Michelle+Lee



__**Entry 51 Reflect on your final project. Why did you choose it and what do you think you learned from the process of creating it?**__

My final project was a poetry project on the theme "time". I chose to write poems about time because since it is the end of the year, (for me, the end of middle school) it seems that time is running out extremely fast, and I regret that sometimes, I wasn't valuing it's beauty as much. Therefore, I chose to write about how people are ignorant of the beauty of time, and why they should cherish it, in hopes that those who still have the chance can admire time, unlike I did. From this project, not only have I learned about how much I could have payed more attention to the beauty of time, but also ways to express these feelings with words. I had a great half year taking this class! If this were a class in high school, I would definitely take it again, since it has taught me so much. Creative Writing class will be in my memories forever!

__**Entry 50 Write about someone you would love to see put in jail -Cigarette sellers**__

The most disgusting, abhorring sight I see on the streets is a few men crowded around a trash can with cigarettes stuck in their mouths and blowing clouds of smoke in other innocent pedestrians' faces. This would never happen if it weren't for those awful cigarette company owners! I believe they are one of the most awful criminals in society today because they sell products to citizens even when they know it harms everyone's health! Yes, the world would be much healthier, and people would be wasting less money on worthless cigarettes without these people...

__**Entry 49 Write about a task, job or chore you dislike -Washing the Dishes**__

After ten minutes of cold water splashing everywhere, my legs start to ache, and shake. Droplets of sweat start to form on the bridge of my nose and the corners of my forehead. I wish I had somewhere to sit while I performed the task. I could not see the bottom of the huge pile of dishes that lay before my eyes. "Jeez, how does mom get all of these dishes done so fast when I'm doing my homework?" I thought to myself. It felt like ages when the pile was gone. I collapsed into a chair, and threw the pink rubber gloves down, and fanned myself madly. I hope to never do the dishes again!

__**Entry 47 Use the all of the following words in a story: Plastic bottle, baseball, dirty handkerchief, crumpled note, unhinged door.**__

Starfish Middle School had been abandoned for 20 years, ever since the mayor forbid anyone to access it after a horrible shoot out occurred there. John stood outside the plain, shattered, //__unhinged glass doors__// that were covered in dust. John was a thin man in his mid-late 30s, brown hair messily trimmed at the length around an inch above his ears. He word a pale blue, faded plaid shirt and light brown polyester pants that were too short for him. He was tanned and freckled and had hazel eyes, bushy eyebrows, and a drooping pair of thin, purple lips. The old Middle School was like an abandoned house in the middle of the forest. John entered. His heavy but klutzy footsteps echoed through the hallway. None of the lights worked, only the dim sunlight that entered through the cracks of the moth eaten curtains of the classrooms lit the inside up. Suddenly, he stopped. He looked to the right, at one of the grey-green lockers. The lock was still there, but slightly rusted. It was HIS locker. John squinted and frowned as he tried to remember his combination. Twice to the right, once to the left... he thought. Click. It opened. The door swung open effortlessly and revealed a __baseball__ covered in yellow sand and a moldy __plastic bottle__ lying on the top shelf. A dirty handkerchief and crumpled note was on the lower shelf. The handkerchief was tattered and had blotches of paint on it. The crumpled note was a quiz with an F clearly written in red over the "score" blank.

__**Entry 46 Reflect on your digital storytelling project**__

Through the digital storytelling project, I was able to see how much I have to work on my voice. When I was recording my script, I tried to put as much voice in it as possible. However, it seems that while I was reading the script, I got too caught up in trying to pronounce words correctly and not stumbling on my sentences. Next time, I believe I should pay more attention to that. I think that the storytelling actually helped me build my creativity.

-Michelle Lee 8D

__**ENTRY 45 Free Write**__

The last year of middle school is approaching fast, and many feelings are hitting me at once: nervousness for high school, nostalgia to be in the first year of middle school again, and sadness for those of my friends that are leaving KIS for high school. There were so many great memories I made during middle school with my friends and teachers. Middle school has changed me from a naive, mischievous child, to a mature, calmer, young adult. My life would have been so different without the teachers I met in Middle School, and the things I learned from them. Never, will I be able to forget the memorable 3 years I spent learning, laughing, crying, and talking in this MS building.

__**Entry 44**__
__**List 12 things you can buy with your last W 20000.**__ -A pair of fuzzy socks -a pack of rubber bands -a metro card -a box of chocolates

__**Entry 43**__
__**"Yipes," said the zebra. "I've lost my stripes." Continue the paragraph, using as many words as you possibly can that rhyme with yipes.**__

"Yipes," said the zebra. "I've lost my stripes." The zebra wept as he picked up wipes to wipe his streaming tears. The zebra trudged up to the man who types all day and asked "Yipes, have you seen my stripes?" The man replied, "I'm very sorry dear, but I have not seen your stripes. Why don't you go ask the man who sells pipes?" The zebra approached the man sitting under the shade of a tall tree and asked, "Sir who sells pipes, have you seen my stripes?" "I'm sorry dear, but I have not seen your stripes. Why don't you go ask the boy who swipes?"

