Abstract

Over the past months I have been collecting people's stories. I have collected stories on the tattoos that people have places on their bodies, how they got the tattoo, why they got the tattoo, etc. I have interviewed people I have known my whole life, friends, teachers, and even strangers. After each interview I would edit what I had recorded into a concise podcast and share it with the public on my Soundcloud account. The Soundcloud account is really the place where my Capstone lives.

The process for my project was fairly simple, and despite its repetitive nature, it never felt monotonous or boring. After setting up a Soundcloud account for myself I was able to interview, edit, and put out a new instalment on a regular basis - almost weekly. In the end, I was able to do a total of ten interviews as well as an intro and outro of the project.

Doing this project has taught me so much. Not only have I been able to ask people the questions I have wanted to for a long time about the art on their body, but I have also gotten to form my own opinions about tattoos for myself based on what I have learned from others. Even more importantly, I have found joy in getting closer to people I know, or don’t know by asking them about themselves and their stories. I am grateful that the last few months were even more gratifying than I initially thought they would be. 

Click here to see my Soundcloud.

Annotated Bibliography

Dundon, Barbara. "I'm Tellin' Ya!" I’m Tellin Ya. Barbara Dundon, 2013. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.

This is the website of my mentor, Barbara Dundon. I worked with her in my ILP last year. She introduced me to the art of audio production and storytelling. I wanted to make sure that she was recognized as someone I learned a lot from. Because of this I am citing her website, and the business she runs producing stories for other people. Having a person to learn from as part of the process that got me to where I am right now is very important to me. I work best when I am learning from a person, because they have lived what they are telling me. it is a different kind of research than reading an article or watching a video, and I find that it sticks with me better.

"Free Music Archive." Free Music Archive. N.p., 2009. Web. 03 Feb. 2016.

This is a online library of legal free audio downloads. I use it to get most of the music from my podcast. Since music is important in setting the emotion of a podcast, I spend time finding just the right track to use when I need it in my podcasts. I know that I can safely use the tracks I find on this website.

Glass, Ira, and Torey Malatia. "This American Life." Audio blog post. National Public Radio, 1995. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.

I have been listening to This American Life from a very young age. It is part of what inspired me to originally look into doing a podcast as an ILP and as a capstone. When you are learning about something, it helps to have examples to look at in detail. This American Life was one of those examples for me. I would sit and listen to an episode, and then look for the things done in the editing, or in the way that the narrator spoke, or a thousand other things, that made the story so compelling to me. I dissected this podcast for inspiration, and to make my own podcast better.

Graves, Nagee. Personal interview. 7 Dec. 2015.

I did my very first interview with Nagee. We talked about the two tattoos that he has, what they mean to him, and his plans for future tattoos. For a first interview, talking to someone who I knew, but not very well was the perfect thing for me to do. We both felt comfortable talking to one another, but had a lot to learn about each other - mainly I learned about him, but that’s the point of my project.

Lady Lamb. Rooftop. Rec. 19 Feb. 2013. 2013. MP3.

This is a song I used for the introduction to my podcast that I put on my soundcloud. Music is very important component to any audio based production. I decided to use a song that I already knew well, and that I thought set the tone for my introduction, and for what I wanted people’s first impressions to be.

Macolino, Sarah. Personal interview. 19 Jan. 2019.

I think this is the best interview I did. I say this because the tattoos had very meaningful stories behind them. It was easy for me to ask questions and listen intently, because the content really made an affect on me personally. I look forward to editing what I have, I want to do the stories justice! The only thing else I can really say is, thank you to Sarah for being so open and honest with me about things that are not easy to talk about. I really appreciate it.

Middleswarth, Jackie. Personal interview. 9 Dec. 2015.

Interviewing Jackie was more challenging than my first interview. That has nothing to do with her, and everything to do with me. I don’t think that I asked the “right” questions like I did with Nagee. He is a more outgoing person in general, so he was more willing to open up. But Jackie is less of a talker, so I had to work harder to get open answers. This was a good learning experience for me, to learn how to make people comfortable and open when they talk to me.

Paolini, Beth. Personal interview. 11 Feb. 2016.

