The Excitement Of Christmas

Family, friends gather 

They're all happy together

Gifts that are under the Christmas tree

They are the ones that make them happy

The excitement of Christmas

Continues with the cookies that are delicious

What a great night to celebrate 

When everything's great 

2nd Revision Of "The City Of CA"

As I walk around CA, seeing my Chinese, Turkish, American, Korean, and so many of my friends from different countries becomes possible.  

I see academic buildings as business towers or skyscrapers like in big cities. They all look as the main things on campus as they're the ones that people see first when they arrive on campus. It feels the same for cities. To give an example of New York, what makes New York interesting is its buildings; they are so tall, and that's what makes the city unique. It is nearly the same for CA. Buildings describe what the city of CA looks like. As we can see when we look around the campus, the buildings look old, since the city of CA has a huge history. 

The teachers are the ones who own the businesses and run them. They all have something in common; they have more knowledge than the students. Teachers teach the students, so that when the students grow up they can be like the teachers. They always want the best for the students so that they won't get bad grades or get kicked out of the school. In the cities, bosses try to make their workers better, since they want their businesses to be successful. For teachers, the students must work hard and be successful, so that the future world can be better. There are so many subjects that the owners of the businesses need to teach to the workers. Because of these subjects there are some companies. Nike is the company teaches the workers the athletics. Apple is the company for technology; with this, workers learn the world of technology. Another company is TI, for sciences. It teaches the workers to do calculations in math and science. Barnes and Nobles teaches the workers the world of literature. 

The students are the workers or interns that spend their weekdays at work. Students want to gain the teachers' knowledge, and they need to complete the assignments to be successful. They want to own the business and run it afterwards. That's why first they have to get out of the "worker zone" and step into the "boss" zone. To give a real life expample, the students have to graduate so that they can start learning things about the jobs they want to work in. They need to be experienced because experience should help them to be successful. 

I see the academic office as the police station. People who work in the academic office control students' academic situations and if they miss classes or get bad grades they decide what to do, whether changing class or dropping the class. 

I see advisors as life coaches, since they come in the first place as the ones that students talk to when they want to ask something about the school life. The advisors help students or give advice to them so that they can have better academic lives. 

People who work with the head of the school and his assistants are the mayor and staff. They are the ones who shake hands with important people, take place in articles about school, and welcome important poeple to school. Controlling mostly everything about the school, they come first as the people that are in charge of school. They are the ones who keep the school running by managing the school very well. 

In the city of CA every individual has their own responsibilities that they need to be aware of, so that the city can continue getting better each day. If one person was to ignore their responsibilities, the learning cycle of the city would not be the same. It is a bicycle. When the chain stops working, the handlebars gets broken, or the tires are burst the bicycle can't work. 

Best Time Of The Year

I love winter break. It feels like it’s the best break of all others. Families get together, old friends see each other, and everyone enjoys great food. It must be because of New Year’s Eve. That moment is important for everyone. New beginnings, new promises, or even new personalities… New Year’s Eve is an important day in Turkey. I am looking forward to that day.

During new Year’s Eve we get together as a family, and celebrate it with great food, and presents. This year I’m so glad that the same things will happen again. My grandmother was born in 31st December, so we will celebrate her birthday. I have missed her so much. I haven’t seen her since August. Seeing her smiling face when she sees me, and my brother makes me happy. I am planning to get her a great present this year with my mother. We will celebrate her birthday as usual right after eating our meals, and right before the new year. We always play some songs to her with my brother. My brother plays the guitar, and I play drums. My grandmother loves it. I am so excited for that.

Another thing I feel excited about this New Year’s Eve will be seeing all of the members of my family together. My brother studies college in Indiana, so we can’t spend a lot of time with him, and with my parents; we can only see each other during holidays, but it never feels enough. I am looking forward to that. I really missed the times I spent with my parents, and my brother. We will have so much fun. We have a tradition in Turkey that repeats every New Year’s Eve. Playing Lotto takes an important place during that night. We usually play it with small amounts of money like 25 cents. It is so much fun. The las time I played, I earned almost three dollars. That tradition will repeat this year, too. 

The thing I’m excited the most about is the food. My mom always cooks for us. She loves cooking on New Year’s Eve, too. She usually cooks turkey, but she will try something different this year, since she knows we don’t want to eat turkey this year. I will try helping her to set the table, and to prepare the food. 

That day my cousins will visit us too. I missed them so much. One of them lives in Strasbourg, France, so I can never get the chance to see her, but this New Year’s Eve everyone will get to see each other. 

I am looking forward to the best time of the year so much. Family, and friends mean a lot to me, and seeing them after a long time will make me really happy. I feel like New Year’s Eve is a great chance to spend time with the loved ones, and have fun while stepping into a whole new year full of new adventures.

Astonishing View

I have done so many amazing and fun activities during Thanksgiving Break, and a lot of them made me feel great, and excited. There was one that was really breathtaking for me. I was so amazed by that. It was the day when I went to the Top Of The Rock in New York City. 

Top Of the Rock is an observing place that is located on the top of the Rockefeller Center which is located on Fifth Avenue in New York. Rockefeller Center is the home of NBC (a TV channel). There are a lot of restaurants and shopping places in it, too. 

When I saw The Top Of The Rock, I was sure that I had to do it. My mom wanted to see, too, so we went to buy tickets. When we go to the place to get tickets, they told us that there was place for only 5.30 pm. We though that it was too late, so we didn’t get the tickets. It was cold, too.

The next day, the weather was amazing. It was almost 80 degrees. We decided to get tickets that day, but the same thing had happened. There was place for only 7.15 pm. We though it was too late again, but then I saw a picture of New York that was taken from the Top Of The Rock at night. It was breathtaking. I begged my mom to get the tickets. She immediately said yes. 

At 7.15 pm, they got us in, and we took elevators to the 75th floor, if I remember it right. It took like five seconds for us to go to the top. The elevators were super fast. 

When we reached to the top, everything was perfect. New York was right under our feet. I could see everyone, everything, and every building. I wanted to take pictures of every second. The view was incredible. The lights of the skyscrapers were making the sky look so amazing. It was a great idea to go there at night. I could see everywhere. I felt like New York was mine. The weather was great, the view was astonishing, and my mom was with me. It was a great moment. Right at that moment I forgot about all of my problems and worries. The streets and the people seemed so small. I thought about millions of lives living down there; millions of different ideas and characters. It made me see the city better in terms of view and feelings. I felt like by seeing so many New Yorkers, I started to get to know them better. 

I think that, this event was the best thing I’ve done over Thanksgiving Break. I got to see the heart of the world completely. Being there also made me feel free, since I was at one of the highest places in New York City. 

I would definitely do it again. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy an amazing view, and see one of the most famous city in the world from the sky?

The Summary Of Mark Kurlansky's Blogs

The Sweet Allure Of Emptiness

This blog post is about politics. It makes small comparisons between Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney. It mostly talks about reasons to vote for Mitt Romney. He usually gives his own ideas by asking questions to the reader, which makes the reader think about the blog post. 

Why Do I Write About Darwin

In this blog post the writer defends Darwin. He responds to a letter by a woman who asks him the reason why he used Darwin as an example in one of his books. The writer explains the importance of Darwin's theories on the humans. 

Puking For Freedom

In this blog post the writer talks about the republican party. He usually gives his ideas about the religion, and states the religion state difference. He also compares Rick Santorum, and Mitt Romney's thoughts about the topic. 

Is Being Dumb Such A Bad Thing?

In this blog post, the writer talks about why Americans think that being a Republican is bad, and connects that thought with the things that Mitt Romney had done for the party. 

How Did I Get Here?

In this blog post, the writer talks about the internet, the commercials, the books, and the relationship between them and the politics. He tells the readers how he began blogging about the politics by giving examples of the commercials, internet, books.