**Entry 42**

 * //There are only three words in the English dictionary that start with DW: dwell, dwindle, dwarf. Write a paragraph that uses all these words.//**

Once long ago, there were three little dwarves who dwelt in a small shack on the bank of Wild River. One day, as the youngest dwarf was heading home after a walk along the river, he spotted something sparkling amongst the tall grasses. It was a small velvet pouch. with intricate, sparkling embroider decorating its neck. There was a small card attached to it, and it said in neat handwriting, "Do not open this until you reach your home." In the mean time, the oldest dwarf also found an identical pouch on his way home from the market. The same message was attached to it. The oldest dwarf disregarded the message and opened the pouch. There was nothing inside except for dust. The youngest dwarf came home, opened the pouch and surprisingly found dwindling amounts of gold!

Entry 41
list 10-15 things worth saving and then choose one to write about\

1. The warmth of a hug 2. The ashes of a burnt out campfire 3. The cool breeze of the air conditioner 4. The sound of leaves rustling 5. The pit-pat of rain on the window sill 6. A snowball 7. Smooth rocks on the seashore 8. A wave 9. A brick 10. A watch

Entry 40
//Take two people who dislike each other and stick them in the backseat of a cab. what happens?// Shirley and Marley reluctantly climbed into the back seat of the yellow cab. It was going to be another day to visit their old grandma and grandpa. Shirley showed the folded sheet of paper with an address scrawled on one side to the cab driver. There were two awkward minutes of silence after the cab started up. Shirley and Marley's eyes met. They stared and narrowed their eyes.

**Entry 39**
Free Write

May is the month of warmth, family and love. Birds fly around the sky chirping and twittering as they feed their babies and sing beautiful songs. Girl and boy, woman and man, old woman and old man walk hand in hand down the roads blossoming with flowers and smiling with young grass growing. The sky is blue like the color of a turquoise gem. Bicycles swish by slowly, the riders with smiles on their faces. May is the month of warmth, family and love.

__**Entry 38**__
//Recall an uplifting experience and write about it.//

I remember a day when I was a third grader living in the humid weather of Singapore. It was one day when I was playing on the playground with my best friend, that a rainstorm ambushed us. These kinds of surprise showers of rain was very common in Singapore. Despite the fact that we were getting wet and drenched with rain, we still ran about, swinging our arms and swinging. It was then, when the entire sky went bright then dark then back to normal over a short period of 2 seconds, like I had just blinked without closing my eyes. Then there was a huge burst of thunder that almost teared our eardrums out as we evacuated ourselves under the roof of the condominium lobby surrounded by trees. After 10 seconds of shocked silence, there was a crackle and then something that sounded not exactly like thunder, and then the rustle of leaves. One of the tall, fat trees were falling over. Lightning had hit it.

__Entry 37__
//Write about a time you hid from someone or a time you disguised who you really were//

I have hidden my identity from the people who like me. Korean people on the streets. Many times, when my friends and I hang out in places with lots of people, such as COEX or a famous shopping street. We speak english, of course. Many people ask us, why we speak a different language, although we look exactly the same as them. Once, while I was enjoying my free time with my friends, we decided to take a taxi to our destination. The taxi driver was a pot bellied jolly middle aged man. He asked us "Oh my! you all are very fluent at English! What school do you go to?" All of us were scared for a moment because we were told not to tell our private information to strangers. We told him that we were from California and that our parents live in Jeju Island. We told him one of our relatives live Seoul, so we came for a visit. The taxi driver totally believed us, and we had to keep our giggles in until we got off the taxi. :):)

__**Entry 36**__ //Is there a cause you care about a lot? How far would you go to stand up for what you believe?//

Cause: Animals should not be abused

-In order to protect animals from being abused, I would encourage people who have affection for animals to join associations that are against animal cruelty. If you know anyone who abuses animals, they should be reported immediately.

__**Entry 35**__
//Write from the point of view of a freshly scrubbed floor//

I wake up one morning and I feel my scalp has become fresh and clean. I no longer feel the heavy dust or sticky gum stuck to my head. I feel as light as a feather. The cleaning lady must have come in today and scrubbed the wads of gum off of my wooden scalp. Ooohhh, I feel like my mind is clearing up!

__Entry 34__
You can tell a lot about a person by what he or she says. Here are some things Grandma Dorothy Says:

"You can never be to dressed up." "A woman should never ask a man to dance." "He is quite a snappy dresser."

Based on these sentences imagine what kind of person Grandma Dorothy is. Write a paragraph describing her. Feel free to use any or all of her quotations.

Grandma Dorothy still lives in the 60s. She wears a long one-piece cotton dress with sleeves that come up to her elbows. She is skinny and wrinkled. Her chin is always held up high, her sharp nose is stuck up high

Entry 33
Pick a character from a day time soap opera. Put him or her in a stranded commuter train. Write about what he or she is feeling or thinking at that moment

Character: Song Eun Jo (from Korean TV Series: Cinderella's Sister)



=
I hate the subway. The subway makes me think of what my mom and I went through when we were escaping from the hairy man that we used to live with. I stand in the connection between the two cars of the subway of line 2, leaning on the glass door framed with metal. I tuck my chin down stare at the floor, then glare at the people that stare at me as they pass. I do not want all this attention. The train finally arrives at the station I must get off at. I hurriedly push my way out of the car and give another glare at the rude men who cuss at me for being impolite. Yes, I am in a very bad mood, because my mother has just set up a lunch date with my little half sister.======

Entry 32
Reflect on the group work portion of your commercial project. How did you measure up? Do you believe that you contributed to the group as much as others? What was your role? Did you learn anything new about yourself and how you work in groups during this project?

