The Lessons Learned from To Kill A Mockingbird.

“To Kill a Mockingbird” is the book I just finished and enjoyed very much. I would like this book to stay as a part of the high school curriculum because there are so many great lessons in it. Many, however, around the United States have different opinions and believe it is outdated. The book teaches about overcoming prejudice, stereotyping and having respect for others, especially your parents. These are all valuable lessons for today’s youth.

 The main theme of this book is based on a belief from Atticus. He said, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” This theme helped Scout, the main character of the novel, to not have prejudices of other people and to understand them; not judge them.  A great example of this is their neighbor Arthur Radley because the whole town had a prejudice of him without even knowing the facts. The town thought he was a scary man that was locked in his house. They nicknamed him Boo even though no one really knew him, but based their opinions on what others had made up. Even Scout and Jem, were afraid and curious about “Boo Radley.” In the end, “Boo” saved their lives and Scout realizes the truth in Atticus’ wisdom as she meets Arthur Radley and sees things from his point of view. In the last scene of the book, Scout is viewing the neighborhood from Arthur’s house. This shows how she finally realized Atticus’s truth.

Boo Radley from the motion picture.

 It also says in the book, “People generally see what they are looking for, and hear what they listen for.” This teaches us to have an open mind and not see or hear what we expect from certain people. This would eliminate stereotyping. High school students could learn from this novel’s lessons because in today’s society we stereotype people based on their race, moral standards, dress and social class.  This lesson is taught perfectly by Dolphus Raymond who chooses to be with black people. People stereotype him as a drunk and don’t associate with him because he is around black people. Scout learns that Dolphus really doesn't drink and that he knows the world is very judgmental and knows that children are the only ones that see people as they really are. He chooses to do things that uphold the town’s perspective rather than confuse them with the truth.

This book can also teach today’s high school students to have respect for their parents like Scout and Jem had for Atticus. This respect was shown in many different examples throughout the book. One being, as Atticus was doing Tom Robinson’s case, the family got persecuted for him standing up for a black man. Jem and Scout respected him by obeying what he said, excepting his answers, and calling him Atticus.  A specific example of this is when Scout and Jem were being bullied at school. Scout wanted to beat up the kids who spoke against their dad, however she didn't because she promised Atticus she wouldn't fight. She did beat up her cousin for calling her father a name, but took the blame for the fight rather than confessing what she had done. She wanted to maintain respect and honor him.

Scout and Atticus from the motion picture.

I believe these lessons are important to today’s high school students because the world really needs to work on these issues. These issues aren’t outdated like many people think this book is. These issues are still relevant.

My Comments on the Washington Post

I read two articles on the Washington Post website and commented. Here they are for you to enjoy! 

I understand that Portman has compassion for his son, yet I do not believe he should back down on what he believes. He can still love his son and accept his decision in life, but he does not have to agree with the ideas of legalizing gay-marriage which would make it alright for others to do too. If I had a son who came to me and told me he was gay, I would love him and him and his partner would always be welcome in my home, however I would not change my views.  Politically and personally, he should have stayed committed to his values.  He should still love and accept his son and his choices, but he shouldn't changes his values that he has shared with everyone.

By: Elizabeth Quincy (voice of freedom)

Here is the link to the article I commented on:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rob-portmans-support-of-gay-marriage-puts-him-at-odds-with-two-thirds-of-gop-voters/2013/03/15/b5ff68cc-8d80-11e2-9838-d62f083ba93f_story_1.html

I believe that the Conservative views, given to us by our Founding Fathers, should still be a part of our country.  I agree with Mitt Romney, that our Conservative views can be revived. There is still hope. We can change back to into being the better America that was first established by these wonderful men. Even though most of our society, believes that the Republican Party or Conservative views are gone, there are still good people out there with these values that we can elect to help bring them back. We just need to find them and support them. If our government had high standards, morals and values that the people of this country could strive to live by, America would have more freedom and prosperity.

