Dear Mom

Dear Mom,
         
        I honestly do no think I could thank you enough for all that you have done for me. Thank you for everything! Thank you for being my best friend and my mom at the same time, for always being there for me, and most importantly, thank you for giving me a house to live in and food to eat. You give the greatest advice anyone has ever given, and I appreciate that. I could go on and on about everything you do for me and thank you several times, but this letter would be ridiculously long. So, thanks again, Mom. You do not understand how much you mean to me, you are my role model and I look up to you. I apologize for every time I may have hurt your feelings. You know I never mean any of the mean things I say. I would be lost without my mom. I love you so much.

                                                                                                             Love,   

                                                                                                             your daughter 

Inspiration.

             My mother and father are two people who have always been my inspiration. They are two very strong people. They have both been through so much in their lifetime, but yet they still manage to wake up every morning and smile. They have a strong and happy marriage and I look up to them. They are such happy people and I love being around them. They influence me to take all the right roads in life and make sure I regret absolutely nothing. My mom is my best friend. I can talk to her about anything and every thing. She inspires me to be strong. She wants me to be successful in life, and she will make sure that happens. I want to make her and my father proud. They raised me so well and I cannot wait to accomplish all of my goals in life and make them smile. It is such a wonderful feeling when you can make the people you look up to proud. My father expects so much out of me and I want to make sure that I do what he hopes I will. I do not ever want to let them down. They are such great inspirations and I respect them so much.

If I Could Live Anywhere

         If I could live anywhere, I would definitely want to live in Puerto Rico. I absolutely love the tropical environment and the beautiful weather. I enjoy being on the beach and Puerto Rico is surrounded by the ocean. I have never been there before, but my family has and I will be visiting very soon. I want to be able to wake up and go to the beach in the winter. I hate cold weather and in Puerto Rico, it never gets cold. I love the palm trees and all of the tropical flowers. I cannot wait to visit. I want to go and learn how to surf. It looks like so much fun. My family always tells me about all of the fun they have there. My grandfathers grave is also in Puerto Rico. Before he passed, he had built a house there and it is such a beautiful home. When I live there, his house is definitely where I want to live. Puerto Rico is such a beautiful place. 

Money is no object

                 This project really made me second guess myself on what I want to do in my future. It made me think hard about whether or not becoming a lawyer is what I really want to do. I had to ask myself if being a lawyer is what is going to make me happy, or if I wanted to do it for the money. I decided that I would rather join the marines. I think I could make a bigger impact in the world by joining the marines. I really look up to those who are in the military. Maybe after I serve a few years in the military, I will become a lawyer, but I want to do what makes me happy first. This project did not only help me figure myself out, but also helped me figure out my friends and family.

My favorite Book

               My favorite book would definitely be Breaking Dawn. I love all the Twilight books, but the last one is my favorite. I love the way Stephanie Meyer words everything. She does a great job with explaining everything going on. She helps create a mental image of what is going on. The emotion in the book is wonderful, it makes it easy to relate. She explains the way Edward feels about Bella so well. I love how I get so into the book. The Twilight series are probably the only book I read on my own and actually enjoy it. I have read all the Twilights book more than once and do not mind reading them again. I do not feel this way about any other book. I was excited when I found out that they were making a Twilight movie. I enjoy the movies just as much as I do the books.

Finding Happiness Within

People find happiness in life through both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Intrinsic motivation is when one can motivate themselves. Extrinsic motivation is when other people or objects motivate someone. For example, doing something that makes one happy, like losing weight because they want to is intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation would be losing weight because the doctor says one is at risk of getting diabetes. In the end, they will be happy because they will not have diabetes. Robert Frost introduces intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in his poem “After Apple-Picking.” Frost uses metaphors in his poem to show the message of doing what one desires in life, but having too many regrets.

Frost uses metaphors in his poem to help readers understand how important taking opportunities can be. All of the metaphors in his poem are difficult to figure out because he wants his readers to have to think hard and relate to them. Frost states, “And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill/ Beside it and there may be two or three/ Apples I didn’t pick upon some bough” (l. 3-5). The speaker is looking back on all of the opportunities he passed up.. The barrel symbolizes all the opportunities that he could have taken but chose not to, and the apples symbolize the missed opportunities that could have changed his life.

Frost also uses metaphors to show readers how regretting something just gets people nowhere. When someone regret something, all they do is think about what they could have done differently. No one wants to live their entire life dwelling on the past and regretting things they can no longer change. Frost says, “For I have had too much/ Of apple-picking: I am overtired/ Of the great harvest I myself desired” (l. 27-29). When he says this, I think he is comparing apple-picking to life. He is tired of the same routine. He no longer wants to do this anymore. He wants to give up on apple-picking, because he feels he has done this for too long. Since he is comparing apple-picking to life, I think he is ready to die. He knows it is his time. He wants to convey the message of living life without regrets, because life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Frost uses metaphors in his poem "After Apple-Picking" to explain to his readers that people should live as if money were no object and do what makes them happy. If money were no object, I would attend the top law school in the United States, Harvard. I would go to be a lawyer and make many changes in the world. I want to be one of the greatest lawyers out there. I would be happy to pursue my dream and do what I love without any regrets.

One Thing I Would Change...

