The End is Near...

I would have to say that i learned a lot in this class this semester. I really enjoyed being in this class. It has opened my eyes to new ways of thinking and new material that I probably wouldn't read on my own. You should never really judge a book by its cover, I 100% believe this is true. Some of the titles didn't match the actual story line to me. "Hunger Games", it sounds really stupid, but once you read it, you understand why it was given that title after-all. Every activity that we did (even the long ones) helped me think deeper and deeper about what I read and it helped me interpret things in a different way. Honestly, this class was enjoyable, it was intriguing and everyone should take Intro to Lit with Shannon. She opens your mind and makes you think deeper than you ever have before. (thus the reason I took her again in another "English" course)!!

No Books??

A world without books would be a pointless world. Many people world-wide love to read books and it passes the time. I guess a world without books would be entertaining for us students because we really need to save money insted of buying textbooks and never using them. This class wouldn't be as entertaining as it is now! Children wouldn't know how to read and comprehend, the Bible and other religious items would stir up a big fuss and so much more! I would miss books, even though I really don't like reading them, I would. I have read many books and I am happy that I have, I gained so much knowledge from reading them. I probably would cry if I couldn't read books. I know it's kind of like being a hypocrite, but if I want to read then I do, if I don't then I find something else to do with my time!

Daily, I think we "burn books" by not actually reading them and or trashing them. I have so many books in my house, and I know I haven't read them all, I don't even know what some of them are about. I just know that they are there and someone has read them. Maybe not someone that lives in my house, but whoever brought us those books must have recommended them to us! What is actually wrong with books is that they hold so much information. I have never just read a book and not find out about something new! Everytime you read period you are bound to find our something. I think the government literally circulates books for a reason: they know that no one will ever really read them all. If we humans read every book on Earth, then we would know too much and the "leaders" would want us all dead. We as humans don't try to gain this knowledge. It is sad that there are many books on this planet and some people don't even know how to read or even know what a book looks like!

Let the Games Begin...

I TOTALLY LOVED THIS BOOK!!! It was an easy read, but it was very entertaining. It kept me on my feet. I was so engaged in this book that I am going to buy the next two books, I want to know what happens next! This book relates to our other novels by others being in control. Someone is always watching them or making them do something that they don't want to do! I don't really like this concept, but I mean, this book was that god that I really didn't get mad like I did with the others! My favorite part of this book was the turning point (in my case). When they announced that 2 people could win from the same district, I dropped my jaws and almost cried. I was shocked, amazed and so many more feelings went through my body, it was unbelievable. I literally just got back from watching Tron Legacy with my roommate. This story reminds me of it just a bit. Someone was trying to control them and basically, Sam (main character) had to fight for his life to survive and get back home.  Below is a clip because I don't think it is released yet, and if it is, I didn't find any clips on it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9szn1QQfas

"Big Brother" & Privacy

Big Brother today in our society is the government. As in the movie Enemy of the State and also the trilogy of The Bourne's, it shows how the government knows everything that goes on in our lives! In both of these movies, the government tracks both of the main characters (Will Smith and Matt Damon) until they get what they want. As in the book, they finally caught Wilson and honestly, I was waiting for this to happen. Our world is full of nothing but spies and agencies bothering our way of living! We can't even look up certain information or know to much, if we do, the government comes knocking at our door (like in Transformers).

This book was actually getting on my nerves. I don't like the whole concept of them not being able to do what they want, they can't even love! It irks me that they can't even have normal feelings, history keeps getting re-written and people get vaporized and then become "unknown"! Their whole vernacular is just horrible and this book just gets to me! So when Winston and Julia start to rebel, it makes me a bit calmer and it makes me actually want to finish reading the rest of the book! I would have to say, after reading most of the book, it actually has caught my attention and I do want to know how this all ends. It does have me on the edge of my seat!

Renee's Feed

HCO #174, LOVE OF MY LIFE

This would be my number one advertisement. I currently work here and this is the only place that I do shop! I mean I shop at other places, but almost everything in my wardrobe, comes from Hollister! Honestly, I never use to like this store, but working there for so many years has officially persuaded me to keep buying their clothing. I do work in a high-volume store (King of Prussia) and it does get annoying with folding the same pair of clothes over and over again, but it has also opened my eyes. Before I never really had respect for retail or about any other store, until I started working here! So I guess you could say that this place, has changed my life!

