Freewrite: December 06, 2010

So, this weekend was cookie traying, as I wrote about last week. It went great. My biceps are a tad bit sore, but it was a lot of fun, and I have already seen the looks of appreciation on the faces of my teachers! I brought 5 in for teachers today, and I know it sounds like I'm sucking up, but it isn't like that for me. I honestly appreciate all the work they do and I really enjoy their classes, so they get cookies! :) It makes them happy, so I like to do it every year. I will also be bringing in 9 tomorrow for a bunch of friends of mine. Drumline's cookies will be here on Wednesday probably! They will attack me just like every year so far. It's a great memory of mine. So, now to go away from that topic. I have been thinking a lot about my impact on people and my legacy that will remain here at WHS when I go off to college next fall. I know that sounds kind of stuck-up, but I'm not really worried about trying to do something wonderful so that people will remember me. I've just been thinking about what people will remember when I leave. Will they think of me and miss me? Will they wonder what I'm doing? Will some freshman be impacted because I smiled at them in the hallway? I guess it just intrigues me to think about the impact that we have on people because of things we do everyday. By doing volunteer work with BBBS, I'm helping impact the life of a young girl. I don't know how big of an impact, but I do hope I can help her make better choices and strive to be a role model for someone younger than her. I don't think people realize just how much you can affect someone with the smallest of actions, and I think that we need to realize it.

WORD COUNT: 330

Freewrite: December 03, 2010

So, this weekend is the weekend of all weekends at my house. This is the weekend when all of our Christmas cookies are put onto trays so they can be given out to everyone! This is a tradition that has been happening as long as I can remember. My Mom and her best friend, Anne, get together and make thousands of cookies. Literally. There are probably 50 types of cookies and candies that we put on the trays! It's amazing. They spend so much time doing this every year and then this weekend all of it is brought to my house where I get to walk around in a circle for four hours or so. Once everything is set up and all the trays are done, it truly feels like the holidays for me. It just feels like Christmas is finally almost here. It's great. I've been thinking a lot about traditions recently and mostly holiday traditions at that. Every year, my family used to go to Exotic Animal Paradise to see the lights and animals on Christmas Eve. However, we haven't done that in quite a few years, and it makes me sad. It makes me kind of relate that to my childhood and one of the things that was a childhood tradition. I mean, I'm still in my childhood (kind of), but at the same time, it is something I won't remember doing as a teen, so it's only from when I was little. When I wake up on Christmas morning, the routine is always the same. I get up, go look at the presents, and try to find the footprints that "Santa" left from the soot in our fireplace that night. Last year, much to my disappointment, I watched my Dad put down the footprints of flour in our basement. It was really depressing. I've known Santa isn't real for quite a while, but just watching something happen that had amazed me for so many years was really sad. It kind of ruined that experience for me. Growing up sucks sometimes.

WORD COUNT: 344

Freewrite: December 01, 2010

Our question was about the human nature that Dickens describes and how it compares to modern human nature. I think that human nature both now and in the Tale of Two Cities are pretty close to the same. In TTC, the people seek revenge against those who rule over them and the country because of their horrible living conditions. I think that even now people would react like that. I think people can try to act like they don't care about something or like it doesn't affect them for a while, but when the trouble comes too close to home, that's when people get defensive. I think people will kind of put themselves out there for a cause, but will only fully commit themselves to it when it will save someone they love or care deeply about. Dickens' idea of human nature, or at least the portrayal of that, seems kind of evil and dark with a nice cover over the top. I think in his mind, some people can act nicely, but most are not and will do anything to get revenge. I'm not sure that the world is exactly like that today, but I think that people will revolt once something gets too close. A good example for me is politics and government. I think that people will take a lot of things from the government, but once something hits too close to home and affects something they don't want it to, they will revolt or fight back.

WORD COUNT: 250