Makaela’s Blog

My seventh grade year has been filled with so many amazing memories, but here are three. My first memory was when me and my friends made edible cookie dough during lunch. We each brought one of the ingredients and we mixed them all into a bowl. It was a very fun laughing while trying to mix the hard butter using a plastic fork, but once it was done it was delicious! A second memory that I am so glad I made, was meeting Aubrey. Aubrey is one of my now closest friends! She is so much fun to be around, and she listens to me whenever I need someone to talk to. She is kind, caring, funny, and so much more. I can’t imagine not meeting her when I did. My third and final memory from this school year was when I went to the city finals tournament for volleyball. From riding the bus to winning the whole tournament it was definitely a very fun experience. It was an amazing bonding experience that led me to be a little bit closer to my friends. This year was definitely a year to remember!

This week I spent my time working on my speech for the 20% presentation. Since I finished my blanket a week earlier than I thought I would I had an extra day to start brainstorming for my speech. I have completed a good chunk of the speech. While we have time to work on our project next week before the night time event I will add the finish touch’s to the speech. I will also begin working on my trifold that will be with me during the event next week. I fortunately had no struggles this week. Because of this I did not have to make any adjustments while working. Next Wednesday is the evening event, so I will be working towards making sure that I feel ready/prepared for presenting. I also must be ready to present in front of the rest of my class. I’m order to prepare I will practice reading my script out loud, so I can hear what I need to adjust.

This image has a very strong message. The boy on the left in throwing a tantrum while a pile of toys lays in front of him, and a T.V. stands behind him. However the boy on the right looks like he’s living in a not as wealthy place, with no shoes, and a toy car that he most likely made himself with the recourses that he has, and he is still happy. And as you can see he is smiling because to him this is enough for him. The boy on the left seems to be upset about the amount things that he possess because he wants more. This shows that for some people nothing can ever be enough for them to happy, but for others it’s the little things that can satisfy them. This is because they know to be happy with what they have. There is always going to be someone who has more than you, and someone who has less than you. When looking at this picture, remember to be great full for what you have.

This week I was able to finish my blanket! I used up all of my balls of yarn and I am so happy with how it has turned out. The blanket turned out so cute, and as expected it is huge! I can wrap my self into a burrito and I am so happy to finally be able to sleep with it. It has meet my expectations with flying colors. I just can’t get over how soft, cozy, and comfy it looks. This week I fortunately had no problems! So I did not have to make any adjustments to my blanket while working on it. Next week I think I will be getting my trifold, so if that is the case then I will potentially start working on that. However if I don’t get that trifold next week I will most likely just work on any unfinished school work, or I will just take some time to read my book.

For the month of April I read Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. This book is about a girl named Louisa Clark(Lou for short) who comes from a pretty poor family. One day she gets let go from her job, and is immediately on the look out for another one. She comes across a job that while it’s not her favorite idea, it’s probably her best bet. This job includes a six month long contract that requires watching over a thirty-five year old man who is paralyzed from the neck down. When they first meet she is not too happy with what she has gotten herself into, but as the story progresses her point of view seems to change.

One reason why I loved this book a lot was because of the character development that the main characters experience. At the beginning of the book you see Will as a cranky, rude, rich man who wants nothing to do with anyone. But as you continue to read you see a side to him that you may not have expected. Lou really brings out the fun and energetic personality that was locked inside him all along. I’m this book they also show you how the relationship between Will and Lou changed throughout the story. At first you see that they both pretty much hate each others gut, but after some time they begin to warm up around each other, and they become friends. Finally, I love how at first Lou was counting down the days until the six month contract was over, however toward the end of the book she begins to dread that day. This shows that she turns out to really care for Will in a way where she would do a lot just to make him smile.

My favorite character in this book was definitely Lou. She is sweet, kind, energetic, caring, and so much more. When put in a position that is extremely difficult she found a way to make it work. The cared so much about Will, and she dedicated a lot of her time to help him feel better about the position that he is in. I also like how she is very carefree. She doesn’t care if people judge the way she dresses(she has very crazy style), and she’s not afraid to express her feelings. One quote that demonstrates that she is kind is, “ Mum? I owe Will. I owe it to him to go. Who do you think got me to apply to college? Who do you think encouraged me to make something of myself, to travel places, to have ambitions? Who changed the way I think about everything? About myself even…..So if he wants me to go to Switzerland, then yes, I’m going to go. Whatever the outcome.” This quote brought me to tears while reading how she was willing to disobey her mom just to say one last thing to Will.

Finally my favorite quote was, “ You you are scored on my heart, Clark. You were from the first day you walked in, with your ridiculous clothes and your bad jokes and you’re complete and inability to ever hide a single thing you felt. You change my life so much more than this money will ever change yours.” This quote was in the letter Will wrote to Lou, and it is so heartwarming to hear Will pouring out his true feelings to Lou. It’s a sad, but sweet quote that shows the true character of Will.

