What are my current goals as a writer?

    As a writer, my goals are to improve my writing and for my readers to be well informed on my future topics. In the last quarter, I could have improved it by including more than just a mere summary like adding more of some other people's opinions on my topic. I think I could have added more detail on what I wrote about, more than what it seems. My blog's purpose was probably to inform and convince people to try whatever I had posted. For example, if you haven't heard or tried che (this is going to be a future blog post, so wait for it), you could read it and see whether or not if sounds good as the pictures are. If you are a type of person who usually tries new things, my posts are really great to read. It is also a great place to go to if you are interested in books or movies. I usually post some kind of book or movie I recently finished from class or from some random pick through the long aisles in the library. Overall, my posts are mainly for those who are interested in movies, books, or food. I originally wanted to try blogging about traveling, but since I haven't, that means I wasn't successful with the plan. However, I never thought I would make a game review, 2 game reviews! I don't play as much games as I did before, but I wasn't planning on blogging about games until I was addicted to it again. Luckily, it is not affecting my studies so I am not at the 'game addiction' group. Some of my other topics were kind of a desperate way to finish my blog, so I end up labeling it as 'random'. I feel embarrassed about it since I never intended in blogging about it until it was last minute.
    In the future, if I do continue with my blogs, my goal would be to actually (for once) add traveling such as my trip to Boston, Massachusetts or maybe to Miami, Florida. Or even Canada, since I am going this upcoming summer. Other than that, I would still like to continue my improvement in writing, especially my grammar. I am improving, but a slow rate. Even so, I am still improving, which is a good thing.
    Since I am talking about my goals for next year, I guess I will talk about my classes for next year as well. My plan was to take APUSH (Advanced Placement United States History)and AP Chemistry, English 3P, Physics P, Spanish 3, and Calculus P. I'm hoping my counselor will accept the fact that I want to take 2 science classes for next year. Personally, I was greatly disappointed when I didn't have a science class this year. I was planning on taking 4 years of science, but if I can make up this year with next year, I'm satisfied. Luckily, I know I can get into AP Chemistry because the teacher was also my Biology teacher and he approves, only I didn't get him to sign my paper....Other than that, the class I REALLY want to get into APUSH. History is my best subject, despite of how people think it's boring and seems pretty pointless to learn. However, I am not as enthusiastic for U.S. History as I am for World History. Either way, I know I can work hard, even if I have to stay for after school classes once a week. I'm pretty neutral with my other classes and I hope I won't overwork next year.

Monthly Review: The Hunger Games

      The Hunger Games is a science fiction tale of a young teenage girl living in a post-apocalyptic world, taking on an annual tournament called The Hunger Games. To survive and win the tournament, she must kill twenty four other contestants, including her new friend from her own hometown. Suzanne Collins's thrilling trilogy tells of how a girl alone will become greater than what she seems and does what she can to survive: kill or be killed....

      In my opinion, The Hunger Games is intended for young adults, ranging from ages 11-16. However, I think if you are a pretty advanced reader, I would think around fourth-fifth grade is when you can read the book with not many problems on the vocabulary. There is also the fact there are some slow readers that have trouble of the vocabulary and would take a longer amount of time to finish the book, so this shows the ranges vary to other readers' views. I would describe it as an 'average' book, can be difficult, can be easy. It is a science fiction, so for those who love fiction and some twist of science, this book is definitely for you. However, it has more fiction in itself and new technology, mutations, and some other varieties tying with science. The novel creates suspense, contains philosophy,adventure,and romance. The combination of these beings you in the book, knowing exactly what the main character is thinking, feeling, and acting. I for one, did not expect there would be any romance because of its suspense and adventure, to think there would be romance seems surprising. For those who think there would be some intense romance bond between the characters within the story, I'm disappointed to say, the romance is pretty bleak. I like the fact there is somewhat a love triangle between, a best friend, the main character, and her 'star-crossed lover.' I hope there might be more complexity among the love triangle, such as new character in the next book to strained them.The combination of suspense and adventure of this novel grabs the reader's attention, so much that they might even finish the book in less than a day! I personally recommend this book to everyone so much that I can guarantee, with finishing up The Hunger Games, you'll be yearning for more to read.

