It could be said that our lives are made of moments in the same way a movie 
is made frames. Some moments are snapshots or pictures in our memories that 
remind us of who we were, who we are, and who we hope to become.

Choose a frame from the movie of your life that you can vividly recall and 
show what you did, saw, smelled, felt, thought, said, and what others said to 
transport the reader to that moment. 

    The sun was very bright, the sky was bright blue, the trees were very green and the grass was freshly cut. I was really determined to ride my bike without 
training wheels. I remember seeing my older neighbors riding without them. I 
marched up to my garage, with fire in my eyes, and ripped off the training 
wheels off of my electric blue bike. I was determined to conquer my fear of 
falling off my bike. It only took one try to finally learn how to ride without 
training wheels, but that was the most intense 20 seconds of my life. All I had 
to do was believe I could do it, take my foot off of the ground, and petal. I 
never even asked for help, I just did it. The wind rushing through my hair and
a  smile of victory was shown big from ear to ear. I could now finally play with 
the big kids.

    An individual's success is rarely achieved individually. Often, success is the cumulative effect of making the right choices. Along the way, there are others who help us make those 'right choices.' Who has helped you, inspired you, motivated you, or in any other way, played a part in your decision making to achieve the successes you have to this point in your life?
Write a blog in the form of a thank you letter to a specific individual who has influenced your decision making process that has brought you  to where you are today, or has inspired you to be something more. 

Dear ________,
 Body of letter...
 Sincerely,
 Your Name

Dear Natalia Carmen Chavez, 
    Thank you for being that one friend that has always had my back even when I haven’t made the best decisions. You’ve been there for me since 9th grade and I don’t plan to change that. You’re the only friend that I haven’t had a fight with and you’ve always been there through thick and thin. Nat, you know that we’re family and I will always be there for you. I know you will be there for me. Do you remember when we met in Mrs. Alpers class? Because we were the best of friends, until I went to private school, and we lost touch. However, once I came back to CI you were right back there being a friend when I was new. Just thanks for being the realest person that I guy could ever have. ?
  Sincerely,
Your best friend James Krafft

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity" - Albert Einstein

     Technology is supposed to make our lives easier. In many ways it does.  However, in other ways, technology has made life more complicated. Imagine a year of your life without technology of any kind. How would your life be  different? What would you do with your time that you spent using technology? 
Would you be happier? Would you be bored?

    At times I feel that technology has made our daily lives too easy. I don’t know if I’m the only one who likes to actually wash dishes and not just put them in the dish washer and call it a day. I’m sure that now since I’m exposed to the  conveniences of technology I could not go without them for a long time. My life
would definitely different because I wouldn’t be on my phone or on the computer to waste my life away. This past weekend I went camping with one of my friend’s families and I didn’t have service out east. I felt so much lighter because I wasn’t constantly checking my phone and texting. At times I wish my parents never bought me a computer and an iphone. I’m sure I would be happier without technology. However, I know I would get bored after a while, I mean I can’t go a  day without checking up on my monopoly hotels app.

What memories do you have of September 11th? How have the effects of that day affected your life? 

    - My memories of September 11th 2001 are very vague. I don’t exactly remember how the whole day went, but I remember sitting in 1st grade at the Morrow school. My  teacher, who was Mrs. Silverman, She was upset but not too much that she couldn’t compose herself. I remember that we turned on to the news, but then a couple seconds later she changed the channel so that we could watch Dora the Explorer. After a while, many parents and guardians were calling in to get their  children out of school but I don’t remember if anyone was able to take their  children out that day. The effects of September 11th have definitely impacted my  life. I have a lot more pride for America and I lack the motivation to help other countries. It’s very sad about how they fell, but I think our country is  somehow getting their lives back together. Some people say that this was a  government plot to go with some conspiracy theory, but I honestly do
believe  that it was terrorists. All in all, I just have gained some pride and
respect  for our country.

This is your first blog. A blog is a way for students to extend class
  discussions beyond the classroom walls. In addtition, it provides an
opportunity  for students to share their writing with their peers.

 Please be aware of the rules:
 

1. Blogs are due every Sunday evening by 11:59pm.
   
2. Late blogs will not be graded.
   
3. Blogs must be at least 5 sentences long. (-1 for blogs less than 5)
   
4. Blogs must follow the rules of standard written English. (-1 for errors)
   
5. Blogs must address the topic. (-1 for off-topic Blogs)
   
6. Replies must be at least 3 sentences and agree or disagree with a peer's
     post. (-1 for incomplete replies)

What are the expectations in your twelfth grade English class? What advice from last year's senior letters will you apply to ensure that you will do well?

    As I read through some of the class of 2012’s letters to our class, I noticed that a lot of them mentioned that Tech Prep 12 is both fun but you have to keep  up or you will fall behind. Most of them also mentioned that this is one of the best classes they have ever taken. My expectations of this year were mixed; I expected this class to be a lot of work, but also a great experience. I’m sure  throughout this year I’m going to scream at my computer in frustration and want to drop the class. However, the hard work will be worth it in the end. I took this class knowing that I will be learning more about life in this class than in  regular boring English 12.