I believe our overall group work was fantastic. We listened each others ideas when we were brainstorming, and all did our best, and succeeded in doing our assigned part in the project. I contributed to the project as much as others did. Everyone participated the best they could, which is probably the reason why our commercial was so successful.

Entry 31
Write in the voice of a rope about to snap. At least one paragraph 5-8 sentences

My goodness, the creature hanging on to my feet must weigh a ton! The mass I feel on my legs seems like more than the mass of the sun! I feel my belly almost ripping in two because of this. My hip, knee and neck muscles are as extended as they can be. I cannot move because I have been tightly knotted to a metal bar. I now understand what it feels like to be tortured. I wonder if this man knows how much he was and what it feels like to be hung on to by him. Save ME!!!!

Free write
Entry 30 Freewrite

The fresh crisp air kisses my cheek, as I watch the red sun stretch and rise up from the horizon, like a child rising from his bed.

The sun stretches its broad rays through the round droplets of dew Sleeping on the edge of a green leaf, and stripes of red, yellow, orange, green, Blue, indigo, and violet are produced on the Grassy grounds.

__**Apr. 15th**__
__**Entry 29**__

Write about a moment when you and another person bonded.

People usually don't realize how close their bonds are with people until they are about to separate. I once had a childhood friend I had strong bonds with when I lived in Singapore. We would always dance together, to some music or watch movies. It was always like that until I had to move to Korea. It was our last play date together. We knew it would be the last at least in Singapore. The mood was dejected unlike other days because we were depressed by the fact that we would not be able to see each other for a long time. We did not do as much running around in the park as we did before, but we watched

__**Freewrite**__
What would happen if I were to open my eyes one day, to a different colored ceiling that I usually slept under and a different type of pillow I usually used? What if I walked up to the mirror and saw a different face with different colored eyes and hair, different type of nose, eyes and mouth looking back at me? I would be living the life of someone different. I would jump back onto the bed I woke up from and squeeze my eyes together for 10 minutes then open them again, hoping to find myself back in my own body. But not, that would not happen. Walking out my bedroom door with wobbling knees, I prepare for school, and walk out the door. At school, people I don't know would ask me for my homework, or high-five me as I passed them. Teachers would call on me to answer a question, but I would not know the answer because it would be my first time in class. On my way home, I would be crossing a road without looking, then be hit by a truck into a state of unconsciousness. When I wake up, I would be sitting at my desk, nodding my head up and down in front of my homework, my eyelids heavy and drool coming down to make a puddle on my paper.

-Michelle Lee 8D

__**Entry 27**__
Write a four line song or poem about mayonnaise

Smooth and creamy Sour and salty, Praise the mayonnaise!!

__**Entry 26**__
A person's choice of a dog is said to express something about his or her personality. Choose five individuals whose names are well nknown internationally. What kind of dog would you choose for each. Why? Explain.


 * Lady GaGa (Singer)**

An Akita half her height with a huge sparkling ribbon pinned between her ears.


 * Barack Obama (President of USA)**

An intelligent beagle


 * Twiggy (British Model)**

A cuddly but sharp looking Papillon


 * Coco Chanel (Designer)**

A chic Pomeranian


 * Yu-na Kim (Figure Skater)**

An elegant and adorable Yorkshire Terrier

Apr. 7th Entry 25

Reflect on the process of writing a short story. What did you enjoy about it? What was difficult? How would you approach it differently if you did it again?

I enjoyed the short story project because we were allowed to write freely without a given topic. It felt like doing a free write. However, what I enjoyed was also the hard part, because the topic was too broad, making it hard to choose a topic in the beginning

__**Freewrite**__
To make a Peanut Butter Jelly sandwich:

First, prepare two slices of a bread of your choice, a spread knife, one jar of peanut butter, one jar of strawberry jam or grape jelly, and a plate. Place one slice of bread on the plate. Open the jar of peanut butter, then take the knife in your right hand and scoop up a table spoon full of peanut butter. Hold the slice of bread that was on the plate in your left hand and spread the peanut butter smoothly onto the slice of bread in your left hand. Place it on the plate. Close the peanut butter jar and open the jar of jelly. Using the knife in your right hand, scoop up a tablespoon of jelly. Pick up the second empty piece of bread in your left hand, then spread the jelly on the knife onto the bread. Put the bread with jelly back onto the plate. Close the jelly jar and put down the knife next to the plate. Take one piece of bread in each hand then press them together, so that the jelly and peanut butter are face to face. VOILA~

-Michelle Lee 8D

__**Entry 23**__
People often say, "If we can send a man to the moon, surely we can figure out how to..." Complete the sentence five different ways.

-Teach our pets to use the human bathroom
-Live in a utopia -get rid of one-sided love. -Find a cancer vaccine -teach dogs to use the toilet -make everyone a millionare

__**Entry 22**__
Blurp! Slosh! Snort! Write a paragraph incorporating at least ten onomatopoetic words. Onomatopoetic words are words that sound like what they mean.

Neil sat down on the sandy shore and listened to the waves __swish__ against the boulders and wash away some of the sand. He felt the __swoosh__ of the wind as the waves sped towards him. Neil grabbed a handful of fine sand heat up by the hot sun and let it __slithe__r through his hands.