Top 3 Revisions

1)"There Is A Place You Can Not See"  by Zen

I really liked this revision because I found it very creative. I liked how the writer created a unique story out of a normal thing. The descriptions are very good, and the organization is well planned. The tansition between paragraphs makes the story easily readable. 

2)"Walk Among Dream And Truth" by Leo

I found the story really creative because of the imagination that the writer used. The writer's descriptions were detailed. 

3)"Comparison Of My Bottle" by Sophia

I found the descriptions of this text really detailed. I could almost imagined what the bottles looked like. The transition between comparisons were a little uncertain, but the text is easy to understand, and the details help the readers to imagine what the bottles look like. 

Revision of the "Plan For Thanksgiving Break"

There were only 4 days left until Thanksgiving Break. I was so excited because I was going to go home, to New York City. Packing wasn't a problem, since on Thursday I had free time to do that. Taking a lot of things withe me wouldn't be a great idea. I was going to do a lot of shopping over there. Saving some space in my luggage while going home would be good. 

My best friend was coming with me, too. We were going to go to a party on Saturday night in New York. It was going to be so much fun. Other friends of mine from other boarding schools were going to come. I was also excited because I was going to spend time with my family, too. I had missed my family so much, and our thanksgiving dinners. Every Thanksgiving my mom, and my dad would cook the turkey, and me, and my sister would prepare the table. My sister would play the piano right before we start eating. She plays the piano amazingly. This year's thanksgiving dinner was going to be amazing just like every other ones. 

On tuesday night, right after finishing my homework before dinner, I went to see my best friend to plan the things we were going to do together. I went to her room and we started talking. "We should go to the Empire State building together. Oh and I know a place where we can eat great Thai Food." I said. "That sounds awesome. I really need to eat great food. I don't like the food in the dining hall." She said. "Yeah same. Oh by the way,everyone's going to New York. My friends from my old school are going and also a couple of more people from here are going." "Are they coming to the party?" "I don't think so, but I was thinking that we could spend some time with them,too." "Yeah that sounds good." "Do you want to go dinner?" I asked her then we went to dinner. We were so excited.  

On wednesday, we started planning our 10 days in New York. We had made a list of all the things that we wanted to do. 

On thursday, we talked with our friends from other boarding schools, and told them about our plans. We were so ready. 

On friday, after our last class, me and my best friend went to New York.  The fun was beginning. 

 

Revision of "The City Of CA"

As I walk around CA I'll be able to see my Chinese, Turkish, American, Korean, and so many of my friends from different countries. 

I see academic buildings as business towers or skyscrapers like in big cities. They all look as the main things on campus as they're the ones that people see first when they arrive on campus. It is the same for cities. To give an example of New York, what makes New York interesting is its buildings; they are so tall, and that's what makes the city unique. It is nearly the same for CA. Buildings kind of describe what the city of CA is like. As we can see when we look around the campus, the buildings look old, since the city of CA has a huge history. 

The teachers are the ones who own the businesses and run them. They all have something in common; they all have more knowledge than the students. Teachers teach the students, so that when the students grow up they can be like the teachers. The teachers always want the best for the students so that they won't get bad grades or get kicked out of the school. In the cities, bosses try to make their workers better, since they want their businesses to be successful. For teachers, the students must work hard and be successful, so that the future world can be better. There are so many subjects that the owners of the businesses need to teach to the workers. Because of these subjects there are some companies. Nike is the company teaches the workers the athletics. Apple is the company for technology; with this, workers learn the world of technology. TI is the company for sciences. It teaches the workers to do calculations in math and science. Barnes and Nobles teaches the workers the world of literature. 

The students are the workers or interns that spend their weekdays at work. Students want to gain the teachers' knowledge, and they need to complete the assignments to be successful. They want to own the business and run it afterwards. That's why first they have to get out of the "worker zone" and step into the "boss" zone. To give a real life explanation, the students have to graduate so that they can start learning things about the jobs they want to work in. They need to be experienced because experience should help them to be successful. 

I see the academic office as the police station. People who work in the academic office control students' academic situations and if they miss classes or get bad grades they decide what to do, whether changing class or dropping the class. 

I see advisors as life coaches, since they are the ones that students talk to first, when they want to ask something about the school life. The advisors help students or give advice to them so that they can have better academic lives. 

People who work with the head of the school and his assistants are like the mayor and staff. They are the ones who shake hands with important people,take place in articles about achool, and welcome important poeple to school. They control mostly everything about the school, and they come first as the people that are in charge of school. They are the ones who keep the school running by managing the school very well. 

In the city of CA every individual has their own responsibilities that they need to be aware of, so that the city can continue getting better each day. If one person was to ignore their responsibilities, the learning cycle of the city would not be the same. It is a bicycle. When the chain stops working, the handlebars gets broken, or the tires are burst the bicycle wouldn't work. 

Feedback for the creative writing

5 strong words or phrases:

1.It's white with red lines on it,it has a red wire as well, and it's quite fashionable.

2.It has two soft ear muffs

3.This headphone was a gift my mom brought me on Christmas the year before last year.

4. I was thinking about a book called " Silence", which was a love story of a girl who hadn't spoke since she was five.

5.He was so energetic, 

5 weak words or phrases:

1.I like using it

2.It looks just like other headphones

3.but after the first time i put it on, everything has changed.

4.I couldn't believe what I saw.

5.it has good sound effects

Best Meal

During the break I ate a lot of different meals, but there was one I really liked the most. It was the seafood pasta. I really like seafood and pasta, so I enjoyed that meal. The pasta had a color between orange and red, and I think it was because of the color of its sauce. There were a lot of shrimps in the pasta, and a lot of oysters. The pasta looked kind of like noodle, but it was called Angel Hair. The pasta was really thin and long; its color without the sauce was yellow and white. The pasta smelled amazing. I believe that the sauce was the reason of its smell. There were tomatoes in the sauce. I think that its name was pesto sauce. There was also parsley and garlic in the pasta. 

I found the taste of the pasta really good. I really liked how they put a lot of shrimps because I love shrimps. There were calamaris, too. I also liked the plate they brought the pasta in. The plate looked like a big bowl, and because it was big, the pasta was more than enough for me. There was only one problem with the plate. It was too hot to hold it. I tried holding it, and I nearly burnt my hand. 

I didn't like something about the pasta. I had to open the oysters because they were in their shells. It made it difficult eating like that, but other than that I enjoed my meal. 

The seafood pasta was one of the best meals I had during the break. If I can find that restaurant, I would eat their seafood pasta again

Plan for the Thanksgiving Break

There were only 4 days left until Thanksgiving Break. I was so excited because I was going to go home, to New York City. I hadn't started packing, since I knew I could do it on thursday, right before the day I was going to leave. 

My best friend was coming with me, too. We were going to go to a party on Saturday night in New York. It was going to be so much fun. Other friends of mine from other boarding schools were going to come. I was also excited because I was going to spend time with my family, too. 

On tuesday night, right after finishing my homework before dinner, I went to see my best friend to plan the trip. I went to her room and we started talking about the trip. "We should go to the Empire State building together. Oh and I know a place where we can eat great Thai Food." I said. "That sounds awesome. I really need to eat great food. I don't like the food in the dining hall." She said. "Yeah same. Oh by the way, literally everyone's going to New York. My friends from my old school are going and also a couple of more people from here are going." "Are they coming to the party?" "I don't think so, but I was thinking that we could spend some time with them,too." "Yeah that sounds good." "Do you want to go dinner?" I asked her then we went to dinner. We were so excited.  

On wednesday, we started planning our 10 days in New York. We had made a list of all the things that we wanted to do. 

On thursday, we talked with our friends from other boarding schools, and told them about our plans. We were so ready. 

On friday, after our last class, me and my best friend went to New York. The fun was beginning. 

 

Important Ones

I have this orange bracelet that looks like a piece of a rope, but it's more than a rope. It has a golden hand symbol on it. This hand represents an object that can protect me from bad luck. The hand symbol doesn't make it special for me; it's because it was a gift from my dad for my 14th birthday. I always wear this bracelet when I feel like I'm having a bad day or when I have an important test. I also believe that it brings me good luck. 