     Of course, the character is the main character, Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is a sixteen year old girl who is given birth from her father, a coal miner, and her mother,a daughter from a middle class family. She attends a secondary school somewhere in Appalachia, known in the book as District 12 the mining sector. She has a quiet nature, prefers to stay away from the gossip group. Katniss appears to be slender with black hair, gray eyes and olive skin and can be her best friend and hunting partner, Gale's sister because of their similarities.She is well known among the district for her ability to provide highly prized and illegal game to the community and supporting her family when they are at a brink from death from starvation. She is also an remarkable archer, gatherer, and trapper, coming from her father. She is very protective to her little twelve year old sister, Prim and would do anything to ensure her sister. Unfortunately, she cannot save Prim from the reaping, but volunteer in her place in the Hunger Games. Katniss resents her mother because due to her father's death from a mine explosion, her mother's depression affected her parenting, resulting to them in brink of starvation. She also resents the Capitol for their treatment towards her district, developing a strong political sense. What I admire about Katniss is how she faces her problems head on without regrets. The problems she faced that she had a hard time deciding was on her life and her family. This shows that she is still human, having mistakes and doesn't always do what she wanted or planned to do. I can see how Gale and Peeta fell in love with her, but she is pretty dense when it comes to love, so the romance was somewhat a disappointment.

     Collins's style in writing is very active, drawing the reader into the story itself. I also think it seems somewhat like J.K. Rowling's writing style. Both shows both the main character's emotions and actions, but Collin's main character, Katniss, is narrating the story instead of third person point of view. Collin's style in writing deals with the situations from both suspense and romance,so it shows a mixture of emotions for Katniss. J,K Rowlng's style is like that, for both have a lot of descriptions on the scenery is like, giving off a visionary for the reader and to in a somewhat drawing trance of the their fictional world. Every word, every sentence, every dialogue propels the story forward and all we can do is hold on. Just enough back story is layered with some unusual technology that we do not have to day such as mockingjays or force fields. With a touch of science, it displays a somewhat difference with J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. With the vague descriptions of how the survival game is intact, I enjoy how the exact it will be if you were in in a tournament like Katniss was in. I assume Collins's well written survival game is probably well researched and what the characters' future actions could be like with the similarities of the real survival game. Also, I admire Collin's creation of her fictional post-apocalyptic world. However, I do wonder whether or not Collins's ideas were in a somewhat based on Rowling's Harry Potter, but I still love reading this book. There are other people who might have done a similar plot line like Rowling's, but there are some originality qualities to it to make their plot unique in its special way. If I have to pick between these two fantastic authors, I think I won't able to because of their remarkably similar writing style.

Hunger Games pt.3

For the final part of The Hunger Games,
I didn't annotate much on the third section because due to the plot reaching its climax, it's pretty pointless and its better not to stop time to time to keep track of what's going on.
I really do admire Katniss's strong will despite of all the events she is going through. With her outgoing personality, I'm pretty surprised at how she didn't really breakdown during the game such as seeing her new comrade Rue being killed in front of her and the times where Peeta was close to death and her inability to help ease his pain. What I dislike is how practically useless Peeta really is. I know I sound really mean and I can see how the author is thinking about; most girls in the novels have a weak but a somewhat strong personality, but Katniss shows how girls can truly be. And with one strong character, there should be a main character that happens to have that weak persona. And who is that character? Peeta. He's describe as what a usual female character is like in a novel. I thought 'maybe Peeta will change during the Game and not depending on Katniss's aid'. Wrong. He remains like that and the only thing he really does are his declarations of love towards Katniss. Also, I wonder why did Collins created the character, Gale? Maybe another love interest for Katniss or maybe he might have another role in the next book. He wasn't mentioned a lot other than what Katniss thinks of him, and he only played a minor role. Other than that, I think I'll read the next book: Catching Fire.
My questions are: How do you like the ending? Do you think Katniss will end up with Peeta for real, not for the audience? Are you satisfied with just reading only the first book or will continue reading the next book? Overall, do you think that this is a good end and you are done with the series?

*OMG it's LATE O__O

Hunger Games pt.2

Continuing from The Hunger Games,
How I annotated the second section of the book was the major events that are taking place in the chapter, so when I do come back to reading, I would remember what I read so far. I also recorded my reactions towards the events where I think I was pretty surprised with, especially with Katniss's unexpected actions.
The parts of the book I like was how clever of Katniss to ridden herself of tracker jackers by cutting their hollow nest directly below the group of candidates that were hunting her. I can tell Katniss has a good heart, despite of being one of the contestants, Rue, she was only a twelve year old, like her younger sister who was to be the actual candidate, Prim; Katniss treated her as if she was Rue was Prim. There was the time when she was going to be killed because of Peeta, but when she found Peeta slowly dying from a wound caused by a boy candidate named Cato, she treated his wound, despite of how disgusting it was or how she always stay clear from critical wounds the miners her mother would take care of.
What I was confused about was this: Why did Peeta join the group of candidates in hunting the other stray ones? Is this to hunt down Katniss? Is it because she had an eleven on her score with the Gamemakers that was the reason for his envy? How about Rue, why did she trust Katniss so much, that she willingly accepted Katniss's invitation in teaming up with her to defeat the career candidates? Was Katniss that trustworthy in your opinion?
Other than that here's more questions: What do you think about Peeta's actions? Is it wise for Katniss to trust Rue and Peeta again despite of his betrayal?

