Reflection 12/13/13

This week was decent I guess. There was a lot going on. I had a bunch of tests that were pretty difficult. I had a World Studies test that I didn't do the greatest on and I don’t even know what I got on my Geometry test. I got a break in Chemistry because my teacher had to go somewhere. But I took that time to study so I’ll be ready when he reschedules. My friend came over for the weekend which was pretty cool. On Sunday, I just watched football and did homework. I’m glad that winter break comes after this week.

Reflection 12/1/13

This week was alright. It was good to know that we only had two days of school until we got to go on Thanksgiving Break. Usually, my family goes out of town for Thanksgiving, but this year we stayed at home. I was fine with that because I hate sitting in the car for an 8 hour drive. This year, my mom was going to cook but my dad, my sister and I didn’t want her to since December 1rst is her birthday. We decided to go out to a restaurant and even though it wasn’t what we usually do, it was I still had a good Thanksgiving.

Reflection 11/24/13

This week was decent. Nothing really interesting happened. It was a regular week. I did have a few quizzes and tests and whatnot. Some I did better on than others. But I guess the highlight of the week was watching the Half the Sky documentary in my World Studies class. It really opened my eyes to how bad thing were in other countries and how the oppression of women is even worse. It was actually pretty interesting to watch. The only downside is that we have to write an essay about it too. So I worked on that over the weekend and worked on the music video for English as well.

Reflection 11/18/13

Reflection 11/18/13

This week was pretty cool. We didn't come back until Wednesday so I got some extra time to sleep. I didn't do much over the time off though. Tuesday was report card pickup. I wasn't worried or anything though. I had been doing what I needed to do in all of my classes and my grades were good. The only class I was worried about was Chemistry, but I ended up pulling a B in that class as well as World Studies. I just have to make sure that I keep those grades up. I didn't do much this weekend either. It was only because I had extracurricular programs to go to and stuff. I ended Sunday by watching football so it was a pretty good weekend.

Reflection 11/10/13

Reflection 11/10/13

This week was decent I guess. I had a lot of tests and that kind of sucked. I did pretty well on them so I can’t really complain. There was a meeting for new lacrosse players on Thursday so I went to that. It was pretty cool. On Friday, I was kind of tired so I stayed at home. On Saturday, there was this editorial board meeting I had to go to. It’s only three hours and the people over there are cool. After the board meeting, I hung out with some of my friends at Dave and Busters. We were laughing at everything the whole time. It was pretty fun. On Sunday, I just watched football for the whole day.

Reflection 11/3/13

Reflection 11/3/13

     This week was decent, especially since it was a shorter week. One of the best thins about this week was that I passed the state driver education exam so that now I can get my permit. I can’t wait to drive and it’s good knowing that I’m a step closer to getting my license.

     Thursday, which was Halloween was kind of fun as well. Some of my friends came over after school and we went around my neighborhood scaring people. It was pretty funny until security came and told us to stop. My friends and I were cool about the whole thing because it wasn't a big deal but even after we were walking back to my house, the officers still followed us.

     The rest of the weekend was okay. 

Horror Story

Things Go Bump in the Night

10/31/13 6th

     

Tatum Lane sat quietly, looking intently out of the passenger seat window as his dad drove home. It was dark and raining, but he continued to look out the window, as if he was looking for something. He frowned when he thought he did. Tatum sighed and looked over at his dad, whose eyes were focused on the road. His dad looked tired, jaded from the obstacles life threw at him every day. Frowning again, Tatum turned back to look out of the window, encased in his thoughts. His dad’s gravelly voice snapped Tatum out of his pondering.

     “Tatum what do you want to do for a living?” His dad asked. Tatum cringed. Not because of the question, but because of what it implied. It seemed as more of an accusation than a question, as if his dad was stating that Tatum had no clue of what he wanted to do with his life. The question hung in the air. Tatum turned to his dad, who had not taken his eyes off of the road and then looked back at the window. Lightning flashed, illuminating Tatum’s grim face. “Tatum?” His dad echoed.

