A Principle to Keep

A principle that I would keep would be integrity. I have made a vow to myself before, to not make promises that I cannot keep. I also do not accept promises made to me, unless I am 100% certain they will not break the promise. I believe that during a post-apocalyptic situation, I will still commit to this vow. If I am still alive in the apocalypse, then I will always be honest with whoever I am with. I would not want to be telling lies to anyone, or getting anyone's hopes up because that would just be terrible especially in this situation. It isn't a nice thing to lie even nowadays, so why lie to someone when you both know that your days are numbered.
I will make sure everything that I do is moral, and just to myself, and who I am. Moral does not mean that I will not kill because that is not the definition of moral. In some peoples' eyes, killing another person may be an immoral thing to do, but given this situation, my view or morality will obviously change. If my life is on the line, and I need to kill someone in order for me to survive, then of course I could kill someone, I want to live. But if there is someone else out there that isn't harming me in any way, then why do I need to kill them? If I leave them alone, then hopefully they will do the same.
I will always make sure I take care of whoever is with me. Let it be a family member, a friend, or a stranger that I have stood with to survive, I will always take care of them. The people who you are around in times like these, are the people that you have to trust. There is no exception. They travel with you, they will always be there with you, and if you feel that they are a threat, then you need to get out of the situation immediately. Building a relationship between the other person doesn't necessarily need to have a bond with you. The two should be able to trust one another with their lives. Therefore, the right thing to do is care for somebody. Always take care of them, but don't forget to also take care of yourself.

Thankful for a Classmate

The classmate I am thankful for is Jaqueline Ortiz (Jackie). I am thankful for her because she is always with me in class and I usually sit by her. We walk from our 7th period class to English, so I'm not a weirdo walking by herself all quiet. She is a part of all my group discussions and the discussions always go well. She also helps me review for any of the papers we are to write for the class. Jackie also helps me outside of class. I ask her nearly every day if we had any homework for that day or when any due dates are coming up. She is always there to help me out for anything. We also discuss books and different things we work on in class, in our other periods to sort of help each other out. Jackie is also really funny and a good partner to work with. I have her in 3 of my classes and she's really cool and helpful. We have a bunch of great memories and I'm really glad I get to see her every day of school. If it wasn't for her, then I would probably be a loner in the classes I have with her. So Jackie, I am incredibly thankful for you!

What did Margaret do?

At the end of "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber", Margaret shoots her husband near the base of his skull. Because of Margaret's past actions and reputation, readers suspect that she shot her husband, Francis, on purpose. I believe that Margaret is not guilty of murdering her husband. Although she clearly shot the man, I will defend Margaret and say that it was not intentional.
There is evidence that shows Margaret did not mean to kill her husband.
In the story, Hemingway writes, "The woman was crying hysterically." What wife would not cry over her dead husband? Note the fact that she ended his life. Who can deal with the guilt someone has after taking someones life, especially a loved one? Say she did not love Francis anymore, and that she wanted to kill him, then why would she be crying hysterically? Out of all the words to describe how someone is crying, why did Hemingway choose "hysterically"? Hysterically means uncontrollably emotional. If you didn't love your husband, and wanted him dead, why would you show ANY emotion? In class, the idea that Margaret would get money from his death and pay everyone witnessing the tragedy, came up. If all of this was planned WHY would she show any emotion? Why would she still put on a show? There is no show, it is all pure emotion, true emotion. This woman is crying over her dead husband.
"'Stop it. Stop it. Stop it,' the woman cried." Margaret says this in reply to Wilson's comments. He is badgering her, he is pushing her buttons, he is crossing the line. Wilson is trying to damage Margaret's mental state. What kind of a person would accuse her IMMEDIATELY, of killing her husband? When someone dies, no matter what way, you show sympathy. Sympathy because they have lost someone important. Wilson has no shame in pushing Margaret's feelings around and telling her that she could've killed him in a better way. He's getting into her head, telling her she purposely ended Francis' life. Obviously, Margaret did not like what Wilson had to say. She said it once, she said it twice, she said it nicely, she begged, she cried but he didn't listen. She told him to stop, but he kept going. He didn't stop talking. Margaret told him to stop. Stop means to put an end to. Stop means stop. Especially in a situation as serious as this. A man is dead, and Wilson continues to be childish and point the finger at Margaret.
Another thing to keep in mind is where they are positioned when tragedy struck. Hemingway writes, "... Mrs. Macomber, in the car, had shot at the buffalo with the 6.5 Mannlicher as it seemed to gore Macomber and had hit her husband about two inches up and a little to one side of the base of his skull." To visualize, the buffalo was in front of Francis, and there he was about to shoot the buffalo. Imagine being Margaret, watching from the car as a buffalo comes towards your husband and predicting the worst. Who wouldn't try to save their husbands' life? The Mannlicher was in the car, and could've been her only way to help. Even if she missed, wouldn't it be worth the shot? Wouldn't you at least try? She must have had a terrible view of the buffalo to have shot her husband at the base of his skull. She was trying to be a hero, she could've tried to be what her husband was. She wanted to feel that pride shown in Wilson and Francis, but all she felt was regret. Margaret shot her husband accidentally, not meaning to kill him. She wanted to save him, but only the worst came.

