How to Make Frybread and Beans ( APache Style )

Well this is going to be a process on how to make the infamous Native American Frybread, that is part of the native american traditonal foods in the Northern American territory. 

Quite popular in our Apache Tribe, I'm going to explain the process of how to make this wonderful, delicious ( yet fattening ) bread that makes your mouth water when you smell the smokey aroma from where ever it is being prepared. So hold on... here we go! :) 


First things first is to get your ingredients of what you will be making for this fabulous dish. It works well with beans, so that would be a start. So for this, pinto beans works well with frybread. It can be boiled or slowcooked with bacon for one type of beans. Or for the chili lovers, there is Chili beans, that you add with hamburger, green peppers, onions and el pato. Both work well with frybread. :) 


Clean and boil the beans, then add the bacon or hamburger with it as it boils. It takes 2 hours or 3...depending on the time. When the beans are done, now is for the bread, you get a mixing bowl, and get an estimate of 6 cups of flour. Next you add a handful of salt  and a handful of baking powder and for fluffyness, get in a mixture of dry milk, add water, and that will be your mixture. A guesstamation of at least 1/2 gallon to mix the dough together. 


Now I really don't know the measurements off hand, but that's a close guess, wouldn't you say? :) Then you mix the ingredients together and kneeding it into a dough. Then you make small rolls of dough, about the size of your palm and make as many as you can, depending on the amount of dough. 

Next is to heat up a frying pan, with some vegetable oil or shortening. Depending on your choice, heat up until its nice and hot. Next is use a rolling pin and roll out the dough until it's flat, about 5 inches at the most, and immediately dip into the grease. It cooks very fast so make sure that you get both sides done then take to the side. Good, you made your first one. Smells delish, doesn't it? 

Continue making until all the dough has been fried. Now, you are ready to enjoy a savoring delicious meal for the evening. :) 

A process of frybread in the makes! :)




 

Black Talk and Pop Culture

1.Savan's Thesis: Linguists and other language experts know that America's language, wouldn't be what it is-and certainly wouldn't pop as much-without black English.
2. Savan meant with pop language and pop talk was, that its a language that sparks with wordplays and code game; a language most commonly found in the streets and often refereed to as slang. Some examples of this pop language would include Micky D's, getting Jiggy with it, and sup.
3) The world cool is characterized by Savan as the most important pop word of all because while other words fade into society never to be spoken again, the word cool has managed to survive this whole time.
4) According to Savan, what's troubling about white mainstream cultures appropriation of black words and phrases is that the white people are basically willing to accept the blacks words but not them. Also that it's not in the white culture to be throwing the words around.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WRITER

1) Savan uses so many examples of black talk because he would like to ephisize how many terms of black ebonics actually made it into the mainstream pop culture.

2) The reason Savan discusses the use of black talk in marketing products becuase it seems "fun" and "pops" making it easy on the ears and more exciting.

3) Savan stops the flow of the essay to delve deeper into the terms of black talk because she want's people to understand just how complex black talk is. She calls it black talk instead of black english because it doesn't separate or make it seem racist as much as the other words due.

4)Sacan uses examples from MTV, Such other examples however include the infamous "ecko" and "FUBU" clothing. Rappers often use this "black talk" both on and off stage.

SHORT ANSWER:
1) Eminem is a prime example of a rapper who uses "black talk." Although he is white, he feels since he grew up in the "ghetto" he is apparently part black. This "wanna-be" has even worked with several black artists to ensure that he always has fresh jargon to use.

Tweens: Ten going on Sixteen

The main thesis of the story is the new social animal for kids today between the ages of eight and 12 are called "Tweens". It is quoted by a middle school director that "There is no such thing as preadolescence anymore. Kids are teenagers at ten".
The self image that these kids are projecting is geared more towards teen styles, teen attitudes, and teen behavior. Out came the childish images of puppies, cute images, comic heroes, etc. and up came more idols and styles that a teenager is prone to be more fascinated with.
What dangers that may occur through this "tween" phenomenon is that it grows our of a complicated mixture that they are relying more on others to tell them how the world and how to be placed in it. An empowerment that will leave them with vulnerability and exposed to the vulgar and sensation driven marketplace of the internet, society and entertainment that will affect their immature peers. ( answers to 3 and 4.)