WALLEY WORLD

I am currently a college student and this is my favorite place to shop. This is the only place I seem to shop, occasionally BJ's, but only for bulky items. Wal-Mart "Super-Center" only though. Regular Wal-Marts don't have everything that I need. I hate shopping at other Wal-Marts, it really annoys me! They have everything, from a tire to toothpaste. There is nothing you can't find in Wal-Mart, and if you can't I bet it is soon to come. Just recently, they added a tax agency to their stores so that way you can get your taxes done and shop, all at the same time! Who wouldn't like that? 

MICKEY D'S

100% my favorite fast food restaurant in my life! Ever since I was born, I have been eating McDonald's! Their burgers are amazing, their fries equal the best fries in the world, caramel sundae's (minus the nuts), chicken nuggets and so much more! I literally would eat McDonald's everyday if I could. But I suffice with once or twice a week. It's literally irresistible. If I could live at McDonald's I definitely would. I'm not gaining any weight so far from it, so I could, until about 30! Even still, this place will always be in my heart and I would never trade it for another fast food restaurant! 

MY HEART OF MY LIFE

Disney is the greatest. I literally watch Disney Channel each and everyday. Why, I'm not so sure, but it makes me smile. I live with my two brothers who are 10 and 4, they watch Disney all of the time! So, I sit and watch it and I'm very entertained. So I literally have never stopped watching it. On some of my worst days, I go on YouTube and watch all of these Disney movies just to brighten my day! I just love Disney, I wish I could have my own show and everything! That would be a dream come true.

HONESTLY: I don't know which one would range from one to four, but these are my top four. They all equally mean the world to me and I would never replace them. They are me, they are my life, THEY DEFINE WHO I AM!!! I like other foods, shop at other places and so on, but they are nothing compared to these four. 

BROTHERS <3

Class Discussion

In class we discussed the quotes from both Thoreau and Emerson. One quote that stuck out to me was as followed: 

" …What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude... "

Why should people care about what I do if it's my life? They don't have to live with my consequences, they don't have to live my life. I really love this quote, it reminds me of what I tell people all the time : "why are you in my business, it has nothing to do with you or concern you for the mater!" I get very upset when people tell me how I should live my life. It get's under my skin. You can't teach an overweight person how to eat like you so they can be thin, it's their bodies, their genetic code and a personal decision. It might work for one, but it doesn't work for all. It makes me think of the book "The Giver". It was about a boy in this neighborhood or rather this "Utopian" world where everyone did the same thing and nobody was different. But the main character, Jonas, had a different view. He had a different interpretation of his surroundings. I'm glad that I read this book, he never "conformed" to the norm in his society. It made me think of myself at the same time. I didn't do most of the "teenage" activities that my peers did, it wasn't in my nature. My nature was to be different. But the question at the end of the day is: Are we really different at the end of the day? No matter if we "conform" to the norms of society or not, we still share the same beliefs as others. Does that make us different, or are we just conformed to something else? Something to think about....

Dumbest Generation?

Honestly, I don't think that we are the dumbest generation. I just think that we obtain knowledge to us that are more relevant to our future. Most schooling systems don't even require us to know the same events that were discussed during their years in school. Time has changed and so have the people. Nothing will ever be like it as in the past. We grow as a society and as a nation to better ourselves. If that was the case, we would still have the "barter" system and not currency; we would still be using a type writer instead of a computer or even a laptop! Times have changed, no we may not all agree on how they have changed, but we never use to before. People were always trying to find new ways to do things and to make our lives more efficient. That's just the way our system works. Yes we do have more gadgets (i.e. i-Pod’s, laptops, DVR, gaming systems, cell phones, etc) but that doesn't mean we know less. Yes we may not know the whole Constitution front to back, but I bet "my generation" could teach the world how to operate computers and mostly any technological advantages that we have in this world. We can find out any bit of information by hacking sites and just by even searching and knowing where to find out the most accurate information. We have this knowledge at our finger tips, only thing that we can't do is remember what we have found or rather regurgitate it to someone. Maybe some information we can remember if it interests us, but why should we actually retain information if we can get something else to retain it for us?