Cake & Break

This was easily one of the best winter breaks I have every had. Let's start with the beginning...

 My friend, Annie Lee, and I went to see Zoo Lights for the first time. We were quite impressed. Did you know that there are more than a million lights every Christmas for Zoo Lights? My younger brother, Noam, took this picture after we ran around the zoo trying to find this rainbow colored light wall. We promised him an elephant ear for his "good behavior" at the zoo, but the line was too long, so I promised to take him back. Oh, the promises I make. In this picture, we are attempting our best impressions of lions.

A few days later, my family and I met my grandmother from Boston and my cousins from Washington D.C in Orlando, FL. I had never been to Florida, but my dad would go with his brothers in his childhood, so it was somewhat of a reliving of that. I was presently surprised. Walt Disney World was great and we barely waited in line because I used an online touring program that organized the rides we chose in order of the least amount of waiting time (including fast passes). We also went to Universal Orlando, which I preferred because of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Also, their rides are much more...adventurous? I feel like they don't hold back anything, where Disney World does. Also, Butter beer was delicious, but very sweet. Other than amusement parks, we visited the Kennedy Space Center, which was absolutely spectacular. We saw the suits the astronauts took to space, lunar samples, and the launch pad. After that, we went on a swamp tour, where we saw a large number of alligators. I was so scared the boat was going to fall over! 

This is Beze (pronounced like the Zambeze River in Africa). We got her in early December (somewhat in honor of my birthday). She is so energetic and keeps me up all night. There is give and take in this relationship. I have to wake up at 5 AM to let her out to pee and she spends hours, listening to me practice my memorization of "The Gettysburg Address." She's great company.

My birthday was December 1st and my friend, Bridget, had hers on the 2nd. We hosted a joint-birthday party at her house. It was Princess themed, so we took lots of pictures with a brick wall, which was our "castle." Then, we watched The Princess Diaries. It was a "magical" night!

See you all soon!

Emma Rosenthal

A November to Remember

Hello readers,
It's that time of year again. Where the weather fluctuates between rain and snow, every family overindulges on turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy, and the beginning of gift buying begins. November is one of my favorite months because it focuses on family. I also enjoy having the Thanksgiving break to take a break from everyday life. Aside from the rest and family, November is filled with extremely odd days. These include Cook For Your Pets Day (November 1st), National Carbonated Beverage With Caffeine Day (November 19th), and National French Toast Day (November 28th). I  have always wondered who comes up with the odd days. Wouldn't that be an interesting job?

Anyways, I spent my break doing many different things. First off, I went through a marathon of movies. I went to the theatre to see Mockingjay with my brother. I liked it, but I felt like there was too much war. That was not the movie's fault because the book is written that way, but I still think Catching Fire is my favorite. Then, I saw Seven with Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, which I absolutely loved. It was probably one of the first Brad Pitt movies that I've seen and I always love Morgan Freeman. The movie was very unpredictable and suspenseful. Kevin Spacey was amazing, but I the movie is not for the light-hearted and you have to have a high level of tolerance for gore. The final movie I watched was My Sister's Keeper, which I will never be able to watch again. I could not stop crying during various parts throughout the movie. Cancer and dying dogs are two things that I'll never be able to stop crying at. Anyways, I loved watching all of them because they were all in different genres.

Aside from watching movies, I finished a lot of homework. I love my American History class because the lectures are so interesting and we have to do an assignment called concept cards. The cards can be tedious at times, but they are great for studying and reviewing material. In pre-calc, we are focusing on trigonometric identities. I like them because they are like puzzles, but I have some trouble solving them at times. Lastly, I finally finished The Scarlet Letter. For the reading, we wrote response journals in which we would pick quotes, put them in context, and analyze them individually. I'm sure the journal will come in handy when we write our papers on the book. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but Hawthorne's symbols and metaphors are so blatant that it becomes hard to read. One of my favorite parts of reading is uncovering the symbols and finding my own opinions, not being told them repeatedly. Aside from that, the story was okay and the characters were somewhat uninspiring. I can't wait until we read my favorite classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.   

All is well in the SMA world and I can't wait to keep you updated on the life of a junior student! 
See you soon,
Emma Rosenthal