VIRTUES

I really could not decide what my virtues to live by are, so I will not describe the virtues that my mother lives by.
My mom believes that you could do anything wrong, but you could never lie about it. No matter how bad something is, you  should always tell the truth. In the end, that will make you feel less guilty about whatever you did. Honesty is something that you should never leave out of your character.
She also believes that one should have a very strong spirituality, no matter what that is associated with. Whether it is religious or philosophical, that sense of self-knowing should always exist in order to keep yourself from losing sight of who you are.
I cannot look into my mother's thoughts, but I would believe that she wants everyone to live up to their full potential. She thinks that you should never give up or give in, and live life in the most fulfilling way possible. I agree with that, and she does not make her expectations frightening, and she is very accepting and supportive of anything that I do. I love her.
I love that I feel like I could come home one day with nothing left and she would still take me into her care and make sure I was alright. The rest would come later, after I was settled. It is good to know that caring is a virtue for her. I will always have somewhere to go, even when I feel like I do not. Sure, she might be angry or disappointed at first, but there is nothing I could do to where she would not accept me in time. She tells me that all the time, randomly. She knows me. She lets me cry to her and never complains. I appreciate that about her, and she knows that I would do the same for her.

MINTS

You should bring in the mints so we will not be as chatty during class. If we all are consuming mints, we will not be able to talk as much, due to the fact that our mouths will be busy through lectures and discussions. We will also have more thought to what we say, because we will not be blurting  out whatever we think first. Discussions will be more productive, because you will be happy with our attentiveness, and we will be happy with our delicious mints! Nothing could go wrong here.
Another reason to bring in mints is so we will not complain about hunger as much. When people are hungry, but they cannot eat, they tend to become angry and upset, especially towards the end of the day. A good alternative to this complaining is to give us mints! Our mouths will be occupied, and therefore distracted from our raging hunger. Our mouths will be happy, so they will not acknowledge cravings. This is why people tend to chew gum when they are dieting, so they will eliminate cravings and follow their diet with more consistency.
More importantly, everyone loves mints. We all want mints, do we not? You obviously want mints, or else you would not have brought up the subject. You see, sir, we are all having a mint craving right now at the very mention of Brach's Star Brites. Although we are not going to get much nutrition from a mint, we will find pleasure and happiness within them. Everyone wants a mint. If you do not want a mint, you must be a special case, because mints are commonly accepted as delicious little sugar treats to freshen breath and relieve cravings that everyone wishes we could shake. Who likes feeling icky because you cannot have what you crave? No one, that is who! So, to end my argument, I think that you should bring the class some stinkin' mints, man.

Autumn

Well, I can honestly say that Autumn is my favorite season. It is for a number of reasons, one being the smell. I cannot explain why, but I love how it smells. The smell of dry leaves, smokey nights, incense,  laundry detergent on an old sweatshirt. I don't know why, I just love the smell of everything. Currently, I am not even experiencing smell though, mostly because I'm sick. My nose's current condition is almost painful. Oh well, at least I can still see all of the beautiful colors. The dark browns and purples, and just about every color in between. Everyone talks about the colors, but I really mean it. Oh well. 
I almost always want to shave my head in the fall, mostly so I can see what it would feel like to feel wind on the back of my naked scalp. I don't know why, I guess I'm just curious. 
On the typical side, my birthday is in fall, and so is Halloween. Those are two of my favorite days. I just wish they weren't over so quickly. I hate that things like that only last twenty four hours, and half of that is spent usually spent sleeping. I love sleeping as much as the next person, but it totally  is not worth missing so much time on awesome days. That is why I don't sleep all that much. I just hate missing things. Why sleep, when I could be awake doing something somewhat productive, or even just thinking? Thinking takes up a ton of my time, especially in the Fall. I am usually more at peace. I love it. I just want to float around and think in my mine. I want to keep to myself, and maybe spend some time learning about myself. That sounds so stupid to write on an English blog. I don't even care. Whatever works for me!

