London talk

Brother whitman

Bubi

President hinckley sam

checketts

plane miracle

How much of what happens in our lives do we control?

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Last things:

1. Finish things in blue
2. Spell check & keep paragraphs together (make sure there aren't any extra lines jumping down - i.e see section on "Thomas accepts his fate")
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4. Make a Bibliography of the 4 pieces you used (use website for template)
5. Put it in the Template Document from the site with your name at the top of each page

In our lives we cannot control control everything that happens to us. But we can control certain things like our attitude, our emotions, our outlook on life and our decisions.  Learning to control these things is important because if we don't control what we can control then we will feel out of control. It may lead to not thinking right, always being angry with things we can't control, and maybe even madness!

In this paper I will discuss the following texts to support this claim: Invictus by William Earnest Henley, The Sports Gene by David Epstein, Luck is Not Chance by Emily Dickinson and If by Rudyard Kipling.

First of all we can control our decisions, but the outcome is often out of our control. We may have a feeling what the consequences will be but we can't control exactly what the outcome will be of our decisions. This is why I think we should make the right decision because usually the consequences will also be good. Rarely is there a bad decision that will have a good consequence.

Even it were to have a good consequence you would feel guilt about making a bad decision and therefore the consequence is still bad. If you made a good decision, it may leave you feeling awkward at the moment but later on you will feel good about making the right decision.

In Invictus the authors message goes through the character in the poem and he says that he is the master of his destiny no matter what is thrown at him to knock him off his path. The message the author is trying to show is that you can stay strong through hardships and not let anything faze you, not even the awful things that were going on with the charachter.

In this excerpt from Invictus [Put an excerpt here from the poem]  he shows control by not swaying under the hardships he is faced with. (Henley) He can control his attitude and his willingness to not be disconcerted, but, his situation is beyond his control as of, after he is in it.

The second big thing we can control is our reaction to events. It is vital to be able to control how we react to things that we cannot control for example, people writing untrue things about you in the media.  Need a short intro paragraph about something like, the second big thing we can control is our reaction to events. 

In Invictus he doesn't get to control what is happening to him but he does get to control how he reacts to what he is going through. He stands strong and won't let anything change him. As it says here in Invictus:

"And yet the menace of the years Finds and shall find me unafraid." (Henley)

While we get to control what we want to do or what we plan to do in our daily lives we don't control if conflicts come up at the last minute or if there is traffic on the way to somewhere, or your car breaks down.

One of the most important things that we can control at all times is our attitude and our emotions. As it says in the poem IF, "If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you." (Kipling)

The attitude one has plays a big part in what you control and how you deal with things.

It may be hard to control emotions but if you can control your emotions and attitude then what you can't control becomes much more bearable.

Some of what happens in our lives seems unfair. From everday activities to some really big things that change the way our lives turn. But sometimes something happens to us by luck. Sometimes we want luck on demand. Alas, that does not work. Luck over time is bound to happen, though. If you put in good work and a generous amount of action, over and over, and over again, sooner to later something that looks to others to be luck will become visible. Because luck over time appears because of vigorous contributions, it rarely happens when you actually need it.

While there still is luck in this world luck usually occurs after you have done something over and over until you can do it easily. As it says in Luck is not Chance "Luck is not chance It's Toil. Fortune's expensive smile Is earned." (Dickinson) So if something does happen that seems lucky it is most often the earnings of great toil and work.

In the excerpt the sports gene Thomas shows control by being calm under pressure and winning the gold medal even though he had just trained to be a high jumper for only a half of a year.
"Thomas decided to put his hops where his mouth was... Mattis had already set the bar at 6'6". Mattis waited for the big talker to fall to earth. And Thomas did, but the bar did not come with him. To Mattis' amazement, Thomas cleared it easily. So Mattis pushed the bar up to 6'8". Thomas cleared it. Seven feet. Without a semblance of graceful high-jump technique" (Epstein) 

Although he hadn't practiced he was gifted with a giant Achilles tendon that allowed for a giant hop. He had natural talent but he still had to train and work hard to get the gold medal. Some might say that someone who hadn't trained nearly as long as the others was lucky to get gold - but his attitude and willingness made the difference.