By: Elizabeth Quincy (voice of freedom)

Here is the link to the article I commented on:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/romney-expresses-optimism-about-gops-future-in-speech-to-conservatives/2013/03/15/1d40fdae-8d8e-11e2-9838-d62f083ba93f_story.html

~McKenzie Jane~ 

"You May Now Kiss The Computer Screen"

I read an article on nytimes.com about a women and a man who had their marriage over Skype. I think that getting married over the internet is ridiculous. It’s not the same when you are countries apart because you miss actually being together and in the moment. This sometimes isn’t even safe. The couple might not actually be in love, one could be just getting married to an American to gain citizenship there.  In the article they relate this new practice to the old tradition of proxy marriage before the internet. When one of the partners in the marriage is absent they can still be legally married with a proxy. I feel that a long-distant marriage is okay under some special circumstances, such as men fighting over seas and if the lover is close to death. Overall this is very sad and wrong because you cannot be with your spouse on one of the most important days of your lives.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/nyregion/internet-marriages-on-rise-in-some-immigrant-communities.html?src=xps

A Little Glimpse of ME!!!!

10 things I know to be true:

~ The Savior lives and loves me.

~ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

~ The Book of Mormon

~ Living prophets are on the earth today.

~ I am a Daughter of God.

~ That humans can Not fly!

~ Food is good!

~ The earth is round.

~ There is a sun and a moon.

~ Nobody is perfect!

 

10 objects I can't live without:

~ The Mall

~ Earrings

~ My Closet

~ Shoes

~ My phone

~ The Internet

~ Scriptures

~ A huge glass of Water

~ My most comfortable bed.

~ A Wal-mart :)

10 things I should have learned by now:

~ If I ever want to see my stuff again I shouldn't give it to my *hoarding* little sister. (who is super cute!:)

~ That I didn't drop my pocket!!!!

~ That if I start a marathon of Psych I wont be able to stop.

~ That if I put a spoon into a carton of ice cream I wont stop eating it until it's gone.

~ I shouldn't go to bed too late because I need my complete amount of beaut sleep.

~ If you don't bring a jacket to school you will be cold.

~ That people can't read my mind.

~ That I might love something in a store, but not at home.

~ That gullible is NOT written on the ceiling.

~ That chores don't have an experation date.

 

10 of my greatest fears:

~ Sea creatures in general!!! I wont get into specifics.

~ Eating sea creatures. (oh, wait I just got specific)

~ Face sized spiders.

~ Being naked in public.

~ If I became allergic to Nutella!

~ Peeing my pants....again! (Don't worry I was very little)

~ Jumping from heights.

~ Stains

~ A Ton of Homework

~ My parents getting a divorce.

10 Things that make me happy:

~ My dreams! I laugh hysterically in them or so they tell me.

~ My family

~ My friends

~ Hawaii

~ Desserts

~ Shopping

~ Music

~ Chick Flicks

~ Any good/clean movie

~ Free time. (not doing homework)

10 places I will visit before I die:

~ Europe

~ Africa

~ Austrailia

~ South America

~ Asia (at lest the places I haven't been)

~ Antarctica

~ The rest of North America that I haven't seen.

~ The Moon

~ The Atlantic Ocean

~ The Indian Ocean

(Notice these are all the places possible to visit)

Self Portrait Poem

McKenzie
who is sudious, organized, nice, & foxy 

has brothers and a sister named Austin, Alex, and Maylin

love of freedom, loyalty, and virtue

who feels confident, happy, and hopeful
who needs laughter, love, and a break
who gives kindness, service, and friendship
who fears being alone, failing, and criticism
who would like to see the Savior, my big brother, and Paris
who lives in a small town, with lots of space, and plenty of farms
Hill

How to make a Thank You Card!

I've done crafts and made cards for people in the past.  It is a fun activity, and it is always nice to do for others. 

The first step is to decide who to make the card for.  Whether it be for a friend in need, a family member whose always helped, or a leader who helped you learn something, it doesn't matter who it is for as long as you make it meaningful and worth giving someone. 

Then you need to gather your supplies.  You'll need craft paper, either colored or designed, writing utensils (Sharpie, markers, pens, colored pencils, or crayons), some type of adhesive, scissors, stickers, stamps, ribbon, and any other item you would like to use to design your card.  You can find these things at your nearest craft store, or even somewhere as simple as WalMart. 

Anyone can make a card, it doesn't have to be extravagent.  You just need to add your personality and creativity, and it will come out fabulous no matter what!  I've never really been artistically inclined, so I like to think this when my cards don't come at as perfect as I want them to. :)

Next, you have to begin actually putting together the card.  It can be any size you wish. Choose your paper, and cut it according to size.


Once cut you just fold it in half with the top side up.  This top side is the part you will be decorating, and you can also decorate the inside too, but make sure you leave room to write your thank you note. 

When I decorate a thank you card this is what I do:  I first start by getting another sheet of solid colored paper that will look well on the base design of your card.  I cut a small square out of that paper, and write "Thank You" in a cute font.  I would reccomend you practice writing before so you don't mess up your cute font. 