     “I have an idea of what I want to do, dad,” Tatum finally said. “I’m just still figuring stuff out.” Tatum’s dad sighed. “That’s not good enough of an answer anymore, Tatum,” his dad said. “You’re seventeen for God’s sake. You rarely mention college or anything. And you could at least be working!” Tatum tensed. Arguing with his dad like this was pointless. And it always ended with Tatum leaving the house with his mom begging him to stay and his little sister crying. Too bad they were in a car. Instead of adding fuel to the fire, once again Tatum looked back at the window. And this time he could have sworn he saw figures running outside. Who would be walking out here in this weather?

     “Tatum are you listening to me?” His dad demanded. “Dad, I really don’t feel like arguing with you about this right now,” Tatum said nonchalantly. As much as Tatum hated it, he understood his father’s frustration. Being a well respected police officer must suck if you’re constantly worried about hauling in your own son in jail in a few years because he ends up committing a crime. Tatum pushed away the thought, irritated at his own realization. He clenched his teeth in frustration. Before his dad could reply, Tatum turned on the radio. The station was the news and the broadcast blared from the car’s speakers. “Ten more murders this evening,” A woman reported. “Witnesses reported that the suspects were covered in blood and uttering gibberish. More updates coming soon.” Tatum’s dad shook his head.

     “All these murders today,” he mumbled. “It’s all these kids on drugs, man.” Tatum smirked. He was glad he got his dad to stop talking about his career. “I heard it was more of an infection that was causing people to act like that,” Tatum said. His dad grunted. “Whatever it is, the police need to contain it quick. I don’t want to be scared in my own house waiting to be torn apart by some crazy person.” Tatum closed his eyes and laid his head against the headrest of the seat. “I’m sure it won’t come down to that, dad,” Tatum said coolly. Tatum found himself drifting to sleep. And his dad’s frightened voice snapped him awake.

     “Tatum!” His dad yelled. Tatum eyes fluttered open and he froze. As the car got closer, its headlights illuminated what rattled Tatum’s dad. In the middle of the road was a man covered in blood. Pale skin revealed black veins. His clothes were in tatters and torn flesh hung from his body and teeth. His eyes were wild and yellow. And he was running straight towards the car. Tatum’s dad turned hard to the right, but the road was too slick due to the rain and the car fishtailed. Tatum’s dad turned hard again but it was no use. The car flipped and skidded down the slick road, sending orange sparks everywhere, until coming to a final stop at the end of the road.

     “Tatum,” a voice whispered. “Tatum.” Tatum slowly opened his eyes. It was still dark so he couldn't see anything. His body was sore and he felt something warm running down the side of his head. Tatum tried to get up, but he just hung from his seat belt. The car was upside down. “Tatum,” the voice repeated. Despite that the voice was right next to him, Tatum felt like he had to strain his ears to hear. He looked over at the silhouette of his dad in the passenger seat. He didn't need to see to know that his dad was in bad shape. A wave of fear came over him at the thought. But they needed to get out of the car. Now was not the time to be getting scared. Tatum looked back at his dad’s silhouette.

     “Dad, we need to--,” Tatum was cut off by a man throwing himself at the car window. It was the same man covered in blood that Tatum’s dad almost hit before. Tatum flinched. The moon shone on the bloody man, illuminating his grotesque features. Tatum flinched as the man moaned angrily and pawed at his dad’s window, leaving bloody hand prints after each attempt at trying to get in. It was like a scene straight out of a horror film. A scraping noise on Tatum’s side arose and he slowly turned his head to his window. A woman was frantically scraping at the window, trying to get in as well. Her yellow eyes glowed with hatred and when she moaned, blood dribbled out of her mouth. “Sh#t,” Tatum thought. As if getting out of this wasn't hard enough. “But it can’t be helped,” he mumbled. Tatum reached over and unbuckled his seat belt. He fell from his seat and landed, yelling as he felt something break. Pain shot up his leg like water bursting through a geyser.

    “Dad,” Tatum panted, trying to ignore overwhelming pain. “G-get my pistol out of my pocket,” his dad stammered. Tatum winced as he reached for his dad, ignoring the sound of glass cracking as the people outside got closer to getting in.  