I have known beth for all of my life. She is partly responsible for this project because I’ve wanted to ask her about her tattoos for all of my life too. Finally getting to interview her was really amazing and insightful. I am so glad she agreed to help me out, although not at all surprised.

Raul. Personal interview. 19 Jan. 2016.

I did not actually know that I was going to interview Raul when I did. (That’s why I don’t even know his last name.) But he was open and easy to talk to. We talked about his family, his mother and niece, and how amazing tattoos can be when they are well done. The importance of going to a professional to get a tattoo, because it really is an art. I appreciate a stranger opening up to me like this.

Spiegel, Alix, and Lulu Miller. "Invisabelia." Audio blog post. National Public Radio, 2015. Web. 3 Feb. 2016.

Invisabelia is another podcast  that I listen to to get inspiration for my own podcast. The topics that the program covers are pretty different from mine, so I mainly listened to look for examples of how the editing was done to make an impact on the audience, or rove home a point. Other than that, this is just a podcast that I like, and think is good, so it serves as inspiration for me.

"StoryCorps." Audio blog post. National Public Radio, 2015. Web. 2 Feb. 2016.

StoryCorps is a podcast that gives everyone a chance to tell their own stories. Because it only works if people tell their own stories, it is an inspiration for what I am doing. People telling their own experiences, in a way that will last, is a big part of the identity of my capstone. But the people’s stories have to be coherent and make sense. That is what I look at here when it comes to editing.I look for how the podcast is edited to best tell the story. In essence, my podcast is not about tattoos, it is about stories, so that is why StoryCorps is a podcast that I have studies as part of my research.

Essay:

Carol Burnett was the first woman ever to have a comedy variety show. “The Carol Burnett Show” was on air during the women's lib movement. Even though the message she sent, or jokes she made were not specifically about women's right, the fact that she had a show is strong enough to prove that she was an activist for women's rights. Because of Brunette female comedians that are around today like Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Tig Notaro, and so many others are able to do the wonderful things they do with less backlash (although unfortunately still some). Burnett Also helped Vicki Lawrence, a female comedian of her time, because she was one of the other actors on the show.

Having her own show did not come easy however. NBC Told her that she should not have the show, telling her that it was “a man's game”. But that did not stop her, she pushed on and had an amazingly successful show. In her comedy and in her life, Carol Burnett pretty much did what she wanted. That’s how she was such a funny person, and also successful. She would not give in to what other people told her, she was strong and persistent, working till she got what she wanted and what she knew was right.

Burnett was also influential because she set an example for how the world should be. Women can be just as funny as men, and she proved that. In fact, she never had to say it because her actions proved that it was true. Her show was not about women's issues, but it was around at a time when a lot of women's issues were being fought for. Carol Burnett was a living example of what so many women at that time were fighting for, and to make thing better, she was amazingly funny.

Timeline

April 26, 1933 - Born

1955 - First went on TV. She appeared on The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show

1957 - Went on the Tonight show with Jack Paar.

1957 - Went on the Ed Sullivan Show.

1959 - Acted in a show on Broadway. The musical was called Once Upon a Mattress.

1959 - 1962 - Was a regular actress and cast member on The Garry Moore Show. During her

time on the show she won her first Emmy.

1963 - Apparent in her very first movie, Who’s Been Sleeping in my Bed?

September 1967 - Her show, The Carol Burnett Show, first airs.

1975 - Carol Burnett is given a star on the Walk of Fame.

1978 - Burnett ends her The Carol Burnett Show. Throught the ears she on 5 Golden Globes and 5 Emmy Awards.

Bibliography:

Duca, Lauren. "Carol Burnett Is A Feminist Hero Whether She Knows It Or Not." Huffington Post. Http://www.huffingtonpost.com, 22 Sept. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

"Career Timeline." PBS. PBS, 05 Nov. 2007. Web. 04 Apr. 2016.

"Carol Burnett Biography." - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2016

Poster:

Below you will find a passage that I imagine was cut from McCarthy's original manuscript. But first please enjoy some photography inspired by the book.