Then I glue that paper onto the actual card,  you can center it, slant it, or get creative! 

 Now you can add the BLING!!! 

I love putting ribbon tied in a bow across either horizontally or vertically along the sides of the card.  I also think flowers and buttons are cute decorations.  Stickers can also be used to add to the design. 

Write the thank you note, and sign your name unless you  want it to be anonymous. 

Deliver to the person and hopefully they will think it is as cute as you thought.  :) 

P.S. Don't forget to actually say Thank You!!! :)

Here is an example of a finished Thank You card!

~Kenzie Jane~



How to make the best birthday cupcakes for a friend!

I great way to celebrate your friend's birthday is by making cupcakes. They are fast, easy and cheap especially if you use a cake mix and prepared frosting.

The first thing you do is decide on a flavor combination.. Don't have your flavors be simple or don't be afraid to try different flavors together.

For example, try chocolate cake with lemon frosting, strawberry cake with lemon frosting, strawberry cake with chocolate frosting or rainbow chip cake with rainbow chip frosting. This last suggestion, I think this is the ultimate cupcake combo!

At this point, I go to my food storage and choose the combination I have picked from the HUGE cake mix/frosting section, but for others who have a normal mom, you can go to the store and pick from that selection. Make sure you get fun cupcake wrappers and candles. You can even buy sprinkles if you want.

Once home, get out a bowl, a cupcake pan, measuring cup, spatula for stirring, ice cream scoop and all the ingredients that are listed on the back of the cake mix you have chosen.

These usually include water, oil and eggs.

Follow the directions on your mix.

 Before you begin preheat the oven.

 Use the temperature suggested in on your mix.

Add the quantity of ingredients listed on the back of the box into the bowl. Use your spatula to stir.

The back of the box will tell you how long to stir. Usually it is 2 minutes by hand.

Once thoroughly mixed, use your ice cream scoop the cupcake wrappers that you have placed in side the cupcake tins.

 If your ice cream scoop is small, like mine put two scoops into one cup.

 If it is a large scoop only use one!

The rule of thumb is fill the cupcake wrappers 2/3 full, that gives you a nice rounded top!

Need to know info: When putting your batter into the cupcake liners, do not let the cake mix fall on the pan. If it does clean it off. If you bake the cupcakes with batter on the tin it not only turns your tin black, but the cupcakes will cook unevenly.

After all the cupcake wrappers are full, put them in the oven to bake.

Bake them for 18 to 22 minutes or until you touch the top of a cupcake and the batter springs back, not leaving a finger print.

While you are waiting for your cupcakes, you can clean up the area and prepare to put in the next batch.

Be sure to watch them so they don't burn. When they are ready take them out of the oven.

Let them cool on the stove or counter for 15 minutes.

Then take them out of the pan and let them cool for 5 more minutes. While cooling, put the other batch in the oven.

Once cool, you are ready to frost. You open the frosting container retrieve a butter knife and stir the frosting inside the container.

Place a tablespoon of frosting on top of the cupcake and spread it with a knife. This is a starting point. You can add as much frosting as you would like! Spread it with the knife across the top until it looks nice and you are happy with the thickness of the frosting.

If you so desire, sprinkle you sprinkles on top of each cupcake. You need to do this right after you frost, so they will stick. If you wait to long, the frosting will harden and they won't stick.

I recommend you use sprinkles lightly as too many takes away from the real flavor of the cupcake.

Arrange the frosted cupcakes on a decorative plate. Then deliver them to the birthday friend!

Great Blogs; I would suggest looking at!

 These three blogs are very interesting and I suggest reading them because they are super entertaining, cute, and one that is very thoughtful!

http://byudates.blogspot.com/

There are five authors to this blog, all lovely young single Brigham Young University ladies.  They share their love for Jane Austen and their experiences that are similar to her novels.  They are clever writers, and their writing is entertaining. 

 Each girl has their own story with a “Mr. Collins,” they are all waiting for their own Mr. Darcy to come sweep them off their feet.  The focus of this blog is all about how dating at BYU is for girls, they tell the cute, the awkward, and the ugly. 

They keep their identities a secret, but you know them by their signature names: The Lady, The Romantic, The Bluestocking, The Closer, and The Coquette.  They give a small description of themselves with a Jane Austen vintage painting. 