Thomas accepts his fate of being one of the best high jumpers after being challenged by a friend to
see how high he could jump. Being a soccer player you don't know what your fate holds but you can
control how you will work to get on track to be a great one. Like Thomas you can be born with natural talent, you can't control if you do though. But even if you are born with natural talent you still need to work to grow that talent.

Short paragraph about your own experience in sports.

In conclusion there are things that we can control and things that we cannot control but if we focus on the things that we can control and do not worry about the things that we cannot control life will be much more fulfilling. Even if you are going through trials and you can't control what's going to happen to you, you can have a good attitude and make the most of it by controlling the controllables.

Learning Summary 2018-2019

This year I made a list of all the things I've been reading and studying about:


English – 

Reading and Literature Course - James Madison High School Online - (JMHS) – Grade A
English Course part 1 (JMHS) – Grade B

Books Read/Listened to
To Kill A Mockingbird
Percy Jackson Series
Kingdom and the Crown Trilogy (Historical Fiction New Testament)
QB: My Life Behind the Spiral, Steve Young
How to Watch Soccer, Ruud Gullit
Rivals: Frenemies who Changed the World
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Peak Performance, Brad Stulberg
Alice Adventures in Wonderland


History

American History Course (JMHS) – Grade A

Classic/Historically Themed Films -
12 Angry Men
Fountainhead
Atlas Shrugged
Casa Blanca
Shane
Emma
To Kill a Mockingbird
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Flipped
The Monuments Men
Pride and Prejudice
I.Q.
The Hunt for Red October



Language

I traveled to Spain and made some friends there. I also got to watch Barcelona play against Valencia which was Awesome!

Spanish I Course (JMHS) – Grade A
Bulgarian – Reading Heidi

Art
My grandma passed away from cancer this year, so I started a fundraiser for cancer research selling origami stars and raised over $500.

I also sold an origami dragon this year for $85. 

Science
Health Course (JMHS) – Grade A
Biology Course Part 1 (JMHS) – Grade A-

Physical Education 

Completed second season with the New England Revolution  Youth Soccer Academy. I really liked my coach this year and will miss him. I got to train in Spain a little as well which was fun. It's a 36 week season, so it is nice to have a little break in the summer.


Math & Logic

Algebra I Course (JMHS) – Grade A

The Lady and the Tiger Logic Puzzles
Alice in Puzzle Land – Logic Puzzles

Steve Young biography

So I have been reading the biography of Steve Young and it has been really good! I really like it because being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints just like he is we have a lot in common with playing very competitive sports and following our standards. I liked that when he went to the parties he drank milk instead of beer or alcohol. They always had a bottle of milk ready for him. I also like that there were a lot of individuals that helped him a lot through his journey to make him realize that he is very blessed and he shouldn't be taking it for granted like when he goes to see a boy around 12 years old with a terminal brain cancer. The boy says he is fine and after they do the surgery he will be good and will be able to play like Steve with the 49ers. Also his dad helped him a lot to get through hard times and continue to play football. It was really hard for him being the back up to Joe Montana because he really wanted to play, but seeing all of these people who would only dream to be in a position like his he changed his look on life. I love his biography because it is interesting and he shares my standards.

Letter to the Editor - Empathy

False empathy, like anything false, is a lie. You should not jump to conclusions and pretend that you

understand what others are feeling because it could hurt them. It's probably better to be honest that

you don't know what someone is feeling than to pretend that you do.

The problem with most people is that they are so caught up in their own lives, they can't stop

thinking about themselves long enough to have genuine empathy for someone else.

To truly feel empathy for someone you have to either have gone through what they have been

through or to talk with them and understand what they are feeling.

In the first case, it involves learning the hard way. You go through traumatic experiences like losing

someone close. It's a terrible feeling and you can't really think straight. You "feel that paralyzed

dullness with which the mind protects itself against,  too much sorrow and too much pain." (Steinbeck)

You can choose to be bitter and sad or to be positive about it and use it as a learning experience

which you can draw from to help other people going through similar situations. Even through the trial of losing a loved one we must still find joy in our lives to keep us going.When I lost my brother John F. Kennedy, I felt all those negative feelings, but

I  knew that the country needed unity and I was able to use that experience to help others

through their grief when Martin Luther King was assassinated. Instead of just telling people to have

more "love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another", I gave them a choice and showed

by leadership the way I had chosen in the very same situation (Kennedy).

