Senior Final - May 7

I’m Jake Curtis and this is my final post for the class Creative Writing. If you’re considering taking the class I think you should. Don’t get me wrong just like any other class it’ll have its ups and downs, kind of like with anything. But at the end of it all you will find the class well worth taking. At first the class was easy the assignments were just simple short lists, but then it got harder as you start writing about yourself. Having to come up with hundreds and hundreds of words telling who you are and what you would do in certain situations, but then when you learn to express yourself the class becomes very easy again. Even though you’re writing 400+ words multiple times a week you can meet that goal with no problem because you understand yourself on a whole new level. That’s something you will actually use in the real world! You need to know how to express yourself in a positive healthy manner and that’s what this class does.

Through the class you will blogging. Posting lists and short essays over a topic given to you each day. The worst assignment I came across was a 500 word story that you come up with, with very little guidelines. I’m not really a creative person so I found this to be the hardest thing. It took me so long to do that assignment because, now I can right about myself all day, but when it comes to creating my own story with random events that’s pretty hard. On the other hand there will be many more assignments you actually enjoy doing that you will breeze through with no problem. Anything from a list of your favorite famous quotes, to your best and worst traits, to her starting a sentence and you finishing it with your answer. My favorite had to actually be the one about the famous quotes, not just because it was short and easy but because I actually found quotes that inspire me and that people can really live by. Here are a few examples:   “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” -  Mahatma Gandhi; “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” - Allen Saunders; “I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” - “I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” - Friedrich Nietzsche. Those are just a few of my favorite quotes from that post I did and actually found intriguing. You actually really get into some of these assignments, to where you can’t even walk away until there done. Just because you actually enjoy doing them; and you don’t want to lose your train of thought by walking away. That’s another thing once you get rolling on an assignment you gain momentum to keep going and keep talking about yourself. This really helps you get through assignments faster and easier. As for the number one thing you will learn in this class, I’ve already said, you learn how to express yourself in a healthy way and in a safe and secure environment of your peers.

Since we’re talking about the future I have a little more advice for you. The older you get the faster time goes. This senior year felt like it took less than 1/4^th as long as Jr. year. It really just absolutely flew by. So as for a life lesson, live in the moment! Don’t just talk about doing things in the future; make those things happen right now! The longer you wait the more you’ll miss out on.

Epilogue - May 6

            If someone were to read through my personal portfolio they would really get to know me better than a lot of my peers even do. Doing this blog I’ve even managed to learn a lot about myself. Through writing daily on my blog I’ve found my emotions run deeper than I ever actually show. I would like to learn to control my emotions better. My emotion is what drives me to do the things I do. From my diet and how often I exercise; to how dearly I hold my relationship. You would also learn a bunch of basic things about me like what kind of car I have, how I may act around my friends and family, and what I would do in random scenarios. Like now if my house were to catch on fire I know the first things I would grab before I ran out the door, or just how I would handle a lot of situations. I think now I could act on any situation faster than I ever could. So doing this blog has actually sharpened my mind and I think that is actually going to help me in the real world. 90% of the way through this blog I thought it was the most useless thing ever, but it’s actually made me a better person. By finding out so much more about myself I am actually able to express myself more easy and healthy way.

3 words that describe me-

Emotion – Yeah, whenever my license plate expires I won’t be keeping it, because it says the opposite of who I am. Even though it’s really hard to tell with me because I bury and bury my emotions on a daily basis, all that emotion has built up; and even though I still hide it I’m more emotional than I’ve ever been in my life.

Health – Right now at this time in my life I’m really into being healthier. Eating right and exercising daily are essential to me and I feel like if I eat right and work all day I still should exercise at night because I still need to get my heart rate up to work on cardio.

Ready – I’m so ready to graduate. This last year of high school as gone by so fast it’s hard to believe! And even though it’s coming to an end I’m not worried at all. I’m still going to hang out with my friends and be the same person I’ve always been.

 

Jake Curtis

A Fine Line - May 3

The Best things

1.       Honesty

2.       Trust

3.       Sarcasm

4.       Determined

5.       Active

6.       Hair (according to Tyler)

7.       Organized

8.       Good hygiene

9.       Good on $

10.   Physically fit

 

 

The Worst things

1.       Procrastinate

2.       Blunt

3.       I might come off as Arrogant

4.       I might like my car a little too much

5.       I have Partial O.C.D.

6.       Don’t get enough sleep

7.       I care to much (more than I let on)

8.       I’m late to school a lot (but not for anything else)

9.       Played way to many video games in the past

10.   Even though my license plate says “APATHY,” I’m a lot more emotional than I show. My emotion is what drives me.

Valuable lessons - May 2

1.       Never let go of the people you love – Even though times are going to get rough and you going to fight, remember that their always going to be there for you, as you should be for them.

