"Mariota Has Heisman Numbers" by Chris Dufresne, pg. 2, LA Times

Barring something biblical, like a swarm of locusts halting the ceremony
will become the second player from the Pacific Northwest to win the Heisman Trophy.
It has been tougher landing a Heisman in these parts than it was for Lewis and Clark to reach the coast.
It took an over-the-top season by Mariota to make this week something resembling a victory lap.
His numbers were too outrageous to ignore.
This year, pundits tried to leave a window crack open for Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon and Alabama receiver Amari Cooper.
The closest thing to scandal involving Mariota was the speeding ticket he was issued a few weeks ago.
If Mariota is putting on a nice-guy act, he also deserves an Academy award.

Framed Found Poem

The Indians' hospitality, before and after a new calamity.
With more fish and roots, they thought themselves rich.
It was a struggle to dig.
We stripped and stowed our clothes in the craft.
But that only carried them more certainly underneath.
A single roll of the sea, tossed the rest of the men into the rushing surf.
But the survivors escaped as naked as they were born.

Nuclear Power Essay

     Our state believes we should support the building of this nuclear plant in our state. Some might think we shouldn't because of the events that happened at Chernobyl and Fukushima. But, the state believes those things happened accidentally. All we have to do is make sure we don't slip up and make sure we are being careful.

 

     Nuclear power will be good for our state because it has low pollution levels unlike the fossil fuels we use today. Also nuclear power is cost effective. The costs of nuclear power are relatively low compared to how much it costs for the energy we already use. Not only does it cost less but it also will give us an abundance of energy. But, the energy we use today is limited and costs more than nuclear power. We should convert to nuclear power because of these reasons.

 

     Although there are many up sides to nuclear power there are also some down sides to the energy. Some might argue that radioactive waste is a threat to the environment. This is true but there is a way to keep it from getting into the environment. We will make sure it stays in containers and we will constantly change the containers. Also we will make strict policy for our workers to wear their protective uniforms. We need to do this because radioactive waste is dangerous for humans. "www.howstuffworks.com".

 

     We should not put nuclear power plants in places that have a lot of earthquakes like the Pacific Ring of Fire. "Against Plans For Nuclear Power Plant". Nuclear power will work better than any other method because burning gas causes large amounts of pollution and wind and solar energy aren't reliable enough. "Nuclear a cost effective energy source".

     Therefore nuclear power is our best bet because it has the biggest up side and lowest risk. We will make a big profit and we will also help the environment by converting to nuclear power. We will be very careful with it because we know what nuclear power is capable of doing. That is why we should use nuclear power.

Descriptive Essay

     During winter break I mostly slept and played video games. It was the best time of my life. The first day I slept and watched T.V. But, I also had drivers training that day. During drivers training I drove for two hours to practice for my driving test. I was so sleepy but I still had to drive, it felt like I was driving forever. I continued that routine every day all the way through Monday.

     On Christmas day I woke up at seven in the morning and tried to wake up my mom but she was too lazy to get up. I got sad and went back to sleep. I woke up at ten in the morning and I finally got my mom to get up too. I went to open my gifts and when I only saw a card under the tree I got sad but then I opened it and saw I got a debit card and some money. The next day I used some of my money to buy a new phone. The next day I went to go take my driving test. I was so nervous and I had butterflies in my stomach but in the end I did good. I only got six things wrong when the most you could get wrong was fifteen. I was so happy I couldn't stop smiling. That same day I drove all the way to Lancaster to my dad's house. It was really far but I made it even though I was really tired.

     When I got to my dad's house I slept even more and also I played even more video games. But, I also had to take care of all my little cousins. They would come every morning to wake me up at six in the morning. Then I would make them breakfast. After that they would just run around everywhere and annoy me. Then I would take nice long naps in the afternoon. On New Years Eve my stepmom cooked a lot of good food. She made macaroni and cheese, turkey, ham, dressing, and cornbread. For dessert we had chocolate cake and ice cream. I ate so good that night that I fell asleep at eight and woke up at four in the morning. I missed New Years because that food was so good. I wasn't even mad because I had such good sleep. I woke up to so many texts and everyone was mad at me because they thought i was ignoring them. After that I went home and did nothing for the rest of break. 

Civil Disobedience

     A very historical example of civil disobedience is the civil rights movement of the 1960's. In this movement people protested peacefully the segregation in the South. This was a very effective way to protest because millions of people joined Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his marches and listened to his speeches. This form of civil disobedience was more effective than others because they did not need to use violence. The civil rights movement was effective because segregation affected many peoples' lives which made them want to contribute to the movement. The civil rights movement also was effective because their boycotts and sit-in's started to gain more and more national attention as they got bigger. To gain even more national attention they would protest in more than one area. "To divert attention from the sit-in at Woolworth's, the picketing started at JCPenney's a good fifteen minutes before."(Moody, pg.208). 

