Bren's Blogs

Presidential Elect Donald Trump,     To keep this letter both respectful and well-mannered, I'd first like to congratulate you on winning the presidency. It's an incredible achievement. However, this task comes with many responsibilities, and quite frankly, my confidence in you to fulfill these said responsibilities is lacking. To be completely honest with you, I was not happy when I found out that you were to be the 45th president of the United States. I can't say that I would've been jumping for joy if your opponent Hillary Clinton had won, but I can tell you that my fear for the safety of this country would be much lower than it is now. With all due respect Sir, the thought of you in office terrifies me. In my opinion, you are beyond unqualified. You are the first president to have no military nor political background. I have lost all faith I had in you after you said violent and unpredictable remarks such as, "I would bomb the sh*t outta them!"  and ...

I was pretty ticked during class today after having an unsuccessful, unintelligient argument/debate/discussion with another classmate about Feminism. Here's what went down. Enjoy! <3 _________________________________________________________________________________      Just because an individual is not of the female gender does not mean that they cannot fight for female rights and equality. After to talking to multiple guys about my opinion and view about feminism, I went back to each and asked if a male feminist was a thing. Each and every one of them said no. One even scoffed and chuckled a bit as if to say "why would my gender defend yours?". After confirming my own beliefs online, I noted that male feminists do exist.      Quite frankly, I am completely dumbfounded and honestly a bit disturbed about my generation's views on these topics. After sharing with certain males that I am indeed a feminist, I was disgusted by the recurring reply of, "So yo...

Hey Bloggy Buddies! Today in class, we thought about and discussed whether or not we thought America was the greatest country. I usually have an opinion on most topics, but this was one where I wasn't quite sure where I stood. Then, we watched an excerpt from the movie The Newsroom and then reevaluated our answers. Here's what I concluded. Enjoy! <3 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ After watching the video, I concluded that I don't think that there is a conclusion. What I mean by that is that everyone has their own definition of great. We also have to take into account what type of greatness the country at hand is achieving. Economical greatness? Statistical greatness? What about moral greatness? There are "right" decisions, and their are right decisions. For example, a "right" decision may be to completely cut off all immig...

Hey Bloggy Buddies! Hope you all had a good day. Mine was... interesting. MP rehearsal was so much fun though! I love the theatre program at JC! *Cough Cough Go Buy Mary Poppins Tickets* Anyway, here's the daily blog. Enjoy! <3 ________________________________________________________________________________ Many people take for granted just how lucky we are to have been born in the US. Some, even including Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump, believe that we shouldn't let anyone else into our country. It may seem realistic for some, but you have to put yourself in someone else's shoes. Imagine you're a Syrian woman; a widow and a mother of two children. All you wish for is the safety of your children, and the security of a stable home. Now imagine that America, 'The Land of the Free' telling you that you can't enter. Doesn't seem so fair now, does it? I believe that we should do more in depth background checks before we let immigrants en...

Hey Bloggy Buddies. This blog isn't that exciting, but that's okay! :) We'll make it work. Enjoy! <3 ________________________________________________________________________________ Hello Everyone! Today we got our tests back! I was really scared about it at first. I knew I did well, but I always manage to freak myself out over these types of things. Mr. Schick has a cool way of doing things. Some may find it intimidating or inappropriate to reveal whether a student got an A or not in front of the rest of the class, but I think it's a rewarding way to get students to strive to perform well; or at least this  student. All I know is I wanted to hear the familiar " Ding! " when I went to receive my test. At first, I only had my name called, but then Mr. Schick backed up and hit the bell which was a relief! :) I did have a little pang of pity in my heart for those who had to go up without a ding which informed the whole class that they didn't receive an A...

Hey Bloggy Buddies! Today we learned and talked about Colin Kaepernick's controversial actions. Here are my views on the topic. (Sorry for the insane amount of parenthesis!) (And yes, I realize I just used parenthesis, and that I'm using them again now.) Enjoy! <3 ________________________________________________________________________________ I don't really know how to write an introduction that easily transitions into my opinion on this topic, so I guess I'll just get right into it. I support Kaepernicks's motives. I do not support his actions. I do believe that we need to do something about police brutality and unfair treatment to blacks in specifc, but I don't believe it should be done in the way it's being executed now. Yes, we have freedom of speech. Kaepernick is exercising his right, (or should I say attempting to), but is really only making himself look like a disrespectful, unintelligent individual, who needs to get his head on straight. The...

Hey Bloggy Buddies! Today Mr. Schick showed us his future tattoo- I mean..... a meaningful quote! (That may later become a tattoo...) Haha. Anyway, I found this quote intriguing and since we didn't get to spend a lot of time talking about it, I'd thought I expand upon it here. Enjoy! <3 ________________________________________________________________________________ " The unexamined life is not worth living". I believe this means that an individual's life is invalid or without value if they do not scrutinize the very meaning of why they're living and breathing each day. Some may say that this means that you must "do something with your life", but I disagree. If you look up the exact definition for the word 'examine', it says that it means that one " inspects (someone or something) in detail to determine their nature or condition; investigates thoroughly." In my interpretation, I believe Socrates is saying that one must ponder o...

