Assignment 14 - Peter Marino

My normal Thanksgiving is a family reunion at my grandmother’s house in Ohio. I don’t know if you know anything about Ohio, but it may well be the most boring state in all of the United States. If it weren’t for my cousins, I think I would go insane. My Thanksgiving usually consists of getting into trouble and shenanigans with my cousins. One year in particular, it was really bad. I was about eight at the time. The oldest of my cousins was around 12 and the youngest was around 5. For some reason we all decided it would be a good idea to walk to Kroger and but a dozen five hour energies. Normally, the cashier wouldn’t allow a bunch of kids to drink an adult energy drink, but self check out didn’t think twice. We all thought it was hilarious and even had code names for all the stuff we were doing. Well it was all fun and games until my cousin started going insane and rammed her forehead into the sharp corner of a table. It was at this point that things went all downhill, with her needing stitches being at the bottom.

Assignment 13 - Peter Marino

Africa needs water to avoid death due to dehydration. In order to solve this problem, America needs to transport all of its water to Africa. They would be delivered in water balloons so we could equally allocate all of the water. Now, I know what you are thinking. What about us? Well, I have the perfect solution. We all just need to go on a strict Dr. Pepper diet for our liquids. By my calculations, along with several other smart math people, we can all sustain ourselves on Dr. Pepper. Our plan is that the North would drink diet and the South would drink regular. For the East, they would drink cherry flavored Dr. Pepper, and the West would drink vanilla. Now, I know we would eventually get bored of these flavors, so I have implemented a very practical plan. With the start of each season, the flavors will switch to the next region clockwise. By our math calculations, we will sustain all life in Africa.

Assignment 12 - Peter Marino

I am a very go with the flow person. I don’t really like to plan out anything. I don’t like to know what my day has in store for me. So, I would want my roommate to know that I am very forgetful about things and apologize in advance for the things I will definitely forget. An example of this was just last tuesday. That day in particular, we had not one, but two vocab quizzes I was unaware of. It was a nice surprise for me. I am also the kind of person that does things at the last moment. I’m not really sure when these blog posts are due, but I was just informed they are due tomorrow, and I don’t want to do them on a Sunday. I am also the kind of person that gets up at the last moment possible. On an average school day, I usually get up at around 7:50. I am lucky though because I live close enough that I can walk to school. I don’t really know if I’m lucky though because that means I can’t drive to school.

Assignment 11 - Peter Marino

My choice in my seating partner is either the column or Matthew David, so I’ll go with the real person. I hadn’t ever really talked to Matthew David until this year because we didn’t have any classes together until this year. All I pretty much know about Matthew David is that he plays tennis and works at chick-fil-a. Other than that, he’s a pretty chill dude. We talk about random stuff with Tag when we aren’t doing anything and it’s never really incredibly boring. Just boring sometimes. If I had to give a color to him, it would probably be orange, because it’s the first color I thought of and I don’t really associate colors with personalities. In five years I see Matthew David cramming for a final in med school because I’m pretty sure he wants to be a doctor or something. His animal is a sloth, but not in a mean way. I say that just because he’s always tired in class.

Assignment 10 - Peter Marino

Foot cramps. I know it sounds silly but I am terrified of having foot cramps. It’s a genetic thing I inherited from my mom. For some reason randomly, every other day or so, I will experience the worst pain imaginable. For ten minutes I am completely immobilized until I eat a banana. Maybe the potassium helps or something, but if I don’t eat a banana every day I will cramp up. I don’t really think I can describe the pain. It’s like my bones are bending and are trying to get as far away from each other as possible. I know that doesn’t make any sense but that’s how it feels to me. I’m not really afraid of anything, but just thinking about getting foot cramps gives me the chills. It can happen at any time which is the worst part about it. I could just be chillin there, ya know, eating my Brussels sprouts, and then I’m just on the floor screaming in pain. It’s just not a good time.

Assignment 9 - Peter Marino

I don’t think there is ever a time for war. However, other people do not feel this way and it becomes necessary to protect ourselves. I believe war is only necessary when another nation or group is willing to cause harm against another. It becomes necessary to preserve the peaceful state of other lands by going to war and preventing the desecration of lands. This is not morally right. It the lesser evil of the situation. Either way, people will die, and at that point, too many people will have died. A country is obligated to go to war when their allies or the peace of an innocent nation is at stake. The alternative to this is hoping that the war will die out eventually. This is worse than doing nothing. This is being the bystander when a bully is beating up on a kid or when an old person is being robbed. Sometimes negotiation isn’t a choice, and when this happens, it is sometimes necessary to go to war.