     “Got it,” Tatum said between pants. “Goo-,” Tatum’s dad never got to finish. The man on his dad’s side burst through the window, sending shards of glass into Tatum and his father. “Dad!” Tatum yelled. But his words had no affect. The man was on his dad in an instant, tearing at his flesh as he dragged Tatum’s dad out of the car. “Sh#t!” Tatum panted as he fumbled with the gun’s safety. He finally got the safety off and raised the gun, ready to blow off the guy’s head who tried to take his dad. But they were gone. All Tatum could hear was the man eating his dad’s flesh. Tatum tried to fight back his tears, but they fell anyway. He began to burn with hatred. It started in his throat and began rising until it burst out of his mouth in a war cry. He would be damned if he let some freak feast on his dad. Tatum began crawling out of the broken window, ignoring the shards of glass stabbing him in his stomach. But he didn't get far. The woman on his side broke through the window, groaning and spewing blood everywhere. She gargled and grabbed Tatum’s leg, about to take a huge bite in it. “F##k you!” Tatum screamed. He turned and fired the gun, emptying the clip into the woman’s body. Tatum kept pulling the trigger, but nothing came out. He looked up at the woman. Bullet holes were all across her body. Several were in her arms, her stomach, and her head. She gargled, spewed some blood, and went limp before collapsing to the ground face first. Tatum gasped, struggling to catch his breath. He raised an arm to wipe the tear stains from his face, only to smear it with blood. After pulling himself together, Tatum crawled out of the car. He could barley see anything, but the headlights on the car was still on, providing some light. The car was on the side of the road, leading into a dark forest.

     “That’s where that flesh eating bastard took my dad,” Tatum thought. He tried to get up, but the pain in his leg was too much and he fell back on the ground. “Damn,” Tatum said through clenched teeth. He picked himself up again, ignoring the pain in his leg and leaned on the car for support. He needed to find something to wrap his leg, or he wouldn't be able to pursue his father’s attacker.

     “Maybe I can find something to wrap my leg up in the back,” Tatum said. He began to edge his way to the back of the car when he heard them. A series of gurgles and moans came from farther up the road. Fear struck Tatum in his chest and ran up his spine. On top of the fact that he could barely move without feeling intense pain, he couldn't see the things that were trying to tear his flesh apart. Tatum tried to move faster as the sounds got closer, but he lost his balance and fell. He punched the ground in frustration and slowly pulled himself back up. The sounds were only yards away now.

     “Guess I have no choice,” Tatum said. He took out his dad’s gun, reloaded, and aimed at the darkness. “I can’t see them, Tatum muttered. “But I can sure as hell hear them.” Without any precaution, Tatum emptied the clip into the night, screaming his head off as the muzzle flash from the gun lit the road with bright orange bursts. Tatum lowered the gun after a moment and popped out its empty clip. He was breathing heavily. A figure leaped out of the darkness, landing on Tatum. He cried out as an immense weight crushed his body. Tatum looked up at his attacker. It was kid, no older than he was. The boy’s eyes were sunken and yellow. His hair was matted and dirty. Flesh hung from his face and arms. He opened his mouth, revealing jagged yellow teeth and a foul smell. The boy gurgled, letting blood drip onto Tatum’s face.

     “Get off!” Tatum yelled. He tried to shot the boy off of him, but the boy was too strong and continued to inch towards Tatum’s face. Tatum shut his eyes tight, waiting for death’s cold grasp to take him away. But then a gunshot rang out.

Reluctantly, Tatum looked up at the boy. His eyes widened after he saw the hole where the bullet that entered his head exited. The hateful features that were stapled on the boy’s face moments ago were replaced with an innocent look. His bright yellow eyes had dulled and he went limp, collapsing onto Tatum’s chest. He pushed the corpse off in disgust. When he looked up, Tatum saw a silhouette towering over him. Behind the silhouette were three police cars, red and blue lights lighting up the dark road.