I understood that this bracelet brings good luck to me two years ago. 

I have a best friend at my old school to whom I can always call my sister because she is actually like my sister. We've known each other for more than 9 years. Her parents had to move to another city, so she had to move, too. She didn't want to move because she had friends at home, and she really liked the school. I thought that she was going to leave. I was so scared because if she would have left, I would have no friend close to me like her. Fortunately, she stayed one year. When we were 8th graders, she told me that after our final test day, she would get the information from her parents if she was gonna leave or stay. 

On our final test day, I was carrying that bracelet because the test was important, and I was hoping that my friend could have stayed. After our test, I asked her what happened. 

I got two great news that day. First one was that I had gotten 97 from my test, and the second one was about my friend. She was staying. I was so happy. She was happy too. 

I really like Toy Story movies. I found them really fun to watch. I have one of the toys in that movie. The main character Woody is a cowboy toy. I have its real life toy. I got it in Rome when I was 10 years old. It means a lot to me, since I think that it has a huge impact on me. When I was a little kid, whenever I was sad, I would play with it, and it would somehow make me feel so much better. It's still making me happy. When I was 12 my brother had to leave home for boarding school. I was really sad. I love my brother even though we used to fight a lot. During those times I really needed something to make me happy every day. My parents really helped me through that time, but when Woody was with me I was feeling somehow better. It reminded me of my times with my brother,so that was kind of a way to remember him.  

The City Of CA - final first draft

CA is a big city that has so many different lifestyles and so many different people from different nationalities. 

It is like New York, since in New York it is possible to find a lot of people from different countries. 

I see academic buildings as business towers or skyscrapers like in big cities. They all look as the main things on campus as they're the ones that people see first when they arrive on campus. It is the same for cities. To continue with an example of New York, what makes New York interesting is its buildings. It is the same for CA. Buildings kind of describe what the city of CA is like. As we can see when we look around the campus, the buildings look old, since the city of CA has a huge history. 

The teachers are like the ones who owns the businesses and runs them. They all have something in common, they all have more knowledge than the students. Teachers teach the students, so that when the students grow up they can be like the teachers. The teachers always want the best for the students so that they won't get bad grades or get kicked out of the school. In the cities, bosses try to make their workers better, since they want their businesses to be successful. For teachers, the students must work hard and be successful, so that the future's world can be better. 

The students are like the workers or interns that spends their weekdays at work. Students learn because when they grow up they want to be like the teachers, the owners of the businesses. They want to own the business and run it afterwards. That's why first they have to get out of the "worker zone" and step into the "boss" zone. To give a real life explanation, the students have to graduate so that they can start learning things about the jobs they want to work in.

I see the academic office as the police station. People who work in the academic office control students' academic situations and if they miss classes or get bad grades they decide what to do, whether changing class or dropping the class. 

I see advisors as life coaches, since they are the ones that students talk to first, when they want to ask something about the school life. The advisors help students or give advice to them so that they can have better academic lives. 

People who work with the head of the school and the head of the school are like the mayors. They control mostly everything about the school, and they come first as the people that are in charge of school. 

In the city of CA every individual has their own responsibilities that they need to be aware of, so that the city can continue getting better each day. If one person was to ignore their responsibilities, the learning cycle of the city would not be the same.  

The city of ca

18: Invisible City

CA is a big city that has so many different lifestyles and so many different people from different nationalities. 

It is like New York, since in New York it is possible to find a lot of people from lots of different countries. 

I see academic buildings as business towers or skyscrapers like in big cities. They all look as the main things on campus as they're the ones that people see first when they arrive at campus. It is the same for cities. To continue with an example of New York, what makes New York interesting is its buildings. It is the same for CA. Buildings kind of describe what the city of CA is like. As we can see when we look around the campus, the buildings look old, since the city of CA has a huge history. 

The teachers are like the ones who owns the businesses and runs them. They all have something in common, they all have more knowledge than the students. They teach the students, so that when the students grow up they can be like the teachers. The teachers always want the best for the students so that they won't get bad grades or get kicked out of the school. In the cities, bosses try to make their workers better, since they want their businesses to be successful. For teachers, the students must work hard and be successful, so that the future's world can be better. 

The students are like the workers or interns that spends their weekdays at work. They learn because when they grow up they want to be like the teachers, the owners of the businesses. They want to own the business and run it afterwards. That's why first they have to get out of the "worker zone" and step into the "boss" zone. To give a real life explanation, the students have to graduate so that they can start learning things about the jobs they want to work in.

I see the academic office as the police station. They control students' academic situations and if they miss classes or get bad grades they decide what to do, whether changing class or dropping the class. 

I see advisors as life coaches, since they are the ones that students talk to first, when they want to ask something about the school life. The advisors help students or give advices to them so that they can have better academic lives. 

People who work with the principal of the school and the principal are like the mayors. They control mostly everything about the school, and they come first as the people that are in charge of school. 

The City of CA - first draft

18: Invisible City

CA is a big city that has so many different lifestyles and so many different people from different nationalities. 

It is like New York, since in New York it is possible to find a lot of people from lots of different countries. 

I see academic buildings as business towers or skyscrapers like in big cities. 

I see teachers as people who owns the businesses and runs them. They all have something in common, teaching. They teach the students, so that when they grow up they can be like them. 

The students are like the workers or interns that spends their weekdays at work. They learn because when they grow up they want to be like the teachers, the owners of the businesses. They want to own the business and run it afterwards. That's why first they have to get out of the worker zone and step into the "boss" zone. To give a real life explanation, the students have to graduate so that they can start learning things about the jobs they want to work in.

I see the academic office as the police station. They control students' academic situations and if they miss classes or get bad grades they decide what to do, whether changing class or dropping the class. 

I see advisors as life coaches, since they are the ones that students talk first when they want to ask something about the school life. The advisors help the students or they give advices to them so that they can have better academic lives. 

The people who works with the principal of the school and the principal are like the mayors. They control mostly everything about the school, and they come first as the people that are in charge of school.  

About the notebook

I chose the notebook that I use to write down things that I want to remember quickly.

In the front,  the top half is all green. On the top there are spirals that hold the papers inside the notebook. There are three words below the spirals. Two of them are in English and I think that the other one is in Latin. English words are memo and book; latin word is libreta. Libreta can be something about writing, since we use notebooks to write on them. 

The bottom half is all green, too. There is a picture of a tree with the name of the notebook's brand. It says FSC, MIX, and paper. Below that, there is the name of the distributor; Wal-Mart Stores. It also says that it was made in India. On the bottom right there are measurements of the papers inside the notebook; 3x5 in and 7,62x12,7 cm. There is also an information about the number of papers that are in the notebook. It is in English and in Spanish. It says 80 sheets, book, libreta con and paper in spanish. On the bottom left there is the barcode of the notebook. 

In the back, there is no color. It is nearly brown because of the material of the back cover. There are also small black dots. The over is recyclable. The cover feels like wood and doesn't smell. On the top there are spirals again, but no words to describe the notebook.

This notebook's papers are tearable. People who know English or Spanish can read this notebook's cover. The notebook is for small notes only.

"Bible Killer"

I saw Galileo on November 16th, on a cold friday night. The play was really good. The actors were well prepared and they remembered every single word of their roles. I really liked it because the main actor, Galileo, was able to give emotions of Galileo. I almost felt how Galileo felt through every scene. What Brecht wanted in this play was to leave us with questions and wanted us to feel like it's real life. That's what I felt. The ending was surprising, since I thought there were more scenes. I thought there was a happy ending, but there wasn't. 

The play was about Galileo's journey through discovering telescope and having an inquisition from the church. In the play, some people are against Galileo because they're saying that he didn't invent the telescope. He stole it. 

