Ashton Kutcher Speech at the Teen's Choice Awards

         Ashton Kutcher made a motivational speech at the Teen Choice Awards this year. He talked a lot about what it means to be successful in life. He said there was three steps: hard work; being smart, thoughtful, and generous; and making your life for yourself. His speech was praised by a lot of well-known and respected people. It even reached over 3.2 million views on youtube. It was an inspiring speech towards young people, about hard work and opportunity. 

         What he means by making your own life is that anyone with a drive to start new without anyone telling them how to live is possible. Anything is possible. Anyone can create their own path.  Being smart, thoughtful, and generous are the most desired qualities when hiring or just being a good person in general. These characteristics can get you a long way in life. He said in his speech that Hard work isn't something that can just be given to a person. People who go the extra mile to do something usually end up getting whatever their heart desires because the effort never goes unseen. I really enjoyed this speech because I felt like it fueled my fire in some way. I feel like he was on my side and wants to me to succeed.  He has become one of my many role-models after seeing him with a powerful, positive message. 

Reading Log For: August 26

8/23	Dollhouse	Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe Kardashian	55 mins	p. 99-142
8/20	Tutorial I came and asked Mrs. deGravelles questions and worked on my project	The Secret Life of Bees	25 mins
8/20	Martine and I worked on our prezi outside of class	The Secret Life of Bees	45 mins

What makes the Kennedy family so unique?

I chose Dollhouse by Kourtney, Khloe, and Kim Kardashian before I chose any type of question. This fictional story has similar attributes to the three sisters. For example, the three main characters in the story all have first names that start with a "K". However, I did find a book called Mrs. Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill and Lisa McCubbin that I find very interesting. I have always been very intrigued by the Kennedy family and all of the tragedy that went along with them. What makes the Kennedy family so unique?

I first heard about this book in Washington, D.C. I was in a museum, and was captivated by the summary on the back of the book. It amazed me that this family had to deal with so much grief. I also find Mrs. Kennedy a role model. She had so much grace and poise. She was captivating. It is fascinating that her personal body guard experienced all of the hardships as though they were his own family. They developed such an amazing partnership and even friendship. This book seems like it might have the answer to my question.

Cupcake Disaster

Last Friday, Episcopal's football team was playing in a scrimmage against Tara. As a cheerleader, I am required to be at all football events. After the game, there was going to be a celebratory dinner that the cheerleader's were invited to go to. The Junior Varsity squad was required to bring deserts. At the last minute, I realized that I had not made or bought anything yet. So, I rushed into my pantry desperate at this point for anything that would taste good. Finally, I found cupcake mix. I started gathering all of the ingredients, and started to follow the recipe. Everything went well, and I put the cupcakes in the oven. After the cupcakes were done, I spread the icing on the cupcakes and tried a bite of my master piece for myself. I took my first bite, and immediately spit it out. The icing was old and had been expired for two years. I was so upset! I had worked so hard and this is what I get?!

My mom found me in the kitchen and instantly knew something was wrong. I explained to her what happened, and surprisingly she was proud of me; even though the cupcakes did not work out. We decided that we need to go to the store and let the professionals handle this task. We drove to Whole Foods and picked out a delicious Oreo Cake. The woman that worked in the bakery section wrote "Go Knights!" on it with blue and yellow icing. It looked awesome!

Outside Reading – 120 minutes per week

Name_______Katherine Ann Andreeff_______Date__8/18/13_____________Block___4_______

Outside Reading – 120 minutes per week, due Mondays

**You may record your time here, but please post information to blog**

Date	Title	Author	Time Read	Pages Read
7/24	Hunger Games	Suzanne Collins	80 min.	pp. 230-307
7/25	“   “	“   “	45 min.	pp. 307-356
8/14	Dollhouse	Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe Kardashian	45 mins	p. 1- 40
8/16	Dollhouse	Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe Kardashian	45 mins	p. 41-69
8/18	Dollhouse	Kourtney, Kim, and Khloe Kardashian	30 mins	p. 70-98

Free Post

At first, I was a little bit overwhelmed, but now that I have started to get a hang of things I am really liking high school. I am so glad I chose to try out for Episcopal's cheerleading squad because I have met a lot of really interesting people. I feel like I have gotten so close with the squad because we are always working together on stunts or cheers. I also really like how I have a lot of freedom. It is so different from middle school because I was always told what to do and when to do it. However, I feel like I have a lot more pressure in these four years than I will have in my whole life. I realize that these next four years of my life determine who I am going to be in life and what I will do with it. And I only have a short amount of time to figure it out! I also have a lot more responsibility, now that I have all of this freedom. And when I turn sixteen I will have a car and a lot more responsibility comes with that as well.  I also get to go to Sadie's and Homecoming which is extremely exciting.

My teacher's are great because they want me to succeed and are constantly pushing me to do so. Sometimes, I may not always appreciate it, but in the end I know that it will make me smarter and strengthen my work ethic. The expectations between middle school and high school teachers are very different. I was babied in middle school, but now I am treated like an adult, but that comes with a lot more responsibility. Now that I am a high-schooler I also feel like I have gained more respect from my peers, teachers, and parents.

Summer Reading Response

This past summer I read the Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd for my free choice book. The main character Lily Owens, was very well developed. I loved that she was so passionated and determined about finding more information about her mother that had passed away. It was interesting that Kidd chose Lilly's maid, Rosaleen, to be her best friend. It made the book more interesting and unique. During this time in South Carolina, a lot of white people had maids. It surprised me that T.Ray, Lilly Owen's father, came back for Lilly after everything he put her through. He always made Lilly feel like she wasn't important and didn't love her. Lilly also did a lot of things right after she ran away that would make Lilly look like a bad child. I would have thought that a person like T.Ray would have jumped with joy because Lilly left him. They have always had an unhealthy relationship ever since Lilly's mom died. 

The plot summary as a whole was very interesting and believable during this time. But sometimes, I felt like the book wasn't as fast-paced as I would have liked. I really enjoyed how honey and bees were portrayed in a positive way. I have always thought of bees as pests. I really didn't like how the three Boatwright sisters' worshiped the Virgin Mary and not Jesus. The way Kidd described their religion and the ceremonies they participated in kind of creeped me out. But it was interesting to see how quickly Lilly followed in the Boatwright sisters' religious path. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction or just a great read!