2.       Don’t take your mess ups too personally – I’ve been in the situation at work on many occasions where I make a mistake, anything from making a pizza wrong, to spilling something, to making a recipe wrong and sometimes I take it really hard. Over my 11 months at Mazzio’s I’ve learned you can’t take those mistakes personally there going to happen more than you think and it’s not near as big of a deal as you think.

3.       Don’t top your car out on a back road – Although this maybe common sense to a lot of people it apparently wasn’t to me. On a back road after 120 it gets extremely easy to completely lose control of the car.

4.       Family is always there for you – No matter what you do to them family is still family and they will stay by your side, Even when you mess up multiple times in a row.

5.       Although money is important it is not everything – Although money should be in your priorities it should not be the main thing in your life.

6.       Video games are fun, but if you play to much they’ll stop being fun – You don’t even want to know how many hours I put into some of the games I played when I was younger, it was a lot more hours than a job and it was 7 days a week. When you play so much it’s like a job, you’re taking it too far. And if you keep pressing through it you will lose interest in video games completely.

7.       Work smarter not harder – Think each situation through, to be able to get through it the best and most efficient way possible to save time and effort.

8.       The way it should be is Bros before H*** - if you blow off your friends to hang out with your girlfriend all the time, and if you guys breakup then you lost your girl and all your friends. (this is what I’ve been told, but haven’t learned yet)

9.       Everyone deserves a 2^nd chance – Everyone should get a chance to redeem themselves for their mistakes. But after you’ve had that chance you don’t deserve a 3^rd.

10.   Relationships at the workplace are hard – This has got to be the hardest way to maintain a relationship, but if she’s the one, it’s worth the hassle.

Creating a List - April 24

1.     People who have influenced me

Dad, Mom, Shawn (my boss), Granddad, Sura, Jamie (boss’s assistant)

2.     Places that make me happy

Elementary school, Work, Home, Grandparents house, Pierce City, Utah (family)

3.     Places I would like to go

Niagara falls, south Florida, California, United Kingdom, London, New York City

4.     Things in people that I like

Courtesy, Honesty, Courage, Motivation, Happiness, love

5.     Things in people that I dislike

Dishonesty, annoying laughs, annoying voices, Jealousy, hatred, cheating

6.     Things that worry me

The future, global warming, the world ending, college, after I hurt someone (emotionally), losing loved ones

7.     Things I would like to know how to do

Surf, Ski, Drive a plane, mountain climbing, Drift, C++ Scripting

8.     Things that have moved me

Funerals, School, Surprises, Work, Gaming, friendships

9.     Ideas that intrigue me

The future, space travel, astronomy, astrology, Computers, Cell phones

10.  My personal favorites

Nissan 350z, Work, A’Stasha, Texting, Tray Sliding, Guns

In other words - April 16

1.       “In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.”

― Robert Frost

2.       “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.”

― Mark Twain

3.       “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

4.       “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

― Martin Luther King Jr.

5.       “Without music, life would be a mistake.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche

6.       “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

7.       “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”

― Allen Saunders

8.       “If you can't explain it to a six year old, you don't understand it yourself.”

― Albert Einstein

9.       “I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally. ”

― W.C. Fields

10.   “I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”

― Friedrich Nietzsche

Synetics - April 15

Which is wiser? a pen or pencil? – A pencil because you can go back and fix your mistakes while a pen if you go back you have to use Whiteout. That looks so much worse.

Which is easier to forgive? a street or a sidewalk? – Well that’s easy, the sidewalk. Because if you fall you won’t get ran over before you get up.

Which is smarter? A clock or a calendar? – A calendar has to be smarter. It keeps track of the day for 12+months at a time, while it also keeps track of leap years and holidays.

Which is like a contest? a cloud or a sunset?-- A cloud is more like a contest. Because clouds race each other across the sky.

Which is more fearful? new or old? – New is so much scarier.  With the old you know what to expect, with the new anything could happen.

Which is more difficult? a dream or a nightmare? – A dream seems more difficult. A Nightmare you just shake off but a dream you think of what life could be.

Which has more pride? an entrance or an exit? -- I would have to say the exit. You have to know when to walk away from a bad situation.

Which is easier to close? a road or a map? -- Well a map duh. You just fold it over.

Which has less charm? a signature or an autograph? – An autograph has less charm. It’s what everyone will see but a signature is unique to an individual.

Which is more useful? a friend or an enemy? – I almost want to say an enemy. Because you can use your enemies to get your friends closer.