Research Topic

Informal: To be honest, I have always had a "knack" or interest about all things World War II. But one thing that I never really explored or even thought about (in a more formal way) was Nazi Germany and their superior domination. I thought to my self, with Germany being such a power house and dominant force through out the war, how did we come upon their defeat? And how did they suddenly lose control? They had conquered so much land, and created such a valiant army. How did that help or hurt them? By factoring all of these in I created my research topic. How did geographic advancement and foreign occupation during WWII help or hurt Germany? Well the truth is that Germany's advancement and foreign occupation significantly aided their success. Yet at times all of that power went to their head's and thats why bad, cocky, and careless decisions were made. In turn, leading to the fall  of Germany.

Formal: Throughout my young life I have had a significant interest in the topic of World War II. I was always interested in Germany's conquest. I loved watching old films of German U-boats and infantry. For some reason, it just really interested me. I always knew that Germany was one of the most dominant forces in the war. And for significant periods of time, they controlled almost all of Europe. Then again, I never thought about the factors that lead to both their domination of Europe and their defeat. All of those cob-webbed questions stayed tucked away in the back of my head until now. Using my previous knowledge on Germany during the war and my past questions on their conquest, I formed a research question. How Germany's expansion and foreign occupation aid or hurt them during the war? To answer this question I used the help of many databases and timelines forming this thesis statement. Germany's advancement and foreign occupation throughout the war significantly aided their success. All though this was the case, the gargantuan power that is received from such domination can get to one's head. Such thing happened to Germany. Careless and cocky acts of aggression and triumph lead Germany to a depleting defeat.

Free Post: Wrestling

As many of you may or may not know, Episcopal has a wrestling team. Now many people have their different opinions about the sport, but in the end they couldn't be a wrestler even if they wanted to. They wouldn't have the courage nor the determination that is required in a wrestler. Wrestling is not a (as some would say) "feminine" sport. Your whole mission as a wrestler is to beat your opponent within an inch of their life so they can tell the next opponent what to expect. Ive seen many people who have the belief of wrestling being a "gay" sport, until they come to a tournament only to see a kid have his shoulder dislocated, only for his coach to put it back in, slap him in the face, and send him back on the mat. I have personally seen this happen on more than one occasions as well as knee and elbow dislocations, with many busted lips, broken teeth, and concussions.

As I said wrestling is not for the weak. It is an extreme contact sport, with intentions of demolishing your opponents. I have a love for this sport. This year will mark my third total year wrestling and my second season with Episcopal. So far in my Episcopal wrestling career I have placed first and third in numerous varsity tournaments, become a varsity letterman in the 8th grade, and also went on to place eighth in the state in the 8th grade as well. I have a true passion for this sport. I have given and received many injuries in this sport and will gladly receive more if it means a varsity spot in a tournament. All in all I hope you get my point when I say no matter what anyone tells me, I will always know the truth about the sport, and my love for it will never change.

Research Update

So far in in my research project, it has started out the same way as every other essay we have done this year (or at least I hope it will...) Every essay we have done was really confusing and hard to grasp at the beginning, but after we got started and I began to put something down on paper it became very easy and carefree all the way to the end. Just like all of the others, this project has been giving me lots of trouble in the beginning.

I have been having trouble finding different varieties of sources and I have been facing conflicting feelings about my topic. Trying to decide weather to narrow it down and be more specific to certain pivotal moments or keep it where it is. All of these questions and more I will be asking Coach Coco and Dr. D as we begin the writing process. So far those are the only problems Ive had concerning my paper. I think that Im right around where I need to be so far in the project, but deadlines are quickly approaching and I need to stay on track. I definitely think that our group discussions in class have really helped me along in the research process, and I hope that we continue to meet with these groups throughout the project. All in all my project has been shaping up quite well and I hope and pray for a smooth writing process.

Reading times:
1/18- read 35 min, 1/20- read 40 min, 1/21- read and researched- 65 min

Free Post

For my free post Ive decided to reflect back on what my thoughts and expectations were about High School and then compare and contrast them to how I feel today. Well after 8th grade I didn't really care about anything, better yet school, so it wasn't until the final weeks of summer that I began to start questioning. I thought high school would be a lot more dull and dead than middle school was. Either way I was going to try to have fun no matter what, but I was completely wrong. High school is really boring at times, but being able to hang out with all of my friends who are upper class men is really cool since they give me advice on all of the teachers. I also thought in the beginning that the teachers would be like they are in college, as in you'd be lucky if one of them knew your name. Yet again I was completely wrong, all of the teachers know my name and actually acknowledge me and care for me, which is a great thing to have.

For a while I did think that there was big parties every day and all night, but that was when I was back in 6th grade and didn't know anything. Even though our high school isn't famous for throwing crazy parties every weekend, we (well some of us) all still have cotillion to look forward to and do all of that stuff. All and all I am satisfied with my current high school experience and cannot complain about my grades, (which I also thought were not going to be this good) so needless to say I can't wait to get deep into the second quarter. 

Reading Response: Grey Wolves

As Dr. D said we are now officially back in school and the normal routines. For the second semester I will pick up where I left off in my free read book, which is called "Grey Wolves" by: Robert Muchamore. So far Muchamore has continued to tie the reader in with vivid sensory details and action packed scenes. I have begun to notice a pattern of these events in the text and can't help but wonder when they will end and how they will end.

I've often wondered if other readers have thought the same thing. Wondering when an author will stop using this pattern or when the falling action will finally come. Muchamore has decisively inserted different techniques of writing mixed with highly intense moments into the text, at sometimes it even appears to be random, yet it still has a purpose.

Now I am in one of those moments where you want to keep reading because the text is so action packed and suspenseful, yet at the same time I fear it will wear off and return to its usual boring dialog. Eventually I will have to face both factors, but until then I'll enjoy it whilst its here.

1/8-read 45 mins 1/9-read 30 mins 1/10- read- 45 mins 1/11-read 35 min