Italian Desserts

I feel like talking about food again, but this time, it's going to be desserts. Yum! So, this dessert topic will be: famous Italian desserts.

One of them I'm writing about is tiramisu, which I think its delicious (maybe its because of the fragrant coffee flavor) and you find it anywhere, for me, it's at Tomatina! Anyways, tiramisu is an Italian dessert consisting of layers of sponge cake or soaked with coffee and brandy or liqueur layered with mascarpone cheese and topped with grated chocolate.  It can also be made of savoiardi (otherwise known as lady finger biscuits) dipped in espresso or strong coffee or rum, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks, mascarpone cheese, sugar, and topped with cocoa.The recipe has been adapted into cakes, puddings, and other varieties of dessert.This famous dessert may have originated in Siena where it was first made for the benefit of Duke Cosimo de Medici.

 Have you ever tasted fruitcake? Surprisingly, if you ate or heard of it, there's another name for it: panettone and it is orginated in Italy. For those who never heard of it or haven't tried it before, it is a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts, and spices. They are often served in celebration of weddings and Christmas. Also, the phrase is used metaphorically in two ways: To describe one of weak or frail characteristics that do not uphold the expectations of others; and to describe one as "off one's rocker" or as one who has "lost one's marbles".

Another common dessert, ice cream, has another name or version called gelato. Gelato is an Italian variant of ice cream made from milk and sugar, combined with other flavorings. The ingredients are super-cooled while stirring to break up ice crystals as they form. Milk, cream, various sugars, flavoring including fruit and nut purees are usually the main ingredients.

I haven't tried it before but heard of a famous dessert called cannoli. Cannoli is a dessert that consists of deep fried pasta shells filled with a sweet ricotta cheese mixture. Candied fruit and chocolate pieces can be mixed with the filling and the ends are dipped in chopped pistachios. The Cannoli is the most famous of the Sicilian desserts and can be found in virtually every Italian pasticceria. At one time Cannoli were a gift given amongst friends during Carnevale, but have since gained worldwide recognition and numerous delicious variations.

Not much is known but it is a pretty famous dessert: Torta di Pere. The Torta di Pere is consists of ladyfingers brushed with pear syrup, sliced poached pears, mascarpone cheese & sweet marsala, and topped with toasted sliced almonds.

Overall, I have tried most of these desserts. The ones I haven't are one I have heard about is quite famous, just not around my area, but I bet it is elsewhere. I highly recommend to try these desserts and maybe comment me about them? I bet there are other famous Italian desserts, but the ones I listed are what I hear or ate before are the ones in my opinion. Just don't take my words for granted.

The Hunter Games pt. 1

Well, my group is reading The Hunger Games by New York Times bestselling author, Suzanne Collins. Before I read the book, based on the panel, its about a girl taking care of her mother and sister, who took her sister's place in the Games. Apparently, it also contains parts of suspense, philosophy, adventure, and romance.
Up to where I am reading, I say it is basically describes how the main character, Katniss Everdeen, and her daily routines in her hometown, District 12, a poor town filled with coal miners. As it goes on, she talks about her relations to the people around the Seam and this 'special' event called the Hunger Games, hence the title of the book. As I read the book, I was curious of how the Capitol shows it superiority by funding this hunter game. I at first assumed might involve hunting as a special event until I realize this: it is a hunting game, BUT you are not just killing the animals, you are to survive and kill the contestants from each district to win the game. Once this hit my on the head, I thought the game might involve cannibalism, but I have yet to know, since I'm just reading the events before the game started.
I really like the description of the main character's memories and her personality, as if you can vision her almost the same as the author might have. So far, it shows her reactions toward the major events such as her sister being picked for the Games and the other contestant in her district, Peeta, admits falling in love with her. Unfortunately, the first section ends there, so there is a bit of suspense stopping there. The one question for my partners is this:

* How will the other contestants react towards Peeta's confession? Will he be the first target once the game starts?