__**Entry 20**__
Free write for 3 minutes on this cliche "ice running through her veins."

The white haired ice queen, stares out towards the crowd, with a glaring look in her eyes. Her heart is cold like a stone. She stretches out her arm to tap a servant on the shoulder to get her a chair. The ice queen sits down with her arms crossed. Her long skinny fingers tapping against her bony arms.

__**Entry 19**__
List 10 things you usually do on a rainy day. Pick one from your list and free write 5 minutes.

1. sit inside and eat something spicy 2. go outside in boots and splash in puddles 3. watch a cartoon movie 4. play games at home 5. play a board game with my family 6. read comic books 7. listen to music 8. take a shower 9. take a circulating public bus and just go for a ride 10. open the windows wide.

1. sit inside and eat something spicy.

Korean people like to say that people like to eat spicy pancakes on rainy days. Maybe its just me, but I feel that way. On a rainy day I like to eat spicy Korean food such as kimchi dumplings or spicy rice cakes. Spicy foods can wake your mind up on a gloomy, raining day.

__**Entry 18**__
//Write a 150 word profile of your short story character.//

Phill the Pig used to be an intelligent and kind young man. He was a loving and caring pig, always liked by everyone... until his brothers were killed by the big bad wolf. He decided to take revenge on the three other brothers of the big bad wolf. The browns of his eyes turned cold and small, and red blood vessels showing on the whites of his eyes. His eyes turned narrow and sharp. He always held his nose up and carried an axe and a net on his back to sniff for traces of the three wolf brothers. When he thought he sniffed some wolf fur, his eyes turned into slits and he moved his head slowly to scan for his victim, like a radar. Sometimes, he would wear a black trench coat to cover his tail, sunglasses for his vengeful eyes and a mustache to cover his nose and try to find the wolf to kill.

__**Entry 17**__
//Describe in detail a person who leaves no stone unturned.//

A detective who leaves no stone unturned looks for clues all over. He looks at every square milli-millimeter of the murder scene with a magnifying glass. He wears sterilized, white gloves to hold a cup up at the level of his eyes and pick up fingerprints with a cotton swab. He looks under floor boards for clues of dripping blood or objects the criminal could have hid. He turns all the stones in the house, then starts turning stones outside, to the street that passes the house. He takes a close look at the car wheel marks, and scratched paint. He should always succeed in tracing the suspects' tracks

__**Journal Entry #16**__
//Write a rhyme paragraph. Each sentence must begin and end with the words that rhyme with each other. Example: Spring is a wonderful thing. Flowers start to sprout with the help of rain showers.//

My blue elephant doll is missing an eye. He cannot walk because he has a injured knee. Cotton falls out of his sides through seams, left on the floor, forgotten. His ears are droopy, and has a long snoopy nose to swats flies that whiz. I'd cuddle him at night, waiting for another morning, at my side.

__**Topic: The weirdest dream**__
I fell asleep late after a busy day of studying and exercising. As I closed my eyes and fell asleep, I could see myself and a friend walking past the doors of a small glass room. The shelves and books told me that it was a library. We weren't paying much attention to it, until a woman shorter than me, a crooked nose and gray hair poked her head out of the doors and called to us. She said she had missed the public bus that took her to her apartment. We gladly drove her to her dwelling, and to my surprise, it was the apartment I used to live in when I was in 5th grade. The woman told me her knee wasn't in the best condition, so my friend and I had to help her slowly get out of the car, and walk to the elevator. The elevator doors were silver, and we could see our reflection in it. Across the elevator was a door leading to the stairs that plunged into the dark storage basement. The woman suddenly took a dash at the door. Surprised, I tried to follow her, but my friend said that it would be smarter not go after her. I was curious where the woman could have suddenly disappeared to, and worried as well. Soon, I found myself also dashing down the staircase, with my friend yelling, telling me not to go. When I arrived, I was shocked to see the woman wearing a white Hanbok dress that symbolizes a dead person, hanging by the neck with a rope attached to the ceiling. Her head hanging limp to the side and her arms swaying, stretching out towards me and her eyes with small gray pupils. The blood drained from my face and I closed squeezed my eyes shut to avoid looking at the disgusting image, but I could still see her even when I closed my eyes. My eyes opened again and I looked around the room. The walls were shining and black, the floor was a sandy color. I felt trapped, and my breathing was becoming faster by the minute. I turned around to run back up the stairs I had come down. There, I saw my friend paralyzed, her eyes glued to the woman. I took her by the wrist and pulled her back through the door. We rushed to the car, and sank into our seats, knees wobbly, sweating and crying. I woke up. The short hand of the clock pointed at three, and the long hand at five. It was 3:05 in the morning. I was sweating and thirsty. I couldn't think properly. I walked dizzily toward the window and opened for fresh air, and stared outside at the blue and black sky. I stared and watched the sky gradually turn brighter blue. The sun rose, and my alarm clock went off. It was time to go to school.

-Michelle Lee 8D

__**COMIC LIFE PROJ**__
AGES 60-70

Michelle Lee 8D Comic Life Project- Staying Healthy
Bibliography for Comic Life

__Journal Entry #14__
Electricity is recent discovery. Think of 12 things to do when there is no power.

-Michelle Lee 8D
 * Use left over glow sticks from Halloween for light
 * Fan yourself with a folder instead of using an air conditioner on a hot summer day.
 * power the TV with batteries
 * wear as many layers of clothes as you can during winter instead of using the heater.
 * use a portable gas stove to cook food
 * plug in the computer into potatoes and sweet potatoes or oranges.
 * do the laundry by hand
 * squeeze the water from your hair as hard as you can for 20 minutes instead of using a hair dryer
 * put snow in an icebox and keep your food cool in there.
 * use an old fashioned door bell instead of an modern intercom style bell.
 * use cups and string as a phone.
 * send letters to each other instead of email.