Speech Anaylysis

Speaker: Joe Clark portrayed by Morgan Freeman in movie Lean On Me. 
Speech titled "Welcome to the New East Side High"
Thesis: The resurrection of a dead school
When and Where speech delivered: 
East Side High School Auditorium, beginning of the new school year, New Jersey
Intended Audience: Students and Faculty of East Side High School
Additional things to include: The students must pass basic skills exam to keep from having the school taken over by a the State government of New Jersey.
Tone of the speech: Joe Clark is very direct and lecturing towards the faculty and students of the school.
What would be needed to make this speech better? ( if needed ) Well I believe nothing would top this speech, which was very direct and precise. The motto he uses, "If you do not succeed in life, I don't want you to blame your parents. I don't want you to blame the white man! I want you to blame yourselves! The responsibility is yours!" is very strong and it tells the students that no one should be blamed but them for their failure. Very strong quote by Mr. Freeman. 
Do I agree with the speech's argument/subject? Yes, I do. What Joe Clark tells the students is that if they fail, and don't succeed, they will be locked out of dreams that they think is so easy to get and they must work for what they each want in order to succeed in life. 

Analysis of persuasive techniques:
ETHOS: Actor Morgan Freeman is a well distinguished actor, and performing this inspirational speech in the movie LEAN ON ME, as principal Joe Clark, has given persuasive techniques of his speech by explaining the hard truth and consequences to the young adults of East Side High School.


LOGOS: Through Joe Clark's speech, he exclaims to the students that if they do not pass the basic skills exam, they will be locked out of their dreams to succeed in life. 


PATHOS: The students are quiet and coherent towards their principal after he first removes the incorrigible delinquent student body from the state. The students in the audience at first applaud their dismissal, then sit quietly as Joe Clark delivers his powerful speech. The audience of the students and faculty is silence. 


Conclusion: In my opinion, this speech has always been a GREAT SPEECH. No other actor, besides Al Pacino from A SCENT OF A WOMAN, could pull this powerful, inspirational speech and that has captivated his audience than Morgan Freeman. The speech is memorable to many people that have watched the movie, and it delivers a performance that shows that with his words of wisdom, no one can succeed in life, unless they work for it and go after their dreams to success. 


Joe Clark has persuaded students that they must work for what they want, to be a success, to not blame anyone but themselves and to pass the minimum basic skills to achieve that goal. Persuasive indeed.

You have found a bag of cash and I...

honestly look around to see if the owner or someone is nearby that could have mistakenly dropped it. Then I check to see how much is inside, and going with ( my imagination ) here, I'm feeling quite happy and lucky that this money was placed in my path. But then, my conscience kicks in, and I start to panic a little. What if this money belonged to this drug lord and this was blood money? What is I'm being watched as I pick up this money? Those thoughts will immediately driven into my brain as I stand there wondering what to do. But then, I notice, no one is coming back for it, and no one seems to realize that this is here...so, what do I do? ( giggles like mad ) I immediately close the bag up, stuff what I can inside my backpack, call up my sister. We argue first since she is too lazy to come pick me up, but after I mention the money, she immediately tells me she is on her way! Now...what to do? Should I skip out on class for the evening? Hmmm...my mind ponders on. Who did this money belong to? Where did it come from? I must have been having a lucky day to find this in my path. More thoughts continue, but I don't tell a soul to anyone here at school. It would look suspicious and people would talk, so its best to just leave the campus immediately. I tell Ricardo to inform my teachers that I won't be in class later. He protests and asks why, but I shut him up and tell him I will buy him a carton of cigarettes tomorrow if he does this. So he says, ok! My sister gets here, at a miracle time of 15 minutes. I immediately jump in, and tell her to get as far away as possible from the area. I check the rearview mirror constantly to see that we are not followed as we reach the house. Inside the house i show her the bag of money and she stares at it with open mouth, shocked. We have managed to dump on the floor of our house, $100,000.00. What this money could do for us at this moment is all we could think about. That will be another story...