Assignment #14- Noah Ford

My family has a host of traditional traditions, and then the expected family idiosyncratic traditions. My father is the one who is extremely holiday oriented in our family, and his favorite times of year are Christmas and July the Fourth. When these two times of year roll around, my dad goes nuts.

During Christmas, and the 24 days leading up to Christmas, my dad decorates like crazy. We get a 7 foot tall (minimum) tree and then decorate it with garlands, ornaments, and lights. Last year, my dad put 1600 light bulbs on our tree. I didn't even bother trying to count the amount of ornaments that he put on it.  My dad gets out stockings and hangs them over the mantle. On Christmas morning, he spends thirty minutes rearranging our gifts. Then, once we come down and start opening gifts, he takes notes on what we get and who its from so that we can write handwritten notes to the giver. I love this time of year a lot, but honestly, his preparations can get a little exhausting. After we hang the lights and half the ornaments, I start to get really bored.

For July the Fourth, Dad is only about 60% as crazy as at Christmas. He hangs up giant American flags all along the front porch, and I believe that we have 10 of these. When we were younger, we loved going to firework stalls that were advertised on the side of the road and then buying a ton of fireworks. We used to go to our grandpa's lakehouse to set off these fireworks, but due to his death, that is no longer an option. Now, we go to Idle Hour to watch the hour long fireworks display there. It's the best display in town because of how long it is and the quality of fireworks they use.

Our traditions are pretty traditional, and don't vary much from other families, but they are ours all the same.

Assignment 14: Flying Turkeys

The stock image of Thanksgiving involves a lot of people around a nicely decorated table with a large turkey and a ridiculous amount of extra food. This image doesn't always depict the reality of the holiday though.

What does your Thanksgiving look like? Do you enjoy the holiday? What is your strangest or most wonderful memory of the holiday?

OR

What are some of your family traditions in general?  Holiday or otherwise.

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, December 1 at 11:59 pm

December 2 is the last day to make up blogs 9-15

Assignment 13- Abby Shad- Ocean Pollution

Well, for starters, it's not practical. Where are we going to live when we over pollute the earth? Think about it. According to the Jonas Brothers, in the year 3000, not much has changed except we live underwater. Those reefs will provide a roof over our heads, and those sea anemones a soft pillow for our children. One of the most fearsome predators on earth-the shark- is now our neighbor! An automatic bodyguard. The friendly turtle too! Except one night he goes out to get his takeout meal, and in a bite of yummy "jellyfish" he never returns. But first the earth, and now this? Not to mention the trash island the size of France in the Pacific. Actually, I propose using it to build our underwater houses. They need to be durable right? Problem solved. Thirsty? Just pluck one out of the speckled and colorful brown water and fill it right up! It's a good thing we have so much water on earth.

Assignment #13: Noah Ford

People who talk incessantly need to be silenced. We need to have a system in place so that we can report ramblers. My system is a three strikes and you're out process to lower stress and keep the world going smoothly. Scientists say that chit-chatters actually reduce moral by 75% and lower working efficiency by 50%. Imagine someone waits for you everyday at work and then keeps talking to you from the time you arrive to the time you leave. Take John Smith for example; he told me about a certain coworker that prevented four people from working due to the non-stop interruptions. Humans can't multitask, but that coworker sure tried his hardest to make that a false statement. Eventually, Smith gave up and told his boss, but the damage was already done. The company had lost too much money and had to close down. See, this is what happens when we let people just babble.

So, I propose that we give a chit-chatter three strikes before punishment. After three strikes, the compulsive rambling individual (CRI) will be detained for a period of one week, during which they will be put into solitary confinement and subjected to a one-tone, constant, white noise. The objective is to make them understand what people are subjected to by them. I've been assured by one Dr. Doofenshmirtz this will cause about 25% of CRIs to cease their annoying behaviour and become productive members of society. But that means 75% of CRIs are left. 

This is where it gets slightly morally shaky. Doofenshmirtz also assured me that this will cause 50% of the starting CRIs to cease. I propose that we place CRIs with 6 strikes into a room and then shock their brains and make these ramblers lose what is left of their already feeble ability to stop themselves from talking. We then place the delinquents into a room with a bright flashlight set to strobe, and then we tell the pests that in order to make the flashlight stop, they need to stop talking. Scientifically, the strobe light will brainwash the talker into thinking they need to stop talking. Once the brainwashing sets in, we give the redeemed a special shirt they are forced to wear in public, and it lets people know that a strobe light will stop their rambling. This would require the government giving every member of society a strobe flashlight, but that cost would be more than covered by the increase in work efficiency that would result from the lack of CRI's.