Hey Bloggy Buddies! So Mr. Schick told us to blog after school each day after we have Human Geogrpahy about what we did during class. This Friday, we changed seats and then had an incredibly in depth conversation about the meaning of life. Haha. Just kidding. We talked to our friends while Mr. Schick looked at each of our blogs. Oh and we also took fun pictures on Ange's laptop! Overall, awesome way to end the day off and the week off. (Two weeks into high school... When did that happen!?!?) Anyway, since we really didn't have a main discussion topic in class, I figured I do another blog that's kind of like my last one. The "Here's my perspective on this" type. (If that's not what you were looking for Mr. Schick I'm sorry but... here are my views on abortion!) Enjoy! <3 ________________________________________________________________________________ DISCLAIMER:  I'm going to start off by saying that these are my opinions and views on the act o...

Hey Bloggy Buddies! Today in Human Geography, we talked a lot about excellence. It was a very large mass of information, and it was also mainly still relating to Socrates. Since I've blogged a lot about Socrates, I thought I'd touch on the topic we approached briefly at the end of class. We were asked to suggest a controversial topic, so I volunteered and said gay marriage. Here are some of the point of views I heard, along with my own. Enjoy! <3 ________________________________________________________________________________ Because we had only a few minutes of class left, we could only have one representative for each side. My friend Angela represented those who were for gay marriage, and one young man whose name is escaping me right now, (If you're reading this sir, I apologize and I shall learn your name soon...) represented those against gay marriage. I am for gay marriage, and I believe that Angela perfectly expressed her beliefs as well as mine. Even though I st...

Hey Bloggy Buddies! Today in Human Geography we were expanding on our discussion of  Socrates. We were then assigned to write a blog about his trial. Enjoy! <3 ________________________________________________________________________________ The trial of 70-year-old Socrates took place in 399 BC in front of a jury of 500. The philosopher was charged with disrespecting the Greek gods, and corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates accusers told of him "failing to acknowledge the Gods that the city acknowledges" and "introducing new dietes". Due to his morals and teachings being "questionable" and "disrespectful", Socrates was to be sentenced to death if found guilty. Socrates chose to defend himself. After the accusers had three hours to present their case, Socrates had his own three hours to do the same. The majority of the diskats (Comparable to today's jurors) voted against Socrates, and came to the verdict that he was indeed guilty. So...

Hey Bloggy Buddies! Here are my goals for freshman year. Enjoy! <3 ________________________________________________________________________________ 1. I'd like to travel this year. Whether it's on a school trip like Disney or Costa Rica, or just travelling to a soup kitchen or shelter for something like service club. 2.  I'd like to achieve first or second honors, but ideally straight A's. 3.  I'd like to try new things this year. I want to face my fears and take a chance on new opportunities. 4.  I'd like to meet some new friends. I love my current friends, but I know that there a ton of people in this school whose names I don't even know yet. 5.  I want to be mature. Not hold grudges or act childish. Learn to be a respectable high school student. ________________________________________________________________________________ That's all for this blog! Seeya next time! Your Pal, Bren

Hey Bloggy Buddies! Today in class we researched some words that related to Ancient Greece. After we finished, we were told our assignment for tonight was to find similarities between "A Letter to Garcia" (essay I reviewed in my last blog) and the examples we observed in our findings from our research on Ancient Greece. Enjoy! <3 ________________________________________________________________________________ "A Letter to Garcia" is an inspirational letter written by Elbert Hubbard that tells the story of how Rowan was able to carry an incredibly crucial letter to Garcia, the leader of the Insurgents, when the United States and Spain were at war. It also tells an opinionated definition of the ideal laborer. I believe that Socrates is a perfect example of the 'ideal laborer' that Hubbard spoke of. Since everyone's idea of the perfect employee is different, there really is no exact definition; despite what Hubbard argues. Socrates was regarded incred...

Hey Bloggy Buddies! Today we read "A Letter to Garcia", an inspirational essay about Elbert Hubbard's components that make up the 'ideal employee.' Here are my thoughts. Enjoy! <3 ________________________________________________________________________________ " A Letter to Garcia " was an evaluation of Colonel Andrew Summers Rowan's characteristics and how they can be valued in the present day working individual. Rowan carried a crucial letter to Garcia, the leader of the Insurgents, when Spain and the United States were at war. This message applies to our every day lives as it exemplifies the optimal attributes required for the quintessential laborer. Traits including obedience, intelligence, perseverance and determination can also be fundamental in other parts of life such as education, military, extracurricular activities, sports, and as Hubbard argued, work, due to different levels and types of responsibility included in each. Hubbard expre...

Hey Bloggy Buddies! I thought I share how my first day was in the crazy place we call high school! Enjoy! <3 _________________________________________________________________________________            The first day of high school; It’s a joy for some, and a terror for others. For me, it was kind of both.             I walked through the doors of John Carroll with an open mind and my head swimming with the ideas of what possibilities the day could hold. I walked to my advisory… then walked back to my locker like an idiot when I realized that advisory is Mod three and that I need to get my books first… Whoops. After eight thousand tries, I finally got my locker open, got my materials and headed to my first class, and waited for my day to unfold.             As the day progressed, I met many new people and learned even more about John Carr...