Favorite Meal

If I had any choice of a favorite meal, that would be hands down, BEEF STEW which mom makes on occasions, and it's the best ever. I know I'm going to have an awesome dinner once I see what she is preparing for the evening meal. Just to show you the image on the left, that is what it looks like as she slow cooks the stew mixed in with beef chuck, potatoes, onions, celery, carrots and tomato sauce broth. YUM!!!!!!!!! Next comes her fluffy tortillas that are so thick you can dip and wrap the meat up and just savor the taste! :) YUM!!!

Where do I see myself in 10 years...

This is where I see myself in 10 years from now. It's no longer going to be a dream, but a reality, and I'm looking into all angles of how I am going to be there, living and working there. Its been a longtime dream since I was a child and this is where I plan to stay once I complete my education. I've been fascinated with this city for the longest time and its time I made that dream happen. Plus, that's where Superman lived. haha.

My Childhood

Wow! I have to recall the memory of being a kid so long ago! Those were the times when we used to play outdoors until dinner time, climb trees, play with barbies and toy cars with neighborhood friends. Most of the time, I remember going to a lot of movies as a kid, where dad took us to family out to dinner then a movie. I can remember seeing movies in the small town of Globe, AZ, Safford, Az, then Phoenix and Scottsdale. Movies that included some of my favorites like E.T, Star Wars, Close Encounters, etc. Being raised on a reservation was simple in my eyes yet I longed for things off the reservation. I remember one particular drawing I did when I was in the 3rd grade, which was of the BIG APPLE in New York City. I was fascinated with New York for some reason and often drew large cities in all of my drawings. I loved drawing and painting the most as a kid, also having the pleasure of Clay, The Little People, Crayola coloring books and crayons, Barbies and her town house...I even had a collection of the Archie gang, which included Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead and Archie's jalopy. I wish I could have saved them. Collecting comic books was also a hobby of mine as a kid. I had a nice childhood, despite that occasionally I was bullied by older children, but somehow I managed to stay a happy kid. :)

What mom means to me

Mother, she is a jack of all trades. The best Indian Tamale maker, a penny machine gambler, beer drinker, teller of funny tales, a SUNS fan, horror movie lover, and more. She is a loving mom that loved us, cherished us, kept us in line whenever we were naughty. A mother that can sew, cook, clean, make quilts, dresses, arts and crafts, bead work, buckskins, go Peridot mining and more. She is someone that is a survivor and a mentor. A mother that will fight for her children and grand children. A loving wife to my father and a protector. As she gets older, the more cuter she has become and I adore her every moment that I see her. I love my mom and she is the best. :)

Motivation for school

Movies! That is my motivation for school. Making them, watching them and being a part of it is what I wanted to for the longest time. A year has gone by since I finally made that choice. That was to finally follow my dream of pursuing this happiness of being a film maker. I had been putting it off for so long, and decided to just DO IT and see what i can make of it. I have learned so much within the year of the industry, what we need to do to further our commitment of being film makers. It's been bumpy with some courses, but I'm hanging in there the best I can. Financial burdens have also darkened my ways of being motivated, but miraculously, I always manged to get by with what I have. It's a challenge, but it's one that I am determined to finish.

Image I found interesting

I

HoneycombI had not idea that this existed on our reservation for many years, until a couple of weeks ago, my parents informed me of it. When they mentioned a honeycomb, I was expecting to see some beehive, but instead, this was what I found. It was near the highway, along our way into San Carlos, hidden along side the hill where you have to look sharply to locate it. No bees were around, and it still looked like it was producing honey based on the moist area surrounding the honeycomb. Amazing.

My favorite Star Wars character...

