The Mystery We All Face

A cover
A hard plain cover
With a broad title
Nothing really special
Or interesting
Or amusing
At least from what you see
On the outside

An undefined mystery
With unknown answers
Unexplained events
Twists and turns
Ups and Downs,
Leading to new places
New stories
And new chapters

As the chapters change
So do the characters
The changes teach new lessons
and morals
To help with today's worry
Or
Tomorrows journey

No one understands
And all the opinions and predictions
Only lead
To more contradictions

As you flip through each page
You admire every word
And slightest detail
The not-so-special,
uninteresting
and non-amusing cover that was seen before
Is in the most surprising way;
Different and unique

Though you think the stories over
Though you feel
Like you got it all figured out,
Change occurs once again

Everything repeats
And you can't fathom all that has happened
Its a mystery
And the mystery continues

A Coney Island Life

“A Coney Island Life” by James L. Weil is a representation of how life goes on from beginning to end. With context clues and figurative language, it helps us find the meaning of the poem. Weil had many life lessons that were hidden inside of the poem and it was our job to figure out. This poem was really unique and different because he used the carnival in Coney Island; a happy place, to talk about something fragile that everyone knows as death.

Many of the lines of the poem have a hidden meaning that guides us to the actual big idea of the poem. The line, “on roller coaster ups and downs” is compared to roller coasters and how on a ride, you go up and down. From the highest point to the lowest; the good and bad in life. That metaphor is also comparing the physical feelings you get in a roller coaster to the emotional feelings you get from life in general. The other line that stood out in the poem was, “now arms filled with dolls, I threw so much for” This part is talking about the achievements that he had accomplished in his life and all that he did to get to that point. It also seems like he's talking about the sacrifices he made to be where he is and all he's earned as a person. These metaphors interpret an idea of how life, and how we face mountains but through those struggles we gain so much more than we ever think we will. In the end, we are successful because do so much to pull through it all.

In the second half of the poem, it talks and speaks more of the ending in life. For example, the line, “I take perhaps my last ride on this planet-carousel” means that the author was coming towards the ending of his life and perhaps his last days. Because our group had come to the conclusion that this poem was about life from beginning to end, when they said ‘last ride’, there was such a great emotional effect. The final lines of the poem were, “How many more times round I have to catch that brass-ring-sun before the game is up.” To us, this was the most emotional part of the poem that really hit us in the gut. The author really emphasized the fact that life was coming to an end. The brass ring was a really big prize that riders would strive to pick up as the carousel went around in circles and passed it each and every time. When the author said ‘before the game is up’, it was more clear and obvious that the author was talking about death. It made it clear and distinctive to us readers who interpreted the poem. With dreams, hopes and goals, he tries to accomplish and achieve the very last moments he has left of the precious thing we know as life.

This poem was roughly about the different stages in life. Although it wasn't detailed or in depth, it was very broad. It was was also about the good and bad in life and how we always strive to become something better or make something better of ourselves.

Brainy Pics

1st Semester Portfolio

This portfolio is a conclusion of the different things I learned here in Mr. Zavalas english class. With many different skills that were taught to me during these two quarters, this website sums it all up with the four traits of writing. These four traits of writing were included into almost every assignment we were given. As I present to you my website, be sure to answer the questions! Have fun doing your parental homework!

http://elizabethaliya.wix.com/portfolio1

Hotspot Gets Heated Final

Hotspot Gets Heated

 Before getting excited about coming to paradise, make sure you know the true Hawaii, which doesn’t necessarily mean “the vacation hotspot” that everyone knows it to be. Its that one place everyone sees in their dreams; but don’t get fooled by it all. Here in Hawaii, we rely on many different things for our economy and tourism has become one of them, whether it takes a good affect on Hawaii or not. 

 For anyone that comes to Hawaii for vacation and stays at Waikiki where all the action happens, there’s no doubt they’ve already considered the fact on moving here. Many of them think that it’ll be easy for them to find a job but hardly ever do they think about the bigger picture. The people who hire and do job interviews for mainlanders often have to remind them that moving to Hawaii means having to do many adjustments, not only to yourself but also to your way of living. For example, they would need to adapt to the cost of living, culture and even the people. Hawaii has jobs available that involve working with tourists, especially in Waikiki but those jobs are becoming scarce. Thousands and thousands of workers are being cut from their jobs because the government simply doesn’t have enough money to pay them all. Tourism accounted twelve billion dollars in 2012 and supported 154,000 jobs as well. Most of the tourist that move here end up working for tourism industries. In a way they give back to the island. This isn’t a bad thing but with tourists hungry for jobs and limited job offers here, its not a good combination. There are many tourists that vacation and end up moving here but little do they know what they’re getting into.

 Hawaii depends highly on the tourist that come here to vacation. They probably don’t know it but they play a huge roll in the stability of our economy. In 2012, tourist spent and contributed more than fourteen billion dollars to the state of Hawaii. This was a lot of money for the state to function off of and use for different things. It shows how much tourism does for Hawaii and how important it is for our economy to keep moving forward. About 3.4 million Americans come to Hawaii a year and recently in 2013, the “aloha state” set another record setting year for tourism rate. If this rate continues to go up, Hawaii wont need to worry too much about the money that flows into our state, but its not. Tourism being our biggest contributor, is somewhat scary because if tourist stop coming here, our economy would fail really fast. Tourism isn’t all that bad, they actually help Hawaii stay alive and functioning but there are many factors that make it risky to rely on.