If you’re looking for a smile or for twitterpation, read this blog!

http://picketfencefilms.blogspot.com/search/label/Love%20Stories

This next blog is called Picket Fence Films. It is a blog about a lady named Lily, who is a videographer for weddings and relationships. This site is mainly publicity for her business.

 My favorite part of her blog is the section called “Love Stories.” Here, she posts videos with couples stories of, how they met, their first kiss, and their proposal, etc.  

Something interesting that she does is she gives both sides in the love story.

I think the name of her blog is clever because it gives her viewers the idea of a perfect marriage, hence the name “Picket Fence.”

 I really recommend this blog it has a lot of cute stories and if you need a videographer it’s for that too.

http://www.prayersforrachel.com/

The next blog I reviewed was a blog entitled “Prayers for Rachel.”  It is written by a 17 year old Utah girl who was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. She tells about the day she was diagnosed, her feelings, and her health issues.

Each post focuses on what she is facing and how she is dealing with it. You can tell she is scared, but she really tries to be positive and uses humor a lot. She is very personal and is willing to share a lot of things.

 Her blog is really plain. Meaning there aren’t any fancy backgrounds, but considering this is such a serious subject, that is okay and it works. She uses a lot of pictures of herself and her family, especially her twin. It is very touching.

I think this blog is great for anyone because it reminds us life is fragile and we shouldn’t take it for granted. I think for kids our age it is especially great because she is our age and we can relate. She is from Utah and she goes to Primary Children’s a lot, although she does decide to move to St. Jude’s hospital. It is familiar to us and we can really learn for her. She is amazing.

 

Personal Reflections

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Mexico on a service trip to a school. It was an extraordinary experience. I grew a lot as a person and really learned. I loved serving the people and creating friendships with the students. My favorite thing that we did would be when we went to the Homeless Shelter and gave the old men the blankets we made. I loved interacting with them and sharing the spirit to let them know they are loved children of God.They were very difficult at times to understand but the Spanish students were able to translate and then we could all communicate. It was great. When we first came in we sang "I am a Child of God" and even with the difference in language I know it touched their hearts.

On this trip I not only got to know other people but I got to know myself. I am a friendly, outgoing, and confident girl, who adapted well into another culture. I learned that I need to serve others and do the Lord's work. That helped me see the importance of missionary work which is what I was born to do. In fact every one in this life was. We should all try to share the Gospel with others through the spirit. If we come to know the doctrine and words first for our selves then we will better be able to be missionaries and share our testimony with others. We can do this on a full time mission or just as a member, but for me I have a strong desire to serve the Lord through missionary work.

I have no doubts in my mind about going on a full time mission, but the things that could prevent me from going on a mission would be the temptations of the world or if I had a different direction I wanted to take in my life, like college or something, but I'm pretty set! The only thing that could totally stop me from going is if I die and go to heaven. Which I guess is kinda like a mission because you get to be with Heavenly Father.

Online Missionaries!

It is good to be friendly to others especially those not of your faith. If we are kind and gain friendships we will be able to lift up others instead of allowing them to badly influence you. Your effective influence can reach farther than you could ever imagine because of your specific talents and your different personalities. The things that you says online may impact others to have a greater day or a better life through the gospel. In order to share the beautiful message of the gospel you need to prepare yourself to understand the basic principles of it. This is necessary to be able to help others understand the truth. This knowledge of the truth should be acquired through studying the original doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Good & The Bad of The Internet

"Words recorded on the internet do not disappear."

~M. Russel Ballard~

"You have the great opportunity to be a powerful force for good in the church and in the world."

~M. Russel Ballard~

"Now, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms...  Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet, you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true."

~M. Russel Ballard~



It is important that we know that what we type on the Internet never goes away.  To be specific, we need to be kind to others and not lie, and put good things about ourselves online.  Imagine reading something about yourself or even a good friend of yours that wasn't true.  This will never go away, and many may read this and believe that is was true.  We need to be careful and put uplifiting and positive things online that will be there forever.

The Internet is a great opportunity to share your testimony about what you know is true.   You should feel comfortable with the Savior reading what you posted.  Inspiring or brightening others days is the best way to use the internet.  People should not be offended by what they read, and be able to instead take this positively.

               

                                          

My Perfect Day

The perfect day would be spent with those who love you for who you are ; for your mistakes, your flaws and all your charm. Someone once said, "Nobody is worth your tears, and the ONE who is won't make you cry." I would spend time with people who made me happy, made me smile, and made me laugh because "A day without laughter is a day wasted," according to Charlie Chaplin. I totally agree! :)