Adolescent Development Essay

Since most other people posted their Current Life Essay, I guess, join in! It's pretty short for an essay and I'm not proud of it, but I did get a good grade...So here:

    In your lifetime, someone is bound to ask "how do I become an adult?" Most people would answer 'when you're older', hinting that adolescence is the key to entering adulthood. However, between those words, it means it will take lots of time in order to become a successful and independent adult. Between the ages 13 and 19, adolescents go through three 'steps' to become an independent adult. These includes individuation, to be viewed, as only themselves, separation, to be free of their family and their views, and autonomy, or 'I have the right to self-govern'.
    Adolescents from early ages 13 to 15 years are in what is called psychosocial development. At this age, adolescents are under psychosocial stress from puberty,discoveries of sex, or even from developing zits, hormones, etc. They feel uncomfortable, scared, frustrated, or even confused to the point where it seems impossible to tell the adults. Of course, it is normal for them to be self-conscious, always thinking of themselves. Adolescents have ego ideals such as breaking free from parent control, wanting to be independent early, or searching for a role look up to and can have an identity of their own.
    When adolescents are approximately 13 to 15 years old, their thoughts take in two forms under cognitive development. One way is how teenagers think in an abstract way or abstract thinking, where they could process things without something you can uses your senses. Another form is concrete thinking, where they need something that requires their use in their senses to think about. Adolescents are also in a middle of a time measurement. In this period, it is how they have a difficult time to plan for the future and have patience for things or privileges such as receiving a permit.
    The psychosocial development for 16 to 19 year old shows psychosocial adjustment, where they are more comfortable with their bodies and less drama going around in their life. They now have more intimate relationships with either friends of their girl/boyfriend. They also have a clear sense in their sexuality and can communicate in a deeper level. Relationships are less superficial at this stage as it matters on similar interests in another and can be a painful breakup if their adults take them lightly. They can develop a clear sense self-concept, where they have more confidence in their decision making and can define their values.
    The cognitive development for ages 16 to 19 came from a theory developed by a psychologist named Jean Piaget. His theory was also known as formal operational thought or in simple terms: adult-like thinking. Adolescents could handle complex ideas, concepts, and high-level Math. They also become less self-centered and are able to plan their future. They could grasp the concept of the past, present, and future.
    Adolescence may be a painful and long process, bit if successful, will leave you as an independent adult. As early ages of 13 to 15, adolescents show a mixture of negative feelings and have little patience over minor issues. As they grow older, they start to have intimate relationships and could bond with one another. They also can become more comfortable with themselves, confident about their future, and can handle on their own time.

Looking over this, I saw A LOT of minor errors, which was really embarrassing. I'm not proud of the work, but I'll continue to write better essays than this one. 

Game Review: Final Fantasy X-2

 

      Since I made a blog post about Final Fantasy X, might as well make one for its sequel: Final Fantasy X-2. Again, Final Fantasy X-2 is a role-playing game and was developed and published by Square-Enix (or formally known as Square) for Sony's PlayStation 2 in 2003, two years later after the best-selling game Final Fantasy X was released. The game's story follows one of the main protagonists from Final Fantasy X, Yuna, now as the main protagonist, as she seeks to resolve political conflicts in the fictional world, Spira before it leads to war.Of all the Final Fantasy game series, this was the first one having only three playable characters and are all female. So if you are a guy and you prefer playing male roles, this is probably not a game for you, unless you might change you mind. 

      The sequel is set two years after the conclusion of Final Fantasy X, establishing new conflicts and dilemmas and resolving loose ends left by the original game. After receiving a movie sphere that shows a blurry figure that looked strongly like Tidus located at the Mount Gagazet by one of the characters from Final Fantasy X, Kimahri Ronso, Yuna decides to be a sphere hunter in the a group created by Rikku, another character from the Final Fantasy X's brother, called Seagull. Along with Rikku, Yuna is also teamed up the third and last female trio, Paine, who unlike Yuna and Rikku, is serious about her work and rarely trusts people other than the duo. Unlike Final Fantasy X, these trio have a different way to 'power up'. Instead of using a Sphere Grid, they use Dresspheres and Garment Grid. A dressphere is where the character can use to gain different abilities such as the ability to heal using white magic, fight using black magic, uses a variety of gadgets, or fight using one classic sword. These dresspheres are gained throughout Spira, like the Aeons (summoning beasts) in Final Fantasy X. Now with Sin forever gone, the young people of Spira abandon the Yevon teachings for machina to help shape a new Spira. However, the older generation thought this was a big change and is going way too fast. As new ideals and practices began to sweep Spira, several new political groups emerged. Most influential among them were the Youth League led by Mevyn Nooj, and the New Yevon Party led by a former priest named "Trema" until his disappearance, and later by Praetor Baralai. The Youth League consists mainly of young people, determined to see Spira completely abandon its past practices, while the New Yevon Party consists of members both old and young who felt that changes should be gradual, their motto being "One thing at a time".

     Overall, I think its pretty nice to see the original characters from Final Fantasy X and new characters, but I still feel disappointed. Despite the fact that the game was voted as the 32nd best game of all time, there are flaws. I still prefer Final Fantasy X because of the variety of characters while Final Fantasy X-2 focuses on a trio of girls. However it's less complicated so to those who prefer that, go right ahead and play it!