With telescope, Galileo is able to observe the space. He finds out that earth is not the center of everything. It is the sun that earth turns around. When Galileo comes up with this idea, people call him "Bible Killer". He ends up having an inquisition from the church. In the end he writes his last astronomical book and his apprentice sees that and understands that this book is an important book. 

The major characters were, Galileo Galilei, Andrea Sarti (his apprentice), Pope, Priuli. 

I really liked something about the play. I liked the scene where the actors played the "Bible Killer" scene. I believe that Galileo's emotions were expressed very well. I also liked the last scene where Galileo and his apprentice finds out that the last book Galileo wrote can be an important book. Galileo's situation was expressed very well. He was between desperate and confused, since he was a prisoner of the church and his last book could have a big impact in the science world. 

The costumes were really good. They all told us the time of the play very well. 

Acting was good. Even though sometimes it was difficult to understand some words, actors did a pretty good job. 

Stage set could be better. If they were to use more elements about the play and about that time, the stage would have looked more crowded and would have expressed more things about that time. 

There were some confusing things. The plot contained a lot of latin and scientific words which made it difficult to understand. Sometimes, the actors talked so fast, that made me impossible to understand. That's why there were some scenes that I didn't understand. 

Another confusing thing was the character change. Some actors acted as more than one person which made the play a little bit difficult to follow. There was a scene where they announced one character's name which made the scene easy to understand. 

I would recommend this play to others. I would really want others to see Galileo's life from Bertol Brecht's perspective. In this play, there aren't unreal things. The whole story makes us feel like this is the real world and there isn't have to be a happy ending. 

From a newspaper to the theatre

Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright and theatre director who was born in February 10th 1898 and died in August 4th 1956. His father was a Catholic and his mother a Protestant. His father had a job in a paper factory, and his mother didn’t have a job. He had one brother named Walter. 

As a kid, Brecht had a lot of health problems with his heart and his face. 

He began writing in high school. During that time, he ended up co-founding and co-editing a school magazine called The Harvest. He was sixteen when he wrote his first play for a local newspaper. The play was named The Bible. It was about a girl who had to choose between living and dying but saving many others. He left school when he was nineteen because of his health problems. 

Brecht's four great plays were written between 1938 and 1945. These included The Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and Her Children; The Good Woman of Setzuan and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

He first experimented some writing styles such as Dadaism and expressionism, but then he developed his own writing style and continued with that. 

Brech received the National Prize in 1951. He won the Lenin Peace Prize. 

Now, Brecht’s plays are being showed all around the world.

Bad Luck

Dear Ms. Guarino,

I am sorry I missed the assignment for today about the poem that we read. I wrote the story that you mentioned about the poem during the christmas break on my iPad, but here's what happened...

It was the day before the end of the christmas break when I heard my brother packing up at 8 am. I asked him what he was doing and he told me that he was going skiing with his friends to Salt Lake City. I wanted to go with him. After an hour of trying to convince him to take me with him, he finally told me to start packing up. He said that our plane was at 1 pm. 

We landed in Salt Lake City. It was a beautiful snowy day. My brother told me that we were staying in a hotel that was near the mountain that we were gonna ski. I was so excited about it, because I had never stayed on a mountain hotel.

We got to the hotel and it was a dissapointment. The entrance felt like a dungeon. There was no light or a window. We finally checked in and got into our rooms. The rooms were so small, and they were a mess. After settling in, we went to the reception to complain about our rooms. They said that they were sorry and that they would change our rooms. They didn't. 

At 7 pm we went to the mountain to ski. I told my brother that it would be a bad idea, since it would get dark at 7 pm. He told me that I could just do homeworks and not ski. That's what I did. I got my iPad with me and headed to the mountain with my brother and his friends. I sat on a bench that was near the store that my brother got some equipments to ski. I started doing my homework on my iPad, but it was so cold, so I got into the cafe that was near the store. I sat on a table for three and ordered myself a hot chocolate. I wish I didn't. 

After ten minutes of waiting, my order came. I could see my brother and his friends that were skiing on the outside from the blurry window of the cafe. I decided to take a break and watch them a little while, so I put my iPad on the table, right next to my hot chocolate. Unfortunately, there were a lot of little kids in the cafe and they were not docile. They were playing baseball inside the cafe. At a time when I wasn't drinking my hot chocolate and it was standing right next to my iPad, the kids threw the ball directly to the mug that my hot chocolate was in. The mug crashed onto my iPad and my iPad was covered with hot chocolate. I was so angry to them. I warned their parents that they should watch their children and not let them play baseball inside. I paid for the hot chocolate that I didn't get the chance to finish and got out of the cafe. I saw my brother and his friends coming towards me. My brother told me that we could get to the hotel and he asked me if I finished my homeworks. At that time I opened my iPad. Well, I tried. It wasn't working. I got so worried, since the story I wrote for your class was on the iPad. My iPad never worked again. We took it to a store to fix it, but no one could fix it. There was only one day left for the school to start and I realised that I was too late to do the assignement again. 

Again, I'm really sorry. I wish you could have seen the story I wrote, because I'm sure you would like it. If I can be excused from this assignment that would be good for me. 

Thank you,

Sincerely,

Sera Savas

Galileo Galilei: A brave physicist

Galileo's full name was Galileo Galilei. He was Italian and was born in Pisa, Italy on 15th of February 1564. He was determined to go to the University of Pisa to study medicine. Pretty much  everything started after studying in the University of Pisa. 

One day he went to Pisa Cathedral and and was looking at the chandelier that was in the cathedral. During that time, he was studying the light fixture, so he noticed that the chandelier was swinging in larger and smaller arcs, because of the air currents. He used his pulse to observe how much time it took for the chandelier to swing back and forth. After this event, Galileo made an experiment . He set up two pendulums which were equal in length, by swinging one through a large arc and the other with a smaller sweep Galileo observed that they kept time together. This discovery led to Galileo’s study of time intervals and the development of his idea for a pendulum clock. 

Galileo’s inventions weren’t limited with that. He changed his major from medicine to natural physics after inventing the pendulum clock. He created the thermoscope which was an early invention of the thermometer. 

He also had some ideas about the space. He predicted a lot of things about earth, moon and sun.

After a life full of exciting and useful inventions, Galileo died on 8th of January 1642.

Progress

In the beginning of this year, I was a little bit scared of writing long essays that includes complicated and difficult words. I was also scared of making grammar mistakes, since I had some issues with a couple of tenses. Sentence structures was also a problem for me. Putting commas or semicolons was difficult for me, because I didn't know the exact rules for that. I believe that I have made a huge progress since the beginning of this year. 

I set three goals in the beginning of this year including, getting better in writing essays, writing better sentences and developing my grammar knowledge.  

We always write essays in this class, so I think that writing in every class helped me so much. We always try to get better and have other's say their ideas about our essays. Like this, I can see my wrongs and my rights. When I read someone else's essay, I can learn a lot of things from them, too. If there is a word that I don't know, I look up in the dictionary for that word. 

We also learn how to form our sentences correctly. Writing more detailed phrases and more difficult phrases can help my essay get better and express the emotions that I want to give in my essay better. I have never written long essays like two pages. This class helped me develop that part of my writing skill. I had some problems about writing detailed in the beginning of the year, because I know that writing detailed helps me to write a stronger and a better essay. 

Developing my grammar knowledge was one of the most important things that I wanted to work on. I had some issues with a couple of tenses of past. I got to work on them a lot during writing my essays. We also had some activities to help us better understand the grammar errors that we make in our essays. 

I believe that I have worked on these three goals well and I will keep working on. I need to write more detailed in my essays and still pay attention to the grammar mistakes. I can use stronger expressions in my essays to express the emotions better. 

I stopped repeating the same grammar errors, started writing more detailed and forming more difficult sentences. I think that if I were to compare the essays I wrote this year and the previous years, I could see a significant change. I feel more comfortable while writing my essays and I don't get scared of long essays anymore. I know how to develop my essays and my sentences in order to make them better. I hope that in the end of this year my progress will be great. 

