I'm College Bound

1) When I saw my grade point average. I was actually not extremely surprised. I usually check my powerschool about once a week and since 6th grade when we actually started getting letter grades I am used to seeing only A's. Sometimes they are easy to receive, and other times I have to work really hard to get them, but that is the norm. It is what is expected of me, by my parents, but also by my own self.

2) The three schools I researched were, UCLA, USC, and SDSU. I learned that at UCLA, which is where I would really like to go, (for now at least) 92% of students had a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher. At USC, 50% of students had a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher, and at SDSU, 25% of students had a high school GPA of 3.75 or higher. I also learned that at UCLA there are 4,472 degree seeking freshman, and 26,687 total undergrad students. (My brother is one of those!!) The total cost for in-state tuition and fees at UCLA yearly is, $10,781, and the room and board, $13,734. At USC, the yearly tuition is, $41,172, and $11580 for room and board. At SDSU, the yearly tuition is, $5,206, and $11485 for room and board.

3) Since we are only in October I know that I am still going to have to work hard to maintain my GPA. I don't really have a system or a strict schedule, but I seem to be pretty self-sufficient when it comes to managing myself and making sure I get all my work done. I know that may not seem true because I didn't get anything but painting done today, but I feel like by now I have developed a sense of knowing myself and knowing that I can accurately evaluate my need for promptness on a case by case basis. Sometimes it may seem like I am slacking or not making good use of my time, but I am not that way all the time, and the way I work consistently allows me to get A's so I choose not to change things. I swear I am a good student!

Sensory Writing: Touch

When my hand was put in the vase my immediate reaction, was surprise. I was not expecting what I felt. The object felt slimy, and cold. The chill of it was the most instantly noticeable characteristic of the object. It was mushy like a marsh or a swamp. The texture was that of a heavy and soggy cloud. It was like fluffy feathers that you would find in a pillow. It was a liquid and a solid at the same time. It was odd how it felt like something you would be able to mold, yet when you were too rough it would fall apart and out of your hands. Even though it felt very slimy, nothing ever oozed onto your hands and after touching it, my hands actually felt sticky, not dripping with some weird slime. The texture was smooth, until it fell apart, then it turned into a sack of potatoes.

Sound is Art

This sound made me feel happy. It made me feel young. It created an image in my mind, almost like a memory, even though the memory I was recalling never actually happened. I could picture being taken back to a time when I was a child having one of my first birthdays. Experiencing all the joy that comes with birthdays when you are still naive. When a year still feels like forever to wait until the next time this special moment occurs. The familiar joyful tune combined with the music-box like quality of the sound took control of my mind completely. It was heaven how the way that the song had little imperfections dispersed through it made it that much more accurate in giving it the feel of a distant memory. The way the quality of the sound is aged, and slightly dull makes you fell like you are actually there in the moment. Close your eyes and let the short sweet noise make an impact on you. Birthdays lately don't mean as much as they used to. It feels like I am losing my innocence. Like I'll never be able to recapture the emotions that used to be brought on so easily by something that now seems so insignificant like hearing happy birthday sung to me. This sound made me smile, the various high pitched notes that sound resemblent to tings played one after another in such a specific order. But the way that this sound made me feel and the thoughts it brought up were bittersweet.


http://margaretnoble.net/blog/happy-birthday-sound-is-art/

Mexican White Boy Part 3

I think that, while nothing specifically comes to mind, being a human, by nature you could feel out of place in any situation. Regardless of your age, gender, or where you live, I think that every person in the world has felt to some extent how Danny is feeling. I feel uncomfortable every time I feel like I am an outsider, or like I don't fit in. Personally, I don't feel like I fit in any more or less with a certain standard of people. Sometimes, the most alone you can feel is when you don't allow yourself to fit in. But you don't want to allow yourself to fit in by compromising yourself, but you should allow yourself to be open to different people and trying to understand, where they are coming from, and how they feel.

Mexican White Boy Part 2

1) I think that the reason Uno regrets hitting Danny has to do with what I said in part 1, about how the real reason he hit him was because he was jealous of him. I think when Uno hit Danny, it was a rash decision and if he had thought about what he was doing, he wouldn't have done it. If Uno thought Danny really deserved to be hit, then he wouldn't regret his decision, but because the main reason he hit him, was out of jealousy, he couldn't justify to himself that Danny really deserved to be hit. I predict that Uno will get to know Danny, and they might even become friends which will make him feel even worse about hitting him. Then I think, he will say something to imply that he is sorry, like he feels bad, or it was wrong of him, and he will express his remorse to Danny, but I don't think the actual words I'm sorry will ever come out of his mouth. I think that has a lot to do with Uno being proud, and also it might have to do with him not liking what he did. He won't want to accept the fact that he hurt someone that he shouldn't have.

2) I think that Danny doesn't do as well in front of the Leucadia Prep boys because he is nervous in front of them. He feels like he has something to prove to them because they have already proven themselves. By being on a real organized team, and having people coming to scout them in solidifies the idea that they are the real deal. Whereas in National City, he feels like if he messes up it doesn't matter, because it is just a bunch of boys playing stickball in the street and it is insignificant to the rest of the world.

Mexican White Boy Part 1

I think that Uno hit Danny because he was angry at him. But, I don't think that he was angry at him because he accidentally hit Manny with the bat. If it had been any of the other people that Uno was playing baseball with, who hit Manny, Uno would not have gotten so upset and hit them. But, when Uno hit Danny, it wasn't beacause he hit Manny with the bat, because Uno was looking for an excuse to hit Manny since he met him. He didn't like Manny since he got there, originally because he was new and Sophia was treating him better than he was treating Uno, but then, after Danny hit the ball over both roofs the first time, that's what made Uno go from disliking Danny, to purely hating him. Uno was jealous of Danny, he was jealous of Danny's skill in baseball especially during this summer in particular when Uno was so sure that he was going to be the fastest, the strongest, and he was going to become rich off of playing the game. It didn't even occur to him that someone would be able to take that away from him, and when Danny came out of nowhere, Uno felt like Danny was better than him, like he was replacing him, so when he got the chance to hit him, he did, and he reacted how most people in any similar situation would have.

Who Am I?...

I am Ariana Giovanelli. I like and dislike many things, and I have strong opinions on most everything. Sometimes weather or not people agree with me will shape my view on things, but that happens less and less anymore. I love my family, and friends, but I have never had a relationship, good or bad, where we did not argue, disagree, whatever you want to call it, at least once. I like to think of myself as outgoing, but I can be shy in some situations. When I feel uncomfortable I tend to just try to draw as little attention to myself as possible, but that also happens less and less anymore. Everything and everyone in my life has shaped my perspective, my personality, and how I act, weather I would like it to, or not. I want my loved ones to feel proud of me, but I also want to have fun and do what I want to. I try very hard to find a good balance of work, and play, but it doesn't always work out and sometimes, my priorities get a little screwed up. I think I really have an excellent judge of character. I am judgemental, even though I try not to be, but I feel like it is human nature and even though I have strong opinions on people and things, I try not to let them effect how I treat people or let it prevent me from getting to know them how they see themselves. As my life has progressed, I have learned more about myself, and my habits of mind and the way I think about and process things, but I know I will never know everything about myself and I am okay with just having to embrace the mystery.