 

That would be a difficult answer since I adored most of the characters of the movie saga. When dad first took me to see Star Wars back when it first made it's debut, I was fascinated with the movie, characters, especially the robots R2D2 and C3P0. But then, there was Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Lea, to Obi Wan Kanobi and Darth Vader. As the movie sequels continued more characters were brought into the movies that were fascinating. Part of this characteristic features of the movie was the Spaceships, creatures and set design that brought this fantasy world to film screen. As a fan, not adoring, otherwise, I would have skipped class to be using today as May the 4th be with you. hehe. But seeing my profile image, I guess overall, my favorite would be Padme Amadalla played by Natalie Portman. Han Solo would be my hero and Darth Mall is the awesome villian with the two sided lite saber. Obi Wan Kanobi played by Alec Guiness is still the best Jedi Knight, which I like to compare him to Dumbledore and Gandolf. :) 

My favorite movie line..

Favorite quote ever would be from the movie Scarface, starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana. Here is the quote:

Tony Montana: What you lookin' at? You all a bunch of fuckin' assholes. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fuckin' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy." So... what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through! Better get outta his way!
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A cyborg comes into the classroom and...

the first thing that pops into my mind is the cyborg from the movie West World. The scary Yul Brunner robot that chases Richard Benjamin. So it would be weird to encounter such an android, because you wouldn't know what will happen. Is he going to be a good or bad robot, and what is his motives for coming in the room. He could just zapp you with his lazer gun or even worse, be like the Terminator

to where this evil droid is stalking you because you will bear the unborn child of a future leader that is meant to be destroyed. So alot of things will be racing your mind when a cyborg walks into a room. 

Googling my Name I found....

The blog assignment was to google my name. So what did I find there on google: http://www.authordonnadawson.com/.

Welcome to Donna's Site - Christian Author Donna Dawson

Award winning suspense novels compared by readers to work by Robert Ludlum and Frank Peretti. Writing tips with Duke the chihuahua.
www.authordonnadawson.com/ - Cached - Similar - Block all authordonnadawson.com results

 Pretty interesting that the first one to pop up was a Christian author who is an award winning novelist. Surprised not to see my Facebook page on there, but that means the privacy setting actually works from Facebook. :) 

What is my favorite commercial?

I don't really watch television at all so I don't really have a favorite commercial that I have watched. But, I did listen to a funny one by the makers or Coca~Cola on the radio. It was in the style of Ethos: The image of Coke.  The audio commercial was funny, using many sounds and voice overs of a guy carpooling with others. He was attempting to reach his Coke to have a drink but it was wedged behind another person that was sleeping. So he was yelling at the driver to roll down the window to wake up the guy, but it didn't work. Then he told him to honk the horn, but that didn't work also so he yells for him to turn on the radio, and the driver does, and he screams LOUDER, and the music is blaring, to which finally the passenger wakes up, thus freeing his arm to drink his soda. It was very amusing and I thought it was funny to get the listener's attention. Coke being a favorite drink of mine, I enjoyed listening to it. :) So that's my favorite commercial on the air on the soda Coke. :) I would consider it Ethos. 
But here is one amusing one I found for DIET COKE :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3JjtZlPdLs

Something with Logos commercials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py8yznIZN94

 And last but not least, here is Pathos commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sslTmbHSJsI&feature=related

 Interesting commercials but I still enjoy the Ethos overall.

What is my favorite Horror Film?