Comma after an introductory element handout

5 minutes:rules and explanations

When you begin a sentence with a word or group of words that provides some background, introductory, or otherwise preliminary information, put a comma between this word or phrase and the rest of your sentence. The comma here tells your reader to pause, take the background information into consideration, and get ready to move on to the main part of the sentence.

When to use it?

Introductory elements often require a comma, but not always. Use a comma in the following cases:

After an introductory clause. 

After a long introductory prepositional phrase or more than one introductory prepositional phrase. 

After introductory verbal phrases, some appositive phrases, or absolute phrases.

If there is a distinct pause. 

To avoid confusion. 

When not to use it?

Some introductory elements don't require a comma, and sometimes the subject of a sentence looks like an introductory element but isn't. Do not use a comma in the following cases:

After a brief prepositional phrase. (Is it a single phrase of fewer than five words?)

After a restrictive (essential) appositive phrase. 

To separate the subject from the predicate. 

Examples:

Preparing and submitting his report to the committee for evaluation and possible publication[x] was one of the most difficult tasks Bill had ever attempted.

To start a new business without doing market research and long-term planning in advance[x] would be foolish.

Extracting the most profit for the least expenditure on labor and materials[x] is the primary goal of a capitalist.

DO NOT USE IT!!!

A popular and well respected mayor, Bailey was the clear favorite in the campaign for governor.

Barking insistently, Smokey got us to throw his ball for him.

The wind blowing violently, the townspeople began to seek shelter.

USE IT!!!

10 minutes:practice

Are there any errors in these sentences?

Crying for hours and refusing to sleep 3 year old John convinced his parents to take him to the play garden.

Playing musical instruments and listening to his favorite artists, was his way of relaxing.

However they continued studying Spanish.

With his dark brown eyes and black hairs, Zach was accepted to act as the prince on the show. 

To think that school was useless and that it was nonsense, made Paul think that he didn't need to study.  

Loving and always hugging her children, Caroline thought that she was a good mother. 

Although he made it. 

With its colorful windows and walls, The Painted Ladies in San Francisco always gets people's attention. 

Never getting what the teacher says Alison is always confused. 

With its cold rainy weather and stormy nights, England was his favorite place. 

Although we had reviewed the film twice before, we never noticed these details about the shooting.

After his long nap in the backyard hammock John felt better.

Sadly, the building was destroyed. 

On the other hand someone obviously was badly injured.

  Inside the gym was brightly lighted and clean.

To stay in shape for competition athletes must exercise every day.

In Spring they would all dress up in white to show that summer was coming. 

Entering the room, was dangerous. 

To sell this car you should clean it then put the photos on the internet. 

When he saw the ca coming Jonas stopped and made a quick turn.

5 minutes:acrivities and closure

Acrivities:Station

There are 2 stations in the classroom:wrong and right.

There are some phrases in different places of the classroom. These phrases might have errors about their commas after the introductory elements. If there are errors, you should put those sentences on the station of wrong. If there aren't any errors, you should put them on the station of right. 

Closure

IF Something comes before the subject (other than adjectives THEN  Put a comma after what comes before the subject and its adjectives.

For short prepositional phrases, you can drop the comma. Except for yes or no, direct address and interjections. 

That Moment

I was scared. Totally scared. Scared and excited at the same time.  My parents weren't going to be with me for the next three months. I was scared, because I was going to live on my own; excited, because it was a new journey. There weren't going to be anyone saying "Did you do your homework?" or "Did you make your bed?". I was going to be on my own. I was happy. I was so happy to be able to start a new life and a new experience. Nothing could have replaced that feeling, because that was a new feeling. Studying abroad was going to change my life. Living on my own away from my parents would help me know myself better and grow up.

That was a regular morning when my mom woke me up and told me that it was the time. It was the time to start a whole new life. I was sad, because I didn't want to leave my family. We all had our breakfast in the hotel that we stayed, and then headed to Cheshire Academy. 

School was amazing. Teachers, students, classrooms and dorms were all better than I've expected. While having my key for the dorm, meeting new teachers, signing up for the activities that day, I felt different. At first I felt like I didn't know what was really going on. Everything was new. I had to get used to this "new normal". 

I've met some students. "Hi. Welcome to Cheshire Academy. I am responsible for touring you guys the campus. If you have any questions let me know okay?" a returning international student said. 

"Where are you from?" he said 

"We are coming from Turkey." 

"Oh, it must be far away from here. How did you find the school?" 

"We found it on the internet and I applied here for the summer school, too". It was so difficult to talk. For every word I said about the school I wanted to cry, but not because of the school, because of my parents. I was going to miss them a lot. I wasn't sure if I was ready or not. 

There were mostly international students and they all had missed their families and homes. Knowing that I wasn't the only one who felt scared, made me feel comfortable. I had a lot of friends that day. I didn't know I would meet that many of people in a day. From the day 1, there were more than fifteen people who I could call a friend. 

When the first day ended I felt good. I felt good about everything. It was the right choice. My parents stayed around Cheshire for two more weeks. That made me get ready to live on my own. They would visit me after and before school. I wasn't aware that they were going to turn back so I felt like the school days were always going to be like that, with them. 

"You need anything?" my dad asked me before leaving. "No. Everything's fine. Thank you so much for letting me study here." I said. "When will you be coming back?" "In 30 days. The time will fly so fast that you won't even remember. I promise." my mom said. They both hugged me. Then headed to the car. 

When my parents left everything has changed. I was all on my own. I really understood the meaning of my parents at that moment. I wished I had never fought with them before and had always done what they have wanted from me. I experienced the real sadness and realized how strong I was. 

That moment when they got into the car and left I tried to smile but it was so difficult since all I have wanted to do was to cry. I have never felt so confused. I realized the importance of my family. I could see their sadness, too. I'd never seen them so quiet and so sad. My parents were the ones that I had spent my days and nights with and now, they weren't going to be with me. Instead, there were going to be teachers and friends. I was sure that with different people around me, I was going to develop myself in so many different ways and experience a lot of things. I knew that I would know myself better in conditions of my emotions, and my relationships with people,because everything was going to be new and I had to make new relations with new people. When something bad would happen I would have to deal with it by myself, and that would help me grow up.

I understood at that time that no matter what happens, your family will always be the most important thing in your life. My life was changed; I had started a whole new journey. Was it going to be challenging? Yes. Was it going to be difficult? Yes, but I knew that I wasn't going to give up and do my best at school by remembering why I came here.  

That Moment (final draft)

I was scared. Totally scared. Scared and excited at the same time.  My parents weren't going to be with me for the next three months. I was scared, because I was going to live on my own; excited, because it was a new journey. There weren't going to be anyone saying "Did you do your home works?" or "Did you make your bed?". I was going to be on my own. I was happy. I was so happy to be able to start a new life and a new experience. Nothing could have replaced that feeling, because that was a new feeling. Studying abroad was going to change my life. Living on my own away from my parents would help me know myself better and grow up.

That was a regular morning when my mom woke me up and told me that it was the time. It was the time to start to a whole new life. I was sad, because I didn't want to leave my family. We all had our breakfast in the hotel that we stayed then headed to Cheshire Academy. 

School was amazing. Teachers, students, classrooms and dorms were all more than I've expected. While having my key for the dorm, meeting new teachers, signing up for the activities that day, I felt different. At first I felt like I didn't know what was going on. Everything was new. I had to get used to this "new normal". 

I've met some students. "Hi. Welcome to Cheshire Academy. I am responsible for touring you guys the campus. If you have any questions let me know okay?" a returning international student said. "Where are you from?" he said "We are coming from Turkey." "Oh, it must be far away from here. How did you find the school?" "We found it on the internet and I applied here for the summer school, too". That was so difficult to talk. For every word I said about the school I wanted to cry, but not because of the school, because of my parents. I was going to miss them a lot. I wasn't sure if I was ready or not. 

