Sorry I couldn't help it...

I didn't mean to, I just couldn't help it. 

With my head down and my hoodie over, I was on the verge of dying, not literally dying, but bursting into an uncontrollable burst of laughter. Nothing was said, nothing was done.. ok, maybe something was done. But for some reason, I just couldn't hold myself back from laughing that I had to pause everything and shove my face into my hoodie and do everything in my power to not burst out. It was definitely not the right time to burst into laughter, but that was exactly why. It was the wrong place and the wrong time to make that funny face, now I'm about to burst into laughter... Sorry, Mrs. Ritter...

Besides finding things funny and cracking up, there are times when I don't find something humorous, but the fact that someone else finds it funny and starts to laugh, and now I'm also laughing uncontrollably. I'm sure I'm not the only one who relates to this. 

Retaining to actual topics, though, the things that I found funny aren't usually any specific topics, but rather bringing up the right thing at the right time, for example, when talking to my friends or discussing any random topic and bringing up some ultra-specific inside group event or EBK (elite ball knowledge) that only we know. 

My kind of humour isn't finding things funny, but making others laugh, which in return causes me to burst into laughter, but sometimes... it feels like laughing at your own joke... which feels kinda weird. 

                                                     (Me with a serious face, trying not to laugh)

The Haunted Pen

 A tale known only to a few, kept a secret that the world would never know about. 

“ Tell us! Tell us !” The kids yelled. 

“Only if you promise to go to bed” the dad said,

“ ok…. Fine, we promise.”

It was a quiet evening, and I couldn’t fall asleep, so I went downtown shopping and wandered into an antique shop that I always passed but never went in. But some faint whisper told me to go into the shop. 

“ Dad… when was this?” 

“A long time ago.”

“How long ago?”

“Do you want to hear this story?”

… 

After shopping for a while, there was a pen covered in dust with no price tag, with a mysterious tag that read, “Use at your own risk”. The shopkeeper said that it was free and that it had been decades since anyone had ever picked it up. But it had come with a notebook. 

Reading the notebook, it sounded as if it were more like a journal, a list of events that happened in someone’s personal life, but some historical events that sounded too detailed. But being an English teacher, I couldn’t help but notice the small grammar mistakes and added a period. The date, April 14th, 1865. Do you guys know what that date is?

“I know, I know! That’s the day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.”

Yep, and on that day, Lincoln was assassinated. It was only later did I realized that every event that was written in that notebook happened, on the exact date, on the exact time. 

“Wow… must be a coincidence.”

“Anyways. That’s the story. Good night, kids.” 

“No, no… There must be more!”

“That’s all for now. I’ll tell you the rest tomorrow.” 

Setting the pen down, he wondered what he should write with the last few drops of ink, whether he should bless the world or haunt it for generations. He decided then to write that for every year on October 31st that the weird tradition of kids knocking on doors asking for candy would be used to remember the day that he found the haunted pen that made words into reality. 

———————————————————————————————————————

Summary: The genre of this story is historical fiction, and the consequences that followed were the change in history, but leaving the world with trick or treating on the last day of October. 

BOO!!!

Intertextuality in text and in person life

    Intertextuality, in simple terms, is when one text/work connects to or references another text/work. I strongly believe that the many things we interact with daily reflect on us and we carry them, for example, our own values, morals, etc are what influence our worldview and our decisions. 

     One of the books I read over the summer, The Sun also Rises by Ernest Hemingway was deeply intertextual, with its title coming from Ecclesiastes 1:5: "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose." Hemingway uses this from the bible as a method of framing the "Lost Generation" (those who survived World War I) and how their drifting away emotionally and spiritually. To go more in depth, the bible verse reflects the endless repetition of human struggle and renewal; by using this "ancient" text and creating a novel based of faith and disillusionment it's a text that is "haunted" by another text, exactly what intertextuality is.

    To be more personal, I would definitely agree that everyday occurrences or ideas exposed to us have some impact on the "intertextuality of our own identity", for example in AP Biology there has been a strong push by the teacher to be more environmentally smart, which of course is the right thing to do. I
have no argument against that, but specifics such as pushing towards EV's and cutting down on certain diets are a few of the many things that conflicts with my personal worldview. As someone who loves nature and animals, I do agree that many things such as single use plastics and other things such be cut down and that big corporations should be held accountable, but my love for ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles also clash with those ideals, causing an internal clash within myself. The sweet sound of a cammed V8 or saving the world from global warming by entertaining some quiet, soulless EV are just some of the ways that intertextuality can be witnessed in my life.

    Is there hope for me where I can find some middle ground between being environmentally friendly and able to enjoy the beauty of ICEs??? (yes... the new BMW M5 which is a hybrid!!! Environmentally friendly right???). But just like in Hemingway's The Sun also Rises, Jake and Brett can't be together, but they keep living and moving forward. I'll find something that satisfies both sides. 

As promised... a photo of the other rabit (Benjamin, named after the cousin in peter rabbit, cause their both "large")

I don't know how to write

 It was true that I didn't know how to write. I still believe that I can't write, or at least not to the standards of my peers. For most days, I had to be taken out of class to attend ESL, and then after that, I would have to leave school to take ESL assessments to determine if I was capable enough and on the same level as my peers. 

For most people, writing comes naturally, with words that come together to create a harmony that sounds like the work of authors and writers. It almost comes out as jealousy, but in reality, it's just a realization that what I have isn't good, and there is room for improvement. 

Essays or any writing, as it might seem from my previous statement, isn't my strongest suit. On my second draft for a college essay, each time I read it, there is something that could be changed. Constant improvement is what I've come to realize is why other people's essays are so great; they have received feedback and acted upon it. A pith we learned is a pivotal moment where sudden realization comes or a lesson is learned. My writing journey began when I started failing. This was good, I could get feedback and become better than the last time. (That sounds so cliche...and dumb). 

But what if this time I fail, and my inability to write a proper-sounding essay is what sets me back? As I look around, even the people I would never expect to write anything of significance are writing so beautifully that I can't even fathom it.  

Looking back, is the ability to follow prompts and to follow a rubric and score a hundred because you were able to successfully articulate an idea and able to comprehend the specific ideas and relay them onto a paper showing that you are capable of writing, yes. But... I don't have any buts. Until then, my focus on writing is to be able to pass my thoughts into words in a way that will "WOW" my readers.

College essays are usually where people can brag about themselves in a professional way that doesn't boost their ego too much, but is impressive. I feel like mine has exposed who I am and the constant improvements that need to be made. But still shows some of my accomplishments. 

This is one of my two pet rabbits, the next blog I will show the big one... he's kinda big