CarolinaS

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= =Welcome to my Wiki Page!= Hey, my name is Carolina and I'm a student of this class. I currently attend Humanitas Academy of Art and Technology in Esteban E. Torres High School.

Six Little Words “They will see us waving from such great heights Come down now they’ll say But **everything looks perfect from far away** Come down now but we’ll stay” Such Great Heights- Iron and Wine

Born in 1996, grew up with two brothers, and raised by both parents, I thought that there were no such things as violence, hate and problems. Oblivious to the fact that all those things exist, I was carefree thinking that the world was a perfect place to live in. Her appearance made others turn around, her laughter made others happy. Cynthia is my 15 year old cousin. When I was younger, I remember looking at her and thinking to myself she must have a great family to make her this happy. I now know I was completely wrong. She once told me that she used to love her dad. When she was younger, she remembers waking up as early as 4 in the morning just to eat breakfast with him since he was a cop and had to go to work early. She would tell him she loved him every day. One day he told her that he was leaving. The next day he wasn’t there. She kept on waking up early in the morning hoping he will come back. Day after day, and year after year, he did not come back. She even grew ill and fell into depression. He occasionally called, but that did not matter to her anymore. He just sent money but that wasn’t what she longed and needed for. Her anger and hatred grew stronger every day for him not knowing why he had left her. He did come back, but by then it was too late. She didn’t care about him and he just hurt her even more by drinking uncontrollably. Now, she doesn’t see him with the loving compassion she had towards him, but only with anger, resent, and hate. She doesn’t see him as a Dad, but as a drunk nobody whom she has no respect for and who has just hurt her and made things even worse. How could I not know what she was going through even though it was right in front of me? I merely saw her appearance and jumped to the conclusion that she was happy. People may look happy but one must find out the hidden secrets lodged deep inside. To this day, my cousin still does not acknowledge her father. She still has years and years of pain that she has to work on, but she’s getting there. She occasionally talks to her dad, but it’s not the same as it was before. I do not think she will love him the way she did before ever again. The song “Such Great Heights” by Iron and Wine made me realize that there are imperfections in everything and everyone even if one doesn’t notice it. To me everything looks perfect from far away but when you get a little closer it becomes something different than what it seems. To me everything and everyone has flaws. I myself am not perfect, and I accept the fact that I’m not, and others should as well. You may ask then who is perfect? No one. You may ask what makes someone or something perfect? I don’t know. Perfect does not exist in this world. Not now. Not ever. Not everything is what it appears. Everything looks perfect from far away, but not everything is perfect from far away. Like the saying goes, “Looks can be deceiving.” Do not base your opinion soley on appearance. You never know, you could be way off. This song looks into all that seems picture perfect and flawless, but up close is not. It may look that people have a wonderful relationship, but there might be a couple of problems. From far away, Earth looks like a perfect sphere, but up close there are imperfections such as mountains and valleys. If one views the moon from up close it reveals its craters. Perfection is impossible to reach but one could get close: by having good health, family and other decent qualities. In the universe, there are many imperfections that everyone should notice, accept, and acknowledge. Biased people must “come down now” back to life, back to reality, back to Earth to identify their own defects, as well.