Bechdel Test:

1. At least two women in it

2. Who talk to each other

3. About something besides a man

Mako Mori Test:

1. At least one female character

2. Who gets her own narrative arc

3. That is not about supporting a man’s story

My Test:

1. At least one non-white woman

2. Who talks to another woman

3. About something other than a man

Juno is an independent movie from 2007 starring Ellen Page. At the age of 16 she became pregnant after having sex with her best friend. She decides to give the child up for adoption. But this movie is about more than that. It is about the hardships of being seen as an outsider, the pain of loving someone who does not loves you back, and so much more that we all fell as people passing through this world. This movie has witty dialog, strong characters, and insightful commentary.  But how does this movie, which is written by a woman, Diablo Cody, represent women?

This movie is named after the lead character for a reason. At it’s core the move is about no one other than Juno. This movie easily passes the Bechdel test. It has multiple female characters; the main character Juno, her friend, mother, and the woman who is adopting the baby. These are the most important, but there are a few more. There are multiple situations in which the women talk to one another. There are a good amount of conversations between female characters, and even though lots of them are about male characters, enough of them are about other things that Juno passes the Bechdel test much better than plenty of other moves.

The Mako Mori Test is no match for Juno this movie never has a scene without the lead female. The narrative arc is only really about her, how she changes, what she experiences, and the good and bad decisions she makes. Even though this movie is in a lot of ways a romance too, Juno in no way depends on a man, and the parts of the story that do not include male characters are just as strong as any others. Juno’s story arc does not support a man at all, if anything the male christers are there to support her story arc.

When It came to making my own test, I wanted to focus on gender and race. I created a test that was heavily based off of the Bechdel test, but focused on the race of the female characters. Juno just barely passed this test. There is only one female character that is not white, in fact she is the only character in the whole movie who is not white. Su-Chin is an asian classmate of Juno’s who she sees outside of an abortion clinic. In this conversation Su-Chin tries to convince Juno not to abort her unborn child. This short, but important scene gives the movie a passing grade on my test, but by a slim margin.

Erase una vez un niño llamado Pete. Él eran uno de los primeros estudiantes de SLA. Pete amo salir a fuero y ser en la naturaleza. Pero no tenía tiempo de ir afuera en escuela secundaria. Extrañaba ir afuera en el aire fresco.

Un dia decidido ir al oficina y hablar con Principal Lehmann. Pero Pete nunca fui al oficina antes. Era muy asustado, pero sabía que necesitaba hablar con Lehmann. Finalmente se levanta su nervio y entró el officina de su principal. Cuando entró la oficina, vio que no era tan malo, como él pensó. Pete explicó a Senior Lehmann que el quería tener tiempo afuera cada dia. Lehmann dijo que quería dar Pete lo que quería, pero no era posible.

Pete era muy triste y enojado. Necesitaba ser solo. Corrí a un armario vacío en el fondo de la escuela. Era tan enojado que empezó pegar el pared del armario. Pego tan fuerte que el pared empezó a derrumbar. En el otro lado del parede no era nada, solo aire fresco. Pete empezó a formar un plan para tener tiempo afuera durante su día en escuela. Decidió derrumbar una pared de abajo en los armarios en todos los pisos. Después iba a construir escaleras que son afuera del escuela y cuando caminada a sus clases pudia ser en el aire fresco.

Cada día durante su almuerzo Pete fue al armario y derrumbó parte del pared. Tomó Pete casi todo el año, pero finalmente todos los armarios no tenían un pared de atrás, solo un hoyo que miraba afuero. Pete realizo que no iba a tener tiempo para construir los escalones si quería terminar su proyecto antes del final del año. Decidido que necesitaba visitar el oficina de principal Lehmann otra vez.

El proximo dia Pete fue al oficina y explicó su plan y su dilema. Lehmann ear enojado, pero admitió que era impresionado en todo el trabajo duro que Pete hizo. Lehmann permito que durante el verano el iba contratar trabajadores de la construcción para hacer escaleras afueras.

