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Counting Memories By Kenneth Colombe

Counting Memories

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By: Kenneth Colombe

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Page 1: Counting Memories

Counting  Memories  By  Kenneth  Colombe  

Page 2: Counting Memories

Counting  Memories    By  Kenneth  Colombe  

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 Table  of  Contents  

 

Country Music—————————————————————————2

Raising the Question——————————————————————3

College Essay—————————————————————————4

Encyclopedia-Descriptive————————————————————5

The Essay——————————————————————————6

Failure————————————————————————————7

Hard Work——————————————————————————8

Blind Their Ponies———————————————————————9

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Editor's Note

All the pieces you read in this zine will relate to reflection. With all of my writing this year reflecting on my past experiences and being able to genuinely describe them in detail on paper has helped me make huge strides in my overall writing ability. The safe niche that Mrs. Davis created made it easy it to write about topics that were previously uncomfortable to talk about. Each piece chosen really spoke to me on a personal level. Whether it was a personal experience or something that I could relate to, the writing really made me think deeper than the surface. Besides the individual interpretations each paragraph displayed certain craftiness; perfectly executed grammar, properly conveyed tone, and the establishment of trust with the reader by using things like lists or factual evidence. As you continue to read further in the zine and my inner thoughts I hope it brings out your own self-reflections because that is how one betters themselves. When you reflect is mental look in the mirror. Please enjoy, thank you.

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Country Music Piece: In arguments against country, the point that country music is so dissimilar to other types of music because of the lyrical difference is often brought up. This could be farther from the truth. Take a look at these two lyrics. In the song Big Green Tractor by Jason Aldean it says "I can take you for a ride on my big green tractor." Compared to a line by Joey Purp, a rap artist, "Keep a bad b***h on my passenger side." In these two lyrics they are both saying they would take a women for a drive. The only difference is the beat and the use of expletives. In fact country might be in better taste for younger listeners. Also if you look at the song Your Man by Josh Turner he says "Baby lock the door and turn the lights down low" and in the song Better With the Lights Off by the New Boyz it says "Girl you look better with the lights off." Side by side these lyrics have the same exact meaning. They both describe a sexual encounter with the lights off or dimmed. These two examples are not the only ones out there in the music world; there are countless numbers of songs from all different genres that have the same meaning as country songs. Analysis: This is an excerpt from my favorite piece I wrote this year. This is an excellent example of writing in a variety of ways. It fit perfectly in the grand scheme of the piece establishing trust with the reader by comparing lyrics side by side in order to prove a point. The content shows maturity with the ability to talk about touchy subjects, in the mind of teenagers. Not many people are willing to put lines “describing sexual encounter.” Also with the proper use of semi colons and above average word choice it gives the whole thing a critic’s tone. The sentences flow together quite elegantly with no wasted motion; they fit together and stay on topic.

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Raising the Question: There has long been looming questions towards the National College Athletic Association, better known as the NCAA, about the division of levels and the money allowed to be given to student athletes. The NCAA has split the schools that are apart of it into three creatively named divisions. One, Two, and Three. Division One is where you're going to find the regularly televised games on ESPN and talk about going pro. In contrast Division Three is a smaller market where money isn't supposed to squander the quality of true and pure competition. Not to be left out, Division Two is the in between. The big difference between Division One (and Two) and Division Three is the availability of athletic scholarships. Athletic scholarships are money given to a student in order to entice them to play a sport at your school. Analysis: Another essay I enjoyed writing, the Raising the Question piece deserved mention in the final zine. A witty and well-executed beginning paragraph it establishes trust with the reader by being factual yet light hearted with lines like "The NCAA has split the schools that are apart of it into three creatively named divisions. One, Two, and Three." It gives a brief yet helpful look into the NCAA's different divisions without sounding too much like a history lesson. Words like "looming" and "entice" give it a sophisticated feel. It establishes trust right away because the writer sounds knowledgeable.

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College Essay: Coming from Hawaii has helped me understand the beauty in nature, but beauty takes on a whole new meaning when I am near the Oregon coastline. The tall trees cascading over so only a sliver of the sun is visible. Various orchards teeming with life, from birds to various small insects. Taking in a huge breath of fresh air calms the mind. One thing I love to do when I am there is go hiking early in the morning. My family and I walk out of the two story wood cabin to a hiking trail out back. We pass a massive blackberry bush that serves as a barrier from the forest life behind it. When we get to the trail the sun is just starting to come up over the horizon. You can hear a symphony of song birds in the background. The smell of the pine trees take me back to Christmas when we had a fur tree in our living room. While descending down the mountain, I get a burst of excitement because it is crawfish time. Every time my family makes the trip out to Thousand Rivers Oregon, we have to go craw fishing for dinner. It is a sight to behold watching seven people with purple mesh nets trying to be stealthy and catch the little creatures. The trick is to scare them and make the crawfish launch backward into your net. After we round up a good amount, it is time to go back and boil the critters on a wood stove. After about six minutes in a steady boil they are ready to be shelled and eaten. All the hard work pays off because they are delicious. Analysis: The dreaded college essay had to be made mention of. Not only does this piece reflect on the foundation of who I am today, but the writing is also quite refined. Filled with colorful word choice this piece paints a perfect picture of my summer Oregon getaway. The description of the "symphony of birds in the background" has the reader humming their own happy tune as the journey continues past "the smell of the pine trees" that take you "back to Christmas." The tone is that of a joyous tale of a young boy planting his roots in the wilderness. Filled with wonderful content of past crawfishing trips.