Everlasting Bitterness

The taste was unpleasant and I could taste it becoming liquid inside my mouth. I could not spit it out because I had no place to spit it out to. One of the worst places to be chewing gum was where I was: church. My harsh incident began when my mother and I decided to visit a town in Mexico because of its annual celebration of the Virgin Mary. We thought it would be enjoyable so we went, but since it was a once in a year celebration, the town was crowded. We were standing outside on a hot summer day waiting in line to go inside the church. What else to do but pop a stick of gum in your mouth? Boredom was all I felt, so I started chewing away, not noticing that there was no flavor anymore. When we reached the inside of the church, I was sweating. I was paying more attention to the heat and humidity inside the church rather than the flavorless gum. Everyone in church started to pray, but since there were no more seats available, various people stood standing up, including myself. Mass was taking forever, and I was completely wrong when I thought that it was not going to take so long. I grew tired, and the cherry on the top of my fantastic day was the humidity. Inside the church, there was a feeling of being baked alive due to all the people huddled close together. <span style="display: block; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">When I noticed that the gum was still inside my mouth, it was too late. There was nothing I could do, but to continue to stand there. A trashcan was not in sight, so I started to panic. I was confused and did not know what to do or where to go. I did not want to bother my mother because I did not want to ruin her day. I would have gone to the restroom, if I only knew where it was. Walking outside was going to be impossible because I was located in the middle of the crowded church, and people were on all sides of me. This town was one that I was unfamiliar with, so I did not want to take any chances of getting lost. <span style="display: block; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">I did not have anything with me that I could spit the gum out with, like a napkin. Spitting it out on the church floor was out of the question. There was nothing else for me to do, but suck it up and swallow it. By the time I swallowed it, it was liquid, which felt even nastier crawling down my throat. <span style="display: block; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">Chewing gum is something I occasionally do, but I never keep it for too long because I would not want that to happen to me again. I experienced it the hard way, but I still learned. Now, whenever I do chew gum, I make sure to keep the wrapper; something I could spit it out with, just in case. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">My gum experience is one candy memory I would never forget. Now I understand that candy is very much temporary. When I walked out of the church, I looked at the setting sun. And with every step I took, I could feel the taste buds in my tongue with an unsatisfactory taste that stalked me until the end of the celebration. On my way back home, I felt a deep regretfulness of ever buying that sweet tasting gum, for its short sweet flavored lifespan, and its everlasting bitterness.

Bluebear

Bluebear is my childhood. Period. With her pink nose and soft blue fur, I will never forget the times we spent together. She has been there with me through everything I could have ever imagined: all of the tears and laughs, funny and sad, and good and bad, every single little thing. I remember the day I got her. I clearly remember my father handing her to me with a red ribbon on her neck along with a bunny in a red outfit. I was a four-year-old girl holding two more stuffed animals, not knowing that one of those teddy bears would one day become one of my most valuable possessions She is very dear to my heart and is of great meaning to me even though she has no monetary value. I would never put a price on her. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not in a trillion years. I know that she does not talk, walk, or do anything a human can do but that does not matter because she is there when I need her. I secretly hope that from all the love that I give her she will somehow become alive. Bluebear and I did everything and went everywhere together ranging from trips to the supermarket and even plane rides. I do not remember when we were apart for a single minute. There were no boundaries for us and I loved the carefree world we lived in. She is my happiness, my bliss, my delight, and my joy. She is my childhood. She is the little sister I never had. I played with her so much that she tore and my mom had to sew her back several times. At the time, the red ribbon was long gone. My brothers and I had a collection of stuffed animals and toys, so we decided to make a unique family including all of them. My oldest brother came up with the Roger’s, the family’s last name; we all came up with the characters’ first names. The Roger’s family basically was a uncontrollable family who got into a lot of trouble and got into fights, but at the end of the day still loved each other. The family contained a lot of family members: two wild twin siblings, a genius baby trying to dominate the world, a green mother worm, an adorable panda bear brother, pregnant purple dinosaur maid with a green frog husband, two Barbie sisters, and a chicken nugget loving dog, etc. We poured our heart and soul into every single skit we created from scratch. Not once did I notice how much creativity we had until the Roger’s family was created. It was extremely fun and I will certainly not forget the memorable characters of that hectic family. I had countless toys, stuffed animals, teddy bears, and dolls to choose from, but Bluebear just shined through. I don’t know the reason but she just did. She will always remain my beloved treasured item. Today, one could find her contentedly sitting on my chair in my bedroom. My family and my life are far from perfect but when I stare at her, she reminds of the good old times I use to have with her and that there are much more happier moments to come. She makes me believe that there are ups and downs in life, but that life goes on no matter the circumstances. Bluebear makes me think everything will be fine and that I shouldn’t be concerned. She makes me reminisce the early stages of my youth and how I used to be so merry. Even though I don’t play with her anymore I still love her. She made the entirety of my childhood worth living and remembering and I thank her for that. I would not exchange her for anything, no matter what. Bluebear is priceless.

