Reflection on my writing.

When writing an essay, I'm always sure to make an outline of ideas for my paper then I begin writing off of that. I decided that peer editing was extremely helpful in the process of writing. Has my writing improved? I would say yes because in the beginning I was somewhat saying my ideas over and over again and using too many run on sentences. Commas were always a problem for me too, I was putting them where they really aren't needed. I've learned in class how to fix these problems in my essay so to me, my essays have gotten much stronger and better since the beginning of my essay. I sometimes run out of things to say in essays. I think that is my weakness because then I just begin rambling about things that aren't even important or have anything to do with the topic. I want to be able to have a strong essay where I don't run out of things to say and I can have a well-written, not boring essay. Honestly, some of my essays get boring, once again from running out of ideas or details.

Peer Group Editing

I believe that peer group editing can be very helpful when writing essays because it gives your fellow students and chance to read something you have written and make adjustments. Sometimes it is easy having a person your age and level of knowledge read something that you have written because either that have written about the same topic or have experienced something that you are writing about. It is always good to have a second pair of eyes look over your paper and edit it because you may not have corrected everything in your paper. A second pair of eyes is always helpful and everyone can use it. It can also be helpful to the person reading the essays because they can read something in the essay they are reading and get other ideas, like thinking you like the way they organized their paper, maybe I should try that one time. I have been doing peer editing since I started writing essays and I always find it helpful because sometimes you might turn in a paper not completely edited and you may miss some fixes. Peer editing is what prevents this from happening, usually. You also have to be able to peer edit though. Because some people just read your essay and say, "oh its really good, you don't need any changes", when you really probably have something you can at least fix. But then there are other people that are very helpful when peer editing and write all of their thoughts in the margins, its not like they are criticizing your writing, just telling you what could be better. It's helpful for me to get a second pair of eyes to read my essays.

Scary Movies

If you're going to watch a scary movie it has to be something like the new Paranormal Activity or The Omen, because movies like Friday the 13th and Saw are just comical to me. I like movies that put me on the edge of my seat in a movie theatre or where I have to cover my eyes at certain scenes. Paranormal Activity, which I just recently saw, has to be the scariest movie that i've seen in a very long time. Those kind of movies that make even the guys jump are really a true horror movie. I actually enjoy being freaked out by movies, where I can sleep for the next 2 nights or more after the movie, that's when you know it was a real scary movie. Especially around Halloween I love to watch horror movies, old and new ones because its just that time of year. Now don't get me wrong, I love scary movies that are based on true facts, but I think if any of the things that happened to those people happened to me, I would die. Scary movies don't bother me, but scary things that happen to me in real life do.

The Joker

When thinking of a song that takes me back in time, the first one that comes to mind is The Joker by The Steve Miller Band. Immeditately when I hear this song, it brings me back in time to every memory in New Hampshire as a kid camping. Ever since I was one years old, my parents have been taking me to an annual Pig Roast in New Hampshire and for some reason that song brings back the best images of being with my friends and family roasting marshmallows by the fire late at night. I think I was about 9 or 10 years old when I first can think back and remember everything that happened that year in New Hampshire. This song the parents played over and over again it seemed. They are an older band that was really popular when my parents were growing up so they all loved hearing it. I know every word to that song and the image of a huge fire burning by our tents sitting around in chairs just pops into my mind everytime. Even to this day, when I hear that song I think about the good times. I think that even as an adult in the future I will think of my childhood when I hear this memorable song. I remember especially dancing crazy with my friend Ashley, who's family comes with us every year, and just having a good time and eating way too many marshmallows and sneaking out of our tents at 3 in the morning into each others, when our parents think we are sleeping.

My view on tattoos and piercings.

I could say a lot when it comes to tattoos and piercings because I, myself have 11 piercings and I am getting a tattoo very soon. Why do people insist on getting tattoos and piercings? I believe its because once you get one piercing you want to keep getting them. In other words, they are very addicting. My first piercing was when I was 18 months old and I got my first wholes pierced. I remember I was in 7th grade when my friends were getting their second holes pierced and I decided I wanted mine. Then it was the third whole, then everyone was getting their belly buttons pierced also. I have my nose my tongue and two cartilage piercings. I could probably agree that piercings are addicting because I have so many. Tattoo's on the other hand, I believe that they are possibly addicted, but I wouldn't know because I don't have one yet. It bother's me when people get the most random, stupid tattoos for no reason just because they are bored. When I get my tattoo it is going to be meaningful and something that I won't regret. Some people I have heard actually enjoy the needles so they just keep getting them and getting them until they have so many that they cant count.

Cosmetic Surgery

To be honest, my whole view on cosmetic surgery is that it is a waste of money and time. Some people that have plastic surgery spend thousands of dollars and tons of visits to the doctors for new adjustments. I personally would never get any type of plastic surgery just because the way i was raised was that god gave you what he thought you should have, why would I want to change my nose or my face structure just to look better? I think it is truely a pointless thing to do. Well, lets say that I was in a terrible car accident and my whole face was smashed in, then I would consider some type of plastic surgery as being okay. That is the only kind of plastic surgery that I can agree with. If someone is injured and needs something done, but if someone just says well, my nose is pretty ugly I think I want to have plastic surgery; or if someone says well my breast size isn't satisfactory I want implants. Things like that I feel are just so unnecessary and are a waste of money. I would rather spend $10,000 dollars on a donation to kids starving in Africa not just to make me look the way I want to. Plus, I also don't have just that extra money just laying around ready to be spent on something so pointless like costmetic surgery.

My Impression of Culture and Ethnicity

My impression of culture and ethnicity growing up was probably the typical white, american idea. I have a pretty big, Italian and Hungarian family with many uncles and aunts and tons of cousins and growing up we would spend the traditional Christmas at our house and Thanksgiving at my aunts. I was born at Bridgeport hospital and raised my whole life in Monroe, CT and was never really exposed to any place else, so I didn't know what other kinds of places where out there. I'm happy that my parents stuck with Monroe throughout my entire life because I grew up with almost every person as a child all the way through to high school. We never judged each other for what background we had, we just went to elementry school; colored in class and took the bus home everyday and talked about playground events that happened that day. Since i went from elementry school through all of middle school and high school with the same people, I lost friends I made new friends and i've kept a lot of the same friends. I was never with just one group of friends, I was always known as so "socialable" because I had friends of every kind. I was always nice and caring and I was always thinking about other people before myself. People did judge people for what they wore in middle school, that was the stage everyone went through. You know if you didn't wear "Abercrombie and Fitch", you weren't cool enough. Well, I was never like that, I stuck to my own style and it got me to having amazing friendships with great people. Going back into my family, well, at every family gathering there was always way too much food that no one could ever imagine finishing, but that was what my family was all about. Growing up, I thought of the family as good friends, for instance my cousins and I were always so close in age so we got along so well, our mothers would bring us everywhere together and do almost everything together.When I am surrounded by my family it is always a funny atmosphere, nothing is ever way too serious, its always laid back and relaxed. Whenever any of the kid's birthday's comes around every family has a family birthday party, still to this day at the age of 17 i'm having family birthday parties. It's the family tradition, and just being with family on your birthday is comforting and enjoyable. My background of Italian and Hungarian is always noticable, my grandmother is loud and the typical little Italian lady that makes to-die-for meals and we have a huge family that I probably couldn't even count. The way my parents raised me, I never thought differently of any one person and I was always myself no matter what.