Finally, that remaining 25%. this is more costly by far than either of the beginning solutions. I propose that we set up a mass of land that contains everything needed for a modern civilization but it is entirely disconnected from the outside world. When a CRI reaches 9 strikes they are moved to this new country. These new CRI's will be delivered on the first of every month. I have already been assured support by 12 countries, and I plan to submit the entire plan at the next United Nations meeting. I believe that we can conquer chatterboxes and finally get the peace and quiet we deserve!

Assignment 11- Hayden Caldwell- Getting to Know my Neighbors

A lot of my experience in a given class depends upon who I sit next to because I enjoy talking to people and getting to know them. Fortunately, I sit next to Will and Andrea and this year has been very enjoyable because they are both great people to know! Andrea sits to my left and I have known her since sophomore year. She was in two of my classes last year and is in another two of mine this year. She enjoys playing lacrosse and listening to music, most commonly rap or Latino music. She also loves to hang out with her friends, including Andrei, Penelope, Taylor, and Elizabeth. She is surprisingly good at air hockey, something I found out the hard way at her birthday party. If I were to use a color to describe Andrea, I would go with orange because she is generally happy, creative, and fun to be around.

I’ve known Will since freshman year when he was in my Spanish class. We’ve had at least a class together every year since. He enjoys playing ultimate frisbee and started an ultimate frisbee club at Henry Clay that has seemed to draw a lot of members. He likes to hang out with his friends Eli, Ezra, and Justin. Will is by far the best GamePigeon text game player I’ve known. It doesn’t matter the game; he’s good at all of them. His favorite is anagrams where he frequently faces Eli. If I had to use a color to describe Will, it would be blue because he’s always chill and never in a bad mood. He’s very approachable and kind while also having a great sense of humor. 

These two people have helped make my school year very enjoyable, especially in AP Lang. Thanks guys!

Assignment 13: Swazey Sexton: A simple change

For those that know me, I am nowhere near an openly political person, but I do have opinions. Very strong opinions about how our government should be handled and addressed by those who run it. And while I may not be the most politically educated, I can see what political education can do to a person and their perception of people, and so currently my ignorance is my bliss.
The point I'm trying to get at here is that, polarization is a dramatic issue in our society, it pits people of our country against one another. In fact it seems every aspect of our government seems to be putting us on edge. So, with that in mind, I'd like to look back to the words of our founding fathers. More specifically to Thomas Jefferson and the Deceleration of Independence where he lists certain unalienable rights granted to us. The classics are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but the one I want to bring attention to is the right to overthrow and rebuild any governments that do not please the people. So let's round up all of the major political figures and throw them into a combat arena and sit back and watch a Purge style combat while we commoners draft up new ideas and ideals regarding legal rights and how government will work. Maybe this time we'll outlaw political parties all together and make it illegal to express political bias so as no one can become divided based off of those beliefs. Only elected politicians will be able to express ideas and even then only rarely in regards to small issues.

Assignment 12- Hayden Caldwell- A Redo of Freshman Year

Moving away to a new city where you know nobody is a daunting prospect that intimidates most. It intimidated me in the eighth grade too. When I moved from Union, Kentucky to Lexington I knew nobody. I had to pass the litmus test as a person in a very similar way to what I will have to do in college. Thankfully, my college friends will never have to meet high school freshman Hayden and will hopefully only have to deal with a more mature version of me. If the last comment was any indication, anyone who knows me knows I’m hypercritical of myself and can question my words and actions days after they happen. While this can sometimes have very negative effects, I feel as if my criticisms of myself drive me to be a better person and avoid past mistakes. I always feel like I’m a work in progress and each day is an opportunity to better myself as a person to be a better servant of others. As for other things my roommate would need to know, I’m very active and love going places and playing sports. I love to explore my community and develop great friendships through activities in the community I participate in. I also enjoy face-to-face social interaction and getting to know others. Finally, I have the typical lack of organization one would expect from a high school guy, but that’s a work in progress and I don’t appreciate immense unorganization. Hopefully by college that issue will be fixed. Throughout high school, I’ve improved personally and strive to continue that improvement to correct my wrongdoings the first move I made. 

Assignment 11 - Jordan Grady - My Neighbors

To my left is Katherine. To my right is Rob. Funnily enough, I have known my neighbors since middle school, however over the course of this school year, sitting next to them has allowed me to get to know them a little better. I know both Katherine and Rob are members of the Young Republicans Club. I, on the other hand, am the opposite. Regardless of our political beliefs and club choices, we all seem to have common interests in television shows and movies, often discussing what we’re watching and our opinions on them. If I were to describe Katherine as a color, she would be light blue. When I think of light blue, it think of a genial demeanor. Like Katherine, light blue represents friendliness and an overall positive attitude. If I were to describe Rob as a color, he would be orange. The color orange makes me think of someone who is very determined. Like orange, Rob seems to be very hardworking and likes to participate in class.