=Dear 1st period,= //It happened to Nancy// by an anonymous teenager is a nonfiction book. This is a true story straight from her diary. This novel is filled with ups, downs and dangers in a teenager's everyday life. The diary talks about what teenagers go through-from romance of first love to the cruel realities of AIDS. Nancy is a very strong and powerful young lady. She had an incurable disease, but she decided to make the most of it. Instead of being mad at the world, she is helping others by publishing her book in hopes of saving others from the same disease. It takes a brave human being to make the their personal thoughts public and for that, I thank her. El, Red, Dorie, Collin, Lew and her mothers are only a few of the characters who really made an impact on Nancy's life. They helped her live her life to the fullest, even though she knew death was to come soon. We all have to appreciate what we have before time makes us appreciate what we had, and this is what happened to Nancy. "I guess I had never realized until this very minute how precious and wonderful and special and well, almost sacred- no, really sacred- friends are. Their love covers me and protects me and warms me like the soft little "banky" security blanket I had when I was a baby. This is a wake up call to people who don't appreciate what they have even though it is in front of their face. I have to appreciate that I have a roof over our head, a family that loves me and an education. I'm grateful for that and other people should as well. I was touched by this girl's story. She made me realize that a teenager's life is difficult and that there is a possibility that you might get a disease that you do not think you are going to get. She loved what she had and never got down on herself, even though she knew her life would soon be coming to an end. This is reality and it can happen to anyone; this is the reason why I rated this one of the best books I have every read. AIDS is not an easy topic to write or even talk about, but that's life for you. It is possible, even if you think it might not happen to you. I would recommend this book to everyone. Sincerely, Carolina Sanchez

On your own wiki page, please copy the following information:

Topic:

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=World Poetry Day/ Twitter 5 Year Anniversary Poem=

Sleeping is what I want to do Not be in this locked up cage I want to play softball outside not be sitting inside learning nothing at all The weather is beautiful but it's kind of not. It beautiful because it is sprinkling and it is not because there is not sunlight. =

= =Writing About Reading=

//Cheated//

 * I rated this book a 10 because it the plot of the book is unlike any other I have ever read. The The main lesson about the book is that sometimes doing the right things isn't doing the right thing. Cheated is about a teenager's life and how it goes downhill. He has to choose between his family or his friends.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I liked the way the author talks about the way he is feeling every second. He talks about his problems, but he does not know how to solve them. In the end of the story, he thought his problems might go away by not speaking at all, but when he did speak up he did the right thing for his family but not for his friends.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">If I were the author <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 27px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I would have felt like crap. All the stress and a Led Zeppelin song stuck in your head, I would have cracked. But that is what they wanted, for you to crack. They wanted the truth out of you and what better way, but to squeeze it out of you. Sitting in a dark room for hours on end with a man waiting for you to speak seems pretty exhausting. He didn't want you to tell the truth, but they lied to him by telling him that his friends had already ratted him. He mentioned nicknames that only the three friends knew and that made him think twice. He doubted himself and the others and the only way to stop it was to tell the truth.
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 27px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The resolution of the main character’s problem was to tell the truth. He could not keep up with the lies and he just simply told the truth. He made his family proud by telling the truth, but his friends' life was about to begin in hell. I'm pretty sure that the main character felt horrible telling the truth. But you know as they say "Sometimes doing the right thing, isn't doing the right thing".
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wish that the story had not ended like that because it makes you feel really bad. If you felt bad reading it, I can only imagine how bad the actual characters feels like in that position. Even though this isn't a true story, I'm pretty sure there is a similar situation somewhere out there.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I didn’t agree with the way his friends were blaming him. Those friends are not true friends. His friends blamed him because, according to them, he was the reason why they did that terrible deed. The author knew that he was a part of it, but there were other factors why his friends were lead there. They were under the influence and weren't thinking straight, but anyone would have know, under the influence or not, that doing that was just unacceptable.