Rational Solutions for Emotional Problems

Sometimes, people have to deal with situations rationally, even when emotions get in the way of logic. I remember a time when I was emotionally reactive, but had to stop and think before making a decision. I was driving my car for one of the first times and I was faced with my first crowded 4-way intersection, and I will admit to being a little nervous. Sometimes when a person is nervous, that is almost enough to justify any crazy decisions that would have never occurred without anxiety. 
So there I was, facing real danger and looking it right in the eye. I had no idea what I was doing, so I decided to just drive. Unfortunately, that was the wrong decision. The cars to the left and right of me also wanted to go, which was probably what they were supposed to be doing. I did not know at the time, but I was a very stupid driver. I was in the middle of the road with cars coming at me from both sides. At that time, my emotional reaction was to curl up into a ball and scream. I then realized that I needed to deal with the situation, rather than hiding from it like my emotions told me to do. I decided that I needed to first start the car, because I drive a manual and I had killed it. I then moved forward to get out of everyone's way and not be a problem to the other drivers. 
I eventually was out of the intersection and safe. It was finally obvious what I had just done, and I was scared still. I wanted to switch spots with my mother, who was in the passenger seat the entire time. She did not let me, she knew that it was only good for me to gain some experience and work through on my own. 

The Crucible - Part IV: Response/Relation to Johnathan Edwards

First of all, I would just like to write a small disclaimer to all religiously opinionated people, so I advise reader digression. These are merely my thoughts on the given essay topic, and I do not want to offend anyone with my beliefs, as this book talks about religion quite often. My opinion is as good as anyone else's. 

I really do disagree with just about every single thing that Johnathan Edwards has to say in his frightening little speech. I know that I would rather be a million other places than there when he was preaching and writing these awful accounts and ideas to people (Edwards 10). I do not think that I could ever read that without becoming very uncomfortable, just as I did this time around. What happens to the people in The Crucible makes me feel like they could connect to what Edwards is saying. They have very serious beliefs, even if they do sound completely ridiculous to society today (Miller 306). We have to understand when reading these things that people all have their little explanations of who is running all of the world in the sky or something like that. I feel like the churches in the Puritan times were all connected in some way or another because somehow, they all seemed to act the same way and want to scare the pants off of everyone. I was honestly afraid when read some of these things. 
In both of these stories, there are people who are essentially doing something wrong in the eyes of their god. Whether it be something like cheating on your wife, or simply lying over something unimportant (Miller 118, 245). It may be hard to live in a position where you can hardly do anything without feeling horrible grief, and putting yourself in potential danger of losing your soul to the devil, who lurks around every corner and works through other people in mysterious ways. 
These passages all are written through people of the Puritan religion, which is a very strict, almost aggressive religion. I honestly am already tired of reading about this religion, mainly because it makes me feel uncomfortable discussing it through school work, but also because the religion is so very closed-minded and it has a sort of "my way or the highway" attitude. I am someone who is extremely supportive of religious tolerance, so it pains me to read about how bad things used to be in our own country. Both writings are perfect examples of exactly how things worked in the Puritan religion. Everything is centered around scaring people into wanting to get into heaven, as opposed to making them want to get into heaven on their own terms (Edwards 12). The objective of the religion was to scare people away from hell, instead of urging them toward whatever god they were looking to. I would hate to have to live in fear of going somewhere horrible for all of eternity just because of something so meaningless as shoveling snow on a Sunday (234). 
I find that their whole establishment was just messed up from the beginning, and that is probably why this religion does not exist any longer. I am starting to become seriously sick of hearing about these people, it gets me angry and I disagree with every "logical" connection they make.

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Edwards, Jonathan. Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God a Sermon, Preached at Enfield, July 8th, 1741, at a Time of Great Awakenings, and Attended with Remarkable Impressions on Many of the Hearers. Schenectady, N.Y.: Printed by Riggs & Stevens, 1815. Print.

Bullies Are Bad

No one ever wins in a bullying situation. The bully might have the ability to beat up the smaller kid, but he is never going to truly win. Maybe one or two battles at first, but I believe that eventually it will come back to him OR HER. A bully can be any person, not just a male. It is usually, but not limited to, a student at an equal age in the society we live in today. This is not much of a problem where here in Pleasant Plains, but it does happen. When it happens, it hurts. No one knows how to react, as it can be an extremely difficult situation for anyone involved. It is complicated for a parent to decide what to do for their child, it is difficult to see something happen to someone you care about. It is troublesome for the bully to have to deal with whatever punishment they get, and to admit defeat. No one ever really talks about that, they only talk about the real physical punishment, such as grounding or losing a phone. They never talk about how emotional and stressful it is on everyone. No one knows what to do. Above all, the person taking most of the problems is the victim. They could be dealing with a number of things. They are afraid of embarrassment or physical brutality. They are afraid of people watching them, or possibly just harmful words. Aggression towards someone you constantly have to deal with can make them extremely uncomfortable, but they do not know what to do about it because they do not want to make it worse by telling someone about it. They only want to be happy, and they want to get alone, but they just can't. Sometimes, you just cannot change people, no matter how much you wish you could. At times, it seems like the best thing to do is keep your mouth shut. That way at least you are the only person who is unhappy, and no one else has to deal with your problems.