Cuando veo el obra de arte por Marc Chagall veo muchos colores cálidos y cariñosos. Mira como hay dos soles. Uno, por la izquierda, es rojo con muchos rayos de luz. El otro aliado con el primero, pero es en la derecho. El sol es rojo blanco y amarillo. Mira como un banco más que un sol. En el fondo hay un campo de trigo con un hoz que sale por el medio. Si miras muy de cerca puedes ver un pescado rojo debajo del hoz. Por el otro lado hay un persona en un barco, los dos son azules. Entre el trigo y el niño el el barco hay un rama de árbol. El rama es blanco con motas de negro, y hay hojas verdes y pequeños en la punta.

No soy seguro de que el pintor era pensando en cuando pintó esto, porque es muy abstracto. Espero que significa mucho para él, porque significa mucho para mi. Cuando mira a la obra de Wheatfield on a Summer Afternoon me piensa en Chile. Los dos soles me hacen pensar en los momios y las izquierdistas, y la obra es como Santiago. La obra tiene muchas similitudes a mi vida. Si los soles representan los dos partidos políticos y la tensión entre los dos. El campo de trigo es como el barrio de Machuca y Silvana. Silvana es el hoz porque ella es poderoso y puede ser peligroso, y aunque sabes que puede ser peligroso es estás interesado en ella. Para mi Machuca es el pescado rojo. El solo es un persona que sabes que esta allí. Necesitas poner atención para notarlo y llegar a conocerlo. El agua del lago es mi barrio, y yo soy el niño en el barco azul. Yo soy solo y solitario. Yo resalto contra los colores cálidos y no has más cosas o personas como yo. La rama de un árbol es como mi familia. Están conmigo, pero son separados de mí. También interponerse en mi camino de mi amistad con Machuca y Silvana. Los soles son como las lados políticos porque todos pueden sentir el calor y tensión de los dos sobre sus cabezas todo el dia. Son grandes y obvios, pero también son cosas nos hemos acostumbrado a.

Emiliano Zapata era un revolucionario y luchador. El peleo para la libertad y justicia para todos los personas. Hasta hoy en dia es un personaje icónico para todos.

Una Oda a Zapata.

líder, luchador, dios.

Cuando yo te veo pienso en la derecha a libertad que todos merecen.

Me haces amar a los bigotes.

Tú, mi… amigo.

Setting: Center City, out on the street.

Mathis (Mat for short): Teenage boy who has lived in the city all his life. His family does not have a car so he walks everywhere or takes public transportation.

Homeless Woman: Simply a woman who lives on the street. Not a major character, she just gets the ball rolling.

Homeless Woman

Do you have any change to spare?

(Mathias ignores Homeless Woman)

Please sir, could you just spare some change? I haven't had anything to eat in two days.

Mathias

I don't have any cash on me... Sorry.

(Turns slowly to face the audience.)

That was a lie. I do have cash. My parents always make sure that I have money with me just in case. But I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be giving it to hobos, sorry "the homeless".

It’s not that I’m being stingy, I just don’t trust her. Maybe thats a little stingy. But I see homeless people as often as I eat PB&J, which is everyday for lunch. I quite frankly I get sick of it, the people and the sandwiches. Sorry, that was really rude, but you don’t know who you can trust. Maybe I should try to have some faith in the human race, but I guess I don’t. I have seen some crazy shit happen and know better than to assume all glasses are half full, because some just ain’t. I wanna think that she would go get herself  something to eat, but it seems more likely that she would spend it getting high. That's probably how she got here in the first place. She's an alcoholic or drug addict and she got booted out of her home because she spent all her money on her addiction. Right? Maybe not. I guess I'm just trying to distance myself from her, I’m trying to make her seem like a bad “thing”, when the truth is she is a real person with real struggles. The truth that I don't want to give her my money. Part of the reason is because I don't know if it will help her or harm her. But I'm also just a selfish punk. If I pretend she is someone who has made awful decisions than I don't have to feel guilty for denying her money. I mean who knows when she has last had a good meal, and I would happily buy her some food, but I don't have time for that. And plus who just goes up to a stranger and offers to buy them dinner? Maybe I should just go volunteer at some homeless shelter, but I feel like that’s just a lame excuse so I don’t feel as guilty ignoring the people who only have the streets as their homes. I know that I would be making some difference, and I would be helping some people. The problem is it wouldn't answer my questions about what to do when I encounter people outside. All they want is whatever money I can afford to spare, so who am I to not give it up? I guess the best thing to do is go on a case by case basis, but that just seems like another lame excuse. But in this case I think I have something that might help her if she really hasn't had any grub in two days. This won't answer my questions in the long term... unless I just always carry a PB&J round with me. Either way it I will be doing the good I can with what I’ve got.