Assignment 10 - Jordan Grady - Zombies Would Probably Win

Zombies, zombies everywhere! When it comes to the fight or flight reflex, is there a “frozen with fear” option? Considering my inability to make it through a haunted house, a real zombie apocalypse would probably be fatal for me. If by some miracle, I came to my senses, no longer paralyzed by the sight of zombies, I would run as fast as my legs can carry me. Family in tow, I think the safest option would be to hide in the mall. Lots of supplies and plenty of hiding spots would be available. Though there are plenty of entrances and exits, we could use this to our advantage, assuring a safe way of escape if we were to be confronted by an animated corpse. If all else fails, I’d bet that their lifeless brains and rotting legs would be bewildered by the escalators, giving us time to gain speed and escape. These plans, of course, are not foolproof. If I were confronted face to face by a zombie, it would be an automatic defeat. I’m a freezer, not a fighter.

Assignment 9 - Jordan Grady - Why War?

When I think of war, I imagine the casualties and destruction, not those saved as a result. War is a tricky topic to navigate, and personally, I find it hard to justify. However, there are times in which beliefs or safety is threatened, leading to these large-scale conflicts. In a perfect world, it would be possible for all of our issues to be resolved through diplomacy and compromise. In reality, we are burdened with complexities that make this idea of a “perfect world” seem unrealistic in practice. 

There are times in which people are stripped of their rights, threatened, and physically injured. When clashing ideals or practices result in the harming of innocent civilians, the government should be held accountable for taking some sort of action. In my opinion, it is logical to go to war only if the alternative options would lead to greater harm of one’s constituents - the welfare of the people must be prioritized if agreements cannot by met without any form of violence.

Assignment 12- Madison Underwood- Self-Diagnosed Neat Freak

I am sort of an odd-ball in my family... that is, I tend to be very particular about certain things. I've done my own laundry and packed my own lunch for as long as I can remember (as opposed to many of my classmates who still do not do these things for themselves), I generally cook my own meals, and I know that if I want the bathroom that my sister and I share to be clean, I must do it myself because I don't trust my sister to do it thoroughly. I'm the kind of person that needs to have everything put in their place. Okay looking back on it, I'm starting to realize how fastidious I am about my day-to-day activities and housekeeping. So I guess I want my future roommate to be able to keep up with their things and share the chores with me, and an attentive schedule for these chores might be nice too. However, with this stated, I also fully understand that not everyone is as neat-freak as me, and I know that everyone has their bad habits. I fully recognize the fact that I always forget to flip off light switches and sometimes forget to put things back in the fridge (which always results in my mother chastising me) so I am prepared to accept the quirks of my future roommate... I just really hope they aren't a slob!

Assignment 12- Katelyn Rowell- My Ideal Roomate

It’s crazy to think that I will soon be living on campus with a roommate. I’ve never really shared a room with anyone for a long time, so having a roommate will be a new experience for me. In the past few years, I’ve discovered I’m much more of a night owl than a morning bird. I do most of my homework at night when everyone else in my house is asleep. I’m not sure why, but I’m always much more productive when it’s dark out. I would rather stay up late studying or working on a project and have classes later in the day rather than at the crack of dawn. Ideally, I would want a roommate who runs on the same schedule. As for cleanliness, I would consider myself somewhat of a neat person, so I hope my roommate would be as well. I’m okay if her things are a little messy, so long as her mess doesn’t flood over to my side. I also hope to have a roommate who is outgoing. I’m planning on going out of state for college, so I’m going to have to make new friends. Because of this, it would be nice to have an outgoing and social roommate who likes to try new things and get out of the dorm. I would much rather spend a Saturday night at a football game meeting new people than being cooped up in our tiny room.

Assignment 11- Katelyn Rowell- My Neighbors

My two neighbors are Averi and Ethan. Since our last names are so close, these two have been stuck with me in some other classes this year as well. But lucky for me, they’re both pretty good neighbors. Ethan plays the trumpet in the marching band and is a beast at any game on the computer. Being his lab partner in physics, I have also found out that he can do mental math at the speed of light. If I had to describe Ethan as a color, I would characterize him as blue since he’s so chill and laid back.
Averi is my other seat partner, and during volleyball season, I spend at least 7 hours a day with her. Despite all the time we spend together, I never get bored of talking to her. Some cool facts about Averi include that she memorized the entire periodic table one summer and knows more TikTok songs than I can count. If Averi were a color, she would be yellow because she’s always so happy, bright, and positive. Even when she tore her ACL, she left practice with a smile on her face.

Assignment 13: Cha Cha Changes!

Think of all of the things and ideas that exist in the world.

Which one bothers you the most?

