgiven

And Forgiveness in My Own Life

_____(TS)Forgiveness is the ability "to grant pardon for or remission of an offense and to cease to feel resentment against" according to dictionary.com. (CM) To be forgiven for malicious acts, one is given a second chance to gain trust by others again, though to stop feeling resentment is the hardest part. (CM)Its easier to grant forgiveness if you know the reasons why a person has done certain acts, and I have found this true in my own life. (CS)In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird and in my life, there are people who have committed offensive acts that I feel deserve forgiveness.

_____(TS)One of the greatest gifts a man can give is forgiveness. (SD)Bob Ewell, a drunk, a meager man, a father, helped to kill Tom Robinson and I forgive him (A Tricolon and a Apt. Thesaurus Word). (CM)I understand that he has had a hard life and I can see he didn't want to be the poor man anymore. (CM)I see that Mr. Ewell wanted to be respected instead of being looked down upon and this is why I would forgive him for everything that he had done. (SD)Mayella Ewell, Bob's daughter, is also a person responsible for Tom's death who deserves forgiveness. (CM)When I walk in Mayella's shoes, all I see is fear; fear of no friends, fear of her father, and fear of her life (Tricolon). (CM)I understand why she lied to the court because if she hadn't, her father might have beaten her or worse; I would forgive Mayella. (SD) Both Mayella and Bob Ewell would put this man in jail for a few reasons. (CM)They wanted to be liked, and loved, but most of all, they wanted to be respected. (CM)They both have done something that was not right, but I would want them to know one thing. (CS)I would have forgiven them.

_____(TS)To be forgiven is one of the greatest gifts one can receive. (SD)A long time ago, my sister, Caroline, and I were roller-blading down the driveway. (CM)We were racing and I was close to winning when all of a sudden, she pushed me off the road and I broke my arm. (CM)This was hard to cope with, but I forgave her, ended my resentment, and didn't demand restitution (Tricolon and a Apt. Thesaurus Word). (SD)In addition, when I was young, I used to get really jealous of my friend's possessions. (CM)I can remember stealing my friend's toy car and I felt bad about it, but I thought I would get into trouble if I told him, so I never did. (CM)Now, I wanted to ask him for his forgiveness and say I am sorry. (SD)In addition, on my PTPI (People to People International) trip, one of the first kids I met stole my iPod from my room when I wasn't looking. (CM)Later, I found out he took it; he gave the iPod back to me and said "Sorry."(CM)I later forgave him for this and we became great friends. (CS)To be forgiven is one of the greatest gifts one can receive and also that one can give out.

_____(TS)To earn some one's forgiveness is hard because most people hold resentment. (CM)Bob and Mayella Ewel both had committed a crime, and had reasons for doing so. (CM)I forgave them just like I have forgiven many people in my own life. (CS)It is better to ask for forgiveness than to let guilt eat me up.

Self Assessment Essay 17

Self Assessment

Colin
Mr. Salsich
8 English
3/9/10

Something I am continuing to work on...
_____I am continuing to work on making the essay flow. I think it is still a little rough.
A strong point...
_____I think a strong point would be the examples in the essay because I feel they all work well with the topic of the essay.
A weak point...
_____I believe a weak point in my essay would be the specials because I feel they may not all be correct.
The grade I would give myself...
_____I would give myself an "-A" for this essay because I think I worked hard, but there are somethings that may still need to be changed.

Essay 17

Colin Burlingham

Mr. Salsich

8 English

3/4/10

The Gentlemen and The Lady:

An Essay About Gentlemen

and Ladies in To Kill a Mockingbird

_____(TS)According to dictionary.com, a gentleman is "a civilized, educated, sensitive, [and] well-mannered man," and a lady is "a woman who is refined, polite, and well-spoken." (CM)I on the other hand, I picture a gentleman and lady to have more qualities. (CM)I think a gentleman and a lady are also noble, polite, conscious, and moral. (CS)In To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many people who could be considered a gentleman or a lady, but there are also people in my own life that meet these qualifications.

_____(TS)In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are many eminent characters that would definitely be considered either a gentleman or a "Great Lady" (sentence with 30 words). (SD)Jem Finch, a young boy who loves to play and have fun, son of Atticus Finch, would be considered a gentleman. (CM)On Scout's second day of school, she was beating up Walter Cunningham for getting her into trouble and Jem pulled her off of him and said, "Let him go, Scout."(CM)This was showing that Jem was a "noble" and good man, for he knew that beating up Walter was wrong. (SD)Mrs. Dubose is also considered a lady in the eyes of Atticus. (CM)Mrs. Dubose was recovering from a morphine addiction, killing, weakening and destroying her a little each day (Loose/Taffy Sentence). (CM)After her death, Atticus explains to Jem that she was a "Great lady" and just because she "had her own views about things," it didn’t make her a bad person. (SD)Boo Radley was a man; Boo Radley was a human; Boo Radley was a gentleman (Anaphora). (CM)On the way back from school, Mr. Ewel was trying to kill Jem and Scout when Mr. Arthur Radley (Boo) saves them both and brings Jem back home; Atticus later says, "Thank you for my children Arthur." (CM)During this, Boo shows extreme bravery, kindness, and courage, which makes him a gentlemen. (CS)There are many people in To Kill a Mockingbird and also in my own life who I would considered a gentlemen or lady.