(Walks over to the homeless woman.)

Ma’am, I have a sandwich if you would like it. It’s peanut butter and jelly.

(Opens his backpack, takes out a sandwich and hands it to the homeless woman.)

Language plays a powerful role in Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. Although the book has many strong themes, one of the strongest is how words and language give a lot of power. This is demonstrated not only in the way that the characters interact with language, but also because of Zusak's talent in manipulating words to tell a beautiful and complex story. Zusak portrait a time language is used by a tyrant but individuals find a way to use words to bring hope and healing. Luckily for readers he uses this talent for good, but his book shows how this gift can also be used for evil.

Before we dive too deep into the good and evil that lies within the pages on this book, and within our own world, we should know how this book plays out. The Book Thief is set in Nazi Germany throughout World War II. One of the most notable things is that this book is narrated by Death. The actual book thief turns out to be a young girl by the name of Liesel Meminger. She lives in a small town outside of Munich with her foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. Eventually a Jewish man comes and lives in their basement in order to escape the world of war going on around him.

Liesel first finds the power of words when she herself learns to read. Her foster father, Hans, teaches her. This not only brings the two of them closer together, but gives the girl a power she never knew existed before: knowledge.  Her foster father teaches her to feel the joys of learning. He introduces her to the powerful system of words.This first helps her to succeed in school. She was being unfairly punished because she had not had any education before coming to live with her foster parents.

Secondly, she was given the power to steal. Even though thievery is wrong and illegal, for Liesel Meminger it was empowering. She was addicted to the the words that she had learned to read, and she needed more. Stealing books also gave her a feeling of control over her life. She had something that she was good at, something that helped her and something that no one else did. When a Jewish man by the name of Max Vandenberg came to lived in their basement to escape the Nazis, Liesel became very close with him. They first connected over books, more specifically books that had been stolen.

Because the characters are struggling through a war, the threat of violence and bombs are alway looming over them. Whenever the bomb warning is in effect Rosa, Hans, and Liesel have to go to their neighbors cellar which doubles as a bomb shelter. Being in the shelter is tense and scary. Liesels decides to help everyone feel more relaxed by reading to them. Here Zusak describes her first time reading in the cellar. “By page three, everyone was silent but Liesel. She didn’t dare to look up, but she could feel their frightened eyes hanging on to her as she hauled the words in and breathed them out.” (Zusak 381) Liesel took power in that basement full of weak people fearing their lives, and she used her power to give them strength and hope. The system of words Liesel used was the same system that any other individual had, but she knew how to use them in order to give some good. Liesel was proactive about using the system of words and power that came along with those words, to not only to help herself, but to help all the other frightened individuals cluttered in a cellar. This however is not the last time Liesel shared the power she finds in language with others.  

One of the places that Liesel steals books from is the the library of the mayor's wife, Ilsa Hermann. When Frau Hermann eventually catches Liesel, instead of punishing her, she encourages Liesel to read and they soon became friends. The mayor’s wife also introduces Liesel to writing. The thought of being able to use your words as well as the words, as well as the words of others, for power is a new idea to her, but Liesel Meminger realizes its value quickly. She then starts to write her own story, which is so compelling that Death picks it up one day, and has never let it go. There must be some true power in the words in those pages if it is that appealing and meaningful to Death.

It is impossible to write of language and power in that era without addressing Adolf Hitler. Max talks a lot about Hitler, which is understandable because of how much Hitler has affected Max’s life. Throughout the book Max writes two books for Liesel, the second one is called The Word Shaker. Even though the book MAx wrote is largely about the friendship Liesel and Max have, it also talks a lot about Hitler and how he took power using words.The third paragraph in Max’s story starts, “The Führer decides to rule the world with words.” (Zusak 445) Hitler is a perfect example of someone who knows just how much power words have hidden within them. He used words to rally people against each other and create war. The words had spoke moved people to do unthinkable things. The words of the Führer brought the whole world to war, for the second time.The simplest way of putting it is that Hitler used the power of words for evil. It is sometimes hard to grasp how influence he with only words as his primary weapon.