There were mostly international students and they all had missed their families and homes. Knowing that I wasn't the only one who felt scared, made me feel comfortable. I had a lot of friends that day. I didn't know I would meet that many of people in a day. From the day 1, there were more than fifteen people who I could call a friend. 

When the first day ended I felt good. I felt good about everything. It was the right choice. My parents stayed around Cheshire for two more weeks. That made me get ready to live on my own. They would visit me after and before school. I wasn't aware that they were going to turn back so I felt like the school days were always going to be like that, with them. 

"You need anything?" my dad asked me before leaving. "No. Everything's fine. Thank you so much for letting me study here." I said. "When will you be coming back?" "In 30 days. The time will fly so fast that you won't even remember. I promise." my mom said. They both hugged me. Then headed to the car. 

When my parents left everything has changed. I was all on my own. I really understood the meaning of my parents at that moment. I wished I had never fought with them before and had always done what they have wanted from me. I experienced the real sadness and realized how strong I was. 

That moment when they got into the car and left I tried to smile but it was so difficult since all I have wanted to do was to cry. I have never felt so confused. I realized the importance of my family. I could see their sadness, too. I'd never seen them so quiet and so sad. My parents were the ones that I had spent my days and nights with and now, they weren't going to be with me. Instead, there were going to be teachers and friends. I was sure that with different people around me, I was going to develop myself in so many different ways and experience a lot of things. I knew that I would know myself better in conditions of my emotions, and my relationships with people,because everything was going to be new and I had to make new relations with new people. When something bad would happen I would have to deal with it by myself, and that would help me grow up.

I understood at that time that no matter what happens, your family will always be the most important thing in your life. My life was changed; I had started a whole new journey. Was it going to be challenging? Yes. Was it going to be difficult? Yes, but I knew that I wasn't going to give up and do my best at school by remembering why I came here.  

Challenging But Developing - Blog 5

This paper is about a significant moment in my life that had affected me. There had been a lot of events that had affected me in so many different ways and had different effects on me. I chose the memory where I left my parents and started living at Cheshire Academy.

I chose that memory, because I felt like that was an important moment in my life. I learnt how to live on my own and how to deal with problems on my own. During this paper, I had to write this memory more like a story, but I realized that I had more analysis part than I had story part. Writing the story part was difficult, because I didn't tell just one moment. At first I had to write a couple of events to write my conclusion. I realized that I didn't have so many dialogues. I added more story parts so that the analysis and the story parts could be balanced.

Another difficult part of the paper was writing the thesis statement. I wrote three thesis statements until I found the right one. The thesis statement was difficult, because I had to talk about two different situations so that my thesis could support my story.

They were difficult, because this paper had to be interesting to the readers. I have always written my sentences by thinking if the readers will be interested in them or if they will enjoy the story. I believe that the readers are one of the most important things that I have to think of while I'm writing. The text needs to be readable and interesting. That's why one of the difficult part was the introduction.

I believe that every story gets interest from its introduction. So making the introduction interesting was difficult, too. I had to find interesting sentences or words so that the readers could get attracted and decide to read more. I believe that I was successful at finding the right words, but at first drafts I couldn't  place them at the right places. At my second draft I finally found the right places for the attractive words. I decided to first tell how I felt about the memory so that the readers can be curious about my situation and want to learn more so that they could continue reading the story. 

Putting the events in an order was a little bit difficult,too since first I had to tell more than one event to make the story understandable.At the end of second draft I believe that I succeeded at that part, too.

It is a challenging paper, but I am also learning a lot of things in order to make my story more interesting to the readers and I feel like in every draft I am writing, I am getting better at writing stories, analysis and thesis statements. I feel like at the end of this paper I will be much better in writing stories than I was before. 

That Moment (2nd draft)

I was scared. Totally scared. Scared and excited at the same time.  My parents weren't going to be with me for the next three months. I was scared, because I was going to live on my own; excited, because it was a new journey. Living on my own was going to help me get to know better myself and being away from my parents was going to help me grow up. There weren't going to be anyone saying "Did you do your home works?" or "Did you make your bed?". I was going to be on my own. I was happy. I was so happy to be able to start a new life and a new experience. Nothing could have replaced that feeling, because that was a new feeling. Studying abroad was going to change my life. 

That was a regular morning when my mom woke me up and told me that it was the time. It was the time to start to a whole new life. I was sad, because I didn't want to leave my family. We all had our breakfast in the hotel that we stayed then headed to Cheshire Academy. 

School was amazing. Teachers, students, classrooms and dorms were all more than I've expected. While having my key for the dorm, meeting new teachers, signing up for the activities that day, I felt different. At first I felt like I didn't know what was going on. Everything was new. I had to get used to this "new normal". 

I've met some students. "Hi. Welcome to Cheshire Academy. I am responsible for touring you guys the campus. If you have any questions let me know okay?" a returning international student said. "Where are you from?" he said "We are coming from Turkey." "Oh, it must be far away from here. How did you find the school?" "We found it on the internet and I applied here for the summer school, too". That was so difficult to talk. For every word I said about the school I wanted to cry, but not because of the school, because of my parents. I was going to miss them a lot. I wasn't sure if I was ready or not. 

There were mostly international students and they all had missed their families and homes. Knowing that I wasn't the only one who felt scared, made me feel comfortable. I had a lot of friends that day. I didn't know I would meet that many of people in a day. From the day 1, there were more than fifteen people who I could call a friend. 

When the first day ended I felt good. I felt good about everything. It was the right choice. My parents stayed around Cheshire for two more weeks. That made me get ready to live on my own. They would visit me after and before school. I wasn't aware that they were going to turn back so I felt like the school days were always going to be like that, with them. 

"You need anything?" my dad asked me before leaving. "No. Everything's fine. Thank you so much for letting me study here." I said. "When will you be coming back?" "In 30 days. The time will fly so fast that you won't even remember. I promise." my mom said. They both hugged me. Then headed to the car. 

When my parents left everything has changed. I was all on my own. I really understood the meaning of my parents at that moment. I wished I had never fought with them before or had always done what they have wanted from me. I experienced the real sadness and realized how strong I was. 

That moment when they got into the car and left I tried to smile but it was difficult since all I have wanted to do was to cry. I have never felt so confused. I realized the importance of my family. I could see their sadness, too. I'd never seen them so quiet and so sad. My parents were the ones that I had spent my days and nights with and now, they weren't going to be with me. Instead, there were going to be teachers and friends. I was sure that with different people around me, I was going to develop myself in so many different ways and experience a lot of things. 

I understood at that time that no matter what happens, your family will always be the most important thing in your life. My life was changed; I had started a whole new journey. Was it going to be challenging? Yes. Was it going to be difficult? Yes, but you can't see the rainbow without the rain.

That Moment-2nd draft

That moment was so scary and exciting at the same time. I was scared. Totally scared. My parents weren't going to be with me for the next three months. So there weren't going to be anyone saying "Did you do your home works?" or "Did you make your bed?". I was going to be on my own. I was happy. I was so happy to be able to start a new life and a new experience. Nothing could have replaced that feeling, because that was a new feeling. Studying abroad was going to change my life. 

That was a regular morning when my mom woke me up and told me that it was the time. It was the time to start to a whole new life. I was sad, because I didn't want to leave my family. We all had our breakfast in the hotel that we stayed then headed to Cheshire Academy. 

School was amazing. Teachers, students, classrooms and dorms were all more than I've expected. While having my key for the dorm, meeting new teachers, signing up for the activities that day, I felt different. At first I felt like I didn't know what was going on. Everything was new. I had to get used to this "new normal". 

I've met some students. "Hi. Welcome to Cheshire Academy. I am responsible for touring you guys the campus. If you have any questions let me know okay?" a returning international student said. "Where are you from?" he said "We are coming from Turkey." "Oh, it must be far away from here. How did you find the school?" "We found it on the internet and I applied here for the summer school, too". That was so difficult to talk. For every word I said about the school I wanted to cry, but not because of the school, because of my parents. I was going to miss them a lot. I wasn't sure if I was ready or not. 