Out of all the horror movies that I seen and watched through my lifetime, and there were many that were unforgettable, the one movie that stood out the most was Return of the Living Dead. I saw it when i was 18 years old and it was funny and scary at the same time! The undead were indestructible and craved for brains! I loved it! The two characters in the beginning, Frank and Freddy who were just supposed to simply close up shop and leave for the night. Instead Frank shows Freddy these capsules with the zombies stuffed in them and were hidden in the bottom of the medical supply basement. Little did they know that one slight hit to the cans would send off a poisonous spray that infected every living or dead thing around it. ( Scary, because, these were developed by the Military ) To have something like this occur in the big city would be total madness. It kind of makes you think of the possibility of what may happen. As the movie continues, they find themselves poisoned and afraid to tell their boss, who apparently knows more of the tanks then they do. The scary part, everything is coming back to life when they were dead, dead animals, split in half, and a dead cadaver in the freezer that is suddenly alive and screaming. As they finally mange to get the dead body chopped in pieces along with their furious boss Bert, yet it's still moving, they figure the only solution is to burn it and dispose of it quickly at a nearby funeral home with caretaker Ernie. But things are not over yet, the two men are sick and poisoned, the smoke blows into the rain which causes an acid burn to the people in it. The graves are awaken by this chemical that has spilled in the ground causing them to crawl out from their graves. Icky dead things....craving brains! Very amusing movie, that has caused 5 teenagers running for their lives and to join with the 4 men to fight off these dead people. Amusing movie and definitely a favorite of mine to this day. :) http://www.flixster.com/movie/the-return-of-the-living-dead#!lsrc:GSR-MOV-Title

If I were to visit a TV show which would it be?

It would have to be DEXTER. I just recently started watching the show and was intrigued with the first episode. I didn't know what the show was about until a friend of mine described Dexter's character to me: a serial killer that went after the bad guys. Sounded pretty cool, so to visit this show would be interesting and exciting. I have worked with some type of law enforcement so I am interested in all that goes on with police activities. Forensics and Private investigations were the one part that was very exciting and doing when I used to work for Gaming Inspector so this is something I'd love to do. Meeting Dexter would be something although he does seem quite the distant type that is very secretive only because of what he truly is. And last but not least, Miami would be very humid to be at so it would be a stretch to tolerate the hot and humid weather, but also nice to be along the sandy beaches and warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. :D

Are you following your Passion?

From the moment I stepped into this school, I knew this would be a huge step toward my lifetime passion of my dreams. I always loved movies, ever since I was growing up and remembering dad taking us to the theaters. I remember the very first movie that I recalled that scared me to death, Magic with Anthony Hopkins http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx7smh7YHKg That is where my dislike for ventriloquist dolls became an obsession of what to avoid. But this alone also made me realize that my love for movies increased each year. From the beloved movies of Star Wars, E.T the extraterrestrial to Superman, Raider's of the Lost Ark, Jaws, I knew more and more that I was hooked. During high school, my collection began with the first movie I bought on VHS, which was Platoon. From then on, my video library increased and I owned all my beloved movies that I adored from childhood years to the newly released features. This continued to the next stage of DVD's. In my dreams, I always wanted to make my own movies, in my own style and characters, which I constantly imagined of. When I lost Brian 3 years ago, I felt I lost everything but in order to get through my grief, I purchased more movies, that increased my DVD library by 300. I saw it as a comfort to me for going through my dark hours and the movies uplifted me. When Brian was alive he always told me that I should go to school and make my own features...that didn't dawn on me until last year....around this time that I finally decided to take this step of going back to school and following my heart and passion. So there I was, signed in and starting classes in May...a bit intimidating since most of my classmates were all guys and so few women. But I made it through the 3 terms and now here I am a sophomore in the 2nd term of this year. It's amazing how much I have learned and what I was taught in these classes. With each step that I come to school is a moving progress towards my passions of which I am following. :)

Sister Flowers

The dominant impression I think is found in sentence 5, where Maya quotes Sister Flowers was one of the few gentlewomen that she ever had known, and has remained throughout her life the measure of what a human being can be.

     Maya admired Mrs. Flowers for her appealing manner, a person that she never met personally, like a woman in the English novels, her refined behavior as white folks in movies and books, that she felt was so beautiful. A person that showed Maya to be proud of whom she was.

       The relationship between Maya’s mother and Mrs. Flowers embarrassed her because of the idea that she felt her mother’s behavior. She felt that her mother was ignorant towards the gracious of Mrs. Flowers and felt that she deserved better then to be called Sister. But little did she know that their relationship was far closer than what Maya expected.

