A Pathetic Attempt at Analysis

Well basically I’m not sure what to write on. Why is it so hard sometimes to decide what to write? I think that it is because there are so many possibilities, not enough interest in proposed topics, and/or general dislike of writing blogs. I think that if my treasured friends gave me ideas on what to write, the selection process would work a lot better. So GIVE ME IDEAS!! Please. Also, I think that as time goes on, finding things to write about will get easier. Why? Because when it seems as though there is nothing to write, you have to think outside the box. Once you get used to thinking outside the box, it is easy to do. (JSYK, I don't feel up to coloring this blog with the usual multicolor explosion. Sorry for any inconvenience.) (Plus I am very excited for Christmas!!!!!)

Shoes and Stars. What do they have in common? Well...

Let me tell you a little story. (Don’t worry, the analytical part is coming up after the story.) Once upon a time, there lived a group of stars. (Bear with me here.) They were very close to each other. They liked the same things, laughed at the same jokes, and cried at sad movies together. Even though they had other friends, these stars were very, very close. One of these stars was named Sally. Sally’s other friends, the shoes, liked her, and had been her friends for longer than the stars, but they didn’t quite understand the stars, or Sally. She grew closer and closer to the stars and farther and farther away from the shoes. After a while, Sally no longer looked like a shoe at all. She looked just like the other stars. Sally was very content as a star, but one day, all of the stars were taken away, leaving Sally without true friends. Sally didn’t know what to do. She knew that she didn’t want to be a loner, but there was nothing else for her. Sally worried and worried over this, and after a while, she got an idea. Her old friends, the shoes, would probably be her friends, but she would have to look like them first. So Sally went out, bought a shoe costume, and put it on. It was very uncomfortable, but anything was better than being a loner. The next day, Sally, with her costume on of course, went to the shoes. The shoes welcomed her back. At first, Sally would say very un-shoe-like things. The shoes would look at her oddly, and ask her if she was all right. It didn’t take very long before Sally never slipped up. The shoes didn’t even remember the Sally hadn’t always been a part of them. Sally did though, but as the days wore on, Sally became more and more used to the way the costume pinched and poked her. Sally would have forgotten too, if the stars hadn’t contacted her. The stars invited her over to have fun, and to remember the good old days. Sally took off her shoe costume. She noticed that she wasn’t as bright as she was before she took to wearing the costume. She shrugged inwardly. Sally spent a day with the stars laughing, crying, remembering, and having more fun than she had had for a looooong time. Soon it was time to go. Sally said goodbye and went home. When Sally went to put the shoe costume on, she saw that she was just as bright as before. The shoe costume pinched and poked just as much as it had at first. That is when Sally realized that she HATED pretending to be a shoe. She wasn’t a shoe. She didn’t want to be a shoe. All she really wanted was to be a star.

Now for the analytical question: What should Sally do? (Does that count as an analytical question? It should.) Three possible solutions:

1- Sally could brace her individuality, forget what the shoes and everyone else thinks, and be a star right where she is.
Pros to this plan:
-She can be who she wants to be
-No more smelly shoe costume
Cons to this plan:
-There are no stars where she is
-She would be a loner

2- Sally could forget what she wants and keep on pretending. Eventually she might even turn into a shoe.
Pros to this plan:
-She will not be a loner
-She would have friends
Cons to this plan:
-Smelly shoe costume
-She wouldn’t be happy

3- Sally could run away to the stars. That way she could be with her friends and be herself.
Pros to this plan:
-No more smelly shoe costume
-She would be with her friends
-She could be herself
Cons to this plan:
-Questions
-Would the stars still want to be her friend? She has changed a lot.
-How can she run away?
-Is it worth it?

So, all you readers out there, (I know there are at least 3) what would you tell Sally to do? Remember, you have Sally’s happiness in your hands.

I have an announcement to make. Long weekends are EVIL! Why are they EVIL you ask? Well I will tell you. First, they lull me into a false sense of security. If I have Monday off, I won’t feel pressure to do my homework on Friday or Saturday. Then on Monday, I put it off until late at night and then, even though I technically had all weekend to rest up, I am tired already on my first day back. Second, they never live up to expectations. Before the weekend, I always have noble intentions to get together with my friends from junior high or to hang out with my current friends, but unfailingly I don’t follow through and end up not doing anything. Lastly, long weekends just give me a taste of the freedom of summer. The short time off reminds me of the long lazy days I spent reading and doing whatever I wanted to. I’m always left with an empty, lonely feeling. So in a nutshell, the school district should only give us time off for Christmas and let us get the school year over with and stop distracting us with bogus long weekends.

The Articles of Confederation

For this week's blog, I decided to write about what I'm learning about in APUSH. Here you go.

As the Revolutionary war ended, many problems faced the new nation. Some of the biggest problems were economic struggles, uniting the thirteen separate, and what to do with all the land now available. The Articles of Confederation were not successful in dealing with most of the pressing issues.

After the war, a major inflation took place. States printed their own money without gold to back it up. There was a shortage of supplies that caused prices to rise. The combination of the two had a devastating impact on citizens. Instead of helping the economy, the Articles of Confederation hurt it. Congress might have been able to help if the Articles of Confederation had granted it the right to regulate trade. Regulating the trade would have slowed inflation and made it easier to have trade be fair throughout the states. Congress could have helped more if they had the power to tax as well. The Articles, instead of creating harmony, created divisions among the states.

Unity is another thing the Articles botched. During the war, the separate states had a reason to work together. After the war ended though, most unity was lost. States no longer felt obligated to follow a central government. The Articles of Confederation did nothing to prevent this. In fact, the Articles set the new nation up as many separate nations. They did not unite the states under a strong government. Loyalty to the country, which during the war had been a duty, was now a choice.

The Articles of Confederation were not all bad though. They had their strengths. The biggest accomplishments of the Articles were the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The Land Ordinance was the plan to divide new territory. It worked so well that it became the standard through out the settling of America. The Northwest Ordinance provided the keys to statehood. The guidelines stated in it were fair and this ordinance worked well also and was used many years following. The Articles of Confederation also pulled the nation through its critical period, a time when most new countries break apart.

Though the Articles of Confederation did have some high points, they mostly did not live up the standards it needed to. They did not provide a strong enough central government to unite the nation, or to be effective in dealing with the issues at hand. That is why in the end a new system was developed.

An Elephant Never Forgets. Does that mean he is never happy?

Why is it so easy to forget things? Often I find myself forgetting some of the most important things to me. Like writing my weekly analytical essay, I often forget to do it until it is almost too late. Or doing my jobs from my family’s “Crappy Happy Helper Chart”. For some reason these important things that bring me so much joy often slip my mind.
I have given it some thoughts and have come to the conclusion that these things make me too happy. Just the thought of writing my analytical essay for the week brings me such euphoria that it drives all other thoughts and feelings from my mind. I end up standing/sitting there with an unexplainable happiness inside having no idea where the feeling came from. The same goes for my “Crappy Happy Helper” jobs. I think about doing them, the happiness comes, and I forget about them. So if you want me to remember something, make sure the thought of it doesn’t fill me with too much joy.