We need to take a step back sometimes and review how we use language, It can be  easy to forget all the power that we own from the words that we use every day. In the end it all boils down to this, use your words to help and give hope to those around you. Do all the good you can and try to extinguish the evil.

Works Cited:

Mi nombre entera es Michaela McRea Prell. Nació en Brin Mar hospital en el 28 de Abril de 1998. El nombre de mi padre es Michael, soy nombrado por el. Mi nombre secundario es el apellido soltera de mi madre. Ha vivido en Filadelfia todo mi vida. Soy trabajadora, y empezó a correr en Marzo. Estoy entrenando para la maratón de Filadelfia en Noviembre. Me cae bien con la mayoría de personas aunque soy introvertida. Tengo dos hermanos, un grande, y un pequeño. Me gusta mucho pasar el rato con ellos. Cuando soy sola me gusta beber tea y escuchar a música. Florence and the Machine es mi banda favorita. Mis libros favoritos son Alice in Wonderland y The Book Thief. Uno de mis películas favoritas es Little Miss Sunshine porque me da risa.

Soy una persona honesta. No escojo mis sentimientos y por eso no soy una persona falsa. Valgo mucho los personas simpáticas que no son falso ni mentiroso. Me cae bien con la mayoría de mis amigos porque son personas que puedo tener confianza en. Yo soy una persona muy imaginativa. Desde cuando era nińa me gustaba pensar en cosas nuevas, chistosos y creativas. Tambien soy cariñosa. Yo cuido a mi hermanito y también trabajo como una niñera. Pienso que son un persona culta porque me guste aprender lo más que puedo acerca de personas y lugares nuevos.

Me llevo bien la mayoría de mis maestros este año en SLA. El único maestro que no me cae bien es el Señor Todd. El único razón por esto es que el es un maestro nuevo, yo no se si va a ser un buen maestro como teni el año antes o no. Señor Latimer me llevo muy bien. El es uno de mis dos consejeros. El Señor Latimer es simpático y es un maestro de matemáticas exceptional. Pienso que voy a aprender mucha matemática este año especialmente si trabajo duro. Me cae bien Señorita Manuel porque su clase es única. Me encanta tener un clase de Español real este año, en ves de tener Rosetta Stone. En general todos mis maestros me caen bien.

Mi mejor amiga es graciosa. Ella es tan chistosa y inteligente. Siempre me da risa. Ella me entiende mucho porque conocimos por muchos años. Ella es una artista magnífica y tiene mucho talento. Me inspira con su arte. Ella me cuida mucho, pero yo cuida a ella mucho más. Algunas veces nos llevamos mal pero solo para unos minutos, porque nosotros somos como uña y carne. Por eso somos amigas mejores y nada puede separar a nosotros.

Tengo miedo de cuando mi hermano va a la universidad. Me da miedo porque cuando el se va mi famila nunca va a ser el mismo. Después de que el va, yo solo va a tener dos años hasta que yo va a la universidad y mi hermanito va a ser en la casa solo con mis padres. No va a tener ni un hermano en la casa con el. Siento ansiedad de ir a universidad porque voy a ser un adulto y tener mucha responsabilidad. Pero tener responsabilidad también me inspira. Mis sentimientos de ser un adulto son conflicto, especialmente porque no sa que quiero hacer en el futuro. Tengo un poco de suerte porque tengo unos años hasta que nesesito hacer estos decisiones grandes.

Para mi mascara voy a ser un cerdo. Voy a ser un cerdo porque cuand era mi mama penso que miro como un cerdito porque era muy pequeño y rosado. Tambien cuando era pequeño (y algunas veces hoy en día) no podía mantener mis rotas limpios, y me gustaba jugar en el berro. En realidad los cerdos son animales muy organizadas y limpias aunque no se paresen asi. Yo soy organizado también, pero algunas veces mis cosas organizadas ven sucias a otros personas. Los cardos son inteligentes también, aunque muchos personas piensen el opuesto. Yo soy inteligente y si algo que no entiendo voy a trabajar duro a  mejorar en el tema. Aunque nunca pensó en esto, yo soy como un cerdo y es la animal que va a representarme en mi mascara.