Think on Jonathan Swift's "Proposal" and write your own satiric solution to your troublesome issue.

First I would spend some time watching and or reading a great deal of satire to get into in the mental mode satire requires.

To Be Absolutely Clear - 

You are writing your own SATIRE, not discussing satire.  Read lots and lots and lots of The Onion or NewCircleCircular before you start!  If you do not write a satire you will not receive credit and you will have to redo the assignment

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, November 24 at 11:59 pm

December 8 is the last day to make up blogs 9-15

Assignment 10- Katelyn Rowell- Costco is My Safe Haven

The zombie apocalypse is a subject my dad and I talk about pretty much every Sunday. We’ve had our plan decided for years now, although we tweak it every now and then. I live pretty close to Costco, so if a zombie apocalypse were to occur, it would be the first place we’d head to. Not only is Costco big, but it filled with supplies. It has everything from food to furniture to TV’s. In other words, we could survive there for a pretty long time. As for security, Costco is still a good option. There aren’t many windows and it has pretty thick walls. There is also a separate section between the main entrance and outside, adding to the building’s level of security. Whenever my dad tells anyone about our zombie apocalypse plans, he loves to add in that the zombies couldn’t get in without a Costco membership. Although we hope to keep improving our plan, my dad and I’m pretty confident that we’ll be one of the last ones standing.

Assignment 9- Katelyn Rowell- War

War is a difficult subject. Often times, I find myself not even wanting to check the news because of all violence. Upon seeing such destruction and hate, you start to lose faith in humanity. I guess the only time I think war is necessary is if it’s used as a means of defending oneself. This includes if people’s rights are being infringed upon or if a country is being attacked. However, if the situation can be avoided without violence, then I believe war should be avoided at all costs. Too many innocent lives are lost in war. Families are torn apart, homes are destroyed, and lives are forever changed.

In third grade, I read the book War Horse. While I don’t remember too much about the book, one particular chapter has stuck with me. Two soldiers from opposing sides had both stumbled across an abandoned horse. They chatted with each other for a bit and then agreed that they would flip a coin to decide who would get the horse. After simply flipping the coin, one of the soldiers said something along the lines of, “If only war could be solved this way.” The men shook hands and went their separate ways. No blood, no violence- just two men who peacefully worked out their problem.

Assignment 11- Abby Shadwick- My neighbor Swazey

My "neighbor" in Mr. Logsdon's class is Swazey Sexton. This isn't the first time. Because our last names are so close in lettering, we have sat next to each other in a few classes over the years. I am definitely comfortable with Swazey as we are familiar with each other. I know he likes punk rock, the color black, and peanut butter chocolate bars (thanks for buying my chocolate Swazey!). He seems to know a lot about bands, memes, the internet and other things of that nature. He provides excellent commentary in AP Lang, things I had never thought of. He seems to spend a lot of time with Sam, Noah and Conner. Additionally, he seems like me in the sense that he is not very outgoing in class, but out of school I can see him as an extrovert. We don't talk often, as I don't think we have much in common, but he is an overall pleasant person to sit by.

Abby Shadwick- Assignment 12- My roommate needs to know...

Honestly, having a roommate partially scares me. I'm a particular person when it comes to my schedule. When it's time to sleep, I need to sleep, and right away. I enjoy going to bed early, and mornings are my favorite time of day. I also prefer my spaces to be clean. You can fill in the blanks of what I want my roommate to be like. On another note, I also want my roommate to have clean habits, like picking up after herself and cleaning the sink when she is done. On the topic of my roommate herself, I hope she is an interesting person, and that we have just enough, but not too much, in common. Hopefully she will be from a beach in Australia, have an amazing accent, and will bring me to visit sunny Australia in the winter. I know roommates often turn into lifelong friends though, so I am going to do my best to be understanding and caring of everything about her. It's all about the experience.

Assignment #12- Noah Ford

I am a generally relaxed guy, and I don't get bugged by much, but I get really irritated when those specific things do happen. There are three things that bug me the most; loud noises late at night, not cleaning up after yourself, and when people won't stop talking to me.

I simply cannot sleep without mostly quiet surrounding and darkness. I will toss and turn all night and it ruins my sleep. When I have less sleep, I get irritable faster, and it will digress from there. I'd probably set being quiet in college around 11:00 on a normal night, and 10:00 during the week before midterms and finals. Any later than that and my roommate is slaughtering their own chances at succeeding at college. However, I do plan on trying to get into the College of Engineering Living and Learning Program because of several reasons. The dorm room that I would be staying in for this program is actually larger than I expected. There are two separate bedrooms, a main room for the kitchen and dining room, and then the shower and bathroom. This means that lights wouldn't be a problem, only noise, which is dependent on soundproofing.