__**Journal Entry #13**__
//What kind of cartoon show might appeal to the over- age 65 audience? Imagine the show. Then, in 100 words or less, describe the show and its main character.//

A cartoon show fit for the over- age 65 audience would be a slightly faded color on purpose, to let the audience feel as if they were actually back in the 50s and 60s. The female characters wear poodle shirts and long sweaters with a letter patch standing out on the bosom. The male characters wear black leather jackets over a white T-shirt and blue jeans, with their forelocks pushed back with hair wax. They sit on worn out leather couches in the musty garage and listen to the record player that looks like a gramophone while telling stories. They occasionally stand up to twist dance hand in hand to a Guy Mitchell song, or to rush in front of the manual television and watch a new Marilyn Monroe movie. -Michelle Lee 8D

__Feb 26th__
//-Write an eight sentence paragraph on a topic of your choice. Make sure that you vary the length of each sentence.//
 * __Journal Entry #12__**

Rain:

The rain falls from the gray, cloudy sky in droplets, pit-pat. It falls freely, then gently rolls down the clear glass and sits in a row on the window sill like baby spiders finding their new home. The most beautiful thing in the world. Rain can be beautiful, but too much beauty can spoil it. Slums, where the poor, feeble people live are often flooded with rain, losing family members, destroying their property... and hope. The most beautiful droplets of water in the world can be contaminated by the careless actions of humans, turning it into dangerous, acid rain. But the most beautiful rain of all, exists inside the human. The ones that fall from your eyes, roll down your cheek, and sits on your hands.

-Michelle Lee 8D

**__Journal Entry #11__**
//Use the following words in a story: little boy, torn, page, market, cart.//

There once was a __little boy__ who lived in Hawaii. He lived in a shack on the beach. Every morning, he would help his mother go to the __market__ and sell guavas. His mother had been sick for the past few months, and had grown very weak, so he pulled the cart to the market everyday. The wooden __cart__ was filled with green guavas, that smelled sweeter than candy. Sometimes, one guava would fall out of the cart and break in the middle of the street. You could see the juicy, pink inside flowing out onto the dry street. The rocky and sandy street would gulp the juice up faster than you could blink, leaving a dark spot on the street. When they arrived at the market, they would shout to the crowd, "Fresh and juicy guavas! 50 cents each!" They would give the buyers the guava fruits in small baskets they wove from __torn__ clothing. Sometimes, when the days were not as hot as usual, the customers to their vendor would decrease, and the little boy and his mother would flip through magazine pages, while waiting for people to buy their fruits. They would leave the market at 6 o' clock, so they would arrive home before dark.

-Michelle Lee 8D

__**Free Write**__
I sit hunched over my white laptop, on a desk that comes up to my waist. Its width is a little shorter than my height. Its not too huge or fancy, just cedar toned wood lined with blue plastic and metal. It looks more like a desk of and elementary students but I like it because I have used it since I was a naive 3rd grader. When I'm studying or doing my homework at the desk, I can smell the cheap rubber of the erasers piled up in front of my pencil sharpener. When I open a book that I haven't read in a long time, I can take a whiff of the musty smell of the pages that are yellowed on the edges. When I close my eyes, I can hear my fingers skillfully running around my keyboard, tapping out a rhythmic beat. I can hear my mom chopping vegetables in a kitchen, chopping out a second beat. My computer hums a steady melody, and the kettle whines and boils, singing a duet with my computer.

-Michelle Lee 8D

__**Journal Entry #9**__
//Describe what you feel right now using your sense of smell. If you feel frustrated, write about what your frustration smells like. Use vivid words. Don't skimp on adjectives//

Still heavily dazy, I smell soft cotton in my nose and face. My nose still itches, and my eyelids are still heavy. I can still smell my blanket that smells like fabric softener. I can still hear my crisp blanket rustle around my torso and legs as I flip around. I feel like dosing off in the middle of class. I feel my brain needs to go outside in the fresh air and stretch. I can smell the pungent winter air trapped in locks of my hair, from running to catch the bus on a sleepy morning.

-Michelle Lee 8D

**__Journal Entry #8__**
//Write a paragraph about a cat attacking something, but don't use the words hiss, scratch or pounce//.

It was a quiet afternoon, and Pumpkin the plump, orange, striped, furry cat woke up from a sweet siesta. He realized he was getting pretty hungry. He sneaked around the corner and entered the kitchen. Pumpkin saw the big sack of his favorite tuna flavored cat food on the counter! He jumped up onto the counter, then knocked the sack to the floor. He sprung back on the floor and started to gnaw at the corners of the sack until the contents started to pour out. Pumpkin let out a sound that was something between a growl and a purr, stuck his bottom up high into the air, lowered his head, then lunged at the tuna flavored cat food and feasted for a few minutes. Once he was full, he rolled onto his back with his legs and arms stretched out, his belly sagging, fell asleep as the sunset illuminated the house with a pumpkin orange ray of light.