The Crucible - Part III

Act III of The Crucible is extremely intense. I cannot think of many things more intense than a life-or-death court room scene.  When people are put into situations such as this, their human instincts tend to come out quite a bit more than usual. As people, it is only natural to defend ourselves and the ones we love when lives are at stake. In a court room scene, you really have no choice other than to stick to your guns and hope for the best. In this case, I am sure that many people were looking to God in their times of need. Like I previously said, reading this section of the book was very intense and I was sort of at the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading. 
An example of human nature is when Abigail pretends that Mary is possessing her and her posse with her own spirit (Miller  115). They begin to say everything she is saying just mere moments after she says it, which is a lot to comprehend. Suddenly, she breaks down and begins to support their claim by yelling out unholy things and scaring everyone in court (Miller 118). 
There are really three examples of human nature in this scene. One being Abigail's desperate attempt to make the court believe her story (Miller 114). She does this so that she can save her own skin, she in tangled up in her web of lies and she is just trying to claw her way out. Really, though, she is only getting herself more tangled up. It is only natural for us humans to do whatever it takes to keep ourselves safe. She was just doing what she thought she needed to do. 
Another example here is the girls who go along with what Abigail is doing and saying (Miller 115). They want to keep themselves and Abigail, whom they care for very much, safe in this trial. As humans, we are inclined to follow whatever we are regularly comfortable following. These girls were used to doing whatever Abigail told them to do, right or wrong. They found her comfortable, almost like a mother figure. You listen to what your mother tells you because she knows best.
The last example of human nature showing through in this situation is how Mary reacts to what all the girls begin to do (Miller 118). She only wants to come clean and call it quits, she is finally done dealing with the lies and the guilt (Miller 102). In the heat of the moment, she finds herself doing exactly what the girls wanted her to do (Miller 118). It was the most beautifully crafted, rushed, impulsive scheme that Abigail could have came up with. She just wanted to do the right thing, but sometimes when we get too much adrenalin, it can altar what we think is right to do.
Basically, we can only say that humans will always be what they are, humans. This is just the way we are, and we cannot expect people to change their "true color" to accommodate our needs. 
Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

The Crucible - Part II: True Colors

The characters are very defined throughout the story so far. I find that the most interesting characters could fit into multiple "colors" from the True Colors activity, such as Abigail. I find that Abigail is both a thinker and a doer. I also think some of the more simplistic characters are easier to analyze, such as John Proctor, who is very straightforward with his thoughts and words. I have decided that he is definitely a doer, due to his rash decisions.

Abigail is both a thinker and a doer because she contemplates her actions, and then does things that could be considered very unexpected, especially to a reader who knows nothing about the Salem Witches. She is basically the leader of the whole group of children who claim to be witches. She is the one who comes up with the schemes and she also carries them out while influencing the other children. For an example of her thinking through and carrying out plans is when she uses Mary to set Elizabeth up. Mary hates Elizabeth for "blackening her name," so she gets Mary to give Elizabeth a doll with a needle in it so the people searching for witchcraft would think she was preforming Voodoo rituals (Miller 56). She is extremely devious! These traits combined with evil traits are what makes her such a vital character. She is able to be the whole basis of the witches because of these acts. If you look at it from a psychoanalytical point, she is an orphan, she lost her parents. This can take a huge toll on a child, but that is beside the point.
In my opinion, John Proctor is definitely a doer, there is no doubt. He does not really contemplate his actions at all, he just sort of goes with whatever impulse he feels at the time. I completely understand this, but I would not consider him to be a very trustworthy person in this sense. While he is trying to change his ways, he still deceived Elizabeth with Abigail, which was not very thoughtful or considerate of him (Miller 54). If he would have taken the time to think his decisions through, he may have found that he was making the wrong choice and that his whole marriage was in jeopardy. Another example of him being a doer is when he just randomly shows up where Abigail is, without any reason other than to hear a story firsthand (Miller 22). I feel like if he thought about this a bit more, he would have known that only trouble would come from such a situation and he would have steered clear of her. If I were him, I would have just kept to myself and let rumors be. He did not need to set out to talk to her and tempt himself with her presence. He did not do anything wrong at that time, but the risk was far too high to be fooling around with. He had been caught in a situation like that once, and he did not want to get caught again.
Overall, these two characters are both sort of extremes. One is very thoughtful and patient, the other is impulsive and eager. I think these two are the best examples of the True Colors assessment because of their strong characteristics and traits. 