_____(TS)A gentleman or lady always is kind, moral, polite and gracious, and I know many people who fit this description. (SD)One of these great people would be my father. (CM)My dad is always "civilized, educated, sensitive [and a] well-mannered man," but he is also very polite (Dictionary.com). (CM)My dad, Nick Burlingham, is always trying to do the right thing which makes him moral and is very conscious of those around him; a few weeks ago, a man dropped about 200 dollars, and my dad gave it back to him, before the man noticed it was gone. (SD)Another example of a gentleman would be my Uncle Sean. (CM)He always does the right and polite things such as holding doors, pulling out chairs for others and helping people carry heavy loads. (CM)Last time I saw him, we were in Providence, Rhode Island and he was helping a man in a wheel chair go up the stairs. (SD)In addition, I know one major "Great lady" who I call Mibby. (CM)She always makes things "good again," and is highly respected by all her friends. (CM)If she owes you something, she will pay it, even if she doesn't have enough money. (CS)There are many gentlemen and great ladies in my life and they are all highly respected by everyone.

_____(TS) Gentlemen and ladies come in many types of people such as lawyers like Atticus, and mothers like Mibby (CM) According to me, a gentleman and a lady are not only noble, polite, and moral, but are also conscious of those around them. (CM)People with these qualities are not readily noticed for they don't demand recognition for their good deeds. (CS)Some of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird and also some people in my life are considered gentlemen and ladies.

Essay 16 Self Assessment

Colin

Mr. Salsich

8 English

3/2/10

1.__One issue I am continuing to work on.

_____In essay 16, I am continuing to work on the punctuation with the poems because I am not shore on where there is a comma or period.

2.__A strong point in my writing.

_____I think one of the strong points in my writing is it is unlike any other writing in my class.

3.__One posable week point.

_____One week point in this essay is how well it flows together.

4.__What grade would I give myself?

_____I would give my self a B.

essay 16

2/25/10

Forgotten

Dear Reader,
_____This is an unusual essay involving four genres: two Haiku poems, an interior monologue, a newscast, and an expository paragraph. It all follows the theme of "Forgotten" in the book To Kill a Mockingbird.

*****
Who is that sad man?
I do not remember him.
He's been forgotten...

*****

_____We interrupt this broadcast for an important bulletin. Our sources say more and more people are being forgotten each day. Local Tom Robinson, after being convicted for rape and was shot to death, has left the hearts of every man or women in Maycomb. Our sources also indicate that Mayella Ewell has also been forgotten. With no friends and little family, she is forced to live out her days in solitude, working for food and money. Yesterday, Mr. Ewell, Mayella’s father, was killed during an attempt to kill Jem and Scout Finch. He was supposedly drunk and angry about the way the court case turned out, even though he won. We will get back to you with more news soon and tune in at eleven for the full story.

*****

____This morning I looked out my window wondering about Boo Radley. Thinking about how he has been forgotten after all these many years. He has no friends and his family cares not for him. They just keep him in his house, locked away in his room. Nobody talks about him; nobody thinks about him; and nobody knows him. He is like a lost soul, wondering this world, trying to be remembered, except, he can’t be seen, so it does no good. I wish I could help. I wish he could have Jem and me for friends. I remember all those summers ago, we found those soap sculptures and all those rare treasures. Jem and I should make him something like a drawing or a card saying we will be his friends. He will never be forgotten as long as he has that. We will never be forgotten.

*****

_____(TS)Many people have been forgotten. (SD)There are many characters in To Kill a Mockingbird who have been forgotten and one of them is Boo Radley. (CM) People used to talk about him all the time and they would play games about him. (CM)But now, nobody ever mentions Boo and he sits in solitude, waiting to be remembered. (SD)Another person who has been forgotten is Tom Robinson. (CM)He was once loved and known, but ever since he died, all cease to remember him. (CM)They don’t remember who he was, they don’t remember what he was like, and they don’t remember why he died. (CS)Many people have and will continue to be forgotten.

*****

Deep in the low bank,

There lies a shell lost in time.

Who remembers it?