-Michelle Lee 8D

__**Journal Entry #7**__
F//atima is a very spoiled teenage girl. Show that she is spoiled, by describing what happens when she doesn't get a car for her birthday.//

"I WANT A DARK BLUE 2030 EDITION OF A MERCEDES SPORTS CAR!" She screamed and yelled and pleaded all day about this car. Her parents answer was a short, cold, "No." Fatima wanted a car. She thought she deserved the car since it was her birthday. She had no idea why her parents would not buy her one. She threw a fit for a whole week, crying and yelling, clinging on to her parents' ankles. She tried not eating and sleeping for two days straight. She would sit staring at her parents with eyes like Puss in Boots from the movie Shrek. Another moment, she would start acting as if she had a heart attack, saying "Oh dear, my heart aches. I will die within an hour if I don't see my car soon!" Fatima could not stand it any longer. She destroyed her parents' car and waited next to it until her parents found out. When her mom and dad came out to drive to work, and found their car in ruins, Fatima cried out loud so the whole neighborhood could hear, "BUY ME A DARK BLUE 2030 EDITION OF A MERCEDES SPORTS CAR!" Her parents tried to stop this silly behavior of Fatima's but they could not. They decided to work their muscles out until they made the money to buy the dark blue 2030 edition of the Mercedes sports car, but before they could make enough money, their muscles were broken, they suffered headaches and back strains. They had to be in the hospital for 2 years because of this, and Fatima's demands were no longer self centered after her parents recovered.

-Michelle Lee 8D

__**Feb 4th**__

__**Journal Entry #6**__
//-Choose on from the following list for today's prompt. -Describe your bedroom the way you want it to be. -Describe a storm This could be a thunderstorm, a snow storm, a hurricane, a tornado, a hail storm, a rainstorm, or any type of storm.//

I came home at 3:00 PM, when the sun was up at the hottest time of the day. I skipped home as I felt the sun's scorching rays against my skin. The air was humid, but I was used to this kind of weather that was all year round in where I lived, Singapore. I stepped into my room, and put my bag down next to my bed. I poked my head out of the open window, enjoying the smell of the freshly cut grass in the apartment's garden below. I looked up in the sky, but I was shocked to see huge grey clouds coming fast towards me. My friend and I had been planning to play out in the playground that day. I met up with my friend, and we still headed outside, even though it had started to drizzle. We thought it would be a short shower of rain, but we were definitely wrong. Soon after, the grey clouds started to rush in towards our area, and pour down barrels of rain, and shower lightning on us. We stayed at home, peeking our heads out of the window, watching the stormy scene. There were two or three trees in front of our window, which we were not paying much attention to at first, until a spark of lightning struck right under our noses. We watched in terror, as we watched the trees that once used to stand tall in front of our eyes, fall to the ground, gruesomely cut in half, revealing its half bug eaten hollow inside. We ran around the house screaming and squealing, frantic at the effects of the storm, but this was only the start of a long series of more storms for us.

-Michelle Lee 8D Picture of a storm over Singapore!

**__PDF 83__**
-What is your interpretation of this photograph? Turn it upside down and sideways for different views. What is it? What could it mean? How and where was it taken?

I think this picture looks like a turtle crossed with a bird, that is turning its back on us, and looking upwards. I think it means to fly up and progress slowly. This was probably taken by a regular person.during night, when the lights were turned off.

-Discuss this image with at least three other people. Then summarize their interpretations of the image. Annie thinks.... the picture looks like a man wearing sunglasses and curly hair. Represents faith Soyoon thinks... the picture looks like a man wearing sunglasses and curly hair. Represents "staying cool" Eric thinks.... its a mad face with sunglasses with a big mouth and small nose. Represent violence Christine JY thinks... its a pointy nosed clown. Represents caution. Christina HY thinks... A man who tries to wear sunglasses. Photo taken by a ghost.

Imagine that the image is a symbol of some kind. What could it symbolize?

I believe the image is a symbol of slow progress, and patience.

Imagine that this is a newly discovered animal. Describe it.

Good morning citizens of Seoul, we would like to start today's news with the discovery of a new animal living in the deep forests of Mount Whyte, Canada. This new animal was named the "Birtle" because of its queer appearance. Scientists say it looked like a turtle crossed with a bird, which is where its name came from. These animals are invisible in the daylight, and are only discoverable at night, when they glow in the dark. Because of this, they are a highly endangered species. The Birtle has a big head that looks like a turtles, with a smooth nose. It has wings that are small and attached to its back. His body and feet are like those of a bird's. His bottom sticks out like a bird's as well. The reason why the Birtle has not been discovered earlier, is because of its invisibility in daylight. Many of the species were killed or run over by cars passing by during the day. Nobody ever even discovered their dead bodies at night, because they loose there glowing characteristic once they are dead.

-Michelle Lee 8D

__**Journal Entry #5**__
-Silly is a middle aged man who combs his remaining limp strands of hair into an elaborate swirl over his bald spot, gluing them in place with hair spray and hoping no one will notice. -Silly is a golden retriever who slinks sheepishly off the sofa whenever his owner comes home, hoping- despite the piles of hair all over the cushion that she won't notice he's been sleeping there. -What else is silly?

Silly is an unhappy purple ball of bouncy clay that lies around in the corner of a wooden drawer all day, that is delighted when children pick him up and squish him into amorphous shapes.

-Give three more examples

Silly is a pink and fluffy, mischievous Persian cat that scratches at the couch and gets in trouble when it climbs to the top bunk of the bunk bed.

