McCandless project

Tommy Whitty
Mrs Belden
Honors English 1
7 November 2014
My experiment was I took a different path to my classes every period. My friends reacted to it by asking me questions like where was I or why I didn’t walk to class with them. I don’t think they got too mad because they kinda realized what I was doing because some of them have you in class and know about the project so they just figured that’s what I was doing. Honestly I felt a little lonely while doing this project because I didn’t have anyone to walk to class with or talk to in between classes. I didn’t like it at all and wouldn’t do it again if it was my choice. If I was in Chris’s position I would hate being in the wild all alone by myself, I would be so bored and wouldn’t be able to function. I would need someone to talk too and someone to entertain me while I was out there. I feel like this project compares the his situation because it makes us feel free by doing different things that maybe are out of some of our comfort zone. Chris did something that was out of his comfort zone and out of the “socially acceptable” things to do. Most people don’t just leave everything they had especially if they lived a good life like he did. With my experiment I didn’t expect anyone to get really mad all I expected was a few questions. While doing this project I don’t think it made me feel free. I didn’t really feel free I guess more lonely. 

Personal Quote Journal

I chose my quote because when I read it I realized that it was really true that you should not worry about what has happened in the past. My quote was "when the past calls, don't answer it has nothing new to say." This quote represents me because I feel like I worry about what has happened in the past more than I probably should and I should focus about what is happening in the present more. If I lived every second of my life according to this quote I think my life would be a lot less stressful and it would make me and everyone else happier.

Short story

Tommy Whitty

Mrs Belden

Honors English 1

10 october 2014

Just a ball and a dream

Joe James was outside practicing his mid-range jumper at a near by park in Akron, Ohio. It was late at night and he was practicing for his basketball game tomorrow when he heard a loud noise coming from his house. He ran as fast as a jet over to his house to see what happened. He walks in the house and realized they just got robbed. Joe screams “MOM! WHERE ARE YOU!!!” he finds his mom pushed over in the corner with her hands tied to a door. He quickly races over to her and cuts her hands loose from the rope. They search the house to see what got taken, the house was broken. It was all beat up and everything was smashed. They see the robber took all there money they had stashed in the drawer, he took all of his moms jewelry, and smashed a bunch of pictures. Most importantly he smashed Joe’s dad’s picture who died in a car crash about a year ago. When he see’s that he breaks down crying thinking of his dad. He walks up to his bed still crying over everything that just happened  and cries his way to sleep. The next morning his mom wakes him up for his basketball game in the morning. Joe is the best player on his team and in the whole league, His team the cavaliers are in the semifinals against the bobcats. The game started and Joe has the ball, he is the starting point guard for his team. He is a great leader and is a very encouraging and positive person. Joe isn’t having his best game today, he already has 3 turnovers and it’s only halftime. He’s having trouble concentrating out there and only has 5 points. The second half is starting and it seems like Joe has calmed down. He scores the first 5 points of the half with a layup and a 3-pointer! The next drive he walks down the court with the ball pulls up and BANG! He hits another 3 and now he has 13 points. His team is up by 8 points going into the 4th quarter. It’s Bobcats ball and they get the ball and score, they keep on getting the ball and scoring. The cavaliers can’t do anything about it, the score is tied with 8 seconds left and it’s cavaliers ball, Joe was as fast as a cheetah when he ran down the court, he stops himself and shoots the ball... SWISH! He made it and his team wins the game! They are now in the championship tomorrow at 7:00 in the high school gym. This is the happiest Joe has been in a while, all of his teammates all tackled and jumped in the air with excitement that they just won the game and are now in the finals. The whole team went to greaters to get ice cream to celebrate the big win. One of Joe’s best friends Will on the teams asks him if he wants to hang out later at his house and of course he says yes. He goes home showers and then heads over to Will’s house on his bike. Joe loves going to his house, its so big and has a indoor pool and a basketball court outside. They usually shoot some hoops and talk about all the girls that they like at there school. Will says “come on Joe don’t be a Romeo around that girl you like anymore.”

1. Joe’s mom calls him around 6:30 telling him he needs to ride home for dinner, she says she made tacos which is his favorite food. He was so hungry his stomach was screaming at him for some food. When he gets home his mom has big news. She tells him that they have to move into an apartment that’s 10 minutes away until they catch the robber and get all there stuff back. Joe eats dinner then he goes upstairs and packs his clothes into his bag. All night Joe dreams about how cool it would be if he hit another game winner in the championship. He wakes up the next morning moves into his apartment and sets all his clothes down. The new apartment is tiny, nothing like his old house. All the walls are painted white and are all dirty. He walks over to his friends house to get ready for the game. He shows up to the game about 30 minutes early with his dads necklace on hoping to give him encouragement and some luck. The game starts and they’re playing the spurs, the second best team in the league. Joe starts out the game hot, he already has 15 points at halftime. He drives to the basket and gets hit really hard and falls to the ground in pain, he can’t get up. He thinks he will be fine but they put him on the bench. The score is tied heading into the 4th quarter and Joe still isn’t in the game. Theres 4 minutes left when he finally re-enters the game. The teams go back and forth exchanging buckets. It seems as if no one can miss a shot until, the spurs best player throws up a 3 pointers to try to go ahead by 1 with 15 seconds left in the game. He misses and the Cavaliers get the rebound and call a timeout. There coach draws up a play for Joe to score the winning basket. He gets the ball, a player goes up to Joe sets a pick and he gets a lane right to the hoop, he throws up a nice floater… and it goes in!!!! They win the championship! After the game he says the shot felt like it was in the air for years. Joe gets home and his mom congratulates him and gives him a big nice hug. Also, she tells him that the police have found the robber and got all the money and everything back. Joe just sits there smiling and is the happiest kid in the world and can’t believe everything that just happened. He gets up and thanks his mom for everything she has done and gives her a big hug.

Metacognitive blog: And Then There Were None

     I changed my draft by fixing my spelling errors and adding on to my rough draft. I added in a whole page of information in my draft about what Mr. Wargrave would have done in the cheating situation. I think the peer review checklist was the best way of support for me. I think it's good to have someone in your class who is doing the same thing as you review your essay. It's different because if I shared it with my mom she has no idea what I'm writing about and really all she can check is spelling and punctuation errors. What will help me improve my writing is just writing more of these essays and just doing more writing will definitely improve my writing by the end of the year. One goal for me as a writer is to write better information and writing better/longer paragraphs.