*****

Essays 14 and 15

Colin Burlingham
Mr. Salsich
8th Grade Assessment
2/9/10

The Westerly Warm Shelter:
An Essay about My Experiences
At the Warm Shelter in Westerly RI

Going to the Warm Shelter in Westerly, Rhode Island, was an experience I will never forget. This was a very rewarding journey for me, during which I met many people less fortunate than myself and I was able to help in many significant ways. I learned that my perception of the homeless was wrong and society’s prejudices against the homeless must stop. I am willing to fight for what is right to overcome these prejudices, a lesson also evident in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
I selected the Warm Shelter in Westerly for my assessment project because, as family and home are important to me, I have always felt compassion for the homeless. Whenever I pass a homeless man on the side of the street, lying down in the back allies, using an old newspaper for warmth, with nowhere to go, I often feel sorry for these unwanted souls with not a dime to their name. When it was time to pick a site for the Assessment Project, I remembered seeing these sad people on the side of the street begging for food, and I felt I needed to help them in some small way. When I saw the local Warm Shelter on the list, I was instantly intrigued and checked it out on their website. I found out that the Warm Shelter in Westerly, Rhode Island, was unique as it not only feeds the homeless, but also houses them and teaches them the skills to become independent. The facility houses nineteen adults, who get checked for drugs and alcohol randomly, and there, the people learn the skills that are necessary in life. There are eight more apartments throughout the town of Westerly: two are for crisis situations and the other six are for families, who can stay for up to three years. I seized this opportunity to volunteer at the shelter because I wanted to learn about homelessness and see what was involved in getting the people back on their feet. During one week, I was fortunate enough to visit the shelter for five consecutive days, which not only helped me connect with the residents, but also helped the residents learn to trust me. By the end of the assessment project, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and I decided to continue to volunteer even though the project was officially over. I went to the Warm Shelter to learn about the homeless, but I also discovered a lot about my self in the process.
The challenges of volunteering at the shelter were limited, but there were some difficult ones generally involving the other volunteers. On one of my many trips, I was working with two women, who were very possessive with their food responsibilities. While they were in the midst of a conversation, a man showed up for dinner, so I figured I would serve him and not interrupt the two women. I picked up the ladle to give him food, when one of the ladies jumped in front of me, grabbed the ladle right out of my hand, and told me to serve the bread; she wanted to serve the hot food. Following the rules was also a challenge as I wanted to take the initiative and give these depraved people more food. When my friend, known as the “beanie-weenie man” requested more food, immediately I wanted to give him another serving of food. However, one of the women, who made the food, would not give out any more food until six twenty though there were ample amounts and dinner stopped being served at six thirty; the man left still hungry. Another one of the challenges I encountered was trying to communicate and understand some of the people. There were only a few people who were actually willing to talk with me, but most of them would politely say thank you and walk away. There was one man who I could not understand at all because he mumbled while talking quietly in a deep voice and I didn’t want to insult him by saying “What?” too many times, but I only saw him once in all my visits to the shelter. Though the challenges were few, I was able to overcome them and work through them as they rose.
At the shelter, I believe my time volunteering has helped many people in positive ways. By taking the time out of my extremely busy schedule, I was able to lighten the load and take the pressure off of other volunteers. I worked hard and diligently and the residents were all extremely appreciative of my assistance. The people at the shelter were constantly impressed with how hard I was working and they repeatedly complimented me on my “exceptional service.” Another thing that helped bring consistency into peoples’ lives was seeing a familiar face as I went every day for a short period of time and during my visits, I showed up on time every day and was never late. Other volunteers generally sign up once a month and sometimes they don’t even come, which puts pressure on Zigi, the cook, who has to cook and then serve the food to the homeless if there are no volunteers. Zigi relies on me to show up and this helps him from becoming overworked or stressed out. I also helped in a practical way one day when all my visits were completed; I was in the car with my dad when I saw a man I recognized on the side of the road. He needed to get somewhere so we stopped, picked him up, and drove him to True Value in Mystic. He went to buy a car from his friend, so if we didn’t help, he would have never gotten the car and been able to drive to the places he needed to go. I understand that I only went to the shelter a few times and that homelessness will continue to be a serious issue, but I believe I made a small difference for a few individuals on those days I volunteered.