Silly is a chubby little baby who is still learning to walk, but falls every time he stands up to take another tiny step forward.

Silly is a ragged pair of shoes that sits in the middle of the shoe rack, and sits there for years because it doesn't fit its owner's feet anymore.

**__PDF28__**
//-Describe an onion to someone who has never seen or tasted one before.//

An onion is a round vegetable with golden brown papery skin on the outside. It looks like a plump light bulb with a beard. It has many layers, the many inside layers are white and sometimes slimy. They have a pungent and sharp smell that stabs at the nose. Be careful, you might cry when peeling or chopping the onion. They make your eyes water. The taste is very strong, peppery but juicy at the same time. Despite its unpleasant odor and taste while it's raw, it is soft and sweet once cooked.

//-Reveal what an onion would say if it could express its feelings.//

Onion: "Oh, please do not pity me when you use me in your food. I would love to make your food more tasty! Please don't cry while you cut me. It makes my heart ache to see you have compassion for me. I am not too sad that our onion race is being killed for making the foods for humans tasty. We are meant to be eaten. We prevent colds, and have lots of vitamins, so please don't pity us! Don't cry when your cutting me."

//-Imagine that you are an onion that is ready to be sliced on to a hamburger.//

__I have golden brown skin and I have many layers. Many people cry when they cut me, and we're killed very often to be used in foods. I admit that we don't smell very pleasant, but we're very sweet once we are cooked. Yes, I'm an onion. An onion ready to be sliced in half, that wants to run from the cutting board for dear life. If I had limbs and a mouth, of course I would run away or scream, but the problem is, I don't have any of these features. Which mean in a couple of seconds, I will be sliced into pieces and ground between the teeth of a human! Well, since I'm hopeless and helpless, I guess I'll just have to sacrifice myself to making a tasty burger. Please enjoy the tasty burger to respect my sacrificial death! Good-bye! *Chop!*__

**__Journal Entry #4__**
//-Close your eyes briefly. Think of one object that's in the room and focus on it without opening your eyes, recall as much detail as you can about it. After three minutes or so, open your eyes and write about that object without looking at it. (This exercise was done in class and timed.)//

Brainstorm Object: umbrella

The purple, and glimmering umbrella that looks like it has lost its way is leaning against the wall in a corner. It has a wooden handle curved for a hand to fit in it. The wooden leg of the umbrella props it up against the wall. The umbrella is folded in such a way that the cloth wraps around the black pole in the middle like swirls and waves coming up to reach the top of the umbrella. The umbrella is silver on the inside and purple on the outside. Parts of the bright silver inside cloth peek out and reveal it self to the classroom. A piece of Velcro keeps the umbrella's flaps in place.

__**Journal Entry #3**__
Planet Earth. Air pollution level? 89%. Only one survivor... Me. The earth once used to be the green world with many seasons with proper nights and days. Unfortunately, it no longer is. The soil is blue and moldy, and the water is filled with acid pollutants. Whatever touches it, instantly corrodes. The air is no longer the fresh air it used to be. It smells of petroleum and burning rubber! I do not know how all of this happened. I went to sleep one stormy night, and opened my eyes the next morning to this polluted world. I traveled around the world, looking for more survivors on my stainless steel helicopter I learned to steer when I was 20 years old. I was in despair when I learned that I was the only survivor! I remember that day, when I was in absolute panic. My phone would not pick up any signals, the television was just a blank screen, playing nothing, and the radio would not be broadcasting anything either. All day, I sat there in the middle of my huge white living room biting my nails, waiting for the sun to set. I waited and waited for darkness, but it was quite surprising when it would not come. I then realized another change to the earth. There was no longer any night or day. The sun and moon were up at the same time, in the light of the day. They never set or never rose. From that day and on, I tried to study what exactly could have happened to change the earth in such a short time. I had brainstormed all my notes in my small, yellow, paperback, lined notebook. Sad to say, yesterday that notebook plunged into an acid, corroding, malodorous, bubbling pond of water. I fainted as I watched my 40 years of work dissolve in the liquid giving out a foul stench and green cloud. When I became conscious again, I found two purple aliens with green eyes looking down at me. They had five antennas sticking out from the sides of their heads, and they were wrinkly and hairy. They were nothing like those that we Earthlings had imagined in movies or books. There was no distinction between their heads and body. They looked like square, wrinkly, hairy cereal boxes with antennas and arms and legs sticking out of nowhere. I was taken on their ship to their planet, where I found all the people that used to live in Earth. I guess the Earthlings moved out of their planet without me because I slept in!

-Michelle Lee 8D

__**Journal Entry #2**__
- Write a paragraph about a girl named Dot, but use no letters with i, j

Dot's was the perfect student. She always completed her homework by the due date, wore her bangs up, wore nice glasses, was eager to learn, used a blue, hard cover thesaurus that smelled like yogurt, and most of all, loved words. That's only before she started to attend Apple School. Apple School was a large school, but there weren't any teachers. Also, the rules banned students from using the letter that came after H of the alphabet, and the letter that came before K of the alphabet. Dot found work very hard to follow the rules of the schools. Later on, she got used to the rules, and never used words that had the letter that came after H of the alphabet, and the letter that came before K of the alphabet. Her vocabulary was decreasing fast. She no longer used her huge, blue, hardcover thesaurus that smelled like yogurt. She never was able to talk properly when those letters were truant from her knowledge. Hence, she was no longer a perfect student.