6 Six Word Stories

Cut him and he bleeds alcohol.

He followed her into the dark.

She left the roses to die.

The baby cried for his mother.

He couldn't save her from herself.

The sign hung: Do not enter.

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge

John Proctor is not a stooge, he is a hero.

John Proctor exposed Abigail for who she really is although he had to burn himself down to take her with him. Abigail was into witchcraft, she was the one who drank blood to kill Goody Proctor because she wanted John all to herself. It is true that there was an affair between he and Abigail, but that should not lead Abigail to go man-crazy over him. When John Proctor admitted to having relations with Abigail, the court now understood there could be a liable reason for Goody's firing Abigail's service. Goody tried defending John so that he would not be exposed for committing adultery, but that backfired on her because he had already confessed. John Proctor lived a stooge life. Parris did not like him at all, and neither did most of the town. Proctor had hardly gotten the townspeople to look at him and see someone worthwhile, when all of this witchcraft mess came down on him. John Proctor has also been doing witchcraft and Mary Warren said he had come to her at night to teach her witchcraft and things of that sort. 

Although John Proctor had lived a stooge life, he had died a hero. He stood up for what he believed in, and even when  people told him it was wrong, he still came through for himself. 

There Goes The Neighbourhood

When the Europeans started to settle in the Americas, may bad things happened because of it. The Europeans took advantage of the Native Americans which was a negative outcome for two groups coming together in one place.Different scenarios can lead to different things.

Take for example, the stereotypical school cliques. Students are all labeled to fit into a certain "group". When they come together, sometimes they don't mix, and you see that in movies, where the jock picks on the nerd. Then, you see relationships in Whitney Young, for example, that flourish no matter who you're in a group with. You'll be in a group with an academics kid, a sports person, a theatre person, an artsy person, a musical person, you can be in a group with anyone and it'll click.
When I was in middle school, there was no diversity. Everyone was Hispanic. There wasn't much to learn about each other culturally, because we all had around the same experiences. In high school, I get a different experience, it's culturally diverse, and like I said before, there isn't a negative for this coming together of different people. Things would've ended differently for the Europeans and the Native Americans if, both groups hadn't come together like they did.

Me

You may ask yourself: Who is Alexa Soto?

Well hey, I'll tell you right now.

Alexa Soto was born on August 21st, 2000. Living in the same small apartment for as long as she can remember. Alexa is the oldest child of Elba and Flavio Soto. She watched as her brother Alexis (Yes, Alexis and Alexa ha ha) grew up and she took the role of being a second mother to him. The rule in the house was that girls did all the cooking and cleaning, all the babysitting all the caring, and that's exactly what Alexa was raised to do. She went through the struggle of having to choose between her passion and her academics. Alexa has an incredible voice and she simply adores singing. Alexa was known in her middle school as that one really smart girl that hangs out with the nerds because well, she was one. No one in that building had ever heard her voice until she tried out for a musical and got the lead role. All she ever wanted was to pursue a career in music, but when she started telling people this is what she wanted, no one was pleased. They expected better from one of their smartest students. They told Alexa she would never get anywhere if she followed her dream, so to this day she has never mentioned wanting to pursue a career in the performing arts.

Alexa Soto was the only student in her year to be accepted into Whitney Young, although many of her classmates had also tried. She decided to let everyone go and do what her heart wanted, to sing. Alexa knew that Whitney Young had an incredible Performing Arts department, so she immediately accepted the letter. In her first year she decided to take choir and join glee club (also known as Harmonyx). Currently, in her second year of high school she continues to be a part of glee club.