If you learn to have true empathy for

someone, then you can build better and stronger relationships. Also if you learn to talk with and

more importantly listen to what the person you are talking to is saying they will like you more and

genuinely think that you are a friend. Most people just want to get out what they are trying to say and

don't even care about what the other person is saying! To feel empathy for others we must first

understand our own feelings. As I said once, "say a prayer for our

own country which all of us love - a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke."  (Kennedy)

We can pray for others and for ourselves to know how to help someone and receive understanding

and feel empathy for them. God will help you, or someone you are praying for, if you pray with faith.


Excerpted from The Harvest Gypsies by John Steinbeck, published by Heyday.
 Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 

New England and other colonies

So the Question is In what ways did agriculture differ in the three colonial regions?

Well in New England they didn't have very good weather like very cold winter and short growing seasons and rugged landscape. But they did get to fish a lot and send the salted cod to Europe.

In the middle colonies the weather was better and they were able to grow large amounts of wheat that they got to trade with Europe. They were booming while New England was stagnated. New York and Philadelphia were two big seaports that prospered in the Middle colonies.

But in the South the weather was perfect and the growing seasons were long they got the most valuable profits and the did the best, they grew tobacco and wheat, which were staple crops which means that they were on high demand at that time.

Cause and Effect of Jamestown

So the cause for Jamestown to be established was mostly from people wanting land, so like whoever paid for passage to Virginia or paid for someone else passage got 50 acres of land there to start plantations and the landowners imported people from England to come help them grow the plantations.

But the effect turned out to be a little bad. After so many people were coming to Virginia the land began to grow it went into the property of the Indians and they got mad and did a surprise attack on Jamestown and burned the plantations and killed one third of colonists!

New France

Their question - How did the battle at Lake Champlain change the methods used by the Iroquois to fight the French.

My answer - After they saw the French fighting with guns they changed their fighting tactics so instead of fighting in clumps they were more scattered and used trees as cover and fought by attacking then retreating under cover.

Their question - Why did New France attract few colonists.

My answer - Because there wasn't much opportunity beyond trading for deerskin with the Indians or raising poor quality tobacco it was also very swampy and diseases came from the swamps such as malaria and dysentery.

Learning New Things This Year

This year I made a list of all the things I've been reading and studying about:


English
The Incorrigible Children Series
The Phantom Tollbooth
100 Cupboards
The Twenty One Balloons
Farmer Boy, Wilder
The Lost World
Harry Potter - the whole series (This was a re-read, but it was just as good the 2nd time)
Kingdom and the Crown Trilogy (Historical Fiction New Testament)
Masters of Modern Soccer
Mister Max

History
World History Course - Middle Ages through Colonial Period
A Child's History of the World V.M Hillye
The Matchlock Gun
Guts and Glory Revolutionary War and Civil War
I Survived Series
The Darkest Hour (Churchill)

Language
Spanish - Duolingo
Bulgarian - I'm Reading Heidi the Classic at about 3 pages per day

Art
Origami - got a great book on some very complex 3D models of animals and dragons. It's amazing what you can make folding a single piece of very thin paper. I have to get my paper from France because normal origami paper won't let you do all these complex folds.
       Art competition (Won an award for an origami dragon I made)
Made Stop motion video  with Origami
        Wrking on starting a business selling origami

Science
Basic Chemistry - Learned about acids, bases, moles and how to balance equations
Put on a Science Magic Show for family and friends
A lot of experiments with Baking trying different flours and mixtures for the perfect consistency of cakes and cookies
Physics - Studied in depth the motion of a ball through the air and why it bends or knuckles based on spin

Physical Education 

Completed first season with the New England Revolution Youth Soccer Academy. This involved going to Foxboro 3 times a week for training and farther than that for games on the weekends. It was a lot of work but I really love it and am looking forward to the next season.