       Mrs. Flowers tells Maya to always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. Some people, unable to attend school, were more educated and even more intelligent then college professors. She also encourages her to listen carefully to what country people called mother wit, and those homely sayings was couched the collective wisdom of generations. Through these clever words of advice, I felt she encouraged Maya to value the gift of words spoken, written and enchanted her to which gave her the biggest influence of becoming a well known writer.

       Definitions of some words used: taut; disciplined or efficient, an expression used for Mrs. Flowers appearance. Voile; a thin, plain-weave, semitransparent fabric of cotton, wool or silk, the description of Mrs. Flowers printed dresses. Benign: gentle and kindly, the termed used for Mrs. Flowers face. Unceremonious; having or showing lack of formality, to which Maya thought her mother showed to Mrs. Flowers. Gait; a person’s manner of walking, word, which describes Mrs. Flowers walk up the hill. Moors: a tract of open uncultivated upland; a health. Incessantly; (of something regarded as unpleasant) continuing without pause or interruption, scones: a small unsweetened or lightly sweetened biscuit like cake made from flour, fat, and milk and sometimes having added fruit, crumpets: a thick, flat, savory cake with a soft, porous texture, made from a yeast mixture cooked on a griddle and eaten toasted and buttered. Heath: a dwarf shrub with small leathery leaves and small pink or purple bell-shaped flowers, characteristic of heath land and moorland. Chifforobe: a piece of furniture with drawers on one side and hanging space on the other. Sacrilegious: violation or misuse of what is regarded as sacred. Infuse: fill, pervade. Couched: express (something) in language of a specified style. Aura: an invisible emanation, esp. a scent or odor.

        The figures of speech used from paragraph 1 – 11, all support the dominant expression of how “Sister Flowers” appealed to the admiration of Maya. Her sense of style, the way she carried herself, her mannerism, and quiet charmed that made Maya proud of whom she was. A woman that had her own unique charisma that inspired Maya to come out of her dark shell.

        Maya is ashamed of the way her mother spoke to Mrs. Flowers with her poor grammar and quietly tries to chastise her for her improper use of words. But as she is with Mrs. Flowers, she explains to Maya that although the language is to be tolerated for illiteracy because most of the people that have not gone to school are quite intelligent then college professors. So she tells Maya to listen to the wit of their ways of talk for it is a collection of mother wit of wisdom of generations.

What is real poverty?

Real poverty...that is something that is with us every day here everyday in all parts of the world. You see begger's on the streets asking for money, food or any kind of handouts they can receive. Occasionally you see kind people hand them money for their hardships, and sympathize with them. Being on the reservation, I seen several poverty stricken and homeless individuals that were walking along the roadsides, or knocking on doors all over the neighborhoods hoping to sell what they can, or ask for something to eat. As I come to realize the conditions of these people through Movies, Television, Media, I realized that it was a part of life for individuals all over the world. The first time I had seen the worst ever of poverty was the African people where children were suffering with starvation, lack of food and water, medication, school and diseases that it hit me. This was something that I realized that needed immediate attention worldwide. It is heartbreaking to see people like this, in reality and on the media. Many televised public service announcements that request for donations to send out to the countries are one way of reaching out and recognizing these conditions. Poverty also comes to those that have are down and out due to financial situations that have occured with either their employment or loss of benefits. It will continue each day, and will not end unfortunately for things happen every day, from natural disasters which caused many people to lose their lives, homes, security and more like New Orleans, Haiti and now Japan.