-Michelle Lee 8D

**__PDF 15 Picture__**
List:

-Leaf -Green -Tropical -Lush -Tropical -vein -birds -flowers -dew -Rolling -Bugs -Memories -Heart -the past -wanting to go back to the past - young - Old - cells - tears

Poem:

__**Memories**__
Look into the frame, At a crying leaf. Its heart broken. A vein running down the center of its heart, splitting it in two.

She cries with the leaf, At memories of when she was like it. She cries Because she knows It used to be a full heart. Because she knows It used to be fresh and green. She knows.. It used to be young with flowers, And she knows it cries, Longing for the past.

Comp&Cont Leaf vs. Human

VS

Compare:
 * Both the leaf and human are alive
 * They both have veins
 * A human can love its friends, its past, its job etc. The leaf looks like a heart.
 * They both look alive and crisp with dew

Contrast:
 * The human in the picture is colorless
 * The Leaf is smaller

Close up of soil

Its brown, and may not look very attractive, but it is indeed the start of all things on Earth. It is roughness mixed in with a soft texture, it is rich with minerals. Moist but runs through the fingers smoothly. The smell is pungent and peppery but fresh at the same time. There's no sound as an animal or person steps on it. Its soft like a cushion when stepped on. I think I could almost taste the freshness and originality of the soil.

Socrates

"Man's life is like a drop of dew on a leaf"- Socrates

Dew is moisture that appears on the surface of the leaf, then eventually evaporates without damaging it. Socrates probably wants to say that life is short. It happens fast and ends fast, which means that everyone should do their best in life. I believe he also wanted to say that people aren't a big part of the universe, since dew is so small compared to the size of the leaf or tree.

//What does the word creative mean?//
To be creative means to use your imagination and come up with something original or sometimes unusual. When we are being creative, we may use very unique ways to express an object or emotion that can be very simple.

//Use a reliable dictionary, Websters and Oxford are examples. Look up the word.//
Resulting from originality of thought- Random House Dictionary

//How many definitions are there?//
There are around four definitions per dictionary.

//Do the definitions match what you believe creative means?//
They match my definitions. I believe mine is more creative :)

//In your own words, write a definition for the word creative.//

I believe that to be creative is to think of ways to express a simple object or feeling in ways that are unique, original and sometimes unusual.

__**Journal Entry #1**__
//List 20 things that annoy you. Pick one to write about.

20 TRULY ANNOYING MOMENTS//
 * 1) //-//Large amounts of boring, repetitive homework
 * 2) -When the water suddenly turns cold while I'm in the shower at the swimming pool.
 * 3) -People who smoke right in front of my face.
 * 4) -When a noisy "Ajuma" comes into a quite public room (ex. Library)
 * 5) __-When bus drivers slam very hard on the brakes when I'm in deep sleep. Causing me to wake up.__
 * 6) -When one hoodie string becomes longer than the other.
 * 7) -When I have to go to school the next day after a long vacation.
 * 8) -When I end up being on Facebook while doing homework, and I can't get off it.
 * 9) -When my door was closed, but somebody walked in and left the door open when they walked out.
 * 10) -When someones erasing the board, and they miss a little mark in the corner.
 * 11) -When I get my stuff from my locker, walk down a flight of steps, then realize that I forgot something and I have to walk back to my locker
 * 12) -When I wake up in the middle of my sleep because its cold. I realize my blanket has fallen to the floor. I try to pick it up but its too heavy.
 * 13) -When I'm really tired but I still have a lot of homework.
 * 14) -Some people who don't get my point when I'm trying to point out something that might be offending in a nice way.
 * 15) -When somebody changes their mind at the last minute
 * 16) -When I have to get out of my warm bed early in the morning of a cold day.
 * 17) -When I'm on the phone, I need to take a note, and all my pens are out of ink.
 * 18) -When I need to go to the bathroom at a important scene of a soap opera or TV show
 * 19) -When I bend down to pick something up, but drop another object that I am holding.
 * 20) -When I have to get off the car, just as the radio is about to play my favorite song.

__-When bus drivers slam very hard on the brakes when I'm in deep sleep. Causing me to wake up.__
 * Writing**

Ever had any annoying moments on the bus? I've had many. I find it the most annoying when the bus drivers slam on their brakes while I'm asleep. This especially happens a lot on public buses. You're walking along the sidewalk, wondering when the bus you must ride will come. You look up, and there it is, almost closing its doors! You run as fast as you can towards it, and successfully slip through the closing doors of the bus. As inconspicuously as possible, you choose a nice seat and sit down. You're sitting in a comfortable seat in the bus, listening to some relaxing music. Ten minutes into the ride, you slowly start to space out, then your eyes close, and eventually fall asleep. Its a smooth ride. Only some minor, rhythmic bobs of the head, synchronized with the bouncy roll of the bus. Just then, you hear a loud blast of the horn over your music. Following the blast is a loud screech and a big jolt forward! If you're unlucky, you might just hear the bus driver spitting out wads of dirty words towards the driver of the passing car. Wow, now that completely blew the sleep out of the passengers' mind! It gets even more annoying when you try to go back to sleep because your tired, but your eyes won't close because that bus driver honked and slammed the sleep out of your eyes! I wish bus drivers would not do this in the future for the sake of the sleeping passengers in the bus.

-Michelle Lee 8D