This week, I accomplished getting more than halfway to my current high-score in juggling, which is seventy-four. I got better at keeping the ball under control, and didn’t have as many bad touches as last week. I got better at taking smaller, faster touches and being able to get more juggles than my average. Some struggles I had this week were not reaching my goal of getting to one-hundred. We had less time this week, which didn’t give me a lot of time to practice. The grass on the field is not very good, which made it harder to keep the ball in place to be able to flick it up. Some adjustments I will be making to stay on track are practicing more, and for longer outside of school and practice. I will also be trying to find a better, more flat area of grass to juggle on. Next week I will be working on reaching my next goal.
My favorite Room
My favorite room is the backyard of my grandma and grandpas house. One reason it is my favorite room is because of the memories that I made in it with my grandma. Some memories were picking long green beans off of her plant. Another one is planting seeds in her wooden plant beds, and picking blueberries from her white gated blueberry plants for desert. Another reason I like the backyard is because of all of the pretty plants. The backyard has flowers and succulents around the outside wall of the house, that are buzzing with bees and butterflies. There is also a big avocado tree that creates a dome that you can walk under. There is a patch of bright colored wildflowers, and a giant tangerine tree. There is a Bougainvillea that cover the back wall. There is also a maple leaf tree, a lemon tree, and many other fruits and vegetables in the garden beds. The final reason it is my favorite room, is all the memories of being with my family. We would launch toys over the walls and onto the roof. I would sit with my grandpa on the patio of the meditation room and watch my dad and uncles peel fresh, bright orange tangerines from right off the tree, giving the pieces with no seeds to me. I played corn hole and was able to step in front of the board because I was young. I remember sitting in front of the fireplace and eating dinner with my whole big family. Chasing my brother and little cousin around the planters, giggling and screaming. We played football, and monkey in the middle, and hide and seek around the garden. I played volleyball with my aunt and cousin, and played reindeer handball on Christmas eve with my little cousin to make her laugh. For those reasons, my grandma and grandpas backyard is my favorite room.
20% Project Week One
Hello my name is Anna and for my 20% project, I chose to get to two-hundred juggles with a soccer ball. This week, my goal was to get to eighty-five juggles. Some successes included getting into the high fifties and forties multiple times. I was also able to keep my touches under my hips, and was able to keep the ball under better control. I was not able to accomplish my goal this week. Some struggles included forgetting my ball and cleats, and having to borrow a ball from PE. My shoes were not good for juggling, and the ball was not shaped well. Some adjustments I will be making to stay on a successful track, will be setting reminders to bring my stuff. I will also bring more water so that I don’t get dehydrated in the hot sun. Next week I will pick up on getting to my goal of getting to one-hundred juggles.
El Capitan Canyon
Over spring break, I went to El Capitan Canyon. This campsite had multiple trails to hike, and we chose one that went up the side of the canyon. At the beginning of the hike the trail was overgrown with sweet smelling, yellow flowers with bees buzzing all around. The first part of the trail was a steep uphill slope surrounded by different plants. As we went up the trail, it changed between steep, level, and downhill. As we walked we pushed plants out of our way. We say many bushes like lemonade berries, and sage. The trail was shaded and a little bit rocky. There was lots of poison oak along the edges, and at some points we were standing on the edge of a cliff like hill, which we could see the campsite from. My knees and arms got scratched from some plants the had thorns. It took us about thirty minutes before we reached the top of the hill. When we got there, there was a large wooden table with benches. The table looked like it had been used twice. At the top of the canyon, you could see the Santa Barbara beach, and all the islands out beyond it. The water was glittery and calm. As we sat at the table and ate snacks, a large hawk came so close, that we could see the patterns on its wings. We were about 600 feet above sea level. Some smaller birds and a few butterflies came past us as well. After we finished our snack, and the hawk flew away, we started to go back down to the campsite. This time was a lot faster, and we made it back down in about fifteen minutes. We steered clear of all the thorny plants this time around. The hike was one of the best and most beautiful hikes I have ever been on. If you ever go to this campsite, I would recommend going on this hike.
Rad Reading- March
This month I read a book called Crossed by Ally Condie. This book is a sequel to the book Matched. Crossed is a dystopian future, where people called Abberations are sent out to be decoys so the Enemy thinks that the Outer Provinces were still occupied. After Ky, the main characters love interest, escaped from his work camp into the canyons called The Carving. After finding this out, Cassia escapes her own work camp to follow him, not knowing what to expect.
I liked this book because there were new characters introduced, and previous characters had good development. This book had many plot twists and I didn’t know what would happen next, keeping me on the edge of my seat. I became immersed in this book and didn’t feel like I was reading, more that I was watching from inside the book. It was hard to put this book down because it was so interesting.