I live in an average family, with my parents, my sister and me, so I understand how fast dishes can pile up in a sink, and I don't mind picking up after myself, but I will NOT be picking up after other people. Nope. Not happening. Go be a slob somewhere else, because I am spiteful enough to leave your dishes in that sink and let them rot until you clean them yourself. I'll also take my dishes and stash them away so that you cannot use them. I am that petty, and you will experience it yourself, so take that 20 seconds to rinse off that plate and put it in the dishwasher.

I may appear to be a calm and impossible to anger guy on the outside, but I cannot take it when someone will not drop a subject and they go on and on while I am giving them subtle cues to stop. I have experienced it several times already. The most recent was during one of my classes, and this guy saw me playing a game that he happened to play, and for the next 45 minutes, he went on and on and on. I tried to say "shh, the teacher is talking," only giving them noncommittal grunts to what they were saying, and so on, but they went on and on. It got so annoying I gave up and told him to stop talking to me for the day, and then moved away. I think this is something everyone gets irritated by, unless they possess an extreme amount of patience

Other than the things that annoy me, I get along increadibly well with other tabletop gamers, people who play League of Legends, and people who watch anime and read manga. I generally keep to myself, but I wouldn't hesitate to ask for some help on a topic. That is one of the reason I'm going to apply to the CoE LLP program. The dorms are only freshmen Engineering students, meaning we can ask each other for help. This will hopefully allow me to easily make friends, because Engineers are generally nerds.

So, I am annoyed by excessive talking, late night parties, and slobs. I appreciate other Dungeons and Dragons players, League of Legends players, and fellow weebs like me. I would say I'm generally easy to get along with and I'd like to think I'm pretty neat and clean.

Assignment 11- Swazey S- My neighbor Abby

6th hour is full of a lot of interesting people, some of which I have the pleasure of knowing very personally, Abby is not one of those people. While I have sat next to her for all of the year so far, I honestly know very little about her. If we lived in  world where early 2000 high school movie tropes existed, we'd sit at the two lunch tables at the very opposite ends of the cafeteria.
The few things that I do know about her are the very base line information things that I learned from just being an observant human being at times.

Abby is one of two twins, and they have an older sister. Abby plays volley ball and recently died the ends of her hair blue for team spirit (i think). Her clique seems to be with Katherine, Beppy, and those folk from our class but like most extroverts, she seems to get along with the majority of the people in the grade. She doesn't really have any gossip to her name (which can be a positive or a negative depending on your view point), and she defies the blonde stereotype quite nicely if her vocab quiz grades can be applied across the board. She doesn't seem to want to express her opinions too much in class, but she likes to talk in a non academic setting it seems. Also, every year teachers have struggled until the last day to be able to distinguish her from her twin.

Assignment 12: I’m not crazy. I promise (College)

How do you “sell” yourself to a stranger?  For most, when you step onto your new academic home you will know no one -- so your roommate is an important safety line.  As such, it’ll be important to pick a good one.  What you would want your future college roommate to know about you?   This question asks you to share something significant about your day-to-day way of being. You can discuss just about anything here! Although you could approach this essay in a somewhat playful manner, do not be tempted to address a topic for its shock value. It’s important that your response is genuine and conveys your personality in an appropriate tone.

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, November 17 at 11:59 pm

December 8 is the last day to make up blogs 9-15

Assignment 10- Hayden Caldwell- My Worst Fear

I apologize in advance for picking objectively the most boring prompt of the four for Halloween. Sorry, but I figured that I use this prompt to explain why I chose this prompt. My biggest fear is failure, not necessarily the feeling of messing up (we’re all human and are going to do that at some point) but rather the social embarrassment that comes with putting yourself out there and falling flat on your face. I’m not exactly what one would call “good at laughing at themselves” and it shows quite a bit. Whether it’s writing a boring paper, answering a boring blog post question, or outside of AP Lang, my hatred of dancing and dressing up shows that I’m pretty much the definition of “play it safe.” While I can consciously understand that taking risks makes life more fun, it’s not exactly easy to overcome a fear. Hopefully it comes eventually, but often times I find this fear negatively affects the decisions I make. 

Assignment 9- Sam Ederington

As Salvor Hardin said in the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." The meaning of this sentence is that violence is the last resort, and incompetent people lack the means to resolve issues without violence, leaving it as their last option. Competent people, on the other hand, have no need to resort to violence because they can solve their issues through other means. War is violence between groups of countries or people. Thus, as per Hardin, war only occurs when two countries are incompetent enough to resolve their differences with each other. Is there a time for war? If you have failed every other option, than yes, if you recognize it is due to your failure as the leader of a country. War is never morally right, it is the useless ending of lives because people were unable to reconcile with each other. Countries never have a responsibility to go to war unless not doing so means even more harm to the entire world. There are always alternatives to war, that of course are more effective. Most alternatives don't require the deaths of multitudes of people, and instead involve diplomacy.