There were mostly international students and they all had missed their families and homes. Knowing that I wasn't the only one who felt scared, made me feel comfortable. I had a lot of friends that day. I didn't know I would meet that many of people in a day. From the day 1, there were more than fifteen people who I could call a friend. 

When the first day ended I felt good. I felt good about everything. It was the right choice. My parents stayed around Cheshire for two more weeks. That made me get ready to live on my own. They would visit me after and before school. I wasn't aware that they were going to turn back so I felt like the school days were always going to be like that, with them. 

"You need anything?" my dad asked me before leaving. "No. Everything's fine. Thank you so much for letting me study here." I said. "When will you be coming back?" "In 30 days. The time will fly so fast that you won't even remember. I promise." my mom said. They both hugged me. Then headed to the car. 

When my parents left everything has changed. I was all on my own. I really understood the meaning of my parents at that moment. I wished I had never fought with them before or had always done what they have wanted from me. I experienced the real sadness and realized how strong I was. 

That moment when they got into the car and left I tried to smile but it was difficult since all I have wanted to do was to cry. I have never felt so confused. I realized the importance of my family. I think that that was an important thing for me and my family. My parents were the ones that I had spent my days and nights with and now, they weren't going to be with me. Instead, there were going to be teachers and friends. I was sure that with different people around me, I was going to develop myself in so many different ways and experience a lot of things. 

I understood at that time that no matter what happens, your family will always be the most important thing in your life. My life was changed; I had started a whole new journey. Was it going to be challenging? Yes. I was going to decide what to do in the future. I was going to be ready for my future education life. 

That Moment (final first draft)

That moment was so scary and exciting at the same time. I was scared. Totally scared. My parents weren't going to be with me for the next three months. So there weren't going to be anyone saying "Did you do your home works?" or "Did you make your bed?". I was going to be on my own. I was happy. I was so happy to be able to start a new life and a new experience. Nothing could have replaced that feeling, because that was a new feeling. Studying abroad was going to change my life. 

That was a regular morning when my mom woke me up and told me that it was the time. It was the time to start to a whole new life. I was sad, because I didn't want to leave my family. We all had our breakfast in the hotel that we stayed then headed to Cheshire Academy. 

School was amazing. Teachers, students, classrooms and dorms were all more than I've expected. While having my key for the dorm, meeting new teachers, signing up for the activities that day, I felt different. At first I felt like I didn't know what was going on. Everything was new. I had to get used to this "new normal". 

I've met some students. It made me feel better about what I was doing. They were mostly international students and they had all missed their families and homes. Knowing that I wasn't the only one who felt scared, made me feel comfortable. I had a lot of friends that day. I didn't know I would meet that many of people in a day. From the day 1, there were more than fifteen people who I could call a friend. 

When the first day ended I felt good. I felt good about everything. It was the right choice. My parents stayed around Cheshire for two weeks. That made me get ready to live on my own. They would visit me after and before school. I wasn't aware that they were going to turn back so I felt like the school days were always going to be like that, with them. 

"You need anything?" my dad asked me before leaving. "No. Everything's fine. Thank you so much for letting me study here." I said. "When will you be coming back?" "In 30 days. The time will fly so fast that you won't even remember. I promise." my mom said. They both hugged me. Then headed to the car. 

When my parents left everything has changed. I was all on my own. I really understood the meaning of my parents at that moment. I wished I had never fought with them before or had always done what they have wanted from me. I experienced the real sadness and realized how strong I was. 

That moment when they got into the car and left I tried to smile but it was difficult since all I have wanted to do was to cry. I have never felt so confused. I realized the importance of my family. I think that that was an important thing for me and my family. My parents were the ones that I spent my days and nights with and now, they weren't going to be with me. Instead, there were going to be teachers and friends. I was sure that with different people around me, I was going to develop myself in so many different ways and experience a lot of things. I understood at that time that no matter what happens, your family will always be the most important thing in your life. 

That Moment-First Draft

That moment was so scary and exciting at the same time. I was scared. Totally scared. My parents weren't going to be with me for the next three months. So there weren't going to be anyone who's saying "Did you do your home works?" or "Did you make your bed?". I was going to be on my own. I was happy. I was so happy to be able to start a new life and a new experience. Nothing could have replaced that feeling, because that was a new feeling. Studying abroad was going to change my life. 

That was a regular morning when my mom woke me up and told me that it was the time. It was the time to start to a whole new life. I was sad, because I didn't want to leave my family. We all had our breakfast in the hotel that we stayed then headed to Cheshire Academy. 

School was amazing. Teachers, students, classrooms and dorms were all more than I've expected. While having my key for the dorm, meeting new teachers, signing up for the activities that day, I felt different. At first I felt like I didn't know what was going on. Everything was new. I had to get used to this "new normal". 

I've met some students. It made me feel better about what I was doing. They were mostly international students and they had all missed their families and homes. Knowing that I wasn't the only one who felt scared, made me feel comfortable. I had a lot of friends that day. I didn't know I would meet that many of people in a day. From day one, there were more than fifteen people who I could call a friend. 

When the first day ended I felt good. I felt good about everything. It was the right choice. My parents stayed around Cheshire for two weeks. That made get ready to live on my own. They would visit me after and before school. I wasn't aware that they were going to turn back so I felt like the school days were always going to be like that. 

When my parents left everything has changed. I was all on my own. I really understood the meaning of my parents at that moment. I wished I had never fought with them before or had always done what they wanted from me to do. I experienced the real sadness and realized how strong I was. 

That moment when they got into the car and left, I tried smiling but it was difficult since all I have wanted to do was to cry. I have never felt so confused. I realized the importance of my family. I think that that was an important thing for me and my family. 

About Annie Dillard's Chase

The story tells an event that Annie Dillard had lived when she was a young child. In the story Annie and her friends throw snowballs to the car's that pass in front of them. While they throw, one of the cars stops and the driver gets out; he starts chasing Annie and her friend Mikey. At the end of the story when the man catches them he only tells one sentence to them and lets them go. 

At the end the author was shocked and happy at the same time. She learnt that the glory can't last forever since the man caught them. 

In the story she says "But how could the glory lasted forever?"  We can see the lesson she learnt from this question that she asked. In the story the glory of the chase doesn't last forever so I think that this question can be a good quote to show what she has learnt.  

Everybody Does That

Everybody does grammar mistakes nowadays due to the language of the social media, the films or even the books. There are many of them. For grammar we always think that the one that fits right is the one that is right. It shouldn't be like that all the time. 

One of the most common mistakes that writers do is to use the verbs that are in the same sentence in different tenses. For example in a phrase like "She went to the mall to buy some clothes, meeting with friends and eating in a restaurant." the tenses are wrong. At first it says to buy some clothes which is true but then it says meeting with friends which is wrong. The right one is to use the verb with to and not make it present continuous, because it is one sentence and all of the verbs need to be in the right tense. Another example can be like this "We thought about contacting her in several ways. We could contact her by writing a letter, by texting or call her." In this phrase, by writing a letter and by texting are the right versions but, call her needs to be by calling her so that it can fit into the structure of the other verbs in the phrase. For example "He always hated doing home works, cleaning his room and to take out the trash." In this example the right tenses are cleaning his room and doing his home works. The wrong one is take out the trash. The verbs should be in the same tense as the other ones. 

I sometimes do this mistake when I'm writing so fast. I can fix this problem by paying attention to the phrase and if necessary by reading the phrase over and over again. This mistake is a common mistake so I can also see this kind of mistake in the books, too. I can try to fix those sentences when I find them and rewrite them so that I can understand if the one I wrote is wrong or right. 

I can pay attention to every sentence I write in my writings so that I can avoid making this mistake. Sometimes it is good for me to make someone else read my writings because, like that it is easier to see my mistakes. I can make someone else read it and that person can find the mistakes for me. 