My favorite room in my house is my bedroom. One reason my room is my favorite is because I can go into my room if I ever want to be alone. My siblings can be extremely annoying, so my room gives me a space to get away from them if I need a minute to my self. Other than my siblings I like to be alone if I want to get my homework done at a quick pace. When I am downstairs my whole family (including my dog) can distract me from getting my work done. The second reason I love my room is because that’s where my bed is. In the morning the hardest part is getting out of my bed at an early time. I look forward to getting into bed every night because of how comfy it is. Finally I love my room because it is a good place for me and friends to hang out in. If I ever have friends over we usually spend the most of our time talking, so my room gives us a place to talk together.

For week three of my project I have gotten a ton of work done on my blanket. I have finished all of the green, and I am well on my way to start the last two colors. This week I remembered to bring my supplies to school so I was able to work on it while in class and not have to do it at home. The blanket is looking very good, and is definitely meeting my standards! One problem that I had this week was how during the transportation of the blanket from my house to school the blanket had some loops undone. This means that I had to figure out where the blanket came apart and how I could fix it. I was able to figure it out and it all worked out in the end. Next week I will bring my last two balls of yarn to school in, and my blanket will be completed!

During week two of my 20% project I have made so much progress with my blanket! The brown, white and most of the green in my blanket is completed. I have been able to get a hang of the process of making the blanket so I can move pretty quickly. This means that I am able to get a lot done in a small amount of time. However this week I have had a few struggles. First of all, on Friday which was our day to work on our blanket, I forgot to bring my supplies to school. I was able to improvise by doing the work that I would have done at school at home, so I wasn’t behind. Second of all, while I was making my blanket I realized that even after doing the rest of the green, along with the second layer of white and brown it wasn’t going to be long enough. So I decided to order two more balls of green which will definitely add to the length of the blanket. Next week I will be very close to finishing, and depending on if I do finish I may decide to make another one for my sister. We’ll see how this week goes!

For week two I have started my blanket. I have used up one ball of yarn and I will be switching colors two make a more interesting looking blanket. So far the process has been going well and I am able to complete a row of the blanket at a fast and efficient pace. One struggle that I had last week was not knowing how to switch the colors. I have seen different techniques and I wasn’t sure what to do. I adjusted by asking my mentor if she could let me know what technique she used. We decided on her coming over to my house some day later this week to help me figure it out. Next week I will start on the second color of my blanket. If I am able to get that done I will try to start working on the color after that as well, so I can get a head start on the next week.

For the month of March I read the first 271 pages of Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch. This book is about a girl named Liv who doesn’t like to thing about her father much. This is because when she was 8 her father fled to Greece and she haven’t seen him since. This was until she receives a postcard from from her dad asking her to come out to Greece in order to help him film a documentary about him theories on Atlantis. When she arrived, so many emotions flooded to the surface after seeing her father for the first time. Throughout the book Liv slowly figure out the real reason her father invited her Greece. And it is much bigger than Atlantis.

The reason I am loving this book so much is the incredible detail. To how she describes Liv’s feelings to the description of the different beautiful buildings and sunsets that she sees you can really picture what’s going on in your head. I also like how at the beginning of each chapter there is one thing that her father left behind when he left her. It’s a cool look at the past that the two of them had, and you see how close they were. I also like the mini plot twist in the middle of the book. Where I left of Liv’s dad had just informed her that he is leaving to go to Athens for some time in the middle of their visit. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

My favorite character in the book so far is Liv’s dad. Even though he did leave his family which I don’t approve of, he still cares deeply about Liv. Before he convinced her to come to Greece he was sending her postcards asking how she was. This means that he obviously still cares about her. After she arrives he goes out of his way to make sure that she fells welcome. He throws her a birthday party in order to celebrate all of the party’s that he has missed. He also buys her meaningful gifts that really hit close to home. Even though he got off to a rough start I think he will be able to bounce back and earn back some of Liv’s trust. One trait that stood out was his kindness. On page 93-94 the text says, “ Nico went to Paris to order them…. Some of these colors are custom made for you.” While this is a random quote it still shows his kindness. Nico(the dad) flew to Paris just to get her a gift that he knew would me a the world to her.

My favorite quote from this book was, “Olive had always been good at that” Liv’s nickname was Olive. Everyone called her that until her dad left. It was a special thing between the two of them, and letting go of that was letting go of a piece of her dad. Liv always neglected being called Olive because it was too soft of a subject but when she uses it in this sentence it’s like she’s finally letting herself remember the old times. I think that this is a sign that she is recovering from losing her dad for such a long period of time.