There are many tourist here in Hawaii and in fact they add to our states population. Hawaii is already over populated, just with those who live here. Hawaii has about 1,400,000 people currently not including tourist. If you add tourism on top of that huge number, that already a lot of people. Don’t forget the fact that Hawaii is just a small island in the middle of the ocean with so much limited space and not enough room for any more people. Hawaii records showed that about eight million people come to Hawaii annually whether its for honeymoons, weddings, or even just for vacation. These eight million people don’t include Hawaii's normal population like mentioned. The tourist affect Hawaii's cost of living, population, traffic congestion, and overall space on the island. Many of the people who live in Hawaii are aware of the struggles that tourist bring to the islands, especially because we know that Hawaii probably wont be here after a few years due to our sinking island and overpopulation of people. This is one of the reasons why tourism isn’t such a good contributor to our islands, it brings many issues and worries.

 Tourism is really important to our islands and sometimes the people here only see it as a bad thing that occurs for the state. They only focus on the negative downfalls to having a small island. Its hard having many tourist move to hawaii, take up our population and space but, they also stabilize us in different ways. Here in Hawaii, we rely on many different things for our economy and tourism has become one of them, whether it takes a good affect on Hawaii or not. 

Hotspot Gets Heated

Hotspot Gets Heated

Before getting excited about coming to paradise, make sure you know the true Hawaii, which doesn’t necessarily mean “the vacation hotspot” that everyone knows it to be. Tourism has become our states primary industry in our economy because of the fact that we’re a small island far away from the rest of the united states. Its a very desirable place to live because its much different than your normal U.S state. Its that one place everyone sees in their dreams; but don’t get fooled by it all. Here in Hawaii, we rely on different things for our economy and tourism has become one of them, whether it takes a good affect on Hawaii or not.

For anyone that comes to Hawaii for vacation and stays at Waikiki where all the action happens, there’s no doubt they’ve already considered the fact on moving here. Many of them think that it’ll be easy for them to find a job but hardly ever do they think about the bigger picture. The people who hire and do job interviews for mainlanders often have to remind them that moving to Hawaii means having to do many adjustments, not only to yourself but also to your way of living. For example, they would need to adapt to the cost of living, culture and even the people. Hawaii has jobs available that involve working with tourists, especially in Waikiki but those jobs are becoming scarce. Thousands and thousands of workers are being cut from their jobs because the government simply doesn’t have enough money to pay them all. Tourism accounted twelve billion dollars in 2012 and supported 154,000 jobs as well. Most of the tourist that move here end up working for tourism industries. In a way they give back to the island. This isn’t a bad thing but with tourists hungry for jobs and limited job offers here, its not a good combination. There are many tourists that vacation and end up moving here but little do they know what they’re getting into.

Hawaii depends highly on the tourist that come here to vacation. They probably don’t know it but they play a huge roll in the stability of our economy. In 2012, tourist spent and contributed more than fourteen billion dollars to the state of Hawaii. This was a lot of money for the state to function off of and use for different things. It shows how much tourism does for Hawaii and how important it is for our economy to keep moving forward. About 3.4 million Americans come to Hawaii a year and recently in 2013, the “aloha state” set another record setting year for tourism rate. If this rate continues to go up, Hawaii wont need to worry too much about the money that flows into our state, but its not. Tourism being our biggest contributor, is somewhat scary because if tourist stop coming here, our economy would fail really fast. Tourism isn’t all that bad, they actually help Hawaii stay alive and functioning but there are many factors that make it risky to rely on.

There are many tourist here in Hawaii and in fact they add to our states population. Hawaii is already over populated, just with those who live here. Hawaii has about 1,400,000 people currently not including tourist. If you add tourism on top of that huge number, that already a lot of people. Don’t forget the fact that Hawaii is just a small island in the middle of the ocean with so much limited space and not enough room for any more people. Hawaii records showed that about eight million people come to Hawaii annually whether its for honeymoons, weddings, or even just for vacation. These eight million people don’t include Hawaii's normal population like mentioned. The tourist affect Hawaii's cost of living, population, traffic congestion, and overall space on the island. Many of the people who live in Hawaii are aware of the struggles that tourist bring to the islands, especially because we know that Hawaii probably wont be here after a few years due to our sinking island and overpopulation of people. This is one of the reasons why tourism isn’t such a good contributor to our islands, it brings many issues and worries.

Tourism is really important to our islands and sometimes the people here don’t see the good things that it does for the state. They only focus on the negative downfalls to having an overpopulated island. Here in Hawaii, we have many things that we rely on for our economy. One of the main contributors is tourism and there are many pros and cons to this one topic. Tourism is something that does good and bad for our state, everyone should be aware of both.

Partner Essay

      Half way through the twentieth century there will no longer be any fish for fishermen to catch.  The prices of fish will rise and only be affordable by the wealthy because of the rareness.  90% of the oceans predators had been close to fishing out of existence. This is also a big deal because the value of fish has risen greatly, therefore the worth is far greater than it was before. This has been a huge shock to humanity and the produce that we once knew of.

      Our world has a serious problem with overfishing and control on

how much we decide to catch and sell.  They have created a cause

called "Fish Forever".  This cause is one that is a label of approval

to show that it is sustainable type of seafood.  At the moment this

cause is trying to get Japan, India, China, and Europe to join this

cause.  If the fishermen keep up their fishing habits then by the mid of this century there will be no fish to eat.  If there still is fish to eat it will be very expensive because it will be very rare to find.                                                 

      If we don't learn how to adjust our ways and stop over fishing, we will suffer consequences and we won't have any control over the situation. Once the fish are gone, there's no going back. This is a huge shock to humanity and the produce we once knew of. If we don't stop now, our future and life will be changed forever.