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