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

DON'T BLAME PEOPLE FOR THINGS THEY DID NOT DO

If you blame someone for something that they did not do, then they could get in trouble and you could feel guilty. This is not a good feeling, so I would not recommend it. You could try something else, like being honest or real with someone, but if that is not how you particularly roll, then you could devise an elaborate scheme and hope that you do not get caught. Once again, I would not personally recommend that because you would feel guilt, depending on the situation.
If you did get caught blaming someone else for something you did, you could be in even more trouble for lying about it. For example, if you ate the last cookie, then you told your mom that your sister ate the cookie, then your mom smelled your breath and she knew that it was you, then you would get grounded or something. If you would have been honest in the first place, then you probably would have just gotten scolded or something along those lines. I have know idea what anyone else's moms would have done, but this is probably exactly what my mom would have done. I think my mom is more cool than that though, so maybe she would have just given me the cookie. I do not really know.
If you did happen to get away with your lie, the guilt would probably get to you and you would end up fessing up in the end. I would feel extremely guilty if I got away with something while someone else took the blame. I do not think I could handle something like that, mainly because I consider myself to be an alright sort of chick and I would never want someone to do that to me. I seriously could never hurt someone in that way. If whoever is reading this could somehow handle that kind of situation, then you are a soulless being and I do not understand you. Yes I do, I really do understand. I love you.

The Crucible - Part I: Style and Ideas

The Crucible is an extremely religious book, and its focuses on God's will and word are mentioned frequently throughout the entire Act I. I find that books like this can be a particularly sensitive topic for discussion, so I would like to apologize in advance for my apparent different views on the given subject. I do not mean to disrespect anyone else's opinions, but I cannot avoid the topic, as I am obviously supposed to write five-hundred words about this.

The most interesting thing about the story is the fantastical aspect to it. These girls seriously think they are witches (Miller 18). The author chose this center basis for a reason. This was a controversial issue back when the Puritans were being prosecuted in the New World. The reputation of the Puritans was at stake already, and having witchcraft would not be tolerated not only because it was completely sacrilegious in their eyes, but also because it was endangering the reputation of the relatively new Puritans. The Puritans were sort of hypocrites, mainly because they were demanding their own religious freedom, but they were also completely intolerant of anyone else's beliefs. You would think that they would have learned how it felt from their past. Of course they could not coexist with people who believed in witchcraft, that would mean that they did not believe what the Puritans believed, and that would make them stupid. Basically they're saying "Stupid witches, you should die because you wanted to believe in magic!" Now does that not seem a little rude at least?

I honestly hate how every single tiny detail of life in the Puritan's eyes relates back to God. It angers me that they have this unbreakable fool-proof idea that even the worst situations end up being blessings from God. I mean, it's cool if that is what helps you sleep at night, but I do not think that I could ever trick my mind into believing something like that. In the book, it has not really gotten to the point where they relate things back to God's Way yet, although they had a pretty good opportunity to do that when they were unable to wake Betty up after being caught preforming witchery (Miller 8, 18). I was so sure that they would relate that to some sort of blessing, but they saw it as a threat to God instead. Parris is one of those guys who is constantly worrying about what others think of him. He is a Reverend who does not even follow his own teachings, which include avoiding selfishness. I think that obsessing over self-image is a little on the selfish side, is it not? 

So far, my opinion of the Puritan religion is not a great one. I am seeing a whole lot of hypocrisy, which seems to be apparent in many religions, even now. I understand that some people were avid in their keeping up with religion, but mostly I am seeing the more radical ends. I do not think that these people are very smart with this logic. 

Miller, Arthur. The Crucible. New York, NY: Penguin, 1996. Print.