    

     

Reflection 10/27/13

Reflection 10/27/13

This week was decent. Nothing interesting in particular happened. I mean Friday was cool in English because we had this alien trial based off of the Crucible the class recently read. It was pretty funny. I didn't really do anything after school on Friday. I was pretty tired so I crashed when I got home. The next day I had this meeting to go to because I’m on this editorial board. I don’t really want to go but they pay me a stipend at the end so I’m not complaining. There was stuff to do afterwards, but I was feeling really lazy. Next week will be a lot better though.

Reflection 10/20/13

This week was alright. The week after homecoming is never that fun because there’s nothing else like homecoming to look forward to. I didn't even really get a break Monday but since I was doing all my homework. But I did get to sleep longer so I guess that’s a win. It got better by the weekend though. Some of my friends came over and we chilled. The next day, I went up to Northwestern with my parents to see my sister and on top of that there was a football game. It was pretty cool. For the rest of the weekend I did homework and watched football.

Reflection 10/13/13

Reflection Week 10/13/12

     This week was homecoming week so it was pretty fun. I only participated in two days during the week though. I wore my class colors on Thursday and wore orange and blue on Friday, even though it wasn’t the right shade of colors. But that didn't matter because the pep rally and homecoming game were still fun. The next day, I had to go to this college fair and a meeting for this editorial board I’m on. After that, I had to get ready for homecoming and it was cool that my sister came back from college to see me off.

     Homecoming was fun and so was the after party. Unfortunately, the rest of the weekend, I was doing homework.

Reflection 10/6/13

Byron Mason II

10/6/13

Rehak, 6^th

Reflection 10/6/13

     This week was decent I guess. Nothing was really new. Everyone’s getting ready for homecoming but that’s it. Friday, I went to Brook’s homecoming. I had fun but it compare to Whitney’s. The best part was that I got to see one of my closest friends. I haven’t seen her in awhile so that was cool. The next day, I had to get up early and go to this college readiness program. After that, I got to see my sister and go up to her college campus. Her dorm is cool and so is her roommate. I’ll probably go back up there soon. It just takes really long since Northwestern is all the way up in Evanston. I didn't do anything for the rest of weekend but homework and stuff.

Reflection 9/28/13

Byron Mason II

9/28/13

Rehak, 6^th

Reflection 9/28/13

     This week was pretty decent. There was the NJHS induction. It was actually kind of funny. The students who were NHS officials were acting like the ceremony was sacred or something. I was laughing at the fact that they were so serious.

      Progress reports came out and mine was decent. I got A’s and B’s and a C in World Studies, but it it’s not a big deal because I’m about two points away from a B and I’ll bring it up in no time.

     Saturday, there were two meetings I had to go to because I got into these two programs. I didn't do that much after. The next day I watched football and did my homework.

    

The Accuser

Byron Mason II

9/25/13

Rehak, 6^th

The Accuser

     Joseph McCarthy was born on November 14^th, 1908 in Appleton, Wisconsin. McCarthy was born into a Roman Catholic family and the 5^th child out of nine other children. At the age of fourteen, McCarthy dropped out of school and began to work as a chicken farmer. He later became the manager of a grocery store not far from his home. 

     It wasn't until 1928 before McCarthy returned to school. Eventually, McCarthy achieved qualifications good enough to get into Marquette University. The result of McCarthy attending Marquette led him to graduate with his law diploma. He began to practice law, but was not very successful so he had to rely on playing poker just to keep his finances somewhat stable.

     After failing in law, McCarthy dived into politics, supporting Franklin D. Roosevelt. Despite his efforts, McCarthy failed to become the Democratic candidate for district attorney. This led him to switch to the Republican Party, where he became a circuit court judge.

     When World War II started, McCarthy resigned as a judge and joined the marines. After the war, McCarthy ran to become a candidate for the Republican senate. He ran a very dirty campaign against his opponent, Robert La Follete.  Not only did McCarthy exaggerate his service in the war for leverage for his election, he made very inappropriate and inaccurate accusations about La Follete. McCarthy won the campaign, but La Follete eventually committed suicide due to the overwhelming accusations.