If I could go back and change anything that has occurred in my past, I would most definitely change the fact tat my grandfather was murdered. My grandfather used to own a corner store in Lorain called Gonzalez Grocery. He was very well known in Lorain and he was extremely nice. He cared about everyone and loved all of him customers. He did so much for people and was never selfish about anything. On January 25, 2008, he was shot and killed during a robbery. He was only 49 years old, he was still young. When I found this out, I did not know how to react. It was and still is unbelievable. My grandfather was so close to me. It affected my family and I terribly. I am still very hurt by the situation, but there is nothing I can do. He taught me almost everything I know today and he taught me how to be a caring young lady. I miss him so much and I would do anything to have him back. Holidays are not the same without him. I wish I could have had the chance to say goodbye. He is always on my mind and forever in my heart.

Volleyball is my passion

My favorite hobby would definitely be volleyball. I love playing volleyball. It takes up almost 75% of my life. I am in the greatest mood possible when I am on the volleyball court. I absolutely love the energy my team gives off when we play. My team is my second family. They are what makes me enjoy volleyball even more. We always play our hardest, and even if we lose, we're happy because we know we played our hardest. My last game of the season was yesterday and we won. I am going to miss my team terribly, because we have grown to be a family. What upsets me even more is the fact that I have to wait an entire month for a new volleyball season to begin. People can tell I love volleyball if I am willing to spend nearly $1,000 just to play. Volleyball is my passion. I will never get tired of playing.

My favorite music

I listen to plenty of music. Probably like everyone else I cannot exactly put my finger on one type of artist or specific song. I listen to different music because pretty much any kind of song can relate to me. I enjoy pop, rap, r&b, and sometimes country music. To determine what songs I like, I listen to random Pandora stations. I judge music based of their lyrics because I find the lyrics to be most important part of the song. The one artist that I always listen to when I'm not in a good mood is Taylor Swift. Her lyrics are extremely relatable and I think her voice is beautiful. She sings about everything she has been through and sometimes, her lyrics explain exactly how I am feeling. She is my role model and I love her music. I am not too sure if she is considered as a country singer or not, but she is definitely my favorite. I love being able to just relax, put my headphones in, and listen to Taylor Swift. My Pandora is always on Taylor Swift or Alicia Keys radio. Alicia Keys is also another one of my role models. Her music is amazing and her lyrics are real. I do not know what I would do without music. I need it for everything I do.

Childcare

 I believe that the government should not have to provide childcare for working parents unless they are making low income. It is not fair to provide childcare to all working parents. Some working parents make more than enough money to afford childcare, while other working parents are living off of a very low income and cannot afford the childcare they need. It should all depend on how much money the parents are bringing home. It should be given to the families who are in more need before it is given to the families who have a high income. Some of the high income families can afford to hire a personal nanny, while the low income families can barely afford daycare. A lot of families depend on one of their children to babysit and I do not really think that is fair. It is not fair to make one child give up plans that they may have just to babysit just because they cannot afford child care. I know child care may be very expensive at some places so they should just provide it to help some families in need. It could really help them out and make a difference. I am sure they would really appreciate the extra help. So, I believe the government should provide child care but provide it for the low income families in need. It would be very helpful.

Summer

             I didn't do much over the Summer but there was definitely one thing I did that I will never forget. I went on a college visit to Case Western Reserve for a week and I got to stay in a dorm with a room mate. While I was there, I met this man and his grandson who were visiting from Austrillia. I got the opportunity to spend time with this man, Dr. Dylan, and his grandson, Jackson. They taught me so much about Austrillia. They told me they don't have squirrells where they live! Jackson was so excited to see a squirrell when he got here, which I found funny because we don't even care when we see a squirrell. They also didn't know what ketchup was, because they call it "tomato sauce." They were such nice people and I loved their accents. Other than Dr. Dylan and Jackson, I also met a lot of kids my age from all over Ohio. I enjoyed my expirience there very much, but it was very sad when I had to say goodbye to Dr. Dylan and Jackson. Jackson gave me a pin from Austrillia the night I left that had the new and the old Austrillian flags on it. I still keep in touch with Jackson, and eventually, I am going to go visit them. I am so thankful for having the opportunity to go stay at Case Western for a week and do new things. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget.

My Name

Behind my name is a buffoon,
as people seem to think.
You would know the story behind it
if you'd just let me speak.

People call me Elieza
but it's really Eleeza.
I dislike that very much,
so I tell them call me Isa.

When my name is said wrong,
I am filled with bane.
But I really can't blame them
since it's just a name.

My name is unique,
it fits me well.
I like it a lot,
can't you tell?

I am named after my grandmother,
Maria Elisa was her name.
My name is very similar.
They are somewhat the same.

My name is different
like each letter in the alphabet,
it's not that simple though,
it's something like a volleyball set.

When people hear my name,
do they think of extrovert?
or do they think of garish?
Whatever, it doesn't really hurt.

Self Respect

                 
                  I find respect to be very important. To me, respect is everything. I am all about respecting others and respecting myself. Self respect is very important to your image. No one is going to respect someone who does not even respect themselves. If you want people to respect you, you should respect yourself. If you talk innapropriately about yourself or others, people are going to get a wrong impression and they won't respect you. If you wear revealing clothes to show off around people, they aren't going to respect you either. What I'm trying to say is if you present yourself wrong, you're going to get treated wrong. Respect is very important to have.