Math & Logic
Watched The Man Who Knew Infinity about an Indian Mathematician in Cambridge
Geometry - Learned how to calculate area of all basic shapes
Probabilities - Learned how to calculate compound chance (i.e. chance of success doing the same thing multiple times in a row).
Played a lot of Mindtrap with family during commutes (Logic puzzles, mysteries, visual puzzles)
The Da Vinci Puzzle Book
The Lady and the Tiger Logic Puzzles
Studied Chess strategy and beat my dad on multiple occasions and the computer on the hard level
Basic Algebra - Learned to balance and rearrange equations using Dragon box
Learned algorithms for new rubiks cube puzzles 2x4, Ghost cubes and others

Spanish Colonization

1.     Explain how the Spanish set up their colonies.

They used a monarchy with a King and Queen at the top then they divided the Americas into five provinces.They also appointed people to go and live in these provinces, they were called viceroys. They also created a council called the Council of the Indies, which would create the laws. But there were some problems The viceroy lived in the province so they knew what was needed and what was not. But the council of the Indies could only guess what was right. Then there was the problem with birth. The people who were born in Spain were at the top they were called Peninsulares. Then there were people with Spanish parents but were born in America, they were called Creoles. Then there were people who had a Spanish parent and an Indian parent, they were called Mestizos. They lacked identity because they were neither Spanish or Indian they were Mestizos.

2.     Explain how the Spanish got the Native Americans to work on the farms.

They used a system called Encomienda, so they let the Native Americans have some land and then sneakily they have a Spanish guy get on the property and own it and then forces the Native Americans to work, they became like slaves. They get paid but not for how much work they do.

3.     Explain how the Spanish got the Native Americans to work in the mines.

Well they used this system  called the Draft. So every village of Native Americans had a quota of people (a limited or fixed number or amount of people) to go work in the mines each year.
But the working conditions in the mines were awful wet and cold and they had to carry giant bags of ore up out of the mine they got sweaty after doing this and some of them died once they got out of the mine and went back in because of the climate change. Just like on the farms they got paid but not as much as they should get for how much work they are doing.

4.     Explain how the Spanish replaced the Native Americans with a different source of cheap labor.

They imported Africans and made them slaves. Because the Native Americans were dying to quickly.

Jamestown

1.    Explain what Roanoke was and why it failed

The Roanoke was a Colony in the Americas. It was a fail because Raleigh put most of his money into an investment but then it failed because he was the one putting the money in and if it failed then he would lose his money, but if he made other people put their money in it like starting a lemonade stand then he would just run the lemonade stand if it went good than you are ok and the people who put their money into the Lemonade stand are ok but if you don't sell then you are still good but the people who invested in it lose their money. Raleigh then learned to make other people invest to not lose his money.

2.   Explain why Jamestown succeeded as the first English colony in North America.

They Succeeded because they built a fort first on a swamp and it was good for their defense and no one could get to them. John Smith also helped.

3.   Explain the role John Smith played in saving Jamestown.

Well everyone was going to search for gold and everyone was close to dying because they had not made farms to eat from. But then John Smith (Who is famous from the Pocahontas movie) got everything in order and forced people to work instead of hunting for gold. He even threatened to kill people if they didn't do as he said.

4.   Identify how most English colonies made money.

Well they got gold from the Native Americans by trading and conquering their cities of gold.

French colonization

1.  Identify the first French explorer who discovered Canada
The first French explorer to discover Canada was named Jacques Cartier.

2.  Explain why the French had to work with the Native Americans
Because they didn't have that many people and couldn't farm or take over the Native Americans.

3.  Explain how the French ran their trapping business.
They built trading posts along the Native Americans border and they traded furs for weapons horses and jewelry, things that the Native Americans didn't have, it worked out for both of them.

4.   Explain why the way the French used the land clashed with the way the English used the land.
Well the French wanted to use the land for trapping but the English wanted to farm it and they couldn't both do the same thing there so the English over ran the French with their population

Expansion into Africa

1.   Define and explain the Partition of Africa.

The partition of Africa was a conference that was held to decide how to divide the African continent between themselves. But the Africans were not invited to this conference, which was very unfair.