     McCarthy’s first few years of being in the Senate were very unimpressive. On top of that, people were beginning to discover how he lied about his war records. McCarthy was also being investigated for tax offences and for receiving bribes from the Pepsi-Cola Company. Due to all of the bad publicity, McCarthy began to fear that he would lose his position in the Senate. This made McCarthy go and seek help from his closest advisers  who suggested that McCarthy begin a campaign accusing the Democratic Party of containing communists. McCarthy took this advice and later made a statement claiming that he had a list of two hundred five people in the State Department that were communists. McCarthy had created more issues for the United States with his accusation that any other individual in modern times.

     It wasn't long until McCarthy lost his position of power in the Senate. People began to lose interest in his communist theories. On top of all the corruption, McCarthy was also a huge alcoholic. It was soon discovered that he had serious cirrhosis on his liver. Unable to drop his drinking habits, McCarthy died on May 2^nd, 1957. When his death was mentioned in the newspaper, it was written that he had drunk himself to death.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmccarthy.htm

http://www.coldwar.org/articles/50s/senatorjosephmccarthy.asp

Reflection 9/22

Byron Mason II

9/22/13

Rehak, 6^th

^{Reflection 9/22/13}

     ^{This week was decent I guess. It’s pretty quiet at home since my sister went off for college. But it’s not a big deal because she’s not that far away from home. Families actually had the opportunity to go the college to see their kids and siblings off, but I couldn't go since I had school. I was trying to get signed out but my parents weren't budging.}  

     ^{The rest of the entire week I was trying to get my recommendations and stuff together for this organization I’m trying to get into. I didn't really have a lot of time because I had a lot of tests and quizzes to study for. But I eventually got it finished and submitted my application. The worst part was that I had to get all of my stuff done on a Friday, so I couldn't make any plans. Even worse than that, I had to wake up early and go to the organization’s interview. It was for around five hours. But it wasn't that bad because there were people that I knew over there who were interviewing me.}

     ^{After the interview, I chilled at home for a minute and then went to hang out with some friends.}

  

Reflection 9/15/13

Byron Mason II

9/15/13

Rehak, 6^th

Reflection 9/15/13

     This week was pretty decent. The only thing I didn't like about this week was the results of some of my quiz results in a few classes. World Studies is one of my strongest subjects and I felt that I did really well on the test that covered the chapter we read. There were four questions on the test and I got one wrong, which gave me a seventy five percent on the test. That resulted in my grade dropping from a one hundred to an eighty one in World Studies. I was really frustrated because I was doing pretty well and then my grade just plummeted. But then the next day, my teacher explained that since it was the first test, the grades of many people would drop because there are not many other grades to balance the score out.

     I also didn't do to well on a math quiz I had, but I did very well on another quiz so I still have a good grade in that class.

     The weekend was pretty boring. I went to a football game and saw some relatives. But that was it. The most important part of this weekend is the fact that my sister is going to college. So my family will be going out to dinner to celebrate her last day at home. But no one is feeling down that my sister is leaving because she’s going to Northwestern, which means that she’ll only be around 30 minutes from home. It’ll be weird being the only child, but I know I can always go see my sister if I want to.

Grammar Lesson: Words Often Confused

Lesson: Words Often Confused
Byron Mason II

THE FACTS: Words often confused are words that sound similar and have similar spelling as well, but the definition of the words are completely different.

WHY IT'S CONFUSING: This concept is so confusing because the words are very similar, but they have completely different meanings. Therefore, if a writer does not know the difference between two words that seem similar, they will end up using a word that is not suited for the situation that he or she is trying to describe.

HOW TO REMEMBER: The best way to distinguish words that are often confused is to learn and memorize these specific words. If you can memorize the spelling and definitions of a pair of words that are always mistaken for one another, you will not mistake them when writing.