Perfect Day

Describing a perfect day for me, is waking up with a perfectly good nights rest and seeing' that the room is at a cool temperature. Next would be getting up, then checking my emails to find a nice message from a favorite friend of mine on either email or Facebook. Next is checking to see the comments from friends that enjoy looking at my photography of some images I had taken over the weekend. Next best thing is a phone call from my parents telling me that they have some great news for me. It's always cherishing to hear dad's voice and mom's as they tell me of their day and such. Always cherish your parents. Continuing on this perfect day is getting on a brand new bus on the way to school, striking up a random conversation with a passenger then arriving at my destination. That's how a perfect day will be, finishing it off with a favorite cool drink to go with a favorite snack. Yes, that is heaven for me at that one moment. :)

Strong writing skills can make or brak

The thesis for this is short essay is learning that strong writing skills are invaluable when advocating outstanding ideas and issues. I have to agree with what the person states in this essay regarding strong writing skills. In order to make a statement, a good strong presentation is able to be delivered that can be rewarding to both the writer and speaker. It gives them a sense of power, knowing that they have given such valuable information and also has given the writer a chance to express their ideas. A writer must put their point across strongly and clearly for the recipients to gain the information that they are requiring through this statement. If a person does not require such tools to make an effective and impressive report or speech, they will not be able to give their presentation effectively and will possibly suffer the consequences of their poor writing skills. It's all about practice and effort.

Art Depends on luck and Talent

"Art depends on luck and talent." I disagree with the statement, because art is in the eye of the beholder that creates it. Any person can be artistic in their own style because there are many forms that suit their personal creations. Artists come in all shapes and forms of different art talents, whether it be a from a painter, a sculpture, a musician, stick-drawer, quilt maker, fashion designer, graphic designer, author, photographer, and so on. What the artist creates from their form of art is what makes it their own, and talent and luck is a small portion of their capability of creating an art form of what they admire and love. :)

THESIS of Education...

The thesis I received from reading this essay was the fear of failure, whether economic or academic, can motivate both adults and students. Lately, I think that high school students are less motivated to attend school and focus more on their social activities, rather than sit and pay attention in class to their teachers. Sometimes it can be their homestyles of what is troubling them to even consider focusing on their studies at times. The stress of how their family lives are affecting them, a marital divorce, abuse, peer pressure, are some examples of why they don't take pay attention to their classes. Whereas they began to fail and the only way to get by is with either by luck or whatever means they come by to pass to graduate. With teachers, sometimes its the students failure to apply themselves that make them frustrated because they are trying to teach them. It's very hard both ways, for teacher and student. When they graduate, most of them think that is the best achievement they will ever receive. Then next could be college or until they start applying for jobs. Most of the work industry require a High school diploma to be able to work in most companies. Basic skills like filling out applications, or resume can be a hassle to the ones that never applied themselves during their English and business courses. Now as an adult, being back in class, English has to be refreshed in my mind again, and at this age, I find it a bit frustrating but exciting at the same time because I am trying to apply myself where in Highschool. Just my thoughts on that. :)

REGRETS

The question I need to answer is, "Do I have any regrets as of today?". Yes, I do in fact have regrets that plague me at times from the past. One huge one, that I have to live with for the rest of my life, was spending less time with my late husband and letting work consume my time for all those years. I was constantly working and he was left alone majority of the time, and he was not able to hold a decent job, so I was the bread maker in our marriage. During those times, he had become depressed and became a severe alcoholic, which nearly destroyed our marriage. But in the end, the alcoholism created a disease to where it took his life at the age of 37. Every day I wish I had taken the moment to spend more time with him, if I had known his life was going to be cut short. :( Now today, three years later, I am trying to spend as much time with my family and closest friends because life is too short. I look at life as a gift now, and I don't intend on wasting it at all. It's nice to be away from a demanding job, and just living a simple life, doing what I dreamed of doing, and what Brian would have wanted me to do, which is go to school to get my degree in Film and to start making movies. I had many things before, a car, a job, security, marriage, money, but I lost it all within a year. I went rock bottom but I have climbed back up and now I am back on my feet again and heading life with full force. I don't want to regret not trying. I want to travel the world, I want to see exciting new places, photograph them, and meet new people from all over the world. There is such a short time, especially now during this chaotic time. You just never know what's going to happen next. I always loved Leonardo DiCaprio's quote in Titanic - "I figure life's a gift and I don't intend on wasting it. You don't know what hand you're gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count - Jack Dawson." That's what I intend to do now and for the rest of my life. :)