Mi nombre entera es Michaela McRea Prell. Nació en Brin Mar hospital en el 28 de Abril de 1998. El nombre de mi padre es Michael, soy nombrado por el. Mi nombre secundario es el apellido soltera de mi madre. Ha vivido en Filadelfia todo mi vida. Soy trabajadora, y empezó a correr en Marzo. Estoy entrenando para la maratón de Filadelfia en Noviembre. Me cae bien con la mayoría de personas aunque soy introvertida. Tengo dos hermanos, un grande, y un pequeño. Me gusta mucho pasar el rato con ellos. Cuando soy sola me gusta beber tea y escuchar a música. Florence and the Machine es mi banda favorita. Mis libros favoritos son Alice in Wonderland y The Book Thief. Uno de mis películas favoritas es Little Miss Sunshine porque me da risa.

Soy una persona honesta. No escojo mis sentimientos y por eso no soy una persona falsa. Valgo mucho los personas simpáticas que no son falso ni mentiroso. Me cae bien con la mayoría de mis amigos porque son personas que puedo tener confianza en. Yo soy una persona muy imaginativa. Desde cuando era nińa me gustaba pensar en cosas nuevas, chistosos y creativas. Tambien soy cariñosa. Yo cuido a mi hermanito y también trabajo como una niñera. Pienso que son un persona culta porque me guste aprender lo más que puedo acerca de personas y lugares nuevos.

Me llevo bien la mayoría de mis maestros este año en SLA. El único maestro que no me cae bien es el Señor Todd. El único razón por esto es que el es un maestro nuevo, yo no se si va a ser un buen maestro como teni el año antes o no. Señor Latimer me llevo muy bien. El es uno de mis dos consejeros. El Señor Latimer es simpático y es un maestro de matemáticas exceptional. Pienso que voy a aprender mucha matemática este año especialmente si trabajo duro. Me cae bien Señorita Manuel porque su clase es única. Me encanta tener un clase de Español real este año, en ves de tener Rosetta Stone. En general todos mis maestros me caen bien.

Mi mejor amiga es graciosa. Ella es tan chistosa y inteligente. Siempre me da risa. Ella me entiende mucho porque conocimos por muchos años. Ella es una artista magnífica y tiene mucho talento. Me inspira con su arte. Ella me cuida mucho, pero yo cuida a ella mucho más. Algunas veces nos llevamos mal pero solo para unos minutos, porque nosotros somos como uña y carne. Por eso somos amigas mejores y nada puede separar a nosotros.

Tengo miedo de cuando mi hermano va a la universidad. Me da miedo porque cuando el se va mi famila nunca va a ser el mismo. Después de que el va, yo solo va a tener dos años hasta que yo va a la universidad y mi hermanito va a ser en la casa solo con mis padres. No va a tener ni un hermano en la casa con el. Siento ansiedad de ir a universidad porque voy a ser un adulto y tener mucha responsabilidad. Pero tener responsabilidad también me inspira. Mis sentimientos de ser un adulto son conflicto, especialmente porque no sa que quiero hacer en el futuro. Tengo un poco de suerte porque tengo unos años hasta que nesesito hacer estos decisiones grandes.

Hello, my name is Michaela. I am in 9th grade, and for my English class I'm doing a project to improve our world. Everyone in my class is doing this, and we are each just trying to do some good through writing a blog, and going out to do something we think will help our topic. I have chosen the topic of fracking.

                

Now these chemicals don’t go down by themselves, they have sand and 1-8 million gallons of water accompany them so that the well can be properly fracked. All these materials don’t just appear at the fracking wells, they are transported by trucks or tanks. It takes 400 tanks to transport all of the materials to the fracking sites. So that is 600 chemicals, 1-8 million gallons of water, and 400 tanks, for each time a well is racked, and each well can be freaked 18 times. Not to mention the tons of wells all over the U.S.