Circle the word that completes the sentence.
1. My blue cardigan _____ my jeans. (complements/ compliments)
2. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as she tried to _____ the bomb. (diffuse/ defuse)
3. The young boy cringed when his teacher told him to go to the _____. (Principle/ principal)

Try these on your own, and then ask the teacher or a friend to review.
1. I didn’t recognize the territory, but my mom assured me that we were on the right _____. (course/ coarse)
2. I think that we are going to like _____ new home. (our/ are)
3. A feeling of dread crept into my chest when my friend said that the _____ was not working. (break/ brake)

Work on these for some extra practice.
1. The girl tripped as she tired to maneuver her way out of the _____. (isle/ aisle)
2. He hit a tree and fell off of his bike. No wonder he’s _____. (sore/ soar)
3. The girl burst into tears, knowing that the others would never _____ her. (accept, except)

Citation: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-reference/words-that-are-often-confused,  http://oxforddictionaries.com/words/commonly-confused-words

Reflection of Week 9/8/13

     This week was the second week of school and it was pretty cool. I had a decent amount of quizzes and tests. On top of that, there was an abundance of homework. But I was able to handle it and eventually, finishing the large work load will seem like nothing.
     Nothing really interesting happened this week but Friday was actually kind of fun. In my 7th period world studies class, we had to bring in an article to discuss in class. I didn't want to share my story but I ended up sharing it anyway. It was about this vigilante in Mexico who was killing bus drivers to avenge the women who had been raped at foreign assembly plants. I was surprised when my story led to an all out discussion whether it was right for the woman to have taken the law into her own hands. It was funny because so many people were so serious about it.
     The rest of the day was pretty boring but after school, I had to go to my graduation ceremony for my completion of a journalism program I did over the summer. It wasn't a huge event so I just had my parents and my uncle come. My sister was at work so she couldn't come. But the ceremony was really nice and I got to see my friends from the program.
     For the rest of the weekend, I watched football, did my homework, and got ready for next week.

Neighborhood Narrative: Old New Kid on the Block

Old New Kid on the Block

     I hopped off the bus reluctantly, feeling like I got off at the wrong stop. I looked around, bewildered.

     “I got to figure out a way to get to-,” I busted into a coughing fit as I was interrupted by a gust of black fumes that was coming from the bus as it pulled off in a loud screech. My eyes watered and I felt like there was a bonfire in my throat. After a minute, I waved most of the smoke away, sputtering as I managed to get the rest of the fumes out of my system.

     “Great,” I muttered as I doubled over. After I regained my composure, I wiped my eyes and looked up, to see an old aged man looking down at me.

     “Are you ok?” The man asked. Ambivalence was in his voice. He didn't really care if I was ok or not, it was just common curtsy.

     “Yeah,” I managed to reply. “Do you know where Auburn Street is?” The man scratched his long, white scraggly beard and finally pointed down the street.

     “Walk a few blocks and you should see it,” he said. I nodded thanks to the man and bounded down the street. I walked a couple blocks and just like the old man said, there was Auburn Street. As soon as I turned onto the street I was hit with a wave of awe. The neighborhood looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. How could a place like this be surrounded by a bunch of gas stations and shoddy apartments? The neighborhood was as tranquil as an autumn leaf falling to the ground. The lush green trees complemented and concealed some of the large brick houses.  I was surprised how the houses from down the block were twice as big because so many trees concealed their true size. Among the rest of the greenery were birds and squirrels. The occasional alley cat lurked around driveways and lawns. I could hear dogs barking from down the street and the sound of a basketball constantly hitting the pavement. Every once and awhile, all these sounds of the neighborhood were drowned out by the approaching of a train not too far away.

     Most of the residents seemed like nice people. Many of them were walking their dogs. And I guessed that some of the other residents were not too fond of strangers that stumbled into their neighborhood. If looks could kill, I would have dropped dead right at the spot. Even the dogs were growling at me like I was an extraterrestrial. I ignored the stares though and continued on my way. I passed a few houses with people sitting on their front porches, enjoying the warm weather. A few of the residents glanced at me and went back to whatever they were doing, clearly uninterested in me. I walked a few more blocks until I found the house I was looking for. I walked up to the steps leading to the house to find my friends sitting on his porch, palming a basketball.

     “About time,” he muttered.