I'm sure at the end of the year I won't have this problem. I will work hard to pay attention to that mistake.  

LETTER TO A CHARACTER FULL DRAFT

Dear Mr. Creuset,

My name is Sera and I'm a 15 year old high school student. I might be 15 but I kind of understand the company business. I want to have my own company when I grow up and I know how to communicate and deal with the customers or with business partners. 

The reason why I'm writing this is to give you some advices so that you can be more successful in your partnerships with other companies. 

I believe that your attitude towards people are wrong and you always think that you can do it by yourself. I'm not just talking about your relationship with your partners, but also with your assistants. For example you told Winda that you can handle anything and that this is your business so you don't need any assistance sometimes. You asked Winda about when did she become timid when she told you that you might need her assistance. I don't believe that this is a good way of communication. 

Secondly, while you were talking business with your partner you didn't even give a chance to let him talk. You always tried to prove yourself. For example you said "Get out of here. I'll never do business with you disrespectful person. Get out!"  

I think that you can fix your communication issues first by listening to people, because I think that listening is the most important thing in communication. You have to be patient and respectful towards people. 

Secondly you can think before you speak. You must be careful not to hurt people while you are speaking. Choosing the right words while you're answering people can help you look better as a person. Finally you should be kind. Being kind is one of the most important things that you can do to develop your communication skills. 

 

I believe that if you do the things I told you, you will be better and more successful in your job, because your job is all about communicating with people. People must be important for you. Respect people and they will respect you, too. 

Best,

Sera Savas

Letter to a character final draft

Dear Mr. Creuset,

My name is Sera and I'm a 15 year old high school student. I might be 15 but I kind of understand the company businesses. I want to have my own company when I grow up and I know how to communicate and deal with the customers or with the business partners. 

The reason why I'm writing this is to give you some advices so that you can be more successful in your partnerships with other companies. 

I believe that your attitude towards people are wrong and you always think that you can do it by yourself. I'm not just talking about your relationship with your partners, but also with your assistants. For example you told Winda that you can handle anything and that this is your business so you don't need any assistance sometimes. You asked Winda about when did she become timid when she told you that you might need her assistance. I don't believe that this is a good way of communication. 

Secondly, while you were talking business with the partner you didn't even give a chance to let him talk. You always tried to prove yourself. For example you said "Get out of here. I'll never do business with you disrespectful person. Get out!"  

I think that you can fix your communication issues first by listening to people, because I think that listening is the most important thing in communication. You have to be patient and respectful towards people. 

Secondly you can think before you speak. You must be careful not to hurt people while you are speaking. Choosing the right words while you're answering people can help you look better as a person. Finally you should be kind. Being kind is one of the most important things that you can do to develop your communication skills. 

 

I believe that if you do the things I told you, you will be better and more successful in your job, because your job is all about communicating with people. People must be important for you. Respect people and they will respect you, too. 

Best,

Sera Savas

Letter to Ray Creuset

Dear Mr. Creuset,

My name is Sera and I'm a 15 year old high school student. I might be 15 but I kind of understand the company businesses. I want to have my own company when I grow up and I know how to communicate and deal with the customers or with the business partners. 

The reason why I'm writing this is to give you some advices so that you can be more successful in your partnerships with other companies. 

I believe that your attitude towards people are wrong and you always think that you can do it by yourself. I'm not just talking about your relationship with your partners, but also with your assistants. For example you told Winda that you can handle anything and that this is your business so you don't need any assistance sometimes. You asked Winda about when did she become timid when she told you that you might need her assistance. I don't believe that this is a good way of communication. 

Secondly, while you were talking business with the partner you didn't even give a chance to let him talk. You always tried to prove yourself. For example you said "Get out of here. I'll never do business with you disrespectful person. Get out!"  

I think that you can fix your communication issues first by listening to people, because I think that listening is the most important thing in communication. You have to be patient and respectful towards people. 

Secondly you can think before you speak. You must be careful not to hurt people while you are speaking. Choosing the right words while you're answering people can help you look better as a person. Finally you should be kind. Being kind is one of the most important things that you can do to develop your communication skills. 

 

I believe that if you do the things I told you, you will be better in your job. 

Best,

Sera Savas

Dialogue about a famous drawing

       Long long time ago, there was a village called Bruis. Villagers at that time were very peaceful. They got up early to plant grain and worked really hard everyday. They didn't  lived in the lap of luxury, but they were comfortable.

      However, after Satan arrived, everything has changed...

Hydra: Zeus, my god, Satan destroyed all the village and everything it’s really bad, the villager have no food and no drink, many of them were died. Also, he uses his power to burned my home. I have no place to go.

Zeus:Oh, really? It’s outrageous, and we won't stand for it any more!

Zeus was pretty annoyed when he found out. He used his strongest power to imprison Satan in the Cypress.

Zeus: Look at what you've done Satan. 

Satan: Everyone says I'm the monster so the reason why this happened was because of your people. Everyone was yelling at me, thinking I'm the bad one so take this as a judgement. 

Zeus: This is not the way to show that you are good. If you continue doing this, people will yell at you and think that you are a bad person. 

Hydra:Yes! It's none of my business that people are yelling at you. I became homeless because of you. 

Satan: It's too late to complain about what happened. Those people are your problem not mine. So why should I care about them. 

Zeus: I don't want to talk to you anymore. You don't have the right to punish people whenever you want. You are not a god. 

Hydra: I agree with that!

Satan: Oh really? Your people don't have the right to tell that I'm a bad person, they don't have the right to yell at me!

Zeus: You're going to pay for this. 

Satan: I don't think so. I think that you should punish your own people. They are mean, impolite and rude. 

Hydra: So are you. Is this how you react when something bad happens? First you should be kind to villagers. 

Zeus: You will be prisoned in the Cypress forever. 

Satan: No you can't do this to me.

Hydra: You! Go to the prison now!

Satan: Noooooooo

LINK TO THE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNVBPPmhVDU&feature=youtu.be

About Creative Writing

Creative writing is a type of writing where writer is able to express himself/herself. In creative writing, writer can use whatever language he wants. In this type of writing there should be personal ideas since it is an original writing. It can be informal and it can contain personal language.

I believe that for a creative writing to be interesting the topic of the writing should be something that interests readers. If the topic isn't related to the readers, it won't be interesting. It should be an original topic or it can be a regular topic but the writer must make it interesting by adding his or her personal ideas to make it different from the other writings about this topic.

The language shouldn't be formal. Creative writing shouldn't be in the format of an essay so that's why it can be written from the writer's daily language or it can be personal.

The topic should surprise the readers. If it can be against the original, it can be different. For example if it’s a story, the characters can be different from the normal life. That would make it interesting. Giving something else to the readers would surprise them. 

If the writing has lots of good descriptions about the places that are in the writing, it can make the readers interested in it, too. Readers would like to read things that they can relate to and that they can imagine in their heads. If the writer can help the readers imagine the story or the places in their hands in the best way he or she can, that writing could be interesting. 

While writing my creative writing piece this week, I tried doing something different. I wrote a story by making a relation with a painting. I made up the story of a painting. I made new characters. These characters were mostly characters that could be in real life. In my story I added a fly that could talk. I think that that made it interesting, because I believe that, that was something different from other stories of famous paintings. I tried writing characters’ emotions in a realistic way. I wanted the readers to feel what the main characters were feeling. That’s why first I needed to use an informal language. I repeated some words so that the readers could understand the power of the emotions that some characters were feeling. 

I believe that doing something unpredictable was interesting for my writing, because all of the stories of famous paintings have normal life characters, for example in the book called “Girl With A Pearl Earring”, there is a real life situation. The characters are appropriate to the century that the story takes place. On the other hand, in my story while there are real life characters, there are also imaginary characters like a talking fly. 

Creative writing is a personal writing that should be related to writer’s ideas and also readers’ interests.