Assignment #11- Noah Ford

I was actually really relieved at the beginning of this school year, because of three reasons. The first reason is that I have been going to school with both Connor and Rob for the last 5(almost 1/2) years and so I already know them really well. The second reason is that I am a large nerd, and find it really hard to sit near people I don't know and normally end up just sitting there silently for the entire year, which leads to extreme boredom and the to constant phone gaming, which isn't good for me. The third and final reason, is that I am friends with Rob and Connor, so I don't have to try to make new ones with people that might not necessarily want new friends. Talk about awkward.

I would describe Rob as a sports fanatic and an overall easy-going and like-able guy. He does the Fantasy Football thing with his friends and he plays videogames like Madden Football and the NBA 2k games. I used to play some friendly football with Rob and Cole Knight in middle school. In fact, Rob, Cole and two other guys came over to my house during the winter in seventh grade and we played football in 10 degree weather. I know he has been on the Henry Clay Basketball team, and that he is on the Henry Clay Cross Country Team. Rob is the color Orange, mainly because he isn't aggressive or intimidating, but he is super passionate about his sports and is generally friendly. In five years, he is going to be playing college sports and attending a really nice college on scholarship for said sport. I would say that Rob is a otter because he is pretty playful.

Similarly to Rob, Connor is also pretty relaxed. He likes playing videogames, watching gaming videos, and texting people in class using Discord. He is on the Henry Clay E-Sports Team with Sam, Swazey, and Max. While I do play the same game as them, League of Legends, I am currently unable to play with them for private reasons. I've been taking classes with Connor since sixth grade and have gotten to know him pretty well. He has been a "get on your device in class" kinda guy for forever. I distinctly remember him tapping his paper with a pencil with his finger over the lead to try to disguise playing on an IPad, which was under his paper. No, it didn't work, and yes, the teacher saw through it really easily. I'd say Connor is a sloth, because of how relaxed he is. No, I am not being insulting when I say he is a sloth. I see him a part-time YouTuber in college and a full time YouTuber afterwards. Finally, Connor is the color Gray, because he is quiet but reliable, similar to Gray.

Assignment 2 - Evan Winkler

I’ve had a problem, as many other students in this class have, over the past few years of reading too few print books in my spare time. During my elementary school, and to a lesser extent my middle school, careers, I read relatively frequently, in part because of the incentive created by the system of electronic testing available on the school network (AR Testing) for students to evaluate their understanding of what they read, with the students’ participation in it being rewarded by the school.

Since I was in Elementary School, I have enjoyed nonfiction media, both visual and literary, as I discussed in my first post. These include articles, reports, online encyclopedia entries, and required reading for schoolwork, and, since I was in middle school, news and current events. However, in my spare time, i have so infrequently read physical print media that I was very hesitant to call myself a reader.

I have read a number of books for school assignments in high school, and this year that included The Great Gatsby, which I read for Seminar, Redcoats and Rebels: The American Revolution Through British Eyes, which I read for World History, and, for this class, The Teenage Brain and Writing With Style. I have learned from all the books I have read - insight into the historical climate of the 1920’s from The Great Gatsby, more information about the American Revolution from Redcoats and Rebels, more advanced language skills from Writing With Style, and  a general inspiration from various nonfiction I have read.

However, when I read The Teenage Brain last summer, I realized that I did enjoy reading books in my spare time, and I was determined to make it a habit this school year. I am currently reading Stories Of War: Korea by Rod Paschal, a collection and explanation of various firsthand accounts of the Korean War. The author explains multiple implications that the military tactics used during the Korean War had for later American conflicts, and I found this information to be very insightful for my understanding of history and warfare.

Assignment 11- Madison Underwood- My Neighbor, Evan

Junior year is the first time I have ever had a class with Evan, and I have loved getting to know him! Yes, we all know that he is an exceptionally bright student, but beyond his immense intellectual abilities, Evan is very polite and an overall great friend. He always jumps in to help me study my vocabulary flashcards and when the definition of the word is on the tip of my tongue, he is extremely helpful in prompting me to find the definition instead of him just telling me. We've also started playing cards at the end of class if we have extra time before the bell rings which is something I find myself looking forward to throughout the day. Lastly, I appreciate that Evan always has something interesting to say and also takes interest in what others say. I've had conversations with Evan about anything from our ancestral background to the prevalence of constructed languages in the modern world.  So Evan, if you are reading this, thanks for being a great friend!

Assignment 10- Swazey Sexton- What my ttrpgs have taught me.