Modern Punishment

Punishment in today's world is confusing because it should depend on the child. I think people should be free. Every day, people make their own decisions and they should be allowed to do that. The job of a parent is to try to raise a child correctly. That depends on what "correct" is. The typical parent wants their child to be successful. They want their children to learn from their mistakes and to have better lives than they had growing up. That is what my parents believe, anyway. I find that this is the way most parents feel. I agree with this, but I also think that a parent should instill values into a child at a young age, then let them learn from their own mistakes later on. If a mistake is made, the child will learn from it eventually. That should be their own choice, and a parent should not attempt to train a child like a dog. Teaching a child things is good, giving negative reinforcement is wrong. This breaks down the relationship between the child and the parent, and draws them away from the parent. Parents these days are always going out of their way to make a kid feel guilt. Really, they just end up resenting their parents and feeling anger. Then they have negative feelings toward the parent, and the parent loses as well. Parents should have discussions with their children instead of punishing them without a word said. Why do people not see that this is not a good system. Problems should be talked about, considering that we are all human and no one should be higher than another. Sure, some people call the shots and others just listen, but we are all equal, and and ego is something we do not want to inflate. No one should feel like they are superior to anyone else, even their children. They have opinions and thoughts about everything you have them for. EQUALITY, PEOPLE.

My Travels

Once, when I was a young child, I traveled to a far away European country. This country was called France, and I was in love with the burning buildings. Everything was on fire everywhere, which made my world a blur in contrast to it. I did not care at the time. I never even knew. I was a sick little puppy, you know. I followed my comfort and clung to it like a blanket. I was only around ten years old, which is an age of nothingness when looking back from today. That day used to be called "Today," but it passed away. I miss that Today, this Today is not nearly what it used to be. Today has changed.
Paris was indescribable. If someone asked me to try to tell them what it was like, I would not be able to relate it. Unless you have been there, you cannot begin to understand. This is straightforward, which is nothing like my last paragraphs. I could write endless paragraphs, but that does not make them true. The reason Paris was indescribable is not only because it was amazing, but also because I can hardly remember. I hate myself for forgetting. All I remember is following my mom around, and there was so much wine. Everywhere you would look, you would find wine. I remember a tower. I remember a church. I remember a massive woman eating a sandwich while I attempted to order food. I remember jumping into a fountain and thinking that it was a pool because it looked like fun. I was too young to appreciate Paris. I went to the Louvre. Can you imagine a ten-year-old child at the Louvre? It is not that pleasant for someone lacking appreciation. I only remember seeing naked women and wondering why we have to be so thin now, when women were so beautifully plump back then. I hate us. I hate everything about us. One more word.

Puritan Writing Style of William Bradford

The writings of William Bradford greatly reflected the Puritan philosophy. Once again, the style regards everything leading back to God in some way, and how religion is all that matters in life. During this time, the Puritan belief system was a common one. Nearly every man and woman in Plymouth was a Puritan, from what I've observed. This spirituality was not uncommon, people were being raised this way, and it was long before anyone would rebel against such ideas. Although the beliefs were completely unrelatable to most people of our time, it is still quite interesting to read into what it was like to be present during such a raw and primitive stage in our country's growth. 
In all honesty, I had to search a little for the direct religious references. Sometimes he does not just come right out and say it, and the references are not completely solid. A good reference from Bradford was found on pages 58 and 59, "So being ready to departe,  they had a day of solleme humiliation, their pastor taking his texte from Ezra 8. 21. And ther at y river, by Ahava, I proclaimed a fast, that we might humble ourselves before God, and seeke for him a right way for us, and for our children, and for all our substance." He then continues on about the rest of the time spent praising and fasting that day. This is a perfect example of how these people viewed things in that time. Everything was all thanks to God, and every single person lived by that logic, even if something bad would happen. Somehow, unfortunate things that happened to these men and women were looked on as blessings and gifts from the almighty Lord. I have to remember in these blogs that as crazy as it may seem to me, some people still have similar beliefs to this. I respect that.
The way Bradford recollects it, it seems as though religious references not only appeared frequently in text, but also in people's thoughts, words, and actions. In one particular passage that I stumbled upon, it did not seem as ridiculous for people to be praying to their Lord. "After y removall of his familie from hence, he fell into some straits, (as some others did,) and about a year or more afterwards, towards Winter, he intended a vioage to Virginia; but it so pleased God that y barke that carried him, and many other passengers, was in that danger, that they dispaired of life; so as many of them, as they fell into prayer, so also did they begine to examine their consciences and confess such sins as most did burthen them (Bradford 190)." I would say that a life being in real danger would be a valid reason to pray. I do not blame them for their prayers, as this would be a good time to have someone to pray to. The religion that these men had was what kept them sane in times of madness among settlers. 


Bradford, William. "History of Plymouth Plantation." History of Plymouth Plantation. Boston, n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2012. <http://archive.org/stream/historyplymouth00bradgoog>.