My favorite character is Cassia, the main character. My favorite character trait of hers is her determination. One quote that shows this is, “A deep weariness seems to come over me and I have the strangest desire to simply curl up…” This quote shows that she is determined because the blue tablets are said by the Society to help you survive, while they are actually poison. The blue tablets make you stop and wait while the Society comes to find you. Cassia however, powered through the blue tablets from sheer determination to find her love, Ky.
My favorite quote from the book is, “Everyone has something of beauty about them.” This quote is meaningful to me because even if people seem bad, they can still be good inside. It helps remind me to always look for the pros instead of the cons in people.
Who I Would Invite to Dinner
If I were to invite three people to dinner, I would invite my best friends from childhood, Sky, Ellie, and Emily. I would invite Sky because she has been my best friend for years and my neighbor since I was born. The second person I would invite would be my family friend Ellie. I would invite Ellie because she lives in Washington and I haven’t been able to see her for a few months. She has never met the other people I would invite and it would be fun for all of them to meet. The last person I would invite would be Emily. I have known Emily since kindergarten and she has been my best friend ever since. I don’t get to see Emily a lot anymore so having dinner with her would be a good opportunity to meet up. Having my three best friends meet and be in one place would be really great.
My Dream Job
If I could have any job in the world it would be a mental health therapist. I would want to be a therapist because I want to help people. I would like to help people work through their problems with someone that they could trust. Another reason I would want to be a therapist is because I give good advice. Whenever my friends are mad or upset, I help give them different options to help them get through their problems. I would like to be able to help more people through their problems, not just people I know. Mental health therapists make enough money to support themselves, and that would be good. On average they make around $90,958 per year. I wouldn’t want to make too little money, but I also wouldn’t want to make so much money that people would only want to know me for money.
Invisible for Twenty-four Hours
I am invisible! A genie granted my wish and I have become invisible for 24 hours. The first thing I would do if I was invisible is I would do is go out in public and do things that would be unexplainable such as a random object, floating in the air. After that, I would go to a bank and steal some money. I would steal the money to give it to the homeless and needy. I would also give some of the money to my family. The next thing I would do would be to sneak onto an airplane that was going to Greece or Italy. I have always wanted to go to those places so I would go and not have to pay. When I was in those places, I would go into places where you would normally have to pay, and sneak in. When I would be there, I would mess with people such as climbing where everyone could see and holding something for everyone to see. I would also steal things such as hats off of people so no one knew what was happening. That is what I would do if I were invisible for twenty-four hours.
Rad Reading- February
This month I read a book called As Good as Dead by Holly Jackson. This was the third book in the trilogy of A Good Girls Guide to Murder. In this book, Pip, the main character, is trying to find a case to investigate after her last case. She chooses the DT killer case before she goes off to college. In the book, she starts to get stalked and believes it’s the antagonist of the last book, Max Hastings.
I liked this book because there is lots of suspense, and plot twists. It’s a very good murder mystery book, that kept me invested and wondering what would happen next the entire time. There are many plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters have good character arcs throughout the story.
My favorite character is the main character, Pippa Fitz-Amobi. I like her because she is a strong, independent character who is very independent. One character trait of Pip, is selfless. One quote that proves this is, “If it’s a choice between me and you, I choose you.” Pip was willing to take the blame for her boyfriend Ravi, after they committed a crime. She was willing to sacrifice herself, to keep her loved one safe.
My favorite quote from the book is, “Real men wear floral when trespassing.” This quote is meaningful to me because this quote made me laugh, even when the situation was serious. Ravi is one of my favorite characters, because he is the comedic relief. This was my favorite quote throughout the entire book.
Abandoned Island
I have been living on this island for a couple months now. I ended up on this abandoned island after I went on a ship that sunk and got lost at sea then washed up on this island. I live right where the forest of palm trees start. Close, but not too close, to the water. I live in a small hut of wood that I made when I got here. In the morning, I wake up, grab my fishing supplies, and go fishing at the little coral reef. I travel out to the reef on the small raft that I built with the extra supplies after I made my house. Once I catch my fish, I go put them in my small hut. Afterwards, I go out into the forest and set up traps to catch animals. Then, I go scavenge for wood for the fire tonight. Next, I go back to my hut and clean up. Then I go into the ocean to wash off all of the dirt and grime off of me. After, I set up my fire and cook my food for dinner. Finally, I go to sleep on my bed made of leaves. My island look like a typical, tropical paradise island. The sand is smooth and soft. The turquoise water sparkles from the sun, and fish swim around a vibrant reef. The palm trees soar into the air, swaying in the light breeze. There is a small forest made out of the trees and some underbrush. My small, wooden hut sits right in front of the forest with its roof made out of palm leaves. That is my island life.