So. Zombie Survival plans, everyone should have one strictly due to how versatile they are when it comes to application. A zombie survival plan can be applied to almost any apocalyptic scenario. So, let me educate you all on what my ttrpgs have taught me.

First things first, you need food. Food and water is always the most important strictly because they will always be the hardest to come by. Luckily for us in Kentucky, if you can get a fire going you can boil the water from any lake or creek you can find and end up with something usable. As for food, you want the things most people won't be grabbing, you want rice, jerky, root vegetables and protein shake mixes. While they might not taste the best, the long term use of them is what's important until you can start up a proper farm or whatnot. Once you have food and a couple weeks worth of water or the means to create usable water, you need travel. Staying in one place for too long is a death sentence in a zombie apocalypse, especially somewhere as crowded as Lexington. Cars are nice, but they create noise and require fuel. Bikes, skateboards, and other forms of manual transportation are going to be better. Easy to hide if raiders come by, amd don't make much noise, amd if you get tired, can easily by walked with. As to where you're travelling you can do one of two things. You can try and make it to government bunkers or other safe haven areas, or you can go to farmlands and mountain areas where there are less people and plenty of room to set up barricades, animal farms, plant farms, and where generally there are wells so you won't have to worry about water. There also lots of tools and hunting equipment for self defense. I prefer then mountain plan, but my family is from eastern Kentucky, so I know the land over in whitesburg pretty well. If we're going with the whitesburg plan, the first thing you need to do once there is set up a farm, find good hunting grounds, just secure a sustainable food source cause without food and water you aren't doing anything. After that, barricades, sturdy, tall, and multilayered barricades. Considering we're following the idea that runners and heavy zombies have a possibility of existing, you need them to be able to withstand a lot, amd having multiple in place is never a bad idea. After that, you can work on the comfort and livability of it. Try and set up communication networks. Or take time into learning something new. Just find a way to make life bearable until you can relocate with proper materials, or until a search party saves you.

Assignment 10- Madison Underwood- Zombies? Peace Out!

If I were to walk down the street to see a zombie staring me straight in the eyes... I would hide. So, instead of detailing to you the totally awesome ways I could overcome an attack of slobbery beasts, I'll tell you why I wouldn't. Firstly, as much as I would like to say I am brave enough to combat against the zombie uprising, I know that the second I see one I will take cover because I am a chicken. I value my life more than I value the legacy that would be left of my name if I killed a bunch of zombies, and frankly I'd be too scared to come within 50 feet of one. Besides, who's to say that the slaughtering of these zombies is my job? As in the case of a fire where the main objective is to save children and the elderly, as far as I'm concerned, the adults in my life and of my community would rather take it upon themselves to fight zombies as opposed to sending a bunch of highschoolers- who can't even do their own laundry let alone slay a bunch of back-from-the-dead creatures. As for my plan, I would assume a zombie attack would evoke chaos, so I would either camp out at my home or in a supermarket- both have an abundance of supplies and are hopefully pretty secure.

Assignment 11: Who’s your neighbor?

You are juniors. You are in the Academy. You sit next to each other in Mr. Logsdon's class. You've been here for 11ish weeks and only 7ish to go until the end of the semester.

I think it is safe to say that you know at least a little about each other. Your understanding of each other may include extra curriculars, favorite TV shows, hobbies, but your level of familiarity may also extend into knowing each other's personality. Are they intimidating, carefree, honest?

This week, write about the person you sit next to in English class. What do they do? What are they like? What color would you characterize them as and why? Where do you see them in five years? What type of animal are they like?

I know you're in a seating chart, but you are writing about your peers. Getting to know for the past few months, I have seen you as genuinely nice people and so I expect genuinely nice things in your posts. It doesn't have to be all puppies and ice cream cones, but your entries shouldn't cut anyone down.

Minimum of 150 words - due Sunday, November 10 at 11:59 pm.

December 8 is the last day to make up blogs 9-15

Assignment 10- Abby Shadwick- Step 1: find my dad

In the case of a zombie apocalypse, my step one is to find my dad. This is for a number of reasons. First, he is an avid hunter, and over the years has amassed a collection of weapons and camouflage. After decking ourselves out in camo and collecting needed supplies, we would set up camp. The highest elevated point in Fayette County is on my dad’s property. This would make a great place to camp We can see the surrounding land for miles, including Eastern Kentucky University’s campus around 30 miles away. My dad is also an avid fisherman and has gone on a number of hunting trips from Alaska to Africa during his life. I bet our survival odds are pretty high. Not only that, he also makes me feel safe. The lush trees and forest around us but also keep us hidden. Finally my dad has a very green thumb and would also be able to grow food for the both of us. Not sure if I have any strength to add to this team because my dad does it all.