2.   Define and explain imperialism.

It if when one country chooses to dominate another countries affairs. Usually they set up a colony in that country to guarantee full control

3.   Explain why Europe felt justified in colonizing Africa.

They said that they were bringing a better way of life to Africa along with religion. But this was not necessarily what the Africans wanted.

4.   Identify the first European country to Establish contact with Africa.

Belgium was the first country to establish a colony in the Congo in central Africa

5.   Identify the diseases that impeded the progress of Europeans in Africa.

The two diseases were Malaria and yellow fever which were caused by mosquitoes. 

China and Europe

1.  Identify how China was before being conquered.

Very powerful and if someone wanted to trade with china the only thing they could trade was gold or silver because the Chinese either had that thing or could make it better than anyone else.

2.  Explain the downfall of the Chinese government before the Europeans took over.
They had population growth. Too many mouths to feed and not enough farmers to farm that food.
Corruption of the government. One person was able to steal almost a billion dollars in over 30 years. The Chinese instead of making police guard the money made everyone pay higher taxes which the people didn't like. The Opium war. England was importing Opium to China. A highly addictive drug that the Chinese spent a lot of money for. After the Chinese banned opium the English still sent a lot oif opium in a ship and the Chinese decided to throw it into the water. The English got mad and they fought them in a battle that they won fairly easily. The Chinese also had poor weapons

3.  Name the dynasty that controlled China before the Europeans took over.

The Manchu Dynasty

European Eploration

1.     Identify the different explorers who came to  the Americas and what they did.

Well the first one is Christopher Columbus, he found the Americas while trying to find Asia but when he found the Americas he thought it was Asia. The next man was also the first one to make it to the America's his name was Juan Ponce de Leon he was looking for the fountain of youth. Unfortunately he didn't find it though and the only thing he became famous for was being the first to arrive in the America's. The next explorer was the first to see the Pacific ocean. His name was Balboa he never crossed it though. The man to cross it was named Sir Francis Drake.


2.     Explain the technological advances that allowed European explorers to travel better.

Well there was the Compass, Better boats to travel faster in, there were better maps with Latitude and Longitude, and there was the Astrolabe which helped them know their location better by measuring the Latitude.


3.     Explain the contributions the Spanish and Portuguese made towards the discovery of the Americas.

Well they sent a lot of explorers to discover it and they were some of the first Europeans to colonize the Americas. They also made big stories like Christopher Columbus who thought he had found Asia but had not. Then there was Juan Ponce de leon who actually thought there was a fountain of youth but was disappointed to find that there wasn't one.

Economics in Europe

1.     Explain the role of merchants in pushing Europe into exploring the rest of the world. 

Well they wanted to travel a lot to far off places to trade. So those new places got explored, and the merchants also got goods from those new places to show back at his home. He could trade it for more.


2.     Explain how merchants were able to reduce the risk of these adventures 

So the Merchants all had a lot of money, but sometimes on adventures they got robbed and they lost a lot of money. So the merchants all gathered together and decided that they should put all of their money together and then if one guy got robbed then they still had enough money for that guy. It was kind of like insurance today.

Renaissance Reformation

1.     Explain the Teachings of Martin Luther and his actions against the Catholic Church.

Well he believed some of the teachings of the Catholic church. That they started good, but now that there was like only one religion the Catholic church was using it's power for wrong things. Martin Luther didn't like this and he posted ninety five of his theses, or things he didn't like about the Catholic church, on the Church so everyone could see them.

2.     Identify the other influential people during the Reformation.

Another monk by the name of  Girolamo Savonarola also wanted a reformation. But the Catholic Church executed him. Another man named John Calvin spread Protestantism. I personally don't like John that much. I don't like his Ideas, I think they are wrong. When Martin Luther says it doesn't matter what actions you take all that matters is your faith in God, and that you should read the bible because it has all of the truth in it, he even translated it to German so they could read it. But John Calvin says we were Predestined, that we already were chosen where we were going to go before we came to earth, that our actions on earth didn't matter, because we were already chosen. The people said that is this were true then they didn't have any motivation to do anything good. He countered that by saying you should live good lives to show that you are chosen by God.