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Encyclopedia-descriptive: It is late evening in quiet Kailua Town, the sky is turning a bright orange as the sun hides behind the ocean. My father and I decide to take a trip to the park. It is time to learn how to ride a bike.....without training wheels. Taking my last trip on my tricycle, I ride heroically like a knight riding nobly on his stead. Upon arrival, the time has come. With a wrench my dad dismantles the training wheels. After a brief struggle I get up on my bike. My dad holds the bike and guides me forward. After momentum is gained he releases. Like a bird taking its first flight I burst ahead, but soon go face first into the ground. Thud! After many failed attempts, finally I get a hold of it. I feel like Lance Armstrong before the steroid scandal. Putting my hands in the in triumph I promptly fall back down again. Analysis: Last of my pieces is the heart wrenching story of the first time I rode my bike "......without training wheels." Again this story uses vivid imagery to describe a momentous time in my life. Although it seems like a small event, learning to ride a bike was a huge deal. As my primary means of transportation around small Kailua Town, I ride my bike practically everywhere. The ability to reflect on my experience in a tone that will have you reading at the edge of your seat was fun to play around with. Making something so small into something so dramatic further developed my creative mind. Each sentence fit together perfectly after the other.

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Tarin: The Essay I walk into a foreign classroom with my mind racing and my heart beating, but not to the point where it would distract me during the test. This would be my second time taking the SAT, something that would affect the rest of my life. The booklets are passed out; we fill in all of our information and prepare for the first section. I immediately look at the writing prompt and try to think of three examples, which would become the body paragraphs. The clock is ticking, instilling a never-ending beat in my head, and reminding me how little time I have left. My nose is running as I attempt to stop it by occasionally sniffling without bringing attention to myself. I have five minutes to finish my conclusion, and it seems as though my hand is writing without my brain telling it to. My pencil is gliding across the lines, filling in as much of the space that is left, and attempting to write legibly. As the proctor tells us to stop writing, I gently put my pencil down and let out a sigh of relief - I had successfully filled out two pages of the essay section. Analysis: I've been in a multitude of writing and history classes with Tarin and am familiar with her writing. This story gives an up close and personal perspective of the most feared college entrance exam, the SAT. With carefully placed words it accurately describes the stresses of writing the SAT essay. One sentence that encapsulates the brilliance of the paper is "My pencil is gliding across the lines, filling in as much of the space that is left, and attempting to write legibly." Without going too outrageous with the depiction of a stressful situation, Tarin's voice is effectively heard.

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Nicole: Failure Failure is the most important thing in life because it is the main key to development and success. The sweetest victory is the one that's most difficult. Everyone wants to be successful, but they are too scared to fail. If everyone was perfect and didn't experience failure, then there wouldn't be any life-learned lessons. Through my whole life, I have failed many times, but one time in particular that I remember the most. With this experience of failure, I wanted to give up because I felt it was too hard to continue. Failure strengthened and developed me to become a stronger person and athlete. Analysis: Another writer in my class I greatly respect, Nicole Lopez, has written some tremendous works. Her essay on failure was quite inspiring and made me reflect on how I carry myself as a person and athlete. When writing about failure it is very easy to step into the realm of cliché. Nicole does a perfect job by not making sentence after sentence cliché and mixing up her sentence structure. The beginning paragraph of an essay of her success and failure as a softball player was set up beautifully. It is intriguing and leaves you wanting to read more about her trials and tribulations on and off the softball field.

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Hard Work- Roy Williams: One day after a really tough practice, I called Drew [Gooden] over to talk to me. ‘Listen Drew,’ I told him, looking him right in the eyes, ‘if there’s ever a tornado you make sure you get under one of those metal washtubs and wait for it to pass, alright? I’m serious. Okay?’ He nodded; I knew that he understood what I was saying. There’s a right way to survive a tornado. Analysis: Roy Williams is known as a college basketball great coaching multiple national championship teams. In his autobiography he reveals his teachings and inner thoughts. In this short paragraph he uses an amazing metaphor of a tornado to teach one his players, Drew Gooden, about avoiding trouble. His writing is very meticulous; every word written seems to have a great deal of thought and meaning behind it. Through the reflections of Coach Williams he has taught me a lifetime of knowledge. Roy Williams is the inspiration of this project.

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Blind Their Ponies- Stanley Gordon West: I’ve always been haunted by the Indian legend I first heard when I came to Montana. Crow Indians were camped along the Yellowstone River near present-day Billings. Warriors, returning from a long hunting trip, found the camp decimated by smallpox, their wives, mothers, children, all dead. They were so overcome with grief, sure they would join their loved ones in another life, that they blindfolded their ponies and rode them off a sixty-foot cliff. I’ve always been amazed at the incredible confidence of those Indians. They had no doubt that they would join their loved ones and they probably went over that cliff shouting. What courage, what faith. They believed! That’s what I want to say to you tonight. Believe. Go for it. Make that leap of faith. Analysis: After recently reading Blind Their Ponies, I again found myself in deep thought. No segment in the book was more thought provoking than this. It is the most profound thing I have had the privilege of being able to read. No word particularly jumped off the page, but it was the content and meaning behind the paragraph that was inspiring. The tone of a battle speech surely to motivate the most relaxed person, Mr. West fully grasped the link between a sacred tradition and athletics.  

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Expository  Writing  Period  #2