=Learn To Play One Of A Famous Piano Composer's Symphonies= http://www.bestpianolessons.com/piano-composers/piano-composers.html http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mn200/music/composers.html http://library.thinkquest.org/15413/history/history-mod-comp.htm http://www.favorite-classical-composers.com/famous-piano-players.html#axzz1Kt3PT7qy http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best-classic-comp.html http://nndb.com/people/461/000022395/

Which symphony should I learn to play? Right now, I'm interested in Nocturne. What piano composer should I choose? Frederic Chopin is the famous pianist I chose. Does the symphony include using the pedal throughout the entire song? The song includes the pedal throughout the entire song. How long is the song? How long is it going to take to learn it? How was or is the life of the composer? He lived for about 39 years. Even though he lived for a short duration of time, I think he did live his life to the fullest. In what era did the piano composer live in/lives in? Chopin was born on March 1, 1810 in Poland and died October 17, 1849 in Paris. Did the musician have any other talents other than making music? Who was/is the family of the musician? His dad was Mikolaj Chopin, Tekla Justyna Kryzanowska was his mother. Ludwika, Izabela, and Emilia were his three older sisters. He dated Maria Wodzinska and George Sand. Does the piano composer play other instruments? Almost all his work was for the piano. Was the piano composer a prodigy at a young age? He was encouraged my his mother at the age of 4 or 5. By the age of 6, he began to compose his own songs.

Summary The article "Famous Piano Players Greatest Classical Pianists" was a list of piano composers. In this three page article, there are descriptions of the pianist's playing style. Arthur Rubenstein, Franz Liszt, and Sviatoslav Richter are a few composers described in this article. This talks about how composers use a complex instrument with various shades and moods to create their unique interpretation.

Four things I learned 1. Hans van Bulow had an incredible memory. 2. A couple famous classical pianist are still alive. 3. Sviatoslav Richter would perform pieces //exactly// the way composers had written them. 4. I learned that Frederic Chopin was from Poland in the years 1810-1849. Opinion of Article I found this article to be very helpful because it gave a brief description of some of the famous piano player. I discovered things that I didn't know about some of the best pianist. To me, these composers contributed so much to society because of the music they made. The composers add their creativity and their unique interpretation into something that we can hear and enjoy it. It takes a lot of creativity to make symphonies on the piano due to the variety of moods and shades.

= Annotated Bibliography = "Frederic Chopin" in "NNBD.com" [ http://nndb.com/people/461/000022395/] May 4, 2011 Summary: The article goes deeper in to Chopin's personal life. It has specific information like his accomplishments and even his cause of death.

"Frederic Chopin" in "Best Piano Lessons" May 2, 2011 Summary: This source is helpful because it dedicates an entire article to Frederic Chopin. It talks about his birth, childhood and death.

Sebastian "Famous Piano Players Greatest Classical Pianists" in "Favorite Classical Composers.com" April 29, 2011 Summary:This website gives a brief description of famous pianist and their playing styles. It gives you a little taste of each one of them.

="What is your topic and why did you choose it?"= The piano has been around for many generations, but only a few have mastered it. Frederic Chopin is a perfect example. Encouraged by his mother at the tender age of 4 or 5 he began to play the piano. By the age of 6, he began to compose his own symphonies. When he began his debut as a pianist inn Vienna, many claimed that he was breaking the "rules". His teacher then, Joseph Elsner, stood up for him and said "Leave him alone, he follows an unusual path because his gifts are unusual. He does not follow any traditional method closely because he has methods of his own, and he will reveal in his works an originality that has never been met before in such a high degree". His music always expresses his individual feelings to a degree rarely met by many others, to which he became the favorite musical hero of society. Learning to play one of his symphonies will be a great accomplishment to me because one of the greatest composers of the 19th century composed it. The beauty and grace of his playing style is something I want to learn.

=Glossary= =
 * pianoforte- formal term for piano //piano e forte 'soft and loud'// expressing the gradient in tone
 * étude- a short musical composition, typically for one instrument, designed to demonstrate the player's skill
 * sonata- a classical composition for an instrument soloist, often with a piano accompaniment
 * Romantic era- was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement in the second half of the 18th century in Europe
 * bravura- great skill demonstrated in a performance or activity
 * arpeggio- notes of a chord played quickly one after the other

=Presentation Notes=
 * Make a video of what I've learned
 * Explain what I've learned and then show the video
 * Show the video while I explain/present
 * Make a prezi adding my own soundtrack if I can of me playing the piano
 * Show other symphonies played by the same pianist

Ideas from my Discussion

 * pictures of Chopin/piano
 * powerpoint of pictures of piano/steps
 * poster of the steps I took to learn the symphony

=My Prezi=

[|https://prezi.com/secure/f959c916f9306c0af056717c03aa6bad6febfa95/]

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