3.     Explain the Counter-Reformation.

Well the Catholic church decided to try a reformation after Queen Elizabeth I. One of the things they did was train better priests because that was one of the complains on Martin Luther's list.They also had new Religious orders such as the Jesuit Order where members worked as missionaries and preached all around the world. Another one was getting rid of everything that was bad even through violence if necessary.

The Effects of the Renaissance on Everyday Life

1.  Explain how the Renaissance movement changed the everyday life of the people of Europe.

The Renaissance had a lasting effect on the people in Europe because of the Printing press. Before the printing press not everyone could have a book, only the rich people could own books because of how expensive they were. But when the Printing press came around almost everyone could own a book.

2.  Explain the impact of the printing press on the lives of the people of Europe.

 Well now that they had a printing press they could all own books. Before that the books were hand written and were much more expensive. It was a good impact. People from far away could read about things happening in France.

3.  Explain how the printing press evolved.

Well first you had to invent paper. The Chinese were credited for inventing paper. Then you had to stamps words on the paper. But with the printing press you could stamp whole pages at once. Johann Gutenberg is the man that got the credit for taking the last step and actually completing the printing press. The first book that was written was the Bible which I think was awesome.

the Renaissance

1. So I am going to say a few thing about some significant people of the renaissance

The first one is Francesco Petrarch. He was a scholar and he dedicated himself to discovering and studying old manuscripts. After he got the manuscripts he had to verify their authenticity, (to see if they were real) which was very hard. He also researched about other people like St. Augustine and Cicero. Because of what he did the world now hoe has more knowledge of who the classical writers were and what they said.

The second one was Niccolo Machiavelli. He was an author. I don't like his ideas that much. He says like that you should cheat and be dishonest to achieve your goal. So like it doesn't matter how you achieve your goal all that matters is that you achieve your goal. He also wrote a handbook called the Prince.

The third person is Miguel de Cervantes. Cervantes is the author of Don Quixote. It is a book about the medieval lifestyle. He represents the Renaissance spirit by his skills of a wide amount of knowledge.

The fourth man is William Shakespeare. You might know him for some of his plays such as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Othello. He is probably one of the best English writers ever. An example of that is that he invented hundreds of words that we now use today.

The Fifth person is Leonardo da Vinci, which means Leonardo from Vinci. He was an incredible artist and known for some of his masterpieces like the Mona Lisa. He also did a lot of human anatomy and dissected dead bodies. He also made his own flying machine. He was a big part of the Renaissance movement.

The Sixth person is Michelangelo. He was mostly known for his work on the Sistine Chapel. He is also was good at poetry and designing. Every day he would spend hours on his backside depicting Biblical stories with his art.

The seventh man is Raphael. He helped Influence the works of Leonardo and Michelangelo. He was also one of the first artists to start using brighter colors in his works. He like Michelangelo also maintained a very religious theme in his artwork.

The Eighth person is Donatello. He was one of the best sculptors to come out of the Renaissance movement. He was best known for hist statue of David. He was one of the first to make a statue with just one person not a lot of people. You could focus on David from all sides because it was only him.

The ninth and last man is Jan van Eyck. Jan van Eyck was known for his exceeding attention to detail. His art looked like photographs. Throughout all of his art he maintained a strong religious theme.

The beginning of the Renaissance

1. Define Renaissance.
 Renaissance is the time in Europe when everyone wanted to focus on being good at everything. Like not really good at one thing and bad at another but pretty good on both of them. Renaissance also means rebirth. They were being re birthed back into a time where everyone wanted to learn and be good at everything.

2. Explain why it started in Northern Italy.
It started in Northern Italy because there was a lot of trade going on around there. A lot of wealthy merchants were in Northern Italy, and because they didn't have to work that much (because they were so rich) they had more time to study.

3.Explain what a Renaissance person is like.
A Renaissance person was very knowledgeable in almost everything. They tried to learn everything and be equally good at it. Not to good at one thing not to bad at one thing right in the middle.

4.Explain how the Renaissance movement was different in Northern Italy and the rest of Europe
Well the farther north you went the more people were focused on religion. Because they were focused on religion they believed God wanted them to be better people so they tried harder and studied more.