     The civil rights movement was more effective than other movements because more than just African Americans helped the cause. Some of the whites in America also didn't like the idea of segregation. In an excerpt from the novel "Coming of Age in Mississippi", "A middle-aged white woman who had not yet been served rose from her seat and came over to us. I'd like to stay here with you,"she said(Moody, pg.209). This excerpt shows that more than just African Americans wanted to help the civil rights movement. Some whites had sympathy for the African Americans which is why they wanted to help. "When asked why she had said what she said to us,she replied, I am in sympathy with the negro movement."(Moody, pg.209). Even though most of the African Americans were being heckled for supporting the civil rights movement they still kept their composure and did not turn to violence as the answer. That is why the civil rights movement was effective. Moody says, "A couple of the boys took one end of the rope and made it into a hangman's noose. Several attempts were made to put it around our necks...... We kept our eyes straight forward and did not look at the crowd except for occasional glances to see what was going on."(Moody, pg.209).
     The Civil Rights movement is different from the tree-sitting because it was a national issue and it was much less effective. But, they are similar because both movements were peaceful. Although African Americans were getting attacked mentally, emotionally and physically they still managed to be peaceful protesters. The Civil Rights movements and the tree-sitting at UC Berkeley are also similar because they both used sit-in's as a form of protesting.
     An act of civil disobedience like the Civil Rights movement would not work in today's world. In today's world there would be a lot less support. Most people would not want to march because they don't feel like walking long distances or they might complain that its too hot to march. Also the police would be way more harsh. In the 1960's during the Civil Rights movement the police would use powerful fire truck hoses to control the many people protesting. If the same thing was to happen now the police would use much more powerful weapons like guns and rubber bullets. The use of those weapons by the police would make even more people not want to participate in the movement. The sit-in's also wouldn't work in today's world because the police would probably just forcefully move the people out of the store or restaurant. That is why marches and sit-in's would not work today. 

What Is An American?

What is an American? What does it mean to live the American Dream? These are the questions I ask myself every day. Plenty of people immigrate to the United States every year. Even the people who are considered Americans are immigrants. So the question is who is really American? People leave their families and their whole lives behind to come live in America and to live the American dream.

Technically an American is someone of European descent. America is so diverse you can find many mixtures of people. In America you can see a family with an Asian man married to an African American woman and their son married to a French woman. This shows that to be considered American you don't have to be native. This is different because nowhere else in the world does that. Everyone that has moved to America has made sacrifices. A true American doesn't have to be native to America, its someone who does what they need to do to reach their own American dream. A true American has sacrificed a lot to be American and has the desire to hold the title of being American.

People move here every day most of the time it is because they want to live a better life. Everyone achieves their own American dream at their own pace and in their own way. Everyone has a different American dream and each is unique in their own way. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to achieve it but how you achieve it. It might take years, months or even days to reach your American dream but no matter what it is it takes hard work and dedication to reach it.

Different people have different hopes and dreams. There are plenty people in America and all of us have different dreams. America is the only place where there are many different people yet they still view each other as equal Americans.

Many immigrants move to the U.S. to call themselves true Americans and adopt the American culture. Many Americans have sacrificed their lives to become true Americans. Many Americans give their lives so that others do not have to protect America. This American way attracts many immigrants to want to come here. So, to answer the question, "what is an American?" it is someone who lives in the U.S. but doesn't have to be native from there. It is someone that has sacrificed a lot to become American and has the desire to be American. Mainly it is someone who wants to live an overall better life and wants to fulfill their American dream. That is what an American is in my eyes.

 

Autobiographical Essay

 

     My favorite subject is Physiology. This is my favorite subject because I love learning about the human body. I also love the subject because when I get older I plan on helping people.

     In the future I see myself maintaining a 4.0 GPA throughout my junior and senior year. After that I plan on attending Nebraska- Lincoln University. During my time there I plan on studying Kinesiology. After that I will get a job at a rehabilitation center and help injured athletes.

     As a student I would describe myself as lazy sometimes. I call myself lazy because I hate doing homework. Usually when I get homework I don't do it. But, when I get classwork I can do it easily when I'm in class. In class I am usually studious because it is easy to focus in class. At home I don't do homework because it is hard to focus sometimes.

     An influential teacher in my life was Mr. Vaquerano. I had him for freshman and sophomore year for Spanish class. He was so influential because he stayed on our class about our grades and studying. He made me realize how important studying is because he would give us the hardest tests and everyone would fail them. Every time after our class would do badly on a test he would give us a lecture. The lecture would usually last the whole period. He always would tell us about how he disappointed his parents by becoming a teacher. He was an influential teacher to me because he helped open my eyes about life and school.

     My favorite quote is, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard." This quote means a lot to me because I work hard in everything I do. This quote is from one of my favorite basketball players in Kevin Durant. He is one of my favorite basketball players because he is good at shooting and he also won most valuable player of the national basketball association. Although Kevin Durant is my favorite basketball player my favorite sport is football. My favorite player in the national football league is Patrick Peterson because he is very athletic and can do almost anything on the field. He is also my favorite player because he attended one of my favorite colleges in Louisiana State University.