Over the past few weeks of volunteering at the shelter, my knowledge of homelessness has been increased significantly; for example, I found out that “poverty is the core cause of homelessness in America and is directly related to our current economic condition” (Articlet.com, pg. 1). One of the many things I learned was about the Rhode Island Coalition for the homeless, an organization that provides programs to heighten the awareness of homelessness in Rhode Island and get people involved in order to help end this serious problem. I never realized how many people have been truing to spread the word about homelessness and this got me thinking; why have I not heard anything about the situation in all my fourteen years I’ve been living here? This group works hard to achieve goals through outreach programs, advocacy, and policy changes in the state, but it also strives to provide permanent housing for the homeless people. In the past, people used to think mental illness and substance abuse were the main causes of homelessness, but the list has grown. Today, people become homeless because of unemployment, low paying jobs, lack of affordable housing, no health insurance, and loss of public assistance programs. Currently, about twenty percent of the homeless have full and part-time jobs, or their own apartment or house, but because of the economy today, even having a job can’t protect you from poverty. One of the most shocking things I discovered during my research was that Rhode Island alone has an unemployment rate at 12.9 percent this year. And this is the third highest unemployment rate in America, which is just behind Nevada at second and Michigan at the first. That is a big percentage for such a small state and contributes immensely to the amount of homeless people; in addition, almost 18% of all the children in America were at risk of starving last year. The Warm Shelter and the Rhode Island Coalition for the homeless both help solve these problems by providing food, money, transportation and healthcare to the less fortunate, and without their help, I’m sure we would be seeing more and more homeless people in our towns. My understanding of the current homelessness situation has grown immensely and I will try to further my learning in order to help the community.
The homeless people and some of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird share similar qualities: they are discriminated against; they are hated; and they are treated as second-class citizens. In the novel, blacks were discriminated against for the color of their skin. People called them names such as “darky” or “negro” and whites looked down on poor black communities. An example of this would be Mr. Ewel taking Tom Robinson to court for raping a white girl; even though Tom Robinson was innocent, he was convicted by a white jury and the court system wasn’t able to give him a fair trial because of the color of his skin. The homeless are victims of prejudice too, and many people turn their backs on them. Most people believe all the homeless are drug addicts or alcoholics, when most of them are not. People also believe the homeless are not educated or have gambling problems and are therefore looked down upon and treated poorly with prejudice like the blacks in To Kill a Mockingbird. In Harper Lee’s book, Boo Radley is a victim of prejudice too. Boo has not seen the light of day in many years, and after so long, people began making up rumors about him such as, “When people’s azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them,” and they called him names like the “Malevolent phantom” (Lee, pg 10). In Maycomb, the Radleys were also the only family that closed their doors and many people found this extremely strange, and judged them because of their different ways. To Kill a Mockingbird and the real world both have people who treat others with prejudice and discriminate against them because of their misinformed opinion.
Becoming more aware of prejudice was one of the many lessons that I learned while volunteering at the Warm Shelter and I am determined to take a stand against it in my own life, but if I had more volunteering opportunities, I would have tried to help in more ways. One of the things I wanted to do was cook dinner for the homeless people one night. This would have been a rewarding and a challenging experience, considering I have never cooked for fifty to eighty people. Salads, soups, pastas, and raviolis were served repetitively during my many visits and I think that the people in the shelter would have enjoyed a bigger variety in meals such as chicken, steak, or even ribs on some nights. In addition, I would have also tried to do different types of tasks with the homeless. Every single time I volunteered, I served dinner and it would have made a pleasant change to serve lunch, work in the store, or help Joy, the volunteering coordinator, with her job. Plus, I missed all of the big fundraising events that the shelter sponsors, such as the Penguin Plunge or the Winter Gala, and it might have been enjoyable to help setup for those events or help run them. This frustrated me because I enjoyed working there a lot, and I didn’t want to stop. The closest date I could schedule was in the beginning of February and by then, there might be a different crowd there and the people might not recognize me. It may be too late to change things now, but as I continue to volunteer there, I might attempt to cook a meal, with some help.
This unforgettable adventure; this blessing has changed my perception of the needy in the area. I never imagined there were so many homeless here in Westerly. Each trip shocked me with the amount of poor people who came for the meals and I saw at least three new people every time I served. To see so many homeless in this relatively wealthy area made me feel sad and ashamed. Another thing I noticed was the way those people lived. The typical “hobo” you imagine is a man in old or torn clothes on the side of the street begging with a tin can, or a man sleeping in a cardboard box in an alley, but when I learned about the people while serving, most of them had apartments or were given rooms at the shelter and just couldn’t afford food. This shocked me, but I am glad that my preconceptions of the homeless were wrong. One of the most significant things I noticed was the way those brave people were dressed. They looked like anyone I would pass on the street and I always thought the homeless would be in rags or torn up clothing. Now, my perception of the homeless has changed and I realize there are different levels of being homeless. Volunteering at the shelter has made a lasting impression on me, as I now realize how many people in my comfortable community are truly in need, and that I can make a difference.
This life-changing experience I had at the Warm Shelter is something that I will always remember; not only was it rewarding, but I feel that I was able to help and contribute to the problem of homelessness. I met many unfortunate people who just never got a second chance at life and not only did my perception of the homeless change, but I also got to know and further my understanding of these people at the shelter. If it is possible, I would like to continue volunteering at the local shelter and help all the people in need in a variety of ways. My earlier prejudices about the homeless have been put to rest, and unlike the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, I plan to keep an open mind and not let prejudices hold me down.